Perspective Part 2

After a long haul last week it was nice to have a short drive down to the Tokeneke Classic Road Race this past Sunday. Like a lot of New England races this one has been going on for years in various forms. And like a lot of races that have been around for years there are stories people tell about previous editions.

The story of choice this weekend was the one about "the guy at the finish line with the shotgun". According to the rumor mill the owner of the property across the street from the finish line was not a fan of the race, or of bike racers in general. There were stories of past confrontations, and depending on who was telling the tale one such confrontation included either a baseball bat or a shotgun or both.

Two years ago we worked the race for the first time, but we never saw the property owner and last year's the race was postponed. So when we showed up this year we tried to keep a low profile, be quiet and generally worked the first session with our fingers crossed. Just as the last riders of the morning session were coming in we saw "the guy". He came out of his house and was checking out what was going on, then jumped in his car and headed towards the finish line. This made me nervous. I could see the questions/argument already: "what's going on here- who are you- why are you sitting under a black tent pointing cameras at my house- are you the NSA???" And of course I was remembering the tales of the shotgun too....

But he simply rolled up, waved hi and asked if there was one more session of racing to go. When I said yes, he just said 'ok' and drove off. Not quite what we were expecting. After about 20 minutes he came back, parked at the house and came over to check out the new generator setup. "you're using gas generators?" he asked- "Uh yes..." "ok, can you just be careful- my well is right behind you and I don't want anything to spill." Fair enough. And that started what turned out to be a very enlightening conversation.

Turns out the guy didn't hate the race or bike racers. He had just not been informed about the race the first time around was was a little defensive when all these neon lycra clad people showed up and camped out on his lawn. We talked a bit about the history of the race and the area in general. Turns out he didn't mind the race, he just wanted a heads up on when it was happening, and he didn't want his lawn filled with bottles and trash(the feed zone is right nearby). And he was worried about his well water. That's it. Pretty reasonable stuff.

It was kind of a poignant reminder that while many of us enjoy the circus that is bicycle racing, it can be a bit overwhelming to someone not used to it. And while we're looking at the venue as a race course, the locals look at it like home. So next year we might move the finish line just a bit, and adjust the feed zone location. And for sure we'll pick up after ourselves and maybe take some extra trash home too. After all it's the neighborly thing to do.

Perspective, part 1

So there should have been a post here for the Union Vale Road Race, but by the time we got home the Tour de France had imploded...

Now the Tour and the type of bike races we work have pretty much zero in common. But still, when you tell someone you're in the bicycle racing business the crap in France always comes up. And it can be a hard thing to talk about when you've been around the bike scene for a while- So we'll just say the whole thing sucks on a bunch of different levels and leave it at that. Besides, the blogosphere has beaten that horse to death enough.

So why keep doing bike race stuff? Why not move on to triathlon or running? They certainly pay better- We do it because we still love the sport and we still believe in the bicycle.

Two images from the New York weekend pretty much answer the question why:

From Saturdays Criterium:

He rode the short street sprint as well as the longer 1 lap kids race. In a matching kit, with a 20 inch wheel road bike, complete with radial spoked front wheel. Rad!

From Sundays Road Race:

After 44 of the hottest hilliest miles in New York, riding in a t shirt, baggy shorts, toe clips and straps this kid refused to get in the car with his parents because he wanted to keep riding. We had to snag the photo from the finish camera because he was still peddling down the hill after the race.

Juniors rule.

Poughkeepsie Criterium

It says something that we've worked this race enough that it's possible to spell Poughkeepsie correctly without even thinking about it... Saturday brought the criterium half of the Alec Stall Memorial Weekend. This year the construction downtown is finally finished (or at least moved past the course) so it was possible to return to the old course- minus the chicane that has caused havoc in the past. This year it was a pretty straightforward criterium that favored strong riders who could handle the wind.

The ride of the day went to Anna Milkowski- breaking away from the gun, dragging two other riders with her, then dropping them en route to lapping the field solo. Look out Altoona- Anna is coming!!

Rain Delay

A single race weekend meant we could actually ride our bikes on Saturday. It was a great 3 hours riding some of the roads used in old editions of Tour of the Hilltowns. A great way to enjoy a day off for sure.

Sunday brought the Donavan Ruhlman Memorial Criterium in Naugatuck CT. It's a nice 3 corner crit right in downtown and the best part is that it starts at 1pm so we got to have a nice breakfast at home before hitting the road. The day had just 4 races, and the Masters 35+ was run as a win and out so that was kind of neat. Of course it took a LOT of explaining to the riders on that format. The track guys definitely had the advantage there.


The storm before the storm

The weather forecast had mentioned showers, so early in the day we set up all the tent sidewalls and umbrellas just in case. Sure enough as we got to the halfway point in the Pro race the skies opened up. Which wouldn't normally be a problem, but there was a fair bit of lightning, so the race was pulled off the course for about 20 minutes until the worst had passed. It's always tough to stop a race midway through, and the riders understandably get grumpy, but we had been watching the weather radar and it just didn't look safe to race. Rain is one thing, but lightning is just too much. Driving home we saw plenty of storm damage along the way, lots of downed trees and washouts- Naugatuck had just caught the edge of the storm apparently.

Next week we travel out to New York for two days of racing in the Hudson Valley.

Hartford Crit v2 and New Britain

After having a week off from results work we jumped right back in with a double weekend of criteriums. It was a nice way to ease back into the scene since both races are New England standards. The Hartford Round the Park Crit was a little different this time- with Attleboro moving later in the year due to Masters Nationals the guys from the Nerac squad stepped up to fill the gap with another crit around Bushnell park in Hartford. They decided to mix it up a bit and ran the course in reverse- which was a bonus for us since we got to set up in the shade for once!

Downtown crit races are always interesting, and not just because of the bike racing- there's always something going on that makes you either laugh or wince- this time it was the kid bombing down the start finish stretch on a huffy- while talking on a cell phone. Fortunately he zipped by moments before the field came hauling around the corner. Those guys in the 30+ race have no idea how close they came to disaster...

The New Britain Criterium is another great regional tradition- the course is host to 2 or 3 races every year. And when you have a great closed course you can run a lot of races during the day- Sundays race had 12 different races. It's great to have that opportunity because it means that a lot of categories that would normally be run together like the Masters 60/70+ and the Women 4 can have their own race. Kudos to Mark and the guys at Anthem CCCC for making this happen!

As the day got underway there was one unusual thing- we had no neutral support for half of the first race. Merlin and the SRAM car were driving up to the race from Pennsylvania and got stuck in traffic behind an accident. So switching over to caravan driving mode Merlin slipped into the breakdown lane and drove (the opposite way on the highway) until he found an exit and could bypass the accident and the stopped traffic. When you look official I guess you can get away with just about anything!!

Cox Charities Cycling Classic

OK, it's been a while since updates, but vacation is over so here's the roundup of what we've been up to.

After Ninigret we stuck around in Rhode Island to provide finish camera services and some equipment to the Cox Charities Cycling Classic.

For this race we had our usual results gear in our tent, plus we provided an elevated stage and tent for the officials.

If Saturdays race at Ninigret was a perfect example of traditional grassroots bike racing, then Cox showed us what the big time looks like. It's a pretty straightforward criterium, but everything gets taken to the next level. You have hard fencing around the course, the big finish line arch, several stages for announcers and officials, a huge expo area and more. And to top it all off there is live music all day and since the event is a benefit for Cox Charities there are even TV stars around working the crowd and serving as race starters. It's impressive to say the least.

While there were just 5 races that day we were on site early to get set up. With all that goes into the event we had to make sure we coordinated with the guys setting up the hard fence, the crew doing the finish arch and all the other assorted set up crews. And with the last race ending at 8pm it was a long day. After getting everything broken down and loaded back into the truck it was a smooth drive back to Mass and the start of a week off!

On site at 8am, back home at 11:42pm...