Battenkill
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:08 pm
I rolled out for my first race in the 4's with Rob, Bill, John and Stefan. I was also a Battenkill-virgin, so not too sure what to expect. Smudger flatted about 7-8 miles in on the first stretch of dirt. That I half expected! I now know that if the Irish got the luck, then they must have stolen it from the fargin' Scottish! I slowed and pulled out of the peloton to help him, but Rob and Stefan were already with him. I figured that there was no point in the entire team sacrificing for him...so I got back in the group. We hit the first climb on Perry Rd and I rode comfortably into 10th wheel by the summit. "Maybe I'm not completely out of my element in the 4's..." Feeling a lot more confident now, I rode in the first 10-20 wheels for basically the rest of the race. When we hit Juniper Swamp, again I crested in the top 10.
The pace in our wave of 4's was rather modest I thought, with guys stretching their legs on the climbs, but then not really working or drilling it on the "flats". As a result, we did most of the race with a not-so-select group of 40+. One exemption was after the Carney & Cassidy dirt climb. John was back in the group now, thanks and props to Rob & Stefan. We crested Carney & Cassidy with a selection of 10-15 riders. John and a few others yelled that we had formed a gap, and we tried to pace-line it to build that gap...but another hill got in the way, disrupting the organization and suddenly we were 30+ again.
2 guys tried to get off the front on Becker Rd, but we caught them at the beginning of the first hill on Meeting House Rd. The pace was really hard now, or my legs were REALLY tired. I was sitting 3rd wheel as one of the guys who had just gotten caught launched again and rode away from us on the rollers. I couldn't hold his wheel. The group behind me must have been shreaded, though, because when we hit the pavement we formed a paceline with only 12-15 riders trying to bring the soloist back. It worked quite well, and when we hit Stage Rd for the last set of climbs, the leader was only 20 meters or so ahead. My legs were screaming, though.
I started Stage Rd in 3rd wheel, second amongst the chasers. I was out of the saddle climbing; relieved to be nearly done with only 10K to go. My legs however didn't have the same sense of relief. I started to cramp and I knew that I had to back off, or I would soon be walking up the hill. A group of 4 went by me. Then a group of 5, with John as the caboose. It started to flatten out, and I had found a relatively comfortable pace. As we were about to crest the final stair-step of Stage Rd, I was dangling 20-30 meters behind John, who was alone at that point with the Top 10 up the road a ways. I put in a big dig to bridge up to John, and yelled something really motivating as I caught him...about how the money was up the road, and we had to go get it. Cash paid 10 deep, and I had counted those in front so I knew we weren't getting any of it!
The top of Stage Rd was the 5K to go sign. The next 5K were the hardest 5K of my life. John and I traded pulls the rest of the way, and every time I came off the front I thought that I couldn't help anymore and that I'd be lucky to just sit on his wheel. A few seconds later, I'd man-up and do some work though. We could see the Groupetto of 10 just up the road, and there was no one behind to catch us. Nothing to do but drill it, which as we all know...John is really good at. We took turns, and I was on the front as we crossed 1K to go. I pulled through the next 2 right-handers, and John took the sprint for the first racer to cross the line without $$, and with me on his wheel for 12th.
It was a beautiful day in the saddle for me. I was tired, I was thirsty, I had to pee the entire time...but I was so incredibly happy to hit Stage Rd with the leaders. The last 5K were as hard as I've ever ridden, but I was trying to get John into the $print and I was killing myself and we were working together...and it was beautiful. I can't wait to go back next year.
The pace in our wave of 4's was rather modest I thought, with guys stretching their legs on the climbs, but then not really working or drilling it on the "flats". As a result, we did most of the race with a not-so-select group of 40+. One exemption was after the Carney & Cassidy dirt climb. John was back in the group now, thanks and props to Rob & Stefan. We crested Carney & Cassidy with a selection of 10-15 riders. John and a few others yelled that we had formed a gap, and we tried to pace-line it to build that gap...but another hill got in the way, disrupting the organization and suddenly we were 30+ again.
2 guys tried to get off the front on Becker Rd, but we caught them at the beginning of the first hill on Meeting House Rd. The pace was really hard now, or my legs were REALLY tired. I was sitting 3rd wheel as one of the guys who had just gotten caught launched again and rode away from us on the rollers. I couldn't hold his wheel. The group behind me must have been shreaded, though, because when we hit the pavement we formed a paceline with only 12-15 riders trying to bring the soloist back. It worked quite well, and when we hit Stage Rd for the last set of climbs, the leader was only 20 meters or so ahead. My legs were screaming, though.
I started Stage Rd in 3rd wheel, second amongst the chasers. I was out of the saddle climbing; relieved to be nearly done with only 10K to go. My legs however didn't have the same sense of relief. I started to cramp and I knew that I had to back off, or I would soon be walking up the hill. A group of 4 went by me. Then a group of 5, with John as the caboose. It started to flatten out, and I had found a relatively comfortable pace. As we were about to crest the final stair-step of Stage Rd, I was dangling 20-30 meters behind John, who was alone at that point with the Top 10 up the road a ways. I put in a big dig to bridge up to John, and yelled something really motivating as I caught him...about how the money was up the road, and we had to go get it. Cash paid 10 deep, and I had counted those in front so I knew we weren't getting any of it!
The top of Stage Rd was the 5K to go sign. The next 5K were the hardest 5K of my life. John and I traded pulls the rest of the way, and every time I came off the front I thought that I couldn't help anymore and that I'd be lucky to just sit on his wheel. A few seconds later, I'd man-up and do some work though. We could see the Groupetto of 10 just up the road, and there was no one behind to catch us. Nothing to do but drill it, which as we all know...John is really good at. We took turns, and I was on the front as we crossed 1K to go. I pulled through the next 2 right-handers, and John took the sprint for the first racer to cross the line without $$, and with me on his wheel for 12th.
It was a beautiful day in the saddle for me. I was tired, I was thirsty, I had to pee the entire time...but I was so incredibly happy to hit Stage Rd with the leaders. The last 5K were as hard as I've ever ridden, but I was trying to get John into the $print and I was killing myself and we were working together...and it was beautiful. I can't wait to go back next year.