Race Commentary

John Kinnee
It was a perfect day. The course had a lot of easy sections and no climbing
but there were rocky sections to keep people honest. Not a very interesting
course at all. I realized I've been riding with my Sid fork set at 63mm and
I'm not sure if I'm getting that much. As usual, I took a wrong turn but I
think I only lost about 1.5 minutes but I was riding with two other people
at that time. I had no one to hand me a water bottle so I left it where the
2nd lap begins. I quickly got off my bike to pick up the bottle and 3 people
passed me. I started the race with 38-39 pounds in my tires and that was too
much so I stopped to let some air out. Low 30's was right for that race. It
would be nice to have some more climbing. I plan on training hard and
getting my bike dialed so I can move into the top half of my category.

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Dawn Kaczor
i dont really have much to say. i enjoyed the race, placed second and
finished without any injuries. it was a pretty tough course because of all
the miscellaneous rock gardens. that and roots which seemed to suck up a lot
of my energy. had lower back fatigue half way through the first lap because
i forgot to take some drugs before the race started. felt pretty good
throughout except for about 15 miles in when my right quad seized up when i
stood up to pedal. a couple yards later the left quad started giving me the
same symptoms. uh oh. so i was careful to pedal in a way not to extend my
legs out straight. that was so weird having a stiff straight leg that
wouldnt pedal. shortly after i happened upon michelle injured on the trail
accompanyied by abbie and another guy. went on to finish the race and took
2nd place which honorably should have gone to michelle because she was
kicking my ass in yet another dual.

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Tim O'Loughlin
This is my home turf and I was getting pretty psyched up to go for a win.
That got screwed up right at the start when the starter announced "then
Masters, Juniors, and Clydes". Myself and a few other Clydes thought that
meant SEPERATELY but it meant all at once! That's 48 racers on the line! We
were yucking it up at the back when I figured it out and there were three
clydes right at the front while the starter counted down. I bolted around
the pack at 3-2-1 and was 1/2 way through so I started 20 places down at
the line. I lost by 3 min. and there was a lot of pile ups at the start so
I'm not gonna play the "I was robbed" bit...but I do think the outcome
would have been different with a more normal start. If I could accentuate
the positive, I'm still leading the NECS and beat my only contender by two
spots so I'm almost there. Pretty uneventful race other than that. Liked
the old course better. Got to do about 20 laps around the kids track
afterward when I was recruited to lead their races around the pines. Just
wish they didn't beat me so bad and kick me when I was down.

Bring on the Horror!!

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Hank Kells
This was a very different race from last year's Landmine. The weather was
perfect and it was very dry. However, the course was longer and faster.

My chain broke about four miles into the first lap. The power link was
gone and the chain had already been shortened so it was very difficult to fix.
But finally I did fix it and got back on the bike after losing about 25 min.
By that time nearly everyone (Novices included) had passed me. Ben Moody
lapped me while I was stopped fixing my chain.

I knew that I was way behind but wanted to finish to get the class points and
because it was such a beautiful day. I stopped a couple of other times to try
to help other people who had had mechanicals. A couple of miles from the
finish I came upon some emergency vehicles that were blocking the road. After
riding around an ambulance I saw Michelle surrounded by paramedics. After
checking to make sure she was ok, I continued and finished the race, dead last.
Sorry to hear about all the injuries. I hope that Anke and Michelle get well
soon.

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Joe Famely
Fast and fun, but I went out too fast and couldn't keep the pace. Got a
little beat up by all the roots and rocks, but it was a nice technical
course and I enjoyed negotiating the technical climbs. Once again, a 6th
place finish lost its luster since the rest of the field below me DNFed.

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Tom Pepin
Short Track:
Technically, I was 1st place for mt. bikers. The opening lap was
fast and furious around the very non-technical 0.5 mile course.
After the first lap the two riders using cyclecross bikes took the
lead. They slowly pulled away and I found myself 20 seconds behind
the leaders and 20 seconds ahead of the chase pack. It became
apparent that I was not going to catch the two leaders, so I decided
to go it alone, and fend off the chase pack.

Fellow Rager, Barry Petzold was tenaciously closing the gap on each
lap until he caught me on the penultimate lap. On the final lap, we
began to jockey for position. In the final turns of the race, I
surged ahead to hold the good line. This forced Barry to tuck in, or
ride through the high grass. The strategy worked as we finished a
close 3rd and 4th. Next year, I vote that they outlaw cyclecross
bikes from a mt. Biking event!

XC-
I hit the woods in fifth place and decided to take it easy on the
first lap and feel out the field and the course. Within a mile or
so, there was a nice technical climb that sorted out the field. The
course was then a nice mix of fast single track, and moderately
technically single track. Perfect course, but some of the markings
were less than ideal. I finished the first lap in 50 minutes, which
was a pleasant surprise.

Feeling good, I decided to turn it up on the second lap. The course
was in great shape as it was completely dry and 100% rideable. With
less than a mile to go, I found myself behind one of the Independent
Fabrications woman riders. Her and I took a wrong turn and lost
about 90 seconds. Fortunately, we realized it and were able to get
back on course. I finished strong and unsuccessfully tried to
outsprint a rider in front of me. It didn't matter, as he was a Vet
Expert rider.

After looking at the results, it turns out there were only 2 minutes
separating 1st place and me. Had I not lost that time due to the
wrong turn, I could have been in the mix. "I coulda been a
contendah!" Oh well, that's racing. . .

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Dodd Lyles
Saturday Short Track:

Barry and I went down to the Short Track race on Saturday and got Spanked
by the guys on the CycleCross bikes. It was a good time riding around the
field and have my kids yelling, cheering and chasing me as I went bye lap
after lap. They got as good of a work out as I did. The CycleCross guys got
1st and 2nd then Tom 3rd, Barry 4th and I was 5th. Next Year Mental Note
CYCLECROSS BIKE!

Sunday XC Race:
The race started uneventful. I stayed back and let the group take off at a
very fast pace. I found my zone and I stayed in it. I passed several people
and I only got off the bike once on my first lap. As I started the second
lap, I could feel the my legs begin to slow and my power was draining away.
I went down 3 separate times but only for a second and thank God I was not
hurt. The course was very fast and I am glad that I pre-rode the course. I
remember 2 nasty right hand corners that I know I missed one on the
pre-ride. I hope everyone recovers quickly from their wounds and I will
see you all at Great Glen.

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Dan Hurwitz
This race has great emotional significance for me, since it was my first
race ever two years ago. Unbeknownst to me at that time, I had had a
minor heart attack three days prior. I finished that first race dead
last, felt great, and was hooked on racing. The marvels of modern
medicine have allowed me to recover fully and continue my racing career.

This year's course was great fun, but too short and not enough long
climbs. Liked it better the last two years. However, it was a pleasure
to ride a rooty course that wasn't wet and slippery. First race on a
long time that I did not fall. That led to a relatively good result,
except I flatted with about 2 miles to go. Fortunately it was a slow
leak and I was able (barely) to ride it out. I think from now on I am
going to carry a CO2 cartridge in my back pocket for a quick top off.

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Tom Lemaire
Well, I was one of the crashes, so I guess that was the highlight of my race!
About 2.5 miles in on a short downhill stretch I got off-line and tried to brake
hard to get around a big rock, caught my front tire on a root, and went face
first into aforementioned rock. Broke my nose and generally messed up my face,
with lots of blood all over the place. After a few minutes of being stunned, I
decided I could still ride, so what the heck, I went ahead and finished the
race. I did OK but not great, but better than last time - at least I wasn't
last this time! I've got to learn to pace myself at the start. Oh well, I'm
healing up nicely and I looking forward to the next one!

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Michelle Wilson
Landmine huh? Funny I just figured it out. If you saw my crash you would have
thought a landmine exploded sending me high in the air over the handlebars and
then down with a horrendous thud and the bike bouncing off of me and then....no
movement, just wincing noises from the pain throughout my body. It all
happened so fast. The course, the crash, the DNF decision. As soon as I hit
the ground I knew there was no finishing. Damn, that pavement hurt. Thanks
again to all of you who helped put me back together :).

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Wil Malonson
Wow that was a fast course. I pedaled my arse off but still I only placed 10th.
It felt like a long cycle cross race. I wished there was another lap.

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Anke Neuerburg
I work 5 miles from Wompatuck, so I was hoping to do
the race to become more familiar with the trails.
Turns out I got to know them a little too well. The
fast pace of the race wore me out pretty quickly, so I
wasn't as alert as I should have been, I was lagging
behind so I thought I'd try to catch up a bit on the
downhills. Big mistake when you're tired. Next thing
I knew there was a nice big rock in front of me,
wasn't able to avoid it or get my weight back to go
over it so i smacked into it. went over my bars and
smacked teeth first into an even bigger rock...ouch.
Doing better now, after an ER visit and three dentist
visits.

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Hans Fernsebner
way to short we needed another lap.unfortunately I was on the side of the
trail for three and a half minutes with chain problems.

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Tom Varga

The new course was a pleasant surprise. I do a lot better on technical
sections, so the addition of so much fast, flat easy stuff didn't help my
placing. I didn't expect to like it, but after all it was fun! I had no
technical issues to speak of, although 2 minutes into the race, somebody just
in front of me kicked up a big stick sending it into my front spokes. It
nearly sent me over the bars. Phew, that was a close one at 20 mph. :)
I'm happy with my 6th place finish, but I really wanted to place in the top 5
and secrectly hoped for a podium finish. I only missed it by 1:53. Oh well,
maybe next time ...