Cat 5 Under 35, Will Matlack

I raced in the under 35 Cat 5 race because I didn’t register in time to get into the 35+ race [I am well north of 35]. The Cat 5 races were 3 laps, 24 miles total.

The first lap was all together and a very nervous pack. Two guys almost went down a couple of bikes over from me, but thankfully no crashes. Up the steep climb the first time was not too bad, but after that the pace went up a good deal. The pack got strung out but was more or less together. Up the rollers was almost full gas for me but I was in there. Then up one of the hills a guy in front of me broke his chain. He had to come right across my line to get to the side and I almost stopped to hold my line and get by him safely. Didn’t help but worse luck for him. Then through town and onto the steep climb into the final lap. This was the selection and guys were off the front. I was just hitting it as hard as I could up the climb. At the top I was cooked and just tried to hang on to the guys around me. Pretty soon it was clear that the first group was pretty far up the road but there was a second group behind them. Two or three guys around me got together and we started working to catch the second group. I managed to recover a bit and take my pulls. We caught the second group by the bottom of the last decent. That groups was about 10 guys and we worked together fairly well. One or two of the guys up ahead came back, but the lead pack was way too far ahead and no doubt stronger anyway. I tried to stay near the front of the second group as we got closer to final climb. Sprinted up the final climb with what I had left and finished in the middle of my group, 15th overall.

Cat 4, Jeremy Katz

In the Cat 4 race, we had three people lining up — myself, John Buchheit and Brian Housman. Our plan was mostly to watch and see what happened and get into the break if one formed. The neutral start was pretty civil… ninety guys out on a big group ride where we could take the full lane. Then we crossed the start/finish and things picked up a little, but still mostly stayed together. I hung out mid-pack with a bit of bobbing back and forth as we went around the course… the little rollers making me slowly slide back through the pack but then working my way closer to the front on the flatter back stretch and into the big hill. There was one point on the flat stretch on the third lap where something happened at the front of the pack leading to a bunch of movement and me fighting a bit to stay upright with handlebars and shoulders touching; unfortunately I think that was where things unraveled a little for me. Since it was only my second race of the season and I only did one road race last season, I’m just don’t have the comfort level I’d like right now for pack riding and the close call made me slightly skittish. So I started giving a little bit more space where I shouldn’t and working a little harder. Managed to stick with it, but it definitely cost me a little. Then on the final lap, I got the cramp you never want to get in a race. My quads locked up and I struggled to keep pedaling and stay upright, much less keep up with the pack at over 20mph. I dropped back and quickly took in some food and water. But it was too late as I wasn’t able to make up the distance to the pack, lost in no man’s land for the rest of the race. I finished, but several minutes back from the group I had been with. John managed to hold on, though, and picked up 20th place.

Our regular weekend rides leave from QuadCycles in Arlington at 9:30 am on both Saturday and Sunday.  Come out an join us sometime.  There’s a group for everyone with different groups covering different distances and at different paces.

Results are of course posted at Bikereg or you can get your results fix from the guys at Cross-Results.

There are some great photos by Mary Knox here and one of the best things I’ve seen is the helmet cam footage from Dan Barrett.

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped to make the race a success!

There are also a few more rides getting started on a regular basis. Details have been going out on the team list and we’ll probably be posting some of them here on the website soon as well.

Hope to see a lot of people on the road!

This was the first official race of 2010 for me. I was anxious to try out my legs against some stiff competition after putting in many base miles during the freezing cold winter. Well, it wasn’t winter any more, but it was freezing the morning of the race. I think I had five layers on before the race and only shed one at the start. The race itself consisted of 11 laps of a rolling 2.2 mile circuit with a nice little climb just before the start/finish, and a gradual step climb on the back side with a nasty headwind. The race started off at a pretty fast pace, but I felt comfortable. On the second lap Matt Miller from Threshold flew off the front. I’ve ridden with Matt many times and knew he was strong, so I decided to bridge to him and see what he was up to. When I got over to him I gave him a nod and he said “ Let’s go!”. I thought “ok” let’s see how long we stay away and off we went. After a few laps I started to wonder how long I wanted to keep the pace up. I really hadn’t planned on making a break at all, never mind just a few miles into the race. About this time I spotted another rider trying to bridge and we decided to let up a bit and let him on. I think he was from Comprehensive. When he got on he was spent and had to spend a lap or so recovering, but once he caught his breath he put in some decent pulls. We stayed away for another four laps or so before we lost the Comprehensive rider, but before to long I could see another rider coming over – a big rider! This guy was a power house. He had to be at least 200 pounds with quads the size of tree trunks. He came right up on us and hollered- no blasted – “Let’s do this thing!!” and just kept on going right past us. He was a trip. Turns out he’s a bit of a local legend I guess -an old racer from back as far as the eighties named Jerry, rumored to pre-fuel on PBR and recover with a smoke! He stayed with us right up to a few laps to go. That’s when, from what I heard, Threshold came on strong and brought us back in. I guess they had the podium sweep planned, because that’s what they did. I recovered for the last couple of laps to save whatever I had left for the sprint. On the last lap, just after the hairpin turn, there was a pretty bad crash, just to my right. I could see a bike going end-over-end just out of the corner of my eye. Then a split second later the rider to my left hit a cone that was on the yellow line. Past the tense moments and it was all out up the little steep and down the straight to the finish. I got blocked a bit at the top of the hill and had to break and come around a rider, but I still managed 6th place.

The race was a great start to my season and hopefully a good indicator to my fitness. We’ll see how it goes at Battenkill in a few weeks. If I do well there I think it just may be time to move up to Cat3. Ugg!

Congrats to Andy on a great first race of the season!

First Annual School Street Hill Climb
August 22, 2009
Arlington, MA

  Rank Overall      FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1           Randall R Jacobs         00:37.7        M    19 to 29           60
       2             Wai-Ben Wong           00:40.6        M    19 to 29           21
       3             Trent Ashburn          00:40.7        m    30 to 39           61
       4             Ryan Packard           00:42.6        M    15 to 16           54
       5            Peter Bradshaw          00:43.8        M    30 to 39           19
       6             Eric Brassell          00:44.4        M    40 to 49           11
       7              Chris Opie            00:45.3        M    17 to 18           42
       8              David Chiu            00:46.3        M    19 to 29           20
       9              Liam Twomey           00:46.5        M    19 to 29           58
       10             Dan Barrett           00:46.9        M    30 to 39           41
       11            Garett Burke           00:49.3        M    30 to 39           25
       12           Patrick Twomey          00:50.0        M    19 to 29           63
       13           William Sawyer          00:50.3        M    50 to 59           35
       14           Daniel Mueller          00:50.3        M    19 to 29           55
       15              Jim Burke            00:51.0        M    40 to 49           22
       16             Nathan Hoks           00:51.4        M    30 to 39           4
       17          Randolph Williams        00:51.8        M    30 to 39           57
       18             Eric Silva            00:52.2        M    19 to 29           59
       19           Karl Hambrecht          00:52.4        M    50 to 59           26
       20             James Gomez           00:52.5        M    40 to 49           10
       21           Michael Zocchi          00:52.8        M    40 to 49           43
       22             John Sales            00:53.1        M    40 to 49           39
       23           Jorge Hernandez         00:53.3        M    40 to 49           13
       24            Jack Whiteley          00:54.3        M   60 and over         33
       25            Lorenzo Dato           00:54.4        M    15 to 16           56
       26             Carson Poe            00:55.6        M    30 to 39           12
       27            John Smathers          00:56.8        M    40 to 49           5
       28             Ryan Welch            00:56.9        M    30 to 39           8
       29            Mark Jacobson          00:57.7        M    40 to 49           27
       30        Sara Bresnick-Zocchi       00:59.1        F    30 to 39           34
       31           Stefan Peukert          00:59.4        M    40 to 49           31
       32             Jermey Katz           01:00.0        M    19 to 29           44
       33           Jonathan Rourke         01:00.0        M    50 to 59           29
       34            Jim Gascoigne          01:00.4        M    40 to 49           46
       35           Tomas Jurgensen         01:01.5        M    12 to 14           36
       36           Keith Rousseau          01:02.6        M    19 to 29           7
       37            James Riehle           01:04.2        M    40 to 49           9
       38              Jen Zeuli            01:07.0        F    30 to 39           51
       39              tim walsh            01:07.0        M    19 to 29           16
       40              Ben McCoy            01:07.1        M    30 to 39           3
       41           Bill DiRosario          01:07.7        M   60 and over         48
       42              Sam Vaeth            01:07.8        M    12 to 14           18
       43           Julian Eliz III         01:08.5        M    19 to 29           1
       44         Nancy Labbe-Giguere       01:09.4        F    19 to 29           45
       45             Tom Worster           01:09.5        M    40 to 49           2
       46            Sara Cushman           01:09.5        F    30 to 39           38
       47             Linea Rowe            01:11.0        F    40 to 49           30
       48           William Kimeria         01:11.3        M    30 to 39           49
       49         Charlie Radoslovich       01:14.7        F    30 to 39           40
       50            Ralph Willmer          01:14.7       M     50 to 59           53
       51            Sumner Brown           01:17.1        M   60 and over         17
       52           Katherine Snell         01:20.1        F    40 to 49           24
       53       Eva Papp / Tom Worester     01:21.0       M/F    tandem            50
       54             Walter Fey            01:25.7        m    50 to 59           52
       55             Neal Mayer            01:26.0        M    50 to 59           37
       56              Joe Maser            01:27.3        M    50 to 59           32
       57           Alyson Fletcher         01:31.0        F    19 to 29           62
       58            Kate Leppanen          01:31.5        F    30 to 39           47
       59            Craig Weiner           01:41.2        M    30 to 39           65
       60             Tom Lemaire           01:41.8        M    50 to 59           64
       61            Max Hernandez          01:43.6        M    12 to 14           14
       62           Daniel Jacobson         01:48.2        M    12 to 14           28
       63             Joy Ahearn            01:52.5        F    50 to 59           15
                   Christian Farrar           DNS          M    40 to 49           6
                     John Buchheit            DNS          M    40 to 49           23        

RESULTS BY EVENT

Female 19 to 29
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1          Nancy Labbe-Giguere       01:09.4        F    19 to 29           45
       2            Alyson Fletcher         01:31.0        F    19 to 29           62        

Female 30 to 39
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1         Sara Bresnick-Zocchi       00:59.1        F    30 to 39           34
       2               Jen Zeuli            01:07.0        F    30 to 39           51
       3             Sara Cushman           01:09.5        F    30 to 39           38
       4          Charlie Radoslovich       01:14.7        F    30 to 39           40
       5             Kate Leppanen          31:46.0        F    30 to 39           47        

Female 40 to 49
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1              Linea Rowe            01:11.0        F    40 to 49           30
       2            Katherine Snell         01:20.1        F    40 to 49           24        

Female 50 to 59
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1              Joy Ahearn            01:52.5        F    50 to 59           15        

Male 12 to 14
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1            Tomas Jurgensen         01:01.5        M    12 to 14           36
       2               Sam Vaeth            01:07.8        M    12 to 14           18
       3             Max Hernandez          01:43.6        M    12 to 14           14
       4            Daniel Jacobson         01:48.2        M    12 to 14           28        

Male 15 to 16
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1             Ryan Packard           00:42.6        M    15 to 16           54
       2             Lorenzo Dato           00:54.4        M    15 to 16           56        

Male 17 to 18
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1              Chris Opie            00:45.3        M    17 to 18           42        

Male 19 to 29
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1           Randall R Jacobs         00:37.7        M    19 to 29           60
       2             Wai-Ben Wong           00:40.6        M    19 to 29           21
       3              David Chiu            00:46.3        M    19 to 29           20
       4              Liam Twomey           00:46.5        M    19 to 29           58
       5            Patrick Twomey          00:50.0        M    19 to 29           63
       6            Daniel Mueller          00:50.3        M    19 to 29           55
       7              Eric Silva            00:52.2        M    19 to 29           59
       8              Jermey Katz           01:00.0        M    19 to 29           44
       9            Keith Rousseau          01:02.6        M    19 to 29           7
       10              tim walsh            01:07.0        M    19 to 29           16        

Male 30 to 39
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1             Trent Ashburn          00:40.7        m    30 to 39           61
       2            Peter Bradshaw          00:43.8        M    30 to 39           19
       3              Dan Barrett           00:46.9        M    30 to 39           41
       4             Garett Burke           00:49.3        M    30 to 39           25
       5              Nathan Hoks           00:51.4        M    30 to 39           4
       6           Randolph Williams        00:51.8        M    30 to 39           57
       7              Carson Poe            00:55.6        M    30 to 39           12
       8              Ryan Welch            00:56.9        M    30 to 39           8
       9               Ben McCoy            01:07.1        M    30 to 39           3
       10            Craig Weiner           01:41.2        M    30 to 39           65
       11           William Kimeria         11:30.0        M    30 to 39           49        

Male 40 to 49
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1             Eric Brassell          00:44.4        M    40 to 49           11
       2               Jim Burke            00:51.0        M    40 to 49           22
       3              James Gomez           00:52.5        M    40 to 49           10
       4            Michael Zocchi          00:52.8        M    40 to 49           43
       5              John Sales            00:53.1        M    40 to 49           39
       6            Jorge Hernandez         00:53.3        M    40 to 49           13
       7             John Smathers          00:56.8        M    40 to 49           5
       8             Mark Jacobson          00:57.7        M    40 to 49           27
       9            Stefan Peukert          00:59.4        M    40 to 49           31
       10            Jim Gascoigne          01:00.4        M    40 to 49           46
       11            James Riehle           01:04.2        M    40 to 49           9
       12             Tom Worster           01:09.5        M    40 to 49           2
       13          Christian Farrar           DNS          M    40 to 49           6
       14            John Buchheit            DNS          M    40 to 49           23        

Male 50 to 59
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1            William Sawyer          00:50.3        M    50 to 59           35
       2            Karl Hambrecht          00:52.4        M    50 to 59           26
       3            Jonathan Rourke         01:00.0        M    50 to 59           29
       4             Ralph Willmer          01:14.7       M     50 to 59           53
       5              Walter Fey            01:25.7        m    50 to 59           52
       6              Neal Mayer            01:26.0        M    50 to 59           37
       7               Joe Maser            01:27.3        M    50 to 59           32
       8              Tom Lemaire           01:41.8        M    50 to 59           64        

Male 60 and up
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1             Jack Whiteley          00:54.3        M   60 and over         33
       2            Bill DiRosario          01:07.7        M   60 and over         48
       3             Sumner Brown           01:17.1        M   60 and over         17        

Tandem
   Event Rank       FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1        Eva Papp / Tom Worester     01:21.0       M/F    tandem            50        

Arlington Residents
 Arl. Res. Rank     FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1             Ryan Packard           00:42.6        M    15 to 16           54
       2             Eric Brassell          00:44.4        M    40 to 49           11
       3              Chris Opie            00:45.3        M    17 to 18           42
       4            William Sawyer          00:50.3        M    50 to 59           35
       5               Jim Burke            00:51.0        M    40 to 49           22
       6            Michael Zocchi          00:52.8        M    40 to 49           43
       7             Mark Jacobson          00:57.7        M    40 to 49           27
       8         Sara Bresnick-Zocchi       00:59.1        F    30 to 39           34
       9            Stefan Peukert          00:59.4        M    40 to 49           31
       10             Jermey Katz           01:00.0        M    19 to 29           44
       11            Jim Gascoigne          01:00.4        M    40 to 49           46
       12           Tomas Jurgensen         01:01.5        M    12 to 14           36
       13           Keith Rousseau          01:02.6        M    19 to 29           7
       14              Jen Zeuli            01:07.0        F    30 to 39           51
       15         Nancy Labbe-Giguere       01:09.4        F    19 to 29           45
       16            Sara Cushman           01:09.5        F    30 to 39           38
       17             Linea Rowe            01:11.0        F    40 to 49           30
       18           William Kimeria         01:11.3        M    30 to 39           49
       19         Charlie Radoslovich       01:14.7        F    30 to 39           40
       20            Ralph Willmer          01:14.7       M     50 to 59           53
       21             Walter Fey            01:25.7        m    50 to 59           52
       22             Neal Mayer            01:26.0        M    50 to 59           37
       23              Joe Maser            01:27.3        M    50 to 59           32
       24           Alyson Fletcher         01:31.0        F    19 to 29           62
       25            Kate Leppanen          01:31.5        F    30 to 39           47
       26             Tom Lemaire           01:41.8        M    50 to 59           64
       27           Daniel Jacobson         01:48.2        M    12 to 14           28
       28             Joy Ahearn            01:52.5        F    50 to 59           15        

                                                                            School Street Res.
School Street Ra    FIRST LAST NAME       Finish Time     SEX     AGE             BIB
       1              Linea Rowe            01:11.0        F    40 to 49           30
       2              Neal Mayer            01:26.0        M    50 to 59

Dave and I arrived at the State Fair late Saturday morning fueled by a giant breakfast (Jersey does diners right) and carrying a sack of groceries for the rest of the day. It was approaching sweltering (not exactly ‘cross weather, of course), but we had jugs of water in the trunk of the car, and there was always the option of cooling off in the bike wash if necessary. I spent the morning and early afternoon walking the fair and watching races and MTB trials, and managed not to overheat.

The course became available for warmup shortly before 5 p.m., so I hopped on my bike to make a couple rounds. It was the same loop, but the terrain was totally different from the day before. Most of the slop had dried up into rutted dirt, but the morning and afternoon races had packed down a hard, fast lane about a foot and a half wide. If I could stick with that line, it would be smooth going; if I bounced over into the ruts while making turns, it was going to become painful. The giant puddle was smaller than it had been the previous day, but it was still there, throwing water on my feet and mud on my drivetrain. I noticed that, after two rounds through the puddle, my front shifting was a bit wonky. After pre-riding, I went to wash the mud off, then re-greased the chain and ran it through the gears. The shifting was somewhat better, but I was pretty sure that, given the course conditions, it would become an issue during the race again. So my working game plan was to jockey for position early on in the big ring as long as I could stand it, then make do after downshifting (not ideal, but it worked for me last year when I had shifting problems at Canton). Later, for the rest of my warmup, I spun out for a bit on the asphalt road behind the fairgrounds, and generally just tried to stay loose and hydrated. As the race was unsanctioned and it was sweltering for most of the day, bottle hand-ups were OK’d for the pit, and I took Dave up on his offer of feeds during my race.

Shortly after the end of the race prior to ours (elite women and elite juniors), the officials re-opened the course for warmups. I decided to save my drivetrain by avoiding the mud section (I’d already pre-ridden it like three times at this point) and sticking to the grass. Meanwhile, the event organizers gave us the news that they were going to combine our race novice/intermediate/45+ women) with the final race of the evening (novice men). Which, of course, meant that my friend Lang and I were having a rematch. The start got delayed about 15 minutes, but finally they staged us and set us off. I had a better start than the day before–I think I was about seventh coming into the hole shot. Eric Davidson passed me right after that, I think, along with another guy. Things were moving a lot faster than they had the day before in the slop.

I really wanted a repeat win, and I really wanted to stay ahead of Lang, so my goal was to race smart and minimize crashes. Yeah, oops. A couple laps in I lost Lang when I took a corner in the spiral too quickly, hitting a rut or something the wrong way and wiping out. I righted myself and hopped back on, but it definitely cost me several seconds. I also had another crash on the course as, at this point, it was getting dark out. The arena was lit, but the lights weren’t yet on over the grass, so we were doing 180s and jumping barriers in the twilight. Even though we were all fatigued, it was lots of fun.

The other awesome thing about the race was the fact that the announcers were narrating both the men’s and women’s leaders… so… I got air time, and so did QuadCycles! The women chasing me were also announced; because the course was so small, I could see Jeni Roosen, in second, pursuing me as I went through turns. I was nervous because the race was basically mine to lose, but I kept telling myself to stay smart and hold it together. When I entered the spiral in the arena for the final time, I tried to get through it as quickly and carefully as possible. Coming around the final corner, I knew I had time to spare, so I coasted across the line with my arms up. Great conclusion to one of my favorite race weekends ever.

Dave and I arrived at the State Fair late Saturday morning fueled by a giant breakfast (Jersey does diners right) and carrying a sack of groceries for the rest of the day. It was approaching sweltering (not exactly ‘cross weather, of course), but we had jugs of water in the trunk of the car, and there was always the option of cooling off in the bike wash if necessary. I spent the morning and early afternoon walking the fair and watching races and MTB trials, and managed not to overheat.

The course became available for warmup shortly before 5 p.m., so I hopped on my bike to make a couple rounds. It was the same loop, but the terrain was totally different from the day before. Most of the slop had dried up into rutted dirt, but the morning and afternoon races had packed down a hard, fast lane about a foot and a half wide. If I could stick with that line, it would be smooth going; if I bounced over into the ruts while making turns, it was going to become painful. The giant puddle was smaller than it had been the previous day, but it was still there, throwing water on my feet and mud on my drivetrain. I noticed that, after two rounds through the puddle, my front shifting was a bit wonky. After pre-riding, I went to wash the mud off, then re-greased the chain and ran it through the gears. The shifting was somewhat better, but I was pretty sure that, given the course conditions, it would become an issue during the race again. So my working game plan was to jockey for position early on in the big ring as long as I could stand it, then make do after downshifting (not ideal, but it worked for me last year when I had shifting problems at Canton). Later, for the rest of my warmup, I spun out for a bit on the asphalt road behind the fairgrounds, and generally just tried to stay loose and hydrated. As the race was unsanctioned and it was sweltering for most of the day, bottle hand-ups were OK’d for the pit, and I took Dave up on his offer of feeds during my race.

Shortly after the end of the race prior to ours (elite women and elite juniors), the officials re-opened the course for warmups. I decided to save my drivetrain by avoiding the mud section (I’d already pre-ridden it like three times at this point) and sticking to the grass. Meanwhile, the event organizers gave us the news that they were going to combine our race novice/intermediate/45+ women) with the final race of the evening (novice men). Which, of course, meant that my friend Lang and I were having a rematch. The start got delayed about 15 minutes, but finally they staged us and set us off. I had a better start than the day before–I think I was about seventh coming into the hole shot. Eric Davidson passed me right after that, I think, along with another guy. Things were moving a lot faster than they had the day before in the slop.

I really wanted a repeat win, and I really wanted to stay ahead of Lang, so my goal was to race smart and minimize crashes. Yeah, oops. A couple laps in I lost Lang when I took a corner in the spiral too quickly, hitting a rut or something the wrong way and wiping out. I righted myself and hopped back on, but it definitely cost me several seconds. I also had another crash on the course as, at this point, it was getting dark out. The arena was lit, but the lights weren’t yet on over the grass, so we were doing 180s and jumping barriers in the twilight. Even though we were all fatigued, it was lots of fun.

The other awesome thing about the race was the fact that the announcers were narrating both the men’s and women’s leaders… so… I got air time, and so did QuadCycles! The women chasing me were also announced; because the course was so small, I could see Jeni Roosen, in second, pursuing me as I went through turns. I was nervous because the race was basically mine to lose, but I kept telling myself to stay smart and hold it together. When I entered the spiral in the arena for the final time, I tried to get through it as quickly and carefully as possible. Coming around the final corner, I knew I had time to spare, so I coasted across the line with my arms up. Great conclusion to one of my favorite race weekends ever.