Our Cycling Chronicles

Day Four Longsjo Classic Stage Race

2010-07-05T14:31:00.000-04:00

Today was the final of four stages for the race, it was the Criterium and my favorite discipline of racing. The temp on my computer was reading 92 degrees at the start, I knew that would play a factor in the racing for us all.

My plan was to attack at the start and take a chance at getting a small group to the front. I made sure I did a sufficient warmup; I put in an hour solid getting ready and continued to spin right up to we went to the line.

The whistle went off - I went off, it wasn't meant to be though. I didn't get far; it was too predictable and the pack was right there. I sat in for a couple of laps to get myself use to the high effort it takes to sit on the front, it takes a bit more energy than sitting in the pack but it also keeps you in position to seethe moves others make and react quickly.

I figured if I couldn't get away from the group, I would throw some attacks. I prepared to do this immediately after the first sprint points. I went into the line fourth wheel and launched, got away a short distance and others came across but quickly the pack was there too. Others attacked and I jumped to stay with them, I was determined to police the front and either create the winning move or be a part of it. These would not work for any of us, but it wasn't for the lack of trying.

Going into the the last lap, three riders from 545 Velo attacked hard at the front an forced a reaction from Jonny Bold, the series leader (Yellow Jersey), staying attentive at the front paid off, I jumped with them, going through turn 1 & 2 I was now 3rd wheel with a 545 Velo rider, Jonny, then me going down the back stretch. We were going 40+Mph and drive the front hard enough no one could come around us, it stayed strung out heading into turn 3 with Jonny on the front and me second wheel. We exited corner 4 at full speed and at 300 meters to the finish I launched my attack and kicked as hard as I could and drove it down the straight to take the win! It was a great way to wrap up a great four days of racing at the 51st Longsjo Classic Stage Race. I made many new friends and had more support from my family than I could ever possibly expect- they make it possible for me to enjoy this sport. In wrap up I was able to finish in 10th place overall on GC for the series and a payday for my efforts.

Day Three - 51st Longsjo Classic Stage Race

2010-07-04T19:08:00.002-04:00

Day Three is here, this is where I've been spending a fair amount of time working on my Time Trialing discipline. I felt OK but wasn't sure how I would do once on course since this is the first time I was going to do a TT after racing hard for two days.

It warmed up quick and our times were starting in reverse order of GC at 11:00AM, I started at 11:15:30AM. I took the time to get ready, ensuring I wouldn't have to rush but so I could stay relaxed a bit and save all of my energy. I knew I would be facing some tough competition given the stacked field we had.

In the start house I was given the countdown 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Beep.......

I was off, a little to hard than I planned but good none the less. I motored up the first hill and settled into my position. About 3 miles in (8.6 total) I peeked down quickly at my heart rate and it was exactly were I wanted it... at about mile 4, just shy of the turn-around point (4.58m) I noticed my power (wattage meter) was dropping a bit but my heart rate was were I wanted it. I was going into a bit of a head wind so I assumed it was nothing.

I hit the turn-around in good form and started making my way back... at about mile 6 I checked again and noticed the same thing as previously. I was putting out everything I could, I just wasn't putting out the power. It was hot, I was drying out, my through was a bit raw and with no water on-board (typical of this distance TT) I just dug deep and motored on. I looked quickly at what I was approaching for time and realized I wasn't going to get the performance I was expecting. I just pushed forward, this was all I could do now.

I hit the finish line and finished with 20:21, ultimately it would place me 12th for the stage, which is good and move me up a spot to 11th in GC. I was definitely a bit challenged today after all the racing - that's the way it goes! On to the Crit tomorrow for the last stage - this will have to be an aggressive race with a break in order for me to move up in GC at all. I have a plan, but will have to see how it plays out tomorrow...

Day Two - 51st Longsjo Classic Stage Race

2010-07-04T19:01:00.002-04:00

Day two was very challenging! The weather was great but the heat started to crank up a bit. I had excellent support with Nicole and Taylor (and Connor) in the feed zone making sure I had everything I needed; you can't ask for better support - this doesn't include all the many, many other things they do to support me pre/post race too.

I was sitting in 8th place GC and could have played the safe card and just sat in the group, but I just can't do that, I wanted to move up in GC so I attacked the field 4 or 5 times. A couple of times I thought I would get folks up the road with me and a break would form but it wasn't to be and all the effort went for not. It's always to look back and critique a race and get caught up in saying things like "If I just sat in" or "If I didn't work to pull a break back" but I know what my goal was and I went after it with everything I had. I finished the day in 18th place only 20 seconds back from the winner and in the main group but it would end up costing me 4 places in GC, going from 8th to 12th.

On to day three! Time Trial.

Day One Wrap-up

2010-07-02T14:11:00.001-04:00

Great weather and competition were on tap today! The circuit race at the Longsjo Classic is always a tough day of racing. The race is 3.1 miles long with a double kicker hill each lap. This is a super fast course overall and if your not paying attention, you'll find yourself quickly dropped, even on the downhill sections.

My goal today was to stay at the front of the peleton and motor hard up the hill each lap, this is always the safest place to be and with the fast downhill section turning at 90 degrees to the right as you go straight into the hill at about 32mph, you want to be up front. The hill would prove challenging with every couple of laps being a sprint for the Green Jersey.

The race unfolded as typical with many attacks, counter attacks, and bridging attempts. I took a shot at attacking the field with 3 to go. I got a couple is seconds but I would quickly be shut down. With 2 to go, Johny Bold from Corner Cycles and Max from Target Racing were able to gap the field by a couple of seconds and hold it to the finish. I put everything into staying at the front coming into the last corner, this proved to be a good move. We charged up the hill hard, stayed in the big ring and powered with everything I had, I would secure 8th overall and get a few seconds on those behind.

Time to rest and recover for tomorrows race.

Day One - 51st Annual Fitchburg Longsjo Classic

2010-07-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe day one is already here! Arrived at the hotel last night and picket up my race packet- seemed a bit quieter this year. I took the opportunity to take a ride down to the Time Trial course and pre-ride it. This year is unique in that they changed the format for racing. Instead of opening the stage race with the Time Trial, that moved it back to day 3 following the Circuit and Road Races. This should prove to be both interesting and decisive in the overall standings. It should also serve to shuffle things up a bit since we'll be more tired going into it and unlike the other formats, every racer ha the opportunity to gain time in the field, not just those that make or join a breakaway. I have worked at my TT discipline a bit but have no idea how I will feel when day three shows up ~ so, we will see.

For now, I have the freshly ground Starbucks Columbian Beans brewing in the French Press and a small bowl of Oatmeal with raisins, blueberries, and strawberries on tap. Weather looks to be nice, let's hope we have a good Circuit Race this morning. Here's to Day One and the start of the - 51st Annual Fitchburg Longsjo Classic!

Top of Gibralter

2010-03-05T00:35:00.001-05:00

Standing on the Top with the Seirra

Figeroa Mt Pic 2

2010-03-04T09:58:00.003-05:00

Figeroa Mt pic 1

2010-03-04T09:58:00.001-05:00

Old San Marco & Figeroa Mt

2010-03-04T09:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday's trek into the mountains. 8,400' climbing- started the day
at the ocean and headed up up up. Absolutely great riding and epic
views. Cold weather came in at the top of Figeroa and made for a cold
decent for about 30min.

Esau's pic #2

2010-03-04T09:52:00.001-05:00

Breakfast @ Esau's Santa Barbara

2010-03-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hanging out with Cliff having an early breakfast at Esau's a great
little place with surf boards adorning the ceiling. Big ride for
today: Thursday worlds then off to climb Gabraulter Mt. Looks like
another day of 8,500' climbing is in store. Loven it.

1980's Schwinn Project Bike SS

2009-12-12T20:02:00.024-05:00

I was at Manchester Cycle talking with Bob the owner and looking at an 1980's lugged steel frame with a set of track wheels on it in the beginning stage of a rebuild. Bob has a few older Schwinn frames from back in the day that he builds into single speeds every now and again. After looking at this frame and rim set I decided I wanted to take a crack at it myself. I started to imagine how it might look with a nice paint job and a mix of new and vintage components. That's all I needed, I took it home and began planning...

When I left the bike shop I had a vintage frameset, stem and a few components

Wheelset
Crank and BB
Bullhorn bar

I new I would be picking up many other parts but I wanted to plan it out a bit and wasn't sure what I would try to get new versus using vintage components. I started looking on the web to see what the Schwinn's of the 80's looked like. They were a little bland, mostly one color frames. I decided to expand my search and find more inspiration - this is probably the most fun aspect of the build, the creative part.

I looked at the fixie scene, you can really find some neat inspiration here! I also looked at vintage balloon tire bikes from a design perspective. I looked at current painters and custom builders as well and was able to draw a broad range of ideas. I have to credit my littlest son Connor with the main theme which I drew from his favorite movie "Cars"... I remember seeing Lightning McQueen when he was painted a burgundy/cream color in the spirit of a vintage corvette. This was it, I was set on this color scheme at least.

I grabbed my pencils and went to work drawing out the concept to use as my guide. I drew about four or five different themes, from solid colors and outlining the lugs to solid bars of cream on the head tube and seat tube, always keeping with the burgundy/cream color scheme.
Final guide drawing

Next I started to consider where to get it painted. I talked to a few folks and decided to look into powder coating. I found that I could get this done for a very reasonable cost. In talking with the guy who does that powder coating, he said it would be a challenge to get the two colors in the manner that I was looking for. I decided I would paint it myself. I've never done this before but I figured I could manage it with a bit of knowledge and the right tools. I have the compressor and the spray guns as well as the lettering brushes (courtesy of my dad), these are easily as old as the frame. Bob would continue to be a valuable resource throughout this build. I picked his brain about the painting process a bit and combined with what I learned on the web, I went down to Lowes to pick up some enamel paint. Rustoleum makes a pro enamel paint in the colors I wanted already mixed, this was a bonus. I pickup up a good charcoal mask, some masking tape and set off to create a home garage paint booth.

With the booth setup, I cleaned the frame, taped it off, hung it up and got to work prepping my tools, thinning the paint out and finally, painting the cream base color.

With the base color down and a few (3) coats, I taped it off where I wanted to keep the cream color so I could layer on the burgundy.

With the tape (green) down, I layered on the next color.

Fast forward on the drying time... some wet sanding with 600 grit paper, hand-painted black bands to mate the two colors and a few clear coat applications after the decals.

After some more research and inspiration, I figured out what I wanted to get for components and began my search on Ebay and with some help again from Bob. Here's what I ended up with:

New Parts:

Bontrager tires - they're black with a nice white wall, low-key but stylish
Bontrager white bar tape
Cane Creek 200TT carbon Time Trial brake levers
Eighthinch 15MM wrench - Bling factor - fixed to water bottle boss for flip-flop wheel
Weinmann silver DP18 Deep V flip-flop track wheels - single speed & fixed gear
Origin 8 bullhorn bars
Origin 8 White carbon bottle cage
Lasco 48T track crank
16T freewheel
18T fixed gear
BMX chain

Vintage Parts:

Campagnolo Record brakes - these are absolutely beautiful
Selle Italia Leather seat
"Custom" brand track pedals and cages - new lever strap
"Custom" brand stem 90cm
"Custom" brand seatpost
Suntour downtube levers - as this is a single speed, they're not functional - only there for aesthetics. I didn't want to remove the downtube braze-ons for the shifter so I thought I would put these on there for looks instead of seeing the bare braze-ons.

Other necessaries:

Vintage Schwinn frame decal - courtesy of Bob @ Manchester Cycle
Reynolds 531 and Campagnolo decal - Ebay - props to a gentlemen in Australia - thanks Mate!
Vintage Schwinn head tube badge - Ebay - This is the last piece to complete the build, I need to pick up a couple of very small screws to mount. (see pic)

Here are the final pictures. A couple with the bike setup before adding the chain and other final components, then a few of the completed bike.

I learned a lot building this bike. I really like the final product, It came out just as I imagined it and I had a lot of fun doing it. I would definitely do it again and I'm sure I would do an even better job next time as I learned quite a bit in the process.

What's next? There are two things I'd like to try, first and simpler is to build a set of wooden fenders. The second is to build my own lugged steel frame - someday!

As I'm not one with much patience, I enlisted the person who inspired the color scheme to test it out. Since it was too cold outside, we gave it a go round the family room. It doesn't quite fit him yet, but I imagine it will some day. The smile on his face always makes my day!

Draft Drawing

2009-12-04T13:05:00.001-05:00

Here is the draft I drew to get the idea dawn before actually going to
paint.

1980 Schwinn Super Sport project

2009-12-04T13:00:00.001-05:00

Working on repainting this classic lugged steel frame for my fixie/SS.
Was able to locate all the original decals etc. which will go on in
the next phase prior to the clearcoat.

Long Time!

2009-10-09T11:51:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since Taylor or I have updated the Blog... we'll try to do a bit more soon. Life has been very busy on many fronts for our family. With the start of Expo/Superior Energy club we have had many evenings pulling things together to get grounded. Having 62 people who are engaged helps a tremendous amount. Our kits should be in any day, very exited to start supporting our sponsors and looking uniform across the team.

Taylor continues to grow taller and I expect he'll be taller than me in about two months or so. He has been off the bike for the past 4 weeks as he signed up for cross country (running) at school and has been doing great. It's impressive to see how quickly he acclimates to things. I think he's planning on racing Jr's in jamestown on Monday, we'll see.

Starting to think about goals next year... always tough to come up with new ones... any suggestions?

Happy B-Day Taylor

2009-07-24T13:10:00.000-04:00

50th Fitchburg Longsjo Classic (2009)

2009-07-06T07:58:00.007-04:00

It has been a long 4 days of racing - Great racing! Why is it great? That's simple... My top five reasons are:

1) It is an opportunity to see how you stack up against some of the best riders in the country and abroad - the depth of riders is incredible.
2) The race venue is very challenging with four distinct disciplines that will challenge you in many ways
3) The successes and failures inspire you
4) Family and Friends are there to support you
5) Not only do you get to race, you get to watch some great racing; if you're fortunate to have team depth, you can watch some of your teammates compete and support them along with good friends.

I'll run down a few of the key moments of each stage...
Stage 1 Individual Time Trial: This is called the "The Race of Truth" for one reason, it is each competitor against the clock versus racing with one another. It was a rainy, foggy day marked with wet roads, potholes and plenty of fog. Regardless of these factors, every competitor would have to race in the same conditions so it is a level playing field. I was able to borrow my Teammates son's TT bike for the event, I wasn't sure what to expect as I was taking a bit of a gamble since I had never ridden a TT bike. Gary spent some time after his race to fit me to the bike, then I rode around a bit and tweaked the saddle till I felt it was right. I continued to warm up until I had 60 seconds to go, then rolled up to the start house, up the ramp and into position. You have about 20 seconds to get settled as they send you off every 30 seconds. This gave me enough time to get my thoughts squared... I can do this - I can ride hard - Evan is starting behind you and you can't let him catch you...

This is what was going through my head. As luck of the draw would have it, Evan Huff a cycling friend of mine was slated as the rider behind me. This means he's going to be gunning to catch me and I'm going to ride so he can't - I figured this would mean we both get a great TT time. Back in the start house - I'm getting completely focused and the countdown begins 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and I am off, with a yell... I dug deep, paced myself just below my threshold and motored on... I would try to hold it here dipping just beyond a bit and recovering a bit. I saw my first carrot after about 2 miles, I was going to pass him before the halfway point I thought, I started to dig focused on catching him, I was able to get him and make time on the next 30 second man at the half-way mark. I was given a lot of intel on the course from my teammates who raced it earlier - what they provided held to still be true later in the day, save a touch more power for the second half as there was a steady head wind and it would be tough. I held it out, suffered as you know you do when time trialing and passed my second guy. I hit the first hill on the way back, then the second and I could see the next guy, I focused on closing that down and catching him before the finish. I recalled the spot I marked mentally on the way out where I wanted to do my full out drive and when I hit it, I drove and closed the gap on the third guy as I approached the finish. Again digging deep, I rode hard through the finish in 4th place out of about 110 competitors. There were only 8 riders to still finish that had started after me. After about 4 riders went through, one of them came through with a better time and bumped me to 5th for a final result.

This is key as it sets your place in time for the remaining 3 stages. It also means you have to race very defensively to hold on to that spot as everyone is going to try and attack you to get time back and move up. The games begin.

Stage 2 Circuit Race: This is an 8 lap course with a tough two step hilly finish. Each lap we race down the back stretch road to the 90 degree right hand corner immediately into the hill - With the chain firmly sitting in the big ring, you power hard as the pack somewhat explodes with riders who are able to manage the climb and those that can't. If you can't, you're left to chase back. I stayed right up near the front each lap making sure that I could stay safe and keep an eye on possible attacks. Speeds stayed very high throughout the laps and attrition was taking it's toll on many riders. The combination of power going up the hills and the speeds was wearing on me and I tried at every opportunity to ride as efficiently as I could. I stayed tucked in behind other riders, I kept my speeds consistent, limiting the variations in surges and staying off the brakes.

We approached the last lap and I wanted to have a good position up front going into the final corner as well as stay safe by being out front. I put my head into the wind and got to the corner about 5th or 6th wheel - Perfect place. I rode up the hill with my legs starting to revolt and watched to see if we were staying together as a pack so that I could shut down the effort - My goal was to do only what was necessary protect my overall time for General Classification (GC). I finished 45 on the stage, with the pack - no change in position - Perfect!

Stage 3 Road Race: This was going to be the day of suffering! 65 miles of fast, hilly racing around Wachusett's Mountain. This would be the day where everyone attacks to split away from the peleton and gain time on the field, moving them up on GC. This means I have to race and be sure to cover any attacks that might jeopardize my position. The weather was cool but immediately started to climb - hot on the flats and uphills, chilly on the downhills, with speeds just above 55 MPH.

Somewhere around the 3 lap through, we were neutralized by the officials to let the Masters group go through, only to neutralize them soon after to let us re-pass them. This is a bit annoying to be mid race and have to shut it down a bit - you get 'cold' and 'stiff' from going at 90% effort to 20% effort, then back again. This put me into deep trouble for the 4th lap. As we went up the long climb towards the feed zone, I was taking on water and somehow inhaled it instead of drinking it. Immediately I couldn't breath and started choking - as chance would have it, some guys were attacking. I almost vomited from the heaving but was somehow able to get it under control and work to get back on the front of the group, this would take a while and quite a bit of effort but I was able to save it.

Getting somewhere around 50 miles, a group of 4 got a decent break going which would be dangerous as there were a couple of GC contenders up there, one of them was a friend of mine, Mike Nadeu from NCC. I had to organize with the yellow jersey and other top GC guys to pull them back - again, tons of effort but we were able to get them back. Now we were on the back stretch with about 3K to go and the group started getting nervous as they normally do when approaching the finish of a race. Speed also go up quiet a bit, which is hard but good as it strings things out a bit and keeps it safer. I was right were I wanted to be, at the front... We hit the bottom of the climb to the finish and it was on, I stood and hammered as hard as I could to stay at the front and see if there were any gaps opening up... there were a couple as Jackson Weber was pulling out the win and friend Evan Huff, also on NCC with Mike, was pulling out a third place. I was with the lead group at the front with no splits, good thing as the field had split up behind us quite a bit - I made it! finished 31st on the stage but lost no time, held my 5th place. I felt better now as I knew this was the most challenging day to defend my time.

Stage 4 Criterium: This was it, the last day, rarely does anyone in this group gain anytime in a Crit with the exception of the top 3 who get time bonuses. I had three goals going into this race, 1) don't crash. 2) beat my placing from last year, that was third place, I wanted to win and felt I could. 3) Hold my GC placing. I would only meet one goal, # 3, which was the most important goal.

I felt great going into this race, I stayed right at the front and watch all attacks, took my chance with one breakaway but the pack wasn't going to let that happen, they chased us back pretty quick. I stayed safe up front throughout the whole race, getting great position going into the fast corner. With 3K to go, I continued to do what I needed, outside line, right near the front, stay safe. Unfortunately for me, two riders tangled directly in front of me and went down directly in front of me leaving me no were to go but slamming directly into them. I slammed them at about 30mph and was abruptly throne over the hay bays (piled 3 high) and onto the sidewalk. I couldn't believe it, I was so mad and saw my GC sliding away from me after all this work throughout the week in the flash of a moment.

As quickly as I could I jumped up, grabbed my bike, twisted my handlebars back to straight and started to run up the road to get to the pits adjusting my bike on the way. I got on it and road the flat front wheel to the pits where SRAM quickly changed out my wheel and pushed me back on the bike. I chased as hard as I could. I was blind with focus on nothing but catching the group at any cost - I almost caught them, about 30 seconds off, I finished! It was over. I wasn't sure what would happen as I was withing the final 3K.

I met with the officials immediately and was informed that I would be given the same time as the group since I crashed with 3K to go! This means I keep my 5th place overall - It's over, Wow! What a week of racing.

Taylor and I hung around for the rest of the day to cheer on our teammates and watch some of the other races, pick up my winnings, talk about the week with friends and getting my CAT 2 upgrade! That was my goal for the season. Very exciting times in Fitchburg!

Fitchburg TT Finish (5th)

2009-07-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

Good day racing in bad weather. Happy with my 5th place out of 100+
field. Couldn't see more than 50' in front and visors on the helmets
were useless.

Had a great day getting out there to support my team and friends.
Great job to eveyone today.

Fitchburg TT Start (5th)

2009-07-02T20:26:00.000-04:00

What's happening so far - Fitchburg

2009-07-02T07:28:00.003-04:00

So we just woke up a little while ago in the hotel room, got dressed, and came down to the lobby, where we are right now, to have a nice breakfast. It was actually pretty good; better than other hotels. I had bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant, where as my dad had plain ol' oatmeal. We have a long day ahead of us saying as my dad doesn't race until 5:30pm.

Weekend full of racing! 6/13 & 6/14

2009-06-14T20:36:00.003-04:00

This surely was a challenging weekend! There was some good, there was some bad and there was a ton of suffering.

The Good - As there are only a few weeks left until Fitchburg Stage Race, my training plan calls for this and next week as hard weeks (more hours) so I decided I would do the back to back days and double up on each day for a total of 4 criteriums.

Day 1: It started with the Nutmeg State Games, Connecticut's Criterium Championships. I entered two fields, the Master 35+ 20miles (CAT 1-4) and CAT 3's 25miles... These were both very fast races coming in with an average speed just shy of 27mph.

The Masters race went off good for the most part; this is where the "some bad" comes in... coming around the long back-side corner into the wind, I was feeling the efforts from being at the front covering breaks and needed to float back a bit and get positioned in the pack to recover. As I came off the front on the right side, I looked quickly over my left shoulder to see the pack and gauge where I could re-enter. As I looked up I shifted to the right a bit with my bike, this is a mistake and something I should have been able to avoid, but... I'm not perfect and things happen. The timing wasn't on my side as there was a guy looking to skim by me on the right on his way to a bridging attempt and I impeded his line. He was mad, I apologized and thought that was it. Two laps later, he found me in the pack, came up next to me and ran his bike intentionally into me as if to retaliate. This of course didn't sit well with me... I won't go into all the details here but the bottom line from my perspective is simple... I made a mistake, It's easy to happen and happens to the best cyclist in the world, I apologized! To find and intentionally run into someone is not only unprofessional but just plain wrong! No more about that, it's the only mar on the weekend; let's get back to the good.

The race continued to unfold, there were 10 guys up the road and no matter how much will the peloton had, we were not pulling them back. I continued to work on holding good position, the last couple last were blistering fast. Final lap, leaning hard through the corner - super long sprint to the line - took 10th in the field sprint giving me 20th overall.

The second race of the day is my main category, CAT 3 and this is the one I want to do well at. I line up with the usual cast of racers who are the staples of the category and we're having a good time talking it up a bit... no warning - the whistle screams and we're off, quickly the pace intensifies. I work hard to stay near the front, within the top ten occasionally falling a bit back and working to keep good position - it's so critical. In fact, it pays off twice this weekend. As we rip around the course and near the end, I'm holding position and feel like I've got a good shot. Blam, Crack, Whack!!! I hear the distinct sound of carbon and metal, sounds like someones wheel has been impaled and spokes are shearing off... I keep my attention focused like a razor on the road ahead, the last corner, leaning, leaning, on the straight, long sprint, I'm hurting, suffering bad, going with everything I have, I hit the line - Bronze - 3rd in CT

Good times afterwards, hanging out and talking with some of the guys.

Day 2: Whaling City Cyclone down in New London. This is a great course, it has six turns, some at 90 degrees, a long sweeping corner, and an uphill straight to the finish. This course is especially hard given it's layout and the way the wind comes off the ocean to hit you in all the wrong areas. Because the course has so many turns and is extremely fast, the pack is never really in a pack, we're always strung out single file, that leaves absolutely no where to hide. You have to stay right on the wheel in front of your, tight, and you have to enter and exit every turn the same as the wheel in front of you or you'll find yourself out in the wind quickly and loosing ground. The other challenge is that everyone sprints coming out of the corners which just adds to the suffering. Did I mention there was a lot of suffering this weekend?

So, that's the course! I had two races, back to back, no break between. Well, except I decided to take one. I entered the Masters 30+ first followed by CAT 3's. I was warmed up good for the first race and lined up at the front. The whistle sounds and we go, I find myself right on the front - attacking from the go! What an idiot, I know better than this. But my legs are telling me something else, they're saying go!!! I strung the field out really quick and put a bunch of hurting on the field, this would backfire. within 6 laps, I'm feeling the effort as the pace continues to rip up. Before I know it, I'm barely hanging on, just able to stay in the pack, the effort was taking it's toll for sure. I made a quick decision to let it go and tempo for a few laps before pulling out and getting ready for the next race. I had to save something, that is the race that counts for the day. Hard choice, but smart. I pulled out about 2/3 of the way through, rolled around to stay warm, grabbed some food on the way, met up with my teammate Chris (Suitcase of courage).

I was happy to see him and was looking forward to racing with him, he is one strong guy and a blast to race with. I told him about the previous race and weekend in general - I didn't know how my legs would react in the next race. We decided to see how the race would unfold and help each other if possible, at a minimum, the standard blocking etc... if one of us got up the road.

Before we knew it we were at the line, whistle going off, and here we go... Just like the previous race, it was fast from the start... Attack, Attack, Attack... one after another, they kept going. I sat near the front and watched as each attack went off, looking to see who was in it and if there was any blocking going on that I would/should counter. I hear someone on my right "there you are" it was my teammate Chris! Glad to see him there. Then there was an opportunity, a guy went up the road a bit, I shouted out, go for it... he went and it started to stick a bit, I sat at the front, but the pack wasn't going to have it, they countered quickly and there were a flurry of guys around me. I kicked in a gear and moved to get back towards the front with Chris, finally - got there.

Somewhere between 6-10 to go, just entering the big left sweeping turn, a couple of bikes back someone is down, I think it takes a couple of guys out. As fast as we were going through those corners it's a wonder that was the only one...

3 to go! Now it's ripping fast, as if it really could be faster than it already was. There was a guy Bill who had attacked a couple of times within the last 15 laps that looked very, very strong, he could snap the elastic holding the pack easily... He is the mark. I kept an eye on him... 2 to go, we're whipping it up, single file, very quick, come through the uphill finish and hear the bell for last lap - have to stay very strong here, almost over, suffering. We get through the back to back corners, enter the sweeper, quick turn right, standing on the pedals hard so not to loose any position, enter the 90 degree left and I'm sitting 6th, ready to attack on the inside before the last corner. Two wheels up, my mark goes for it, hard - As I was ready myself, I jumped as hard as I could, we cut the inside of the last 90 degree left and were standing, driving hard. Time to come around him and steal the win, out on the left, I'm driving, driving and we hit the line - I couldn't come around him 100% and ended up second by about a foot, man that guy is strong! I'll remember him going forward. So it was a great day, some tough decisions to make in the first race but they paid off well for the second. Man, I love racing!!!

MS Century Race, err I mean ride! 6-7-09

2009-06-08T21:08:00.004-04:00

What a great day out there... the sun was shining, I was up at 4:30 to finish getting ready, scarf down a couple of pancakes and head out the door to the annual MS Century Race, err ride I mean, or do I? You decide!

I got to the race, err ride just about the same time as.... Bio's

Dave Jacoboski - Far Left (newbie racer super strong this year)
Jeff Buske - 2nd from left (4th week on the bike this year - all year training for and completing 1st marathon)
Marty Spallone - 2nd from right (CVC Teammate - has made super progress this year)
Keith Hurley - Far right (the Monster - you've gotta see this guys quads! my lead-out choice)
Steve Yau - Tuesday night Joann Fabrics rider - super nice guy! (not pictured)

We mulled around a bit finding our way to registration and getting our pre-race, err ride packets which include a bib number - sounds awfully similar to race prep so far to me. Back to the vehicles to get ready, I proudly showed off the "Mystery Machine" Van that Taylor and I worked on all winter long just to have a level of comfort at the races... who can go wrong with a van that holds everything from 5 gallons of fresh water, bicycles, 4 sets of wheels, a microwave, bed, table to playing cards or eating and the ever needed emergency Porta Potti... Yeah, straight out of the 70's.

I felt good going into the ride after finishing the painful CT Stage race the week before with a similar final stage of 91 miles over 6,700' of climbing - completed in 4:03. But then again, this was going to be a race, I think.

We rolled over to the staging area and this is where I found out the game is on! In discussion with some very familiar faces (racers), some I compete with frequently and others I know from around, we agreed in a gentlemanly manner that we would go at a pace that would keep the group to an appropriate size, this means ride fast and hammer up any hills, the guys who can't drop out - attrition is the name of the game! There would be 1 point for town lines and 2 points for state lines and an undetermined amount for the prestige of being the first to cross the line.

We rolled out and quickly started to work off the front a bit taking turns at pulling and churning up the pace a bit. Marty was on the front with me keeping it high for a bit, then I came back to the pack to sit in for a few and let some of the other 45 - 50 people have a go at it. Before I knew it, Marty was back at the front working - I thought for sure, he is sealing his fate and will surely pop, no later than mile 60. We had a side-bar discussion coming into this thing as we talked a little bravado about how we were going to put the hurt on each other... He said he wanted to see me suffer at mile 80, my response - You have to be there first to see anything. I thought this prophecy was going to easily be fulfilled, he wasn't going to be around, I'd get a laugh and a "told you so"...

I've gotta say right now, he continued to do pulls throughout the race, err ride and to Marty's benefit, he was right there at the end, hurtin a bit, but not complaining at all, bravo Marty! The only bummer here is that he was taking video and pics throughout the ride and at one point the chip fell out and he had to go back and look for it post ride... I hope he found it.

The other guys I came with would prove to be super troopers as well! Hurley lived up to the name "Hurley Monster" by attacking on some hills and making us suffer - Props for staying strong after the broken collar bone and surgery earlier this spring! You are a monster. Dave and Jeff both new to the distance and pace not only survived but finished strong, they really rocked.

Out on course we talked through the rest stop we would take to get group consensus - this was to keep us intact and continue as one to dish out the hurt with no unfair advantages. True to form, we stayed together, no one attacked till we were back on the road as a group.

As you would expect, there were times throughout the ride, more so early on, where some of the guys felt strong still and came to the front to do some work and see if they could be first to crest a climb... a good many weren't around to see the finish. I guess this is typical of an early day before the miles start to really wear on you. Personally, somewhere around mile 60 I started to think about conserving a bit and changed more to a defensive roll than offensive, although not completely.

I wish I had more to say about the sprints that unfolded during the race, err ride, but the truth is, we pretty much got whooped on by Zane from Horst-Benidorm (http://masterscycling.wordpress.com/). He had his teammate Spike there to share in the efforts and he pulled out one or two sprints himself, one against me, I just didn't have it, but Zane was a man on a mission, He may have nipped all but 3 in total and still had the energy to stay strong throughout. He had a knack for knowing where they were and timing the attacks. On one sprint, I saw him go but not quite quick enough to catch his wheel. I felt strong and decided I'd still go, why not zip those wattage numbers up a bit~ He sat up just a bit before the end and I came by... we'll have to let that one go to the camera, it was too close and in the grand scheme of things is totally pointless considering his domination of all the others...

I will tell you this, it was evident that everyone was feeling the efforts of the day, some more than others and I was glad that I had a little left in the tank for the final couple of hills and the queen sprint of the day, the finish. Now coming into the last two hills was a bit taxing with the attacks, I stayed with Zane and Spike, I think it played out like this, Zane took the first hill, Spike went hard for that second and last hill, I attacked just over the crest and around the kid on the bike who was floating over into the middle of an attacking pack and was able to get just enough of a jump and into the corner fast enough to sprint down the straight away and lift my arms high in the air as if I had just won the a European One Day Classic... of course I didn't but it was totally fun!

The post race massage and cookout was great, it was good to see some of the other Nerac Earth cyclists and friends.

Many thanks to my recreational and mountain bike team sponsor Nerac Earth for sponsoring myself and the other Nerac Earth riders, it is very much appreciated.

I have to say, I had the most fun I ever had at this event and can't wait to go back there next year and see how I do at the race, err ride - you decide.

If you ever have a chance to participate, you should seriously consider it. The support of the staff and host of volunteers, the course and markings etc... are all done very professionally and classy, this is one super event with a great cause!

Thursday Night Time Trials

2009-06-08T20:13:00.007-04:00

I thought it would be a good idea for Taylor to try out the Thursday night Time Trial sponsored
by Cycling Concepts. It' $10 and a bit of fun! Good to see a nice turnout from CVC there as well. The first time out Taylor and I gave it a go... it is a 6.21 mile rolling hill course that starts in Manchester and heads South towards Hebron down route 85. Taylor looking cool in his kit.

As I have only done a couple of TT"s myself, I am still trying to figure it out on my own, never mind trying to provide instruction to Taylor. My advice to him was the same that I would follow - go hard, suffer, pace yourself and finish as strong as you can. Did I mention suffer?

He went off first so there would be others on the road at the same time as he was, this was the fatherly persuasion part... I felt better knowing he wasn't out there on his own. Off we went, we went hard, we suffered but we had fun and did well. Taylor finished in 21:55:05 (16.98MPH) I was proud of him, he put in a good effort. I finished in 15:00:02 (24.8MPH), did I mention suffering? Great time with the boy!

Our second time out Nikki decided to give it a try at my urging... and Taylor was back to see if he could improve upon his first effort. He was absolutely determined to do better and had very aggressive goals (see his post at bottom). Nicole was nervous going into it as you can see from her expression a bit! I slapped on the Aero bars but wasn't thinking that she had never used them before and being in a typical TT position without any practice might be too foreign and uncomfortable for her - she ended up riding in standard position versus the typical TT form. I think she'll work on the form going forward. I was a spectator with Connor and a cheering squad for Taylor and Nikki - that is always fun for me.

We drove down the road towards the finish and yelled out the window to encourage our teammates and friends as the suffered through each pedal stroke looking to best their personal records on course.

When Connor and I finally caught Nikki - She was just coming up the second to last hill and you could clearly see how hard she was working - she looked really good, I'm so proud of her.

Next on the path was Taylor - I could clearly see his face and he was so determined and focused, he didn't even look up, just drove through... It worked for him, he bested his previous time by 2:03... that is a very big improvement - did I mention he's going to catch me soon?

Here's his perspective:
Yesterday, I went to the time trial with my dad, mom, and little brother. My mom and I were the ones who actually did the time trial; my dad and brother were cheering us on in the truck. The first time trial I did, I got a time of 21:55. The course is 6.21 miles long. It felt pretty cool. My goal was to beat my previous time, and get at the most, 18 minutes. I didn’t end up getting 18, but I did end up getting 19:53. At least I beat my old time by 2:03 minutes!

P.S. I would very much appreciate if anyone could give me some pointers for a time trial because I am still a little new to all this stuff. Thanks!

Tuesday Night at the Rent 6-2-09

2009-06-08T19:42:00.002-04:00

Written June 9th... Pre-race - Today I rode for a bit to warm up for tomorrow. Tomorrow I am doing the Tuesday night crit for the first time. I’m a bit nervous, but I know that my dad will pace me so I can get used to riding the crits. I did intervals for one whole hour to get my legs spinning. After words, I was treated with a cheeseburger from my very nice mother. I then got to jump on the trampoline for a while. Pretty fun day! Taylor

Post Race - Taylor did a great job in what I would call his first 'true' criterium! I say his first 'true'... because he was races in the mix with CAT 4 & 5's which is different than his previous experience in the Hartford Crit with a much smaller field.

It was an interesting experience for both of us. Taylor wanted to do really well and was definitely nervous about getting into the group - close, going so fast. He wondered how he would do holding his line in the corners and other techniques. He was asking me a million questions leading up to the race, I loved it. We had and opportunity to work through a few of these during our warm-up. Once the race got underway, he was very focused on what he was doing, that's a smart thing and I mentioned it to him afterward. If he stays focused on what he is doing, he'll be much safer and can work on his efforts and understanding how things unfold around him.

The "B" race seemed a bit faster than normal but that could have been my impression since we didn't stay with the pack the whole time and watched them zip by us. Our goal was to speed up as the pack went by to match their speed, me leading Taylor out with him on my wheel, then introduce him into the pack at speed. This worked well and he would hold in the pack as long as he could till the effort was too much then drift towards the back to be spit out by the machine, recover and back at it. Special thanks to my teammates who were there to assist Taylor and the other Juniors (who are amazing I might add) in learning how to do this crazy thing called Crit racing.

I must say in closing that an odd part of this experience for me happend when Taylor was hanging by a thread at the back of the pack and slipped off, I put my hand on his back and push him as I peddled to get him re-attached... this seemed totally normal until I realized I was pushing my son (my baby!) into the back of the beast at 27+ mph... the thought crossed my mind, what if he just got a tad squirrally? As a parent, I love seeing him have fun and try so hard at something and have successes, but it scares that death out of me because I know Crits!

I very much appreciate everyones help with his experiences!

My first Crit

2009-05-24T07:22:00.002-04:00

In the past couple of weeks, I went to the Hartford crit. That was my first crit. I didn’t do very well. On the second lap, I flatted, and went to the pit. I then got lapped a bunch of times. Finally, I finished at an amazing 16th place! Too bad it was out of 20 kids. The age group was 13 to 18, so nobody expected anything great out of me.

Battenkill

2009-04-21T20:29:00.002-04:00

We left the house to drop off my baby brother Connor. Then we went to Cracker Barrel with the team. I had two pancakes, bacon and really good maple syrup. I also had a couple bites of Dad’s egg and sausage. After words, my team mate Max told me he had something for me. It turned out being a pretty nice CVC jacket. I wore it all day, and the next day too. My dad and I then went into the “Mystery Machine” and rode up to Battenkill, New York. We followed the team members up there. We all ate lunch together, and then pre-rode the course in the van. We then rode the junior course on our bike. For dinner, we went to our friend’s hotel, and had a buffet. I was so full. And don’t even get me started with the dessert! At night, Dad and I crashed in the van on a nice temperpedic material. I kept waking up in the middle of the night. In the morning, we ate oatmeal, got me ready, then I raced. My dad was there at the start line giving me pointers and taking pictures of me. Then we were off. The neutral start ended pretty quickly, and nobody even realized it. I thought to myself, “this cant’s be that easy.” Two seconds later, almost everyone broke away. I stayed with them for a quarter of a mile, then it happened again. The kid in front of me slowed down and caught me of track. By the time I passed him, the group was already too far ahead. I caught up with two kids to try and save energy. After realizing they weren’t in my group (they were in with the 10-12’s) I passed them on an uphill. I stayed by myself for the rest of the race. About three quarters of the way, 2 people cheered me on, on the side of the rode. It gave me an extra boost of energy. Finally after a hard and lonely race, I got near the end. My dad was there with the camera yelling to me, “C-mon Taylor, pick up the speed,” while snapping pictures. I sped up slightly, and got another boost of energy at the end because of people cheering me on at the line. I can’t explain in words how it felt to hear them cheer, and finish the race knowing that I accomplished something. After cooling down with Dad, I checked out my results. Turns out I got 9th place out of 11 kids. Surprised me! After a while, I watched Dad’s race. Really cool. Too bad he DNF’ed. I felt bad that some of the support vehicles passed him, forcing him to walk 3 miles in his rode bike shoes. We then had lunch with our friends Robert, Stacey, Jeff, and Lauren. We talked about the race, and about upcoming races. After the fun day, we had to drive home. I had a good time, and thanks to everyone for the tips and advice. It helped a lot.

Couple of Pictures
1) Signing In

2) Dad and Taylor with numbers

3) Taylor on the starting line - Far Left

4) Taylor out on course

5) Taylor Coming into the finish line.

Road trip Battenkill Day 1

2009-04-17T10:36:00.000-04:00

Just finished breakfast with the team. Great start to the day. Max
(teammate) gave Taylor a team jacket after breakfast, he is jazzed.
He's chillin while I drive.

And they're off...

2009-04-17T07:13:00.002-04:00

Well, it's the morning before my first race. I think Battenkill will be fun, but I'm very nervous. I'm glad it's my first race and up for the experience. We are going to have breakfast this morning with the team, then drive up to the race to check it out. More to come after the race.

--Taylor

My Last Plainville Crit

2009-04-11T17:40:00.002-04:00

Today marked the final day of the Plainville Spring Series for me. There is one more event next Saturday, however Taylor and I will be in New York for Battenkill! And very excited about it I might add. The morning started not too great, a bit off for me. I packed up the van last night and had planned to meet up with my friend Robert and four other Teammates to head to pre-ride the Battenkill course. For whatever reason, I had an awful night sleep, actually both Nicole and I did, I felt like I was laying there for an eternity.

At 11:32PM my phone 'beeped' with a text message, I looked over and it was Robert letting me know he wasn't going to be able to make it in the morning. I figured I still get some sleep and head out to meet the guys in the morning. I must have fallen asleep at some point since I woke up to see it was 4am, 30 minutes before I had set my alarm, argh. I got up so not to wake Nikki, headed downstairs and made some eggs and heated up the pancakes (common theme on the weekends here) I made last night, sat down with a cup of coffee and ate breakfast. 4:30am - I sent Max (teammate) a text, "you there"?, Yep, he shot back... "I'm out, no sleep, not feeling great, have fun"!

I thought I could get a few zzzz's then hangout with the family in the morning - get on the CompuTrainer and ride Battenkill, which I downloaded a few days ago. I lay there on the coach till 6:10 am, when my phone rang - Ha, it was Nikki up stairs with Connor calling to say good morning; I guess he decided to wake up early. I love getting those calls. I went upstairs to let her know I was home. Too funny.

Now, I just couldn't get any sleep so I decided to lay around a bit and just relax - then I would head down to Plainville for the last (my last) race and hoped the rain would hold out.

Cut to the chase - I showed up, rested up in the van, then got dressed and met up with Esteban, my CAT 3 teammate and headed out to warm-up, Esteban was fighting a cold, that's too bad, it's tough to race when you feel like that. We ran into Cliff, the third leg of our CAT 3 team for the day and headed to the course and starting line.

We lined up to start, 40 of us and the whistle went off - here we go! The roads were dry so far and the race unfolded as normal, attacks off the front, people bridging, the peleton chasing it down. I decided after destroying myself trying to move up in points in the previous 2 weeks, that I would conserve as much energy as possible, mark the 3 guys I needed to, the two in front of me and the one behind me in points and see what the group at large would do, then fight with everything I had at the end.

Back and forth it played out as I suspected, it was quick but seemed to play out a bit slower, I think it may have been my perception as I wasn't chasing off the front, but sitting protected between 6-10 place. It's hard watching the break-away go and wonder if it will make it, trying to determine if it has the right mix of players that the peleton will allow to get away and not react. I've started to learn this is a sign of racing maturity to hold back a bit and save your efforts for when they really count.

We went through the first Prime - I tailed the current points leader through the last corner - He hammered it and I let him go thinking he wouldn't pass the four guys in front and beat them to the line for the points, I was wrong, he did... Oh well, I have to remember, I'm saving my strength. The next Prime came and I let it unfold, without me.

Time ticked by and with about 10 minutes to go it happened! Rain!!!!

Now, this can be tricky in a Crit with the speeds, corners and early season legs (skill). We started picking up speed to string the field out a bit so it wouldn't be bunched up, this is definitely harder work but much safer. The lap cards started counting down, 5-, 4-, 3- and it happened! I was on Tim Ratta's wheel (the points leader), just near the front, high pace, typical 2" gap, we came through the last corner before the stretch and his rear tire did a quick little slip out, I don't know how, but with a ton of luck and skill, he saved it and didn't go down - too close. It started to come down more - rain, rain, rain! Speeds going up, higher and higher, stringing it out, here we go lap cards, 2 to go, 1 to go, and bell lap (final lap)...

I was in third place going into the first corner, too close to the front, It would be better if there were two more guys in front of me to draft on. Going quick, had to hold it here and see how it goes. As we came up to the last corner, Dave from nerac EARTH cut to the inside just a bit to take his chances, I caught this out of the corner of my eye, enough for me to know it was him - I jumped on his wheel. This is a good wheel to be on, Dave is extremely strong and a great sprinter, he won last week. Now I just had to time my sprint off of his wheel, then it happened - I went, I really went, with everything I had as hard as I could - it felt like slow motion. I passed Dave, now there is no one in front of me, I was headed for the line, solo - in the back of my mind thinking "I hope I can hold this effort and no one is able to come around me and beat me to the line... I'm willing to bet this goes through everyone's mind when sprinter for the line. Then it happened! First win of the year with a bike length to spare! Man that felt good.

Looking at my numbers after the race, they were pretty much the same as they've been in previous races for speed and power, except for one, the final sprint, I landed a new personal best and a number I'm very proud to see as a sprinter, I'll put that one down as a future challenge to beat.

I always enjoy the racing and the competition, there are some great guys out there - should be a great season. Now we shift our focus, Taylor and I are on to Battenkill.

Getting Ready for Battenkill Road Race

2009-04-08T18:12:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I went on a ride on the CompuTrainer. I went 20 miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes. In the beginning, I didn’t start very well. I averaged about 98 watts. About 16 miles in, my dad came down and pushed me really hard. I brought my average watts up to 110, and maxed out 506 watts. It wasn’t easy, and I sweated my butt off, but I did it.

Today, I did an easy ride just to stretch my legs a little after yesterday. I felt pretty good afterward and didn’t feel very sore.

I am still really nervous about Battenkill because it is my first race and I don’t exactly feel ready enough. Also because I’m not used to riding in a group, and I’m kinda sketchy on my bike. The last thing I want is for me to crash into someone and cause a huge commotion.

Please, if anyone has any tips or advise they would like to tell me, feel free to share it.

Taylor

April 4th Plainville

2009-04-05T18:25:00.002-04:00

OK. Short and sweet. Ouch! Saturday was a very tough hour of racing. When I say that, it doesn't really sound like a lot, I mean, it's just an hour. When training, that's a blink of an eye. But when you are so focused on a race as it continually unfolds in very different ways throughout the entire race, it can be mentally draining as much as it is physically.

Going into this race I was definitely not in a good position to do anything at all for a couple of reasons. 1) I did not have any of my team with me - they were either planning on racing the following day, had to work, were coming home from vacation or had other commitments. The reason this is such a challenge and why cycling is a team sport will become clear in a minute. 2) My position in the overall series placing, 3rd. This too will be more clear in a minute. 3) The two teams in first and second place both showed up with 7 - 9 guys per team, that is a lot!

So, here is how it all plays out... As the race gets underway, both teams start to send their guys up front to attack the field. With the wind as strong as it was, it was very, very challenging to do anything, so anyone that gets away has a chance to stay away since it's too challenging to bridge across the gap from the main group to the break-away group. The two teams attacked with a couple of guys each while keeping their true leader just off the front of the main group. With their teams forcing break-aways - they are guaranteeing their success. How? because if their guys in the break stay away and win, they hold their place as 1st and 2nd. This doesn't work for me as I want to move up to 1st or 2nd. So I have to try to cover each of the attacks - that is were it gets so, so hard for me, I have to work hard to stay with any effort that I think might get away. The others get to just stay near the front and have their teams work to pull me back if I attack, which they did relentlessly every single time I tried to do anything. Every effort was fruitless! Yet, I had to keep trying in the hopes they would slip up some how and I could get away. It didn't work. So this is were it all comes together.

In summary - they attack, I work to stay, they stay on my wheel, I get tired, they save energy. They win!

I got so tired near the end from trying to bridge to a gap, that I almost couldn't hold it and one of the nerac EARTH guys, Dave G. (thank you much Dave) actually grabbed my jersey as he whipped by pulling me onto the end of the break-away group. It didn't matter though as you can guess, the other groups would not let me go.

I was able to recover just enough to fight in the last five laps with the main field to contest the win. I gave it everything that was left in the tank and squeeked out 6th place! Dave G would go on to win the race in a super strong sprint, man did he have power at the finish.

If it's so hard and fruitless going into it at times why do I do it? Simply because I can - and I love the challenge - and enjoy racing against great competitors. Ultimately I am getting stronger and when we start the single races where the tactics described above to play out and I have my teammates around, I will be in a good position to contest for the wins or help one of my teammates take a win.

Lastly, I was not able to have one of my favorite competitors and friend Robert Carmen at the race - It was a special family day for him and his wife as they celebrated their daughter's first birthday and a naming ceremony. I felt privileged to be invited with my wife and boys and we had a great time, they are super people and he is a very very strong cyclist and great competitor. I'm sure there will be some posts in the future about our battling.

Taylor is doing very well getting ready to race Battenkill in a couple of weeks. The nerves are getting him a bit, I'm sure he will do very well.

So, it is much easier to write about this afterward, remember, you're trying to work through all of your options while you're working at the edge of exhaustion and it can be frustrating trying to do things that have no impact. That's racing!!!

Bethel - 3-22-09

2009-03-22T18:30:00.002-04:00

Good day in Bethel! I wasn't sure what to expect from this race as I was recovering a bit from the day before, I had heard there was a higher caliber of racers than at Plainville and the course itself has 30 laps, 25 miles and a hill at the end of each lap.

I had no real expectations other than to work with my teammate Chris who has been representing us down there for the 3's solo - very strong rider. We teamed up with Calvin from CCNS who did not have a team to work together throughout the race, this at least gave us three guys to look out for one another.

The race was very fast from the start, there were a couple of very strong attacks and a few break-aways succeeded for a short period of time but were ultimately brought back. One of the guys (team unknown) was out front with a 45 second lead and his team did an effective job of blocking at the front. Why the teams with depth did not try and push the pace up I don't know, but it allowed him to stay away.

It came down to a very fast last lap. I was near the front in good position, two guys on the same team made a run for it, I jumped on third wheel and hung in, we attacked the hill! About half way up the hill the guy in front of me blew up and sat up, I had to slow down, move out and hammer up. Others swarmed around as they had momentum, I finished in 18th place out of 60. Still a good day! I truly enjoyed racing there and recommend that folks give it a shot. The promotor does a very professional job of putting this race on.

3-21-09 Plainville Crit #3

2009-03-21T21:06:00.002-04:00

Brrrrrr! That's how the day started off today. It was about 30 degrees when we started the race, I was shivering after the warm-up as we stood in the start line. It was a tough day today and although I did good overall, I lost the yellow jersey. That is not a bad thing! I am now tied for first place but the guy that I am tied with one the race today which puts him on top for wearing the jersey. Let everyone mark him again next week, that works for me...

I was feeling pretty good out there once we got going. I can honestly say that this was one of the best races I've been in due to a couple of factors, 1) There were about 60 competitors in the field 2) There were a few very challenging attacks 3) I had the best teammates you could ever ask for 4) the competition for the 2 Primes and the finish were outstanding! I'll elaborate a bit.

Skipping to #2, the guys with depth in teammates were in force today. They would put guys out front and attack, attack until something with the right make-up stuck a bit... I went to bridge two times which used an incredible amount of energy. Looking back I may have made other decisions but at the time I thought it was right. In each break that I tried to bridge, there were at least two competitors who were in the top three for points and I felt I needed to keep them close. I found that when you're wearing the leaders jersey however, the peleton will not let you get away. So it was twice for naught.

#3 - I can't thank the CAT 3 team enough, special thanks to Stan, Esteban and Cliff! You guys gave me absolutely every opportunity to stay in the front and out of danger throughout the whole of the race. I very much appreciate it - this was the first time I've had a team around me that did so much. I owe you guys big time and really look for the opportunity when I can pay you back in a race.

#4 - I worked hard and was able to win both Primes - the first one was very very hard and I may have won by an inch if that. I have to leave that decision to the officials... Sprint number two was a factor of being in just the right place at the right time, this is the one in the picture for this post. Sadly, I took 7th overall, just outside of the points, this would have let me keep the jersey but it wasn't to be. I didn't know we were on the final lap till the bell rang, then I had to work very hard in the wind solo to get to near the front from about 500M out, this took too much energy and even though I was in 3rd at the 200M mark, I did not have enough energy to stay the course and guys whipped past. Lesson learned, hold the focus right to the end - ROOKIE!!!

Final - 7th overall - 1st Prime #1, 1st Prime #2

Based on the winnings, this let the CAT 3's race for half-price today.

Thanks to everyone in the race for such an awesome time today!!!

3-14-09 Plainville Criterium

2009-03-14T17:05:00.004-04:00

Taylor and I went to the Plainville race today - He brought his bike to warm-up with me and some of the guys on the team. I wanted to talk with the Promoter before throwing Taylor to the wolves. I made mention in an earlier post that it was a bummer about not having Juniors race there, however I found the Promoter Jim to be a very nice and reasonable person. I asked to be allowed to pace Taylor in the CAT 4/5 race next week to help him through the race and all that it entails - He was more than acceptable to that. I am very excited now and Taylor feels a bit relieved knowing I'll be out there with him for his first Crit.

My race today was interesting, a bit sketchier than the previous week - and there were some unprofessional moves at the sprint finish which really upset quite a few of us. I don't want to get into all the details here as it's over with, folks just need to be considerate of others and be professional in their race tactics.

Esteban and I worked hard, he covered anything that went off the front, he was very strong today! The race would result in no attacks sticking and came to a sprint finish... I want to personally thank Guido (unatached) for the very purposeful and generous lead-out! It resulted in a 3rd place podium finish. I think this puts me in the points lead and the yellow jersey next week - I'll have to consult the final results once posted.

Take a look at the pics... Taylor looks so good in his kit.

Tubular Tire Curing Time!!!

2009-03-11T17:58:00.000-04:00

Looking for your varied opinions.

Tubulars- once rim and tire have been prepped and glued individually with correct number of coats, 24 hours to cure, and tire mounted to rim, how long do you wait till you race them?

a few pics from yesterday's race!

2009-03-08T08:56:00.006-04:00

Here are a few pics from the race yesterday courtesy of Steven Yau, he has taken some amazing photos of cycling and other interests... There are more in the slide show.

Pay Steven a visit and check out some of his work: http://www.pbase.com/steveyau

Race #1 down - Great race for the Team!

2009-03-07T21:04:00.003-05:00

Well, today had it's highs and lows... the weather was absolutely perfect for a race day, I saw the needle tip to 69 degrees. Our CAT 3 team had an opportunity to see how the hard hours of winter training would show - everyone looked really strong despite a couple not feeling 100% up to par. The first race saw attack after attack off the front. The second race (1/2/3) was a leg stretcher and although I felt great, I would fade out after a strong effort, I wasn't able to sustain it for very long.

Highs of the day:
-Great first race with the new 3's
-2nd place in the 1st Prime, 1st place in the 2nd Prime, and 3rd place overall (4 points) - netted me $71, split between the guys, free race day for each of us. Special thanks to Chris, Estiban and Stan, you guys are monsters!
-Found out they're going to let Juniors race with the CAT 4/5 - this means Taylor can go with me next Sat.
Lows of the day:
-Was a little sketchy early on and a couple of my teammates and friends mixed it up a bit. Keith, hope that broken collarbone heals up quick for you bud!
-Taylor could have raced today as they decided to let Juniors in but didn't tell anyone.

Time for bed!

Friday night training - Taylor w/ Dad

2009-03-06T16:56:00.001-05:00

Spinning it up a bit before the race tomorrow. First one for dad.
Going to race Cat 3 then 1/2/3. Let's see if I can hang in there for
two races. Still bummed Taylor can't race Plainville.

Thursday Night Training

2009-03-05T19:50:00.002-05:00

Taylor is getting excited about the upcoming racing and I think a bit nervous too! Connor and I snuck down to snap a picture of Taylor riding a 15 mile loop on the CompuTrainer.

This thing is a great investment - He loves to ride it because it's so interactive, like a video game. He is building up his cache of rides so he can start to ride against his previous performances. He said he wants to be in shape to be able to do well when he starts racing. I think he's going to do great no matter what. He's already won just by being committed to something healthy and fun.

First race!

2009-03-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

Where's the arm and leg warmers? I thought I put them over here last year, nope! Nikki, have you seen my bike clothes? This is an all too common event in my household. Now my wife (an angel) is going to have to deal two of the three boys in the house who can't find their stuff when getting ready for a race. Funny thing is, she always takes a moment to think and then tells us exactly where whatever we've misplaced is. That is talent!!!

So the first race of the season, very early in the season, is here. It was supposed to be last weekend but the weather did not cooperate as is typical of this time of year. It is shaping up to be a spectacular day in the mid 50's, that is like a hot flash for this time of year. I am excited about going through the motions and getting ready for the race with all my gear. There is only one thing keeping me from being completely excited. That's the fact that Taylor is not able to race.

You see, there is a real challenge with the race calendar here in New England for Juniors, the future racers of our sport, the young people who are supposed to carry-on the torch. Problem is, there really aren't enough races that support a class for the Juniors as is the case in Plainville this weekend. Their CAT 5 race is limited to ages 19-99, this specifically excludes the Juniors.

This is a problem that I am hoping to bring more and more attention to throughout the year. I think we need to have a structure that allows the young kids a venue to race. It needs to work for everyone involved and this may take some sacrifice on the part of the promoter from a participation perspective until it becomes well established.

Well, if you're reading this, be thinking of all of us out there this Saturday...

New TT Helmet

2009-03-03T19:39:00.000-05:00

Thought it was time to buy one if these since we will all be using it
this year and it is much easier than borrowing one. He looks fast just
standing there.

Tonight's Trainng ride

2009-03-02T19:36:00.002-05:00

Mom made an awesome plate of spaghetti after a nice hard ride on the CompuTrainer. I chased the pacer for an hour, all up hill. Exhausting!! Dad rode beside me on rollers, pushing me along the way. He was so busy pushing me, he fell over in the process. Luckily he landed on a soft chair, instead of on the hard floor. I couldn't stop laughing.

-- Taylor

Taylor Team Kit and New Bike

2009-03-01T09:39:00.004-05:00

Taylor in Team Kit "CVC/Subaru of New England". New road bike for racing!

Junior Gearing - Looking for TIps

2009-03-01T07:14:00.003-05:00

I have been reading up on requirements for Junior gearing and the need to be under 26' during roll-out. It seems there are only a couple of ways to get to this requirement.
1. Block out the bottom two cogs on the rear cassette - not the best way
2. Buy a 45T (110) chainring allowing me to run a standard 12-25 etc.
3. Buy a 10 speed "junior specific" cassette - very costly

I'm leaning towards option number 2 but having a bit of a challenge finding this chainring. I have seen a couple on Ebay and at other online retailers but they seem to be BMX specific. I am not sure if they'll work with the thinner chain used with 10 speed gearing?

Any advice, experience with this?

First race cancelled - snow coming!

2009-03-01T07:02:00.002-05:00

Well, the snow is still a factor here in CT evidenced by the cancellation of the first race this year at the Bethel Crit. This was to be Taylor's first Criterium. Hopefully next weekend is better.

Based on the forecast, some of the boys and I went out for a great ride yesterday. It almost hinted of Spring with a clear blue sky and sun shining bright, however the wind would nip at us all day. We were able to get out for just over 4 hours - 67 miles, 5,700' climbing - Avg. Wattage - right on target.

'08 New Britain Crit

2009-03-01T06:11:00.002-05:00

A little familiar head to head here at the '08 New Britain Crit with Robert - Look at that focus. Fun course in the park with a few lefts, a few rights, a short steep up hill and a very long flat and fast finish.

'08 Whaling City Cyclone

2009-03-01T06:06:00.001-05:00

Putting some history from last year on the site. This was from the "Whaling City Cyclone". A fun Crit course with plenty of turns and a hill finish. I'll be taking Taylor there this year.

Maiden ride

2009-02-28T08:12:00.002-05:00

Taylor and I were able to sneak out yesterday afternoon for a quick ride, 10 miles, on his new bike. He was riding good and strong considering he's been riding indoors all winter. He tested his power a bit by driving into the wind at 26 miles per hour for a bit... I have to say, I was surprised!

Starting to add comments 2-16-09

2009-02-16T22:13:00.002-05:00

Taylor and I were able to get in a good training ride tonight. He sat on the spin bike for an easy ride. I had five intervals, high on the power. First race is scheduled for March 1st. We've had a good off-season of training and we're looking forward to getting on the bikes and into the training races.

A Collage of Thoughts, Ideas and Experiences

2008-10-06T19:31:00.000-04:00

Welcome.... More to come soon!