channel 3, 2008

channel 3
root 66 series
pro/semi-pro
2008

I did two races last year that where super hot. On both occasions I felt like my head was going to pop and I had to slow to a crawl and came in near last . so I wasn’t feeling to confident for this race it being super hot and humid.

I decided to keep a pretty slow pace for the entire race. Every time I would push hard though a difficult section or to get around a rider I would get that feeling like my head was boiling over and it would remind me to ride slower.

This race seemed more about not over heated than it was about trying to ride fast (@ least that’s the way it seemed to me).

There were a couple of riders in my category who were in front of me that had flat tires (Greg Carpenter and Thom Parsons ) I am sure the heat claimed several victims too.

Here is how it finished ( it was raining, so they didn’t do the podium so I drew this realistic and exactly to scale drawing of what the podium would have looked like


Props to Michael Patrick for dominating the race by 5 minutes over the second place finisher. He is on great form, I imagine he is going to be taking names @ mount snow this year.

Also Greg Carpenter made up a good chunk of time after his flat. Getting back in to the thick of things and getting a respectable 6th place finish.

next race is Putney / West Hill. i remember this one being all up and down and not much in between.

Coyote Hill Classic 2008

A beautiful day for a race, a common theme it seems this year. So far every race in this series (root 66) has had just about perfect weather. I hope that continues.
On top of the excellent weather this race had everything going for it

Awesome Dry course ( @ least driest I’ve seen it)
A huge turn out (21 in my category)
And One of the best venues (Vermont is such a pretty state)

I personally had a lot of fun riding this course. it had fast twisty sections and just enough slow murky sections to make me appreciate the fast ones even more. A bit of a bumpy, up / down, twisty course. Other than the one fire road at the beginning of the race it was difficult to find an opportunity to reach down and grab a the water bottle. I heard some complaints about sore back and arms from all the rocks and roots.

After the dnf last race I was happy to get through this one with out any issues. good whether and not having any major mechanical problems are key to having a fun race. more important than the result.( that sounds like something a loser would say).

Here’s how it finished up

Justine Lindine 1st
Adam Snyder 2nd
Thom Parsons 3rd
Mike Meridian 4th
Me 5th

Honorable mention to Greg Carpenter who was riding well and had a mechanical in the last half of the last lap ( that sucks). Getting to see all the riders you worked so hard to stay in front of blow by so near to the finish.

I don’t know wat is worse getting a unfixable mechanical @ the end of a race (you can at least walk back and get with out getting a dnf ) or @ the beginning (where you get a dnf and loose the opportunity to get in a workout) both blow pretty bad I suppose.

Next race in the series pats peak ( kinda reminds me of a mini mount snow)

Fat tire classic 2008

This is a fast flat race, ideal for those who maintained some fitness over the winter. The turn out was ok, about 15 riders in the semi-pro/ pro class. I had a cold this week left over from sea otter last weekend. my throat was still a little raw. Breathing cold air irritates it so I avoided riding this week.

I knew I would not be on top of my game this race but I felt better than expected. I started off slow, tord the rear and found my A game @ about 2 laps in to the 5 lap race. Just a little too late I finished less than a minute behind 3 riders. I was gaining; another lap would have been nice. I finished 6th.

I car pooled down to this race with friend/ team mate Andrew Freye. He had a great day, winning the race. he had a pretty dominate performance. Congratulations!!

I ran back my car to get a picture of him on the podium (something he could put on his frig). But I got back the podium seconds too late. Here is a nice photo of Andrew walking away from the podium.



The Next root 66 race is the Brialee Ramblin Rumble in Ashford, CT. by far my least favorite race the series. I never do well there.