FLCC> Fitchburg Race Report

[Matt Plumb]

 Howdy FLCC,

I'd like to say that my 4 week streak of bad luck has ended but then it would only be a 3 week bad luck streak and I'd be a liar.? After a solid, not superb, TT yesterday I woke up today feeling great and anticipating making up heaps of time on the ascent of Mount Wachusett which I've lived not to far from from several years and climbed (and skied down) many times.? However, as with recent weeks, for whatever cosmic reason it was not simply not to be. 

?I woke up around nine, ate an excessively large breakfast and chugged Cameron Cogburn's forgotte (and delicious) thermos of coffee for his drive out to the 9 a.m. start of the cat 3 race. It's okay, rest assured he had at least 5 cups before I woke up.? Shortly thereafter I jammed my bike, cooler and gear into the back of the car and made for the feed zone on the top of 'the wall' on the road race course to make sure Cameron, Andy M. and Frattini didn't die of dehydration in the ~50 degree downpour before starting my own race.? After several other notable but lengthy-to-describe events (including letting an also mechanically unkarmic Mr. Frattini draft off my mom's car), Brian Lawney, Don S. and I signed in and rolled out to the start of the cat 2 race among 110+ other starters.? After leaving the start area and rocketing down part of the ski lodge decent, things got started quickly and dangerously as the large field oscillated between stringing out with early attacks and bunching up and causing foolish collisions as the breaks were caught along the very narrow roads on the lower part of the course.? By the time we reached the feed zone wall I'd crossed bars some, heard lots of cussing and metal scrapping the pavement but thankfully managed to avoid hitting the deck. However, by this was sitting pretty deep in the field and wanted to avoid future, inevitable fiascos so I stood up and hammered a bit to make up some spots.? By the top of the climb I'd been hit in the head with a thrown (full) bottle and had to ride on a curb and around some cones but was in a much more comfortable spot sitting about twelve bikes deep.? We made our way relatively uneventfully along the ridge back towards the mountain, sprint points line and the start/finish to the wicked 60mph decent past the ski lodge.? In spite of? having gone down it many, many times no words can give the anxiety provoking nature of the decent in the Fitchburg RR justice.? It's not at all technical but a straight, steep 1.5 mile plummet exacerbated to a mildly 
horrifying cascade of cyclists.?? More of the same occurred on the second lap lower part of the course although I had the luxury of not having to bunny hop and slalom around fallen riders being further up in the peloton.? It was at about 2 miles out from the second lap the I noticed an ominous sound coming from the left half of my bike.? After a bit of trial and error and noticing a creeping burning sensation in my left calf/ankle I knew what the problem was.? My pedal had frozen up on the axle.? After another couple miles including the climb through the feed zone, the pedal was all but fixed.? My leg seared and the pedal screeched like nails on a chalk board.? Emphatic to my gastrocnemius and peroneal muscles, as well as the ears of my compatriots, I dejectedly threw up my arm to accept the inevitable.? The follow car, not surprisingly, could not cater to my need for speedplay pedals and dished out spare bikes only for riders to use with their own pedals.? 

I sat on there on guard rail at the side of the road for a bit, staring into space and feeling pretty crummy.? After a brief granny gear ride back to my family and friends in the feed zone to commiserate and throw things, due to the comedic relief of Frattini (clad in mustache and inspector gadget hat, flower skirt and all) I started feeling a bit better.? In closing, I poured three months worth of time, energy and resources to race well in June and specifically at Fitchburg and came up with nil in terms of results. However, on the plus side, I'm as fit as I've ever been and have vastly enjoyed the process.? I had wins in my legs but some (errr, okay, real lots) of hard luck.? Whatever. I don't regret it one bit.? Time for a little bit of R&R before booting up to race in August and for cyclocross season.? So to that end I'll see you all Tuesday night (in two weeks ;)? ).? I've got a smile on my face.? Fried seafood on the beach and some hiking in NH instead of a couple stages.? Catastrophe yields opportunity some times I suppose. 

Best of luck to Brian, Don, Andy, Cam and Steve-O whom I'm sure will give em' hell in my absence. ? ?  

Yours truly, 

Plumbob. 




 


Matt Plumb
Ithaca College '09 

Ride like you stole it.
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