Lewiston Auburn Criterium 8/6/2017

There was a great PVC showing at the Auburn Lewiston Crit today!

Three of our junior were there to represent with Aiden Simmons finishing 1st followed by George P Theall for 2nd and Everett Yannelli in 4th!  Aiden continued on in the challenging 4/5 field to continue to gain additional experience. The wind swept in after the first race which literally blew the remaining fields apart.  It reminded me of the Track race called a “miss’n’out” where each lap the last person was pulled from the race until the finish. The fields were not large but fast and challenging.

The 4/5 race Mark Carpenter and Peter Morrison were working hard in the field finishing 4th and 7th respectively.  

The 35+ race Peter was back out there and finished 3rd.

The 50+ race had 2 people off the front almost from the gun.  The field continued to loose people as the gap with the leaders grew.  George A Theall burst out of turn 3, up the hill, skipping his wheel in turn 4 for a clear field sprint win for 3rd place. Carl Hitchcock also stayed with the field winning a few primes along the way.

Others racing the PVC colors include Chris Darling, Graydon Stevens, George Benington, Brook More, John Baldwin, Brian Cole, Paul Niehoff, Christian Ratliff, Dan Leland.

Results: https://www.bikereg.com/Results/rr/9429/lewiston-auburn-criterium

Linda Braley

 

2017 Cyclocross Nationals Recap

By Paul Weiss

We had a good crew from Maine at CX Nationals this year since it was so close to home, and folks are just really getting excited about cyclocross. The sport seems to keep growing by leaps and bounds, and it is funny to see both the Junior and Master fields overflowing with participants.

The Hartford Course was in a small park on the shores of the CT river. The area features some fields, a large earthen levee that was about 40 feet high and some small woods trails in the river bottom mud. Part of the course went through a gazebo and playground.

I went all out this year. I mean I love CX, but this year I went a little overboard with racing. I essentially raced more days than most pro racers. In retrospect, I over did it. Racing every weekend since the end of August has cost a lot in terms of free time, training and money. I set out to do the whole schedule for New England. Pretty much all weekends except Labor Day, even a midweek race. It was important to me to try to get on the Hartford course earlier in the year, which I did. The national course, while not following exactly, was in a lot of the same terrain.

With 2 weeks after the last Connecticut snowy races in Bethlehem and New Haven, I felt pretty good about having raced 2 full days in snow and then got some training days in on the road with snow. I knew Hartford could dish out some snow and ice. But the conditions early in the week at nationals looked like frozen mud to slippery mud. Changing fast each day. If you have not seen the video of the large slip and slide hill (that they eliminated later in the week) check it out here.

I got on course on Thursday, and things were in really descent condition in that all the mud was solid as a rock. There were a few good lines on the course, but really hard ruts that they had made some attempt to smooth with a ATV. Then it started to snow late in the evening, and I knew my race was going to be hard. The next morning it was those same frozen ruts but you could not see them because they were covered in a few inches of snow. This made the early races really difficult to say the least.

Brian Cole raced in the AM and ripped a derailleur off his bike. These frozen ruts could flat a tire in an instant. By the time I was set to race, the conditions had changed to surface mud. I got on the course for several lap,. and it was treacherous. Now the frozen ruts were not visible, and the snow was melting enough to make all sections of the course slippery beyond belief.

I lined up just after noon and was ready for a good technical race. However, this was a bit more. I love racing in snow, but ice and half melted frozen ruts are another thing. This course was a bit scary in that a fall on this stuff could break your wrist, arm or leg. No joke. We raced off the line and across the first turn, and it was going well. Into a straight away by the pits, I immediately hit a hidden lengthwise rut that took me out like I was not on a bike! Flat down, hard ouch. Got up and tried to see both the bike and me, both were ok, but a bent shifter had to be fixed.

Getting back on the bike, I was off the back of the pack, who were now going into a long diagonal off camber run-up that you could ride on the bottom for a way or along the top. It was really a hard run with mud, ice off camber. The big downhill caused everyone to pause a bit since it required leaning away from the hill, and an off camber turn then braking enough to not get caught in the exit ruts. Pretty scary for some folks since you could really injure yourself on the flat at high speeds. I negotiated that hill well, but it was the woods section after the pits that were probably the second most difficult.

The frozen ruts in the woods were unbelievable. It looked as if they raced hundreds in the mud and then left all ruts to freeze solid. Just the width sometimes of a 34 c tires. It was really hard to negotiate the small uphill’s and tight turns in the woods. Many spilled or ran their bikes here, but even running was dangerous. An ankle twist was very easy. I was glad to be wearing my Lake high ankle winter boots for both support and warmth.

A few laps in and I was still off the back. This course had no place to go really hard, and it was truly a course of attrition. The person who made the least spills and recovered fasted would win. There are so many places to have slip ups. Even the pro field experienced the same thing. I ended up having one other dump in the woods that caused another loss of time that really put me back. I ended up finishing way in the back ¾ of the pack. On the last lap, the leaders came through and started lapping the back of the field.

In retrospect, it was a fun experience but not what I had planned for. The conditions made the course more challenging than I had expected, plus the goal of not getting injured again. I had several injuries this season and did not want to repeat. Luckily I didn’t. I also saw the great advantage disk brakes could have offered me on parts of this course; my carbon rim brakes did not work well on the frozen downhills and mud.

The really good things was that I got the best hotel room, within a short 10 minute ride of the course. This made the post-race cleanup easier. It was so easy that Hank Pfeiffel and Troy Barry hung out there and kept warm before Troy’s race.

PVC had some good racing that day including: Nathaniel Smith, Brian Cole, Adam Lampton, and Chris Darling. It was great to see most racing! It was a fun season but I am glad to be on skis now! I look forward to the PVC racing team next season!

Here are some images:

Chris Darling goes faster running a turn

 

Allen Starrett in a tight turn. He did a great race!

 

Troy Barry (center, upright) on the line with Adam Myerson the eventual winner.

 

Chris, Fergy, and Paul after racing.

 

Adam with frozen bike

 

Paul and Adam post race

 

What a bike looks like with freeze-dried mud.

 

Hartford skyline over course on CT River.

 

My friends from West Virginia including master racer Gunnar Shogren

PVC Cyclocross 2016-2017 Update

The season started at Blunt Park in Springfield MA in August and is now at the heart of the season in November. Working towards the US National Championships this January in Harford CT. PVC has had some great races, some good races and a few really bad ones, but it has been really fun and great to get to see so many courses across New England.

PVC has been floating some racers over the season and most show up at our local races at Pinelands, Casco Bay, and Orchard Cross. It has been fun to run our weekly cyclocross camps and also race with those folks on the weekend. We had 2 Juniors train and race with us, women, as well as some old masters.  We even have some new folks trying cyclocross for the first time. PVC Racers include: Brian Cole, Chris Darling, George Bennington, Paul Neihoff, , Eric Larsson, Adam Lampton, David Beneman, Jeff Doughty, Greg Bartick, and Paul Weiss.

To see the results from all our team members click on this link for PVC Results.

It has been a long season, 22 races thus far. One fun weekend was at the Verge series races in Northampton MA. Two days of full on racing with the best racers from throughout the northeast. This race has grown so much over the 23 plus years of existence. It was the largest race in North America this past weekend.

The field Paul Weiss normally races in, the Masters 45+ was full with over 100 racers. Crazy start each day with a sprint from the gun and a giant field funneling into the serpentine course. First laps culminating in an arduous run-up with a bike over your shoulder and other riders stepping on your feet.

He had a really good race and moved up from somewhere in the last row to the top 1/3 of the field. Sunday He felt a bit slower but still a good race despite losing a lot of time to 2 crashes off the start line, one after another. Good to not go down in either. Also great to have a technically flawless race, this despite some really tricky technical sections of difficult descents and steep run-ups.

PVC is looking forward to the colder races and to race the season out to the end. The season is long and fun and we want to congratulate those that have given it their best. It has been impressive to see some of the best racers in New England right here from Maine.

What is left on the menu for this season?

PVC Double loop
Shed Park CX Lowell MA
New England CX Championships, Fitchberg, MA
NBX Verge, Cranston, RI
Ice Weasels CX, RI
March Farm CX, Bethleham, CT
Elm City CX, New Haven CT
US National CX Championships, Harford, CT

Brian Cole Ready to race at Northampton Cycle-Smart International, CX Verge Race 11/13/16.

Chris Darling is in the same peloton as Brian, and ready to race!

Paul Weiss Racing Hard

Jeff Doughty at Quad Cross

Paul Neihoff at White Park

Brian Cole, Chris Darling, George Bennington and Paul Weiss at Craft Gran Prix of Gloucester

  

Adam Lampton at Casco Bay Cyclocross

Here are some photos from Casco Bay of Chris Darling, Paul Weiss, and George P Theall taken by Jennifer Battis

Here are a few of Eric Larsson, Paul Neihoff, and Greg Bartick from Orchard Cross at Applefest Farm taken by Katie Busick

 

Baystate Cyclocross Race Recap – Nov 24 & 25, 2012

Wow another 2 days on the Verge Series CX race.   Great way to keep going after the holiday.   I drove the long drive in the AM from CT (Family Thanksgiving).  Made ti to Sterling (Chuckset Middle School) in time for the 2 hour prep to race Masters 45+.   Race was large field with 80 or so registered.  Did not get the greatest start on this blustery cold windy day.   But worked my way up the field in the first lap.  Ended up behind Bruce Shwab and near John Grenier (Eric Larson was also in the pack and I think had a good race).   It was fun to be on Bruce’s wheel for a while.   Bruce was doing a good race and we were taking advantage of a small group that formed.   Today was a day to be out of the wind and groups were key.   After a few laps this group really coalesced and stayed together.  There was a hard hill and screamer downhill that ended up in a vault type barrier.   It took a lot of concentration since you were gassed from the uphill.   I kept moving up and made it to the front of our group and was trying to break across to John Mcgrath and Eiric Marrow.   It was next to last lap and I was thinking things were going well and all I needed to do was not make any mistakes and keep up this pace.   Then hitting the pavement I must have had the rear tire rolled a bit and hit a curb hard, well all of a sudden I was flat in the rear tire.   This really was a bummer.   Lost at least 10-15 spots and made it to the pit to get a new bike.   Got on my pit bike and made it back in the race with less than a lap to go.   I worked hard but only made up a few spots.   A good effort but not perfect.  Oh well.

Day 2 I felt better, having rested and woke up later than the 4:30AM start on Sat.  It was a colder day (low 30’s degrees) with high winds once again.   Had a good start and once again saw Bruce Shwab and then John Grenier, who had an excellent start.   I drilled it through this group and got on the wheel of Peter Vollers, and bridged up to the next group.   This was going really well, in top 20 and going forward.  No major mistakes all the way through until 2 to go.  In a really nasty rooty section of the woods I hit a small tree stump that was not marked (they usually spray paint the roots that are wheel breakers).  I thought after hearing the rim noise, (that was bad I hope I do not flat).   Well into the next turn out of the woods and my front wheel was flat.   Barely made not crashing in a short radius turn.   Then eased my way on half the course running a flat to the pits and got the pit bike (again) argh.  Lost a whole mess of spots as riders passed my left and right.  Finished the course with my second bike having a second flat front tire (must have been a slow leak).   Unreal.   So I will be putting the “Stans no Tube liquid sealant” in all my tires for now on.  This is ridiculous.   Though I did not show any good results, I know Sunday would have been one of my better days in cross for the season.   It will have to wait for next weekend in Rhode Island at the Verge finally.

Ps: Nate Smith did awesome races with the cat 4 I think he made the top 5th sport.  Missed Teammate Jeff Fisher who decided to do running races over Thanksgiving and pull a hamstring.   JEFF YOU NEED TO ONLY RACE BIKES.  RUNNING IS WAY TO DANGEROUS!  3 Maine Women made the top 3 spots in the womens 3-4 race! PVC’s Niocle Pisani kicked some arse, making second place!  Jessica and her had an amazing sprint for 2nd and third.  It was right on the line photo finish, spill your beer sight to see.   I think it was all due to both graduating cyclocross camp this fall :^)

Jamestown Classic Race Report – Oct 28, 2012 – Jamestown, RI

Submitted by Hank Pfeifle:

Jamestown was a nice way to conclude the 2012 road racing season. We had a good turnout with John Liston in the 55+, Ron Bourgoin, Ta Herrera, Carl Hitchcock and me in the 45+, Mark Caron, Joe Lynch and Christian Muentener in the 35+, and Kevin Hays in the 4’s. There were about 55 people in each class of the 2 lap 38 mile race. The course is pretty much a Saturday Morning Ride flat one but with a tricky big ring hill at a mile to go that concludes with a flat top and then a sweeping 3 corner descent to the finish. It’s quick!

35+: The importance of teamwork, team reputation and individual reputation proved their worth in this race. The race was an attack fest from the get-go (Bill Shattuck is an Energizer bunny), but Mark Caron corralled all initial break attempts keeping things under controlled until things stacked our way. However, with a side wind and narrow roads things started going really ballistic the first time approaching the lighthouse (about 14 miles into the race). Strongmen Ciaran Mangan, Max Lippolis and Monte Frank managed to escape and our Joey was quick to recognize this threat/opportunity and hustled to try and bridge over. His main man, Christian, catches the threat/opportunity drift a little late but that only increases his sense of urgency. Around the lighthouse bend he whirls and with centrifugal force slingshots toward Joey (our Joey!). With speed and strength born of SMR front riding, he is soon up to Joe and then in front of Joe and then, with the supreme sacrifice worthy of a Longfellow poem, Christian gives his last 20 seconds of energy to the chase and launches Joe who finishes the bridge and latches onto the back of Ciaran’s wheel. Oh what sacrificial nobility and my hands tremble with teammate-al reverence as I write these words. Meanwhile, the break-away guys were very happy with this outcome because they wanted Joe in the break for the dual purpose of a) employing his proven strength and b) having an OA guy in the break would negate having the OA team chase their butts down. It worked and when Skip Foley also joined the group, they were away for good. Nice heads up riding and exceptional teamwork.

45+: No breaks in this race although there were plenty of attempts. Anticipating a group finish coming out of the lighthouse, our pre-race plan was to set things up for Ron – Mr. Finisher (also defending champion). After the lighthouse, there was a two man attempted break going down the road. Ta and another guy had separated from the field and were working to bring the break back. Carl and Ron were near the front waiting to be towed up to the break. Meanwhile, I saw all this while wanking at the back of the pack. No worries, I tiptoed up along the yellow line and, carrying good speed, launched away from the pack, through Ta and up to the two guys (one being Jim Nash, winner of the 50+ Battenkill). Now we had a guy in the break and now the pack would get very serious about chasing us and now Ron & Carl could sit and rest while being towed by the reenergized pack. We in the break were very motivated to get up the hill, across the flat and headed down toward the finish before getting caught. Being caught in the middle of a hard charging pack towards the finish is no bueno. We hit the hill with about a 100 yard lead. We got to the top of the hill corner with about a 20 yard lead – gulp! I looked down at my now less than tan legs but which still glistened nicely with sweat in the low autumn sunlight, and willed them to spin ever faster. And they did but not fast enough as guys started to whiz by, principle among them being Ron. Golly, the guy can go when he smells the finish line where he was half a wheel from repeating as champ. Carl and Ta managed to bring it home safely and avoided the “big one” which occurred in one of the corners.

John and Kevin also concluded the season in one piece, again, no easy feat as there was another crash with flying bodies just yards from the 4’s finish line. Lesson from this? Keep your head up in the final sprint!

Sterling Classic Road Race – Masters 45+ – Race Report – May 12, 2012

By Hank Pfeifle

On Saturday Ta Herrera, Ron Bourgoin, Kevin Hays, Bruce Schwab and I traveled to Sterling, MA to contest the 6 x8 mile course of this New England classic bike race. Christian Muentener (4’s) and Mark Caron (35+) also made the trek. Sterling, with its initial steep hill and then elongated gradual climb, offers a course that tempts aggression but often rewards patience. But with 100 starters, sunny skies and warm temperatures one could expect aggression to be prominent, and it was right from the get-go. Always competitive Todd Buckley (Arc-En-Ciel) and Eric Pearce (Cyclefitness) took off at the gun and built a good lead through lap one. During lap 2, three more guys bridged over to form a solid escape group. Before the start of lap 3 on the long run in to the town of Sterling, Ta Herrera (our Ta!) initiated a second bridging effort. “Ah, this is good,” I’m thinking as I’ll use the steep initial climb to bridge over to Ta and work with his group to complete the bridge.

Hills are good to me and I used it to full advantage as I quickly make my way to Ta. “Ta! Ta! Ta!” I yell in alert so that he can get up to speed as I came up to his group. Continue through I go as we hit the long gradual climb and threw the chase into warp speed. We had a bridging mission to accomplish. Unfortunately Ta was in a vulnerable state having been in a sustained chase and now a sustained and (sorry) fast ascent. He popped just before the crest and, not realizing it, I kept the gas on full throttle. That was indeed unfortunate because Ta always gives a full and eager effort during a bridge. Meanwhile, Ron’s attempts at bridging were continually thwarted by the suction of the pack. Kevin and Bruce quickly gathered to the front to help in keeping the chasing pack under control.

So now I was into lap 3 in full bridging mode. With me were 3 other riders who proved to be slightly …. Hummm, how do I put it ….unrulely.  Here I was pounding away and two of the guys were behind me bickering about something. Believe it or not but I had to ease up and give them a lecture on the benefits of cooperative behavior in a chase. Properly chastised they settled down and started to pull through. That spirit of cooperation lasted about a half lap and then I began to sense a real reluctance for anyone else to lead but me. So then I had to ease up again and give a second lecture on the importance of “dedicating oneself fully to the cause” in order for the bridge to succeed. That lecture didn’t seem to catch hold, and soon I had to resort to my last lecture of the “joys and benefits of the acceptance of pain” in the pursuit of one’s bicycling life fulfillment. Perhaps en total these impassioned discourses resonated with my three companions or maybe it was the miraculous appearance of Dmitri Buben onto the back of our group, but we were soon humming along and making good progress in closing the gap.

It took us two laps but we did gobble up the Buckley/Pearce gang. Not pausing to chit-chat we powered through and continued the fight to maintain the lead for the remaining two laps. The goal now was to whittle the group of 9 down to a group of  1 – you’ve got it, me! Attacks on the hills. Attacks on the flats. Attacks everywhere. I had the legs. I desperately tried to break things up and escape either alone or with Dmitri (always a worker). The efforts succeeded in shedding two guys, but everyone else smelled the barn and were plenty strong enough to cover all moves. In the end it came down to a power uphill 30 second sprint to the finish line. Everyone pretty much jumped at the same time when we turned the acute corner onto the finishing hill. I was thinking about giving them a lecture about the importance of respecting one’s elders, but 3 of the group were too far up the hill to hear me, and when I crossed the finish line 4^th, I was too out of breath to express the thought.

There was good riding by everyone in the always competitive 45+ group. Although Ta could not revel in the fun of the break, his aggressive riding directly contributed to my being able to get into the break. It’s always frustrating riding and being patient and ready to strike in the peloton on the chance that the break is caught. But Ron, Kev, Bruce and Ta rode well in that role as, more often than not at Sterling, the break does get caught and then it becomes game on again.

Quabbin Reservoir Classic Road Race – Ware, MA – Masters 50+ – Apr 28, 2012

By Hank Pfeifle:

Yesterday 120 or so topnotch 50+ age group riders from throughout the Northeast gathered for the 2012 Quabbin 65 mile undulating road race around Quabbin reservoir in central Massachusetts. It was as big and talented a field as you would find for any national or world event.  The race is a “balloon” course with the start/finish road being the “tail” located in the reservoir park and a clockwise course around the reservoir. The left side and top of the clock is rolling uphill, and the right side of the clock is downhill. The hill at the top of the course is fairly big; it crests and goes downhill a bit, and then turns 90 degrees right onto a small road that descends for about 3-4 miles. This narrow descent is not that steep and is a fun part of the race. It dumps onto a bigger road that leads to a park and then into a town. From the town you exit onto a larger road and soon head uphill. This is a testing uphill followed by a good run-out descent, a short flat section and then a left hand turn back onto the “tail”. A half mile onto the tail you turn right into the Quabbin park. The park road is about 3 kilometers long and goes flat about .5k, gradual uphill .5k, flat 1k and uphill at 4-5% for the last 1k. Tricky.

Quabbin is a race where patience is required. The field easily stays together through to the town of Ware at about the 50 mile mark.  It was important to make sure nothing happened on the uphills, but the hills before town were all done at tempo pace. The road was packed side to side with people. No screaming single file hard charging lines. Ho-hum. So people pretty much sit in and try to save their legs. We lost maybe 30 guys. There is a very fun descent from mile 45 into town and there were a flurry of attacks as the descent leveled off before town, but nothing stuck. The only effort I made was at the top of the last hill before the descent where I got to the front in order to be one of the first guys onto the winding downhill. No problem there.

Coming out of town things got serious as it was time to break up the field. I flew up the two part, fairly long climb immediately after town hoping to draw the strong legs with me and establish a break of 5 guys or so. No takers. Ok, I’ll solo to the finish. No to that, too, as the dwindled pack of about 50 gobbled me up at the moderately inclined final peak. So my push up the hill did accomplish half of its goal in that it did reduce the field to a more manageable 50 riders. Just as the catch of me was made, Anthony Felitte of the always aggressive and astute Keltic team, sprung away on a solo flyer. And everyone watched him go.

Soon we were heading quickly and en mass downhill. Surely the power of the descending pack will catch the lone escapee. Nope. We’ll catch him in the park …. As everyone looks around? “We’re riding for 2^nd ?” Jeff opines in my ear. Wait a second, I think. Guys fade all the time on the final climb on the Saturday morning ride. We catch them all the time. “Hop on, Jeff, we’re going”. We get a, ummm, good jump on the field and immediately hit full on bridging speed. I take Jeff across the 1k flat section and deposit him onto the base of the final 1k ascent. Off he goes with full vigor. I drift away and 3 hard charging guys zoom by in pursuit of Jeff. I latch onto them and wait as they drag me up to Jeff. Just as we catch him with about 500 meters to go, I spring away determined that this in my final launch to the finish line. Gotta go hard for 500 meters. For 200 meters things are cool. This may work. Then Skip Foley appears on my rear wheel. Skip’s a former pro football player – wider receiver, Wes Welker-ish … even looks like him. Soon he’s beside me. Then ahead of me. What’s with these former pro football and hockey players? Strong. Hey, I was a former pro runner. Anyway, I’m thinking “good. I’ll latch onto his wheel”. Then he starts inching away. Hummm .. maybe that’s why they get all the girls. 300 meters to go and now I’m thinking 3^rd is a respectable finish. 20 meters later Kevin Mosher inches by. Then Doug O’Neil. The Haluk Sarci. Uh-oh. Got to stop the bleeding. I punch it into the big ring and with 150 meters to go and dig like crazy. No pussy-footing. No wheezing into the finish. 100 meters to go. 6^th place goes by. 7^th. 8^th! Hey!!! Finally the finish and, I hate to say it, 9^th place goes by, too. 10^th. In the money but so disappointing when you’ve been ready to dine on bigger fare.

Jeff rode with a winning attitude all day long and made a good, good effort on that initial 500 meter grade to the finish, but the grade does eat up your legs and 1K at high intensity is a loooong way.  In retrospect we did not organize well as a team over the final 3k, but it was our first group test of the season like this and I think it will stand us in good stead in upcoming big races. Communication before and during the race needs to improve (me!) and I think our deep resource of talent will marshal itself to put one of us on the podium soon.

Tour of Battenkill – Cat 5/55+ (White) – Cambridge, NY – April 14, 2012

Jonathan Ayers:

Having been victim of a flat at the beginning of the first dirt road section (!!), I know exactly what Jeff means.  It was nice to have wheel car, but it took me a minute to realize it was 100% self-service, including finding the trunk handle, finding my wheel, etc, while the driver sat in his seat verifying that indeed I did have a wheel in the back. In addition, I assumed that it wasn’t going to be me who needed my wheel, but some other bozo (I had upgraded to tubulars for that very reason – “no flat” insurance), so I put a nice little paper tag tied to a string in the axle. As a result I had the pleasure of listening to flap, flap, flap for 57 miles on my old clincher. If that was not enough, I was worried the whole time – what if I got another flat?   I was now behind the wheel car, and had nothing, no spare for either tubular or clincher tire, no cell phone, nothing!.And 58 miles of Battenkill to go. In retrospect, I was very lucky.

OK, I had achieved my first objective – first through the covered bridge and first onto the dirt road.   But, I hadn’t travelled all this way to go on a charity ride. I knew I was stronger than most of the Cat 5 field, so .. . on my new hybrid wheel combo (two more different wheels you could hardly find), I found some undiscovered time trial skills – an hour at 98% of threshold (according to my power files) and caught up to the second group of five from the front at mile 28, after passing a bunch of Cat 5 stragglers that were of no help whatsoever. One rider even offered to work with me. Guess he couldn’t hang on with my first pull.

When I asked my new of buddies about who was ahead, they thought there were six. The next 16 miles was a big of a rest time with only a few pulls – I think the other Cat 5 55+ folks felt sorry for me having to climb back – of course I let them of my f__ flat.  Or maybe they weren’t experienced enough to get off the front too quick. Some guy (#596) pulled the whole way on Cheesecake (I was second), with its very loose rubble of a dirt road surface and absolutely no line out of it – with wind to top it off. That was painful – thank goodness for pavement again. When we turned back onto dirt on Wright’s road, it was head’s up and total concentration to negotiate the 3 – 4 inches of sand in several spots.   No way around it!  Slipping and sliding – just power, power, power. Was that also a hill? – I honestly don’t even remember.

Next was Meeting House Hill with its big rollers, more sand and dust everywhere. A car went by, and you couldn’t see it from behind – just dust. Head down, follow the guy in front of me. Go fast on the down hills, hope for the best.   We got to the top of the last hill and there was no one in sight behind us – just us two. Working together we had no intention of letting anyone catch us. Turn onto Stage Road, which I had scouted the day before – right after passing the second covered bridge. I liked this hill – packed dirt, nice incline – and long. Just my kind of hill. Cranking up it, I took the lead. I love hills, they give me new energy. And the pain disappeared. Wait, did I just past another one from my group? (#579 – appeared beat and broken)  No sense thinking about it now. Got to the fallen tree on the right 20 meters from the top – that was the sign to step on it (as Hank taught me during his training week). Lo and behold, looked back as I crested and my buddy 596 was nowhere to be seen. Hmm, not really a climber? (afterward he told me it was fatigue). OK, having read Hank’s report from last year, I knew it was time to take no chances. I would lose a sprint if it came down to that. Back to the time trial mode and the pain – down the hills peddling hard, taking the corners clean and fast, and then to the 3 miles of flats. It was at this point I learned how I could rest my elbows in the top bar and get REAL aero – easy to do since it was straight.   Sort of a relaxed upper body while the legs (actually feet) were in serious pain. Shut up feet! Do as I tell you! Around the corner to the last 400 meters – looked back – there was a guy that looked just like my buddy  -only 10 meters back. OK, I don’t sprint real well, but I do have power for 400 meters.      Through to the finish, clean. Actually, it wasn’t him after all – 579 ended up 35 seconds behind me.      No idea how I did until they reported – fifth! Satisfying . . . given the flat. Guess there were five in that first group with the one I passed (596 – came in seventh) on Stage Road Hill.

Upon inspection, my tubular tire had a nice, serious gash near the rim. Now, how the heck did that happen?

Thanks for all the coaching, guys. I am hooked for good now. And I learned a lot in an unexpected sort of way.

 

Tour of Battenkill – Masters 50+ – Cambridge, NY – April, 14, 2012

Masters 50+

Hank Pfeifle:

I think that the theme word to best describe this year’s Tour of the Battenkill is crazy, crazy, crazy. The successful negotiation of this year’s altered course required the utilization of all one’s bike riding and racing skills – strength, endurance, hill climbing, wind as your friend, multiple accelerations, close quarter riding, knowing the course, negotiating one’s way through a big pack, being at the front at decisive moments, patience, handling the bike through long stretches of 3” to 4” deep sand, avoiding rocks, closing gaps, pace lining, sprinting – did I leave anything out? Oh yeah – luck. If you didn’t have all those things going for you, a payday finish would be elusive. With the elimination of Joe Bean Hill there was concern that huge packs of 70 riders would attack the final climb up Stage Hill with 5 miles to go. Ha! As it turns out, no need to worry about that.

But before we get to the race I’d like to inform that the team made a return dinner trip to the Peppermill eating establishment in Bennington. Remember last year how a dark cloud formed over Fred’s head as he waited and waited for his serving of spaghetti? Well this year the staff was eager and able to please, and soon we were served our staple of fine food.  It did our hearts good to see the spaghetti slapping across Fred’s checks as he slurped the nutritious strands post haste readying their use to fuel the muscles that would propel him across the challenging Cambridge, NY countryside. Elbow to elbow with Fred sat Jeff, but instead of stray spaghetti splatter on his chin were rivulets of hamburger grease. Ahhh, red meat and the to be conquering athlete. May I also add that the rivulets were also running down his forearms. And lastly I must report that later that evening there was code red methane gas alert in room 160 at the Bennington Best Western!

So we were ready to race as were 3000 other guys under perfect racing conditions – clear skies and 65-70 degrees. Oh, boy. The best day of cycling all year. After 100 miles of riding in the rain and wind and 38 degrees, this was going to be cake. Not quite as we were soon to find out. Just like last year it was kind of a shock to ride in a huge pack of 136 starters. Think about it. On a good Saturday Morning Ride there are what 80 riders? You know how long that line looks.. Add on another 60 guys and it does impress as you survey the field. And like last year the initial 5 mile road opened up with a kilometer to go to the cover bridge. And yep, Jeff, Mike and I were in the front group going through the bridge and then barreling along the 1^st dirt section, up the first hill and onto the sandy Juniper Swamp Hill. All negotiated successfully with about 90 guys remaining.

From mile 13 through 28 things were pretty hunky dory. No big issues. Then we turned onto the Carney & Cassidy dirt road the concern level dialed way up. With the dry conditions the dirt road surfaces turned out to be very sandy and pebble strewn. People’s back wheels were spinning out, people were losing their line on the loose and deep sand, and this caused gaps to form in the strung out hard charging riders. Most of the gaps were closed but it was a preview of things to come as groups of inattentive people got chunked off. In quick & dusty succession we were on Safford Hill Road (hilly & loose), Cheese Factory Road (flat, dusty, loose, endless), Wrights Road (uh-oh, this is starting to add up) and then the back breaker Meetinghouse Road. This section definitely elicited an OMG!!! from all riders as the downhills, although slight, lead you into yards and yards of loose sand that twisted at the wheel and directed many into unintended directions. John Grenier’s sage pre-race advise to use a big gear and keep pedaling through the sand proved a life saver. That technique allowed one to keep momentum and overpower the forces of the sand. Those who tried to drift though the sand found themselves bound by its evil dictates and lost forward motion and the ability to properly steer their machines. When these poor souls finally recovered and looked up to see what’s going on, all they could was the shattered remnant of the once large pack. It was tricky and the best of riders got gobbled up by the road conditions.

I was almost one of the unfortunates as at one point I found myself some 200 meters behind the last of the lead guys. I was confronting one of those decisive moments in a race where you had to make it happen or all was lost. Fortunately, Meetinghouse Road closed with a half mile section where the middle of the road had a 4” hard surface. I pounced onto that and pounded full force into the pedals. I knew I had to get to the lead guys before the end of the road or it was curtains. Good fortune continued to shine on me, as up ahead in his own panic chase mode was Jeff. He cleared the road first and was but a few pedal strokes from latching back on. But 30 yards back was me yelling – Jeff! Jeff!! JEFF!!!! He heard me and now had an ethical dilemma to weigh – easily catch on to the lead group? Or wait for that d-bag Pfeifle (who should have been up here in the first place) and maybe not make it? Good on ya, Jeff, as he slowed to wait for me. He even offered some Jeff-ly encouragement – “Hurry the f**k up, Pfeifle!” . I did and he did and soon we were safely back with the 12 remaining leaders. Aside from winning, knowing you are in the winning break is THE most satisfying feeling in bike racing. Now we had to focus on winning and we two OA/Cyclemanics certainly had the horsepower to do that.

Off we sped with but about 30 meters of Meetinghouse dirt road remaining when disaster struck. Jeff flatted! A rock buried under the sand punctured his tire. It was as sad a deal as sad could be because Jeff was riding brilliantly. On we continued with the sneaky John Funk off of the front by about 30 seconds. We formed a good organized chase and worked to reel him in. Somewhere during this time we lost Dave Kellogg and Bill Thompson. Carl Reglar, Funk’s teammate, was not contributing to the chase, and the Canadian Sylvan Adams sat in for the last 14 miles. The rest of us shouldered on and by the top of stage Hill Funk was within catching distance. That’s when Reglar and Jim Nash made the moves of the day. Nash slowly accelerated and bridged over to Funk. Reglar, on Nash’s wheel, let him go and gapped the rest of us. We weren’t concerned as we figured we’d catch them on the run-in to town. No dice, as it turned out. Funk & Nash rode brilliantly to the end (with Nash grabbing the win) and our four man chase (and 2 wheel suckers) could not close the 8 second gap. Reglar earned a pass for not contributing to the chase as he was just doing his job. But the sit-on Canadian saw all respect for him dissolve as his fresh legs bagged the sprint for 3^rd. This year I held off a couple of guys and nabbed 5^th and almost came by Joe Rano at the line.

I’d like to conclude by congratulating all the OA/Cyclemania riders who turned the pedals in anger. It is nice to see the many top 10 results and just good efforts garnered by the gang:

–          Travis Kroots (Base 36), 2^nd in his 4s group (so excited and justifiably so)

–          Kevin Woodhouse, 3^rd in his 4s group (great ride!)

–          Kevin Hayes, 6^th in his 4s group (nice, Kev)

–          Fred Thomas, 4^th in the 40s (always stellar)

–          Jon Ayers, 5^th in his 5s group (nice way to start your racing career)

–          Ron Bourgoin – 15^th, Eric Weinrich – 28^th after having to chase from an early flat

–          Jeff Fisher – 17^th after channeling his inner anger into a full blown TT though the shattered field

–          Mike Claus – 21^st after getting caught out on Carney and Cassidy

–          Neil Fitch – 55^th (don’t know how his race went)

–          John Grenier – 33^rd

–          Chris Darling – feel victim to a flat during a strong ride in the 3s

 

Jeff Fisher:

To get the true impact of what the long essentially flat dirt section was like, picture the TV shots of a dry Paris Roubaix with the field strung out in one long line, dust fly through the air, riders struggle to hold wheels and hold lines.  That’s what it was like.  I had stayed up at the front on every dirt section and covered every attack that I thought was dangerous.  We still had such a large field that I thought I had just wasted a lot of energy for no reason because nothing was going to break up the race.  That was nearly a fatal mistake.

Hank, Mike and I were all in a line about 20 people back from the front.  We were hammering and I was thinking how well Mike was riding on this section of the course.  It was hard to see because of the dust and we were passing so many riders from the group that started before us it was hard to tell exactly what was going on in the front.  We had been on the dirt for a good five minutes and I finally noticed the pace car was quite a ways up and I could see the cracks opening up all along the pace line in front of me.  Every alarm bell I have inside me went off at the same time.  It was time for a maximum effort because the race was slipping away.  I took off and put it in full TT redline mode.  Once quick look back and there was no Hank and no Mike.  Oh well, the race was in front of me not behind.

I have to say that my season of cross riding paid off in spades.  I was flying over the dirt and passing people like they were standing still.  I could see I was gaining on the group ahead so there was no slowing down at all.  I had just gotten to the pavement and was about to give it one last effort to get back into the race when I swear I heard my name being called.  I must be imagining that, who would be yelling at me.  Then I heard it again.  I looked back and there was Hank trying to get back on.  Now I was really torn.  Be a good teammate and let Hank latch on or finish getting back on and recover.  I decided I’d give Hank 30 seconds to get on my wheel and if he couldn’t do, then he’d have to make his own way.  I slowed down to about the same speed the group was going and when Hank latched on drove it home.

Like Hank said, this was it.  The race had been decided and we were both going to be going for the win.  My legs were great and I could tell that most of the guys in this group were tired.  I was sure I could out sprint all these guys especially with Hank to help.  Just when I thought we were good and had it made, disaster struck; a flat front tire.  I made it through all the really bad sections and flatted where the dirt wasn’t bad at all.  FML.

I waited at the side of the road for about three or four minutes and the wheel guy finally showed up.  Then I got the slowest wheel change ever.  I know these guys are just volunteers so there was no point giving them an earful.  I opened the back of the car myself, grabbed a wheel and put it on.  Off I went in a futile attempt to make up three minutes.

The rest was just 10 miles of depression, frustration, and anger knowing that months of work went down the toilette.  Especially since I knew I had a podium spot.

Lastly I just want to publicly apologize to Mike for the tongue lashing I gave him after the race. It was pointless and I let my frustration get the better of me.  No teammate deserves that.

 

New Gloucester Cat 4 race report

Submitted by Chris Darling

New Gloucester proved to be a true test of bike handling skills  with the amount of mud and grass accumulation on the bike. Equipment failure seemed to be standard for the day with close to 25% of the cat 4 field DNF with broken dérailleur and hanger combination. The weight of most bikes was 10-12 pounds heavier than when the race began. Even after a post-race wash there was still 1/2 pound of grass in my drive train.

Anyway, the weather was typical fall condition, a tad on the warm side (55 degrees) but very wet in the field sections. The cat 4 race began up the paved hill into a right hand turn. I had started the day with close to 40 psi in both tires, not thinking the early grass sections would be slippery. This hypothesis proved incorrect as I was first into the turn onto grass and proceeded to crash into the first off-camber hill. Reacting quickly I was able to get back on the bike without losing my position. After a brief exchange of positions with a rider from Colby/Kissena Cycling club, I took the lead again and tried to open a gap.

I was able to put 30 seconds between myself and Chris Syer from Bikeman.com for the next few laps. As I was coming around for another lap I saw that the officials were in the process of changing lap cards and I was unsure where we were in the race. I heard the bell lap over my shoulder and tried to focus on not “fading” on the last lap.
It was really encouraging to hear all the OA riders behind the tape cheering and encouraging their teammates. Paul Weiss was offering some great advice as I was passing by “only critical shifts, only when necessary”. Seeing the amount of bike attrition that day, this was definitely important. I was able to spin the remainder of the last lap with minimal shifting and was able to enjoy the gap I created and coasted home in first place. My first place finish yet this year. After taking two second places at Gloucester and CascoBay races, this was a much enjoyed bonus.

I hope this qualifies for an upgrade so that I can join the ranks of the Masters 35+ field. Thanks again OA folks for coming and watching and cheering for the “early race”.