The Housatonic Blues

Housatonic Road Race
June 18 2011
Masters 50+
45 starters
80 degrees Humid
27 mile hilly loop X2-54 miles

Housatonic is one of the iconic races on the NE calendar.
I have never raced it, but always wanted to. This year, since the form is good, the weight is down, it was time.
It is a really hilly 27 mile loop, done twice that really sorts out the riders, or so I have heard.
The bad news is the start time was 9:15 and Southbury CT is 3:30 drive from my house, which meant the alarm went off at 4 and my groggy ass was out the door at 430.
Bike racing is grand sometimes, like at 430 in the morning, when everyone else is asleep, you wish you were, and yet there you are loading bike crap in the car, most everyone you know, that is not a rider, thinking what a nut job you are as you toil silently in the dark.
All was going according to schedule until I neared Chester, VT. Bridge closed. Detour. OK then, lost about 20 minutes. Like any veteran rider and traveler, I build a bit extra time into my planning, so not a big worry at this point.
 Down down south I go, into Mass where at least the radio stations are a lot better and there are more than 3 to choose from. Sun is up and I am waking up, so that is a good thing. The funny thing is this is considered a BIG drive by NE racing standards and yet this is about the same time and distance that I used to drive at least twice a month, Casper to Denver to race, back in the day. That seemed like not a big deal, this seems like a LONG way.
Into CT, getting closer and the legs are feeling really saucy, or not, then, round a corner about 10 miles from the start and oops, left lane closed on I-84 and a long line of traffic stretched in front of me barely moving. Not good. Tick tock, tick tock. Now I am watching the time slip by, as we slowly exit the interstate, then wind for a few miles in a long line through some Southington CT backroads. The guy in front of me is apparently really late as he is on his phone, waving his arms about and generally looking like he is about to orbit inside his car. Could be worse I suppose.
 Lose almost 30 minutes and now sweating it a bit, finally free and back on the highway and heading in. Arrive at the S/F and wow look at the line for registration! Perfect. Finally out of there, stick on number in hand, about 30 minutes till my start and man, I need the portables in a bad way. Wow, look at the line for those! Maybe 40 riders deep, 6 potties.Perfect. Standing, waiting, sweating. Hopping on one foot with all kinds of interior pressures mounting.
 Finally and I mean finally, in and out, quick to the car, dressed, pump up the tires, mix the drinks, stick on the number! no pins! wow, this is living.
On the bike about 10 minutes till the start, feeling not really in any kind of groove to bike race, but what the hell, time to go.
Line up, visit with some old friends at the start line and we are off. Up the big climb neutral then turn us loose. I had already decided I was going to race this one really aggressive as the field was really stacked and I hoped the John Funks of this race would watch each other and let me get up the road. Ah, what a plan!
Two miles into the race, we crest the neutral hill, start down a descent and OOPS,the chain throws to the outside. No worries, I have raced a long time, it ain't my first rodeo and it ain't my first chain throw. Pedal gently, shift to the small ring and get it back on. No problem eh? Except it did not go back on, it jammed, I could not pedal forward or back. No amount of shifting or pedaling could free the linked beast.
Fuck. Only word to describe it. Have to stop and fix it. Pull over, get off and quickly try and get it back on. Jammed chains can be a real bitch sometimes and this one looked like one of those rope tricks that has all those knots in it and it looks like no way they will come out. My chain actually had a couple of loops in it. How the hell does that happen? I mean really. WTF. I yanked and pulled and miraculously it was on and straight. That was the good news. The bad news is I had lost maybe 2 minutes. It seemed like more maybe an hour or so, but in reality was maybe 2 minutes. On the bike, full and I mean full gas and chasing. I can do this. I need some help from the field, some PIANO and I can do this. I see them on the top of a rise ahead, some hope there, but christ it took me forever to get up said hill and that would be the last time I saw them. I chased and chased and chased. No PIANO on this day, apparently.
Eventually, my lower back began to ache, a sign of nearly an hour in full TT mode, crunched low on the bike, to no avail. I reached the S/F area, turned to start lap 2 and asked the marshall how far ahead was the field. He said I did not want to know. OK then, my allergies were kicking up and this day has CALL IT written all over.
Back to the car. Kind of weird to be at the car when everyone else is still riding. Sort of an eerie quiet. Oh well, get the hell out of dodge and wait for next time. No worries, it could always have been worse, this time it was just not my day.

Wilmington Whiteface Race Report

Wilmington Whiteface Road Race
June 11 2011
Wilmington NY
53 degrees light rain throughout-just special
Rolling Loop-3 laps 54.9 miles
Master 35-45 combined

Nothing like driving for 2.5 hours in the rain and knowing you are going to race 2.5 hours in the rain. Sigh. Oh well, bike racing ain't always 85 and sunny, that is for sure. I had resigned myself to 'go Belgian' on this day, ie, shuttup, put on the rain stuff, smear the legs with Vaseline and go bike race.
This is a hard little circuit with one major obstacle per lap, a climb of maybe 1 mile that can usually deal out some serious pain depending on the mood of the field. It starts with a 5 mile run to the circuit, then 3 laps, then exit the circuit to return to town and up the final steep 1.5 mile climb to the finish.
We started with a rain reduced(can't blame the no shows) field of maybe 40, 35 and 45's ride together but are scored separate. Riding with the 35's always adds a bit of extra speed to the occasion, no doubt.
Right out of town, a rider bolts the group, typical early suicide move it would seem. Another rider took off shortly before we hit the loop and now we had two out front maybe a minute gap. As the road spray began to really soak into every possible dry spot on the body, the field rode along at a steady pace as a Canadian team took up the front as one of the breakaways was their guy, and they were all about controlling things and they had the numbers to do it. That was going to be the way this race went all day. They rode hard enough to really discourage much action and went after any major break attempts. They did a fine job indeed. Kind of refreshing to see a team actually ride as a team and not just a bunch of guys in the same jersey but on different pages. They had a plan and they were executing it.
Wet roads make for nervous descents. Pucker factor goes up for sure. Lap 2 saw one guy go off and sit out front by 200 meters for quite awhile, then another guy got a gap and now we had two guys just sitting off the front for quite a few miles but not really going anywhere. That all changed as on one of the longer rollers someone really shot off hard, made the bridge to the second guy, they then caught the first guy, forming a group of 3 that began to work and move away from the field. So now we started lap 3 with 2 guys off by about 2 minutes, then 3 riders about a minute ahead, the field itself had been whittled down to about 20 riders through hill attrition and rain malaise I would suspect. I felt OK at this point, rain and cool temps are not my cup of tea however, my legs typically are not that good in these conditions, but hey, we are racing eh? So, I took a flyer and was quickly marked. Interesting. The field let 3 guys meander away without any reaction, I twitch and here they come. The good news is this seemed to ignite the pace a bit and a few other attacks and accelerations followed my attack. This set the stage for another attempt from me to go, this also was chased down in short order. The really good news is my recovery was really good, and I was ready for another go in short order. If you can stretch a field and put some fellows in distress, the odds for a chase get less and less. Off I went and this time I secured a bit of a gap. Into TT mode and off I go. Shortly a Keltic guy bridges to me and we set off together. I would love to get to the final climb ahead of the group, that was my thinking at any rate. To no avial, the Canadian boys reeled us back in shortly before hitting lap 3 hill for the last time. It got really hard pretty quickly. I was in the top 3 and holding on pretty well until one of the 35's really stomped on the gas and it went single file and hang on for your life. I was number 2 in a long line and I tell you, I was pushing the accelerator nearly through the firewall. His rear wheel bobbed in front of me, pulling a bit away, then coming back in some sort of slow motion death dance. I knew I had to hold his wheel and maybe we could get off in a small group. Finally the top came and he just kept going, he had forced a split, but just before we turned off the loop for the final 6 miles to the finish, some regrouping occurred, and the group was maybe 15 as we motored along, heading for the 'sting in the tail' on this day. This final climb is pretty nasty, maybe 10% for 1.5 miles. You either have the legs left or not. As we banked hard right and started up, my feeling was 'not'. My legs felt stiff and not up to the task. Maybe 12 of our group gapped me immediately and I went into head hanging mode of 'well, maybe 15th will be the box score for this day' mindset.
Then, two things happened. My legs came to life and the group started to split and slow. Yee ha, another chance. I just banged out the fastest tempo I could and began to catch guys one at a time, until finally the 200 meter sign came and I had only 2 left from the original field in front of me.
Stand and push push hard to the end, the line finally came and I weaved into the parking lot way over the red line.
I started to get chilled in no time, so I headed to the car, back down the hill, teeth now chattering. I went from a smoking hot overheated engine to and ice cube in about 10 minutes.
By the time I got to the parking lot, reality set in. I was dirty, soaked and stiff. Uggh. Hard day on the bike.
The Canadians rode a good race, but in the end their guy got second, they put all their eggs in one basket and came up a bit short.
Final box score-5th in the 45's.

Could have been worse.

Killington Stage Race Report

2011 Killington Stage Race

Killington Vermont

May 28 29 30

Masters 50+

60 Starters

Race Preview and Goals-

My form coming in is very good, not optimum, I have only 3 races under my belt and could indeed be a bit thinner, but I was looking for a top 5 GC finish and a top 3 in the queen stage on Monday.

Stage1 

Circuit Race 3 laps of an 18 mile loop.

Rolling, no real climbs-3 KOM sprints on a slight elevation grade hill.

Stage Preview- This stage typically features limited fireworks as it always ends up in a mad 40MPH field sprint. The good idea for GC riders is to not put your nose in the wind if possible all day, and that was my intention. The KOM jersey was not a goal as the KOM sprints in this stage are on such a slight hill anyone can get them, not really worth the effort to burn some matches here it seemed to me.

The race- We started in 62 degrees, light rain, wet roads. Sounds bad but we have had such a shit spring it was not really a big deal.

Lap 1 was steady, some small attacks but nothing really sticking, all the GC guys at the front keeping an eye on each other. First KOM was taken by a small break up the road.

Lap 2 the drizzle let off and the roads started to dry, the pace was again steady, small accelerations, nothing really to shout about.

I felt quite good but had not really done anything so it was hard to tell. That changed as we approached the second KOM and my friend Haluk Sarci pointed to his rear wheel seemingly saying hang on, I am going to lead you out. OK then, change of plans but here we go. He lit the lamp pretty hard in the last K and the field was pretty strung out as we approached the right turn and the 200 M to go sign. Just as we turned I jumped full gas and rode away from the group, snagging KOM 2. Thanks Haluk, that worked nicely. Not in the plan, but what the hell, you see an opportunity, you take it.

Lap 3 saw more of the same, we headed for KOM 3 and now I had to think about some strategy as I was in the hunt for the jersey. A two man break was just up the road and I waited and waited for someone to close the little gap to them before the KOM, figuring there were several other riders trying to get points as well, including Bob Roldan of Keltic who looked to me like the one who really wanted it. No one ever took up the chase though, and I jumped hard again at the 200 M sign, just edging Sarci for 3rd and 2 points. Roldan had scored 1st and second on the first two KOMs so he would have the jersey and I would be second. This battle would continue on stage 3 where the big KOM points were waiting.

Down the descent and out onto the final few miles to the fast finish we went. I thought about trying for the win, the legs were good so why not give it a go? I positioned myself in the top 5 most of the way until 1KM to go and at close to 35MPH it really started to get ragged, with a lot of guys fighting for the front. Eventually I got sandwiched hard and was left watching the sprint rather than participating. 14th. Oh well, no damage done and onto stage 2.

This was as close to a 'no-chain' day as I have had in a long time.

Stage 2

Time Trial -11 mile flat or false flat uphill.

Preview- This is not a stage I am going to win, so my goal was to not be more than 30 seconds out of 3rd. That would leave me in striking distance of the top 5 for the overall, I hoped.

Thanks to my good friend and super wrench Scott Harding, we had set up my old Specialized as a TT bike, with a low front end, aero bars and his Zipps. It looked fast. Now I needed to go fast.

Weather was better, in the 80's and sunny light tailwind on some sections a complete reversal from last years roaring headwind the whole way.

The Race- Warmed up on the trainer, it was hot and I was pouring sweat in no time. Warming up for TT's is a pain in the ass. Riding hard to nowhere and hoping it pays off. Tricky thing to do in the middle of a stage race, how much gas do you want to burn, as well as just getting it timed right in accordance to your start time.

It went well at any rate, legs seemed good, off the trainer onto the road, head to the start, check the clock, circle about a few times and then into the line for the countdown to my start. 

Finally, up to the line I roll, the holder takes my bike, I clip in, take some deep breaths, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and off we go. This TT is important. Blow it and the GC hopes go out the window.

Started quickly out of the saddle, then immediately down and start counting and breathing. Counting and breathing. This is a technique that can really make or break a TT, if I can stay in control and focused, I know I can go as fast as possible. Lose the focus, the breathing gets out of control, hit the redline and you are losing time.  Time trialing is an art, one I used to be really good at and I was searching for that old groove. I settled in pretty well, and was catching my 30 second man, always a good sign. Caught him and now gaining on my minute man. Fun to chase and catch people, but you have to be careful not to focus on that game because the rythym can go out the window that way. Breath, count and pedal and see what happens. I did and slowly gained on him, finally catching  about 4 miles from the finish, then my 2 minute man came up but my 1:30 guy was Sarci and he was out of sight. Kicked up a slight hill and now 1KM to the finish. Full gas now and getting ragged as I am searching for any and all speed I can conjour. Finally the 200 M sign and I am blasting for all I am worth. Across the line and done. Two minutes of serious gasping and eye squinting and then roll back to the car and wait for results.

Box score-13th 1:06 down on the winner, 55 seconds out of 3rd. Not quite as good as I hoped, but still in the game.

I was satisfied with my effort. That was as fast as I could go.

Stage 3

The Queen Stage-63 mile loop RR

Preview- This is where the GC is decided. The course starts with a 3 mile climb then bolts downhill and across flat roads till about mile 26 just outside Bethel. A sharp right leads you immediately up and up. After a steep climb of a couple miles the road goes up and down until about mile 40. Then downhill and near the town of Woodstock another right and you are facing a dicey little dirt road climb of a mile or so. Out onto Rte 4 and heading back to Killington, we re-trace the TT route until you turn left and your race is decided. The next 3 miles are steep and unrelenting, then a couple ups and downs before you descend and then the final tough 1KM to the finish. A hard day no matter what.

Weather was awesome. 85 degrees and sunny, light winds.

The Race:

The big day loomed large as I packed the car and headed to the start. No place to hide today and much to ponder. Just a wicked way to finish a stage race. You either have it or you don't. On day 3, sitting at the start line, I suspect most riders were wondering which applied to them.

We hit the first climb and the action started right off, which surprised me with so far to go. Attacks and hard tempo. By halfway up we were actually shelling guys out of the field all in the first 5 miles! Hit the top and started the long downhill and flats. I surfed at the back. Ideally, if you are a climber you would not want to put your nose in the wind until the final climb. Oh, we can wish eh?

Numerous little fliers until we had 4 off the front, it looked to me like guys going for the sprint jersey points up ahead. Fine with me. All the GC guys were sitting put.

At about 1:30 into the stage we arrived at Bethel and made the right turn to the first big obstacle. This is a nasty little climb and guys started going backwards immediately. I moved into the top 15, trying to figure out what kind of legs I had on this day. Hank Pfeifle set some pretty good tempo, I made the split of 11 over the top but it was not easy and I did not come away with any particular confidence.  The group motored along steady and the first KOM approached. If I wanted the jersey I needed this one. All but one rider from the lead break had been caught so first place was gone, but still enough points for second to make it worth the effort. Bob Roldan attacked a couple of times, I marked him pretty close and each time he sat up. The last 500 meters till the KOM line saw me hit the front, accelerate and stay there, holding off Bob for the 8 second place points. Now, if I was ahead of him on the final climb, and at the finish, I would win the jersey. 

A group of maybe 6 chasers bridged back to us just before the dirt climb, swelling the group to 17. Pfeifle lit the dirt road up, I was wondering if I was hurting or we were hauling. We were hauling, so fast that the group split again, and now we had 6 up front, and the rest chasing. Onto the highway after a 'Bill Thompson bombed the dirt descent spectacle' and now just 18 miles to go to the finish. I felt OK at this point, actually I had not been in dire straights once all weekend, a good sign indeed.

The six of us rotated for about 10 miles then Mike Allaire and Roldan started skipping pulls. Mike looked like his train was starting to come off the tracks, and Bob was struggling as well, so it looked to me like the finale would be me, race leader Sarci, Pfeifle and Thompson for the stage win. Finally the left turn and up we go. All the marbles on the table. Hank accelerated right at the start of the climb, I could see how this was going to go. Ouch was how this was going to go. About 1/3 of the way up Hank gapped me and Thompson, then Sarci dropped Hank! As we neared the KOM, I started to feel pretty good and pulled Pfeifle back. So, with 2 miles to go, Sarci was about 30 sec ahead of Hank, Bill and I. It seemed they either couldn't or wouldn't try and get Sarci and were racing for second. Not sure we could have gotten him anyway, he was flying along pretty smooth. As we hit the final K, Hank accelerated on my left and he was motoring. He gapped me, I gapped Bill and that is the way it held to the finish. The final 200 meters was just pure out of the saddle all you had and finally, the line came and this race was over.

Finish:

1. Sarci

2. Pfeifle @31 sec

3. Sorenson @ 50 sec

4. Thompson @ 59 sec

5. Roldan @ 1:48

6. Allaire @ 4:20

This left me in 4th on the final GC and winning the KOM jersey to boot.

Sum up-

I rode about as good as I could and really that is all you can ask. I needed that 1% more to actually win, but Sarci was the best man and deserved it.

Sunapee Race Report

Sunapee Road Race

May 21 Mt. Sunapee Ski Resort NH

Men Pro 123

62 Starters

62 Degrees Cloudy Showers

23 Mile loop X3-68 miles Rolling

Preview-I was racing the P123 field for training as the upcoming KSR is next week. Time to take some lumps and get some fast miles. Condition is good and I hope to get a top 20 but the work is the main goal.

Lap 1- Right at the start one guy rolls off, I am surfing at the back, it seems a small enough group the front is not so far away to be in real danger of not getting there if need be. 

We cruised about 35MPH through the first 5 mile downhill section then turned onto the highway for the first obstacles of the day, a series of rolling climbs, none more than 1KM long.

I really had no idea how I was going to fit in with this group so at this point it was keep up and see how it goes. The speed was steady fast with lots of small attacks, but it seemed doable. At about the 10 mile mark the front break had swelled from one to about 8 and they were rolling. This triggered a panic in the main field that lasted for the next 30 miles. Everyone it seemed felt left out and wanted to bridge to the break. Attack after attack. The field would string out and break up on the climbs, then come back together, but always at speed. Despite the fact that the first lap was covered at about 26 MPH average, the front group had actually pulled out to more than a minute ahead. Incredible. They were flying, the field was flying and the gap was still growing. Attack, counter, attack, counter it just went on and on. This was the most aggressive race I had been in in years. Through the fireworks, I was stretched, but OK> Make no mistake, I was not comfortable, but not getting dropped either. At one point the field had separated into 3 groups and I was in group 3, and vowed to not let that happen again I decided it was time to really race bikes. I was not going to settle for less than group 2 and would do what it took to make sure that happened.

At about 35 miles, the leaders were now at about 2 minutes up, despite unrelenting pressure from the main field, which at this point had dropped about 20 guys. So maybe 30 in the main group and 8 or so ahead. Now in aggressive mode all the way, I sensed the guy in front of me was going, as 4 guys had established a gap to form group 2, and I was going to get there as well. He went, I followed but he jumped so hard he gapped me by about 4 bike lengths and it took me full gas for maybe a minute at 32MPH to get firmly on his wheel, holy christ that was hard. Fully redlined, we finally made contact with the chase group. That was the good news. The bad news was it happened just as we hit the major hill on the backside of the course. This was not good. I was way over the red line and had no reserve to call on at this point. The group pulled away from me, then, oh crap, the field catches me, and guys are attacking out of it up the hill as well. Really not good. No one is going even steady, it is just a full on shoot out and I am getting shot full of holes.

I had to keep contact before we crested the hill. Had to or game over. Rider after rider went by me as I labored out of the saddle praying for the top to get there before the last guy passed me. 50 meters to go, and the back of the train goes by and now a gap is forming. What can I do? Not a damn thing, I am just so blown at this point, but know down deep that unless the field slows down, which has not happened all day, I will never see them again and still have lap 3 to go. There is one straggler with me and we both put our heads down and chase for our very lives, but the field in front of us is strung out and shows no sign of any slowing. Crap crap crap. We soldier on for about 5 miles and pass the line for one lap to go and the field is now out of sight. Well, I could turn left and head to the parking lot, I have 2 tremendous hours of training under my belt for the day, but what the hell, I don't DNF unless I have a broken bone. I mention to my co-hort, at least it isn't raining. 5 minutes later, it starts raining and he is gone. OK then, 23 miles in the rain solo. What the hell, are we a bike racer or not? I guess we are, for better, or worse. 

I settle into a steady tempo and ride it out to the finish. Once I got some recovery, I was actually OK, legs tired but not shelled. I picked up and passed a few blown souls from my race, they never even twitched to stay with me. Smarter than me, they were done I suppose.

Finally hit the finish, the box score showed me 41st out of 42 official finishers. 14 minutes behind the winner. Wow. That is my worst finish maybe EVER. Bottom line, my 30 year old race brain wrote a check that my 56 year old race legs could not cash and a perfect storm of events at that time blew me out of the box. Oh yeah, training was the goal. Well, I did get that.

Onward. Killington stage race up next weekend and against all old men like me!