Pat's Peak - Henniker, NH

Up in Henniker, NH on Sunday, June 10th, we were brought face to face with a mountain of a challenge, literally.  Pat’s Peak Mountain Bike Festival had it all.  The ski-resort was full of fun; there was a down hill event, a 24-hour event with 12-hour and 6-hour options, and on Sunday, there was a classic cross-country race which was also part of the Root 66 Race Series.  

Liz A and Tracy with some of our friends from the Providence team...

A mere 5.62 miles in distance, the race course itself boasted of 873 of vertical climb per lap, and this was the same course used for all of the cross-country events as well as the endurance events.  According to the Pat’s Peak website, “the course is a technical mix of single track, dirt, logging roads, switchbacks and downhill.”  They weren’t kidding.  The words “technical” and “switchbacks” are probably what might stand out most in the minds of the racers who gave it their all out on that course.  Leaving you little (if any) time to rest, the course demanded focus for technical lines, endurance for the long grinding climbs, and confidence for the long challenging downhill which was complete with some steep rollers and very challenging lines.  Many racers were comparing this course to Mt. Snow, a venue that had hosted national events in the past.  Some racers hated it, others loved it, but nobody can deny that it was a truly challenging course.  It was so challenging that the lap requirements for each category were brought down in number.  Cat 2 went from 3 laps to 2, Cat 1 went from 4 laps to 3, the Pro women went from 5 laps to 3, and the Pro men from 5 to 4.  

Many of the team-members arrived early in the weekend to cheer on participants of the longer endurance races.  Ray Insalaco was in for the 12 hour race coming in 4th with 8 laps, and Liz B’s husband, Dan had signed up for the 6-hour event and completed 6 laps.  For the two-person 12 hour category, DAS shop mechanic, Chris Ames and his sister (freshly graduated from high school and quickly thrown onto a bicycle without much time to prepare) took up the challenge of the mountain coming in 3rd with 8 laps.  

Sunday was the biggest turnout for DAS racers.  Racing Cat 2 at 11:30 was Liz B who took the top of the podium in 1st place.  In Cat 1 at 1:30 were Dan Biscup, who finished 6th, and Tracy who took the podium in 3rd, and Liz A lined up with the Pro/Open finishing in 2nd. 

Dan Biscup:

“Race, good.  Wrong turn, bad.  6th place.”  

Tracy:

“This was a challenging, but fun course. I felt pretty good out there but, have much work to do. I have to work on nutrition prior to the race as well as getting more comfortable with descents and my overall technical skills. I am starting to feel better with the longer races but, still haven’t quite got it all down. Overall I had an awesome weekend with great friends.”

Liz B:

“After pre-riding the course on Saturday I seriously doubted registering for Sunday's race. It was a very technical course with a good deal of new single track that I couldn't ride. I was also doubting whether or not I should race anymore at all. My problem is how anxious I get before and during a race. So after talking with friends and teammates I decided to register, but to go in relaxed and be happy to finish regardless of place. My goal was to take it easy enough that I could smile throughout the course. (I didn't want to see any more of those ugly pictures of me gritting my teeth!) To be honest, I really didn't think I could do it. 

The course rode much better on Sunday thanks to drier conditions and the very well defined lines created by Saturday's endurance racers. I was in 4th position off the start and comfortably staying with the three women ahead of me. This gave me the opportunity to see that they were all walking the technical stuff. The four of us stayed bunched up for the first mile or so. Gradually, I passed each of the women as we were on the wider trails and fire roads. I kept telling myself 'relax, don't push, keep smiling'. I finished the first lap feeling great and in first position of all the women. Kelly, from the younger age group passed me shortly into the 2nd lap. I didn't see any other women after that point, so I continued with my game plan of taking it easy and not taking any chances. It worked! I had more fun than I've ever had in a race because I wasn't anxious. I didn't crash once and the photos show that I was smiling! I was very happy to finally get to the top of the podium for a Root 66 race.”

Liz A:

“I went into this race thinking that I wasn’t ready for all of this climbing, and it’d be good training for the world cup race at the end of the month.  I didn’t realize that the course would be so technical; it used to have a lot more fire roads and a lot less fun stuff.  I revel in stuff like that.  I’m pretty sure that I was grinning from ear to ear on that crazy downhill with all of its steep rollers and tricky lines.  

So, I started off conservatively, but I could see towards the top of the mountain when I got to the singletrack that I had a lot more speed in my legs than I thought I would.  I had rode most of the way up with Jena, who ended up dropping out with brake issues, and as soon as I realized that my legs wanted to go, I took the pass and went with it.  There was no catching up to the leaders, or as it turned out, leader, but as I came through to start the last lap, I was told that Mo wasn’t that far ahead of me.  In the end, I found out that she was 8 minutes ahead of me, but I’ll take it.  Second place felt good.  I must be learning to do something right because I felt tolerable during the race, managed to push to limit many times out there, and still felt good enough after the 3 hour drive home to wash my bike and do my laundry.”


Did we say challenging?  In case we didn't, it was challenging.  

Domnarski Farm - 3 June 2012

On Sunday, June 3rd, a handful of team members found themselves in Ware, MA for the Domnarski Farm Race - another from the Root 66 Race Series.  According to Matt Domnarski, there were record numbers of racers, even with an EFTA race going on in nearby RI.  For DAS, it was a tough choice.  Both courses are usually a blast, but it was all of the climbing and descending that really made the decision for most of the DAS racers.  With a bunch of ski-resort races coming up, it seemed like it would be best to get a jump start on the climbing.  

Pro/Open Women's Start - courtesy of Matt Domnarski

The cool part about Domnarski Farm, was that there was stuff for families to do while all the racers were out in the woods.  There’s a pond, horses to look at, and a lemonade stand with all kinds of goodies.  Not only that, but the port-a-johns were in the shade, the course was crazy fun, and all of the cat 1 and cat 2 racers were out on the course at the same time, so we weren’t there the entire day.  Oh yeah, and if you made the podium, you got cash.  What more could you ask for?

The Parking "Lot" - courtesy of Matt Domnarski

Domnarski Farm - courtesy of Matt Domnarski

Racing at 11:30 for two ten-mile laps was Tracy, Dan, and Liz A.  Shortly after that at 11:45, the Cat 2 guys, Chris and John, lined up for their one ten-mile lap.  Despite the high numbers of DNFs, all of the DAS racers were able to finish.  Tracy and Liz each made the podium in 3rd for their respective categories. 

Dan - courtesy of Matt Domnarski

Dan Biscup...  

“Domnarski farm is one of my favorite root 66 races. It has massive climbs, mud, rocks and skinnys, what else do you want? Last year at the .5 mile mark my seat post broke off. As I refuse to ever get a DNF I proceeded to race 9.5 miles standing up. If anything it gave people some in-race entertainment! So this year my goal was to complete and place in CAT1. My first lap was excellent, I felt great. I passed a person and was running 2nd or 3rd. On the last lap I felt over confident and being the cool guy I am, proceeded to jump over a rock garden section. I hit the jump hard but came down hard on the last rock. Almost did not cut it this time and my reward was loud “phssssssss” sound and a white stans cloud. I tried to get the remaining stans to patch with a co2, but it would not hold. I put in a tube but my backup co2 was spent. As I was about to start my 10 mile jog, Liz Allen showed up and handed me a pump, the race was back on! Finished last-ish. The numbers seem screwy as there were many DNFS. There were more people listed in the results than started the race so who knows. All I can say is I conquered D-Farm!”

Tracy - courtesy of Matt Domnarski

Tracy...  

“I was as usual nervous before the race feeling like I just may vomit, luckily I didn’t. Since we had a lot of rain on the Saturday before the race I was mentally prepared that it would be a bit slick and muddy. After the second long climb I was thinking I don’t know if I can do another lap and I may vomit. Again no vomit happy about that . When I got to the hill where the tree of death was located there was a rider at the bottom regaining his composure and a few other riders were walking down it. So I got off my bike and attempted to walk down, but I fell and slid down the entire hill on my ass, it was actually kind of fun. Then the bridge of absurdity was next, oh yes I walked that. There was several mud puddles that were like swimming holes and while I was going through them all I could think of was please don’t let a snake slither on by I will have a flipping heart attack. Let see other highlights I did make the 2nd lap and again did not vomit. I did see a snake on the second long climb, but be was belly up and defiantly dead so I was not panicking. I finished, had fun, got dirty, and even unzipped my jersey luckily this wasn’t UCI race or I may have been disqualified. One last thing, I am hoping that all the racers out there including myself have not traumatized the local porcupine that had set up residence out there.”

Liz... 

"I went into this race with the intention of redeeming myself after last weekend.  My goal was to start out at a comfortable enough pace to ride clean; basically, the course is technical and has some good climbing right from the start, so I didn't want to waste energy fumbling or getting off of my bike on sections that I should be able to sail smoothly over.  In a discussion at the starting line, I mentioned  that both of the lines on the first hill were rideable, so I was just going to sit and spin in an easy gear...  It seemed to work out well.  I watched everyone else dismount and run their bike up the hill while I made it up smoothly.   I wish I had passed one girl earlier when I had the chance. Unfortunately, I waited because I knew she'd be faster at climbing and flats than me, but my skills in the single track sections helped me out a lot, and I quickly found out that I would be better off just passing her.  With my slow start, I was able to gain momentum throughout the first lap, and by the second lap, I felt strong and fast.  Lesson learned:  take it easy, because I can certainly muster up the needed effort later on.  I think I could have probably pushed it a little harder earlier than the second lap, but I can't complain.  I wasn't DFL this time, I felt fantastic, and my time on the course was around 15 minutes faster than last year.  Not bad considering the course seemed a little more muddy this time."

Next Race:  Pat's Peak.  It's our first ski-resort race of the season, and the mountain is sure to challenge our CT legs!