Posted by Dan on 13. April 2010 05:40
What better way to follow a 20k time trial than with a nice, SAFE crit on a closed course with no corners, cones or hills? Fat Frogs succeeded in delivering a second day of great racing at the Langley Speedway in Hampton. The entire team turned out with the exceptions of Steve K. who is taking it easy for the next few weeks and Mike Shipp who broke his wrist in Smithfield. We hope they get better soon.
First up was Steve M, Adam and Dan in the Cat 5 race. This race was made exciting by an initial attack by Dan followed up by several more attempts by Adam. All three riders rode a smart race and were fortunate enough not to get caught up in the wreck in turn 3 on the bell lap. Having worked as hard as they did, they did not contest the sprint and rolled across the line mid-pack, having expertly provided the edge-of-your-seat thrills for the 5 race.
Shortly after their race, the 4s were up. Wick, Justin, Frank and I would line up and try to make something of this race. With most of us still reeling from various injuries, we would make the best of it and watch for any opportunity to make some other team's race miserable. From go, the pace shot up to 26+ mph and stayed there for the remainder - unfortunate for me as I completely botched my clip-in and came to a stop. Fat Frog's AJ did it too, so we're pretty sure it had something to do with the rubber on the track or maybe that super steep bank angle. Any time the pace would slow or the group would bunch, one of our guys would go off the front, provided we weren't sucking wind and hiding in the back (a great place to be, by the way, if you missed your clip in and had to work hard for two laps just to make contact again).
Near the end, it was Wick who went up the road with Matt Keane and Gerry Hadley in a promising looking break. They got a good gap and hung out front for several laps. They were evenutally caught just before the bell lap. Justin had just enough left in the tank to get 6th, Frank came in 20th and I was behind him. Wick did finish, despite his absence on the results page.
Following the Cat 3 race, I took to the track once again for the Masters race. After getting crashed out of Jeff Cup's Cat 4 race and again at Smithfield's Cat 4, I was beginning to lose hope for cyclists and their ability to hold their lines and not endanger other riders. Riding in the masters race helped renew my faith in the sport and its participants. So smooth, consistent and predicitable. It was an absolute pleasure riding in this race, even if it was slightly slower than the earlier Cat 4 race. As predicted, the Kings opened up a gap from the start and took Dan Craft with them. They'd eventually lap the field. A chase group formed and provided the perfect rabbit for us to chase, when TNP wasn't on the front leading us on a pleasant Sunday group ride. Wresting control from them was challenging. Jeff Craddock made a determined effort to reel in the chase group and I felt obligated to help. The "teams of one" had to stick together if we were going to get anywhere. Our few good pulls were always answered by TNP who gave back everything we'd just worked for, but it turned out alright. Great race.
Finally, Taryn took to the course for the women's race. She did a fantastic job letting others control the pace while never getting so far back in the pack she couldn't answer any attacks. Two of the Vanderkitten riders went up the road, leaving the pack to spend their 45 minutes chasing them down. At the end, Taryn got 4th in the Cat 4 category.
So there is our race report for Fat Frog's Langley Speedway Crit. Better late than never, right? No racing this weekeknd. Next weekend is North Carolina, then Wintergreen.
Lots of pictures on NeedToBike's Flickr page.
Posted by Dan on 13. April 2010 04:31
Everyone loves a time trial, and Saturday's Conquer the Canal was no exception. Weather-wise, the forecast called for conditions similar to Dismal Dash, which weren't all that bad. We got lucky with warmer temps and a 3 mph wind from several directions, sometimes at once. Wick, Frank, Taryn and I showed up to light old highway 17 ablaze.
This was a very special time trial for Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together. This would be Wick's first TT on his new Equinox and he was ready to school me on the ways of fast. He was so confident that he'd put me to shame that he wagered a delicious sandwich on our times. Normally, I'd feign fear and make a feeble attempt to negotiate a lesser wager, then snicker and call him a chump as I walked away. However, last weekend's crash really worked me over. While most of my wounds are healing nicely, the hip bursitis has got me hobbling around and wincing in pain. I've been able to get some good miles in this week, but bending over into an aero position makes the hip burn and brings back memories of the bicillin shot the Navy gave us new recruits - a cold, viscous shot of antibiotics that feels like you're sitting in a church pew with a golf ball in your back pocket. Imagine that pocket also on fire and you'll begin to understand what my hip felt like. So Wick was going to get a sandwich. Frank was also rocking a new ride - a Felt TT bike with Zipp 404s and an aero helmet. His days of clip-on aerobars on the Madone are over and he was excited to see what he could do in a competitive environment on this machine built for speed. Frank, however, was not eager to wager his lunch. Didn't matter. We'd eat it anyway.
First off were the Men's Cat 4s, meaning all of us except Taryn. Wick lit out of the start house in his fancy speedsuit and new Trek Equinox TTX with a full compliment of aero-goodness. The dust he kicked up made him visible for only a few minutes and then he was gone and the roar dulled. I left a minute and a half later, extremely pleased with myself for finishing my warm-up in time to don shoe covers, remove my watch, hit the head, shift into the correct gear and write a few short stories that occurred to me during the warm-up, all in time to line up at the start with three people ahead of me. My fastest times are usually put in trying to make it to the line. Frank was a few minutes behind me. Taryn started right around the time we were all finishing up. She was done by the time we'd packed the bikes and changed.
When we left, the Men's 4 results had just been posted with several riders times missing, mine being one of them. A few minutes later, a revised version was posted, but the times still did not agree with anyone's computer, seemingly off by a minute. Turns out there was a missed start or some such thing which threw everyone's time off. Easy enough to fix, but I can't tell you what our times were (except for mine, which was 0:28:36, earning me 5th place AND a delicious sandwich!) You see, someone thought he was Jan Ullrich and could race himself into fitness with only a few crits early in the season, choosing to dance, dance, dance the winter away while eating whatever the hell he wanted and drinking terrible, terrible things instead of training. Turns out he wasn't and couldn't and that mistake cost him a delicious sandwich (NOT one made of hard, moldy bread, frozen lunch meat, rotten cheese and warm mayonnaise).
I will update this post with our results when they're made available. Read more about the team's weekend at Need to Bike.
UPDATE: Results are out.
Womens Cat 4
Taryn Hains - 0:32:36 (4th)
Mens Cat 4
Dan Netzer - 0:28:36 (5th)
Wick Smith - 0:29:57 (12th)
Frank Cundiff - 0:30:24 (16th)
Posted by Dan on 5. April 2010 05:30
Pictures of the Cat 4 race at yesterday's Smithfield HAMmer Fest Crit. Thank you, Lydia!
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Posted by Dan on 4. April 2010 21:20
For the second time this season, I've been afforded the opportunity to race a Cat 4-only race. The joy I felt about racing the Smithfield HAMmer Fest Criterium knew no bounds as I'd be among only 4s - no uber-experienced 3s setting unsustainable paces and belittling us in the end with their superior sprinting skills and no inexperienced 5s gumming up the works. Great weather and what was sure to be a well organized race in a town that goes out of its way to support bicycle racing would make me forget all about the unfortunate incident in the final meters of last week's Jeff Cup and allow me to put my winter training to good use.
For Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together, we had Dan Ranschaert and Adam Leopold in the Cat 5 race, me, Mike, Frank and Justin in the 4s and Taryn in the Women's 4 race. Wick was somehow lured out of state by the call of the sea and the loose women that prey on sailing spectators.
Dan and Adam had an interesting race. They both did a great job staying near the front, sometimes too near. In the end, Adam was the first around turn 4, headed for the line when his pedal struck and he unclipped. He was able to pull off a one-legged drill to the line, still finishing top 10.
The 4 race was a bit more entertaining/terrifying. On "go", Jake King sprinted off the front taking a few confused riders with him. The gap that opened didn't last so we settled in for the long haul. The main field stayed together for the duration of the race with the exception of those shelled riders that were eventually lapped on the course's only climb. Unfortunately, they were taking up the entire width of the course as we came through and seemed to take offense when shouted at. Sorry, but... Two or three laps later, with one and a half to go, we once again hit the descent after turn 3 and speeds quickly picked up. A Tri-Power rider abruptly crossed the course from right to left, hitting the wheel of Chad Holm (also of Tri-Power), sending him reeling. Unable to recover, Chad went down right in front of me. Deja vu. This time, I was able to slow enough to just pass him on the right. The celebration going on in my brain for pulling off such a miraculous save was short lived as I was hit from behind by someone that either didn't try to stop or thought that I was committed to going over Chad and chose the line to the right for themselves. Either way, I ate it again. With me this time was Justin and Mike and maybe four others. My wounds were much worse than those sustained during last week's crash, but I was by no means the worst of this group. Justin got minor road rash and would have been alright were it not for the five riders behind him running him over. Mike was forced into the curb and went over his bars, fracturing his right wrist (again) and bending his big ring.
The refs stopped the race while we got bikes and various accessories off the course. While incident reports were filled out, those still standing lined-up for a restart of the final two laps. Justin's chainstay had broke so he grabbed Adam's bike and dragged his bloodied self to the line with Mike and Frank. After a break just long enough for everyone's legs to stiffen up, they were off. Two more crashes (one in turn 1 and another in turn 4) and the field finished. Frank got 8th and Justin 10th. Mike hung off the back, having ridden in his little ring. Good times in the Ham Capital of the World.
Taryn's race would be the last one for Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together. Though I haven't seen the results yet, I know she rode a strong race and did a lot of pace-setting. The main field that rolled across the line was more than 50% of what it started as and Taryn did a lot of the work whittling it down.
Having been crashed out of two races in as many weeks because someone two riders up from me decided to make dramatic, pointless moves without looking, I'm of the firm belief that every racer should attend some sort of bike handling clinic. We're all guilty of the occasional mistake, but this is getting stupid and expensive. Celerity Cycling p/b Fitness Together is going to start a weekly clinic to work on various skills. These training rides will be mandatory for team members, but we'd welcome anyone wanting to participate. To those of you not doing clinics, I urge you to consider it. To those of you that are, I'd appreciate any agendas, curriculae, tips and tricks and whatever else you have. Improved racing skills benefit us all. Maybe this is just a Cat 4 thing, in which case I should go to Ohio and get some upgrade points. Or stick to time trials, like this Saturday's Conquer the Canal Time Trial.
Thanks to Joshua Goyet, the VB Wheelmen and their families/volunteers for putting on yet another stellar race. Despite all the complaining I plan on doing about the Cat 4 race, we really appreciate the effort you put into your events.
Oh, and Bravo Zulu to former teammate Kyle Knott of Atlantic Velo for taking 1st in the GamJams Cat 3 Cup, p/b Mountain Khakis! Enjoy the pants!