Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

(Andy Melnychenko finishing the Pro 1/2 race at Hollenbeck)

Sunday I headed down to Virgil, NY for my first crack at Hollenbeck. This is probably one of the oldest races in Central New York. It goes back well into the 80s and is known for its hills and tasty treats that you get at the end. The Finger Lakes Cycling Club put on a great event which had a huge turnout.

The Cat 4/5 field which I ended up racing in had 65 racers which was a nice large field especially on the first flat sections just before the first tough climb. Noel Bonk gave some good advice on the race. He said that the key to the race is to stay with the group on the first climb. Easier said than done especially when I am still weighing about 220lbs. The first 5 miles were super easy pace. The pace was filled with mostly experienced riders, just one or two squirrelly guys to watch for, but nothing major.

The only problem was that some of the roads around Virgil, NY were not in the best condition after a long winter. The FLCC folks were kind enough to mark the major potholes with spray paint, but sometimes the road looked like a bunch of red lines everywhere. Too bad NY State decided to save some cash by lengthening the time between repaving roads from I think 5 years to 7 years.

I made it to the first climb like I barely even had to ride. The pace picked up and everyone was getting up the hill fast. I tried to go as fast as I could up the hill, but was losing positions. Finally I settled in with a few guys who seemed to be climbing my speed. We traded going past each other until we were near the top. I clicked up a few gear and caught one guy that was dangling about 100 meters in front of me for the whole climb.

One trick in bike racing is to not let up just before the top. Click up gear and pedal through over the top. You would be surprised that you could drop many folks by keeping up the same pace or clicking up a few gears while going over the top of the climb.

After the long climb my blood was moving and I felt good. The cold temperatures had me shivering at the start, but after a long tough climb I was ready to rock. I was not sure of the course, but I wanted to reel in as many folks as I could so I blasted through the flat sections. As I caught each rider, I would signal them to get on my wheel. One rider did get on my wheel, but then wanted me to slow down so he could pull. That made no sense. If you want to pull, get in front and we will paceline. If you want me to slow down that defeats the purpose. Before long he was far back.

I kept on reeling in riders little by little until I arrived at the next climb which is a false flat that leads to a brutal climb. I could see Bill Stitler just ahead of me and a pack of riders. Great I thought. I must be close to catching on. As I got closer I saw the wheel van pass me and I could see the colors. Lots of pink Terry Precision jerseys. Darn, that is the women’s Pro 1/2/3 field. Huh? I thought, oh they were doing two laps, so no worries. It felt good to almost catch them, but then the road kicked up and they were gone. And so were tow guys I caught earlier. After the climb I blasted into the big ring and caught back one guy. Then the Masters Men caught me. The break caught me on the climb actually, but just after a nice large group that contained Greg Low and Rich Jarvi caught me. They were going at a nice even pace, so I jumped in. This group helped me to catch the two guys ahead of me. I helped push the pace of the group. One RUUD racer attacked and I helped chase him down and keep the group together. I am feeling really strong on the flats this year. I rode in with Masters right up to the final hill. They all flew up, while I ground my gears up slowly. One of my Cat 4/5 competitors passed me back for the final time. The final hill is a monster, but I was glad to finish the race.

After that I was happy with my performance. I wasn’t as far back as I thought and some folks were impressed with my result. I finished in 52nd place in 1:10:51 for 22 miles.. Not bad for an extreme non climber as myself. If I lose ten or twenty more lbs then I will be right there in the climbs with the other guys.

MaxPowerCycling did well in the race with Steve Sloan finishing third in the Cat 3/4 race. Andy Ross was an animal in that race chasing down breaks and keeping everything together to setup Steve for the final push up the hill. Great work by both Steve and Andy.

Greg Low, Dave Faso, Andy Melnychecko and Brian Blake did well in their respective races. For some of the guys it was the first time out, so nothing like cold weather and hills to get the blood pumping.

After my performance I am half thinking of racing at Bristol Mt. next Saturday. That course is much tougher, but maybe some more hill work is what I need. I will decided if I will race there by Friday.