The Post You've All Been Waiting For: RMM's 3rd Annual Guide to Local Road Teams--Part 1

Every year this is one of my most controversial posts. The fallout generally lasts for months with riders commenting in person and online. I do my best to just present things as I see them, while acknowledging my biases.

Again, I am category racer, so I will only be offering observations about lower category teams.

Part II will be published this coming Monday.

Enjoy.

North East Bicycle Club--NEBC

Membership: Online, no screening. NEBC recruits everyone they can. Regardless of skill level or personality.

Initially in my bike racing career, I had little respect for NEBC as they field huge squads of lower category riders (4 and 5) who do not work together in races. In fact they often work against each other.

But after I upgraded to cat 3 and began racing with some of their seasoned riders I began developing some regard for the team, while striking up friendships with a few riders (don't worry guys, I won't publicly shame you by outing our friendship on the internet). The cat 3's generally work well together, while not dominating any races.

I think that NEBC would be a great team to join if you were looking for a large social club built around bicycles, as NEBC has a huge membership. Also it is good for someone starting out racing, but maybe is not 100% committed to racing, as they do some good work around development and training. Also, they do some work around women's development, so women will probably be comfortable on this team.

NEBC's shop sponsor is the sketchy, underhanded CycleLoft, which made itself famous when its owner Jeff Palter stole the New England Velodrome from the founder, Tony Eberhardt. You can read about it here, here, and here if you missed it.

Boston Road Club

Open membership, no screening. There are 2 levels of membership, Associate (discount at Wells Ave) and team. I maintain an associate membership to this club even though I've never raced for them.

I love the Wells Ave Training Series, therefore I love BRC. Wells is an incredible community resource for us racers. I am thankful that they put it one week after week, year after year.

When I was starting out as a 5 and then a 4, BRC was the team to beat. They had a large squad and generally took charge of races. I think that BRC's luster has waned recently, but they have been at this for a long time, so I have no doubt that they will have another strong crop of new riders at some point.

BRC is a great team for a new rider looking to learn how to race and train effectively. Collectively, the team has decades of racing and training experience under its belt. And they are eager to pass this knowledge down to new riders. BRC has lots of social events for members. Many of the Boston area's best racers spent time on BRC. Highly recommended for new racers.

Quad Cycles

Membership: Online, no screening. Club and team.

This team started me racing. And for that, I'll be forever thankful.

In early 2011, Quad's race team is a shell of what it had been in the mid 2000's. They seldom field teams of more than 2 0r 3 guys and teamwork is sporadic at best. Any decent results are generally earned on individual rider strength as opposed to focused teamwork.

Quad does have a very active club rider community that sometimes intersects with the racing community.

My assessment of Quad: a good club to join if you are starting out cycling and are looking for some club rides and you may be interested in trying out racing at some point.

Minuteman Road Club--MRC

Membership: Online no screening.

MRC has a large club that focuses both on road racing and triathlon. While avoiding the normal jokes about triathletes, I will point out that triathletes often have monstrous levels of fitness coupled with comically bad pack riding/bike handling skills. Working as a team is alien to the triathlete mind. When MRC gets good results, it is often due to individual fitness, as opposed to the cooperative effort of the team.

MRC has done some great work with women's development, especially in cyclocross.

MRC is a good team to join if you are like it all three ways, but want to be sketchy in a road race once in a while too. MRC is not a good club if you are looking to learn effective road race tactics. It may be a good team for women looking to get into the sport, as MRC maintains close contact with Lady's First, one of the area's most effective women's racing teams.

Svelte Cycles

Membership: Contact Justin Spinelli. If you can't figure out how to contact him on your own, you don't belong on this team. Cat 3 and above only.

Brainchild of Justin Spinelli. This is a cat 3 and above team, not for beginners. Overall, Svelte has firepower, but doesn't appear to work well together, most of the time. I keep waiting for the cat 3's to gel and smash every race. So far this hasn't happened. Good results tend to get earned individually. Obviously, there are exceptions.

I have it on good information that Spinelli is opposed to sharing his prize money, so maybe an individualistic ethic runs through the team?

I am friends with many Svelte riders and enjoy hanging out with them and racing against them.

Svelte is a great team to join if you are a cat 3 who is on the cusp of upgrading to cat 2 and you don't want to change teams after the upgrade. Once you upgrade to 2, you will get the pleasure of being Justin Spinelli's domestique, which is really like being a domestique to Mario Cipollini, since Justin rode for Cipo back in the day.

David Wilcox and the T Shirt Project

I have known David Wilcox for 6-7 years. When I first met him, he was the kindly shop manager of the pre-move/renovation Bikes Not Bombs who helped me remove a seized lockring from my fixed gear commuter, free of charge (it required inhuman strength and special tools). While I was volunteering with the BNB youth program, David was always around, patient, interested and helpful.

A couple of years later, David resumed his bicycle racing career and joined my team, Cambridge Bicycles. I had the privilege of racing with David, as teammates, for 2 seasons. I took every opportunity to pre-ride mountain bike and cyclocross courses with David, discussing lines, tire selection, equipment and tactics. While my growth as a racer has been slow (I am not getting faster), David has made amazing progress every season. He has become noticeably faster on the bike and more tactically savvy every year. His bike handling has always been excellent.

Though David has moved on from my team (without any hard feelings, only disappointment), I still consider him a teammate, a confidant, a moral bellweather, a friend and an all around stand up guy.

I happen to live 4 doors down from Broadway Bicycle School, where David works. The presence of BBC and all of David's help factored into my decision to buy my condo. Whenever me or one of my friends (1, 2, 3) has a vexing mechanical issue that we can't work out at my workspace, we haul the broken pieces of the bike 4 doors down for David to deal with. He has never failed me.

I am not alone in my unabashed love for David. I have never, and I mean never, met anyone who had a single bad thing to say about him. David's kindness can be disarming. The fact that a decent, softspoken gentleman like David gets so much respect in the competitive cycling community speaks volumes about us. Applause.

Oh, did I mention that David is fast? God Damned fast. Like he sold his soul to the devil fast. And nice. He'll shout genuine words of encouragement even as he is breaking you on twisty section of single track. He'll compliment you on a great race after he put minutes into you. He'll cheer for you when you launch a foolhardy attack against him.

___________________________________________________________________

I love David. I am sure that you do too. As an homage, I got a photo, wrote "I Heart Wilcox" under it:

I then had the graphic printed on American Apparel T shirts (men's and women's). The shirts are for sale for $18. $2 from every shirt purchased through me goes directly to Bikes Not Bombs Youth Programs.

I will be at most of the upcoming races (Lowell, BayState, NBX, Ice Weasels).

You can also contact me via email to arrange mail order (rmckittr at g mail dot com).

I printed a limited run and there are a variety of color options, so getting to me sooner rather than later is advised.

Also there is a very limited number of American Apparel TriBlend shirts (50% cotton, 25% rayon, 25% poly). They are softer and awesomer. Also more expensive, $22. Also these are almost gone.

___________________________________________________________________

I feel great about the project. Even if you don't buy a shirt, I hope that the shirts bring a smile to your face. I smile every time that I see them.

Very special thanks to Wei Wei Lin of Superb for offering her design services to this project. She is looking for design work, so if you need an able designer I can put you in touch.

Race Report: Myles Standish Road Race Cat 3 Race 2010

CB had largely boycotted Battenkill, though our cat 3 teammate, Ryan O’Hara podiumed without the help of teammates. While Ryan was riding to glory, the rest of the CB cat 3’s were attempting to dominate the Myles Standish. We showed up with 4 rested and ready riders: Spaits, GG Bavolar and CB new jack Dave Montes.

I was not meant to get into a big break. My job was to cover the early moves and then sit and rest up in case there was a field sprint. We assumed that one of my stronger teammates would counter the early moves and get into a promising move later on. The race was only 24 miles long, so we assumed that the pace would be plenty fast.

The course is a rolling 2ish mile loop with a short punchy “climb” about midway through. The course is mostly glass smooth with mellow corners requiring no braking. There is a fast downhill left hander into the official’s area. On the final lap, riders were directed to a dedicated finishing area that forks off to the right at the bottom of the fast left hand descent.

My job was to cover Paul Curley. Curley and the Gearworks/Spinarts team were favorites, since they had 5-6 strong riders and decades of experience.

Off the starting line, Svelte’s Mike Sabatini and I created a two man break, which Sabs pushed with some seriously intense riding. The field chased us down quickly despite Sabs’s effort.

Upon reintegrating with the peloton, I quickly found Curley and sat on his wheel. Within minutes, a Gearworks rider attacked and I marked it (honestly I can’t remember that it was Curley, but it may have been Borello). The break quickly coalesced into 5 of us: Luke Fortini, Gary Aspnes (Benidorm), Borello (Gearworks), Curley (Gearworks) and myself. We were out of sight of the field within a couple of laps, which was surprising.

From the getgo, Benidorm did most of the work, taking long, hard pulls, Fortini and I took pulls and sat in when tired, while Gearworks mostly sat in. Curley took slow pulls, was slow to pull through and generally disruptive. Borello mostly tailgunned, taking occasional pulls.

Before the race, I had heard that Gearworks would be working to set Greg Vigneaux up for the win. Gearworks clearly didn’t want the break to succeed. Aspnes, Fortini and I decided to rotate pulls without Gearworks. I dropped back a few times to cajole Curley and Borello into working. Knowing that the shrewd, often cutthroat Gearworks riders had 40% of a 5 man break was disconcerting enough, the fact that they weren’t working was downright upsetting.

At one point, I told my breakmates that I wouldn’t work anymore unless Gearworks also refused. I was tired. I am not very fit. Furthermore, I hadn’t planned on getting into a successful break…in fact I even thought of joining Gearworks in sitting in order to bring the break back in order to allow Spaits to get into a more promising move. As it stood, tired and unfit as I was and forced to work hard, I knew that my chances of actually winning were thin.

I wasn’t getting gapped on the 45 second climb, but I was feeling it. I made sure that I came into the climb 2nd wheel so that I could take my “pull” up the hill, thus controlling the climbing pace, while fulfilling my obligation for taking the pull.

As the lap cards ticked away, I kept looking back, expecting and hoping to see the peloton chasing us down. But it didn’t happen. There were only 25 racers, 5 of them were in the break. At least 7 of the riders in the peloton were teammates with the break. There were no other teams with the manpower to organize a chase, so the chase was lackluster at best.

Once we were within a couple of laps to go I started thinking about the finish and how it would play out. I considered attacking the break, but I was not confident in my ability to hold off the other riders for any amount of time. This left me riding defensively. The question was what/who to cover.

Aspnes attacked at the top of the downhill receiving the bell solo. No one reacted; he got a gap. I sat up. About a quarter of the way through the lap I pulled up next to Curley and said “It is going to humiliating for you if he [Benidorm] wins, with you guys having 2 men in the break…its not mine to chase!” I got on Curley’s wheel as he got out of the saddle to begin the chase.

Fortini sat in thoughout this short chase. Fortini attacked the hill and got a gap. Curley hesitated. Again, I taunted him, truthfully telling him that I was unable to chase Fortini down. Curley rode away from me, making contact with Fortini shortly after the climb. I gapped Borello.

Curley and Fortini caught Aspnes about ½ a mile from the finish. They all hesitated for a minute, jockeying not to lead it out and I dug in to try and catch them. They started working after I had closed about half the distance, 150 meters. I held on for 4th, still far out of the peloton’s sight.

Benidorm led the 3up sprint. Curley jumped, Fortini was coming around Curley in the right gutter in the last 100 meters. Fortini claims that Curley drifted toward the curb illegally, thus shutting Fortini out. Fortini (2nd) protested with the officials. Curley 1st, Aspnes 3rd. I wasn’t close enough to see it, so I won’t venture an opinion.

Back in the peloton, Vigneaux was apparently chomping at the bit to break away. Team mates had to talk him down a number of times, explaining that it would be poor form to chase his own team mates break if he brought others with him.

Vigneuax eventually got away solo, finishing 6th.

As for my thoughts on my performance and that of my team mates: we played it as well as we could. While I was not supposed to be the winning break guy, I was. I wish that one of my stronger teammates had been there instead of me. The lesson that I learned: If you get in break, you need to be prepared for it to go the distance. If you plan on sitting in on it and causing it to be brought back, do it early and decisively.

While I needled the guy throughout the race, it was a pleasure to watch Curley play his hand well. He feigned weakness at every opportunity, while likely the strongest rider there. As I have stated before, you can learn a lot from Mr. Curley.

RMM’s 2nd Annual Guide to Local Race Teams Part II

Nor’East

This team appears to be based mostly in NH. The lower category riders appear to be little more than crit jocks, though they also field an elite team that does moderately well in Pro12 races

One of the major advantages of joining this team would be the ability to train with and learn from higher category racers. Also if you are pretty sure that you are going to make an upgrade to cat 2 mid season, this team would be a good fit, since you wouldn’t have to change teams to have teammates to race with in the upper cats.

Cambridge Bicycles/Igleheart Frames

If you are reading this, it is probably no secret to you that I am deeply involved with this team. I helped develop the program for the team’s first road season and continue to exert some secondary influence on the way that the team is run (I no longer hold any official office on the team). I explain all of this for 2 reasons: 1. I am proud of what I have helped build. 2. Clearly I am biased.

Cambridge prides itself on teamwork and race domination. Our goal in every lower category race is to be a determining factor and to put a single rider on the podium. We succeed in this goal a good portion of the time. We practice race strategy and routinely talk about strategy. Instead of having everyone finish a race, some riders’ jobs are to attack until they have to pull out of the race (or stay away and get the result). Before a new rider is allowed on the team, they have to explicitly agree to work as part of the team as opposed to “let’s just wait til the end and see what happens.”


2009 was a highly successful road season. We had over a dozen road podiums and we made decisive moves in almost every race we entered. We have started to build a nascent cat 2 team, which is shaping up to have a promising season in 2010.

We also had a number of riders upgrade and a few riders decide to ride for other teams in 2010. With the personnel change we are in a period of transition. There are a bunch of promising riders in the pipeline; so while we don’t know how our season will play, it is also very exciting.

CB generally only accepts riders who have already demonstrated a commitment to racing…we judge this by race attendance. Currently, we are considering cat 2,3 and 4 riders. If we sound like a team you want to race for, then get in touch.

There are a few stereotypes about CB. We are a bunch of hipsters. We are more concerned with partying than racing (yes we have beer sponsors for cross). We are more concerned with our kits than with bicycle racing. We all wear ironic mustaches. We can be dicks during races. All of these stereotypes are more or less true at one time or another.

I am proud to say that we subscribe to the shrewd, cutthroat form of tactical racing made famous by personalities like Mark McCormack, Paul Curly and Adam Myerson. If I wanted one thing said about our team it would be this: we raced hard and smart.

Cyclonauts Racers

This team is essentially a cat 3 leadout train. When these dudes show up to a crit, they come deep and start winding it up with about 2 kilometers to go. You can’t get around them, since they have like 10 dudes who are killing themselves to deliver their man to the line first. I admire their work. But they are limited.

It is fairly well known that Mike Norton is the biggest personality on the team. He sprints well, but really hates a hill. So his team generally sticks to flat races where their powerful leadouts almost guarantee a good result. Seldom are they a factor in a hilly race.

Cyclonauts also promotes lots of races. They do a great job. The Norton/Cyclonauts races are some of the smoothest running races around. Reasonable race fees, results are posted quickly, payouts are timely and in cash.

Some people object to Norton and his cohorts based on personality. Norton is a player and is outspoken. He has been promoting races without USAC sanctioning. His biggest transgression appears to be his success. He has thumbed his nose at USAC and has suffered almost no consequences.

Personally, I respect Cyclonauts and their team, while not desiring to emulate them.


HUP United

While this is not a road team, some of their members race road in HUP kits, so I feel that I need to mention them.

HUP is focused on the feel-good side of bicycle racing, specifically cyclocross. While HUP has some talented riders, I don’t feel like it is off base or insulting to say that HUP is more interested in friendship and camaraderie than in smashing races.

HUPsters are some of the friendliest racers around. They will be the first to help you fix your bike before a race, even if they know that they are helping you to beat them. You will see them handing out cupcakes and beers regularly. Its almost like they bring a mellow west coast vibe to NE.

HUP is the team for you if you are looking to make friends and enjoy yourself. If you are looking for a team to work with to be competitive on the road, then HUP is probably not right for you. That said, many people who desire a strong road team in the summer would really enjoy racing with HUP during cyclocross season.

International Bicycle Centers

This team continues to soldier on. Fielding small teams on the road and off. They sometimes get some decent results, but that this is usually a result of individual accomplishment as opposed to teamwork.

International has started fielding an elite mtb team. While this team does not compete regularly on the road, it is an indication that the regular IBC team is somewhat in decline. The elite team is administratively separate from the regular team. They wear different kits, different colors and share almost nothing but a sponsor. I only mention this since it seems like this team may experience some upheaval in the near future.


Boston Road Club

BRC had a rough season in 2009. A mass of riders left the team and formed the meat of a number of newer teams (Svelte and CB). That said, this team has been in the game for a long time and I am confident that they will rebuild with a new batch of riders. Even with their diminished numbers, they still have some strongmen capable of bringing the pain in a cat 3 or cat 4 race.

Membership is available in two levels, associate and team. Associate membership is for non-racers or for racers from other teams; it offers a discount for the Wells Ave races. In 2008 and 2009, I was an associate member of BRC (not sure if I will do it this year; I’m broke!)

BRC is s developmental team, which does an excellent job of introducing new racers to the sport, teaching them strategy and introducing training techniques. They are the organizer of the Wells Ave Training series that runs every Sunday from mid-March through September. Also, they have regular training rides midweek.

I remain friends with a number of BRC team members and alumni and can say that I have lots of respect for what they do. If you are a newer rider (cat 5), BRC is a great place to learn the ropes while getting some support and advice from more experienced teammates.

Wheelworks

This team is like the phoenix, it keeps popping up and then flaming out a few years later. My understanding is that support from Wheelworks has been tepid for lower category riders in the past. Perhaps it has changed?

Its current iteration is a B level/masters cross team. But as these things go, they will likely race on the road as well.

They have a few good riders. The trick will be whether they work together or just all show up to races in the same kit.


For The Teams I Forgot to Mention: If I left you out, it was not an intentional slight. I just included the teams that I know something about.

RMM’s 2nd Annual Guide to Local Race Teams--Part 1

Last season, I posted a guide to local teams. The post caused some controversy, since some rider’s objected to my portrayal of their team. So here I am writing this thing again. I expect a similar uproar, as I plan to call it like I see it again. Please take all of this with a grain of salt, as it is nothing more than my opinion.

This post is mostly meant as a guide to lower category (5, 4, 3) riders who are looking for a new or first team. I will outline what I know about the team’s behavior as well as what I know about admission and benefits of joining (I will not share any inside information) It is not meant to dish on any teams or to promote any teams in particular. That said, I am a long standing member of Cambridge Bicycles and have put considerable blood sweat and tears into helping build that team into the best team possible. Therefore, it should come as no surprise what I say about CB.


NEBC NorthEast Bicycle Club

This is by far the largest team/club in New England. Their members number in the hundreds. If you are looking to meet the maximum number of cyclists, NEBC may be right for you.


Admission is open. They regularly recruit newer races from the “C” race at Wells Ave.

The downside is that NEBC is so huge that many riders feel lost on the team. It is not uncommon to see 10 lower category NEBC riders on the starting line of a race introducing themselves to each other.

In the cat 4’s and 5’s teamwork is out of the question. In fact, quite the opposite is often true. Teammates often chase teammates. Teammates sprint against one another. If you are looking to join a cohesive lower category team, NEBC is probably not right for you.

There are a few situations where NEBC might be the right club for you. These include if you want lots of organized club rides (though you don’t need to be a NEBC member to go on most of these) or if you are a higher category rider.

My understanding is that NEBC takes fairly good care of the cat 2’s and 3’s. I don’t have details, but there are a number of talented riders who chose to remain on NEBC.

Svelte Cycles

Mostly a cat 3 team, which is run by Justin Spinelli (aka semi-famous Euro domestique to Cipollini). Spinelli comes out and mixes it in Pro123 races and appears to offer guidance to the cat 3’s.

Svelte appears to only be open to riders above category 3. I believe that you must contact Justin Spinelli directly in order to be considered.

Last season was Svelte’s first season fielding a cat 3 team. The team was chock full of talented riders who never seemed to gel into a cohesive unit. Their results suffered as a result. There were a few exceptions, such as Chris Bailey shattering everyone at the Attleboro Criterium

This season, they have an influx of extremely motivated riders, many of them well versed in team tactics and riding very strong. While last season was surely a disappointment to Svelte’s cat 3’s, this season may prove to be a breakthrough.

I have no idea if the team has addressed their every-man-for-himself race tactics for 2010. If they have, expect some serious domination and some upgrades. If not, we can expect a repeat of last season with Svelte taking long suicide breaks that get brought back and then countered by another team who ends up with the win.

Green Line Velo

This was another new team in 2009. They mostly seem to an amalgamation of collegiate riders, thus the name, which references the many colleges that are located on Boston’s notoriously slow Green Line.

I don’t know their admission policy, though I assume that if you are racing collegiate, you know a rider or two from Green Line.

My assessment of Green Line is mostly based on seeing them around before and after races. They don’t have too many outstanding results, but they are a bunch of young guys and a few gals, who seem to enjoy racing bicycles.

During races, they tend to remain invisible, taking few pulls and attacking infrequently.

If you are a collegiate rider who is looking to carry that good time collegiate vibe into the USAC season, you don’t need me to introduce you to Green Line, since you are probably already a member.

Quad Cycles

Quad is mostly a bicycle club with a racing arm. This team used to do some great development work, helping club riders make the transition to USAC racing. In fact, Quad developed me into a racer way back when.

Quad has open admission. You can register online at their website.

Anecdotal data suggests that Quad is no longer developing riders. It seems that every season they have fewer and fewer racers, mostly racers who have been racing with them for a few years who haven’t moved on.

In races, they tend to sit in and then try to jump in on someone else’s leadout train. While they have garnered a few decent results over the years, they are seldom a factor to consider during a race. Teamwork is rare. Tragically, the one leadout train I saw them organize in 2009 was crashed out wholesale by a Threshold rider in the last lap of the Attleboro crit.

Threshold Racing

Another new team for 2009. These guys came out swinging and got results. They were often factors in both the cat 3 and cat 4 fields, often getting in decisive breakaways and using their wattage to remain away from the field. If Threshold had a motto, it would certainly be “Attack!!”

Team cohesion appears important to Threshold, as does strategy. If they have the manpower in a race, they attack and then counter their teammate’s attacks. They tend to get into a lot of breaks and work those breaks hard. On occasion, they have worked those breaks too hard, getting out-sprinted in the end.

Many of us enjoy making fun of Threshold for posting power data on the Internet, but seriously we make fun mostly because we are in sheer awe or Leo Desforges’s wattage.

If you are looking for a good group of guys who take training and racing seriously, this is a good crew to hook up with.


Embrocation Cycling Journal

This team is a grassroots road team, who focus on pro races. They happen to have a couple of elite cyclocross racers who chose to race cat 3 in Embro colors on the road in New England. Since the founder of Embrocation has moved to the Portland, OR area, there is now a west coast branch as well. I have no idea what they are up to.

I happen to be good friends with the NE cat 3 riders as well as some of the riders on their elite road team. The New England branch of Embrocation is not accepting lower category riders on the road, so stop emailing them to ask.

The Embrocation riders in general are known to have lots of style. They have a loose affiliation with Rapha, a tight sponsorship from Ridley and hookups all over the place. They are VERY concerned with bike fashion. Tan lines are regularly compared and a discussion of proper sock height can last for hours. During cross season, I heard that one of the “executives” of ECJ was upset that a photographer had published photos of an ECJ team member leading a race while wearing a garish pair of orange construction worker type gloves. I am not dishing on them, as I support their push to make sure riders are professionally attired. I like white handlebar tape, shiny Italian shoes and tall socks as much as these dudes.

As far as cat 3’s are concerned. They have a few strongmen who will be factors in break-aways and hilly races of attrition, such as Tour of the Hilltowns or The Central NH RR. In general the cat 3’s don’t even show up for criteriums.

Part II will be Published Tomorow

Everyone’s Lowest Opinion is Confirmed: Begemann and Cycleloft Finally Offer a Flaccid Explanation

While I appreciate the Cycleloft/Palter/Begemann have broken their silence on the matter of the management "transition," this interview confirms the calculated nature of their actions. At one point in the interview, they waffle on whether they are paying more rent to the land owner, stating that the number is "irrelevant." How is it irrelevant that you may or may not have secretly offered the landowner more rent?

Stealing a business out from under someone jut because you think that you can do a better job running it is no excuse for doing so. If this is "just business," as Palter and Begemann claim, I encourage Eberhardt to seek legal counsel to explore the options for seeking financial redress. Furthermore, for most of us, the NEV was not just a business. We volunteered to make it work. We made sacrifices. It was never about money.

But actually, this is all beside the point. Begemann came to the velodrome with a chip on his shoulder, complaining about everything. Seriously, the guy was trying to find fault everywhere he looked. He undermined Tony and the NEV staff at every opportunity. From solid sources, I understand that Begemann had contacted USAC in the middle the 2009 season to complain about the NEV's events. Honestly, I tried to stay away from Begemann, because he was such a negative influence. Coming from me, that's really saying something.

Clearly Begemann and Palter had been scheming before they were presented with the opportunity to "take over" the NEV.

While I support the idea of track racing in New England, I am hesitant to support this venture. This interview has done nothing but confirm my worst opinions of the cabal that has unethically and cynically stolen a viable business from a great guy who put his heart and soul into making the NEV a venue that we all could enjoy.

CycleLoft and Co Comment on the “Transition” at NEV

I sort of thought that this was more a PR sheet than an explanation, but perhaps you will read it and disagree.

If you take the time to follow the link, I encourage you to leave a comment. I did.

More On The Velodrome

Here’s Tony Eberhardt’s statement about the New England Velodrome dustup.

Tony Eberhardt Looses the Velodrome which Brings RMM Out of Hibernation

I’ve been busy. I barely have time to train, let alone blog about bicycling and training. Furthermore, I have made a little resolution to stay out of dramas for a while.

But recent events at the New England Velodrome tempt me out of my hibernation and cause me to comment on an unfolding drama.

As most of you know, the NEV has been lovingly developed by Tony Eberhardt over the last 5 seasons. Tony has poured his infectious enthusiasm into bringing track racing to Londonderry, NH; rallying volunteers and sponsors into transforming a humble go cart track into a venue for seriously competitive bicycle racing.

While Tony started out promoting track events, he branched out into cyclocross, establishing a weekly training series and putting on an annual race. He didn’t stop there, he also developed a BMX track and put on a weekly time trial as well. Tony and the NEV’s motto was “Cycling for Everyone.”

While I didn’t agree with all of Tony’s decisions, I supported him wholeheartedly. I view him as a kindred spirit whose deep love of bicycle racing caused him to continually strive to improve the competitive cycling scene in New England. I never once doubted Tony’s motives or his commitment to the competitive cycling community.

It really comes as a blow to hear that the Velodrome has been rented out from underneath Eberhardt and associates. According to the NEV newsletter distributed today, Kurt Begeman and Jeff Palter of CycleLoft approached the NEV’s property owner, unbeknownst to Tony, and offered the owner a higher monthly rent in order to take over the velodrome. The property owner, looking after his own financial interests, accepted the offer. Tony was informed this morning that he will not be allowed to run the velodrome this season.

It sounds like there will still be track racing at the NEV. So New England has not actually lost anything, other than goodwill.

Surely there is another side to the story, which will unfold over the next few weeks. Begeman and Cycleloft will likely issue a press release that paints a rosier picture than the one Tony relays.

The whole thing just makes me sad. Tony worked his ass off to make the velodrome a viable race venue. He stuck with it when registrations slid when the economy tanked. It just seems wrong that an outsider who had befriended him is now “buying” the track out from under him.

Do I have recommendations? No. Will I race at the “new” velodrome? Maybe. Will I show the ‘new” velodrome the kind of loyalty, respect and dedication (yes I have volunteered to help clear debris) that I showed the NEV under Tony? Absolutely not.

Race Report: Canton Cup 2009--Elites

$750 paid 10 deep draws a crowd. While most fast riders may know that someone fast like Justin Spinelli will show up to take first, they think they are fast enough to at least make their registration fee back. There were about 40ish fast dudes on the starting line. Everywhere I looked was a dude who's definitely faster than me. And even the rare rider that I have beaten before, had also beaten me. On the start line, I was more concerned with not finishing DFL than finishing in the money.

Also, this race was declared as the LCC unofficial championships, since it is one of the few races where all of us were able to race in the same category. Lining up to contest the LCC Cup were: Kyle Smith and James Morrison (both of whom made the foolhardy decision to ruin their chances for LCC glory by racing the B race prior to the elite), PVB, Colin Holmes Murphy, Scott "Rosey" Rosenthal, Cary "The Mantis" Fridrich and honorary LCC member, Colin Holmes Reuter. While we had a quorum, we were upset that LCC founder Yasushi was not present to officiate the proceedings. Apparently he was caught up in an anime nightmare that involved costumes, carbon fiber and may or may not have involved hallucinogenics.

Canton a grass crit punctuated by a few sharp rocks and roots to flat your tires. And it was windy as hell. Group riding is key if you were going to achieve a good result. Either that or ridiculous Watts.

I had a good start, for me anyway. Which means shit in an elite race. Dudes are fast. I was probably tenth going into corner one. I fell in behind Reuter and mucked it up for his cameras by getting inside of Peter Sullivan's wheel-folding-crash which Colin was right on top of. Then Colin and I fought it out for a few corners until he got a gap and a wheel and I got relegated to no-man's-land.

Justin Spinelli was having mechanical issues; we'd all pass him while he fixed his issue, only to have him come storming by a minute later. This happened at least twice. Getting on his wheel was not an option. He eventually pitted and finished second to Justin Lindine.

Cary and both Holmes's were up the road. Morrison came by and I hopped on his wheel. He took a pull that lasted like a lap and then pulled out, waving us through as he pulled off the course. In retrospect, I think that he knew that he was pulling out and he was attempting to pace me up to the 10 man train barely visible up the road. Thanks James.

Thom Parsons raced in costume. I'll post photos as they become available. I only mention it because at one point he almost caught me. Nothing motivates like potential humiliation. While everyone knows that Thom is fast, no one wants to get pimped by the dude in a costume. I dug deep and got away...at least that's how I remember it. Maybe he passed me and I shut it out similarly to how adults are often unable to remember traumatic childhood events.

I passed a few riders with mechanicals, mostly flats if I had to guess. PVB, CCC, and Guenter Hofer, all of whom would have put minutes into me had they better luck. I always feel guilty passing fast dudes after they mechanical; I sheepishly apologized as I passed.

I spent the rest of the race soloing in the wind. And it was seriously windy. I literally 10-20 seconds behind Mike Wissell for 4-5 laps with no one behind me. I rode hard but seemed to make no headway. Wissell had already rode the 3/4 race earlier, so I was exhibiting extra suckage by not catching him. For most of the race, there was no one on sight behind me, which made it hard to keep the effort up at times. Matt Green slowly closed in on me. I overcooked an easy corner, picked up a shrubbery and lost enough time that Green got close enough to strike.

I got his wheel when he came around and we caught Wissell. The 3 of us attacked each other repeatedly in the last lap, which made for some exciting racing after riding solo in the wind for an hour. Green, RMM, Wissell in that order.

LCC Results:

1st Murphy

2nd The Mantis

3rd Rooter

4th RMM

5th Rosey

6th PVB (flat tire)

DNF James Morrison

DNF Kyler

Verbal reports indicate that my LCC rivals up the road were smart enough to take shelter in a various groups. I've taken note and will race smarter next year. Good job everyone. We should do this more often.

Race Report: Great Brewers Grand Prix of Cyclocross Day 1 cat 3 2009

I had a front row call up and my father was at the race. I knew that I was screwed. I always, always do poorly at things when my family comes out to watch. Ever since I was a little kid. Its not like I get nervous, there just always seems to be bad luck.

We sat shivering on the starting line. Looking at our shoes, taking what little shelter we could from the salt-water-filled wind whipping, literally whipping off of the water. When I licked my lips, I tasted salt. The weather was severe, even by New England standards. Rain mixed with the swirling salt spray and sort of stung as it pelted us. The tension was thick; no one spoke after the official called "One Minute;" I even refrained from my usual jabbering. Cary somewhat ironically (or not) wished Brain Wilichoski "good luck" in his loud booming man voice.

There's not too much to say. Diane blew the whistle and I blew my front row callup and slid back. I'm not really sure what happened. I just didn't push all that hard when the whistle blew. Maybe I did push hard and it didn't matter. Either way, I was in a inopportune spot going into turn one and it just got worse from there.

The course itself was a trecherous beast. Mud filled ruts, greasy corners and energy sucking squelchy grass. Roots threaded under the mud. The course was so soft that it changed every lap. Preriding the course gave me a rough idea of what it would like once the race was on, but not really.

The corners weren't too difficult, but back in the pack, riders were jostling, shoving and pushing for any advantage. It has been awhile since I have been in the scrum in the first lap of a major cross race and I forgot how cutthroat it could be. Instead of an orderly movement through the course like at the front of the race, riders would chop your wheel in a tight corner and then blow apart and sit up. You'd have to pass them on the next section.

I fumbled in the mud with the riff raff, jamming on the brakes, sprinting only to jam the brakes on again. People were popping off the course all over the place. It was mayhem and I was frustrated and angry to have fallen back so far so quickly. The leaders got a minute on me in the first 2 minutes of the race. Meanwhile, I was fighting for 40th spot with some gibroni who was just going pop seconds later and slide back to 67th. I couldn't believe how much wasted energy there was at mid pack.

I am training nothing but starts for the rest of the season.

The run up was hell. It was steep with a thick coating of mushy peanut butter mud. You slid back one step for every 2 you took. Add screaming fans (read hecklers) and you can imagine the confusion.

On the runup, I felt the rear of my bike getting caught on something. I pulled to dislodge it. Oops.

After the remount, my rear derailleur stopped working. I spent the requisite quarter to one half a lap messing with my shifters while pedaling tempo. The derailleur was making for funny noises, but otherwise the pedalling seemed smooth.

I opted not to stop and have a look. I figured that just continuing to ride would be the best choice. I mean, could I really have diagnosed and fixed the problem in a timely enough manner to justify stopping?

I had 2 gear options, 46 x 25 and 38 x 25. But getting into the big ring was difficult, so I effectively had only the 38 x 25. Of course, as the drivetrain became progressively more gunked up, it, became exponentially more difficult to get into the big ring. The little ring was fine for riding the course, but I was unable to really drop hammers, since shifting to the big ring wasn't possible (I think that I only succeeded in getting into it once. I thought about going to the pit for a bike, but decided that if Parsons can race single speed, I could race with 1.25 gears easily. Not so much.

Instead of mailing it in, I raced the best race that I could. I used my lower gearing to my advantage and accelerated hard out of corners. I rode uphill sections that other riders were running. My cruising speed was lower than other racers in my category, but I really concentrated on taking good lines and keeping momentum in turns.

I was even able to pass a few of my rivals. Chris Bailey seemed to be having trouble when I passed. I didn't have the heart to tell him I was riding single speed. Not so sure what happened there, but after the race he said that he didn't like cross anymore. Bailey beat me in all but one CX race last season and pimped my teammate Spaits in a breakaway in the Attelboro Criterium this summer, so beating him is a high priority in any race.

I had trouble passing the newly upgraded Jeff Bramhall and my team mate Nick Mashburn (also recently upgraded). They were both riding strong and taking good lines. These will be guys to watch later in the season, as they are on an upward trajectory.

In the final lap, I started to feel bogged down. The sucking mud was taking a toll. Was my lower gearing actually an advantage? Would I have slid even further back if I had had the option of over gearing throughout the race?

On the last two laps, I was really only quickly walking the runup. My spirit was broken. I realize that mechical failures are going to happen, but when they do I take them very personally. Like Campagnolo singled me out for a failing derailleur.

I got 29th. Which, under the circumstances, seems acceptable.

My rear mech had a number of problems, some of which did not become entirely apparent until day two. Check back to hear about how my rear derailleur nearly ruined day two also.

Artificially Beefing Up Elite Fields: Why?

Both mountain biking and the Verge series have taken steps to allow (read force) lower category riders to race as pro and elites respectively.

Mountain bike categories changed this year, which effectively combined the former semi pro category with the pro category. Squirtgunshow (1, 2, 3) has done a great job of pointing out the various follies in the new scheme, so I won't belabor the point.

Verge had split the 2/3 field so that 3's race alone, while cat 2's will now race with elites. For 2's this is a mixed blessing. Some 2's are excited about racing elite cyclocross, some are upset that they will be deprived of thier chance to shine in the B's this year (yes there are non-sandbagging 2's who would have done well this year) and others are indifferent or have not formed an opinion. Still other 2's are upset about the huge race fee increase that they will incur now that they race with the elites ($45 per race plus they need to purchase a $90 UCI license, ouch!).

In thinking about and discussing the various advantages and disadvantages of the artificial influx of elite riders in both New England cyclocross (with 14 races scheduled for 2009, we can effectively say that the Verge series is NE CX) and mountain biking, I have been forced to question both the motivation and the wisdom of the schemes.

Firstly does it make sense to effectively upgrade your semi pros to pro or your cat 2's to cat 1? My argument would be that while this may be good for individuals with aspirations of becoming pros or elites, this is not so good for everyone else.

I am now a 3. Early indicators point to me having a decent cross season in 2009. But will I upgrade to 2 if I get some decent results? No. I have a job, friends, a wife and other interests that I care about. At 37 years of age, I am not looking to become a elite rider. So if I get a few decent results, I may end up in the untenable situation where I can either sandbag in the 3's or upgrade and be lapped by Trebon and pulled before the race is halfway over. Both situations suck. I use myself as an example because I know that there are lots of people in New England who are in the same boat. There is also that real possiblity that my results won't qualify me for an upgrade, which would suck on one hand but also eliminate the dilemna.

Others have argued that Verge is trying to cultivate US elites so that they can be competitive in worldwide competition. How the hell does filling the elite field with cat 2's make cat 1's faster or more competitive? Personally, I have never gotten faster by riding with riders who were slower than or less skilled than me.

After listening to various thinkers on the topic and thinking deeply about it (it is summer and I am a teacher, so I have time to burn), I have concluded that both the mtb and the CX "upgrades" have the same goal: create a sense that the respective disciplines are thriving. It just looks bad when your elite races are poorly attended and when no one sticks around to watch them. Obviously, this has not been a problem at big races like Gloucester. But at many UCI races feilds are small (1,2,3)and lower category riders often chose to go home rather than watch elite race.

So the upgrading of semi pros in mtb and cat 2's in cx will make the pro and elite fields look bigger on paper. Maybe this will bring in sponsors or give organizers some traction with the UCI.

But I have to ask a question: other than the 25 guys actually racing for UCI points, does anyone really care about the UCI points? I ask this question in all seriousness. I know that I don't care. And watching Johnson or Trebon beat 60 guys instead of 25 won't make the race any more exciting to watch.

As others have noted, there are serious problems with both the new accomadations for cat 4's and for lower category women.

It's almost as if Verge feels like it is doing us a favor by allowing us lowly lower category riders to race. But I ask, where would the Verge series be if it wasn't for our entry fees? Would there even be a series? And outside of us (cyclocross racers) who in the US gives a shit about elite cyclocross racing? Answer: no one. Beefing up the elite feild (or pro feild) with lower category riders is not going to increase the popularity of the sport.

Maybe there is something else going on and I just don't get it (I am serious here). If you will be kind enough to explain...

Creeping Fees in Competitive Cycling: An Economics Lesson.

Race fees are rising steadily. One expects race fees to rise over time due to inflation. In some cases the costs associated with putting on a race also rise, requiring promoters to increase race fees to meet basic expenses. These price increases are natural and perfectly acceptable. While we may complain that races no longer cost $15, for the most part, our salaries keep pace with inflationary pressures, allowing us to pay the increased race fees without having to make sacrifices in other areas.

But this season there has been a couple of trends that I would like to note and discuss. First, many race fees have risen significantly this year. Second, there appears to be less people registering for races this season. Third, the overall economy is contracting. My main question is: How do these trends interact? Do the former two trends feed each other or are they merely correlated without causation one way or the other? And how does the overall contraction in the economy affect both of these trends in competitive cycling?

While economic indicators point to our recession ending in the near future, I don't think that anyone would argue that our economy is not faltering. Many of us have accepted wage freezes, no bonuses, reduced hours or pay decreases. Some of us have found ourselves laid off and unemployed. There are people losing their homes. Furthermore, many people are scared of one or more of these things happening.

Curtailing discretionary spending is a logical reaction to the economic downturn. Personally, I am spending less money on non essential items and I have been streamlining my household expenses in an effort to keep precious dollars set aside for the rainy days (if you didn't know, I spent 6 months unemployed last year and am currently looking for a position for the fall).

My 2009 racing budget is less than half of previous years'. I am not traveling as far for races and I am avoiding stage races and expensive one day events. Instead of racing 2 days a weekend, I only race one.

I have made some concessions in equipment as well; I am racing on less expensive rubber, my bartape is changed less frequently, I patch tubes, cleats remain unchanged until really worn out, I buy lower level chains and cassettes and I use generic cables and reuse cable housing.

For 90% of us, race fees are a purely discretionary expense. As such race fees are elastic, meaning that increases in race prices will cause consumers to spend less on them. Of course we can note some examples that defy the law of elasticity, such as The Tour or the Battenkill, which climbed to $45+ a head in 2009 and still had over 1500 registrants. For the most part, as racers find less money in their pockets and as race fees rise, racers will either chose to race less or will seek out races with more reasonable fees.

Many promoters fail to understand this simple law. Instead of lowering fees, or at least holding them steady, in the face of a recession, they have chosen to raise fees to make up for the income that has been lost from lower attendance at races. This will not work. In the case of unique events such as Battenkill, race fees appear to be inelastic; racers will pay ever increasing amounts of money to participate in this unique race. Though I suspect that at some point Battenkill's promoter will raise fees high enough to figure out exactly how elastic or inelastic race fees are.

Promoters of less unique events have also raised fees. Notably, the 2009 Verge races are becoming exorbitant. For cat 4's there it costs $30 for 30 minutes of racing and it pays MEDALS 3 deep. Cat 3's get a payout 0f $250 5 deep, but they will pay $35 for 45 minutes. Cat 2's, who now race with the UCI elites (which requires the purchase of a $90 UCI license that expires on 12/31/09) now will pay $45 for the privilege of getting lapped. Sure there is a $2171 payout that goes 25 deep, but I have seen $17 pay envelopes for people who finished "in the money" at UCI races.

Though it may seem like it, I have not put this post up to merely complain about race fees. I am arguing that increasing race fees will not bring more revenue to promoters. In fact, in many cases, the increased race fees will cause promoters to get less revenue than they would have if the fee was kept lower, as many racers choose to go to a training race or on a group ride instead of spending precious dollars on race fees.

If you increase the race fee by 20% and lose 20% of your racers, you lose 4% of your revenue. For example: if you brought in $100 charging 100 racers a $1 race fee and you increased the fee to $1.2 and only 80 racers came, you'd take in $96. Even worse, you'd probably still have alienated some of the racers who still chose to show up.

A good example of this trend has been the New England Velodrome, which I frequent. In 2007 and 2008, the race fee was $10 and bicycle rental was $2. With transportation from Boston, the whole experience was under $20. In 2008 increased gas prices and the beginnings of the recession decreased attendance at the velodrome.

The management responded by raising the race fee to $15 and bringing bicycle rental to $5 (though they also replaced the grouchy curmudgeon who was running the rental area with a great Goguen kid [maybe Manny?], which is probably worth the price increase). With gas and fees, the NEV now costs almost $30, depending on what kind of vehicle you are driving.

NEV attendance has been sparse in 2009. This morning, I just received an email informing me that race fees will increase to $20 in August in order to cover USAC sanctioning of events. I am going on record to note that USAC sanctioning will not increase track attendance. In fact, I know that my wife and I are unable to pay this race fee on top of our other cycling expenses. From asking around, I know that other riders have largely abandoned track racing at least partially due to price increases. The higher fee will definitely exacerbate this problem.

Bicycle racing is expensive. Even before you pay a race fee, you've dropped $1000's or even $10,000's on equipment and spent countless hours training. Oftentimes transportation costs outstrip race fees. For many years, race fees were an afterthought. But when it starts to cost $75-95 (I include Bikereg.com fees in my accounting) in race fees for a Verge weekend, one starts scratching their head and wondering if its worth it.

Just to put the fees in perspective, my perspective, teachers make about $50,000 a year (my salary is a mandated by contract and is a matter of public record, so I don't feel strange discussing it). After taxes, retirement, health and related expenses I take home about $700 a week. More than 10% of my weekly take home salary is going to cover race fees! Obviously we don't have a race every weekend...wait, actually I race almost every weekend.

Do the math. Now ask me why I am racing less.

Cyclocross in August?

The Accelerated Cure Series has posted thier dates for the 2009 season. The series has expanded to 4 races, 2 of them in August. You may remember the first race in this series last year was in August, Blunt Park. I raced Blunt Park last year and enjoyed it. My 5th place result, combined with my OK results at the other 2 races in the series allowed me to place 3rd in the series, yeilding about $80 and untold glory.

I am posting, not to promote the series, but to ask a question: Is mid-August too early for cyclocross? I am wondering if the sweet pain that is cyclocross is diluting itself by overspreading its traditional season. Deep thinker and cycling philosopher PVB has been heard saying that New England cyclocross begins with Suckerbrook in mid-September. What do you think?

I should clarify that I am not chastizing the organizers of this great local series. In order to successfully put on a cross race in New England, you must tip toe around the increasingly demanding Verge schedule which will balloon to 12 races in 2009. Considering that there are other well established regional races (Canton Cup, Suckerbrook) to contend with as well, this leaves precious little time on the race calendar to introduce a new race, let alone a series.

Part of me wants to race these August races because the diluted fields allow hacks like me to pull down decent results (and I was able to beat Bailey at Blunt Park). The other half of me wants to shun these races since they are bleeding outside of the traditional boundries of the cyclocross season. No one would put on a road race in mid November and if they did, none of us would show up.

Rosey has come down in favor of these race, Holmes taunted me last year when I opted to attend Blunt Park instead of getting thrashed on the 6 gaps ride, Yash raced with me in 2008, the little woman just likes bike racing and PVB is clearly against these dates. I am curious what everyone else thinks.

The New England Cyclocross Book is Done: Beer CupCake Mustache

As many of you know Natasha has been collecting photos and interviews over the course of 2008. She has compiled these into an awesome book that celebrates New England amateur cyclocross.

If you missed the release party, you missed one of the best cycling parties of the year: Free Chimay, Mo's vegan cupcakes, national cycling luminaries and plenty of celebrities.  

Thanks to everyone who braved the crappy weather to come out and celebrate.  Also big thank you's to the Washington Square Tavern for always supporting local cycling events and Chimay for giving Natasha top notch beverages to entertain with.  

The book is available for purchase on the internets:

http://www.pedalpowerphotography.com/merch/beercupcakemustache/index.php