Brownstown Road Race

I happened to be in Pennsylvania with my wife and son for my son’s regional soccer tournament, and I noticed several races in the same area during the same time period.  Once the soccer schedule solidified, I noticed that the Brownstown road race was within riding distance from the hotel, and it didn’t conflict with any game times, so I signed up.  I took a look at the course description “rolling with a finish at the top of a climb” – I am a crit guy, not really a road racer, and definitely not a climber, but I thought, this is Lancaster county – they don’t actually have climbs.

I didn’t pre-ride or scout the course, but I did catch a ride the day before.  I ended up being on the bike for a little over 3 hours in 103 degree heat – and I did hit a 1200 foot climb!  I focused on re-hydrating immediately after the training ride, hoping that it the heat and duration of the training ride wouldn’t impact my race performance the next day.  That evening, I mentioned the race to one of the other soccer parents, who was also a cyclist, and he decided to come along to check it out.

Race start was around 10:00 a.m. so we rolled out of the hotel at 8:30 – it was supposed to take about ½ hour to get to the course, but I wanted to leave enough time to pick up my number, get familiar with the finish area, and hopefully watch some finishes before my race.  The ride to the race on the rolling Pennsylvania roads was nice, but I could notice the temperature starting to increase very quickly.  I could tell it would be hot, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t reach temperatures like the day before.  We arrived at the start/finish, I picked up my number, and watched a couple of finishes.  The finishing “climb” was not that big, and it was followed by a long, straight, slightly uphill stretch to the finish.  After seeing this – it actually looked like a good finish for me.

The plan:  I saw several large teams, it was hot out, so I knew that there would be many attacks, but I also knew that I had to choose my efforts wisely.  Since I didn’t know any of the racers, my plan was different than it may have been otherwise:

1.        Go with all attacks for the first two laps, just in case there were any Fabian Cancelleras in the field.

2.       After that, pick and choose who I would go with.  Any less than two off the front would be ignored.

3.       If it came down to a large group sprint, crest the hill in the top 10, and hold on the sprint because people would likely sprint too early.  A late kick and shorter sprint should be the best option.

The race began as expected.  Attacks started on lap #1.  I ended up being in every other break because the teams were very organized and would continually send riders up the road when a break was about 200 meters from being caught.  Fortunately no-one seemed exceptionally strong, so by lap 3 I became a little more relaxed and started spending more time in the field.  On lap 4 on a long flat before the biggest climb (to the start/finish) I went to the front and decided to turn the screws to shake out the strong people.  I put in an 85%-90% effort up the climb, through the start/finish area, and for about a mile more.  I noticed people really suffering on the climb, and the field split – this gave me good confidence for the finish.  I didn’t realize it until afterward, but my friend told me that riders were also popping off the back as they went by.  From this point on, stayed in the top 10 and only went with large groups.  

On the final lap, we had 2 riders off the front.  Not ideal, but not a disaster.  I decided to roll the dice, and hope for things to come back together.  I rolled to the front several times and took my turn in pursuit, but by the last mile I could see that we would be sprinting for 3^rd.  So as soon as we moved onto the long straightaway before the finishing climb, I rolled to the front in preparation to surge with any last minute attacks.  We hit the base of the climb and I took the far left side next to the gutter because riders had been avoiding that section (the pitch was slightly steeper).  That allowed me to pace with the surges and stay with the leaders until we crested.  As soon as we crested, several riders began their sprint, just as I expected.  I waited a bit longer and started mine.  I was able to rip through the few people ahead of me pretty quickly and I was closing in on the last two people at the front drag racing to the line.  They were relatively close to the left side of the road, and the right most rider had his head turned toward the rider on the left, so I decided to swing right and try to blow by them before they knew what was happening.  I was successful and ended up winning the field sprint by a little more than a wheel for 3^rd place overall… 

New Britain Criterium Race Report

The day after Stafford Springs, I had made plans to make the trip to Connecticut again to race with Jon.  Although Jon had suggested heading down the night before, I pressured him into a morning departure, because I had my fill of hotel rooms over the past couple of weeks.  Since Jon was racing master’s 55+, we had to leave at 4:30 a.m. to ensure on time arrival for his race – it was really, really early!  We met at the Scarborough park and ride, loaded my gear into Jon’s car, and started out for New Britain.  Conversation was good; we discussed tactics, and I tried to give Jon the course overview because I had raced there many times in the past.  For those of you who have not raced there, you have to try it once – it is a super fun course that was actually built for bicycle racing in the early 1900’s.

Jon had a fantastic 55+ race, where he pushed the pace and split the field several times.  He ended up just outside of the top 10 mostly due to a last lap effort to ride away from the field that didn’t quite make it, but definitely put a large group of people in the hurt-locker.  However, I will let him provide a more detailed report on that race.

45+

Immediately following Jon’s race, I lined up for the 45+ race.  I scanned the group to see who showed up.  Again, I saw many strong riders including Brian Wolfe, Mike Norton, Dave Bailey, and more.  I wasn’t too worried about a break forming and sticking, but I wanted to stay toward the front of the field just in case.  Lap 1 rolled off, and Dave Bailey’s Audi team-mate attacked bringing another rider with him, who I will call Sparticus, because he had a Sparticus sticker on his bike.  I was concerned because it looked like it might be an evil Audi plan, so I bridged across as quickly as possible, only to be joined by Dave, the other Audi rider, a few seconds later.  Sparticus seemed strong, and I knew Dave was super strong because I have seen him ride away from the field in the past, so I really thought we might stick a surprise break.   We took turns working to increase the lead, which unfortunately began to shrink within a lap, and we were eventually caught.  

A couple of laps later, a tall Sunapee racer jumped off the front and was soon joined by Sparticus.  I decided not to join, but instead to sit near the front in case I had to bridge at any point.  The field wasn’t in a rush to catch them, but they didn’t really allow the group to gain much more than 5-10 seconds, so I wasn’t too worried.  They stayed away for a few laps, then I could see the gap grow to 15-20 seconds, which started to cause a bit of concern.  I rolled to the front to take a pull and speed up the pace to bring them back, hoping that others would help out, but they seemed to be satisfied with my effort.  Since no-one was pulling through, I spent the next lap closing down the gap without going too deep.  I wanted to remain fresh for a big sprint.

Once we were back together, the race proceeded with several soft attacks, which were quickly brought back.  I continued to monitor and go with anyone who seemed strong.  Nothing stuck for more than ¼ of a lap.

With 5 to go, I went into the finish plan:  Stay in the top 5, continue to move forward, cover any late attacks, and stay positioned for a big sprint.  By this point Mike Norton (a.k.a. Terminator), Sparticus, Tall Sunapee, and The Audi guys were mixing it up at the front.  Sparticus tried to get away a couple of times, so I stuck to his wheel.  Terminator was doing his usual bumping, and one of the Audi guys was particularly sketchy.  As we were coming into the last lap, I got bumped by Sparticus and went into the dirt for a second, but I was able to slide back into the group and only lose a couple of places – so instead of being 3^rd wheel, I was riding around 6^th.  Terminator then put in a big surge down the right side and brought a small number of riders with him – crap, now I was in 10^th-12^th place.  On the back stretch before the final turn, I got out of the saddle to move up on the left side – I was able to gain a few positions, but was still not where I wanted to be.  We came into the final turn, I was on the inside line, and came out of the turn somewhere in the top 20.  Bummer, the outside line ended up being MUCH faster.  I started my sprint about 300 meters from the line and felt fast, but was only able to get by about 7 riders, so I ended up 13^th.  Pretty disappointing because I should have done much better, but still a solid result.  Data afterward showed that my sprint topped out just shy of 39 mph, so I am happy with everything except my final lap position and line choice.

Pro-3

We had to wait around the entire day for the Pro-3 race to kick off, so we spent a good part of the day watching races, which included another strong showing by Jon in the category 4 race.  During the waiting period, I elevated my legs, stayed in the shade, fueled, and hydrated.  I know the group that was lining up at the start, so my goals were far less ambitious than they were for the 45+ race.  I wanted to move effectively though the field throughout the race, feel good at the end, and squeak into the top 20 so I could hit a pay-out.   Having almost 100 fit racers line up with me would make this a reasonable, but sufficiently lofty goal.

The race was fast, averaging 28.7 mph, and temps were in the 90s, so I focused on moving up whenever possible (if you aren’t moving up, you are moving back), and I made sure that I remembered to drink throughout the race.  Several small breaks went off the front of the group, but I wasn’t planning on being that active, so I stuck with my plan.  I would move up on a long sweeping uphill turn on the back side, and I would move up again on the long stretch through the start/finish area.  I found that as long as I was willing to get in the wind and throw down some wattage, I could move up whenever I wanted.   The entire race was a lot of fun, good surges, close riding, and a large enough field to keep me on my toes until…

With 4 laps to go, I was riding about 1/3 of the way back in the field, and was starting to solidify my position in the top 1/4 well before the final two laps, because I knew that moving up at that point would be really tough.  On the sweeping uphill turn, Jeremy Powers made an abrupt move to the right to shift to the outside, and he subsequently pushed a rider into the curb which started a chain reaction and brought down several riders.  I was quickly closing in on the “pile” without any gaps to ride through, so I continued to slow as quickly as possible and targeted the lowest section (two bikes with overlapping wheels on the ground).  As I hit the bikes, my bike started to endo, so I unclipped and somehow was able to leapfrog my handlebars, jump the “pile”, and land on my feet on the other side.  I quickly looked back and saw my bike on top of a rider, so I grabbed it to take off and chase the field.  Crap, my chain was off and jammed outside of my 11 – it took a few seconds to get it back on and start rolling again.  While I was fixing my bike I heard one rider moaning and saying ”I dislocated my shoulder”, another rider said “I think I broke my wrist”, and another was complaining about a broken clavicle, so all-in-all I considered myself lucky.

Once I had my chain back in order, I began in pursuit of the field.  I was able to re-integrate half-way through the 3 to go lap, but I was really gassed.  I had a hard time hanging on for the remaining laps, and did manage to move up and put in a dig for the finish, although it was far from a sprint.  I ended up with a mid-pack result – way out of the money.  At the end of it all I was happy, I felt strong, had fast racing, didn’t get hurt in the crash, and didn’t break my bike.


Next up is the Yarmouth Clam Festival race - I think my fitness is there, and I am ready!


Thanks for reading...


Jeff

Stafford Springs Race Report

Liam, Steve, and I made the drive to Stafford Springs, CT for a day of racing at the motor speedway on Saturday.  It was a typical July race day – humid with temps reaching into the mid-nineties… absolutely perfect!  Even though the course is in Connecticut, it isn’t a bad trip from Maine.  The drive took about 2.5 hours, which is 45 minutes to an hour closer than most other Connecticut races.

I like racing at Stafford.  The course is short (1/2 mile), so the number of laps can be a bit mind-numbing, but there is an interesting chicane through the infield, and the races are always filled with attacks, and the winning rider typically finishes in a break-away.  Even though the racing is fun there, a good finish has always eluded me – The chicane and subsequent bumping that can happen had put me out of position for the finish on two previous occasions.

Since I was coming off strong results from racing in Pennsylvania, I was really hoping for a podium spot in this one.  My plan:  absolutely do not let a break go away, and win the sprint in a small bunch of riders.  If a break of less than two is up the road, sit in the front of the field and be prepared to surf with any riders bridging across the gap.  I had planned on doing the 40+ and Pro-3 races that day, so knowing that I had Liam as a team-mate in the first race gave me confidence that I would not miss the move as he had committed to riding support if I asked for assistance.

We lined up with a relatively strong field.  I recognized several strong cat 1 and cat 2 riders, so I knew it would be a fun race.  The race immediately started at a brisk pace, not fast enough to put people in the red zone, but fast enough to require some serious wattages on almost every lap.  Attacks actually started on lap 1, so I was confident that this race would be the typical Stafford finish with a subset of the starting group.  I bridged/covered every substantial break, and I was in three breaks that looked like they would have a good chance of success, only to be pulled back by the field.  With about 8 laps to go, a break of 3 went away which included a Subaru rider and Danbury Audi rider that I recognized as being a big threat.  I jumped and spent ¾ of a lap chasing in the 53x11 and finally caught them.  We had a decent gap on the field, so I thought this might be it.  I was hoping to catch my breath when I tagged on the back, when the Subaru rider yelled “No free rides!” at me, so I subsequently rolled to the front and took a big dig.  The other riders subsequently took their turns, but it was futile as the group was closing in fast.  I stayed toward the front as we were caught, and another break immediately formed.  This time I was attentive enough to roll off the front with the 4 other riders.  This break was quickly swallowed up, and I knew another attack would come.  It came within seconds and I jumped across a small gap.  Within ¼ lap, another 12-15 riders closed the gap, causing a split in the field.  At this point there was about 3 laps to go, I could look over my shoulder and see the gap to the field increasing, so I knew this was going to be the finishing group.  Job #1 complete, make it into the winning move.  The group continued to keep the pace extremely high until the finish and unfortunately between the heat and previous efforts, I was too gassed to position appropriately during the final lap.  I still threw down a sprint at the end and ended up 12^th on the day.  That “good finish” eluded me once again!

The final sprint felt like I was sprinting through oatmeal, but a download of my data later showed that I hit 38.2 mph in the sprint, so I could have ended up with a good result if I had been in a better position... 

I rolled around the course for a cool-down lap – I was tired and extremely hot.  The P123 race was lining up, but I needed to recover, hydrate, and cool down, so I opted to skip the second race.  I had already told Jon that I would race in New Britain with him on the next day, and the P123 race would have crushed my recovery.

Liam rode strong throughout the race, and it was great to have a team-mate out there with me.  He spent a good amount of time toward the front, put in some big efforts, and offered to chase groups several times throughout the race.  I am looking forward to lining up at the start with him again soon.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff

Not a Killer Season

This can probably be recorded as my least impressive racing season in many years.  I started off with solid results in the Scarborough Criterium Series while riding in support of my teammate, Jamie Wright, who ended up with a super-solid 3rd place for the series.  I also raced at Wells Avenue early in the season and took 2nd in the field sprint for a top 10 finish.  But the season became less impressive from that point on.

After that, work, living in a hotel, and subsequently moving crushed my season.  I rode solidly at the Keith Berger race in the P12 category, but suffered greatly at Attleboro 2 weeks later, and got crushed at the Clam Festival - a race which is typically pretty easy for me.  I am now focusing efforts on several back-to-back structured training weeks to try and get some late season results.  I will be racing Topsfield with the P123s, the New England Master's criterium championships, and several cyclocross races.  Hopefully some good results will carry me in to a 2012 season with greater focus.  

One of my recent highlights wasn't actually race related, it was a training ride that I did with my son, Jake.  He has been totaly tied up with soccer this summer without much time to ride, so we decided to take a day off and head to NH to ride the Kanc.  It was an overcast, somewhat rainy day, but we decided to do the climb anyway.  I rode hard all the way to the top, never even reaching my 39 x 21 - I wanted to see how much stronger Jake had gotten over the past year.  Near the top, I could hear his breathing increase, so I clicked down an additional gear and really laid down as many watts as possible - I still couldn't drop him!  It was great to see, although it was somewhat frightening because he is only 14 years old.  I am sure that he will be turning the screws by next year.

Thanks for reading...

Jeff

Witches Cup Criterium Race Report (and Concord Crit)

Concord Crit: August 6th, 2011

While I was working my way back to fitness, I figured I could get in some races...especially if my teammates were going (and persuaded me to go). We headed down to the Cat 4 Concord Crit last weekend on August 6th. I had not taken proper rest leading into the race and was thus unintentionally training through it: Tuesday was a very hard hilly group ride, Wednesday was a mid-day sprint workout that Jeff gave me (and clearly proved beneficial) then a harder than expected evening ride, and Thursday was supposed to be easy but I made some solid efforts in the group ride. Friday I did take easy, doing one hour very slow. The Concord Crit is hilly (for a crit) but still quite fast. I felt rather flat most of the race, but managed an okay position into the final turn (8th or so) and made up a few spots in the sprint to finish 4th in the field and 5th overall. Both Liam and Steve were caught in certain parts of the three crashes that happened that day. Liam was able to an early crash by literally fully bunny-hopping a downed rider (2+ feet) and also overcame the huge gap following a crash that split the pack on turn 2 of the final lap. Steve got thrown off from one of the crashes and was generally feeling off that day - so he made the wise decision to pull out very late rather than risk another scare, which ended up being a good call because the last lap was not clean. This race showed me that if I came into a race feeling fairly fresh and raced smart, good things were bound to happen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Witches Cup Criterium: August 10th, 2011

On Wednesday (August 10th) three of us on Base-36 headed down to the Witches Cup in Salem, MA. Chris hasn't been on the bike as much as he would like to and was kind enough to actually sacrifice his race entry to guarantee my participation in the race as I missed the sign up because I did not know the Cat 4/5 race sold out in hours. Chris was not merely a spectator, he was extremely vocal throughout the race and let me know when I needed to move up or when the pace slowed and I didn't notice as the recovery felt too nice to consider making a move. Liam also came down with us for the race. I heard this was a 'fast' crit, but thought to myself "well, aren't all crits pretty fast - this is probably going to be like Concord without the hills". I was very wrong. As Liam and I took a few laps I scouted out the competitors as normal...but soon found out that I was tagging every 3rd or 4th person as looking strong, with many contenders in mind. I immediately focused on myself and my own race, as this was clearly not the place to "go" only on one person's move. I took one extra lap to relax and missed the line-up. Thanks to Liam, I was saved. He had a great spot for me...I jumped from 6th row outside to 2nd row inside. The last couple minutes my heart rate naturally jumped and I started to enjoy being at the race.

The race started, and I missed clipping in two times. I lost contact with Liam immediately, however, the sheer fact that I had a teammate up ahead to work to get back to saved me! By the start of the 4th lap I was back into position with Liam. Without Liam up there and the courtesy you get from a teammate, I would have used a lot more energy getting up front or, worse, been stuck in the back. Throughout the race I stayed within the top 15 most of the time, and any time I got pushed back I worked to move up. When it got mid-race and my focus ever drifted for a lap or two, Chris was right there to yell at me to make a move. The race was interesting. We were either going 30mph or 23mph, and it didn't hold at either pace for long. Looking back, on some laps my HR was dangerously high - probably in the fast laps when I moved up or went on attack. There was little going on in the sense of breaks, only twice did anyone make a legitimate effort. The first was coming off of a prime at lap 14 or so, when 6 of us (who did not go for the prime) just rolled out of the first turn with a 15m gap. One guy yelled to hit it, so we laid down the pressure in an effort to create a significant gap. the field responded quickly as they did not want such a large group to gap the field. Within 1.5 laps it was back together. But the pace was really ramped up. Once we were back together for a couple laps it settled, and I was able to take 2nd place in a 2 place prime with very minimal effort. I did this by coming hard out of turn 2 in the lead by 5m or so. I let one guy pass me by putting in a sprint.

With about 9 laps to go one guy made a hard effort at a break, but only held until 5 to go. The race began to get jittery, with everyone jockeying for position. I stayed in the top 5-8 for laps 5,4, and part of 3 as Jeff had advised to do so by any means. On the second to last lap I prepared to emulate my line for the finish: top 3 coming into turn 3, pedal through as much of the turn as humanly possible without crashing myself, then the rest would be guts and waiting til I got past the pearly white line for the 32nd time. In this preparation, I scuffed my inside pedal pretty hard; it surprised me but I was expecting it to be a close call. I now knewexactly how much I could pedal through the turn.

Last Lap: Bell rings. You can feel the guys around you switching between seated and standing, internally debating whether taking the pull for position will bonk him or if it will be the move that sets up a top 5 finish. I kept the throttle on, not even backing if the guy in front of me came back. I held the inside for turn 1 and on the sweeping bend. Guys came around the outside trying to wizz by effectively putting me back to almost 10th, but with my position I was not at all concerned. I was left to take the inside alone with the head/cross wind to avoid feathering my brakes. The guy from MIT and I hit hands in our drops, but leaned into it and used each other to avoid an ugly crash. In the intensity of it all I said 'watch it' but was almost emotionally detached, my focus clearly elsewhere. Around turn 2, slipping right into third wheel as planned. I let off for the first time the whole lap and got about 1.5 feet in between the 2nd wheel and myself; just enough backing off to take the turn as planned, but keeping the pressure on enough to not sacrifice position on the inside. I give a final check to the inside of my rear wheel. Clear - but they were three wide right on my tail. No one was stupid enough to fly into the last turn and risk taking out the entire field (sadly someone around 25th thought it was worth it and took a bunch of guys out). I am in one of my top two gears. I accept the fact that coming out of the turn I will be without a wheel in front of me, and I disregard any other option. Pedal twice HARD into the turn, keep my foot up, two more on the apex, hold. As expected, I came out of the turn without a wheel in front of me and I knew I had people on my wheel. So I laid it all down, in an effort to create a gap and then hold it. I hammered with only one sliver of the white line in my focus and wouldn't stop until my wheel crossed it. With about 5m to go I internally knew I had the win, but didn't want to let up one bit because people had been on my wheel and could have made their move late. I yelled as I crossed the line in excitement and joy. I didn't even feel tired, I felt stronger and faster and more ready than I had at any moment of the race...but I knew if I tried to pedal it'd be laughable.

Racing Is Right Around The Corner

February is a strange time of year. Before racing came along for me, February was in the midst of the winter doldrums. However, now a little excitement comes along as I know that I'll be out on the road with friends exhibiting some of that competitive spirit before long. But for now, just enough time to get back into racing shape. This is the time of year that it seems like the family grows by one - the bike. Even the dog is getting used to the whirring sounds of the trainer again, or is he waiting for spare toast tossed over the edge of the high chair? Anyway, it's the time of year for chiropractic and PT visits, time to visit the trainer and nutritionist all in preparation for that one special race somewhere in the middle of summer. For me, I'll begin practice crits at Myles Standish State Park for the Charge Pond Training Series in Plymouth, MA for 4 Saturdays. It's a little bit of a drive, but always fun to gain that high end riding in a pack. My first race will be the finale of the training series at Myles Standish State Forest Road Race the first Saturday of April. Most of the team will be doing practice crits with SMCC on Sunday mornings for 8 weeks at the Industrial Park in Scarborough. This is a yearly favorite with many strong boys from up north as well as SMCC and PVC in Portland. Always tons of fun, often with some "unique" prizes. And somewhere around then, the real racing starts! See you out on the roads, soon!

End of the Season

Well, the 2010 season has transitioned to cyclocross and a few members of the team are still hanging strong.  Jamie Wright has won several races, Ralph is starting to come on strong, and Cody is continuing to add to an impressive season.

 Photo Courtesy of Don McEwan

I, on the other hand, started winding down the season right after a solid finish at the Blount Seafood Criterium in August.  Moving and work commitments cut into my training schedule and training/racing suffered.  I did snag a top 10 at the Great Osprey Road Race last month, but I definitely wasn't in top form.

Now, I am focused on 2011.  I am increasing miles and working on adjusting to the colder temperatures associated with winter training.  The work now will pay off in the spring.

The team will be getting together soon to discuss plans for the 2011 season, possible additions to the team, and the upcoming sponsorship drive.

Stay tuned for winter training details - and more cross results.

Thanks for reading...

Jeff