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Sunday, June 28, 2009Coupe des AmeriquesTuesday, June 23, 2009Close but 1 cigarEven though it's been raining for most of a week straight, we didn't have a drop of rain on us at the Housatonic Hills road race, Sunday. It wasn't like most previous races this season, where the winning breakaway separates early in the race. Instead, there were many little ones, all beginning with John Hanson's bold attack early in the first lap. He's feeling strong, and I was glad to have him up the road with two other riders. He was out for miles, but they were eventually caught. Shortly after, I saw Jamey Driscoll go flying around a sharp uphill corner, and hoping to get into a break with him, I sprinted uphill to him, and then went by him and everyone else, and since it was a steep climb, I just kept up the pace figuring someone would bridge across to me. I was in luck: no one came across, and that turned out to be a boon, because around the next bend, the "King of the Mountain 200 meters" sign came into view. So I went full speed, took the KOM, and won a Rudy Project Helmet and shades for my troubles. The rest of the race was: Attack. Ride hard. Get caught. Someone else attacks. Chase. Ride hard. Repeat. Nothing stuck. But a breakaway evolved. With maybe 10 miles left in the 81 mile race, there were about 15 racers left in the lead. Allister from Bikereg went on a solo attack, and as a field, we mostly rode slowly for a while while he got a gap of about a minute. Then we went faster and faster. I led over the KOM climb as fast as I could, and Jamey Driscoll (Rock Racing) killed it, and did the work of eight people chasing him down, with Matt Purty (Spooky), Anders Newbury (Hot Tubes), and me lending some help. As you can count, that's four out of the 14 working...and mostly Jamey. We caught Allister about 1.5 miles before the finish, and then it was cat-and-mouse all the way in. I timed my sprint well, but should've chosen to finish on the leeward side of the line, because rounding the bend up the hill to the line, I opened up a lane for Peter Hurst, who took the win. I got 2nd, so it's a good thing I have that KOM redeeming me :). You learn something at every race. Kevin Wolfson, and Emerson Oronte finished high amongst the next group of finishers, with 20th and 24th respectively, and Hanson came to the line in 44th. All in all, a great day, and good practice for Fitchburg around the bend. Friday, June 19, 2009Small Race Reports
So I am three weeks into training and doing the local Tuesday night worlds in Bethel. Really, minor stuff but a good workout with some really fast guys (and gals). For those of you unaware, Bethel is a hub for cycling. With Cannondale, Topolino, and Bethel Cycle all within two miles of each other combined with access to really good riding, and you get a ton of riders. First race back was .....UGLY. Rain, points race, small field, fat and slow. I tried to bridge to a break, got caught by the field and spat out like a piece of bad sushi. Week two: A break of three went and stayed away and I was 10th in the field sprint. Better. Last Wednesday was another points race (which I hate) and a break of 5 went. Really fast group with Matt Baldwin, Brian Borgia, Leigh Sorrells, and two others. I tried to bridge along with legend John Funk and super strong TT Iron Man guy Joe Salem. Sam Dodge from Connondale joined us but no dice. We sat up, and the field was caught by the two guys left in the break. I may race Sunday at Housatonic......may......Good going to everyone on the elite and mtb squads!
Greg Thursday, June 18, 2009Giro di JerseyPeeps update from Jersey! The crit was a sweet downtown circuit that was sure to have a good atmosphere till the rain clouds rolled in and drove the crowds away. Thankfully the rain didn't come till after the finish as it would have been treacherous with all the road paint. As it was the course was only 0.46 miles long and people were being lapped within THREE laps. It seemed as though most of the officials had never officiated a crit before as they refused to pull riders who had been lapped multiple time even when they were causing crashed almost every five laps trying to get back in. After bridging to a break with Eric Schildge and ripping it for three or four laps that seemed promising (1 Colivita guy, 2 Emprie riders, James Carney, Dugan and Eric and I) I didn't have the legs to position myself for the sprint but finished with the main field. I have no idea why but the Colivita and Empire trio decided that they didn't want the break to work and slowed it so effectively that the field came up to us in relatively short order despite Eric's Dugan's and my efforts to get it away. Some time this week it will work! Within 30 minutes of the end of the crit is started to rain and has not let up since. Thursday: It raining so FREAKIN' hard here that the stage was cancelled today! We were called to the line for our 9am start and proceeded to sit on the line in the pouring rain for 40 minutes while we waited for the State Police to show up who were supposed to be there at 830am. Eric Schildge and I were the wisest of the bunch and commandeered the COMM 1 car and blasted the heat while everyone else stood out in the rain or under the one lone tree. Before we jumped in the car it was announced that the first lap (12 miles) would be neutral because the race was so dangerous we needed to see it before racing. So finally at 940 am we set off for our neutral lap. No more than 4 miles in came the "downhill that would be epic and extremely dangerous in dry conditions", it definitely would have been fun to race on but it was not to be. The road was bleeding so much oil that a touch of the brakes meant riders were going down as they did. I believe that METLIFE can claim the first casualty of the day. The race was stopped in the feed zone to have a rider meeting which was interrupted by the head official who "made and executive decision" to cancel the stage. I personally would have enjoyed the race as I had nothing to worry about with my Michelin Pro 3 tires that felt like they were glued to the road but oh well no race today. Tomorrow is the ITT, a 12 mile out and back (six out six back) in the rain again, that I will be going for cannibal and hope to better my CSR result! Later. Monday, June 15, 2009Whaling City CycloneOn Saturday, we got our eat on at Emerson's house. Emerson's dad built a huge wood-fired pizza oven in their back yard. So after working up an appetite doing some openers on a ride through scenic  The next day, Jon Bruno, Kevin Wolfson, John Hanson, Emerson Oronte, Jerome Townsend, and I raced the Whaling City Cyclone, a crit in It started fast, and with Kevin representing us in the first breakaway of 3 riders, I chilled and sat on anyone's wheel who was trying to get across the gap, which lasted for the first six or so laps. When the next break went, I rolled with it. What formed was a group of two guys I ride with a lot in So with three CCB riders against me, the outlook was grim. But as luck would have it, I won the next four primes, and then the race! With two laps to go, Will smartly attacked immediately after my uphill, into-the-wind pull. So I chased him down. Then Amos countered, and I chased him down. Then Dylan attacked with what he had left, but I was like glue on him. With what I had left, I led through the final corner, and across the finish line, holding my lead on Dugan by about a quarter wheel.
 In a big race of attrition, we had two more riders finish in the pack, Jerome and Kevin, 21st and 33rd places, respectively. We ate Sbarro on the way home. It was a far cry from the Oronte pizza. In Force!! MTB team is a walking sixpack.  The IF Racing MTB team showed up and blowed up in force at the Stoopid 50 in State College this past weekend. 6 guys wearing the colors had the whole peloton confused. Everyone was coming up to me and telling me about the time we had on the trails, while in reality there were a bunch of us. Greg 'The Leg', Chris Wurster, computer recluse Jeff Whittingham, single gear stomper Elk, Buck and myself (Harlan). The course had to be changed this year and we ended up on the 2005 Single Speed Worlds course. Lots of rocks, some double logs and a sick amount of team spirit. At the start Greg took a couple of fakeout flyers and put everyone on alert about team mean green! After a 'The Leg' shook it out a bit I took to the left and made the crowd hurt. Including myself. The first section of single track was about the best mix of rock and techinical trouble shooting you can find on an east coast course. I was a little held up by the Schalk, but after getting around him and leading for awhile I took a dive, courtesy of a bar end snag on a tiny pine sapling. I held out for a 3rd place overall after having to do a minor sprint for the last piece of single track. Elk had a great Single Speed race and came in in 7th. The Whittingham ripped off an expensive derailleur (send cash) and Greg rolled a fatty on his new 29er,(you should see his bent dearilleur hanger). Buck and Wurster seemed to have a good time. I'm not sure what their final impression was, or result, or what cause none of that is posted. It was good times all around. Look we even got a group photo! Go team! Sunday, June 14, 2009IF / Lionette's Wins Again!
I was thinking to myself about halfway into today's race that it was getting boring. We are almost always in the winning break and have been on the podium so many times this year, and it isn't even half over. Robbie won again today in CT at the Whaling City Cyclone
But seriously, it sure is nice and I love working for others. Nothing makes you rise to the top faster than working your teammates. Take note rookies and egomaniacs. SIDENOTE: Saturday we tried a little team building, non- racing hanging out. We went to Emerson's house in Cohasset and made pizza in his outdoor brick oven that Papa Oronte made. It was awsome. Thanks Oronte's  Thursday, June 11, 2009Singlespeed-a-Palooza
This first weekend of June Darkhorse Cycles hosted what was originally planned as a low key back to basics mountain bike race - Singlespeed-a-Palooza. The concept behind the event was to combine a good post race party with some great riding/racing and have everyone go home feeling great about their day in the saddle.
Always a believer is supporting your home cycle shop and looking for some early season action I entered with little expectation in terms of an overall results since there would be no age groups (at 51 this is important), I would be racing in pro division and this would be my first XC race ever. My focus was on the Stoopid 50 in two weeks time so the approach to the race was to get in a solid intensity training ride, take a first ride on my new deluxe lefty 29er and most importantly, after the rough past 9 months working in the financial markets, go out and have a good time. The expectation was for 100 riders but the field ended up with over 200 riders, featured cash prems and lots of cold post race beer. Mike Montalbano scorched the 20 mile course in 1:25 followed by Jesse Jakomait (sporting a pair of Daisy Duke cutoffs and the sleeveless lumberjack shirt) and Roger Foco in third. As for yours truly I had a great time, got in a quality ride, finished near the back of the pro class and realized that races less then 50 miles or 3 days are not for me (you think I would have learned after trying Cross) but I am now ready for some good ultra endurance racing. Darkhorse Cycles once again showed how to host an event that surely will become the benchmark for single speed races on the East Coast, if you missed this one make sure you put it on the calendar for next year.  Wednesday, June 10, 2009IF/Lionettes Racing Exploits: A brief history 5/15-6/6/2008I've been doing more racing than race reporting, so time to catch up, with reports in reverse order. Kings of With a 3 way brotherly battle at the 81 mile I, Robbie, gave Teddy a hard time, but Teddy, showing some Giro d'Italia form and endurance won. The race went like this: Seven 11.5 mile laps. In the first two laps, breakaway attempts were marked, and no one got more than 10 seconds. But then a group of two CCB, two Bikereg, and an NCC rider got a gap, so I bridged across with Damien Colfer (WCS). As we neared the breakaway, Teddy came screaming across the gap towing two riders. So I pulled through, followed by Teddy, who continued motoring along, but no one followed. So I blitzed away from the rest of our chase group, and joined Ted, and then the breakaway. We rode friendly for a while, then unfriendly at the end of the 5th lap, attacked the break, and rode the last two laps with just the two of us. Then Ted turned on his special Giro afterburner, which rudely dropped Robbie, who got 2nd place, 5 seconds back. Former IFer, Tom Gosselin got 4th place, and Tom Lebosquet came out of hibernation, and provided race strategy and enthusiasm. The weekend before was the first ever Connecticut Stage Race. Representing IF was Todd, Bruno, Emerson, Hanson, Kevin, Jerome, and me. A gusty, 8 mile, out and back time trial got things rolling Saturday. Those IFers with TT gear did well, Todd got 16th, I was 5th, Emerson and Bruno had a virtual tie. Others, um, tried hard. So, going into stage 2, a circuit race, IF/Lionettes had all positions ranging from 5th place to Lanterne Rouge. We marked all the moves, but nothing significant ever got away. Sunday, there was a 91 mile hilly road race. I started a break from the starting gun, with powerhouse, Roger Aspholm. That was a joke and got caught, but the one that formed afterwards wasn't. The break formed with several high-on-GC-riders, as the race climbed a subtle grade for many miles shortly after the start. So I bridged across to it, bringing Will Dugan, and making it a group of six, and powered it along. Towards the end, a couple guys were dogging it, and I wasn't eager to work harder than anyone else. So unfortunately, we were caught by an impressive chase, and with my chances for moving up on GC foiled, I mostly sat in the last three miles and waited to sprint. Meanwhile, the rider right behind me on GC, Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefits) had ridden off the front solo, and ended up gaining enough time to pass me on GC. My mind was fried, so I wasn't thinking about that, just thinking about a stage finish, where I sprinted against all the guys who were pulling, and felt lame taking that, and even lamer losing a GC place due to not thinking. So I finished 4th on the stage, in 6th overall, and stewed on that for several days. Todd ripped in with 12th place on the stage, and rounding out the top 21 was Jon Bruno. Todd also finished 12th on GC. How does a med school student do that? The previous weekend, Kevin, Jerome, Emerson, Bruno, and I headed to The first, and best, race was the Hills of Somerset Road Race on Saturday 5/23. This may be my perfect race, as evidenced by two wins in two attempts! We had a team plan for me to cover early moves. But rather than waiting to cover anything, I attacked up a hill about 5 miles into the race, and was joined by John Minturn (Empire) and Mike Creed (Team Type 1). We rolled along in lonely fashion, until Kevin Wolfson made my day and bridged across solo! This despite averaging 30mph in the first hour! And without even sitting on to catch his breath, he immediately starting taking pulls! So then we were four riders. Ten miles later, another big group bridged to us, containing two more Type 1's, Empire, two CCB, and others, making our breakaway 12 riders. A steep climb ditched a few riders, and we lost a few more on the way back to Sunday we raced the Bound Brook crit, which was a slog in the rain. Kevin, Bruno, Emerson and I were actively getting in breakaways, and representing the team up the road, although none of us were in the wee breakaway that stuck 'til the finish. Jerome and Todd were waiting in the wings for the sprint, and Jerome brought home the bacon with 15th place. I followed with 16th, after leading out the pack, which otherwise seemed content to wallow along in the final laps. Unfortunately, as Bruno put it, Emerson won the race to the ER for stitches in his hand after a crash. And in the Tour of Somerville, the big NRC event on Memorial Day, we all raced like champs. We took three primes as a team, and were in many, many breakaways. But it came back together, and in the end, a crash near the front of the pack put us out of contention. Jerome and I caught back up to the lead group, and took 28th and 30th places, which, out of a starting field of around 200 riders is pretty darn good. And we loved staying with the Federico's just outside of The weekend before, May 16 and 17, Jerome, Kevin, Bruno and I had our first road trip since Battenkill, and headed to the mid-Atlantic. Bank of America Wilmington GP was our first NRC criterium of the year. Those races are the real deal, and to get ready mentally, I was preparing myself to be slaughtered. Especially since I didn't get my normal pre-race coffee. But my pal, Bill Elliston, hooked me up with some some coffee soda. So then I felt like Robbie "ten-menzies" King. The race was fast, and often strung out, and I wasn't sticking my nose in the wind much. However, I was devastated when I saw a break roll away that I missed, and was certain would win the race. And it would have, had Bissell not uncorked one hell of a chase, and brought the break back at the tail end of the race. So, with the race redeemed, I tried to ride as smart as I could, following wheels through the last corners, and ripped in for 8th place! Jerome was always riding good position and near the front, although didn't get the result he was after. At Kelly Cup, things were dicey. There were many winding corners through rotaries and around a park, and thus plenty of crashes to weave through, and everyone fancied himself a winner, so there was lots of cutting and diving for corners, lots of wrecks, one off-road section, and ample mayhem. As a team, we were generally near the front, and able to roll in a few of the 10-second breakaways. But with crashes going off like fireworks, it was hard to predict the outcome, so I rode in a somewhat safe, if conservative way, and got 13th, which I was still really happy with, and Jerome hot on my heels, until a wreck derailed his plans for an epic win. Sketchy, but fun. Wednesday, June 3, 2009IF travels to Mohican
This past weekend Elk, Kerry, Alex Kopko and myself paid a visit to the Mohican 100. I'd say overall it was a good showing!
Elk managed an 8th place in a stacked field and I took a 9th after crashing and getting lost in the most stacked 100 miler field ever. You can read about the actual race here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=mtb/2009/may09/mohican100_09 Or you can read my personal race recap below. Or you can do both.   This whole year cycling/ racing has presented one interesting obstacle after another. Each being solvable, thank you, and therefor each being a moment of pride in a job well dealt with. From India to DSG, to this weekend at the Mohican 100 I've come across a problem that when resolved it makes me feel quite accomplished even without a trophy to display. I suppose that is why racing bikes can be considered an instant gratification device, not unlike crack. I mean anything that makes you feel good can be addictive, even if the process of getting it can be as painful as riding a 100 miles or robbing a convenience store and getting your leg run over as you trip while sprinting away across a busy highway. There are very few places in life where a mistake can seem so colossal, while actually being so trivial and repairable. Sure if you take a wrong turn during a race after having almost bridged a gap created by an earlier crash, it's going to seem as if all was for naught and the purpose of continuing is questionable. At that point one has to find a good reason to continue. At the Mohican I went through a list of reasons why to bail, which turned out to be an existential debate on why am I here. I'm here because it's part of a series, and since I'm no longer in a position to get worthwhile points I should ditch. If I do this race then I might be expending unnecessary energy, I should ditch. I could quit and race tomorrow at Iron Hill and make some money to feed my dog. Do 100 milers appeal enough to me anymore? I mean really, the sense of accomplishment is old hat. I've done close to 20 of these things, most of the courses 3 times at least and this was going to be my 4th time around this track. That's when I realized that the sense of accomlishment comes in a variety of colors. I do sort of like coming from behind. I did feel responsible for leading 5 other riders astray when I missed the turn and they had come from a long ways away. Maybe I should vindicate myself by trying to stick with it and do some work to make their time feel a little more worthwhile. Eventually that seemed like the thing to do. I put my head down, tried to make up for lost time and kept the pace decent. When I was on the front I tried to do my pentenance. Surely one or two of the lead group would fall off and someone in my group would have a chance to take maybe a top 5. Eventually it came down to Bart Gillepsie from Utah, Rob Litenwalner and myself. Bart was one of those guys I had come to respect just out of seeing his name and understanding him to be a good racer, and I was super excited to get to race him. UNfortunately it was under the auspices of me getting us lost and we didn't really get to have the cage match I wanted. Rob is an old friend by now and he was having a great day, getting dropped then ramping it up to catch back on. On the last few climbs, Bart pulled away, and all I could do was motor along with Rob as my riding partner. At aid station 5 Rob got hot bottles that had been in the sun all day, and when he had to stop at station 6 I was able to continue on. The last mile of the race course passes by my car and since I had long given up on caring about the possiblilty of counting the race to my overall series standing I took the pleasure in letting my dog, Gertie, out of the cage and she did her first unleashed trail run with me to the finish. Rob caught us just before the end and offered to wait but I told him to go on and in the end I finished 9th just behind Rob and Gertie. Well that was over, I felt accomplished despite the race issues of an early stick in the rear wheel and going the wrong way. And I felt really good. It's too bad I didn't have an opportunity to ride with the boys on the front. After eating I went back to camp, cleaned up and saw Elk come through then my traveling partner Nik Schaffer. After little socializing and eating Nik and I jumped in the car and followed Matt Ferrari home to State college where we slept, then woke up early enough to eat an early breakfast before heading to the Mid-Atlantic race at Iron Hill where I wold get a chance to crush myself and maybe earn back some traveling cash. As usuall the race was humid, but the course was super packed and after a quick start with the legs punching me, I managed to go to the front and stay there. Holy crap I couldn't believe I felt that good. And I got paid enough to cover my weekend expenses! Ahh the life of a desperate Pro, chasing the bills. Up next is the Hoo-Ha and then the Cowbell challenge in NC. I'm looking for traveling partners to NC if anyone is interested. Then I go to Colorado on the 28th. And If anyone wants to drive out with me to split the trip let me know. You'll probably have to fly back from Denver since I'm not coming back till after the 18th of July. I'll be doing to Marathon Nat. Championships in Breckenridge then the Breck Epic then the Breck 100. See ya.
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