Quabbin 2018

[djming]

50+ field. Rich, Doug and I lined up with what appeared to have swelled to over 70 guys with day of additions. Plenty of firepower in this field. Probably even deeper than last year where I managed 9th. I decided going in I wanted to do whatever I could to avoid a large pack finish as if it came down to that for me another top 10 would be tough. Be active. Be at the front.

Right turn after neutral on Rt9 and the obligatory from the whistle CCB attack seemed ready to go, but the official doesn't pull away. He pulls up alongside and says there's already a mechanical so going to keep us neutral till that sorted out. So after that nothing went at all on Rt. 9 and we just poked along to the turn on 202 (oh great, last week it was the 4's catching us, this week it's the 3's behind us..) Things started to heat up but nothing big. A couple single attempts but the pace just took a steady ramp up. After a couple surges I did to match attacks, it became apparent nobody was letting anything stick into the big climb. So I would wait for others to chase and follow wheels back to the front. On one the descents Eric Weinrich crushes it and gets a gap. Two others go to bridge and then Yabroudy puts in a huge move to bridge. Gotta follow this one. Manage to get up and it's 5 or 6 of us in a nice little group with a growing gap. That sticks for awhile but we get pulled back before 122. But that did really start to put pressure on the field. Turn onto 122 and I go way left for a wave to Alice (the cowbell once again a big hit ) I filter back just a bit thru the feed zone, and as others begin to put more pressure on the pace test my legs to get back to the front. All good.

Onto 32A and Rich and I both right near the front. After the initial descent (where Weinrich again tries to get away), I think it was Matt Noonan from 545 pulls away and Rich goes to bridge up. No reaction so they gain a nice advantage. But then the next series of hills comes and once again pace heats up. Rich and Matt get caught. Some attacks and counters and I put in a nice effort and suddenly I'm out front with Yabroudy, Weinrich, Cliff Summers, Dave Taylor, Fred Thomas plus maybe 3-4 others. Woah, this would be a nice group! But those "big 5" start looking at each other so I figure why not and attack. It did wake things further as Fred Thomas went by me hard. Nothing I could match. Nobody else chasing though, and he was gone for good. The gap was still manageable as we came into Hardwick center and the hard right into the rough climb when Weinrich goes and then Dave Taylor goes even harder. I felt like I could go after him, but hesitated figuring I could chase with others. Wrong. Nothing gets organized thru the winding descent and into the two step climb on Greenwich Rd.

Somewhere after the climbs pretty sure it was Bill Caligari from BCA/Linen starts to go and Paul Richard goes after him. I get on his wheel and the 3 of us start rotating with a bit of a gap. I'm thinking if we can get away and catch Taylor that will be a nice little group into the hills. No such luck as the field finally shuts us down. Others try to go (Noonan again from 545 who was seriously active all day). Rich as well. A bit of confusion as there was a slight variation in the course to get us over to Rt. 9 (they didn't use the private, narrow cut thru street by the cemetery which was a nicer variation but caused some slowing and shouts of "wrong way" but there was police there to redirect).

Onto 9 and the hills. We're probably 30 strong so not what I wanted (with Thomas and Taylor still up the road). As we near the top of the first climb I put in an attack and get a couple with me driving hard on the initial descent and now can see Taylor. Field catches maybe halfway up the next rise but I hold front position. We catch Taylor (Thomas is still long gone) and Rich goes hard on the left (there's a change from his typical gutter attack!) A reaction from 2 or 3 that I follow and when we catch Rich I go even harder and yell to him to follow. Field is just too large and it's all together as we get into the park. No moves on the initial parts of the climb. A couple attempts on the false flat but nothing sticks. I had decided on the drive in to go at "Hanks Meadow" which is still ~1500 to go and just see what happens. As we approach that I'm right on the front so fall back a few spots and hold Yabroudy's wheel. Then the thought comes in to just sit and wait for the finish. No, I know how that plays out for me. Just as the incline picks up I go HARD on the right. There's separation but it's holding. Oh well, committed but now it's closing. Now I'm swarmed as Rich counters on the left. 200 to go and the real finishers ramp it up. Rich holds for 8th and I roll in mid main field. Results aren't up but probably between 15-20. No regrets.

Find Alice right after the finish and we wait a few minutes to see Robbie come charging in for (spoiler) 2nd in the 3's.

[JeremyC]

Nice race Dave and Rich, sounds like you mixed it up and raced aggressive.

I'll write a report because Robbie is better at racing than writing

We had a strong Cat3 team with Robbie, Rees, Mark M., Jason T., AJ, The Pirate, Dave McCay and myself. We changed up the strategy a bit and went away from the "Attack the shit out of the field" strategy I like when we have numbers. With fewer but stronger racers I decided to do the "Sit in for 44 miles and do absolutely nothing" strategy, and then start dropping bombs when everyone has been softened up. Spoiler alert - We executed this strategy brilliantly.

The first 30 miles were the slowest and easiest race I've ever done. 2 guys got away, one of which was wearing short black tri socks, so we stayed patient even though they got over 2 minutes. The big climb was an absolute joke, the Pirate and I riding in the top 10 easily, and part of me knew we would pay for this later. At about 1/2 way through the easiest race ever turned into the hardest race, at least for me. Wattage wise, my NP for the first half was 65 watts lower than the 2nd half. Every climb was done at full-attack pace, and I would pack slide from the front to the back. Luckily Robbie would reverse-pack slide from the back to the front. I moved back to the front on every decent to start the process over again. We stayed true to our strategy, Mark chased one singular move before mile 44, but otherwise MRC kept its powder dry.

We get to mile 44 which is a hard climb into Hardwick and kudos to Jason T. for dropping the first scheduled bomb. I think he got the gap on the climb and went away from the field (not 100% sure because I was suffering at the back), unfortunately for him he was solo. He was away for maybe 10 minutes and I made my way up to the front to disrupt, I had a front row seat and he was dangling, almost got caught, could have given up but the field sat up and he extended his gap again. It was great for the team because the field had to chase him not once but twice. He got caught on the last climb before route 9 and I think Robbie went straight over the top (again I was shielded from view, face buried on my stem at the back of the pack now, OUCH). Robbie was with another dude and also the youngin' from Hot Tubes bridged up at one point to make it 3.

Despite the fact that I was at the front for most of the race, every climb was atrociously hard that I had to face the facts, I wasn't going to be able to contest a hill sprint at the end, so I decided to go full domestique mode as Robbie's break looked optimistic (yes I had to follow my own rule, don't sit in for 18th place). Mark Miller did the same, which is a testament to his team spirit, because he was climbing much better than me (I know shocker). Mark and I chased every attack that went off the front heading to route 9. Rees finally made an appearance and chased 1 attack but I told him to stop, he was our plan B if Robbie got caught. So Mark and I pestered everyone and nothing went away, Robbie was safe. We hit route 9 and the field FLIES up the first hard climb. I got dropped near the top, almost gave up, but TT'd my way back, descended and was back in the group. 2nd climb and Rees is there at the back and I tell him "you....got....to.....get....back...up....there" (vomit, cough). The Pirate is there too, desperately hanging on with me. Somehow I got over this climb, descend, go into the park and I get back to the front where Mark is riding "tempo" at the front with the whole field across the road going pretty slow. Now its official, racing for 4th. The pace is moderate until the last hill to the finish. Everyone ramps it up, I slink off the back because I'm shattered and there's no reason to mix it up with "orange socks Crashy-McCrasher" (inside joke) in a sprint for 30th. Not sure of the final results, AJ put in a good effort for maybe top 10? Robbie gets 2nd, with Hottubes ringer JR taking the win.

Afterwards we enjoyed a few beverages until "Mall Security" told us its illegal to drink in public (really?, since when?). Also Robbie won the Velotooler Cat 3 Jersey and we apparently won the Cat 3 Team competition (if that's really a thing)!! WE ARE WINNERS!!! The team won 1 pair of socks, which I took because I had to write a lot of emails.

Great race and effort from MRC, and yes Robbie is a stud, have fun in the 2s.

[ppereira]

I did the Cat 5, finished 40/44. My first proper road race since 2015 and I once again managed to get dropped during a climb and never find my way back. So the first 45mins were all well and good, I was even in 3rd position for a good bit, and otherwise doing a good job surfing within the group. But during the second portion of the strava segment "the monster" everyone started going hard, as I think some guys were trying to make a break, and I failed to match it very quickly, and then someone nearly knocked me off by slowing down to where our wheels were overlapping and he moved into my wheel, so I had to unclip to save myself. So basically that moment made it tough to get back into it. After that, I just kind of stunk at sticking with whoever was left, managed to overtake one other person along the way, but it was disappointing to get back into road racing with what i feel is good fitness and get a result like that. I think the other thing that kind of held me back mentally was trying not to blow up and at least complete the event.

My average power for the whole thing was 206w, NP of 238 (so basically did the whole thing at 87 percent intensity in a little under 3.5hrs) and spent an hour at 95%. But I think I really need to work on doing like 8-10 mins significantly over threshold to be able to hang on the climbs, I have good bike fitness, crappy race fitness. In contrast, the 3rd place finisher had AP of 210 (similar w/kg as I am) but NP of 283. On to the next one, I suppose!

[rraymond]

Captain Cratty's plan worked beautifully. We didn't do any work for the first 2/3s of the race. People were grumbling that MRC wasn't chasing any of the breaks but they all got reabsorbed anyways. About 45 minutes in Scott Smith organized a small bathroom break that I joined in. This should be a thing at every long race. Although word on the street is the cat 4s pulled off the on-the-bike-pee so looks like I gotta up my game.

Hot Tubes beast and junior cx national champ Magnus was the favorite of the race. I think he was on the front for 90% of the race.

At mile 40ish Mark looks back and waves to me and Rees to get up to the front as we near our designated thrown down mile. Up until then the race had been a casual group ride and suddenly turned into a smashfest. Several attacks start going on the hills and all are brought back. Then Jason goes off the front solo and holds it for several minutes. He gets caught on the top of the Greenwich Rd climb and I counter. Realizing that I'm now attacking on a downhill and there are still 13 miles left in the race I focus on staying aero and praying someone bridges up to me. A few minutes later Ken Greim from GLV bridges and provides some well needed company.

All the way down to route 9 is was a constant game of us growing the gap then looking back and seeing the field closing in. The field kept getting so close that I figured this was the dumbest thing I had done all season. But after the turns onto route 9 the moto says the gap is 20-30 seconds. Then we hit the hills and immediately regret it. The only thing to do at this point is to keep pedaling even though we both thought we'd be caught if the pack really started to drive the pace.

Then suddenly the Hot Tubes kid bridges out of nowhere and I'm sprinting uphill just to stay with him. I ask (well really borderline beg) him not to drop us if we help since he's obviously going to beat us anyways. He politely obliged saying he can't do anything on the downhills with his junior gearing. By the time we hit the start of the finishing climb the gap is up to 50 seconds.

We lose Ken on the first part of the climb and Magnus is pulling me along while I die in his draft. Again begging him not to drop me I do my best to help which consists of me taking 3 second pulls on the flats or downhills then letting him pull for the next minute. At this point I'm terrified that I'm going to blow up and the team will have been blocking for nothing. So I hold his wheel a little tighter and thank Magnus who is able to string multiple words together like he's on a recovery ride. We hit the last turn before the finish, he looks back and I tell him to go since I can't hold on anymore. He rockets away and I roll across the finish line for 2nd. Ken soon rolls in for 3rd. Our crazy stupid break worked!

Huge thanks to the team for blocking and disrupting the chase! And props to Magnus for being a beast, he definitely deserved that win. So with that I increased my lead in the VT cup and MRC also won the team competition too! As a prize they gave us a box of clif gels, maple water and a single pair of socks for all of us to split. Its been a great spring season seeing the team dominate across multiple categories. Now count me in for domestique duty for a while, I'd like to repay the support (and not get upgraded to a 2 yet).

[rraymond]

I'll write a report because Robbie is better at racing than writing

Whoops. I wrote one before I saw this. Also when is Peter Kuhn gonna be forced up to the 3s?

[AJ Camelio]

Racing in the Cat 4s were Mike W, Peter Kuhn, Cal, Rob C, Michael Rose and me. We had a big field of around 85 or so We followed the same strategy as the 3s and mostly sat-in for the first half of the race which was pretty easy. There was a bad crash on an uphill in the first few miles caused by a rider who couldn't ride in a straight line. Mike and I just missed it. The guy drifted left and then swerved back right taking down at least 4 or 5 rides and half the field got caught up, but most people seemed to chase back on. There were a few moves off the front early but nothing was sticking. One junior and then three other guys managed to spend 5 or 6 miles about 20 seconds off the front but were brought back with too much effort.

I was sitting around 10th for most of the race watching moves that were clearly not going anywhere. That pattern of weak attacks held until Mike W went around mile 50 or so. He got a decent gap and Billy Hafferty from 545 (who had about 10 guys in the race) and another guy who'd been trying to get in a break all day bridged up. I was sitting in the top 5 now disrupting the Community Bike-lead chase a bit and Rob C moved up to help. We rolled through the front a few times with two guys from 545 and the break was out of sight.

The pace stayed pretty high on Greenwich Rd. and Route 9 and unfortunately the group caught Mike and the other guy about a mile before we made the turn back into the Reservoir for the final. Billy was still up the road. I was up toward the front with Cal and apparently the group behind us was starting to shatter. Cal made a move early on the first part of the climb and now guys were getting shelled out the back. Cal got a gap before getting caught by a group of 12-15 including Peter and me. A few guys tried to attack out of this group but nobody could get away and from the back of the group it looked like Peter was just surfing wheels near but not on the front. The attacks kept the pace really high but not organized and we never got Billy. Peter won the reduced field sprint for 2nd and I rolled in at the back of that group for 13th.

[jraguin]

A bit to share from my gained wisdom and view from the Cat 3 race. Since I am old (49 racing age) and getting slower due to age and lack of motivation/time (sad face), I felt I couldn't really be competitive in this field. My hope was to survive for 45 miles and make it where I might be of help. So here is my story and words of advice for my newer teammates:
* Stay near the front - I don't have the high end that some of these kids do (my daughter is 19 and the winner was 18). So the best thing you can do is stay in the front 10 wheels as much as you can. I did, and in the 2nd half of the race, the attacks up those climbs were beyond me. The only reason I was able to stay in the lead pack is the slight bit of pack-slide staying at the front gives you when an attack comes. If you do have the high end, then it puts you in even better position that you don't have to put as much watts in to stay on the front. The other benefit is that crashes typically happen in the middle of the pack, not at the front. So if you are at the front you avoid that, plus less yo-yoing. Chris Pare is the king of this.
* Move up whenever you can - This goes with "Stay near the front". Whenever the pace slows down, move up even if you don't have to. When someone goes by you, jump on his wheel and ride to the front. Just keep moving up. Top 10 wheels. Always.
* Never give up - Often when you are tired, the guys at the front are tired too. So when you feel like you are going to get gapped, keep pedaling, settle your breathing, and don't give up. Twice I was about to get gapped, settled in and was able to hold on.
* Hang in if you are cramping - On the Greenwich road climb, I was really cramping. I tried my best to spin, not give up, and thankfully, my staying near the front afforded me a big pack-slide which kept me on.

It was a great time and I was really glad to be there and psyched for the team win. A bunch of guys on different teams kept complimenting our team for how well we do in these races as team. Sorry I couldn't help up much (except keeping AJ from chasing breaks that we didn't need to), but hopefully these words of advice are my best contribution this week.

John

[Thomas Coleman]

Oddly enough I wasn’t too worried about quabbin this year, coming off last year’s 2 laps. One lap with a “short” (but hard) extension was going to be survivable. But like always and to a bit of frustration I have the deck stacked against me without a team of 5 super stud Cat 1’s. The lap extension was “luckily” at the start of the race, we were rolling out neutral to Rt9 as normal. Then coming back in the park at the Winsor dam entrance where you would drive to the parking lot, going up to the rotory and back down to Rt9 where we would continue on the course. I had a sinking feeling that everyone was going to go 110% up that first climb. Well I was right we entered winsor dam like it was the last lap of a crit with CCB on the front. I was climbing at 550w for what felt like forever just to stay in. My legs started to feel like they were coming off. And I thought shit were 10min into this thing. One lap doesn’t mean easyier.... it means faster.

The long cold decent that sucks on the neutral was a welcomed feeling after the first spicy climb. And like that we were on Rt9 every small rise was turning into a knife fight. On 202 we were flying.... and it hurt, I was able to keep in the top 15 for most of the race. Some tries to get off the front but nothing was going anywhere the smaller group all wanted in. So it was constant accelerations over and over again. Then on the last significant climb of 202 to the New Salem General store one guy went off the front and was soon out of sight. But nobody seemed to care. The pace seemed to drop a bit coming on to 122, but soon ramped up coming into the climbs. I wasn’t too worried about one guy up the road causes I figured CCB would rally the Troops and work to get him back which is exactly what happened through 32a and Greenwich road. We we’re flying again completely strung out.....

As we were nearing Rt9 again I was thinking I may have a chance. My legs felt good. But there’s one thing I can’t trust about myself, generally deep into a hard race when my legs feel surprisingly good it means I’m about to cramp up...the pace climbed again on the first climb of Rt9 and I tried to stay up front and my legs gave out and I waterfalled through the group and was dangling off the back. I stayed there all the way through the 2 climbs desperately trying to claw back into the group.

On the beginning of the decent to the park I made it back. I was able to catch my breath and think about the situation ahead. It was punchy yet again into the park and there was a lot of jostling for position. Right before the final climb a guy attacked and everyone let him go assuming they would get him on the final hill. As we came into the final kick everyone was looking around with this one guy 200ft up the road. They all jumped hard and my legs gave up. A day full for constant accelerations and 500w climbs had worn me down.

But that had to be the fastest edition of quabbin I had ever done we did the extended 70miles in 3hrs flat averaging 23.5mph. It felt super fast.... cause it was. I had the typical feeling of accomplishment and disappointment that comes with doing the P1/2 at Quabbin.

I wanted to stick around and see the finishes of the other races, but I had to get to my girls hockey game. So it was a bit of a turn and burn. But I was happy to see the results of the other races.

[mfwestbe]

Congrats to all MRC efforts!

As AJ mentioned, I lined up with about 80 other Cat 4's, and in a quick chat with Billy, he said he wasn't planning to gun it from the start today, like Monson (which I was not able to be at). Skipping everything AJ mentioned, including all the twitchy Cat 4 riders this year - and we were toward the front when that crash happened at 12 mph - my intention was for us to ride aggressive, as there were several other 3-5 rider teams, plus 545 with huge numbers. AJ and I were always up front keeping an eye on things. I think I've finally improved my position-maintenance abilities drastically this year. Also part of our plan was a late break...

On the descent into Hardwick, Billy swung by to see 'if we wanted to do some work'. I'm sure he was feeling about like I was at the lack of intense pace, and basically still a full field. After the turn, Cal and I attacked, but this was not going to hold. But, the pace was a little more elevated through the woods, and calmed down to a crawl before the Greenwich Rd climb. However, the previous move put me in prime position, and I was 2nd wheel behind an NYCC guy twiddling his thumbs, but I wanted to wait for the climb. Billy and a couple other 545 guys were also right up front, and as we hit the base of the climb, I hopped up and drilled it. When I saw a wheel latch on, I figured "I've got to be making people hurt; I don't have power data, but pretty sure I'm going as hard as I did a couple weeks ago on the practice run". I hoped to at least thin the pack. A second look back and it was just Billy and a Minneola guy (for reference - Robbie's time up this hill in the Cat 3 was 3:15, we did 3:19). So, we hammered on, knowing between 545 and MRC we had well over 10 guys. I was just at limit, and then we settled in, trading pulls. Unfortunately, when we hit route 9, I had just pulled, and then hit a hamstring cramp on the steep ascent. That was my ceiling, and had to watch Billy slowly ride away. I kept hammering with Minneola guy, not knowing where the field was, and the longer I'm away, the better.

Next part of the plan was executed wonderfully (the hammering attacks once in the park). I settled at the back of the pack and watched rider after rider get popped. Peter was graceful, as always, about sitting in and averaging insanely low watts, and I was ecstatic to find out he took the field sprint. The field did bring Billy back down to 15 seconds, but he managed to stay away for the win, but he earned it.

I would have preferred not to cramp, but this was still probably the most fun I've had at Quabbin, and I'm pumped the team executed!! Awesome work guys.

btw - Cat 5 - great job to Derrin, who posted up in the top 10!

[peterkuhn]

Cat 4 -

I really like those race reports where somebody goes off with 50km to go and fights furiously to the finish against all chasers, freezing rain, and their failing legs. This isn't one of those race reports. This is a story of sitting in with pleasant weather, of being very lazy, of 63% ftp for three hours.


Sitting in.

The team was Mike W, Cal G, AJ, Mike, and me, and my job was to sit in the back and not do anything, to which I applied myself with gusto. My average for the first 20 miles or so was like 100 watts no joke. Joining me in this endeavor was Billy from 545, who was playing the same game, presumably to take off like a bat out of hell in the last 10 miles or so. There was a CCAP rider off the front, and for a while he had company, then he just did his own thing for a while before being reeled in. I'm not sure if he thought he could stay off the front solo for fifty miles or what. Youth is a beautiful thing.

Sitting on the back when the pace is easy gets kinda boring and we spent most of the time working out the logistics of how to pee, which was a pressing issue. The plan was to stop and then chase back on, so imagine my surprised sense of betrayal when Billy opened it up on a slight downhill while we were coasting along, and buddy i'm not talking about an attack. I didn't want to stop and then burn matches chasing back on by myself, so I tried the same technique. The thing is, there were cars with normal people in them right behind us, so you sort of had to do this mid-pack. I got everything ready, cruising along at 20mph or so, whipped it out, and nothing. Failure to execute. I tried imagining my friends and loved ones cheering me on and tony robbins encouraging me personally but it just wasn't happening. I still tried a couple more times though because what else are you gonna do at the back of a group for three hours. There is a great deal more technical discussion to be had on this topic, I think it warrants its own forum. If you read this whole paragraph I'm sorry.

Oh, the crashes. There was a guy who managed to wreck going uphill which a couple teammates got wound up in, another guy who had a mechanical and just slammed on his brakes mid-pack, a second mechanical brake-slammer who failed to learn anything from the first, and a guy a couple rows up who serenely drove a few of us through a pothole, resulting in one flat and several new, more aero bar positions. You'll be reassured to know there was a lot of yelling about all these and everyone got mad.

I had no idea what was going on at the front for 90% of the race but I did spot an MRC kit or two (Mike?) thumping along up there. The pace picked up in the last 20 miles, and at some point I heard that Billy had gone up the road with Mike W and another guy. Hooray! License to be even lazier. But given the pace so far, I knew we'd have a ton of dudes jockeying for position like the houston 500 and also, I was stuck behind this guy in a tri kit with the non-bib shorts so you could see this gap of above-butt skin and it was driving me nuts. So I made my way up to where Cal and AJ (maybe this was Mike?) were percolating. I still thought everyone was up the road and we were racing for 4th; this turned out to be fake news.

Cal got on the front for the first part of the climb and pushed the pace, the group strung out a bit and finding wheels was no trouble. There was regrouping on the false flat, then inside the last mile Ben Finch from 545 hopped up front and started pummeling us. I stuck with him, another 545 rider did too, and I guess we still had somewhat of a bunch when we hit the 200m to go sign. I waited for someone to start the sprint, then found I had the power to come around him, add a bike length or so and win the bunch sprint for what turned out to be 2nd.


TL;DR here's an infographic.

[Deltabrian]

Cows can be aero. Nice job!

[JeremyC]

Love the course profile notes. Especially the yellow arrows.

[eboos]

After that, I just kind of stunk at sticking with whoever was left, managed to overtake one other person along the way, but it was disappointing to get back into road racing with what i feel is good fitness and get a result like that. I think the other thing that kind of held me back mentally was trying not to blow up and at least complete the event.

My average power for the whole thing was 206w, NP of 238 (so basically did the whole thing at 87 percent intensity in a little under 3.5hrs) and spent an hour at 95%. But I think I really need to work on doing like 8-10 mins significantly over threshold to be able to hang on the climbs, I have good bike fitness, crappy race fitness. In contrast, the 3rd place finisher had AP of 210 (similar w/kg as I am) but NP of 283. On to the next one, I suppose!

I hear you, and I am in the same boat. 17 out of 18 in 40+ Cat 5 (17 out of 15 according to Bike Reg, lol). I blew up in the same spot. When going over Monson's result, and comparing power, I was putting out power in all the wrong spots compared to those who were successful in the race. Essentially, the second half should be stronger than the first half. Unfortunately, if you loose the peloton, you really can't do this and you are in ITT mode for pretty much the whole race.

Saturday's data was hugely disappointing for me. With all that climbing I thought I would have had some great numbers. I felt pretty good until about the last half hour, then I felt like I was going to die.

[MarkMiller321]

Quabbin recap is really a tale of two vastly different races. Our strategy dictated that we do nothing the first forty-four miles of the race. Not exactly my strong point but this was going to put my PEDAL LESS IN 2018 mantra to the test.

The neutral was the neutral at Quabbin but when we hopped out on Route 9 the shit didn’t immediately hit the fan. We basically did a group ride for the first thirty-two miles or the race. My only issue was fueling for the inevitable onslaught the second half of the race and the massive piss that I had to take. I missed the boat on the Scott Smith pee party so rode in relative misery for three hours. I know that I could have stopped but I just didn’t have the confidence to stop and chase on my own.

Oh right confidence. It has been in short supply this year. On the way to the race I reflected that I had had a great last eight weeks of training. I corrected myself and agreed that I had had a great last eight weeks of riding. I actually haven’t been training per se but I have been riding well and putting up good weekly hours and TSS numbers.

Thirty-two miles in one of the Hot Tubes kids hit the gas hard. I actually didn’t know which of the kids I was supposed to be watching so when the skinny one went I figured I needed to put out the fire. After an hour and a half at 174 watts really, hitting the gas and going to 500 plus to cover the move was a bit of an eye opener. Momentarily I doubted that I had the goods but then I realized that after ninety minutes at 174 that I needed an opener to get the juices flowing.

Guess what the shit hit the fan after that first attack. Then more shit hit the fan, then more shit hit the fan, more shit, bigger fan, etc… I’ve raced my bike long enough now to know that this was turning into a bit of a dick swinging contest. Cat three bike racing is pretty stupid when you get right down to it so it’s best to keep your powder dry. Somewhere around forty miles I turned around to look for Robbie. I saw him at the back and gave a friendly sarcastic wave to lay down a little layer of moxie to the group.

Mid forties Jason got away and had a nice little gap. Too bad he didn’t have someone away with him because it probably would have gained more traction. We were catching him right at the base of Greenwich and I had every intent of countering and going away to the finish like I’ve done twice from that spot. The chase stalled and Jason stretched the gap back out so that counter move evaporated. Half way up the climb some of the big boys attacked and I took advantage of my placement that was getting ready to counter to cover. I easily neutralized the move over the summit and after a slight pause Robbie came over the top like a boss.

I’ve been in Robbie’s shoes and I know how bad that move hurts so I went into full team worker mode. I wanted Robbie to get the win so badly and I knew that it was going to be a full team effort from that point on. I got to the front immediately in the confusion and started soft pedaling on the front feigning fatigue. As the others started to realize that it was Robbie up the road legitimate chases attempts started to form. That short supply of confidence was put to the test and I covered move after move, pulling though phantom elbows only to sit up and debate the merits of chasing my own teammate which in turn was always met with looks of disgust.

Don’t let my calm patient special education teacher demeanor fool you, I’m actually really good at pissing people off. I shut down a ton of attacks and generally had a blast doing it but it seemed to be for nothing as we pulled out on Route 9 and Robbie and Co. were maybe twenty seconds ahead of us. I got to the front right away and started pedaling squares with a pained look on my face. As guys tired to pass I matched their pace enough to discourage them from going over the top. Apparently my fake exhausted riding was fast because we dropped a ton of dudes. Somehow I managed to dictate a lot of the action on Route 9. I tucked down the hill and somehow made my way back to the front entering the park. Rees was on the front eager to go on the move but I reassured him that we were doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing. I advised him to get on my wheel and to be ready to counter given that he’s probably more explosive than I am at this point in the season. Rees tucked in and much to my surprise the group let me ride at the front at 320 for almost the entire climb. With a mile to go the action heated up and I momentarily gave up knowing that I had done my job to the best of my ability. After I had sat up for maybe twenty seconds I realized the group was still there so I hopped back on the big ring and made my way back into the bunch. Two hundred to go the sprint started and I figured what the hell so I stared ramping it up. Just then I heard a pedal go into someones front wheel and the unmistakeable sound of spokes and carbon breaking. I sat up also fearing the wrath of Orange Shoe Umpaloompa Crash a Lot. (Inside joke)

Rolled though in the bunch psyched to find out Robbie delivered a second place finish against a freakishly talented up and comer. Headed back to the truck and set up the MRC team zone with a Yeti Tundra full of beer. Guess what road races suck! For our seventy dollar entry fee we were treated like a logistical problem once we crossed the line. Anyone even seen results as of Tuesday night? I’m tankful that the Mall Cops didn’t hit us with five hundred dollar open container laws but seriously let some dudes drink a brew after a dam bike race. Anyway we had a blast and poured our beers into travel mugs and hug out until it was time for me to hit the road.

Quabbin got me a little excited and I’m actually thinking of hitting some workouts in the coming weeks rolling into the KHRR. We’ll see where it goes.

Way to go Robbie and way to go MRC!

Mark

Ps. Reply to the thread for the May 16th Gravel Grindfest from my house so I can start planning!

[remad]

We basically did a group ride for the first thirty-two miles or the race.

It was at mile 31.7 that I decided that stopping and peeing on the road side was my only option. I then spent the next 4.9 miles chasing, big mistake. Oh well. I did one attack at mile 44 and ended up with three guys on my wheel, I looked back saw the gap and tried to get the three other guys to work. I had just done a hard pull and was hoping that the guy behind me could deliver a solid follow up to open our gap even more. Turns out he was the Hot Tubes guy that won the race and he put in a big effort. The guy on his wheel let a gap open up and that was the end of our little effort. As soon as we got caught Jason shot up the road, but ended up solo for a few miles.

For the rest of the race we either had Jason or Robbie up the road and the job was to block. I feel like I did a much better job blocking at Monson. Taking turns blocking was difficult for me. If I am not trying to stay in the top 4ish wheels I just move back in the peleton until I am all the way at the back, this probably takes less than half a mile to happen and then I take on the wind and ride around everyone to move back to the front, efficient, right? We had enough of us there that even with my occasional absence, we were able to properly shut down any chase groups.

For the final climb I moved to the front so that I could continue shut down anyone that tried to attack. At this point I was almost sure that Robbie would be on the podium, but, we all have days where we blow up and I wanted to give Robbie as much of a time buffer as I could. Soon the guy riding next to me at the front decided to let up and move back into the pack, not that we were going very fast in the first place. Mark soon took his place and started pushing a little harder than I had been. No one had any interest in passing earlier in the hill so I told Mark that I didn't want to go too hard, thinking that we could ease up a little and stay on the front of the group at the same time. There must have been a little miscommunication on how I relayed the information because Mark thought I wanted to attack the group and urged me not to, telling me to move back into the group. I moved back into the group and waited for the finish to come into sight, I know that any power number under 2 minutes for me is terrible, especially after 3 hours on the bike (even if the majority of that time was spent in zone 1) and I wouldn't have a chance of doing well anyways.

I made a move as soon as I could see the finish line and then realized that my move was pointless, I ended up crossing the line at the back of the pack. I am supper stoked that Robbie took 2nd.

[davidmccay]

Rode the Cat 3s. Others have captured the overall dynamics of the race. I’ll double down on John Raguin’s comments to reinforce the importance of staying at the front and moving up as often as you can. I did this (with Chris Pare) at Ninigret a few weeks ago and had one of my better races in a while, despite only mediocre fitness. I did not do it at Quabbin and paid the price. The first half of the race was slow, which I (foolishly) let lull me into complacency about positioning within the group. Then the race pops halfway through when we turn onto Route 122. I’m doing okay at first, but still lollygagging at the back. All the sudden, gaps open in front of me and I’m off the back. Two matches later, I’m back on. I try to settle in instead of moving up. Another mistake. And another gap. Now there’s a handful of us off the back and the pack is screaming away with some mean, angry dudes at the front. Fella in front of me momentarily tries to close the gap (which is growing), but he’s toast. I peer over each shoulder hoping to see some irritated race horse stomping the pedals to come around me – a wheel I can jump on. No one. I’m seeing stars, but I dig and after a while finally close the gap. I’m a yo-yo now and hurting. Then we hit the big hill, and the lights go out. Had I been more diligent about staying to the front, I could have pack slid and just maybe hung on with the group. Instead, I rode the grupetto for the last third of the race. They got lazy. Paul Byron (CBRC) and I did 90% of the work. We dropped the rest of the group at the bottom of the last hill and rode a hard tempo trading pulls and digs to the line. Actually felt okay on the last climb.

Overall, a disappointing ride and a pity I was of so little help to Robbie (who crushed it) and the others. Looking for redemption at Myles Standish…

[dburdi]

They got lazy.
[/quote]

Dave,

It's not that we got lazy - we got old...

Nice riding in with you.

Cheers,
Doug Burdi

[davidmccay]

They got lazy.

Dave,

It's not that we got lazy - we got old...

Nice riding in with you.

Cheers,
Doug Burdi
[/quote]

Ha! No offense intended. I should have said "present company excluded!"