Spooky Bikes CX

Nate-

This will be my last post of the year about racing, since I will be taking a much needed break from the bike for a bit. I have been looking forward to this race for the majority of the 'cross season. For one, it is in my hometown, and two, I missed it the last four years since I have been away at school. The thought of riding to and from the race to warm up and cool down has never crossed my mind until this race, and let me tell you, it was a great change of pace from the normal two hour car ride following a rushed breakfast where I try to shove all the food I can down my throat. I was not looking forward to the race for one major reason though. I had to work the night before. My body thought my day started at nine the night before, working until seven in the morning then racing at noon time. This is a lot like waking up in the morning working all day long (doing manual labor and not an office job) then having a race at midnight that night... Not too fun or motivating.

Regardless of the deranged sleep pattern or the lack of enthusiasm that I could muster, it was time to race. I also had a lot of family at the race which was a big help. Unfortunately I could not put on as good of a show as I wanted but their support of the whole Competitive Edge Team was great. I also want to thank my aunt once again for taking pictures of us. I wanted to finish the season with my best finish yet, but my legs did not get the memo that there was a race that day. They were flatter than a week old soda. The only benefit that I had was that I was able to pre ride the course the day before and earlier in the week. Before the whistle blew I had logged in a good dozen full laps, and a lot more time on some of the trickier sections.

The Competitive Edge Team taking over the start.

The start of the race went fairly smooth for how tight the start was a couple hundred feet from the starting line. Mike and Sean both had fairly good starts, and I was going to have to make up some time to try and catch either one of their wheels. The only thing I could do is wave good bye to my teammates after the first lap. I passed quite a few people on the first lap and had a false sense of how great I was feeling. I started having thoughts like, "maybe I didn't need that much sleep" or "my job is easy and not that physical because I am in such great shape being the end of the season and all". Two laps in I ate my own words. My heart rate plummetted along with my position in the field.

At this point I was trying to not get dropped that fast. I was hoping to still have some confidence during the last half of the race if people did not pass me as though I were riding in the wrong direction. Finally I decided that enough was enough and caught back up to one guy and I put the hammer down. I would like to think that I passed him with authority, but it probably was nothing too special. I wanted to put a large enough gap in so that he would not re-attack me.

I was then caught by two more riders and decided to sit on their wheels and catch my breath for a minute or two. There was a short climb that I decided to attack both of them on, and I stood up and cranked as hard as my defiant legs would let me. I tried to keep a good pace and this attack was enough to keep them five to ten seconds behind me.

I was able to even catch the guy who was riding in front of them who was a good fifteen seconds up or so. I tried to attack him too and had a little luck. In the back part of the course there was an off camber corner that I was able to ride the day before but was unable to master during the race. I tried to ride it, and my back wheel slid out from underneath me and I landed on my back. My first thought as I was getting up was, "where is my aunt with her camera? she better be in some other section right now.". When I got back up and rolling I realized that I lost my little gap that I had gained a minute or two before.

I was attacked and was not able to respond. In the distance I saw Mike, and wondered what had happened. He is such a solid rider, and even on his worst day would not be hanging around me on a bad day on the track. I tried to catch him so I could try to rub it in latter but he saw me and would not let that happen. Mike and the guy who passed me after I crashed had a great battle going on, which I was able to watch from my five second deficit.

In the end I was able to hold on behind them and place 8th, which is not too bad considering my lack of rest. To be fair to Mike, he raced the elite 1/2/3 before the 3/4 race, and had flatted. Which in a cruel way was the perfect carrot dangling in front of me for motivation to finish off the race strong. Now it is time to take some well deserved time off the bike, and enjoy my knew recliner, and spend some time with the dog.

Moser Farm

Nate-

This past weekend was the Moser Farm cross race. It was the warmest day in a while and it was perfect for a race. The course had some interesting features to it. I guess most of the features are still pretty interesting to me since I have only done a handful of races. There were two fairly steep hills that had barriers at the bottom. Each run was at least 100 feet, with a sharp U-turn at the top. Nothing like a 10 second run in two parts of the course to mess up a rhythm! There were two other sets of barriers in the course making a total of four dismount points. There was another spiral which was quite a bit smaller than the one at Smith Farm, which I was fairly thankful for. The rest of the course was wide open and flat minus one big climb and one large sweeping descent.

The start was pretty cool in that we started parallel to the finish straight, went a couple hundred feet, then made a hard 180 onto the finish straight. The first climb was a running race since no one wanted to take the time to clip back in over the barriers on the first lap as every second in the first minute of racing can lead to minutes lost later in the race. During the race many people jumped back on their bikes and rode up the hill including me but it was too risky a move for the first lap. I was able to find fourth place and pull away from the pack a little. The first three places took off and I tried to catch them through the technical sections in the course which worked fairly well. On one downhill a rider in the top three, went down and I was able to catch them. Two of them pulled away through the second lap and I was able to pass the one that went down.

I had a nice intense battle in the middle of the race for third. We were drafting off each other and attacking. At one point I tried to make a move when the other rider let me by so he could draft off of me. He slowed down at the top of the climb, and next thing I knew I was up beside him. I kind of figured he would try this because he tried to let me pass on the down hill so I could pull him up the hill. When I got around him on the left, I dove right so as to break the draft that he was so desperately trying to ride in. I laid down a couple of attacks but in the end he was able to get the better of me by about 20 seconds. The rider that went down earlier even passed me with three laps to go. I tried to hang on his wheel but could not quite reel him in. The laps ticked down and I had one to go. I wanted to close some of the gap on the first hill and then if I planned my attack correctly, I could finish my charge through the spiral. In the previous two laps I was able to close the gap in the spiral so I thought it would be a great spot for a final assault. Right after the finish line he dismounted to go over the barriers on the first long run. He pulled away over the barriers and then tried to mount his bike. He could not clip in and fumbled for two seconds. I thought that it was now or never. As I ran past him I heard a mumbled bit of frustration under his breath and I knew I had him up the straight. The rest of the lap was filled with adrenaline. He was chasing me and there was no way I wanted to give up a position at the end of the race. I was able to pull a way a little on the uphill section and watched him through the spiral. I was expecting a massive charge at the end and I did not want to have a 30 mile an hour sprint to the line. I was able to keep a cool head and had no real mistakes on the last lap and was able to come away with a 4th.

Cycle Smart International Day 2

Nate-

After a hard day of racing the day before my legs felt pretty good, or at least during my prerace routine and warm up. I had analyzed my data the night before to see what I could expect out of myself on day number two and I did not think it looked too bad. I knew I would be tired along with every one else who raced the day before. This would not be as much of a race of fitness as the day before but more of a race to recovery from the night before. The course had some changes to it. There was one long sand pit, and not two short ones, and the uphills and downhills were reversed, along with the steep run taken out. The course was still very fun but I believe the course the day before suited me better.

I had the same strategy for the starting line and first couple of corners in that I wanted to be on the inside. This way when the group was going through the tight left hand chicane before the finish straight, I would not be blocked in and could make up a handful of positions. Also I wanted to avoid another crash if one were to happen. Fortunately there was no crash on the second day of racing. I think everyones' nerves where a bit better. I got a fairly good jump off the start and moved up the field from my tenth row start. I did not have the legs to keep up with most of the riders on the grass field, which I kind of assumed since that was my weakness from the day before. The group did not splinter as fast as the day before, which meant my strong part of the twisting turning woods section was no real help. Every one was inching through the corners as to not slide out, and I could catch the group ahead of me, but it was very hard to go around any one. I was able to go around a couple of people, but as soon as the course went back to the flat grass section they were able to accelerate around me in the straights. For one lap I was really hoping to ride up the one steep up in the course, but there were too many people around me to try. The sand section was a lot harder than the day before too. I was only able to make it through twice during the race.

This day was a day of experimentation for me in all aspects of my riding. I have never completed two races in a row like this, and have never encountered some of this unique cyclocross terrain. Overall my results were a little lower than I would have hoped for with a 75th out of 135 or so racers. On the other hand I have a whole bunch of data and experience that will be very valuable for next year when I plan to ride a full season.

It was a great set of races to have so close to home and the bike shop. The course looped back on itself many times so all of these sweet pictures could be taken by my girlfriend and aunt and all of the much needed moral support could be given. It was great having so many people at the race cheering the Competitive Edge Team on.

Cycle Smart International Day 1

Nate-

So this was my first massive cyclocross race in my biking career and it was indescribable, but I will do my best. My largest race to this point has been just shy of sixty riders and Saturday's race consisted of a little over double this amount. I did not preride the course before the race, so I was little nervous going in cold like that. I did look at it during the other races to see strategies and lines, and I also received some advice from a couple of competitors. It was not my smartest decision, but I figured the first lap would be so compact that it would not really matter. Also I am fairly used to riding a course that I have no clue what it looks like from cross country racing. I would just have to do do some convincing improvisation as the race unfolded so I would look like I knew what I was doing.

The start reminded my of the first straight away and corner of a motocross race. There are a ton of riders all trying to get ahead of the others at any cost. With this mentality there is bound to be a crash and low and behold there was one half way through the first right hand sweeping corner. I think the crash was started by one person hitting the brakes and then the next and the next, and so on with an increasing domino effect. I had a strategy that paid off in my placement at the line. I new I would not be any where near the front since I did not have any points in the series, and I was not sure how many people registered before me as both of those affected the start position. I was lined up in row eight, and I tried to find a spot that would place me on the inside of the corner. This way if there was a crash, everyone should head toward the outside, and I might be able to squeak by to the inside. I had to hit my brakes and unclip one foot for the crash but I was not really slowed down.

The rest of the race went by as a blur. The first run up in the course was absolute mayhem. I know I passed about five people but I was also passed by another five. The next two laps were just a major reshuffling of the ranks. I kept to my plan and I was passed by a good amount of people, but I could only hope that they would blow them selves sky high at the end of the race and I would be able to put in a final charge at the end. The sand pit was a fun obstacle to go through every lap. I made it through almost every time with out having to unclip and I could make up tons of time. The key was to find a good rut that was packed down. The only problem though is that the ruts were over a foot deep in some places. Another place that played to my advantage was a very steep climb in the middle of the course. I knew how to scale a small wall of a climb from cross country and I passed a couple of people through out the race there. Many people tried to shift going up the climb which would only throw off their chain and made a spine tingling clang. The upper woods section was very fun minus all of the people who kept crashing in front of me. There must have been about five crashed that I was almost involved in because of some root taking the tires out from underneath the rider in front of me. So besides having to dodge a couple of hidden roots and rocks, off camber mud corners, broken pavement and shadows, I had to dodge sliding bodies and bikes. I guess that is what helps make racing interesting...

On the last lap of the race I was able to mount a massive charge and passed two people in the lower grass section, along with another two in the woods, and another on the steep climb. I was feeling great about this fast lap, but there was still one more person who has been sitting ahead of me the whole race. Through the baseball diamonds at the end I was able to catch and pass him. I had to put the hammer down going into a chicane before the finish stretch so that he could not retaliate. I did not look back until I was almost at the line and then it was only a fast glance under my arm, and I had a couple of seconds on him. That was my most exciting finish of the whole 2010 season! I was able to claw my way up to 49th of 126 starters. The result was not bad but I was way more excited about my last lap than any of the results.

Smith Farm CX

Nate-

It has been a while since my last post so I will break up the last couple of weeks into multiple posts. This one will be about a fun cyclocross race in Connecticut at Smith Farm. The course was great, and I got to do my first spiral ever! The first part of the course went around a field and ended with a muddy spiral that was fairly dizzying. The second half of the course was through an apple orchard with a couple of steep ups and downs.

The start of the race was great for me. I was able to line up fairly close to the main line where most of the grass was worn away. The promoters had enough room for just about every one to line up in a single row which was nice. Out of the gate I was able to find sixth place, and stayed there through the spiral and through the second set of barriers. On the third barrier of the set I saw a rider trip and go down. I thought there was going to be a massive pile up and the distance that we gained over the rest of the pack would be lost. Overall not much time was not lost but it messed up the little bit of organization that there was in front of me. The rest of the race consisted of damage control. It felt like I was on a teeter toter battling between pushing too hard and risking blowing up at the end or letting people pass and getting dropped early. The course was very wide open and fast which did not suit my legs this day.

No matter how hard I tried I could not put a gap on any one. This was a really weird feeling since I am used to mountain biking where it can be a matter of minutes between competitors, not a handful of seconds. Most of the race feels as if you are riding in that imaginary piece of elastic that snaps back every once in a while but it never quite snaps back all the way. When I found out how I finished I could not believe I how compact of a group I was in. I was five seconds from the person in front of me and 6 seconds ahead of the person behind me. Five seconds in a race that is almost an hour is not that much time at all. I was still very happy with my finish of 11th out of 41 starters. This was also a great race to prepare for the Cycle Smart International coming up.

Last two Mountain Bike Races of the Year (Mike)

Its been a little while since I have last posted, however I have raced two mountain bike races, Bikes for Bovines and the Landmine Classic.

Serious before the Bovine Race

The Bikes for Bovines race was pretty fun, it consisted of a 30 minute climb, followed by some rolling climbs, then a fun twisty downhill, and finally some speedy sections till the finish.  It was raining just a little bit, so some of the rocks were a little slippery, however nothing to get too worried about.  As the gun went off nobody was really going for it, as we all knew we had a big climb to overcome.  About half way up the climb the pace picked up, with Adam Snyder leading the charge I jumped on his wheel, and held on as long as a could.  After I lost his wheel a settled back into a group of two other dudes, and we chugged along from there.  Half way through the lap I heard a knocking sound coming from my bike, and l looked down and my water bottle was falling out.  I quickly reached for it and tried to pull it out but I could not, I then tried to push it through and I could not, so in a last ditch effort I yanked it out, breaking my carbon fiber cage, and one of the sharp edges slashing my finger.  I started to bleed, however I was not about to slow down, so I stepped on it and got back to the group.  The rest of the lab went well, blood getting and my handle bars and all, however the light rain kept everything pretty clean.

The second lap came around and I wanted to drop my group, so I got going on the climb and never looked back.  I crossed the line in 2nd place, I had ridden the second lap a couple minutes faster then the first lap, and finished only about a minute behind Snyder.  Overall a really fun race, a lost a bottle cage, but a got my second consecutive 2nd place, pretty great.

Me and Nate after the race

After Collecting hardware, and Apples!

The final race of the Root 66 Series was the Landmine Classic, and it was shaping up to be a great race.  My finance Caroline was ready for her first bike race since moving out here, and the field was looking very strong, including the likes of Matt OKeefe, Tom Sampson, Neal Burton, John Foley, and Tim Daigneault name a few.  The race started off pretty fast with the Cannondale killers Matt and Tom keeping the pace high.  I was on their wheels until a hit a rock that I did not see and it threw me off the trail.  However I speed back up and next thing I knew Tom was sitting on the edge of the trail with his pedal in his hand, and Matt had speed off.  I kept up the pace however I came to a junction in which I had no idea which was to go, so I had to stop and wait for other rider to catch up and decide where to go.  Once they got there we decided to go left, however I was planning on going right, so it was a good thing that I waited.  At this point I settled into this group and rode along at a good clip for a while.  I got to the front and tried to drop riders, however the nature of the course did not make this easy, and I was unable to do so.  This went on for a while, until we reached two miles to go, and I really went for it, and as soon as I had put a little gap on I hit my pedal on another pesky rock and my chain fell off. As I watched Neal and Tim fly by I knew I had to be quick, so I got my chain back on and rode like crazy.  I caught them pretty fast, however I was out of gas, luckily so were they.  So I got back on pace, and Neal and I dropped Tim and it was off to the races.  We then ran into the beginners and had to swerve in and out right until the finish line, where some dude was running his bike in over his shoulder, essentially blocking me off of Neal's wheel, and going into the last turn I could not get around the bike carrier and Neal took second place, with my finishing in third.

3rd Place at Landmine, all right!

This was a great way to end out the MTB season, finishing 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd against some very strong fields. I will now try my hand at cyclocross, it looks like a lot of fun, and should be a good way to gain some high end for next mountain bike season!

Cyclocross in Syracuse

This past weekend was the first cx race of the season for me and it was a blast. For the first part of the weekend I was in Cleveland OH for a wedding. This meant during the three days before the race I was in a car for 14 hours, the day before the race I was awake for over 20 hours, and got 7 hours of sleep the night before the race. Needless to say, it was a fairly hectic weekend and finishing would be a huge task of its own.

The course had one major hill and two years ago it had some barriers at the bottom to make it a nice run. For the last couple of weeks I was planning on running up this hill, so I practiced mounting and dismounting so I would not fall on my face in the lactic acid haze that I would be in. This year however, the hill did not have the barriers but was made into a killer switchback through some sand. Luckily this hill was after a section full of mud with the consistency of peanut butter for about a thousand feet before it. The hill was a lot like adding insult to injury.

The start of the race was like inner city rush hour traffic. There were so many people in a hurry, and everyone was in each others' way. There were about 60 people going off the line at once in the mens open class. The start was about 4 rows deep and I was lucky enough to start in row 3 near the right hand side. I had to push it right off the line and I was able to go around most of the pack on the right hand side. Half way through the first lap I was sitting second wheel in a group with a handful of riders behind me. There was a fairly fast and tricky transition that went from grass to loose gravel. The guy in front of me started to slide and his front wheel washed out. I just barely avoided him in his close encounter with the ground. I had to thank my mountain bike skills that got me through that one. The first two laps consisted of passing people while being passed by other people. Every one was fighting for every second that they could. About half way through the race things settled down and I was able to concentrate on picking one person off at a time. I was able to catch the blown up remains of people who went off the line with too much enthusiasm. I must have gained about 5 positions in the last two laps. One rider saw what I was doing and stuck on my wheel. I could not shake him. On the last lap up the large climb before the finish he put down a great acceleration and I lost about 4 bike lengths to him. Down the backside of the hill I hammered as hard as I could and caught and passed him with about 50 feet to spare. That was one of the best finishes I have had all year.

One thing about a cyclocross race is the fact that unless you are in the very front or the very back, you do not know where you finished until the results are posted. I did not find the results before I left but, they should be posted soon. I can not wait to see if I placed where I thought I was in the massive pack. The results were posted online and I finished in a respectable 22 out of 73 starters for a mens open class. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Landmine Classic

Nate

The Landmine Classic race was a very unique course for the Root 66 circuit. It consisted of one lap that was 25.4 miles long. There were multiple feed zones on the course so water should not have been a big issue. I decided to use a camel back with a small bladder and a water bottle just so I did not have to worry about running out of water. This way I could concentrate on the race at hand instead of worrying about staying hydrated. The course was very fast and dry and seemed to get more technical as the race progressed.

The start was a little different than in races past, since the juniors went off the line with my group along with the 30-39 men. I tried to stay in the front of the huge group at the start and it payed off. I had a feeling I would be pretty strong and very motivated because this was the last race of the series and I had just come off a decent break after the Windham World Cup. The guys at the front of the 30-39 class were holding a blistering pace and I just tried to keep up. Eventually we caught the pro women's field and passed most of them. Mary Mcconneloug was a bit further up the trail and I tried to stay with her for a bit. I passed her at one point and took off. I was really excited about that since she is a top notch cyclist who I look up to. After my excitment subsided she caught back up to me and dropped me like I was standing on the side of the trail like a spectator, but at least I got to mix it up a little bit.

The second half of the race did not go as well as I planned. A calf cramp stopped me dead in my tracks after a very steep and short climb. I knew I had to stay on my bike and keep my cadence up and I would be fine. At that point forward I played a game of damage control. There were signs on the trees for mile markers which were a double edged sword. It was nice to know how far into the race I was, but when you expect two or three miles to have passed and only one mile has gone, it makes you realize how much more you have to go.

Overall I was very happy with my performance, coming in first in the race by less than a couple of minutes. The series also had podiums for the overall leaders for the season. I was very happy to step on the podium in third place overall. Minus all of the mechanical issues, and flat tires this was a very successful mountain bike season. Now it is time to see what will happen in the upcoming cyclocross season.

Windham World Cup

Nate-

I have been waiting for this race for half of the summer. I have been to this course a couple of times before and thought that it was a lot of fun since the climbs and descents suited me very well. I arrived the day before to preride the course. On the way to the mountain I heard a pop from the back of the car and thought that the car hit something. When we got to the parking lot, I found out that my front tire was sitting in front of the muffler, and the tire blew out due to the heat. I was frustrated that I forgot to check the wheels before we left, but I was partly happy that it did blow out. I would have been more frustrated if the tire was weakened and blew out during practice or even the race. I went up to a vendors tent and got some new rubber for my front wheel.

Practice that night went very well. The course was fairly beat up from the elite races that took place earlier in the day and some of the rock armor was kicked around. Overall the course was still fairly smooth. To my surprise they changed up the later half the track which was the downhill portion. In the middle of the downhill there was a super steep climb that only lasted about twenty seconds, but could easily cause someone to crack.

My group was the first to go off the line with two other classes. In the picture above, I am in the dead center of the front row, and having a front row start was key. I was battling for second place for the first half of the climb. I tried to ride a nice consistent race,since I could not keep up with the accelerations. I stayed in third until the top of the climb on the second lap when forth place caught me. At that point I was about 20 seconds behind second place. Forth place passed me and then covered the gap to second. They battled for a bit, and by the time I realized that I should have accelerated too, but it was too late. Their battle put some distance on me. I hoped I would be able to pick up the scraps if they blew each other up. I could not catch up to third place, no matter how hard I tried, the gap never seemed to close. I could see him on all the fire roads, but would lose sight in the single track.

I was fairly happy with my overall performance of a forth place, while racing people from all over the United States. Here is a picture about a half a second before I crossed the line. The finish was bitter sweet since I was about two minutes from the leader, and 30 seconds from third place. I had my sights set on a podium which did not happen. On the other hand racing against this many people who are so close to my ability caused me to push myself to the limit. I was happy with my performance and left everything on the course, I just needed that extra half a percent and I could have placed on the podium. Now it is time for some well deserved rest and some TLC for the bike.

Stonewall Farm Recap

Nate-

The last couple of weeks have been very hectic, but I will start with the Stonewall Farm race since that was the next race after Hodgesville Dam. Stonewall Farm is an excellent place to hike and bike. They even have a cool nature center like area with backpacks that contain binoculars and pamphlets that can be taken out to enjoy the outdoors. The course consisted of two 13 mile laps. I decided to use a camelback and water bottles because I thought the laps would be a bit over an hour and was worried about dehydration after the Hodgesville Dam race. In the end it was not necessary since it was an unusually cool day and some rain moved in not too long into the race.

The organizers started every one in the pro and cat 1 groups together. We were still grouped by age, but there were no time intervals between the age categories. The start of the race crossed a road less than a half mile into the course, and organization wise, it was easier to have every one cross the road at once. The course had a good setup for this type of start because the first couple miles were up, up, up, and did I mention up? It was a great climb that took about a half hour to complete with very few flat areas. It was on a dirt road, then to a fire road and finally double track. I tried to stay behind Mike and see if I could keep up with his killer climbing ability, but slowly fell back as all the pros put the power down on the upper part of the climb. I sat in second in my group, and was able to catch up near the last half of the lap. I did not have the climbing ability, but I was able to descend very well. The last mile and a half was on a flat bike path so the leader and I took it easy since there was very little point in laying down any type of acceleration on the flat. I tried to hang on on the up hill but again he pulled away and I tried to catch him on the downhill again, but he was just out of reach. A second place was a great confidence booster going into Windham.

Hodges Dam Race Report

Mike
Check out my race report of the Hodges Dam Race on my personal blog:
http://bartlettbike.blogspot.com/2010/08/hodges-dam-race-on-podium-with-dead-car.html

Quick summary, I got second place in the Pro/Open field, and as this was the Massachusetts State Championship Race I was crowed the Pro/Open Mass. State Champion (it even came with a medal)!

On another note, the team mechanic Nate tuned up my bike a few days before the race, thanks for getting the Epic running fast and smooth dude!

Nate

For the last two years I have avoided this race as I have always had some bad luck here. One year I broke a derailleur hanger and another I bonked and yet another I broke a chain, with no chain tool on me. I thought this year would be better, maybe a problem free run considering that I had so many problems so far this year. I was thinking along the lines of the law of averages... It's time for some good races to start. Unfortunately, no such luck.

There are three words that I would use to describe this race rolling, dusty and fun. Off the start we went down a fire road that runs along the dam. There was still some dust hanging in the air from the Pro class that went off before us. Every one was battling for position, and it felt like a road race and I was trapped in a dusty peloton. I was sitting about 5th and started picking people off since I was feeling good. I felt like I was at an advantage since I like the bermed out corners and rolling hills since I love to push it through the corners. I found the first and second place riders and sat on their wheel for a little bit. Through a section of new single track I misplaced my front wheel and ended up going over the bars. Nothing broke and only my quad was a little sore but I lost about 45 seconds. I was not too pleased with that performance in the corner considering I have no idea what grabbed my wheel. I finally made it back up to the first and second place riders and passed them on a very steep technical climb. Smooth sailing from here... hopefully.

I was watching behind me on the switchbacks and the couple of places that the trail doubled back to see where people were. I was slowly pulling away on the second and third lap. Half way through the fourth lap in the same set of amazing singletrack that I crashed in before, I had another lapse in concentration. There were two logs down, and I hopped the first one with no problem, but my front tire caught something and I was not able to pull it up as well over the second. I pushed the bike out in front of me to avoid flipping over the bars, even though I was not in any danger. I guess it is a good habit to have though. As I pushed forward both of my quads locked up on me. I almost was hit from behind, and I waddled over to the edge of the trail. All I could do is stand there, rub my quads and hope that my muscles were not going to tear off the bone. It was one of the, if not the worst pain I have ever been in. I knew if I could get on my bike and keep a high cadence I would be all set, but second place found me and passed me. I was able to get on my bike and keep pedaling to the end, trying to limit my losses. Overall I was very happy with my performance until half way through the last lap. I was able to keep second overall and win the second place Massachusetts State Championship. We'll just have to see how the Norcross Scurry goes...

Thumbs up to the Comp Edge Racing Team presented by the Pioneer Valley's best bike shop, COMPETITIVE EDGE!

Norcross Scurry

Recap- Nate

I have never been to this race before, so I had no idea what to expect. When I was warming up, I was able to preride the first mile or so of the course. I was hoping the rest of the course would be similar since it was a very fun section. I managed to talk to a bunch of other racers to find out what the rest of the course was like. As a racer I know words can not describe any trail section as accurately as one would like, so the first lap would consist of winging it and hoping for the best.

The course narrowed down to singletrack not to far after the starting line. I knew a good start would mean a good race. I was able to get second into the singeltrack since everyone was in an all out sprint. I had a plan of just sitting on the wheel of the first place position for the majority of the race, and see where I could get some ground and pass there. Little did I know that place was all of a half mile into the first lap. The rider in first clipped a small stump with his back tire and went sidways on the course. I hardly managed to miss plowing into his rear wheel and dove around the outside. He was back on his bike by the time I got around, and I decided that the next downhill section would be a great place to put on a gap.

For the first two laps I put the hammer down and tried to pull away as fast as possible. The course switched back on itself multiple times, so I could see where every one was behind me. Unfortunately every one could see how far I was ahead. I didn't want the elastic to stretch out extra long just to snap back when they saw me around a set of corners. I wanted to just pull away and stay away. I was able to do that and come away with my first win of the season! I forgot the camera at my house so there is no picture for this post. Who would have thought!

The course was excellent, and I am not just saying that because I won either. The boyscout camp has some amazing singletrack. Most of it is very fast and twisty trails that have a lot of flow with not much climbing, but the descents are dragged out so they are fast and rolling. I am really excited to come back to this race next year!

Mount Snow Recap

Mount Snow - Mike
Mt. Snow, the standard in which all other MTB courses are compared in New England, and for good reason.  There are really two parts to Mt. Snow, up and down.  The up is brutal, lots of climbing, and in the past lots of technical sections.  After killing yourself going up, you are hoping for a break coming down, but not a chance here.  The downhill could be more taxing than climbing, lots of rocks, roots, and it is always muddy coming down hill.  So like a good racer, I was looking forward to racing here.

This was to be my first race in over three weeks after my 10 day mid season break.  I was able to get one for one good ride after this break, and my upperbody was suffering, and with this race coming up I knew that I was in for a challenge going downhill, and I was hoping that I would find my legs when climbing.

As the Pro class lined up, looking around it was easy to see that this was arguably the strongest field assembled in Root 66 this season, so it was going to be sweet.  The whistle blows and its time to go!  We hit the first climb and its time to climb, however I quickly discovered that my legs lacked any snap, and felt a bit heavy.  However I was hoping that I just needed some warming up, and they would come around.  Well after climbing for about 20 minutes I felt about the same, and I had slipped back to about 12th place.  This is not where I had hoped to be, but I felt steady and sustainable, so now time to go down.  Well, I was right, my upper body was suffering, I was bombing down the rocks, but my triceps were burning and I was starting to wish for the climb again.

So now for lab 2 of 4, and when I started to climb I still lacked snap, however I was able to still manage the same speed as the first lap, and I started making my through the field, and when I came around the second lap I think I was in something like 8th.  So the race went this way for the remaining two laps, with my having heavy legs, but legs that kept going at a pretty hard pace for the whole 2.5 hour race.  I finished in 5th place, and it appears that the slow and steady turtle route payed off reasonable well.  

It seems that every year I am unable to feel great at Mt. Snow, even though I have a great desire to do well, and perhaps this added pressure tricks my legs into thinking that I should be sitting on a couch throwing back some nachos.  Well either way, 5th place for not feeling terribly good is all right with me, and riding up Mt. Snow 4 times is always an accomplishment.

On another note I got bitted by three different things while I was racing.

Non are as serious as a Bear Bite, but the tree bite has left a good mark and bruise on my hip.


Mount Snow - Nate

I look forward to Mount Snow every year since I feel more confident in my abilities on long steep climbs, and super technical downhills. The course this year was full of both. I was able to preride the day before and overall, I was not impressed with the majority of the course. Later during the race though my thoughts changed since the trails became re-worn in and flow once again took hold of the trail. The course has gone through a large face lift since last year. The first climb and descent had been bulldozed into double track, which took away some nice fun singletrack. Overall I think it allowed the race to develop a little better since no one was fighting to get to the singletrack first, followed by a pile up of over eager cyclists.

It looks like the bad luck has found me again this year, or I haven't shaken it off yet. I fought my way to the front on the first climb, and decided I would sit in about third position to mark a couple of other riders who I know would be very strong. We climbed up a massive climb that lead us by the DH course and up another fire road. Up this climb, a tuft of grass decided to jam in my rear derailleur and caused my chain to jump into my spokes. I had to get off and put my chain back on, while watching the rest of the group pass me. I tried catching back up to the marks that I set, and going across a ski slope I started to hear a hissing. I wanted to tell myself it was a blade of grass rubbing my tire or something to that effect. Then everything became very squishy up the next short and steep climb. It was a rear flat... and only ten minutes into the first lap, and none the less on a grassy ski slope with no rocks or any real obstacles.

So I decided to flip my bike over, take a seat and change my tube. I got everything out and it must have looked like I was picnicking on the side of the trail, sitting there in the grass with all my tools surrounding me. I always get nervous doing tire changed in the field like that. I just kept reminding myself, slow and steady is fast. If I try to hurry I will fumble around and waste time, so take it easy, a couple deep breathes and try to enjoy the unexpected break. One mistake could leave me with no tubes and a long walk back to the starting line.

After that ordeal I continued on my way and found another rider from my class on the side of the trail with a flat that he was repairing. He was well on his way into the fix as I rode by. So my one thought was, YES not last place! I made my way up through the men and women who passed me, and tried to keep a level head. Since I was there I might as well enjoy the trail. A good position is nice but not required to have fun. So I continued along and found two people from my class part way into the second lap. I was very surprised! I started thinking, well maybe they had problems too, I am all set here, but lets see what will happen. On the downhill I caught some more people, and really started to think I had a good shot a placing fairly high. So I started pushing it.

The last technical corner of the downhill I decided to take a new line that had not been worn in yet. I missed all the loose rocks and had the edge of the trail to act like a berm. I didn't realize that the road I was turning onto had no berms or ruts to dig into and my bike decided that I should get a closer look at the corner, face first. I got up and looked at my handle bars and found that they were about 45 degrees off. While fixing them I found out that there were a bunch of people in the outside of the corner who got a fairly good show. I yelled to them "If any of you got pictures or video of that I would like to have a copy!".

In the end I climbed up to fourth place for a respectable finish minus all of the mishaps. I look forward to the race next year minus the bad luck.

Pats Peak and 66 Recap - Nate

Pat's Peak is a race that I always look forward to because of the climbing and the fun and twisty descents. With the showers that passed through earlier in the week I thought the race would be a mud fest, but it was very dusty. I thought these dusty conditions would be great since some of the climbs can be a bit tricky in oxygen deprivation, and would become hike a bikes in the mud.

The first lap was absolutely horrible, but much better than last year. Last year I flipped over the bars on the first lap about five minutes in and also managed to destroy my front wheel, which ended my race with a nice big DNF. This year I took it easy through that particular corner and held my third place position that I fought for off the line. I figured I would sit here until the climbs really picked up then try to put some pressure on. The four of us in the front of the pack missed a turn and started to descend back to the starting line, when we were supposed to climb up some singletrack. It just happened that the first place guy was feeling pressured and was watching the trail, and everyone behind him was watching the wheel of the person in front. The rest of the pack went up the singletrack as we turned around and climbed back up the fire road to the part of the trail that we exited. The first four of us flipped positions, and were now at the tail end of the pack...All that work for nothing.

I had to bury myself to catch back up and I really suffered on that lap. I had no idea where I was, but decided to keep a good tempo and see what would happen. If people pass me, I would have to deal with it, or if I caught someone, hopefully the heat of the day drained them too and they do not have too much of a fight left in them. By the end of the third lap I was toast. It was a scorching hot day, and staying hydrated was a task in itself. I was going through a water bottle every half a lap, meaning that the second half the lap I could hope and wish, but my water bottle would not magically fill with ice cold water. On the third lap I managed to catch some one and passed them. I tried to pull away and fast, since I did not want to battle for position on a day that hot. I saw this rider catch up a little on the fourth and final lap but I put the hammer down early so I would not have to endure a last second sprint for the line.

I heard from my girlfriend that I was in third, and was really excited about that considering the events on the first lap. I fought off some cramps and a huge back spasm to get ready for the podium. The third place finisher was called to the podium, and it was not me. My heart went in my throat, and my only thought was that I finished fourth...Which was better than last year, but still a little bit of a disappointment. My name was then called for second place and I could not believe it. After a hard day and a huge mess on the first lap I was able to keep a cool head and climb up to second. Overall it was a great day with a great surprise at the end!

How Sweet It Is!

Alright, here's my first blog post. Ever. So here goes. After the majority of my past two seasons on the mountain and cyclocross bike, i thought I'd take a shot at road racing again. The last time I raced road, i raced as a junior, so i wasn't quite sure what to expect. After a 35 hr training week in California and a mellow rest week, I thought I'd hit the roads in a circuit race on Saturday, the Amgraph Three village tour, and the Keith Berger Memorial crit on Sunday. Saturday rolled around and I made the early morning trek to Baltic, CT. to race fairly early morning, something I'm not used to as a cat. 1 mtb racer! Even though it was early, it was HOT. Our cat. 4 field was racing four laps, a total of forty miles. We had the biggest field of the day, starting with something like 75 riders, with some familiar faces from my junior years racing the road, as well as some hot tubes development racers, which i had learned to fear if they were racing in my junior field. They're some strong juniors! Sparing you all the exciting details of getting ready and warming up, our race went off. First lap, right from the gun, a rapha rider went off the front, sending the field into chase mode for a while. The legs didn't feel so hot, so i tucked myself into the front of the field, but not too far back into the field, where skin is lost and bikes are broken. The second lap rolled around and my legs began to roll around as well, feeling a little bit better. At this point the field was back together and the pace was dropping a little bit, so i thought I'd see how the rest of the field felt and sat on the front for a while. Now this is the part where i usually get myself into trouble during road races. After racing mountain bikes, when something is constantly happening, whether its the terrain or chasing down someone or trying to put time into the guys behind you, i get bored road racing.



The majority of the second lap i spent on the front, as seen above. I figured at the worst I would get a good workout in on the day. The third lap rolled around, and there was definetly some guys trying to make some moves and jump out front, which was difficult on a courselike this, where the only time you could get away was on a steeper climb about halfway through the lap that was about a half mile long, or near the finish, where there was a small climb that flattened out a little bit right at the finish line. I wasnt really looking to make any attacks, because at this point i wanted to keep myself out of trouble and see what i could do at the finish. The third lap went something like the third lap as well, a couple of moves that never really stuck and a pretty nasty crash at the back of the field that I didn't see, but heard. With about half of the last lap complete, you could tell that the field was getting pretty antsy, figuring that i was going to be a big bunch kick to the finish. With about 1.5 km to go, the same rapha rider that went off at the beginning went for the winning move, and with no reaction from the field, that was what it was beginning to look like. Sitting on third or fourth wheel, we took a 90 degree right hander right before the finishing climb started. I jumped off to the right and hugger the side of the road, hoping to catch the rapha rider and see how much i had left for the final 500 meters. Just before i caught him, i looked back, and to my suprise there was no one on my wheel. At that point i made the pass, and figured that it was now or never.

I got into as big a gear as my legs wanted to push, and went for it! At 200 meters, I looked back, and tried to survive to the finish. I succeed, sat up, gave a little celebration fist pump, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. needless to say, I was pretty psyched! My first road race where I've finished it alone, and not behind the field! Although it was fun, it is now that time to upgrade. Having had enough points to upgrade as a junior to 3's and having them expire the following year, its time to upgrade.


Well, now it's back onto the singletrack for me for now, with a 12 -hour solo race at Pats Peak this weekend. Check back for the full race report. All in all, a great weekend of racing for the comp edge boys, well done! Also a big thanks to D. Cole photography for the awesome pics and our trusty team mechanic!

Holiday Farm Fun

Nate- Holiday Farm Recap

The nice people at Holiday Farm put on a Wednesday night race series that is very relaxed and fun. The loop was about three miles of fields, single track with plenty of climbing. The entry is also very cheap, at six dollars for about an hours worth of fun. I have raced there multiple times before including the Root 66 Series, and a six hour race. I was excited to see if we would be racing over some of my favorite trails on the farm.

The first lap was very fast as Mike, two others, and I flew off the front of the group. I had to say goodbye to Mike since he was holding too fast of a pace for me. So our group split into two groups of two, but we then united near the end of the lap. He set down a massive acceleration going into the second lap, but all four of us up front got confused since a course marker had not been moved from the kids race, so we took off down the driveway in the wrong direction. We slowed down and regrouped out of fairness because no one in our group of four knew which way to go. By the second lap everything was taken care of, and there were no more problems. I had to settle into a nice pace on the uphills and do some damage control for the rest of the race. The downhills on the other hand were wide open and full of fun. There were plenty of rocks to hop over and small drops to launch off of. In the end I held a pace that was set for a respectable 4th. I am looking forward to competing up there again in the future.

Mike- Holiday Farm Race

Nate, Robyn (Nate's very helpful girl friend), and my self made the 1.5 hour journey today, it was was the nicest weather we have had in a while. It was about 75 degrees with some slight cloud cover, which was a great relief from the 90 degrees and humidity we have been fighting recently. As we suited up the atmosphere was great, pretty casual and to my surprise the kids race had what looked like 10 or so kids. As we lined up there looked to be about 40-50 people there, with about 15-20 in the "3 lap" field (which was the longest). As the gun went off one guy really went for it, so for the first 5 minutes the pace was pretty high, so I was trying to be as smooth as possible. The pace slowed a bit at the top of the hill, so I jumped in front to keep things in check. At the end of the first lap there was about 4 of us together, including Nate. At this point I had recovered nicely from a downhill and went for a sprint to mix it up, however as soon as I did this the course marking got a bit confusing and I had to slam on my brakes! After the four of us determined where to go, it was back to racing. As we went through the second lap I stayed up front, and had a small gap on the others. But as we came around for the third lap I put a little more pressure on these guys and was able to put more time in. I crossed the line first, and Nate battled it up for a nice 4th place finish.

Overall it was a great time, with awesome weather, a really fun course, and to my surprise I had pretty good legs and thus was able to keep myself from going too hard. Another awesome Wednesday race series, I suggest you check it out!

Race Weekend - June 25/26 Putney XC

Nate- Putney West Hill - ReCap

The race was fast and dry which was a great change from the past. The first lap was dusty until a little bit of rain hit the area, or at least I experienced a little bit of it. I guess at some points it was a downpour. It was just enough to have some fun to drift and slide through the corners. I had a three way battle the first two and a half laps, where I was in the lead for the whole lap except the last climb up cemetery hill. We kept attacking each other trying to find the others' weaknesses. I then settled into second place and was able to hold on for the rest of the race. I was very happy with my overall result as I was much faster than last year and also was able to step up on the podium. It was a good change of pace from the last two races, where I destroyed my whole drive train on the last lap of the Winsted Woods race and ran the second half of the lap. The Coyote Hill race was not great either since I could not find my legs. I am very excited for the rest of the season and hope that I have gotten rid of my bad luck for the year and can keep this momentum going.

Mike- Putney West Hill XC
Putney is one of the classic New England races, or at least so I am told.  In the four summers that I have been out here in New England, Putney is the only race I have been to all four years.  It is an awesomely brutal trail, with tons of climbing, and short steep descents, so you feel like you are climbing almost indefinitely.

I had not raced an XC event in 5 weeks, with my last race being the 24 hours of Boyne 4 weeks ago, so I was excited to get back to racing at Putney.  As we lined up the field was really strong, and we were joined by the World Cup Vet. Mike Broderick, so the stakes were high.  As the whistle went off Broderick took off, and us other mortals tried to keep up, so the pace was really high.  As we came around the first lap I knew I had gone a little too hard, and while Broderick was long gone, the rest of the top 5 was still more or less together.  As I intentional slowed down so I could last all 5 laps, I dropped back to 7th or 8th place.  After climbing and climbing I turned the gas back on and started moving up, and finally caught up to John Foley and made a point of closing the gap.  I caught him on a steep climb, and climbed hard and put a gap on him.  I finished the race strong, with hopes of catching my buddy Chris Hamlin, but as I caught a glimpse of him up ahead and started the charge with only a few minutes to go, my chain dropped to the outside and I had to dismount to get it back on.  I came across the line in 4th place, a great result for me, as I had hoped to place in the top 5.

Well another year, and another Putney race, I will certainly be back next year, with hopes of cracking into the top three.

Competitive Edge Racing 2010

Welcome to the inaugural post of the first year of the Competitive Edge Racing Team. The team is based out of Western Massachusetts and is powered by the Competitive Edge Ski and Bike Shop. We will be focusing primarily on mountain bike and cyclocross racing throughout the New England area with some road races sprinkled around. Our goal is to build a competitive team that can compete with the best of them in New England.

Now for the members:

Mike Bartlett

Hometown: White Lake, MI

Age: 24

Race Categories: MTB: PRO, Road: CAT IV
Favorite Race: Mt. Snow XC
Preferred Recovery Food: PowerBar Recovery bar, or if available root beer float!

Sean Kennedy


Hometown: South Deerfield, MA
Age: 20
Race Categories: MTB CAT.1, cx CAT 3, road CAT 4
Favorite Race: Bear Brook XC
Preferred Recovery Food: whey protein (old school!)

Nate Pepin

Hometown: Easthampton, MA

Age: 22
Race Categories: MTB CAT 1
Favorite Race: Pat's Peak and Mount Snow
Preferred Recovery Food: PB and J with a tall glass of chocolate milk

Check back for race reports, ride descriptions, and anything else regarding the shop or cycling news!