Rock & Road Race Weekend — Cat 3

by Jonah Tower

Saturday (CRIT): The course is a very short loop in "downtown Raymond, NH the curves and winds all over the place. We had 35 laps to accomplish and once again it was very hot. I had hoped to get involved in a break and had received some tips on who to watch, but there were 3-4 teams each with 3-4 riders that were all working pretty well and kept everything together (at least there was an actual field of nearly 30 to start.) Several of the laps included obstacles (some lady stopped her car a a stop sign, two fat women couldn't decide whether to cross or not, and some guy nearly lost his three pizzas as the field came bearing down on him. And, the pavement was actually melting at the bottom of the little hill, so it felt like you were riding on flats as you tried to make the turn. In the end the Sunapee team drove the field into a single file column, and I hadn't thought enough about my placement into the last laps, so I ended up with 9th place despite having the legs for more.

Sunday (RR): The course is a fun 10.(something)-mile loop with two solid, but not serious, climbs that then twists and rolls its way through Raymond, NH. There were some stretches where the pavement was just awful, but for the most part things were in pretty good shape. Again, hot (high 80s), humid (??%), and very hazy. But, only 12 riders showed up at the start line (I think several from the prior day went to race with the Master field). So, we rolled out and the college kids (I think the average age in the field was like 20) battled it out and did a nice job of tiring each other in the heat. On the 2nd lap (of 4) a small break formed with 4 riders, and I hesitated hoping the more of the remaining 8 would be able to work, but we lost some of the senior guys and the remaining "kids" all decided that it was too hot to work and they wanted their mommies. So, at the beginning of the third lap I attacked and got away with ease, and went to work chasing on my own for the last 20 miles of the race however, I had waited too long and figure I had nearly 1:00 to 1:30 to make up on the break. Despite my best efforts I never caught them, but I also don't think they were able to take any more time on me (marshals were all cooked or something, because no one would give me a decent split). I rode hard all the way to the finish and easily took 5th taking nearly 3 minutes from what was left of the field.