Battenkill 2009

Results are now up. I placed 17th - 3rd in the chase group. I'm happy with that - but I had higher expectations.

here's my brain dump of Battenkill Cat4 Red

You will like this course IF you like long distances, hills and mixed terrain (dirt).

I previewed the course with Wayne & Jean on Friday. We noticed there was plenty of 'unpave' and many hills. This was my 3rd consecutive run, last year the heat was on and I expired. This year the weather was to be cool and chance of showers. Everyone obsesses over equipment for this I was not exempt. There's no straight answers until the day before when you firm up the weather report and road (gravel) conditions.

clincher or tubular? tubular
add stans? would have if I had the time.
narrow or wide? didn't look until home, 22s
tire change equipment? not for tubulars, was relying on my spare wheels
chance of wheel van? limited, many reports that they drove on by
bring a phone? skipped. risk it all
run low gears? yes, definitely. Ran a compact with an 11t in the rear.

Wayne and I pre-rode 20 miles of the course, just up to where things got interesting / dangerous. Some of the dirt climbs we used to go UP were now screaming descents. The paved mile long killer climb was changed into a 50+ mph sweeping descent. That's a lot of talk about going down- well there's plenty going UP. In years past the pack would crack on the first big hill. This time it looked like you warmed up for 10 miles before the first of the succession of hills and slowly string things out.

While previewing we spoke to Johnny Bold on one of the dirt roads and he was saying how clinchers just were too much of a pinch-flat risk. Later he would go on to flat on his tubulars. At a minimum the glued tire offers some safety to stay on the rim and to slowly go flat, unlike the rapid deflation of a clincher.

The start was rather uneventful, though for the first time I had no other NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental kits in my field. I knew a few racers but realized this was a whole new crowd as the teams were randomly mixed into Cat4 sub-groups. The first 10 miles felt like we were on the brakes the entire time - so I wasn't doing much work, yet.

There were a couple of flats in the first 8 miles before we hit the dirt. They raised their hands and this is appreciated - while in the pack you can easily see who to avoid.

Now the hair pin section of the course came and left, few if any were getting dropped. Here I moved up to the front with my low gears and was feeling fresh. After all there was a rewarding descent after most climbs! On some of the slower sections mishaps occurred - a rider wobbled and a couple of slow speed tumbles happened around me where I was able to escape to the grassy shoulder.

The hills got progressively harder as we tried to shake some of the back of the pack. Finally around dirt section 5 the pack was thinning. The descents became more dangerous and luckily we had room in the pack to adjust. We started to catch onto other fields and noticed a number of riders on the side of the road - flats, scrapes and exhaustion. On one particular fast dirt descent the road turned left while the crown was steep and forced you into the gutter. A few around me skidded into it, stopping safely but adding to the nerves and I slowed down to stay upright. Then the rain started, it blurred your vision but kept the dust down.

Around dirt section 6 I started to loose some contact with the front group of ~20 riders, I fell back 30 seconds back maybe. I tried my best and the group of 2 around me was not interested in a chase. We rode hard for miles but slowly the gap widened and we lost track of where they were with the intermixing of dropped riders, rain & touring bikes w/ mirrors (no joke!).

Upon the conclusion of the final hill and dirt section #8 it was a blur for the remaining 8 miles. Some riders jumped in illegally drafting our wheels. There was a small group that I knew I'd be springing against but your legs are so beat at this point and I hadn't saved much trying to reconnect to the group ahead. Then, with 1k to go the pace heated up and a sprint started 700/500 meters out. I was able to position myself into the final corner and sail trough to hold a solid line for the finish. One guy nipped me before the line but was he with our group or not?

I wasn't sure if I was 7th or 27th for a few days. There were problems with results. Tuesday they were posted online - then taken down hours later. Now they're back up. I have sympathy for these guys; having run the Charlie Baker Time Trial and posting results can be an undertaking - for fewer than 50 people.

My spare wheel was used by a guy from New Zealand - said it saved his ass 8 miles into the race. Glad it helped him and that I also didn't have a need for it! It sure was nice to warm up and enjoy a hearty meal at the race headquarters - the Cambridge hotel.

Plenty of whining going on over on the public forum.