One-for-Two: Norton’s Spring Classics April 28, 2008
Posted by wenzel in Race Reports.trackback
One-for-Two
Saturday
Norton came up with a superior course today. Who would have thought that a Crit man like Mike would have come up with a climber’s course like this? He must have found the route while driving his car. (Mike, you know it is in jest..thanks for the great race weekend. Thank your family too.) Well to make along painful story short: Paul, Wayne, Spike, Gary and I lined up for the festivities. Thankfully, the first neutral and truly neutral time up the climb was slow, allowing for a good warm-up and recon of the climb. Once we hit the top of the climb, the S/F line, the race was on. Within a short period Frank and Mark were off the front along with a few others. Yes, the Frank and Mark. Coming into the hill for the first non-neutral time, Roger A. chose to bridge solo using the climb as his personal launching board. Well, according to the results he bridged and then set about winning the race, but I digress, back to the real race. Wayne and I stayed in contact with the main group through the S/F line. We lost Paul, Gary and Spike on the climb. Spike to a bad engine followed by a broken chain…Paul? and Gary to being 6’4” and a “gifted climber” . The second lap was fun!@#$ The real fun began on the backside of the loop, which happens to be the down hill of Sunday’s loop after the large S/F climb. Target Training had the numbers and the advantage. Needless to say this section hurt, with numerous gaps opening and closing. I could feel the legs being drained and I am sure Wayne felt the same. Well this drap race set us up nicely for the OTB assault Team Horst prepared for the second non-neutral time up the hill. I popped first, and Wayne pooped a little latter. From my perspective, we were the last two to get popped from the main field on climb two. (Take pride in the little things) I finally caught Wayne at some point after the prolonged climb. We set about our 2-man TT and stayed clear of all chasers until we were caught by three inept Cat-3’s. Together we worked like Laurel and Hardy. So, we entered the finish climb, some 10-minutes in arrears. Wayne had some schooling to do on these young bucks, so he set a tempo few could follow, especially me. Sadly, this cat-n-mouse, throw-down allowed Gary and Paul’s group to catch us some meters out from the line. So, if you look carefully you will see that Paul led all, followed by me, Gary, Wayne and Spike: all several minutes in arrears. Better luck on Sunday.
Sunday: Palmer Road Race
After arriving home on Saturday to drown my sorrows in a large glass of milk, I settled down to a bruise ego, as Paul beat all… Sunday we were prepared to bring the “A” team to the second race of the Norton Spring classics. Wade, Ed, Gary and I lined up today. The race had many of the same faces as Saturday with the noted exception of the McC brothers. However we had Stoltz, Bold, Aspholm, Ruiz, Badger, and Paggolli. The pace was fast, albeit it has been faster. Several breaks got off throughout the race. Gary did a tremendous job bringing several of the breaks back. At one point Max (CVC) asked if we had a man in the break? I responded: “ No, but we have the big man on the front bringing it back.” I am not sure if we shed a lot of riders, but the four of us did a great job placing ourselves in the race. Into the last lap we fly….the second to last time up the hill was fast, Bold and Roger both gave it a go, but to no avail. There were still two men out, but I had faith the Gary and others would bring it back. As we turned on to Rt 67 for the climb home there were several small attacks, launching people off the front. As we approached Warren, Ed went up the road in chase of Angry Ron and Tomilson (NY guy). Ed made it there and passed right through. Ed was joined by a second rider and they hovered at 10-15 seconds into the bottom of the finish climb. The pace was picking up and Gary and I were sharing grins, as there was a chance that Ed could do it. In addition to that, Gary told me to stick his wheel, as he was cramping some, but ensured me that he would get me to the front. Gary did as he said setting me up for a great finish, if Ed did not succeed. The field swarmed Ed and his companion at the 1K mark and the games were on. I chose the right side. After some initial bumping and quick moves onto the edging, I was lined up great. Patience, patience, patience….go, the right side opened nicely and the line was right there…go….go….go….6th place. I was right there with all the others Badger, Ruiz, Bodin, and Stoltz. So, not a bad weekend 1-for-2. Of note: I hit my highest recorde heart rate during the sprint and was able to collect $95 dollars. I already paid Ed, so Gary and Wade step forward for your money. Thanks a lot to the team for the great work. See you all at Jiminy Peak.
Zane – We must have posted at exactly the same time.
Yup -
Another disappointing day of racing for me – hopefully I can break out of my funk soon. I started losing contact with the main group going up the second time on Saturday, but had a handful of riders to chase with only to loose my chain on the very next bump in the road after the start/finish line. I almost turned around right there and called it a day, but I figured the neutral support wasn’t too far behind (our field’s support passed me a mile ago and was actually still in sight when my chain broke).
So I started walking. And walking, and walking and then some coasting down some hills, then some more walking, followed by more walking – there was another group behind us, wasn’t there?
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the 45+ came up from behind. I got to the side of road and waited for support. The SRAM wagon stopped and offered a wheel, but it wasn’t a wheel that I needed! Didn’t look like there was any neutral bikes in this group, but once I told the SRAM guy that I needed a chain, he quickly reached somewhere in that Volvo wagon and pulled out a chain for me. Sweet! Back in business.
So I eagerly opened the box and pulled the chain out – only to loose the master link! I couldn’t believe it, what a bone-head move that was. After a couple of minutes searching through the sand, I was able to locate it. I tried to put it on, but at this point it was covered in sand. So I grabbed my bottle and washed out the link the best I could, only to drop the other half of the link in the sand. This was clearly not my day. I finally was able to clean both parts of the master link off, and was able to get in on. By this time, the Women’s Pro-3 race went by. I mounted the bike again and I was off racing again. At this point, my main goal was to not get lapped by our field – after all, it felt like forever trying to get my bike going again (now I know how Zane feels after last weekend).
Two women that were off the back of the lead group ended up grabbing my wheel and riding it for over a full lap – they graciously let me pull them the entire time. It actually gave me some motivation to keep the pace up, so it felt good to having something there pushing me. They were actually really nice about it, so I was happy to help out. I think at one point we had a few other people in the group, but for the most part it was just the three of us.
I guess I’ll chalk this one up as another training day – hopefully I can show up one of these days and actually race!
We’ll see you guys at Jiminy.
Spike
Good job yesterday boys. I felt guilty not being there, but on my two-hour ride when my legs were screaming and full of lactic acid, and my heart rate was about 75, I realized I made a wise choice to not do a double weekend…ah…the joys of old age.
I too liked Saturday’s course a lot. First time up the hill was hard, but I felt comfortable. I tended to hurt on the flatter parts of the climb, and then move up on the steep pitches. And yes…the back side HURT at the beginning of lap 2. I was tail-gunning it at times, but then as we passed by the lake on the left, things eased up. Unfortunately, that caused me to imagine I was all-powerful and when Badger attacked after the right hand turn heading back towards Warren, I foolishly spent a lot of my remaining energy trying to go with him. It just strung out the field, and put me back in the hurt zone.
Second time up the climb I was OK until 1k to go, then I was hanging on and then just before the top…I let go. I was kicking myself right after that because had I not given up mentally, I probably could have hung on. I sat up over the top, hoping there was a decent group behind me but…just Zane. He describes the rest.
And yes…lame move of the day was as we were approaching the finish, lo and behold I see The Retired One so I eased up to have a chat with Matty and then with 200m to go I hear a noise, turn my head, and a huge group (Paul, Gary, etc.) starts sprinting for what….50th place?!? and cruises right on by.
Looking forward to Jiminy now…
Spike – you sure offer a different perspective on the bike race. I think even I would have been pissed off with the chain mess you experienced.
What ’s up with all the walking this year? I guess Matty’s training is right on target with all the walking he’s been doing.
Wayne – You’ve got to love the competitive spirit that Paul and Gary, etc. have. I wish that would rub off on me.
My 2 cents:
Sturbridge 35+: I actually liked this course. The climb was painful, but had I been in a better position at the bottom, I think this “gifted climber” may have made it over with the pack the first time. My biggest problem was just not feeling at all comfortable in the race. I got sketched out from the fast descent and from that point on, I could not move myself up through the pack. Since I have scruples, I did not violate the yellow line rule, which can’t be said about a number of our competitors.
Spike and I hit the climb waaaaay back in the pack and I had to jump 3 gaps in order to get myself up to the tail end of the lead group (passing Spike and Paul along the way). As Wayne can attest, I was sounding like a steam engine on an overloaded freight train by this point. I got separated on the last significant pitch about 1.5 km out from the finish and worked with one other rider to keep the pack within 100m almost all the way to the crest. I descended like a madman, but we still couldn’t get back on.
I lost my companion on little painful kicker after the downhill and TT’d solo for about 1/2 the lap keeping Paul’s little chase group at bay. Finally a group of 20 or so came up and we worked pretty well for the remainder of the lap into the climb.
Paul and I paced most of the 2nd climb in the lead and I again jammed the downhill. For the third lap, we had about 4-5 riders doing the work for the 20 – kinda ticked me off. So, I took longer and more frequent pulls figuring at least I’d get some training out of the race (it was a C race for me after all). I also wasn’t sure if I had permissions for Palmer, so I trweated it like it was my only race for the weekend.
We hit the climb and I figured I’d make these guys work a bit for sitting in. This “gifted climber” led about 1.5+ mi up the climb until the legs finally started to say enough. Once the group came by, they faned out alllowing me to pull them back. I got back in figuring I might do something for the sprint, but the legs were about done by the time we caught Wayne and Zane. So, I rolled over the line easy, since I didn’t want to hurt Zane’s feelings by out sprinting him. I did beat Wayne, though.
Palmer:
What a difference a day makes. I got my head straight on the whole pack riding thing since I was chapped that I allowed myself to get so psyched out. I woke up with painful legs, so I was a bit concerned going into the race as to how well I’d hang after Saturday. I also discovered I’d burned most of my brake pads saturday, so I desperately sought out Merlin and Butch Balzano. Butch is awesome and had my back with a whole bag full of koolstop/zipp carbon pads. He gave me front and rear sets gratis and saved my race.
Given the question about the legs, I just planned to stay forward and provide as much help covering or bringing back breaks as necessary. With the splint, Ed was best off using his strength for breaks and the uphill sprint is better for Zane, so I wanted to give him the best chance if Ed wasn’t in a break.
It turned out the legs were CRAZY GOOD yesterday. They openned up phenomenally well on Rt 19. When Ian came forward on to take a huge pull on Rt 20 to help bring back a small group up the road, I got on his wheel. I kept waiting for him to wave me through, but he jammed it into the base of the slow rise on 20 and set me out there wit ha gap. I just settled in and TT’d up the hill figuring that a) I might bridge or b) I’ll draw the pack closer to the break. Option b worked and the pack came up to me on the descent and caught a good part of the break.
This was a pattern that kept on recurring during the race. Ian and I were basically playing enforcers andputting in efforts as needed on 19 or 20 to keep breaks close enough for the pack to catch. it was pretty clear to me that Target Training wanted a sprint and I think we were on the same page. The biggest threat was from a small group that got enough of a gap on the last (right?) lap to get neutral support to pass us. I took a big pull on 19 and into the hill on 20 to get them within striking distance.
We caught, and Ed’s group made the counter on 67, but it wasn’t going to happen, the group wanted a sprint. Heading up 67 I realized my pulls had taken their toll and I was not going to e able to give Zane a full leadout. I got him as close as I could, but told him to get off my wheel if he saw me bogging down since the cramps were coming.
He made the right choice about 500m out and managed to nevigate through backward traffic into position for his sprint. My only regret is not telling him to go find the TT lead, knowing they were feeling confident about the sprint. 6th was an outstanding result given the stacked field. I’m glad I could do my part.
Now, pay me already! I saw you sneak out with Ed while I was talking with some of the other RI racers. Not even a honk or wave? I feel hurt…
We were looking for you after the race but didn’t spot you. Zan was ready to dish out some heavy cash.
I was going to look for you so I could lay in wait by Zane’s car, but I stopped for a couple of well deserved hot dogs (mmmmm, yummy pork fat…) and a coke. Then as I was wending my way through the lot, I hit a group of guys from RI and started chatting. The next thing I know, you two are heading by with Zane at the wheel totally ignoring my frantic waving. I figured no biggie since I can track him down here. Of course, he’s still avoiding me as he’s not here today!
A few ideas as to why he’s avoiding you come to mind:
1) With his top placing at Palmer, he’s now too good to be seen with you.
2) He has already spent his, your’s, and Wade’s winnings on some new socks.
3) He’s actually working – o.k., this one can’t be true.
4) He’s busy evaluating the multiple pro cycling team contracts that have come his way.
5) His wife was truly impressed by his performance at Palmer and he’s still at home recovering. I’m sure he’ll post his Garmin data shortly proving his max. HR is higher than he thought it was.
6) He has died from his wife’s post performance reward.
Ed and Gary,
I have your money and we circled the lot one time prior to leaving to see you, thank you and pay you off. Remember, we are your friends not the RI riders you speak of. Ed, when did you get so funny? There are no contracts, no wifely performance rewards, unless cooking dinner counts? ( I cooked it.) I was working today. I am and have done Slime at both the boy’s schools. I had a dentist appointment this morning and for that I will be rewarded with a new filling next week. Driving my new swollen head was difficult, but I managed.
I fear that the boil may have taken over and we are experiencing the new evil Ed (oblique reference – see “how to get ahead in advertising”).
That or he’s still doped up on some sort of medication for the thumb. He’s been all fired up and doled out some real stingers of late.
Just one point to make, Ed: Blog = public forum, let’s use our inside voices, okay? Now, keep channeling that evil Ed energy into your cycling!
Yes, Ed…please. Remember my mom is our most frequent reader. She’s small, but she packs a mighty wallop, mister. No supper for you. Go to your room.
My post was rated PG. O.k., maybe PG-13.
Nice job Arlen! To me it seemed like the slowest most non agressive Palmer I’ve ever done. We weren’t alone, Laura said the 45s were also not racing with their usual zeal. (she was in their follow car) I’m not complaing though. If it had been hard in the first two laps I’m not sure I would have made the finish with the group. Looking around at the end there were 4 or 5 faces that you typically don’t see making the finish with the group.