Throughout the week, we’ve enjoyed sunny skies and temperautres that have been consistently in the 80’s…even a few 90’s.

The terrain around Raleigh is low elevation, but it’s anything but flat. Constant rollers are found throughout the area, so it’s a great spot to train once you get out of the city limits.

On Wednesday 4/7, we took the car ride west to Boone, NC to spend a day in the mountains. Although it was only 56 miles, it was one of the most exhausting days on the bike I’ve ever experienced.

We parked at a hotel in Boone, and climbed very gradually a couple miles to get out of town. Our reward was a long relatively straight descent of about 500 vertical feet. We finally got a chance to turn off the main road and did some true climbing – apx. 5 miles and 1200 feet – headed to Banner Elk. the road was never straight nor flat, with curves and switchbacks as far as could be seen. Following a brief descent into Banner Elk, we passed Lees McRae College, noted for their successful cycling program, and the alma-mater of local pro Brent Bookwalter. Shortly thereafter, we turned right onto Beech Mountain Parkway. This road turned out to be the steepest 3 miles of pavement ANY of us had ever done, including my experience with climbs in the Sierra, and Jordan’s experience with Brasstown Bald. The average was 9%, with many sections above 12%. Seated climbing was not an option!

We regrouped at the top, and descended back into Banner Elk, where we refueled at a gas station. From there, we climbed a bit more to the Eastern Continental divide (apx. 4000 feet), then did a huge descent to a road called Schulls Mills, which was a quiet gentle climb of about 5 miles – not nearly as steep as Beech. We decided to descend and climb it again, since we all agreed it was the best part of the ride, summitting at the Blue Ridge Pkwy.

Following some helpful directions from some locals, we found our route back to Boone, accompanied by some extra unexpected climbing.

Going to have to cut this post rather abruptly, since my laptop battery is almost dead. Below is a link to the route. We did about 56 miles, with 5300+ feet of climbing.

Awesome day in the saddle!

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/nc/boone/135127069433518750

Some photos from the 2009 Superior Bike Fest, Cat. 3.

Despite the ominous gray cloudscape prominent in Grand Rapids this day, a short trip north revealed mostly sunny skies with some of those fluffy cumulous clouds that pose no real threat of rain – temp about 70.  The 4 p.m. start time was also a welcome change from the 8 and 9 a.m. starts common to road racing.

A gripe before my race report – Crits are often advertised as (time) + (laps)…in this case, 60 minutes plus 3 laps.  However, I can’t remember the last crit I raced where we actually had the advertised number of laps after the advertised duration of the race.  I understand the necessity to keep an entire day’s worth of races on schedule, but when the race finishes in 59 minutes and change, it would be more accurate to simply advertise “60 minutes.”  That is not directed at Mt. Pleasant’s organizers specifically, but just a trend I’ve noticed.

With that, the Mt. Pleasant course was good – very wide roads & corners with the exception of a one-block stretch between the penultimate and last turn on the course.  It was a standard 1.4 KM L-shaped course with a VERY long straight shot to the finish after the last turn (Mapmyride.com tells me 400 meters from last corner to finish – you won’t find many crits with a longer finishing straight.)

Being the only Leadout member in this race, I was dramatically outnumbered by 5 or 6 Priority Health riders, as well as maybe 10-12 MCG guys – accounting for nearly 2/3’s of the 29-rider field.  I got a good start off the line, and slotted into 2nd wheel around the first turn – just to stay out of trouble and stay in position to cover any breaks.  I covered pretty much everything that moved that had an MCG or Priority rider in it for the first few laps.

As happens so often, just as I drifted back in the field to relax a minute, the race’s major break went up the road, with Adam York from MCG and Mike Jones (not the rapper) from Priority.  They never exceeded a 10-15 second gap, but it was clear that some work was needed to bring them back, with their dozen-plus collective teammates massing at the front to disrupt the pace whenever possible.

My work in this race has some history, based on the fact that breakaways and lazy or non-existent chasing have dominated the Cat. 3 races in Michigan this year.  Maybe it was a bad choice in the long run, but I decided I didn’t just want to sit in and wait for a 3rd place bunch sprint.  Even with other teams not represented in the break, I took the initiative to start keeping the time gap in check.  For at least 20 minutes, I rode hard tempo at the front for about a lap at a time, taking a break, then getting back on the front, slowly clawing the break back.  I used the gutter as much as I could, trying to make it as hard as possible for the green-and-black anchors sitting behind me to catch a draft.  Finally, after the break started to get visibly closer, I got some help from a couple Maple Leaf and Wolverine guys, and the break was caught.

At that point, about 5 laps to go, another break went with Florian from Priority and an MCG guy (don’t know who).  The same chase scenario played out, but over a much shorter time frame.  With about 2 to go, it was all together.  Shortly after, Taylor Birmann from Priority made a hard attack and stayed off the front for the remainder of the race, just barely crossing the line ahead of the sprinting field.

As for my finish, I had 2nd thoughts about whether or not I could have slotted myself in for a better sprint, but I was happy with the effort I had made, and rolled across the line just behind the sprint.  Getting recognition from announcer Frankie Andreu was not too bad either.  Overall, it was a fun crit – with a few teammates, we would definitely have been on the podium, if not the top step.

-Mark Hotchkin-

58:16 for 40 KM – 2nd place in age group (20-29), and 5th place overall

I have to start out by saying that at first, I was not exactly thrilled at the prospect of getting up early on a Sunday and driving to Whitehall for a 40 KM time trial – about an hour of intense effort.  However, I rode a decent race, and the West Michigan Coast Riders put on a solid event on a nice course, including some quality schwag for the top finishers, whom I was fortunate to be a part of.  It was disappointing to not have the Cedar Creek Race (my first-ever race win in 2003) on the calendar, but really this event makes sense with its spot on the calendar, for those of us into time trialing

So my presence at Duck Lake goes back to the fact that I am serious about time trialing, and pretty decent at it too.  With the Wolverine State TT coming up on June 21 in Dearborn, I figured testing my legs out for a 40 KM effort was the responsible step to take for my training!

It was cloudy and threatening rain throughout much of the morning – but luckily all racers stayed dry.  Conditions were a bit humid, but temps were comfortable in the low to mid-60s.  The course was essentially a 20 KM (12.4 mi) rectangle that we completed twice.  The north-south sections were maybe about 2 miles each, with the east-west roads a little over 4 miles in length.

The eastbound 4 miles (the back side of the course) seemed to have a very slight 0.5 to 1% uphill false flat, accompanied by about a 10-12 mph headwind.  The first lap, I couldn’t find my rythym on this stretch, and fluctuated between 22-24 mph, usually at the lower end of that range.  On the 2nd lap, I felt better, having saved my legs for the longer distance, and was able to “stay on top” of my gearing, feeling like I was turning the gear over smoothly, rather than fighting my bike – going about 25-26 mph steadily.  I told myself at the beginning of this stretch that it would be hard, but I had to follow the rule of time trialing – that going hard when conditions are hard earns you more time than going hard on the easier sections.  Time trialing is very much a mental discipline.  Despite the fact that your quads, hamstrings, calves, triceps all ache to different degrees, experience tells you that the pain is managable and pushing even harder is still possible.  With this thought, I’m happy to have nailed that stretch, and still had plenty left to finish up the last few miles strongly.

Knowing David Williams, a former collegiate national champion was also racing, I knew I would not win, but I honestly expected to place 2nd overall.  However, there were a few other guys (luckily outside my age group) who rode strong times to bump me down to 5th.  But the race still gave me plenty of confidence for the State TT, where I hope to do a sub-57-minute time.  As a bonus for my race, I received a silver medal for my age group, and a nice pair of Specialized Mondo Pro tires for my 5th place overall.

In the end, I was happy that Duck Lake made it onto my racing schedule.  I plan to be back in 2010.

Let me start by saying this is quickly becoming one of my favorite races.  I placed 3rd here last year, thanks to 25+ mph winds that caused major attrition in the peloton.

This year Leadout lined up with the same Cat. 3 roster as last year: Peter, Lupe, and I.  The conditions were much calmer and a bit warmer, but wind would still play a factor.

The first lap was fairly slow and uneventful.  Got to stretch the legs nicely thanks to a few hard tempo efforts by some other racers.  Lap 2 – we start heading south into the cross/headwind as I occupy my usual spot at the back of the field (try it sometime – it’s fun).  All of a sudden – uh oh - I notice there are about 6 guys lined up in front of me who have let a 50-meter gap open up to the rest of the field.  There’s the danger of tailgunning I suppose.

We start chasing hard – but some guys are pretty gassed and burn all their matches.  I don’t see most of them again.  The gap opens to nearly 200 meters (which might as well be 200 miles into a headwind), and it’s down to me and one other guy to chase back on.  I pull around him and quickly realize he’s not on my wheel.  Time to close the gap on my own.

I get a slight reprieve as the pack bunches around a corner, but I have to coast a couple seconds myself, as the road rises around the corner.  Up the rise, I think I might be finished…20…21 mph…but a few hundred meters later, I see the telltale sign of a slowing field…racers bunched up across the road.  Now I can taste the carrot…22…23…24 mph.  I finally get myself back into the field.  A minute or two later I hear one of those other gappers wheeze back up to me, but he doesn’t last too much longer in this race – still about 30 miles to go.

Skip ahead a little – 3 guys roll off the front – lap 4 I believe – there is some combination of teamwork in the pack, plus a lack of motivation to organize a chase.  Those 3 will take the podium.

Last lap – about 2 miles to go – one of the Purdue kids who races collegiate A’s (must be sandbagging in the 3’s!) rolls off the front right where I thought I might make a move.

Less than a mile to go – we have a slight decline, then a narrow right turn at about 250-300 meters before the finish, and uphill to the line.  Down this decline – we’re going SLOW – maybe 24 mph with a tailwind.  I’m on the outside of the pack – the thought crosses my mind to make a move up the outside, except this is going to violate the centerline rule.

After nearly getting dropped 2-3 times throughout the race riding the centerline rather than the echelon in the LEFT gutter, I decided that abiding that rule was not all that important.  So I power to the front – not even an attack – just roll up to the front – pushing pretty hard, but still seated.  At the front, I hit it.  No one follows.

I am pretty surprised that I get a huge gap in a hurry.  I think I hit that magical point where everyone was resigned to a field sprint and nobody wanted to waste an effort chasing another attack.  So I go around the last corner nice and easy – and solo.  The Purdue kid is in my sights, but I’m a little too concerned with the pack winding it up after the corner, so I conserve just enough energy to roll through the finish a couple bike lengths ahead of the field.

With me soloing for 5th, Peter winning the field sprint for 6th, and Lupe sprinting for 9th despite being boxed in, it was a pretty successful race for Leadout.

I feel like I also had some extra motivation from my family, since my parents and brother had driven down to watch, and my cousin who lives in Winona Lake was there with his kids.  I was really proud to finish well in front of them.

I was also excited to figure out during the race that my recent circulation problems in my leg were not likely internal, but caused by the new saddle I put on recently.  That would prove to be a huge difference the next day at Cone-Azalia.  Report to follow.