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

Attleboro and New Britain race reports

I am posting this race report for Ralph...

Jeff, Steve and I raced at Attleboro Saturday.    No great success to report, but we didn’t crash seriously.  Steve had a minor incident involving a rider damaging his front wheel, but he took his free lap and continued the race.

Jeff was strong in the Pro12 field and finished in the chase group after what looked like a fast and furious chase for a dozen or so laps.  After a 1+ hr rain delay due to lightning the Cat 3 and Cat 4 races were combined.  We started a decent rain, but it soon stopped and the roads were even drying as we finished.  Several riders discounted the affect of water on braking surfaces and caused single rider incidents, one of which forced Steve to stop completely.

Future reference if you are ever stopped like that behind a crash, the answer is YES you went down or you won’t get your free lap.

3 guys got off the front around halfway and managed to build a quick lead and stayed away to the end.  On the last lap I was in a good position going into corner two but some riders braked too much and I lost some momentum, then on the downhill one idiot sprinted down the inside (so he could be 10^th at best into the corner) and couldn’t make the turn at the bottom.  Amazingly he slid out with hitting anyone else. I finished mid pack but officially 11^th in the Cat 3’s.

Sunday Cody and I raced at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain CT.  If you’ve never raced here it’s a great course typically, fast, safe and great for spectating.

Cody and I lined up for the Masters 30+ as a warm up before our primary races of the day.  The pace was quick from the gun, but again a break went away around midway through the 20 lap race.   I ended up 12^th (3^rd apparently in the field sprint) Cody pulled out around midway to conserve for her primary race which immediately followed the 30+.

After 15 laps and no successful breaks in the race it came down to a sprint, and Cody pulled away for her second win of the year at Walnut Hill Park and earned the New England Regional Championship jersey for Cat 3/4.

Men’s Cat 3 I survived for a pack finish.  Mildly disappointed, but the heat and two consecutive days of racing finally got to me.

Keith Berger Criterium

Sunday was one of my favorite criteriums of the season, the Keith Berger criterium in Hartford, CT.  Ralph and I drove down the night before to save an early morning trip - hoping to be rested and end up with a couple of podium finishes.  Ralph raced the mens category 3 field and the mens Pro-3 field.  I decided to race the masters and Pro-3 races.

Chris Worden also showed up on Sunday to represent the juniors field, and Cody Harris arrived mid-morning to race with the womens open field.

My first race went reasonably well.  A good sized field of 70-80 racers lined up for the 40+ race.  The pace was fast, but the race was smooth.  As usual, several attacks went off from the first lap.  Because the course is flat with long straight sections, I decided to gamble on any attack being brought back - so I raced smart and conserved for the final sprint.

That turned out to be the wrong choice, a break of 12 went off the front and although we brought them to within 6 seconds at the finish, we did not catch them.  I was sitting somewhere around the middle of the pack with one lap to go; I was planning on just finishing in the middle of the filed since the money was up the road.  That all changed when I rode by Jurgen and heard him heckling me.  I moved up as quickly as possible and positioned within the top 5 coming in to the last two turns.  Once out of the last turn, I put down a big sprint and was able to take 3rd in the field sprint, only missing 2nd by the width of a tire.  No money, but good confidence builder against a large field with some big names.

The Pro-3 race went well for the first 75% of the race.  The pace was fast, but I was able to position and move to the front whenever I wanted to.  Unfortunately, the effects of the first race of the day and the 90+ degree temperature started to hit me.  Chills, nausea, and a light head were all indications of a pretty good case of dehydration.  I tried to hang in until the end, but had to pull out with a few laps left.  Lesson learned - only do one race when the temps are above 85!

Ralph raced well, Chris crashed in the category 4 race, but ended up top 3 in his junior field, and Cody snagged 6th in the womens open field.  I am sure they will be posting details soon.

The next race weekend coming up is Attelboro and the New England Championships in Hartford on July 11th and 12th.

Thanks for reading.