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!