Page Vally Road Race

Three Bears TT #1

Once again anything can happen. My body was ready for this. I had my video camera on my bike and of course the first thing I did was find my turn around blooper, not funny! I went to the finish line to let them know to train their dudes to pay attention, very nicely of course cause we make mistakes, so that’s when he said he will adjust my time. Ok cool I didn’t expect that so I thanked him, then  he said 10sec. Shit man if your adjust be realistic on how long it takes to do a loop in the middle of a hard TT. But I’m happy, I’m healthy, clean and doing this shit again in a couple of weeks.
Always great to see every one out  and Horn on a TT bike, scary! Feed back on the Osymetric ring dude.
Lelond thanx for making the trip, and showing me how to LockOn.
GRA
Thanks Richard, for the results and providing the shade…
Good times and good times everybody…I blew my left butt cheek out trying to get comfortable on my TT bike.
Thanks Gus for shaming me into doing it…BTW everybody, they gave Gus a ten second bonus for messing his turnaround…..shoulda been more like 30-40 seconds. Bottom line is, he was flying, and he was LOCKedON!
Hope you mountain goats flattened Lemmon today, and flew the flames proudly.
Tim, I think you averaged 24.99999 miles an hour…you shouldn’t have burped halfway through…haha.
Way to crack the magical 25 mph barrier Richard!
Kerry, are you sure you’re new to this game? Your time indicates you still have lots of residual strength from your ‘Haliburton Hockey School’ days! And being on an exotic bike probably didn’t hurt either….great showing.
See y’all next time around,
Michel
Aggress results:

State Crit Championships

“And the beat goes on …” Sony and Cher (not sure if many of you remember them??) had more success with that than I have.
I’ve done the State Crit three times, in the last four years and today, I came in second for the third time. I have to admit, second in the state should be somewhat satisfying, but I’ve found each year to be less so. Briefly, here’s what happened.
The race was a combined field of the M60+,65+,70+ and 75+. Rick and I were representing Aggress in the M65+ and without Reg Dowdall in the race this year (out with a heart attack) it was pretty clear that our primary competition would be Jack Dillon and Dick Snyder.
On the first lap, a number of riders were dropped and we eventually would lap them. There were a few attacks but they were short-lived. The most promising was when three 60+ guys (Puchi, Mulvaney and McCormick) took off, with about four laps to go. They got a good gap on the field and it took me almost a half lap of all out effort to catch up with them … unfortunately, when I caught them, they sat up and the field eventually caught us … Puchi later told me,  Mulvaney wouldn’t work with them so they sat up.
For many laps Jack Dillon was on the front and, based on that, my plan was to watch him get tired and on the last lap to beat him in the final sprint. So much for plans. He didn’t get tired! Jack took off on the last lap and Franz Hammer quickly  followed. I got on Franz’s wheel and we caught up with Jack with about a half lap to go. Franz faded and a small group of 60+ guys caught us. When Jack accelerated again, no one moved to close the gap. I hesitated too long and Jack got a considerable gap over me. During the final sprint I closed the gap considerably, but there wasn’t enough real estate to finish the deal .. Jack first, Doug second, Dick Snyder third. Lesson learned.
Unfortunately, Rick had a different problem. As he was working to close the gap on the lead group, he caught his wheel and went down on the backside of the course. He managed to get up and finished the crit, securing fourth place. Fortunately, Liz was at the finish line to clean up Rick’s road rash.
This was my last race for the season and I’ll be having the rotator cuff surgery on April 30. Good luck to all doing Tumaccori tomorrow and the State RR. Go Aggress!

TBC 2013

TBC Road Race

Aggressors:
Well…..shucks.  The RR was disappointing for me.  Lap1 was basically uneventful with only a few furtive attacks that quickly fizzled.  As I kind of anticipated, Reggie TT’d off the front approaching the Finish line after lap 1, and Franz Hammer went along for the ride to sew up his race early.  Both were allowed to go.  Franz because no one in our group cared, and Reggie because no one in our group can do anything about it, and by now we all know it.  On lap 2 Dougie and I attempted a couple of attacks right after the railroad tracks but both ultimately fizzled, and Tom Wallace correctly chose that moment to counter-attack, and we were both tired enough that we were unable to answer, so Tom (+Jack Dillon & Roy Quade who went with him) got a gap established, and then began working hard together to enlarge it.  By the turn onto Helmet Pk Rd we were perhaps 1/2 km back and Doug began a valiant effort to close the gap, and did actually reduce it a bit.  John Conahy was dropped along with Doug and me, and given his weight (about 200 lb), he had to be the one to close the gap on that downhill, high speed rip.  He eventually did come to the front, but did only a token pull, and I knew at that point we were screwed.  I have no clue why he was not willing to work and close the gap, but he wasn’t, so C’est la vie.
 Given the moderate West wind, my hill climbing ability was somewhat neutralized and, in retrospect, I think the only chance I might have had was to go with Reggie early, but of course, that would have only worked if the Peloton allowed me to go with them, and I don’ think they would have allowed that.
 “Sometimes you’re the windshield, and sometimes you’re the bug.”
– Rick E.

Well, the Cat-3 was uneventful as well.  I think all 50 riders were together at the finish line, everyone getting the same time.  The head wind really prevented any attacks on the final climb.  With so many riders, we were packed like sardines from white line to yellow line for the last few miles.  I could not find any room to get around or through the pack.  although I felt strong at the end, myself and Mike just were not in a position to get involved in a sprint.  We all live to race another day.

-Rich Horn

    Yup, as much as I appreciate what El groupo  is doing for these kids, their a real pain in the ass. I occasionally had to give them the “NO!” as you would a unruly dog barking at nothing. I was aware of the break away but I also knew that these were dudes that had a pretty bad tt so was not going to chase nothing keeping Tim close to the yellow jersey occasionally reminding him not to work to hard. 25 mph wind in our face for the sprint was a real bitch, and not being a sprinter I felt that I wanted to leave nothing on the road and I went for it hoping to lead out Tim. I got into a Cavendish like sprint position and went balls the wall and had a 10 to 15 bike length lead on the field and held it till a huge gust of wind put me into reverse. Excuse my French Canadian A but I let out a “FUCK” and saw the the peloton one by one pass me up. But there was Tim drilling it. My job was done. Awesome job dude.
     A huge thank to Liz and Doug for helping me get ready for my TT as I was a bit frantic getting caught behind tourist on my way to brown mountain aggress spot. And Mr. Lelond for his professional water bottle handling skills and I gotta say that Giordana (excuse the spelling) was there with bottle in hand every time. Great job, this makes a huge difference having you guys there, I’ve had some serious cotton mouth before, cough cough, but this dry wind made it almost impossible to breath without your tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth.  But all in all I had a great time and am always grateful to be part of these events. Here today, gone tomorrow.
    I will give a report for my Swiss Homie Jan Ulrich Schar, He is a twenty year old pro Mt.biker who has only done three road races and finds it  easy in the cat 2. Damn kids. He flatted in the second lap and   the support vehicle put a carbon wheel on his bike then took it back off because he did not have carbon brake pads. He said this took them  six minutes or so. So he soloed the rest fighting the head wind still managing to put some riders behind him.
     O.K this is where the story gets sweet. After the TT Rich invited Jan and I over for some steak and potatoes and beer to refuel for the RR. Isabella who took a liking to Jan and played with her adorable constant laugh made impression on him. He said that he was thinking of how funny and cute she was the whole time he was drilling it keeping his mind off the pain.  The power of laughter. Thanks Isabella.
 See you tomorrow for another round.

-Gustavo Amado

TBC Circuit Race

I thought my  nickname was “Wheelman” … may need to change it to “Crash Perry”!
Today’s weather was ideal. I felt great and was ready for what should be my strongest event, in the TBC Stage race. Not much climbing, and when there is climbing, it isn’t at a very steep pitch. The finish is perfect for my strengths … slight uphill, after a nice downhill. I was ready to seriously compete for the win. For the first two laps, no one was making any significant attacks. Of course, on the third lap (the sprint point lap) things picked up a little. Just as we were about to enter onto Greasewood from Speedway, I was third in our group and we were overtaking two riders from another group, when “BAM”! a tire blew. The rider could not turn and continued on, right into my path. I had to brake hard and was never able to regain the momentum to compete for the sprint lap. Bummer. I wanted that sprint. Oh well, I was really most interested in getting a win today. For most of the race I was in, or very close, to the front. Felt strong and really felt that today might be my day. For the dastardly corner at Anklam and Speedway (the site of many bad crashes in the past), I made sure to be the first to  go through on each lap, not wanting to be subject to any problems. After all with upcoming shoulder surgery, and a broken pelvis 18 months ago, I wanted to be as safe as I could be!
On the last lap, I was in the front, as we approached the corner at Anklam/Speedway. I gunned it a little and opened a very small gap on Reg and the rest of the peleton. I was gearing up for a fast ride down Speedway onto Greasewood and, hopefully, headed for a win! BUT, as I entered the turn, I realized I had a little too much speed going and made the rookie mistake of just touching my brakes. I started to slide across the two lanes and thought I might hold it, but then my left shoe unclipped. I couldn’t hold it and skidded onto the other side and went down. I still thought I might be able to get back onto the peleton and quickly got up, clipped in one shoe, looked down and saw my chain was off. Ugh! After several attempts, and 30-60 seconds, I finally got the chain back on. I started slowly to make sure I hadn’t damaged things so badly that the bike couldn’t be ridden. It seemed fine, but by then, I was out of contention. Ended up losing an additional 54 seconds by the time I finished. Reg Dowdall, in a classy move, slowed the peleton for awhile on Speedway to possibly give me a chance to catch on. I only ended up with some road rash, and hopefully a scraped up bike/wheels and not damaged bike/wheels.
I’m out of racing until the State Crit Championships on April 13, after which I’ll be having my rotator cuff surgery on April 30.

– Doug Perry

TBC TT

El Presidio Crit

Aggressors:
I made the drive into town this am for the downtown crit since it didn’t really look like it would be raining a lot.  By now I know the Script by heart and it unfolded like a pre-recorded movie.  Reg and Jon Roberts TT’d off the front with a few other 55+ riders.  I hung out in the back on Jack Dillon’s wheel by design and I figured Reg and Co would lap us with 2-4 laps remaining.  They actually lapped us with 1 1/2 laps to go and I made the small addnl effort to jump on Reg’s wheel as he went by.  At that point, of course, we are all on the last lap by definition so I made sure I stayed tight on the leaders as they sprinted to the line, and I was able to do so because I had been resting for most of the race.  Even got a bit of $$…..nice.
PS:  Thanks Doug, for the pics.

Rick E.

Colossal Cave Road Race

Here’s a picture of the Cat-3 field just as the sprint was about to get serious, maybe a hundred meters out.  Aggress had some flames there!  If both lanes of the road were available to us, I may have been able to get us around Josh Pratt-Ferguson.  I think Mike M. was on my wheel?
   To tell you the truth, I was ill prepared to have to be involved in a sprint.  I really expected to get shelled early in the game and spend the afternoon on a solo training ride.  Did not mentally prepare and plan a proper lead out for Mike.  Also forgot to give it my all in the last hundred meters, just there for the joy ride.  I either needed to do more planning or needed another 400 yards of hill!  Though the field sprint was exciting, there were two guys who had broken away several laps earlier who took first and second.  I have bad eyesight and had assumed the field required them, some BikeHaus guys said they were chasing ghosts and shut down the chase with a lap and a half to go.  I think next time I’ll work out the final plan with Mike when there is still a mile or so left.

– Rich Horn

Hmmmmm………I had a similar issue to Rich’s with mental attitude for my final sprint in the RR.  There were 12 of us remaining at about 200m from the finish and because I knew Reg Dowdall was going to beat me for the 60+ win, I didn’t bother to even consider who else was there  in my age sub-group.  Well, it turns out there were 4 others from my sub-group there and I hadn’t bothered to memorize them, or even learn their kit.  As a result, I was already beaten, and finished dead last in the group of 12, 6th in my sub-group.  While I do feel one should focus on winning the race, when that isn’t possible, or at least clearly not going to happen, I need to learn to accept a lesser tactical goal, and give it my all.  I did not do that in this race.
 – Rick E.   

UNOFFICIAL CRIT RESULTS FOR AGGRESS:
Rick Ellwanger 3rd
Michel Lalonde 7th
Rich Horn 14th
Tim Scott 21st
Gus Amado 26th
Rick E.

Aggressors:

My wife drove the 55+ and Cat 3 wheel vehicle for CCO and was impressed by a performance from a new Aggressor that she was in a good position to observe………

“Just wanted to express congrats and admiration to new Aggressor Pete Michaud whose flames burned brightly yesterday. My wheel man for Cat 3 (sorry, but I hate that term “person”) was Pam O’Casek. We had the pleasure of watching an heroic effort by Pete to re-acquire the peloton after being dropped about two miles from the Start/Finish, on the fourth lap (I think). Anyway, having seen other riders dropped we agreed that Pete was gone for good…no one else we’d seen had been able to re-acquire from that far back. Pete was far enough behind that it was prudent to pass but I kept an eye out for him in the side mirror and could see he clearly had NOT given up. And therein lies the tale. Pete passed our car before the S/F line and finally re-acquired the peloton on the way down the hill. Pretty impressive riding from our viewpoint. Also heard he had gone back to help Rich Horn and Mike M. (?) get back in earlier in the race. This is the sort of talent and attitude Aggress needs to remain vital, and it was impressive to observe his determination and ultimate success.

p.s. thanks Rich Horn for driving wheel support with me for the 45+ and sharing your racing knowledge

Judi Ellwanger

VOS Crit 2013

The road race was a killer! The climb is relentless and there were many great climbers out there! I ended up 6th and lost 2 minutes overall in the GC and dropped from 3rd overall to 5th.

Today’s crit was a different story. I felt strong from the start, and I love doing crits! There were 52 in the combined field of M55+, and M65+. Everything went pretty steady during the race with all riders behaving themselves. I was able to stay in the front third of the group throughout the race and began to move up in position on the second to last lap. During the last lap Ken Louder passed me (he had told me later that he had been marking me throughout the race). I waited for my opportunity and went around him just before the final sprint began. I was able to win my M65+ category and and came in about 8th overall in the combined field. This moved me up to 4th in the GC.

Overall this was a great stage race and I’m glad to have done it … now just need to work on those long climbs!!

-Doug Perry

VOS Time Trial 2013

-Doug Perry

2013 McDowell Mountain Crit

Aggressors:

Sunday at McDowell felt a little better (then the SunDevil Crit). I worked with Roy Quade and Robert Tompkins to hammer the modest hill every lap, alternating pull intervals for the hill climb.  For the last lap there were only half a dozen of us remaining and I attacked off the front on the hill climb, achieving a 50-60 ft gap just before the turn at the top of the hill.  After the turn, the grade flattens out for the last quarter mile or so to the finish, and I could hear them coming.  With about 100m to go, a 3-man train (Puchi, ??, Snyder) powered by me and I could do nothing about it, so I ended up 4/13.  I do feel that I managed this race as well as possible, I just wasn’t quite strong enough to build up an insurmountable gap when I attacked on the hill.  I am pretty sure the hill was hurting them worse than it was hurting me.

Sundevil Crit

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