High Point Hill Climb and Rock Lititz Tour

Zach Hyland and Andrew Stroup were out representing LCBC this last weekend in the Garden and Keystone States (NJ and PA).

Returning to Montague, NJ, Zach raced the High Point Hill Climb in the Cat 1/2/3 field for the second year in a row, a 5.5 mile time trial that finishes at the highest point in New Jersey. The climb was brutal and with a start time of 10:40 AM, the temperature matched the climb's severity, staying at a frigid 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Zach finished the course with a time of 23:36, finishing 15th overall and shaving 39 seconds off his last year's time.

During his weekend racing trip, Zach also had the opportunity to visit Cannondale's world headquarters in Bethel, CT, one of LCBC's sponsors, checking out a ton of really cool designs and products. (insert jealous remarks here)

Up in the small town of Lititz, PA, Andrew raced the Rock Lititz Tour in the Cat 5 field, his first staged race, consisting of a road race on Saturday, followed by a time trial in the morning and criterium in the afternoon. The tour was a great learning experience, testing his physical and mental stamina, finishing 27th overall out of 37 racers. Being one of the two Cat 5 racers on the team, he's now only one race away from upgrading into the Cat 4 field.

Andrew in the Rock Lititz Tour Road Race

A couple of interesting notes about the Rock Lititz Tour: 1) prior to the road race, racers who pre-rode the course were getting flat tires because someone threw down a whole bunch of tacks before the race (Andrew concluded it was the same kid who creepily smiled at racers at a corner while holding a toy shotgun), and 2) turn 4 in the crit was super sketchy with lots of wrecks all day long: http://www.sportsgrid.com/video/rock-lititz-bike-crash/

This weekend, the LCBC team has The Bunny Hop and Turkey Hill lined up w/ BikeJams in their sites. Best of luck to the team and all the racers!

A Weekend Filled w/ Bad Decisions

This weekend, our Cat 5 racers headed North and South, with Joe Siegel making his way up to the Farmersville Road Race and Andrew Stroup heading down to the All American Road Race. Both were hoping to repeat last weekend's favorable performances at Carl Dolan; however, the race gods had different plans for them.

In the Cat 4/5 race at Farmersville, Joe maintained a solid position throughout the entire race and ended up the lead rider with a little over a mile left to go. Unfortunately, during the last turn of the race, Joe went the wrong direction. He was able to stay with the group and finished mid pack, 27th overall (out of 68) and 7th among the Cat 5 field.

Joe at the Farmersville Road Race

In the Cat 5 race at the All American Road Race, Andrew started off in the back and was forced to deal with jumping wheels to maintain contact with the group. Misjudging a greater than 90 degree turn, he lost the group and spent the remainder of the race chasing the group, which maintained a 10-15 second gap, finishing 33rd out of 43. To add to the weekend's list of bad decisions, Andrew headed up to the Fort Ritchie Criterium on Sunday, only to find himself shoeless. A Cat 5 mistake he'll never make again!

Andrew at the All American Road race

Fortunately the season is still young and LCBC has only just begun. The majority of the team will be resting up this weekend; except for Andrew, who will be racing in his first staged race, the Rock Lititz Tour. The Rock Lititz Tour is a 2 day, 3 stage race, consisting of a road race, followed by a time trial and criterium the following day.

San Diego Velodrome

Another picture by Mark Mehlinger to make everyone a little more jealous of the West Coast velo culture.

San Diego Velodrome @ Balboa Park

Carl Dolan Spring Classic

LCBC sent three racers to the 19th Annual Carl Dolan Memorial/Howard County Library Spring Classic; Luke Mysko racing the Cat 1/2/3 and Joe Siegel and Andrew Stroup racing the Cat 4/5. The race weather was oddly warm (mid-80s) with a moderate breeze, making it feel more like June then April.

The Cat 4/5 and Cat 1/2/3 were the last two races of the day, so the guys arrived around noon to scope out the course and conduct their pre-race rituals. Word got around quick about the numerous wrecks on the course in almost every race. As Joe and Andrew pulled up to the starting line, the Cat 3/4 race was on the course again for a restart due to a really nasty wreck, sending a racer to the hospital with a cracked skull. During the last lap of the restart, another 5-7 bike wreck went down in the back of the pack, cutting the race in half; definitely not a good omen for the start of their race.

The officials decided to cut the Cat 4/5 distance from 10 to 8 laps, making the race about 16.7 miles. The reduced distance only increased the speed of the race with a 23.6mph pace, including a neutral lap due to a wreck mid-race. Joe and Andrew were able to maintain a mid-pack position throughout the ride, moving with the surges of the pace lines. As expected, the final lap pushed everyone's legs into overdrive, driving the pace to the highest of the entire race. The group started stretching, dodging the lapped racers on both sides, and testing the racers on whose legs would hold out to the finish line. As soon as the group made the final turn, the hammer was laid down into the descent, leading up to the incline and finish. Joe was able to pull away and grab a back wheel, only to get exposed to the wind towards the top of the hill, finishing ~10th overall. Andrew was not far behind, holding onto a wheel, attacking a little too early up the incline. Both Joe and Andrew finished well among the Cat 5s, 6th and 14th place out of 47 racers and a >80 field.

Joe and Andrew in the Cat 4/5

Luke's race followed immediately after, 18 laps on the board or ~38 miles. The pace was consistent and fast the entire race, where any mistake would push a racer to the back of the group and potentially dropped. Halfway into the race, a three man breakaway formed, consisting of two DC Velo racers and a Kelley racer. A couple of chase groups attempted to bridge the gap, but were never able to close the time difference and were consumed by the peloton. Luke maintained a solid mid-pack position, always finding a wheel and putting out solid efforts when the peloton would surge. The breakaway ended up creating over a minute time gap with 3 laps to go, securing the top three podium positions. During the final lap, Luke pushed hard around the turn and hammered out a solid sprint to secure a 21st place finish, 2nd among the Cat 3s.

Luke in the Cat 1/2/3

LCBC was represented well. Congratulations to all of them and we look forward to the next race!

PICTURES:

LCBC: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.205381836230901.28927.205375049564913&type=3

Others:

Julie Elliot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieelliott/sets/72157629470272160/

Daniel Meaurio: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115936314143919029140/albums/5732008639623777969

SoYoCo Circuit Race

Joe Siegel and Andrew Stroup headed up to Brogue, PA for the SoYoCo Circuit Race on Saturday. The weather was cold and like most races in middle PA, they were surrounded by rolling hills and Amish country.

The course consisted of two 90 degree turns right after downhill sections, followed by a mile long false flat and then a solid, short kicker right before the finish line. Increasing the difficulty, there were multiple patches of gravel and dirt all throughout the course.

Joe and Andrew were in the Cat 5 race, totaling 15 miles. During the second turn on the first lap, a wreck between two racers split the group in half, leaving 8-10 racers, including Andrew, in the back, chasing after the lead group, where Joe maintained his position, along with 15 others. Unfortunately, Andrew was having shifting problems, unable to downshift leaving him dropped and left to suffer in an unfavorable gear combination throughout the climbs.

Joe continued on with the lead group, where 2 guys made a break right before the last lap. Trying to motivate a chase, none of the other riders wanted to budge or had the legs to form a chase, leaving Joe at the front and no one to follow suit. Realizing that many of the racers in his group were in the same team as the two in the breakaway, a chase group was futile, so he laid the power down, threw down a solid attack a quarter of the way up the final kicker, leading the group by ~10m, and holding his position for a clear third place finish.

Joe's third place finish at the Cat 5 SoYoCo Circuit Race

Congratulations to Joe on his solid 3rd place finish and to both of them for priming their legs for the Carl Dolan the following day

Garmin Vector Delay

It looks like the elusive Garmin Vector power meter pedals stay elusive a little (or a lot) longer via a press release on Wednesday, providing no updated delivery date. This isn't the first time the pedals have been delayed and who knows if it'll be the last, although not providing a date likely resolves that issue.

Several LCBC riders have been looking forward to the summer release, but it looks like they'll have to put their pedal power dreams on hold and either stick with or turn to their Quarqs and PowerTaps for all their power measurement needs.

It's good that Garmin is taking the necessary time to refine the pedals before release to the public, but one can only wonder how long it'll take before our sweet dreams of knowing how imbalanced our legs are turn into reality. On the flip side, the Edge 500 was a nightmarish ordeal, where the first owners were more or less beta testers, so hopefully the delays indicate avoiding repeating the 500's history.

Posted on GamJams via Velo News

Interval Enthusiast

For quite some time the Lake Montebello loop has been closed due to a construction project that started mid-March. As of 10 April, the loop is open and available for runners and cyclists.

This is a great place for the guys that live in Baltimore to spin around on a recovery day, practice a pace line, or throw down some mean intervals, gauntlet style. LCBC is definitely glad to see the reopening and we'll see you out there!