Today, on Thanksgiving, all four Livingston’s ran the awesome 80th edition of the Manchester Road Race. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite day of the year. The road race is one of the main reasons why.
This was my 27th overall MRR and 22nd in a row. After the race, I saw my long time friend, and “nemesis,” Todd Brown. He got his remarkable 40th in a row today! He has done half of them.
Our son, ran his fourth and got his best time. He was shadowed for the first part of the race by Laurie Brooks, who volunteered to look after him in the thick crowd. They run a similar pace, so it worked. Our daughter did her first Thanksgiving Day road race, and we are so proud of her. Debbie ran with her.
It looked like there were more than the 15,000 registered runners on the course. The weather was fine, and good enough for lots of spectators to come out and cheer. It was cool and cloudy, but dry. We saw so many friends, which is part of the tradition. We saw too many to name them all, but many are members of the Shenipsit Striders, Silk City Striders, Team Horst Sports, and the Hartford Extended Area Triathletes.
The men’s race had an absolutely amazing ending, with Ben True, a New England resident (Hanover, New Hampshire) prevailing over Leonard Korir in a photo-finish. Christopher Thompson was in the mix until the final kick, and finished third only four seconds behind True and Korir. The video that Lori Riley captured from the press truck is spectacular. If you are a fan of running, to watch these guys duel after 4.7 miles was sweet. They averaged 4:32/mile for the 4.748 mile race. This race has a pretty stiff hill on Porter Street (for a road race), so that’s not the course record, but still and insane pace. As Main Street pitches upward towards the finish line, they unleashed their kicks and it was True’s lean at the end that nailed the victory.
Emily Sisson won the women’s race in 24:08 and Sarah Pagano of Brighton, Mass. was second in 24:19. Jordan Hasay was third in 24:27. Sisson was quoted by Riley in her post-race video interview regarding her win, “…it’s a pretty big deal.” I’d say!
I had a good race. It wasn’t my fastest time, but I’ve been doing more cycling than running. I tested my cyclocross fitness and ran smooth and steady to finish in 27:42. It was a good day.
I know that there are “turkey trots” all over the country and world, but Manchester, Connecticut is where it all started. Thank you to the race committee, the volunteers, and sponsors. Happy anniversary Manchester Road Race!
What a difference 24 hours makes. After Saturday’s unseasonably dry and warm weather at the Supercross Cup, Sunday’s weather was extraordinarily bad. Overnight, it snowed several inches in Rockland County, New York.
The Rockland Community College course turned into a quagmire. The early morning races got the worst of it. It was our luck that all of the Team Horst Sports riders were in the second and third races of the day. It was freezing cold and extremely wet.
After a warmup lap on the snowy, icy, and muddy course, our Cub Junior team was reduced from three to one. Wisely, our two youngest riders opted to sit this one out. They will have more than enough future opportunities to ride in the mud. The strongest of our bunch, Sean, raced. He was super-tough to gut out a finish in the awful conditions, but the distress on his face at the finish signaled the discomfort of having cold and wet feet and hands.
The Masters 45+ and 55+ race followed at 9:45 A.M. and it was still freezing cold. The course was super slippery. I had a terrible race compared to yesterday’s excellent race. The conditions were horrendous and I suffered miserably during the five lap event. I made a few preparation mistakes in addition to all of the in-race errors. I could have used an extra layer under my long sleeve skin suit. I had a Capilene base layer, but it was too thin. I could have used thicker gloves. My fingers were frozen and they didn’t warm up until the fourth lap. In the meantime, I was having trouble braking and shifting. I could have also used an extra pair of socks (two layers). I’ll be better prepared next time.
By the third lap, my disc brake pads were shot. I’ll have some maintenance to do before the next race. It took me 64 minutes to go less than nine miles. One good thing (that prolonged the suffering) was that I didn’t get lapped. I hung in their and finished.
It was a great day to showcase Horst Spikes. After all of the dusty and warm races, this one had true cyclocross weather. I used Titanium Long Cross Spikes TM and they were fantastic. Some of our team riders used the Ice & Snow in either Titanium or Stainless Steel. Our Cub Juniors used either Medium or Mini Standard.
Cross Spikes TM were critical for gaining grip on the numerous steep climbs and on the off camber sections that required running. I saw some amazing skills out there yesterday. Some riders are so talented at handling their bikes. I was happy to survive this one.
The venerable Supercross Cup had another venue change after moving from the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area course inside Harriman State Park. I did the 2015 Supercross, and loved the course, so I was sad to see the change for 2016.
Even still, we had a great day today at the new venue, Rockland Community College (SUNY), in Suffern, New York. We had no idea what to expect of the course when we arrived early this morning, and we were surprised at how challenging it turned out to be.
The Cub Junior 9-14 year olds went off at 8:45 A.M., and it was already unseasonably warm. The weather turned out to be weirdly spectacular for late November, with the temperature peaking in the low 60’s Fahrenheit. The sunshine was brilliant in a cloudless sky. We raced in shorts and short-sleeves, which was awesome.
The other thing that kept us warm was the climbing. There was lots of climbing! The Supercross course was the hilliest of the year, with more than 220 feet per lap of elevation gain. It was a simple course, without much for technical features, but the undulating course throughout the RCC campus required some serious leg strength.
Team Horst Sports had three juniors, and they did very well. Sean, Shepard, and Lars had a blast both racing and hanging out at the college. The Supercross crew did an amazing job. There was a natural pump track crafted from piles of asphalt/dirt, a man-made pump track (compliments of the folks at Clif Bar), a bounce house, a food truck festival, and several vendors. The infield of the RCC track was full of action. The cyclocross course wound its way around the campus with the track in the center, making spectating lots of fun.
My son did three laps over the course of 40 minutes, which was quite a workout. He stayed on the lead lap and got to do a nice post-race interview with Frankie Andreu, who was our race announcer. That was a pleasant surprise. I’ve always been an Andreu fan, ever since I watched him nearly win the final stage of the 1994 Le Tour de France on the Champs Élysées. He came so close, but got beat in the sprint after driving a rare final stage breakaway. Anyway, he had a good pro cycling career and it was fun to have him on the microphone today.
The ground was a bit wet in the morning, so the early races had some greasy corners that made it a bit challenging for some riders. The afternoon races were a far dustier affair, as the warm sun and a light breeze dried the fields.
The Men’s Masters 45+ and 55+ races were immediately after the Cub Juniors and Cat 4 Women (who shared the course together). Dave Geissert and Keith Enderle represented our team in the 55’s. Arthur Roti, Wade Summers, and I were in the 45+ field.
I had another fantastic race. I capitalized on my second row call-up, and had a super start, avoiding several serious crashes, including one on the gravel lined start/finish chute, just seconds into the race. Crazily, it was guys from first three rows that were wrecking. The nervousness continued throughout the first lap, as several other riders wiped out in slick corners. On multiple occasions, I had to dodge downed riders.
Eventually, I settled into a nice rhythm and after two laps, I was battling a group of four riders for the fifth spot. With three to go, I was sitting fifth, but I realized that I was already deep into the red on the unrelenting course. There was one running section over a set of stairs (and many riders rode them) and one set of barriers. The rest of the race was up and down the green campus hills with several off-camber sections. Some of the hills required little ring climbing, which isn’t common in Northeast USA cyclocross race. I liked it.
My group didn’t stay together for long. Guys ended up attacking each other throughout the third lap, and I had to back off a bit in an attempt to stay upright and aerobic. By the end of the lap, I had slipped back to seventh. Between laps four and five, I slipped back a bit further, and ultimately finished ninth. That is still a good result. On the last lap, when I realized I wasn’t going to close the gap to the rider in front of me, and I wasn’t in danger of getting caught, I backed off in an effort to save some energy for tomorrow’s race.
After the race, we hung out and visited with friends, and then we watched the entire Elite Women’s race and the first half of the Elite Men’s race. It was a blast. The Supercross Cup will continue on Sunday and the weather looks to be a lot worse, with overnight rain, much colder temperatures, and a chance of snow. We will see what tomorrow brings.
It was a fantastic weekend at the 26th annual Verge Northampton International Cyclocross at Look Park in Massachusetts. NoHo CX is always one of my favorite events. Once again, Horst Engineering sponsored the event. We had a strong presence in the expo, selling Horst Spikes and greeting friends, old and new. Both Saturday and Sunday had racing from 8:00 A.M until 4:00 P.M., with 11 separate races each day.
Some of the categories were combined, like the Masters 45+ and Masters 55+. Team Horst Sports had a strong presence in both of those races. We also had a presence in the Men’s Cat 4 field, as well as the Cub Juniors 9-14 year olds. The weather was spectacular. Yesterday was dry, sunny, cool, and breezy. Today, it started cool, but by late morning, the temperature had warmed up considerably, and by afternoon, it was warm. The course was dry both days, and today, it was actually dusty. The race had a record number of registrants, with more than 700 unique riders over the course of the weekend. Many of us raced both days.
I was in the stacked Masters 45+ field both days. Yesterday, I had the race of the year (so far), and one of my best cross races in many years. I rode stronger than anticipated, which is a great sign as we approach late season. NoHo is definitely an A race with a very strong field, so I was pleased to ride so well. I finished 18th, which is pretty good given how strong the other 70 guys were. Seconds count when you are going flat-out on such a demanding course. I was able to capitalize on my good start, hold my ground, and actually pick up several spots in the last lap. I held off a really good group of riders who were battling with me the entire race. My teammates, Matt Domnarski, Wade Summers, and Arthur Roti all rode well. The course was good for me, with long stretches of open pedaling that allowed me to use my power. There were two tough uphills that required running. Most of the corners were wide and sweeping, which played to my strengths.
Today, I started with tired legs (as many of us did), and didn’t perform quite as well, finishing 21st in another strong field of 81 guys. I suffered quite a bit more, not able to get on top of the pedals. The course was run in reverse, there were two steep and technically demanding downhills and a steep uphill. The corners were a bit tighter and the track was a bit more technical. I kept getting gapped off of a group of five riders. Every time we hit the technical stuff, I was hesitant and lost ground. I would make it up when I had room to pedal, but eventually that sapped my strength. When the group broke apart on the last lap, I was one of the last. My teammate Matt was also in my group and I just held him off on the line. Wade and Art rode even better than yesterday.
Debbie skipped yesterday’s race, but she and our daughter joined our son and me today. Our Cub Juniors, including our son, had two good days of racing. Watching them tackle the tough Look Park course was a joy. We saw so many friends and had a lot of fun. Many of our non-cyclocross teammates joined us in support. There were some great food trucks to choose from. We watched some amazing performances. Lizzy Gunsalus, was a standout, winning the Women’s Cat 3 race both days. At 13, she has a bright future. Emma White had a great race today, winning the Elite Women’s race after finishing second yesterday. Her brother, Curtis White, bested a strong Elite Men’s field both days. All of these riders are sponsored by Horst Spikes, which is pretty cool.
Thank you to Adam Myerson, Alec Donahue, J.D. Bilodeau, and all of the volunteers for producing such a fine event. Once again, this race showed the joy of New England cyclocross.
The Newtown Cyclocross p/b CCAP and Team 26 was a lot of fun. It was my third time doing this race at Fairfield Hills in Newtown, Connecticut. It was race number six in the CT Series of CX.
It was another good turnout for Team Horst Sports. We were represented in the Men’s 4/5 race by Randall Dutton. In the Cub Juniors 9-12 year old race, Sean Rourke led the way in 6th place with another impressive ride. Shepard Livingston, Lars Roti, and Nate Summers all had a good race. There were 28 kids in the Cub Juniors race. It was the second largest field of the day. Only the Men’s 4/5 race was larger. In the Masters 50+ race, Pat Cunningham was 5th and Tom Ricardi was 7th.
I did the Masters 40+ race with Wade Summers and Art Roti. I came close to scoring my second podium finish in eight days, but I blew it on the last lap, allowing Laurence Merling to lead through the final corners thinking I could get past him on the finishing stretch of asphalt. It was not a tactical finish, but rather an all out lap. We took turns pulling in an effort to stay in front of Jeremy Brazeal and Stan Lezon, who weren’t far behind. We went all out and our last lap (6:52) and it was the fastest one clocked for all Masters riders in the six lap race.
Laurence led me through the barriers and then past the pit. I never got around him and he finished one second in front of me. Split seconds matter at that point in the race when you are on the rivet. I made an error about 1/4 mile from the finish after we came through the pit. There was a sequence of tight turns and in my hypoxic state, I took one too hard, and ended up off the groove and in some loose leaves and brush. I had to chase and close a three-second gap before the final few turns. I never had a chance to come around him and it was game over.
I banged my bars is frustration, but the reality is I probably wouldn’t have had a chance to sprint for third if Tim Ratta hadn’t flatted on the second lap just after we came through the pit. He had to run his bike a long way to get back to the pit (you aren’t permitted to go backwards on the course), and likely would have finished in the top three. As it turned out, Brian Girard and Joe Kubisek pulled away from us after three laps. Laurence and I couldn’t close the gap. Those guys are so strong.
Wade and Art had good races too. We all suffered in the wind on the flat and fast course. This race has more wide open riding and we averaged more than 15 miles per hour over the course of the 43 minute race.
Debbie and our daughter joined us and she ended up doing the Kids Fun Race, which netted her a water bottle full of candy. Halloween wasn’t even a week ago and she is stocking up again.
I’m sending a shout out to cousin Lucas Smallidge, who co-led the Men’s 3/4 race for five laps. He came so close to the win, but it looks like he either had an incident on the last lap, or just faded as he finished second to Anson Ross, who he matched lap times with up until the last go round the course.
Thanks to the volunteers from CCAP and Team 26 for putting on another good event. Next up is the Verge Northampton International Cyclocross race weekend in Massachusetts. Horst Engineering will have a big presence at the event. Come visit us at the expo where we will show off our Horst Spikes product line.
After a two weekend/three-week break from cyclocross, the Livingston Family did two great races this weekend. The first was the Cheshire Cross in Cheshire, Connecticut. This course is one of my favorites and is very near my in-law’s, the Schieffer’s, so it is super-convenient.
The second race took longer to get to. It was the Wicked Creepy Cross in Bennington, Vermont, and it was well worth the drive through the Berkshires of Western, Massachusetts and over the Green Mountains of Vermont.
The Cheshire course is one of the most rugged in New England with ample opportunity to crash, flat, or break your bike some other way. The rocks and roots in the woods posed a problem for me too. I had a clean race with no crashes and no bobbles, but I ran 30 psi in my Tufo tubular tires, and it wasn’t enough to keep me from bottoming out on the worst of the rocks.
That forced me to back off and ride over the rough stuff as lightly as I could. It was a tactical error on my part, but I got through to the finish without an incident and finished somewhere inside the top ten of the Masters 40+ race. I haven’t seen the results yet, but I may have been as high as sixth place. Team Horst Sports had an awesome turnout in Cheshire with multiple riders in the 40+, 50+, 4/5, and Junior categories.
The star of the day was teammate Matt Domnarksi, who scored the win in the 50+ race. He caught me with about a 1/2 a lap to go after starting 30 seconds behind. All of the Masters riders were on the course at the same time. Matt and I finished together and I was very happy for him. Not far behind was Pat Cunningham, who was 2nd ahead of Jonathan Tarbox from the Expo Wheelmen. Debbie was there to support us, and our son had a good ride in the Junior 9-12 year old race. It was great to see so many kids racing. The only complaint about Cheshire Cross was that these juniors only did one lap of the course, which is lame. The winner finished in less than eight minutes. That’s not long enough. They should have done two laps, even though the slower kids at the back may have taken 30 minutes to finish.
The entire Cheshire Cycle crew, including Race Director Hunter Pronovost and his volunteers, did a fabulous job with the race. I love Heckle Hill and the crazy people who come out to cheer. Thom Parson’s of www.dirtwire.tv had some good coverage, including this video featuring me. The 16% grade is rideable, but it takes every ounce of energy in your legs to make it over the top. We had no time to linger after the race. We had to get to Star Hill Sports in Tolland for an afternoon of soccer matches.
Today’s race was another great event, though we had to get up really early to make it there in time. The Junior 9-14 race was at 9:01 A.M., which meant we had to leave the house by 6:00 A.M., which we succeeded in doing. The drive was treacherous with heavy fog on Rt. 9 as we drove up and over the Green Mountains. Thankfully, it cleared a bit as we reached Bennington. The temperature was warmer and there was a lot less snow than we saw up on the ridge. We got to Willow Park in time to register and scout the course.
Our son had a fabulous race and got to make up for the short race at Cheshire by doing three full laps of the tricky Wicked Creepy course. He was knackered at the finish, but all smiles. It didn’t rain during the races, but the ground was wet from rain and snow prior in the week. That made for some slick corners. By the time my race went off at 11:45 A.M., the ground was tacky and there was a nice groove to ride through most of the corners. The sand pit was tamped down, but still slick. The run up was a leg sapper, as usual, and my Medium Horst Spikes Cross Spikes gave me great traction. Our son used Mini Standard Horst Spikes in his size 2 shoes.
I had a fantastic race. My fitness is coming around, as I expected it would. The three-week break from racing was just what my legs needed. I was tired after doing six races in 12 days, but those efforts are paying dividends now. I finished third in the Masters 45+ field. All of the Masters racers started together (mass start) but they scored the 35+, 45+, and 55+ riders separately. I rode another clean race and feel like I could have gone even harder, but the technical nature of the course (lots of turns) kept me from going much faster. My skills are getting better, but they still have a long way to go.
I had fun battling with Dan Coady, who finished a few spots in front of me and got third in the 35+ field. I was in the top 10 overall for Masters, and maybe as high as seventh, but the results weren’t posted. I scored a bag of coffee from a race sponsor, which I’ll give away because I stick to tea. Even still, I was very happy to race and the Wicked Creepy and NYCROSS volunteers do a great job. After Cheshire, where there were no less than 11 Team Horst racers and at least five teammates spectating, only two of us made it to Vermont today. I was joined by Paul Nyberg, who was in the 55+ field.
Willow Park is a great venue. There are two fabulous playgrounds. The views are wonderful. The BMX track is awesome. You can’t beat this spot for cyclocross.
The drive home was a lot better, though the rain arrived while we were having an early supper at one of our favorite restaurants, Hearty Eats, in Shelburne Falls. When we visit Shelburne Falls, we always park next to the Bridge of Flowers. After dinner, we visited Molly Cantor Pottery, which is right next door. They have some beautiful stuff from local artisans. We got home at 6:15 P.M., after a 12+ hour day on the road. It was a great weekend.
Cheshire Cross Race Results (will be posted when available)
Wicked Creepy Cross Race Results (will be posted when available)
Promoted by the Thread City Cyclers, this race is one of my favorites. The venue, Mansfield Hollow State Park, is beautiful. We were there during this past summer for the Shenipsit Striders Nipmuck South Trail Race. The course design is fantastic. The post race refreshments are awesome. The volunteers do a great job.
I finally had a clean race. My cross results have been a little uneven. I had a hard fall at the VT50 and hadn’t been right since then. Midnight was OK, but I was sloppy. I underperformed at KMC and hit the ground several times, which isn’t surprising given how difficult the conditions were. I just wrote about Weasels, which I had to do on my pit bike.
So, coming into one of my favorite local races, I was ready to ride strong and without an incident. Thankfully, things came together. The weather was perfect. I was able to ride in my short sleeve skin suit and it felt just right. I had a good start, and even moved up a bit on the first lap. I settled in and had a nice race long battle with Expo Wheelmen rider, Jeremy Brazeal. I was able to hold him off for 8th.
After a few weeks of active rest, I’m going to be even stronger. It was a fun day for Team Horst Sports. We had a really strong turnout. We were well represented in the Juniors field. Sean Rourke, Nate Summers, Shepard Livingston, and Lars Roti all had good rides. In the Men’s Cat 4 race, Andris Skulte and Randall Dutton were our racers.
In the 40+ race, I was joined by Wade Summers and Arthur Roti. In the 50+ race, Pat Cunningham took 2nd place. He was followed by Matt Domnarski, Tom Ricardi, and Dave Geissert. The foliage is just starting to get good in Connecticut and the Hollow is a great place to see it.
Last Wednesday, I returned to The Night Weasels Cometh in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Weasels is a fantastic night-time cyclocross race that I’ve done several times. I did the 40+ race that started with the Elite riders at 8:30 P.M. under the lights at Ski Ward.
The course is hilly and technical. Unfortunately, on a warmup lap, I took a gravelly downhill corner way too fast and wiped out hard. I keep banging my Vermont 50 Mile injuries (left arm and left hip) so they aren’t getting better. Even worse was that Todd Bowden was following close and couldn’t get around me. He crashed hard on top of both me and my bike.
The bike suffered. I broke a spoke on my rear Zipp 303, which rendered the bike useless for the race. I had to go to my pit bike, my Seven Tsunami, which was my main bike for 10 years, but hasn’t been my main bike for the last five. It has cantilever brakes which isn’t a big deal, but the geometry is quite different from my Seven Mudhoney Pro. I much prefer the Mudhoney, but it spent the race on my car rack.
I never felt comfortable on the Tsunami, but gutted it out. I had a clean race, but I was really tentative, which slowed me down. Another rider crashed hard on the second lap and I heard he broke his leg. For 45 minutes, he was down on the course with emergency personnel tending to him. It’s always scary to come around and be told to slow for the rider down on the course. I hope he is OK. It looked like he was in agony.
My teammates, Matt Domnarski, Arthur Roti, and Whit Massey were in the race with me. I got lapped by the winner just before the finish line on his last lap, but still did another lap. The results got messed up. I should have been 41st, but when they published them, they had me 2nd to last because of that extra lap I did. Whatever! I was happy to just race another Weasels. It was a long day of work followed by another fund race, and then the late night drive home. I’ll be back in 2017.
This past weekend, we participated in another milestone for New England cyclocross racing. With high expectations, the KMC Cross Fest moved from Providence, Rhode Island to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut. It was great to welcome the Cross Fest to our state, which will also host the 2017 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.
Cross Fest was a very successful event when it was held at Roger Williams Park in the capital of Rhode Island, but for a variety of reasons, including the scale of the event, it was moved to the new venue with much fanfare. Others will determine the fate of the event’s future, but I declare it a success. With three days of top-level racing, the New England Builders’ Ball, the race expo, a Gran Fondo, and other activities, it was a big deal.
New England will always be the hotbed of North American cyclocross and I’m not just saying that because I’m a native of the region. We have the deepest fields, most competition, the history, and culture that make cross great. It’s great to see the sport grow, and Cross Fest in Thompson is another step forward for the growth of the sport. The speedway venue is bound to spark copycats, which is fantastic, because Thompson itself is a copycat of Zolder, one of the storied Belgian venues.
Horst Engineering and Team Horst Sports were involved in several ways. First, we exhibited Horst Spikes at the Builders’ Ball, a celebration of New England’s bespoke bicycle builders, craftsmen, and craftswomen. Second, we sponsored so many of the great riders in the elite fields, including men’s and women’s overall winners, Stephen Hyde and Katie Compton. Third, our team was well represented throughout the weekend. From morning until afternoon, races were filled with our riders. Andris Skulte, Randall Dutton and Tom Ricardi represented us in the Men Master 40+ 4-5 races. Matt Domnarski, Pat Cunningham, Paul Nyberg, Keith Enderle, and Dave Geissert were in the Men 50+ 1-2-3-4 races. In the Men 35+ 1-2-3 races, I was joined by Art Roti and Wade Summers. Most importantly, our emerging Juniors squad was represented in their respective age groups by Lars Roti, Shepard Livingston, Nathaniel Summers, and Sean Rourke. Not to be left out, Cole Ricardi, who rides for CCAP, but is affiliated with us, was also in the Juniors races.
I had the opportunity to race at 3:00 P.M. on both Saturday and Sunday. The 35+ field was super-competitive. I was able to remain on the lead lap, but to keep the races from running long, race officials had many of us, including me, finish one lap down. My racing age is now 45, so some of these men are 10 years younger. Even still, some of the top finishers, including Matt Timerman, Adam Myerson, Todd Bowden, and Alec Donahue are 40+ like me, so I’m not making excuses. Clearly, after watching the top guys fly over that course, I have to keep working to improve my own skills.
My performance was about the same both days. Saturday’s race was the much wetter affair. The entire weekend was an advertisement for our Horst Spikes line of Cross Spikes. The course was made “Belgian style” with multiple challenging features including two flyovers, long sections of mud, a nasty sand section/run-up, a set of barriers, a nasty uphill run-up that was super-steep, an off-camber descent, and a slick uphill that was rideable. Mix in some pavement, some grass, and more mud and you have a winning layout. With rain on and off all weekend, the weather was a huge factor. Traction was critical, and Horst Spikes played a big role. Everyone on our team, including the Juniors used them with great success. I used my stainless steel Long spikes both days. The Juniors used Mediums or Mini-Standards. Most of the adults used Long spikes like me.
We got a lot of positive attention for supplying Cross Spikes and they were put to good use. Saturday’s conditions were very challenging. I had a pretty good race, though I was tentative on some sections of the course, and faded badly in the last two laps, giving up ground. I ultimately ceded about 10 spots from where I was riding in the first half of the race. A few late bobbles cost me, but ultimately, I was happy with my race. On Sunday, the course was still muddy, but not as wet. That made the race faster, which I thought would favor me. However, I made a series of mistakes, six to be exact, that ultimately cost me about 10 spots again. I never fell on Saturday, but on Sunday, I hit the ground on three occasions. One time, my chain was knocked off and it cost me even more time to get it back on. I was pushing too hard on Sunday, was tired, and that is when you make mistakes.
Cyclocross is a balance between strength and technique. You can be the strongest rider, but if you aren’t smooth, you won’t be successful. After all these years, I’m still seeing that balance that will lead to the perfect, or “clean” race. The falls on my left side (all of them) were on the same spots as my hard fall from last weekend’s Vermont 50, so I’m a little beat up after four races in eight days. Cross is a physical game, but that is what I love about it. Art and Wade had good races too. We may have been in the back half of the field, but our consolation is that our competitors are some of the best in the business.
Our 50+ teammates fared even better with Pat and Matt cracking the top-20. We saw a lot of friends over the course of the weekend. It was great to welcome the Park Ave Bike Shop crew from Rochester, New York. One of my longtime endurance sports friends is Erik Grimm. He had a fantastic weekend, finish fifth in the 50+ race on Saturday, and then winning it on Sunday. I watched his podium ceremony, snapped a few photos, and was inspired to go ride hard.
Watching the junior riders was another thrill. They had to ride the same course, including the tough run-ups and the off-camber descents. Watching our son get up and over one of the flyovers, without walking, was a weekend highlight. I’m excited to see these kids race and grow up.
Some people camped out, but between the weather, soccer, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the NipMuck Trail Marathon, I decided to drive back and forth. That meant three trips in three days and about six and a half hours in the van. That was a bummer, but October weekend’s are incredibly busy for our family. I rarely miss NipMuck, so it was good to see the start yesterday morning on the drive out to Thompson. I was sad to leave our Shenipsit Striders friends behind, but this weekend was all about cyclocross.
A big thank you to Richard Fries, the event staff, the volunteers, and the sponsors. I could write more about Cross Fest, but my bike needs cleaning, my gear needs washing, and I have to pack…for Night Weasels Cometh, which is Wednesday. Cross season continues. I look forward to KMC Cross Fast in 2017.
I was pleased with my effort at the Midnight Ride of Cyclocross in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The Wednesday night race kicked off the “Holy Week” of Cyclocross in New England. I’m racing five of the next 10 days including Saturday and Sunday at the KMC Cross Fest, next Wednesday at the Night Weasels Cometh, and the following Saturday at Mansfield Hollow.
These weeknight races are viciously hard and to make matters even more challenging, I did the Elite race, which didn’t start until 8:00 P.M. when it was pitch black. They had some lights on the course, but some of the corners were sketchy.
I’m only three days removed from the Vermont 50, which hammered my legs. I’m definitely on form right now. The only ill effects from VT50 were my sore left arm and my stiff lower back. My legs were pretty good until the last lap, when I just ran out of gas.
I was as high as 30th or so after a decent start, but lost ground in the second half of the race, particularly on the second to last lap when I stunk it up. I was fried and gave up several spots, including two on the final half lap, and finished 41st. One of those was to my teammate, Matt Domnarski, who hunted me down.
This was mostly a Massachusetts crowd, though my friend, Kate Northcott, came from New Hampshire (racing for West Hill Shop in Putney) and won the women’s race. Another teammate, Arthur Roti, did the 2/3/4 race at 6:00 P.M. I would have liked to race with him, but when I registered, I chose the late race, which had a pretty strong field.
I was happy to not get lapped by Justin Lindine, who took the win. He wasn’t even close to lapping me, which was good. I was comfortably able to complete the race, covering a fast 11.1 miles in 50:28. I was bummed that I forgot to wear my heart rate monitor chest strap, because my pulse was through the roof. It would have been fun to check out those stats on Strava. We were wearing chips, so my lap times were captured:
08:35
08:18
08:19
08:24
08:29
08:20
There was a lot of congestion on the first lap, and we started a bit behind the start/finish line, hence the slower time.
A few times during the race, I pushed way too hard, and totally lost my technique. Those bobbles are costly in cyclocross, and sometimes, you have to just back off if you want to stay on your bike.
After a one year layoff, we returned to the Vermont 50 Mile Ride & Run for the 17th time. Our first was in 1999, six years after the 24 year old race was founded. Every VT50 has been memorable, but 2016 was special for many reasons. For us, the VT50 is about the community of athletes, volunteers, and spectators that come together to make this such a great event.
From the registration in May to race day on the last Sunday of September, we anticipate this event. We have met so many great friends and enjoy seeing them all. Some of them we only see once a year. Others we see all of the time. Over the course of 17 years, we have seen many mountain bikers and trail runners. This year, there were more than 1,050 finishers in the various categories including:
(651) 50 mile mountain bikers
(181) 50 mile trail runners
(217) 50 kilometer trail runners
(28) 50 mile relay teams
The kids mountain bike and trail running fun runs/races were on Saturday and there were LOTS of kids.
One of the highlights of the weekend came when I checked in at registration on Saturday evening. There was a large banner hanging in the tent. It listed 33 names of bikers/runners who have done 15 or more races. One of the names was mine and two others were Team Horst Sports mates, Arlen Zane Wenzel, and Arthur Roti. Seeing the list brought a huge smile to my face. Arlen introduced me to the race in 1999 and Art joined us a year later. Thousands and thousands of unique athletes have done the VT50 over the last 24 years and it is cool to think that only 33 have done 15 or more. That’s special.
In appreciation for our support of the race, which benefits Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports, we each received a Farmhouse Pottery handmade mug. This was totally unexpected, but greatly appreciated. Every year, I go to this race to compete and compete hard. My goal is to have a better race than the prior year. I’m still at a level where I can expect to improve on last year’s time/performance, but that won’t always be the case.
Photo Credit: Patricia Dowcett
We attended the race in 2014, but didn’t compete because I had crashed and broke my shoulder a month earlier. Debbie opted not to race, so we drove to various aid stations and cheered on our friends. In 2015, Debbie and I had the opportunity to go to Japan, where she ran the ULTRA-TRAIL Mt. FUJI, which was the same weekend. UTMF was a unique opportunity, and after 17 years in a row, we actually welcomed the break from the VT50, though I remember seeing all of my friends’ social media activity, and wishing I was there.
That made it easy to return in 2016, and we were thrilled to be there. We made it a family affair and in addition to our two children, we brought along my mother-in-law, Barbara Schieffer. She loves adventure and we enjoy sharing ours with her. She was a big help, keeping an eye on our children while we were racing. To keep things simple we camped at Ascutney Mountain Resort, practically in site of the start/finish. On Saturday afternoon, we met up with our teammates and friends. For the first time, the organizers held a kids mountain bike race. It was just for fun. There were one mile and two-mile events on the mountain trails. Our kids participated and had fun. The bike race was followed by the kids fun trail runs, which have been held for several years. Once again, there were 5K, one mile, and a 1/2 mile options. Our son did the 5K and our daughter did the one mile.
Autumn arrived last week and the weather changed on Saturday night, with the temperature on Sunday morning only in the mid-30’s Fahrenheit. It was quite cold. The day turned out to be a beautiful one, but it even by the end of my race, shortly after 11:00 A.M., it was still chilly. The sunshine was brilliant, but the air was cold, and a stiff breeze was blowing. The singlespeeders started in Wave 1 at 6:00 A.M. I used a handlebar light for the first hour, which was smart, since I skipped using one in 2013, and struggled a bit in the darkness. Debbie started with the 50 mile runners at 6:30 A.M. The other bike waves were in between.
The VT50 course is always tough, so we were fortunate to have extra dry conditions. There were only a handful of (barely) muddy sections, and there wasn’t any water on the course, which is amazing. There have been years where there wasn’t a dry spot and we were poured on. I remember some of those mudfests. I rode my Seven Sola SL singlespeed with my Niner carbon fork. I rode that bike all summer at the Winding Trails Summer Tri Series, but was a little unprepared for the beating I took with the fully rigid setup. By the 25 mile mark, I was wishing for a front suspension fork. I’ll consider one for next year, but there are no guarantees. I’m a bit stubborn like that. I like the bike the way it is, even though it compromises my ability to have a peak performance.
I checked my race log and came up with some fun statistics: I’ve done the race 15 times. I have ridden it 13 times, run it once, and one time, I rode to the 17 mile mark before breaking my chain (twice) and running the rest of the way to the finish. I’ve accumulated 82 hours of time on the various iterations of the course.
After 15 times, I’m still seeking that perfect race. I’ve had some stellar results, and can’t count this year as one of them, but it was still a solid ride. I went out strong, but one hour into the race, I had a wicked crash. I came into a sharp right hand turn at the bottom of a fast descent with too much speed. I made the turn, but was out of control and right after the bend, there were deep ruts in the trail. I wiped out hard, falling on a fallen tree that had been moved off trail. I hammered my left arm and hip. For a moment, as I lay in the woods, I thought I broke my arm. There was another rider right behind me. He saw the whole episode. He yelled back to check on me and I indicated that I was OK. I remounted and after a few tentative pedal strokes, I got moving again. Both the hip and arm hurt bad, but after the initial shock, I knew I could get to the finish, barring another hard crash. Of course, at that moment, the thought of four more hours on the bike kind of bummed me out.
I don’t know what kind of impact the crash had, but by the 15 mile mark, I knew that I was lacking some of my usual zip. I was hurting by 20 and went through a long bad patch that lasted until mile 40. Somewhere in between, I made the decision to stop at an aid station and eat some real food. I had been relying on what I carried, including some gels, some energy drink, and water. Some days, that works for me, but yesterday, it wasn’t enough. When I stopped, I ate some pretzels, bananas, and potatoes, which revived me. Things improved, and by mile 40, I was picking up the pace again. However, it was too late. After my strong start, I had been passed by more than 60 people, which was demoralizing, but understandable. Despite the effort to ride fast, I made sure to soak in some of the incredible views. It was a gorgeous day in Vermont.
I never felt comfortable on my bike, which happens. I accepted my fate for the day and pushed as hard as I could. The last five miles were harsh, with some additional singletrack before the final twisting descent to the line. Three of my teammates had passed me earlier in the race. Led by Anthony Eisley, we had an awesome day. He was followed by Mike Wonderly, and Arlen. Not far behind me was Spike McLaughlin. He was followed by Erik Emanuele. Then, he was followed by Art Roti and Mark Hixson, who smashed their own tandem record in fine fashion. Congratulations to all of the riders and runners. With so many finishers, there are more than a 1,000 stories to be told. There were so many great performances.
Debbie was our lone runner. She put together a good race, her first ultra since Wapack and Back in May. The VT50 has never suited her strengths, but she wanted to give it another shot, and was happy with her result. She prefers rugged and mountainous courses. Vermont has hills, but there are more dirt roads than she likes. She finished in 8 hours and 53 minutes and was third in her age group, which was a morale booster.
In addition to our teammates, we saw so many friends, that it would be difficult to list them. It was great to race with our Coach, Al Lyman. Once again, Race Director Mike Silverman, and his volunteer team, did a fantastic job. Every year, the race develops a bit more, without losing its grassroots vibe. From the live music on both Saturday afternoon and Sunday, to the USA made technical t-shirts, to the farm fresh fruits and vegetables at the finish line, to the maple syrup awards; this race gets the details right.
We had a lot of gear to pack up, but by 5:00 P.M., we were on the road again, and headed south. We made a pit stop in Northampton to visit Paul & Elizabeth’s for dinner. It was a nice way to celebrate another Vermont 50.
9/27/16 Update: I neglected to mention that I was happy to see the race organizers make an extra effort with recycling. This makes for a much more sustainable race. There were clearly labeled bins throughout the start/finish area that included single-stream recycling, compost, and trash. I wish I had a photo. This is great. What made me unhappy was how many people disregarded the signs and just threw everything in the trash. I saw volunteers picking recyclable materials out of the trash, which is deplorable. The Vermont 50 community needs to do better. At Horst Engineering, we recently launched a revamped recycling program and battle similar challenges with our employees, but the process is getting better. Of course, it doesn’t improve without letting people know (education) when it isn’t working to expectations. I would expect that the VT50 committee would share this feedback with the competitors. Also, Debbie noticed (its easier to see when you are running) LOTS of trash out on the course, and especially energy food (gels, bars) packets. This is ridiculous. If you aren’t carrying a pack, then you should have pockets. This race should be run with a Leave No Trace philosophy. Most of the trails are on private property and for one day a year, we are given the privilege to ride/run on them. Let’s not blow it.
After years of having the Hammerfest Triathlon on my “to do” list, I finally made it to Branford, Connecticut for the September classic. This was the race’s 20th year. For two decades, it has been an important fundraiser for Brian’s Hope, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation dedicated to stopping the progression of Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). According to the website, “The foundation is named in honor of Brian Kelley, a young man from Branford who was diagnosed with ALD at the age of six. By working to broaden ALD awareness, support medical research, and promote the passage of newborn screening nationwide, we hope to see the day when no young boy will endure the challenges Brian has faced throughout the past twenty years.”
I’ve done Brian’s Beachside Boogie duathlon a few times, last in 2012, which is also a fundraiser for Brian’s Hope. Back then, I had the pleasure to meet Brian and my age group award was painted by him. It is displayed proudly in my room at my parent’s shoreline home in Old Lyme. Like Old Lyme, Branford is a Long Island Sound community with a lot of character. The 1/2 mile swim, 13.5 mile bike, and 3.6 mile run is technical and challenging. The start/finish and transition areas are at the Owenego Beach Club, a beautiful spot on the Sound.
I got up super early (4:30 A.M.) so that I could get there for 6:00 A.M. I wanted to pre-ride the bike loop, which you do twice during the race. I checked my iPhone early and saw news that motivated me for the day. I’ve been inspired by Karl Meltzer’s attempt to break Scott Jurek’s Appalachian Trail supported speed record, and the news I got when I awoke was good. He reached Springer Mountain, Georgia early this morning in time. That news pumped me up. Jurek just set the record last summer, and helped Meltzer beat his own record by crewing and pacing him. Debbie and I tried to catch the Speedgoat when he was passing through NH, VT, MA, CT, and NY, but missed him on three occasions! We were so close, but had to settle for following his progress online. So, today, I was fueled by Meltzer’s success.
I got to Branford before sunrise and accomplished the task of riding the bike loop. I didn’t preview the run, but that was OK because I had studied a map. The start was at dead low tide, which made for an interesting swim. Thankfully the bottom was sandy and soft because we had to run the first/last 100 yards or so because it was too shallow to swim. Once it was deep enough, you could swim, though it was rough–in two ways. The incoming waves were choppy by Long Island Sound standards, and the congestion in the first wave was rough too, as bodies banged against each other in the current. Once we made the turn at the far buoy and made for the beach again, it smoothed out with a little push from behind.
From the beach, you climbed a set of steps, and then there was an uphill run, mostly on pavement, to the transition area. I ran gingerly trying to protect my feet, which are sensitive to hard asphalt. My swim was OK, but I had already ceded three and a half minutes to the Nathan Barry, the leader, by the time it was over, which is a ridiculous deficit. I didn’t have to worry about catching him because he put even more time into me on the bike and run. I loved the bike leg. Once I settled in, I started picking off the faster swimmers. The temperature was mild, but it was humid, so it felt warmer. By the end of the first 6.5 mile lap, I moved up to fifth spot and closed in on Jon Arellano in fourth.
Jon is one of my favorite rivals. He and I battled all summer long, at the Winding Trails Summer Tri Series. The two of us are an even match. He always swims faster, as he did today, gaining a minute on me. I’m the stronger biker, and lately, he has been the better runner. So, I wasn’t surprised when I caught him that he wouldn’t let go of me. Between mile seven and mile 11, we must have traded places ten times. Because we were on the road, things played out a little differently. At Winding Trails, the race is off-road and a bit more hilly, so when I go by him, that’s that. He never comes back on me…until the run, when the real battling begins. Today, with the flat roads neutralizing my advantage, he was able to hang on and challenge me. Every time he went by, I dropped back to give him the three or four bike lengths necessary to avoid the draft. When the road pitched up or we came to a challenging corner, I moved in front. He dropped back, and we did the whole “dance” over again.
We came into lapped traffic, which can be a bit sketchy, so I tried to get away. Every time I though I was clear, he came up on my left shoulder again. It was a bit frustrating because we beat the snot out of each other all summer long and I was hoping that this wasn’t going to come down to a painful sprint finish again. Eventually, we came to a long drag with good pavement, and I put my chain in the 11-cog and just buried myself as I tucked low in my aero bars. After a few minutes, he didn’t appear, so I figured I had opened a gap, but I didn’t look. I never look. I got to T2 and quickly donned my running shoes, grabbed my cap, and was off. I got a split to the guy in front of me and they said it was 35 seconds. I figured there were more guys up the road because I never saw him and would have. I also knew that there was a pace scooter for the leader and it wasn’t in sight.
I focused on my own run with the goal of keeping Jon behind me. Five of the ten summer races came down to all-out sprints between us and they hurt like heck. We finished one/two or two/one eight of the ten times. Like I said, I don’t think I have another rival like Jon. We respect each other immensely. He has a few years on me, but we are both pretty tough for masters athletes with families and day jobs. The run course loops, twists, and turns, with a few spots that have race traffic going both ways. I saw the leader once, but not knowing the course, had no idea how far in front he was. It turned out to be nearly eight minutes by the finish, so I never had a chance. He was motoring.
There were a few good pitches on the course, which was more hilly than you would think for a shoreline race. At the left hand corner near the end of the long drag coming up Pawson Road where it intersects with Linden Ave., I took a glance back. Like I said, I never look back, but this time I did. I had too. I stole a glance. I needed to see where Jon was because I could feel him closing in on me. I know he has faster 5K speed than me, at least right now, but this was a bit longer, and the race whole race being longer than Winding Trails, which usually takes us 51 minutes, was in my favor. It was just a glance, and he looked to be 10 seconds back, which I judged to be close enough to catch me if I didn’t get my butt moving. I turned left on Linden and enjoyed seeing all the other athletes starting their run loop (there were multiple waves). The view of the rocky beach along the Sound was fantastic.
I figured that if I picked it up a bit on the 1/2 mile stretch before the finish, that I could hold him off. There was a tailwind and I took advantage of it as I ratcheted up the pace. Thankfully, he didn’t close the gap. I actually extended it to 19 seconds at the finish and felt good about being the first Master to get across the line. His run time was two seconds faster, but it wasn’t enough to make up what I gained on the bike. The podium was up the road, so I settled for fourth and first in my 40-44 age group. Jon is in the 45-49 division, so he still got his prize, but on the day, I got the best of him. We are both proud of being fast Masters. The guys in front of us were much younger. It’s fun to type that. We had a good chat at the finish line and compared notes on how the race unfolded. I love the “race within the race.” I’m fortunate to be towards the front of these triathlons, but I encourage anyone to have those inter-race battles regardless of their position.
Barry smoked the field, winning in 1:00:51. He was followed closely by another stellar Connecticut triathlete, Jon Fecik, in 1:01:28. Third went to David Ellis in 1:06:48 who definitely had more than the reported 35 seconds after T2, because I gained 56 seconds on the run, but never saw him. The first female finisher was Jennifer Massengale in 1:17:07. She was followed by Marie Labriola and Heather Stanish, neither of who were far behind her.
I did another loop of the bike course to cool down, and then I rode on a bit of the run course to cheer the late finishers. I saw some old friends at the awards ceremony. There was a mini-expo with a Brian’s Hope booth and other sponsors showing their wares. Nice words were said about the success of this fundraiser, the history, and the hard work of the race staff. The volunteers were awesome. Even on my cool down, I was getting cheers and shouts from the course marshals. I stopped to check out the M114 Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle that was in front of the Battery A Connecticut National Guard facility on the bike course. That was cool.
For breakfast, I went to Claire’s Corner Copia in New Haven, one of my favorite vegan friendly spots, and was home by lunch. Hammerfest was my last triathlon of the year. I cleaned my Seven Kameha SLX and moved it to our exercise room where it is parked in the offseason. It’s back to the dirt next weekend with the Vermont 50 Mile Mountain Bike, and then cyclocross season resumes in earnest with nearly 20 races planned through early January.
Today we returned to the Silk City Cyclocross, our favorite local cross race. The venue at Manchester Community College is a 10 minute drive from our house, which is fantastic. With UCI level races in Rochester, NY, some of the elite racers headed west for the weekend, but you can’t beat a top quality grassroots event that is this close to home.
Once again, the Expo Wheelmen put on an excellent race. The club came out in force and there were many volunteers. Expo are friendly “rivals” of Team Horst Sports, but that makes it fun. We support them and they support us. Just like the first CCAP Rocky Hill Cyclocross Training Series race of the year this past Wednesday, our team came out in force to support the first race of the 2016 CT Series of CX.
Unfortunately, true cyclocross weather is nowhere to be found. Summer temperatures were still in full force today as the mercury hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity was high too. Before the start of the Masters races, we had a good rain storm, but it cleared and the strong sun came out. The small amount of rain wasn’t enough to cut down on the extreme dust. This race was even dustier than Blunt Park was two weeks ago. Some sections, the soft dirt was so dry and deep that it was over your ankles. So much for mud. Its going to take a lot more than a passing shower to cure this New England drought. When it does rain for any length of time, I’ll welcome it. Drought isn’t good for Horst Spikes sales. We need some proper mud!
Cross Spikes still came in handy today, given the fair amount of running on the rugged course. I chose to run on four sections of the course. There were two steep run ups and a few off-camber sections with loose soil that necessitated at least a little running. There was also a set of berries that forced a fifth dismount (for me). I had a front row start position and then botched the start when I couldn’t get my foot in my pedal. I recovered quickly and made up for the bad start in short order. I spent part of the race in fifth place, but the heat got to me and I faded. With three laps to go, Expo rival, Stan Lezon and a Sunapee rider put some distance on me. We had a good battle going, but after more than six miles of hammering, I was toast. I could really have used a sip of water, but in most cyclocross races, there is no feeding, and I wasn’t carrying a bottle. If there ever was a day to carry one, this was it.
I had to back off and go into maintenance mode for the last three laps. I was never able to make ground on those two guys, but I had a healthy gap back to the guy in ninth. My teammate Mike Wonderly had a fantastic race, making up for his back row start and surging to the front. He wasn’t able to get the win, but settled for second, a fine result. Wade Summers and Art Roti weren’t far behind me. It was also great to see Ted D’Onofrio. We are going to have a great season in these 40+ events.
Our 50+ teammates did even better. Pat Cunningham kicked off his season with the win and he was followed by Matt Domnarski. Keith Enderle was also in the field. Our newest mate, Tom Ricardi, did very well in the Category 4 race, along with Andris Skulte. Everyone had a good day. Even the kids got in to the action. The Girls and Boys 9-11 year old race featured four Team Horst kids, including our son. Our daughter did the kids race. A couple of our roadie teammates, Arlen Zane Wenzel and Erik Emanuele stopped by on their long ride and joined us for a cool down. Unfortunately, there was nothing cool about the Silk City Cyclocross.
Thank you to Jon Tarbox, Dave Hildebrand, and their Expo mates for putting on a great race.
The 2016-2017 cyclocross season kicked off today at the CompEdge Cross in Blunt Park. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, this urban park is a fun spot for cross. Like last year, it was seriously hot and very dusty. The course was mostly the same, though there were a few more twists and turns, a longer section of roots, and a mini “flyover.”
Promoted by the Cycloconauts, this race was the first of many to come between now and the national championships in early January. In recent years, cyclocross has started earlier. When I first started racing cross in the mid-1990’s, the road season continued through September and then cross would start in October. In New England, you can race every weekend between now and October and then every weekend through Christmas. The cyclocross season is longer and stronger than ever.
I’ve got 20 +/- races targeted for this year with a mix of the fun local races and some of the larger regional events like the KMC Cross Fest at its new venue, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The New England Builders’ Ball will be held in conjunction with KMC Cross Fest and is also moving to the new venue at the speedway. Horst Engineering will display our Horst Spikes line of Cross Spikes alongside many of New England’s top bicycle framebuilders.
After a summer filled with racing triathlons, I’m ready for cross season. I was a little rusty today, but so was everyone else. I was joined in the Masters 45+ race by my teammate Matt Domnarksi. Our mate, Keith Enderle, was slated to race the 55+ race. We have another strong masters team and over the next few weeks, I’m sure we will be joined by Pat Cunningham, Paul Nyberg, Wade Summers, Mike Wonderly, Dave Geissert, Randall Dutton, Art Roti, and maybe some of the other guys. I do better in the cooler weather events, but I wanted to kick the season off anyway. It takes time to sharpen your technical skills. The Blunt Park course was full of tight turns and there were several dismounts. I didn’t get to the start line in time and ended up at the back. I had a good start, but then was blocked by an early crash that slowed the back half of the field. I worked my way up and had some good battles in a group of four, including Bryan Zieroff and new Cyclonauts riders, but we never broke the top-10.
I’m hungry to race again, and that will probably be in two weeks at the Silk City Cyclocross. Aside from the Hammerfest Triathlon and the Vermont 50, it’s all cross for me until Thanksgiving and the Manchester Road Race. Then, it will be more cross into January. I’ll think about taking a break then!
Yesterday, we returned to the Kids Who Tri Succeed Triathlon in Mansfield, Connecticut after skipping in 2015. Last year, the kids did do the sister race in Farmington. In 2014, I scored one of my favorite photos of all time. It’s kind of hard to top that moment, which is memorialized with a large canvas print of the image hanging on the wall in our house.
Our kids are “fit” as they have been doing the Winding Trails Tri Series all summer. Our son did five of the Tiny Tri’s and our daughter did the three kids races. Fitness is just for fun. Kids Who Tri Succeed is a great starter triathlon for someone new to the sport and judging by the size of the fields, it is growing in popularity.
We saw the usual cast of characters, including our friends, the Ricardi Family, who, like us, have also been going to this race for many years. Our son first did it in 2011 when it was his first triathlon. He has come a long way since then, and this year, graduated to the long course. Horst Engineering has sponsored the race for many years. Our support, the support of other businesses and families; and the volunteers make the race possible.
The race isn’t without its quirks. It isn’t easy to coordinate four age groups between the ages of four and 14. The timing is often jumbled up, despite the best efforts of the timers. Some kids went off course, some kids did extra laps, and some kids didn’t complete the required number of laps. Despite all of the volunteers, the coordination should be better. It’s hard to be critical because the local race is one of the only ones dedicated to children and there are many challenging variables to deal with. Debbie and I want to see the race improve because that is what will keep the kids coming back.
Our kids had a good time and they have continued to learn how to race thanks to events like Kids Who Tri Succeed.
Life Adventures 
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