Quabbin 3/4

[JeremyC]

No matter what anyone says, I like this race. 65 miles, 4000+ feet of climbing and a fun uphill run into a steep-ish finish. The good thing (for me) is that none of the climbs are that steep, although the last 10 miles has probably the 3 hardest climbs, including at the finish line.

Lined-up with 6 MRCers (and 140 other dudes), PJ3 (just made that up), OGD (or OBD), Chris "Gary" Busick, Rob Contador and Rich Battenkiller. While I can't say this race had a ton of highlights, there were some low-lights. First Doug got caught up in a big crash in the 1st 20 miles (he's OK). Then PJ got squeezed on the guard rail and went down somewhere between mile 30-40 (he's OK). I didn't actually know this, but I was worried for good reason, as I didn't see either of them near the front for the last 2 hours. I tried to stay in the top 20 which I mostly did, and occasionally hung out with Chris and Rob. About mile 45 a break of 3 went away, and 3 more bridged up so it looked promising for them. I had no intention of working, but luckily the new Erbe(?) team was happy to oblige. We started to drag them back, pulled onto Route 9 and hit the steepest climb of the day. I was feeling good so I went near the front and the pace slowed drastically so I decided to drill it to the top, thinking this was the last climb before the State Park finishing stretch. Oooops, it wasn't. While I definitely burned a match or two, Rob told me later we shed some riders so I have that going for me. I suffered a bit up the penultimate climb but nothing serious. This is when I saw Rich for the first time and he looked good. We entered the park with 3miles of uphill left. I staying in the top 20 most of the way up. We were flying, and actually caught the breakway with about 1 mile to go. Rob was right there and I yelled at him (yes Stephan, I like to do this). But they were words of encouragement as I thought the finish suited him with his uphill sprinting capability. The last mile is the steepest, and when we hit the bottom there was a ferocious attack from someone in a dirty blue kit. Holy crap, its Rich! He actually got a promising gap and Rob and I yelled at him to go go go. Unfortunately it is steep and he didn't make it. We were all suffering at this point, and there are 2 kickers to the finish and people swarming on both sides. I was dying a slow death on the first steep section and losing places trying to conserve a semblance of a sprint on the last steep part to the finish. This was a weak tactic, as the next thing I knew I had gathered myself and sprinted my face off up the to the finish passing many a shelled rider. In retrospect I should have gunned it from the start and hung on for dear life, I probably had an outside shot at a top 10.

As it stood I probably finished somewhere between 20-30 but only 5-10 seconds off the winner. Analyzing the data after, I realize it was a very hard race. 22.8MPH for that hilly of a road race is pretty fast and my power numbers were quite a bit higher than Battenkill. I learned a lot about the ending as well, and next time I'll be going for broke for myself or a teammate (PJ, Chris, or other TBD badass)

[Robd2]

One of these days I’m going to figure out how to ride the last mile of the race and walk away with a very nice result, today was not the day….

This race brought back memories for me to last year, these were a lot of the young kids that beat up on me most of the year. I was hoping not to have to see any of them for a while. : )

As Jeremy mentioned, there were a few crashes, glad everyone made it out safe. Yes Jeremy the ending Rt 9 climb you drilled it on hurt everybody and thinned the pack down.

The highlight of my day was seeing Rich roll up towards the very end of the race. This put an instant smile on my face and made me forget about the pain just for a second. We had no idea he was back there.

Everybody was looking good right at the end, I actually felt ready to rock. Jeremy’s yelling pumped me up even more, feel free to always do this, we all need it. After Jeremy’s motivation I moved up closer to the front. At this point we are a half mile out and I’m tucked in nicely in a great spot.

For some crazy ass reason I jumped out into the wind onto a fast moving train on the flat right before the finishing climb, I actually thought I missed the 200meter to go sign and we were right at the end. That one little mistake at that critical point in the race cooked me. You can image how I felt after cooking myself THEN seeing the 200meter to go sign. I think I finished somewhere towards the back of what was left of our pack.

I agree with Jeremy, this race was a tough 3HRs. If it wasn’t for the crashes I think every one of us would have been there right at the end mixing it up, which says a lot for our team.

[PJ McQuade]

Quabbin haiku

Crash in Shutesbury
Solo chase for two hours?
Nah, sunny group ride

[cbusick]

I felt good. Managed to stay near the front for most of the race in proximity of Jeremy and Rob, but it was a lot of work to stay there.
Around 20 miles in someone went down on the yellow line. The guy to my left, who happened to be on the line swerved into me but I shrugged him off, then felt really bad about it because he went right into the front wheel of the downed racer. I don't know if I'd swerved to the right as well that would have made things better or worse for the crash. He disappeared and heard the sound of crunching carbon, metal scraping, etc. I thought he was all done, and so did his teammates but a couple minutes later I overheard him telling his teammates about how exaggerated the stories of his demise were. Unfortunately, I think this was the crash that took Doug out. I knew he was behind me at that point since I'd passed him just a couple miles before, and I didn't see him again.

That steep hill that Jeremy drilled it on hurt, but for the most part, the climbs were taken at a manageable pace, nothing like Oak Hill. My legs were getting tired though, I think this may be my longest ride of the season. I managed to hang with the pack up the last road into the park, but just couldn't quite maintain contact in the final 200m. I think I finished between Jeremy and Rob somewhere.

Anyway, I met my goals for this race. Got some good miles, got a lot more comfortable riding in the pack, finished in the top 50%, and worked on moving up and staying up without getting in the wind. Happy to have kept the rubber side down, since I was taken out in a crash at Quabin last spring.

I'm bummed that PJ and Doug went down. Would it have been better to have separate 3 and 4 races? There were several people there that were dangerous, although not nearly as bad as what I saw the year before in the 4/5 40+. In that race I felt like a soldier in the civil war, where at any random time the guy next to you just goes down and is gone.

[pace21]

That's a great last line Gary.

[onegeardoug]

I was sitting mid-to- front of the pack forthe first hour, feeling like an accordion. Lots of "SLOWING!" Followed by rapid accelerations. Surprising for a 3/4 race. I tried to get closer to the front, but that was really difficult. I was in the front 40-50 riders around mile 20, I think there was a crash then a bunch of people piled up trying to stop. I managed to come to a complete stop with my handlebars up some guys ass, and someone else up mine...then we all just kinda fell over into a pile of 10-15 riders. Both wheels taco'ed. Five minutes later I had a set of Zipps from SRAM and chased, but it was way too late. I hooked up with a Stampede rider named Doug. We chased hard, and went through dozens of riders. A faster guy named Rob on a Felt CX bike came through. we dropped Doug, but Rob and I continued to work hard. 40+ miles with basically 2 guys working. When we turned onto Rt 9, I let him go and backed off a bit but still worked hard enough to make sure the 4/5 didn't find me. Got a good workout, some soremlegs and a new pair of wheels in my future. Luckily, the dead ones are only Neuvations.

[Smudger]

Glad everyone is ok. I've witnessed Richard kill it on the approach to the finish and stay away before. Tougher to do with the 3/4 field. One of the issues wither this race is the size of the fields and mixed categories.

[onegeardoug]

One of the issues wither this race is the size of the fields and mixed categories.

Tru dat.

[mfwestbe]

So, this was my first road race, and I still don't actually know where I came in, but I'm not too worried about it. The first 45 minutes of the Cat 5 race mainly just stressed me out more than making legs hurt. Constant sudden slowing and everyone else trying to speed up early hills as fast as they could. I felt good about keeping my own pace, only at one point I looked behind to find the rest of the original peloton was non existent and I was lagging behind on a downhill with no way to catch up with the wind... so, lesson learned. Spent the next 2 hours trying to gain ground. Finally did find some people that wanted to share work, one guy from ECV who kept wasting energy up hills and eventually dropped. After a lengthy solo I waited for a group and jumped on. Later I found a guy from BikeBarn and for several miles it was me and him trading every 15sec to catch the next decent paceline. When we did it was a triumphat moment. By the time I got back to the park my legs were empty because apparently I don't drink enough. Only got through 2 and 1/4 bottles in 3+hrs. Lesson learned...
Overall I'm glad I got through safely and hopefully in some acceptable standing. If asked 5 years ago to race 65 miles I would have just been bewildered.

[PJ McQuade]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&gl=U ... Dcc0Q3zTqg

Video of the 3/4 crashes. I got tangled up in the second crash and I think Doug was involved in the first one.

[rusto]

So, this was my first road race, and I still don't actually know where I came in, but I'm not too worried about it. The first 45 minutes of the Cat 5 race mainly just stressed me out more than making legs hurt. Constant sudden slowing and everyone else trying to speed up early hills as fast as they could. I felt good about keeping my own pace, only at one point I looked behind to find the rest of the original peloton was non existent and I was lagging behind on a downhill with no way to catch up with the wind... so, lesson learned. Spent the next 2 hours trying to gain ground. Finally did find some people that wanted to share work, one guy from ECV who kept wasting energy up hills and eventually dropped. After a lengthy solo I waited for a group and jumped on. Later I found a guy from BikeBarn and for several miles it was me and him trading every 15sec to catch the next decent paceline. When we did it was a triumphat moment. By the time I got back to the park my legs were empty because apparently I don't drink enough. Only got through 2 and 1/4 bottles in 3+hrs. Lesson learned...
Overall I'm glad I got through safely and hopefully in some acceptable standing. If asked 5 years ago to race 65 miles I would have just been bewildered.

Nice job, Mike, on your first race!

Coupla things I Iearned early on:

- You can count on needing to drink 1 bottle per hour, more if it's hot. Endurolytes are a plus for longer races.
- Get near (but not on) the front early and try to stay there best you can. That way the odds are good that the crashing will happen behind you (see the video pj linked to)

[onegeardoug]

I think Doug was involved in the first one.

I was in the second crash, where there was a large pile. I never even saw the first crash...assuming it happened earlier.

[Smudger]

The slow mo of the 1st crash is epic. Think I could just make out Doug in his white kit at the bottom of the pile in crash 2. Hope you didn't mess it up.

[swawersik]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&gl=U ... Dcc0Q3zTqg

Video of the 3/4 crashes. I got tangled up in the second crash and I think Doug was involved in the first one.

While it made for more interesting video, the guy who had this helmet cam needs to learn not to turn around to look at crashes as he goes by.

[PJ McQuade]

Doug, we may have been in the same crash. I was behind the pile up, got pinned against the guard rail, untangled my bike (minor damage) and went on a fruitless chase toward the peloton. Amazing hard it is to make up 30-45 seconds. It didn't help that we went down right before a series of hills.

[cbusick]

In the second crash, when we went by the guy sitting on the double yellow he still had a front wheel on his bike. The guy next to me swerved into me to avoid the guy on the ground, I had to lean back into him to keep from going down. Then he ran into the front wheel of the guy on the ground, knocking it off into the pack and causing the larger pileup as everyone tried to avoid it. Just a theory. I can see myself in that video (at least a guy in black/white shorts, white jersey and knee warmers with a snake on his butt) riding in the back of the group that avoided the crash.

[cbusick]

Results are up BTW.

http://www.road-results.com/race/2862

I don't see Jeremy or Rich. I think Jeremy is one of the unknown riders in 17th or 18th. I didn't see how far back Rich finished after his heroic attack. Was he the other unknown rider, or did they miss him altogether?

[swawersik]

Results are up BTW.

http://www.road-results.com/race/2862

I don't see Jeremy or Rich. I think Jeremy is one of the unknown riders in 17th or 18th. I didn't see how far back Rich finished after his heroic attack. Was he the other unknown rider, or did they miss him altogether?

Ah the joys of Mike Norton events: Too large fields, an exceptionally large number of "unknown" riders at the finish line, support cars that took the breakaway off the course while the main field stays on track, badly marked courses that lead to crashes (promoters response: it's the riders' responsibility to know the course). Now you guys know why I avoid his races.

But at least he doesn't have USAC insurance - his insurance is BETTER!!! (Has anyone ever actually tested this claim?)

That said, I'm still considering riding one of his crits this year, on the theory of "how bad can you F up a crit?" (Maybe) we'll see.

[JeremyC]

Some people were blaming the race (and lack of safety) and also the Cat 4's for the crashes. After watching the video, those had nothing to do with the course or frankly the race. Bad riding in a passive peloton, but who knows if they were Cat 3 or 4 or Juniors as there were a lot of kids including in the first crash which looks like a CF racing junior kicking off a domino effect. The whole Cat 4 or 5 as being extra-super dangerous is a total myth if you ask me. The only difference is fitness, people either know how to handle their bike or they don't. You can learn a little, but it's like driving, some people are good and some suck. The 3s, 2s and Pros all crash on a regular basis. I do agree somewhat that field sizes don't need to be 130+, but frankly these roads are perfect for racing. Battenkill was WAY sketchier if you ask me, and that also had a HUGE field.

People need to remember that racing bikes 30-40mph in close proximity to other bikers is dangerous. Accept the consequences or take up golf (or do both like me)

[cbusick]

I"ve done two 4 races this year, Marblehead and Quabbin. I've felt safer in these rides than in CAT 5 races I've done in the past. There are still people who overreact, but the %age of people who are smooth is higher. At Marblehead, the only people I had problems with were a couple of the KMS JRs. Maybe it's just because I've been staying closer to the front than I used to, so maybe the change is me, and has nothing to do with categories.