Cycle Logic climbs Mt. Washington

submitted by James Penrod
Coming back from a weeklong vacation is not easy, so pardon the lack of punctuality on this post.

Things I learned in New Hampshire:

• Lake Winnipesaukee is wicked beautiful (and not an ounce of flat roads in the entire area).
• You can never eat too much Lobster.
• If you’re ever on the south coast of Maine, you MUST stop at Brown’s ice cream parlor. I think they have perfected the art of sticking a half gallon of home made ice cream on a single sugar cone (seriously).
• Riding 7.8 miles is no problem. Climbing 4400+ feet in elevation in that same distance, however is no easy feat (the locals say “it’s wicked hard” and “you’re wicked stupid for trying it”).

SO…Mt. Washington!!
I think they said it all before we started:
“Same distance as Alpe d’Huez, but 1,000 feet higher in elevation”
For those that don’t compute hill climbs regularly, that means a much more wicked steep climb than those French hills.

I’m not sure if we planned it right or not, but we arrived the day before the climb on Friday and took a short ride through the rolling roads of The Lakes Region of New Hampshire, and returned home to dine on some excellent baked Ziti courtesy of Ron’s (Baldy-Locks) in-laws, who’s house we stayed at. We figured it would be better to get the climb out of the way before wearing ourselves out over the next week, and it seemed to work out pretty well.

The next morning, we awoke bright and early to make the record-breaking time of one hour to get to the base of Mt. Washington (courtesy of Ron’s father in-law Richard and his chipped pickup truck). Arriving with almost three hours before the start gave us plenty of time to take in the beautiful weather which was a balmy 56˚ and sprinkling. With Mt. Washington being known for ‘the worst recorded weather in the world’ and the highest recorded wind speed of over 250 mph, we were skeptical of the conditions we would encounter on our climb to the heavens. As the time got closer to the start cannon going off, the weather appeared to be clearing toward the top elevations. But still, the weather has been known to change drastically (wicked fast) within a few minutes, so we were still a little hesitant to take off our under shirts, arm warmers, vests, leg warmers, etc. Eventually we did, and I think between the three of us, we shed about 30 lbs.

After the final pee and poop breaks before the start, we sat in our respective start groups with Ron and James in the second group, 5 minutes behind the elite group and Vern 10 minutes behind us in the fourth group. Watching Phil Gaimmon take off and sprint to the front of his group was INSANE! I can’t imagine holding that pace for the duration. I was still hoping to hold my projected 5 mph pace (seriously).
As for the climb, it’s hard to explain. I’m sitting here typing, trying to find the words. Imagine Sugarloaf not leveling off at the top, and extending almost 8 more miles with only about three sections of flat (around 15% grade) road extending about 25 feet each. It’s a little harder than that. Luckily, the weather was probably the warmest and sunniest in the history of the climb.

“How did we do?”, you may ask yourself.
“Did any of us walk?”, you may be hinting at.

Well, Mr. Palsgrove finished in 01:20:34 – 30th in his age-group
Mr. Penrod finished in 01:30:30 (right in line with his projected goal of 1.5 hours) – 51st in his age-group
Ms. Veronica ‘Bronzey’ Geist finished in a very respectable 01:34:23 – 18th out of ALL women, and 3rd in her age-group!!

OK, enough about the ride, now I can talk about MY GIRL!!!
THIRD PLACE BABY!!!
What a ride!!

I think we were all sitting around at the awards ceremony after filling our bellies with the complimentary homemade turkey dinner (with all the fixin’s and all homemade) just waiting for the ice cream to come when they announced Vern’s age group finishers. We all just paused for a second, not thinking any of us had done anything really spectacular by finishing this wicked pissa of a climb. “Did they just say Veronica Geist?”. We all looked at each other in amazement….then let out a huge cheer for our Cycle-Logic, Florida flat-lander, climber!!! What a ride. And to think, she had been asking to leave for the past 30 minutes.

The conversation immediately turned to how we could improve her time for next year. Gears, training, wheels, new bike (of course, a new bike was her first thought). After that day, I think Vern had a little more torque to her cadence during our rides through the rolling hills of New Hampshire. I found myself lagging behind while Vern would stick to Ron’s wheel on even the fastest climbs over the next week. I, of course used the excuse of looking for Moose and Bear as we passed the scattered lakes and ponds, but the truth is, I just couldn’t stick to Bronzey’s wheel.

That girls is WICKED FAST!!

Two Cycle Logicians Become One

From behind the windshield of her car, Rachel Hallum spotted a spandex clad Roger Montes pedaling his bike. The year was 2005 and she knew then that the two of them would "ride" together one day. Rachel approached Roger and invited him on a bike ride and the rest, as they say, is history.

Although Roger has proven to be the better sprinter of the two, Rachel ascends mountains like an angel ascending towards the heavens...unfortunately for Rachel, they are in Florida and she rarely gets the opportunity to spank Roger (on the bike at least).

This relationship has now come full circle and the two have decided to take this union to the next level with...wait for it...wait for it...

AN ENGAGEMENT!!! That's right, young love has blossomed into a fully matured love. The wedding isn't planned until late 2009, so we all have plenty of time to save our pennies for that tandem bike we're gunna get them.

Felicitaciones from the Cycle Logic family!

Cycle Logic crosses the pond!

Dana and I returned Sunday a.m. from a Team goodwill tour of the French Alpes. Highlighted climbs include The Telegraph, Galibier and Alpe d' Huez.

While our group consisted of mostly fit club riders we did have an incredible 74 year old woman from Miami who has been racing all her life. Her name is Joan Paul and she knows more about domestic and international racing than anybody I've met.

Dana and I were the only group members that race ( except for a mtn. biker from Latvia) so we ended up off the front on most rides, particularly the classic climbs. The roads were incredibly beautiful and challenging but I know most of you motorheads are more interested in the statistics - so here they are:
(Disclaimer: We rode these climbs sight unseen for the first time after several hours of cycling to get to them so we are SURE we could have done better- yada, yada, yada - coulda, woulda, shoulda.)

The Telegraph - 12 k long - average grade 7.3 up to 9.8.
Time K-Dogg 55 minutes. Dana 65 minutes.

The Galibier - 18 k long - average grade 6.9 up to 10.5
This thing kicked our azs because of wind gusts of 40 mph.
Time K-Dogg 1.5 hours. Dana 2.0 hours.

Alpe d' Huez - 14 k long (plus or minus depending who you believe) Average grade 7.9 up to 10.5.
Time K-Dogg 58 minutes. Dana 68 minutes.
Pantani's time 37 minutes. Dude.
Side note: Dana's goal was to beat Sheryl Crow's time of 1hour 37 minutes. All the women in our group beat her except for Joan. Sheryl was no althlete it turns out.



Kerry
**click on images to view larger

Cycle Logic climbs Mt. Evans

G'day trendsetters,

Tal and I are officially the first CL'ers to climb to over 14,000 feet. With that said, Mr Duggan did the Mount Evans race last year although he wasn't a CL member at the time. Kerry's time also eclipsed ours... by a bit ;)

If you're ever out in Colorado, this is a must do ride. Elevation above 10,000 - 14,000 feet makes breathing difficult and speaking for myself, dizzy in the noggin. However, the suffering was all worth it for the photo :) and the hour long descent.

Tal and I were both a little under-dressed and froze our arses off but made it down
unscathed. Gloves are recommended above 11,000 feet - I ignored Kerry's advice :(

Ta ta from Vail, CO.

Jayson

Team Video

Rider Profile: Justin Pfaff

Leading at the break...
Making it all the way to the "Seventh Inning Stretch" of the Florida racing season, Cycle Logic team member Justin Pfaff, is currently leading the Florida Points Series for his age group.

Justin's eleven 1st place finishes have helped towards achieving his goal of winning the FPS at the end of the season. As a bonus, Justin's knack for winning races has also helped with his lead in the Florida Cup as well.

The awards for the Florida Points Series and the Florida Cup will be given out on September 20th at the Season Finale FPS Party following the Pinellas Park Circuit Race. The FPS party is also where Justin will officially receive his State Champion jerseys for his wins at the State Road Race and the State Criterium earlier this season.

Stronger than ever and armed with his new SRAM Red component gruppo (that he received for his 12th birthday in May), Justin hopes to continue his run at the title when FPS racing resumes this August in Jacksonville.

Already able to hold onto group rides with much older, faster and more experienced racers, it won't be long before this young gun is riding everyone off his wheel. Cycle Logic is sure to maintain a presence at the top of the podium for years to come thanks to it's youngest teammate, Justin Pfaff.

Stay tuned...

Team Ride Route

Full size version

Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Stage Race Report

by Mike Arena

July 3, 2008
Stage One: Individual Time Trial

The time trial course was 6.9 miles long, and fairly steadily uphill for the first 5 miles, followed by a fairly quick descent to the finish. I had a chance to ride the course the night before, so I knew what to expect. I had an early start the next morning (8:38:30), and got plenty of sleep, but not quite enough of a warmup. I opted not to borrow any clip-on aero bars, as I hadn’t trained with them at all, and was running a regular road setup. This might have been a mistake, in hindsight.

When I got to the starting ramp, there were gaps all over the place in starters – I didn’t have a 30 second man, and my one minute man was missing two people in front of him. I walked my bike up and tried to breathe deeply. The holder started squirming, and I nearly ate it before I even started.

The launch went smoothly though, and I quickly accelerated up to speed after, of course, posing for the five cameras lining the road just past the ramp. I hit the first hill entirely too hot, and nearly blew up before I reached the top. I dialed it back a bit (kept the heart rate down to 186) and kept going. I caught my one-minute man about 2.3 miles into it. I caught sight of my 2:30 man at about mile four. By the time we crossed the line, he was about 100 meters in front of me. I had closed in a bit closer by the top of the climb, but his aero bars and disc wheel (and legs too, I suppose) let him open it back up on the descent.

I kept it in the big ring the whole time, which definitely saved some hassle, but found myself out of the saddle twice, barely turning over 53x25 (I refused to dump it to the 27). All in all, I came in with a time of 19:46.08, good enough for 19th place, and I think possibly the best time for a non-aero setup. It felt good, and was a blast. Time trials are definitely in my future.


July 4, 2008
Stage Two: Road Race

The road race was only 46 miles long, but with a fairly large amount of elevation change. The staging area was in the parking lot of a ski resort, and went down a quick descent (started halfway down) into a hard right, which then rolled for a few miles, before turning and heading straight up a wall into the town of Princeton, taking a hard right, and continuing straight up out of the town for about another quarter mile or so. The road then climbed steadily up before rolling slightly and reaching the King of the Mountain points line (and also the turnoff for the mountain finish). I’m not sure about the exact elevation numbers (somewhere around 900 feet per lap), but my ears popped twice – once on the way up, and once on the way down.

I’ve never started with such a huge field of riders. I believe there were 130 or so. Straight off the bat, the race hit 40mph heading down the second half of the descent with a huge pack of nervous folks. By the time we got the first corner, I was on the outside and managed to keep my speed through the turn and make up about 20-30 spots to put me toward the front of the field, but still about 40 riders back.

The beginning of the race was fairly uneventful – lots of dropped chains, a few flat tires, but no major hang-ups. The first time up the wall, some guys at the front decided to push it and see who was there to race. It was a tad nerve-wracking having 130 guys all out of the saddle and rocking their bike at the same time, but everything ended well enough. The pace picked up as people were gunning it for the KOM points, which I gladly sat in and watched them rack up – conserve, conserve, conserve. The first time down the hill was fierce, easily hitting 57-60mph. I was tucked fairly well and trying not to touch the brakes. Thankfully, they’d opened up the entire road for this part of the course, so there was plenty of room to move around.

I stayed toward the front for the next lap, and found myself sitting about three back for the second time up the climb. A friend on Cambridge Bicycle’s team (and the race leader at the time) was out in the wind, so I offered him a wheel to follow and paced him up the climb.

The third lap read much the same; surges everywhere, faster on the ups than the downs, a few chain drops, a few flats. The wall was starting to hurt a bit (as if it didn’t on the first lap…) but it was still manageable and I was still feeling incredibly good. That is, until we got to the descent.

I’m not quite sure as to the cause, but my chain popped off the ring to the outside just as I was getting up to speed down the hill. I tried not to panic (difficult when things are going wrong at 55mph) and attempted to shift it back on. Somehow it became jammed between the small ring and the chainstay, and my cranks locked up. Uh-oh. I managed to barely come to a stop safely (of course just at the bottom of the hill) and quickly jump off and fix it as the field absolutely flew by me.

I hopped back on and used the little that was left of the hill to get back to about 45mph, but with the field still flying, it was useless. I made the decision to give it everything to try to get back on, as the first few rollers were generally recovery time in the pack. The smart thing to do would have probably been to ride tempo to the finish, climb the mountain, make the time cut, and race the next day. I’ve never said I’m a smart rider. I kept seeing lines of stalled traffic at the top of every hill, giving me hope that the pack was just over the next roller, and I’d be back on in a few minutes. Not the case. After about six miles of chasing at my absolute limit, I hit the wall and quickly realized the folly of my ways.

Never before in my life have I hated the sound of clapping and cowbells so much. I barely struggled up the hill, nearly falling just before the corner. By the time I got to the KOM points line, I was toast. There was a delightful rock pit on the side of the road where I single handedly won a cookie-tossing contest. With only two miles and 700 feet of climbing left, I was finished.

Given another chance, I’m sure I’d make the same mistake again and try to chase back on with everything I had. If I’m not racing to win, I’m not really racing.

Support for local racer

There is a HUGE 5 day juniors stage race (The Tour de l’abitibi) held in Canada (40th annual this year) at the end of July that has been touted as the largest junior stage race in the world, and is part of the UCI Juniors Nations’ Cup.

Two of our fellow Central Florida Cyclists have been invited to attend as members of the Florida Velo Development Team (Jimmy Page of Citrus Cycling and Will Willis of ASV/Gold’s). Obviously this is a HUGE opportunity for these guys as well as the rest of their team plucked from South Florida (Preferred Alliance) and North Carolina (Hincapie) as these guys will be competing against 26 other teams from around the WORLD (including the USA National Development Team)!! This international competition is considered the most important development road race of its category. It is also North-America’s most difficult and longest in duration and distance.

Obviously, traveling and supporting a 5 day stage race takes some funds, so Citrus Cycling is holding a benefit ride (metric century and some shorter distances) to help these guys pay for their trip the weekend after Independence Day. It would be great if we could get a bunch of us to show up and support these guys and ride alongside the future legends.

I’ve attached some links that explain the race and the benefit ride below.

floridacycling.com

TourAbitibi
(click on the English tab at the top right if you cannot read French)

Citrus Cycling

Team Armada


JP/CL

They're Here!

The long-awaited, much anticipated photos from our trip to the Tour of Georgia. There are many many many photos, some may seem like duplicates, but this slideshow was generated by compiling the photos from three different groups of people.

A large amount of work went into trying to add captions and descriptions for most (at least the fist half) of the pictures...so make all the time spent on this stupid thing worth while by reading a few of them.

If anybody would like a high resolution version of any of the pictures in this slideshow, contact the team and we'll work something out for $20-$30/photo.

Enjoy the photos by clicking HERE
-OR-
Go to www.5count.com/ToG-Gallery/

Catching Up

Be sure to scroll down our blog to find new additions, announcement and results. We have also updated some older posts with great photos thanks to our resident pro, Gerry Bouchard. We've been lax in our updates and have recently made a concerted effort to bring you back up to speed, "Catchup", if you will. Some entries of note:

• Stolen Bikes!!!
• State Road Races, Age Day and Category Day
• New Member: Tal Mincey
• Sugarloaf photos by Gerry Bouchard
• A State Crit report by Scott Pfaff
• Photo Slide show from the trip to North Georgia for the Tour of Georgia

STOLEN BIKES

This past weekend, two of our teammates had their bikes stolen. Below is the original email from our very own Rachel Hallum regarding this heinous act.

Hey everyone,

Last night Roger and I had our bikes stolen from the Turkey Creek area (off Hwy. 441, near Alachua). Some jerks literally ripped them off our roof racks.

The bikes are a silver and black CANNONDALE SYSTEM 6 and a black and white SPECIALIZED TARMAC EXPERT with red handlebar tape (both are between 49 and 52 cm; I can't remember the exact frame sizes). The Specialized has a couple of scratches on the top tube. Both of them are missing their front wheels, and the Cannondale is also missing the back wheel.

PLEASE, if you see these frames anywhere, or if someone tries to sell them to a local bike shop, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

My number is 386-956-9231.

Roger's number is 352-870-8600.

State Road Race Championships-Age Day

photos by Gerry Bouchard
It was once said, "To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain....at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you're missing the essence of the sport." -Scott Martin

Members of Cycle Logic confronted pain this past weekend on the beautiful State Road Race course surrounded by horse farms in the Ocala area. Saturday's races were reserved for all the age-groupers and Cycle Logic made it to the podium on more that one occasion.

The Juniors 10-12 race once again saw Justin Pfaff step up onto the top of the podium as he took his second State Championship jersey of the year (ed. Justin also won the State Criterium Championship back in May).

Kerry Duggan, Ken Sallot, Rob Robins, Tal Mincey and Scott Pfaff were the other brave teammates to vie for a State Championship crown.

The veteran, Kerry Duggan, had no problem keeping pace with a deceptively strong 45+ Masters field to finish in the lucky 13 spot for his 50-54 age group. In the 30+ Masters race Ken Sallot got caught behind a gap in the peloton and was forced to venture forward solo. Despite having to race the following day, Ken drove it hard to the finish for a respectable 39th on the day.

Competing in the same race as Sallot- Rob Robins, Tal Mincey and Scott Pfaff were left to fight for position in the field while some of the fastest men in the state forced the pace at the front. Tal's first experience in Masters races proved to be a successful one as he was the teams top finisher in the ultra competitive 35-39 age group. Tal finished 12th and more than proved his worth as Cycle Logic's newest teammate. Rob Robins continued to show his great form as he slotted in just two spots behind Tal for 14th.

Still in the same race, but competing against the 40-44 year olds, Scott Pfaff pfinally reaped some glory after sewing the seeds of consistency all year long. Racing against these same guys week in and week out proved to be the advantage for Pfaff as he knew the wheels to watch in the closing laps. Staying close to the front and giving it everything all the way to the line resulted in Scott's first ever podium finish as he placed 2nd in his age group!