Central NH Road Race / Bow – Women’s Cat 4

August 14, 2009

Submitted by Nancy Labbé-Giguère

Last year, Bow was the first road race that I did. Jeremy convinced me after a group ride that I could do fine. I was a bit septical about it since I had only been riding a road bike for 2-3 months, but I finally decided to go. It started to rain heavily a few minutes after the start. At the end of the big hill, a small group of 3-4 women escaped from the rest of us including me. I completed the first lap of 3 laps and the big hill showed up. My left calf cramped and I finally decided that it was over.

This year, I was not excited about Bow due to last year’s result and my Tour of the Hilltowns experience. It was already August and I hadn’t raced that much but Charles wanted a ride and was motivated, the starting time was 11h00 and the weather forecast was okay, so I decided to show up with the objective of at least finishing the race.

We started with a neutral roll out the first time up the big hill; and I was staying close to the front and trying to relax and drink water when it was possible. I was not sure where exactly we could start racing so I was afraid of missing the break like last year. When the steepest part of the hill started, I moved to the front, keeping a good pace and seeing nobody at my right or left. I was happy to see the KOM sign and that I was the first to pass it but surprised that nobody tried to pass me. Then I remembered that there is no KOM competition for the cat 4 women. Some women yelled GAP and I noticed that we were only 6 now. The fast downhill started and a couple of other women joined us later. The organizer (NEBC) did an excellent job of indicating the upcoming left-right turn, so I did not have to worry about getting out of course. I stayed at the middle-back, trying to relax until the end of the first lap. The long climb started again and I was at the front early, riding to my pace, looking at the GPS and trying to encourage myself that the downhill would be coming soon. I was happy to see the END sign and I was first at the top of the hill again. I noticed that some were left behind and I was in a group of 4 now + 2 masters. We started to work together and the speed increased on the downhill and the flat section. I accelerated to see if the group could get smaller; and I started focusing on the end or the solo. The second lap was over quickly and saw that my water bottles were getting empty.

The climb started and Christina from MRC (another cat 2 in cyclocross-mtb that decided to start road racing this summer) decided to attack right at the beginning of the climb when I was not ready for it. Nobody jumped on her wheel and she got a good gap quickly and I was just looking to the GPS and hoped for the end of the first steep section. At the top, somebody said 30 sec. gap. I was happy that it was only 30 sec. and she started to be visible again. It gave me some energy and I started to ride faster. I was getting closer and closer but did not catch her yet. The master’s field passed during the downhill section. My race was probably neutralized but I was just thinking to go as fast as I could to join her. I finally saw the car for the first time and found that the car was stopped with Christine behind and probably disappointed. A woman said that we would have caught her anyway. We rolled to the end together. I attacked, noticed that a cat 4 woman was not with us anymore, and stayed at the front trying to drop more people. On the uphill finish (25-30 meters), I was still at the front full speed, Christine suddenly passed me, I tried to stay on her wheel but my foot and calf was cramping. I could not accelerate, my cadence got very low because I had selected a gear that was too big. Finally, I finished third and was happy for my first podium of the season but disappointed at the same time. I will work to improve my strategy for the next year. Andy T from Quad finished 2nd in the cat 4 men’s race.

Comments Off | News | Permalink
Posted by katzj

New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross, Day 1 (Cyclocross sprints)

August 6, 2009

Submitted by Christine Fort

When I told some of my friends and teammates that I was doing a cyclocross race in July, they thought I was crazy (“Doesn’t that not start for, like, another two months?” Ben and Jeremy asked). But I couldn’t wait to go. ‘Cross is my focus this year, so I decided to throw in the towel on my lackluster road season and get right to the good stuff. Yes, for me, “the good stuff” involves bombing over rutted grass, taking 180-degree turns through mud, jumping off my bike and over planks, jumping back on again, then trying to finish respectably in the face of coughing up snot and wanting to puke. Fortunately, about a hundred or so other bike racers also shared the insanity that is ‘crosslust, and joined me in Augusta, NJ for a weekend of bikes, mud, muscle shirts, strollers in beer tents, and, of course, 4H quilting exhibits.

I had Friday off of work, so I loaded up the car, got some coffee, and then rolled over to JP to pick up my friend David, who was going to race the men’s elites and got assigned the job of navigating about ten pages’ worth of Mapquest directions. Thankfully, he was up to it: it was sunny when we departed Boston, but once we reached the middle of Connecticut the weather became a full-on Herman Melville-style squall. At some points I was white-knuckling it at 40 miles an hour, barely able to see the car in front of me.

This totally rad weather front meant that by the time we arrived in Augusta, parts of the Sussex County Fairgrounds were covered in a glorious layer of slop. We de-racked our bikes, talked to some fellow racers, then walked around and scoped out the course. About half of it looked like a normal ‘cross course, marked off with the requisite stakes and tape. My “tape reflex” (which involves smiling dreamily and drooling a little every time I see stakes and tape, and had been inadvertently set off at crits earlier in the year featuring children’s grass races) engaged… and then I saw the rest of the course. It was a dirt arena-turned-mud-pit in front of the bleachers, and a bunch of fluorescent mesh worms from IKEA marked off what the race organizer referred to as the “spiral of death”: a series of twisting turns with a junk car in the middle of it all. Originally we were supposed to compete on a run-up over the junk car, but the organizers had lost power and were unable to finish building the run-up.

I took a lap or two on the course, trying to figure out which lines to take through the mud. A fall during the warmup revealed that under the mud was a layer of asphalt (this was why the worms were used instead of stakes and tape). This was great in one sense because it meant the mud was rideable, but it also meant that any crashes in it were not just going to cause me to lose time: they were going to hurt like hell.

From the “spiral of death,” the course went over a short grassy hill, around a tight chicane of a turn (mmm… grass chicanes… how I missed you) that required picking a good line in advance from the top of the hill, and through more turns in the grass, winding around some animal stalls and back to a set of wooden plank barriers. The barriers came shortly after a turn but still allowed for a little momentum coming through, so I figured this race would be terrific practice. After the barriers, there was another small, muddy hill, then a turn back up and over the same hill, then a straightway past the pit, and back into the spiral. The course was shorter than the average ‘cross course, but given the resources available, it was pretty authentic.

My race, a combined M/F novice field, was at 6 p.m. All competitors were staged by their rankings on crossresults.com, which was pretty sweet because I got called up to the front row right before my friend Lang (I wore number 71; he was 72). We mock-glared at each other briefly and decided that the battle was ON. The whistle went off and we converged across the field, headed for the spiral. I was fighting for a decent position and ended up about ten back from the hole shot, gasping for air as we started turning through the mud. The first two laps were agony; then somehow I rocketed past Lang in the barriers between laps 3 and 5 and never saw him again. I still felt awful but at least my race was going okay–I was pretty sure I was first woman by a long shot. The laps were short–that, and the fact that I kept finding chewy (and nutritious!) chunks of mud in my mouth, made the race seem longer than it actually was. Fortunately, the men’s leader lapped me somewhere near the finish and relieved me of doing one more lap. I ended up finishing 13th overall (thereby preserving my crossresults lead over Lang, who finished 16th), and getting 1/7 for the novice women, with a gap of 3+ minutes (thanks, mud!). Midfield in a mixed-gender race and first among the women were both better results than I’d expected, so I was ecstatic.

Comments Off | News | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by katzj

School Street Hill Climb August 22, 2009

August 5, 2009

In addition to participating in races, charity rides, and club rides, the Quad Cycles team also sponsors and organizes races such as the First Annual School Street Hill Climb. We hope you can join us for this new and challenging event!

Local bike shops QuadCycles, Quadmultisport and the QuadCycles Racing Team announce the First Annual School Street Bicycle Hill Climb. The race, which benefits the QuadCycles Junior Cyclocross Team, will take place in Arlington on Saturday, August 22, 2009. The event will be run in time trial format, with the first rider departing
the start line at 9:30 a.m. and the last rider going off at 12:30 p.m.

Commencing at the gate of Cutter Hill Park and concluding just before
Gray Street, the 900-foot course features 150 feet of elevation gain
and an average grade of 17 percent. Though the climb will prove
challenging, the fastest riders will likely complete it in under one
minute. All riders must wear helmets and compete on bicycles with at
least one functional brake. As each rider will receive only one
chance to complete the climb, those not able to finish the course may
walk their bicycles back down the sidewalk to the start, or walk up
the sidewalk to the finish.

An awards ceremony will follow the event at 12:45 p.m., with prizes
awarded for the three fastest male riders and three fastest female
riders in age groups 12-14, 15-16, 17-18, 19-29, 30-39, 40-49, and
50+. Any locals hoping for a chance to shine on the bike but daunted
by the idea of 150 other competitors should note that separate prizes
will be awarded to the fastest male and fastest female Arlington
residents, and also to the fastest male and fastest female School
Street residents.

Riders should plan to arrive at the event early to allow themselves
time to check in and sign a mandatory waiver form. The course will be
open for warmups from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The entry fee is $10 for
those preregistering through bikereg.com, and $13 for those
registering on the day of the event. Commemorative T-shirts will be
available on the day of the event for an additional fee.

For those traveling to the event by car, local street parking will be
available with the following exceptions: School Street, Robbins Road,
the Cutter School Condominiums lot, and the Brattle Square business
lot will all be no-parking zones; however, School Street will remain
open to resident traffic for the duration of the race. Temporary bike
parking (in the form of bike racks) will be provided to all
participants. Restrooms and changing rooms will be available at
QuadCycles on Massachusetts Avenue, half a block east of School
Street; cyclists who are hungry post-climb can purchase food at A&A
Deli across from QuadCycles.

For more information regarding this event, contact:

Ted Packard
10 Oakland Avenue
Arlington, MA 02476
(781) 648-1091 (H)
(781) 267-2714 (M)
ted.b.packard@gmail.com

Comments Off | News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by oceansword

Working Man’s Stage Race, Women’s Cat 4

July 22, 2009

An update from the Working Man’s Stage Race from Jen Zeuli

I found the prospect of a stage race to be pretty daunting—so many opportunities to crash – and almost didn’t do this one, but if I’m learning anything from racing this year it’s that sometimes it’s good to do things that scare the hell out of you. So I donned the special black sports bracelet from Multisport (if you haven’t seen it you should check it out), and headed out to Amesbury with Kate.

Day 1: Time Trial
This was uneventful. I was last, so no one passed me. And I could see the woman in front of me for most of the 6.6 miles, so I knew I hadn’t totally fallen off the back. The only problem happened at the end, when I didn’t quite know where the finish line was. I finished seventh out of eight.

Day 2: Circuit Race
The women’s 3/4 field was supposed to start with the men’s Cat 5’s, which had been freaking me out for weeks. But at the last minute, they found enough officials and pace cars to separate us, which was a huge relief, particularly considering that there were two crashes in the men’s field. We started off at a reasonable pace; everyone was saving themselves for the K.O.M. hill, which was six or seven miles in. That’s where the break happened. Hills aren’t really my thing, but this one wasn’t too bad and I really gave it everything I had; I lost all sense of what was going on around me and just climbed as fast as I could. Regrouping at the top, I heard one woman tell another, “Four on.” Four on? Four on what? Then as we started to descend, I realized that I, along with three others, was in the break. I hadn’t anticipated this, and it took me a minute to wrap my head around it.

With me were a woman from Colavita and another from Mt. Holyoke, who had both dominated the time trials the day before, as well as a brand-new racer also named Jen who was freakishly strong. Soon after the hill people shifted around in such a way that pushed me out in front. I had to make a fast decision about whether or not I’d go. I’d never been in a break before, not for any length of time; what did etiquette demand? If this were the Tour, I reasoned, it would be only fair for me to take a turn. So I pulled for a mile or so, toward the end of which I was feeling a little panicky. I was getting tired and slowing down, but no one was passing me. What if I got stuck out here until I was completely used up? I slowed down again, to no avail, and so finally in desperation I pulled to the left, not expecting much. But they all passed me in a neat little line, and I was overjoyed. For most of the rest of the lap, we maintained a fast and highly organized paceline, and we passed several Cat 5’s, which filled me with glee.

Then the hill. Holyoke and Colavita attacked. I actually kept up with them briefly, but very close to the top all my energy deserted me and there I was, gasping for breath, pressing forward at maybe 6 MPH, watching them pull away. Utterly spent, I waited for Jen, and then hopped on her wheel. She chased. She was freakishly strong. We never caught them, but we entered the third and final lap at a pretty good pace. She pulled me all the way around the course until about a mile before the hill, when she fell in behind me for a while. This seemed only fair. But then, of course, she was rested when we got to the hill, and she pulled around me and left me in her dust.

No big deal. I was still feeling good about this race. I climbed as fast as I could, descended as fast as I could, and then made the final turn, entered the last mile, and spotted a Cat 5 up ahead. Irrationally, I felt compelled to chase him, pass him, and put as much space between us as possible. Doing this sort of made me want to die, but I pressed on. I finished fourth, only 48 seconds behind Jen, and managed after a few dicey minutes not to throw up at the finish line.

Day 3: The Circle of Death
This was a rather bizarre experience: a sixty-lap points race on a quarter mile Nascar track filled with cracks and covered in oil and all sorts of road crud. Frankly, the track freaked me out. I kept up with the group and tried, in vain, to set Kate up for some of the sprints, but mostly I kept to the back, trying to avoid one particularly sketchy rider and just generally not die. In this endeavor I was successful, plus I earned exactly one point. So I was sixth in the points race and fifth in the GC, and surprised myself by being sorry it was over.

1 Comment | News | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by katzj

Breaking from the routine

July 8, 2009

Every weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Bobby Mac leads a group of members of the team as well as a large number of charity riders and others that come to join us on a loop that’s 62 miles at its longest. The loop is known to all, starting in Arlington and going out to Bedford via the bike path before going in a set of circles around Concord, Carlisle, and Billerica. It’s a great loop as it leaves people conveniently near the end of the bike path at all points and so if they feel they can’t go further, it’s easy to go back.

Those of us who have been doing the loop for a few years, though, start to look for a little something different. But the group which breaks off and heads in different directions is without fail the fast group and as fast groups do, they are willing to drop you. Therefore, Kate and I have been talking for months about leading a no-drop ride for anyone that wanted to come along out to Harvard, MA. Further west than people usually go with a little bit more climbing and a lot more pretty.

This Sunday, that ride happened and we took twenty-eight (!) Quaddies for a 70 mile ride out to Harvard returning via Bolton and Stow. The weather was perfect as we got sun and highs in the upper 70s. Thanks to a few suggestions, we managed to not lose anyone and I think that everyone had a great time. For the most part, we kept to small backroads and I made sure that the route had a few good climbs for everyone to feel like they got to work enough. Regroups were frequent, but relatively short and mostly to ensure that no one missed an important turn even though we did have cue sheets.

The group assembled outside of the Harvard General Store

Thanks to everyone who came out and made the ride a success. One thing I learned is that it gets a lot harder to lead a ride once you get past the point of 6-8 people. And also, having arrows could have been helpful in terms of needing less regroup points. But having the regroup points helped everyone to get to know each other a little bit better and build up a bit more of the sense of team for beyond those who come out and race. So we’ll likely be doing another similar ride before the end of the season — suggestions for other destinations welcome.

Comments Off | News | Permalink
Posted by katzj

Twilight Crit – Women’s 3/4 Race

July 1, 2009

Jen Zeuli and Kate Leppanen went to Connecticut last Saturday to race the Twilight Crit to benefit Cystic Fibrosis. The rain held off and they got in a good race. Here is what Jen had to say about how the race played out.

The Twilight Crit: Why It Pays To Be A Parasite
By Jen Zeuli

My goal in this race: a pack finish, something to offset my less-than-stellar 27th place (out of 30) at Sterling back in May. But I tried to be realistic; just staying upright would be an improvement. The field was small, only nine women, which made me less nervous, but it was a combination 3/4 race, which made me more nervous. There wouldn’t be enough of us to split into two groups, I reasoned. The threes would set the pace and I would just have to try to hold on.

I’d never set foot on a Nascar track before, so warmup consisted of me testing out the banked turns and fighting off the usual pre-race why-am-I-doing-this jitters. As we lined up, Kate told me, “Stay upright, and stay on my wheel unless you can find something better.” Okay. A strategy. The bell rang and we were off on our first of twenty-five laps.

Immediately things were more organized than I’d expected. There were two women from CVC who were working really well together, and people were generally in neat, reasonably civil lines. I was clinging to Kate, as instructed. We did things I would never have done if left to my own devices. She’d suddenly break off from a formerly steady pace to surge ahead. She’d shoot through gaps that didn’t look like gaps at all, not to me. She’d ride so close to the edge of the track that I was absolutely certain we’d both skid off. Watching her at one point, early on, I thought, “I can’t do that!” Then I switched that part of my brain off and concentrated on defending her wheel.

Around and around we went. There were three primes; I only vaguely remember two of them and was entirely unaware of the third. Kate pulled a lot. I hardly pulled at all. No one was pushing me to take a turn because my teammate was doing so much work. At some point a break formed; we chased them but didn’t quite catch them. But I was feeling good, really good. The pace was fine, and unlike my three earlier races, at no point did I want to die. It occurred to me vaguely, while fighting a girl with a Salem jersey off of Kate’s wheel, that I was having a positive experience.

We entered the final lap. Four women in the break were about a quarter-lap ahead of us. Kate was pulling the main pack, and I was happily riding along behind her, basking in my immanent victory. The glorious pack finish was almost mine. Then I looked at the break up ahead, and out of nowhere a thought popped into my head: I can totally get there. So I pulled around Kate and sprinted towards them. I honestly thought I was helping; Kate was probably tired, and I assumed she’d jump on my wheel. But when I reached the break and glanced back, no one at all was behind me. Strange. But there was no time to contemplate it; this group was really moving. I stayed right with them, and finished fifth. I couldn’t even believe it.

Talk about teamwork. Turns out, no one chased me in the final lap because when I sprinted for the break, Kate sat up, slowed down, and blocked for me. So I’d stayed upright, I’d exceeded my pack-finish ambitions, and I’d actually had a good time. My new goal: learn to reciprocate.

Comments Off | News | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by katzj

Houstaonic Hills race report

June 23, 2009

A couple of Quaddies braved the forecast of rain for last Sunday and headed to Connecticut to race in the Housatonic Hills Road Race. Here’s Charles Wescott’s report from the race.

Housatonic Hills Road Race, June 21, 2009: Two laps of hill-climbing bliss along the scenic PCB-laden banks of the Housatonic river.

Results:
Nancy Labbé-Giguère: 10th of 24 Cat 4 starters
Charles Wescott: 73rd of 102 Cat 3/4 starters

Although I missed out on registration for the Cat 4s, Kate kindly pointed out that there were still open spots in the 3/4 race. Having no more excuses, I signed up and immediately got to work on the most difficult part of the race: convincing someone to drive me 2.5 hours to darkest Connecticut to race 54 miles with 5000 feet of climbing … in the rain. Fortunately, Nancy was up to the challenge; and I was chauffeured to the waters of the Housatonic in comfort and style. The rain stopped just as we arrived, and miraculously held off until the end of the race.

The 3/4 race rolled out with an immediate 2-mile climb on grades in the 8-12% range. Fortunately, this climb was neutral, so I had a chance to warm up a bit. The pace car accelerated and we descended for the next 3 miles as the racing began. By the time we hit the bottom, a 100 m gap had opened up about half way through the pack. From my position in the very back, I panicked and crossed the yellow line to sprint to the front group as we began to climb the next hill. I caught on, but I just couldn’t catch my breath on the climb. Near the top, around mile 7, I found myself in a 5-man breakaway … off the back of the pack.

I tried to organize a smooth paceline, but it was not to be. One guy refused to do any work, and the others just couldn’t, so I set out on my own until I caught up to Gary from Cambridge Bicycles. We rode together for a while in complete silence, except for a wheezing sound coming from my left lung. The sound reminded me of the “squeal like a pig” scene from “Deliverance”, and I began to notice the beautiful, yet frighteningly rural landscape. This inspired me to pedal faster, and I left Gary to fend for himself.

Shortly thereafter, I was caught by the Cat 4s, who started 5 minutes behind my race. I was tempted to just slip into the pack, but didn’t. Once I was out of the draft, the Cat 4 peloton disappeared into the distance.

On the next hill, I caught up with two guys from NY teams who had been shed from the Cat-4 pack. We worked together well, taking 45-second pulls and concentrating on staying together. By the end of lap 1 we closed in on the Cat 4 peloton faster than Tom Boonen bearing down on a coke dealer, and my ersatz teammates re-integrated with their pack.

Lap 2 consisted of a series of short cooperative efforts with others who had been dropped. I would catch people on the hills, work with them until the next hill, then take off and find someone else. The course was now littered with riders from the other races, some of whom were still on their first lap. Some were walking their bikes up the hills. One guy was vomiting, but he assured me he was enjoying the experience, so I pressed on. Geoff Martin of NEBC eventually rolled up behind me with about 5 miles to go. I think we were both tired of racing, because we chatted until we were caught by a group of about 6 who were decidedly more serious. This group stuck together and we raced the last few miles to the finish. At 200 m out I started to sprint. At 50 m out I went into a full-body cramp and slowly convulsed across the finish line like an epileptic tortoise on wheels.

Shortly thereafter, Nancy sprinted under the banner to take 10th in the Women’s Cat 4 race.

We stuck around for about an hour chatting and eating the excellent fruit and cookies provided by the race promoter. As we loaded the bikes onto the car, the rain resumed and we headed back to Arlington. I look forward to returning next year with more of my Quad Brethren.

Thanks to Charles for the report.

Comments Off | News | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by katzj

Nutmeg Criterium Cat4 Race Report – 6/13/09

June 18, 2009

Andy is new to the team but not new to racing and contributed this report from the Cat 4 field at last weekend’s Nutmeg Criterium down in Connecticut.

Nutmeg Criterium Cat4 Race Report 6/13/09
Andy Tucker

The Nutmeg Criterium was my second race with my new QuadCycles team. The course was a 1 mile or so loop on a wide paved pedestrian path in Walnut Hill Park, in New Britain CT. The course was smooth with several gentle turns, a slight uphill on the back stretch, and a sharper turn before the finish. The course was made a bit more interesting with the bumpers of several parked cars jutting out into the path of the field, and the occasional fitness walker making use of the multi-use path.

Quad was represented in the cat4 race by myself, Nessim Mezrahi, John Buchheit, Kenton Eash, and Jim Gomez. We rolled off at a moderate pace, with nothing special happening for the first few laps – everyone just getting a feel for the course. After that the pace picked up a bit with folks testing their legs out, but nothing more than that. There were no significant attacks at all for the entire race. I took a turn pulling around the course for a lap and tried for a few primes, with Nessim helping me out for one. Unfortunately, my competitors had a bit more umph and were able to just snatch the primes from me.

With a few laps to go John B came around me and I stuck on his wheel. He brought us up towards the front and kept the pace high. On the last lap I was able to stay up near the front, before I got engulfed on the back stretch. I thought that was it for me when a hole opened up and I shot through it to jump on a line. We barreled around the last corner and I came around the wheel in front of me to sprint for a third place finish.

Overall the race was fun and safe. Thanks to my new team for the lead outs – especially John for sacrificing himself on the last few laps. Well done! And to Nessim – it was great racing with you and I wish we could have done more! Good luck in DC!

Results:
Andy T 3
Nessim M 50
Jim G 54
Kenton E 56
John B 62

1 Comment | News | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by katzj

Ride Report from Team in Training Lake Tahoe

June 16, 2009

In addition to racing, one of the things we encourage members of the team to participate in is charity rides. A week ago one of our cat 4 women, Jen Zeuli took part in the Team in Training ride out at Lake Tahoe. Here’s her report from that ride.

Everyone’s first century should be like mine. There should be balloons and cowbells and people waving signs that match your jersey. There should be a finish line and a medal and a wide selection of giant cookies. And there should be a purpose for it, something more momentous than, “I feel like riding 100 miles today.”

On June 7, I did America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a century around Lake Tahoe. I rode with Team in Training, which raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The fundraising minimum per person was $4,300. Of the 3000 people who did the ride, 1,700 of them were with TNT, and together we raised over 6.8 million dollars to fund cancer research and other programs that benefit patients and their families.

The ride started, for us, at 6:15 AM. Each group had an assigned start time, and we went in 5-minute intervals. I should explain that TNT mostly gets new riders, people who aren’t athletes and—in most cases, at least on my team—don’t even have bikes at the start of the season. They train together from February through May and then do the ride. I went to four or five of the training sessions so I could get to know people and found them, well, frustrating. People were really nice, but sixty miles should not take six hours. Hence, I found myself on Saturday morning with a small group our coach called the “Dream Team.” On the Quad rides I’m medium-fast, and I’m a neophyte racer who wobbles in a pack, but with TNT I’m a total rock star.

At about Mile 12 we came to a series of switchbacks leading up to Emerald Bay. I’d been hearing about these switchbacks for months—so hard, so steep, you stand on your pedals and nothing happens, etc.. As it turned out, though, I had been somewhat…overprepared. Thank you, Kate and Jeremy, for that one. When I got to the top I attracted some stares by shouting, “That’s all you GOT?”

At Mile 40 the six of us in my group were on a long, straight road, doing 20 or 21. While I was taking my turn in front, seven or eight guys from LA whipped past us. “They’re going much faster than we are,” I thought. “I should just let them go.” But when they pulled in in front of us, I decided, “The hell with this; I’m going for it!” I sped up and latched us onto the back of their line. Then other people jumped in behind us. Before long, we were rocketing along at 26 or 27 in a paceline of maybe 30 people, and the LA group didn’t even want to take turns. They pulled for seven or eight miles, until the rest stop, and I think I pedaled maybe four times.

Mile 80: We began the 7.4-mile climb to Spooner Summit, average grade 5%. The scenery was spectacular; the lake was crystal-clear, like the Caribbean, and it was ringed with mountains that were capped with snow. But it was hard. Just to make things really fun, I was doing this on mostly flat back tire. I was riding up the outside of a line of people, gasping out, “On…left…on…left” for what felt like forever, and I was getting a little loopy. Two of my teammates had pulled ahead of me, and I passed one of them, Ray, walking his bike up the hill. I had a conversation with Ray. I asked Ray if he was okay. Ray said he had cramps. I rode on. At the summit, the teammate who had taken the lead asked me, “Where’s Ray?” My response? “I haven’t seen him.” The whole interaction had vanished from my mind, not to reappear until dinner.

Mile 92: Incredible adrenaline surge! After five miles of downhill from Spooner, I felt like I could go at least another three hours. I was all wound up, attacking on hills and laughing maniacally.

Mile 98.88: Crossed the finish line, three abreast with my two surviving teammates. It was the first century for all three of us. I signed in, got my medal, and then hopped back on the bike. I needed my computer to say 100 miles. One of the people I rode in with told me that hers said 101 and I should just go by that, but that was unacceptable. So I did a victory lap.

I’ve been doing group rides for almost a year and have loved every one of them, including the time I got caught in an ice storm and the day a couple of weeks ago when I bonked and Anke put a video of it on Facebook. But this felt really different, like I was part of something much bigger than myself. I’ll do it again next year. I’d do it again next week if I could….

1 Comment | News | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by katzj

Lake Auburn Road Race – June 6 2009

June 10, 2009

Team Quad sent up a contingent of riders for both the Men’s and Women’s cat 4 races in Auburn, Maine over the weekend. The weather was perfect — sunny, upper 60s and little wind. Reports from Jeremy Katz and Kate Leppanen for the Men’s and Women’s races follow. Photos below courtesy of Charles Wescott. Overall results for the day were a 7th place finish for Andy Tucker and pack finishes for Nessim Mezrahi and Jeremy Katz in the Men’s field and 5th for Nancy Labbe-Giguere and 6th for Kate Leppanen.

Jeremy’s Report

We got to the course start with lots of time to spare and actually had the time to pre-ride a lap of the route. So we headed off as a team to recon the course and jog our memories from last year. It was good to do as little things like “landmark for the turn before the hill” doesn’t stick with you for a year… but half an hour before the race start it certainly does.

The race itself was to be three laps of an 11.5 mile circuit. It started with a quick downhill followed by a little bump and then a steeper little climb. Then a few turns and a mile or so with a slight downward grade to the back half of the course which was about six miles and pretty much flat. This was thus a bit on the fast side. The course then took another turn and began going back up towards the finish with one steeper and then one longer and more shallow section to a bit of false flats for the final kilometer or so. Total of about 600 feet of climbing a lap. Pretty much good pavement for the entirety of it, well marshalled, etc. Honestly, it’s a great course and I was looking forward to coming back and doing better.

In the Men’s Cat 4 field, we had six people in the field out of a total of somewhere between fifty and sixty — myself, Jim Gomez, Charles Wescott, Nessim Mezrahi, Kenton Eash and Andy Tucker. My personal goal was to finish with whatever the main pack ended up being and from a team perspective, we were hoping to get someone at least in the top ten. The race started on time and it started out pretty quick. I was at the front and was able to maintain my position through the fast descent in a nice improvement from last year. The first lap continued pretty quickly; I know I saw an average speed of above 25 mph at one point on the back stretch. When we hit the big hill up to the finish, that dropped a bit. We had definitely started to drop some riders off the back, though.

The second lap was much of the same and I realized that hanging on was really about all I was going to be good for. I did get in some good work with moving up in the pack and raising my comfort in doing so. It helped that the peloton for the field was pretty smooth overall. The exception was that for every corner, the speed dropped somewhat dramatically and then people accelerated like hell on the other side of the corner only to let up after 100-200 meters. A little annoying, but I kept with it. Andy and Nessim spent some time during the lap attacking and trying to weaken some of the stronger riders in the field. I was content to just sit in and let things happen.

By the third lap, I realized that the only Quaddies who were left were Nessim, Andy and myself. I talked briefly with Andy and he said that Nessim was going to try to set him up with a lead-out. I didn’t really have anything to add to the effort, so just was going to keep my head down. I also noticed at this point (not far into the lap really), that there was a rider a little ways up the road and that the pace car seemed a little further away. Not that I was going to be able to do anything about it. As we started up the hill for the finish, though, the gap dropped — by the time we were cresting the second hill up to the finishing flats, we passed the guy who had jumped off the front and this was when people really cranked it up a notch.

With a little more than a 1km ago, someone decided to start pushing for the sprint and I decided I had done enough to accomplish my goal. So I sat up and got passed by 6 or 8 people coming across the line about 26th although I did make it look like I was sprinting for something. Andy ended up with 7th and Nessim was somewhere in the pack between 15th and 20th. All in all, not a bad day

Kate’s report

Another race, another couple of lessons learned on what turned out to be an exquisite day to ride the bike. As an improvement over last year, I got an early start and rode up to Maine with Jeremy rather than getting hammered in Maine with college friends. Also improved was the weather, the lack of pounding rain or oppressive humidity was quite nice. After putting in a warm up lap with what turned out to be a rather impressive turn-out of Quaddies and mentally marking how many times the final hill false flats and which is the turn before the hill, I cruised around near the start line to keep my legs warmed up. While I got to the start line a solid ten minutes early, I found that I was among the last person to line up which put me solidly at the back of the pack, not the place I wanted to be going down the first big hill.

Although we were ranked separately, the Women’s 1/2/3 field started with the Women 4s.

We roll out down the hill and I rue my crappy position in the back of the pack as I watch the leaders flatten themself into an organized aerodynamic position and those of us in the back fiddle with our position and nervously tap brakes to avoid slamming into less aerodynamic riders. It did put me in a fabulous place to watch Talia slip herself from the absolute rear of the pack to the very front. Amazing pack handling skills.

We hit the little wall and I make the critical mistake of fumbling to get into the small chainring at the appropriate time. Chasing from the back of the pack, I yell at the riders that I pass that we need to work together, that we can catch the peloton rapidly speeding away. I fall in with a group of largely PVC riders and try to organize a chase. I take a pull at the front at a solid 25mph and flick my elbow to go to the back. The pace drops to 18mph. I yell more and move back up to take another pull. I pull off and the pace dips again. The wheel car pulls past us. This is not working. I move back and look at our group; Kim Z. of Green Line Velo is riding very steadily and seems very strong. Continuing my theme of yelling at people, I tell her that we’ve got to hammer if we have any hope of catching the leaders, I’m going to go and I hope that she follows my wheel. I go, watching the leaders now disappear distant over a hill. Together Kim and I chase. No one else from the group follows us.

As a two woman chase group up against a good sized peloton of very strong riders, a lot of them 1/2/3s, we do not make contact with the peloton again. We do not see the peloton again nor do we pick up any of the riders that inevitably fall off the back. Working rather well together, we trade off taking pulls for the remaining 35 miles. I slow up to keep Kim with me on the hills, she neutralizes when I drop my chain (again!) as we enter the 3rd lap. As is the nature of bike racing, the glorious partnership we’ve had for three laps dissolves as we reach the final climb. I’m pretty sure that Kim can outsprint me so I give every last thing I have on the climb and spin my way up the hill. I sprint to the finish line, although there is absolutely no one around me. I find out later that the main field finished an intimidating 16 minutes ahead of me. Sixth place for the day, not too bad but I wish I’d actually maintained contact with the group for more than 1k. The big lesson learned (or rather the big lesson reiterated) is that you should never wait to close down a gap. Gaps just get bigger with time.

Post-race, we stayed around to the start of the Pro 1/2 men’s race–I do so love the whoosh sound the pro race makes as they roll through. There were also post-race free massages and I enjoyed a glorious 12 hours without pain in my left shoulder for the first time in just about a year. Very briefly, I considered trying to convince someone to drive me to Auburn the next day for the crit. I tell myself that the legs could have probably endured it well enough but I was not mentally up for another 5 hour car trip.

Comments Off | News | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by katzj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.