TNR - A New Lease on Life

After a few weeks of sparse attendance at the weekly Tuesday Night Ride, Downeast Racing circled the wagons in an attempt to inject some new life into the TNR.  With a few strategic rally points identified, DER set out to drive the pace of the TNR without driving a wedge in the group.  Climbs were hard, the pacelines were well organized and we returned to Portland "Groupo Compacto".  DER is  looking forward to continuing to swell the ranks of the Tuesday Night peloton while maintaining the pace and intensity of this valuable weekly training ride.  We hope to see you out on the road next week!

4th weekend of the Scarborough Crit Series

The 4th event in the 2 month Scarborough Crit Series powered by Gorham Bike & Ski was another day for the hardmen of the peloton.  The 20 lap race started under a light rain and a north wind that chilled the group to the bone while awaiting the starting gun.  Downeast Racing was well represented with Joe Lynch, Peter Cole, Ta Hererra, Travis Kroot, Eliot Pitney, Matt Moon and team sponsor Zev Myerowitz proudly flying the blue and red.  Downeast Racing was quick to animate the racing, putting 3 members up the road in an early break.  Near the halfway point, series points leader Kroot attempted to bridge the gap, forcing Momentum's Eric Follen to take up the chase. The pace increased in the last 10 laps as Pitney, Moon and Kroot made the bridge and DER settled into a team time trial with 6 members in the break of 10.  Follen tried to shake loose of the break, and shed a few of the DER members, instead  Pitney went over the top with 5 to go and settled into TT mode, while the remainder of the DER members sat back and forced everyone else to chase.  With 2 to go the gap was holding stead at 15-20" and it looked like Pitney was going to be able to hold off the final charge.  Meanwhile the blue train in the break started to set up to take the remainder of the podium places, with Moon leading out sprinters Kroot and Herrara to the line.  It was an all Downeast Racing podium, with Kroot also grabbing the extra prime points on lap 10, increasing his points lead in the series in the process. With 3 events remaining in the series, DER will look to close out the month of May with strong Sunday showings.

ECCC Pro-1-2 Race Report: Scituate , RI

At the ECCC race in Scituate, RI, Mother Nature continued her cruel treatment of New England cyclist trying to have some fun racing a bike this spring. Big kudos to the 35 or so guys (including Downeast Racing's Travis Kroot, Hank Pfeifle, Dan Vaillancourt and Peter Cole) who lined up for the 3 x 24 mile circuit knowing full well that the misery index would be at 100%. Maybe the foul weather put some guys in a foul mood because the pace was punishing right from the gun with the initial undulating hills testing legs early. The ECCC race organizers cooked up a great course on narrow back roads through the Rhoade Island contryside. A big feature was the back to back mile long dirt road sections that had turned soft and slimy due to the persistent rain. If the tricky bike handling didn't get you, the elongated 400 watt demands on the thighs surely did. The dirt sections proved to be a big peloton reducer counting first Pfeifle and then Kroot among its victims. Peter's day came undone courtesy of a flat. The ever professional Vaillancourt stayed up front contributing to the annimated last lap. The 15 guys who made it through the various troubles approached the 300 meter 4% climb to the finish together where it became every man for himself. Dan - the sprinter in blue above - lunged on the pedals while his finely engineered Giant TCR Advanced 1 used all that force to propel Dan from 13th to 3rd in a most hard earned podium finish.

Racing this weekend - Can't wait

Yesterday I weighed myself when I woke up. 139.5 lbs. That's fighting weight. Racing the 1-2-3's at the 71 mile ECCC road race in Rhode Island with Dan, Travis, Matt, Peter Cole, maybe Eliot (new baby today??). The form is starting to flow in and all I want to do is race and go hard. Love that feeling. The weather says we'll probably get wet. Good. Even better if it's windy. To suffer is to enjoy but to make others suffer is, well, delicious.

Enjoying a slower pace

We are all in a rush.  We drive fast, we talk fast and we ride fast.  Put me in a group ride, even with the intentions of taking it easy and I naturally gravitate towards the front and up the pace.  It is how I am wired, competitve at every turn.  So when I set out to have a successful day at the Tour of Battenkill it was a 3 month effort focused on one goal.  Now that Battenkill is behind me, there is a void in my motivation. I need time to recharge the emotional batteries.   The draw of Killington hasn't taken hold yet (though it is starting to call my name) and the weekly racing circuit doesn't have enough excitement for me to get geared up for battle.  Instead of trying to push myself harder or faster, I prefer to go slower.  

I start commuting to work, 25 miles (at a minimum) each way. I now have an excuse for going slow.  "I'm wearing a 15 lbs backpack, I'm rolling heavy wheels... ", the list goes on.  I like to use the cyclocross bike paired with indestructible armadillo 28mm tires, courtesy of Gorham Bike & Ski, and take the road less traveled.  I forget about trying to PR a Strava segment or putting out a specific wattage, and I look for the enjoyment of powering myself through the Maine countryside.  I end up choosing roads that I would normally avoid, cruising dirt road sectors for the fun of it, and before I know it I've logged 70 miles in a day, smiling the entire way.

There is a simple satisfaction in starting and ending your day with a bike ride.  Catching the sunrise and/or sunset from the saddle provides a much needed moment of peace in an otherwise hectic fast paced life.  Next time you are caught up in the whirlwind that is life, slow down for a ride and re-explore those roads that you almost never ride.

The Push to Killington

The Killington Stage Race conducted over Memorial Day weekend in Killington, VT is a major objective for the Downeast Racing crew. In preparation for that event, we will focus our efforts on the 71 mile ECCC championship road race in Providence, RI (4/26), the Blue Hills Classic circuit race in Milton, MA (5/4) and the 69 mile Lake Sunapee road race in Sunapee, NH (5/17). We will let you know how it goes. You can also expect to see us at the Scarborough Crit Training Series - great bike handling and speed work training.

Biddeford TT Results (Maine TT Series #1)

http://www.allsportsevents.com/Results/triathlon_results/NorEasterTriathlon2014.html#/results::1397740201085

Here are last weekend's results of the first Maine TT Series race of the year conducted in Biddeford over an 11 mile course. Please note that Downeast Racing's very own Fred Thomas once again showed his TT prowess by recording the best time with a most rapid 27.2 mph average under difficult conditions - frigid, windy, raw. The rugged conditions of the day only increased for Fred when on the pedal home to Cape Elizabeth the skies opened up and dumped a cold persistent rain onto our now bedraggled friend. Victory may be sweet but, in this case, the welcoming embrace of a warm shower proved even better.