Here's some photos from Saturday's Cat4 Men / Cat 4 35+ / Cat 3/4 Women & Juniors 10-14 / Masters 45 & 55+ / Masters 35+
slide show
gallery of all the photos
NoHo 2009
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scott_sweeney
- Tête de la course
- Posts: 1145
- Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2007 8:43 pm
- Location: Stow
- Contact:
Re: NoHo 2009
Great to see you there and thank you for all the terrific shots. Are we going to come join us on the course??? 
Whoever said nothing is impossible never tried slamming a revolving door.
Re: NoHo 2009
Great photos guys!
Here's my race report, because there's nothing more than I like than procrastinating on Monday morning. It was a great weekend and NoHo is officially my second favorite course, right behind Providence.
First the big news: my bike saw its fastest laps ever, hanging in the top 12 for the Cat 3 race for a few laps. Unfortunately, it wasn't me riding it, but Steven Wright teaching it some tricks. I'm hoping my bike will remember the kind of speed that Steven put into it, and teach me his ways.
Saturday was a great race for me. I started up front, but had difficulties clipping in, giving up a lot more than I should of on sprint. Nonetheless, I fought a hard battle with a group of guys for the entire race. Finishing in the top 50% (which is good for me), and even dropping some of those younger hipsters at the end of the race. Instead of going backwards the whole race, I settled into a good groove and did some smart riding: recovering where I needed to, riding the rooted twisties well, saving energy, finding wheels on the back straightaway, etc... In the last lap I moved through 5 or so riders. I'm not sure if any of them were lapped riders, but nonetheless, riding through people on the last lap feels better than dropping like a rock through water.
Sunday was an epic for me, capturing both the highs and low of my season. I had another Internet Pole Position start. Front row, next to the usual suspects. Bauer told me that I had to get the hole shot so he could get a good photo of me. "Just bury yourself and if you blowup, so be it." A good photo is forever, so I was game to try his strategy. The countdown, go...I clipped right in and went for it like I was all pro. While I didn't have the hole shot, I was sitting 5th or so leaving the pavement, which isn't normal -- even on a front row start. What a great feeling when you start making the turns on the grass and you can see the entire field of 100+ riders stretching out behind you and knowing how hard they're going to have to work to pass you. We did the short parade lap, and then went back on the regular course route. I continued riding well. I know so, because it took Sweeny almost 10 minutes to catch me. I'm used to him passing me in the first couple of minutes.
Anyway, here's where the bummer started, I was still marveling how I was sitting in around 30th towards the end of the first full lap, and I was feeling pretty good and in a steady rhythm following a steady wheel. However, the course officials had some confusion and difficulty changing the course after the parade route, and next thing I know people are riding towards me in the same lane. I was riding back from the sand run while they were riding towards it -- all in the same lane. When it was all straightened out, a lot of people got to cut off an entire section of course and suddenly I was no longer in 30th, but 50th (ish+) place. The group in the top 25 or so was free from this false merge, but I was caught right in the surge. I was pretty bummed to realize that all of a sudden a lot of the field was in front of me and lost a lot of my fight after that. I hung in there and ended up having some nice battles with some of the same guys I raced the day before. We jockeyed for position, passed each other, rode hard, but I couldn't hang once we returned to the lower-field power sections and watched them fade off into the sunset. Oh well....
I was tired and hungry after my race. Luckily, Ron was there with the trailer and fueled me up with some really good pasta so I could go out and capture some photos. I'll post them up later in the week!
It was still a great day of racing and really nice to be racing in warm, dry weather. It's going to make it really hard to motivate out when those cold rains and mud return.
Here's my race report, because there's nothing more than I like than procrastinating on Monday morning. It was a great weekend and NoHo is officially my second favorite course, right behind Providence.
First the big news: my bike saw its fastest laps ever, hanging in the top 12 for the Cat 3 race for a few laps. Unfortunately, it wasn't me riding it, but Steven Wright teaching it some tricks. I'm hoping my bike will remember the kind of speed that Steven put into it, and teach me his ways.
Saturday was a great race for me. I started up front, but had difficulties clipping in, giving up a lot more than I should of on sprint. Nonetheless, I fought a hard battle with a group of guys for the entire race. Finishing in the top 50% (which is good for me), and even dropping some of those younger hipsters at the end of the race. Instead of going backwards the whole race, I settled into a good groove and did some smart riding: recovering where I needed to, riding the rooted twisties well, saving energy, finding wheels on the back straightaway, etc... In the last lap I moved through 5 or so riders. I'm not sure if any of them were lapped riders, but nonetheless, riding through people on the last lap feels better than dropping like a rock through water.
Sunday was an epic for me, capturing both the highs and low of my season. I had another Internet Pole Position start. Front row, next to the usual suspects. Bauer told me that I had to get the hole shot so he could get a good photo of me. "Just bury yourself and if you blowup, so be it." A good photo is forever, so I was game to try his strategy. The countdown, go...I clipped right in and went for it like I was all pro. While I didn't have the hole shot, I was sitting 5th or so leaving the pavement, which isn't normal -- even on a front row start. What a great feeling when you start making the turns on the grass and you can see the entire field of 100+ riders stretching out behind you and knowing how hard they're going to have to work to pass you. We did the short parade lap, and then went back on the regular course route. I continued riding well. I know so, because it took Sweeny almost 10 minutes to catch me. I'm used to him passing me in the first couple of minutes.
Anyway, here's where the bummer started, I was still marveling how I was sitting in around 30th towards the end of the first full lap, and I was feeling pretty good and in a steady rhythm following a steady wheel. However, the course officials had some confusion and difficulty changing the course after the parade route, and next thing I know people are riding towards me in the same lane. I was riding back from the sand run while they were riding towards it -- all in the same lane. When it was all straightened out, a lot of people got to cut off an entire section of course and suddenly I was no longer in 30th, but 50th (ish+) place. The group in the top 25 or so was free from this false merge, but I was caught right in the surge. I was pretty bummed to realize that all of a sudden a lot of the field was in front of me and lost a lot of my fight after that. I hung in there and ended up having some nice battles with some of the same guys I raced the day before. We jockeyed for position, passed each other, rode hard, but I couldn't hang once we returned to the lower-field power sections and watched them fade off into the sunset. Oh well....
I was tired and hungry after my race. Luckily, Ron was there with the trailer and fueled me up with some really good pasta so I could go out and capture some photos. I'll post them up later in the week!
It was still a great day of racing and really nice to be racing in warm, dry weather. It's going to make it really hard to motivate out when those cold rains and mud return.
I'm 20PoundSkull at cyclowhat.com.
Re: NoHo 2009
Todd, sounds like fun, except for that part with the wrong way traffic. I hope you got some shots of the MRC women in the Elite race. Amazing results!
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PJ McQuade
- Chasseur
- Posts: 769
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:44 pm
- Location: Millbury
Re: NoHo 2009
Ditto! Those shots make me hurt all over again. Actually the aches n' pains haven't left yet.scott_sweeney wrote:Great to see you there and thank you for all the terrific shots. Are we going to come join us on the course???
To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
-Shakespeare
-Shakespeare