Got It!

Well it seems that I have at least 4 readers, so I'll keep you all posted on the finale of the New England Verge Cyclocross Series.

As you know, this season has been a knock down, drag out street brawl in the 35+ category with the jersey jumping from back to back to back all year.

Lined up in the brisk wind at Goddard Park in RI, for the 14th and final race of the series, Roger and I were separated by 5 measly points and Kevin wasn't far behind either, but it would have taken both of us finishing out of the points or way down for him to win it. It was most likely gonna be a battle for the series between Roger and me. With the point difference between 1st and 2nd in any race being 10 points it was winner take all, or whoever finished in front of the other. Kinda like when we were kids playnig basketball in the driveway and somebody's mom said "time for dinner". We usually said "next point wins".

And so it was.....next point wins.

After our instructions and a hilarious plea for all competitors to keep one foot on the ground til the whistle blew (not mentioning any names) due to a certain "flyer" on Saturday. We were off.

I got my pedal pretty clean and the sprint was a lot less hectic and dangerous than the previous day's. I followed Roger onto the sand and up the steep run. I felt good so I went to the front through the barriers and pressed the 1st lap. Coming into the wet roots befor the pit I dumped it on my left side, Rog got around OK and I was up in an instant. My chain had come off, but I saw that before I remounted and knew I had to pedal it back on. It jumped right on, so I didn't enter the pit which was right there. I didn't lose the wheel and I followed Roger for a full lap. Marky Mac had connected and Kev was just about on now too. Roger peeled off and I went through and drilled it. I stayed there for the next 3 laps on the front with Mark sticking on me like velcro and Kevin in 3rd looking comfortable. Roger slotted in, in 4th.

The good news for me was that Roger didn't look his best and was getting gapped off on lots of turn exits. All I needed was a shred of positive feedback to motivate me more and that was it. I started crushing certain power sections after technical corners, and after he clawed back several times, I finally got him off a little more and he wasn't reconnecting at all. I was pretty pinned, but adrenaline is a beautiful thing if you can control it.

The gap continued to grow and we got the bell. I had some serious support out there in terms of screaming, lunatic, New England Cyclocross fans (Thanks Team BOB and others). The gap was there and I just had to seal the deal with my final lap in New England for 2009. So of course I caught my foot on the 2nd barrier and crashed forward. I scrambled up in a jiff and got back on......LOSER! The only damage done was losing one spot to Mark. He went real slow through the next little section and I passed him as we went by the pits for the 2nd to last time. He sort of challenged my surge, and as we went around the next corner I said "I don't care about winning the race today". What I meant was that I just wanted to be on the front driving it for another half lap or so to guarentee my series win. Then he could go for the win. I wasn't gonna risk nationals by trying to fight Marky Mac in the last few corners if I didn't have to. I think we know how that would have turned out anyway. Kev was just as happy as I was so he didn't try his hardest to beat him either. I literally sat up with a few short sections left to go and crossed the line alone in 3rd with 5 fingers on one hand and one on the other raised, to signal my 6th series win in a row.

Undoubtably the hardest one yet! I almost feel bad, because I really do like Roger that much. Picture a friend of your's in a tight battle for a big series win. You'd be pulling for him right? Well thats our deal. Of course neither of us is gonna let the other just have it, which is what makes it so exciting, but I will say this. I hope he wins Nationals again, since I don't have any teammates in his race this year. It's not gonna be easy though. Natz never is. There's phenominal guys in every category.

A huge thank you to anyone that put up a cheer for me this year. There's a lot of you. I'm glad New England rallied around one of their own this weekend and showed how much they wanted that jersey sticking around these parts for the winter. I'm thrilled to be the guy you all supported. Kevin and I must have had 40 or 50 people wish us luck Sunday morning while we made our preps.....including a classy guy named Roger Aspholm.

An even bigger THANK YOU to Jamie for helping me at every single race this year with his mechanical expertise, pit crewing, soignieur, training partner and of course friendship. Try finding someone that will train with you in the dark in 30 degree temps after you both get out of work at the end of the day, and he wasn't even racing really so that's even more generous.

To one of the best guys you ever wanna meet, and easily the most talented bike racer on the Corner Cycle team. The incredibly loyal and super fast "old" guy.... Kevin Hines. Thanks for all the help and motivation all year long Kev!

After Roger mopped the floor with us in VT on the opening weekend. Kevin came up with this slogan "The jersey is not going back to New Jersey". It may have rented space there for most of the season, but it's home now!

To Sammy, and of course Trish and Nate who gave us a great series to follow in the 45+ and narrowly missed the top step of the final podium to another New England fan favorite. Mark Gunsalis of Team FUJI. Congrats Mark!

And I'd be in big trouble if I left out Nancy. Not only is she my girlfriend, but a fellow athlete (triathlete) and a massage therapist, who just happens to live very close to Roger Williams and also Goddard Park. Let's just say that I had about as PRO treatment as anyone ever did this past weekend. With my back going up in flames in Saturday's race, and chronic chest tightness as well as some pretty sore sticks. I was in good hands.......to say the least. Thanks Babe!

Finally I'd like to dedicate this season long struggle and ultimate victory to the owner of our team and Corner Cycle. One of my closest friends for over 2 decades. A guy that supports cycling and racing at all levels, ESPECIALLY juniors. George (Lefty) Sykes. George doesn't get the opportunity to come out to the races that much, but if you've ever seen him at the races, you know there's no one that enjoys it more. It seems like one of his favorite days of the year, each year, is the final day of the Verge series in RI. He makes it a point to get down there and see his friends and his team race some cross. With the event having a beer sponsor, it's a match made in heaven.

I spoke to Georgey Saturday night to keep him posted of what had happened, and we talked about a lot of different things, but then the conversation got very serious and he explained to me that his Mom was gravely ill and was close to passing. This is a very private thing, so I don't wanna go into detail here, but he said she was with family and comfortably sleeping and everyone had time to understand what was happening and come to terms with it. He said unless she passed before the race he'd be there to cheer us on.

I was really glad to see him pull into the parking lot just as I did in the morning. Half way through our warm ups he told me he had to go.....his Mom had passed. I can't even imagine how hard this is, since my Mom is still with me, but I imagine there can't be anything more personal than losing the person that brought you into the world. The woman that carried you inside of her for 9 months and then nurtured you and raised you. My deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy go out to you buddy.

Well that wraps up another awesome season of Cyclocross in New England. We're off to Bend, OR to try to grab a few more jersies. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading, JB

Lucky #13

Well today was race #13 out of 14 Verges Series races. It was miserable weather. 40 degrees and pouring rain. The field was pretty damn stacked, with Kevin, me and Roger battling for the overall, we also had Matt Kraus back in the mix, as well as both Mark and Frank McCormack. Kurt Perham has been riding super lately, and home court advantage would have to go to Curtis Boivin.

The start was wierd. I didn't get my pedal too quick, but at least I kept my foot on there and didn't slip it. I think the Canadian Steve Proulx got the holeshot. Undoubtably because of his sweet Stevens Carbon race rig.

It didn't take long to see who had the juice. We hit the pavement after a pretty frantic start off and I surfed a wheel until I got up to speed and then went across the small gap to Roger and Kurt and Steve. We dove off the pavement and onto a greasy corner and I ended up taking an inside line which I didn't really want, but I hooked up thanks to the Dugast Rhinos, and blasted off on the exit.

I didn't look back right away, but I could feel that I was alone. Before hitting the long sandy beach run I snuck a peek and saw that I had a handful of seconds on Roger. There could have been 1000 people in the race today, but the 1 guy I had to beat was Roger and he was right there, wearing 2 things I want.....the leader's jersey and a National Champion's kit. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I kept drilling it. So did he. I went by the pits and Jamie yelled "4 seconds". That's not much, but when you're both going full gas, it's something worth pushing for to try and stretch it out.

A lap later.....4 seconds.

2 laps later.......4 seconds......2 laps to go.

Finally I started to see an increase in my lead on that lap and when I got the bell, there was a beautiful thing happening. Kevin was making his way up to Roger after a bad start, and I'm telling you he was way behind Roger at first. He was on him next time I looked and I told myself to focus, but I was hoping I could hang on and then see Kev take the 2nd place points.

Thats what happened, and so after 13 races, with 1 to go I have 665 points to Roger's 660. A five point lead with everything on the line for tomorrow. Very cool.

It looks like 2-4 inches of snow overnight. This is gonna be very interesting!!!

Thats it for now, gotta put my legs up. JB

Ever heard this before?

Battenkill Entry Fees

So the Battenkill Race is up on Bikereg now. It's not open yet, that happens later in the month, but there's something there that really sticks out. The entry fee is $75. SEVENTY FIVE dollars for a bike race! Are you freaking kidding me? If you wanna race the cat 2s or the PRO, 1 race you get the added pleasure of paying $85.

Hey this is America and people can do whatever they want within the laws. But that is dangerously close to a crime. I for one will not be there. I've got a season's full of off road riding, so I see no need to take a Friday off from work drive 4-1/2 hours (each way) and pay $75 to do a race with a very high percentage of flat tires. I double flatted last year about halfway through.

I think if we just go along with it and say things like "Well it's a good quality, unique race", we're asking for other promoters to start doing the same thing. This isn't Triathlon!

I strongly urge all New Englanders to stay in New England that weekend and support "our" races and "our" promoters. If you want the best, most unique ride you can do, enter the D2R2 instead. I promise you won't regret it! It's $50 and you get about $100 worth of value and the memory of a day that will blow your mind.

Do the right thing and boycott Battenkill and their gouging of us. Sure it's not the end of the world to pay that $, but it's the principle and it sets a precedent.

OK I'm done ranting.....JB

Verge Series Winding Down

Once again it's been a while since I've found the time to write here. Since my last entry we've raced Maine, Noho, and Sterling. With only the last 2 races at NBX in RI left, a lot has happened, but not much has changed.

Maine was a soggy wet mess. Saturday was pouring buckets all day and although Sunday was a great looking day, the track was destroyed and was our muddiest race in years.

Saturday was good since Kevin and I were able to ride a very cold Roger off our wheels, after he nearly dropped me earlier in the race. Kev and I rolled to the line together and we had decided to take the jersey by putting me across the line first rather than duke it out and possibly leave the jersey on Roger's back. I was now 5 points ahead of Roger and had my first series lead of the year.

Sunday should have been good for me too, but I got the worst start I've ever gotten in a cross race. I had put in new spikes for the running I expected to be doing in the mud. They were real long and it's been a while since I ran new spikes. At the start they seemed to block me from getting into my pedal, and combined with a bit too much PAM on the pedals, I slipped it 3 times in a row and honestly thought I was gonna get run over from behind. On the flip side, Kev got the holeshot. He and Roger separated immediately and I was buried in the middle of 30 guys that were talking about their lines and how it's a party back there and swerving in front of me wrecklessly. Panic! I finally got out of it and started to make my way up when I made the next big mistake of the day, there would be more too. I truly raced like a cat 5 that day and was lucky to pull off a 3rd place result. Roger muscled away from Kev on the last lap and the jersey was back on his shoulders.

Noho is one of my favorites and the weather gods smiled on us again this year, with warm sunny days both Sat. and Sun.

I had put in a decent block of training and hoped to see the rewards. Saturday brought Matt Kraus into the mix and this was a welcome sight for me. Matt rides for Richard Sachs and is hugely talented in my eyes. A true cross racer for years & years and a 2nd place finisher to Brandon Dwight last year at Natz.

The race started on the lower deck this year and I got a good start as well as Kevin who was right next to me. First time through the pits Jamie yelled to us that Roger had a bad start and was back a bit. That was all we needed to hear. We lit it up and tried to separate before he got through the masses. After 2 brutally hard laps it was me, Kev and Matt at the front with Roger alone in 4th about 9 or 10 seconds back. We all worked together to keep the gap and with one to go it was clear we had gained more time and he was gonna ride it in and save it for Sunday. That was good, because now I could try to plan how to win. When Matt pulled through on the last lap I wasn't gonna go to the front again except to win. On the bottom of the course I attacked into the sand and out of the pit and powered the last 2 field sections, Kevin was also able to get around him before we hit the pavement and we went 1,2 with Matt 3rd and Roger 4th. I now had a 10 point lead in the series. My biggest yet. After the race the Corner Cycle Crew hammed it up on the podium. Then I visited good friends in the BOB camper, these guys do it better than anyone! They treated me to chicken Catcitore and lots of laughs. Dave Foley might be the funniest guy on the circuit and I'm glad to see he's doing a little more cross this year, Tim Shea, Garabed and Eric Marro are like staples of New England Cyclocross. This scene we've got going here in New England in the Fall is a freaking blast!!!

Sunday was FAST. I almost checked out on the first two laps, but couldn't quite snap the cord. Roger made no mistakes and Matt was extremely strong all day. It was a 4 man group for most of the day. I bobbled the sand pit once and spent the better part of 2 laps trying my hardest to get back on while Kev tried to slow things down for me in the group. The last lap was wierd, I guess since I finally recovered and I was able to move up fairly easy. I decided to go a little earlier than Saturday, but it didn't work out as well. I attacked before the long straightaway before the sand, but coming out of the sand Roger and Matt had more punch and I struggled to hold them. I got up to speed on the last 2 sections of grass going onto the paved finishing stretch, but we were all going the same speed with little gaps between. Roger was 1st, Matt 2nd, Kev 3rd and I came across 4th. Lead gone. Back to 10 points behind. CRAP!

Sterling was 3 weeks away and I vowed to myself that I would show up for it more fit and ready to peak for the end of the season and Natz.

Day 1 was WINDY and surprisingly dry after a long day of rain on Friday. It was Tom's (Stevens) classic Sterling course, complete with horse jump and tricky barriers. We shot off the line and it was quickly a 4 man group. Me, Kev, Roger and Kurt Perham. Kurt is riding very well and often wins the holeshot and hangs with us for most of the race. With 2 to go Kevin and I chatted on the track about what to do next since we wern't getting anywhere. He went into the lead before the horse jump and I got into 2nd with Kurt in 3rd and Roger 4th. Kevin can ride corners better than any of us in the Master's group. So he did that while I took my sweet time getting through the 5 or 6 turn chicane. I didn't brake check anyone, just rode slowly. Theres a comfort level everyone has with this sort of tactic and although it would be foolish not to deploy it, I don't want to go over the line and be cheap. Everyone will have a different view and different ideas, but we're all friends in our group and there's no reason it can't stay that way along with some good racing at te same time. Anyway, Kev had a good gap coming out of the turns and I was surprised I didn't get passed through the next few sets of turns. On the backstretch Roger lit it up and it was SAVAGE. That was it for Kurt. It seemed like he was trying to use our tactics to his advantage by letting Kev go a bit, then dropping me while bridging to him and then have only Kev to beat in the end. He almost did just that as I was hanging by a thread. I needed to counter attack when he got to Kev, but he didn't quite close the door and left Kev sitting about 3 bikelenghts ahead. Very savvy! We got the bell. Then right before the run up he attacked past Kev and made it really hard for me to follow since we then entered the greasy corner before the hill. He ran very well up the hill, and Kev encouraged me as I ran past trying to limit the damage. I closed it down before the horse jump. I was taxed but OK. How do I finish? How do I win? Where do I go? Should I sprint him? Lead out? Or come around? Sammy let Marky G lead it out in the 45s and never got around him. Where's Kev? How's he feeling? Can we block for one and other again? Those were just a few of the thoughts that were in my head as I raced the last lap. "Cyclocross is like trying to play chess while you're drowning". Roger went just fast enough to discourage me from attacking and I ended up waiting for the sprint on the track. I would try to come around him. We hit the track with a bit of a drift but both were able to power up right away. I got in his wheel and shifted twice, he was galloping now, time to go. I went left and gained half a bike instantly. My bike was all over the place and he seemed to have another gear at the same exact time as me. I never got closer than his bottom bracket and he held me off. CRAP AGAIN!! This guy is so good and so strong. It's an honor to race a guy that just loves to crush it who is decked out in National Champion Colors. I know Kev feels the same way too. BUT I still wanna beat him!!! 20 points back now in the series and only 3 races left.

I'm happy with my form anyway, it's just that the competition is better than ever. Sunday would be a MUST WIN SITUATION. Anything less would be horrible failure.

Sunday was warm and dry again. Tom made an outstanding day 2 course and even though it was dry overnight we found ourselves in more muddy spots than Saturday. I decided to ride my brand new Dugast Rhino's on alluminum rims with rubber brake pads. A very dependable and predictable braking combination. I hoped to have good day 2 legs for the 1st time all year. I got on the bike to warm up and it was clear I had the legs today......I LOVE this feeling, as it gives me uber confidence.

I've been dicking around too much this year and haven't taken the bull by the balls enough. "So what if he's good.....OK great, but I can ride a bike too. Today is gonna hurt, and I can't wait!" That was my self prep talk during warm up. What a dork huh?

Anyway I got the hole shot and led off the track and onto the lower section. Marky Mac was on my wheel and as we approached the very slimy ride/run up, he asked me "Riding or running"? I actually had to think about it for a second and then I remembered my talk to myself, and I said "Riding". I don't know what happened behind me, but I dove hard left with a hard surge and powered up and over and then really juiced it on the top. Before I dropped into the descent I looked back and I had a big gap. From that point on I just rode as hard as I could and as smart as I could. I felt really good and got to the point where I could take a breath and recover and go hard again. My name rung out over the speakers and from friends cheering and it motivated me more. I slowly pulled away with help from Kevin. He jumped in front of Roger when he could and slowed it down, and then sat on him when he made power in the straight aways. In the end I was able to ride the last lap carefully and cruise across the line for a comfortable win with my arms raised. Roger took 2nd, so I'm 10 points behind with 2 races to go. Anything can happen.

Thats it for the race reports.....thanks for reading, JB

Bike Racing and Beer Drinking

2 of my favorite things!

It was nice to have such a high level race that wasn't too far away last weekend. With my drive time just over an hour, that would help with lots of things. My girlfriend living 10 minutes from the venue would help even more. I got down Friday afternoon early enough to get in a few laps and try to dial it all in. Saturday's course was very similar to the course that Tom Stevens laid out for Natz back in 05 and 06. It's a classic and difficult course. Lots of skills involved in getting around this track efficiently. As I rode laps with Sammy and Kev, we could see Tom hard at work, setting it up and putting the finishing touches on it. Let me just point out how lucky we are in New England to have guys like Tom with his long history in this sport and his crew, working so hard bring us such incredible courses and events.

Wrapping the whole thing around the East Coast Interbike seemed a perfect fit. The only thing that could really spoil it would be bad weather. The only bad weather came overnight on Friday, but Saturday and Sunday both turned out to be good days with no precip.

The conclusion I came to after riding lots of laps was that this was gonna be hard as hell and that the best athlete should win. Not necessarily the best cyclist or the most fit or the strongest. There were so many different things going on with off camber turns leading into run ups, tricky high speed barriers with a downhill greasy right hander directly in the remount area, greasy low speed 180s, bumpy down ups with lots of roots and brake bumps and more 180s in between, glazed mud on asphalt in corners, peanut butter get offs into concrete long run stairs, curbs and planks, big shiny tree roots, acorns, glass, and lots of elevation gain per lap, and a hard ass long uphill grade leading to the finish line. Any sprint to the finish would be very painful.

I slept well enough but not great. I was nervous after trying to amp up my training in the last few days, after my squemish week leading into Gloucester. I felt good, but unsure of my form. I got over there early since it's been really hard to get in any laps before our race this year with the new jam packed schedule. We scoped out our parking spot the day before and I arrived almost at the same moment as Kevin, who had Jamie with him. Jamie has been nice enough to play the ultimate teamate this year and act as mechanic/pit man and overall helper and supporter at the races. His help has been invaluable. Especially when he discovers every little detail about our bikes while we're taking care of our warm ups and registration and # pinning. THANKS James!

So we're on the line ready to go and the series is like this...Kevin in the lead, Roger 10 points behind him, and me 20 behind. Marky Mack is in the mix, but far back on points for the series. What we didn't know was that John Coriveu was in the field, a MOOTS rider from Steanboat Springs, CO and very talented at that.

The whistle blows and I react well, and get in my pedal on the 2nd try. I start to charge and Roger pulls along side me and shows me what it looks like to try hard, so I do. I get up to speed at about the finish line and then get the holeshot off of the pavement and into the grass. I got a good gap after the first set of turns and did what I know best......ride from the front, as hard as I can. I drilled it for a full lap, constantly checking to see where the others were. The gap was small, but you gotta start somewhere. After about 1-3/4 laps Roger makes contact and Mark is right on him. .
I'm amazed to see that there are about 5 others just behind them. On the next paved section leading down to far end of the course I sit up and let Roger pull through, Mark follows and he doesn't look good at all. He's got one of the best poker faces of all time, but he wasn't fooling anyone at that particular moment. I let Kurt Perham, Coriveu and Bill Shattuck roll through too and Kevin was next, but was still off just a few bike lengths. I filled in the spot hoping he would get on. On the next chicane I chose to run and passed Bill and Kurt again. I could see Roger was starting to ramp it up, after all he had 20 seconds to recover and thats all he needs and then some. Onto the pavement, it was Roger followed by Corvieu, then Mark then me, then Kurt, Bill and Kevin. It was all strung out. Corvieu drilled it and Roger was right on it. Mark reacted with an out of the saddle in the drops charge. I took that as a signal to try as hard as I could. I got his wheel and realized he didn't quite get to the other two. At the finish line (with 4 to go) he seemed to go backwards and I just went around him and up to the other two. It was effectively a leadout.

From that point it was just the 3 of us. Roger let Corvieu lead for over a lap and was flying and riding very well through all the different transitions. Finally Roger drilled it out of the "punch bowl" on a tough uphill grade, and I punched my own ticket and followed. Around the temple of music we went faster than we had before then and started to gap off Coriveu, and it took a while, but he faded. With 2 to go it was really hard to hold Roger and I was rethinking my first lap and a half of the race. I started thinking about how I could possibly beat him and I didn't have many good answers
Thankfully my teammate, Kevin, was in the leader's jersey and so I felt no obligation to go to the front and pull ourselves farther away from him. He was on a bad day and was battling with Bill, and Kurt in 4th, 5th and 6th. Mark had detinated and was out of contention completely. Finally we got the bell and my best chance was gonna be to try a sprint against Roger if I could survive the last lap attacks. At the top of the long wooden staired run up, Roger put his bike down and hopped on, so did I, but when I looked up he was sort of free spinning. He had thrown his chain on the outside of his chainrings. I passed him on the left as he fiddled with it and went as fast as I could through the punchbowl and up the power grade. I got some big cheers from the pits when I emeged alone and I drilled it all the way down the straight aways because I knew for certian that Roger wouldn't throw in the towel. I ran the last chicane again like I did all day and snuck a peak as I went around the corner. I had a few seconds and just had to keep it upright and get onto the pavement. I did and then sprinted a little while looking back and put two very tired arms in the air for a hard fought, albeit lucky win.

Roger was just a handful of seconds behind and I told him he didn't deserve that, which he didn't, but if anyone can sympathize about a race costing mechanical, it's me. Corveu was there shorthly after, and then Kev got messed up by one of the others in the last little technical section and couldn't execute his planned pass. He ended up 6th behind Kurt and Bill who both had outstanding rides.

I never would have thought it, but when the dust settled I was in my beloved Verge Leader's Jersey. Tied with Roger on points and Kev just 10 behind. Bittersweet again today. I got the jersey, but had to take it off a teammate's back. I had a good race, Kev had a bad one. But we don't care who takes the jersey, as long as one of takes it. Roger is giving us all we can handle at the moment!

Day 2 was gonna be even harder. The course favored me a lot less with more turns than Saturday and fewer power sections. It looked more like Kev's course to me and after a long rest he was ready for battle on Sunday. I still liked my chances too and was motivated since I was in the leader's jersey for the first time in 2009. I now have leader's jersies from 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.... but this one is FAR from in the bag!!! It looked like a good course for Roger too who is riding his bike around corners better than I've ever seen him, and Marky Mack is always tougher on day 2. Throw in Corveu and a couple other wild cards and it was wide open.

The whistle blew and I was flat footed. My reaction was just a split second late and then I didn't get my pedal right away. Translation.....bad start. Mark bolted from the front and looked like he was gonna check out on us. He was flying and I was on Roger's wheel in about 10th or 12th place. We couldn't get out to chase with all the twists and turns. We were both gonna have to be patient for a bit. It was too hectic to look for Kevin or I'd lap a wheel, but he wasn't in front of me. We made a couple passes when we could and when we finally came back onto the pavement at the finishing straight we drilled it past everyone, and only had Mark left up the road. He was a lot closer now and that was a sigh of relief. Climbing out of the punch bowl on lap 2 we had Mark in the crosshairs, when all of a sudden he was in my lap. I had looked down for 1 second and in that time Roger must have moved over, and all of a sudden I was 10" from Marks wheel and he was parked. I shot to the left and body englished my bike around his crank and leg and just kept going like nothing ever happened, but that was close!

It didn't take long for Corveu to show up and he looked very strong. Kevin and Bill weren't far behind and they looked good too. I guess it was around lap 3 or 4 when I got shuffled to the back and was pinned on every corner exit which were many. Kevin looked awesome and was on the front gapping off everyone but Roger. I needed to be there, but couldn't go. With 1 and a half or so Kev threw his chain in a weird spot and was able to pedal it back on, but he lost Roger and I rolled up behind him after going around Bill who looked as though he may have torched his last match. Kev shot back past Corveu, but didn't get to Roger right away. We got the bell and I swear my heart rate was 200. Roger had a small gap maybe 4 seconds to Kev and Corveu and they had a smaller gap on me probably like 2 seconds. That may not seem like much but everyone was going as hard as they could. Corvieu was looking good as the only guy on a wheel. The whole last lap was excruciating. I was so close to reattaching and they were close to nailing Roger back too. Kev and Corvieu traded spots somewhere and I was gapped off by 7 or 8 seconds which was a mile at that point. They got to Roger before the last technical section and Corvieu got around him and onto the pavement first. He brought home the win with a good sprint and Kevin followed Roger across and I relented in the last meters and finished 4th with Bill Shattuck a solid 5th.

I congratulated Corvieu on his win and thanked him for winning since that helped me and Kev in the points race. So now it's Roger 300, JB 290, Kev 285. Basicly a 3 way tie with 8 races left. Man what a great and exciting series!

I went back to the cars with Jamie and did my cool down and packed everything up. We decided it would be a good idea to go grab a bite and maybe a few beers. It turned out to be a warm afternoon and Nancy had made it over to watch the race too, so we ended up swelling to a large group of Corner Cycle riders and friends and got into some fine beer drinking, as we watched the PRO races. It was nice to know that I had Columbus day off and wasn't far from home.

As we watched the PRO men's race it became obvious that lots of guys shouldn't be in the race. Forcing the cat 2s to ride the PRO race seems like a mistake to me. They were getting lapped very early and this was a race with pretty long lap times. It doesn't seem to help them to develop when they only get in 40 minutes and then get yanked from the race. I'm sure lots of them went home feeling pretty dejected. As Master's, we of course talk to the others in our group about this stuff. Like how many races are in the series and how the prize money went down while the entry fees stayed the same, and entries seem to be about the same or higher. Not sure what everyone else thinks, but most of us wish things would go back to the old way of operating.

A big shout out to my boy Sammy for winning on back to back days in the 45+ field. Doing it with a sprint on Saturday and flat out domination on Sunday, winning by over a minute.

In our group the 35s, I'd have to give the ride of the weekend to Bill Shattuck after racing with the fastest guys both days and taking back to back top 5s. I spoke to Bill after Gloucester and he said he was feeling the way I described myself in the week before. I told him I knew just how he felt and to take an easy week to recharge. I don't know if he did or not, but whatever he did.....it worked well. Great job Bill. I love to see guys making that big step up.

Thats it for tonight, Thanks for reading, JB

Mountain Biking and Crossing

I haven't had much spare time to get here lately. Green Mountain Stage Race is a huge energy consumer. Not only racing, but all the travel to and from nothern VT as well as the daily commutes to 4 different venues. It's easily worth it, but recovery is necessary.

Unfortunately this year the scheduling didn't really allow it. The following weekend was the Landmine Mountain bike race at Wompatuck state park. This had the Golden Bike competition and was also the last Rt. 66 race I was gonna do for the year since the following weekend was a one chance only opportunity to knock some rust off the Cross bikes and cross skills. I needed to close out the series in the Cat 1 40-49 Expert class and be able to skip the last race of the year at Mt. Snow.

Here's the good news. Kevin DESTROYED every rider in the field by 7 minutes and more. He won the bike, which isn't any one's favorite bike, but it has high $ value. If this promotion continues into next year, the deal is that they'll fly him and a friend (shameless plug to pick me) to the next race, which would be Sea Otter next Spring. The problem is that no one, including myself, thinks it'll continue into next year. It was a BIZARRE marketing ploy, complete with cheerleaders with strangely formed abs and belly buttons, to full page ads in many cycling mags. That being said, I hope it does continue so Kev gets to cash in like all the other earlier winners during the season.

In the 40s race. Good buddy and teammate Sammy Morse took of like a shot from the gun and I didn't see him again for 12 miles or so. I was looking forward to riding with him for a while, but just as I came up to him, he slid out on a wet asphalt corner. I assumed the lead and was pleased in knowing that if I held on to win, I would clinch the series jersey for the year. At mile 21 I flatted for the 5th time in a race this season, and for the 85th time this year. I've been plagued by flats this year like you wouldn't believe. It seems like every ride, many rides had multiple flats. I tried to stay positive and had the tire off, pretty quick and the tube I had nicely folded up in my seat pack went in pretty quick. C02 fired cleanly and I thought I was all set. One problem, tire still flat. My spare already had a pinch flat from a training ride that I had repressed. I'm not proud of what happened next, but I lost my shit all over the place. My Irish temper went sky high and I saw red. I knew I had just lost the series on my 4th straight mechanical in a mountain bike race. I gave the bike a heave into the woods and my helmet too. Then like a complete idiot, I went into the woods and retrieved my gear and began walking back to the start. A nice dnf and lost the series. I'm still pissed!

On the more good news side of it, Sammy held on for a fine win in his first complete mountain bike race of the year.

Back to the bad side of things. My pal and teammate Jamie Tosca was crushing the 30s expert field when he flatted too. I must have cursed him when I handled his wheels while unloading. I had stopped at the shop the day before and while I was there I called Kev to see if needed me to pick anything up for him. He said "Ya, grab me a Challenge Grifo cross tire 32mm". Before I left I threw it in his car while he was doing the podium waiting game. He inflated it on a rim when he got home to stretch it out. It went flat a half hour later. He checked the valve core and tightened it up good and reinflated......1/2 hour later flat again. I'm truly cursed!

Fast forward a week and we're in NH at the Waterville Valley cross race promoted for the first time by good friend and Master's cross race start specialist, Curtis Boivin. We rolled a few laps for warm up, and I specifically left clinchers on my bike so I wouldn't flat a $120 tire in warm up. When we got close to go time, I rode to the pit with my other bike along side me, just like Kevin and Jamie did. Everything was good. I put the pit bike in the pit and went to ride back away on my race bike with it's race wheels on it. Front tire was dead flat. Really? I'm so far beyond saying "WTF". For a while I was able to laugh at the curse, but not any more. I just took the pit bike back to the car and got another wheel while fully disgusted!

The race was a blast though! Short little laps, I think we did 17. Kevin and I separated from the PRO field pretty quickly and then we just took turns leading for a full lap. Lots of get offs with a sand run, a run up, and also a set of high speed barriers, on a corner no less. Good way to break in the groins and hip flexors for the year.....NOT! Coming off the sand, about to get the bell, I felt a sharp biting cramp hit my right calf......LOVELY! We got the bell and had picked up Colin Reuter, who'd had a mechanical himself, and was happy to have company. We showed him our lines and how to "not ride" the other half of the other run up in the woods. When we got through the sand on the last lap Colin bolted and crossed the line ahead of Kevin and I as we tried to brake stand each other to give the other the win. I won the brake stand contest, which meant he won the race. Colin proceeded to guzzle a Pabst Blue Ribbon, but he failed to realize that he was no longer on the same lap and needed to do 1 more since he crossed the line ahead of us. He was having a blast, and he knew his race was over either way. I need to try and remember that when bad stuff happens, and try to do the same.

Jamie finished off a hard fought battle with Curtis for 3rd and that completed a fine Corner Cycle sweep of the A-Race podium. More importantly, we had $380 worth of beer and sushi money, and we put it to good use!

The next day was the Fall Classic "Sucker Brook Cross" also in NH. We had stayed up at a friends ski condo and we all woke up pretty hurting. No we didn't get get too carried away drinking, but all those get offs in the race as well as my (still very much with me) calf cramp, and Kev's tight hammy had us rethinking hanging around til 4 in the afternoon to race again. Jamie said he was all set and wasn't gonna race again, so Kevin and I decided to switch out our entries and enter the 35s instead of the PRO race. Good decision, because the race started at 11 and was 45 minutes instead of an hour. the idea of the weekend was to get tuned up.....not beaten down. This was good news for the PRO race guys, but not so good for the Master's as we got a few moans and groans when we pulled up at the start line. We actually both qualify for the 45s, so we're racing down a full 10 years.....still the groans. Oh well! ....you moaners and groaners better step it up, cuz we're racin' 35s all year like it or not!

So we got to the line 7 or 8 minutes early to get a good spot, but at least 150 guys had gotten there sooner. But there were 3 groups there. 35s 45s and 55s. So it wasn't as bad as it looked. Still we had to barge our way through the other 2 fields up to the BACK of the 35s field. The gun goes off and we sit there for a second while the road clears. That's different! We rip around turn 1 and in the middle of turn 2 I see a barrage of pink, white and blue go flying through the air. It's my teammate Sammy beating the crap out of the ground with his face. Doh! Not good! He got up and scrapped his way back into contention only to have a couple more unplanned get offs....only to fight back to yet again to a very respectable finish, after leading a 7 hour, 100 mile charity ride the day before. Atta boy Sammy, you're nothing but classy!

I worked my way through the huge field and got to the front with Eric Gutbier from Celtic who's on some very good form right now. I did a hard tug and then checked to see where Kev was. He was still trying to unhitch from the last of the wheel suckers, so I decided to wave Eric through, while I waited for Kev. He slowed down quite a bit, so I surged after the barriers and that was it for him. Kevin got on a little while later and we rolled around taking turns again. It was my turn to win, so went 1, 2 again.

A solid weekend, but I was feeling more and more burned out every day. The following weekend was to be the 1st Verge race. The series has ballooned to 14 races this year.....ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is that there are no "drops" from the point total. Every race is uber important if you want any chance at the jersey. Can you say "PRESSURE"? On top of that I'm the 5time defending champion of the 35s, so the pressure can be overwhelming sometimes.....even irritating.

Well there we were back in Northern VT just 3 weeks after GMSR. I needed to be at work Friday, so that meant a 4-1/2 hour drive on the day of the race. Sweeet! we lined up next to Uber Stud Roger Aspholm in his National Champions Kit. The gun sounds and almost immediately it's just Roger, Kevin and me. I was in the hurt box and they looked fine, but I knew I had to try to soften Roger up so Kev could have a crack at him. Problem was that I barely had enough to be there, let alone attack. So I attacked about half way through the race. It didn't soften anyone up, but me. I limped back to 3rd spot breathing way too heavily and staring at that god awful start hill. I made it up there with them, but at the next chicane I slid my rear wheel while trying to keep high momentum since I was so taxed. I came to a dead stop with a foot out at the bottom of a hard little climb. No other choice but to run up now. Kevin did his best to let me get back on, but Roger seized the opportunity and bolted, Kevin had to follow. I was close for a while and put in one last all out effort, and almost got there, but Roger kept the gas on and I blew up. I shut it down to recovery speed and just rode it in for 3rd, thinking about tomorrow. Roger out kicked Kev at the line and earned the first series jersey of the year and his first ever.

It rained all night Saturday, and I decided to take advantage of my teammate David Rath's garage for a trainer warm up. Jamie and I had stayed with David who lives 2 miles from the venue....that was NICE! I got pretty frothy on the trainer, and was starting to do my hard effort when I flatted my tire....of course I flatted on the trainer......why wouldn't I?

The course was greasy, but not too bad. I got the worst start I've ever gotten in a race and was out of it right there. That's never happened to me before. I never saw Roger unless it was on a switch back or something. Kev had a bad start too, but worked out of it much sooner than I could and got clear of everyone else pretty early. I was in 20th place or so coming to a complete standstill in the corners. Race over. Kevin caught Roger when he crashed in a corner and the 2 of them outclassed the entire field with Roger winning again on a late race attack that got him 5 seconds or so. I rode around in 3rd all day alone and hapless. My spirit was broken and I was not feeling like I wanted to be there or like I wanted to bother racing all over New England for the next 3 months chasing after a jersey that I've already won 5 times in a row.

It's hard to get to the top, but it's a lot harder to stay there!

When I got home from the 4-1/2 hour drive from VT, with 3 filthy bikes, I was thoroughly disgusted, physically and more importantly mentally exhausted. I got my stinky muddy gear out of the car and decided to leave the bikes til after work on Monday. I didn't sleep much Sunday night while my mind toiled with all this crap. Monday was bleak! to say the least. I went PRO and sucked up my depression and did what I'm paid to do at work, even though my energy level was pathetic. When I got home it was an easy decision to let the bikes sit one more night. I didn't even wanna see a bike! Tuesday I didn't feel a lot better, and by the end of the day, I was sure I didn't want to do this anymore. I got home and drank a beer and sat on the couch.

Registration for Gloucester closed mid day on Wednesday and by 1 o'clock my phone was ringing up a storm. "Aren't you racing New England Worlds"? "That's your course"! "Whats going on"? Most of it I ignored, but I couldn't ignore Sammy and Kev. I told them what I was going through and how I felt and a funny thing happened. Both of them were so cool about it all (not that they wouldn't be) they understood what I was saying and they listened. OK here's the funny part. They motivated me by not trying to motivate me. They let the teammate thing go and dealt with me as a friend going through a bad patch. Almost instantly I felt a weight lifted. Still I didn't touch the bikes, but I did look at them when I decided I better open a couple windows in my car to air it out a bit. 3 days in the sun with all that VT mud was sure to be reeking a bit. I still didn't unload them though. Thursday I felt a lot more myself and I spoke to Sammy again who just wanted to talk tactics for his 45 plus race. He was in the jersey and had every intention to defend it. I told him I could still register "day of" if I had a change of heart. He said "Do whats best for you". I rode my road bike Thursday after work for an hour easy. It made me tired. I slept well. Friday had a different feel. I was myself again and couldn't wait to get out of work to ride. I had a great little road ride after work with a few openers and pick ups. During the ride I got the hunger back and then my body filled with adrenaline. Not only was I gonna race, but i was gonna crack some heads! I texted Kev and said "I'll be there, ready to rip"! He was very pleased, and that motivated me more.

I'm very fortunate to have such good friends in this life. I owe that to cycling also. Without cycling I wouldn't even know these guys or anyone reading this endless drivel.

I'm sure you can all relate to a week like this, when you just want to be "normal" and go home from work and just do whatever. Rather than have this guilt or sense of responsibility to stick to your dedication to this sport. Well I tried. I lasted 3 days. Now my dysfunction is back in line and I feel my "normal" again. We just all have different definitions of "normal". You gotta go with yours while I go with mine.

Anyway, it poured stinking canned hams on Saturday, and the famous dry sandy shores of Stage Fort Park turned into the muddiest race I've seen in years. I got the hole shot and put the bit between my teeth and rode with a weeks worth of emotion and unleashed all my anger on the cranks. All the flat tires, all the exhausted Mondays, all the tire gluing, all the travel, and all the training just melted away as I devoured the famous course that I love so much. I only looked back once, and it was early in the first lap before the incredible run up. Roger was the only guy close, but he wasn't that close. I decided I was gonna go as hard as I could weather I got caught or not. It was like a dream. I could hear my name being shouted all over the place and it just fueled me more. Even better was that Kevin separated himself from everyone else and also rode solo in 2nd place for an impressive 1, 2 sweep. I was back!

Kev and I were tied with 150 points to Roger's 155, so he hung onto the jersey going into Sunday.

Sunday was partly sunny and the course was starting to dry out. I chose to go with the same wheels and tires as Saturday since we were gonna ride some of the same sections and lots of saturated ground. BAD decision. By the time we raced it was more or less dry and tacky with the exception of a couple of spots we reused from the day before. I got the hole shot again and tried to escape, but I didn't have the same power as Saturday. I guess my 2 hour training week didn't do too much for my depth. I had a good gap, but Roger and Marky Mack caught me after the cinder road by the ocean. Kevin was on shortly after that. Time to employ our team tactics. I won't go into it, but it went something like this. Kevin attacks with me in 2nd wheel. Kev rides the next few tight corners like he can (very well, and very fast) JB brake checks the same corners. Kevin checks out. Roger passes in the next straightaway and chases, JB sits on the chase, Mark laughs as he's seen it all and done it all before. OK I guess I will get into it. It wasn't exactly rocket science or some great hand we need to hold tight to our chest. It was just group racing with a teammate in the group. We'd be stupid not to incorporate it. However....Kevin was ON and he had the legs to hold us off until Mark attacked Roger and me going into the power chicane and powered away up to Kevin. I tried to go but couldn't make it and had to get back behind Roger to make him defend his jersey and chase my teammate. He did just that, and dropped me straight away on the last lap and almost got back, but Kev put in a solid last lap and got through the important spots in front and crossed the line 1st with Mark a close 2nd and Roger 3rd.

I had a bittersweet day, because it was my pal's first ever Verge win in the 35s (he's 4 time defending champ of the 45s), and he took the leader's jersey off of Roger's back while winning Gloucester. But I made some bad mistakes on this day and wasn't able to finish any higher than 4th. I know it's not a bad result, but I had a nice little podium streak going at Verge races. The last time I wasn't on the podium at a Verge race that I started was at Chainbiter in CT in 2003. I think it's around 40 races. George W was in his first term as president. Oh well boo effin hoo. Time to start a new streak, and keep that jersey at least within the team. It won't be easy, that's for sure!!!
Thanks for reading, if you actually made it this far, JB