Carolina Cup

This past Sunday, we headed to Greensboro to race in the Carolina Cup. This was the 37th running of the Cup, which bills itself as the "longest running bicycle race in the South." The Cup is raced in the Greensboro Country Park, which is located in the historic area near the Guilford County Courthouse. The Cup course is a 1.6-mile loop through the park, making it either a long criterium or a short circuit race, your pick.

Hamming for a self-photo by Amy before the racing ensues.

Waiting to take the start line for the men's Category 5 race, my first mass-start race since 1994.
Ready to roll out for the 25-minute Cat 5 event. The field heads through the start-finish area after completing the first lap.

Coming through on the first turn.

Concerned that Amy would not be able to get good photos of me in my first crit in 15 years, I allowed the field to go on ahead of me so that the shots wouldn't be cluttered. As I cross the finish line above, it is clear that my strategy worked. Taking the glass-is-half-full approach to my post-race analysis, I did not finish last and at least managed to finish ahead of the guy wearing a t-shirt and sneakers and using toe clips. Also, I did not get lapped. This is a dramatic improvement considering I got lapped in 100% of the crits I entered in 94.

After the men's Cat 5 race, Amy toed the start line with the Category 4 women for a 25-minute event.
Employing a slightly different strategy than I, Amy chose to stay with the leaders during her race. Above, Amy comes through the first lap and heads into the first left-hand turn in 5th position.

In the first photo above, one has a nice view of the start-finish stretch (the red fencing and tents on the back of the pond), the first left-hand turn, and the start of the first and longest climb on the circuit. Amy's approach to this section of the course was to take the safer outside line through the first turn and then use her climbing skills to move to the front of the field on the climb. The first photo shows Amy beginning to move up the pack, and in the second she moves to the front during the steepest section of the climb as it turns left.

Approaching the last section of the first climb, positioned perfectly near the front. Among many positives, Amy stayed with the front of the field for the entire race. While the course is not technical in a tight, criterium sense, it is challenging in that it has several short hills, the longer first hill with a left-turn in the middle, and a winding layout, making it difficult to get in a rhythm. It is a scenic and beautiful setting for a race.

Coming through the first turn at the start of the final lap. Unable to both cheer loudly and take photos at the same time, I did not take any photos of the finish. Amy finished just behind the lead finishing group, capping an excellent day in her first criterium-esque race.

City of Lenoir Triathlon

On Saturday, September 5, Amy competed in the City of Lenoir Triathlon. The sprint-distance event, consisting of a 250-yard swim, 20k bike, and 5k run, attracted 109 entrants across five states.

Amy was able to get in the pool at the Lenoir Aquatic and Fitness Center for some warmup laps. The unseasonably cool night gave way to near-perfect conditions for racing in the morning. The swim leg at the LAFC consisted of five 50-yard laps.

Amy runs to the first transition after logging a 7 minute, 15 second swim time.

Finishing her first transition and heading out to complete the 20k (12.2m) bike leg. The out-and-back route, mostly on Zack's Fork Road, consisted of flattish rolling hills bookended with multiple short, very steep hills and broken up with not one but two turnarounds.

Amy grinds up the final hill toward the transition area after a 42 minute, 35 second bike leg. The entrance road to the LAFC is nearly half a mile long and boasts gradients as steep as 16%, prompting many to leave their time trial bikes at home in lieu of lighter road bikes. More than one triathlete was forced to dismount and walk up this hill. Amy's bike leg was the third fastest among women.

Why bike up a 16% hill when you can run up it, too? Adding insult to injury, the 5k running leg required competitors to drag themselves up the LAFC entrance hill once again. Amy heads for home after completing the running leg, which traversed part of Lenoir's excellent greenway system.

Heading into the finish chute after cresting the hill.

Amy stops the clock at 1 hour, 18 minutes even. Her 5k run time of 25 minutes, 14 seconds ranked 4th among women. Anchored by her strong biking and running efforts, she took first in the women's 30-34 age group and finished 4th overall among 53 female competitors.

Women's Results

Men's Results

Four Days, Four Races

Trying to make the most out of the waning racing season, we (well, Amy, mostly) crammed in four races over a four-day period at the end of August.

Wednesday, August 26, Charlotte

The first event of our race binge was the 5th Lowes Time Trial Series race of 2009 (http://www.carolinatt.org/). To refresh, Amy beat me by 3 seconds at the previous race in early August. Determined to reclaim my spot at the top of the cycling food chain (in our house, at least), trash was talked for three weeks as we prepared to lock horns in a battle of the sexes. In an effort to back up my smack, I hung a 52x14 gear on my IRO fixie and set a new PR of 25 minutes, 45 seconds ( 23.3 mph average), besting my previous PR by 41 seconds. I was confident as I crossed the finish line - surely my time was good enough to reclaim bragging rights under our roof.

Ummm... no. Amy handed it to me again, this time by 19 seconds. In the process of making beating me a routine occurrence, she again set a new PR herself, smashing her previous best by 1 minute, 13 seconds to cross the line in 25 minutes, 26 seconds at an average speed of 23.6 mph. She finished first in her division and took a commanding lead in the series points for the Women's 30-34 division. Unfortunately for Amy but fortunately for me, we have no pictures of the race.

Thursday, August 27, Marshall, NC

The following night, we headed up to Marshall, just north of Asheville, so that Amy could compete in the finale of the Asheville time trial series.


The 20k course actually begins in Marshall and travels NC 251 along the French Broad river toward Asheville. To the right, Amy warms up with the scenic French Broad as a backdrop.

At the start line for the final countdown.

Amy winding up her speed after leaving the start line.

Heading in just a few meters from the finish line. The heavily overcast skies and time of evening made for blurry photos. Amy finished in 33 minutes, 4 seconds, besting her previous time on the French Broad course.

Mom gets a congratulatory hug from Addison after finishing second among Women.

Not content to race only two time trials in 24 hours, Amy was invited to join members of the Team Velosports women's team to compete in the team time trial event. The quartet lines up at the start line to the right.

Sprinting away at the start and falling into formation. The team time trial contested the same 12.2-mile course as the individual event.

The foursome sprints for the finish line. This was the only picture I got that has all four visible. The time for a team time trial is taken when the third member crosses the finish line. The strategy is that the member who is at the front of the group heading into the finish takes a hard pull, and then the remaining three slingshot around just before the line and sprint to the finish. Here, the three Velosport women are sprinting around Amy, who has just taken the final pull at the front. The team finished the event in 30 minutes, 31 seconds, winning the team division. The Velosport women were so impressed with Amy's contribution that they voted to invite her to join the team on the spot.

Saturday, August 29, Fork Shoals, SC

We headed just south of Greenville, SC, for Amy to compete in the SC State Road Race Championship.

Amy’s current road bike setup includes a Lapierre S-Lite carbon fiber frame with an Easton EC90 carbon fork. The drivetrain is a mix of Ultegra and Dura Ace with a set of carbon IRD Mosaic compact cranks. The Terry Butterfly saddle sits atop a Thomson Elite seatpost. FSA shallow drop handlebars and stem. The Easton EA90 wheels are wrapped in Vittoria Rubino Pro 23mm clinchers, stopped by Ultegra brakes.

Amy shows off her new Team Velosports kit on her way to the start line.

The Women’s Category 4 field sets out from the start. The 26-mile race consisted of two laps of a 13-mile circuit.

Amy heads out with the field.

The Velosport team is visible at the back of the field as they ease into the rolling hills of upstate SC.

Approaching the start/finish line at the end of the first lap. The field stayed together during the first lap until just before the final hill, when a loose dog charged into the field and caused a split.

Amy crossing the finish line. Following the dog incident, the chase group was unable to catch the lead pack on the final lap. The group was further held up by a major crash in a men’s race that was running concurrently, forcing Amy and others to dismount and run around the carnage before continuing. The result was a 21st place finish for Amy out of a field of 31.

Dissecting the race after the finish with new teammate Marilyn Senz of Asheville.

A post-race smile reveals the satisfaction of a good effort in her first mass-start road race. Despite challenges from loose dogs and crashes, Amy felt strong and came away with valuable experience.

The final stats for the four-day period: 4 races, 600 miles driven, 70.4 miles raced, 3 PRs, two 1st placings, one 2nd placing.

New blog site

Welcome to my new blog. Over the past several months, I have been blogging about bikes, rides, and races at http://www.tablerockcycles.blogspot.com/. However, over time these blogs have become less about our stable of Table Rock Cycles bikes and more about the racing that Amy and I have been doing. These blogs have also become aimed more toward keeping family and friends abreast of our racing/riding and less about the cycling culture that is unique to Table Rock. So, I have launched this site as a place for family and friends to check in on our cycling activities. For those of you who are cyclists, or who have come to know the goings on at Table Rock Cycles through their blog, I hope that you will remain regular visitors of both their blog site and shop. I would also like to thank Chris at TRC for his support and service and for hosting my previous blogs. At this time, all previous blogs that I have written through the TRC blog site will remain there.

Happy Labor Day weekend - get out and ride!