Seacoast Century Report

Up at 5:30 and it’s 70F at my house with 84% humidity. Forecast for Hampton beach was for sunny with a Southwest wind at 10-15 mph with mid 80’s by noontime. By far this was going to be the warmest weather I ever had for this century. In previous years I have done this it’s been pretty cool. Last year I rode this all bundled up so this year’s ride was going to be nice and warm.

Bruce called as we were driving up to report that the parking lot was filling up pretty rapidly. Also that it was warm and we would not need leg or arm warmers. The flags at Hampton Beach State Part were out straight from the Southwest.

We arrived and found a parking spot near the last back row. A quick trip to the comfort station then put on our kits and we were good to go. We met at our predetermined meeting spot where I found Peter Cunningham, Alan Parker, Dave Dufort, Renard Davis, Bill Murray Bruce Bagnell and Steve Zimei. Introductions all around then a brief discussion about wither to go North or South at the start. South was the choice heading to Newburyport for our first course segment.

As soon as we turned left out of the parking lot we were smacked in the face with a strong headwind. We formed a rotating pace line warming up slowly as riders were passing us within the first 3 miles. Gradually we picked up the pace and started catching riders that had passed us a few minutes ago. We had a number of men and women jump in with us. Some were tri-athletes down on their aero bars pushing massive gears. Good luck doing that for 100 miles! Once we made the turnaround in Newburyport we now had that Southwest wind on our backs, SWEET!

Our plan was to stop back at the Hampton Beach State Park and utilize the comfort stations and pick up additional water. I let everyone know that had jumped in with us so there would not be any surprises once we arrived back at the entrance. Last thing we needed was any crashes.
Once that piece is business was attended too we were off on out second segment. We had one women decide to come with us. The rest of the hanger on’s kept right on going instead of stopping after only 17 miles. Again a very nice tailwind kept us tooling along at 25mph and the miles were clicking away. It was really starting to warm up not and with the high humidity I was sweating profusely. Water management was quickly becoming my number one priority, ss well as not getting dropped. I had spent the previous 4 days in Kennebunkport sans bike so this was my first ride after four days off the bike.

We had a nice pace line going all the way on this segment with some beautiful views along the many beaches and rocky New England coastline. This segment is the most scenic all the way to the first sag stop. When we rolled into this stop there were hundreds of riders there. The line for water was fifty folks deep. The lines were almost as bad for the comfort stations. Had plenty of time to eat and drink as we waited in these lines. Saw some folks we knew from our Gearworks rides and from the rides Bruce and I used to do in NH at PC Connection.

With all the social stuff out of the way we hit the road again for the third segment which would bring us into Portsmouth NH and then on up the coast into Maine. As we were approaching the Wentworth by the Sea hotel there is a short grated bridge that I rode across and that a lot of folks were walking across. There were cars in front stopped but more than enough room for bikes so I decided to ride across which we had done in previous years. A policeman walked out from the front of the cars and stopped me. If I had seen him earlier most likely I would have walked across. I was then informed that we were supposed to dismount and walk across the bridge. So we had a discussion and he wanted us to walk back but after more discussion he reluctantly let us ride on. Already I had one demerit for the day and it was early yet.

Soon we were into Portsmouth going right by Strawberry Banke which is a very pretty area. Just after that was the very large and lengthy grated bridge which I know we have to walk across. I had various money offers from my fellow riders to also try and ride across this bridge. One demerit was enough and I did not want to risk another smack down. The wind was really strong as we walked across and rode into Maine. Some pretty coves and waterfront areas then onto to York Beach and Nubble light house in York Maine. A quick stop here to use the comfort station and take on water. Then another quick stop at a store shortly after that to pick up some energy drinks for a few folks. Did I mention it was starting to get hot? We still have 30 miles to go and already I have had drunk 8 large water bottles of energy drink.

Off again for our third segment into the wind that had pushed us all the way up into Maine. Another walk across that very large and lengthy grated bridge in Portsmouth. Then a whole bunch of turns as we weaved our way out of Portsmouth, eight riders still going strong into the wind sharing pace at the front of the pace line. Taking your turn at the front into that headwind was tough. As we approached the Wentworth by the Sea hotel, I decided to be a good boy and not to have yet another discussion with another law official so I dismounted and walked across the bridge.

This year we almost missed to turn we missed last year but we made it without mishap but it was close. This is a little inward leg that was done to add miles so that it would come out to an even 100 miles. Somehow, somewhere in this leg we lost Renard. He followed another ride who took him off course. I did notice that he was missing so we all stopped and waited for a awhile to see if he would come along. While we were waiting Steve found a garden hose where we could get water which as super because I was out of water and we still had 10 miles to go. Found out later that Renard ended up 12 miles in the wrong direction. He stopped at a store and a woman with a station wagon gave him a ride back. So I picked up my second demerit for the day for being a crappy ride leader.

After that stop we got rolling again, finishing that inland loop and coming out on the beach again. By now we could smell the barn and we rolled into the entrance to the State Park with lots of smiles of satisfaction having completed another century this year.

The final segment was the post ride seafood feast at one of the local eateries. Boiled lobster, fried clams and scallops, baked scallops, lobster rolls and so forth. Some brews to wash it all down then we all headed for home. Another great ride on a perfect Indian summer day with a nice working group sharing pace for 100 miles.

From Big Dave’s computer.
Time: 5 hr 9 min
100.53 miles
19.5 mph avg.

Bruce leading us by the camera!
http://seemebiking.com/Seacoast1Group25/

Crashing sucks

First off, thanks to everyone on the ride who stopped to make sure I was okay when my front wheel caught the infamous RR tracks in Brattleboro, which was everyone because I was on the front when I went down and no one had a choice but to stop.
The thing that hurt the most about the crash wasn't going down, but rather knowing I put a damper on the ride itself.
I still don't know what happened, I'm usually pretty good about picking a line that will get me across tracks (even those tracks) without catching a wheel, but somehow the angle wasn't right and the track(s) grabbed my front wheel and put me down, hard.
It all happened so fast I don't remember what happened when I hit the deck, but I guess Tyler was holding my wheel, rode over me and went down too.
Another thing I feel really bad about, his front fork on his new Felt frame got pretty messed up in the fracas and screwed him out of finishing his first COVAC and being able to take his bike to do some more riding this week. Dude, I hope the bike shop you got the frame from (not Gear Works) does the right thing and gives you a replacement fork.

But I really wanted to thank everyone who helped me out the very bad place I was in when it all went down. I was scared shitless, when I felt my head hit the pavement I saw black, and then stars, and the next thing I knew there were a bunch of faces looking over me.
Thank God we have a bunch of really good women who ride with us (sorry guys, but the only thing I remember are the women taking charge) - Natalie checking out the gash over my eye and helping me clean it out, Suzanne calling for the support vehicle (that would be Lisa with the rescue van) and especially Elaine who knew what to look for and what questions to ask with a suspected head injury.
The guys were good too - they were all over my bike checking it out to make sure there was no serious damage other than the front wheel and some scratches to the shifters and frame. And making sure I was okay before I told them to press onward.

And a huge thanks to Lisa for driving up from NoHo and rescuing Tyler and myself and taking me to Brattleboro Memorial and to the both of them for spending 2 or so hours sitting in the waiting room while I waited to get checked out.
And to Ken for being the understanding husband when I'm sure he really wanted to get to Bertucci's for dinner, and everyone else who waited in the parking lot for me.

I heard that Elaine suffered a crash as well, right at the finish!!!!! I was really bummed about that as well, but glad that you checked out okay.

And one last thanks to Daren and GW for checking out the bike and setting me up with some replacement stuff like a helmet, bibs/ jersey, and everythinig else needed to get back on the road.

All in all I'm just grateful to have had the opportunity to ride with everyone all year, lots of great memories - especially all those HOT tuesday night rides. Already looking forward to next year.
I'll be heading to Fla next week so I'll miss the last ride of the season, the post ride dinner, Peter's homebrewed wine and the SL3 Daren will be raffling off at the end of the night.
Hope you all have a great rest of year and enjoy the fall riding.
God willing I'll be back for the winter training rides......

COVAC 2010

Up at some ridicules hour (5am) for the 2010 COVAC century. A quick check of the weather, breakfast, pack the car and I’m off to meet Big Dave at 6am in Westminster. We transfer everything from my car to his truck and were on the road at 6:07.

Arrive in Hatfield at 7:20 with cloudy skies and cool temperatures in the low 50’s. The forecast was for cloudy condition all day with a 20% chance of showers. Calm winds for the start that would then increase 5-10mph from the Southeast later in the morning and afternoon.

We queued up around 8:15 or so and I think we had the largest turnout ever for this event. I guessing around 45 riders toed the line for the start of this year COVAC century. Just before launch there was a shout out for Peter Cunningham to ensure he was at the start line. For those you who don’t know, a few years back with lifted off with Peter still in the can hence the shout out which has become a tradition each year. Funny how things like that can take on a life of their own.

Lisa Lecomte gave is the start signal/send off and we were on our way. I leave with gloves and arm warmers on and I would have worn leg warmers as well but I didn’t want to carry them later in the ride. Pockets were stuffed with food, gels and a zip lock with Accelerade in it. No room for my camera because I was pretty sure I’d the taking off my gloves and arm warmers later in the ride.

We rolled along nicely keeping the whole group together to our first rest stop. Pace was nice and the temperature had come up a little. Pretty much everyone made a pit stop and refilled their water bottles. I ate and cliff bar, a gel and washed it all down with a bottle of water. We all rolled out together with Graig and I on the front for about a mile before we decided we had enough of that headwind.

On this second segment the speed started to gradually ramp up. Faster and faster we go with a short burst up a short climb where Peter dropped his chain and had to stop and to correct it. Found out later that he had lost contact with the group and ride 15 miles by himself to the second rest stop. Meanwhile up the climb I go and just got tacked on the back to the lead bunch. The group was split in two now with the lead group really picking up the pace and having a slight tail wind now only made it seem even faster. I peel off my arm warmers and stuff them in my pockets. Starts to feel like its spitting rain, but no it’s me sweating heavily. Ernie makes a comment about me then stays off my wheel, he’s getting too wet. In sections I was very close to redline. Thankfully there were some turns where I could very briefly rest and reduce my thundering heart rate. We just about scream into the second rest stop.

This is a nice scenic rest area right alongside the Connecticut River. Again everyone makes a pit stop and refilled their water bottles. I ate another half of a cliff bar, and two gels, washed it all down with a bottle of water. The Southeast wind was picking up. I put my arm warmers on and head out early slow rolling it up the road waiting for the train to arrive. I can see Big Dave and Bruce off in the distance so they had the same idea. Juan and Ernie join me and I indicated to Ernie that I was just taking it easy waiting for the train to arrive. As we approached Brattleboro Vermont, I warned Juan about the railroad tracks that were just around the corner. We cross over the river in Brattleboro and start wondering where everyone was. What we did not know, but found out later at the 3rd rest stop was there had been a crash at the same railroad tracks we had crossed and that both John Barry and Tyler had gone down. Ken made a call to Lisa to have her come and pick up the bikes and both John and Tyler were taken to the hospital. Both had a lot of bumps and bruises with John having more serious facial injuries. Rather than stitching these up they used some Elmer’s glueall to fix him up. Seriously I’m sure they have some more high tech stuff they use.

Meanwhile while all this is going on Juan, Ernie and I continue on our way. We each take turns pulling at the front and the speed is starting to gradually increase. As we hit the hills in Northfield, I consistently lose contact. Ernie and Juan graciously slow down and wait for me to bridge up. Clearly I’m the weak link in this threesome. On the last hill I’m gapped and I bridge again and we pick up both Big Dave and Bruce right near the top. Now it’s starting to get even faster with the unstated goal of trying to get to the 3rd rest stop ahead of the train. I could feel some sprinkles of rain but for me it’s hard to tell if it’s really rain of me sweating. Big Dave verifies that it is indeed sprinkling. We arrive at the 3rd rest stop and I’m pretty tired from pulling and bridging gaps.

The train arrives shortly thereafter and it was then we found out about the crash at the railroad tracks in Brattleboro. That cast a damper on the ride with everyone wondering about the condition of both John and Tyler. I say a quick prayer while I eat all the rest of the food I brought with me. Another bottle of water and I’m good to go.

Again I leave a tad early to warm back up and wait for the train to come by. Sure enough the train arrives after a few minutes and I’m tacked on the back. Now it’s hell bent for election is it seems every mile that goes by the speed ramps up another notch. Were on some pretty flat sections now and even heading into the wind the speed is very high. By now I’m beyond being on the rivet.
Up ahead I see a split with a group of eight hammerheads heading off into the distance. The second group tries to bridge and I fall off the back of this group during this acceleration. I had had enough “fun” for the day so at mile 93 I had a 21.5mph average. Another rider fell off with me so thankfully I had someone to work with on the final miles. I don’t know who this was but I’m very grateful for him staying with me and helping me finish.

I was resting by Dave’s truck then more unfortunate news. Seems that right by the entrance to the pavilion Elaine crashed. Not sure of what or how it happened but it looked serious and like John and Tyler, Elaine was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Her helmet was cracked, her wrist may have been broken and numerous road rashes. Yet another quick prayer for a fallen rider.

We were all eating pizza when we got the good news. Elaine was very lucky no concussion and no broken bones. I always hope that on our group rides we all have fun and stay safe. Yesterday I got the former but not the later.

Yet another COVAC century in the books. Our biggest turnout ever for this event, and one of the fastest if not the fasted ever. Congratulations everyone!

Sat Sept 4th Gearworks Ride

Up at dawn today and I looked out the window to see cloudy skies and a very wet road. I’m thinking about maybe not riding, but hey I’m the ride leader and I just can’t blow this off.

Send out some e-mails to see what other folks think. Bruce decides to ride later in the morning. No word from Big Dave, more on this later.

Decided to go to the shop and see who shows up. Packed up the gym bag and put the bike in the car with the destination Global Fitness in Fitchburg. On the way I see Big Dave riding towards my house because we usually ride in together to the shop on our Saturday rides. Found out that his combination modem/router from Verizon is in the fritz. That’s why he did not respond to my e-mails or know that I was driving. Good thing I took the same road he was on.

Get to the shop a tad late and there were 15 riders just chaffing at the bit. I had a 53 mile loop in mind that would take us out into the wind to Rindge NH. Then we would have the wind on our backs on the way back on route 119.

Heading out towards Fitchburg someone flatted right by the WEIM studios. Took two tube changes to put the rear wheel back in rideable condition. A few miles later in West Fitchburg you guessed it another flat. No more flats after that so we were able to keep things pretty much together past Monty Tech and then over to route 12. One route 12 it got very fast. Someone went to the front and put the smack down.

Regrouped at the intersection of route 12 and route 140 then we were on our way again to route 202 where it was very exposed to the windy condition this morning. This broke the group apart once again but we regrouped again at the intersection for Route 119.

Now for the homeward leg with the wind on our backs. Paul Skerry pushed the pace up the climb and about half the folks made it to the top together. Tyler made a good dig to bridge up and the train was on it’s way. I’m killing myself with a 50-13 trying to hold the wheel in front of me on the downhill’s. Juan is on the front on the uphill sections and only Ken and Steve are able to stay with him. Those zipp wheels do make a difference! They gap Craig, Leon, Paul Tyler and I. couple of hills later I get dropped. Now I’m bummed out but I got over it.

I waited at 101 and could not see anyone out West on 119. Turned around and started riding back and a small group of three zipped by. Then I could see Big Dave and a few others coming so I turned around and joined the two groups. Somehow our tail wind turned into a head wind from Ashby all the way to Fitchburg. We kept it together until we went by Global where Dave and I peeled off.

54 mile loop today. My post ride shower felt great after.

COVAC registration

On line registration ends Wednesday.
Don't be a freeloader, pay up and support the ride and all the good food they have at each of the SAGs.

http://www.amherstrotaryclub.org/covac/

Tuesday night ride report - 8/31/10

Besides taxes and death, I suppose the one other thing you can count on, at least this summer, if it’s Tuesday night it’s going to be hot.
Yesterday was no exception.
I got in the car and the thermometer read 95 degrees.
By the time I got to Westford it was 99.
Once I got to Leominster it was at 95 again.
Thank god because I told myself if it’s over 95 I am not doing this ride.
Which in hindsight would’ve been a good thing.

My ride (which is different from everyone else’s):
Time: 1:15
Miles: 24.93
Average: 19.8

Another good showing.
Several guys I hadn’t seen in forever including Tyler (Rwanda) and John Siena.
The A ride rolled out, WtF, Luchiano and Tom O convinced John Siena to ride with them. And he did. The guy’s got a lot more fortitude than I do riding that ride. Hopefully he’d been getting his training in while away from the Tuesday night ride.
The B ride rolled out. Typical for this time of year, had to pick a shorter route, so we ended up heading up Pleasant St straight all the way to Rowley Hill/ Meetinghouse Hill into Sterling, and then Rt 12 backwards around the resevior, 140 through West Boylston to 70 through Boylston into Clinton and back to the shop from there.
The warm up didn’t last long, as soon as we took the turn from 12 onto Washington the speed picked up. Cleared all the lights to West St, rolled onto Pond still moving along.
Once we hit Pleasant St I settled into a nice pace in the back 1/3rd of the group, not a good place to be.
Chit chatting with a couple others I looked up and saw the first significant gap of the night.
WtF, note to self, stay near the front on Pleasant St to keep an eye on the troublemakers.
Oh well, that’s what you get for falling asleep – time to start working.
30 seconds to catch on the back of the lead group. It didn’t hurt too much, but I did need to sit on the back to recover.
No rest tonight, another group of 5 or so opened up another gap – no more riding near the back, at least for the rest of the night.
I didn’t have it in me to bridge up, but I kept thinking of Tattoo Dave’s words that got me into a world of trouble on last year’s COVAC ride – “Sometimes you just have to put it out of your mind and go”.
On the steeper part of the climb this one took a little more work to close – about a minute and I was on the back, barely hanging on.
The Worcester contingent was there in force, (blue Giant TCR, red Fuji, and the guy on the Seven Ti bike) – I thought I heard them early on talking about keeping things fast, and they did their best to hold true to their word.
I suffered on the back of the lead group trying to recover, but there was no recovering. Natalie, Rwanda, Robert and a couple others were in the group.
I was able to move up a little to see who was doing all the work.
Rider of the night award, at least for the part of the ride I was able to do, goes to Paul Skerry.
This was Paul’s 3rd consecutive group ride in 3 days.
The 78 mile training ride a lot of us were on this past Sunday, and that wasn’t enough so he went on the Orchard Hills Monday night ride, and there he was on the tuesday night ride on the front hammering up Pleasant St like it wasn’t a climb at all.
Paul collected the KOM points as we passed Sholan Farms.
No slowing, fast down Heywood, no stopping at the 4 corners, straight all the way to the intersection of Rowley Hill.
Waited for the re-group before rolling out again.
Worcester guy on the blue TCR was way up front, but he was soft pedaling – I was on the front when I caught up to him, yelled for him to “Go!”, for some reason he pulled off to the left, yelled at him that “Go!” means get on the front and pull my lazy ass for a bit.
He got the message, was on the front riding hard down Rowley, pulled off so I could have the pleasure of taking my pull, I did what I could to keep it fast, I don’t remember if I pulled off or just got overtaken on the downhill of Meeting House Hill Rd.
Pulled into Sterling Center, just keep going, lots of miles to cover in a short period of time.
Two on the front, Rwanda and someone I can’t remember took their pulls (Rwanda also gets huge points for riding so hard after a long time off recovering from an Achilles’ heel injury).
We had the train steamrolling down 12.
I was stuck behind Natalie which isn’t a good thing (I’m trying to save myself for COVAC), as always she drilled it as we headed down Rt. 12 towards W. Boylston.
My turn, as I rode by Natalie commented on my shiny new patent black Specialized road shoes, they serve a dual purpose, you can wear them for riding, and if you remove the cleats you can also wear them with a black tux to any formal event. And I’ve also noticed a lot of the wimmin folk commenting on them so I’ve taken to wearing them to work as well where almost all of the women stop to have a look.
Oh well, back to the job at hand – keep the pace fast so we can get back to the shop before darkness settles in.
Coming up on the W. Boylston town line I half expected someone to attack for the town line sprint Green Jersey points, but no one bit.
Shortly thereafter I pulled off and let the rest of the ride pull through.
The grinding climb into W. Boylston was just ahead, I hate that hill, but it’s fun sprinting for the points.
As soon as we hit the hill riders were all over trying to position themselves to be first to the top, I had a very good line, I was feeling as strong as I’ve felt all summer, I would go for it, even though I knew my chances were slim to none.
And then it happened – mixing it up with the Worcester contingent I ran over something, the noise was horrible, unlike anything I’d ever heard on a ride before.
And then someone pointed the problem.
I broke a spoke.
Even if Noah had been on the ride there was no doubt, my night was over.

A HUGE thank you to Mark Muzzi who stopped to help.
Even with opening up the brake, and loosening the barrel adjuster it still wasn’t enough to get the wheel to pass through the brake pad.
Mark had one of those all in one tools with a 5mm allen key, loosened up the cable and it was almost enough to clear the brake pad. Almost but not quite.
Mark rode on to see if he could catch the ride, hopefully they waited for him but I knew the plan was to ride all the way to Cumberland Farms so I’ll never know.

To make matters worse I left my cell phone in the car so I couldn’t call for a neutral support vehicle.
Oh well, maybe Paul Stromberg was working late, it was a long shot but I pulled into the shop to see if he could set up one of his machines to cut me a new spoke – or maybe he had a spare bike at the shop? I was desperate, but Paul wasn’t there so it didn’t matter, I had to chug on back down Rt. 12 into Leominster, trying to keep the pressure off my seat (and the rear wheel which was way out of true).
Finally made it back to my car just as it started getting dark.

Someone please post how the rest of the ride around the reservoir went.