tour of somerville

not much to report, since rutgers didn't have any racers. we did, however, have a bunch of spectators. decked out in jerseys (which are as stylish off the bike as they are on), mark, jay, rob, blake, ted, alicia, mike, scott, jen, and i were there to represent the team.

we hung out at the colavita bbq tent, where we got to meet a bunch of junior racers, including steve, who will be joining the rutgers team this coming year. at the encouragement of the colavita parents, we also ate a lot of food.

during the women's race, we decided that the rutgers team's presence, while larger than usual, could be boosted by a little bit of love from the announcer. a few minutes later, we'd pooled enough to have the first ever (as far as i know) "Rutgers Cycling Prime" during the pro women's race. our prime's sprint was taken by Sarah Tillotson of the Colavita/Cooking Light team, teammate of the overall winner Tina Pic.

Don, Sarah Tillotson, Rob, Ted, Mark, Melissa Holt, and Sima Trapp

it was really fun to hang out with the colavita people all day... it meant that we were able to hang out with juniors, eat food, meet the Rutgers Prime winner and her teammates, and cheer for a Men's Pro rider in the day's main breakaway. We also cheered for (and apparently surprised) Adam Hodges-Myerson, our team's coaching sponsor, who pulled off an exciting top-10 finish.

while walking around after the race, we also encountered a family of rutgers supporters. the parents were rutgers alumni, and the kids, aged 5 and 7, thought we were rock stars. don't believe us? photographic evidence will be uploaded as it becomes available.

expect more race results as the summer continues, as mike and jay try to survive a 12-hr mtb race and mark becomes a stage racer.

US Bicycling Hall of Fame Criterium

Today Brandi, Will, Ted, and I headed to Somerville for the Hall of Fame
criterium. Will, Brandi, and I opted for the warm up by means of riding.
We missed the rain fortunately, but we hadn't planned on a 45 minute
break between races for the Hills of Somerset finish (Davide Fratini
won, btw) so we spent a little more time hanging out than planned.

Ted opted to drive over because he's probably smarter than us.

Eventually, the 5 race started. The pre-race plan was to work over the
small 5 field and send Will off to do his fast bike riding thing with
Ted and I hanging out in the field for the finish. I did my usual fast
start thing, then something funny happened. The field went fast. It had
to have been the fastest 5 race I've ever done. There were two CRCA guys
and a couple of guys just working over the field on the slight uphill.
Will attacked with 6 or 7 to go with Ted blocking (though I'm not sure
he knew he was blocking), but the CRCA guys were having none of it and
pulled him back in less than half a lap. So, I just hung out near the
front, covering the attacks from the CRCA guys on the uphill every lap
and realizing that I was going to be done by the time the finish rolled
around.

With two to go on the uphill, we heard the terrifying sound of carbon
fiber hitting pavement (why do these crashes always happen uphill?).
Unfortunately, Will got taken out in that crash. He's no worse for the
wear aside from a scraped elbow, but the crash did split the field.
Fortunately, I made the split. With one to go, one of the CRCA guys took
a flyer on the uphill with a few others following him, I just didn't
have the legs and/or commitment to cover it. They got a little gap to go
1-2-3, I sprinted for 5th. I got a medal. Cool.

Post-race I found out Ted suffered a mechanical that knocked him out
before the crash. Ted had an awesome day and looked quite comfortable.

We also got a lot of props for the RU team and talked to two juniors who
are coming here in the fall and represented the team well. Good job all
around.

I'll see you all monday.

-Mark

neshaminy soigneur's report

dave, mike, jay, and i drove out to neshaminy to represent rutgers at today's mass race. with a still-injured hand and sans-mtb, i was going along to play soigneur again. the three racers would all compete in the Sport 1 race, with 35 starters.

everyone's race prep was different. dave had enough bananas in his bag to feed a small zoo and spent a lot of time doing some pretty impressive trials-esque tricks. mike planned out his in-race nutrition, then ate a couple of sodium tablets they were giving out at registration, because "this way i'd have an excuse if the race didn't go well". jay, whose bike had v-brakes, spent a while debating whether run a disc-specific wheel in front would be more likely to crash him than his cracked, ready-to-fail v-brake specific wheel.


it's pretty cool to watch the start of a race if you're not in it. everyone is talking and joking, but as the start approaches, everyone's game face goes on. it was a very sudden and dramatic change, and these guys looked like badasses. despite flawless clip-ins, all three rutgers racers took the start easy, planning to save their matches for the singletrack.

as a soigneur, i was worthless during the race. dave, wearing a camelback, wouldn't need me to pass him any bottles, although his blocked legs forced him out of the race after about a lap. neither mike nor jay needed either of the bottles they'd given me - they seemed delighted to have the bottles after the race, though.

with a six-pack at stake, the battle between jay and mike heated up. after two laps, jay had about 2 minutes on mike. even as they pushed hard, they were able to respond to cheering, and threats, from teammates.

jay held his gap over mike, and even managed a late surge to pass three other riders in the last 200m. mike finished strong as well (although i think he was pissed that we lied "they're about to catch you!" with 50m left), leaving everything out on the trail. it was a technical, demanding course that sapped all riders, and their strong finishes (15th and 21st, respectively) are all the more impressive.

mike then dominated the schwag toss, towering over the crowd of junior racers to catch a saddle, gloves, and bottle cages. i think he made one of them cry.

Escape from Granogue (MASS #2)

RU Cycling travelled to Delaware for the Escape from Granogue mtb race (round 2 of the Mid-Atlantic series). Last year, RU went 1-2-3.This year, we once again came home from Granogue with some hardware. With a talented bunch of sport racers (Charlie, Jay, Mike, Dave, Mark, and Alessandro) we were sure to make something happen and indeed we did.

Dave, Jay, and Mike toed the line for Senior 1 sport. Alessandro for senior 2 sport, and Charlie and I for Open Single Speed.

The morning had looked ominous with scattered showers and hard rain at times, but by our 9:30 start things were looking pretty good (although quite slippy).

The mtb course borrowed the long road start from the CX course and led to the tower climb. Tight, slick single track was the order of the day, punctuated with fast field sections and some long climbs.

Despite being on the fence about racing today, Charlie took home a convincing win in the SS class, finishing 3rd overall! I rolled home for 6th after spending most of the first lap falling all over myself. Alessandro fought back from some technical difficulties and a nasty crash to take 11th. Jay rolled in 25th, Mike 26th, and Dave in his first MASS race (and first Sport race) came in 29th!!!

The open single speed podium (Charlie and Co. mid arm raise)





What a rocking bunch of results. Everyone who raced today put in some amazing efforts on a wickedly hard course. Well done!

A very sore,

Mark

Easterns wrap up

What a crazy weekend!

The intrepid RU crew made the trip to Ithaca, NY for the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Championship this weekend.

The road race on Saturday was promised to be difficult and difficult it was. 1600 feet of climbing per lap took its toll, but Brandi had a breakthrough ride for 16th in the womens C. Dave also had an amazing ride to finish 12th in the men's D. In the Cs, Mark decided to take it easy and finished 48th. Lori had a difficult day with some cramping to finish 7th.

Sunday, Dave and Brandi headed back to NJ. Lori and Mark remained behind to contest the criterium. With the brutality of the road race, Lori was afraid she had gotten herself sick again and opted to sit the crit out. Mark found some legs to finish 12th in a blisteringly fast race.

Special thanks to Cornell rider Vanya and his family for putting us up and feeding us this weekend.

With this race, the RU collegiate road team wraps up another successful season. Racing continues next week as some of the team head to Wawayanda State Park for the first Campmor H2H mountain bike series race.

Easterns!

We're just one weekend away from the Collegiate National Championships in Kansas, and the ever eager RU team is in action once again in hilly Ithaca, NY for the Eastern Collegiate Championship weekend hosted by Cornell and Ithaca College.

Looking to tackle the hills this weekend, Lori, Dave, Brandi, and Mark look to be in good form as they tackle a brutal road race course on Saturday (1600 ft of climbing per lap!) and a fast and technical criterium on Sunday.

Both Dave and Brandi have had a spectactular first season on the road for Rutgers Cycling and this weekend will bring a close to their first collegiate season. Look for Dave on the mountain bike in the Mid-Atlantic Super Series this spring and summer where he'll join the rest of the RU mountain bike crew.

Coming back from illness that kept her from racing Army, Lori returns this weekend still in the hunt as she is ranked 9th overall in the conference. With one week to go to Nationals, this will be her final test of form.

This weekend is a sort of a homecoming for Ithaca College alumnus Mark who is also returning to collegiate road racing for the first time since the Grant's Tomb Criterium in March. After this weekend, Mark will turn his attention to the dirt and join the dominant Rutgers Mid-Atlantic Super Series team in its 2006 campaign for even more podium spots.

Army Day 1 race report

From Chris' race report:

"

So Brandi, Ted, Dave, and myself headed out to West Point despite
the not so joyous weather conditions. We all finally got there
around 9ish and set up our trainers in what we thought was a primo
spot, which turned out to be right in the cross wind of the spot-a-
pot. After The TTT, and a hour delay on all of our starts, we were
ready to get going. As it turned out all races were cut by one lap
of the 14 mile loop, accept for the C's, I think they were scheduled
for 2 laps and I know they did 2 laps. To prevent any headlines in
tomorrows paper reading, "Mass Death of Beginner Cyclists on Hill at
West Point" the Men's D and C racers, as well as the women's B
racers, had to take the dreaded downhill behind a pace car going a
blazing 10 mph, this was possibly harder than actually taking the
hill at speed, but did prevent any accidents. So after the downhill,
we began the climb back up and then endured the rolling hills of
West Point. All and all, we fared pretty well, keeping to the
rutgers motto, "We may not always come in first, but we never come
in last". The best result of the day was ted, taking home 38th in
the C's (he did it for his mommy!!!). Dave was around the middle of
the D pack with 49th place, Brandi also did very well in women B's,
although I don't know here exact place (sorry brandi), and I
finished 57th, after crashing due to massive crampage in my legs, I
forgot my banana this morining (damn bananas!!!!). After we changed,
ate some awesome vegitarian chillie made by ted's parents, who rock,
with a very cold team from Hamilton, and watched an awesome sprint
finish by a huge group of B riders, we decided we better head home,
which was probably wise since we had no place to stay tonight.
Chris"

Running of the Dogs Results

It was a long time coming, but the RoTD results have been posted and RU cycling did very well. Dave tied for first in the beginner solo men, Charlie finished 4th in the super competitive open single speed, Alicia and I apparently won the coed duo category, but the results don't seem to bear that out.

This weekend Charlie, (maybe) Alessandro, and I head to French Creek for the first MASS race of the season while the road crew of Blake, Ted, Lori, Dave, Dan, Brandi, et al. head to West Point for the Army Classic Weekend.

On the road and on the dirt, RU is poised to have another great weekend!

what i learned this weekend

having attended both races this weekend (Running of the Dogs as a soigneur, the Ten Dollar Duathlon as an untrained competitor) with absolutely zero ambition, i made it a point to learn as much as possible. the following is a list of lessons i compiled over the course of the weekend.

Running of the Dogs
- gritty mud will destroy disc brake pads, says dave
- ramming into a tree is not an acceptable alternative to braking, says mike's hip
- knee warmers would be good things when racing in sub-freezing rain/sleet, say alessandro and ted
- "sexy cream", aka warming lotion, is a misnomer and should be used sparingly, lest an uncomfortable, unsexy burning sensation afflict the user, says (nay, screams) ted
- mud breaks bike components and sleet breaks spirits, say the majority of saturday's racers
- anyone who finished the race (Charlie, Alessandro, Dave, Mark, and Alicia) is awesome and deserves congratulations
- anyone who started the race is a brave fool and deserves a combination of congratulations and pity
- anyone who spectated the race is just plain stupid
- i am NEVER soigneuring again unless it's 60+ and sunny, says don, emphatically

Ten Dollar Duathlon
- starting 2 minutes after everyone else because you slept in takes a lot of pressure off
- running is fun when you have a cross bike on your shoulder
- running is not as fun when you've run twice so far this year (but it's still pretty damn fun)
- there's a reason triathletes practice their transitions
- losing time to help another racer fix a flat in transition is totally worth it
- losing time because you made a wrong turn is just plain embarrassing (thanks for the save, heather!)
- it's really hard to not draft when every training ride and race has been crit or crit-oriented... you just latch on without even thinking
- running 2 miles is an improper post-TT cooldown
- heather can sprint! she chased down some other girl over the run and took her in the last 10m with a killer kick
- a chamois is great for riding, but is, um, sub-optimal for running
- our jerseys look pretty freakin awesome

Dan's Race Report

From Dan:

"I guess I'll take this opportunity to write a report for the weekend. So first of all, let me start by saying that everything driving oriented in Mass. is a catastrophy. I stayed in Cambridge at my friends dormroom. On the way there, there was one instance where I went down a one way street. At the end of this street, there were only other one way streets, and they all pointed the wrong way!!! I was trapped! With such haphazard road planning, naturally the drivers in this state drive in an equally confused and perilous fashion. . .
but I digress. . .
this is about cycling.

So after following pretty lousy directions, I found the road race and met up with Lori. The start to the race was just as confusing as everything else so far encountered. About 300 some riders from every category gathered into one big formless mass. I stayed around some other C riders to make sure I was in the right place, and before I knew it a start had happened, and we were off. . .and I was in the very back of the pack unfortunately. The yellow line rule was in effect, and with 100 riders, it was awful hard to advance.
The course was very nice with many ups and downs (you know... hills), and lots of really fast sections. Unfortunately, it was FULL of potholes, ditches, and various other obstacles which undoubtably claimed a few cyclists). At the beginning of the second lap, (each of which was 14+ miles, the total race coming in about 45 miles), there was a GIGANTIC crash on the uphill. It separated the field, and with my unfortunate starting position, I was one of those cut off from the lead group.
The rest of the race was devoted to playing catch up, and I did just that. I think I was in about dead last place, and I forced myself to suffer as much as possible until I caught some people. Before I knew it, I had a collected an Army guy and a Umass guy and we started a paceline taking about 30 second pulls. The Army guy had no legs for hills, but was really fast on the flats, so I ended up pulling on most of the hills (but trust me, this was not that much better. . .if it weren't for washington rock repeats, I'd have been in big trouble) By the third lap we caught another group of about 7 riders, and things were looking up.
Anyway, those in charge of this race thought it a good idea to add an extra uphill sprint before letting us finish. When approaching this hill, I thought back to the lehigh crit and the cycling workshop I attended with ted. We had discussed when to attack. Following their advice I waited until we were 3/4 up the hill, and I put the proverbial pedal to the medal. At this point I passed about 5 guys or so, and maintained it most of the way to the end riding next to a really nice guy from Delaware who had this to say: "Well, looks like it's just you and me, ready to duke it out?" . . . to which I replied :
" *gasp*, *cough*, *grunt*, *pant*, "it's. . .all. . .you. . .buddy. . "

He went on to finish of me, but fortunately I maintained most of the space I created on that hill.

After all of that. . .I got 48th??!?!? Doesn't sound so great, but I'm more than happy with it. I had a great time, and I kept my bike up during the race (although I did take an unfortunate spill in the parking lot of all places, re-injuring my elbow in the exact same spot as the Bucknell incident. . .this, I'd rather not discuss any further!)
As for the Sunday crit. I was pre-reg'd, but staying with friends I had a little bit too much fun that sat night. Ended up sleeping in and getting dim sum in the morning. I think it was for the better.
And that, dear team, is my race report.

See ya'll on the road (mountain?) this week.
Dan"

What a weekend!

Wow! Rutgers did an awful lot of racing this weekend.

On the road front, Lori and Dan headed up to the legendary Boston Beanpot Classic. In the crit, Lori once again had a heck of a ride to finish 5th. In the road race, she put in another great ride to finish 11th. Dan put in a brave ride in the road race to finish 48th.


In the dirt, the Rutgers mountain bike team tested its endurance and cold weather toughness at Kittatinny State Park at Team Bulldog's Running of the Dogs. Cold rain greeted the 9 deep RU crew. Early on rain turned to sleet. The sleet gave way to snow. Mechanicals were the order of the day as Ted lost his derailleur in the mud and snow, Mike lost his brakes, Jay lost his brakes, Alicia lost her brakes, Dave lost his brakes. Charlie rocked out 5 laps on the single speed. Alessandro did so many he lost count. Alicia and Mark finished 2nd in the coed beginner category with 2 laps. Dave put in an impressive 3 laps. Mark was so smitten with the course he took an extra lap.

Dave and Ted rode their first mountain bike race in brutal conditions. Way to go!

Biggest thanks on the day go to Don for braving the weather as soigneur extraordinare and he wasn't even racing!

Next weekend RU is in action on the road at Mercyhurst College... featuring a race on a NASCAR track!

RU Split weekend

For the first time this season, RU Cycling will be dividing its forces between road and mountain bike racing.

Dan and Lori continue the collegiate road campaign and are heading up to Boston for the Beanpot weekend.

Closer to home, Charlie, Dave, Alessandro, Alicia, Mark, Mike, Jay, Ted, and soigneur Don head to Kittatinny State Park to kick off the mountain bike season in style with Team Bulldog's "Running of the Dogs."

On both fronts, look for Rutgers to ride strong with Lori continuing to tear up the road races and some of the furry-legged set coming out of winter hibernation and looking to lay the smack down in Kittatinny.

Penn State Weekend

With most of the RU crew at the Sandy Hook TT this weekend, Lori was flying the Rutgers flag solo at PSU.

Without her fabulous cheering squad, Lori still put in impressive rides to finish 5th in the women's A criterium and 19th in the women's A road race.

Way to go Lori!!

Sorry for the hiatus in race reports. Have no fear. RU Cycling has been in action.

Last weekend, Rutgers headed to races at Lehigh and Bucknell,

Joe gives us this brief report from the Lehigh mountain top criterium:

"Overall: cloudy, drizzly rain, small turnout early. Notorious hill course with about 3 to 4 minute laps.

Mens D: Joe D. and Dave K. competed in a field of only 18 D1 racers. Hilly couse, spent half the time climing and the other half racing downhill, with only about 20 seconds of rest on the top flat. Joe picked up one prime and finished 2nd.

Mens C: Ted C. and Don F., C field of 45-50.

Strong emphasis on racing clinic. Offered at the end of most races. [Target Training] offered one lab coached with commentary and a seminar about tactics.

jd"

kittatiny scouting report

While many team members were racing in pennsylvania, some of Rutgers' mountain bikers took to the trails at Kittatiny State Park, where our first knobby-tired race of the season will take place in two weeks. Our group included Charlie, Jay, Alessandro, Alicia, myself, and Keith, a member of team Bulldog who showed us the course for our first lap.

First of all, many thanks to Keith for the tour, without which we would certainly have been lost (the map was worthless, trust me). More importantly, Keith's impression of Alessandro was certainly the best i've ever heard. Keith sounded more like Alessandro than Alessandro does. Therefore, Keith is now an unofficial member of the Rutgers Cycling Team, and is extended all the privileges thereof - namely, permission to make fun of such topics as Blake's daily cake consumption and Mark's angry face.

After two laps of reconnoitering, the group split into two subgroups, Team Alpha and Team Bravo. Alicia and Alessandro (on Team Alpha, because Alicia was recently in Greece and their names both start with A... don't question it) kept putting in the base miles, while Charlie, Jay, and I tried to get in some intensity. Team Bravo split midway through the third lap into Teams Bravo and Charlie, such that Charlie and Jay (guess which Team they were on) got in two additional laps, while I got to walk back to the car. More on that later.

When asked to comment on the ride, Charlie seemed pretty pleased with the course, especially for an enduro race. Between his 29" wheels and his insane handling skillz, Charlie was surprised to find out that there were rocky sections on the course. Witnesses report that he exclaimed, "There were rocks on the course? I am surprised to find this out!" Charlie then speculated that if there were rocks of which he was unaware, then there might also be ruts and ruts. That may seem like a lot of ruts, but if it does, then you've never gone mountain biking with Charlie, and you should fix that pronto.

Jay, fresh from a campaign in the collegiate road world, seemed very pleased to be back on the single track. Road riding seems to have improved his offroad fitness, though, as his cadence has increased from 65 to a lightning-fast 72. Bystanders were a little creeped out, though, as Jay spent most of the ride laughing maniacally and shouting, "take that, roadies!" at the rest of us.

Alessandro was putting out a lot of power, as he is wont to do. However, it was clear that he would rather have been on the road, riding his P3C. Okay, it wasn't actually clear, but since I would rather have been riding his P3C, I assume that he would too.

Alicia was tearing it up, proving that weeks of knives-in-the-lungs sickness don't necessarily preclude a killer 3-hour MTB workout. It should be noted that both Alessandro and Alicia had multiple gears on their bikes. I know, I know, I don't get it either, but we have to be tolerant of all sorts of people.

Then there was me. I don't really feel like talking about my ride. Suffice it to say that my tensioner died, resulting in horrendous "POP" sounds every pedal stroke. Also, I lost a chainring bolt, which I think is related to the skipping chain. Also, my chainring bent, which I'm quite sure is related to the chainring bolt (Charlie claims that it is probably related to my "incredible power output", but I think he was being sarcastic, because I'm tiny). To demonstrate:

Before:
_____.

After:
\____.


This left me stranded about a mile from the car, which would've been no problem except that I got lost. I don't just mean lost, I mean it's cold, the sun's going down, I'm not wearing enough clothing, and I think I hear "Dueling Banjos".

Fortunately, I was able to make my way back to the parking lot, where we all regrouped. Team Alpha went to meet friends for dinner, while Team Bravo went to Porky's for refueling. Their BBQ sauce is unmatched. Endurox is certainly the best recovery drink I've ever had, but it is well complemented by greasy hamburgers and Bass Ale. Now you know.

Finally, I must make a clarification: It's not Angry Mark. Mark is almost never Angry. However, he does have a delightful Angry Face. Thus, he is Angry-face Mark. This public service announcement was brought to you by the letter E, the number 4, and viewers like you.

P.S. I hope you weren't expecting this to rhyme. That ship has sailed... at least for now

an ode to the afternoon ride

gettin' all poetic up in this piece...

Poor little Donnie, and poor little Jay
Met in front of Brower this cold windy day.
One underdressed, feeling quite frozen-toed
The other would rather be playing off-road.

Towards Watchung our two brave bicyclists did leave,
In weather a penguin would nary believe.
How epic! How moving! But I should rebuke,
This ride didn't cause either cyclist to puke.

They struggled up River, then up Mountain Ave
Knowing their goal was what they would soon have,
The chance to ascend that deplorable run,
Known to the people as the road of Washington.

First up, and then down, then twice over again,
'Tween pickup trucks shouting "in spandex? not men!"
Up switchbacks and kickups and false-flats galore
'Till neither could stand to ascend any more.

Now back towards New Brunswick these two did attack
The wind now an aide, pushing them from the back.
They checked their cyclometers, quite pleased to discover
The high speeds well known to any tail-wind lover.

First 20, then 40, then 60 did they see,
(this is a literary device known as 'hyperbole'.
Ask angry-faced Mark, he'll surely attest,
for he's an English dude, and one of the best!)

Upon contemplation, they knew they had shown
Something every roadie ever has always just known
A truth that's been known since ancient rides past,
It can't be the tailwind, you're just fit and fast!

Sprint Jersey Competition, Week 3

Back by popular demand, the Rutgers Sprint Workout treated all participants to a delightful smorgasbord of power output and suffering. With the sun shining and the wind howling, this first day of spring threatened to exceed 32 degrees (that's 0 C, for all you foreigners and engineers), prompting Brandi, Dan, and Don to leave their igloos and get on their bikes. Ted also met us at Brower, but he was on his way to breakfast in the dining hall, and therefore we hate him (we don't actually hate you, Ted).

At Mark's suggestion, we experimented with staying seated throughout the sprints, because getting dropped after trying to close gaps gets really old after a while. Our suspicions that seated accelerations are our weaknesses were confirmed when we couldn't complete a third set. This also may have been due to the fact that we were all unsuccessful in our attempts to make "angry faces". At this point, the judges' deliberations for the sprint jersey competition began.

Dan certainly had the most speed on this day, jumping harder and spinning faster than any other rider. However, he and I agreed that the mere fact that I was able to challenge him each sprint meant that Alessandro is still ahead on points. Therefore, Alessandro keeps the sprinter's jersey - this means that he has both the sprinter's jersey and the KOM jersey, since Charlie and Mark have both rejected the latter, and Rosener has dropped off the face of the earth. Due to Dan's undeniably dominant performance this morning, he is leading the "Most Aggressive Rider" competition (Mark's attack at the start of every crit don't count, because I say so). At next week's sprint competition, Dan's nonexistent numbers will be red, and he will receive prize money in the amount of 0 Swiss Francs (that's 0 Euros).

Brandi was awarded the Fastest Woman jersey, the Fastest Cyclocross Bike jersey, and the Fastest Sneakers jersey. She has also promised to stop saying "I suck" and to continue kicking butt with a positive attitude.

In light of tomorrow's split ride, the KOM competition will be replaced by the "who's knees get destroyed first" competition. Whoever climbs Washington Rd. in at least a 53x16 gearing gets the white jersey (white representing the color of bone in a cartilage-free knee joint) and a free ride in my car to the nearest orthopedist. Seriously, don't do that.

Mission Complete: I finished a crit!!

Princeton ended up being a really fun race. There were fewer racers than any other event, only about 200, and there was a very mello feeling in the air. It felt like people were there to have a fun race.

I met up with Will as I arrived and we ended up being the only two Rutgers riders the whole day. Check-in was interesting since they could not find our check at first and then I found out that I had never been registered. They asked for money and I explained that we had paid for three racers and only two showed so would it be possible if I took someone elses spot. They agreed and Dan got his name crossed off the list with mine taking his spot.

My race started off really mello. Everyone took it easy the first 2 laps while they learned the turns and feel of the course and then we got going. It was a much better start to the race than yesterday. I think its a sign that people are learning you cannot win the race in the first 10 minutes. On lap 5 I had my moment to shine. On the back stretch the course was strait, long and flat. For some reason the field went to the left side of the road as much as possible and the right side wide open to attack. I knew it was not the best dicision, race wise, but I wanted to have some fun so I attacked and pulled out in front. I lead for about 7 seconds before a UVM rider joined me and said, "Lets do this." I got on his wheel and we pulled away from the pack.

The only tricky part of the race was a hard left turn up a small hill similar to yesterday. On the hill I realized I had burned all my energy during my attack and the UVM guy pulled away as I slowed down. He looked back and I waved him on, he knew my legs were shot. It could have been great. Coming down the other side of the little incline I had to drop to my middle ring and just keep peddling while I waited for the pack to swallow me up. They did about 100 yards later and my attack was over. I hung on at the back and rested for the next lap before working my way back to the front.

With about half a lap to go I was sitting about 3 riders from the front of the pack and all the breaks had been brought back. Once again on the back strait the leaders picked up the pace and started fighting for position and I stayed with them. I was in the top 10 going into the left turn with the hill and for some reason everyone went hard to the right and boxed me in
while a group from behind us attacked on the left side of the road which was left completely open. I crossed the finish line still boxed in and loosing position while the 10 or so riders around me refused to take advantage of the other half of the road. I got 20th place out of 53 and have now completed my goal of finishing a crit.

I also went back to "Doughnut Power" for this race and kicked ass, unlike yesterday. They shall forever be my pre-race fuel of choice. Homer Simpson had it right all along.

Grant's Tomb/Princeton Preview

Rutgers Cycling is back in action this weekend for some fast-paced criterium racing action.

Saturday brings Columbia's Grant's Tomb Criterium in NYC. Sunday takes the team to Augusta, NJ for Princeton's crit at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.

With two strong weekends behind them and spring break to rest and train, the team looks poised to once again get some great results.

Having just taken both the team sprint and KOM jerseys, Alessandro makes his triumpant return to the men's A this weekend. Sickness kept him out of the racing the past two weeks, but Alessandro looks to be riding in fine form and has the experience to deliver some serious results.

In the women's A, look for Lori to have great results both days. While Grant's Tomb may see a split in the field, Lori will surely be there for the field sprint. Princeton's crit will most probably stay together with Lori again close in attendance.

Will continues to ride strong and will be looking for a solid finish in the men's B. After the brutally fast and aggressive riding in Philadelphia, Grant's Tomb may be a little more sedate and favor a rider with a strong engine and ability to power up hills and along flats.

With Jen at a retreat and Brandi working, the Rutgers women's B team will not be in action this weekend. Rumor has it, though, that Alicia may make her return to collegiate racing, emerging from the fog of dissertation and sickness, alongside Brandi and Jen to lead the women's B team.

The ever massive men's c crew will be looking to improve on last weekend's crit results that were marred by flats and getting caught behind crashes. As always, look for Brian to ride strong. Blake is also amped to race Grant's Tomb and has been eating no less than three different kinds of cake everyday to prepare. With early season fitness that continues to shock even him, Mark may well play a factor in racing this weekend. Dan's results show steady improvement week to week and this power course may well suit his powerful riding style. With an impromptu cornering clinic behind him, look for Ted to rail the corners and ride strong both days. Fresh off a strong showing in the team sprint and KOM competitions, Don is ready to tear apart the racing this weekend. Still hungrier is Jay who surrendered the sprint jersey to Alessandro... can he replace it with prime points?

With air in their tires, the men's D will test their mettle once again this weekend. Dave and Noah have both been putting in outstanding rides in their first season with Rutgers Cycling. Look for brilliant, steady riding from both these riders this weekend.

break out the polka dots

Earlier this morning, 4 riders (Alessandro, Jay, Will, and myself) met for an intense 1.5 hours of riding. Having softened our legs yesterday, the Scarlet Train chose Washington Rd as the location for our repeats, because we're crazy like that. The competition was immediately fast and furious, with Will pushing his big ring at 10 mph for a while (although he claims that this was just to mess with our heads).

Since we'd confined ourselves to one 0.8 km stretch, there wasn't any need to regroup at the top or bottom of the climb. However, our official USCF timekeepers never showed up, and so we don't know who was ascending the fastest. Thus, judges had to make inferences in order to award the KOM jersey. Based on their (my) experience riding with the team, they are (I am) awarding the jersey to ... Charlie Florek.

That's right, even though Charlie didn't even show up to today's ride (because he's too cool for slick tires and gears), he was most likely single-speeding up vertical walls at Chimney Rock or doing something silly like that. It's safe to assume that Charlie was the sickest climber today, so Charlie gets the polka dot jersey. If it turns out that Charlie didn't even ride today, judges will award the jersey to either Mark (because with an angry face like that, anything is possible) or Rosener (who probably would've seen a bird look at him funny, gotten really aggro, and put out 2000 watts chasing it down). These are complete generalizations, of course, but who cares, I'm the self-appointed judge.

I'll see you all at Grant's Tomb, hopefully we'll have recovered by then.