Root 66 Pats Peak Race Report

Pro
12/23

After attending this race last season with Andrew Freye, we agreed it was a worthy event and worth clearing a spot on the calendar again. Unfortunately it conflicted with a pretty fun MMBA race. But I opted to go where the competition and the climbing was instead. This year, Freye opted for the double and competed in (and won!) the 6 hour solo event on Saturday, then the XC on Sunday. So I leisurely loaded up in the morning and made the trek to Henniker, NH solo.
Weather dawned perfectly for the drive. The big question was, what were the course conditions like as a big batch of rain swept through the region overnight. Having learned my poor tire choice lesson earlier in the year, I brought all options with me.
I arrived in plenty of time to register and get a lap in prior to our 2pm start. This was crucial for me to make the tire decision. Since the sports were racing, I didn't do a full lap, just the important climb to the top of the mountain for the long, winding descent where time was either going to be made or lost. There was no mud to speak of thanks to the 24 hour racers going all night plus the sports pushing things aside. Nonetheless, the roots were a bit slippery and you had to be on your toes. I talked things over with Freye and collegiate stud Brad Perley and confirmed a taller knobbie up front would help and not necessarily go with a mud tire.
I toed the line in the 2nd row where the officials took a quick poll to see whether we wanted to drop a lap and race only 4-5 mile loops with 800+ feet of climbing instead of the published 5. I was pretty opinionated and made my vote known for keeping the 5 laps. This is the pro rank, deal! We set off up the bunny hill where I had scouted out a pro line rather than get bottlenecked and set off in the top-10. I held the spot for a bit until the legit riders got their act together and set off for the front. I was riding well and felt pretty good until we got to the sections I hadn't pre-ridden. There were 2 unrideable hike-a-bike mud sections, plus a few energy and motivation-sapping mid-slope grassy/mud sections that sucked the life out of riding. I guess that was part of the reason to cut a lap as the times were going to hover around 30 minutes/lap rather than 20-25. Oh well. I was going to persevere through it no matter what.
I made it through the first lap probably top-17 or so and rode though with strongman Mike Rowell. We were together at the base of the descent on the 2nd lap when he flatted big time and I was left to my own devices which was too bad because I wanted to try to keep pace with him.
Fortunately there were some carrots that dangled ahead in the form of IF, Wheelworks, and 29er Crew riders whom I slowly reeled in over the next 3 laps. I started finding some stealth lines that I'm sure Mike Joos was roosting on his way to a solid finish! My only regret was getting passed by Kevin Hines who was racing expert that day. Granted, he's a national champ in my age group and also beat the pro field at Putney this year. But his ability is admirable and one I try to emulate. He was just killing it. Thankfully, I kept Jonny Bold at bay though!
It was a tough outing overall. But I was pleased with my effort and the body never showed specific signs of weakness. There was just a general total-body sense of fatigue. I was pretty fairly "punched" (new favorite word thanks to my buddy Sam!).
Next up is taking a break from the mtb and hitting up the Yarmouth Clam Festival circuit race that currently lists 13 of my OA/CycleMania teammates as signed up, should be a lay-up!

These Things Just Don't Go Together

The date and what I'm wearing. Nice summer, not!

Root 66 Domnarski Farm Race Report

Pro

9th/15

Creative planning allowed me to hit up this XC race on my way home from the Cape.

After a high volume and active week, I wasn't quite sure where my fitness would stack up. But I hadn't raced on my MTB since May 24th so I HAD to get one in.

The race was held on a farm in Ware, MA and we did 2-10 mile loops. Clearly there was no opportunity to pre-ride so I relied on my spider-sense and rode within my line of vision, never knowing what lay ahead.

The field was smallish, but had your typical strong young-guns. The start finish was on a unique elevated 100 yard section that quickly whittled into singletrack. I assumed my standard role of back-of-the-pack and just wanted to stay out of the major players' way. Of course, I wanted to quit after the first 15 minutes because I was redlining it and still lost the front group. But I managed to pass 2 guys plus Foley who flatted so I figured DFL was out of the question.

My real goal was to not get passed by Experts from behind. So, despite the fact that I was in no-man's land 1/3 of the way into the race, I had motivation.

The course was best described as a route I would see myself riding randomly on a weekday ride. A mix of fun singetrack, some doubletrack, some logging roads, and a powerline section. There was some solid climbing interspersed as well. I could have certainly done without the powerline section since it was in the wide open, was a climb, and finished with a run up. The logging roads were annoying as well with huge puddles that forced you to scrub speed and pick a line. There were also some serious mud pits that you had to test the depths of on the 1st lap. I confirmed that one was a wheel deep as I gracefully endoed and muddied myself for the rest of the race. 2nd lap I worked on CX moves and quickly dis-mounted and ran through them.

After riding solo for 2/3 of the way, I came across a slow and unmotivated Greg Carpenter. Although it was nice to ride with someone, I also wanted to beat him so I put in a solid effort to the finish.

It was nice to know I could still race, despite some fairly unfavorable circumstances. The day served as a confidence booster and I'm looking forward to building some momentum this month with an ambitious 4 XC races in a row.

Vacation Week

Just back from a week on Cape Cod hanging at my mom's with the fam.

We caravaned down in 2 vehicles so I could bring back some stuff my mom is getting rid of.

Here are the before/after van pics. There's even a mower and weedwacker in there!

The weather really cooperated for the most part and we got in some boat/beach days.

I skipped a rainy road ride at home before we left and was treated to sun and warmth on the Cape so I made the 25 minute road ride to my favorite trail network at Otis for a couple hours of singletrack.


Of course, I did have my run-ins with the rain and got hit with hail on my return from a MTB ride:

And got wiped out by an epic thunderstorm on a road ride that wiped me out as the expression on my face relays. You know you're riding in a majot event when your feet get submerged in puddles on the downstroke!

The week was capped off by a fantastic fireworks display viewd from the boat. Now it's back to work and a busy month of racing!

Wicked Good Weekend!

Friday:

Hosted KHS Class of 1999 at our house for Reunion Weekend.

You get the picture.

Saturday:

Attended the wedding of a co-worker's daughter outside of Camden with Babs.

You get the picture.

Spent the night in a cabin at the Point Lookout and celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary.

Sunday:

Slept late, fueled up with crusty bread and cheese and rode home from Camden.

Got home and had a great Father's Day dinner with the boys.

Perfect!

Motivation to Ride Arrives by Mail

A week ago I was prepping to compete in the EFTA Pinnacle XC race. All systems were a go until Saturday right before dinner. I had started to prep the bike for a muddy event and was attempting to mount tubeless mud tires. For the usual reasons, it was impossible to seat the bead on the rim and it would not hold air. It was at this point that I entered a tailspin of demotivating myself. I started coming up with better things to do with my time on Sunday rather than get up @ 4am, drive 4 hours, race 2 hours, drive 4 hours (actually wasn't tough to do!).

So I left the bike in its incomplete state and plotted out a nice 4 hour road ride around home instead. I ate my pre-race carbo meal and rationalize this was a good plan. Problem was, I didn't really want to ride the road for 4 hours so when Sunday came and it poured rain, I was relieved I had another excuse not to ride and bagged it.

Worse part is, I haven't ridden since! This was a tough work week putting in the ice and the riding opportunities have been nill and I sure haven't had the motivation.

Then, yesterday my new jersey arrived and I miraculously snapped out of my funk.

Training commenced immediately after, albeit for only 1 hour on the rollers! Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to getting rolling again. Thanks Kona for kicking me in the ass!

To Ride or Not To Ride

Just venting that I'm in that funk.

Work is a killer re-opening the ice rink, all I want to do is hit the couch.

Maybe I can combine the 2:

Next race is July 5th. Hope they have a couch division!

Great Falls Criterium Race Report

Masters 35+
20/36

Pro 1/2/3
19/35


This will be brief. Ended up working for the man "Fast" Fred "TT" Thomas in the Masters race. He went off with 2 others early and I served as sentry at the front of the field. They stayed away and Fred finished 3rd. I finished with the pack in preparation for the next race.

Thanks to teammate Paul Weiss for the pics

In the pro race I hoped to remain in the pack and finish. A couple of guys got off the front and McCormack's teammate Mark Gunsalus worked the front of the pack keeping the pace reasonable. There were several very hard accelerations, especially after the punchy climb. But I held on and rolled in with the group happy with the effort.