ToB 2011

Well, another Battenkill in the books. Before I get into the race report, I would like to say that it was a success on many fronts. I was fit and very strong throughout the race, I had no crashes, and good ol' Black Betty performed admirably in her first go on the dirt roads of Washington County.

And now for a little perspective. I was out doing my opener Saturday and on my return home I passed a house where a woman was all bundled up in a chair while a couple of her family members were doing work in the garden. It was a mild day and the woman is obviously ill. I waved and smiled. She returned the favor. In a way, I wanted her to know that I was enjoying my life and I wasn't taking a second for granted. I sensed she felt that. So as I was racing Sunday I explicitly remember looking out across the rolling farmland and being thankful for being healthy and able to push my body to its limits.

And now for the gay race report. This year's race was to be exactly my 4th road race. EVER. I can't imagine the amount of experience the rest of the field had, considering that the field included many of New England's finest. I knew going in I was in pretty good shape but I had to get my head out of my ass and be in the right place at the right time. Yeah, positioning in these type of things is a pretty big deal. I would say it accounts for at least 60% of the result. I hung comfortably with the peloton until we hit the Joe Bean climb. Once again I was toward the back going into the climb, weaved through a bunch of traffic, and came over the top in no man's land. I chased in earnest for 10k solo until I let off the gas and got caught by 3 guys. I remember thinking, sweet, a little help. The only problem was that these guys apparently didn't get the memo regarding pacelining. One guy would get on the front and stay there until we were almost down below 20 mph. Don't these guys watch the pros? Get on the front, take your pull, flick the elbow and peel. Hit repeat. I coached the guys into taking short pulls and getting a quick rotation going. We started to make progress and the peloton was in sight. We picked up 2 more guys and I was thinking we can do this if these guys are able to do anything. I was wrong. They were worthless. I got frustrated and dropped all of them and just focused on the next guy in front of me. After another solo 5k I caught another guy in my field. We somewhat worked together for a spell but he didn't get it either and would stay on the front for an eternity until the pace was pedestrian. I dropped him. He caught me later on a sketchy descent and we somewhat worked together again until we caught another guy from our field just before Meetinghouse Rd. We rode the rollers together and the dude in front of me nearly went down in what looked like 4 inches of granular material at the bottom of one of the descents. (Note to mtbers: I unclipped but didnt' dab.) So the three of us again "pacelined" to the Stage Rd climb. I had put in a nice 1 minute pull going into the climb so I immediately went into the scr to spin the legs out. We hit the climb at a pretty good pace and picked off several riders from our group. Summiting together, Joe Pull insists on staying on the front again. We must be going at a pretty good clip as we pass several riders from all fields. Either that or everyone's BLOWN. I took one pull in the last 5k and I remember thinking that I'm going to give it a go with 1k to go as we get full use of the road. I was already on the front as we hit the sign and I launched up the left side of road doing my best Cancellara, holding 30+ in the saddle. I must have been going at a good clip as I gapped the guy by 5 seconds at the line. So in the end I was 52nd out of 105 finishers which is about as mid-pack as one can get. I guess it's not bad considering how the race dynamics unfolded, i.e. riding solo-dolo for extended periods of time. Again. Unfortunately my result is not indicative of my fitness level but as the saying goes, that's road racing, folks. Maybe one of these years I'll be in shape AND figure out what the hell I'm doing at this race. All-in-all it was a positive experience though. I felt good and kept the rubber side down.

For the Stravists: http://app.strava.com/rides/409104