QUABBIN ROAD RACE - 4/26/09

OK home RACE over - I placed 21 st. , I stayed with lead group till The New Salem climbs @ north end of 202 + a small break away took off, but we worked HARD ( I worked way too hard) + we pulled them back only to have them go again on Rt. 122. Fun day - HOT Hot hot..... This MASTERS 55+ class has some FAST dudes - Gary your right I can never use the AGE excuse again. I will suck it up and keep trying harder....

BATTENKILL - Road race 4/18/09

BATTENKILL - 4/18/09

Friday the Day before the race - 8 of my CVC teammates + I all head north of Albany to Cambridge NY for the craziest road race in the USA. They say it’s the biggest RR in the country. I’m told 1700 racers are going to race Battenkill Saturday this will just be a blast.

Ok so we all arrive in Cambridge around noon – drop off bikes some folks check into the hotel, and then we stuff 9 racers into 2 cars and drive the 62 mile race course we all will be racing Saturday. This is just a nutty (in a very cool kinda way) course!! At mile 6.4 miles you hit the first dirt road with many more ( 8 to be exact) steep dirt climbs + descents along the 62 mile course. Oh yea don’t forget the steep tar climbs also, I mean steep – can you say/remember Joe Bean Road @ 27 miles -- One word SHATTERFEST ! If you did this race you will have vivid memories of PAIN …..

So it’s now Saturday @ 10:50 and my CAT 5 45+ plus race starts 50 guys all with dreams of winning …….. We roll along --- at 5.7 miles we take a left and the pace picks way up because we have a narrow covered bridge with a wooden floor and loose sand, and we all want to be near the front. We all get over OK at least the guys I could see in the front group. One guy attacks out of no where to be the first on the dirt section #1. We all follow – it was hard packed and just another road. Back to tar up a few rollers then some steeper climbs. At 11.7 miles is a 150ish degree left turn on Juniper Swamp road with a pile of loose dirt + gravel. This is the section they say will break the groups apart never to join again. So I made

it around this corner in the front group with maybe 2-5 guys. I never looked back as we rolled along -- the wall of DIRT was approaching fast. This is going to hurt. I dig deep and hope my hard work training for months will help keep me in the front group. As I start the climb we spread out --- it is not fun but I hear this yelling in my head ??? It’s KEITH and he is close to the top screaming STEVE STEVE - Go go Steve STEVE . KEITH you a nut but it was great having you run next to me screaming at the top of your lungs !!! It helps al LOT and I crest the top in maybe 7-8th place . Good deal…… WE roll along more dirt more -- it’s all a blurr now as I write this 36 + hours later. Some where along some rollers this Guy looks back and says Guys we got pick up the pace so they don’t catch us. I look around and we have a break away group of 11 Guys, WAY cool this is how it’s supposed to happen + I made the break. Funny thing was I was staying so close to the front and working so hard I had no idea we even had a break going. Any how these Guys start drilling it off the front – it was like the hardest pace I have ever ridden and I was just along for the crazy ride. At mile 27 we hit the next WALL this one is TAR – Joe Bean Road up up up we go the group stays together except me and another guy he quickly bridges back up and I’m in no mans land - Damm I did not want this to happen….. So now I’m working my hardest to catch back up. I have a plan the next dirt section I will use my Mtn bike skills I used in the last 2 dirt section to stay in the front of the pack and catch back up. It took a long time 5-7 miles but I did get back on the group but I was close to empty….. I hang on and we keep going at this crazy pace.

Our 11 man break away group

That's me in the back getting a bottle - yea I'm there you just can't see much of me besides my FOOT. Or just see next pic.

I come around a corner and see tons of cars up in this meadow on a hill look @ Speedo and were close to the 42 mile mark for the feed zone. I have one empty bottle and one 1/3 full. I kill it and toss both bottles - Keith hands me one and Andrew gets me bottle #2. Now my nice lighter bike with empty water bottles is 4-5#’s heavier . I could feel the difference right away. NOT GOOD ……. Some where in the section between mile 45-50 I get shelled off the break away group and ride out the rest of the race alone. It was hard - I suffered / cramped / talked to myself, what ever it takes to keep motivated and moving forward when you body is saying STOP…… I see some teammates – ( I think I saw some stars) get passed by the 60+ break of 6 guys they were flying. I hit the last dirt section and give it my best – the last section with the wicked loose rocks was (loose + hard as hell to ride ). I ride out the last TAR miles pass one guy we talk a bit + I say c y later and take off. I’m thinking 39 guys are behind me somewhere and I don’t want to get passed this late in the race. Finish line -- 3 hr. 20 mins - 11th place .

I’m tired + cold

BUT SO WICKED HAPPY

This should be my last CAT 5 race .. Sending in my upgrade request tonight .

APRIL 11 - Plainville CRIT # 8 this season

Today was my 8th Crit in Plainville this spring and my 10th CAT 5 Race. So Battenkill next weekend will be my last CAT 5 race. I should be moving up to CAT 4 for the Quabbin Road Race 4/26.

Back to today - The 9:00 AM + 10:00 races went off as planned and were DRY....


Can't say that for the CAT 4-5 39+ 11:15 race. About 11:00 it started raining light but steady. We lined up for our race only 14 hardy guys. It was not 1/2 a lap after the whistle and it was flat out pouring. Glad I had my winter coat on with booties + neoprene gloves. The race lasted just seconds less than an hour and it got cold for parts of the race, and it was hard hanging on - sort of a twisted sufferfest. These guys did not let up just because it was raining, it's amazing how fast we went around the corners!!. We had more attacks today than ever in this class, I think it was just to keep us all warm and keep the heart rates high. All I know is riding behind 10+ guys going 25-30 MPH throws a lot of water into ones mouth. HUGE Rooster Tails -- was the way the hour race worked out. Get water in your face or take the wind. And it was windy on the front straight today. First time we had a head wind on the front straight in 6 weeks of racing every Sat. I some how ending up out front for close to a lap then just slowed down and boom I was back of the pack, funny how fast that happens. I think out of the 14 guys I got 7th.

Big KUDOS to Dave H - CVC CAT 3 teammate ………


Dave H stayed for the whole race and was giving verbal and moral support - just having a team mate on the side line in those nasty conditions was GREAT .. Oh yea Dave won his 10:oo Race good JOB DAVE .. you kick A$$ ...........

Thanks so much - DAVE !!

Bike ( CADD 9 ) is still in the VAN – as we had a family dinner today and I just had no time to clean it up or check it out. I hope to ride Sunday AM but will ride the S-works……

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz……………………..

April 4 Plainville Crits

OK race #1- Cat 4-5 open ( my 8th race)

Windy as all hell - DID I SAY IT WAS WINDY..

Ok I don't want to forget that it was WICKED windy..

Moving on to the race it was REAL Real real WINDY.

Attacks often and hard the first 6-8 laps + we were racing at a very fast pace ( for me ) pace almost all 25 MPH +++. A woman in the group kept causing gaps then we would have to fight back to the front group which was fighting to catch the breaks. Soooo for the first time I got dropped and lapped right near the end of the race. It hurt riding laps alone out in the 30+ MPH wind.


Race #2 Cat 4-5 39+ ( my 9th race towards cat 4)

Still WINDY as hell ………………….

Race goes off group just not pushing real hard then ……… The attacks start - One after another and the group responded to each one for laps + laps of this pain… Then a few guys got way AWAY and that was it the group sorta sat up and we went round + round. Some counters attempted but none stuck. It ended up with one lone break away guy and two more followers, then the group…

No Idea how I did way back in the pack.. I’m sore as all get out more then normal ! Must have been the WIND….

DID I say it was WINDY ???