GMSR Day 3: Making up for lost time

Before I get to the report on today's road race, I first want to note that when I approached the officials this morning about my lack of KOM points after the circuit race, they were a) already aware of the problem, and b) very apologetic. To make a short story shorter, my points were reinstated prior to the start of today's stage, and without any drama. Also, the person who was mistakenly given my KOM points had independently approached the officials and told them he was nowhere near the KOM. Not that I was expect anything else from my fellow competitors, but I really appreciate this racer's desire to clear the air.

And now, on to the stage:

Today was the big road race up here at the GMSR: 75 miles with three monster climbs. I went in with three goals: 1) pick up KOM points at the top of the Brandon Gap (the day's first climb and only KOM), and hopefully move into the lead in that competition. 2) Ride as hard as possible up the Baby Gap and Appalachian Gap to the finish, to move up on GC. 3) Not crash, but I suppose that goes without saying.

The pace was pretty moderate for the first 20 miles or so to the base of Brandon. Five riders went up the road to take the sprint points at the base of the climb, and we pretty much let them go, picking them up shortly after the sprint point. The climb up Brandon was not too difficult, pretty much a steady, low-grade incline until about 1k to the KOM, where it got slightly steeper. I did my best Cadel Evans immitation, following wheels near the front of the pack while climbing. I put in one surge with about 600 meters to the top to see if I could get away, but the field was quick to react. The race leader and James Morrison (CCB), who was leading the KOM, both jumped about 200 meters out, and I went with them, but couldn't come around. One other guy snuck in for third, I was fourth. I knew taking the KOM jersey was unlikely (I would have had to have won and James would have had to not get any points), so I'm happy to have secured third in that classification. If only I'd worked harder to get points on the first lap of Saturday's race.

The decent was fast, but pretty smooth and safe, and the run through the Champlain Valley to the second climb was just a lot of tempo. The group paused to pee at about mile 55, which was the first time I've ever taken a pee break during a race, aside from when off the back. Very pro! The group was still largely together approaching the last climbs, but with about 10 miles to go, just below the start of the Baby Gap, two riders attacked. After they had created a substantial gap I attacked, taking an Adler rider, a NAV guy and someone else with me. I dragged us up the Baby gap, catching the two riders with about seven miles left to race. At about the same time we made the catch, Matt Cuttler from Affinity bridged across, which was very good, because I was pretty well cooked and the group was not working well. He is strong as hell and kept us moving along.

We hit the base of the Appalachian Gap with a 1:25 advantage, and I gave it everything I could, initially riding away with Cuttler. With 2K and the steepest part of the climb to go, our advantage was down to 25 seconds. Gaoble, from southafrica.net came zooming by, after attacking out of the field, and Cuttler went with him. A few other of the faster guys from the field including the yellow jersey were able to come across. In the end, I wound crossing 12th, and definately feeling satisfied that I gave it everything today. By contrast, last year I finished well off the back, about 30 minutes behind the winner. I'll happily take my 1:07!

I can also honestly say that the last 500 meters of the App Gap is one of the hardest things I've ever done on a bike. I don't what the grade is, but it's got to be close to 20%.

The 75-mile stage took me 3:34:07, for an average around 21 miles an hour. I'm now 22nd on GC, 2:42 back from the leader. If I hadn't been relegated 30 seconds after stage 2, I'd be in 16th or 17th position. That'll teach me to mind the yellow line!

Now all I've got to do is keep it upright in the crit tomorrow, and I should be all set for my best-ever stage race result. Not as good as I'd hoped, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

GMSR Day 2: Oh, What the f*ck

Today's stage was the first real day of the 4-day stage race, as far as I was concerned. Until just a few minutes ago, it was a much better day than Day 1.

Today's race consisted of two laps around a 30-mile course. The first half of the lap was a shallow climb and pitched up for about two kilometers before reaching the KOM sprint. Then it was a ripping decent down the "Baby Gap" -- which we'll be climbing up tomorrow -- followed by some rolling flats back to the finish line and the start of the climb. The course was designed to produce a sprint finish, and long-decent nearly guaranteed it.

I felt decidedly crappy during the first half of the race, a combination of not enough warm up (or any warm up at all), and not a great recovery from the ITT the day before. Still, I made an attempt at the first KOM, but accelerated too soon, and wound up petering out before the line. After the KOM came the fast, sketchy decent down the "Baby Gap." Although the hill wasn't very technical, the pavement was rough, with lots of hot patches. That, combined with 50+ MPH speeds, made it a frightening decent.

The run in to the finish was straight, with only small rollers, and very fast. I think there might have even been a tail wind. I was feeling much better on the second lap. The pace was high on the lower flanks of the climb, and with about 5 miles to go before the KOM, I put in an attack and quickly got a sizable gap on the field. I went about as hard as I thought I could sustain on the steep parts of the KOM, and managed to reach the line with a slim margin over James, who had won the first KOM sprint. He had also won the first KOM, putting him solidly in the lead in that competition.

With my first place, I should have been tied for second in the competiton, but it seems that race officials fucked up, instead giving my first-place points to rider 224 (I'm rider 204). I recieved zero KOM points. I'm going to have to try to work this out with the officials tomorrow.

The race eventually came back together on the run in to the finish. Matt Cutler, of CRCA/Affinity took off a few Ks out, and held his advantage to the line, winning the race by 4 seconds. I was in the field behind, and crossed in 65th on the stage, but in the same time as the field, 2:39:56 for 64 miles.

Unfortunately, I spent some time riding on the wrong side of the yellow line on the decent on the first lap, and have recieved a 30-second penalty for it. Where I should have been stable in the mid-40s after today's pack finish, I slipped to 65th on GC. I'm a bit dissipointed. However, not nearly as dissapointed as I am about the KOM issue. I deserve my penalty for the yellow line... just like I deserve my KOM points!

So, tomorrow begins with my fighting for my hard-earned KOM points from today, and then hopefully scoring a strong ride in the epic third stage. More later, now time to shed bitter tears of frustration and try to sleep.

GMSR 2008 Day 1

It was a quick race, so this will be a quick report.

The GMSR started off with a 5.6 miles individual time trial this morning. The course was a steady and steep-ish climb for the first 2 miles, and then a rolling decent for the remainder of the course. I didn't do my homework, and as such, I didn't measure my efforts as carefully as I should have. I also made a poor equipment choice, using heavier, but more-aero, wheels with an 11-23 cassette, rather than lighter wheels with an easier cassette. Starting out in my big ring, I flew out of the gate, and punched the pace up the first incline.

When the incline pitched up, I dropped into my little ring and kept spinning. I felt like I was going to puke, and I was quickly making up ground on my 30-second man, so I figured I was doing everything right. Things went south as I crested the climb.

Exhausted from the first half of the race, I had a hard time turning the pedals once I shifted back into my big ring. So I eventually limped across the line in 16 minutes, 4 seconds. Slow, slow, slow. Good enough for 46th place, 1:14 down on stage winner Chris Hamlin, who, incidentally, started 30-seconds behind me, and blew by me at the half-way point.

Although I wish I'd had a better TT, I certainly could still make that up in later stages, so all hope is not yet lost. Incidentally, I was 99th, at 5:34 after stage one in 2007, so I'm certainly doing better. More tomorrow!

Thursday top and bottom five

This is a special dispatch from Burlington, VT. Courtesy of Jesse Chebot, a friend of mine and a student at UVM, I'm staying here in this lovely city on Lake Champlain. I'll be staying here throughout the Green Mountain Stage Race, which is taking place in various locals here in northern Vermont. Tomorrow's 5.6 mile individual time trial over the mountains in, Waitsfield, VT. My race starts at 9:57 a.m., so start thinking good thoughts for me around that time.

I will forego my usual weekend to update you on my progress during the race. In the mean time, here's the weekly top and bottom lists:

Tops from the week:
1) GMSR is here, and I couldn't be more excited!
2) The pizza Becky and I made on Monday. Delicious.
3) This late summer weather. Finally, it's about time it was nice out.
4) Good Bye Blue Mondays. Just about one year since I started this blog!
5) Relying on the kindness of firends.

Bottoms from the week:
1) My apartment is now half-empty.
2) Mengoni GP did not go as planned. At least it was good training!
3) The season's end is approaching. Sniff...
4) 24 hours of the Democratic National Convention. Come on, enough pagentry already!
5) No more Olympics. It's going to be a long wait until 2010.

The final acts

Epic mountains mark season's end

There comes a time in every season when you're forced to start contemplating season's end. For me, that point came yesterday. I realized that after this weekend's marque event, the Green Mountain Stage Race, will be the last big event of my season. There's an outside chance that I'll race next weekend's Catskill Epic Road Race, but it's not likely. I'll try to race once or twice in September, and will officially wrap my season up at the Jamestown Classic in October. Between now and then there will be time for some centuries, after all, it's never to soon to start training for next season!

Anyhow, here's this week's cycling column from the Saratogian, in which I describe that last two races of the year. I'm leaving for Vermont for GMSR tomorrow, and will be blogging throughout the four days. See you in Vermont!

Epic mountains mark season's end
By: ANDREW J. BERNSTEIN

08/26/2008

WAITSFIELD - The days are getting shorter, and the summer bicycle racing season is winding down with it.

Last weekend saw local racers take a couple days to catch their breath before one or two last hurrahs.

On Friday, the Green Mountain Stage Race (GMSR) kicks off with a 5.7-mile individual time trial in the village of Warren, Vt. A week later, racers will tackle the brand-new Tour of the Catskills.

One of the most important pro/amateur road races in the north east, the GMSR has attracted racers from across the country. As of Monday, more than 700 racers were registered in 10 categories for four days of punishment. Tour of the Catskills is a brand-new event, with two days of racing beginning and ending at the Catskill Mountain ski areas Hunter and Windham.

Promoted by Tour of the Battenkill Valley promoter Dieter Drake, the new race should attract a competitive field from across the northeast.

The GMRS has undergone format changes for 2008. In past years, racers were scored on points collected at the finish line, but this year racers will be scored on their cumulative time over four days of racing. In years past, the race has begun with a four-mile hill climb, creating significant time gaps between the faster climbers and the rest of the field. This year's ITT, held on slightly rolling terrain, should create some time gaps, but the race will likely be tight going into the remaining three days of racing.

Saturday will see the first of two road stages, with racers tackling a brand-new 30-mile circuit in Hinsburg, Vt. The course was purposefully designed by organizers to create a group finish, and with only slightly rolling hills, it will likely be difficult for any riders to get away from a hard-charging field. With a sprint finish likely, it will be difficult for racers to gain significant time on the stage.

The race's epic third stage, to kick off Sunday at the Sugarbush Ski area, will be the climber's one chance to shine in this year's event. The 75-mile epic will see racers fly down Route 100 before tackling the first of the day's three significant climbs.

The first of these is the six-mile Brandon Gap, which starts 24 miles into the stage. This is a new climb, added to the course when Route 125, which climbs over the Middlebury Gap became damaged by heavy rains earlier in August. The new climb is longer than Middlebury, but not as steep. Look for the field to be largely together coming over the climb.

The peloton will shatter on the northward grind on roads that include two gravel sections. The second significant climb, over the Baby Gap, is five miles long and begins 65 miles into the stage.

After topping out at mile 70, racers will have only one mile to recover before climbing to the finish atop the legendary Appalachian Gap. With switchback turns and steep grades, it is likely that the overall race winner will emerge at the summit finish.

Anyone strong enough to quickly ascend this climb will be able to put significant time into other racers in their field.

After Sunday's road stage, the final day criterium in downtown Burlington will be little more than a formality. This technical course is a crowd favorite, with racers zooming around Burlington's pedestrian-friendly downtown. On one stretch of the course, racers zoom by inches from sidewalk cafes. Diners sitting here will do well to watch out for errant racers crashing off course and into their laps.

More information is available at www.gmsr.info.

Less than a week later, the season's final major road event will kick off in the Catskill mountains. Centered around the Hunter and Windham Mountain region of Greene County, the event will include two single-loop road races. Saturday's Mountaintop Classic starting and ending in Hunter, and Sunday's Catskill Epic beginning and ending in Windham.

Both races will include challenging climbs, white-knuckle descents, and passes through the many villages and towns of the Great Northern Catskills.

"This promises to be a truly epic two days of racing," said race promoter Dieter Drake in a press release. "The Catskill Mountains are a perfect backdrop for an event like this one. The roads, the people, and the scenery will make this race like no other in the Northeast."

The event will offer races for amateur and professional riders each day. Eight separate races will be held on the two courses which will be 50-60 miles in length for amateurs and 82 miles for elite and professional men. Race and registration details, sponsorship, and expo information can be found at www.tourofthecatskills.com.

More Mengoni shots

The Mengoni Grand Prix is one of the biggest races in New York City. As such, there were quite a few photographers on the road on Saturday. These shots were taken from a motorcycle during the race's closing miles.

One of many attempts to get away from the field
Look at the Metro guy on the front of the field
"It's Bernstein! Should I chase?"

Going for broke
Look at the desperation in my eyes
It was not to be

This was the last attack of the race
Axis off the front. I bridged, then Adler, then CRCA Jr. Dev.
Then we were caught.

In other news, fall has apparently, uh, fallen in on us. This, despite the fact that the calendar still says August. By my count, fall shouldn't be here for another three weeks or so. And yet, the other day I was walking to work, when I noticed a new color in the canopy that lines North Broadway:

Reds and oranges
The first signs of fall
It's early, but there it is. It'll be a cold winter

Another sign of fall
Leaves on the ground
I anticipate that my landlord will not be fastidious about raking

Finally, for any ex-Saratogians who might be reading, I had some bad news in Tuesday's paper. It seems the days of a cool pint glass and two beers for $4 are over. Over. That was a staple of college, and post-college life. Now gone. Sad day.

Little green men?

For today's post, I direct you to this video, in which Dr. Edgar Mitchell (the voice in the video) claims that NASA briefed him on extra terrestrial life prior to his Apollo 14 mission, on which he became the sixth man to walk on the moon.

Feel free to weigh in: Is this guy for real, or is he an old man off his rocker?

I'll admit that I was once a big believer in all sorts of conspiracy theories, or at least a student of them. I believed that there was an area 51 near Roswell, New Mexico, and if someone had presented me with truly persuasive evidence that there had been an alien landing, I totally would have believed it.

I'm a little less of a believer now. Not because I don't think it's conceivable that there could have been an alien landing, but I certainly don't think our government could have covered it up for fifty-odd years. I mean, we couldn't even keep the lid on our clandestine efforts to derail nuclear weapons programs in the middle east.

In general, I do think this universe is too large for just one intelligent race, but I'm not convinced that we've already found it. Dr. Mitchell apparently feels differently.

Like tin foil on a potato: Mengoni GP

One cool looking photo

Look at how big my wheels' shadows are!
I rode an aggressive race, but alas, came up short.

Saturday was the Mengoni Grand Prix. This is one of very few cat 3-only races in New York, which makes it special. With those pesky 1s and 2s out of the way, every cat 3 immediately assumes that it's their day to win. Of course, I was no different, so I rallied the troops, and got six of my team mates (Scott, Adam, Jonathan, William, Robert and Chris) rallied for the Central Park race.

In my fantasy, the plan was exceedingly simple: get the team on the front in the opening miles of the race, and work to keep the peloton together by pushing the pace, then with two or three laps remaining, I would use five of my team mates to put the brakes on while me and one other went off the front and rode away to cat 3 glory. The fantasy ends with me somehow finding the legs to out sprint anyone else able to keep up with the breakaway's furious pace. Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans often to run into problems. I did my best to convey these thoughts to the team ahead of the race, and it seemed like everyone was on board, if a little reticent.

But no matter, I was confident that I could overcome reticence with enthusiasm.

The field races down the Harlem Hill
I'm in the middle, surfing on the edge of oblivion
Which is to say, on the jogger's lane

Our problems began pretty much immediately. It seemed that a few other teams also had it in mind to keep the pace high. The average was right around 27 miles per hour, and the pace had the effect of catching us all a little off-guard. I knew it would be fast, but I'd forgotten how fast park races can be. By comparison, the Empire State Games road race averaged around 21 miles per hour, even thought it was an open field with plenty of 1s and 2s. Anyhow, after the initial surge, we recovered, and I made it to the front, along with Robert, Scott and Chris, while the others hung back a little further in the field.

In the interest of feeling out the competition I put in an acceleration up the Harlem Hill, and quickly discovered that I was a marked man. I was covered like a baked potato roasting in tin foil. So I hung back as we continued to race around the park, moving up occasionally to launch a futile attack. At one point, I attacked and actually heard someone yell out with some alarm: "It's Bernstein!" It was slightly flattering, but mostly really, really frustrating. You see, I've developed into a pretty solid road racer this season, and I can ride well in a breakaway, but I'm no good in a field sprint. Take the race down to a sprint, and you take me out of the picture. You dash my hopes. Without breakaway riders, a lot of teams were looking for a sprint. And they got it, but not for a lack of trying on my part.

Sometime during the third or fourth lap I got into a move that I actually thought had potential. In addition to myself, two Adler racers and a few others got a small gap going over the Harlem Hill. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the Adlers in the break suddenly sat up, dooming the move. Uhg, back to the peloton we went. As the race zoomed closer to the finish line, I saw Scott, designated sprinter, moving up toward the front.

Finally, with about two miles remaining, an Axis rider shot off the front. I put in a big dig to catch him, and, miracle of miracles, no one stuck on my wheel. We pulled south through the park nursing a slim lead. As we raced by Tavern on the Green an Adler rider bridged up to us, and I suddenly had a glimmer of hope that his team would be able to slow the field down enough to let us stay away. A few moments later Evan, from the CRCA Jr. Development team bridged up, and we had a group of four with a razor-thin lead over a peloton so eager for a sprint that I could practically feel them salivating on my rear wheel. I turned myself inside out to maintain our advantage, but it was not to be. We were swept up with slightly less than a kilometer remaining, and I did my best cannonball imitation, riding straight to the back of the peloton.

Cue, Scott. Scott was in position for the sprint when several rider crashed into the grass going up the Cat's Paw climb to the finish line. Directly behind them and without a friendly wheel to guide him through, Scott was forced to brake, skidding to a stop. And so ended BVF's chances for a top result in the Mengoni GP. At least there's always next year. William was our top finisher in 18th place. I coasted across in an ignominious 40th place.

No matter, the only race that really matters is the GMSR, which starts with a prologue ITT on Friday. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but I'll be looking to do well on GC, and perhaps in the King of Mountains competition.

After Mengoni, I went for a 50-mile ride up to Piermont, to get in some extra training before GMSR. On the way home, I detoured through Summer Streets. Summer Streets is a revolutionary idea that took cars off of Park Avenue for a few hours on three Saturdays this summer. Without cars, the streets are free for people to ride, run, walk, and recreate in any other way you can think of.

This is what it looked like, except it was more crowded when I was there:

Empty streets
Let the two wheels roam!
Let the two wheels roam!

I rolled all the way from 72nd street to the Brooklyn Bridge, and didn't encounter one car along the way. Now that's good thinking! Of course, it was slow riding, but it was really neat to see the non-motorized types enjoying parts of the city that are usually off-limits. Eryn was working at a booth south of Houston Street signing people up for Transportation Alternatives, so I stopped by and chatted for a bit before heading home.

All in all, I raced 36 miles, rode about 50 miles from Central park to Piermont and back, and ten or so miles to and from Central Park. 96 miles or so in all. I more or less spent the rest of the day eating. The eating culminated at dinner with Carrie and Travis in Ringwood, N.J.

On Monday, they will head off to China to teach English at Sun Yat-Sen University in Zhuhai, China. I'm very excited for them, and hope that they have a wonderful experience living in China for a year. I also hope that I get the chance to go visit them. In the mean time, it was great to see you both, I can't wait to hear about your travels!

Here are Trav and I at his graduation
Trav is a good friend, a former room mate
and a fellow cyclist. Mostly, a good friend

Good weekend, disappointing race. So it goes.

Thursday ramblings

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last posted a top and bottom five list. Since then, I've had a nice vacation on Cape Cod, failed to win a bike race, went for some long-ass rides, bought new wheels, and successfully got back into the groove at work, just in time to get off track again next week, when I head up to Vermont for the Green Mountain Stage Race. So, it's been a pretty good two weeks. Spent a little more money than I would have liked, but what can you do? Anyhow, here's the weekly lists:

Tops from the week:
1) Vacation on the Cape. So nice to relax with Mom and Brett.
2) Aforementioned new wheels. So this is what wheels are supposed to feel like!
3) The Olympics. Even if it is a commercial, sold out affair, it's a lot of fun to watch. I still want to know if the Jamaican track runner's secret to speed is a lack of sports bras.
4) Family dinner with fish from Alaska, courtesy of Dante. Different family, still lots of fun.
5) Ice cream party in celebration of AP awards won by my colleagues and I. Makes me want to win more awards!

Bottoms from the week:
1) Bumbling a 40 mile breakaway to let the capital region road race slip away. Not that I'm disappointed or anything...
2) Too much desert. I'm going on a honey and cyan pepper diet right after GMSR.
3) This late-summer cold. Timing couldn't be worse, and riding in the rain last week probably didn't help.
4) Speaking of rain, the past couple days have been amazing, but prior to that... jeez!
5) American cyclists at the Olympics. Taylor Phinney is 18, what's you're excuse, George? Maybe Adam Craig can turn it around on Saturday.

Bicycles and the law

From the I'm too tired to write department, here is my cycling column from the Aug. 12 Saratogian. Also, there's a recall out on Wolf forks sold with a bunch of Cervelo bikes. I sure hope my Scott fork came from a different Chinese factory...

ALBANY – With local racing taking a break last weekend, I believe it’s time to address a pressing issue. Cycling, and the law.

By now, many of you have likely seen the youtube video of New York City Police Officer Patrick Pogan ripping cyclist Christopher Long off of his bicycle during a protest for bicycle advocacy in Manhattan at the end of July. I only ever participated in one or two such rides, which occur every two weeks in New York and other major cities. It’s not that I don’t believe in the cause, but more because I find them dangerous and stressful. But at the same time, I appreciated the fact that the protests are there. In fact, I found it comforting to know that I had peers who were willing to put themselves in harm's way to stake a claim on cyclists’ right to the road.

Although it's pretty well established that the law sometimes displays bias against cyclists (see Bob Mionske’s “Bicycle and the Law” for numerous examples), it's pretty unusual to actually see a physical confrontation between someone sworn to uphold the law and a peaceful (if annoying) protester. However, I am glad that this unfortunate event occurred in the day of digital video. Now, it's easy to see what happened, and the officer can be sanctioned appropriately. In fact, it seems that Pogan was quickly stripped of his gun and badge and placed on desk duty. Not that that makes what he did OK.

It's somewhat ironic that the bicycle abuse that occurred in Times Square took place hardly a week after a progressive law designed to protect cyclists was approved in New Hampshire. The law requires drivers to give bicyclists a three-foot berth when passing from behind, with an additional foot added for each additional 10 MPH over 30. Similar laws also exist in other states. The New York Bicycle Coalition, an Albany-based advocacy group has been trying for some time to instate a similar law in New York State.

In fact, the agency made this policy recommendation to the state legislature in 2008: “A number of states have Safe Passing Laws stipulating proper passing of bicyclists. New York is not one of them. NYBC recommends a law with wording such as "The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle. The driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle or other non-motorized vehicle must pass the bicycle or other non-motorized vehicle at a safe distance or not less than 3 feet between the vehicle and the bicycle or other non-motorized vehicle.”

But there is one flaw with the New Hampshire. law, and the one proposed by the New York Bicycle Coalition. If some police officers don't approve the law, or, if some officers don’t feel inclined to protect bicycles for whatever reason, (as is apparently the case in New York City), how can we trust that the new law or others like it will be enforced?

Furthermore, a fairly large problem that I see with the law is that a car will have to see the bicyclist in order to obey the law. Any cyclist worth his or her weight in spandex knows that there is no threat from drivers who sees a cyclist. Even if a driver blows their horn at you and flips you off, at least they saw you. The real danger is from cars that don't see you. Those are the drivers that kill cyclists.

Between cars that some how don't see cyclists and officers disinclined to enforce the law (although I have not heard any complaints about police agencies in Saratoga County), I don't know how effective this law will be. If anyone has been to New Hampshire recently, please let me know.

Capital Region Road Race photos

This is a
Public Service Announcement
Keep your phone off!!

First of all, at the bequest of my fellow blogger, Rip Torn Mug Shot (sure, why not.), I've posted this PSA. Vlick to enlarge, it's pretty well done, and the message is an important one. Although I will admit that I occasionally pick up my phone while driving, I always feel bad about it. I imagine I'd feel a whole lot worse if I caused a collision because of my phone. So hang it up, like the guy in the vintage Mercedes.

And now that we've taken care of that business, it's time to get down to something much more fun: photos of me. Thanks to local cycling potog Barry Koblenz, there is a plethora of awesome photos from Saturday's Capital Region Road Race. Enjoy:

Cresting Whitbeck Road on lap one
Doing something silly with my hand
and grinning for the camera

The men's 3/4 race gets under way
The neutral start was sooo slooow
Adler and Metro share the front.

Down to business:
The steepest pitch on Whitbeck Road, lap two
I lead Tony Slokar, who would later drop me for the win

More lap one.
Kyle Peppo on my wheel
I thought he was a big threat, but he wound up playing defense for Slokar

New rolly bits

Here I am finishing the 2008 Tour of the Battenkill Valley
Notice the mismatched wheels:
Ksyrium up front, trusty Mavic Open Pro on the rear

It must mean that I've reach some kind of milestone in my career as an amateur racer that I've now worn through a set of wheels. Like many cyclists who ride anywhere from 200-300 miles a week, I use a separate set of "training wheels" to ride during the week. These aren't training wheels like the outriggers that you mount on children's bikes. Rather, they are wheels you use while training. For races, I break out racing wheels.

Now in retirement
For use on the trainer, and perhaps in the winter
But they have been trusty

I've always used Mavic Open Pro wheels for my training purposes. Since 2004, I've been using a set of yellow Open Pros, which I bought used off of Ebay. Not only are the wheels a very unusual (read: old) color, but they were also built with red copper nipples, which are slightly heavier than alloy nipples, but which hold the wheel truer for longer. Same deal with the 32 single-butted spokes, not the lightest, but strong, and with 32 spokes, that's plenty of strength. And that's what you want in your training wheels: Strong wheel that will stay true and round over thousands and thousands of miles. These wheels were laced to Shimano Ultegra hubs, which I had overhauled shortly after buying the wheels, but had not needed to maintain since. Not the fanciest hubs in the world, but again, durability is the name of the game.

And these wheels have been durable. I've ridden over some rough dirt roads in Vermont and around here on these things. They've been trued from time to time, but other than that, I've never had any maintenance issues. They've ridden as my backup "pit wheels" in many races over the years, including this year's Tour of the Battenkill Valley, when my Ksyrium race wheel flatted at mile 10. I was angry and disappointed as I watched the field roll away that day, but at least I had my tried-and-true wheel to ride home on.

12-25 cassette
Dura-Ace
Nothing but the best...

But even the most durable wheel can't last forever. The yellow Open Pros have now lasted through three bikes, and thousands and thousands of miles. In fact, I tried to calculate how many miles I've logged on the old yellow wheels. In this season alone I've ridden an average of 250 miles a week aboard the wheels, 1,000 miles a month, every month since March. That's nearly 7,000 miles this year alone. I didn't keep good track of my miles until this year, so an exact estimate is though, but let's say I rode 6,000 miles each year, 2004-2007, for a grand total of 33,000 miles. And that's only the miles I rode... remember, I bought the wheels used, with God knows how many miles on them. that's one durable wheel set!

But alas, even the most durable wheels have to meet their end some day. The last time I had the yellow wheels trued, the mechanic alerted me to a disturbing reality: Both wheel's braking surfaces had become worn to the point where they were concave, meaning that breaking would be negatively effected, and the rim could fail.

The new wheels in town.
32 spokes, ball bearing hubs, alloy nipples
Now in black. Proper.

I had two options, buy new rims, spokes and nipples, and overhaul the hubs, or replace the wheels. the cost, once you factor in labor, was about equal. So I opted for new wheels.

Of course, I bought the exact same wheels, only in black, figuring the color would look good on my white bike. The new wheels don't yet have much character, but they will. I rode them for the first time on Sunday, with Continental tires and a brand new Dura Ace cassette. They felt about the same as the old wheels, although they rolled noticeably better. So here's to another 33,000+ plus miles on tried-and-true wheels.

It's the little things
The black rims are a huge aesthetic improvement from the yellow
They roll better too!

Rolling the dice or pissing in the wind?

Well, I'm back from vacation, did you miss me? As promised, my first post after the break is a recap of Saturday's Capital Region Road Race. I don't have any photos so far, hopefully some will turn up later in the week.

Capital Region Road Race: Go big or go home, right?

The race was on Saturday down in Ravena, just south of Albany. I race the 60-mile 3/4 event, which consisted of three laps of a 20-mile loop. The first 7-8 miles of the loop was full of steep, punchy climbs, followed by 12-13 miles of generally downhill rollers with a stiff cross breeze.

I don't want to bury the lead too badly, so I'll just give you the quick synopsis first: I found myself in a three-man breakaway about ten miles in to the race, about half-way through the first lap. After riding in the break for 40 miles -- two full laps -- I got dropped and wound up back in the field, and was out of position for the field sprint to the uphill finish, crossing in 18th place.

Here's how it went down:

Without really meaning to, I rolled off the front going over the top of the last roller on the first lap. After turning in to the headwind on the downhill section, the group seemed disinclined to chase. I thought it was too early to be in a break, so I wasn't really pushing it, but just cruising along, sitting up, riding on the hoods, with the gap holding steady. Suddenly, one rider bridged up, and didn't seem to understand that it was too early to break away. He passed me and started pulling hard, so I jumped on his wheel.

A couple miles later an Adler rider (Tony Slokar) bridged up. Tony had three teammates in the field slowing things down, so suddenly it was a viable break and I started riding. We pushed it hard on the downhill, and were quickly out of site of the field. We took it easy on the climbs (although it was still hard as hell), and then pushed it through the flats, staying out of sight of the field. It was looking good for us to stay away until the start of the third and final lap.

First, the third guy in the break started getting dropped, then we got word that our gap was down to 1 minute. At that point, Tony realized we needed a big effort to stay away, so he accelerated up the next climb, and I was gapped. I chased, but couldn't catch back on. Within a mile or two, and in nearly the exact spot where I'd first gone off the front, I was back in the peloton. I'd rolled the dice, and it hadn't come up lucky. Oh well.

I did my best to stay near the front of the peloton, which had been diminished from 60 to bout 40. I even managed to work up the energy to chase down a couple breakaways, and go with a few accelerations, but the long ride off the front definitely took some of the zip out of my legs. I was out of position for the uphill sprint, and wound up in the middle of the field, although I think I could have probably done better. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Tony managed to stay away until the end in what was a great ride. James was third in the sprint, to take fourth overall. I'm disappointed with my result, but also feel that I gave the race everything I had, and that alone gives me plenty of satisfaction. If nothing else, the race was very good training, or, at least, it left me exhausted: I spent the rest of Saturday in a puddle in the living room floor. Sunday wasn't much better, except I was a puddle at work, rather than at home.

Side note: I've just watched the women's 100-meter final. Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser won the race, and it was really wonderful to see how excited she was with the victory. Before she even stopped running, she had a huge smile on her face. Then, someone gave her a flag and she ran around the track waving the flag and grinning, while a bevy of cameramen followed her around. It was a truly inspiring moment, and I couldn't be happier for her. Of course, because I am who I am, I couldn't help but notice than Fraser and her two Jamaican teammates -- who finished second and third respectively -- ran without sports bras under their singlets. Perhaps this is the Jamaicans' secret... while all the other women's breathing is restricted by tight-fitting garments, the Jamaicans are "free." Just a thought. I should sleep more.

This just in: Peace out...

Things of questionable taste.
Yup, that's a giant RV with a giant SUV tied to its bumper,
spotted on Broadway a few weeks ago. Got gas?

There comes a time in everyone's life when you just need a break. For me, that time is now. As of last night, I am officially enjoying a new concept: paid vacation.

That's right, I was off today. I'm off tomorrow. I'm off everyday until next Sunday. What will I do with myself without the rigor of work to keep me focused? Well, today I went for a 90-mile ride, mostly in the rain. Then I spent the rest of the day in the shower, trying to get the feeling back into my feet.

Now I'm laid out on the couch, stretching and messaging my legs. Tomorrow it's time for some work around the apartment in the morning, then a shorter ride, and then it's off to Cape Cod for the rest of the week.

While on the cape, I'll do the normal beach stuff: sleeping, reading, swimming, eating hamburgers and fish, etcetera. Unfortunately, with all that relaxing going on, there won't be much time for blogging. This will be my last post until next Sunday, when I'll be back with a vengeance.

The Capital Region Road Race is Saturday, and that's where I'll be, racing for glory in Albany. The best thing about this race? I volunteered to do some set up before the race, in exchange for the promoter to waive my entry fee. Now there's a good deal!

For me, any race within an hour of home is a good time, so the capital region road race has A-1 priority on my calendar. I'll be looking to fly on the climbs, hopefully with a trail of gassed and blown riders in my wake. Of course, that's easy to say five days before the race. In any event, look for a race report when I get back from vacation, on Sunday evening. My real hope is that it will stop raining some time soon. This has been one of the wettest months I can remember.

So that's that. I'm always nervous when I go away from the blog for more than a few days, that I'll come back to find that no one is reading anymore, that everyone found some other blogger to read in my absense. But, in this, the eighth month of the year, that's a risk I'm going to have to take.

So, I hope I'll see you, when I return on Sunday! Peace out...

The long haul

With no races this weekend, I took Saturday to go for a six-hour training ride. With my focus usual centered on squeezing my training miles during the workweek, tapering for weekend races, and logging enough couch time to keep my legs fresh, I sometimes forget how much fun just a plain old ride can be.

The day started at Uncommon Grounds, where I met James and a visitor from New Mexico (Cody? Colby?), who is here enjoying moderate temperatures. We headed out of town, riding north to Spier Falls, then popping over the mountain into Glens Falls. From there it was a straight shot back other the ridge to the Hudson, and into Hadley.

We kept rolling north to Hadley Hill road at the base of Hadley Mountain. We rolled down into the Town of Day, and James and Cody turned around. We'd been out for three hours. Now alone on the decidedly out of the way North Shore Road, I road west, rolling along the lake. Only yards to my left were people fishing in the great Sacandaga Lake, water skiing, and sunbathing. It was a cool, windless day, and nary a car was on the lake-side road. In Edinburgh I turned onto the steep Snow Road. Snow road is one of a few points in Saratoga County when I start to feel like I'm really, really out in the sticks.

I don't know if it's the ancient blue-and-yellow Sabrett Hot Dog truck, marked with a "For Sale" sign, or if it's the one car garage with a half-disassembled race car up on blocks, where the radio is always on, but hardly a soul is to be seen, but Snow Road always makes me feel very, very alone.

When I got to the top of Snow Road, it was on to Millitary Road. There isn't much traffic, and there aren't too many homes. But there are some odd sights. There's the modernist sculpture-cum-house letters demarcating 335 Military Road -- giant stainless steel things that would look perfectly at home in the Met -- and there is the tree farm with row after row of telephone-pole straight trees, all neatly trimmed. And then there is Edinburg Center. A municipal building and town garage all in one. A giant plow rests out front and a salt shed sits in the back. There is a playground, but no school. I roll on.

Eventually, I get to "downtown" Edinburg -- covered bridge, rescue squad, gas station. There's allegedly an airport, but I haven't seen it. I stop at the gas station and buy a Snickers bar and a Gatorade. The clerk frowns slightly when I hand him my sweat-soggy dollar bills. I smile and tel him to have a nice afternoon.

From here it's across the bridge to South Shore road, then into Providence, and over the mountain back into the Kayderosseras Valley (my name, not official). The last climb goes slowly, but I make it over the hill. Suddenly, there are cars everywhere and everything smells like exhaust.

The sticks can, at times, be a little desolate, but for an athlete who spends all his time on the hot tarmac, sometimes a little isolation is a relief.

I rolled into the house with my odometer showing 101 miles, 5 hours, 40 minutes. Day well spent. I'm on vacation this week, and there are only three weeks before GMSR, so it's time to pile on the miles. I'll probably ride another hundred Monday.

The best and the worst and the middling

I'm really enjoying Tom Wolfe's "Man in Full." So that's one thing I've got going for me this week. On the other hand, I'm beginning to get sick of Sex and the City reruns. Here are some other good and bad things from the week (and, for the first time, something I'm ambivalent about):

Tops from the week:
1) I am now an award-winning journalist! Earlier today, I was recognized by the New York Associate Press Association with a second-place award in the "spot news reporting" category, and an honorable mention in the "beat reporting" category in their 2007-2008 writing contest. Now that's exciting. I'll try to post a link as soon as I find one.
2) Dante shipped 20 pounds of King salmon via 2nd day FedEx. Delicious. Here's what our freezer looks like at the moment:

Yup, that's what 20 pounds of fresh fish looks like
Good thing we ate that lasagna we had frozen
And yes, it does taste as good as it looks

3) Doing well in a crit, both results-wise and self confidence-wise. Let's hope I can keep it going to GMSR... if GMSR happens this year.
4) Racing for a good cause.
5) Humus. But that goes without saying.
6) I'm on vacation! More on that soon.

Things that are both good and bad:
1)

This is Jonathan Chodroff. He is a former rower who now races for CRCA/Empire and recently won the USA Cycling Elite National TT Championship. Back in 2006, he was, like me, a lowly B-class racer in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference, where he raced for Yale. I have one very specific memory of Chodroff: It was the UVM Mt. Philo road race. It was the last lap, and the peloton was cruising toward the base of the punishing climb to the finish atop Mt. Philo. It had rained and the road was wet. It was cold. It was windy. I was sucking down a gel at the very back of the peloton, when, all of a sudden, some tall asshole on a blue bike with a power tap hub was leaning on me, pushing me into the left lane.

We were literally at the back of the field. There was no one else around, and no one else was having a hard time keeping their line. In violation of the yellow line rule in plain view of the judges riding in the follow vehicle and heading toward a ditch, I dropped my half-finished gel and grabbed a handful of brakes. Chodroff (I didn't know if name at the time), it turned out, had dropped his chain on a slight uphill and not known what to do. We both wound up stopped and unclipped on the side of the road. I cursed. I cursed in general. I cursed at Chodroff. I cursed because I had been feeling confident going into the race's endgame, and was convinced it was now over.

As quickly as I could, I got going again, taking off in pursuit of the moving peloton. Maybe because it was cold, or maybe because it was wet, the peloton wasn't moving very quickly, and with a few hard efforts, I was able to chase back on. Chodroff sat on my wheel the whole way, and didn't pull through once. Thanks Jon.

We made it to the base of Mt. Philo, and I started the climb much farther back, because of the lost time, than I had wanted, but I still managed to climb to 17th place, only two places out of the points. Chodroff, who didn't burn any matches chasing back on, beat me by 10 seconds, finishing 15th. I don't think I would have won in any case, but the incident certainly didn't help.

So I'm happy that a fellow collegiate cyclist, and someone from the north east, has attained such success on the bike. But I'm still bitter about that day at Mt. Philo. Jon, I hope you've learned some better bike handling skills.

Bottoms from the week:
1) Torrential rain. My fixxy got totally soaked, but that happens. At least I was mostly dry.
2) Mom and Dad are painting my room. I guess it's not really mine any more.
3) Too many green clothes. Nothing goes together.
4) Days getting shorter. Less time to ride. Or is it less time to sleep? Who can tell.
5) All of the things I don't write about.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Matching donation to aid breast cancer research

Good looking
Good hearted

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brooklyn Velo Fore/GQ Racing announces matching support for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Contact: Scott Demel, bvf@brooklynveloforce.org

BROOKLYN, NY – Thanks to the generous pledge of an anonymous donor, team Brooklyn Velo Force/GQ Racing will donate an amount equal to its winnings to breast cancer research during the remainder of the 2008 Cadence Cup series.

The seven-race series held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park from May to September, pits the best riders in New York City against each other while competing for cash prizes and the coveted pink leader’s jersey.

Team rider Alessandro Matteucci has won two of the five series races held so far this season, and finished second twice, giving the team a solid grip on the pink jersey. Team riders Christopher Barbaria, Danny Iona and Sheldon Warner have also posted top results in series.
Barbaria is third in the overall standings.

With the team thinking “pink,” supporting breast cancer research was an easy decision and a natural progression.

Team President Scott Demel said, “I am very glad that we can immediately and publicly tie our ongoing 2008 racing success to an issue that is prominent in our community, and has affected some of our members' families directly.”

An amount equal to the team’s winnings will be donated to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to achieve both prevention and a cure for breast cancer by providing clinical funding for research at leading medical centers around the globe.

At least 85 cents from every dollar donated to the foundation go toward research and awareness programs. In the United States, one in eight women develop breast cancer, while one in 35 die from the disease.

In previous years, Brooklyn Velo Force members have combined their passion for racing with a desire to be responsible citizens by holding an individual time trial to benefit the Youth Ride Club, organized by Woodhull Hospital and Recycle-A-Bicycle.

About Brooklyn Velo Force/GQ Racing: Established in 1991, Brooklyn Velo Force rosters 30 riders in USA Cycling categories three, four and five. BVF riders compete in road, track, mountain and cyclocross races in Brooklyn and throughout the northeast. With new title sponsorship from GQ Magazine in 2008, the team has had its winning-est season in a decade.

For more information on BVF, please visit www.brooklynveloforce.org

For more information on the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, please visit www.bcrfcure.org.

Making international "friends" -- or not

Sarah Hammer arrives in China
She's got her wheels, her chamois
and her mask

The U.S. Olympic cycling team made headlines for all the wrong reasons today. Photos of Sarah Hammer and Mike Friedman, disembarking their plane wearing some kind of ninja air-filtering mask surfaced on the New York Times' website today, to my great chagrin. Both Hammer and Friedman will compete on the velodrom in various track events during the Olympic games, which start Saturday in Beijing.

Sarah Hammer with her Felt
She's one of the top US medal hopes in cycling events
She looks better without the mask

I've always been a huge fan of the olympic games. First of all, when else do you get to see a sport like archery on network TV? Second of all, anything that brings together the world's nations for peaceful, mostly a-political purposes is pretty good in my book. However, I think today's photos is akin to a big slap in China's face by the U.S. Olympic team.

It's been pretty well established that China has a few environmental problems. Rumor has it that they've also got some questionable human rights practices. The Olympics are a chance for China to get a little attention for something positive. In my opinion, the least the U.S. could have done was shown our faces -- literally -- for this positive event.

My point being that it's been pretty well established that crappy air quality will have a negative impact on athletes during the games. So you let your athletes wear the masks in the relative privacy of the Olympic village. Maybe they even wear them during some events. But by getting off the plane with masks on, the cyclists offered not the bow of friendship, but a proverbial slap across China's face: "We're here, but we're not happy about it. Even your air isn't good enough for us." Nice guys, real nice.

Updated: The cyclists have apologized.

In other Olympics news, Yao Ming is absurdly tall.

Question and Answer: More photos from the Empire State Games

Question: What do a bunch of elite cyclists do between hard days of racing?

Answer:

I had a milkshake
For a second I thought I might have problems digesting
But what's good for the mind is good for the body

Yup, this is a candid shot of nearly the entire Adirondack region cycling team, plus coaches, sitting in the gutter enjoying a tasty treat from Cold Stone. Why not? It's not like we won't use the calories up the next day. There are a whole bunch of photos from the Empire State Games that never made it to the blog. Here is a sampling.

Some tired riders, post road race
Matt's got the right idea:
feet skyward

Deiter leads the "A" team time trial
The team posted the fastest time on the day
Our B team was only a little slower.

Here's a front view of the A team
Looking very aero
I need to get a cool pointy helmet to go faster

I don't need it in the road race!
here I am finishing 14th: tired but satisfied
Thanks Pete!

Here's our Adirondack B team
We weren't in the tightest formation, but we kicked the western team's ass
Here we are going in for the kill

And here's the final pass
We went back and forth for a while
But this was the nail in the coffin

Here's the crit
Nathaniel is much faster than he looks
Not sure what lap this is

The field is strung out under pressure from the ADK
I'm in there somewhere...
keep looking down the line

Here's the B team on the start line
I literally worked my ass off
It was sore for a week.

New York State Crit Championships

Zoom! There goes 1/2/3
Word on the street was that some laps around the .6 mile course took
1 minute, 2 seconds. That's fast!

I turned right!

I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't a little nervous when I realized the Glens Falls Downtown Crit/New York State Crit Championships was to be raced clockwise, with four right -hand turns on the .6 mile course. The vast majority of crits I've raced in my career were counter-clockwise, with left-hand turns. Although it really should be the same, I fretted all day on Friday that -- in the words of Derrek Zoolander -- I wasn't an ambi-turner. Although, Zoolander's affliction left him unable to turn left, whereas I worried that I couldn't turn right.

Scott chases in the 30+
He cruised to 4th, after an agressive race
Nice ride!

But, just like Zoolander, I overcame my disability and turned right in both the 3/4 and pro/1/2/3 races earlier today.

The course was very fun, with only a couple of technical spots, fast straight-aways through downtown Glens Falls. There was a tough pinch going into a roundabout, and a couple of spots where the pavement was a little sketchy, but other than that a great race course. The 5 and 3/4 fields were decently-sized, but other fields were anemic to say the best. Glens Falls is a little out of the way, but hopefully there will be better turnout in future years.

The 30+ rides in one group
Small fields market this up-state race
But it still had a great vibe

I had a strong ride in the 35-lap 3/4 race, leading a few laps, attacking once or twice, and leading from 3-to until the last 300 meters, convincing some in the crowd that I was leading someone out. In fact, I was getting nervous with the bumping and grinding in the peloton, so I figured the front was the safest place to be. In my oxygen-deprived, race-addled head, I actually though I could have a chance at a result by attacking out of turn 3 on the last lap. Needless to say, it didn't work. But, I didn't crash, and I didn't get dropped, which made the 3/4 crit much more successful that the previous week's crit at the Empire State Games.

Go Scott, Go!
Another strong showing for BVF
Someday we'll get the big "W"

Here's Matt Purdy
He rode solo off the front of the 30+ for a bunch of laps
I thought he was going to hold on for the win, but he got caught.

Such was not the case for James, my fellow Saratogian, who crashed hard on the third lap, and injured his back pretty badly. Sorry James, hope you get back up to speed soon!

Since I'm a glutton for punishment, and need to improve my crit skills ahead of the Green Mountain Stage Race, I lined up for the 1/2/3 later in the afternoon. The 3/4 had a decent field, with about 50 to 60 racers. The 50-lap (shortened from 60) 1/2/3 had 12 racers, and most of us had raced earlier in the day.

Here's the 1/2/3
I'm 4th wheel, sitting on Nathaniel
I was red-lined for most of the race

Here I am leading Nathaniel
If I'd worn my white booties I might have worn
But I'm feeling very comfortable in the drops these days

The 1/2/3 was fast, with attacks going off, coming back, and counter-attacks going again. With only 12 racers, there was no where to hide, but it also kept the race safe, which made it infinitely more enjoyable.

Deiter Leads the 1/2/3
Deiter is really freakin' strong
He led the race solo for a few laps

Nathaniel Ward (Target Training) and Matt Purdy (North Atlantic Velo) wound up lapping the rest of us. There was also a second race afoot with $100 for the rider who led the most laps, which kept things interesting. I managed to stay out of trouble, and felt confident cruising around the tight turns. This time, I knew it wouldn't be any good to lead the field, so I got myself in a slightly better position for the sprint. With two riders having lapped the field, the rest of us were racing for third.

I managed to not completely embarrass myself in the sprint, and finished eighth, in the money. All in all, it was a good day, and I'm definatley feeling a little more confident in my crit abilities.

The 1/2/3 gets ready to start
What are you smiling about?
Don't you know how much this is going to hurt?

Scott also raced today, in the very competitive men's 30/40+ race. Nathaniel Ward was teh clear winner in that race, after catching back on after being dropped, and then riding off the front for the win. Scott finished in the field, despite a light rain in the middle of the race, and took 4th in the 30+ field. Nice ride Scott.