Yeah, I haven't done this in a while. It's been a frustrating season for Jake for many reasons and we don't like to focus on those struggles. But this is going to be about a different part of bike racing: the people you meet and the different things you do.
So, after crashing out after Stage 1 of the Tour of L'Abitibi, an international stage race in Canada (a story unto itself), Jake wanted to get in more racing, so we decided to do the Tour de Millersburg, a 3 stage race in Millersburg Pa. It's a very small town 30 miles north of Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River.
Where to stay was a bit of a mystery. There is maybe one crappy old hotel in town or else hotels in Harrisburg, a 30+ minute drive away. I knew guys who had done the race and stayed with "host housing" where local residents take racers into their homes. So I clicked on the link and contacted the promoter. Julia Hoffman was incredibly helpful and responsive. She hooked us up with Deb Wire, who had an extra mattress that jake could sleep on on the floor and I would get a cot or air mattress. Well, it sounded ok, so we were in.
The drive up on Friday afternoon was hellish traffic, but we got there around 6pm. Deb has a very cool old, circa 1890s, house on the corner of Market Street. She also hosts a couple of other guys who have been staying with her every year for several years. On Friday evening we sat out on the front porch and chatted. The temperatures quickly got almost chilly. It was very nice.
Deb lights her table top tiki torch
Deb was an incredibly interesting woman. She raised 5 children by herself. She had one son and was a foster parent and adopted 4 of the kids, all with some level of special needs. She had great stories about taking in children who were in high risk situations. She clearly had a genuine love for taking care of people, children in particular. She treated me and Jake and the other 3 guys (Ryan, Jared, and Sal) like we were her sons. She had mini fridges in the living room for Ryan, Jared and Sal and one in the dining room where Jake and I slept. It was really nice.
And the location was so incredible. The time trial Saturday morning started literally 50 yards down the road in front of Deb's house. So Jake just had to walk out the front door and warm up on the sidewalk.
Jake had a really really good TT effort. The placing wasn't what he wanted, but it was probably the best TT effort he's ever done. His heart rate was high and his wattage was even and solid going out and back. But it was very flat so big guys who outweigh him by 30-40 pounds could just go faster. Deb took these great photos of Jake
Go fast, get Pancakes at the Moose Lodge
The Crit was just 3 blocks up from Deb's house in the afternoon. I carried the trainer up the street and Jake warmed up while the Men's 123 race went by. The crit was very tight and Jake started well but faded with legs shot from the morning (ok, only like 18 guys were left at the end). There were guys who did not try in the TT in order to save their legs for the crit. We would see them just roll by easy.
Deb caught a few shots of Jake -- significantly outweighed by his competitors
This is bike racer porch life at the Tour de Millersburg
On Saturday night Deb cooked us chicken parmigiana and pasta with blueberry cobbler for desert and refused all help. After dinner I walked down to the town square to get some cash from the ATM and grab a soft serve ice cream. The little town really comes out for the race. It was great to see.
The road race Sunday started *literally* right outside Deb's front porch. So again we just rolled out the front door and there was the start/finish and also the feed zone right on the main street. No need for sitting in a ditch in a field like usual. It was great.
That's Deb's house
Looking at the officials from the porch
Cat 3 RR start
I had to walk like 20 yards from the porch to get here.
This is my "where is Jake" stance
There was a big crowd to watch the finish along the main street (Market Street). It was really cool. Jake had mechanical trouble that took him off the group on the second of 3 laps which sucked and was just entirely too typical of how this year has gone.
Despite the races not going quite how Jake would like, it was a really fun experience. Host housing was an enriching experience, meeting new and interesting people, just hanging out. Even though the courses suit a "big" rider better than Jake, I can imagine going back next year. Lots of fun.
Soigneur Dad doesn't go to every race any more. But Jake said he would like me to be at Battenkill and of course I wouldn't miss it. I drove up Friday afternoon. Strange to do it alone.
It was misty and getting cold. I stayed in the same Courtyard in Saratoga Springs where we'd stayed before. I was able to meet up with Jake and the Miller School team for dinner at a local Olive Garden. Coach Andy Guptil and Ass't Coach Phillip Rob (who also owns Cutaway Clothing) were there along with (17-18) Hayden Blom, Spencer Virtue, Marcio Oliviera-Filho, and Pedro, and (15-16) Thomas Marucci(?), Leo Yip, and Chris Derby. A bunch of the boys are from Brazil and Leo is from Hong Kong. It was fun to eat with them and shoot the shit.
Saturday was cold grey and windy. I went over to Cambridge and went for a ride, and around 1:30 the team came over to drive the course and pre-ride the final 15 miles or so.
Jake and Andy lead the way
The Miller School of Albemarle Death Star
The mud was soft from the rain on Friday and we heard that in races earlier that day lots of people had to dismount and walk when they lost traction on the muddy climbs.
The team went back to their host house and I had dinner and hung around the hotel room. It would be an early wake up for the 8:50 start on Sunday.
Sunday it was cold, sub freezing but sunny and the wind was down. I scored a parking spot for me and the school van and helped Andy and Phillip get the boys together. Jake lined up for the stacked 17-18 race. Tanner Brown and Sam Lear from GS-Cyclelife were also there. I got a chance to meet Marcello Cesario's parent's in person. Networking with other parents is always a nice part of the races.
Andy and Phillip had to stay with the 15-16 group so I went to the first feed zone. It was the same Dairy as last year. The race played out really weirdly. A group of 3 (with one from Hincapie) came through and they had a 4 minute lead already on on a group of 3 with Tanner and Sam Lear (and another Hincapie boy), who then had 2 minutes on the field (Spencer was solo between them and the field). We thought something must have happened because usually they stay together, but Jake says the first group went immediately and everyone just let them go thinking it was too early. Then Tanner & Sam went shortly thereafter, and again Jake said they just let them go figuring it was too early. Also, with 2 up the road, Hincapie apparently started to actively "defend."
I had to stick around feed zone 1 to feed the 15-16 Miller boys so I didn't get to the 2nd feed zone in time. Andy called while I was en route (racing through country roads). The lead 3 then had 8 minutes on the Tanner/Sam group, who had 3 minutes on the field.
So I rushed to the corner of Center Cambridge Road and Rt. 74, which is the corner I went last year to see whether Jake made the group after the decisive Meetinghouse Road climbs. The situation was similar, 3 still 7 minutes ahead of Tanner/Sam group, then 2 boys a minute back and then Jake came through with 8 boys another minute back. He had made the first group from the field again, which was great. These were all national-level racers from big national teams. Jake's group caught those 3 just a few seconds in front of them through the turn.
I waited a bit. Marcio came through next with another boy. they were 2 minutes behind Jake's group. Jake said they had gone ballistic on the big climbs immediately after the 2nd feed zone, essentially sprinting up the climbs. Jake said he had to dig in multiple times to stay with the little group.
I went to the finish. The 3 came through. Then 2 more. Sam Lear came through solo 7th, then Tanner 10th then a few more boys then Jake came through 15th just a minute or two later. He said had just gotten gapped at the top of the final climb, but he had also dropped and beat several of the boys from that group, which is really impressive.
I'm really proud of Jake's race. He road hard and dug deep. In more than 95% of cases, those little groups that go at the beginning of the race don't say away. It's a choice that everyone had to make. Kudos to Tanner and Sam for a nice move that also stuck to get them in the top 10. Jake stayed with the field but when the moves came he was able to go with the top boys, which bodes well for the year. With his first year in the 17-18 (he's 16 but race age 17 because he turns 17 in August), getting in the top 15 was a reasonable result. His first time in the 15-16 two years ago he was 16th and then 7th last year. So next year should be a good one.
**POST SCRIPT -- a review of the results shows the top 5 were 18. Jake was the 6th 17 year old.
The boys hung around a little bit after. Thomas and Leo had scored 7th and 9th in the 15-16 race, which was great. Then it was time for the long drive home and back to school for them
After the Cincy 3 day cyclocross festival, the next weekend was the Louisville Derby City Cup sponsored by Tim Johnson's Mud Fund. It would be held at Eva Bandman Park in Louisville, the same course where they held the world championships. It is the biggest race of the year for UCI 17-18 other than nationals. It was a world championship team qualifier.
The plan all along had been for Andy to take Jake. The question was whether I'd go. I really wanted to be there to see it, and to race on the worlds course myself. But there were things going on. Loren hasn't had a break, Loren's car stopped working on Wednesday while she was taking Gabby to the vet, and Gabby was doing very badly. Friday morning I picked up Loren's car and at 12:30 Loren had to take Gabby to the vet to put her to sleep. She had kidney failure for a while and was just too sick.
RIP little girl
So after some tears and some machinations (could I fly?), at 3:30 I decided to drive to Louisville -- 600 miles and 9 hours away. I threw my bike and a bunch of stuff in Loren's car and hit the road. Thanks to my mom and Dan Klaussen for long phone conversations that kept me occupied. I got to Louisville at 1am and unloaded my car into a hotel room.
Saturday morning I would do the Cat 3 35+ again, but register day of, which meant I would be staged dead last out of 100 or so Cat 3s and single speeders. The course was very nearly the same as worlds, only no snow. 2 sets of steps, a flyover, and 3 different sand sections, one of them the 50+ meter long section where we stood at worlds. Jake and Andy parked by me in the parking area and I really got essentially no warm up. Talking to Andy at one point about pre-race prep, I said "so, doing tabatas on Thursday, then driving 9 hours through the middle of the night Friday night isn't optimal pre-race prep" and he said "well, you could script out something worse, but not much." The back of the pack Cat 3s really suck so I was constantly forced off my bike even in the smallest sand sections. Pedal through the sand! and in the long section, I could ride the whole sand but guys would bobble and start running in the packed in rideable line. DIE! I actually got pulled with a lap to go under the 80% rule, which was a blessing. Bill Browne and his wife Shawna got a few photos of me
I hated that flyover
Jake got warmed up while I cooled down. he was number 29, so back row call up this time. the UCI official at registration told me that every UCI licensed junior in the US was here except 2. This was a big field of very very fast young men. The front 10 could easily hold their own in the top 20 of the pro race.
nervous energy
UCI tire width check
last row
The start was super fast and nervous
Jake got lucky and made his way past a pile up in the first sand section heading into the flyover on lap 1.
Jake got in with a good group of 3 for the next couple of laps moving in and out of groups. He lost touch with his group when he crashed on a tricky off-camber rut. We could see that he was riding the sand really well. Bill got this great photo of him and another boy coming off the flyover
Here they are running the long sand section
photo by "Just another bike photo blog"
Bill got this great sequence of Jake leading some boys over the barriers
thanks for the shots Bill
photo by just another bike blog - yes that's it's name -- you can see where he crashed
The officials were overly pushy about the 80% rule on Saturday so they pulled Jake with 1 lap to go even though he wouldn't have been lapped. That really pissed him off. But it was a good effort on a very hard, unrelenting course. Lots of boys were really falling apart after mid-race and Jake reeled a couple of them in.
We hung out to watch the pro women and men.
Soigneur Dad Swag
pro staging
They just fly through the sand. Incredible finish between Trebon and Powers
We had dinner with Tanner and his Mom Shawna and dad Bill, which was nice.
Jake and Andy went back to their host housing and I hit the hotel.
Sunday we were back in the field parking area. I did the day-of registration again, but got a better warm up. The course was essentially unchanged. Started full back row again, but felt better and moved my way forward, big ringing much of the course most laps. I didn't get pulled and finished 13th out of the Cat 3 35+, 58th overall. I had to run the sand on lap 1 because of traffic but rode it all the last laps. Here are some great shots by Bill and Shawna
It was fun to ride the worlds course with working legs. But it was still hard.
Same routine as Saturday, Jake warmed up.
He was number 33 so we figured back row again. But he got called up to 2nd row, so that was cool. Another crazy fast start
river next to the course
second row
Here is first lap Sunday
Jake put in a good effort, catching and passing some boys but he was alone too soon and didn't have the advantage of any draft.
He did stay on the lead lap, which was an important improvement.
photo by Bill
some iphone shots
He was noticeably quick through the long sand. I was able to get some video of him in the sand on the last lap. He's smooth.
I shot that from the same place where we stood at Worlds
It was firmer and faster at worlds
Well, we had a long drive home so we quickly packed. I had to break the news to Jake about Gabby and then it was the 9 hours drive home. It was long and tiring and a pretty crazy move but I'm glad I went. More long phone calls with my mom and Dan and Liam and Lee.
I appreciate that Loren lets me do this stuff too. I would have loved to take Liam. Gotta figure out how to repay her.
