Minuteman Road Club

We had some highlights and a lot of low lights yesterday, but overall it was a great scene. Antony brought the van and a cooler full of girly drinks. The tent was well positioned on the finishing straight. The funeral home was quiet as usual. The temperature dipped to a reasonable 91 degrees.

I pre-rode the course and it seemed "interesting". Warmed up with Scott and Winslow, the fitness sucking virus seemed to be in remission. Watched some of the 40+ and MRC was off to a good start when the hulk threw down a monster sprint to grab 3rd. One more lap and I'm sure he would have been on the top step.

Went to jump on the course for a few more warm up laps and was stuck behind 90 other racers going single file through the gate in the barriers. Ugh back row start. Get a really fast clip in BUT NO!!! 2 guys in front of my CRASH on the start line. Come to a track stand, get around them and sprint to get back to the field. Well it was a long sprint. Like 10 laps. The front of the field was almost always 2 turns ahead of me. Also there were crashes on every other lap, which greatly added to the chaos. Turn 4 coming out of the chicane was particularly sketchy, and bad bike turners were have trouble with it. I finally made it to the front, just in time to see 2 guys attacking. I had a lot of momentum so I decide to go with it. Bad idea. Perhaps I should have taken at least 2 seconds to recover from the chase. Was off the front for 1.5 laps before getting dropped out of the break. Pathetic. The field passed me so fast I briefly thought I was in trouble. Barely latched on and recovered for a while. Got back to the front right when Mark was getting caught, he was in a break for a few laps. I think Mark went again with just under 10 to go and Tom and I were near the front disrupting. I mentioned to Tom to be ready to counter, which he did beautifully. With 5 to I spent an entire lap on the front riding easy tempo. The field finally figured it out at the 4 to go mark. Unfortunately Tom got caught but him and Mark were stil riding in the top 5 with 1 to go. I was chilling at about 20th, my job was done for the day and I had no intention of sprinting. The final time through the chicane of dispair was MRCs ultimate undoing, the guy in 2nd wiped out, taking out both Tom and Mark. I sat up and coasted in, living to fight another day. Which happens to be today.

We had a great time at the tent after watching Sarah and then Patrick/Joe in the P12 and drinking recovery Wachusetts. Looking forward to Woostah!

Day 2 in Worcester was another great day of bike racing. We got there early and set up MRC Race HQ and Beer Tent on a grassy knoll on the common. The team was a little smaller but we still had strong representation.

The Hulk and the Ming Dynasty started us off in an exciting Masters race. Croteau was very well positioned throughout the race but there was some carnage on the last lap (go figure) and the finish was complicated. Jason settled in at 8th and Dave at 43.

We had numbers in the 3/4 including yours truly. I got a good start today, and although the pace was fast I was able to settle in near the front. I made an uncommitted attack early and decided against it, but Antony rolled through and made an exciting albeit brief appearance on the front. Mark Miller was a constant at the front but otherwise it was a bit lonely up there. With 8-ish to go I go on the attack, drawing out 2 other guys and we stayed out front for almost 2 laps, I was deep in the pain cave. We were getting caught and there was a counter but Mark wasn't in it so there were some nervous moments. With 4 to go there was a dangerous move and I "advised" Mark to go with it. He made a valiant effort but the field was being extra vigilant. Altogether with 2 to go and Mark and I are right in the top 6 in perfect shape. Sadly the pace slowed on the backside and all the Fred's swarmed and we got shuffled back with only a lap left. I wasn't inclined to risk myself to get back up, which proved to be a smart move when some dumbass tried to pedal through the off camber downhill corner at 40mph and took out 4 guys. Mark slid in for 16 with me right behind in 22.

Sarah hung tough in a fast and dangerous P123 for 30th place and lots of encouragement from the MRC beer tent.

Then the main event... Patrick Collins and Joe Magro in the men's P12. I won't spoil Patrick's race report but he put in an incredibly aggressive performance against some of the best crit racers in the country. The beer tent was all abuzz and animated throughout. Good times all around, see you in Fitchburg.

I'll start off what was a long (and hot) day of watching and racing in Fitchburg. Got there in time to see a good chunk of the 4/5 field with Mark B taking a flier and Antony and Todd J consistently at the front. Pedaled around a bunch, found Croteau and lined up for the 40+ at 11:30. I knew this was gonna be a good one when Jason said he was going to leave it out there today and make sure the race stayed animated. First half of the race I could see him off the front, trying to initiate breaks and generally making plenty of other guys chase. I progressively made my way up, as I wanted to make sure I kept a more even effort level than yesterday (way too much sprinting out of turns, wasting energy and had my HR pegged the entire race). After seeing all the work he was doing, I just had to find a way to get up front. Put in some hard pushes on a couple laps on the uphill sections and got there. A few spells near the front as we got under 7 to go and Jason seemed to be sitting in a bit more. With 4 to go a couple guys start to go (Aetna and I think Horst) and I get on their wheel and sit. We pass 3 to go and those 2 fall back so I look back and see Jason and yells for me to lead it out. Okay, maybe we should have waited one more lap but I'm in position now so go into TT mode at the front with him barking orders behind me (including a "you know that's a left turn coming up" as I took a bit of an interesting line at one point, but hey, I'm on the front so no harm). 2 laps to go and nobody coming around. I'm bracing myself for the attacks but they wait until 1 to go when I think Mangan from CCB starts things up. I try to match the surges, but my job is done. Jason comes by me and I tell him I'm now useless. I get the rear view of the sprint and initial reports are Jason for 3rd behind Bowden (Aetna) and Richard (CCB). Turns out however that another Aetna guy went into the pit and came out ahead of the field to give Bowden a tow, causing Jason to chase much harder than he would have otherwise. The officials were all over it and Bowden was relegated and Aspnes got the DQ so Jason got 2nd.
Pulled the U-turn, found someone to take off my top number and right into the 3/4, which really was a dumb idea. Dead legs + 90+ degrees and after 1.5 laps I realized this was stupid and pulled out at the MRC tent (convenient placing..)
Watched all the remaining races with a great crew and got to see quite an exciting and interesting P12 race.
At least I can say that each day's race for me was progressively better and was so glad I went all 3 days

The picture of you guys cheering Patrick is in the slide show in the Sentinel article
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/br ... rss_viewed

Leominster

Started off fast and furious, made my way to the front after it calmed down a bit. Got in some short-lived breaks. While in a break w/ 3 others, we saw Curtis White and two others only a few seconds up the road, but none of us wanted to take the initiative to close it down. I was experiencing bad heartburn whenever I went really hard… don’t eat Twizzlers before a race. After being on, off or near the front for most of the race, I was swarmed with 2 to go and couldn’t move up, finishing 25th/79. Happy with how I raced, but not the result.

Worcester

I was expecting a winning breakaway, as the course is perfect for it, and I wanted to be in it, so I went with a lot of moves throughout the race. Nothing stuck and I was in the wind quite a bit. During the last few laps I made sure to fight for a good position near the front. On the last lap, there really isn’t much room to move up after the backstretch. I should have moved up, but decided to stay on Morse’s wheel, then tried to pass on the outside 2 corners to go, but he made sure I wasn’t able to. Finished 8th/86, bittersweet, as it was a great result, but no upgrade points. It was awesome to hear my family, friends and teammates cheering loud! Definitely my best race of the weekend.

Fitchburg

Hot and long. I prepared well by drinking lots of water, and drenching myself before the race, plus multiple ice socks. Seeing as most years it is a field sprint, my plan was to sit in for the first half. I was conserving energy well, as my heartrate was almost entirely in Z2 and Z3. It felt too easy. A lot of big names were doing the same thing, sitting in, saving themselves for the last hour of the race. Tailgunning left me uninformed of the race situation. When I saw that there was a big break on the OTHER side of the course, with many heavy hitters, I panicked. There was a chase group barely in sight so I attacked solo from the field to try to bridge up. I was alone for a few laps, then Follen bridged up to me and we worked together for a few more laps (he did most of the work, cuz he’s a beast), then we were reeled in by the field. I thought the break of 12ish guys lapped the field and we were sprinting for like 13th place, but only Huff lapped up. Huff and his buddies (Myerson, Hyde) drove the pace to seal his win, and we caught most of the original breakaway. I was in pretty good position for the finish, but since I thought we were sprinting for scraps, I didn’t risk too much trying to squeeze past people. 17th/84. It was a very confusing race for me.

Overall, Longsjo was fun and the atmosphere was exciting. Some sketchy moments and close calls, but I made it out unscathed. I was happily surprised that I could be active at the front with some big names.

Found this pic of Jason from yesterday - "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry"

djming wrote:Found this pic of Jason from yesterday - "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry"

By the looks of everyone behind him they are wondering who pissed him off!

Race report for the 4/5 race (39ish min 16 laps)

Antony, Todd, Josh, Caleb, myself lined up with 65 other dudes for the first (and coolest) race of the day. While in staging we had our 3min race plan conversation "Todd is gonna lead Antony out at the end. OK, cool! Oh and dudes... watch for Jerome from Optimum, he's got a good sprint. Watch for his wheel".

While in the start grid I hear a lot of chatter from the Cat 5 dudes who've never raced a crit before... noted (and moved up an extra row)

Whistle blows and right away a few guys go off and MRC is there to chase it all down... Hey Antony let us chase that crap . Knowing the sketchiness of the pack I figured it was safer to stay upfront and NOT get shuffled back no further than 20th or so. After a few laps in I was jumping on wheels that were trying to get away and found myself on the nose driving the pace for a few laps. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone here.... stay safe and pop the dudes who we didn't want in the pack off the back. After a few min on the front I tried to flick a guy through but he was from Blue Hills and only said "...sorry bro, can't do it" (MRC now has a name and reputation). Crap Ok, I'll just push a pace I'm comfortable with and see what happens. Finally other dudes from other teams decided to come around and hang out. After a bit I see Todd and Josh go to the front as well as Antony, Dude, let us do that, and get some work done keeping things together.

Repeat this for a number of laps

With about 5 or 4 to go Antony brings back a rider or two and the pace slows to a freaking crawl on the back stretch before neutral service. Well... I'm rested lets see if I can draw out a few of the 545, Optimum, and Cannondale dudes and see what happens. I launched from the outside and pedaled my ass off to the entry to Putnam street (the corner all newbies can't make). Coming out of the last turn I looked back and holy sh!t I've got a gap.... OK, now what? Oh yeah, pedal! They left me out there for what seemed to be an hour but was only in reality was only 5min (almost two laps). My moment of glory... got a call out from Richard Fries, heard the wife yel "GO! GO! GO!" better than her typical "Why are you in the back!!" she love me... Heard our DS Cratty yell "Niiiiiccceeee" as I was suffering like a dog on the front stretch. Once I was caught and was filtered to the back I figured my day was done. Glanced at the lap cards, two laps to go... well, can't quit now! I took a few deep breaths on the backside and readied myself for the last lap+. I caught sight of Jerome's wheel (remember what I said in the beginning) but didn't have anything at that moment to jump on it in the pack, nor the room to move over to it. I watched him weasel into a hole and he found his way to the front with two teammates (CRAP!). Sprint ramps up and I see Antony far back in the bunch with no teammates (CRAP CRAP!!) and he gives it what he can from where he was and finished 9th (Nice work dude!). I was able to roll in 11th passing dudes who forgot the finish line was a lot further than it used to be.... HA!

Oh, who won? The dude I told everyone and myself to watch for...Jerome from Optimum CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!

Well, it was a fun day racing in my almost hometown in front of family and teammates. After rolling around for a while and chatting with others (did some recruiting wink wink) I changed out of the monkey suit and settled in with a Wachusett Brew (who hooked the team up big time!!!!) and watch the rest of the team race their faces off!

Great job this weekend everyone! MRC IS the team everyone wants to be associated with on and off the bike! Keep up the great work!!!

Great job everyone. Yesterday was a ton of fun. The 4/5 guys raced aggressively, Croteau was a man possessed and got some late race help from Mongori. Sarah hung in with some legends in the Women's P123, and Patrick killed it again in a 50 mile crit with National champs and real Pros! Yes 50 miles, not minutes.

As for the 3/4, I was a little disappointed after Saturday. I was happy with my race, and Mark was solid as usual, but as the DS I have to be honest, the team didn't show up in Worcester. I'll give them a pass, as Leominster was a total sh!t show crash fest. But I wasn't going to allow a similar performance, and pulled some of the guys aside pre-race (and some mid-race ) to give them a little pep talk, basically saying in a nice way "get your head out of your you know what".

Let me digress a little. Crit racing at Wells and Ninigret is fun and all, but mid-summer downtown crits in front of crowds are what I'd call real bike racing. Fast and aggressive, take no prisoner, chop you in the corner, throw some elbows and maybe dig some pavement out of your skin racing. We have some fast guys but I'm not sure we're hardened enough yet.

Back to Fitchberg where we again had a solid crew, and fresh off my pep talks, were finally ready to mix it up.

It started early with Tyler attacking and getting in about a 4-lap break with some strong riders. This set a critical tone for the race, as MRC began to live up to its reputation again. Winslow and I blocked for a bit while Mark and Tom were ever present at the front. When Tyler finally got caught, Tom and Mark took turns on multiple breakaways, tiring and annoying the field. None of these moves directly worked, but they softened the group for the signature move of the day (as Paul Sherwin would say). So with about 7 to go there was a 3 man break up the road, first one of the day that wasn't represented. I had been barking orders all day from my seat near the front (we need race radios). I sidled up to Winslow and told him we needed to get in that break. I specifically told him to move up the gutter aggressively and go. He started to move up gingerly, and got stuck behind some Fred blocking the way. For a second he started to give up, until I literally yelled at him to PUNCH YOUR WAY THROUGH!!!!!!! Next thing I know he shoots through the tiniest of gaps (sorry Fred but at least you had a warning) and bridges about 150 meters in literally 10 seconds. I sprinted on his wheel from mid-pack straight to the front and started blocking. Dave D. was there as well, and we took turns on the front. A couple of guys attacked and I told Dave to let them go. We can deal with 6 guys in a break.

(new paragraph for Russ)

Winslow's break looked very promising. The laps we're ticking down. I drifted back a little and noticed Scott Conchieri chilling out. Sorry Scott we got a guy in the break, GET TO THE FRONT!!! I berated Scott into moving up, again in the gutter, and block for Winslow. (I love the gutter) Low and behold, Scott moved up with ease and we continued to disrupt the chase, riding faux-tempo. Dave D again showed his face, I found out later he had crashed which makes it even more impressive.

Digressing again for a moment. Too many people get lazy and hang out midpack or at the back and just sit in and finish as pack fodder, never contributing anything, and maybe worse, never learning how to race a bike. The best way to learn how to race a bike, get to the front of a tight-cornering crit and mix it up with the big-boys (gender neutral comment). Bike racing for MRC is a team sport, do your job, have fun, get dropped if necessary, and move up the food chain the right way.

Ok back to the race. 2 to go and I discuss with Tom the strategy if Winslow is going to get caught. Basically, be ready for an instant counter attack, BUT I may want him to go a little early, wait for me to yell GO! With just over 1 to go Winslow's group still looked like it had a chance. In my view, give your teammate the benefit of the doubt. BUT to my surprise Tom attacks and everyone responds. I've never yelled as loud as I did at that moment "TOM sit down!!!!" which to his credit he immediately did. I'm not calling Tom out, his competitiveness is essential, but we need to raise our attention to detail. Anyway, inside 1 to go and now attacks are flying like crazy, Mark, Tom and myself are chasing in order to stay in position (blocking at this point was out of the question). Unfortunately, not only did we catch the break, but we did so entering the last 2 corners. It was really chaotic, with 6 guys across going into the turns. I would have bet my life savings there would be a crash, but we got through unscathed. In fact, the pace was much lower than last year when it was an all out sprint down the long drag. Instead it was a total log jam, albeit a fast one, and I personally was boxed in, then shot a gap, then got squeezed on the fence, then sprinted shoulder to shoulder with Winslow who hung in like a champ. Tom and Mark were just ahead in 10th and 12th, with me and Winslow right behind in 17/18. The result wasn't what we hoped. No one said bike racing was fair and just. I was psyched at how the team raced today, we were aggressive, fearless, we communicated and all in all had a great performance. If we continue this the results will definitely follow.

Afterwards, we drank FREE BEER at the Boulder and watched Sarah and Patrick. At one point, I was interviewed by Richard Fries while he drank a Wachusett Longsjo Lager that Mark Bernard was kind enough to deliver to him. He gave a shout out to Wachusett, MRC and Patrick who was actually trying to solo-bridge up to the main chase group. It's on video somewhere, I'm trying to get my hands on it. Good times all around!!!!!

I raced on Friday in the 3/4. Falling down has some disadvantages, but it's an opportunity to be a wicked bad-ass.

https://www.facebook.com/jacoblipcon/po ... 0848005880

JeremyC wrote:Afterwards, we drank FREE BEER at the Boulder and watched Sarah and Patrick. At one point, I was interviewed by Richard Fries while he drank a Wachusett Longsjo Lager that Mark Bernard was kind enough to deliver to him. He gave a shout out to Wachusett, MRC and Patrick who was actually trying to solo-bridge up to the main chase group. It's on video somewhere, I'm trying to get my hands on it. Good times all around!!!!!

I spoke with the local television company that aired the race. It'll be on the site in a week.

Not much to report here. As recently as a month ago my intent was to double up all 3 days with 40+ and cat 3/4 and hold off upgrading until after Longsjo. Then my wife went and made girl's weekend plans which threw my best laid bike racing plans into a tailspin.

I did 1.5 races on Friday night, helping Jason to a podium in the 40+ while getting a heck of a workout leading out, chasing, bridging, etc. The race left a fairly bad taste for me though, so much negative racing and everyone just waiting for the handful of really fast guys to make a move. Honestly it wasn't a whole lot of fun for that reason, but in the end I really thought we had a chance to win after chasing a 2 man break and almost catching them. I chased for over a lap but it really seemed like no one else was interested in catching them until less than half a lap remaining, but by then it was too late. Jason sprinted it out and almost caught them but had to settle for 3rd. I rolled in at the back of the 15 man front group.

Then I made the very poor decision to line up for the 3/4 race with about 7 minutes of rest. One cooldown lap after my 40+ race and already the start line was 8 rows deep. Uh-oh. Literally spent 15 laps moving up, picking guys off 3-4 per lap until I made it all the way to the front but burned a lot of energy in the process. Then the cramps. Not good. Felt the tell tale twinge in my left calf for a couple laps and when it started to worsen I decided I needed to take a lap easy so I pack slid in hopes of calming the calf down. It maybe worked a little, but as soon as I started to accelerate to move back to the front, all hell broke loose and I locked up at the top of the climb, toes on my left foot pointed straight down and unable to relax my calf muscle from the solid knot it just became. Limped around the lap and called it a day, vowing never to attempt another 7 minute double up again.

So my plan for 6 races in 3 days came up a bit short but it did give me the motivation to submit for my upgrade:



Dear pace21,

The following request to change your USA/Road category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling:
pace21 - 2016-06-24 20:00
License: USA Road
Request to change category from Cat 3 to Cat 2

Member Explanation/Resume:
2013 Tour of Battenkill cat 3, 3rd/130

2013 Norwell 35+ 5th

2013 witches cup 3/4 1st

2015 Chris hinds cat 3 5th

2015 kermis 40+ 6th

2015 Longsjo Worcester cat 3 7th

2016 Chris hinds ninigret 3/4 1st

2016 Myles standish cat 3 1st



Request was approved on 2016-06-28 9:51 by James Bilodeau


Response from James Bilodeau:
Dear Chris,

Thanks for your upgrade request. For upgrades from 3 to 2 you need a minimum of 30 points accumulated according to the points schedules found in the USAC rulebook under section 1.E.2.

I've looked over your attached resume as well as the results in your USAC account and at http://www.road-results.com and have approved your upgrade request.

Thank you,

JD Bilodeau

NEBRA Administrator

jd@nebra.us

Oh man, another Cat 2 in the ranks! Congrats Chris!

Congrats Chris!