SPIN CLASSES WITH CHIP!

Posted by Christopher on Wednesday, December 24, 2008 to Training

OK, its official.  I will be leading spinning classes at Fitness World in Norwich starting in January.  Here is where the gym is located, in the strip mall on the corner of Pleasant and Sturtevant Street in Norwichtown.  The owner wants me to start with one class, which will be on Saturdays at 8:30 - 9:30AM, starting 1/03/09.  Classes will build from there based on interest.  I'm hoping to quickly add a Sunday morning and one evening class during the week, so I hope some of you come join the fun!  Walk-ins are $5, monthly gym dues are only $20.  Sneakers, or bring shoes and pedals.

Bring your heartrate monitor, I will be focusing on heartrate zone training. There are 2 types of people who do spinning in the winter, gym cardio-needing people, and road cyclists. The class for "gym" people is easy to manage, they work as hard as they want and usually don't want to think too much.

The tentative plan for road cyclists is a 4-month program, as follows:
January - fitness evaluations and goal-setting, with stretching and base training in zone 3, and discussions about the advantages of core and upper body strength training and plyometrics.
February - some low zone 4 time trial-type intervals, plyometrics if possible
March -more zone 4 intervals, a few zone 5 sprint intervals, plyometrics
April - zone 4 and 5 intervals and plyometrics, to get those fast-twitch muscle fibers ready for racing ....
May - on the road!!!

Obviously 1 hour per week is not going to get anyone ready to race, but I hope to ensure that everyone that wants a training plan gets specific ideas to incorporate into their daily workouts for achieving their overall fitness goals.  The best part of spinning is that you can work really hard if you want to, harder than you would tend to on your trainer in the basement, or on solo or group rides.  If that sounds like it might fit your needs, I hope you'll consider checking it out!

Chip

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Collarbones by Kelly Parsons

Posted by Christopher on Monday, December 08, 2008 to Ride

Collarbones (clavicles) are the weak link in our skeletal systems and as such are frequent casualties of our sport. I can immediately recall several snaps from the last year alone. Because of this we tend to make light of this common injury. More than once I've heard someone say  "just a collarbone." Well I'm here to tell ya, having a broken clavicle has a serious effect on the quality of your life.Yeah, I know that there are much worse things that can happen as the result of a bike crash (i.e. brain damage, paralysis, death), but these are rare compared to the ol' broken collarbone.
   The most serious result of my recent mishap is the fact that my job requires a fully functioning body, ergo I can't work. Fortunately I do have an insurance policy to cover this, but this is not an optimal economic climate in which to take several weeks off from work. What if management figures out that I'm not as indispensable as I like to think I am?
   The fact that I was riding at night when the crash occured causes me more than a little stress, too. I had previously forsworn riding at night on the road for safety reasons and now I'm feeling the consequences of renegging upon my better judgement. This crash would not have happened in the daytime. I have gone through that traffic circle much faster in good light with no problems. At night though, even with an H.I.D. light, my 52 year old eyes weren't quite up to the task. As Maxwell Smart would say "I missed the perfect line by THAT much!"
   I can't ride my bike! No Tues. night mtb rides, no Sun. training rides, no 7am Sat. Mystic rides(BTW, WTF? 7am?!?), no Sat. rides from Brumble Bikes. And when Jeremy Powers sent me an e-mail wanting to ride on the Fri. after Thanksgiving, I had to decline. I mean this guy is approaching superstar status in the cyclocross world (not to mention the fact that he's just plain a lot of fun to be around) and I missed an opportunity to hang with him. I miss the whole crew! I am spending a lot of time with my family, but they're getting sick of me; too much of a good thing I guess.
   It hurts! I like to think of myself as a tough guy, but this is painful and recovery is incremental at best. The first week saw no improvement, the second a little, and now that it's been three weeks it feels a little better each day and I can actually imagine resuming a normal life soon.
   Bill Humphreys asked me what I took away from all this and after some reflection I had an answer: minimize the unnessary risks. Cycling has inherent dangers but that doesn't mean that we have to be thrill junkies, especially on training rides, where it seems like a lot of these incidents occur. I like taking a fast line through a turn and screaming down a hill but being agressively fit one minute and incapacitated the next is a suck-ass transition. I hope to maintain my "edge," but I also hope that  I've gained a little more wisdom as to how to apply it more judiciously.
   Thanks for reading my self-indulgent ramblings. I hope that I don't come across as a hopeless whiner. Please be assured that I do know that there are much worse things in life than just breaking a collarbone.

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New Sponsor to MVC

Posted by Christopher on Friday, October 17, 2008 to Juniors

Coach Al Lyman to become official sponsor of the MVC Junior Cycling Team. Coach Al Lyman, CSCS, is the owner and founder of Pursuit Fitness LLC, a nationally recognized coaching company for endurance athletes. An author, columnist, and motivational speaker, he has been coaching athletes of all ability levels from novice to elite, since 1999. Coach Al is certified by USA Triathlon, USA Cycling, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and is a member of the American Swim Coaches Association.

Coach Al's theories and beliefs about the best ways to train for endurance sports, developed through practical experience over 25 years as an athlete and researcher, have always been cutting-edge and often considered "out of the box" thinking. His approach to coaching revolves around a more holistic, balanced approach that includes Yoga, flexibility and mobility training, and smart functional strength training. Most importantly, he advocates a balanced approach that blends training and racing goals within the context of the "triangle of life," which is family, work, play.

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3 Villages Tour Race (Smashing Pumpkins)

Posted by Kelly on Sunday, September 21, 2008 to Race Report

It was a great day for a bike race; sunny sky, moderate temps, and a slew of orange racers. Even though the 45+ field had plenty of entrants, the 35+ and 55+ were a little thin so the promoter combined all 3 fields. At the start Paul Curley put my own thoughts into words when he expressed his displeasure w/ this turn of events. It really was a kind of bait and switch that would completely change the dynamics of the race as now we had to deal w/ the presence of some very strong 35+ guys.

When these guys made their move, the strongest 45+ guys could go w/ them and get away for the win.Mystics' job was to marshall the front and keep everything together for our sprinters, Ed and Wayne, who had some fierce competition (i.e. the aforementioned P. C.). Things started well. I was very close to the front and was able to keep tabs on things as they developed on lap 1. The pace was relatively easy and it all stayed together  the 1st time around. The 2nd lap started relatively calmly with a little more pressure as we climbed toward and past Sayles School. We were all together with the moto lead and State Police cruiser (which had all of its flashing lights on).

As we were about to make our right turn, an oncoming motorist decided that it would be a good idea to make a left turn directly in front of  the cop car, the motorcycle,and a group of about 50 racers who weren't exactly dallying. We make the turn and now the slow moving car is in front of  us all and the gap is quickly shrinking as we pick up speed. The trooper gets right on the bumper of the car as if he's trying to get it to hurry up or pull over or do anything besides continue along in front of us at 20mph.

The driver appears to be totally oblivious to all of those flashing lights 5 feet behind him/her and eventually turns LEFT into a driveway (w/ no directionals) and we continue on our way to the climb on the back side of the course.It's a little intimidating, but the long descent on the other side makes it hard for anyone to get away. The 1st  few times up that's how it plays: a little separation followed by a high speed chase and then everybody's back together again. On the 3rd lap after the descent, a few guys got away and stated out there for awhile. Mark D. left the pack to chase, but he was the victim of his developing feud w/ another rider who bridged and refused to work.( I have a feeling that we'll hear more about this in the future).

The field caught the little break  and as we crossed the RR tracks there was a surge @ the front and a split developed just as we started to climb toward the school. I didn't see any orange in the front group so I bridged over just before the speed really picked up. The field was chasing big time and by the time they caught us we were all strung out single file and breathing hard. I drifted back a little for some recovery as we made the right and approached the 2nd climb. I figured that as long as I stayed w/ the group I would be OK  because the field would come back together on the descent. Unfortunately, Bill Thompson, Mark Gunsalus, Mark Luzio, and a few others figured that if they went absolutely ballistic, they would get away for good, which they did w/ no orange in their little group.

Chip and I worked our way to the front, but w/ some blocking by teammates of the guys up the road, our efforts were too little and too late. There were still a few places up for grabs in the main bunch and as we got closer to the finish it got somewhat aggressive. About 1/2 K from the line there was a  crash in front of me to my right and it was an instant fustercluck. Roughly (and I mean ROUGHLY) 10 guys hit the deck , including Bob Meikle, Ed Deming, and Wayne Kirk.

Mark used a side street as an escape road to miss the carnage. Ya know, he's right; it is funny to watch someone ride away from the race, but I really wasn't laughing @ the time. The rest of us sort of straggled to the line and waited for a damage report: big $ in equipment  ( 1 frame, 1seatpost, 1 fork, etc.)and @ least 1 broken rib (Bob). What a stupid sport! This entire ordeal really upset me and it would be over 24 hrs. before I would race again. What a stupid guy!

 

 

 

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Juniors then and Now, Part II

Posted by Christopher on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 to Juniors

BIKE GUY: JUNIORS THEN AND NOW PART II: RIDING WITH GREG LEMOND Bill Humphreys September 10, 2008
	Flash forward 30 years from my 1978 Junior National Road Team of LeMond, Demgen, Kiefel, Rogers, Carmichael, Bradley ET. All to my current Mystic Velo Club junior team made up of mostly 15 year olds beginning their first full season of racing. I would not have taken on this team if I did not have the commitment of two dads’ with racing experience and one mom who would travel to the races with the team. The presentation meeting in February was meant to introduce the parents and riders to the sport and what roll the sponsors would play in supporting the team. The first clue that I may have to adapt my coaching style to fit the diverse personalities on the team was evident when I read the questionnaire’s I made them fill out in January. This group consisted of; honor roll students, robotics team guys, and school band members with season goals ranging from; podium 3 times, to finish every race, to beating master’s in the local time trial, while their Cycling Goals beyond 2008 varied from; someday going pro, to winning the Tour de France, to maybe being accepted at a college with a cycling team. This was not a bunch of kids that were concerned about qualifying for a junior development camp or if the Belgian junior team was doing tempo behind a motor over pave in the rain that day. It was a bunch of kids however that had some horsepower and if guided properly could make their mark on the regional scene here in New England. Sensing that my commando style of coaching left over from those days working with the national teams on the dirt roads of South America and rainy mountain stages in France might not be appropriate with this group of youngsters, I put two dads between me and the boys. These dad’s, were my partners in this venture, and my job was to secure the sponsorship and manage the overall direction of the team through them. I distinctly remember telling them and everyone in that crowded room that night that, “I will not be traveling to all the races, but I expect weekly reports on training and race results. If the direction and focus of the team begins to get off track and communication breaks down, you will hear from me and you probably won’t like it.” For many of the parents in the meeting that night back in February, this was a whole new world that did not fit snuggly into the organized sports programs that exist in every school or park and recreation system in this country. There were no set practices from 4 to 5:30pm 3 times a week, where they could drop of the kids and pick them up. There was no set game schedule with local towns on weekends. There was no familiar carpooling to practice or games and even more importantly there was no knowledge of what the rules of the game were. We were essentially taking these kids, in the very beginning of their teenage years, out of the social structure of the local school sports system and putting them into another system for which there was no point of reference or proven track record of success, other than what we had told them. It is now May 19th and Greg LeMond is coming to spend the day with the kids. I had arranged for Greg to be a featured speaker at the Major Taylor Statue Unveiling in Worcester, Ma and he was gracious enough to grant his old coach a favor by coming down to Connecticut to do an informal clinic for the juniors and a press conference for my upcoming criterium, The Whaling City Cyclone. The boys had written permission to miss school this day and there was excitement in the air, which was overcast and cool. It was also the same day that our new custom kits had arrived from Squadra, whose vice president of sales was Doughboy, Greg Demgen, a former member of the 1978 junior team. Greg arrived at the house on time, squeezed into our team kit jersey, and immediately blended right in with the boys as they tried on their new kits and shook hands with their instructor for the day. As our group headed down the road towards the bike shop I had the boys in a single file pace line with good tempo, when our town line champ, Ben, goes after the first sprint of the day, which brings a smile to Greg’s face. As we roll into Niantic on a particularly fast section, I tap Greg on the butt to let him know it is going to get fast real soon, and just then Ben take’s off again from behind us Greg goes for his wheel but is too late and he gets boxed out by two juniors who get Ben’s wheel and away they go for the town line sprint. Greg sits up coasting and looks over at me with a big grin and the thumbs up sign. This will end up being the highlight of the day for me, and for the riders when I tell them later what happened on that now famous town line sprint. The rest of the day went by without a hitch. We arrived at the race course on New London’s waterfront with local television and newspaper reporters interviewing Greg and the juniors.  Greg just loves to ride his bike, and his enthusiasm was contagious, as he stayed at the front keeping me for sure, and many of the juniors on the rivet for the 20-mile headwind ride back to the lake.  Once back at the house Greg finished setting individual bike position’s for each rider when his wife reminded him that they had a plane to catch. In an instant he had packed his bike, changed his clothes, said his goodbyes and was gone. It was a magical day, one that these young riders will never forget as they had plenty of quality time with this former junior and 3 time winner of the world’s greatest bike race.

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2008 Green Mountain Race report

Posted by Christopher on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 to Race

Race report submitted by Kelly Parsons

Time Trial

Fun? Nope. Safe? So far. Ass kicking? There was a lot of that alright, but not by us. A lot of 50 yr. old mutants up here this weekend are dealing out the serious smack. We Mystic guys finished in the middle of the bunch in today's prologue, a 10K up and down TT w/ no super steep ramps, but the little ring was used @ times. Bob was not terribly pleased w/ the way he was feeling and Mark had some misfortune that cost him a few places, but I finished right where I should, 36th out of 66. Mediocre, but it is what it is. My time was within a few seconds of other people that I usually finish close to, so I guess things went OK. I had the lung burn cough after the TT (and still have it a little 6 hrs later) so I probably couldn't have gone much harder. Tomorrow is the 64 mile circuit race; I'll try to keep you informed.  Later, Kelly

Stage 1-Ciruit Race

Things went OK today. An early break of two guys went up the road, one of whom was Bill Thompson who was 3rd on GC. This put all the pressure on Dave Viney in the yellow jersey as it was now his race to lose. The pack made it over the KOM pretty much intact and we dropped down Baby Gap to the turn that put us on the approx. 15 mile high speed run to the finish. We were moving quickly and soon the break was in sight. When we could see the whites of their bibs a couple of guys shot off the front to bring them back. This was what the guy in yellow was waiting for and he gave chase with yours truly glued to his wheel. Very cool; he never even thought of giving me the elbow to pull through. He just motored until we caught the chasers and we established a 6 man rotation until the break was pulled in. Believe me; I did NOT linger on the front at that speed. By then we had done about 35 miles w/ 30 to go and I started to feel twinges in my quads. Soon after Bill Thompson gets away AGAIN and 4 other guys join him. Adios, amoebas. We approach the KOM (which isn't that steep, but it's followed by a false flat) and my calves are starting to protest, I mean beyond twinges here, it's like aliens are going to burst out of my lower legs. I try to stay calm and keep my big boy face on and things settle down as we drop down Baby Gap. We make the turn for the run into the finish and now it's time to panic. I look around though and I see a lot of guys trying to stretch their legs or shaking them and 1 guy were pouring water on his, so I figured I wasn't the only one feeling the strain. By now we were starting to smell the barn and the pace was picking up. OK with me, let's get this sucker over with! Absolutely no reason to sprint as we were all going to get the same time, but boys will be boys and off we went, Mark on the left and me on the right. Mark got 4th in the field sprint (10th over all) and I got 8th and Dr. Bob was right with us. Not too shabby Abby. We moved up quite a few spots on GC and were not among the 30 guys that got dropped along the way. We also didn't get caught up in the little crash 5 miles before the finish. No worries, I missed the guy by a good 6 inches. Oh yeah , once I got over the line at the end, my right leg locked up completely so I headed for a patch of lawn to fall on and assume the fetal position until things settled down. Much better now after a 22 oz. malted beverage W/ dinner. Tomorrow is the reality check: a 77 mile road race that includes going over Brandon Gap, Baby Gap, and the biggie, App. Gap. I hope I have good news to report afterwards. Later, Kelly

 

Stage 2-Road Race

 

I have GREAT news to report; we have a true mutant on our team and his name is Bob Meikle. Things went well today as all 3 MVC riders made it over Brandon Gap W/ the big boys (even me, surprise, surprise). Things were relatively sedate as we climbed because the headwind killed the incentive on the front to jack the pace. I was quite pleased w/ this situation. We dropped over the mountain and screamed down the other side into Brandon and then headed north toward the other climbs. We hit the dirt road section and the pace was absolutely ballistic W/ bottles jumping out of cages and rocks flying and pinging into riders and bikes. We got through w/o problems and approached the town of Bristol which is just before Baby Gap. I was starting to feel some major twinges in my legs @ this point and I knew that my time w/ the group was coming to a close. Mark and Bob were looking good and I told Mark that I thought that Dr. Bob might be one of the freshest climbers in the bunch as he had been riding conservatively, sort of under the radar. When we got to Baby Gap I let the group go so I could set my own pace and limit the damage to my poor legs. Mark made it over Baby Gap w/ the group, but @ the base of App. gap he had to back off. Bob just kept working his way through the remnants of the field and was second over the line; this result is HUGE. This is arguably the most difficult road race in the Northeast and we are racing a bunch of guys w/ some impressive palmares. I don't think that Bob will ever be under anyone's radar again. I haven't seen the GC results yet, but today shook things up considerably. And now onto the crit. Later, Kelly

 

Stage 3 - Criterium

 

The Burlington Crit is one of the most insanely fun races that you can imagine. The start is just stooopid! The first three turns are supposed to be neutral, but it's always full rock and roll from the gun. Picture shaking a peanut butter jar full of hornets and then breaking it open with a hammer. Everybody just sprints to the bumper of the pace car as it does its best to stay ahead of the pack on the tight little turns of downtown Burlington. The car is a red Mini Cooper convertible and it's quite agile, but it still does some sliding on the tightest turns. Because Bob was now in the top ten he was called up to the front at the start. Bonus! Mark and I were squeezed as close to him as possible so we could benefit also. Once we got the go it was every man for himself; team tactics were out the window as everyone tried to protect their little piece of real estate while at the same time trying to steal a chunk from the guy in front of him. It was mandatory to stay away from the back where riders were dropping off one by one. Once that happens it's just a matter of time before you get the dreaded whistle telling you that your race is over. I found this out the hard way last year when I got caught behind a crash before the third(!) turn in the race. By the time I got to the back of the pack, I was too blown to stay there. I was determined to stay in this year. Also, it was an opportunity to claw my way up a few spots on GC and finish in the top half of 66 starters. I was allowing myself to feel optimistic as the lap cards flipped; I was toward the back of the field, but everybody around me seemed relatively comfortable and not too stressed as we bounced over manhole covers, potholes. And these ridiculous crosswalks that were painted with what appeared to be red wheel bearing grease. Mark was a few places in front of me and I had no idea where Bob was because there was never an opportunity to turn around and look. There was really no incentive to move up as no one was getting away and we would all get the same time coming over the line. Finally the last lap was over and what was left of the bunch (34 racers) went over the line, most of them just glad it was over and they had made it through in one piece. Bob made it through enough of the crit to finish a commendable 16th in the GC; Mark was 24th in the crit for 20th overall and I finished 31st in both the crit and on GC. The absolute best part of this race is when your race is done and you're sitting at a sidewalk cafe hard by the course drinking a beer (Beamish Stout), watching the next race. It looks so effin' hard as you watch talented racers dangle at the back, drop off and get the whistle. It's loud too, with the sounds the racers going by, the announcer, the pace car squealing, and the occasional gut- wrenching sound of carbon fiber folding into the pavement immediately followed by the sound of a 150 PSI tubular's $100 bang. It's also a big crowd. If 60 racers are on the course and 60 are warming up, that leaves over 600 to watch. A lot of these people have family with them and Burlington has a vibrant local crowd on a beautiful Labor Day, with a bunch of sidewalk cafes along the course. It really is the coolest race that I've ever participated in and man oh man, am I glad it's over!

 

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PA Junior race report

Posted by Christopher on Monday, August 04, 2008 to Juniors

MVC Junior’s

Road Trip

Tour de FCCC

Nicole Reinhart Memorial

July 19^th & 20^th, 2008

By Coach Bill Humpreys

 

 

Dave Reed suggested this be our official road trip focus for our first season way back in February, sitting around a Dunkin Donuts with Wayne Kirk and myself.

 

So here it was the week of July 14^th and it was time to get the 5 riders and 4-parent entourage organized and on the road.

 

We were headed into the heartland of east coast cycling Mecca and the learning curve for riders, and parents was still in full effect.

 

This was to be a two day 3 stage event to benefit the Nicole Reinhart Memorial Fund. For those not familiar with Nicole, she was a world-class rider who grew up racing on the Trexlertown Velodrome winning a total of 2 Senior Elite Track National Championships, 9 Junior National Championships, with 2 National records to her credit. On September 17^th 2000 Nicole was primed to take home $250,000 bonus prize money for securing First Place in the BMC Software Grand Prix Race Series, when a fatal crash on the last lap of Tour of Arlington, Ma. Criterium took her life.

 

Our 4-car caravan departed Old Lyme on Friday morning and arrived at the time trial and road racecourse in time to take a few laps of what was a fun course with some climbs and fast descents. The heat was noticeable and the boys were trying to stay on top of hydrating. This was going to be the first time trial for a few of the boys, but it had a nice down grade start that would allow them to get rolling quickly before the hills came.

 

We then had them ride about 10 miles to a bike shop where Ben’s bike was getting some last minute work on the shifters at Cycle Drome Bike Shop right across from the Velodrome.

 

That evening I was able to get us all free tickets to the Friday night races and into the infield where the boys were met by none other than Marty Northstien former Olympic Gold Medalist in the Sprints who welcomed them all to the track. They were looking around the track from the infield watching the early elimination rounds with jaws open while I introduced them to several coaches and riders who had raced around the world and garnered many medals in their careers including, Gibby “The Bear” Hatton who won the Junior World Championships Sprint in 1975 and who had gone on to win several Masters World Championships and was there coaching.

 

We left the infield and found our seats in the bleachers and the boys got a great lesson on a live chalk board of how to attack, close a gap, and time your sprint. It was an enlightening evening to say the least.

Saturday morning Time Trial: 4.6 miles of the same loop as the road racecourse.

Very hot, as Tisha Kirk, Dave Reed, Carol Merkt and I set up the tents and coolers for the day.

When the results finally came out, Nate Etchells was 3^rd Ben Wolf was 5^th and we felt like we could be competitive in the road race.

 

The heat was become a real factor as they cooled off in the shade for a few hours drinking and snacking before the road stage.

 

I have misplaced all my notes and GC sheets but there was a very strong experienced team from Lehigh Valley holding down the first two spots and several of the top 10 positions.

 

During the time we were waiting for the TT results to be posted I began to introduce several scenario’s that were unique to stage racing, but all this went out the window once results were posted.

 

What Nate in his first year of racing had to realize and focus on was just a bit overwhelming and the heat was not helping any of them prepare for what was about to happen.

 

What did become clear however was that Evan, David and Ian was now playing support roles for Ben and Nate. They were prepared to sacrifice themselves to make some early moves and to cover early moves, which to me was one of the key elements in making this trip.

 

I had to make it clear to the officials and to the race director in her first year at the position that I did not come all the way down here from Connecticut with 5 riders and parents to have my 15&16 year olds mixed in with 17 &18 year olds for the road stage. Regardless of how they planned to keep the results separate, it would influence how the race was ridden and we wanted no part of it.

 

They heard me and started the groups about 3 minute apart, but the heat of the day was going to take its toll no matter.

 

One other thing that the officials should have changed was the no feeding rule. Had they allowed us to do hand ups after the second lap, I am quite certain my boys would have done much better.

 

Standing on the top of the second climb it was a pleasure to see all 5 of the MVC kids holding their own for the first 3 laps, but Ben was shaking his head the third time around letting me know he was not going to be there much longer.

 

On the fourth lap it was like a bomb went off in the 20-man peleton, they were spread over a ½ mile and struggling because of the heat. Ian and David had made efforts off the front early on and were paying for it before the group shattered but now, Ben, and Evan were off the back and struggling, while Nate had lost contact also. At this point I rode back to the start finish area and loaded up with water bottles submerged in the cooler ice water. I was flashing back to my days in South American stage races where you protected your riders no matter what the rules. I was going to ice the boys down on the next lap regardless but as I stood there on the hill only Nate came by and was he happy to see me with cold water. I noticed the race marshals getting in their cars and leaving, that’s when I knew the officials must have called off the last lap.

 

Back at the start finish, the tent area looked like a war zone. Ben was still cooling off in the ambulance and others were getting in line. It took awhile for the boys to recover and it would take all night for the officials to figure out the GC.

 

Sunday morning’s 20 lap criterium at Rodale Park, across the street from the Velodrome was supposed to start at 9:30am but a panicked call from Ian back to our hotel said things had changed and it was a 8:30am start. Ben, Evan, and David were able to get over to the course in time to warm up and the final stage began at about 8:45am.

 

The field of 20 stayed together for most of the race with single forays off the front that never got more than a few seconds. There were some premes but nothing ever split the race up even when Ian was involved in a crash that was not his fault. His bike brake levers were destroyed to the point that he could not take advantage of the free lap rule and he had to watch the remaining laps.

 

So on the final stage the boys were able to sit in and compete with some really good riders, many of which race on the track, and had lots of speed and snap in their legs.

Ben took a serious flyer off the front with two laps to go and had Evan near the front, but it was to no avail. Evan was best placed in the final group sprint at 5^th place and was still moving up when he ran out of room.

 

Nate Etchells was our best-placed rider in 9^th place on GC and received a medal for his third place in the time trial. I am sure they can comment on this a little further regarding what an experience this was for them.

 

For me it was mission accomplished. They all finished or in Ian’s case would have finished, and can file this weekend away in the memory banks of those young legs and minds for future reference in the coming years.

 

It is now early August and the team has come down to a core group of five riders who are actively training and racing on weekends. Nate, Ben, Evan, David and Ian continue to travel to races and rack up training miles consistently each week.

 

The support system of parents, sponsors, and Mystic Velo Club continues to make sure this program is a success in its first year.

 

Bill Humphreys

 

 

 

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Coach's birthday ride by Bill Humphreys

Posted by Christopher on Thursday, July 31, 2008 to Ride

 

July 26, 2008

Bike Guy Rides His Age (64)

Or

63.5    Mile Lead Out

 

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year, and most of my junior team and other riding friends were off racing somewhere as I sent out a last minute email blast in desperation for some guys to help me through this yearly ordeal.

 

This ride my age thing started way back on my 50^th birthday when I was a reincarnated student at Umass Amherst and had just purchased a new GT Zaskar Mountain Bike from my old Raleigh Boy teammate Doug Dale who still owned Peleton Sports in Northampton at the time. I put road slicks on it and asked him to point me in the direction of a 50mile ride.

So now 14 years later a few pounds heavier, married with a healthy nine year old boy, a honey do list, and a full time job, I needed some help to maintain my traditional 18+ mph average.

Departure time was unconditionally set at 8am, the sooner we started the sooner we could be back in time to watch the Tour time trial, drink some cold beer and do cannonballs off the dock.

Two local riders on their way to work, Mark and his dad David Jameson showed up along with my one junior Nate Etchells.

After a brisk 15-mile start with the warmed up commuters, Nate and I were left to finish the remaining 49 miles. We took it slow at first until my peanut butter & jelly sandwich had a chance to settle, and then with the war stories and coaching advice over, it was time to get to work, for Nate that is.

As much as I wanted to hug the flat roads along the shoreline, it was a Saturday and the traffic was unbearable on the beach roads. So, off we went to the beautiful back roads, the hilly back roads of Devil’s Hopyard and Mount Parnassus Rd where our average speed and I suffered.

Several times I would put Nate on the front with instructions to keep it at about 17 to 18mph only to hall him back and readjust the speed to more like 16 mph on the false flats, headwind and rollers until we reached the far end of the ride.

 

If my calculations from riding these roads for over 36 years were right, we had smooth sailing of flat to slightly rolling terrain for the remaining 25 miles. At this point Nate had already done a “Jens Voight” job for the day and I was now going to ask even more from my first year racing 15-year-old junior. He had already learned more than he needed to know in his young career about how to keep his captain from missing the time limit in the gruppetto.

 

With my heart rate already pegged at 168 to 171 we began the serious work of getting our average speed up from 17.9 to 18. 5 and I was determined to help and I had to I we were going to get the job done. I could smell the barn at this point and had pushed myself hard on this section of road for many years. Muscle memories and synapses reconnected the tempo increased, the heart rate settled down and we finished up on Whippoorwill Road with the 18.5 average speed goal I am determined to maintain for a few more years.

 

We had both had a light week of training, and this effort had left us both a little on the toasted side to say the least. Back at the lake, we went for a refreshing but short swim, then watched the tour and spent the next few hours resting in the shade.

 

Nate was my man this 64^th birthday ride, I could have done the ride alone like I have in previous years, but it would not have been the same. I must begin building towards the next 20 years of birthday rides and for those I will need help and that is what this year’s ride was all about.

 

 What are the chances that everyone was busy except this 15-year-old kid who until this year had never raced a bike? How fortunate am I, this old cowboy, road warrior, that I have managed to keep himself involved with the youth movement enough that one of those up and comer’s would take the opportunity to ride with the coach for 64 miles on his birthday? If this event grows over the coming years, (it will always be held on the actual day, which will include weekdays as the years go by) Nate will always have the bragging rights to being the first official “worker” to get me through this transitional year.

 

I checked the calendar and next year my 65^th will be on a Sunday, so recruiting gregarious will still be a problem. I will put out a reminder email blast in January and another one in April and June. Maybe I can enforce a mid season break for my Juniors and some of the Master’s will take pity on my situation, knowing that I am buying the beer, and that with the right riders we could possibly up the average speed with less wear and tear. (I might not have to go to the front.) There may also be a true Most Valuable Domestique Award and it will be called the Nate Etchells Trophy.

 

 

 

 

 

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Attleboro crit photos

Posted by Christopher on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 to Race

 

Pictures of racers at the Attleboro Crit can be obtained pictures for a price at:

www.millersevents.com/?m=91192

The event code for Attleboro is 91192KACRIT

The event code for Cox is 91192KCOX

Give Doug a call at 401-688-6716 or shoot him an email at doug@neactionimages.com.  Doug N.E.A.I. neactionimages.com

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Road Bike Action Magazine

Posted by Christopher on Thursday, July 10, 2008 to Juniors

The following article appeared in Road Bike Action Magazine and was written by our own Bill Humphreys. Read it here.

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