Our Blue Giants (and Fred's yellow AD) have been to North Carolina, New York State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont over the course of the 2014 racing season. They have been on new pavement that felt like we were riding on butter and awful New England roads that rattled our bones. They have been through, rain, mud and snow. We have laughed, cried and even bled on them.

The end of the season is bittersweet but Joey Lynch, Troy Barry, Ta Herrera and Jeff Dixon are looking forward to our last road race in Jamestown, RI on October 13th and a strong finish in the Masters 45+ field.

Photo taken near the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine

Mayor's Cup 2014

Boston is quiet on a Sunday morning. Joe Lynch, Ta Herrera, Jeff Dixon and Hank Pfiefle arrived in town to contest the Masters 40+ field at the TD Bank Mayor’s Cup. This sleepy city was slowly waking to the clanking and rumbling of a truck and crew, setting up orange steel barricades to separate fans from human projectiles hurling themselves at speeds of over 50kph through this 1 kilometer, four corner course in the heart of Boston. 

In a quiet corner in this sleepy city, words of advice from a seemingly experienced local. “let me give you some advice, don’t let anything out of your sight in this town”. “Want me to watch your bike whilst you use the bathroom?” Well thanks to our supporters, the Blue Streak is insured but we would need it to make sure fast men interested in this $1000 purse do not get out of our sight.

A few laps in, there was a crash. Yes, bad form to take out the Patrone by his handlebars and send another to the hospital with a broken arm, just to advance your position. A couple neutral laps while we wait for the ambulance to pick up the even less fortunate gives many grownup men in this peloton pause, glad they are not the one to own this dubious distinction. With help at the pit, Hank’s blue Giant was running and so was he, dripping blood, but back up to speed, an extremely brief glimpse at the decades of dedication it took just to show up here.

Well, after about 30 minutes of "not letting anything out of our sight”, Ta Herrara, Professor, Pavement Melter, came out of the sharp end of the peloton. Well calculated, as his teammate Joey Lynch was right on the front end of this raging monster ready to throw monkey wrenches at its paws and jaws. Another brief look at dedication… One man, alone being chased by 60 others, wondering if he can go just a teeny bit faster than the rest, reflecting on if he trained hard enough over the summer. Another man, behind, watching, trying to slow the peloton down without letting them know they are getting slowed down.

And then the announcer amidst the din of bell ringing fans in TD Bank Tshirts. “Downeast Racing, off the front, and look at his teammate, on the front of the strung out peloton visibly slowing it down!” Well, despite our best efforts and the Professor digging very deep into his briefcase of courage, Ta’s one man break was eventually quenched, leaving him nothing left for the sprint finish. If you keep trying, sometimes it DOES work. But not this day.

At the end of the race, Ta’s wife and son stuck a fresh lemonade in his hands and Hank’s wife walked him back to his car. We thank our families for their understanding while we spend many lonely hours on the road. For their love, driving, food service and bell ringing.

We salute our competition for a job well done and look forward to seeing them one last time on the road in Jamestown RI in October. We salute our dear friend Cody Harris for winning the Cat 3/4 women's race!

Hank Showing Dedication Photo courtesy of Jeraldine Herrera

Ta Digging Through his Briefcase of Courage. 4 men want this move to succeed, another 60 (shown behind) dedicated to it's demise. Photo courtesy of Jeraldine Herrera

Hub City and Big Time Crit Racing this Saturday

Boston City Hall Plaza

 

Racing junkies Ta Herrera, Jeff Dixon, Joe Lynch and myself can't get enough of this criterium stuff and will take advantage the high wattage Boston Mayor's Cup to satisfy our need for speed. Fields are filling in all categories and we can expect our fellow competitors' energy to be fully charged by the 5,000 or so spectators projected to surround the course. Around and around we'll go on the kilometers worth of road bordering the plaza. Sunshine, mild temperatures, raucus crowds and the whirring of fast bikes - that's gonna be a good day!! 

Maine Apple Classic: Dan fires us up!

Mr. Podium: Eliot Pitney
 

Dan Vaillancourt was excited this morning. Was it because of the Maine Apple Classic 44 mile road race, which was about to start? Ummm ... somewhat. Was it because of the sun dappled crisp Maine early fall day? Ummm ... Kind of.  Here's a guy who, at the pro level, rode the Tour of Ireland and the Tour of Chile and the Tour of Utah among many other pro races, and what excites him this morning? .....Wearing his wind vest!! Go figure. Maybe it's what it symbolizes. Changing seasons - Changing fortunes? But, no. In retrospect it wasn't anything deep like that. The vest was just a cover for the fact that he just loves riding his bike. And to get to do it with 60 like minded souls on a perfectly surfaced course with seven equally amped teammates - well, yeah - who wouldn't be excited. So Dan laid out the Downeast Racing team plan for the race. And you know what? We executed that plan to perfection. Well, almost. We got two guys (Fred & Eliot) into a five man break during the first ascent of Cross Hill (4 x 11 mile rectangle loop) and we then controlled the chasing pack allowing them to establish a safe time cushion. The one wrench in the plan was Eric Follen (Momentum Barracuda) who attacked and attacked and attacked on the last assault of Chase Hill, got his seperation, and solo'ed in from 7 miles out. Change of pace on a hill - fun if you can do it and very tough to handle when it's being administered. Good job, Eric.The remainder of the break stayed together with Eliot taking 2nd, Brendon McLaughlin (Boston) 3rd, Eric Weinrich (Momentum) 4th and Fred 5th. Our Matt Moon stayed alert and niftily built a 2nd break from the field with 6 miles to go in an attampt to nab 6th place money but, sadly, it must be reported that he got nipped at the line by a break-away companion. Good aggressive move, though, Matt. And Dan? He was all happy directing team traffic throughout the race. And not contect with that, he (and Eliot and Zev) rode 70 miles back home just because you can't beat time in the saddle on nice day - especially when it's cool & crisp and you get to wear your wind vest!

 

Apple Classic this Sunday: Will Feature Maine's Best

Blue team will need to dig deep this weekend

 Sunday heralds in the Maine Apple Classic Road Race contested around scenic Webber Pond in  Vasselboro. It won't be all peaches and cream however. Because it's apple season? No, because the gang at the Central Maine Cycling Club have established a most fair circuit that does contain the increasingly famous Cross Hill where the legs and will power become progressively strained over the course of the 4 x 11 mile laps. Now in its 3rd year, the race continues to increase in competitiveness as the word spreads of all the positive features of the race - New pavement. Plenty of marshalls. A course where both sprinters and climbers feel they have a chance to win. We at Downeast Racing very much look forward to toeing the line and greatly appreciate all that the Central Maine Cycling Club does for our sport..  

Blue Team to Race at Portsmouth Crit

Pitney & Herrera

 

Yellow, red and orange usually dominate the Fall color palette, but expect to see blue enter the mix as cycling's road racing calender enters the tail end of its New England season. Up next for the Downeast Racing squad is the Portmouth Crit this Sunday in downtown Portsmouth, NH where we have entries in both the 40+ (10:45am) and the P-1-2-3 (12:00 noon) fields. One DER team member showing outstanding form is Ta Herrera as evidenced by his savaging of ALL Strava segments in the Maine mid-coast area. Frankly, the locals are fed up with his whirling dervishness and Ta's retreat back into academia, for them, cannot come soon enough. But fellow New England racers are eager to challenge Mr. Herrera as an oft asked question at the recent Green Mountain Stage Race was, "Is that Guillermo guy racing at Portsmouth?". Yes. "What do you call him? Todd??"  No, it's "Ta" - the derivation of which remains a mystery but his racing talent is no secret. Blue-mates currently slated to join Ta are Peter Cole, Jeff Dixon, Hank Pfeifle and Troy Barry. See you in Portsmouth!  

GMSR: Plenty of Satisfying Moments

Zev's GMSR cat 4/5 crit win

 

If you look at Dr. Zev Myerowitz's bio on his Cape Chiropractic website, you soon realize that this guy is quite the brainiac. Magna Cum this and Summa Cum that but, wait, no mention of criterium bike racing experience. That's because he hadn't done any, which makes his win at the Green Mountain Stage Race criterium (cat 4/5) that much more impressive. The night before the race he asked his more experienced Downeast Racing teammates for some advise. "Stay at the front". "Pedal through the corners - it's faster that way". "You are stronger then the others in the field - attack when you feel them weaken". Check. Check. And check. Done. Done & Won. As mentioned earlier, the kid's a quick learner.

 

Eliot tired after 4th place Circuit ride

 

Eliot Pitney is another smart guy and he knows that charging across the finish line by yourself AHEAD of the field provides much better odds at placing well than sprinting from the pack. But chugging along at 35mph for a mile with 70 snarling guys behind you waiting to pounce ..... Ummm, that's not so easy to do. But Eliot did bolt from the field in an attempt to bridge to what proved to be a winning 3 man break, and that effort garnered a well earned 4th place finish in the Stgae 2 ciruit race (Cat 2 field). Well done, Eliot.

 

Fred celebrating 2nd place TT performance 

 

Fred Thomas is used to podium finishes in his specialty - time trialing. But nothing is a given in sports and trying your luck against new blood from around the country does give you sleepness nights. To see Fred in TT mode is witness to the power of drool, spittle and determination. Great focus and an extraordinarily efficient wind profile body position allows Fred to maximize all power into forward motion. Another fine performance, Fred.

 

Slaving at the front makes Matt thirsty

 

If there was a podium for sacrificial domestique work, Matt would be on the top step after every race. Unfortunately domestiques toil away in obscurity with the rewards being a tired body and, most importantly, the complete appreciation and respect from his teammates and racemates who fully understand the value of his work. Without Matt, podium finishes by his teammates would be far fewer.

 

Hank gets a call-up at the GMSR crit

 

Placing high in GC (General Classification) is what it's all about for many who approach a stage race, and such was the case for me. Placing well on GC is very satisfying, and the organizers at GMSR are very good at giving that accomplishment some recognition by calling up the top 5 guys on GC to the start of the crit race. If I say so myself, fine performances in the TT and the Queen stage placed me 4th on GC (50+ field) and a solid ride in the crit confirmed the placing. Nice job ... ME!

 

Joe and Sarah wash the fatique away

 

And what's the most satisfying part of stage racing?  How about plunging down Middlebury Gap and watching the beauty of 50 guys weaving through the descending corners knowing that your Giant can handle the 55mph speeds and high g-forces thru the corners with ease. Or summoning up the will to pass that last guy at the finish of App Gap. Or drinking that one Long Trail back at the team house. Or knowing you had the strength to mix it up with the best and come away with a haul of good performances. And lastly, how about hanging out with your friends and family and maybe showing off a bit (!!). So fun. So satisfying.