Road Rage in Rhode Island

Okay before I explain today's misfortune, I would like to thank my team for leaving me swinging in the breeze out here... Numerous requests for additional contributors have gone unanswered... Numerous updates sent via the team Yahoo group have barely caused a blip on the site's traffic. So... effective very shortly, the title of this blog changes to something else of my choosing, and it may as well because for it to be called Union Velo blog, there needs to be interest and participation from the rest of the team. The list of my esteemed sponsors will remain in the sidebar, no matter what. Enough said. You all had your chance. Suggestions for the new title?
Today, this evening, I am riding home from work. It's 6:00 or so and I'm on Main Street in West Warwick, approaching Fairview Ave, only 1/4 mile from my house.. There is a long line of cars building at the stoplight. I'm passed by a small pick-up truck (surprised?) driven by a man of large age (and girth). He presses his vehicle as close to the curb as possible, trying to block me from overtaking vehicles stopped at the light. This annoys me, and I think to myself "What would David Schwartz do?" Never one to miss a chance to speak his mind.. and rightly so most of the time.. I unclip from my right shoe and squeeze in between said truck and the curb to tell the driver what I think of his behavior. The second I peered into the cab and met his glare, he laid on the horn, scaring the wits out of me. He's also swinging his arm toward the sidewalk, as if to say "Get off the road!" I detect the precariousness of my position and surge forward, in front of the elderly rage-a-holic. I'm now directly in front of him, and he surges behind me, horn blaring non-stop. I have a legal right to be in the lane because I am about to turn left onto Fairview, the arrow is green. He follows me through the turn and continues to surge and harrass and taunt me with his vehicle, his fist and his horn. I had his license plate memorized before ever seeing his face. When he saw me pointing towards his front tag, he knew the deal and sped around me and up Fairview Ave. I turned onto Maple Avenue, where I live. I got home and promptly called the police to report the incident. An officer stopped by an hour later and heard my side of it, took down the plate number. He promised me to pay this fella a visit to inform him that threatening me with deadly force (his truck) is criminal... That's my story.
This is a typical story I think, and I wonder how many of us actually call the police under such circumstances. I have to admit I was afraid, and it wasn't long ago that I was T-boned by a car in Cranston and hospitalized...
I have to ask my fellow cyclists, would you have avoided this confrontation (stayed behind the truck without passing) or would you have done as I did and tried to communicate? Needless to say, I never used a swear word or any obcene gestures, just received them. Another question: Would he have threatened me if I was elderly, or if I was a ten year old kid, or if I was a woman? I want to believe 'no', that there was discrimination involved, because the thought of him exploiting [his perception of]weakness in such a situation makes me want to vomit. This person was looking for a fight and chose to deliberately provoke me from the second he went by and shut down my path. Your comments appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Bob Beal Criterium etc

As it turns out, I completed yesterday's time trial in 7:12 which was good enough for 21st place (out of ~30) The times in my age group ranged from 6:06 to about 7:50. Since I did this full "cannibal" I'm not being too hard on myself for failing to break the 7 minute barrier (my goal was to beat 7:30). I nearly caught my 30 second man and the guy behind me made up only 7 seconds on me. Finishing one place out of the points was frustrating; would a disk or clip-on bars make such a big difference? I think maybe 15-20 seconds, at best. I resolve to find out next September.
Today's criterium went fairly well. I was nervous, stressed and pissed off at the start- our toddler "Reis" (yes it's pronounced "race") has a mild fever and was miserable from the moment he awoke. Of course my wife wasn't too happy about my refusal to stay home, and they came along. Understandably, no one was smiling... We raced in tandem with the 30-34 field, starting about a minute apart. As predicted by one of the 35s at the start, we caught and passed the 30-34 field. THAT was a little bit hairy. Two riders got away and stayed away until the end. I was put into difficulty quite a few times, but stayed very close to the front- it's so easy to get gapped at Ninigret and then blow your wad closing the gap while fully exposed to the wind.. 24 riders finished the crit, and I gave it everything in the tank to get 12th and bag 9 points... good enough for 18th overall. People were crazy stupid on that final sweeping bend, and a few of us had to squeeze the brakes and/or swerve to avoid hitting the deck.
In the road race yesterday (I know I'm out of order here) I felt pretty good, especially on the rollers at Kings Factory Road. On the last two laps I was very active and went with a few moves which were reeled in quickly. On the final lap I drilled it up the hills at the very front, maybe to force some kind of selection, but did little but string the field out a little bit. The final sprint came way too soon because I was trying to both move up and shake the red-line effort of the hills. Sprinted my ass off for a disappointing 17th place finish, and 4 points.
Great event, beautiful weather, well organized and safe venue. Had lots of fun and made a few new friends, including Gewilli from the Providence Bike team. Didn't get to meet FnFoley but spied his results today- 3rd overall! I'm envious but inspired to get better, especially at sprint positioning and time trialing.
I've added a Flickr account with all of the pictures my dear wife took of the 35-39 crit. Check them out.

Jonathon Dechau: Cat 1 cyclist killed by motorist in Western New York

It's lucky that I found this information, as I was just browsing the Bike Forums website that I just joined tonight. (check the link to see the outpouring of anger, regret and condolences to this tragic event) Jonathon was a very successful Cat 1 competitor in Western, NY; Rochester area to be exact. While I never knew him personally, I know that we have a lot of common friends - in the year he started out racing (1989), I was president of the Genesee Valley Cycling Club. The scary part is that I've trained on the road where this accident occurred.

Cyclist Killed Near Rochester, NY By Alan Cote
Every cyclist's worst fear was realized for Jon Dechau on the evening of September 13. Dechau,
33, was killed after being struck from behind by a motorist. The accident occurred in Lima, New York, about 20 miles south of Rochester.
The Livingston County sheriff's office said that Dechau was riding westbound on the shoulder of
route 20 approximately two feet to the right of the white line.A sheriff's spokesman said a westbound vehicle driven by Sharon Cameron, 61, crossed the white line and struck Dechau from behind at approximately 45-50 mph, and Dechau died at the scene.
Cameron could not provide an explanation to police as to why her vehicle drifted from the travel lane to the shoulder. She freely submitted to a blood test as part of the accident investigation, and police do not believe she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Results of investigation will determine if charges will be filed against Cameron.
Dechau was a champion cyclist who began racing with the Genesee Valley Cycling Club in
1989. His cycling accomplishments included winning numerous medals at the Empire State Games and State Championships, competing in the 2000 Olympic trials, and two top-20 finishes in the US National Time Trial Championships. In late 2000 signed to ride as pro for the ill-fated Noblehouse team, before turning his attention to family and work in more recent years. A man of deep Christian faith, he leaves his wife Debbie, 9 year old son Tyler, and new born baby (Lillian Page). Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Please click on the title of this message to be directed to the GVCC site where many pictures of Jonathon can be viewed. Jonathon's Cycling Team, JW Dundee's Ales & Lagers has a blog where some very heartfelt comments are posted by friends and team mates.

Bob Beal RR and TT Result

Kurt Loell in RR: 38th
Steve Senne in RR: 27th
Murat in RR: 17th (woo-hoo 4 points!)
Mike Shireman: I looked for your name on the results and didn't see it there! Did you race boss?

More RR details later, after the crit is over. Time Trial results were not posted when I sped away to get home, so I'll see how I did tomorrow morning before the crit at 12:00 noon. For now I'll just leave you with my pathetic TT result of 7:15 (using nothing aero whatsoever). I'm wringing my hands wondering if I beat ANYBODY with that time. Average heart rate was 182, and the sight of those two pylons at the finish was such a relief that there were tears in my eyes... But on the bright side- I almost caught my 30 second man, and no one caught me! Not even the full aero/disc/helmet dude who started a minute behind me.

The one-two Astana punch: Kazakhstan Rules!

Very happy to see two guys from an unlikely country, dominate a European event in Spain. Also happy to find a crumpled up $10 bill on the Cranston bike path this morning on the way to work... (I too, fisted the air) Rain forced me to drive home, which is why I keep a car at work and one at home... Nothing but rest for me until Saturday morning... May the sun god Apollo prevail. This rain is a real buzz-kill.

A group of riders evade a media motorcycle during the 17th stage of the Tour of Spain cycling race between Adra and Granada September 13, 2006.
(SPAIN)13 Sep 2006 REUTERS/Victor Fraile

Bob Beal Masters Weekend, Tom and Vino

Union Velo will have a total of four riders in competing in this weekend's Bob Beal Masters Weekend event: Michael Shireman(40-44), Steven Senne (45-49), Kurt Loell (45-49), and myself (35-39). Looks like I'll be all alone in the 30-39 field... kind of like at Wayne Elliot. Where is everybody? Rick? Rick? Jay? Michael?

Online registration was supposed to close at 10:00 pm tonight, but has been extended to 9:00 am Thursday. I signed up at exactly 10:00, thinking I missed the cut. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Hey how about that Tom Danielson and Vinokourov today?!?! Does Tom seem to have a beer gut? No surprise that Vino took time on Valverde.. It was inevitable. Right now easyodds sports betting give Vino 1/4 odds and Velverde 37/20 odds of winning the final GC. Whatever that means. If I were a betting man, I'd be "all-in" on Vino.

Maxim Magazine's 20 Most annoying Things in Sports

Yes I have a subscription, but the October issue I just received ranks "Cycling Apparel" as the 7th most annoying thing in sports, and I'm offended. To wit:

"Spandex was meant for two kinds of people: drug fiends trying to win the Tour de France and American Gladiators. If you're neither, just put on some regular shorts."

David Schachte: Planet Dirt Report

This weekend the gang was out at the “Daytona” of MTB racing. Hingham, MA was the site of the Landmine event with a short track on Saturday and the cross country on Sunday. This course always brings out more racers to mix things up.

The star for Union was none other then Ben Corbalis who took 1st in Saturday’s short track and 1st again in Sunday’s cross county!!!!!! Way to go. At this rate he should be going into Cross Season ready to do it to it. Schachte tried to mix it up Saturday in the pro/expert field but as usual the Gear Works guy came out and he settles for a 6th.

Beside Ben getting the double, Scott S got more points for a 5th place finish while J.C. took home 2nd in his expert class. Nice going J.C. Our new man in the expert single speed, Roger Wharton, got a nice 3rd place finish while our old man Ray Martin took another 1st. Ray will be donating all of that swag he has been getting.

Schachte was able to at least get the final spot as for as points are concern with a 10th. Two races left to go.

P.S. Speaking of Cross, you better get signed up for Gloucester Grand Prix! It is filling up fast.

-schachte

Michael Andelman: Topsfield without any top gears

Topsfield was grand. I felt grand. My three plus (retail) grand bike broke which was not quite grand. Yes, my derailleur cable, misspelled and tattered gave way to forceful shifting. In turn, as mentioned before, the cable snapped, leaving me to contend with fast speeds in a 39-14 (39-12 was not an option due to metal against metal grinding). Pedalling at 155-169 rpm kept me in the frayed cabled frays of the pack along with my non-responsible decending.. with five laps to go, I dropped back from thepack and drafted the wheel support vehicle until I was "yelled at" by offficials. Yet, another official; her name is Sandy said, "Honey, finish." And I spun spun spun along to the finish
In Dead Last but not Abandoned,
Michael D. Andelman
avec broken frame and all..

Wayne Elliot Result

To avoid turning this into my own personal racing diary, or rather, to avoid perpetuating the trend, I posted the story of my Wayne Elliot adventure over at Amerikan Turk. I'd ask for a race report from the rest of the team, but I was the only one there! (at least at the 30+ event) Whatever the rest of the team did today, I hope it was a blast. Full results

Topsfield 411

Such a full day it's been! Suffice to say that after racing at Topsfield, we found enough to do in the Boston area that we didn't get home until 9:00!
Topsfield was a blast. For me a test, because it's the first road race I've tried since 1995, in which my out-of-form sorry ass was summarily dropped by an elite field in Izmir Turkey... The road race prior to that: 1988 or 1989 Endless Mountain Road Race in Binghampton NY, where 2nd place was taken by none other than 16 year old George Hincapie. I've stuck to crits because of an aversion to long hills, and because I'm built for short fast bursts of speed. At any rate, I pre-registered for Topsfield not knowing what to expect, other than the "rolling hills" which were touted on the race flyer. To me, it's not a real hill unless you're in the little ring, and today's race featured no such climbing. Man was I relieved after lap number one. The rollers were really easy to get over, especially from the nose bleed section where I took shelter. I have to admit, I felt completely out of my element the first few laps. It felt like an over-sized Wompatuck, where the next bend is out of sight and you're cornering only because the dude in front of you is beginning to lean left or right.. The unpredictability of those first few laps kept me close to the back of the field. Once I became more comfortable with the twists and turns and descents, I moved up a bit, but never once did I contribute to the overall speed- I never took a turn at the front. For this I'm not proud, but hey I did what I had to do to survive the assault on my nerves. The last thing I wanted to do is waste energy and blow my wad and end up riding solo off the back... Whatever... in the end I achieved my goal of finishing the race, and I did it using more brains and less balls. Eleven laps and then an uphill finish up a side road.. With one lap to go, I gained some position going into the final corner. Was able to hold good speed taking the inside line, somewhere in the top 30... Then just as I'm getting out of the saddle to wind it up, someone decides to swing wide left without any regard for those about to blow past him (me). Completely took away my speed.. When he peeked and saw me (after the swerve) he yielded a bit to let me by and I gave it everything those last 50 or so meters, passing about 10 guys in the process. I thought I broke into the top 20, until I realized that four riders had already finished ahead of us, putting me in 23rd place, out of 67 finishers. I could have done better, there was lots of gas still left in the tank. Sitting in and sucking wheel all day, it comes as no surprise. I think that getting hooked like that in the sprint cost me at least ten places. I guess I'm happy with the way I fought and gained position in the end. What I regret is being so damn skittish and nervous for the first half of the race.
As for our speedsters Matthew Kressy and Michael Andelman:
Matt finished in the money with a 10th place (6th in the sprint)
Michael had a mechanical problem- a busted cable- and was forced to quit with about 5 or 6 laps to go.
Me- 23rd
Full results

Calvin & Hobbes: Biker Dad Cartoons

Cross-posted from Amerikan Turk. Click the title. These are pretty funny.

Have you seen this bike?

Click title.. especially if you're a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes.

Sanchez Barely Wins Breath-taking 13th Stage

I'd be grinning too. Reading the Velonews live update window had me on the edge of my seat, especially at today's finish.

Wayne Elliot Criterium

So far, it looks like we'll be represented by our mates Kurt Loell and Michael Shireman.

Union Team headcount for Topsfield Road Race

We have Matt Kressy, Michael Andelman, and myself and that's as far as I know. If you're in and I don't know it, add a comment below please. We may have a few guys doing the Wayne Elliot Crit or Wells Ave on Sunday, but the forecast calls for rain...

Do patch kits have a certain shelf life? I got my third flat today, in as many weeks, and I just can't seem to get my patches to hold air... The patches I tried to use were bought two Mays ago... Very glad and lucky I was also carrying a new tube with me tonight.

ASTANA again!

Here we go again! No I'm not referring to Astana's 3rd consecutive stage victory at the Vuelta... I'm talking about the Union Velo Blog having yet another entry by Yours Truly, while the majority of our club/team shows apathy. Hey, maybe it's me, I don't know. This site wasn't created so that I can just talk about myself... but until some other members start contributing, complaints about the content will be dismissed completely. Enough said? This little site could be a lot more engaging if there were about 5 or more people willing to post a weekly article or race report.. I will persist no matter what because I firmly believe that in a year or two this 'blog is going to be very popular with the New England racing community... Mark my words.

"Things are going well for the team," said Paulinho, hailed as Portugal's best prospect since José Azevedo. "We've won two stages with Alexandre (Vinokourov) and now we're going to try to win this Vuelta." Read the complete Velonews report by Andrew Hood

"Labor Day" ride, Vino, and Kazakh trivia

When I left the house this morning at 6:30 am, it never occurred to me that I would crack 100 miles of riding... 25 miles to get to the shop, 46 miles with DaveS , Dave S, Raymond, Jose, Alex, Billy.. and the in-line skater guy whose name don't know (yes I should be slapped for that, but $10 says he doesn't know my name either), then another 30+ mile ride to get home. Remarkably, I didn't cramp at all until mile 103, just a few minutes away from my house. I'll admit: I lengthened my ride a little bit at the end to make sure I broke 100 (99 miles would have been upsetting to my OCD). That I did, racking up 103.9 miles in 5:21:25 (100 miles were covered in 5:08:30) Needless to say, the leg muscles are over-cooked and tender, and I wonder if this much riding in one day is a benefit or a detriment to form and speed. I hit the split timer on my Polar when I arrived at the the shop, and again when I left it to go home. Here are the average speeds for the three phases of my ride:
25 miles to shop: average 19.7 mph (avg HR 143)
46 miles with Union team: 20.2 mph (avg HR 150)
32 miles from shop to home: 18.9 mph (avg HR 153)
Clearly I had a tailwind on the way to Attleboro, and a headwind riding home to West Warwick.
It was a good day to be out on a bike, especially with other riders for a change. Doing all of my training solo is getting to be a draggggg. You know you're bored when you stop and scold little kids on the bike path for going helmet-less.
In other news, 'Vino' won his 2nd stage in a row yesterday... I wonder if he's offended by Borat. (I hope not- the Kazakh government is suing Ali G for these parodies) According to the latest Velonews headline, Vuelta is now Valverde vs the Kazakhs. I'm not so sure... but Vino's stage 9 victory was quite convincing. He tends to get stronger as the race progresses, especially after winning. As for Kazakhstan, did you know it occupies an area the size of western Europe (1.05 million square miles- 9th largest country in the world) and has a population of only 15 million? ASTANA is also the name of the Capital of Kazakhstan. Thanks for reading.
PS: The original and correct "Labor Day" is actually May 1st according to The Anarchist Library.

Rain Will Persist Through Sunday

Wells Ave is no doubt cancelled for tomorrow, but Monday's report looks pretty favorable. I'm glad I logged 60 miles today in anticipation of Sunday being a rest day. Missed the team ride from the shop today by a couple of minutes, but it's all good. Had a superb ride of my own with no regrets. Today I salute Vinokourov for a crafty win in the Tour of Spain. It appears there is no OLN coverage of the Vuelta this year, and I sure wish I could see some of the action. Full Velonews report of stage 8 can be found here.

Polar Statistics for 2006

As the sun begins to set on the 2006 road racing season, I checked my Polar HRM charts and reports for some year to date totals. Being such a solitary rider (down here in RI) makes me wonder how my training program differs from others in the club or on the team... Check this out:

Hours in the saddle
Total= 166:16 (First ride was on March 26th) Average/Week= 7:13
In 2005, I rode for 169:41 hours thru 9/1, and covered 200 fewer miles than this season, same period.

Distance covered
Total= 3056 Average/Week= 133
(Average would be higher if I wasn't hit by a car! Took 2 weeks off in July)

Time in HR zones
121-140= 33:31
141-150= 33:05
151-160= 42:17
161-170= 31:18
171+= 18:42

That about sums it up. If anyone besides me uses a HRM and uploads the data daily as I do, it would be great to hear some feedback, compare notes, etc.

The next couple of days look like we're in for a thorough soaking. Hopefully we can get a nice long ride in tomorrow before the rain starts. I'll be up at six and plan to ride to Attleboro, into 25 mph wind gusts from the NE. Hopefully I can resist the urge to catch up on sleep. It's been a rough week.

Who's up for a nice long Labor Day ride from the shop? -Murat