Winter takes hold

With winter settling in most people head indoors and spend their time on the trainer/rollers.  For those who are hardy enough to brave the elements, there is another option: The Fatbike.  

With no snow to speak of in Cumberland country, a short drive north to the Carrabassett Valley opens up a fabulous network of trails and huts maintained by Maine Huts & Trails.  

20 miles of pedaling on the groomed trails brings you to the Flagstaff hut.  The hut is fully supported and you can grab a meal and a beer or just a pipping hot cup of coffee.  

If you haven't taken the plung in buying a fatbike, or just want to know what all the fuss is about, check out the Rental Fleet at Gorham Bike & Ski.  They have more than enough Specialized Fatboys to go around.  

The crew taking a quick rest at the

Midway yurt.

VIDEO: Ride along with DER on il Doppio Ciclo

Get an inside perspective of the Maine peloton with some on board footage shot during the unofficial end of the year ride: il Doppio Ciclo (the double loop).

https://vimeo.com/112651130

Credit to Jon Ayers for the imbedded photo and for his enthusiastic support of Maine cycling.

Spinlister Bike Renting

Hi All,

If traveling and looking to rent a bike, check out this site: www.Spinlister.com Here is an article on it:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/13/spinlister-website-rent-bicycles-from-cyclists

DER Development Squad: Tired of Traveling Alone

Jason Isbell "Traveling Alone"

(click on YouTube link above)

Jason Isbell's sad lament in his soulful "Traveling Alone" reminds me of the common theme woven through the frequent requests of young riders who have asked to join Downeast Racing for next year. "Dude, I love racing but it's not as fun when you have to race alone." Some called me Mr. Pfeifle but "dude" is ok as the important part was the passion for racing the bike that was exhibited. Actually, this reminds me of a comment I overheard early in my career when a guy said, "If I had to race alone all the time, I'd quit!" And it's true. It's tons more fun racing on a team - driving to the race, lining up together, dodging potholes, wind, rain, eyeballs rolling backwards - you can't beat shared adventures. As a young rider on a team there's also the added bonus of the shared mission of moving up the category scale. The guys know that, depending on the course profile and a rider's strong point, the team could be working for ... me!! That definitely increases one's chances for success and that's clearly an inducement for joining a team.

 

So we at Downeast Racing have decided to open a development team of Cat 3-4 riders who have respectfully exhibited talent and ambition. The guys we have chosen know that success in racing is never a given and that talent and ambition must be complimented with hard work. It's a good mix of riders and we will be sure to keep all abreast of how training and racing progresses. Our new teammates are:

 

John Boucher  - Portland

Devin Frederick - Scarborough

Steve Bryant - OOB

Nathan Coste - Kennebunk

Luke Salvato - Brunswick

Matt Robinson - Portland

 

May I also add that Devins Hamlin will be riding with us next year. Although long on experience, desire & ability he, too, was in a position of racing alone. Well, not any longer. Welcome aboard, all. 

 

The Sustainable Athlete & Downeast Racing



We at Downeast Racing are happy to announce that The Sustainable Athlete, an endurance athlete coaching service with a nicely equiped training center, is now the coaching sponsor of our team. If anyone has doubts about the value of the use of a professional coaching program, one need not look further than the results posted this year by our Eliot Pitney. Last winter Eliot approached Doug Welling of The Sustainable Athlete for help and together they developed a training program that would prepare Eliot to maximize his abilities. Did the combination of proper coaching, genetics and self motivation take Eliot to the next level?   Indeed, yes, as Eliot won his season opening race (Tour of the Battenkill, Cat 3) in convincing fashion. Eliot "sustained" his excellent form throughout the long racing season and earned his Cat 2 upgrade along the way as well as winning a bunch more events. These fine results certainly caught the attention of Downeast Racing's riders who are now excited to avail themselves of the coaching and training facility services. In case it is not known by some, the benefits of coaching are:

 

- access to a "proven & tested" program

- personalized training structure

- a proper build up to target races

- sustained training-racing enjoyment

- daily peace of mind

- confidence

- performance improvement!!

 

That's a pretty nice line up of benefits. One can learn more about The Sustainable Athlete at their website: http://www.thesustainableathlete.com/

 

CX in full swing

After a long road season and countless hours grinding out the paved miles, a few Downeast Racers are finding their second wind in the mud, dirt and grass of New England cyclocross.  

Earlier in the month, Mainers were treated to a great weekend of local racing between Downeast Cyclocross (hey - great name there!) and Casco Bay CX.  This past weekend New Hampshire hosted the epic Orchard Cross, a venue with no rival, complete with massive dirt berms, a small pump track and numerous tight turns through the apple orchard.  Eager to mix it up with a packed 3/4 field Matt Moon and Eliot Pitney carved the course finishing a respectable 10th and 11th out of the field or nearly 100 New Englsnd CX'ers. 

Dan Vaillancourt did not want to miss out on the action either, and he shredded the course, and the P1/2/3 field for a 9th place finish.  Watch out New England, Danny V is getting his CX swagger back!

Orchard Cross hosted their annual costume ride and the giraffe made another appearance, as elegant as ever.  

There is racing every weekend but it might be a few weeks before the boys in blue lace up the boots for another slog through the mud and dirt.

Enabling Talent

Ben True: Winner at All Levels

Every now and then a kid comes along and, right off the bat, you (and everyone else) notices that he or she is better than their peers. You see it on the soccer pitch, the football field, the basketball court, the cross country course and, by extention, on the piano or in math. It's a wow thing as in "Wow! that kid's good" - an instant appreciation of talent. And when this kid comes onto the radar, it becomes fun to follow their career and see how it progresses against increasingly hard competition - college, minors, big leagues. A case in point in Maine is Ben True, the fabulously talented distance runner originally from North Yarmouth. Won in high school (Greely). Won in college (Dartmouth). Winning on the pro circuit. He's won because of natural talent, a love for his sport and scientifically applied training. One could also note the application of "hard work", but to these people the work is not "hard" but rather it is welcomed. Sitting at the piano for 4 hours straight? Ugh! to most people but pure joy to the gifted.  These guys wake up every morning and wonder "What can I do today to get better?". Consumed but happily so.

Benjamin Wolfe: Cycling Prodigy

We have these talent standouts in cycling, too. A young guy (age 19) who looks like his ticket is punched for bigger things is Cal-Giant's Benjamin Wolfe. We at Downeast Racing witnessed first hand his prowess while at the Beverley Crit this summer. The kid dominated against a national class gathering where he just rode away from the field - once again. However, and maybe unique to cycling in the USA, many talented riders blossum at a later age. A lot of talent comes to cycling AFTER their careers in other sports because opportunities for continuing in those sports ends. How many pro soccer openings are there a year? What do you do after a college rowing career (Eliot)? In cycling, the opportunity for advancement never ends and that's a gravitational pull to those who love to compete. Combine that competitive love & maturity with what the bike mysteriously does to the soul once you hop onto the saddle, and that "wow talent" emerges in surprisingly many people. Each year Downeast Racing looks to discover that latent Maine talent and provide these guys with an opportunity to discover just what lies within them. For our initial year we were heavily skewed toward proven talent with a sprinkling of latent. For 2015 we will bring on a few more latents where mixing them with the veterens will help to develop their potential. It's an exciting endeavor for us, so stay tuned and we will introduce you to our new members shortly.