The VT 50! race report

i won the fifty!!
i'm in bike racer la-la land.
i should be reading Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground for my 230p class,
but i simply cannot concentrate.
memories of the fifty keep floating to the surface.
it doesn't seem real.
the fifty has been the goal all season,
for a cpl seasons.
i told jenn that if i won the fifty, i could "retire" from bike racing.
of course, when i said that, i didn't really think i'd do it.
i'd have to ride so far above my ability,
it was too much of a reach,
too many things would have to go right...

8500 ft of climbing over 50miles, this course never lets-up!

the wk leading-up to the race i slept a ton, rode for maybe 5hrs, tried to eat right, tried not to split too much wood, and tried not to geek-out about my bike, which is almost impossible when you're a bike freak. when it became clear a tropical storm was gonna dump its load on the event, i headed to bike29 in waterbury to talk tires w/a true tire guru, george (the owner). we talked rubba for almost an hour - and in the end i went with his suggested combo - a wtb prowler sl 2.1 in rear and a bontrater jones xc in front. to make this tire combo really rock, i paired 'em up w/a new set of stans 355's w/american classic hubs, shaving at least 8 ounces of rotational weight from the bike. i felt this change immediately, the bike was livelier and simply easier to pedal. i had a bit of an issue getting the prowler to seal-up on the rim and was kinda freakin' about it, even hopping-off to check the pressure twice during the race, but it held-up great, rolled fast, and stuck to the wet roots like crazy - maybe the best wet / mud tire i've ever ridden, thanks george!

camped-out w/andy (sanidas), (christopher) igleheart, tim (cook), and matt. matt earned rock-star status for tossing-down a lot of beers, then killin' it on his ss sunday. good folks to chill w/before a race, no talk of the race, just shooting the shit.

i woke-up at 1a, ready to go. 3hrs later i hopped out of bed (ie, the back of my car) and knew the legs were there, they felt springy, i was alert (even w/o java!). it was gonna be a good day. the 6 bagels i forced myself to eat over the previous 2 days (on top of my normal pre-race eating regimine) had the fuel tanks maxed. added to that were 3 Airborne tablets per day (all wk) to fight-off a cold i had tingling my throat all wk, i was energized. a cup of dank, dark coffee and a bunch of oatmeal later, we were in the parking lot of the fifty, gearing-up in balmy 55-60 temps, the heavy rains had held-off, a mist sat in the valleys and on top of the ridges, the air was thick with moisture.

615, the sun hadn't risen yet, 600+ riders were staged for the start. from the gun will latendre took off. fast. (EDIT: i've been told it wasn't Will, but john foley who was the early rocket, couldn't tell w/the black windjacket on), john foley, greg montello, kurt schmid, chris gagnon, thom parsons, kristopher dennan, myself, maybe a cpl others made chase. i can't remember a fifty ever starting this fast. when we hit the first hill, Will attacked it like he was shot-out of a cannon - my legs were there, already burning, but i figured, if i'm gonna go for it, i gotta stay w/the 2 time defending champ - within minutes it was down to kristopher, will and i, the sound of our breathing and creaking gear changes mixing w/the mellow tones of dew dripping from the trees above and the crunching of wet leaves under the tires.

for the first 25 miles Will crushed the climbs, and i would reel him back in on the descents, sometimes dennan (EDIT: i thought i'd ridden those early miles w/Will and Tyler, it was kristopher dennan not tyler) would go w/him on his attacks. but dennan had forgetton his water btls and by mile 30 was zonked - we had skipped every aid station but one, and dennan had subsisted on a tiny cup of water every 5-7 miles. it was not enough. he'd rally after getting btl feeds at mile 31. he was riding incredibly strong and may have been there at the end if he'd remembered those btls. i was worried about that guy for those first 30m; i guessed his approach was similar to mine, a vermont mtn goat "hiding-out" in his training cave all season, not all burned-out on racing like most folks this time of year.

when we hit the singletrack at mile 30, which dominates the race until the end, Will graciously let me take the lead, his skills on the technical damn fine, but i was a touch quicker on the corners and the descents. he was strong enough to have gotten in front, forced his pace, but not his style, instead he chased. i'd open a small gap, only to have him right back on me. i don't think we were ever more than 100 feet apart the entire race. it was wicked intense. attack after attack. and in the back of my mind i knew there was a possee of strong dudes behind us, waiting for us to slow, to see us in the distance, so Will and I kept the pressure up from the gun to the finish; we never once sat-up on a fireroad to eat a bar and chat, it was more of a hurried grab into a pocket, the other person would push and it was back to business - and it showed in our finishing time, how much of a gap we created on the rest of the field.

the wet dirt roads, muddy double track, and slick singletrack roots were eating away at our strength - this wasn't an buffed-out uber-dry gonna-set-the-record fifty course. with 4m to go, after the last aid station i rubbed wheels w/Will and went-down, he attacked (or maybe not, by now every acceleration felt like an attack), which makes sense, we'd both "attacked" about 100 times by now, we both wanted it. i quickly closed the gap and made my own attack. we must have changed the lead 10 times in those final 4 miles up and across mt ascutney. our attacks were growing shorter and feebler, the final miles were a wicked climb, legs toasted, it was becoming clear this was gonna come-down to the final descent. will grabbed the lead at the 1m to go sign, i clung-on, reminding myself again and again that he'd won this thing twice in a row, it was "my turn", i wanted it more. i buried myself. the pain had been there all race, rarely let-up, but it never was a bother, the desire to win was greater than i can ever remember, surpassing everything else my body was saying. with 1/2m to go we shot-out onto the ski slope and both flew-off the mowed course and down the slope, totally out of control. we cranked back up insanely fast, my head was spinning, sooo shot, and into the trees one last time, i right behind, waiting for the last stretch of ski slope that leads into the finishing descent to make my final attack. as we hit the grass for the last time i swung around w/everything i've ever put into the bike, the 44x11 churning away, the rigid fork flexing like crazy through the water bars, hit the final bridge before the 100m straight-away descent to the finish and found myself flying through the air sideways, hitting the grass, sliding for what seemed like an endless distance, screaming "NOOOOO" in my head, thinking i'd lost the race. i was up in a flash and alone - will had taken his own monster wipe-out on the previous corner, allowing me to speed down the straight away, arms raised, fists pumping, finishing first! in 4:30, 12 minutes faster than my personal best, and in a lot worse conditions. i simply rode outside of myself, beyond my ability - it was crazy!


and that's my story. it was awesome. epic. amazing. Will was a great guy to race against, all class, incredibly tough. thom took 5th overall on his ss! greg in the top 10, andy not far outside that on his ss. thom and andy would have both taken podium honors for ss if they had signed-up as ss, but w/ss starting in the 3rd wave, behind 200 people, it makes for a lot less fun... thanks to miriam (and amy) for being out there, cheering me on - and to jenn for putting-up w/me all yr w/this insane bike racing addiction i got going... to IF for the Ti 29'er Deluxe, and to Igle for the rigid fork, that thing rocks!

50k and 50m runners are mixed w/the bikers in the results, so it's kinda confusing...


will letandre and family:


pics lifted from vermont50.com linked sites.

mmracing team launch - Wheelworks, Belmont MA

check it out all you bostonians:

"There are big changes afoot for team Matt and Mo. Please come celebrate the kick off of the cyclocross season with a team launch party at Wheelworks in Belmont on Friday October 3rd from 7-10 pm.

We've got an incredible new sponsor to announce and raffle prizes from our dedicated sponsors. There will be beer from Harpoon and prizes from Embrocation Magazine, Chinook, Michelin, Mad Alchemy Embrocations,
Pedros, Bowchies, the Atomic Cafe and a rapidly growing list.

Can't make the event? You can still buy raffle tickets through BikeReg

For more info, email me or go to www.mmracing.org."

fall

fired-up the woodstove this morning,
leaves are turning,
ribbons of singletrack are sprinkled w/color.
summer goes fast in vermont,
not complaining,
but not ready to get the board waxed.

hunting season heralds the official end of mtnbiking for me.
at least until i own a bright orange bike.
but, still have 6 weeks of dirt,
no reason to dwell on the end.
this is the best riding of the season.
full of fitness,
the skills fresh,
it comes easy,
the flow tapped into w/o thought.

been thinking about the great rides of fall.
the vermont 50 is this wknd, by far my favorite event of the year.
then the Kahuna, maybe the greatest group ride ever conceived.
wonder if brad and daren will make it down.

decided to go into a massive 2 week taper,
maybe a bit too much beer drinking,
like to think of it as glycogen loading.
figure the season is just about over,
might as well go into the 50 way rested.
and w/a cpl lbs of extra power.
as an old friend who sold weight-loss pills told his extra-sized customers,
"think of all that fat as a giant battery,
we gotta tap into your power!"

enough blabbering,
time to go split and stack wood before class.
splitting wood is great in that you get heat from it a cpl-few times -
in the cutting, splitting, stacking - and burning of it.
or at least that's what i've been told.
i like the positive slant on it.
but, i won't be doing much of it 2nd half of the wk.
the vt50 taper includes the arms.
the rigid gauntlet has been thrown!
(by thom and andy).
as i said to them,
"aahhhh shit,
gotta step up!"
but to the ss?

new mtb cats announced by usa cycling

most of you have probably already seen this. those on high in colorado springs have decided there will be no more beginner, sport, expert, semi and pro, now it's 3,2,1,pro. makes sense. bigger fields at national events, more chaos for national caliber pros and up-and-comers. why not? my only comment is that they should just force all semi-pros to become pros (to get the field sizes up) instead of giving us a choice between 1 (age class splits) and pro. or at least added a "NO SANDBAGGIN!" comment or something. maybe something like, "if you sandbag, we will be forced to tattoo the letter L (for 'loser') to your forehead for the rest of the calendar yr."

instead they said:
“We want bigger pro fields in the National Calendar events so our racers can better prepare for international competition like World Cups and World Championships,” said Fisher. “Our pro fields are tiny compared to our European counterparts. We have the numbers in terms of ridership, but we’ve been referring to them as Semi-Pros.”

so be it. i don't care if i'm labeled a pro, a semi-pro, or a bowl of jello, i'm gonna race the same. the only difference will be at the occasional NMBS race i do, where i'll be riding my ass off to not get lapped. kinda like getting chased by a grizzly bear. well, not really. bad analogy. too much homework to do right now to think of a good one!

groovy-uvy?

veiw from my art class

i'm told uvm, where i'm going back to school, unfortunately not rodney dangerfield style, is not the pot smoking mushroom eating college mecca that it once was, aka, Groovy-uvy. personally, i'd rather compete for grades w/folks who are stoned, but word on the cobbles is that uvm has made some big improvements. new facilities, building updates, smaller classes, a focus on diversity, excellent online tools; overall, a well-balanced education comparable to that of a smaller liberal arts college. at 33, i'm a bit past joining a frat and instead have found myself in the sweet spot for getting my learn on; have been savoring the experience, and have found the other students accepting of my presence - and their perspective(s) on topics fresh. so far, due to entrance requirements, i've taken (or am taking) psychology, philosophy/religion, art, geology, english (sci-fi and fantasy!), and finally Java programming, my first computer science class (my major) - and i'm only in my 2nd semester. this mix has (and is) truly richening my perspective and been incredibly interesting. of course, front-loading all my electives is going to make future semesters extra challenging, but so be it, them's the rules for sneaking-in the back door. if only i could get in the way-way-back machine, 15 years worth, and smack some sense into the teenage me, life would be a whole lot easier right now - and my career a few yrs ahead. some things you (I!) can only learn the hard way.

on a sidenote, tim cook, one of the fellas i rode across colorado with, is now an assistant professor at uvm, a strange coincidence. yesterday i was chatting w/a classmate and she mentioned her geology prof was a younger guy. of course, it turned-out to be tim, who she said was kickin' some geo butt, keeping it interesting. sweet! i can't imagine teaching a 200 person lecture class (and making it interesting) is an easy task. i suppose, if you can ride the colorado trail smiling the whole time, you can tackle a lecture hall!

tim and andy kickin' it at 12,000 ft colorado style.

enough about getting my learn on, today i need to get my interval on. in boston, when bike commuting, intervals were commonplace, it was called "trying not to get killed." in rural vt, i actually need to plan workouts sometimes. as anyone who trains understands, intervals are no fun, made worse by afflicting them upon yourself by yourself. i'm not into hrm's, so i just do them until i want to puke. kinda like splitting and stacking wood which i do until i want to poke my eyes out.

enough of this ramblin', time to get to work!

Millstone Grind race report

the millstone grind course was superb; classic new england singletrack, rooty, rocky stuff. great fun, test of skills, hard to ride on "the limit", had to be in control, cheating corners usually had me dabbing or on the ground, baby-heads would jump-up and grab a pedal, but mostly i was loving the ride - the rigid fork was great, really fun in the rollers, pump-track riding. worries evaporated and my only regret was forgetting my gloves at home. a last minute 2nd wrap of gel tape on the bars was great, almost completely eliminated the usual vibrations and subsequent hand numbness. the lack of long, rocky descents helped a lot too as those are usually the downfall of the rigid fork. on friday's pre-ride, the course was crazy-dry. rain showers sat changed things-up a bit, bridges got slick, as did roots and goat climbs. skid turns and rear root-slides were in order, this was old-school ne singletrack at its best.

i took the lead into the singletrack from the gun. as i pushed the pace, i'd make mistakes, wasn't riding very cleanly when nearing the limit. my rear tire wasn,t hooking-up at all, so stopped on a dab to let-out at least 5lbs of air - and begin the chase. with the tire hooking-up i was crusing, having a great ride. by the middle of the 2nd lap it was apparent my max speed was slower than ethan and peter's. brook had missed the start, but found us somewhere on the 2nd lap as we wrapped back and forth. those 3 slipped away, leaving me in no-man's-land for the next 20+ miles.

i tried to keep the pace high. heavy traffic into the 3rd lap had me anxious, trying to move-up, stay steady and smooth, keeping the power down, hoping to see brook, ethan or peter in the distance, but folks were everywhere on the narrow singletrack. late in the 3rd lap, on an attempt to pass a slower rider, i managerd knock the guy off the trail. i slowed and apologized - and realized i needed to take it easy, that the guys in front were dealing w/the same situation, ride hard when appropriate. from then on, when the trail was clear i'd hit the gas, work hard, then take rest when gearing-up for a pass. the system worked well, but made for a slightly casual race at times, then i'd snap out of it and push hard until the next pass or technical pick-the-clean-line-or-crash horribly section. the junior field was huge, really great to see so many "new" riders out there crushing it. in the end, i couldn't bring anyone back and finished-up in 3rd, 6mins back from ethan in 1st. it would have been 4th if brook had checked the website and seen the start time change, instead he was out there killing it unofficial-like.

thanks guys (andy, et all) for putting-on such a great race! i heard efta will be picking the event up next yr, congrats on a job well done. and congrats to my buddy shawn who took 3rd in vet expert. this being his 2nd yr racing, that guy is on a mission to get fast fast.

results

video from pre-race news clip.

rigid

the Millstone Grind is tomorrow - 34m of good 'ole fashion technical, swooping, twisty-turny vermont singletrack. pre-rode the course last night w/shawn and can sum-up the 8.4m loop up in one work - AWESOME! maybe two words - FRIGGIN' AWESOME!

i am kinda freaked about racing rigid, have never raced rigid - and a 34m "marathon" event is an ... interesting way to try it out! but, figure if i can ride smooth and strong for 34m of true vt singletrack, then i can ride rigid (and be competitive) at the vt 50. trail riding rigid is one thing - and i love it, feel truly connected to the terrain - but racing is a whole 'nother thing - the speed and effort produced, riding at your limit, totally changes how you (and the bike) react...

the ti deluxe 29'er definitely takes the edge off the bumps, with a nice soft tire up front (maxxis ignitor 2.1), it feels nice, like i have a whole 10mm of travel! kinda like bringing a spoon to a knife fight. but hey, if you know how to wield that spoon.. and igleheart's rigid fork bends and absorbs best when at high speed - it takes putting a lot of force into the fork to get a lot of it. faster is better. am nervous, but totally stoked to try this set-up out for realzy.

time to go sharpen my spoon.

Green Mtn Stage Race Report : Going to School :

when a big 'ole bike race comes to town (GMSR), and you like racing bikes, it makes sense to race yer bike! but, i needed proof i knew how (to race road); at least a cat 4 license. i asked my regional usa cycling rep for a cat 3. denied. asked for a 4. approved. since i don't have any real road racing experience, figured the 4 made sense... and was hoping to really crush it! i won't lie, i wanted to win this freakin' race.

to help me out, my dad let me ride his BRAND new IF SSR road bike (he got to ride it for a most excellent century ride we did together the wknd before). the SSR is an amazing ride. the stainless steel is crazy light, insanely strong, is moderately priced, and looks crazy cool to boot. it readily absorbs road (and dirt road) vibration while staying stiff and snappy. one sweet ass ride! i got it fit by FitWerx and immediately felt like this bike had been made for me to reveal in and on.

prologue: ITT, warren, vt, 5.7m.
kinda nervous, been sick a bunch, haven't raced much or well past cpl months, wasn't sure if my legs even still functioned, it'd been sooo long since i'd had proof of fitness. but, the sweet mix of climbing and rollers route was on MY roads, a definite advantage. i think. warmed-up for an hour, then 15:30 secs later grinded across the finish, the final steep climb churning my breaths into deep ragged gasps, the taste of blood in my throat, it was all i had - and good enough for 6th overall, 30sec back from 1st. relief. not in 1st, but not too far back either...

stage 1: circuit race, hinesburg vt, 64m.
cloudy, 70, light wind, perfect for racin' bikes. my first true road stage, definitely needed to learn the ropes. quick. was loving it from the gun. started way in the back due to a last minute leak, but quickly moved fwd and went for first break of the day. it failed quick. i played around a bit, riding close to the front, pushing the climb. the sound of the wheels whizzing, the closeness of the riders was wicked, a lot different than a 100m mtnbike race! full of energy and excitement, the SSR whispering in my ears, i went for the sprint line at 500m (first lap) and was denied w/100m to go. little too far out to rock it alone. felt like i went to school on this stage, learned how it worked, how the field flowed around you, surging fwd early in the race, then stable as legs grew weary. w/5k to go, on a false-flat downhill road section the crashes began in earnest. cpl guys clipped wheels right in front of me at 25-30, not sure how i escaped the mayhem, but i did w/a skid and a hop. after that i stayed to the right and moved fwd, after which there were 3 more crashes. so, this is road racing, eh? guys simply weren't riding straight lines anymore. tired, figgity, nervous, anxious, all it takes is a few folks feeling this way to cause trouble. finished w/the group and up a place or two in the GC, buzzed i'd survived my first real race! it cost me $56 for a new tire, but it's better than a trip to the ER which a cpl guys got to enjoy.

stage 2: mad river road race, warren, vt, 75m.
a perfect sunny day, light breeze, hardly a cloud. i'd been looking fwd to riding this stage since moving to the valley. we kept the pace civilized throughout the day, a little push on Brandon Gap, but a mellow recovery allowed (most?) everyone to catch back on. at mile 35-40'ish i moved to the front to help "chase"-down a break, i don't know much about pacelines and a cpl guys got me squared away on what to do. 20m later when we hit the dirt of bristol notch i jumped back out front, wanting to stay safe, see the holes. then we waited for App Gap, riding at 16mph for a while, chatting a bit. everyone was nervous about the climb, a cpl guys went off the front, but i wasn't going to chase 'em down, knew the climb would take care of things. one dilhole went around the double yellow and when called-out on it, gave the group the middle finger. nice. he would finish way back. LAME!! finally, w/5k to go, it was on. Dan Chabanov was the first to ride off, followed by 5-6 others, including Matt Buckley in yellow, i right behind, focusing on riding at the same tempo all the way up the climb vs hitting it hard early then dieing-off. there was no game plan but steady, full-on effort. unfortunately, it wasn't enough to catch Dan, i needed about 500ft more of vert to do that as i was slowly grinding up to him over the last kilometer. honestly, i wanted to win this stage, but was happy to settle for a spot on the podium, albeit on the 2nd step, and into 3rd on the GC... but was certainly jealous not to be in yellow!

stage 3: burlington crit, 34 1k laps.
another amazing, perfect sunny day. the route was a 1k technical 6 corner course in downtown burlington , full of cracked blacktop and sewer covers, w/lake champlain as a backdrop. i got a call-up and used it to stay up front until the GC time bonus sprint on lap 25. my efforts earned me 4secs, needed 40 to take 1st GC, 20 for 2nd. within a lap or two i slammed a pothole and my rear wheel moved out of the drops a tad, my rear brake jammed-up a bit, but not enough to stop progress, just drag. i wasn't sure if i should stop at tech support and try to use the "free lap" rule or ride it out. i tried messing w/my brake at 25-30mph, not a good idea for keeping fingers, or not killing your competitors - and soon was at the back of the field, w/20 to go. this wasn't good, not good at all. the guy in 4th GC was way up the road and a minor crash could take me off the podium. i focused on ignoring the brake, riding smooth, and used the mtnbike/cx skills to wiggle my way up the field on the tighter corners, then hammered w/the dragging brake up the straight, frequently outside the slipstream, just powering through the race, looking for #711, making sure he was within sight. before i knew it the race was over and i finished within the pack, moving into 2nd for GC due to a flat tire for matt. not a very exciting way to take 2nd, but that's bike racing, sometimes you're on the receiving end of shit luck, but sometimes not!

kevin, bruno, tom, and thomas rockin' the cat 1-2 race for IF.

bruno and kevin entertained seneca every afternoon:

also want to thank jenn's sister carole for driving 2hrs to help us out w/seneca on sat, and to my dad for all his hard work taking care of things. jenn had an enormous project to work-on over Labor Day, late nights, early mornings (to let me sleep), so things were a bit chaotic in the house during the race - and we needed all the help we got.

and so, now i have enough points for cat 3, looking fwd to doing my 2nd career road race next labor day. maybe next time on my own SSR...