EFTA's Weeping Willow

A handful of DAS racers took the starting line in Ipswich, MA Sunday for the Weeping Willow race at Willowdale State Forest.  With this being the farthest drive of the season (so far) at a little over 2 hours, it meant leaving pretty early for those guys and gals racing in the Sport category at 9:30 am.  Representing DAS this time around were Liz Bove, Matt Danis, John Hanson, and Liz Allen.  

The race had required registering in advance because of its popularity and lack of parking, and it was capped off at around 400 riders well before the registration was officially scheduled to close.  DAS had been fortunately tipped off to this in advance and told that it would be a fun race to head out to.  The rumors held up; the course was fast and fun.  

Liz B - courtesy of Michelle Packer

Liz B had a podium finish once again in a stacked field.  This race brought out a lot of female racers, which is not always that common in mountain biking.  Here’s her take on the experience:

Women's Sport - courtesy of Michelle Packer

“Weeping Willow was a course that suited me well. It was fast, flowy and not very technical. Since the women's fields are so small, we all started at the same time. In the Root 66 series, I'm familiar with many of the racers by now, but in this race there many new faces and I couldn't be sure who I was racing against. I got off the start in 2nd position. At the second section of single track, a woman who looked crazy fast (yes, I judged a book by its cover) got in front of me. She got caught up a couple of times, each time I tried to get past, but couldn't. The third time she fell I was able to get around her. We were about 3 miles in and I led the first lap from that point on. My reaction to being in the lead was to ride scared. I was anxious and trying to look behind me often. This made me push harder than I probably should have. 

Liz 1st Place - courtesy of Michelle Packer

For a while I think I had a sizable lead, but soon into the 2nd lap, Kyla caught up to me. I knew Kyla to be a very fast rider, but also in the younger category. We stayed together for most of the 2nd lap with Kyla leading. With two miles to go, we had been caught by two more women, Haley and Amanda, when I wiped out. Now all three women were in front of me as we headed into the final stretch together. I didn't know what category Amanda was in, so I passed her, only to be passed by her, Haley, and Kyla respectively. It was an exciting finish with all four of us passing and being passed in a short distance! I was relieved to learn that Amanda was also in the younger category and I had taken first in the 40+ Cat 2. 

I had a great time racing and really have come to appreciate the camaraderie of the super cool women that race!”

John H has been working hard the past few weeks.  With only two races under his belt and bike that weighs a good 5-10 lbs more than the competition, his attitude is admirable:

“I came with a plan to race my own race. I didn't worry about the hole shot and aimed just to keep them in sight. Everything worked out great! Came through the first lap with plenty of legs left. Made a couple of passes stick through most of the second lap in spite of two minor crashes. But at the very last section of single track I had a really good crash that took it all out of me. The frustrating part was losing all the places that I had moved up to, knowing I had enough left to hold position. But in writing this while sitting in the doctors office waiting for x-rays, I’m smiling remembering how much fun it was. Looking forward to coyote hill. I’m hoping for some better luck so I can see the hard work pay off.”

Matt made his debut this week racing a geared bike for the first time this season.  He raced his singlespeed at his last two races.  Another guy with a commendable attitude despite results that he wasn’t completely ecstatic over:

“A bad day on your bike is better than not riding at all. That's what I am going with today. The course at Weeping Willow was fast and flowing. I however, was neither. If the goal was to suffer, then it was a complete success.”

Liz A lined up with 5 other elite women for what was certain to be another leg ripper.  Unfortunately, she had her first, and hopefully last, DNF of the season:

“I should have known better than to go into the woods with no tools again.  I’m done with that.  Regardless, it wouldn’t have made a difference even if I’d had the proper supplies.  I was basically about 2 miles in when I noticed my bike was steering a little off.  In fact, I thought something was wrong with the fork at first. When I finally allowed myself to look down, I was devastated to see my tire had lost a lot of air.  I kept pedaling while I really let it sink in.  In retrospect, that was probably a terrible idea because then I had even farther to walk out of the woods.  I also think the flat had started before I’d even really gotten going because my bike felt awful from the very start of the race.  Anyhow, I spent some time cheering on the racers that had started after me as I made my way back the way I’d come.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, (I’m not really sure about this one yet) I came across a guy who was patiently waiting for a medic to escort him out of the woods.  He’d hurt his hip and couldn’t get up, but he offered to give me CO2 so that I could ride faster to get him help.  On my way back to get help, I actually encountered the help who were already on route to the poor guy, so I didn’t feel bad when my tire started getting flat again, and I had to slow down.  By the time I’d made my way to timing van to drop out, the elite men had already started coming through to start their second lap.  

It was a huge disappointment, but I knew that even if I’d been able to put air in my tire, it’d only have gotten me a little farther, and a tube would have been nearly impossible to get in with the tight-fitting Ardent I use on the front.  

When I got home, I found that the rim tape had a puncture in it, and it had probably been there awhile.  There was sealant caked around the hole, and I’m guessing it was a problem just waiting to show itself.  Unfortunately, it cost me a fun day of racing.  On the plus side, I got to watch Karen Potter kick some butt, and I got to cheer on a lot of my friends who were racing while I caught up with some other friends.  It turned out to be a great day!  I even scored some loot from the raffle!” 

The results of the race can be found HERE.

The next race on the agenda is Root 66’s Coyote Hill Classic which will probably be the farthest drive of the season at around 4 hours away.  It’s a fun course, and it sounds like it will be well-attended by team DAS. 

The Battle at Burlingame, May 6 2012

photo by Amy Biscup

On Sunday, May 6th, a few DAS racers headed over to Burlingame, RI for the first ever Battle at Burlingame classic mountain bike race.  The Burlingame Time Trial a month or so earlier was in the same park, but the courses were entirely different.  The Battle was a ripping fast circuit that had a little bit of everything: bridges, roots, berms, wide open flats, short punchy climbs, short steep descents, and a nice ridge line full of rocks.  With it being around a five mile or so loop, the different race categories did everything from 1 lap to 6 depending on their level of expertise.  

Due to time constraints with a hectic work schedule, John Y raced the novice singlespeed category at 9am which turned out to be an impressively fast group of men.    As soon as his race ended, he was off to New Jersey for business.  There’s nothing like squeezing in a little racing where ever you possibly can:

“The Battle at Burlingame was an after thought race and ended up being the most fun I've had racing since my duathlon days. I had dropped down a class to "novice," which in this case only meant distance (10 miles), as I raced my singlespeed, and the singlespeed was an "open" class (any skill level). This race probably would have gone differently if : a)I hadn’t been hung over and b) I had ridden my singlespeed at all within the months before the race. I literally took it off the wall, put some sealant into the tires, pumped, and loaded the bike onto the car. So, I was under-geared. And hungover. 1st and 2nd place simply walked away from us (gearing) as I furiously spun my cute gear and battled for third with some guy (henceforth known as Mr. Poopie Pants. Mr Poopface Poopy Pants. Mr.Poopface Poopy Pants III esq,). Pants sucked my wheel for the first lap. I'd gap him, attack, and gain some time, then run off course (twice), and he'd latch back on. The course was fast and fun BTW. So going into lap two, I had 10 seconds or so on him. I screwed up a section of wooden bridges, and he caught up. I let him pass figuring that since I lose him on the flats, I'll just follow him and try to drag race him up the rise to the finish. Plus, I was tired of setting the pace. Well, I not only screwed up the bridges but I really screwed up a technical ridge section so bad that I lost sight of him. Already red lining, I went ludicrous speed after Poopface Pants the Stupid Head. At this point I actually started tripping on lactic acid. I actually almost caught up to the dude but I was at my limit. I came around one of the last corners which was 90 degrees into a log and stopped dead. Are you F'in kidding me? I crossed the line 15 seconds back. Poopyhead turned around to thank me for a great challenging race, that it was most fun he'd had in years. I half listened, pitying him for clearly being less endowed than I. I spent the next two days being bitter to Supidheadsmallweiner but I realized that it was all my fault, I handed him the race. I'm over it now and have forgiven myself and Poopface Poopbreath IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou.”

Something tells me that in us waiting over a week to post this write-up, John has not forgiven himself or Mr. Poopyhead.  

At 11:30, Dan and Liz A lined up for the expert and pro categories.  For a first time race that didn’t count towards any sort of points series, there was a very respectable turnout of fast racers.  The whole day was extremely well organized, and it was obvious that a lot of work had gone into the setup.  It will, undoubtedly, be a venue that will see more and more racers each year.    

After haggling all week over whether or not he would race, Dan finally decided to sign up for the Expert Men’s group, and he did well:

photo by Amy Biscup

“The Battle at Burlingame is a long race, 27.5 miles for cat1. To make up this many miles they had us do five laps. To many people it is an easy task to count up to five, however when you are at your max anaerobic threshold for 2 hours, it becomes quite daunting. To make sure I did not miss count, I put tape on my bars, every lap remove one, this is how I rolled! The first lap was the normal ‘wish I knew the course and warmed up, blow up sprint.’ I was going to try to stay on Shawn Mottram’s tail but got quickly dropped as my heart rate went through the roof. I settled in 3rd place for a while until I picked up a stick that proceeded to slightly bend my rear rotor! I stopped on the trail as my good friend John Sumner passed by. At this point I felt a little out of the game. I started up again with my breaks rubbing and squeaking feeling the drag. Then, miraculously, my pad contact let out and I had no drag! I started hammering. At some point I must have passed another guy and I caught back up to John to finish 2nd. It was a very fun course, a great amount of single track. For me the parking lot crossings were the most challenging! On the last lap I went the wrong way off the course for a few seconds. Had to turn around and ride back and watch as John was closing the gap!”

Photo By Meg Dineen McMahon

Liz A arrived at the race knowing that she would have at least one woman to race against in the Pro Women’s group.  Jena’s bike issue from the previous race (broken frame) had derailed her plans to head to Delaware for the AMBC race, so she was able to race Burlingame instead.  It was a pleasant surprise to have Karen Potter show up - she’s an unbelievably talented and hardworking ultra endurance racer.  Not only that, but Susan Lynch, the Cat 1 racer who usually beats Liz, decided to race the open category this week.  There might not have been a huge field of competition, but it was a fast and talented one:

photo by Amy Biscup

“I took off with the group and maintained contact for most of the first lap.  It seemed like the technical sections were saving me from losing site of them because that’s where I usually relax and do what I’m good at.  It was the flats and the slight ascents that were killing me.  I really don’t have any road legs yet... as I’ve whined about previously... I know that’s my weakness, so I just have to suck it up and push harder.  I had my usual mental crisis during the 2nd and 3rd laps, but somewhere during lap 4, my pity party ended and I started feeling like it was time to race.  Too bad that I’d let myself get so far behind.  On the final lap, I saw Susan below me on a section of singletrack, and I knew I could catch her if I just left all I had out there in the dirt...  that was the incentive I needed to ride recklessly.  I took off, and there was no stopping me... except there WAS stopping her...  her chain snapped on one of the short punchy ups.  I was a whole lotta ticked off because my motivation took a quick dive.  After that, the thought of her potentially catching me again kept me sprinting the last few miles to the finish.  

I finished strong, which makes me think that I could have gone harder earlier on.  Oh well, there’s lots I am learning about my racing style, and there’s lots I need to improve.  Every race is a new learning experience.  I just need to stop making the same mistakes over and over again... I’m looking forward to Weeping Willow on the 20th.” 

Lungs Open? Massasoit...

The weather on Sunday was magnanimous after last week's Cat 1 soaker.  MAGNANIMOUS!
It was sunny, cool, dry... all the things you want for a fast race in a place with a lot of roots.  The course was perfect, and even the sandy sections were packed enough that high speed could be maintained throughout.  We had a blast!  There were some good things and some bad things, but overall, lessons were learned, and we can't wait for the next race!

Here are the results...

Dan Biscup:

"Its a public service announcment!:

Yip, yip, yip, what does that mean?! So I am a fast rider… or so I thought! I have to hand it to the CAT1 field, they are ridiculously fast! I got to the race with just enough time to pedal up and down the road onetime and get in line. Needless to say my first lap was my warm-up. My race started in a pace line for the first half lap, I ultimately fell off the back expecting to “real them in” somewhere in the middle of lap2. Lap2 came and went, there was no reeling. 40+ and single speed pro peeps proceed to pass me and I was in the void, alone, franticly peddling. At some point I started singing TV commercial songs. The oddest thing was I was riding fast, so fast that I could hardly keep my bike on the trail, pushing as hard as I could! I finished 4th from the bottom, 2 DNFs and probably a guy that had a worse day then me! I will say from what I could see on the results board the whole category came in within 10 minutes of each other, I was not too far back on this long of a race. I am a mountain biker and truly enjoy riding no matter what the results are. There are lame people out there that yell stuff from way behind you (like 4 turns back) to break your concentration so you will slow down and they can catch up and pass. To me this is absolutely bad sportsmanship. If you feel that you need to yell “yip, yip, yip” for 10 minutes while you finally catch-up and pass, you are in the wrong sport."

Liz A:

"The women’s Pro/Open field has been pretty stacked this season.  There are some smoking fast veteran racers as well as some girls who have made the switch from road and cross over to mountain biking.  It’s intimidating.  Honestly though,  I’m happy to race against them.  I might be coming in at the back of the pack (ok, it’s DFL), but I’m not that far off the back.  This race was fast and furious, and right now, I just don’t have it.  I can get myself up to a pretty steady speed of fast, but that’s it.  There’s no top end that I can dig into at this point.  It’s early though.  

So, my start was really good.  I got into the woods fast, but I only held myself up there for the first mile before the rest of the girls pulled away.  Less than halfway through the first lap, I ran into Jena Greaser with a mechanical.  I found out later that her carbon fiber frame basically fell apart, but when I saw her, it reminded me that I never put any tools in my pockets.  Oops.  Glad nothing happened.  Somewhere during lap 2, Susan Lynch (Cat 1 35+) passed me.  I was hoping to hold her off longer than that, but no such luck.  She’s an animal.  A little later in lap 3, I saw her kit ahead of me and got excited, but it was one of the men who had started ahead of me.  I crashed on the final lap and bounced myself up quickly - I can’t even use that as an excuse for a poor time.  Luckily, none of the other Cat 1 women caught me, but I am willing to bet their times weren’t far behind.  

Overall, it was a really fun race, and if anything, it was just what I needed as far as training goes.  I’ve been avoiding road training (mostly due to time constraints), but it’s clearly time to get my slow butt out on the pavement once in awhile."

Tracy:

"On the start line I am thinking it will be important to get out in front right away because as soon as you hit the woods you are bombarded with single track, roots, bridges and more roots. This isn’t what actually happened but, that was my thought process anyway. At least I wasn’t last entering the woods I would say I was probably mid pack. I luckily was able to pass a few girls and was ahead of a crash that took my fellow team mate and friend out of the race  :(  Glad she didn’t get hurt; the bike is easier to repair. I am glad that I did get to pre-ride this course and found that helped me out a lot. Overall I liked the course it had some technical areas but, it was fast. Other randomness; Mountain bike courses are not really spectator friendly and that is okay, because I don’t feel so bad when I drop the F bomb. Luckily I don’t drop the F bomb to often. Okay knee pads, yes I wear them and without knee socks they are very noticeable in pictures. O well, good thing that all the kool kids wear them. Hahahah and yes I think I am still recovering from the amount of dust I inhaled during that race."

John Y:

"Frustrating result yesterday due to chain skipping on the rear and dropping off the front. Oh yeah, lost my hydration 1/2 hour in. Turns out my rear wheel was cocked in the frame (thanks to Le Velo for noticing!)and trashed front chainrings. I think I may switch back to singlespeed until the Specialized Gods smile upon me. I felt great, I loved the course, I was hanging with some good guys pushing past my comfort zone (a good thing) and not making mistakes but when your on your limit keeping up and stop dead several times, you're not catching back up. One of these days I'll put together a race more indicative of my potential."

John H:

"Race recap.... I thought this course was way more fun than hop brook; it was way more technical and fun to ride. My first lap, I rode every obstacle - less that last hill - but on my second lap, I found myself running when I had to to conserve some energy, I was fading fast. Fuelled by my disappointing finish at hop brook, I hit the weight bench harder, hit the trails harder and longer, and integrated some road rides into my weeks. I was happy with my results (not DFL) - mainly because it showed my hard work is paying off. As always, I found that just about every fellow mountain biker was really nice. All in all, I'm smiling knowing I crossed the line with nothing left and surpassed the goal I had set for this race. To the rest of the DAS team, thanks for helping me train and steering me in the proper direction."

Liz B:

"I chose the wrong time to try to pass another racer less than 2 miles in. We both went down. She was able to get up, but my handlebars were twisted and I couldn't untwist them because the brakes were stuck in the carbon. DNF. 

I'm focusing on the things I learned from the experience. It's all part of racing."

(Sidenote... for those of you out there reading this blog, this is NOT part of racing.  If someone is ready to pass, and they have initiated a polite motion to do so, you should let them pass.  This is especially true if they are faster than you, in another racing category, or you are riding really sloppy in front of them.)

Crystal:

"Let me just say, it's a really good thing pant suits are now acceptable for women to wear in corporate America...My legs look like I was thrown off a 3 story building! Even with 5 laps of the course under my belt this year, I struggled to stay upright during the race. I even managed to face plant while off my bike. I've realized my fitness is too far ahead of my technical skills at this point, as my body's race pace ≠ the speed at which I can keep my bike under control. Guess that's why most people learn to mountain bike before racing mountain bikes, but then again I've always been a little backwards!"

Rich had a spectacular race.  He found himself finishing on the podium in 2nd place.  Tracy also rocked a podium finish in 2nd!  Nice job this week!  

Winding Trails - Farmington CT - 4/22/12

From desert dry to monsoon muddy in an afternoon...


The majority of our racers raced the Cat 2 races on Sunday.  There were some firsts: Crystal took the leap up to Cat 2 this week and finished strong despite a crash, Matt hadn't raced from a group start before, and for some, it was the first race in the rain.  The beginning of the Cat 2 race started out bone dry with loose sandy corners, became packed and tacky from a little bit of rain, and eventually got a little slippery towards the final lap.  The Cat 1/Pro race started out with nice packed dirt, but it quickly become a slippery mud-fest.

As always, Winding Trails brought out some tough competition.  It's usually a course where the roadies and cyclocross racers feel comfortable and come out to play.  They usually do well, too.  For DAS, Liz Bove and Tracy Gustafson raced their way to the podium with 2nd and 3rd place finishes respectively.  Overall though, it was a rough day for everyone.  The results are up...

Photos courtesy (or stolen gratefully) of : this wicked cool person on photo bucket...

Liz Bove:

"Winding Trails lived up to it's name!  I'd been told it was a "roadie" course and so expected it to be more fire roads and with small sections of single track. That winding single track with all it's tight corners and close trees was tougher than I'd anticipated.  Here's how the race played out for me: I was able to get to the front of the pack at the start and passed a few women to take the lead early in the first lap.  Just as I thought to myself: 'Oh no, what have I done?  Can I maintain this?' a stupid mistake on my part set me back 7 spots. By the end of the second lap I was able to get back to the front with the leader in sight . I started the third lap right behind her.  At this time the course was wet, each slippery root and slick log doing its best to throw me. Two succeeded. I didn't handle the conditions nearly as well as the racer in front of me and she easily increased her lead, winning by nearly a full minute.   Still, I'm happy with my 2nd place finish because I know I gave it my full effort and I'm proud to have pushed myself to come back from the early setback."

Tracy Gustafson:

"At the starting line I noticed 2 things WOW, there are a lot of girls with the Specialized Fates and that my HR was only 80 a big improvement since my last race. Well my start was pretty crappy I think I was 2 or 3rd from last. However, there was plenty of places to pass or be passed. The course was defiantly not technical; don’t think I saw one rock. Overall I enjoyed the course and feel very grateful that the first 2 laps were rain free with the 3rd lap starting to get a little slick, but from what I understand was nothing compared to what it became after our race."




Crystal Gauvin:

"I'm starting to think winding trails hates me, or more specifically the downhills there. For such an easy "roadie" course, I seem to manage to crash a lot. Last year I went over the handlebars in the first 200 yards of the race. I was coming down the first hill, saw a log at the bottomed, squeezed my breaks and that was it. Unfortunately, this year I was more confident, made it about a third of a lap in before I was screaming down a descent and hit a sandy patch at the bottom that took me right out. Bike landed 10 ft away with the handlebars twisted and by the time I was back on the bike riding, I had fallen to dead last by minutes. Mentally I basically gave up at this point, and the rest of the race was just battle within myself to finish. DFL for my first cat 2 race, guess I can only improve from there!"

Rich Gauvin:

"I wasn't really sure what to expect coming into this race. I prefer courses with lots of climbing and winding trails is anything but that. 24 people lined up for the start of my race. After an awful start I sat about 15th going into the first single track. I immediately realized that the pace being set was unlike any other cat 2 race I have ever been in. Knowing I wasn't going to be able to maintain that speed I tried to recover for the last third of the first lap.

Laps two and three felt pretty good. I was able to pick quite a few people off and my legs were felling better and better. With about 5 minutes to go in the race I caught another rider in my class and sat on his wheel for the remainder of the singletrack. I really did not want this to come down to a sprint finish so I decided to go as hard as I could for the last few minutes of the race. Every time I would go to pass he would block me in a corner. Growing very frustrated at his choice of tactics I went around him on the outside and put the hammer down as hard as I could.  The move stuck and I put 18 seconds between him and I at the finish. Overall I was happy with 8th out of 24 as I was less than a minute out of 3rd."

Ray Insalaco:

"Standing at the starting line waiting for the start, it didn’t feel like 15 years since my last MTB race.  I was surprisingly calm, which is not normal for me before a race.  The plan was to go out, have some fun and with a little luck keep the bike upright until the finish.  

John was lined up next to me so I told him I would take one for the team and crash early in the race to give him a clean course since this was the only race in the Root 66 Series.  Being the nice guy John is though, he said he would.  I never really thought he was going to though.  Who says there is no teamwork in mountain bike racing!

After a little bumping and pushing on the first little climb everything kind of fell into place and I just found a nice groove.  I gave up a couple of positions on the first lap and picked up a few on the last two laps.  At the start of the third lap the leader from a group that started after us caught me and we pretty much rode the rest of the race together.  Finished in the top half of the field and just under the time I was targeting, so mission accomplished."

Matt Danis:

"WT was my first experience at a group start style race. I was really anxious to see how I would do, especially in the ss class. The 5 pre registered riders turned into 17 at the starting line. I hung toward the back of the pack at the start. I found pretty quickly that I could separate myself from the back half of the group. I managed to pass 3 or 4 guys in the first lap and didn't really see them again. I also realized pretty quickly that I was not going to get anywhere near the lead pack, as I didn't see any of them again after they turned into the woods. After lap one I never really saw another ss guy, so I raced alone. I felt strong and consistent. I passed, and got passed by, my geared counterparts. I don't know that there was anything I would have done differently. It was fun and I was satisfied with my finish (8th)."




John Young:

"Rode bike. Rode face. Rode bike slower. Finished."

Liz Allen:


"Before we lined up to start, the Cat1/Pro field was given the heads-up that we would ALL be doing four laps.  Pro was supposed to do 5, but with the impending rain, they cut it back.  I was initially disappointed, but that didn't last long.

Well, I finally had a decent start, felt great on the first lap, and I was ready to start stepping it up a notch for the next three laps.  Unfortunately, somewhere during lap 2, the conditions took a turn for the worse.  The water started to work its magic on what had been a fast and nicely packed course.  I immediately went into survival mode: rode slow, did not drink (osmosis seemed to be doing the trick as there was plenty of water in the air and nutrients in the dirt on my skin), and I focused on trying to generate as much heat in my body as possible without crashing.  


I can't say I gave up, because I definitely thought about just riding to my car and changing without finishing, and I was NOT going to do that.  I decided that finishing would probably be good enough, and somehow, on lap 4, I go my mojo back and started to ride fast.  Sure, it wasn't pretty, but I rode like it was a race in the sections that I could.  I guess I did what John did, only I left out the part about riding face and managed to throw a tiny little sprint onto the end to make myself feel better..."

Bunny Hopbrook MTB Race

Sunday, April 1st brought about the season opener, Bunny Hopbrook, for New England’s Root 66 Race Series, and DAS Racing had great turnout all across the boards.  What’s most exciting is that there were more female racers for the team than male - a first for us.  Not only that, but the women were all showing off their Specialized Fate 29ers.  Racing at all different times made it impossible to get a picture of the four, but we’re hoping to get one sooner than later.  

What’s nice about this race was that it was in-state and only 1.5 hours away from us.  Also, it’s had a history of being cold and wet there on race day.  In fact, it’s at a dam, so there have been sections that were close to flooded.  Sunday’s weather was as good as an early April race can get, as long as you don’t think about the crazy spring weather we were spoiled with two weeks ago.  It was chilly, but the rain held off until we were on our way home.  

The day started off with the Cat 3 racers at 9 am.  As Liz and John were driving into the park, they saw Crystal coming up through the woods to the road section, so the cheering and howling started right then and there (of course, Rich was already there for support).  She looked strong, serious, and fast.  Wow!  There was definitely a new-found confidence with the mountain bike that she brought to Hopbrook and she was on a mission.  

After the race, Crystal summed up her experience:

“1) Loved the course, especially the climbing... it was just technical enough to keep me on my toes and building confidence, but nothing super technical that broke me down.

2) I need to work on the down hills; I was getting smoked on the descents.

3) Overall, I’m very happy with my results and can't wait for the next race!

4) I wish we would have done 3 laps instead of 2.”

Crystal finished strong in second place. She’s looking forward to Winding Trails on April 22nd.  

The Cat 1/ Pro field lined up at 11:30 for their race.  While Cat 3 did 2 laps on a slightly shortened 4 mile or so course, the rest of the racers for the day were scheduled to race on a 5 mile course with Cat 1 doing 4 laps and a little over 20 miles, and Cat 2 doing 2 laps and a little over 10 miles.  Lining up at 11:30 for the Cat 1 men (30-39) was Dan Biscup.  It was his first official race as Cat 1 in the 66 Series.  

Dan’s experience:

“Hop Brook dam, or a better fitting name would be, “hop brook hill climb” starts the first race in the root 66 race series. As this was my first round in cat 1, I was quite timid and started dead last. After the first few climbs, I noticed that this race was just like all the others, and with my confidence restored, I started to pick people off as soon as I could. With a 5th place finish out of 11, I feel great. One of the best parts of racing is the friendly competition. On the first lap, I passed a guy that passed me back on lap 3. I felt quite defeated, but then I really started to dig deep. On the last lap, I was able to reclaim my spot and make the pass stick. Also I would like to note, as the competition in cat 1 is quite intense, there are guys like Shawn Mottram and Bob Stine that are class acts. They really encourage the racers and promote the sport!”

Liz A lined up for the women’s pro race next to 6 fast women, most of whom have been quite accomplished in the off-road cycling world for quite awhile.  For a total of 7 women to show up in the pro field this early in the season, it was exciting and a little out of the ordinary.  

Liz said: “Knowing that I was racing against some of the fastest women in the area wasn’t the scariest part for me.  The scariest part, was the gravel road that I knew I’d have to transverse 4 times. Lining up with those girls was actually more exciting than anything.  I knew that I could only give it my best effort.  It’s early in the season, so as long as I’m not too far off the finishing times, then I can’t really complain.  I went out with my usual less than stellar start and hung on for as long as I could to some of the leaders, but I never feel strong on the first lap, so I kind of faded as they pulled away.  By the third and fourth lap, I felt strong on everything except the climbs.  They were killing me.  It was kind of sad, but kind of funny at the same time.  I know where I need to put my work in now; I knew I needed that going in, too (HAHA).  In all, it was a great start to the season, and the course was really fun!  There were some sections where the speed was unreal, and I just went with it. I can’t wait for the next race!”  

Liz finished 6th out of 7 and was within 10 minutes of the leader at a time of a little over 2 hrs and 5 minutes.  

Cat 2 held the bulk of the DAS racers with Rich in the men’s 19-29, and Tracy and Liz B in the women’s 35+.  Tracy, just coming off her first season of cross racing, was eager to give mountain bike racing a try.  Liz B had done some cross racing last season and the time trial at Burlingame the previous weekend, but the experience of lining up in a pack of mountain bikers was exciting just the same.  

                                                                                                Tracy’s experience:

“This being my first mtb race, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I anticipated I would love it, and I was right. Most of my fear about racing (as I am sure other peeps fear as well) was about keeping the bike upright and not sucking. Then I decided, so what if I suck? The more I thought about it, who really cares if I come in DFL. Would my friends or family think poorly of me, stop liking me, will anyone even care? Probably not. So my goal was to keep the bike upright, push myself and have fun. Now for the play by play. Standing on the start line, I may have been a bit nervous or had to much coffee, since my heart rate was 120 YIKES !!!! When the whistle blew, I took off, and yeah, I wasn’t last pulling out of the gait, however, this was to soon change. After coming around a corner, I had 2 choices: take the high road or the low road. Since making snap decisions is not one of my strong points, I went for the high road then changed my mind and then went for the low road. Now I am pretty close to being last starting up a single track hill. All I can stay is cluster F***. I managed to get on through and eventually passed some peeps during the first lap. Then on to the second lap, you would think I would know the route by now HA!! I took a wrong turn shortly after passing 3 girls, but luckily I realized my mistake before I got too far off track. Now I had to try to re-pass the same 3 girls. For those of you who know how directionally challenged I am, this is probably of no big surprise, and you’re probably saying to yourself I can’t believe she didn’t get lost on the first lap. Now to sum it up, I had a blast, rode with some very cool peeps, pushed hard on hills and flats, road within my limits on descents and rocky sections and most importantly, kept the bike upright.”

It sounds like Tracy’s first mountain bike race will not be her last.  She ended up on the podium in third place!  

Liz B’s experience: 

“All the Cat 2 Women started at the same time, and I got off the jump pretty far back. We were bunched at the very first climb, but once we got to the road, I was able to pass a few women. In the field, I passed a few more and was feeling good. That climb was brutal; I only made it about halfway up and ran the rest. Once the climb finally ended there was a rocky downhill at the bottom of which I took a trip over the handlebars. On the second lap, a guy told me I was in third! I kept pulling 2nd in and then losing her. I finally passed her and learned that she was in the younger age group. I never saw first; she was long gone out of the gate. I am very happy with my second place finish. I loved racing with the Fate. I think it made the climbs less brutal than they would have been on the FS 26. It was a cool way to spend the day: family-friendly and really awesome people everywhere.”

Liz’s entire family went out to race.  Her husband Dan also gave it a try and seemed to enjoy himself, although the course didn’t seem to like him and left him unable to finish due to numerous flats.  Regardless, he felt strong out there.  Liz and Dan’s boys got to race in a pretty technical kids race too.  They both had a lot of fun.  

Rich had a great start.  Throughout the race, he’d worked his way to around 4th place, but sadly, a mechanical took him out of the running for the podium.  He was feeling strong and racing hard, but Rich says, “[the chain] Broke with a mile to go. Unfortunately, that mile was flat or uphill, except for the last tenth of a mile. I did have to scooter the finishing straight (HAHA).”  Crystal and Liz were waiting at the finish line, and they knew something had happened when it was taking longer than expected for him to come through the finish area.  When they saw him, he was disappointed, but he didn’t let is show as he used his leg to power through the finish area skater style.  Even with the mechanical, he didn’t finish last.  

Racing newcomer, John Hanson came out for his first race ever.  On a 30lb full-suspension bike, he was in for a beating with all of the climbing, but he said he was flying past people on the descents.  He finished his first race and is looking forward to beating himself up some more with the heavy bike so that he can really dig into a new level of speed.  

Above all, the day was a huge success.  Everyone was smiling and happy as they gorged themselves on bread at Bertucci’s on the way home.  Winding Trails, here we come!

Season Opener: The King of Burlingame Time Trial

Wow, what a day. The weather forecast was calling for a 70% chance of rain and cool weather. Lucky for the racers, it remained dry and the course was in prime condition for a fast pace. DAS racers had a blast. Liz Bove made her debut at mountain bike racing with a 1st place finish in the Sport (Cat 2) category. Liz Allen made the podium in 3rd place for the Expert-Pro (Cat 1) category and Dan Biscup raced his first Expert race ever. Also finishing with good results and smiling faces were Ben Burdick and Matt Danis.


When asked what she thought of her first mountain bike race, here's what Liz Bove had to say:
For my first race, I was nervous and excited. I had no idea what to expect. What I got was an initial 15 minutes of nerves and anxiety. I questioned my choice to ever race. Once I settled into a rhythm I felt much better and pushed it. I was 2nd to go off for the Sport group. The woman who went off 30seconds behind me passed me on her rigid single speed by the time we hit the first wooden bridge. I had her in sight until I missed a turn on a large, flat rock face. I quickly got back on course. I passed her when she got a flat on the fire road. After the initial technical section I felt good on the faster, flatter terrain. I was suprised and very happy to have come in first. Now I think about all the points where I could have pushed it more so that I had a greater margin than the <1 second that separated me and 2nd place. I can't wait to do it again. Yup, I'm hooked.


Ben "Burnacky" Burdick sounded like he was was pleased following the race: "What can I say? It's a great race and I love the TT format. Love when you catch up to another rider while keeping in mind others are doing the same to you. My goal is the same in every race. Push myself, don't come in last and be able to go to work on Monday. Now its time to up the time in the sadle. Longer races are just around the corner."


For Dan, the step up to Expert was a chance to join the ranks of some of the fastest men in New England. Those guys pulled in some seriously fast times. I had a great time at bgame. The new course added a new technical section that at race pace is quite challenging. The weather called for rain and a high of 50 but we were spared and the conditions were excellent! This year I have moved up to Cat 1 and had no ongoing traffic on the course. I passed one guy and no one passed me, that’s always a good thing! We rode an extra lap after the race so we missed the time announcements, but it was such a great day we had to keep riding!


Matt Danis raced his rigid single-speed 29er: I felt realy good and recovered well after the tough rocky stuff in the first half of the race. Single speed racing was an education for sure. I had a flat issue and stopped to add air, which luckily did the trick vs a full tire change. 18 out of 25 in sport, but my time would have gotten me dead last in novice? Did they do a different course or am I racing out of my league?


No worries, Matt. They did a different course. For anyone looking at the results at EFTA.com, the novice racers had an easier shortened course than the expert and sport category riders. Overall, the day was a success. The t-shirts for the even were pretty awesome; they featured the race sponsor's signature W. E. Stedman image of the guy decked out in his gold crown, gold necklace-watch, and sweet stache.

Pre-season update

Team DAS is getting ready for the 2012 MTB season to get under way.  Luckily for us New Englanders, it's been a mild winter so we've all been able to ride outside quite a bit.  While indoor training can be efficient, we ultimately ride our bikes because we enjoy riding our bikes!!!

The girls managed to coordinate matching bikes.  Not on purpose, but it happened to work out that they were all hankering for 29ers this season and DAS was able to provide the perfect bike in all of their sizes. So far, it sounds like they are all very pleased with their Specialized Fate 29ers.

Two weeks from today starts the season off with the King of Burlingame Time Trial.  A few team members will be kicking off the racing with this one, but the week after that is the Root 66 series' Hopbrook Dam Race where most of the DAS racers will be tearing it up.

There's lots to look forward to this season. Racer Dan Biscup has finally conceded to the idea that he should be racing Cat 1 this season, and it is likely that Rich Gauvin will be soon following.  Tracy Gustafson gave cyclocross a go last fall, loved it, and did well; she's ready to tackle mountain bike racing this season.  Team manager and racer Crystal Gauvin has secured a GU sponsorship for the team, and we are all really excited about that.

Keep checking back here for all of the updates on how our races went and any other news we have to share!