The Pickle Bar

If you haven't noticed, the downtown Isaac's is closed. This is due to remodeling for "The Pickle Bar". That's right, downtown Isaac's will now serve frothy beverages. I believe they are set to be back open by June 2nd. Go check it out. The food is delish.


Team news: It looks like we will be everywhere this weekend. Chad will be racing the Millport Road Race. Tom wanted to go to Massanutten VA, for the National race. Joel and I will be in Sewell NJ for another MASS race. Sewell and Millport are on the 31st. Massanutten is the 1st. Shawn will be in California supporting his wife Katie as she runs her first marathon.


I'm working on the Marriot Hotel that is being build. It's an 18 story building smack in the middle of the city. This will be the tallest building around. I think the tallest now is 13 stories. Right now I'm on the 6th floor and you can see pretty far. The 18th should let you see everything.


Links to the races:

Millport: http://redroseraces.com/index.php?option=com_races&task=listRace&id=63&Itemid=42

Sewell: http://www.nocentsracing.org/

Massanutten: http://www.mountainbikevirginia.com/Hooha.htm (some info on their site is from last year)

Closer

Oh Granogue. Sigh. It was a beautiful day to be on a bike. The sun was shining and it was (gasp) warm. We (Joel and I) decided to arrive early enough to support our newest rider, Brooke. She was in the Sport race which set out at 9am.

Like clockwork they were off. We waited for her to come back around to give her a few more cheers before getting ready for our race. At registration we were given these Allied Milk Cycling bracelets. Well, that is what we told ourselves. Really they were to determine who had actually paid and who was poaching the course. MASS uses the same number plates all season to reduce waste and to speed up registration. Last year some people used this to their advantage by not paying to race.

At 11am we were all ready to go. The start of Granogue is a fast and furious paved road to a hard right into the woods. The hole shot is pretty important. If you can hit the technical stuff first you can dictate the pace of the race. I hit about 8th spot which I was ok with. Joel was about 6th with Eric Marklund between us. He's been riding very good this season and Joel and I had the plan to keep in sight.

We marked him for about the first three or four miles. All of us switching positions. Back and forth we went. When we hit a false flat grass section we both attacked Eric. We could see he wasn't feeling the best and we hurt him. Joel was riding strong and I felt really good as well. When we got ready to hit another section of singletrack I noticed Joel was no longer with me. I'd later find out he had some bad luck and flatted.

I came through to finish my first lap, not too far off the pace of the leaders. I went to switch out my water bottle when I noticed both bottles were empty. Both tops were also removed. It was like someone used them to dump on themselves. I was thinking "The third lap is going to hurt, a lot." Luckily I saw an angel...his name was Jerrod. I yelled to him to get me a bottle for the next lap and sure enough he did. It was a life saver too as my calves were tightening up with every revolution.

I went into "hang on to your position" mode. Every switchback I was looking over my shoulder. Every climb felt like I was in the Alps (well, as I imagine it anyway). Finally I was in the last section on singletrack when a guy came blazing out of no where. It was Steve Schwartz (Titus factory rider). I really had nothing at that time to respond to his power. I let him go figuring I'd catch up and get him on the climb to the finish. Turns out, I misjudged how close to the finish I actually was. As soon as he got around me, we popped out of the singletrack and were climbing the gravel/paved climb to the finish. He was gone. I took one more look over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming from behind and cruised up the hill at an easy pace. I even talked to Vegan Rob on the way up. He was doing the Enduro race so we just chatted to the finish. Overall 6th. Not too bad but I was one spot away from getting the Granogue Plaque. I have one from when I raced Sport several years ago. I did want another.

After the race I was talking to one Mr. FatMarc and he said he was hoping I was top 5. Well, me too. HAHA! He gave me a special 6th place prize, two Twin 6 t-shirts. I told you this guy does it right.

Even with a flat tire Joel still managed 18th. One spot back on a rider I was trying to get on our team before the season started. Marc gave Joel a pair of socks for his bad luck.

The best part of the race though was Brooke. Her first race on the Allied Milk Cycling team and she nails a 2nd place. The first AMC rider to podium in a solo event. We'll stick that one in our memory banks in case it ever comes up on Jeopardy.

Awesome job Brooke!

It was a great event all-around. The Dupont Estate was amazing. The race promoters were smooth and efficient. The course was beautiful and the competition, on point. I am falling in love with this sport all over again.

A little from Chad on Mon-Tour

The day started at 6:00, with the temp. being in the 40's and wet roads. By start time at 8:30 the temp. rose to the high 50s. I felt good about this race considering there is 5940 of climbing in it. I was not planning on wining it because I am not in my peak yet, but merely to use it as a gaging ride for my future peak races. The race every year changes in miles slightly because of roads changing, dirt, road work ext. This year was no different with true miles being at 77. The race started slower then last year with the first hill being easy. Through the race I stayed no farther back then 4th place, knowing that I needed to stay in the front for the climbs. With the biggest climb we had that day I was 2nd over the top and down the other side, but the problem was that we were supposed to turn at the top and follow the ridge. (turns marked with arrows on road not enough man power for all turns) After me and 2 other riders descended down the other side we discovered there was no marks on the road and no riders behind us. We went 1 mile off course, so we turned around and climbed back to the top. With this being at mile 50 or so we 3 decided to do even pulls and try to catch back up to the lead group. We found out from a racers wife that we were about 10 min. back, not very promising for a 3 group chasing after a 20-25 rider group. We where pulling off 30 to 35 mph and at this phase I knew if we did catch back up that I would not be able to contend for the over all, but I had to try. With in 5-6 miles we caught up to the lead group. I was still feeling strong and as more climbs came and past the group dwindled to 12 riders. I was still feeling good, but with 3 climbs to go and about 6-8 miles left I hit the wall. My climbing speed dropped from 12 mph down to 5 mph. There was nothing for me to do but to try and find a rhythm. When I came across the finish line I got 12th place. O yes and since the course changes every year the true elevation was at 6473 feet. Out!

Chad finished in 4 hours and 6 minutes. Not too bad for going off course for a few miles.

Granogue is this weekend. They have a cool setup with food, music, and a raffle to benefit HERA Women's Cancer Foundation. Be sure to buy some tickets if you stop by. Our team will be competing in the Sport (9am) and Expert (11am) races. Here's the address:

2900 Montchanin Road, Wilmington, DE 19807

Also today I went to a pre-school class to teach the little rug rats about bikes. It was a blast. Turns out they knew just about everything already. Pics will be posted soon (I think).

White Clay Creek is looking for another MTB camp instructor for one week. It is the 4th week in June (23rd-27th). If you are interested call the Nature Center at (302) 368-6560 and ask for Angel. You can also email her at: Angel.Burns@state.de.us. It's an awesome time.

***Photo by: Josh Everitt*** http://www.printroom.com/studio_homepage.asp?domain_name=joshephoto

Three do 75 miles...

I knew Chad was doing 75 miles of Mon-Tour but I didn't know that Shawn and Tom were doing the Rocktober Marathon MTB race which was also about 75 miles. Now I haven't gotten all the details from the riders yet but I'm sure Chad's day in the saddle was a lot shorter than Tom and Shawn's.

From what Chad told me (he is giving a report in the next few days) there was a wrong turn involved and his ride was closer to 80 miles. He still managed 12th.

Shawn and Tom on the other hand, made no wrong turns but were in the saddle for 8 and 8 1/2 hours respectively. Ouch! This is why Joel and I decided not to do that ride. Hopefully these two idiots give me an update as well.

For me, it was a weekend off (from racing). My brother from NY was in town and I spent some time with him. Shucks.

Another Muddy Race

French Creek was another sloppy race. Personally, I don't agree with having muddy races due to trail damage. The whole car ride there Shawn and I were debating on whether or not to race. Is it worth the parts we will have to replace (i.e. brake pads, tires and so on)? When we got there it actually looked to be in good condition considering they had about 1.5 inches of rain the night before. We registered.

At the start line all four of us (Shawn, Joel, Tom and I) had good starting positions. We were either in the first or second row. The start was designed to thin us out quick. Uphill for a long time. The blurby noise sounded and we were off. I felt like the pace was a bit slow so I jumped to the front, leading...but not for long. Kerry Werner of Shirk's was right on my wheel. He too was feeling good and the race was on. I made a tactical decision to let him lead. French Creek is his backyard and he knows the trails. For me it is easier to follow someone who is cruising than to be followed by someone who is on my wheel (if you follow me).

While on Kerry's wheel I spun my back wheel going over a waterbar. That would be the last I'd see of him. I was still having a great lap and feeling good over all the rocks and up the climbs. Right after going through the start/finish line Joel caught me. He was riding strong. I stopped for about 3-4 seconds to change out my water bottle (aka I dropped my new one) and caught back up to Joel. We were riding together up the first climb when we came upon a fresh group of beginners starting their race. We were weaving in and out of them like they were standing still (and some were). ***Sidebar*** Now I remember being a beginner and I teach mountain biking to kids (9-14) at a summer camp at White Clay Creek so I know their struggles. I ask the promoters...Why would you start them while the Expert/Elite riders are coming through on the final lap? ***End Side bar*** Most of them were pretty good about getting out of the way but there were a few that thought they were Geoff Kabush or something. These were the ones that were walking in the good line. Forcing us to pick bad lines through a rock garden or up a technical climb. It was bad. Nothing against beginners because we were all there at one point and it wasn't their fault they were starting at that time. After all, they paid to race too. It's just a shame when races are decided by who puts the most beginners at risk by passing in a bad spot.

Long story short, the team did pretty well. Tom took 12th, Shawn 9th, I was 8th, and the crazy man Joel was 4th. Here is a link to the results: http://prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r05_10_08Final.htm.

Next week (5-17) Chad is at the 75 miles of Mon-Tour. Shawn will be competing in the Union Grove road race (so he says). On the 24th the mountain team will be in full swing again. This time at the Dupont Estate in Delaware. The course isn't overy hard but just unrelenting. FatMarc is in charge and he always puts on a good race. A new secret racer will be revealed at Granogue as well!!!

Mon-Tour is: http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1459310

Union Grove is: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5050

Granogue is: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6087

Later Suckers.

T-Hill

Yesterday was the Turkey Hill road race. Shawn and I did the 4/5. Shawn wanted to see what road racing was all about and I was there for support. Everything was going great and on lap two there was a move. Wes Schempf (Semi-Pro MTB'er) rode off the front. I knew he was strong enough to go so I went too. Wes and I rotated a few times when Shawn and two others joined us. We had a gap. I took my turn and rotated to the back. The two riders that joined us decided not to work and the break was quickly swallowed up by the peloton. Shawn was looking good. He was staying in the right spots, spinning smooth, and paying attention. The third lap was still groupo compacto well, so I thought. Being short you sometimes miss things and I missed another move by Wes. He rode off solo with about 8 miles to go. See, Wes is a cat 5 only because he never did a road race before. USACycling requires a 10 race minimum before you can upgrade to a 4. He races cat 1 in cyclo-cross. He's pretty good and is the only person around here (that's a cat 5) that could ride off the front like that. Blah, blah. That said, lap 4 was terrible for me. The first turn on lap 4 someone took it super wide, forcing me into the gravel. I was caught out of the pack in a headwind and no one letting me in. I slowly drifted to the back and then lost the wheel of pack. I was trying to catch back up the whole lap until the final 1.5km when I finally decided I wasn't going to close the gap. The pack was in sprint mode and a solo rider just isn't going to catch them. Long story short. Wes is the winner.

Jeremiah raced in the 3/4. Turns out they added to his already long race and make in an even 100km. 62 miles. They climbed the Gamber Wall 3 times instead of 2. He did really well, finishing in the second group. He said the wall wasn't the hard part because everybody was suffering. It was the guys that recovered from it the fastest that put the hurt on everyone.

Hopefully, Chad nailed his SAT's.

Next week is French Creek (5-10). This a terribly rocky 11.5 mile loop. Sport do one lap, Expert/Elite two. The promoters say it will take about 3 hours for experts. That should tell you something about the average speed. 7.7mph is a far cry from the 15mph at the Bakers Dozen. There's lots of climbing and oh yeah rocks. Important info here: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6134

Chad's next race the Mon-Tour race. I may or may not go. He's what the promoter has to say:

On Saturday, May 17th, you can participate in The 75 Miles of Mon-Tour(ure).
This road bike race will challenge even the most seasoned rider!
With over 5900 feet of vertical climbing, riders come from all over the
northeast to dig deep as they tour the beautiful rural scenery of Montour
County. This fully supported race begins and ends at the Danville Soccer
Park in Danville, PA at 8:30 am - registration will open at 7:00 am.
Free t-shirts to the first 100 participants and an awards ceremony to
follow the race. See www.rivertownrace.com for more details
or to register.