Sunday, March 26, 2006
Plainville Series - Race 3
No one will label Race # 3 of the Plainville Training Series a monument of New England bike racing but it still feels nice to win a race.
Like last week we were a small field of about 17 riders. great. Not as windy as last week but still a good breeze blowing in our faces coming down the start-finish stretch. March in Connecticut - cold and cloudy. The race started with Steve Rosko of NCC pulling the field around for 2 laps at a moderate "just warming up" pace. On lap 3 a CVC rider attacked and got a gap. Steve decided he was warmed up and moved over to let someone else pull. The line of riders snaked with him except for former pro Anna Milkowski. She held her line and just kept the original pace. I figured what the heck, accelerated, got her wheel and we were off for what would become a 45 minute break that would lap the field. On the next lap JD Biladeau of NCC came through Anna and I and latched onto the CVC rider. His pace was too hard for us so we just settled back into our rhythm. We had a good gap on the field by this point, helped out by the fact 3 of us had team mates back in the bunch. It took Anna and I another 6 or 7 laps to finally catch JD and CVC. Lap after lap went by. For a long while, probably a half hour, we never saw the field. We didn't seem to be gaining but we weren't getting caught either. At one point I looked at my watch and saw we were 40 minutes into the race - just over half way! I didn't share this info with my companions because I didn't want to discourage anybody. We still had a long way to go. We were out there so long with no sign of the field and we were not getting time gaps from anybody along the course. Finally we started to see the group in front of us as we rounded the last turn and they rounded the first. It still took several more laps to get them. Once we lapped the field I didn't want to leave it to a sprint so I attacked 3 more times in the closing laps to try and reestablish a break. No luck. On the last lap I found Tom Steven's wheel as he accelerated hard through the last corner. When he realized it was me and not Anna on his wheel he sat up. Oh crap! Now I'm second wheel, starting to slow up and it is too early to go into the wind. I hesitated for what seemed like forever. I thought I had blown it. I sensed the surge coming on my right and I opened up my sprint. I held off my break away companions to take the win!
Wade
Like last week we were a small field of about 17 riders. great. Not as windy as last week but still a good breeze blowing in our faces coming down the start-finish stretch. March in Connecticut - cold and cloudy. The race started with Steve Rosko of NCC pulling the field around for 2 laps at a moderate "just warming up" pace. On lap 3 a CVC rider attacked and got a gap. Steve decided he was warmed up and moved over to let someone else pull. The line of riders snaked with him except for former pro Anna Milkowski. She held her line and just kept the original pace. I figured what the heck, accelerated, got her wheel and we were off for what would become a 45 minute break that would lap the field. On the next lap JD Biladeau of NCC came through Anna and I and latched onto the CVC rider. His pace was too hard for us so we just settled back into our rhythm. We had a good gap on the field by this point, helped out by the fact 3 of us had team mates back in the bunch. It took Anna and I another 6 or 7 laps to finally catch JD and CVC. Lap after lap went by. For a long while, probably a half hour, we never saw the field. We didn't seem to be gaining but we weren't getting caught either. At one point I looked at my watch and saw we were 40 minutes into the race - just over half way! I didn't share this info with my companions because I didn't want to discourage anybody. We still had a long way to go. We were out there so long with no sign of the field and we were not getting time gaps from anybody along the course. Finally we started to see the group in front of us as we rounded the last turn and they rounded the first. It still took several more laps to get them. Once we lapped the field I didn't want to leave it to a sprint so I attacked 3 more times in the closing laps to try and reestablish a break. No luck. On the last lap I found Tom Steven's wheel as he accelerated hard through the last corner. When he realized it was me and not Anna on his wheel he sat up. Oh crap! Now I'm second wheel, starting to slow up and it is too early to go into the wind. I hesitated for what seemed like forever. I thought I had blown it. I sensed the surge coming on my right and I opened up my sprint. I held off my break away companions to take the win!
Wade
Monday, March 20, 2006
Plainville 2, Bethel 3
No it's not a baseball score...
I did Plainville 40+ Saturday. Rode an hour in the FREEZING cold the long way from my house down there. Stood around for a half hour and got colder. Took off a layer at the start line and was so cold my teeth were chattering. The gun went off and within the first 5 laps I went into what I can only describe as exercise-induced asthma. Weird. Has never happened to me before. Pulled over and sat there until the field came around again, jumped back in, and was fine for the rest of the race. This course is BORING. You are constantly turning, and the wind was brutal. A break got away (one rider was a Junior; Matt Carpenter's son) and Tom Stevens took an incredible two-lap pull to nearly close the 15 sec. gap going into the next to last turn on the bell lap. Our pal Mike Norton took the win. I rode another hour home, into the wind AND uphill.
Bethel...Wade and I cruised down in the car, watching the snow flakes fly occasionally on our way. We did about a 15 min. warmup then on the line the official says "What do you guys (there were only about 20 of us) think about 30 minutes + 5 laps." There was no argument. Things were easy for a lap, then a solo rider went, eventually came back, another solo went and came back, then a couple guys (maybe more?) went, Wade tried to bridge, Bodin countered wicked hard we caught Wade at the bottom of the hill, and then suddenly, there were more people up the road than the "field" of 6 that Wade and I were in. Don't know who won; don't care. Probably the coldest race I've ever done but at least it wasn't snowing like it was as we pulled away in the car and the 1-2-3 race was on.
I did Plainville 40+ Saturday. Rode an hour in the FREEZING cold the long way from my house down there. Stood around for a half hour and got colder. Took off a layer at the start line and was so cold my teeth were chattering. The gun went off and within the first 5 laps I went into what I can only describe as exercise-induced asthma. Weird. Has never happened to me before. Pulled over and sat there until the field came around again, jumped back in, and was fine for the rest of the race. This course is BORING. You are constantly turning, and the wind was brutal. A break got away (one rider was a Junior; Matt Carpenter's son) and Tom Stevens took an incredible two-lap pull to nearly close the 15 sec. gap going into the next to last turn on the bell lap. Our pal Mike Norton took the win. I rode another hour home, into the wind AND uphill.
Bethel...Wade and I cruised down in the car, watching the snow flakes fly occasionally on our way. We did about a 15 min. warmup then on the line the official says "What do you guys (there were only about 20 of us) think about 30 minutes + 5 laps." There was no argument. Things were easy for a lap, then a solo rider went, eventually came back, another solo went and came back, then a couple guys (maybe more?) went, Wade tried to bridge, Bodin countered wicked hard we caught Wade at the bottom of the hill, and then suddenly, there were more people up the road than the "field" of 6 that Wade and I were in. Don't know who won; don't care. Probably the coldest race I've ever done but at least it wasn't snowing like it was as we pulled away in the car and the 1-2-3 race was on.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Season Opener
Bethel CT Week 1.
Wayne and I lined up for the 30+ and the 123. Wayne's plan was to just race the 123 but he got there so early (as did I) that there was no point in sitting around for almost 2 hours waiting to race the 123.
30+ field was small, only about 30 guys. Pace was slow to start with the wind and all - stiff head wind on the back stretch. Then a break got away about 15 minutes in. Tim Unkert is now a masters rider! I remember when he was a junior! Anyway he, a strong Yale guy, Kyle Wolfe (Cat 2) and a couple of others got up the rode. Wayne and I were happy to sit in, thinking of the next race. But with about 7 to go a chase group formed and I figured I would try and bridge - solo. I did. We didn't work that well together so with 1.5 laps to go I attacked. One guy made it to me just at the bottom of the hill and beat me to the line. Man that head wind was tough all alone. I was 8th.
123 race. Much bigger field. Crash on lap 2. What a way for two guys to start the season! Breakaway went on lap 3 - Peck, McGinley, Adain, a Sakonet and a purple/white dude and 2 or 3 others. 2 or 3 would get dropped leaving the 5. Field spilt in two a few laps later. I made it, Wayne didn't but it did come back together a few laps later. A chase group went with Badger, Amos Brumble and a couple of others. Badger and Amos stayed away the rest didn't. We got lapped with about 10 minutes to go before the last 5 laps. Mike Conlon pulled us just before the hour. I blame that on the few knuckle heads who interpret "let the break go through you" as "time to attack and then go with the break!!" I think if the field just let the break go and then started racing again Mike would have let us keep racing for the full time. Mike M. won.
All and all I was pleased with how I rode. My legs felt strong (must be all the lifting) but my lungs need to catch up. I'm tired but not shattered.
Wade
Wayne and I lined up for the 30+ and the 123. Wayne's plan was to just race the 123 but he got there so early (as did I) that there was no point in sitting around for almost 2 hours waiting to race the 123.
30+ field was small, only about 30 guys. Pace was slow to start with the wind and all - stiff head wind on the back stretch. Then a break got away about 15 minutes in. Tim Unkert is now a masters rider! I remember when he was a junior! Anyway he, a strong Yale guy, Kyle Wolfe (Cat 2) and a couple of others got up the rode. Wayne and I were happy to sit in, thinking of the next race. But with about 7 to go a chase group formed and I figured I would try and bridge - solo. I did. We didn't work that well together so with 1.5 laps to go I attacked. One guy made it to me just at the bottom of the hill and beat me to the line. Man that head wind was tough all alone. I was 8th.
123 race. Much bigger field. Crash on lap 2. What a way for two guys to start the season! Breakaway went on lap 3 - Peck, McGinley, Adain, a Sakonet and a purple/white dude and 2 or 3 others. 2 or 3 would get dropped leaving the 5. Field spilt in two a few laps later. I made it, Wayne didn't but it did come back together a few laps later. A chase group went with Badger, Amos Brumble and a couple of others. Badger and Amos stayed away the rest didn't. We got lapped with about 10 minutes to go before the last 5 laps. Mike Conlon pulled us just before the hour. I blame that on the few knuckle heads who interpret "let the break go through you" as "time to attack and then go with the break!!" I think if the field just let the break go and then started racing again Mike would have let us keep racing for the full time. Mike M. won.
All and all I was pleased with how I rode. My legs felt strong (must be all the lifting) but my lungs need to catch up. I'm tired but not shattered.
Wade
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