Elite
Hillclimb: 4th
Crit: 2nd
‘Cross: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
I have always wanted to try this race out. But, due to the busy ‘cross season, there always seemed to be a conflict. This year was no exception as the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the New England Cyclocross Championship Series was held in CT and MA. However, I stuck with my gameplan set in the fall: if I wasn’t in the top-15 after the first 2 races, I wasn’t going to chase the series. Since I flatted in round 2 in Gloucester and finished 80th, I was definitely out of the running! So, I lured Babs and the kids into a trip to Gorham, NH for the weekend. I got the kids by staying in a hotel with a pool and gameroom, and Babs by making a stop in N. Conway for some outlet shopping!
Here are some links that explain this unique event as well as a post-race wrap-up written by the organizers, which you should read in order so I don’t have to be so verbose. It’s best described as a fun, low-key, small-scale, non-sanctioned, amateur event.
http://www.porkygulchclassic.com/Page-261.html
http://www.greatglentrails.com/Winter-PressRelease-129.html
Mt. Wash. Hillclimb:
After consulting with last year’s stage winner Anders Larson and weighing my bikes, I opted to use my Major Jake for the 1.8 mile assault up Mt. Washington’s Auto Road. When I did the full hillclimb event in 2006, I used my mountain bike to be sure I had the proper gearing. My ‘cross bike has 36 inner chainring and a 12-28 cogset, so I figured I had the proper gearing and thought the lower part of the road was less steep. WRONG! Man I buried myself. 
I blew up so badly, my upper body was hurting as much as my legs. I thought I had a pretty good warmup, but I may have overdone the flat start relining it from the get-go, never to have a chance to recover my heartrate below 180 until the end. There were actually times when I wanted to just quit, or at least get off the bike and walk. It was the most suffering I’ve felt in a long time on the bike. And what did I show for it? A mere 4th place. I really thought this was my event to excel in, at worst finish 2nd, not get beaten by 3 others. I wish I knew what bike and gearing they used.
I now had a 13-point deficit I had to make up in the next 2 stages.
Story Land Crit:
This was by far the most unique race I have ever been involved in. We actually rode around inside Storyland around rides, pools, over bridges/traintracks, through tunnels, it was wacked! My strategy was to actually ride behind someone because there was so much eye candy, I was not confident I’d know which way to turn for the first few laps. I thought the technical nature of the course would be in my favor and give me a chance to get away, but the other racers were strong, despite the significant accordion effect in the pack. 
There was a long, windy straightaway which favored group riding, so a pack of 6 of us stayed together until the final lap. There was a mad sprint on the last straight before diving into the park for the final time and I was fortunate enough to be 3rd, behind legendary Paul Curley and the overall leader Pete Ostroski in first. 52 year-old Curley tapped his years of experience and executed his planned move to pass first place on a short rise mid-way through the course as I was only beginning to figure out how I could make a pass. It wasn’t until the final turn in the park that my card was played for me. 
Pete caught a pedal, altered his line and missed a pedal stroke. I took evasive action and just managed to avoid rear-ending him and slipped by. Unfortunately, this bobble was enough for Curley to get away and I cruised in to take 2nd. Ostroski must have struggled to regain composure as he was passed by another rider and finished 4th. So, a good point day for me, putting me only 5 back heading into the ‘cross race.
Rockpile Rampage 'Cross:
The overall stage win came down to today. The points difference between 1st and 2nd was 5, then it was 4 from 2 to 3 on down. No matter what, I needed to finish 2 places ahead of Ostroski. The previous night's weather brought rain from the hurricane, but there were no signs of it today. It was a clear, brisk, dry day almost perfect for 'cross, minus the mud. My legs felt solid and I was ready to give it to 'er! I did a couple of recon laps to discover it was a pretty long lap, with some long open straights, little technical sections, and a couple of short steeps requiring a drop to the inner ring. My confidence rose a couple of notches when I noticed Ostroski lined up on a mountain bike! 
The start was clean and I was 2nd. I followed the leader most of the 1ts lap, but felt he was a little slow on the turns so I took over the lead for the 2nd lap. 
The pace was high and the pack was quickly whittled down to me leading Curley, Ostroski, and another guy who is in the 'Cross in the Glen Series lead. 
My hope was to lose Ostroski somewhere back there and I accelerated on the 3rd lap, bringing only Curley with me. Unfortunately, I caught a pedal on a turn and ended up on my side. Curley passed on and by the time I righted myself, the other 2 were in tow and it was recovery time. 
Curley led a lap, and even Ostroski led 1 which was nice. But I was the one with the most to gain from this race so the work came on my shoulders and I found myself back out in front pushing the pace. We dropped Pettengil and on the back side of the course with 2 to go the savvy Curley made his winning move accelerating from behind me to create a gap.
I responded as best I could, but for the life of me could not close the gap. Ostroski was dropped, but unfortunately there was no one between us. I could only maintain the gap Curley had on me and he went on to victory. I knew I had to catch him, but I was at my limit. Oh well, Ostroski came in 3rd and thus won the overall by 1 point.
It was a fantastic weekend overall. Although I was preoccupied with racing well (read: moody!) I was glad to have the whole family in attendance, especially hearing Drake's cheers lap after lap! I raced 3 unique events in 2 days and enjoyed the competition. This was pure fun on the bike.
Next up is the Sunday Plymouth 'Cross race.
Hillclimb: 4th
Crit: 2nd
‘Cross: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
I have always wanted to try this race out. But, due to the busy ‘cross season, there always seemed to be a conflict. This year was no exception as the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the New England Cyclocross Championship Series was held in CT and MA. However, I stuck with my gameplan set in the fall: if I wasn’t in the top-15 after the first 2 races, I wasn’t going to chase the series. Since I flatted in round 2 in Gloucester and finished 80th, I was definitely out of the running! So, I lured Babs and the kids into a trip to Gorham, NH for the weekend. I got the kids by staying in a hotel with a pool and gameroom, and Babs by making a stop in N. Conway for some outlet shopping!
Here are some links that explain this unique event as well as a post-race wrap-up written by the organizers, which you should read in order so I don’t have to be so verbose. It’s best described as a fun, low-key, small-scale, non-sanctioned, amateur event.
http://www.porkygulchclassic.com/Page-261.html
http://www.greatglentrails.com/Winter-PressRelease-129.html
Mt. Wash. Hillclimb:
After consulting with last year’s stage winner Anders Larson and weighing my bikes, I opted to use my Major Jake for the 1.8 mile assault up Mt. Washington’s Auto Road. When I did the full hillclimb event in 2006, I used my mountain bike to be sure I had the proper gearing. My ‘cross bike has 36 inner chainring and a 12-28 cogset, so I figured I had the proper gearing and thought the lower part of the road was less steep. WRONG! Man I buried myself. I blew up so badly, my upper body was hurting as much as my legs. I thought I had a pretty good warmup, but I may have overdone the flat start relining it from the get-go, never to have a chance to recover my heartrate below 180 until the end. There were actually times when I wanted to just quit, or at least get off the bike and walk. It was the most suffering I’ve felt in a long time on the bike. And what did I show for it? A mere 4th place. I really thought this was my event to excel in, at worst finish 2nd, not get beaten by 3 others. I wish I knew what bike and gearing they used.I now had a 13-point deficit I had to make up in the next 2 stages.
Story Land Crit:
This was by far the most unique race I have ever been involved in. We actually rode around inside Storyland around rides, pools, over bridges/traintracks, through tunnels, it was wacked! My strategy was to actually ride behind someone because there was so much eye candy, I was not confident I’d know which way to turn for the first few laps. I thought the technical nature of the course would be in my favor and give me a chance to get away, but the other racers were strong, despite the significant accordion effect in the pack. There was a long, windy straightaway which favored group riding, so a pack of 6 of us stayed together until the final lap. There was a mad sprint on the last straight before diving into the park for the final time and I was fortunate enough to be 3rd, behind legendary Paul Curley and the overall leader Pete Ostroski in first. 52 year-old Curley tapped his years of experience and executed his planned move to pass first place on a short rise mid-way through the course as I was only beginning to figure out how I could make a pass. It wasn’t until the final turn in the park that my card was played for me. Pete caught a pedal, altered his line and missed a pedal stroke. I took evasive action and just managed to avoid rear-ending him and slipped by. Unfortunately, this bobble was enough for Curley to get away and I cruised in to take 2nd. Ostroski must have struggled to regain composure as he was passed by another rider and finished 4th. So, a good point day for me, putting me only 5 back heading into the ‘cross race.Rockpile Rampage 'Cross:
The overall stage win came down to today. The points difference between 1st and 2nd was 5, then it was 4 from 2 to 3 on down. No matter what, I needed to finish 2 places ahead of Ostroski. The previous night's weather brought rain from the hurricane, but there were no signs of it today. It was a clear, brisk, dry day almost perfect for 'cross, minus the mud. My legs felt solid and I was ready to give it to 'er! I did a couple of recon laps to discover it was a pretty long lap, with some long open straights, little technical sections, and a couple of short steeps requiring a drop to the inner ring. My confidence rose a couple of notches when I noticed Ostroski lined up on a mountain bike! The start was clean and I was 2nd. I followed the leader most of the 1ts lap, but felt he was a little slow on the turns so I took over the lead for the 2nd lap. The pace was high and the pack was quickly whittled down to me leading Curley, Ostroski, and another guy who is in the 'Cross in the Glen Series lead. My hope was to lose Ostroski somewhere back there and I accelerated on the 3rd lap, bringing only Curley with me. Unfortunately, I caught a pedal on a turn and ended up on my side. Curley passed on and by the time I righted myself, the other 2 were in tow and it was recovery time. Curley led a lap, and even Ostroski led 1 which was nice. But I was the one with the most to gain from this race so the work came on my shoulders and I found myself back out in front pushing the pace. We dropped Pettengil and on the back side of the course with 2 to go the savvy Curley made his winning move accelerating from behind me to create a gap. I responded as best I could, but for the life of me could not close the gap. Ostroski was dropped, but unfortunately there was no one between us. I could only maintain the gap Curley had on me and he went on to victory. I knew I had to catch him, but I was at my limit. Oh well, Ostroski came in 3rd and thus won the overall by 1 point.It was a fantastic weekend overall. Although I was preoccupied with racing well (read: moody!) I was glad to have the whole family in attendance, especially hearing Drake's cheers lap after lap! I raced 3 unique events in 2 days and enjoyed the competition. This was pure fun on the bike.
Next up is the Sunday Plymouth 'Cross race.
1 comment:
I've been wanting to try this race. Maybe next year. It sounds like a blast.
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