Photos and Videos from Race at the Lake #2, 4-25-09

Early in the race:



The early break:

The winning break:

Racing for scraps:

Bell lap for field:

Field sprint:

Five Dollar Milkshake

I remember with clarity watching the "five dollar milkshake" scene from Pulp Fiction at the Parma (Ohio) cheapo movie theater while in high school back in the mid-90's.



(note how this clip appears to have been taped with a camcorder by someone watching the movie on a television screen...nice!)

Back then, the thought of a $5 milkshake seemed unfathomable.

However, while driving home from New York this weekend, Jason ordered a milkshake from the Edy's store at a New York rest stop and did in fact pay $5 for said milkshake.

Now I feel old...like a grandpa who recalls the days when one could buy milk and a loaf of bread from the corner store for like fifteen cents.

Battenkill: race!

As expected, the race got super hard exactly where I thought it would get super hard. I didn't make the lead group over the first big steep gravel climb, and spent the next 30 miles burying myself to catch the next group up the road, which I did, then managed to promptly get dropped by the guys I just dragged around for 30 miles. That's ok though...once I'm fighting for scraps, final placement matters much less than riding hard and racing my bike. Mission accomplished.

And yes, that hill at mile 55 hurts. A lot.

Teammates Jason and Derek had great races in their fields (17th and 21st, respectively), and Zak finished in the field of his race.

The hills, dirt roads, and rain (for the last 15 or so miles) made this race quite an adventure.

Here's Derek at the start of the men's 50+ plus race:


And the women's Pro/1/2/3 race:

Battenkill: Day 2

After pre-riding most of the dirt sections and the hills, it's pretty clear that this race is going to be really hard. It is a 100k course that would be challenging to simply ride, let alone race.

Today I also supported the local economy here by purchasing a Battenkill cycling cap, a quart of local chocolate milk, and lunch at a small cafe run by some pretty serious hippies.

After buying the cap, I then wore it, which makes me one of those guys who wears event specific clothing to the actual event. Like wearing a brand new Slayer tour t-shirt to a Slayer show. The upside, of course, is that the cap will give me huge amounts of cred in 20 years. It will be like wearing a Coors Classic bike race cap in 2009.

Or a tattered Slayer t-shirt from the Reign in Blood tour in 1987.

Battenkill: Day 1

The drive:

The ride (aka course recon):


We pre-rode the dirt road sections in the last 20K today. Some of it is hard packed, some of it is heavy with loose stone. It will be interesting. Also, the last hill (which is also dirt/gravel and is about 10K from the finish), is a monster. It never ends, and would be a very good place to watch Sunday's pro race. I suspect the winning move will come from that hill. It is followed by a screaming downhill and then a flat run-in into town for the finish.

Tomorrow is a tour of the Serotta factory, pick up race numbers, and more pre-riding.

On the rivet

That pretty much describes a good portion of the 70 miles I raced on Saturday at the Deer Creek Road Race. The 1-2-3 field had about 50 riders and was pretty stacked.


At one point in the race, a few minutes after attempting a breakaway chase move with another rider, I looked down at my computer and it told me that we had only completed about 25 miles. I was sure that it was broken...it wasn't. After nearly weeping upon realizing that we had another 45 miles left, I got my act together and finished the race with the main group.

Photos are courtesy of Jeffery Jakucyk.

Results are here. Next up for me: Battenkill.

Beast of Bedford

This evening, seven members of Team Spin and the Spin/Second Sole Multisport Team participated in an epic battle in the second installment of The Spin Cup: The Beast of Bedford Individual Time Trial.

Luckily, Katie documented the event for those not there, and for future generations.

Talking Trash

The League of American Bicyclists maintains a pretty neat page called "Who's Trash Talking Bikes." It documents recent comments by politicians and radio personalities who make disparaging comments about bicycling, cyclists, or bicycle funding. The most recently documented comments were by Congressman Eric Cantor (Republican-VA), who is also the House Minority Whip:

On NPR's morning news program "The Take Away," Senator Eric Cantor said, “To give you just an example, $3 million went to the District of Columbia. You know what they did with that money? They’re going to go build bike paths, and they’re going to increase the number of bike racks in neighborhoods like Georgetown. I don’t think that that’s a stimulative move.”

This page is a useful resource for anyone concerned with keeping politicians accountable for their words and actions relating to cycling and transportation issues. Considering the source, the website aggressively supports spending on bicycle infrastructure. Even if you disagree with that philosophy (and some well intentioned cyclists do, myself excluded), it's good to be aware of the rhetoric being thrown around.

The Fire Fiddler

Everyone knows a fire fiddler. He or she (most of the time it's a "he") is the person who cannot enjoy a fire without constantly messing with it and unnecessarily moving around the burning wood. The incessant fiddling also usually releases extra smoke, ash, and fire bits upon the rest of the people just trying to relax and enjoy the fire.

Luckily, Katie and I are not fire fiddlers. Which made our fire this weekend at the cabin all the more enjoyable.

Thank you Mario!!

I could yammer on about chasing little fast guys up big hills for 50 miles on Saturday. But I won't. Or I could go on about how chasing little fast guys up big hills on Saturday paled in comparison to the 30 minutes of suffering I experienced while riding home in a driving 42 degree rainstorm on Sunday while underdressed for the occasion.

Instead, more pressing matters exist. Like sharing this amazing video that accompanies a song done by the Mountain Goats & Kaki King. If you ever played old school Nintendo, you should enjoy this video. Note the lyrics. The song is called Thank You Mario! But Our Princess Is In Another Castle!




I originally wanted to post a video from the Mountain Goats show we saw on Monday at Oberlin, but the two videos uploaded to YouTube from the show are not so hot.