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Mon, 27 Apr 2009

Battenkill Race Report

Here is race report the Skylands Cycling Team Contingent that traveled to upstate New York for the Tour of Battenkill on April 18, 2009.  The Skylands Team included Larry Henderson, John Jackson, Mark Salazar, and me.

            All in all, this was an excellent Skylands Cycling Team trip.  It should be acknowledged that the trip really began early in the cold, winter months of 2009 when folks decided to sign up and thus commit to this race.  The event is 60 miles in length including about 15 miles of dirt roads.  While this distance is not exactly in the realm of Paris-Roubaix, it is long enough that you can’t realistically decide to “give it a go” just a week or two before the race and expect to finish.  The best way to prepare for a long, hard race is to train with long, hard rides.  I commend this group for the many times they put on the booties, glove, and winter jackets to get the miles in for this race.

              Our team decided that heading up to Upstate NY a day ahead was the best way to get our game face on.  We left Friday morning and made the 200+ mile drive to nearby Saratoga Springs and checked in to the local Marriott.  It was clear, windy, 60 degree day; in other words a perfect day for a warm up ride.  We did just enough of a pace-line and hill interval work to break a sweat and get our appetite up.  We headed back to Saratoga for pasta, hot tub, and to bed early.

              Race day!  Everyone has their own little pre-race routine that includes certain foods, traditions, etc.  Part of both the challenge and reward of traveling as a team is aligning your own personal needs with team needs.  Some people can be very dedicated to their pre-race oatmeal!  What works best in these situations is that if you can accommodate, than do accommodate.  In the end, we all helped each other make sure we had the right food, clothing, equipment, race information, and most importantly frame of mind.  Although we were all in different classes (Larry 50+, John CAT4, Mark, CAT5-45+, and Kevin 40+) it really seemed as if we were in just one class.  That part was very cool.

              The moment arrives and we finally get the whistle to start the race.  It’s amazing how your heart feels like it’s “in the red zone” at the moment; despite the fact that it’s a neutral start until we get out of town.  When the groups finally hit the open road the first 15 mile are actually at a fairly leisurely pace on flat terrain.   Finally, we go through a covered bridge and hit the first dirt section: Race On!  The next 2+ hours was a near endless onslaught of hills, dirt, viscous attacks, regroups, and terrifying descents.  The only way to stay alive in this type of a race is to be prepared for any type of riding at any moment.  Long races have this ability to make create “mind-jumps” that go back and forth between enjoying the rural vista to intense focus on that one bike 20 feet in front of you that you are trying to re-establish contact with.  At Battenkill, these mind-jumps usually occur as you transition from road to dirt and shift your body from a comfortable aero position to a more stable cyclocross position.  Without fail, every time we hit the dirt I’d see water bottles jump out cages, tires puncture, and the occasional cyclist just lose control and ride right into a ditch.  With a battlefield mentality, one has to think “too bad for that guy, but that’s not going to happen to me” if you want to survive.

              After 2+ hours in the saddle you’re mind-jumps keep coming back to two points: I was reminded how much I love this race because of the dirt; and I was simultaneously reminded of how much I hate this race because of the dirt.  In my case, I was lucky to hang on to the lead group until the final dirt section with ~5 miles to go.  By now, the water bottles are empty, the legs are a bit wobbly, and I was using all my mental energy on producing efficient riding.  But the big names in cycling know that the best time to attack is when everyone else is hurting the most; that is exactly what they did.  The dirt kicks up in front of me one more time and the final pack strung out into groups of two and threes.  I knew at this point that the winner of the race was in front of me, but I also knew that a strong finish was still possible if I could just keep my engine near the red line for a few more minutes with blowing up.  About 2 and half minutes after the winner, I tempo cycled across the finish line with an anonymous like-minded partner.  It wasn’t an arm straight up finish, but just a quiet satisfaction in finishing “America’s Queen of the Classics”.

    See you on the road soon. Kevin

Final Results http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2009/04/18-Tour-of-the-Battenkill.asp
CAT 5 Men 45+ 5th @  3:10:28   Mark SALAZAR
Masters 40+ 30th @ 2:53:56   Kevin KEANE
Masters 50+ 29th @ 2:57:03   Lawrence HENDERSON
CAT 4 Men Black Group 46th @ 3:08:45   John JACKSON


posted at: 10:56 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Thu, 12 Feb 2009

Preseason Training Continues this Sunday


This is a reminder that Skylands Cycling will continue with it pre-season training sessions at Fredon Recreation Center this Sunday starting at 9 AM, located at 436 Rt. 94 (2 miles south of Newton Hospital).

We will do a combination of on-bike spinning, off-bike core strengthening, and of course have general bike training-related discussions.

Why use a trainer when the weather is starting to get warm? There are certain cycling skills that can best be learned on a trainer; they are a valuable supplement to your cycling skill repertoire that should be worked on year round. So join us for ~60 minute spin with friends and music to motivate you. If you don’t own a trainer, see if you can borrow one from a friend as these devices tend to see a lot of closet time.

We also have had a request to provide hill climbing training, which I am more than happy to oblige! If the weather is cooperative, after our indoor training we can roll down the road from Fredon to Stillwater and work specifically on hill climbing. We will do hill repeats on some of my favorite rural roads where no one has to worry about getting dropped as it will be a short loop that facilitates regrouping.

You can do the indoor session at 9 AM or just show up for the outdoor session at 10:30 (weather permitting) or do both. We’ll try to finish up by noon.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or other training requests.

Cheers,
Kevin
973-919-1785

posted at: 15:50 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Tue, 03 Feb 2009

Indoor Bike Training in Fredon
Starting this Sunday, February 8th, from 9-11 AM Skylands Cycling will be hosting an indoor training session at the Fredon Township Recreation Center. Cyclist of all age and ability are welcome (including non Skylands members, so bring a friend). This is meant to be a fun, group activity of floor exercises and spinning to get your body ready for the 2009 cycling season. We don’t intend for this session to be just a “sweat-fest” to work off winter weight gain, rather we want to create a series of indoor activities that will help you become a better cyclist out on the road or trail.

These sessions do require you to supply your own bike and stationary trainer (with adequate protection for the gym floor). We have a small number of trainers to loan, but please try to find one that you can bring to these sessions. Also, if you have a spare trainer that you can loan to this effort please let me know.

We will hold these sessions until the end of March. If there is an ongoing snowstorm on a Sunday morning we will need to cancel as the township priorities are to plow main roads prior to parking lots (check Bikemail before coming). Also on the flip-side, if it’s a beautiful day we can still do indoor activities but if some in the group would like to cut the indoor session short and ride outdoors we can accommodate that.

Hope to see you there. Call if there are any questions.
Kevin 973-919-1785


Fredon Recreation Center Address: 436 Rt. 94, Fredon, NJ 07860 
This is about 2 miles south of Newton Memorial Hospital on same side of the road and in the same building as the Fredon Volunteer Fire Company.  

posted at: 16:34 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Mon, 26 Jan 2009

The Climb of a Lifetime - Haleakala Crater

Submitted by Craig Blake

This past week, my family went on vacation in Maui (part business/part pleasure), so in preparation I looked for some good bike tours on the island. That led me to ex-pro named Donnie Arnoult who retired in Maui and opened up a local bike shop which does custom cycling tours. He didn’t have this past week scheduled yet at the time, so I told him hold a bike for me and we’ll sync up when I’m out there and that I’d be up for “anything”.

The News

So the day after I arrive (Friday), I meet Donnie and discuss his cycling tours for the week. He then states that he’s organized a ride UP Haleakala Crater for Sunday. This is considered one of the top 3 most difficult climbs in the world and the only climb that brings you from ZERO to 10,023ft in 36miles at average grade of 7%. I was nervous with anticipation and told him I’ve only been doing some base training where some of his customers train for months for this climb. He told me I’d be fine given my background so I went out Saturday for 1.5hrs around town just to loosen my legs and mentally prepare.

0 to 3200ft

So I arrive on Sunday morning and there are 4 guides (very accomplished cyclists) and 8 avid cyclists (or cycling nuts) that show up. We also have a support van that will follow us with scheduled feeding stops at 3200ft and 6500ft. As we roll out, I sit back and see how I’m going to match up with everyone else and for the most part, these avid cyclists look bigger than me where as the guides looked thin and obvious great climbers.

Immediately after leaving the shop, the climbing starts. Most people jump to lead group, my legs aren’t warmed up yet, so I remain back but close enough to bridge when needed. The guides warn everyone to pace themselves, so I decide to remain in high zone 3 just below lactate threshold by about 2-3 bpm. I just pray that my self testing of LT is correct or I’m toast in 90mins.

After about 30min we hit our first big test, a 20% grade for about 5mins. I hop out of the saddle for about 3mins with a nice pace, my legs feel pretty good and HR right were it needs to be. When we hit the top of this incline, it seems the group is fracturing. Two guides lead me and another guy (from Chicago) while the other two help the second group of six. I’m maintaining about 9mph which is 4hr summit pace and slowly I pull away from the Chicago guy. One guide leads me up, while the other guide falls back to help the other. I’m told the record to get up the summit is 2hr 35mins and the guide’s best time was 3hrs 35mins. So he’s impressed that I guy from NJ can climb so well, I tell him you should see some of the others I ride with.

3200ft to 6500ft

After we refuel at 3200ft, the lead group (2 guides, me and Chicago guy) take off again. I’ve been told that the most difficult sections are 4000ft to 6000ft and 8000ft to 9000ft. As we hit 4000ft, there are numerous switch backs that seem to range from 10-12% incline. At this point, there have been no false flats or anything to give yourself a break. Your legs must continue to churn endlessly. Little ruts in the road begin to give you pleasure since it allows you 2-3 seconds of less tension. You go back and forth always climbing - RELENTLESS comes to mind. It just keeps going, you don’t dare look up to see what’s ahead of you, but you do look down every so often and see the others making their way and thankful you’re not down there. Again, I’m keeping a strong pace and it’s just me with the lead guide who is doing a great job pacing me. I call out where I am with my zone and he adjusts accordingly with periodic Zone 4 pushes as needed. I keep a strong positive attitude and just keep within myself – I’m not letting this mountain beat me!

6500ft to 9000ft

After another well needed fueling break, we start to put on some winter gear. The guides and support van will not be going to the top since we’re now entering the National Park. I push off with Chicago guy once again and after about 500ft, I’m on my own again. The switchbacks are further apart now, but trees soon disappear around 8000ft and that leaves you exposed to the elements. Wind, mist (clouds), cold, legs, everything you can feel now. This is when you have to do your gut check. You’ve been in the saddle for well over 3 hrs now with relentless climbing and the wind is throwing you around. My pace starts to drop off as the wind is taking a toll on me. I stand more often to get momentum and give some muscles a break. I expect to see the 10,000ft sign but instead see 9000ft sign. I think about summiting and soon get within myself again. I’m back on pace, although slower due to the wind, but good pace none-the-less.

The Summit

I’ve been told the last 300ft is a 21% climb, many cyclist end up walking, but I’m ready. I round a corner and there’s the summit and last climb. It’s gravel since they are repaving! I get out of the saddle and start pushing. Suddenly about half way, my right thigh cramps badly. I need to stop for a second. Between 4hr of climbing, cold weather, and this steep climb, I’m asking a lot of my muscles. I get back in the saddle and push hard with the left leg, trying to baby the right leg. I can feel a twinge in my left leg. I look down and notice the bike has triple ring, which I agreed early on I would not use, but with the cramping I have to. I drop it down to the 3rd ring and keeping pushing to the top. I made it, in just over 4hrs (about 4:12) I walk into the summit overlook and people come over to shake my hand. One person tells me it must have been very spiritual, I told him “You have no idea”.

I then turned around and had to ride downhill. FREEZING cold!! I finally made it back to the shop in total round trip time of about 6hrs. A climb I will never forget. I’ll never look at another hill or climb the same way.

I’ve attached couple pictures from the Summit with my Skylands team jersey! You’ll also notice how thin I was by the time I got to the top. For days afterward, I was extremely hungry.

Hope to see you guys out on the road next weekend!

posted at: 14:13 | path: | permanent link to this entry