I got spanked at Bear Mt. race

[isuffer]

Did cat4 40+ that had 50+ and 60+ and everyone beat the living crap out of me. Bravo 50 / 60+... I bow down to you. Perhaps I'll work the feed zone next year....

[timmhaan]

was that today?

[gsteinb]

yeah

[botto]

guess what? age doesn't matter.

[bdcheung]

Teammate of mine snapped his chain at the base of the climb following the hairpin. He avoided a crash in front of him, shifted to his small ring, stood up on the pedals and *CLUNK*. Race over before it even started.

[patentcad]

yeah

So?

[isuffer]

guess what? age doesn't matter.

Yeah, no kidding. My point, exactly.

[isuffer]

Teammate of mine snapped his chain at the base of the climb following the hairpin. He avoided a crash in front of him, shifted to his small ring, stood up on the pedals and *CLUNK*. Race over before it even started.

That sucks. I've seen that or a flat tire, just before the race starts. bd, did you race today?

[DrWJODonnell]

Teammate of mine snapped his chain at the base of the climb following the hairpin. He avoided a crash in front of him, shifted to his small ring, stood up on the pedals and *CLUNK*. Race over before it even started.

Let me guess. SRAM chain. Those things have been shattering around here like the T-1000 after a liquid nitrogen bath.

http://clicknothing.typepad.com/Images_Posts_2006/T1000.jpg

[bdcheung]

Let me guess. SRAM chain. Those things have been shattering around here like the T-1000 after a liquid nitrogen bath.

http://clicknothing.typepad.com/Images_Posts_2006/T1000.jpg

Campy, I'm pretty sure...

[slvoid]

Wait, do you mean like, you literally got spanked? You were at the wrong race...

[irish pat]

Today was not my day either, didn't even come in top 10, sucks, my legs were heavy, I was tired, got to the race 10 min before the start, not my day.

[mfennell]

Ah, here's the thread for me.

Cat 4 loser here. Off the pack the third time up The Hill. Much pain followed. At 53 miles I was cramping so badly I had to stop. First time anything like that has happened. Possibly my 3 cups of coffee pre-race hydration plan (always works so well for 50 minute crits...) needs revisiting.

I already have a carbon bike and 404s. I'm at a loss what to do next. :)

A friend of mine, 7th in the 4s, came up to me after the race with a big grin: "Welcome to REAL bike racing."

[patentcad]

So who doesn't get spanked @ Bear Mtn?

[carpediemracing]

A friend of mine, a sprinter who can climb a bit, went there and trained many laps before one of the Bear Mtn races. Apparently it helped as he did really well - previous years he'd finished OTB or in one of the groups further back. I think knowing the course and doing sections at a time at race pace (esp the climbs) would really help in doing well.

But then again, on the one and only lap I ever rode on that loop, I'd been dropped on the climb after the U-turn and I had a huge gap after the turn (followed the pace car through the turn - no one else really did). I got caught and dropped by the whole field before the top of the climb, which, btw, goes on for like a bazillion miles, esp to someone who thought it was about 400 meters long.

I haven't been back since.

cdr

[gsteinb]

I wish there were 6 of those races a year

[Davey]

I wish there were 6 of those races a year

Yeah, so do I. Such suffering during, but what relief and elation afterward. And that's what lasts.

I'm looking forward to Housatonic, Balloon Festival, Tour of the Hilltowns and Bear in the fall.

[gsteinb]

Bear in the fall.

I'll believe it when I see it