Farmersville RR

Three days later and I'm still trying to make up my mind about what I thought of the Farmersville Road Race.

I signed up for the 4 race hoping for some "rolling hills" and an "uphill" finish. Well, the course turned out to be quite flat and the unphill finish wasn't more then a slight riser in the last 300 meters.



Counter to my usual tendencies, I staged right at the front and decided that I'd work on keeping a good position. Right from the whistle some guy took off and got about a maximum of 45 seconds on the first lap. I took a few pulls at the front and felt pretty comfortable. After we caught him, I drifted towards the rear of the pack.

At one point we were really strung out and gaps started opening up so I put in a big effort to move up, soon we came around with 2 laps to go and I picked up the pace on the finishing stretch to get back to the front. That worked well, but it was hard to stay there, by the time we came back around with 1 to go, I was back at the rear of the group again. I tried moving back up, but everyone else had the same idea and I couldn't get anywhere. The last lap got pretty quick and by the time we hit the final kilometer guys were holding their spots pretty firmly and I couldn't get anywhere. We came around the final turn and sprints opened up with me starting at the back of the group. I rolled through in the very back, to finish 27th out of 51.

I had been secretly hoping for a good result, last year I had several finishes in the top 10-15 of Cat 4 races and I figured that I was much stronger this year. But it was not to be, my legs felt good, but they couldn't get me anywhere. It was really a race of positioning and that showed me that I have much to learn in that area.

That said, fighting for positions on a narrow country road with chicanes, doglegs, and rough gutters just isn't my ideal type of racing.

It's a good thing it was such a beautiful day for riding in Lancaster county.

I sat down by the finish after the race to just relax, soak in the beautiful day, enjoy the peace and quiet, and watch the Cat 5 and 2/3 races go.

I'll be looking for hillier races in the future, something that breaks up the field a little. However, this race makes me think that a Cat 3 upgrade is going to be very difficult this season. Up until recently, that goal had been a major motivation for training hard this season. I'm beginning to think that I'll take a shift in my racing goals for the season, maybe bring in some more running, find some duathlons, and try some adventure races. If the road races go well, and I get some upgrade points, that's great. If not, I'll still be having fun.

Nah, who am I kidding, I really want to get some good result in Cat 4 this season! It's time to do some real training, re-motivate myself, and pick up some races to really focus on.

One of the three ways to get to Cat 3 is earn 20 points in a 12 month period. That's going to take a lot of racing.

Marten

Tour of the Battenkill Race report

Well that was fun.

We drove up Friday early afternoon to beat traffic and get to the hotel in Saratoga Springs, NY at a good time. But before we could leave, we had to have some car issues looked at. I don't think that the mechanic quite knew what he was doing, after a few tactful suggestions, we decided to just move on.



So a little behind schedule which meant that David couldn't get to pre-registration, so he'd have an extra early morning on Saturday. We ate well on the way up, plenty of good food packed! Becca's post marathon cookies were a big hit.



We made it just on time to check in to the hotel and scoot over to meet the rest of the team for dinner.



After that we were all ready to go straight to bed. David had to get up at 6am to get registered and make his start time at 9:25 am. It was freezing in the morning, literally only a few degrees above, but with a vicious wind chill. I tried to sleep in a bit, but I was too wound up with pre-race nerves and was wide awake by 8 am. I barely managed to get my french toast breakfast down, then it was time for final preparations.

The thing with biking is that it has too many accessories and paraphernalia. Layering clothes for the weather, arm warmers, knee warmers, which gloves? bottles, food, drink mixes or water? gells, shots, or bars? Spare wheels, bag of tools, etc etc...

We drove out to Cambridge and I was glad to see that the weather was coming up through the forties and there was even a hint of sun once in a while. Steve called to say that it was frickin' freezing, and the wind chill was brutal. Alright, maybe I'll add a base layer.



Most of us were racing, but Becca and Amy did a fantastic job with support. After we rolled out, they headed out to the second feed zone with all the kids, bottles for everyone. I'm trying to imagine watching those kids, keeping an eye out for the groups of racers coming through, and trying to get the right bottles to the right people. Not an easy task! Plus, they were looking for 4 of us in the Masters 30+, 1 in Women Cat 4 35+, 1 in Women Cat 4, and 1 in the Cat 4 Men.

David was still racing by the time we rolled out, so I didn't get to hear his story until we were finished.

We started with almost 50 degree weather, but the wind was quite chilly. I was actually surprised how slow the first part of the race was, but as soon as we hit the first real climb, we were definitely going. I saw Greg and Jeff still sitting in good position, but on the paved climb between the feed zones, the pack split and the field took the opportunity to try and separate for good. Greg was caught out, but after a hard chase, he got back on. After that we slowed way down for the next several miles.

Becca's bottle hand off was perfect, I heard her yelling and got over to the side of the road just in time to scoop up my bottle.

I hit a max of 48.3 mph down the dirt descent, but most of the dirt sections were pretty smooth and were very rideable with a smooth line.

My moment of "oh crap" came after the climb to Meetinghouse Rd. I looked up and saw two walls of dirt road and the field was really laying down the hammer. I hung on for the first climb, but a small gap opened up on the second part of the climb and I couldn't make up the deficit despite burying myself. I looked up and saw a group of 30-40 descending after the yellow Mavic tent and I knew I was popped off. I jumped into a small group of 3 others who were chasing hard, but I was too cooked to stay in the rotation. I slowed up and got on a larger group that were working pretty well together and rotated through until the final dirt climb. Everything completely split up at that point, but I followed 3 guys up and over the top. For some reason, I decided to try and get around the front guy on a descent and that extra effort put me a little too much into the red, for a little too long, and then I lost contact with them. They rode off and I soloed in the last few miles. The finishing miles were flat, and I felt alright, but my legs had no extra strength left.

So I rolled in 37th out of 84 finishers. Not bad for my first Masters race, so I'm happy with that.

It was a beautiful course, after the first few kilometers I relaxed enough to start looking around and enjoy the race. The route was smooth and it was great fun to come barreling into these towns and have all traffic stopped for the field. Greenwich even had a big cheering section going.

Definitely a fun race, for some reason I let the idea of a Masters race get to me and spent the morning far more nervous then I should have been. The roads were actually in really good condition, the Masters pack was very smooth, and it was just a really well run race.



There is no way to not be in a great mood after a race like that.

What worked:

1. Specialized bottle cages - Nothing is coming loose from those grips
   
2. Continental GP 4000 25mm - Good traction and a good ride, no flats
   
3. 12-27 cassette - Crucial, I could sit and spin while maintaining traction on the dirt climbs while passing guys trying to mash a taller gear and just slipping around
   
4. Bring a spare tube - If you do flat, it's a long way home
   

Jen got second and earned herself a podium spot!

Ah, this is going to be a good season...

Other Battenkill Masters 30+ race reports [1]

Greg's Garmin File.

Battenkill Prep

So Battenkill is less then a week away.

Do I feel ready? I don't think it is ever possible to really feel ready for a race like this, but I've done what I could. I wanted to have at least 500 miles for the month of March, and I logged 510. Much of it was just good base miles, plus some great training like the Monkey Knife Fight, the Derby, some intense intervals with Dave and David, and some fast and hard group rides with the team. I even put in a solid century last Saturday with some hill riding in the morning with Jeff who is super strong.

Now the week before the race is the time to taper, I hope some pep returns to my legs, they've felt quite tired this past week. Today's ride was a relatively easy hour with Dave and David, including some moderate hill efforts to shake out the legs and make sure they don't forget what tougher efforts are like. From now on it will be resting, with a spinning ride or two to keep my legs limber.

I'm expecting the Masters 30+ race to be ridiculously fast, and I'll need to ride smartly in order to hang on as long as possible. I think it will be important to be in a good position for the climbs, and well protected for the fast sections. The descents will probably be the hardest, and I predict that when I pop, it'll be on the way down.

This should be fun.

Monkey Knife Fight

Well, it wasn't technically a race, but the Monkey Knife Fight was my first competitive event of 2010.

It was a blast.

Take a really good group of riders, out to raise money for cancer, add a perfect day (seriously perfect, 65-70 with no humidity and sunny), throw in some good climbs with some scored points, and that is hard to top for a day on the bike.


(Thanks to Mark Bowman for the photos, and for organizing the whole thing.)

I biked down to Emmaus for the start, about 9 miles and got there early for the 8 am start. It's amazing how I can motivate myself to get up for a day of riding like this. We rolled out pretty easily after a few words from Bowman, the organizer. The pace was easy until we hit the first dirt climb and the whistle blew (meaning: it's ON), I was sitting pretty far back in a big group (50+ riders) and when I started to go, my chain dropped for the second time this week. I've got to figure that out before Battenkill. Apparently 4 guys flatted on the first dirt section, so we lost Dave for a while as he stuck around to help them.

Anyway, on the second climb I had a better start towards the front. At first I followed Selene and passed her on a false flat section in the middle of the climb. Someone on a mountain bike surged past and I couldn't match his speed, so I rolled to the top in third place.

The next few climbs went well, I had a 4th, and another 3rd, then we hit this ridiculously steep section. It was hard to go in a straight line, let alone pass anyone. Whenever I stood on the pedals, I only started slipping around and losing traction. My arms were sore after that one.



Here comes David up Mt. Mary.

One of the middle climbs was a shallow section of dirt road and I was completely out powered by the entire lead group, so I decided to just save my legs.

On what I think was the last climb of the day, I felt pretty strong and was riding well. Selene and another guy were right behind me on a short flatter section in the middle of the climb when he told me that my rear had flatted. I looked down in denial, hoping that it wasn't actually flat, but sure enough, soon I felt the gravel hitting my rim so I pulled over. Pinch flat! I think at that point I was in second and feeling good, so I probably could have hung on for at least 3rd or 4th again.



After that, the lead group was gone. The size had dwindled constantly during the day and now I was out, fortunately there were only a few miles left at this point. Back at the shop, after 75 miles, it was good to just sit back for a while and listen to the stories. First and second place were separated by only 1 point! Gabe Lloyd (Van Dessel factory team) beat Bobby Lea (Bahati Racing) in the end.

David rolled in with a flat rear tire that gave out 2 miles from Emmaus, it was just shredded from old age. I'm surprised that it made it through all the gravel and pot hole sections just to give out on the streets of Emmaus.

The riders came from a wide range of experience levels, from recreational weekenders to two current pro riders (one of which was a 2008 Olympian). Greg and Steve rode well, it was an excellent Battenkill preparation ride, hopefully it helps us all out in 3 weeks when we head to NY for the main event.

Final results:

1. Top Monkey - Gabe Lloyd 46 Pts.
   
2. Bobby Lea 45 pts
   
3. TIE Aaron Snyder and Andy Munas 23 pts
4. 
   
5. Marten Beels 15 pts.
   
6. Jasen Thorpe 13 pts.
   
7. Stefan "Geronimo" Kincade 10 pts
   
8. Ryan LOF Pomajevich 8 pts.
   
9. Jordan 4 pts.
   
10. Selene Yeager (1st place female) 2 pts.
    
11. Matt Allyn 1 pt.
    

It's pretty cool even being on the same list as 2 professionals, a Cat 1 rider, 2 Cat 2 riders, a semi-pro mountain biker, and an Ironman triathlon winner!

2010: Goals and Ambitions

Like every new beginning, it feels appropriate to take a step back and lay down some goals for the new year. To try and keep myself accountable, I'll spell them out here, so here they are:

• Upgrade to Cat 3 in Road This will be my main goal for this year. I had several 10th place finishes last year, but upgrade points start at 9th. Although there are several routes to a Cat 3 upgrade, I'd like to earn mine via points. I think this will be doable, but it won't come easily. I'll probably have to focus on hilly races like Mt. Nebo and work on developing something that at least resembles a sprint.


• Compete in a stage race. I'd like to try one of those 3 event weekend stage races with a RR, crit, and TT. This means I gotta work on my TT.


• Improve TT, do 8 miles in 20 minutes or less. This works out to 24 mph average, and I'm a long way to being able to sustain that for 20 minutes. I think this would really help in my quest for a road upgrade, as well as improve my cycling over all.


• Not get dropped before mile 10 of Battenkill Masters 30+ I don't expect to make the first selection, but I'd like to at least hang with the main pack. Last year was apparently 30+ mph, so this will be interesting.


• Upgrade to Cat 3 cyclocross This really isn't a goal, all I have to do is one more race. Cyclocross doesn't need any goals, it is just pure fun.


• Keep Running I want to do some trail races, maybe a Ron Horne event.


• Multisport This has got to be the year for a duathlon or triathlon. They look like fun.

And that's it. The TT goal will be the toughest I think, I'll focus on strength training this winter, and then switch to high intensity intervals and 2x20 type workouts in the spring. Oh man, I can't wait, 2010 will be great.

2009

Looking back on 2009, it is interesting to summarize my training and look ahead to 2010 with some goals in mind. First off, here is plot where you can see the average time of 3 different routes, compared with total mileage for each month.



January is a bit misleading, because I spent most of that month on a trainer and that time isn't counted. I also didn't include the mileage on my cross bike in the fall and winter because I didn't use a computer on that bike. Still, some interesting trends.

May was definitely my breakthrough month, for the first time I could hang with a pack and not get dropped before the end. Until my second Grattan race, I had popped off the back of every Cat 5 crit, RR, and training race I had entered. My first field finish (11th) at the second Grattan race wasn't a huge result, but it was immensely satisfying.

The trend of getting faster was a big factor that kept me going throughout the year. Sure, some days my legs were just dead, but I could tell that I was definitely getting stronger. I think it is really incredible how the human body responds to these training stresses, getting stronger and fitter through adaptation.

6 Hills and Flint Hill are each about 20 miles long, Bougher Hill is a very hilly 40 miles.

Total miles for 2009 is 3,150. That is approximately the same as Los Angeles, CA to Bangor, ME.



While some days did feel like I was just getting on the bike to train, most days I really looked forward to getting on the bike and going for a ride. Especially riding cyclocross, what an awesome sport, that is just a blast. I'm already looking forward to next season.

The highlights of biking in 2009 include the Tour of Mt Nebo, that will be a definite for the 2010 calendar. Also, the PA State Championship. Despite finishing dead last, spending 30 miles in the winning break before my legs gave out was a lot of fun. I hadn't even biked more then 50 miles in one go before that day, so 60 miles of racing was a bit beyond me at that point.

My first century wasn't was hard as I thought it might be. The support from Lehigh Wheelmen was great and as long as I had food, I felt like I could keep pedaling. The Delaware Water Gap was beautiful. I ended up doing the ride solo, for as much as I enjoy team training, and group rides, a nice long ride in solitude is very relaxing.

So now the idea is to prepare for 2010. As much as I enjoy competition, I also really like training in the off-season because the focus is just on riding for the sake of riding. And, until I get through the qualifer exams in January, biking will be my much needed source of stress relief and sanity.

The biggest change for 2010 will be joining a team, I'll be riding with Lamprey Systems. Also on the calendar, Tour of the Battenkill!

Marten

Phillipsburg Cross Race Report

Saturday marked the end to the racing season for most of us amateurs around here. Here in Eastern PA there was the option of doing the Rockville Bridge Cyclocross Classic near Harrisburg, or the NJ State Championships just over the border in Phillipsburg. I chose to get a few extra hours of sleep and go to NJ.

Turned out to be a good choice, the course was a ton of fun. One killer run up, two sections of barriers, some tight & twisty off-camber stuff, and plenty of wide open sections perfect for passing. The morning started really cool, but after a good warm up I was ready to go with shorts and the usual long sleeve jersey.

With some 60+ starters in the "C" race, and no call-ups for me this time, I got to the staging area early and was surprised that no one else was there. Just then, the announcer made the call to start staging and the riders swarmed. A bunch of NJ riders got their call-ups, and the rest of us scrambled in to get a spot. I was something like 20-25 back, not too bad.



During the first lap, I was struggling to find a good line through some of the really slick stuff. I tried some routes that didn't work, and crashed a couple of times. I got up to where the top 10 or so seemed to be, and spent a lap or two trading spots with 2-3 other riders who kept passing me when I slid out, and I'd struggle to get by them again. I felt like I wasn't riding at my physical limit, but I was probably trying to ride past my bike-handling limit. The race felt much easier then the Spring Mount race, although I don't have an average HR to compare because my chest strap slid off and I ended up wearing it like a belt. I spent too much time falling down and trying to maneuver the turns to push my legs to their limit.

Coming around to the run-up, I dismounted and shouldered my bike just when someone behind me went down hard. I couldn't tell if I hit him with my bike, or if he just rode head first into the hill. Turns out someone caught it on video.



While I've still got plenty to learn, comparing my barrier technique to my first 2 races is as different as night and day.



I didn't have big expectations for myself, I knew that there would be a large, competitive field, and I decided before even getting up that morning that it would be a purely fun race to enjoy myself. Enjoy myself, I did, and a 6th place was a nice surprise.

After the C race, I was milling around, drinking a hot chocolate to stay warm, and noticed a few snow flakes start to fall. By the time I made the trip back home, the sky had opened up and the snow really started coming down. Some great conditions for the afternoon races, I'm sure.

Now it's time to start looking forward to 2010, thinking about winter training, and picking out the races for next year. Oh man, I can't wait...

Marten