Cat 4 podium with Matt Bell (1st) and Alex Hasse (3rd).
Dan Ott getting nipped at the line to finish 4th in the Cat 3 race.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Hyde Park Blast 2008 ... now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!!!
Cat 4 podium with Matt Bell (1st) and Alex Hasse (3rd).
Dan Ott getting nipped at the line to finish 4th in the Cat 3 race.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Blast Off
The 2008 Hyde Park Blast presented by Darkhorse Racing-RPC Mechanical went off, in my opinion, without a hitch. Plenty of stress, sweat, blood, hunger, and work, but no hitches.
I got there with Ethan (my 7 year old) around 11am, counting on a little caffeine from Nick's promised Awakening's offering. Nick and Tank were already hard at work though, no time for coffee. The Red Bull girls came to my rescue and all was well with a quick shot of the sugar free variety please. Nose to the grindstone from then on, we worked solidly setting up the course with barricades, hay bales, and plenty of sweeping throughout. I came up for air for about 2 minutes to eat a pretzel and take 2 sips of a Smoothie King.
Next thing you know, the Cat. 5 race had begun. It went great, followed by the women. I was at the registration end of the course and realized I needed to get back to the square to help with the podium ( I offered to be a Podium Guy but remembered the Tour de France rules stipulate you must be single, oh well). As Ethan and I were running back, we were rebuked by a wall of water and hail stones and had to seek refuge on the steps of St. Mary School until it blew over. Blow over it did and we started back up with the kid's runs, bikes, and junior races with minimal interruption.
45 minutes before the Cat. 4 race was to go off, I realized that was me and figured it would be a great time to start getting ready and maybe eat a Clif bar. My warm up consisted of riding down the sidewalk from the Square to the registration area, not ideal. I got my heart rate up with a quick sprint to the Port O Let and got back in time for the pre-race instructions. We went off impressively close to on-time and I held on for dear life for 30 minutes.
I was at the back for most of the race, not the best place I know, but all I could muster considering my long day. There was the expected yo-yoing around the 180* turn at the square and I felt like I had to sprint every lap to catch up. There were about 5 laps where I had to close a 10 meter gap as riders started to lose contact with the front group. A rider had broken off the front earlier and had a pretty good gap on the field, I was debating whether to chase it down for my teammates when I noticed the pace car was back in front of our group again. I found out later he flatted, bad luck for him, good for us. The 5 laps to go sign finally came and I started to move up a few riders at a time each lap. Starting the last lap, I was near 10th wheel and as we came down Montieth, I swung wide and started the finishing straight in 8th with Matt Bell right on my wheel. I stood up to go way too early, probably 250m to go. I found myself at the front way too soon with that far to go so I started soft pedal/sprinting. I felt like 4-5 riders passed me, including Matt, so I reaccelerated, taking back a few spots to get 3rd overall. Even better, the lead out worked and Matt took the sprint, again showing he is in top form. We should both be in the 3's soon. 1st and 3rd was a great result for Darkhorse, made all the better by Matt's sweet looking podium.
Thanks to everyone who cheered, I heard people yelling my name all over the course, that was a great feeling and definitely helped!
The 3's and Pro 1-2 race also went off smoothly and we were busy tearing down the course till 11:30pm, when the final light was loaded into the back of the RPC trailer. Thanks to all who planned and helped and worked tirelessly to make it a great day, I'm sure Tank is glad it's over!
I got there with Ethan (my 7 year old) around 11am, counting on a little caffeine from Nick's promised Awakening's offering. Nick and Tank were already hard at work though, no time for coffee. The Red Bull girls came to my rescue and all was well with a quick shot of the sugar free variety please. Nose to the grindstone from then on, we worked solidly setting up the course with barricades, hay bales, and plenty of sweeping throughout. I came up for air for about 2 minutes to eat a pretzel and take 2 sips of a Smoothie King.
Next thing you know, the Cat. 5 race had begun. It went great, followed by the women. I was at the registration end of the course and realized I needed to get back to the square to help with the podium ( I offered to be a Podium Guy but remembered the Tour de France rules stipulate you must be single, oh well). As Ethan and I were running back, we were rebuked by a wall of water and hail stones and had to seek refuge on the steps of St. Mary School until it blew over. Blow over it did and we started back up with the kid's runs, bikes, and junior races with minimal interruption.
45 minutes before the Cat. 4 race was to go off, I realized that was me and figured it would be a great time to start getting ready and maybe eat a Clif bar. My warm up consisted of riding down the sidewalk from the Square to the registration area, not ideal. I got my heart rate up with a quick sprint to the Port O Let and got back in time for the pre-race instructions. We went off impressively close to on-time and I held on for dear life for 30 minutes.
I was at the back for most of the race, not the best place I know, but all I could muster considering my long day. There was the expected yo-yoing around the 180* turn at the square and I felt like I had to sprint every lap to catch up. There were about 5 laps where I had to close a 10 meter gap as riders started to lose contact with the front group. A rider had broken off the front earlier and had a pretty good gap on the field, I was debating whether to chase it down for my teammates when I noticed the pace car was back in front of our group again. I found out later he flatted, bad luck for him, good for us. The 5 laps to go sign finally came and I started to move up a few riders at a time each lap. Starting the last lap, I was near 10th wheel and as we came down Montieth, I swung wide and started the finishing straight in 8th with Matt Bell right on my wheel. I stood up to go way too early, probably 250m to go. I found myself at the front way too soon with that far to go so I started soft pedal/sprinting. I felt like 4-5 riders passed me, including Matt, so I reaccelerated, taking back a few spots to get 3rd overall. Even better, the lead out worked and Matt took the sprint, again showing he is in top form. We should both be in the 3's soon. 1st and 3rd was a great result for Darkhorse, made all the better by Matt's sweet looking podium.
Thanks to everyone who cheered, I heard people yelling my name all over the course, that was a great feeling and definitely helped!
The 3's and Pro 1-2 race also went off smoothly and we were busy tearing down the course till 11:30pm, when the final light was loaded into the back of the RPC trailer. Thanks to all who planned and helped and worked tirelessly to make it a great day, I'm sure Tank is glad it's over!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
25 June 2008 /// Ault Park B Race
I knew better and now I am kicking myself up this hill. Where is that ugly red and black duct tape line?
I don't care what I have to eat before a bike race, as long as it is oatmeal! It has been this way for years; probably beginning in '95 before a muddy Paoli Peaks XC race or maybe it was '01 after a good go at 'cross nats. Similar to stepping on the foul line of the ball diamond, or Sabo not having his shoes with fresh Krylon red paint, I knew I was risking a lot without my oatmeal. It is my mojo. And aside from the psychology of steel cut oats, physiologically, oatmeal has more merit. Racing hungry stinks. Racing on empty hurts.
And so, with a few laps to go, racing without the oats jinxed me. I got popped into the gutter. I hope it was an accident and "EN GARDE!" if it wasn't knucklehead! The 'cross skills came into play nicely as the Mavic's screamed. Aluminum on cement is a bad, bad sound. Cone created a clumsy bridge across the storm grate. One foot out and back in. Floored it to get out of the soup. Found myself too close to the front on the way down the hill. The usually suspects let off the gas and I felt it was time. Half-a$$ed gas from the bottom all the way up and it was enough to hold them off. Endorphins are good!
Ciao for now.
My apologies to The Hasse for the erratic race on my part. We will get them next week. With my oatmeal and without the gutter.
the_pale
I don't care what I have to eat before a bike race, as long as it is oatmeal! It has been this way for years; probably beginning in '95 before a muddy Paoli Peaks XC race or maybe it was '01 after a good go at 'cross nats. Similar to stepping on the foul line of the ball diamond, or Sabo not having his shoes with fresh Krylon red paint, I knew I was risking a lot without my oatmeal. It is my mojo. And aside from the psychology of steel cut oats, physiologically, oatmeal has more merit. Racing hungry stinks. Racing on empty hurts.
And so, with a few laps to go, racing without the oats jinxed me. I got popped into the gutter. I hope it was an accident and "EN GARDE!" if it wasn't knucklehead! The 'cross skills came into play nicely as the Mavic's screamed. Aluminum on cement is a bad, bad sound. Cone created a clumsy bridge across the storm grate. One foot out and back in. Floored it to get out of the soup. Found myself too close to the front on the way down the hill. The usually suspects let off the gas and I felt it was time. Half-a$$ed gas from the bottom all the way up and it was enough to hold them off. Endorphins are good!
Ciao for now.
My apologies to The Hasse for the erratic race on my part. We will get them next week. With my oatmeal and without the gutter.
the_pale
Ault Park A’s #4
It was just the three of us tonight; Chip, Nick, and I (Dan Ott was out and was sorely missed). After the usual safety speech from Bill, our very own Chip Dobson made a few announcements about the Hyde Park Blast (Sunday June 28th). After his standing-o’, Chip returned to his rightful place on the right side of Tinsler. The field was little thin but at least 35+ racers were lined-up; including all the really fast guys that I secretly wished would stay home. Our average was toasty 26 mph for the first 10 laps or so and by the end it was hovering just a tad over 25 mph. A break of 7+ men escaped early and unlike last week, I was a lot less nervous and was able to focus on the events as they unfolded. From my perspective the break went too early but no one was really making any effort on the front to pull it in. That is of course until I noticed the pace starting to ramp-up and saw Nick, on the front and leading out the entire field. Nice job! Thanks to Nick’s example, others followed and the break was eventually pulled in a lap or two later. Nick’s effort cost him though, as he tapped-out for the night (and returned to his rightful place on the right side of Stephen Brown.)
Throughout the race, there were several text book counter attacks, as breaks were pulled in. UC made some valiant efforts on the front, as well and should be commended. The “up hill” was a little sluggish at times and there seemed to be a slow and fast lane (left and right lanes, respectfully). Team Dayton had some large numbers but proved to be no match against the Goliath-like Huntington Squad, who continues to play this race like a fiddle. Tenacious-Dobson took a few turns on the front, showing some good fitness and did a good job staying near the front of the race. As for me, I need to do better of following his lead but it was fun just to finish.
Throughout the race, there were several text book counter attacks, as breaks were pulled in. UC made some valiant efforts on the front, as well and should be commended. The “up hill” was a little sluggish at times and there seemed to be a slow and fast lane (left and right lanes, respectfully). Team Dayton had some large numbers but proved to be no match against the Goliath-like Huntington Squad, who continues to play this race like a fiddle. Tenacious-Dobson took a few turns on the front, showing some good fitness and did a good job staying near the front of the race. As for me, I need to do better of following his lead but it was fun just to finish.
Burnt Toast (Ault Park 4, A Race)
This report will not take long as my participation in last night’s race was not a lengthily ordeal.
At the start line, I noticed that the field felt a little lean, like it was missing a few key players, although I couldn’t put my finger on any specific person that wasn’t there. I did notice that
I rolled around a few laps only to find that the break(s) were brought back in, trying to take some solace in my effort somehow triggered that sequence of events. I am still sulking; hopefully I can focus that energy into the Blast this Saturday.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ault Park #4 (B Race)
My race was over before it began. At work, we escorted the Special Olympics Torch from Downtown to Springdale today, 32 miles in 4 hours in 95 degree heat. I had no legs tonight, the first time I tried to sprint on the middle lap, I was on Matt's wheel but just couldn't get anywhere. I was maybe in the top 25 (out of 25 :) I tried again 5 laps later on the 15th lap and got 3rd, good enough for 2 points. For the last lap, I got some great help from Shannon Smith (thanks!), who brought me toward the front, right next to Steven Hughes and Geoffrey Reynolds. As we reared up for the sprint, I noticed that guys were passing me right and left so I just sat up (safely) and limped in for the finish. Fortunately, Matt decided to show what he was made of and blasted off the front of the field and easily took 1st on the last lap, great job!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Ault Park#3, A race #1: aka Pack Fodder 2008
Last Wednesday I gave the A race a try for the first time. I got to Ault early to warm-up with the guys in the B race and I was excited to watch and root from the sidelines. They had a strong representation with Alex, Matt, Brown, and Moore mixing things up. Alex scored enough points for the night to take second place overall. They showed some real team work out there and Matt Bell gave a strong lead-out on lap 5, rocketing Alex into 1st place.
By the time the A race started, I was a ball of nervous energy and couldn’t wait to get this thing over with. It started out fast and pretty much stayed that way. It wasn’t as smooth as I was promised either and there were countless gaps that would open, causing lots of surges (herkey-jerky) in the pack. Chip later concurred and said that he didn’t think that was typically how things play out. Anyway, I was feeling pretty gassed and praying for forty laps to feel more like twenty, but without much luck. I was also oblivious to all the usual questions: what lap, who’s in front, was there a break? What I like to call my “race situational awareness” was totally absent and my only concern was staying in the race.
And like an answered pray my rear tire blew on the back side of the course on lap 8(?). I hurried (walked) back to the start area, only to be berated by my many supporters (sarcasm). Alex shouted, “Check his tire…make sure it’s really flat” and Bill Lorenz just stared at me and said, “Aren’t you supposed to be in the 20K?”
Matt, who interrupted my sign language and incoherent mumblings, hurried across the course and gave me his wheel (funny back-story: his rear tire got a flat during warm-up and I gave him a tube…and he later lent me the same wheel/tube. Now that’s teamwork).Thanks Palerider!
I rejoined the group a lap or so later (on the sprint lap) and before I did, I was given strict orders by Bill not to contest the sprint. Right! No chance in Hades, I promised. I managed to reintegrate without any problems and eventually settled in. A couple times I tried to get behind Chip or Dan but that was ridiculously harder than I imagined and forget about getting in front of Dan, that man is strong. So strong in fact that I later learned Dan got into a break and stayed away for some points, while Chip made a valiant effort on the front, to slow things down. I on the other hand, had no idea what Chip was talking about a few laps later when he was telling me all about it.
That was pretty much the story of the race. I sat in and got a really good interval work out and about 10 minutes after the race, I rode to the back of the course (to pick-up my water bottle) and threw-up the entire contents of two water bottles and multiple sport gels. I only say this as a cautionary tale: hydrate the day before the race and several hours prior to the event, not the hour before.
By the time the A race started, I was a ball of nervous energy and couldn’t wait to get this thing over with. It started out fast and pretty much stayed that way. It wasn’t as smooth as I was promised either and there were countless gaps that would open, causing lots of surges (herkey-jerky) in the pack. Chip later concurred and said that he didn’t think that was typically how things play out. Anyway, I was feeling pretty gassed and praying for forty laps to feel more like twenty, but without much luck. I was also oblivious to all the usual questions: what lap, who’s in front, was there a break? What I like to call my “race situational awareness” was totally absent and my only concern was staying in the race.
And like an answered pray my rear tire blew on the back side of the course on lap 8(?). I hurried (walked) back to the start area, only to be berated by my many supporters (sarcasm). Alex shouted, “Check his tire…make sure it’s really flat” and Bill Lorenz just stared at me and said, “Aren’t you supposed to be in the 20K?”
Matt, who interrupted my sign language and incoherent mumblings, hurried across the course and gave me his wheel (funny back-story: his rear tire got a flat during warm-up and I gave him a tube…and he later lent me the same wheel/tube. Now that’s teamwork).Thanks Palerider!
I rejoined the group a lap or so later (on the sprint lap) and before I did, I was given strict orders by Bill not to contest the sprint. Right! No chance in Hades, I promised. I managed to reintegrate without any problems and eventually settled in. A couple times I tried to get behind Chip or Dan but that was ridiculously harder than I imagined and forget about getting in front of Dan, that man is strong. So strong in fact that I later learned Dan got into a break and stayed away for some points, while Chip made a valiant effort on the front, to slow things down. I on the other hand, had no idea what Chip was talking about a few laps later when he was telling me all about it.
That was pretty much the story of the race. I sat in and got a really good interval work out and about 10 minutes after the race, I rode to the back of the course (to pick-up my water bottle) and threw-up the entire contents of two water bottles and multiple sport gels. I only say this as a cautionary tale: hydrate the day before the race and several hours prior to the event, not the hour before.
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