This isn't a race report, although I hope some are posted soon. This is a huge thanks to everyone in MRC today. As usual the club stepped up and I thought the race was a huge success.
Extra kudos to The Pirate, The Director John Raguin. His new nickname should be the CEO. Also of course Bill Turner, Smudger, Mark Bernard and Stefan Wawersickckckk (sorry maybe misspelled). But everyone did great. Too bad the race was so easy...
KHMRR
Re: KHMRR
From the remote location that I spent the day, it was apparent that a) things were run well b) there was some really good racing going on.
+1
+1
Re: KHMRR
What Jeremy said.
This was an incredibly well-run event. I heard nothing but rave reviews for the course, the marshals, the police, registration, the start and the overall management. This doesn't happen without very dedicated people who know how this works, creating a plan and then executing it. Great work to all who contributed to this success and especially those J-Cratty mentioned. Fantastic race and I'm very proud that it was run by our team.
This was an incredibly well-run event. I heard nothing but rave reviews for the course, the marshals, the police, registration, the start and the overall management. This doesn't happen without very dedicated people who know how this works, creating a plan and then executing it. Great work to all who contributed to this success and especially those J-Cratty mentioned. Fantastic race and I'm very proud that it was run by our team.
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Bradford
- Domestique
- Posts: 224
- Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 7:33 pm
- Location: Jamaica Plain/Westborough MA
Re: KHMRR
Congratulations to MRC on putting together an outstanding event. John, Bill, Smudger, Mark, Stefan - your efforts in pulling all of this together are greatly appreciated by everyone. The new course was a huge success, and we seemed to have the marshalls better prepared and dialed in this year - so, very well done. Also, kudos to MC Cratty and Smudger for rockin' the M-I-C during the races - definitely added to the race-day atmosphere.
RACE REPORT: Cat 4.
40 miles, over 4 laps with somewhere around 3000 ft of climbing. I'm pretty sure everyone in the club has been out on the Harvard RR course - it's a lot of fun with a series of fast descents, the oak hill climb, and a ridiculously fast bombing downhill into an uphill sprint.
The Men's Cat 4 lined up with four MRC racers on the line: myself, with Nolan, Kevin, and Mike. One of the cool things about putting on a race, is the call up you get to the front of the starting to corral. This was great because I'm generally pretty disorganized pre-race, so not having to worry about lining up until a minute or two before the start was wonderful. I believe the Cat 4 race was the largest field of the day, with 81 registered racers.
Jeremy, and all of the guys from this week's FMR had provided suggestions on race strategy. When the four of us had a chance to connect in the morning, we decided that the boys would cover the breaks, pulling everything back to the group, and I would 'sit-in and sprint'.
Immediately, Nolan was on the front, pushing the pace on the front side of the course. We hit Oak Hill pretty hard, but I was far enough back that this felt manageable (especially compared to the pain you guys put me through last Monday). Strength in numbers I suppose.
From where I was sitting, maybe 20 wheels back or so - it seemed like there were continual attacks - lots of accordion action from accelerations and sitting up - but nothing was getting away. Kevin was really on the front all day, diligently monitoring and responding to everyone else's efforts.
Fast forward to lap 3. One or two riders managed to get up the road. The gap may have been 20 seconds (perhaps others will have a better account of this). As we finished lap 3 and came around for the final lap, I was now inside the top 15 wheels. Green Line Velo, Community Bikes, and NEBC also had a number of riders. Mike Westbury came up along side and I was very happy to see him. I called on Mike to go up front and initiate the chase, which up until this point was non-existent. Mike went straight to the pointy end and drilled it for probably a minute - longer than I wanted - but with the power he was laying down, I wasn't surprised that nobody wanted to pull through. I started calling out to GLV, noting their numbers, and encouraging them to makes some efforts (back from my work-free, protected position of course!). Kevin was now back in the mix too, rotating on and off the front, and keep the chase pace high. By the time we got to the KOM, we were all back together, thanks to the hard efforts from our teammates.
We were now entirely focused on the finish. I moved into the top 5 or 10 wheels as we rocketed down from the top of Pinnacle and into the final run in. We had identified who like likely contenders would be for the finish, and they were all up front with me. Chris Pare had mentioned that the flat section on the steep, flat, steep finish would be a great time to kick, taking advantage of a slight gap, and using the sprint to slingshot around people - the idea being that with the additional speed, it would be very challenging for anyone to come around (Strava indicates this was 52.6 mph). This would be my approach. I flew past the 5 or 6 guys in front of me and hammered with everything I could up and over the hill to cross the line 1st/81.
Chris Busick had mounted a go-pro on the back of the follow car, and you can see the final minute, and the moment when I came through on the right side of the frame - it's posted on his facebook page.
I've been fortunate to have had some success this year - but this has been the sweetest so far. Working with Kevin, Mike, and Nolan - having them dedicate their efforts to the overall team's success, came with some pressure, but was essential to getting this done in what was a pretty competitive field. I had said I wanted this to end in a bunch sprint finish, and for four laps, they did everything they could to make sure that happened. Making this happen at our home race, on a challenging course, and with the help of teammates and friends will certainly mark a highpoint for 2015.
RACE REPORT: Cat 4.
40 miles, over 4 laps with somewhere around 3000 ft of climbing. I'm pretty sure everyone in the club has been out on the Harvard RR course - it's a lot of fun with a series of fast descents, the oak hill climb, and a ridiculously fast bombing downhill into an uphill sprint.
The Men's Cat 4 lined up with four MRC racers on the line: myself, with Nolan, Kevin, and Mike. One of the cool things about putting on a race, is the call up you get to the front of the starting to corral. This was great because I'm generally pretty disorganized pre-race, so not having to worry about lining up until a minute or two before the start was wonderful. I believe the Cat 4 race was the largest field of the day, with 81 registered racers.
Jeremy, and all of the guys from this week's FMR had provided suggestions on race strategy. When the four of us had a chance to connect in the morning, we decided that the boys would cover the breaks, pulling everything back to the group, and I would 'sit-in and sprint'.
Immediately, Nolan was on the front, pushing the pace on the front side of the course. We hit Oak Hill pretty hard, but I was far enough back that this felt manageable (especially compared to the pain you guys put me through last Monday). Strength in numbers I suppose.
From where I was sitting, maybe 20 wheels back or so - it seemed like there were continual attacks - lots of accordion action from accelerations and sitting up - but nothing was getting away. Kevin was really on the front all day, diligently monitoring and responding to everyone else's efforts.
Fast forward to lap 3. One or two riders managed to get up the road. The gap may have been 20 seconds (perhaps others will have a better account of this). As we finished lap 3 and came around for the final lap, I was now inside the top 15 wheels. Green Line Velo, Community Bikes, and NEBC also had a number of riders. Mike Westbury came up along side and I was very happy to see him. I called on Mike to go up front and initiate the chase, which up until this point was non-existent. Mike went straight to the pointy end and drilled it for probably a minute - longer than I wanted - but with the power he was laying down, I wasn't surprised that nobody wanted to pull through. I started calling out to GLV, noting their numbers, and encouraging them to makes some efforts (back from my work-free, protected position of course!). Kevin was now back in the mix too, rotating on and off the front, and keep the chase pace high. By the time we got to the KOM, we were all back together, thanks to the hard efforts from our teammates.
We were now entirely focused on the finish. I moved into the top 5 or 10 wheels as we rocketed down from the top of Pinnacle and into the final run in. We had identified who like likely contenders would be for the finish, and they were all up front with me. Chris Pare had mentioned that the flat section on the steep, flat, steep finish would be a great time to kick, taking advantage of a slight gap, and using the sprint to slingshot around people - the idea being that with the additional speed, it would be very challenging for anyone to come around (Strava indicates this was 52.6 mph). This would be my approach. I flew past the 5 or 6 guys in front of me and hammered with everything I could up and over the hill to cross the line 1st/81.
Chris Busick had mounted a go-pro on the back of the follow car, and you can see the final minute, and the moment when I came through on the right side of the frame - it's posted on his facebook page.
I've been fortunate to have had some success this year - but this has been the sweetest so far. Working with Kevin, Mike, and Nolan - having them dedicate their efforts to the overall team's success, came with some pressure, but was essential to getting this done in what was a pretty competitive field. I had said I wanted this to end in a bunch sprint finish, and for four laps, they did everything they could to make sure that happened. Making this happen at our home race, on a challenging course, and with the help of teammates and friends will certainly mark a highpoint for 2015.
Re: KHMRR
Well done Brad. It's great to see the teamwork come to fruition! Those are good engines to have working for you. The one thing I can't say though is that I'm surprised by the result 
Brad to the rest of the New England cat 4's: "Don't put the coffee on, I'm not staying long". How many weeks does that make as a 4?
Brad to the rest of the New England cat 4's: "Don't put the coffee on, I'm not staying long". How many weeks does that make as a 4?
Re: KHMRR
Here is my Oscar speech for the race organization: All I will say is that it takes a group of people to pull this off. Bill T, Stefan, and Mark B make the job easy. On the day of, they have everything so much under control that honestly after the the first field goes off, everything is pretty smooth (which allows me to race!). Thanks to Smudger for doing a ton of work all over including announcing (which I have only heard great things, Jeremy too). Thanks to all the volunteers. Registration looked super smooth and organized this year, and the marshalls were awesome. I only rave reviews and no incidents with cars on the course (not that there weren't challenges that were overcome: one I saw was Karen Mackin turning helping turn a tractor around!). Great job all.
Now my race report: In the 45+ with Len and Rich. 5 laps. Pretty full field of 70 fairly stacked with fast old guys
. Various attacks go during even the first lap but not too bad. 2nd time up Oak Hill gets crazy. I keep trying to go with each attack as I am worried about a break. Near the top, I realize I am hitting my limit and might pop if I try to keep it up. I have to do a bit of a pack slide on the last bit of steep section to recover and work on recovering the rest of the next lap. Unfortunately, during that 3rd lap, a break of two guys each go off separately and regroup off the front. I was much further back at that point so I barely see it go. The pack went into some apathy at that point which was surprising. Fast forward, not a lot of pulling and entering the final lap, I think I heard 2:20 to the breakaway so I knew we weren't catching them. I was recovered at that point and deciding where to go as I didn't want to leave it to a sprint (I am no Mr. Bradford). I think about doing it at the steep upper part of Oak Hill, but stupidly am boxed in on the right when we hit that section and can't attack (1 guy does and comes in 3rd). We get over the top, I put on some speed on the flat, and go in fast into the Pinnacle corner at the front with a few guys around me. I decided now was the time as did another guy, and we both do a little dig, take the hard right on Oak Hill and over the hill in front of the orchard pushing hard. I can see that 5-ish of us have a mini-gap. We are all in time-trial mode and I am second wheel so I think I am in a good position. We are pushing pretty hard on tired legs, we get on the descent and try to give it my all for the finish. Unfortunately some of pack must have caught us and been drafting. Guys go by, I thought 5-6 guys on the final kicker. It must have been 8 guys (ugh) because I finish 12th. I do feel generally happy with the race as I tried something and didn't wait to the end. Besides going with the real break, I do also think I would have been better off attacking solo on the steep of Oak Hill to develop a real gap, but who knows.
Now my race report: In the 45+ with Len and Rich. 5 laps. Pretty full field of 70 fairly stacked with fast old guys
. Various attacks go during even the first lap but not too bad. 2nd time up Oak Hill gets crazy. I keep trying to go with each attack as I am worried about a break. Near the top, I realize I am hitting my limit and might pop if I try to keep it up. I have to do a bit of a pack slide on the last bit of steep section to recover and work on recovering the rest of the next lap. Unfortunately, during that 3rd lap, a break of two guys each go off separately and regroup off the front. I was much further back at that point so I barely see it go. The pack went into some apathy at that point which was surprising. Fast forward, not a lot of pulling and entering the final lap, I think I heard 2:20 to the breakaway so I knew we weren't catching them. I was recovered at that point and deciding where to go as I didn't want to leave it to a sprint (I am no Mr. Bradford). I think about doing it at the steep upper part of Oak Hill, but stupidly am boxed in on the right when we hit that section and can't attack (1 guy does and comes in 3rd). We get over the top, I put on some speed on the flat, and go in fast into the Pinnacle corner at the front with a few guys around me. I decided now was the time as did another guy, and we both do a little dig, take the hard right on Oak Hill and over the hill in front of the orchard pushing hard. I can see that 5-ish of us have a mini-gap. We are all in time-trial mode and I am second wheel so I think I am in a good position. We are pushing pretty hard on tired legs, we get on the descent and try to give it my all for the finish. Unfortunately some of pack must have caught us and been drafting. Guys go by, I thought 5-6 guys on the final kicker. It must have been 8 guys (ugh) because I finish 12th. I do feel generally happy with the race as I tried something and didn't wait to the end. Besides going with the real break, I do also think I would have been better off attacking solo on the steep of Oak Hill to develop a real gap, but who knows.
Last edited by jraguin on Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: KHMRR
-Chris Busick
Re: KHMRR
So mine from the cat5 field is one of being everywhere from in front to disappearing completely:
Lap 1 - okay, I guess I'm the one club member not to have ridden Oak Hill and it showed. Wanted to be closer to the front to help Todd and Fintan with the pacing first time up. Totally blew it and was too far back, misjudging how difficult it would be to (safely) move up along the climb. Oh well, at least I got to conserve energy.
Lap 2 I picked my spot to go to the front, hoping to contend for the KOM. Felt good but this time misjudged the distance to the KOM and that ended that.
Lap 3 nobody doing anything crazy just wanted to make sure I held a good position. Barely avoided a crash that split the main field and I had to swerve hard and then surge to get back on.
Coming into the flat before the descent was in back of the lead group. After passing the 500m to go, I had a thought similar to what Brad did but for whatever reason hesitated. Finally went into finish mode and passed a few but honestly wasn't sure where I finished, but knew it wasn't top 5. After some confusion as to 2 "unknown riders" initially listed in the top 10, it seemed that was clarified so I didn't stick around any longer. Later discovered I was listed as DNF. Got in touch with the video/timing guy and after providing him a picture my wife took (thanks Alice!) he was able to ID me right behind Todd J so I was back in and finished 7th.
But now the results don't list me with MRC. But at least I'm there!
Lap 1 - okay, I guess I'm the one club member not to have ridden Oak Hill and it showed. Wanted to be closer to the front to help Todd and Fintan with the pacing first time up. Totally blew it and was too far back, misjudging how difficult it would be to (safely) move up along the climb. Oh well, at least I got to conserve energy.
Lap 2 I picked my spot to go to the front, hoping to contend for the KOM. Felt good but this time misjudged the distance to the KOM and that ended that.
Lap 3 nobody doing anything crazy just wanted to make sure I held a good position. Barely avoided a crash that split the main field and I had to swerve hard and then surge to get back on.
Coming into the flat before the descent was in back of the lead group. After passing the 500m to go, I had a thought similar to what Brad did but for whatever reason hesitated. Finally went into finish mode and passed a few but honestly wasn't sure where I finished, but knew it wasn't top 5. After some confusion as to 2 "unknown riders" initially listed in the top 10, it seemed that was clarified so I didn't stick around any longer. Later discovered I was listed as DNF. Got in touch with the video/timing guy and after providing him a picture my wife took (thanks Alice!) he was able to ID me right behind Todd J so I was back in and finished 7th.
But now the results don't list me with MRC. But at least I'm there!
Dave Mingori
Re: KHMRR
Looks like 5 weeks... 6 races with 3 wins and 2 2nds. There are a lot of Cat 4's who are happy to see you go. Great job on a killer season so far!!pace21 wrote:Well done Brad. It's great to see the teamwork come to fruition! Those are good engines to have working for you. The one thing I can't say though is that I'm surprised by the result
Brad to the rest of the New England cat 4's: "Don't put the coffee on, I'm not staying long". How many weeks does that make as a 4?
- Attachments
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- Quads results.JPG (89.22 KiB) Viewed 9840 times
Re: KHMRR
Love the Video. Brad the MRC Missile.
The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.
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PJ McQuade
- Chasseur
- Posts: 769
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:44 pm
- Location: Millbury
Re: KHMRR
To echo everyone else's thoughts, the race was a tremendous success. Huge kudos to John and his management team. It was an exciting course on pretty country roads, the downtown finish was a happening, we had marshals everywhere, and the weather was great. The 25 min. laps (give or take) were perfect for the folks spectating in town. More road races should use this event as a model!
Cat 3 report. I'm biased, but I think we had the strongest team in the race: Pare, Cratty, Patrick and myself. Unfortunately, we didn't get anyone in the break though. The results don't show how aggressive we were or hard we worked to pull back the break (they never do). As usual, parts of the race are a red-eyed blur, but I'll report what I remember and others can correct me if they remember otherwise.
Lap 1 - Slow, almost casual start. A small break with a GLV rider eventually goes, otherwise nothing.
Lap 2 - Break has over 1" as the lap begins. I take some digs at the front and interfere with GLV, who's attempting to block. I buried myself and was hurting by the time we hit Oak Hill. This was the fastest run up Oak Hill so I was not feeling great. I believe this is where we pulled back the break. As we approached the top of Oak toward the KOM the pack was strung out, blowing apart. I recall a few riders attacking off the front to form what was to become the winning break. I was hurting, mid-pack, still recovering from earlier efforts and could do nothing. In fact, I'm not even sure if this is where the break went.
Lap 3 - Jeremy did a ton of work at the front trying to close the gap. We wanted to bring it back get Chris involved in the mix. Chris was riding smart, at the front, trying to avoid too much work, but with the break further up the road and few teams working, he began to take action. Too much action. This was the KOM lap, but since the break was up the road I don't recall too much aggression.
Lap 4 - More horsepower at the front from Jeremy and Chris. I took my turn after we hit the turn after Veryfine onto Oak. I jumped off the front hoping to ramp up the pace, close the gap and/or form a mini-chase group. Instead I found myself solo, and blowing up. A few other riders joined me midway up the climb, but I was suffering bad and tucked back into the pack by on the upper-portion of the climb. Break still away and out of sight. Dang!
Lap 5 - Jeremy and Chris still burying it. I used the first few miles to recover after the Oak Hill effort. When we hit Oak again it was clear the break wasn't returning. Chris and Jeremy were in a world of hurt. Patrick seemed pretty comfortable, though I didn't get a chance to check in with him. The pace felt annoyingly slow for the final run up the main climb of the day. I knew this type of finish didn't suit me well and felt antsy so I shot up the right shoulder and attacked maybe halfway up the climb. It was the kind of move where I figured I could either ride away for 5th (break had 4 guys) or blow up and be overtaken by the peloton. I opened up a nice gap when a Back Bay rider came bridging up. I sat up for a second with him and we briefly chatted. He said we were 5k out, which was a lot of road. I told him I wasn't a sprinter and didn't want to sprint for scraps. He said he wasn't either. "Let's go then!" I said. And we did. The pack was within sight the entire time - we probably only had 25-30 seconds - but they weren't really closing it. Yet. I had used up my last matchbook at this point, but we traded pulls, ripped corners at speed and drilled the descents. It was terrifically painful fun! 2k to go - still have a gap, but it's narrowing. Nothing left, but still pedaling. We met our demise within 1k, on the fast descent into town. The last thing I saw was the 200m sign before the pack came charging by us. I couldn't contest the sprint and rolled in wrecked and wanting water.
Cat 3 report. I'm biased, but I think we had the strongest team in the race: Pare, Cratty, Patrick and myself. Unfortunately, we didn't get anyone in the break though. The results don't show how aggressive we were or hard we worked to pull back the break (they never do). As usual, parts of the race are a red-eyed blur, but I'll report what I remember and others can correct me if they remember otherwise.
Lap 1 - Slow, almost casual start. A small break with a GLV rider eventually goes, otherwise nothing.
Lap 2 - Break has over 1" as the lap begins. I take some digs at the front and interfere with GLV, who's attempting to block. I buried myself and was hurting by the time we hit Oak Hill. This was the fastest run up Oak Hill so I was not feeling great. I believe this is where we pulled back the break. As we approached the top of Oak toward the KOM the pack was strung out, blowing apart. I recall a few riders attacking off the front to form what was to become the winning break. I was hurting, mid-pack, still recovering from earlier efforts and could do nothing. In fact, I'm not even sure if this is where the break went.
Lap 3 - Jeremy did a ton of work at the front trying to close the gap. We wanted to bring it back get Chris involved in the mix. Chris was riding smart, at the front, trying to avoid too much work, but with the break further up the road and few teams working, he began to take action. Too much action. This was the KOM lap, but since the break was up the road I don't recall too much aggression.
Lap 4 - More horsepower at the front from Jeremy and Chris. I took my turn after we hit the turn after Veryfine onto Oak. I jumped off the front hoping to ramp up the pace, close the gap and/or form a mini-chase group. Instead I found myself solo, and blowing up. A few other riders joined me midway up the climb, but I was suffering bad and tucked back into the pack by on the upper-portion of the climb. Break still away and out of sight. Dang!
Lap 5 - Jeremy and Chris still burying it. I used the first few miles to recover after the Oak Hill effort. When we hit Oak again it was clear the break wasn't returning. Chris and Jeremy were in a world of hurt. Patrick seemed pretty comfortable, though I didn't get a chance to check in with him. The pace felt annoyingly slow for the final run up the main climb of the day. I knew this type of finish didn't suit me well and felt antsy so I shot up the right shoulder and attacked maybe halfway up the climb. It was the kind of move where I figured I could either ride away for 5th (break had 4 guys) or blow up and be overtaken by the peloton. I opened up a nice gap when a Back Bay rider came bridging up. I sat up for a second with him and we briefly chatted. He said we were 5k out, which was a lot of road. I told him I wasn't a sprinter and didn't want to sprint for scraps. He said he wasn't either. "Let's go then!" I said. And we did. The pack was within sight the entire time - we probably only had 25-30 seconds - but they weren't really closing it. Yet. I had used up my last matchbook at this point, but we traded pulls, ripped corners at speed and drilled the descents. It was terrifically painful fun! 2k to go - still have a gap, but it's narrowing. Nothing left, but still pedaling. We met our demise within 1k, on the fast descent into town. The last thing I saw was the 200m sign before the pack came charging by us. I couldn't contest the sprint and rolled in wrecked and wanting water.
To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
-Shakespeare
-Shakespeare
Re: KHMRR
Echo of congrats to the stellar smooth running of this race! Can't be understated.
In Cat 4...
This was actually the best I've felt all year, despite my (unintentional) 'extreme taper' 45minutes of riding time the week prior. HR was pretty high on Oak, but I did not feel like crap keeping up and maintaining position. Out of 81 people, I don't think I ever drifted farther back than 30-35ish at any point, which is an improvement for me. I kept myself aware of where Brad was throughout the race and close enough to help if he found himself in a bad spot. As he stated on Lap 4, I could tell no one was really working to bring back Jon (NEBC guy that won't try a breakaway with no intention of holding it) and another guy that apparently wasn't actually working very hard. (A few guys weren't even aware someone had gotten away.) After we talked, I moved up front and drilled up one of the hills on the front side, checking to make sure others were falling in line, which they were. From there the work was passed around all the way to the top of Oak, including Kevin who was a rockstar on Oak.
From there I still found it difficult to gain a good position going into the sprint area with such a large pack, so this is where I'll still need to work on tactics and persistence in the future. Checked in at 21/81.
I feel great about the efforts our team put in on the home court, and getting Brad where he needed to be for the WIN!
In Cat 4...
This was actually the best I've felt all year, despite my (unintentional) 'extreme taper' 45minutes of riding time the week prior. HR was pretty high on Oak, but I did not feel like crap keeping up and maintaining position. Out of 81 people, I don't think I ever drifted farther back than 30-35ish at any point, which is an improvement for me. I kept myself aware of where Brad was throughout the race and close enough to help if he found himself in a bad spot. As he stated on Lap 4, I could tell no one was really working to bring back Jon (NEBC guy that won't try a breakaway with no intention of holding it) and another guy that apparently wasn't actually working very hard. (A few guys weren't even aware someone had gotten away.) After we talked, I moved up front and drilled up one of the hills on the front side, checking to make sure others were falling in line, which they were. From there the work was passed around all the way to the top of Oak, including Kevin who was a rockstar on Oak.
From there I still found it difficult to gain a good position going into the sprint area with such a large pack, so this is where I'll still need to work on tactics and persistence in the future. Checked in at 21/81.
I feel great about the efforts our team put in on the home court, and getting Brad where he needed to be for the WIN!
Re: KHMRR
You need to enter "Minuteman Road Club" in the "Team/Club/Company" field in your BikeReg profile for it to show up in registration and results.djming wrote: But now the results don't list me with MRC. But at least I'm there!