If any of you out there in the blogosphere have any influence with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), please use it to make them re-pave the roads in Myles Standish State Forest. If there was ever a more shovel ready project, I don’t know what it might be. The roads in MSSF are now, after this long winter, a complete disgrace. As a result, race promoter Bill Sykes made the difficult decision to move the race off of what was left of the traditional loop around the forest and move the race to the training race course around Charge Pond. It’s a 1.3 mile loop surrounded on one side by the pond and on the other by a camping area that is not yet open for the season. In short, it’s a great place for a training race, but kind of lackluster for one of the early season New England classics. It just isn’t the same without the possibility of someone taking a plunge into a recently thawed lake (yeah, it’s happened). But there really is no choice until the DCR paves the main loop around the forest.
It went pretty much like this:
Juniors 10-14 - Peter Goguen (Minuteman Road Club) won it in a break with Nate Morse (CLNoonan), Chris Worden and Peter Vollers Jr (Starthouse). All four young men have fathers who are either active or retired racers so it’s no surprise they formed the winning break. Peter has the extra benefit of having at least 3 older brothers who race as well (I’ve lost count of exactly how many bike racers that family has spawned).
Cat 5 – The 50 rider field limit suddenly looked like a good idea on the narrow roads and a full Cat 5 field this early in the season is a good sign for the future of the sport. Not much of note happened in the first 18 miles as the less experienced riders dropped off the back. Too bad they couldn’t stay in and finish, but this ain’t the marathon and the stragglers were pulled out by the officials. Anyone can ride 20 miles so there isn’t much pride to be had in simply finishing. About 36 riders finished in the field. As they passed through the start finish area to begin the last lap you could see the two BikeBarn guys, Andy Legan and Bill Kinney, making their way to the front with Bill keeping Andy out of the wind. Bill led Andy to the front and kept him there through most of the final lap but got slammed by the headwind on the backside of the course. Andy fended for himself from there and came around the final corner in second spot. He was gradually coming around the guy in first, Devin Riley, and had almost completed the pass when he inexplicably stopped pedaling with 30 yards to go. This allowed Riley to maintain his lead by just inches to the second cross walk which was the real finish line, not the first one that had been used during all four training races earlier in the season. Legan took home second prize and a valuable lesson – ALWAYS KNOW WHERE THE FINISH LINE IS.
Pro 1,2 – Mark McCormack (Team Fuji) and Jeff Craddock (CCB) took off early and worked smoothly together for several laps. They collected two $10 primes for their efforts, then they dropped back rather suddenly to the field losing a 30 second gap in just two laps. That’s weird, Markie and Craddock don’t just suddenly blow up like that. The field had split behind them but came back together as Frank McCormack pulled the field up. It was later theorized that Shawn McCormack (youngest of the three racing McCormack brothers) was the team leader for the day and since he didn’t make the break, Mark dropped back and Frankie pulled Shawn’s group up to the chase group. At the finish Shawn won after getting the best lead out in history from Mark, Craddock was second, and Frankie was third. Peter Vollers would later tell me how Frank and Mark can control a race so well that that their designated sprinter doesn’t have to do much in the race but sprint for the finish. Peter said they did it for him many times when they were together on the IME team in the 90s. Not to take anything away from Shawn who is obviously coming back into form after years off the bike, but apparently today was meant to be his day from the start.
Mas 45 – This one stayed together through the first half despite turning in the fastest lap times of the day including the previous Pro-1-2 race. The speed was due in large part to the very active Gearworks team that seemed to be constantly sending riders off the front. First to go was Tom (the Steamboat) Stevens. He went twice before Bob Bisson went twice. At the finish it was all together and Paul Curley (Gearworks) took the win from the final corner followed by Joe Rano (Bike Alley).
Juniors 15-18 Mystic Velo and CLNoonan made up half the field so they looked like favorites to win on the starting line. The field of 10 stayed together to the end. David Gilchrist (Mystic) led it out from the final corner and hung on to win with his team mate Ben Wolfe right behind in second. Chris Esposito, who came all the way from Maine, took home third place.
Masters 55- Mark Hagen (CCB), Dusty Adams (Mosaic Smalti) and a few other strong men took the line with a couple of first timers to make a field of 12. It didn’t take long to sort things out. One time heading up the strait to the start finish area Dusty had to shoo a turkey off the course as it almost got hit by the field trying to cross the road. They seem to be all of the forest these days, it must be mating season. After a bunch of accelerations and attacks mostly by Hagen, the top few came in together with Hagen taking the win followed right behind by Dusty Adams and Richard Cullen (Corner Cycle).
Cat 4 – The Cat 4 field was filled to the 50 rider limit but it didn’t take long to start shelling some off the back as the front of the field worked hard all race with some fast lap splits (around 3 minutes). Ryan Littlefield (Base 36) came to the front at the finish and stayed in the saddle to power up the slight hill for a win with the field unable to come around. On his wheel was Brett Walker (Hammer), then Greg Brown (Cape Cod Cyclists).
Mas 35 – This was another race that stayed together despite riding very hard. Ray Botelho (the One Man Wrecking Crew) and Eric Jensen (Bike Barn) always seemed to be at or near the front when the field came through the start finish. With 2.5 laps to go, Botelho took off from the front of the field and no one went with him. Jensen seemed to help him by sitting on whatever chase developed and then it got to the point where no one wanted to sacrifice their chance at second place so Botelho was gone to stay. He won by about 15 seconds followed by Paul Curley at the front of the field sprint, then Todd Rowell (NEBC).
Women – A field of about 13 started but they were of all different ability levels and ages ranging from Emily Curley (Gearworks) to Julie Lokhart (NEBC). After about 5 laps more or less together, 4 rolled off the front. Kristen Gohr and Lydia Mathger (both Colavita) along with Cathy Rowell (NEBC) and Carola Berger (Webcor) rode the remaining 12 laps together while the rest of the women formed small groups behind. Kristen Gohr won the halfway prime– she can sprint. At the finish Kristen led it out and took the win with her teammate Lydia right behind her, then Rowell and Berger followed right behind.
Cat 3 – This one was a barn burner because 17 Cat 3s decided to ride hard, really hard. They consistently rode the fastest laps of the day, even faster than the Pro -1-2 field. The Pros were turning in 3:00 minute laps. The Cat 3 field, dominated by the CLNoonan and NEBC teams with four riders each, was always below 3 minutes and commonly around 2:50 per lap. Somehow, Colin Huston (CLNoonan) and Kyle Smith (Cambridge Bike) went even faster and broke clear off the front. David Chiu (NEBC) didn’t wait long to jump on the train and leave the pack behind. With the two biggest teams in the race up front, Tom Middleton, the only rider in the race from the host Mass Bay/Bicycle Link Team, decided his best chance was to join the break. He later said it almost did him in making the bridge across, but he made it and recovered well enough to start taking his pulls. Meanwhile, the six NEBC and CLNoonan riders controlled the field for their team mates in the break. After a few laps Smith couldn’t maintain the pace of the break with only limited opportunities to rest and dropped back to the field. The remaining three stayed away and Huston led out the sprint all the way up the finishing strait and dropped Chiu and Middleton. Chiu managed to hold off Middleton then 30 seconds or so later, Paul Lynch (CLNoonan) won the field sprint for fourth.
David Potter was kind enough to be the in-race camera man for the day during the Masters 35 race. I’ll have some race video posted as soon as I figure out how to edit it down to a reasonable length. Check back soon.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Rick Newhouse Memorial Criterium Ninigret, RI, April 18th 2009
For four years now, the Arc en Ciel racing team has hosted a race at Ninigret State Park in early April to honor the memory of Rick Newhouse, a teammate who died of brain cancer a few years ago. This year they got unusually good weather for the event and reasonably good turnout despite being in direct competition with the now famous Tour of the Battenkill.
Other than occurring on the same day, the two races don’t have much in common. Ninigret is a perfectly flat 0.9 mile course purpose made for bike riding. There are lots of corners but no real technical challenges unless it is windy. With no vehicle traffic, the pavement stays in great shape. Could Battenkill and Ninigret be any more different?
Here’s what happened:
Cat 5 – A motley looking crew (not Crue) lined up at the start finish line. One guy had a blue skateboarding helmet on (but apparently ANSI approved). One guy had on layers of threadbare ripped t shirts that looked like a costume from the midnite showing of Rocky Horror. As Mimi the USCF official said, “Cat 5s, there so cute”. Once we got them going, the race stayed together until the half way prime. Cat 5s aren’t allowed to have primes of any value according to the rules, but we found some water bottles to give away. Skateboard helmet guy (Richard Woodland) won both primes, but the field came back together both times. After winning two primes he was the odds on favorite to win, but he didn’t factor in the sprint. Greg Louro (Bike Works) won it followed by Jay Zengobot (in the worn out t-shirts). He was informed by the officials after the race that his attire did not meet the USCF standards. If he keeps placing in the races, he should be picked up by a club before too long and be able to retire his t shirts for a club jersey before they get any thinner.
Cat 4 – This was a very active race with little breakaways heading off the front constantly. Rich Persons (Minuteman Road Club) was especially active early on. He must be the tallest rider in New England on his 65 cm Seven Cycles bike. He and Cicero got a 5-6 second gap before the first prime but junior Evan Kirk (Mystic Velo) bridged across the gap on the last half lap and kept going passing the break just before the long finishing strait. He rode away for the prime. Too bad the prize was a six pack of beer from race sponsor Newport Storm and he’s only 18 years old so it was given to his chaperone. He then won another prime as did his team mate David Gilchrist. His mom picked up his prime. Four guys from Bikeworks including the Phenix brothers set up the lead out train with 2 to go, but number three in the train couldn’t hold the wheel of his team mate and the lead out fell apart before the finishing strait. They got swarmed and Marshall Johnson (B rumble Bikes) took the win in a field sprint.
Masters 55 – Mark Hagen (CCB) split it apart early on with a starting group of about 10 riders dividing into two like a horny amoeba (I am not normally prone to such simile, but I like that one). Hagen took the primes but Richard Martin (Masters Racing) and Michael Miller (Masters Racing) hung with him. Miller mashed a huge gear while Hagen and Martin are spinners. At the finish Hagen took the win in a sprint. 67 year old Martin hung right on to the end. He already has 5,000 miles in his legs from a long winter in Florida. Even for a retiree, that doesn’t sound possible, but you have to believe his wife – she’s a USCF official.
Mas 45 – The feature of this race was the Gentlemen’s Vitality Prime, a prize package put together by Arc en Ciel rider Randy Rusk. As the story goes, Randy’s wife has insisted that he get rid of his collection of Playboy magazines so he donates a few from his collection every year to be part of a prime that also includes a 12-pack of Mountain Dew and a DVD of a bike race. It has been dubbed the Gentlemen’s Vitality Prime because that should be all you need to stay horny and alert through middle age. Hence, the prime is award only for the 45 and 35 plus races. By the way, the DVD in the 45 plus GVP was Tyler Hamilton’s winning ride at Liege Bastogne Liege. I guess Randy isn’t planning on watching Tyler anytime soon, the race being just one day after Tyler’s final exit from the sport due to doping charges (see previous post). Anyway, the prime was won by Duane Scofield (BOB). The sprint broke the pack up after they let the break of Eric Morro (BOB) and Todd Buckley (Arc en Ciel) go as they counter attacked after the prime. They had just a slight advantage when the third placed rider slipped out in a corner slowing the rest of the field momentarily. Officials put him back in after a free lap, but he succumbed to road rash and dropped out of the break, then out of the race completely. The gap for the two leaders went to 30 plus seconds with several Arc en Ciel riders in the field blocking the chase. Skip Foley saw the writing on the wall and tried to bridge with 3 laps to go but Paul Curley (GearWorks) and David Kellogg (Arc en Ciel) got on him. Foley gave up in frustration when they wouldn’t come around to take a pull but the effort broke the chase group down to 5 riders. Foley even rode off into the grass to force Curley to take the lead. Buckley took first with Morro right behind. About 30 seconds later the sprint for third went to Curley narrowly over Scofield after Scofield led it out. Foley didn’t even try.
Mas 35 – This one started to break up right away with groups all over the course. The lead group had nine including three from Arc en Ciel. It included Mathew Kressy (Millwork), Bill Yarbroudy (NBX), Bill Mark (NBX) , Michael Shireman (Union Velo), Peter Voller (Vollers Law), Todd Buckley (Arc en Ciel), Tobi Schultze (Fuji), and David Potter (Arc en Ciel) and Jason ?Hurd (Arc en Ciel). Yarbrody took off with about 8 laps to go and built up a 30 second lead on the break. He stayed away and lapped the remnants of the field (about 8 riders). He then went straight through them to finish solo. Kressey won the field sprint for second. Murat Altimbasak (Millwork) took the second gentlemens prime which had been put on the field earlier in the race. Thanks to Jason Hurd I will have some in-race footage from my handlebar mounted camera posted soon. I need to do some editing first. Check back soon.
P123 – Tim Unkert is the man. He might not always finish first, but he is always trying and always rides harder than anyone else (except maybe Yarbroudy). He started his first solo attack on the first lap and got a 20 second lead before getting some company. Buckley and Rusk, both in their second races of the day , caught up, then Skip Foley (360/Landry’s) and a few others bridged up. But it all came back together with 25 to go. Unkert went again solo again but got company from Buckley again and Adam Sullivan (Spooky). With 16 to go, it was all back together again. But Unkert was still shooting off the front every time the pace slowed a little. A break of 5 finally stayed away – Rusk, Unkert, Kressey, Vollers, while Jim Thomas (NEBC) bridged up last. Kressey led out the sprint from the last corner 500 meters out and held on aided by a tail-cross wind. Thomas was close behind, then Unkert, Vollers and Rusk all drag racing in the saddle to the finish, not really sprinting. Unkert, for all his efforts won primes for a stay at a bed and breakfast in Newport and 60 bucks, some beer, and third place in the race.
Juniors – Four junior racers showed up which is two more than last year. Ian McFarland (Mystic Velo), Peter Vollers Jr. (Vollers Law), Emily Curley (Gear Works), and Grace Vollers (Vollers Law) all raced for 30 minutes and it finished in that order.
Other than occurring on the same day, the two races don’t have much in common. Ninigret is a perfectly flat 0.9 mile course purpose made for bike riding. There are lots of corners but no real technical challenges unless it is windy. With no vehicle traffic, the pavement stays in great shape. Could Battenkill and Ninigret be any more different?
Here’s what happened:
Cat 5 – A motley looking crew (not Crue) lined up at the start finish line. One guy had a blue skateboarding helmet on (but apparently ANSI approved). One guy had on layers of threadbare ripped t shirts that looked like a costume from the midnite showing of Rocky Horror. As Mimi the USCF official said, “Cat 5s, there so cute”. Once we got them going, the race stayed together until the half way prime. Cat 5s aren’t allowed to have primes of any value according to the rules, but we found some water bottles to give away. Skateboard helmet guy (Richard Woodland) won both primes, but the field came back together both times. After winning two primes he was the odds on favorite to win, but he didn’t factor in the sprint. Greg Louro (Bike Works) won it followed by Jay Zengobot (in the worn out t-shirts). He was informed by the officials after the race that his attire did not meet the USCF standards. If he keeps placing in the races, he should be picked up by a club before too long and be able to retire his t shirts for a club jersey before they get any thinner.
Cat 4 – This was a very active race with little breakaways heading off the front constantly. Rich Persons (Minuteman Road Club) was especially active early on. He must be the tallest rider in New England on his 65 cm Seven Cycles bike. He and Cicero got a 5-6 second gap before the first prime but junior Evan Kirk (Mystic Velo) bridged across the gap on the last half lap and kept going passing the break just before the long finishing strait. He rode away for the prime. Too bad the prize was a six pack of beer from race sponsor Newport Storm and he’s only 18 years old so it was given to his chaperone. He then won another prime as did his team mate David Gilchrist. His mom picked up his prime. Four guys from Bikeworks including the Phenix brothers set up the lead out train with 2 to go, but number three in the train couldn’t hold the wheel of his team mate and the lead out fell apart before the finishing strait. They got swarmed and Marshall Johnson (B rumble Bikes) took the win in a field sprint.
Masters 55 – Mark Hagen (CCB) split it apart early on with a starting group of about 10 riders dividing into two like a horny amoeba (I am not normally prone to such simile, but I like that one). Hagen took the primes but Richard Martin (Masters Racing) and Michael Miller (Masters Racing) hung with him. Miller mashed a huge gear while Hagen and Martin are spinners. At the finish Hagen took the win in a sprint. 67 year old Martin hung right on to the end. He already has 5,000 miles in his legs from a long winter in Florida. Even for a retiree, that doesn’t sound possible, but you have to believe his wife – she’s a USCF official.
Mas 45 – The feature of this race was the Gentlemen’s Vitality Prime, a prize package put together by Arc en Ciel rider Randy Rusk. As the story goes, Randy’s wife has insisted that he get rid of his collection of Playboy magazines so he donates a few from his collection every year to be part of a prime that also includes a 12-pack of Mountain Dew and a DVD of a bike race. It has been dubbed the Gentlemen’s Vitality Prime because that should be all you need to stay horny and alert through middle age. Hence, the prime is award only for the 45 and 35 plus races. By the way, the DVD in the 45 plus GVP was Tyler Hamilton’s winning ride at Liege Bastogne Liege. I guess Randy isn’t planning on watching Tyler anytime soon, the race being just one day after Tyler’s final exit from the sport due to doping charges (see previous post). Anyway, the prime was won by Duane Scofield (BOB). The sprint broke the pack up after they let the break of Eric Morro (BOB) and Todd Buckley (Arc en Ciel) go as they counter attacked after the prime. They had just a slight advantage when the third placed rider slipped out in a corner slowing the rest of the field momentarily. Officials put him back in after a free lap, but he succumbed to road rash and dropped out of the break, then out of the race completely. The gap for the two leaders went to 30 plus seconds with several Arc en Ciel riders in the field blocking the chase. Skip Foley saw the writing on the wall and tried to bridge with 3 laps to go but Paul Curley (GearWorks) and David Kellogg (Arc en Ciel) got on him. Foley gave up in frustration when they wouldn’t come around to take a pull but the effort broke the chase group down to 5 riders. Foley even rode off into the grass to force Curley to take the lead. Buckley took first with Morro right behind. About 30 seconds later the sprint for third went to Curley narrowly over Scofield after Scofield led it out. Foley didn’t even try.
Mas 35 – This one started to break up right away with groups all over the course. The lead group had nine including three from Arc en Ciel. It included Mathew Kressy (Millwork), Bill Yarbroudy (NBX), Bill Mark (NBX) , Michael Shireman (Union Velo), Peter Voller (Vollers Law), Todd Buckley (Arc en Ciel), Tobi Schultze (Fuji), and David Potter (Arc en Ciel) and Jason ?Hurd (Arc en Ciel). Yarbrody took off with about 8 laps to go and built up a 30 second lead on the break. He stayed away and lapped the remnants of the field (about 8 riders). He then went straight through them to finish solo. Kressey won the field sprint for second. Murat Altimbasak (Millwork) took the second gentlemens prime which had been put on the field earlier in the race. Thanks to Jason Hurd I will have some in-race footage from my handlebar mounted camera posted soon. I need to do some editing first. Check back soon.
P123 – Tim Unkert is the man. He might not always finish first, but he is always trying and always rides harder than anyone else (except maybe Yarbroudy). He started his first solo attack on the first lap and got a 20 second lead before getting some company. Buckley and Rusk, both in their second races of the day , caught up, then Skip Foley (360/Landry’s) and a few others bridged up. But it all came back together with 25 to go. Unkert went again solo again but got company from Buckley again and Adam Sullivan (Spooky). With 16 to go, it was all back together again. But Unkert was still shooting off the front every time the pace slowed a little. A break of 5 finally stayed away – Rusk, Unkert, Kressey, Vollers, while Jim Thomas (NEBC) bridged up last. Kressey led out the sprint from the last corner 500 meters out and held on aided by a tail-cross wind. Thomas was close behind, then Unkert, Vollers and Rusk all drag racing in the saddle to the finish, not really sprinting. Unkert, for all his efforts won primes for a stay at a bed and breakfast in Newport and 60 bucks, some beer, and third place in the race.
Juniors – Four junior racers showed up which is two more than last year. Ian McFarland (Mystic Velo), Peter Vollers Jr. (Vollers Law), Emily Curley (Gear Works), and Grace Vollers (Vollers Law) all raced for 30 minutes and it finished in that order.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Et tu Tyler?
I always wanted to believe Tyler was one of the good guys. The guy finished the Giro with a broken collarbone and then had to get caps on all his back teeth because he was constantly grinding them while trying to manage the pain in his shoulder for two weeks. That's one bad ass bike racer. Plus, he is one of our own being a Massachusetts native. I remember seeing him for the first time in his new Coors Light kit at the start line of the crit stage at Killington. He was just a wide eyed local kid lining up with the country's best. I don't have the team roster in front of me, but if memory serves he was riding in the same kit that race as Phinney (the elder), Moninger, and Knickman among others.
I kind of accepted his assertions that blood cell tests were fallible and since he was the first to get popped under a new test, I wanted to cut him some slack. In my real job (no, I'm not a full time bike race announcer or blogger) we do lots of lab analyses on water and soil samples and it isn't uncommon for there to be a mistake once in a while. Contaminants get detected in places that you know they can't be, why wouldn't it happen with blood too? And if someone had an axe to grind, it wouldn't be hard at all to put the proverbial thumb on the proverbial scale and make the test come out how they wanted it to.
But I had forgotten about the laundry list of doping related offenses and suspicions going back to 2003 or 04 until I read today's stories in Velonews and elsewhere. Each one had a list that would make Floyd Landis blush. Yeah, I'm gullible, I still kind of hope he is actually innocent too. The worst of it has got to be Tyler involving his ex-wife in the Operacion Puerto doping scheme. I guess that is what you have to do when everyone knows your dog's name (RIP Tugboat).
But, as it turns out, the offense that finally does Tyler in is the least offensive of them all. According to Tyler, he took an over the counter remedy for depression that includes a steroid with a very long name that I don't want to try to spell as a minor ingredient. Doctors quoted in the news articles say the stuff is banned in cycling, but of little to no use for either performance enhancement in sports or for alleviating depression. Tyler's story sounds plausible, but like I said, I'm gullible. I also think Lance might have beaten all the dopers in the peloton 7 times without resorting to the stuff himself.
My dad had a serious bout with depression for a while and it was triggered by some of the same things that seem to have gotten to Tyler. First, it runs in the family. Second, when your self identity is tied up with your career, you take a big hit when someone takes that career away. A layoff after 30 years of service to the company or a suspension imposed by the authorities have the same effect. I can't guess whether or not Tyler feels guilt about the things he has or has not done outside the rules of cycling, but feeling guilt probably doesn't help with depression any either.
The right medication can make a huge difference, I've seen that. I don't know what happens when you suddenly take the medication away but it sounds like trouble to me. I guy might make some bad decisions in order to feel better. But the best thing for my dad was to get back to work. He got a new job that he loved and his outlook changed dramatically for the better. He was himself again.
So, my recommendation to Tyler is to get back to work. But they aren't going to let him race again. That puts him in the perfect position to be the guy that cleans up cycling. We know there are still dopers out there and Tyler knows who they are. Much more importantly, he knows how they got that way and who got them that way. Assuming Tyler still has enough cash on hand that he doesn't need a paycheck for a while, he should make it his life's mission to strip away the drug culture from cycling and help to educate young riders coming up. Maybe this will give him enough sense of purpose and self-worth that the depression issues will get better. At the very least he owes it to all those fans that he apparently duped into financially supporting his legal fight during the hearings over the doping charges.
So, if you know Tyler, punch him in the arm real hard. You know, in the hurtz donut spot. He deserves it for being a schmuck and knowingly taking stuff that is banned and pulling our glorious sport through the ringer again. Then, try to convince him to do something productive with himself and start naming names. Then give him every opportunity to teach the kids coming up what will be in store for them if they dope.
Tyler can save the sport while he saves himself.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Two of these four brothers are going to the cyclocross world championships
Jesse, Luke, Nick, and Jake Keough
The two in the middle will be in Hoogerheide, Holland to contest the world cyclocross championships this weekend. Luke is in his final year as a junior (U19) and Nick is in his first year as an "under 23" (U23).
Luke was 10th last year at worlds and is looking to improve on that. He has done well in European cross races this season including top 5 placings against the very best in the world, not to mention first in the Verge New England Series despite being in Europe for most of the season. He went to Belgium in October and did several races before returning home for the US Championships where he finished in second place.
Nick hasn't done the Euro scene yet this year but is ready for the challenge. He won the Verge New England series for U23 and was second at Nat's for the U23. He is now ready to take his game to the Euro level.
What did you do with your life by the time you were 19? Did you compete in a world championship in anything? National spit ball championships? New England alphabet burping competition? State hot dog eating festival? Dunk the clown at the county fair? No? Me neither. These kids, and their brothers, are off to a huge head start on life. I'll admit it, I'm a bit jealous. Until I figure out what it is that I am world champion quality at, I'll just have to live vicariously through them.
Go Luke! Go Nick!
Friday, December 26, 2008
How much off-season is enough?
Ahhhh, the off-season. Time to gain a few pounds, lose some fitness, and recharge the batteries. That's not all that different from the rest of the year for me but I expect more from the rest of you.
Myerson is drinking beer at a pace that I consider about normal year round (http://cycle-smart.com/blog/2008/12/22/beer-log-3/). Solobreak is so bored that he has resorted to posting pictures of me (http://solobreak.blogspot.com/). On the bright side, two of the five Keough kids are making plans for Cyclocross Worlds (http://www.wkhoogerheide2009.nl/EN/home.aspx) and Manny Goguen is in Euro cross camp (http://eurocrosscamp.com/) with Gavin Mannion and many of the best American 'crossers.
And speaking of 'cross worlds, check out this text on the worlds' web site from the obviously proud orange people of the Netherlands: Lars Boom is 192 centimetres of Dutch pride with his blond hair and strong body. The rainbow jersey of the Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Treviso does not cover a slender climber's chest, but clings to a muscular torso. The cycling shorts tightly cling to his thighs the size of beeches. Lars Boom, 22 years old, is the Dutch world champion embodied, .... Oh my, is it getting hot in here? Who writes this stuff? This reads like a Harlequin romance not a bike race preview.
Santa was good to me this Christmas, as always, and got me a very cool gift that I think I can use to make this web site blog thingy even better if that is possible (you know sarcasm when you read it don't you?). She got me a small video camera that can mount to bike helmets, handlebars, or whatever you've got. I am thinking that I can set this thing up on someone's bike during races and record the races on video while I am doing the announcing. If I record the announcing part too, I should be able to sync then together, right? Throw in some tunes for the background and this could become quite a production. Youtube will never be the same. And watch your back Stats Boy (http://www.untilthesnowends.blogspot.com/), you're gonna have some competition in the all important 18-34 demographic next fall.
Anyway, here is a handlebar video taken during my ride today along the Cape Cod Canal. It's actually the second try. The first was longer and took forever to load, I had to bail on it. I'm going to have to figure that little issue out before the season starts. This is only here as a test of the system. A session on the rollers or trainer would be just as interesting. So, either get on your bike and ride or get a beer, depending on the time of day, and your time will be better spent.
Myerson is drinking beer at a pace that I consider about normal year round (http://cycle-smart.com/blog/2008/12/22/beer-log-3/). Solobreak is so bored that he has resorted to posting pictures of me (http://solobreak.blogspot.com/). On the bright side, two of the five Keough kids are making plans for Cyclocross Worlds (http://www.wkhoogerheide2009.nl/EN/home.aspx) and Manny Goguen is in Euro cross camp (http://eurocrosscamp.com/) with Gavin Mannion and many of the best American 'crossers.
And speaking of 'cross worlds, check out this text on the worlds' web site from the obviously proud orange people of the Netherlands: Lars Boom is 192 centimetres of Dutch pride with his blond hair and strong body. The rainbow jersey of the Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Treviso does not cover a slender climber's chest, but clings to a muscular torso. The cycling shorts tightly cling to his thighs the size of beeches. Lars Boom, 22 years old, is the Dutch world champion embodied, .... Oh my, is it getting hot in here? Who writes this stuff? This reads like a Harlequin romance not a bike race preview.
Santa was good to me this Christmas, as always, and got me a very cool gift that I think I can use to make this web site blog thingy even better if that is possible (you know sarcasm when you read it don't you?). She got me a small video camera that can mount to bike helmets, handlebars, or whatever you've got. I am thinking that I can set this thing up on someone's bike during races and record the races on video while I am doing the announcing. If I record the announcing part too, I should be able to sync then together, right? Throw in some tunes for the background and this could become quite a production. Youtube will never be the same. And watch your back Stats Boy (http://www.untilthesnowends.blogspot.com/), you're gonna have some competition in the all important 18-34 demographic next fall.
Anyway, here is a handlebar video taken during my ride today along the Cape Cod Canal. It's actually the second try. The first was longer and took forever to load, I had to bail on it. I'm going to have to figure that little issue out before the season starts. This is only here as a test of the system. A session on the rollers or trainer would be just as interesting. So, either get on your bike and ride or get a beer, depending on the time of day, and your time will be better spent.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Ice Weasels Cometh
For those of us without any aspirations of becoming national champions in 'cross, Colin (http://www.crossresults.com/ and http://www.untilthesnowends.blogspot.com/) and Tom (http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/) put on one hell of a season finale at Tom's Grandmother's farm in Wrentham Saturday December 13th.
After two strait weekends of UCI racing with season series points on the line for many, a more relaxed event was just what the doctor ordered to cap off the competitive bike racing season that, for many, started in March. With a name like The Ice Weasels Cometh (a name partly borrowed from Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strip (pre-Simpsons)), you knew this race was going to be a little different and it did not disappoint.
The heavy rain storm that passed through Wednesday through Friday could have easily turned the Ice Weasels into mud weasels, but a good cold snap after the rain froze the ground solid except for the mulch piles behind the big white barn. Without the constraints of UCI regulations, our heroes were able to devise a course with multiple sets of barriers and no less than 25 turns (according to Tom's count). That's four more than Alpe d'Huez!! If you hate power courses with long straightaways (Plymouth South) you loved this course with most of every lap spent navigating the serpentine maze around the barn and farm house. Personally, I haven't figured out yet if it's better to ride this kind of thing at a steady speed or to hammer out of every corner and brake hard before the next one. I guess if you have the fitness for it brake/hammer/brake/hammer must be faster. Better still would be to learn how to corner faster and stay off the brakes. Something to work on in the off-season.
Here are a few pictures form the event:
Dan Coady leading the single speed race
Through the mulch pit on lap one
Nega-coach ("because you suck") hands out the Washingtons while Bruce holds onto a 40 for dear life. Notice how much clothing everyone else has on!! How ya feeling this morning, Dave?
In other news, the National Championships weren't too terribly kind to New England riders this weekend with only Mo Bruno (W30-34), Kathy Sarvary (W45-50), Julie Lockhart (W65-70) winning stars and stripes last I checked. That's still pretty sweet, but considering all of the talent we have around here, it sure would have been nice to bag a few more. Still, it will be nice to see those jerseys on the scene next season.
Monday, December 8, 2008
NBX Gran Prix of 'Cross, Warwick, RI
The two-day finale of the Verge New England Championship Series was hosted by Matt Bodziony and his crew from Narragansett Bike Shop (that’s NBX for short) at Goddard State Park in Warwick, Rhode Island, December 6 and 7. Using the same venue as the former Casters cross race, the course featured a long paved zigzag hole shot followed by the first of two trips to the beach, a short run up, then lots of hard packed dirt with roots aplenty, just a little grass around the carousel building, a second trip to the beach, and a foot bridge for great viewing of the course as it passes underneath and along both ends. In short, a perfect venue for ‘cross. Add a beer tent with ‘Gansett for just a dollar each and the best racers in New England wrapping up the season-long Verge series, and you have the greatest ‘cross event of the year.
The course was altered by the crew between day one and day two, but Mother Nature did most of the work. The inch or more of snow that fell overnight was enough to change the character but the crew also tripled the length of the unridable second beach section and added the twisty “intestinal track” after that before returning the Saturday route.
Saturday was speed and power day, Sunday was for the technicians with the finesse to stay upright. However, the results in the Elite races didn’t change all that much from Day 1 to Day 2 proving that the really good riders have both the motor and the skills.
With Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld) taking the Elite Men’s races by comfortable margins both days, the excitement would have to come from elsewhere. On Day 1, it was the battle for second between local heroes Nick Keough (Jittery Joe’s), Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart), and Matt White (Bikereg.com) along with their neighbor from the Great White North, Derrick St. John (Steven’s). It seems a little weird to call 19 year old Keough a “hero” already, but we might as well start now because it’s clear, he is going to be a rider about whom we will all be saying “I saw him when…”.
Driscoll and the crew listed above, plus Josh Dillon (Fiordifrutta) and Justin Spinelli (RGM/Sachs), established themselves as the elite lead group with the rest out of contention while still in the early stages. Driscoll would take off from the front of the group with several laps to go. Spinelli and Dillon would eventually drop slightly off the back while, in the middle, the battle for second was won by Keough in a sprint with Myerson. Young gun Keough led out of the final corner about 250 yards from the line and narrowly held off the Myerson who has nearly twenty years more experience and is known as a sprinting specialist on the road. Keough is becoming known for having better Sundays than Saturdays so his second place finish bode well for Day 2. More importantly it showed that he had clearly recovered from the injury that took him out of second place and drop to a mid pack finish with one leg numb the previous Saturday in Sterling.
The course was altered by the crew between day one and day two, but Mother Nature did most of the work. The inch or more of snow that fell overnight was enough to change the character but the crew also tripled the length of the unridable second beach section and added the twisty “intestinal track” after that before returning the Saturday route.
Saturday was speed and power day, Sunday was for the technicians with the finesse to stay upright. However, the results in the Elite races didn’t change all that much from Day 1 to Day 2 proving that the really good riders have both the motor and the skills.
With Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld) taking the Elite Men’s races by comfortable margins both days, the excitement would have to come from elsewhere. On Day 1, it was the battle for second between local heroes Nick Keough (Jittery Joe’s), Adam Myerson (Cycle-Smart), and Matt White (Bikereg.com) along with their neighbor from the Great White North, Derrick St. John (Steven’s). It seems a little weird to call 19 year old Keough a “hero” already, but we might as well start now because it’s clear, he is going to be a rider about whom we will all be saying “I saw him when…”.
Driscoll and the crew listed above, plus Josh Dillon (Fiordifrutta) and Justin Spinelli (RGM/Sachs), established themselves as the elite lead group with the rest out of contention while still in the early stages. Driscoll would take off from the front of the group with several laps to go. Spinelli and Dillon would eventually drop slightly off the back while, in the middle, the battle for second was won by Keough in a sprint with Myerson. Young gun Keough led out of the final corner about 250 yards from the line and narrowly held off the Myerson who has nearly twenty years more experience and is known as a sprinting specialist on the road. Keough is becoming known for having better Sundays than Saturdays so his second place finish bode well for Day 2. More importantly it showed that he had clearly recovered from the injury that took him out of second place and drop to a mid pack finish with one leg numb the previous Saturday in Sterling.
Here is the front row at the start (Myerson, Dillon, St John, Tilford, White, and Driscoll):
‘Cross just isn’t the same on a warm sunny day (think Gloucester 2008) as it is when the conditions turn nasty. The fans and the riders know that their sport is something special and never more so than when everyone else in New England is on the couch watching others play football. With an inch of snow on the ground and more falling, this was 'cross weather and the scene got better and better as the day went on. Beer for only $1 each, compliments of Narragansett, didn’t hurt either.
Much of the crowd lost interest in the sharp end of the race when it became a foregone conclusion less than half way though that Driscoll was going to win again (his 7th in 9 Verge series races this year). The attention of many spectators turned to the double uphill barriers which were conveniently located adjacent to the beer stand. On the first lap, while still in heavy traffic in the middle of the field, Adam Snyder (3-D Racing) bunny hopped the barriers and Michael Patrick (Bike Barn) would start soon thereafter. As the announcer, I got a little carried away by the excitement and offered a $5 prime for every successful bunny hop for the remainder of the race. I tried to convince Joel Brown who was also on the mic to match me, but he wouldn’t pony up the dough. I realized he might be more smart than cheap so I put a $50 limit on the total primes I was going to pay out of my own pocket just in case everyone in the race started doing it. Fortunately for me, no one else did and there were only four laps left. To the delight of the crowd assembled on both sides of the barriers and half way around the carousel, Snyder and Patrick successfully completed four bunny hops each to claim $40 of my money between them. It was totally worth it.
Here is Adam Myerson the first time over the barriers Sunday, followed by Keough, Spinelli, Driscoll, and O'Keefe:
A few feet further down the course and one lap later, Spinelli, Keough and Myerson:
Here is the winner, Driscoll, followed by Dillon on the same lap:
When the race was over, it would be Justin Spinelli who would take second, followed just seconds later by St John, Myerson, and Keough. That result gave Keough top place in the under 23 category again. Jerome Townsend (Ridley) would be second in the U23 with Will Dugan third (RGM/Sachs).
The Women’s Elite race on Saturday was a two women race from early on. The locals tried to will Rebecca Wellons (Ridley) (the Verge series leader since the previous week in Sterling) into the lead group but it wasn’t quite enough. The dynamic duo of Laura Van Gilder (C3 Sollay) and Natasha Elliot (EMD Serono/Stevens) would escape the rest of the field both days. On day one they were together until the final sprint and, as expected, the more experienced and road savvy sprinter, Van Gilder didn’t have much trouble outsprinting Elliot who had been leading the two throughout the 45 minute long race, at least whenever we could see them from the start/finish area. On day two the announcer (me) predicted that the more technical nature of the snowy course would favor Elliot since they seemed to be evenly matched on the power-heavy first day. As per usual, I was way off and Van Gilder actually rode away from Elliot in the first half of the race. Again on Day 2, it looked like Wellons might be able to grind a bigger gear (as she seems to do) and bridge up, but it didn’t happen this time either. She proved again, however, that she is the fastest and most consistent of the locals and not far from the top level of national caliber riders. Sally Annis (NEBC) isn’t far behind either as evidenced by fourth and fifth places, trading spots with Anna Milkowski (Velo Bella Kona) Saturday and Sunday.
Luke Keough held a slim 10 point lead in the Verge series going into this final weekend with Manny Goguen (Minuteman Road Club) right behind. Luke has been winning the races he has been at, but he missed several races while in Europe this fall. Consistency is rewarded in this series because there is no provision for throwing out a low score or a missed race. They all count and Goguen has been consistent. Still, he had his work cut out for him trying to match Keough who has been focusing on achieving top form for a trip back to Europe for a couple of World Cup races followed by the World Championships at the end of January. Luke road away on Day 1. Manny was able to hang on longer on Day 2 but had a crash heading onto the beach that cost him considerable time and the contest was over after that. Luke retained the series title.
Some random notes and observations from the other races:
Jim Tosca (Corner Cycle) won the Men Cat 2/3 Day 1, but DNFed Day 2. I never did find out what happened but he had been at or near the lead through the first half of the race. Suddenly he was gone. He still won the Verge series for the season. Here is Tosca on the far right with the rest of the 2/3 at the start:
Dylan McNicholas, who was second in the Men 2/3 right behind Tosca on Day 1, was leading the race Sunday with a gap heading toward the long beach run with about a quarter of a lap remaining. But he didn’t come off the beach with the lead. James Patterson (Roselong.com) came into view first after the run up followed by Colin Reuter (IBC/crossresults.com). Jeremy Dunn (Embrocation) would follow before McNicholas was seen. When McNicholas came onto the pavement for the finishing stretch in fourth place, it was clear that a flat rear tire had cost him 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.
The women from the Minuteman Road Club had a great Women’s B race taking the top three places both days with Anna Barensfeld (1st and 1st), Christina Tamilio (3rd and 2nd), and Allison Snooks (2nd and 3rd).
In fact, between the Goguens, the B women, and all of the guys in the races, MRC is one powerful bike racing club!
Speaking of the MRC, did you know that Jurga is Polish for “don’t go so slow”. Yell it whenever he goes by.
The battle for U15 supremacy ended with Nate Morse (CLNoonan) crashing out with less than a lap to go clearing the way for Curtis White (Capital Bike Racing). A nine race series where they alternated victories every weekend came down to the last half lap.
Little Didi (the devil) and the Gorilla were back doing their thing. Apparently they have been recruited by the Capital Bike Racing Club based on their colors. It’s good to know that Satan likes ‘cross. It’s no surprise that a gorilla would be a ‘cross fanatic. The guy in the green body suit kind of freaks me out.
CTodd is a better bike racer than he is a musician. And he is a damn fine musician. Thanks for the tune CTodd, it is on the iPod forever now.
I am really glad Richard Fries went to Portland this weekend. I had a blast filling in for him. Most of you crossers don’t know me because the only cross races that I have announced at in previous years are the two days in Plymouth but I do the announcing for about 18 road races a year. I hadn’t raced cross in about 12 years until this year so most of you haven’t seen me racing either (that’s probably for the best, I don’t want to lose your respect that easily, I really suck).
I race cross vicariously more and more via the internet these days, I think it is helping a little. It certainly is helping my announcing. However, I need to remember that it’s a one way conversation. I walked up to Colin Reuter and started asking questions like I had known him for years. He said, “Sorry, do I know you?”. Oops, not really, but I love what you have done with crossresults.com, not to mention your blog and the seatpost camera. Besides, I have the microphone of invincibility in my hand, it doesn't matter if you know me. I’ll be at Ice Weasels. Especially if it snows.
Due to the mud on Sunday, Colin turned the seatpost cam into a handlebar cam. Can’t wait to see what I missed out there. I tried to get on camera once near the start/finish line but I didn’t want to impede Colin’s progress while he was in 2nd place so I don’t know if I made it into the field of view.
I think I figured out which one GeWilli is, and at the same time figured out who the guy in the orange jump suit is. Two birds….
Are bikereg.com and crossresults.com not what the internet was created for?
As it got dark after the races (and a couple of beers) I managed to get my bike out of the truck and get a couple of laps on the course. The only problem was that the crew were in the middle of the change over from Day 1 to Day 2 so there was tape across the old course and no indication yet where to go for the new one. It was still a blast even in street shoes. Neutral support Mark was even kind enough to heckle me. "Don't go so slow!!"
We need more beer tents. Frites would be nice too, avec sauce.
Microsoft spell check recognizes avec as a real word, it’s really only French.
I’ll buy Richard’s plane ticket to Portland next year if I have to to work this race again.
I was wondering all weekend where the NBX road racing guys (i.e. Lowenstein and Yarbrody) were. Turns out they were marshalling the crossings all day. It’s a UCI regulation that all crossings must be manned although I recall walking wherever and whenever I wanted at Sterling.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I'm Second Fiddle at NBX
It's official, I'll be filling in for Richard Fries this weekend at the NBX races. Richard will be announcing at the USGP in Portland.
It's going to be fun but I probably won't have time for photos or a play by play report of the action if I am going to try to keep up the pace that Richard does. That's going to take a lot of coffee. I usually take a much mellower approach to announcing than Richard. We worked together on a charity ride this spring. We kept the banter going back and forth long enough at Richard's usual pace for the ride organizer to tell us to shut up for a while. It was only 6:30 AM, I don't blame him.
If anyone wants to be the startfinishbikenews correspondent for the day, I would be happy to post your story and/or pictures. Just email them to me at paulnix54@comcast.net.
It's going to be fun but I probably won't have time for photos or a play by play report of the action if I am going to try to keep up the pace that Richard does. That's going to take a lot of coffee. I usually take a much mellower approach to announcing than Richard. We worked together on a charity ride this spring. We kept the banter going back and forth long enough at Richard's usual pace for the ride organizer to tell us to shut up for a while. It was only 6:30 AM, I don't blame him.
If anyone wants to be the startfinishbikenews correspondent for the day, I would be happy to post your story and/or pictures. Just email them to me at paulnix54@comcast.net.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Bay State Cyclocross - Sterling, Mass
Like a fine wine or beer, a fine cyclocross course has some basic elements that must be there, and some subtle tastes that set it apart from the rest. The essential elements in ‘cross include grass, mud, tricky corners, barriers that require dismounting (being a traditionalist and lacking the skills myself, I view the bunny hop as an impurity in the sport), and hills that are too steep to ride. To the basic elements course designer and sponsor Tom "the Steamboat" Stevens added some off-camber on the corners, drop offs that led to barely ridable climbs (depending on the traffic conditions and the ambient temperature), a natural barrier that looks like it belongs in the Grand National (the famous steeplechase horse race near Liverpool, England), and a dirt track hole shot that changed character completely throughout the day. Then, Mother Nature added a few ice patches overnight to make sure things stayed interesting.
The day started with 99% frozen conditions for the Cat 4 race at 8:30 AM. With the sun up for less than two hours at that point, the ruts on the dirt running track that is used for the starting holeshot, and incorporated in every lap, were frozen solid and could grab a tire and suddenly redirect a bicycle either left or right from its intended path. That can be an uncomfortable thing when vieing for position elbow to elbow with almost 70 entry level 'cross racers. All of the day's races were intended to do 2 laps on this track before hitting the grass for the first time but, as it turned out, the Cat 4s were the only ones that did. Bikes and riders were weaving i nthe ruts in every direction as the Cat 4s got up to speed and the more experienced road racers (like myself) had their elbows out to protect the bars in the bumper pool of the opening laps. There seemed to be a couple of small mishaps but what felt like a cautiously slow initial pace made these laps a great opportunity for those with confidence to ride from open space to open space and gain important places before the grass.
I loved the 2 lap promenade/hole shot and used my long dormant criterium boxing skills to maximum advantage to gain quite a few places after starting in the second to last row (and I pre-registered for this one!). Then came the first grass sections with a big crowd still together. Everyone cleared the first turn, but the next two turns around the backboard were tighter and one of the few places with some slick mud at this early hour. After one guy close to the front blew it, traffic backed up and it became faster to shoulder the bike and run unless you were extremely lucky. Then came the big run up and another opportunity for carnage. It wasn’t too bad once the crowd got sorted, but on the first lap when your line is pretty much dictated by the traffic around you, you’re likely to end up finding some ice that you didn’t know was there (especially if you didn’t get to the race in time to pre-ride the whole course, d’oh). Local bike shops (like race sponsor Gear Works Cyclery) might want to stock up for an increase in demand for shoes with toe spikes after this one because they sure would have helped. After the big run up, the course drops into a sweeping right hand turn that was fast but stable on the frozen white grass. Later races, including the elites, would see most riders unclip the right foot for extra stability on this high speed corner on softened ground but in the morning that wasn’t necessary. Then the steeple chase dismount was followed by a series of switchback turns with just enough change in elevation to penalize those that were in too big of a gear. Then it was onto the power sections of the course where a short paved section led to the pit. More kudos to Tom Stevens for locating the pit Euro style. In other words, one pit that could be accessed twice each lap at approximately equal intervals. There must be a UCI rule for that but it doesn't happen often in the local races.
Bill Kenney (Bike Barn Racing) led the race almost from the start to the finish and won it with a comfortable lead. Gladly, I can no longer call Bill the "Raymond Poulidor of Cat 4 ‘cross" (i.e. the perpetual 2nd place finisher) now that he has won one. He might have one or two more in him this season before the rest of the field starts muttering “sandbagger” when they see him on the start lines. If you are interested, I almost made my goal of finishing in the top half of the field, and likely would have if not for a couple of crashes on ice that I should have identified during the pre-ride. It was another positive step on my road back from retirement, but I am still a better announcer than a racer. If three paragraphs about a Cat 4 race isn't enough for you, check out this website that I stumbled across toaday for another perspective: http://www.cyclingobsessions.com/.
The Masters 55 were set off on their promenade laps/hole shot, but before they got more than a few yards past the start line there had been a serious accident. When the officials realized that those that went down weren’t going to be out of the way before the field came around to complete the first lap of the promenade, they neutralized the race. The ambulance was brought in for the one rider unable to get up. I did not see what happened but I heard later that a rider who crashed had broken a vertebrae and would be spending the night (at least) at the UMass Medical Center. After the ambulance was clear, the race was re-staged and there must have been some anxious thoughts on the line after seeing one of their own seriously injured. The promenade/hole shot was shortened to one partial lap from this race on. Dusty Adams (Mosaic) rode away from the rest of the field for the win by almost a minute.
The Cat 3/4 Masters 35 and 45 were sent out just a couple of minutes behind the 55s. By this time the sun had turned much of the frozen-solid mud into liquid mud, especially on the dirt track. After 40 minutes of racing their faces were covered in grey mud from the track like they had been made up to play Death in The Seventh Seal. When it was over, Micheal McKittrick (Cambridge Bicycle) won by ten seconds. You can get all the details that I missed from Mr. McKittrick himself at http://cbracing.bostonbiker.org/?cat=4.
The next race featured guys of the same age, only faster, in the Masters Cat 1,2,3 race. With Mark McCormack (Fuji) (a former National Champion), Johnny Bold (Corner Cycle) (Verge points series leader, 35 plus), Kevin Hines (Corner Cycle) (current Verge points series leader, 45 plus) and the rest of the cream of the crop for guys over 35, this was going to be a barn burner. At about this time, I ran into Mr. Dick Ring (the “Voice of New England Bike Racing”) and unfortunately paid little attention to the rest of the race (hey, it’s only a blog, if you want journalism (and the proper use of commas) check Velonews!). I can tell you that Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo) beat Johnny Bold in a tight finish. Three of Bold's Corner Cycle teammates followed: Mark Stotz, Kevin Hines, and John Mosher. Hines' place gave him the victory for the 45plus and furthered his points lead in the season long Verge series.
Next up were the Juniors under 19, Juniors under 15, and the Cat 3 / 4 Women in separate fields. Luke Keough and Gavin Mannion had a repeat of last year’s match up which, if memory serves correctly, was won by Gavin. This year would be Luke’s year as his form developed while racing in Europe in October and November paid off big time. These two young guys have big plans for the near future: After next week's Verge series wrap up in Rhode Island, they will both be heading off to Kansas City where Gavin will try to take the national championship jersey that Luke will be trying to defend. Then, Gavin heads off to Belgium for Euro cross camp during the holidays followed by a month of racing before the World Championships in Holland on January 31st. Luke, having already done a couple of months in Europe this season, will stay home and get his butt kicked by his brothers to stay in shape, then head over to Europe in mid-January to get a couple of World Cup races in before Worlds. Either of these guys could realistically win the World Junior Cyclocross Championship (Luke is on the left, Gavin the right):
Curtis White (Capital Bicycle) and Nate Morse (CLNoonan) entered the U15 race dead even for the Verge point series lead. By the time their half hour race was complete, it was Curtis who would take the new jersey home by just a few seconds. With Nate picking up the points for second, it is still just a 10 point difference with two races left next weekend.
The Women’s 3/4 race was won by Anna Barensfeld (Minuteman Road Club) as she continues her roll through the Women B races this season. Anna was very generous two weeks ago at Brockton to offer me space to set up a trainer under her pop up tent so I could warm up out of the rain. I have never gotten to a race in time to warm up properly so I never bother to bring the trainer, but thanks for offering, Anna. She is as nice as she is fast. And her teammates at the MRC are pretty good too. They got 4 of the top 6 places in this race.
From here on, I was spectating on borrowed time. My plan was to watch the start of the Killer Bs then head home in time to take care of some domestic duties before dark. But, as usual, I got carried away and stayed the whole day. And there wasn’t even a beer tent!! Fortunately, my Significant Sweetie was happy to have me out of the house for the whole day so I stayed for the rest of the races and called it research for future announcing duties.
The Men 2/3 (aka the Killer Bs) took off with a field of more than 75 including Jim Tosca (Corner Cycle) who was out to pad his lead in the Verge Series. However, Dylan McNicholas(Noreast) (in second place in the series) had other ideas. By this time most of the mud on the track had either dried out or gotten stuck to bikes and riders in the previous races and the course was getting faster. When this one was over, Dylan had about a minute on Tosca for first and second places respectively. Of note, the web guru behind the amazing http://www.crossresults.com/, Colin Reuter (International Bike Center), finished a strong 4th. His web programming skills are almost equaled by his ‘cross skills. Thanks Colin for the great website. You can go directly to the race results on crossresults.com by clicking on the title of this post.
Here is the last half of the swarm the first time up the run up:
Elite Women – The Women’s race became, within the first few minutes, the Mo Bruno Show. She led the field of about 16 around the track from the start with Rebecca Wellons (Ridley) on her wheel and the rest in tow. By the top of the first run up, it was clear that Mo Bruno (MM Racing/Seven Cycles) was probably going to win with only Rebecca within striking distance. An interesting battle for third developed with Amy Wallace (RGM/Sachs), Sally Annis (NEBC), and Cris Rothfuss (NEBC).
The day started with 99% frozen conditions for the Cat 4 race at 8:30 AM. With the sun up for less than two hours at that point, the ruts on the dirt running track that is used for the starting holeshot, and incorporated in every lap, were frozen solid and could grab a tire and suddenly redirect a bicycle either left or right from its intended path. That can be an uncomfortable thing when vieing for position elbow to elbow with almost 70 entry level 'cross racers. All of the day's races were intended to do 2 laps on this track before hitting the grass for the first time but, as it turned out, the Cat 4s were the only ones that did. Bikes and riders were weaving i nthe ruts in every direction as the Cat 4s got up to speed and the more experienced road racers (like myself) had their elbows out to protect the bars in the bumper pool of the opening laps. There seemed to be a couple of small mishaps but what felt like a cautiously slow initial pace made these laps a great opportunity for those with confidence to ride from open space to open space and gain important places before the grass.
I loved the 2 lap promenade/hole shot and used my long dormant criterium boxing skills to maximum advantage to gain quite a few places after starting in the second to last row (and I pre-registered for this one!). Then came the first grass sections with a big crowd still together. Everyone cleared the first turn, but the next two turns around the backboard were tighter and one of the few places with some slick mud at this early hour. After one guy close to the front blew it, traffic backed up and it became faster to shoulder the bike and run unless you were extremely lucky. Then came the big run up and another opportunity for carnage. It wasn’t too bad once the crowd got sorted, but on the first lap when your line is pretty much dictated by the traffic around you, you’re likely to end up finding some ice that you didn’t know was there (especially if you didn’t get to the race in time to pre-ride the whole course, d’oh). Local bike shops (like race sponsor Gear Works Cyclery) might want to stock up for an increase in demand for shoes with toe spikes after this one because they sure would have helped. After the big run up, the course drops into a sweeping right hand turn that was fast but stable on the frozen white grass. Later races, including the elites, would see most riders unclip the right foot for extra stability on this high speed corner on softened ground but in the morning that wasn’t necessary. Then the steeple chase dismount was followed by a series of switchback turns with just enough change in elevation to penalize those that were in too big of a gear. Then it was onto the power sections of the course where a short paved section led to the pit. More kudos to Tom Stevens for locating the pit Euro style. In other words, one pit that could be accessed twice each lap at approximately equal intervals. There must be a UCI rule for that but it doesn't happen often in the local races.
Bill Kenney (Bike Barn Racing) led the race almost from the start to the finish and won it with a comfortable lead. Gladly, I can no longer call Bill the "Raymond Poulidor of Cat 4 ‘cross" (i.e. the perpetual 2nd place finisher) now that he has won one. He might have one or two more in him this season before the rest of the field starts muttering “sandbagger” when they see him on the start lines. If you are interested, I almost made my goal of finishing in the top half of the field, and likely would have if not for a couple of crashes on ice that I should have identified during the pre-ride. It was another positive step on my road back from retirement, but I am still a better announcer than a racer. If three paragraphs about a Cat 4 race isn't enough for you, check out this website that I stumbled across toaday for another perspective: http://www.cyclingobsessions.com/.
The Masters 55 were set off on their promenade laps/hole shot, but before they got more than a few yards past the start line there had been a serious accident. When the officials realized that those that went down weren’t going to be out of the way before the field came around to complete the first lap of the promenade, they neutralized the race. The ambulance was brought in for the one rider unable to get up. I did not see what happened but I heard later that a rider who crashed had broken a vertebrae and would be spending the night (at least) at the UMass Medical Center. After the ambulance was clear, the race was re-staged and there must have been some anxious thoughts on the line after seeing one of their own seriously injured. The promenade/hole shot was shortened to one partial lap from this race on. Dusty Adams (Mosaic) rode away from the rest of the field for the win by almost a minute.
The Cat 3/4 Masters 35 and 45 were sent out just a couple of minutes behind the 55s. By this time the sun had turned much of the frozen-solid mud into liquid mud, especially on the dirt track. After 40 minutes of racing their faces were covered in grey mud from the track like they had been made up to play Death in The Seventh Seal. When it was over, Micheal McKittrick (Cambridge Bicycle) won by ten seconds. You can get all the details that I missed from Mr. McKittrick himself at http://cbracing.bostonbiker.org/?cat=4.
The next race featured guys of the same age, only faster, in the Masters Cat 1,2,3 race. With Mark McCormack (Fuji) (a former National Champion), Johnny Bold (Corner Cycle) (Verge points series leader, 35 plus), Kevin Hines (Corner Cycle) (current Verge points series leader, 45 plus) and the rest of the cream of the crop for guys over 35, this was going to be a barn burner. At about this time, I ran into Mr. Dick Ring (the “Voice of New England Bike Racing”) and unfortunately paid little attention to the rest of the race (hey, it’s only a blog, if you want journalism (and the proper use of commas) check Velonews!). I can tell you that Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo) beat Johnny Bold in a tight finish. Three of Bold's Corner Cycle teammates followed: Mark Stotz, Kevin Hines, and John Mosher. Hines' place gave him the victory for the 45plus and furthered his points lead in the season long Verge series.
Next up were the Juniors under 19, Juniors under 15, and the Cat 3 / 4 Women in separate fields. Luke Keough and Gavin Mannion had a repeat of last year’s match up which, if memory serves correctly, was won by Gavin. This year would be Luke’s year as his form developed while racing in Europe in October and November paid off big time. These two young guys have big plans for the near future: After next week's Verge series wrap up in Rhode Island, they will both be heading off to Kansas City where Gavin will try to take the national championship jersey that Luke will be trying to defend. Then, Gavin heads off to Belgium for Euro cross camp during the holidays followed by a month of racing before the World Championships in Holland on January 31st. Luke, having already done a couple of months in Europe this season, will stay home and get his butt kicked by his brothers to stay in shape, then head over to Europe in mid-January to get a couple of World Cup races in before Worlds. Either of these guys could realistically win the World Junior Cyclocross Championship (Luke is on the left, Gavin the right):
Curtis White (Capital Bicycle) and Nate Morse (CLNoonan) entered the U15 race dead even for the Verge point series lead. By the time their half hour race was complete, it was Curtis who would take the new jersey home by just a few seconds. With Nate picking up the points for second, it is still just a 10 point difference with two races left next weekend.
The Women’s 3/4 race was won by Anna Barensfeld (Minuteman Road Club) as she continues her roll through the Women B races this season. Anna was very generous two weeks ago at Brockton to offer me space to set up a trainer under her pop up tent so I could warm up out of the rain. I have never gotten to a race in time to warm up properly so I never bother to bring the trainer, but thanks for offering, Anna. She is as nice as she is fast. And her teammates at the MRC are pretty good too. They got 4 of the top 6 places in this race.
From here on, I was spectating on borrowed time. My plan was to watch the start of the Killer Bs then head home in time to take care of some domestic duties before dark. But, as usual, I got carried away and stayed the whole day. And there wasn’t even a beer tent!! Fortunately, my Significant Sweetie was happy to have me out of the house for the whole day so I stayed for the rest of the races and called it research for future announcing duties.
The Men 2/3 (aka the Killer Bs) took off with a field of more than 75 including Jim Tosca (Corner Cycle) who was out to pad his lead in the Verge Series. However, Dylan McNicholas(Noreast) (in second place in the series) had other ideas. By this time most of the mud on the track had either dried out or gotten stuck to bikes and riders in the previous races and the course was getting faster. When this one was over, Dylan had about a minute on Tosca for first and second places respectively. Of note, the web guru behind the amazing http://www.crossresults.com/, Colin Reuter (International Bike Center), finished a strong 4th. His web programming skills are almost equaled by his ‘cross skills. Thanks Colin for the great website. You can go directly to the race results on crossresults.com by clicking on the title of this post.
Here is the last half of the swarm the first time up the run up:
Elite Women – The Women’s race became, within the first few minutes, the Mo Bruno Show. She led the field of about 16 around the track from the start with Rebecca Wellons (Ridley) on her wheel and the rest in tow. By the top of the first run up, it was clear that Mo Bruno (MM Racing/Seven Cycles) was probably going to win with only Rebecca within striking distance. An interesting battle for third developed with Amy Wallace (RGM/Sachs), Sally Annis (NEBC), and Cris Rothfuss (NEBC).
With Verge series leader Amy Dombrowski not in attendance and Wellons and Bruno only a few points behind in second and third places, a new Verge Series leader was going to be crowned. Wellons started the day 33 points ahead of Bruno, so a second place finish would secure her the series lead even if Bruno won, at least until next week.
Mo combined smooth skills and strength to power away and built on her lead very lap. Rebecca had no problem holding on to second place while her two road racing teammates from NEBC tried to figure out how to stay ahead of Amy Wallace. Wallace seemed to have a bit of an advantage on the technical pieces. With about a half lap to go, Amy managed to ride the short but steep and slippery climb coming out of the barriers while the NEBC duo had to stop and run losing 30 yards in the blink of an eye. But in the end Wallace could only stay ahead of Cris Rothfuss while Sally Annis passed Wallace in the last half lap and got away for third place.
Here is Mo Bruno alone on the run up a few laps into the race, I think she is smiling:
With Keough gone and no one in sight, Driscoll even had enough confidence to start going for extra air off the big drop off at the top of the course the final two laps. Spinelli and White moved past Keough into second and third, then Dillon and Myerson went past for fourth and fifth. Soon after, Dugan and two other U23s from collegiate teams also went past Keough to take him out of the podium spots for the U23 race. It stayed about like that until the end except that Matt White outsprinted Spinelli to take second place at the line.
A visit to the Keough’s family compound on wheels after the race revealed that Nick had aggravated an injury from a crash that happened the previous weekend and was basically pedaling with one leg during the last half of the race. Let’s hope he is feeling good in time for nationals in two weeks. It's a good thing 19 year olds bounce back fast.
Mo combined smooth skills and strength to power away and built on her lead very lap. Rebecca had no problem holding on to second place while her two road racing teammates from NEBC tried to figure out how to stay ahead of Amy Wallace. Wallace seemed to have a bit of an advantage on the technical pieces. With about a half lap to go, Amy managed to ride the short but steep and slippery climb coming out of the barriers while the NEBC duo had to stop and run losing 30 yards in the blink of an eye. But in the end Wallace could only stay ahead of Cris Rothfuss while Sally Annis passed Wallace in the last half lap and got away for third place.
Here is Mo Bruno alone on the run up a few laps into the race, I think she is smiling:
Here is second place finisher and Verge point series leader Rebecca Wellons, not smiling:
Elite Men – Nick Keough (Jittery Joes/Sonic) came into the race leading the Verge series for the U23 with Jamie Driscoll (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld) leading the series for the open age group. Those two were called up to the front row followed by Adam Myserson (Cycle-Smart), Matt White (Bikereg/Joes Garage) and most of the cream of the crop in New England cyclocross. I don’t know if he has always done this or if it is something he learned while racing in Europe earlier this season, but Adam Myerson was intently watching the UCI Commisaire to his right until she blew the whistle for the start. Maybe he was even watching for her to inhale to get a split advantage. Adam was making sure he wasn't going to be caught off guard while everyone else was passively waiting to hear the whistle. That’s PRO!! Sorry, Jazzy, if I just gave away your secret weapon.
Once the whistle blew, Nick Keough, Matt O’Keefe (CCB/Volkswagen) and Adam Myerson led the pack into the first turns on the grass. Jamey Driscoll hovered a few places behind after getting a slow start and did not show his jersey on the lead during the first couple of laps. Maybe all the Cannondale guys have this, but Driscoll is the first bike racer I have seen with his name across the shoulders of his skinsuit. It's part of the design, not just sewn on.
Race announcer Richard Fries, who never seems to run out of ways to describe the action, pointed out that Driscoll is typically not a fast starter. But however long it takes him, he usually finds his way to the front as evidenced by his 4 wins in 6 Verge series races so far this year. In fact, the only races he hasn’t won were two days in Gloucester when Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson were in town. Only those two riders and Jesse Anthony have placed higher than Jamey Driscoll in any Verge series race this year.
Within two laps Driscoll had made his way to the front and the only one that could stay with him was Nick Keough who had been leading the race so far. Keough even put a gap on Driscoll for a breif time. O’Keefe, Myerson, White, Justin Spinelli (RGM/Sachs), and Josh Dillon (Fiordifrutta) remained in contention through the first half of the race while Will Dugan (RGM/Sachs) was a bit further back in second place for the U23s after Keough. At about the half way point, Keough, who is just 19 years old, suddenly lost the mojo that had helped him hang with the fastest cross racer in the Verge series. It was clear that either he had over extended himself riding with Driscoll or something was wrong. As the race announcers would soon say, it looked like he had withdrawn too much from the bank and was now paying the price with interest. But a lap or so later it was clear that Nick was not just “doing the slide" after a hot start.
As Nick drifted further back from Driscoll and continued to lose speed, Spinelli powered himself and White into 2nd and 3rd places. Dugan was closing the gap to Keough very quickly with eyes on grabbing the U23 victory. It was excruciating to watch Keough soldier on not knowing what was wrong. Not even Diabolito (aka little Didi) could make a deal that would bring Nick Keough back:
Once the whistle blew, Nick Keough, Matt O’Keefe (CCB/Volkswagen) and Adam Myerson led the pack into the first turns on the grass. Jamey Driscoll hovered a few places behind after getting a slow start and did not show his jersey on the lead during the first couple of laps. Maybe all the Cannondale guys have this, but Driscoll is the first bike racer I have seen with his name across the shoulders of his skinsuit. It's part of the design, not just sewn on.
Race announcer Richard Fries, who never seems to run out of ways to describe the action, pointed out that Driscoll is typically not a fast starter. But however long it takes him, he usually finds his way to the front as evidenced by his 4 wins in 6 Verge series races so far this year. In fact, the only races he hasn’t won were two days in Gloucester when Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson were in town. Only those two riders and Jesse Anthony have placed higher than Jamey Driscoll in any Verge series race this year.
Within two laps Driscoll had made his way to the front and the only one that could stay with him was Nick Keough who had been leading the race so far. Keough even put a gap on Driscoll for a breif time. O’Keefe, Myerson, White, Justin Spinelli (RGM/Sachs), and Josh Dillon (Fiordifrutta) remained in contention through the first half of the race while Will Dugan (RGM/Sachs) was a bit further back in second place for the U23s after Keough. At about the half way point, Keough, who is just 19 years old, suddenly lost the mojo that had helped him hang with the fastest cross racer in the Verge series. It was clear that either he had over extended himself riding with Driscoll or something was wrong. As the race announcers would soon say, it looked like he had withdrawn too much from the bank and was now paying the price with interest. But a lap or so later it was clear that Nick was not just “doing the slide" after a hot start.
As Nick drifted further back from Driscoll and continued to lose speed, Spinelli powered himself and White into 2nd and 3rd places. Dugan was closing the gap to Keough very quickly with eyes on grabbing the U23 victory. It was excruciating to watch Keough soldier on not knowing what was wrong. Not even Diabolito (aka little Didi) could make a deal that would bring Nick Keough back:
With Keough gone and no one in sight, Driscoll even had enough confidence to start going for extra air off the big drop off at the top of the course the final two laps. Spinelli and White moved past Keough into second and third, then Dillon and Myerson went past for fourth and fifth. Soon after, Dugan and two other U23s from collegiate teams also went past Keough to take him out of the podium spots for the U23 race. It stayed about like that until the end except that Matt White outsprinted Spinelli to take second place at the line.
A visit to the Keough’s family compound on wheels after the race revealed that Nick had aggravated an injury from a crash that happened the previous weekend and was basically pedaling with one leg during the last half of the race. Let’s hope he is feeling good in time for nationals in two weeks. It's a good thing 19 year olds bounce back fast.
Here is Jamey Driscoll and his porn star mustache in a post race interview with Richard Fries where he said “I had to ride himself cross eyed to drop” Nick Keough:
Next week is the finale of the Verge series in Warwick, Rhode Island. It isn't quite confirmed yet, but it looks like I'll be doing the announcing subbing for Richard Fries who will be busy at the races out in Portland, Oregon next weekend. Stop by and say hello if you have read this blog. Sunday, November 16, 2008
Marciano/Kerouac Cyclocross Weekend
I had no race announcing duties scheduled this weekend, so I had time to do a little racing myself. I decided I was only going to one race so I had to choose between Brockton on Saturday or Lowell on Sunday. How to choose?
As you may know, both cities are a little bit past their respective industrial primes (not pronounced preems in this context) and both cities apparently have not seen a new home town hero come along in some time. My apologies if I am forgetting something more recent, but Brockton was the hometown of world champion boxer Rocky Marciano, and Lowell was the home of "beat generation" writer Jack Kerouac. A little wikipedia research revealed that they both lived from 1922 to 1969. Both were in their primes in the 50's, long before cyclocross came to town. But which man would have been the better bike racer? Sentimentally, I want to say Kerouac and he had the build for it. But he smoked and drank like a bike messenger. Rocky Marciano was an athlete, but had too much upper body to be a great bike racer. Based on the quotes below, the smart money would be on Marciano.
I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion. - Kerouac
I have always adhered to two principles. The first one is to train hard and get in the best possible physical condition. The second is to forget all about the other fellow until you face him in the ring and the bell sounds for the fight. - Marciano
In the end, I chose Brockton because it is closer to home by about a half tank of gas and I stayed home Sunday to get some chores done.
This was the fourth year that Travis Cycles has put on the Brockton race but I hadn't been before. Word on the street was that it was a small time race and the course wasn't that good and riders would be wise not to use their expensive tires. But no longer. This year Travis Cycles asked local guru Mark McCormack to design a new course for then. and everyone this year had rave reviews for Markie's new route around the lake.
It started on the paved road and, after a quick grass section with a muddy run up, went onto a paved but bumpy bike trail. After a couple of dirt trail sections and a grass switchback or two, the remainder of the course alternated between sections of the paved road and soft but non-technical trails. If not for the recent wet weather, this would have been a very fast course. Even I used the big ring the whole time. The total elevation change on the course was probably not more than 20 feet. A lap took the good guys a little less than 8 minutes.
The first race of the day was the Cat 4 men. About 26 riders took the line and those that started fast stayed fast and won the race. Bill Kenney and Jacob Morrison led the field into the first grass section after a few hundred yards of sprinting off the line, and they stayed together at the front throughout the race. 3 laps later, Morrison led out of the last single track along the lake and onto the final 40 yards of pavement to the finish line. The finish was close, but Morrison held onto a half bike length lead to take the win. Here is a photo of Morrison about half way through the race:
Here's second place finisher Bill and his teammate Andy recovering after the race (Bill is on the right with severe helmet head):
This guy (whose name I didn't catch) came in sixth place on this beast of a bike:
Apparently, the Surly Pugsley is made for some kind of survivalist post-apocalyptic psycho bike racing done on snow and deep sand. Note the single cog on the front wheel. The owner told me he can put the front wheel on the back and run the bike as a single speed in case the rear axle breaks, which he says has happened to him a couple of times. Maybe that wouldn't happen if the bike didn't weigh about 40 pounds (before adding all the mud). He beat about 19 others in the race with this machine, but I wouldn't want to have to carry it up a run up. The flat muddy course today must have worked in his favor.The women and juniors lined up next. Unfortunately, there were only three of each so there wasn't much competition. Anna Barensfeld won the women's race while Emily Curley was the fastest young women and Julie Lockhart was the fastest of the masters. I didn't catch names of the junior riders and without access to the start lists or results, I can't even make up a good story, sorry.
The Masters 45-plus were next. Paul Curley won it, but I didn't see much of the race as I had to get ready for the 35-plus race. And when I got to the start line I regretted not doing the Cat 4 race earlier because I found myself behind Markie, Kevin Hines, and 6 others who all looked fast. Alan Atwood blew the start whistle and Markie and Kevin were out of site in no time. It's hard to hide when there are only nine guys in the race, so I took my position of shame at the tail end of the train and tried to stay on the wheel in front of me as long as possible. It lasted about a lap before the two guys from Minuteman Road Club slipped away. From then on, it was either keep riding hard and hope someone would crack and let me catch up, or just try to keep from getting lapped. My lower back made the decision for me within the next lap as everything tightened up and I couldn't ride hard. I was doing ok with the not getting lapped part of the plan for a couple more laps, but Hines shot past me on the fourth lap and was out of site again in no time. Holy crap, doesn't that mean he is doing the laps about 2 minutes faster than me? Next up was Markie a few minutes later. He says "Having fun yet?" as he goes by. I wasn't sure so I just said yeah. Besides, a longer answer would have taken more than one breath and Markie was gone too quick for that. The good news is now I have not 2, but just 1 lap left. I finished it uneventfully and made sure that I did have some fun while I was out there. That's when I realized that it's a fun course if you aren't suffering too badly.
Almost immediately after the 35-plus race ended, the skies opened and everyone except for the poor souls who had dished out their $30 to race the Cat 1,2,3 headed for shelter. Sorry, but I wasn't sticking around in the cold rain to watch all 5 or 6 of them come around every 8 minutes or so.
I'll be back for this race next year, but I'm doing the Cat 4 race. The new course is a lot of fun but I would suggest dropping the entry fee a little bit and putting a few signs out on the road leading to the race.
If anyone has anything to add, please leave a comment.
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