U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix
My race objectives in 2009 are to compete in 40 or more road, mountain bike xc, and cyclocross events in Master's 35+ or Cat 3. I will also compete weekly at the NHMS training races in the A field. My primary focus will be the New England cyclocross events. I intend to compete in all the Verge NECS events, 7-8 local races, the Southampton NACT races, and the cyclocross National Championships. My goal is to finish consistently in the top 10 in local races and top 20 in Verge Series races. I will compete in the elite masters events in all cyclocross races.
I was very close to top 20 on both days at DownEast, but just didn't have the power endurance needed for the final lap of a 50-55 minute mud bog slog fest. Hoping to get some better results in the second half of the season.
I did the inaugural Root 66 summer cyclocross race on Saturday in Keene, and won the Cat 3 Masters 35+ race. There were about 30 people who came to race, so the promoter divided us into a Cat 3/4 field and a Pro/1/2/3 field. I choose to do the earlier race start. This was my first race in almost 6 weeks since I've been struggling with knee pain. I hit it hard off the line, took the hole shot and just kept going full gas. After a lap and a half I looked back to see only one guy on my wheel (and he was on a mountain bike) The course was very mountain bike oriented for a CX course, so I gapped him on the open sections and he would come back to me on the bumpy sections and in the single track. I let him take the lead on lap 3 to catch my breath. When I went to come around him before the single track, my right cleat slipped. It was loose in the shoe, so I could only pedal a full arc on my left leg. I kept going at the pace I could manage on 1 and a half legs, but I couldn't catch him again. Fortunately, we had enough gap back to 3rd that my placing was never threatened through the last 2 laps. I ended up 1st for the 35+ category and 2nd overall.
Putney on Sunday was another story. My legs felt heavy warming up. I wasn't fully recovered from Saturday. The course was 1/2 peanut butter mud. The amount of stick mud on the uphills and slimy mud on the downhills made the course very very hard. I had a great start, took the hole shot again and lead into the woods. I got knocked into a tree in the 1st section of single track. Lost contact with the leaders. Trying to chase back up on a slick down hill, I cracked the rear triangle and fell hard over the bars. Decided to call it a day after that. Need to stay healthy for the rest of season. Did get a good video shot of leading out my group into the woods.