George Street Challenge/Major Taylor Race

Sunday July 27, 2008:

George Street in Worcester, Mass was, for the 7th straight year, the place to be for the annual uphill time trial race in honor of Major Taylor, the 1899 world champion and Worcester resident.

Uphill barely describes it. It looks intimidating just standing at the bottom. It goes 90 feet up within a horizontal distance of 500 feet. That's almost 18% folks! Check out this profile of the course:

Data for some other famous climbs:

Mt Washington - 12% for 7.6 miles with pitches up to 22%. OK, that one is tough. Record time =49 minutes, 24 seconds (Tom Danielson)

Alpe d'Huez - 7.9% for 13.8 km (about 9.5 miles). Record time was by a doper so who cares (under 40 minutes is good).

Mur de Huy, Belgium (La Fleche Wallonne) - 9.3% for 1.3 km (just under a mile) with pitches up to 26%. The Fleche goes up this three times every April, including the finish at the top but I haven't found any mention of fastest times up the Mur. Here is what it looks like:

So, George Street isn't the longest at 500 feet, but it is the steepest sustained pitch. It should be called the Mur de Wormtown (I wish I had thought of that yesterday while I was doing the announcing at the race, so it goes). Here is a picture from last year that gives some indication of the steepness of the course:

143 riders, the most ever in the seven year history of the race, rode the hill with new record times in most categories. This is a real bike geek's event with all types showing up to try their skills. It is the only race where the shaved leg crowd mingles with the fixed-gear messenger types, the bikes-not-bombs types (you know who you are and so does the NSA), BMXers, and cyclo-tourists, and those well past their prime, whenever that was, including myself. There were also more spectators this year than ever before, a lot more than we see at most of the USCF 'offical' events.

The new course record was 22.83 seconds set by Rich Hollenbach of Wallingford CT. I didn't do quite so well, but I have a good excuse. Actually, several good excuses. The best one is mechanical failure (of the bike, not me). I plan to remedy that with an all new drive train in the next week or so. But enough about me.

Instead, you might take this opportunity to learn a little something about bicycle racing history and the fine example that Major Taylor set in his day. It's all there at http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/. All the results from the race are posted there as well. As for the full story of the race, I'll leave that to the professionals at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette: http://www.telegram.com/article/20080728/NEWS/807280662/1116.

Thanks to Lynne Tolman of the Major Taylor Association, Peter Howard of Barney's Bikes in Worcester, and the fine folks of the Seven Hills Wheelmen for putting on a great event once again. See ya next year!

Post-Partem Depression

I am having a little trouble with post-tour depression today. It happens every year. It is a kind of withdrawal that I go through. It's a good thing I am not inclined to try harder drugs, because this is rough enough. I just don't know what to do with myself. But, I just discovered a new sport that might hold me over and help me get off my addiction to foreign bicycle racing. No, it's not mixed martial arts, it's called Red Sox baseball and it's a lot like the Tour de France.


First, there are frequent commercial breaks where the same adverts are repeated ad nauseum between the all too frequent self-promotional flogging of the host channel's other programming. I have a hard time believing all that promotion for Tap Out is going to pay dividends among the cycling aficionados. And I am now more sure than ever that I will never purchase a Cervelo or a Saab. On the other hand, I have a hankering for a Mojito right now. I liked that one every time I saw it. If they would cut out the part with the smarmy bartender, I would probably be drunk as a skunk on Mojito's right now. I like the Amsterdam ad on Red Sox games too. I want to go back there soon if only to meet the old guy who says "Ladies and Gentlemen, let's begin" in Dutch.

Also, this baseball thing, like the TdF, is usually only available on obscure cable networks except on the weekends when it sometimes makes an appearance on the big networks. Just like Phil and Paul at the TdF, there are two very good announcer/commentators (Remy and Orsillo) and a cast of not so good wannabees, especially on the big networks. Who was that breathy commentator on CBS's weekend coverage of the TdF? I hated him. He made everything sound oh so melodramatic but obviously knew nothing. The Tim McCarver of bike race commentary.


It seems that stimulants and steroids are common in both sports and the authorities are finally catching wise in hopes of saving what is left of their reputations. But there is no need to worry, the fans were willing to turn a blind eye for years, they will come back once the appearance of propriety is restored.


They play almost every day with only an occasional day off to annoy us addicts and make us appreciate them all the more when they do play.


As observed by George Carlin, we don't know when a baseball game is going to end, but it somehow fits into a three-hour broadcast, just like the TdF.

That's all I got for now. Feel free to add your own in the comments (please comment, it's lonely here all by myself without Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll).

Claremont and Yarmouth

July 19th: Claremont Criterium
The Claremont NH Criterium was a wild ride once again. With a short and somewhat technical course in the downtown business district of Claremont, it is always a barn burner and frequent primes only add to the challenge and excitement. Adding to the wildness, in the four years that I have done the announcing there, it seems like there has been a threat of a thunderstorm each time. This one was no different.

The racing started in the mid afternoon with races for the kids. Two through six year olds and then seven to nine year olds did 150 meter sprints to the start/finish line. I didn't catch the name of the winner of the 2-6 heat (bad journalist, but I was busy announcing). The winner of the 7-9 year olds' heat was Grace Vollers, the daughter of former pro bike racer and UMass standout, Peter Vollers. Grace wouldn't admit to having had any coaching from her dad and was non-committal about her future in the sport in a post-race interview. But, judging by the way she blew past the rest of the kids, there is a future for her in bike racing if she catches the bug.

The Juniors 10-14 were up next and had a strong field of riders. There is a big difference between 10 and 14 year olds in both strength and experience level, so the cub juniors races usually split apart. This one held together a little longer than usual, but eventually, 14 year old Peter Goguen won in a two man break. All of the 15-18 year old juniors elected to race in their categories so no Junior 15-18 race was held.

The Masters 35-plus started with dark threatening skies to the north. Weather radar indicated it might stay there as the race began. After a few laps Mike Barton (Boston Scientific) and Paul Richard (CCB) had a gap approaching 20 seconds. But then all hell broke loose as a very scary cyclone blew through the course. The race was immediately shut down while winds of at least 50 mph knocked down branches and blew sand into everyone's eyes. This was as close to a tornado as I ever want to see. In about 30 seconds it was over. Once the debris was picked up from the course, the riders were given a warm up lap to check the course and the race was re-started. Only a few laps later, the thunder and lightening and rain finally came to the area and the race was halted again. The riders took cover and waited it out. Eventually, the field was called back to the line and given 10 wet laps to finish the race. Barton and Richard were once again given their 20 second lead, then the pack was let go to chase. At the end of the ten laps, the finish between the two breakaways was too close to call and they were both awarded 1st place while the promoter split the prize money for the first two places equally among them.


The Cat 3/4 men's race saw a break of 6 get a solid advantage over the field in the latter part of the wet race. They built up almost a half lap lead but coming into the final turn before the flat finishing strait of about 200 meters, Christian Eager, sitting in third position in the break, let centrifugal force over come traction and slid into the hay bales on the outside of the slightly off-camber 90 degree corner. The rider immediately behind, with no where else to go, launched over him and tumbled. Eager (Quad Cycles) quickly gathered himself up, ran a few yards down the road toward the finish line and,using his cyclocross skills, jumped smoothly back onto his bike. However, the chain had come off the rings in the crash and was all twisted up making pedaling impossible. Instead, he stretched out across the bike superman style with feet over the back wheel and chest on the bars. I leave it to you to figure out what was left to rest on the saddle, but he looked comfortable enough crossing the line in 6th, just ahead of the field to claim the last of the prize money.

The Pro123 had no weather issues as conditions improved and the course dried off. During the race, Alder Martz (Hot Tubes) had three flat tires on the same back wheel and eventually abandoned. Since he didn't bring spare wheels to the pit, the tube had to be replaced each time and quickly pumped up to race pressure. Given the short course (less than 1 minute per lap), multiple free laps were allowed when needed. Race sponsor and volunteer John Lambert actually manged to change the tube and pump it back up and get Alder back in the race in three laps the first time, very impressive pit work. The second time the officials told Alder he had to chase. The third time he abandoned. His team manager, Toby Schultz didn't seem to have much sympathy saying "It's his responsibility to put spare wheels in the car". He probably won't forget again for a long time. Ironically, Alder won a prime for a new Kenda tire during the race and neglected to pick it up afterwords. At the finish Ryan Fleming (Metlife) took the win in a two man sprint with Mike Barton.

The Women's (all categories) race started with a field of about 15riders. However, it didn't take long before Eve McNeil (Sunapee S&W)) and Elle Anderson (Onion River Sports) decided to work a little harder than the rest of the field and established a winning breakaway. Because several of the races had been shortened to make up for the earlier wind and lightening delays, the announcer (me) had lots of primes left to give away and nearly everyone in the field, even lapped riders, got something, from socks and free ice cream to tires and cash. Five place primes for fields of lapped riders weren't uncommon. In the end, Eve McNeil took the sprint for first with Elle Anderson second.


July 20th: Yarmouth Clam Festival
The Yarmouth Clam Festival race (this year the 28th annual) is one of the rocks of the New England Racing calender because it is one of the best supported races around. The sponsorship is strong and on top of that, it seems like almost every local business and bike racing fan wants to donate a prime. We actually had to turn down a couple of primes because we ran out of laps to assign them to. In other words, there were primes every lap for both the men's and women's fields and they often went three places deep.

Being relatively short races (36 and 22 miles respectively) didn't help much with the prime scheduling, but it sure kept the action fast and furious. And that's exactly what the thousands of fans in attendance wanted to see. They were treated to a sprint every few minutes with as much as $100 on the line for the winner. Recent high school graduate Luke Fortini (Coast to Coast/KAM) took the first prime of the day with one lap complete. A sprint for the cash ensued every lap until Justin Spinelli (Kelly Benefit Strategies) took off at the half-way point of the race. He started reeling in the primes solo while the pack let him build a 20 second lead. He got a huge ovation from the crowd each time he came through town as did the field and then even more of an ovation was heard for those struggling off the back.

Justin built on his lead and got it up to 40 seconds on the field while Morgan McLeod (Mechanical Services/PVC) got himself into purgatory halfway between Spinelli and the rest of the field. He was eventually reeled in, but Spinelli just kept rolling lap after lap. It was not hard to believe that Spinelli might be the strongest individual in the field but it was surprising that he was stronger than the combined might of the all the others. As he time trialed away from them, he won almost $300 in primes and got to hone his time trialing skills for his upcoming trip to compete in France for a couple of weeks. With two laps to go the field made some progress cutting down Spinelli's advantage. This gave Ward Solar (NERAC) the idea that Spinelli might be tiring out there alone so he decided to take a flier off the front and try to catch him solo. Coming into the last lap Spinelli got the bell 20 seconds ahead of the field with Solar about half way between. Amazingly, that's how it stayed for the finish except Spinelli's time gap was allowed to grow as the field apparently decided to position themselves for the sprint for the remaining 8 places in the prize list instead of chasing the leaders.

The Women's race saw primes, usually two or three places deep, on every lap. The race stayed together until shortly before hearing the bell for the final lap when Rebecca Wellons (NEBC) and her teammate Sally Annis (NEBC) established a gap of a few seconds on the rest. They came down the hill into the finish a few minutes later with the the narrowest of gaps on the rest of the field and had to sprint full out to stay ahead of Maryanne Stover (Portland Velo). Rebecca took the sprint and Sally must have been able to sense Maryanne charging up behind as they finished 2nd and third right behind Rebecca.

In a nice touch of local color, race promoter Dave Brink awarded both the men's and women's race winners paintings by a local Maine artist. Those will last a lot longer than the prize money.

It is surprising that fewer than 100 riders competed in these two events combined. This is one of the best races in New England and should attract full fields. If not for the racing, then for the clam festival. Where else can you race for primes every lap, get a painting if you win, and then fill yourself with fried clams all afternoon? This race is worth the ride no matter what gas costs next year.

June 21 and 22: Nutmeg State Games and Whaling City Cyclone

The Cyclonauts and CBRA hosted a full slate of races for the Nutmeg State Games on the bike racing loop in New Britain on Saturday. Pretty much every age group and category, men and women, was represented on the program and, as is customary these days, many of the more experienced riders chose to ride several races. For example, a 46 year old with a Category 3 license would qualify for the 45plus race, the 35plus race, the 30plus race, the cat 3 race and the Pro/1,2,3 race. This seems to have lead to the emergence of the 30plus race which was almost unheard of just a few years ago.

The pattern for the day was set by the entry level races (cat4/5) with some half-hearted break away attempts that were doomed to fail. This was repeated throughout the day in every race and it never worked but the very generous primes offered by the promoter kept riders trying to ride away throughout the day. For fields of over 100 riders, Rick Comshaw, the head of CBRA and the promoter of the race, offered 5 $100 primes. The masters 35+ and the Pro/1,2,3 both surpassed the century mark and therefore got the bonus primes. The Pro/1,2,3 even had a couple of extra $100 primes for a total over $700 and that is before anyone sprinted for the prize list.

The smooth course with no tight corners meant that small breakaways just couldn't get enough of an advantage to stay away. As nice as the course is, it’s about as close to being an oval as anything short of a track could be. Even some team tactics from the larger clubs could not spring riders off the front for any length of time.

Three women's races were contested at the same time (Pro/1,2,3, Cat 3 and Cat 4). The three could have been combined into one reasonably sized race, but given the disparate skill levels, the approach of separate fields was probably the right one as each group had enough women competitors to have a good race. However, it was inevitable that one or more of the groups would pass one of the others despite the 30 second gaps at the start. It was only a few laps before the Cat 4s, who started last of the three groups, caught and passed the Cat 3s. Through the confusion of races passing through each other, Sarah Schreib outsprinted Rebecca Wellons (NEBC) for the women's Pro/1,2 title.


In the featured men's race (Pro/1,2,3) a select group of five got away after the bulk of the primes were awarded. With so much cash on the line, nobody was allowed a long leash off the front until the last half of the race. The lead group built up a lead of as much as 20 seconds but never quite had the race firmly in their grasp. With about a 12 second gap going into the final lap, it looked good for the breakaway but by the time the field was visible on the back side of the course the lead had shrunk to just a few seconds. It looked like they would hold on for the final half mile and sprint for the top five places, especially with the speed increasing on the slight downhill on the second half of the course. But just 300 meters before the finish, the break was reeled in enough for Jake Keough, who had been keeping a low profile in his new Kelly Benefit Strategies team kit, bridged the final few meters to catch and then immediately pass the 5 leaders. No one else could match that move as the breakaway got 2nd through 6th places and the hard charging field settled the remaining places on the prize list with a very fast and furious sprint that covered most of the width of the road. After the race, Keough gave Robbie King credit for closing the gap as close as it got, allowing Keough to rocket across the gap and past the disappointed former race leaders. This was the third victory of the year for 21 year old Jake Keough and it came on the heels of his third place finish in the prestigious Harlem criterium the previous weekend against the very best professionals in the country. That placing apparently was the catalyst that lead to his new professional contract with the KBS team just a few days before the Nutmeg State Games. Their investment did not take long to pay off.

Sunday in New London, Conn. the Dime Bank Whaling City Cyclone was held on an entirely different kind of criterium course. At just over half the length (0.6 miles), the action came around quicker and the possibility of lapping the field came into play. The course was also much more technical with six tight corners and a gradual but long hill passing the start/finish line each lap. This gave those that were willing to try a breakaway a much better chance of success than in Saturday’s Race. And plenty did try it, often with great results.

There was a full slate of races except for the absence of a women’s race which race promoter Bill Humphries (aka the Bike Guy) says he plans to remedy for the second year of the race. In the feature race of the day, the Pro1/2/3, hometown hero Jeremy Powers, a professional with the Jelly Belly Team, raced in front of his home town fans and family. In fact his mom worked all day promoting Jelly Belly products (and her son) and dad ran the concessions from an ice cream truck. He makes a fine ham sandwich. But the rest of the field wasn’t going to let it be easy for Jeremy. Within just a few laps of the start, Gavin Mannion (Hot Tubes) and Robbie King (Rite Aid) took off from the front of the field and built a lead as they collected prime after prime. It certainly seemed like they were willing to work together in a smooth 2 man team time trial and forget about sprinting for the primes despite the considerable difference in size between the not yet full grown 17 year old Mannion and 6 foot plus King. As their lead grew, the cream of the crop in the rest of the field dashed off the front including Jeremy Powers, Mark McCormack (Fuji), and Austin Allison, an 18 year old all the way from Missouri. They were later joined by Jermaine Burrows (We Stand United Cycling ) and Alec Donahue (NERAC).

Mannion and King lapped the field and made their way to the front of it with several laps still remaining. Mark McCormack, not satisfied with racing for third place, decided to try to time trial away from Powers and Allison. At about the same time Donahue and Burrows made their move from the field to catch the break. As McCormack tried to catch the back of the field, Toby Stanton, the manager of Mannion’s Hot Tube team, told his other two riders in the race to go to the front and push the pedal all the way to the floor to ensure that the field’s pace would be too fast for McCormack to catch on. With help from Robbie King, they kept McCormack from getting any closer than 5 seconds back.

McCormack officially retired from professional racing before last season, but still seems to have most of his professional level of fitness. Maybe back in his Saturn or Colavita pro team days he would have made the final few meters of the chase, but when the field sped up, he was done and settled back into the now reformed group of 5.

King outsprinted Mannion (who had already won the junior’s race handily earlier in the day) for the finish while those around them contested 8th through 20th places on the prize list. A few seconds later the chase group finished with Jermaine Burrows taking the sprint starting from the last turn several hundred yards down the hill. Alec Donahue finished just ahead of Mark McCormack for 4th and 5th. Jeremy Powers cruised in just behind Austin Allison. By coincidence, Powers was the last rider to cross the finish line in his homecoming race, despite placing well in 7th.

After the race, Jeremy Powers and the other pros hung out and signed some autographs for the local fans and aspiring young racers from the host Mystic Velo Club. Cycling is unique in the way that fans get up close access to the pros before during and after competition and this was no exception. Hopefully this first year race will draw even more professionals and more fans in the years to come.

Heartache by the numbers, trouble by the score...

Bike racing is not an easy sport to become a part of. But for those that do find the sport and give it a go, it would be nice to see a few more succeed and stay with the sport. The following are my tips to help aspiring Cat 5 racers prosper and succeed. Keep in mind that I only advanced as far as Category 3 and never ever won a race myself. You should probably consult a real coach for real advice but, for what it's worth, here are my top 5 free tips for aspiring bike racers:

1 Racing a bike is supposed to hurt. Deep down inside, that is. Specific pains in specific places that you can point to with just one finger aren't supposed to happen and indicate a need to change something (saddle height, clothing, piercings). But that deep down all-over hurt is what the sport is all about. If your skin and everything inside it don't hurt during a race, either you are so good that you won the race, or you just didn't work hard enough trying.

But it's not all misery. The first couple of hundred yards of a race usually aren't too bad while your various nerve endings and your bike both get up to speed. Then there is usually a blissful minute or two between the time you reach full speed and when the pain messages reach the brain. But after that, plan on hurting to varying degrees until you have finished losing the race. This pain is often confused with suffering but I don't see it that way. Suffering is hurting while doing something you don't want to do, like being water boarded. Cycling is self inflicted masochistic hurting and you always have the option to stop, therefore it is just hurting, not suffering.

2 Start every race in the big ring, especially criteriums. The only exceptions are uphill time trials where you aren't going to be using the big ring for a while. Before your race starts, take a lap at close to racing speed and take note of the gear you are in. Racing speed in a flat short Cat 5 race is probably going to be around 26 mph. When you head for the start line, put your bike in a gear one or two gears easier than the gear you used at top speed (but still in the big ring). A gearing of 52 (or 53) in the front and 15-17 in the back should allow you to get up to speed without the rest of the field spinning away from you and it prevents you from having to switch chain rings from small to big when you are getting up to speed. That is always a risky shift under stress and could result in dropping the chain on the outside of the big chain ring. It would be a shame to have paid all that money for gas and entry fees just to drop your chain and lose the race in the first 50 meters.

3 If you hear the sound of scraping metal (or carbon fiber) on pavement behind you, don't look back. A bike race is not a freeway and gawking at carnage is not allowed. Just keep pedaling and looking up the road ahead. If you hear the sound of scraping metal in front of you, don't look at the source, look for the route that you can take to get around it. With or without the sound of scraping bicycles on pavement, you should always be looking past the rider in front of you, not at his/her back. That way you have extra time to react to any obstacles that the riders further in front have already encountered.

4 Don't ride further during each of the two days before a race than the distance of the race itself. But ride. Just take it easy. So if the race on Saturday is 15 miles long, Thursday and Friday's rides should be no longer than 15 miles each if you care at all about peaking for Saturday's race. A couple of quick intervals or sprints won't hurt, but you want your legs to be fresh for the race and you can't improve your fitness in two days, you can only maintain and maybe fine tune what you already have.

5. Arrive at each race not less than one hour before the posted start time. You are going to need the full hour, probably more, to get prepared. Make sure you get a good warm up. Start with some spinning, then stretch a bit, then get back on the bike and do a couple of tough intervals. Go anaerobic once or twice while warming up because the first time is the worst (see item 1 above about pain) and you don't want that to be during the race. A good warm up will make the race feel easier. Real coaches may or may not agree, but I always felt that this warm up routine helped me.

Bonus: For someone with no real qualifications as a coach, I seem to have a lot of advice. Since I never was much good at racing, I have no idea if the advice is any good or not. Take it with a grain of salt or use the Costanza Principle and do exactly the opposite if you want to. But anyway, here's one more:

The more you make it hurt during training, the more speed and power you will be able to generate at the same pain level during racing. Don't make the mistake of thinking that really good high intensity training will make racing any less painful, it will just make it possible to generate more power and speed for the same pain level. I suspect quite a few first time racers are not prepared for the variability of the effort required. Racing is not a steady state activity, there are times of super high peak intensity and times of just regular high intensity and you need to be able to keep up with both. So, simply touring for miles and miles at a comfortable level of intensity won't prepare you for Cat 5 racing. The best preparation for racing, especially criteriums, is high intensity riding - intervals, hill repeats, and sprints. Do a few of each every week and you will improve quickly. The good news is you don't have to spend countless hours on the bike (unless you want to).

It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me recently and I have a couple more to go before life returns to normal. as a result, blogging time is at a minimum. Nonetheless, I wanted to post a recap of some of the more interesting races at the Myles Standish Road Race before I take off on my next trip.

The Myles Standish Road Race in Plymouth is one of the spring classics in New England. Much like the spring classics in northern Europe (Paris Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Fleche Wallonne etc) this race is characterized by bad weather, rough roads, inevitable crashing, and steep short climbs. Another race held the same weekend in upstate NY has claimed the title "L'Enfer du Nord" (the hell of the north) and probably rightfully so, but Myles Standish isn't far behind in diabolical difficulty.

I fully expected to need several layers of fleece and a rain jacket as per usual, but the day dawned beautiful and only got better. Very uncharacteristic for early spring so close to the cold waters of Cape Cod Bay. Several people were heard saying "it just doesn't feel like a Myles Standish race".

The racing started early in the morning with the cub juniors taking the course first. A determined crew took the line in the parking lot and hit the road at full speed before the pace car even shifted into drive. One lap later Tommy Goguen took the win with a comfortable margin. over his younger brother.

The CLNoonan team was in control of the Junior 15+ race from the start. With so much disparity between the experienced juniors and the beginners, half the field never stood a chance. Hopefully they will get some good coaching and racing experience before they get discouraged. The 6 riders in the lead group, three of them from CLNoonan, came into the finish with blazing speed as CLNoonan wound up the lead out for the sprint.

The Masters45+ race split up on the first lap with Colman O'Connor of the host club, MassBay/Bicycle Link, and two riders from the Gearworks team taking matters into their own hands. The group of three got away clean and established a comfortable lead of over 20 seconds. With two laps complete, the lead was still growing. Then O'Connor dropped his two companions on the one significant hill in the course, a fairly steep but not too long climb in the first 1/4 of the 5 mile loop. Colman has shown in the past, including winning the race last year, that he has the fitness to win so the others must have been hurting bad to let him go. His lead kept growing and he was out of site when he won. Paul Curly from Gearworks took second from the field.

In the women's race, Kathy Rowell from NEBC got it going with an early breakaway but was caught by 4 riders who tagged onto the Cat 4 field after it passed through. Lydia Mathger broke from the reformed lead group to win solo.

In the Pro 1 2 race an early break of 5 including two of the most powerful teams, Sakkonet and Fuji, took off. This included the older guard of the local cycling scene represented by Mark McCormack, and the up and coming Danny Estevez. Jake Keough from Sakkonet tried to make the bridge across the 2 minute gap after his team mate Estevez dropped out of the break. This left 4 in the lead group (McCormack, Todd Rowell, Jason Beerman, and Rob King) followed by Estevez followed by Keough and one companion. King lead out the sprint but the most expereinced rider in the break, if not the entire day of racing, Mark McCormack (Fuji) came around him for the victory.

It was a great day of racing with only a couple of minor scrapes. The race's old reputation as a crash fest seems to be a thing of the past now that the course and the finishing stretch have bee modified. However, if the roads continue to degrade without repair more changes might need to be made.

Here we go, here we go, here we go again

The 2008 bike racing season starts this weekend. Sure, there were a few training races and there have been two weeks of "real races" so far, but I didn't ride in or announce at any of those so they don't count. This weekend I break out the speakers and the microphone (and all the parts that go in between) for the first time in 2008.

It all starts Saturday with the Rick Newhouse Criterium on the bike race course at Ninigret State Park in Charlestown RI. Rick Newhouse was a member of the Arc-en-ciel Racing Team out of Rhode Island who died of cancer a couple of years ago. The feature race of the day started last year with a memorial parade lap lead by Rick's wife. I hope they do it again. The proceeds go to support the family Rick left behind.

The course alone makes this race unique in New England because it was made specifically for racing bikes. It is a perfectly flat paved loop with lots of little turns thrown in to make it somewhat interesting. The wind is usually blowing like hell off the ocean there in April and its usually raining whenever I am there. As I recall it was the only place that I ever experienced a Cat III field forming echelons. Very Belgian. They didn't last long though because the longest straightaway is only a few hundred yards long then suddenly you were going 10 miles per hour faster with the wind. At least the poor fool on the point didn't have to take the brunt of the wind for too long. On the bright side, there is absolutely no traffic to contend with and no potholes. And there is a nice covered wooden structure that I can do the announcing from, so no matter how bad the weather gets, I can stay dry if not warm. The forecast for Saturday was good last I checked.

Then, Sunday is the Doyenne of New England (Doyenne means something like grand old lady in Belgium and France) . They call the Liege-Bastogne-Liege Race "La Doyenne" because it is the oldest of the classics. The Myles Standish Road Race is one of the oldest in New England and within one lap you will be certain that the roads haven't been paved since before the race was first conceived by the Mass Bay Road Club years and years ago. My dad took me to see the Myles Standish Road Race when I was about 10 years old. It was the first bike race I ever saw. That was about 33 years ago and I am pretty sure the roads haven't been paved since. I would like to say that seeing the race inspired me, but I didn't enter a bike race myself for at least another 12 years after that. These things take time. Bring your strongest wheels and maybe leave the tires a few pounds light. It's going to be a little bit like Paris Roubaix. Flats will happen, things will break, and water bottles will fly so bend those cages down extra tight if you don't want to loose yours. That is unless they are those new fangled carbon fiber cages in which case a wrap or two of duct tape around the bottle would be a better choice.

Race promoter Bill Sykes altered the route last year so that the finish line is in a safer place. The short uphill finish helps keep the top speeds down a little bit. It probably favors the all rounder with some extra leg strength over the pure sprinter or pure climber.

The Myles Standish race got a reputation over the years as being a bit dicey, especially the finish. But that was on the old course with the finish line way out on the back roads. Since the dam at East Head Pond broke through a few years ago, the course has been shortened and the finish moved. The finish used to be on a wide open windy stretch of road after a couple of rolling hills. It seemed that when there was a tailwind finish the front of the pack would wind up too early and fade before the line. This left them fading back in anaerobic agony as the second wave accelerated to top speed. That two way traffic is what I always thought caused the crashes. And the fact that almost no one had sprinted at 38 mph for 6 months didn't help either. SQUIRRELY!! If the wind was blowing the other way (a headwind finish), the top speeds were more reasonable and the sprints were safer. You just looked for any wheel you could hide behind until you had to make a move. But what do I know, I never won it.

Then, as soon as the last race is over, it's off to Logan Airport for my flight to Amsterdam. I'm going to see the Fleche Wallonne race in Belgium on Wednesday and hopefully fit in a little riding in the heartland of bike racing. I will try to take some pictures for the next post.

Toeing the line...

I originally started this silly blog thing to report on bike races as a sideline to my race announcing work. Since there weren't any races in New England for the first few months of the blog's existence, it being the off-season, I posted a few times on bike related themes. Here is the first actual race report:

Last Saturday at Charge Pond in the Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth (if you are a bike racer in New England, you've gotten lost there) about 23 riders braved the snow/sleet/rain mix. It seems this has recently become known as the "wintry mix" in weather parlance. We used to just call it "crappy weather for riding". Since 20 of the riders were "Bs" and only 3 were "As", the A Race was cancelled. I was home snug in bed for that one so I didn't catch the name of the winner of the Bs.

Today's race was held under much better conditions. Sunny and temps in the high 40's ain't bad for March. Race promoter Bill Sykes has a history of successfully planning races to avoid major weather events (jinx!!). He once held the Silver City Flier on the one clear day in between two successive hurricanes. I don't remember the names of the storms now, but you can look it up, it was August three or four years ago.

About 100 riders showed up for the two races today, almost evenly split between the As and Bs. I had some chores to attend to in the morning so I missed the B Race. The A race went about as follows:

After some early attacks that amounted to little, a break of 8 formed at about the half way point of the 1.5 hour race. This sounded to me like kind of a long race for an early season training race, but no one seemed to mind. The break included young Emerson Oronte of the CLNoonan/Coast to Coast team, riders from the Corner Cycle squad, CCB, and the new Team Fuji including Frank McCormack. Several laps later, Johnny Bold and Mark McCormack decided to put their time trialing skills to the test and bridged the gap of almost 2 minutes from the field to the lead group. Once their additional power was added to the lead group, there was no stopping the breakaway.

Shortly thereafter, another group took off from the main bunch in search of the lead group or at least in search of a slightly harder pace than the remaining field felt like doing so early in the season. This group of about 6 included Plymouth local John Stonebarger and a host of others from the local teams.

The lead group caught up to the back of the field with about 7 laps to go and most of the break made their way to the front of the field quickly. This left more than 40 riders together to contest the field sprint although only ten or so were actually on the lead lap. Since the final sprint occurs off the main circuit of the race, there was no effective way of separating the members of the break from the field. They all got the bell together.

Mark McCormack, who retired from professional bike racing two seasons ago, lead the field in to the sprint from several hundred yards out and held on to win for the Fuji sponsored masters racing team that he has put together with his brother, former professional Frank McCormack.

Next week is the first "real" race of the 2008 season in Marblehead, Mass. There is also another race at Charge Pond, week three of four in the series. The Boston Road Club Sunday races have started at Wells Ave also.

Time Keeps on Slippin, Slippin, Slippin

Not for nothing, but I am pretty sure that the Keough Brothers could kick the butt of the Jonas Brothers, on or off the bikes. Although I abhor violence of any kind, a cage match would be interesting. If you don't know, the Keoughs are well on their way to becoming New England's next family cycling dynasty and the Jonas Brothers are annoying pop music stars that appeal to 12 year old girls who haven't discovered horses yet. I shouldn't blog while watching Idol, my mind goes to strange places.

On to today's topic: Bush's energy policy. That's right, I said energy policy. I love it. Not for it's complete failure to reduce "America's addiction to foreign oil" (his own words as you may recall). I love it because it changed the start of daylight savings time about a month earlier than it used to. The change in time is now one of the harbingers of spring. It's like Red Sox Truck Day and the first robin on the front lawn rolled into one. Hmm, robins seem to be around all year now (all that foreign oil at work?). DST starts this weekend and there will finally be enough daylight after work to do some riding on week days. So, set your cyclocomputers and heart rate monitors ahead one hour Saturday night and enjoy the extra daylight. I wonder if I can get enough training in to be ready for the first Charge Pond training race March 15th? See you there.

It is currently Black History Month for another 20 minutes or so. I had better hurry and post this quick before it is too late (good thing it's leap year). Thanks to Lynn Tolman of the Major Taylor Association and Seven Hills Wheelmen for bringing it to my attention.

When you to talk black history on a bicycle racing blog, you are likely talking about Major Taylor. Major Taylor was the world champion in several track events at the end of the 1800s when bike racing was as popular as baseball in the US. He was born in Indiana but moved to Worcester, Mass and lived there through the peak years of his career. That’s why they called him the Worcester Whirlwind. He was only the second African American world Champion in any sport and the first in cycling.

Major Taylor trained throughout the Worcester area but his legacy is especially tied to George Street. George Street is as close to vertical as any roadway gets in New England. At an average grade of something like 22% it is steeper than the Mount Washington Auto Road.

Every July the good folks at the Seven Hills Wheelmen and Barney’s Bicycles reenact Major Taylor’s quad busting workout routine and hold a time trial up George Street. The event, on July 27th this year, keeps the history of MajorTaylor alive and raises funds to place a statue of Major Taylor in Worcester. They have already named one of the busiest roads in the city after him and the statue is due to be unveiled on May 21. Check out the Major Taylor Association’s website for all the details - http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/. Three time Tour de France winner Greg LeMod is going to be there for the occasion.

I’ll be back for the fourth (or is it 5th?) year in a row to MC the George Street event in July. It is always one of the funnest events of the year for me, in part because of the variety of people that come to attempt the George Street Challenge. All types show up from USCF racers to club touring riders to bike messengers to old guys with long beards who think they can save the world by riding bikes instead of cars (I hope their right!). The best of them take less than 30 seconds to complete the hill from a standing start. They are usually the USCF racer types, but the bike messenger crew from Providence always has some top finishers on fixed gear single speed track/messenger bikes. These are people that you never see at a USCF race but they can fly. Not for nothing but, I would like to see what a Cat III racer could do in a alleycat race against the messenger crew . That might even make for some good television if you could get Versus to come film it.

I’ll have more about the Major Taylor George Street Challenge here as July approaches.

Happy leap day.