Hancock, MA

In a cyclist’s arsenal of cycling clothing, the plastic rain cape is akin to the last square of toilet paper in a port-a-potty: you’re happy it’s there to use, but its very usage indicates that unspeakable things are afoot, you’re out of options, and things are only going to get worse.

116 plastic rain cape-clad riders shivered at the start of the Shaun Thornton Memorial, better known as the Jiminy Peak Road Race, now in its 25th incarnation. Snow was still visible on the slopes of Jiminy Peak, a vestige of the long winter that seemed to resurface today, with temperatures in the mid-40s and a cold rain pelting the huddled mass of cyclists. Kenda/Raleigh had a squad of seven in the race - Mukunda, Adam, Colin, Sean, Eric, and Jason-squared - each bundled in warm Champion System clothing with warm legs courtesy of Greyhound Juice Super Strength salve. The plan was to let the race unfold in the raw conditions, watch for the splits in the strong windy sections, and start racing when the distance (the race totaled 150km) and the weather forced a selection.

Road-grit accentuated tanlines

The first 30km lap was group ride pace, as no one wanted to stick their noses in the wind on the long headwind slog leading away from Jiminy Peak. Two riders dangled up the road, but they were mere carrots on sticks and no one really gave them much thought. The course is essentially a 1.5km descent followed by 13.5km of false flat rolling descent followed by 13.5km of false flat ascent, punctuated by a 1.5km 7-percent climb to the finish. The entire peloton crested the finish hill on lap-one together and descended quickly into a steady drizzle. One lap down, four to go.

On the second lap, a large blob of a move got a little gap into the headwind on a slightly rolling section after the descent. Jason Beerman saw two Fiordifrutta riders, two Empire riders, two Targetraining riders, two Nerac riders, and a smattering of others in the move so he surfed a couple wheels with eventual race winner Toby Marzot of Fiordifrutta and tacked himself on the back. A move of this size (15 riders) was exactly the ticket to get away today since the conditions and the wind were so brutal. Anything smaller would certainly not last the 100km to the finish.

Beerman rolled through, but was greatly outnumbered so he was a bit wary. The move was all business, and everyone seemed to be working, especially the teams with multiple guys. The laps went by, and by the penultimate time up the climb, the SRAM car gave a time gap of over four minutes. By this time, the move was down to 13 riders and it was obvious that the winner was coming out of the group.

On the descent and into the rolling section, riders from teams with multiple guys in the move kept countering each other and dangling up the road. When it appeared that sufficient guys had beat themselves up, Beerman attacked up a small rise and drew out a perfect combination of riders: Fiordifrutta’s Marzot, Empire’s Mike Margarite, and Nerac’s Al Donahue. With depleted and unorganized chasers left behind, this was the move. The four traded pulls to get the gap up until Donahue ran out of gas and it was a rotation of three into the brutal headwind ascent that never seemed to end. It was steady all the way into the final turn and most of the way up the climb. It was clear that the three were gassed since no one took the initiative until the final 200m when Marzot started the sprint and neither Margarite nor Beerman could come around.

The spoils of near-victory

Beerman took third on the day for another podium placing for the team. The team will race next week at the Sterling Classic Road Race and at the Bear Mountain Spring Classic.

Full Jiminy Peak results are here.

Kenda/Raleigh Tip of the Week
If you race and your better half is able to precisely identify the strains of bacteria residing in your water bottles or, even worse, in your chamois, it’s time for a bundled race weekend/vacation. This phenomenon, known as a race-cation, marries the best of both worlds: you’re able to race for a day or two, but you’re also able to share the bounties of the region in which you’re racing with your love interest during your non-race time.

For example, the Jiminy Peak Road Race was a prime opportunity for a race-cation: it’s nestled in the heart of the Berkshires! Nothing says “Thanks for trekking out to Nowhere, MA and standing in the feed zone in the rain for 4 hours” like a night at a local B&B, followed by some prime time on the porch swing with the Sunday Times in one hand and a coffee in the other, and capped off with a trip to the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Did you miss your chance? Not to fear. There are plenty of opportunities down the road. The king of all race-cation opportunities is, of course, the Green Mountain Stage Race, but if you get creative and your partner is somewhat oblivious, even an industrial park crit can work. Or not.

Built and maintained by Chris Li, Sales Manager, Buyer, Mechanic, and all-around great guy at The Bikeway Source, the Boston-area’s best bike shop, located in Bedford, MA

Forget everything you think you know or remember about Raleigh bicycles. Remember the Super U Raleigh that Laurent Fignon rode in the 1989 Tour de France? Neither do I. Nevertheless, you can bet Le Professeur would do a double take if he caught a glance of the sleek machines that Raleigh USA is producing in 2008. The Team frameset is Raleigh USA’s crown jewel in a wide-ranging line of bikes for all occasions and for all types of riders.

Read the full rundown in the Equipment section.

Eat your heart out, cyclingnews.

Warren, MA

The topography of the Palmer Library Road Race defies all logic. The course features constant, highway-grade descents where speeds in the peloton hover between 40 and 45 MPH, but the corresponding uphill sections don’t seem to exist. The course is a 20-mile loop that’s done four times, and at the end of the race, you half expect to be marooned in some barren valley 3,000 feet below sea level, but instead, you’re back at your car wondering why you don’t have the bends.

On a cool and cloudy day, Kenda/Raleigh toed the line for the longest race of the season so far. The first lap was uneventful, save for the USCF official in the follow car pulling the entire peloton over to demand that everyone remove their vests so race numbers could be seen. This turned into a mass nature break before the group began rolling again. Most of the course lacks any semblance of a selective section so the first lap was like a large group ride, and everyone was able to catch up with old friends while rolling along the beautiful roads of central Massachusetts.

After the first pass up to the finish line (which does, in fact, feature an incline), the race began to heat up. Little moves would go on the few twists in the road, but they would come back on the fast descents since 70 cyclists descending en masse can overcome wind resistance on a downhill section with very little effort.

On the penultimate lap, Mukunda Feldman drew out the first significant split of about 12 riders. The group remained in sight though and individuals and small teams in the peloton who had missed the split slayed themselves to bring it back. Going through the finish line on the bell lap, Adam Sullivan went hard and the peloton started to string out. Jason Baer countered and the peloton started looking like a scatter plot. This is peloton-speak for “uncle!” so when Jason Beerman attacked after Baer, he got a gap and rolled a steady pace until he was joined by a group of nine, which included teammate Colin H. Murphy. This front group immediately started trading hard pulls and it was clear that this was the winning move, as it contained strong riders from well-represented teams.

With 5km to go, Fiordifrutta’s Josh Dillon, in an attack that was frighteningly similar to his winning attack two weeks prior at Turtle Pond, rolled away and took advantage of the hesitant chase to time trial his way to victory. Colin kept Beerman in contact with the group, but neither had the legs to do anything more, and they crossed the line in sequence, for 7th and 8th place.

The team continues to race aggressively and will be in attendance at the Jiminy Peak Road Race next weekend. Thanks, as always, to our supportive parents, wives, fiancées, and girlfriends for the cheers, the feeds, and the support this weekend!

Full results are here.

Warren, MA

Sturbridge, Massachusetts is home to Old Sturbridge Village, a mandatory field trip destination for every New England child. Bordering on creepy, campy, and educational all at once, the Village P.R. machine implores you to “Take the whole family for an outdoor experience that is sure to excite and astound them all.”

The Sturbridge Road Race does its best to emulate the exciting and astounding outdoor experience that Sturbridge Village provides with a 15-mile race course (new for 2008) that assuredly goes through Sturbridge at some point. The course features undulating terrain and a 4km stairstep climb into the finish that is a welcome replacement for the downhill finish of years past, since it makes the race safer and vastly more interesting.

With around 1,000 feet of elevation gain per lap, the plan was to be attentive and aggressive as soon as the neutral parade up the finishing hill was complete and the racing began. The team started the attack yo-yo, with each move staying out a bit longer than the previous one until Jason Beerman was able to go clear at around mile 10 of the 60-mile race. He got out of sight and rolled for a while until Nerac’s Ward Solar and Targetraining’s Matthew Baldwin bridged up to complete the break of the day. The three riders went steady around the course, trading even pulls and staying as efficient as possible. With two to go, the three had 2 minutes on the shrinking peloton and with one to go, they had a little less than a minute on a burgeoning chase group that was chomping at the bit.

The three were caught with about 10 miles to go in the race by a group that numbered around 12 riders, including Kenda/Raleigh’s Toby Walch and Adam Sullivan. This new front group kept hesitating and never fell into a steady rhythm, as no one wanted to expend themself too much before the decisive finishing climb. When the climb actually came, the group burst apart, with wreckage flowing out the back like a proctologist’s worst nightmare.

When the dust had settled, Adam had gritted his teeth for 9th place.

Full results are here.

Plymouth, MA

Adam Sullivan

The Myles Standish State Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts is a maze of small roads. They snake up and down and around ponds and trees, and once you enter, you are instantly lost. Home to the Charge Pond Training Series, its roads have also hosted the erstwhile Adelphia Grand Prix (now the Myles Standish State Park Road Race - Presented by the Town of Plymouth Services Board) for dozens of years.

The race flyer describes the course thusly: “The roads are not perfect, but good for racing.” After multiple equipment woes at yesterday’s Tour of the Battenkill, this rendered us all wary yet excited, like smokers who read the Surgeon General’s warning on a pack of cigarettes and light up anyway.

We lined up Adam Sullivan, Jason Baer, Jason Beerman, Eric Tremble, and Colin Murphy under sunny skies and perfect spring conditions. With relatively large numbers in the race, we wanted to always have guys up the road until something stuck so we took turns out of the parking lot. Eric went and was followed by Colin and Adam and Jason Baer and Jason Beerman. The latter Jason’s move seemed to come at the right time since he hit a winding section and was quickly out of sight. After a few miles, he was joined by evergreen legbreaker Mark McCormack, Rite Aid’s Robbie King, NEBC’s Todd Rowell, and Sakonnet’s Danny Estevez. The five rolled a very hard pace for three of the ten 5.1 mile laps to establish the gap and then kept the tempo high with even pulls. With four laps to go on the the 500-meter eight percent hill, the pace lifted and Estevez was dropped. The lead four continued at a steady pace until the final lap, when Beerman tried to get away from the two excellent sprinters (King and McCormack) in the group. The attack dropped Rowell, but King and McCormack came back and the three trackstanded and surged, trackstanded and surged, until the finish line was in sight and it became a drag race. Beerman ended up in the 3rd spot again.

Behind, the team patrolled all the dangerous chase groups, and Eric and Adam were in the first group back. Unfortunately, Eric flatted with 3 laps to go, but Adam rode strongly in the group for an 8th place finish. It was a day of redemption, of sorts. The team will race the Sturbridge/Palmer double next weekend.

Myles Standish results are here.