Masters 35+
4th/36
Cat. 3
1st/19
The whole family wrapped up a final week of vacation on the Cape by stopping in Biddeford on Friday, staying in a hotel, and sweating our butts off all day Saturday. The weather on the Cape stunk, the best day was actually Friday which we spent on the road. We got in an afternoon boat day on Thursday, which was pretty much the highlight of the week.
Saturday saw a blast of heat that convinced sane people to either stay indoors or head to the beach. Although we were just a few miles from the coast, I forced the family to sweat it out with me on the asphalt. What a guy!
I had pre-registered for 2 races, but I had reservations on race day as the weather was certainly rearing it’s ugly head, and I guess I didn’t really notice the Cat. 3 race was 45 minutes plus 5 laps. I decided to see how I felt after the morning Masters race and then decide.
The Saco course can be described as semi-technical. It has your standard 4 corners and a long front stretch, but the backside has us go halfway around a tight rotary and then condense into a narrow side street after turn 3. Going through there elbow to elbow is always tense and it creates quite an accordion effect on the field as the pace slows accordingly.
My only gameplan for the day was as long as I was feeling strong, I would keep myself towards the front and respond to any attacks. I had a couple of PVC teammates in the field in Carl Hitchcock
and Paul Weiss, but we didn’t get together to talk strategy prior to the start so we were semi-independent. All was going according to plan. A few riders would sprint and compete for the early primes but come back to the group. I actually don’t remember how things developed, but at one point there were a few riders up ahead and I wanted to close the gap so I went ahead and tracked them down. They apparently were in the midst of some disorganization as I came upon them and were going so slowly I would have had to apply the brakes. So, I motored on instead, dragging a CCB rider with me and it turned into the 2 of us swapping the effort for about 1/3 of the race. We kept ahead of the pack pretty consistently until he noticed a couple of riders were bridging the gap. One was Jonny Bold so we knew it was wise to let them join us so we slowed a bit and then we were 4. I’m not exaggerating when I say I did most of the work as I would pull for at least 2/3 of the course. I would get us through the entire backside technical area and then the 3 others split the front stretch. We hovered around 20 seconds ahead of the pack, but it dropped to 10 with 5 to go and we got a little nervous and dug a little deeper, but the pack seemed to accept we were going to stay away and they gave up the chase with 2 to go and we increased our lead. We continued on and heading into the 4th turn it was every man for himself and the sprint began. The CCB guy went early followed by the Sunapee rider leaving me behind Jonny Bold. 
I figured I didn’t have a chance so I gave a half-hearted effort in the sprint, but kept up with Jonny easily, but settled for 4th. I assumed my partners were saving themselves up for the sprint while we were out front, which was fine by me; I was focused on not getting caught by the pack, and being the first Maine finisher and winning the State Championship. Turns out, after hearing from them after the race, they were pretty gassed and couldn’t go harder then they were. They said if I had gone on my own with 2 to go they couldn’t have responded. I was disappointed to hear that and regretted missing an opportunity at a better finish. So, instead of packing it in, I filed that into my brain and committed to the afternoon 3 race.
The kids mustered up the energy and competed in their race. They were grouped based on age and started at varying lengths on the front straightaway. Both Drake and Fenix were outclassed. When is their dad going to get them some good bikes?! Their legs spun out their single gearing rapidly and they went as fast as those turbines would allow. They both finished 3rd in their respective classes. Because part of my recovery and preparation for the Green Mountain Stage Race later this week was to ride another 60 minutes after my 3 race, I sent Babs and the boys to the luxury of Chucky Cheese at the Maine Mall as I planned to ride there immediately after my 3 finish. “The best laid plans…”
They took off and I chilled out in the shade awaiting the 1:45 start. Hitchcock did the double as well and we were joined by teammate Randy Ayotte. Once again I had no gameplan, but Carl and I warmed up together and discussed how great it would be if there was more team communication because there is a lot of talent on the squad we just need to use it together. Unfortunately we didn’t get to talk with Randy at the start so we were just going to let things develop. Well, I again wanted to stay near the front, but I had both the earlier race on my mind as well as the Cat. 3 event I did in Auburn earlier in the summer. I was not going to let anything happen without me. We did a couple of laps as a group when they called out a prime for the next lap. As we rounded turn 4, I found myself at the front about 3-wide so I went for the sprint and won it by half a wheel. Now traditionally, everyone lays up after the sprint and settles back in the field. But, I did that in Auburn and wasted an opportunity to get away from the pack and win. So, I just kept going! All conventional wisdom said this was a foolish move so early in the event in the heat and believe me, I told myself that several times over the rest of the race! But, I had nothing to lose and everything to gain so I channeled my energy and mind into settling in for a long, hard ride. Heck, I only had 40 minutes plus 5 laps to go! There’s not much to say about the ride other than I made sure I railed the rotary and the turns as quickly and efficiently as possible knowing I had the advantage over the pack there. I buried my head on the front stretch and just looked down at the yellow line,
and got as aerodynamic as possible in the headwind. Paul Weiss was on the sidewalk and would call out the time split between me and the pack every lap which was instrumental in keeping me motivated and focused. It began in the 15 second range, then it would go to 20, then ballon to 30. at 1 point he said a rider was attempting to bridge the gap and was at 25 seconds, but he returned to the field and it was back to 30. The best news was hearing it got as high as 35 and 40 seconds in the closing laps as I was counting down the laps in my state of pleasure/pain. I didn’t know exactly what was going on in the pack, but was hopeful my teammates were keeping the pack at bay. As I came around for the bell lap I was really looking forward to savoring the last trip around with a comfortable lead and was psyched to do a double hand raise as I crossed the finish line for my first criterium win. “The best laid plans…” Just as I crossed the start/finish line for the last lap, I heard a clash of metal and saw some object fly through my rear wheel. That can’t be a flat I said to myself! I continued down the straightaway still looking down and praying and feeling out the wheel when sure enough, it started going soft. Can you believe this drama?! I ride alone for 45 minutes and a tiny nail is going to rob me of total satisfaction. Fortunately, I was riding tubeless tires and I relied on the reports that they deflate slowly and have a tendency to stay on the wheel. I knew the corners were going to be tricky so I had to slow way down, complete the turn, then ride as fast as the wheel would allow on the straight. There was no turning back. I couldn’t worry about where the pack was, just focus on my handling and not panic. Thanks to the size of the lead I had built up, I managed to hold on to the bike and the lead and limp home, but couldn’t raise the arms for fear of wiping out! 
A small sacrifice for the rewards of the finish (plus all the prime money)!
Post race discussion with Randy and Carl told the story of how the pack riding went. Randy was the consummate teammate
and held position at the front of the field making sure the pace was kept steady, but not at chase-pace. He grabbed the wheel of anyone who tried to take off and when they looked behind to see if they had support, they saw him and knew he wasn’t going to help. As a result of these tactics, Carl managed to contest some of the sprints and earn some primes.
It was a fully gratifying day up until I realized I was supposed to ride to Portland! With no spare wheel or tube, I was stranded so I called Babs and the boys and they came back to rescue me! Definitely one for the memories!
Next up is the GMSR. Hopefully I’ll recover by then.
4th/36
Cat. 3
1st/19
The whole family wrapped up a final week of vacation on the Cape by stopping in Biddeford on Friday, staying in a hotel, and sweating our butts off all day Saturday. The weather on the Cape stunk, the best day was actually Friday which we spent on the road. We got in an afternoon boat day on Thursday, which was pretty much the highlight of the week.
Saturday saw a blast of heat that convinced sane people to either stay indoors or head to the beach. Although we were just a few miles from the coast, I forced the family to sweat it out with me on the asphalt. What a guy!I had pre-registered for 2 races, but I had reservations on race day as the weather was certainly rearing it’s ugly head, and I guess I didn’t really notice the Cat. 3 race was 45 minutes plus 5 laps. I decided to see how I felt after the morning Masters race and then decide.
The Saco course can be described as semi-technical. It has your standard 4 corners and a long front stretch, but the backside has us go halfway around a tight rotary and then condense into a narrow side street after turn 3. Going through there elbow to elbow is always tense and it creates quite an accordion effect on the field as the pace slows accordingly.
My only gameplan for the day was as long as I was feeling strong, I would keep myself towards the front and respond to any attacks. I had a couple of PVC teammates in the field in Carl Hitchcock
and Paul Weiss, but we didn’t get together to talk strategy prior to the start so we were semi-independent. All was going according to plan. A few riders would sprint and compete for the early primes but come back to the group. I actually don’t remember how things developed, but at one point there were a few riders up ahead and I wanted to close the gap so I went ahead and tracked them down. They apparently were in the midst of some disorganization as I came upon them and were going so slowly I would have had to apply the brakes. So, I motored on instead, dragging a CCB rider with me and it turned into the 2 of us swapping the effort for about 1/3 of the race. We kept ahead of the pack pretty consistently until he noticed a couple of riders were bridging the gap. One was Jonny Bold so we knew it was wise to let them join us so we slowed a bit and then we were 4. I’m not exaggerating when I say I did most of the work as I would pull for at least 2/3 of the course. I would get us through the entire backside technical area and then the 3 others split the front stretch. We hovered around 20 seconds ahead of the pack, but it dropped to 10 with 5 to go and we got a little nervous and dug a little deeper, but the pack seemed to accept we were going to stay away and they gave up the chase with 2 to go and we increased our lead. We continued on and heading into the 4th turn it was every man for himself and the sprint began. The CCB guy went early followed by the Sunapee rider leaving me behind Jonny Bold. I figured I didn’t have a chance so I gave a half-hearted effort in the sprint, but kept up with Jonny easily, but settled for 4th. I assumed my partners were saving themselves up for the sprint while we were out front, which was fine by me; I was focused on not getting caught by the pack, and being the first Maine finisher and winning the State Championship. Turns out, after hearing from them after the race, they were pretty gassed and couldn’t go harder then they were. They said if I had gone on my own with 2 to go they couldn’t have responded. I was disappointed to hear that and regretted missing an opportunity at a better finish. So, instead of packing it in, I filed that into my brain and committed to the afternoon 3 race.The kids mustered up the energy and competed in their race. They were grouped based on age and started at varying lengths on the front straightaway. Both Drake and Fenix were outclassed. When is their dad going to get them some good bikes?! Their legs spun out their single gearing rapidly and they went as fast as those turbines would allow. They both finished 3rd in their respective classes. Because part of my recovery and preparation for the Green Mountain Stage Race later this week was to ride another 60 minutes after my 3 race, I sent Babs and the boys to the luxury of Chucky Cheese at the Maine Mall as I planned to ride there immediately after my 3 finish. “The best laid plans…”
They took off and I chilled out in the shade awaiting the 1:45 start. Hitchcock did the double as well and we were joined by teammate Randy Ayotte. Once again I had no gameplan, but Carl and I warmed up together and discussed how great it would be if there was more team communication because there is a lot of talent on the squad we just need to use it together. Unfortunately we didn’t get to talk with Randy at the start so we were just going to let things develop. Well, I again wanted to stay near the front, but I had both the earlier race on my mind as well as the Cat. 3 event I did in Auburn earlier in the summer. I was not going to let anything happen without me. We did a couple of laps as a group when they called out a prime for the next lap. As we rounded turn 4, I found myself at the front about 3-wide so I went for the sprint and won it by half a wheel. Now traditionally, everyone lays up after the sprint and settles back in the field. But, I did that in Auburn and wasted an opportunity to get away from the pack and win. So, I just kept going! All conventional wisdom said this was a foolish move so early in the event in the heat and believe me, I told myself that several times over the rest of the race! But, I had nothing to lose and everything to gain so I channeled my energy and mind into settling in for a long, hard ride. Heck, I only had 40 minutes plus 5 laps to go! There’s not much to say about the ride other than I made sure I railed the rotary and the turns as quickly and efficiently as possible knowing I had the advantage over the pack there. I buried my head on the front stretch and just looked down at the yellow line,
and got as aerodynamic as possible in the headwind. Paul Weiss was on the sidewalk and would call out the time split between me and the pack every lap which was instrumental in keeping me motivated and focused. It began in the 15 second range, then it would go to 20, then ballon to 30. at 1 point he said a rider was attempting to bridge the gap and was at 25 seconds, but he returned to the field and it was back to 30. The best news was hearing it got as high as 35 and 40 seconds in the closing laps as I was counting down the laps in my state of pleasure/pain. I didn’t know exactly what was going on in the pack, but was hopeful my teammates were keeping the pack at bay. As I came around for the bell lap I was really looking forward to savoring the last trip around with a comfortable lead and was psyched to do a double hand raise as I crossed the finish line for my first criterium win. “The best laid plans…” Just as I crossed the start/finish line for the last lap, I heard a clash of metal and saw some object fly through my rear wheel. That can’t be a flat I said to myself! I continued down the straightaway still looking down and praying and feeling out the wheel when sure enough, it started going soft. Can you believe this drama?! I ride alone for 45 minutes and a tiny nail is going to rob me of total satisfaction. Fortunately, I was riding tubeless tires and I relied on the reports that they deflate slowly and have a tendency to stay on the wheel. I knew the corners were going to be tricky so I had to slow way down, complete the turn, then ride as fast as the wheel would allow on the straight. There was no turning back. I couldn’t worry about where the pack was, just focus on my handling and not panic. Thanks to the size of the lead I had built up, I managed to hold on to the bike and the lead and limp home, but couldn’t raise the arms for fear of wiping out! A small sacrifice for the rewards of the finish (plus all the prime money)!Post race discussion with Randy and Carl told the story of how the pack riding went. Randy was the consummate teammate
and held position at the front of the field making sure the pace was kept steady, but not at chase-pace. He grabbed the wheel of anyone who tried to take off and when they looked behind to see if they had support, they saw him and knew he wasn’t going to help. As a result of these tactics, Carl managed to contest some of the sprints and earn some primes.It was a fully gratifying day up until I realized I was supposed to ride to Portland! With no spare wheel or tube, I was stranded so I called Babs and the boys and they came back to rescue me! Definitely one for the memories!
Next up is the GMSR. Hopefully I’ll recover by then.
2 comments:
man, another couple of great races and drama to boot.
Life on the bike is good!
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