Turtle Pond 4 Report

4/25/09 – Turtle Pond Circuit Race, Loudon NH, Cat 4 field
Race Summary: 12th place (?), 22.1mph AVG over 45 miles

Today kinda sucked, though I guess it could have been worse. Bob Looney and I drove up early this am, got up to Loudon NH for early registration, then did a good warm-up with his buddy Carl from Bike Barn. We got to the start line a little late, and ended up being middle of the pack at the roll-off, which consisted of a neutral start to the top of Oak Hill. Although it seemed somewhat stupid (and it gets dumber, trust me), I was at least grateful that we only had to attack this hill at race-pace three times over our scheduled four laps of the route. Bob and I spent the large majority of the first lap trying to pick our way up, and kicking ourselves for not getting to the start-line sooner. We could see John Starvish up near the front, and our friend Michael Brier (Refunds Now) was stationed at the front for most of the first lap. It was a very tough course to move around in, with 85 or so people in the field and a windy, narrow course (and a well-enforced yellow line). As we entered the second lap and climbed Oak Hill, I finally had a chance to pass a whole slew of people at once, rather than the frustrating “picking” through the crowd that I was doing earlier. I made it to the front and was determined to stay there.

It was somewhat difficult to remain at the front of the race over the next three laps, but I was able to do it primarily because no one wanted to do any work at all. Bob’s friend Carl seemed pretty spry, gapping the field on the backside climb (Hot Hole Pond Rd) so I chatted him up when we pulled him back and suggested we have a go at a break. We tried a few times to get away – on the climbs, on the flats, after the right onto School St, but we got pulled back every time. It seemed like the front group was determined not to let a breakaway form, but that was about it. When it came to trying to make a selection, no one was interested. To be fair, the course didn’t really allow for much of a breakaway opportunity, as there weren’t many difficult points for a true selection in the race. Therefore, the first 3.5 laps were pretty much a fast club ride. I got to chat up quite a few guys on the front, including some guy from the Battenkill team, so it wasn’t all bad.

Coming into the last lap was one of my most harrowing experiences, primarily because some bozo in a no-name kit decided that it would be a good idea to point and wave at his family as we made the turn onto Oak Hill Rd. Sure enough, he drifted his line right into me, and I screamed at the dude to watch the road – he recovered, and I had to do a little shimmy to avoid running into the guy on my outside. Someone behind me, probably the Cambridge Bike guy I seemed to be around all day, said, “Nice recovery, BRC” to me and I felt a small amount of satisfaction. I take pride in being a steady wheel in these fields.

The final climb up Oak Hill was uneventful, I ended up being the first up and Carl and I took a little dig at the top just to keep people on their toes. We made it to the cemetery turns OK, and the pace started to pick up on the straightaway. People were trying to make moves, but the primary group up front was not giving much ground. We turned onto Hot Hole Pond Rd and I was focused on getting to the top in the lead, since the windy descent to School St was stringing out the front each time through. Michael Brier turned up next to me just before this section, it seemed like he was riding a real smart and solid race today. Not sure what happened to him, though I suspect the finishing crashes (surprise!) affected him.

As we rolled toward the finish, the pace picked up and BRC was looking solid – I was holding steady near the front and Bob and Starvish were right behind me. I was starting to subtly block off passing lanes at this point, because I was damned sure not going to give up the position I worked so hard all race for. It was at this point that a couple of bozos from the middle of the pack decided to blatantly violate the yellow-line rule, and they flew up and around the left side. Quite a few people yelled at them, and we all noted their numbers (I knew one of the guys).

Just as things really heated up, and some guys were stringing out the front, I saw a good opening between the two guys in front of me, called it out, and punched it. The guy on my left then swerved right back into me, and I was forced to bump handlebars at 35mph with the guy on my right, from the Organic Athlete team. He yelled something at me and swerved off the road a little, and I just charged ahead. I felt somewhat bad and responsible for it, but couldn’t dwell on it at the moment. I reached the first 5-6 riders, then heard a huge “crack!” behind me as the carnage began. I glanced back to see someone in a blue kit splat hard, then grabbed onto the leaders who were pulling away from it. I should’ve paid more attention to the finish, because I saw a little rise up the road and thought “here it is!” I punched it and tried to pull away. I heard some wheels just behind me, but just buried my head, ignored the painful cramp in my R thigh, and just gave it everything I had. To quote the classic hockey film, Slapshot, it was “too much, too soon.” I was caught and passed before the line by about 11 guys, though. Aarrgh. I did notice that at least one of the yellow-line violators finished ahead of me, and I started to think about protesting – on one hand, I knew the guy and didn’t want to rat him out, but then again, he knows the rules and should’ve thought about positioning earlier in the race. Like I said, I worked hard for my position all race and felt that he just cheated his way up there when we got close to the finish.

I ended up filing the complaint with the head official, but it turns out that I wasn’t the only one. Whew, now I don’t feel so bad. I also told her that they should not have moved the finish away from the hill this year, and that the current layout was essentially an unsafe, downhill sprint. I know it’s not her call, but she should be concerned about rider safety. I didn’t see Bob or Starvish right after the finish, and I figured correctly that they were in the crash. Bob rolled up a minute later, with a little spot of road rash and a story about a crash that took him down. He said some guy ended up splitting his fork in half and probably broke his elbow (I think this is the guy I got a glimpse of). Starvish rolled up a couple of minutes later, and he had quite a bit of road rash. He and his bike were both relatively OK, so we managed to escape without too much damage. The real bummer is that if that crash hadn’t happened, my stupid move would have probably been a decent leadout for one or both of them.

I made it a point to catch up with the Organic Athlete guy, and we’re all cool. I told him how I was swerved into, and he said he was actually grateful to go off the road because it kept him away from the crash. Either way, I apologized and told him I genuinely thought it was a safe move.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad day, but it wasn’t great either. I managed to avoid the crashes, and got in some good climbing work. Looking forward to Blue Hills next week, I know that finish well and won’t make the same mistake I did today.