Battenkill 2012 Race Report

Battenkill 2012 Race Report: Travis Kroot, Category 4 (Yellow) - Pictures to be added as they surface!

Note: this is my individual race report - I hope to do a report that encompasses Jon's race and notes the excellent performances of all the other great Maine cyclists who took on the Battenkill. Likely to be placed on the Base-36 cycling blog. Stay tuned!

I will give a quick lead-in to this…I ambitiously signed up for Battenkill in December as a Category 3 while I was still Cat 4. I was hoping to get early season race points before Battenkill and upgrade. However, I was only able to manage hitting a couple pre-season crits and did get some good places (two firsts, a 5^th, and a 4^th). Nevertheless, they don’t count as upgrade points and the kind race directors of Battenkill switched me into the Cat 4 field. I was very excited to race Battenkill, regardless of the field I was in…it was going to be EPIC!

Race week was amongst us and Jon and I spent our last preparations for Battenkill doing “way too little” riding this past week. But we both had great legs today! We drove out Friday (yesterday) AM and got to Cambridge, NY before noon. Hit pre-reg and the (boring) expo, then headed off to pre-ride the first 15 miles of the course (including hill #1, Juniper). The hillier than expected sections before and after Juniper resulted in a slightly hard than intended day before race ride, but it was good to shake our one-day cobwebs out! We stretched out then drove the course and took very diligent notes on all aspects – not just the hills. After the drive we ate a sufficient but not at all spectacular meal at the Cambridge Hotel (it was good! Just with the Battenkill being so epic our expectations were rather high). Following dinner we settled into our respective places of rest and hit the hay.

Race Day: 100km, 62.25 miles, 3950ft +/- elevation gain/loss. 10 dirt sections totaling ~25% of the net mileage.

Boom baby!

We headed into the hustle and bustle of Cambridge at 8:30AM – 2500 cyclists and the spectators and volunteers that come with it shake up a little town/village like Cambridge. It was an EVENT. Not just a race. It was well run, beautiful, and epic. My race started at 11:00AM sharp, Jon’s at 1:50PM! He was going to be anxiously waiting around quite a while before his race…and I would pay my dues on the back end, excitedly awaiting his finish. I started my warm up, and after checking both my sets of wheels in my bike (gotta have extras in case of a flat) I had somehow altered my shifting and could not access the three large cogs on my cassette – BIG PROBLEM! The fellows at the Mavic support tent got it figured out, but I later discovered that my shifting was still shifty…but was OK for racing, it definitely made me nervous about shifting if it came down to a sprint (recalling my broken collarbone). I’m not sure how it got messed up because it was shifting beautifully on Friday’s pre-ride. Looks like I need to get bike mechanic skills ASAP. I got warmed up (20 mins nice and easy) saw the OA/CycleMania guys and we gave one another our regards for a safe and strong 100 kilometers. Then it was to line up at 10:50 and it was gametime.

The race started out easy (neutral 1K start) and stayed easy for a few miles. After mile 4 it picked up to get position for the covered bridge – turn @ mile 5.1 and bridge @ mile 5.3. Made it through in the top 10 and we were into the first dirt section @ mile 6.0. Everything was pretty relaxed for a while, I helped push the pace a little on the climb @ mile 8 or so to try to feel out the field…but nothing was happening yet. I was able to scout 3 of the guys who eventually were in the last group of 8 – so I had 50% of the strong guys marked. Juniper hill was nothing crazy, I led up over (seated in my 39-27) and pushed hard down the first bit of descent in effort to keep the early stragglers off. This is where I mark this race as a massive asterisk to anyone who wants to understand the Category 4 Battenkill. ***No one in this group would work together. It was a battle to get people to get out of their own way! As a reference, most of the Cat 4’s finished in 2:53 or so and we barely broke 3 hours. Not a HUGE time difference, but very surprising considering the strength the field showed from miles 40 and on.*** No one really made an effort to work the tempo and we were rejoined with a massive field (ugh). I stayed up front for most of the next sections to stay safe and waste some energy like I am so well known to do – oops. Rich Rd @ mile 14.6 was nice and clean and the dirt was good riding. Nothing interesting really happened for a long while, randomly coming off of a pull I found myself and another guy with a 15m gap. He kept rolling and we got a small gap. I was well aware he was not the type of guy I would even consider breaking with, but he was a nice guy and we took it easy and chatted it up for a bit. Through Feed Zone #1 @ mile 22.4 and we were caught by 23.0, which was nice because I was no longer stuck out front. I finished my bottle by mile 22 and switched my spare from my pocket into my cage – the ol’ self-sufficient feed zone.

Another few miles of easy riding and we came to Carney Cassidy @ mile 26.0, which is a dirt section with an early stiff climb and then another stiff section @ 27.2 (but neither were anything crazy – the group pretty much stayed intact until Wrights Rd and Meeting House Rd in the 45ish mile range). I crested the pavement section of Carney with some really solid pace and looked around, a few of us had separated the field slightly. Then I got blasted with a headwind over the crest. The guy on my wheel said, “That’s a bummer, had we not gotten hit with wind I would’ve made a go at it with you.” Agreed, sir…but alas we were stuck with the most frustrating race field with whom I had ever been placed. Miles 30-34 were once again easy-ish going (ate and drank here). Then @ mile 34.0 we hit Safford Rd, which was the most gravel covered climb so far and the descent was definitely a bit shaky – tight turns off camber, and not a great surface. Up over Safford we still had a group sized around 40 or so. Clearly, we had a lot of guys with a minimum of “good fitness”…but soon we would find out those who were “fit”! On the descent of Safford I gapped the group a little as I spaced out on the really sketchy turn on the descent…luckily I held tight and once the group rejoined one guy said “Man! You really crushed that and handled it well.” I quickly informed him that I was thankful the rear panel of my bibs were black rather than white (in a less formal and PC manner, of course).

Then @ mile 39.1 we hit Cheesecake Factory Rd – a really rough section of gravel road that had no “good” line you could take. Plus, we had started over-taking a lot of the earlier races’ stragglers and thus did not have much choice of line. A few of us took some hefty pulls here, but as Cheesecake was pretty darn flat nothing really happened…maybe we shed a couple guys who had poor handling or low confidence? 41.5 to 44 was easy, as the group once again did not want to work with each other and were awaiting the glory of Meeting House Rd!

Wrights Rd came along @ mile 44.6 and we were back on dirt – good dirt this time. Up the climb, probably the smoothest climb I had of the day in spite of my calves already experiencing pretty steady spasms! I was NOT AT ALL pleased at this fact and couldn’t figure out why this was happening. I shrugged it off and accepted that it was going to continue. If I had a full muscle cramp/seize, then I would consider it. Then came the most unexpected part of the race: after the small uphill on Wrights Rd the surface turned absolutely horrendous. I was not the least bit prepared – neither in skill nor mentally – for this section. It was very deep, very loose gravel and sand. Fishtailing was more common than line-holding and things got quite jittery. I actually was emotionally prepared to crash and then chase back onto the group right after. I have decent handling but this was something for the cyclocross and mountain bike guys! Every time I had to put effort into stabilization and pedaling simultaneously I was getting more and more calf and anterior tibialis spasms…I wasn’t sure how things were going to hold up but was committed to not letting anyone get away from me.

Through Wrights Rd without any issues and we were very quickly approaching Meeting House Rd, still with 40 men in tow. This is where my frustration with this group was released. We hit Meeting House @ mile 48.6. I sat 3^rd wheel to start the climb onto the dirt but very soon found myself on the front and laying down the hammer. I wanted to shed everyone I could without blowing myself up. It was time to create the separation: those who were prepared to win, and those who couldn’t. I worked it hard up the first part, then @ mile 49.5 it quickly kicks hard and I ramped right though it at pace. I didn’t look anywhere but forward and down. After a good time on the front another guy (Chris, a professional triathlete in ITU racing – yes, a PRO) took over and continued the dishing of the hurt. Once we crested Meeting House onto pavement I dropped back. There were about 8 guys in front of me so I looked back to find a place to settle in. There was one guy to my left…one to my right…and only one more behind me. We were officially down to 12 riders! I smiled at the notion that minutes before we had nearly four times as many riders in our group. J.

Shredding the field on the front...and clearly going very deep to do so. Just speaks that much more of the final group we had.

 The one thing I did not smile at was the spasms that had steadily developed over Meeting House Rd in my quads. Things were starting to go for some reason, even though I felt strong still. As long as no seizing happened in my calves or quads, I was all set. Spasms are completely manageable.

It was off to the races…finally we had a group who knew what the hell they were doing in a race! We HAMMERED downhill, blasting through and taking pulls. It was clear everyone in the group had no intent of anyone returning to our separated group of 12. From 51.5-54 it is very fast, then smooth until 56. Once it was pretty clear the riders behind us were completely shattered, the pace relaxed and the paceline SUCKED. Some guys would pull through then it would stop. This inconveniently kept happening for Chris – the pro tri guy. So I let him pull ahead of me, then I took his wheel and pulled through for him. I found myself stuck on the front. Clearly someone was messing up pretty seriously and sucking wheel…imagine if we all did that! We could have a group of 20 annoying wheelsuckers in no time as the shattered souls regained life upon rejoining the leader’s pack.

Next up: @ mile 56.1 – Stage road. The final test; a solid dirt hill that is pretty outright relentless 56 miles into a tough race. I knew my fitness was fine to stick this out no matter what. My quads had started to experience some serious spasms on the last part of Meeting House Rd and I didn’t know what unkind words they would be shouting at me as we hit Stage Rd. Frankly, I didn’t care – I’ll insert the classic “Shut up legs” here. Stage Rd hit the group hard. No one was too keen on pulling. One guy surged up the left and quickly changed his mind on attempting to lead the pack. I decided it was time to just go with the pack and not dictate the pace on a hill (finally, eh?!). Another guy (whom I later found out was a professional athlete) finally made his showing of strength. Mike started working Stage Rd pretty good – I asked him what his PowerTap was showing for Stage and he said we didn’t let up on 500W for it and pushed over 600W at some points, but “settled” into 550W or so. Settle was right! We only lost 3 or 4 of the group of 12 by the time we crested Stage Rd.

This was it. I (we) had long awaited to be in the small group of riders who would eventually make the go for the win and deserve the glory that one gets by finishing Battenkill in the lead pack. We were the top 5% of this field of 125. The previous 57.8 miles separated the men from the boys…but the last 4.4 miles would separate 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd…all the way through 8^th. I had no intent to be anything but #1 in spite of my legs wanting to give out for some reason. I still had strength, but for some reason things were giving out. Now was no time to be concerned with that though.

We hit the 5k, 4k, 3k. People stopped wanting to work, but there was still a little paceline going on – just not hard. I took one pull (which I planned to be my second to last pull) and awaited my next pull through to bring me up towards the front with 1500m to go. 1K is a HUGE point here – the road is completely close from 1K to go and we would have free use of the road, but no one would want to be nose into the wind. My pull never came. The group let up and I was STUCK! Last wheel – literally. I didn’t panic, I tried passing on the left, but the cones leading into the 1K to go were on our left and I was blocked on the right. 

After the road opened up @ 1K, I moved up left and was able to half tuck in, sharing 4^th wheel. The bulk of the group was sticking right to take the corner on the inside. I had planned this out, I was going to stay slightly left…and when the group swung fast around the right turn with 400m to go I would hold my line and slip into 2^nd or 3^rd wheel. However, Chris laid it down! With 550m to go he started pulling as if he would rip the cranks off of his bike. I am not exaggerating one bit. I WISHED I had been 2^nd wheel to him…I would be invincible. I shit you not, he ramped up the pace to something I had never experienced in a leadout, he was in full TT mode – going to the gutter with every last drop of gas his professionally tuned legs had (he can run a 14:13 5K). And here I was, stuck out in the wind, holding pace with him. I quickly decided I would be waiting on the sprint with the power he was putting out – he did not let up one bit.

Finally, with about 150-200m to go, Mike moved out from third wheel and started for the line. The guy on second wheel did not do a damn thing. I pulled up on Chris’ left and laid it down. I had already made my fatal mistake. I overgeared. I didn’t have the acceleration I should have – ESPECIALLY on a sprint of such a short distance. Part of it was my concern of the gearing slipping as my bike wasn’t shifting perfectly throughout the race – I had noticed the most issue in my smallest 3 cogs, conveniently the places where I would start and end my sprint! So I hit it, dropping everything I could – I was only hitting 80’s in rpm – but I passed Chris and it was clear to me with 50m to go I was not getting anything worse than second place. I wanted first. I needed first. I didn’t get it. Mike held out just enough and I just couldn’t get that last bit of top end acceleration due to the wear and tear of the Battenkill and my own two tactical errors. Mike had a killer sprint. He beat me in a sprint that I should have had and was very confident in well before the race started. He deserved that victory. Mike, well done…you got me!

Overall, I am extremely pleased with how the race went. I fought through cramps for the first time in my cycling career, traveled dirt sections that I didn't think were possibly navigable, and rode a beautiful race that is completely unparalleled in both uniqueness and epicness. My only regrets were the two lapses in execution that led to a second place finish: not being able to get a spot in the lead-out train and overgearing for the final sprint. My greatest pleasure was Meeting House Rd when I led the charge to churn a group of 40+ cyclists into a pack of 12.

I hadn't had dairy in about a week, but I couldn't pass on this delicious stuff (it was seriously REALLY good).

To say that it was just a race should be deemed illegal (if you've done it as you moved up the categories and are finally racing Cat 2 or PRO/1 - then you can treat it purely like a race...but you damn well better remember how amazing of an experience it was all the times you did it before!). To call it an event is reasonable. To call it purely epic and glorious is spot on. My greatest respects to everyone who dared put his or her wheel on the line, my regards to those whose races were shunted or faltered by flats and crashes, and my wishes to those who had injury to a speedy recovery! To the 20 or so winners of the individual races, amazing work - don't take your wins lightly. Only a couple times have I gone so deep in races. I have never had 7 other guys with me when going that deep. And I have never been so pleased with finishing second in my life - that is a massive tribute to the race and the racers. (If you know me well at all then you will understand how massive that is).

It looks like this will lead me into my Category 3 upgrade, then it's a quest to pick off some points before stage races - where I will seriously test the potential within myself to bring up the level once more. I couldn't possibly be looking forward to it one bit more.

While it was an amazing race, there is always work to be done and meters to be gained.

"Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it."

Slice of Life. Officially Unveiled. (Post 2A of 3 post series)

So, I had this post completely written out. It was about 3 times as long...and went to post it via the mobile app today and it deleted most of the post.

Thus, I will have to completely re-write the post (~3 hours solid work) where I talk about the bike itself, the technology behind it, and the wonderful feel of riding it. This is now the "naming" post for my new bike, because that is the only part that was not cut off and deleted. Enjoy!!

I don't even know how to write this post. I've put so much time and effort into thinking about purchasing a bike that verbalizing the actual culmination of physically having and riding THE bike is difficult. All I can say is that I could not be one bit more pleased with going through on buying the bike. I had a couple points of "unsure-ness" along the way: 1) When I had my Madone tuned at Gorham Bike and it felt like a completely new bike. So good that I considered I might not actually need a new one - but then at the end of my first ride on it, a mechanical issue occurred that was inherent with the bike itself. This once again clarified how much of a step up getting a new bike would truly be. 2) When I first was on the new bike, it felt weird. The best analogy I can come up with is like an exponential form of how a first time customer at Maine Running Company feels when he or she wears an actual running shoe that is properly fit for the first time ever: it feels so different the individual is not sure it is 'right'. But as soon as he or she gets a few minutes on it or goes for the first run, it makes whatever they felt previous to this new shoe like a completely different activity than running.

This is what I felt once I had a few miles on the bike. It was a world of difference. But every single difference was a massive improvement. So much so that at first the bike even felt awkward to turn (I'm not kidding. My first turn out of the GBS parking lot onto Congress St was sketchy at best. I'm glad no one from the shop saw or they would think they just sold this beautiful bike to someone who struggled making a simple turn!)

Now to unveil the official name of my Giant TCR Advanced SL 2: Slice of Life. I was really set on naming my bike 'Dexter' because that was my (at first) humorous cycling/athletic alter-ego that began with the CompuTrainer workouts in December. However, I was calling myself Dexter and not my bike. My Trek was named "Lamia", Latin for 'witch', 'demon', or 'child-eater'. I named her on the way down to the 2011 Witches Cup, as my plan going into that race was to win it. It was a bold move (I don't think I told a soul about the name at first). Had I not won the race, the name of my bike would have been a constant reminder of failure. Had I won, it would have been a very fitting name. As for the 'child-eater' translation: I was a Category 4 cyclist, and was still not racing with the 'big boys'. Thus, with the bike, I was not taking down the MEN with her...I was taking down the kids who look up to the Cat 3's, 2's, and 1's (whom the 4's and 5's admire).

Slice of Life is a reference to Dexter the TV show. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst at a Miami police station, and just happens to be an assassin as well. Warning: Do not think I am going "off the deep end" or getting "dark and evil" with this name. It all started because about 5 years ago when my uncle and cousins pointed out that I look A LOT like Dexter in the show. Then friends in college picked up on it pretty quickly too. The pictures below are me from Halloween 2010.

Dexter only kills people who 'deserve' it by his father's standards and moral code, and only kills when he has complete proof of the victim's wrongdoing. His boat is named "Slice of Life", which is blatantly fitting for both his profession (blood spatter analyst) and his hobby (assassinating bad human beings). This late name-change from Dexter to Slice of Life (SoL) is because Dexter is the person and Slice of Life is the boat. Also, Slice of Life is fitting because it represents both a sliver and a huge part of my life. Cycling both breaks up and completes my day, nearly every day - as I just completed a half year of not missing a single day of cardio (including the period of having a broken clavicle!) As Dexter does his work on Slice of Life, I do mine. He typically disposes of his victims on his boat, while I plan to make my competitors (victims) suffer on my bike. So it all works out pretty darn well, and I can still be 'Dexter' without naming my bike Dexter as well. My bike is Slice of Life, a beautiful and stealthy Giant TCR Advanced SL 2, and I am the assassin that operates her as we take names and (hopefully!) kick asses.

Slice of Life. Hanging out at her favorite stomping grounds...Gorham Bike and Ski!

The scary part about investing thousands of dollars into anything, especially something you "already have" to some extent, is that you don't fully know that it would all be worth it until you get that feeling: the pure feeling of completeness and perfection. When I took my first ride on my new bike, at first I felt concern. The bike felt sweet(!!!) but not insanely awesome like I expected. Then I hit bumps in the road, exceeded 30MPH, took some corners hard, hung out in the drops, did a few sprints. It was literally an out of bike and out of body experience. I was feeling something 100% different than I was used to. I was feeling a true machine that was set just right for me. The combination of a top-end bike and a great fit finally melded with me. Last fall Jamie Wright (owner of Gorham Bike and Ski (AKA GBS), and fellow teammate on the Base-36/GBS squad) told me, "We have to get you on a 'real' bike." My response, "What's wrong with my bike [Trek Madone 5.2]?" He told me the difference in stiffness alone will amaze me and, almost more importantly, my competitors. I knew he was serious, as I now have the exact same bike that he has...and he's the owner of a bike shop with access to multiple brands and every tier of bike imaginable. Obviously I didn't get this bike because it was what he had, I got it because it is the absolute best and best for me and my purposes (argue about Shimano Di2 or Campy EPS all you want...then give me $5000+ so I can upgrade to that model and I will gladly shut up...maybe...because I love my new SRAM RED soo much! By the way: SRAM RED, my new component set, is post 3 of 3 in this series). Many of you might see an apparent "conflict of interest" as he is the bike shop owner of my team's sponsor and he's telling me a new bike will make a world of difference. Well, to all you haters out there, the bike is a world of difference...and as with any team at any (decent) bike shop we get some level of a discount on purchases. Thus, Jamie was 1) advising me as a friend 2) advising me as a teammate 3) making a smaller margin of profit on my purchase than other customers 4) I was pretty obviously going to buy my next bike from GBS regardless of what he said 5) he honestly wants me to have every single possible advantage of performance, comfort, and enjoyment in cycling because as teammates we feed off of each other's energy and successes. Example: when Jamie led out for me this past fall, he was the reason I won sprints...sometimes I barely even had to work to win sprints. Once, I took the final sprint of the Saturday Morning Ride (SMR) at the cookie jar with a sprint effort I would deem about 75%. That is absolutely nothing, especially for such a strong group of cyclists in such great late-season shape. Jamie just absolutely hammered out the pace into the sprint that no one had the ability to accelerate and challenge me for the sprint. This was no way a sign of my strength, it was a display of execution on his part. Do you believe me now? I would hope so, haha!

Our first real ride together. Beasting some 20% grades :).

All I can say is that Slice of Life is a beautiful machine and we will have many wonderful miles together as a team. The bike feels amazing and has already proven itself to produce some amazing results...I'll try to get back to work on my full-fledged post regarding no only how amazing of a bike it is, but why it is such an amazing machine.