The Finale – New Hampshire 2012 – “Easterns”

Kelly Rides Off Into the Sunset

Victorious

I thought a lot about what I would say in this post.  Being the last race of the season, I am extremely sad to see the seniors go.  Lazer, Tino, and I went out for a ride of R.B. Winter today, and it was really hitting all of us…this 2012 team is running out of time together…but what a great year it was.

Easterns last weekend was an excellent bonding experience for the team.  Thanks to Papa K, the team was supplied with a rather large bus that he graciously offered to drive to New Hampshire and back. Along for the final journey of the season was Kelly, Harry, Sam, Lazer and I.  The ride to New Hampshire was full of chatter.  Reminiscing about the season that we had spent together, there was plenty of laughter to go around.  At other times, there was talk of next season, the future of the Bucknell Cycling Team and what needed to be done.  The freshman class from this season definitely has dreams of big things to come in the future…hopefully we can allow them to come to fruition.

Thanks to the blistering pace of Papa K, we arrived on the UNH campus just after 10 o’clock…just in time for Kelly to catch up with her beloved Sheldon.  (Just kidding guys).  That night, we spent most of the time trying to fix my bicycle…which has decided to quit on me many times during this season.  We got it running the best we could, and hit the sack in order to rest up for some long road racing the next day.  Dan kept cuddling with me all night…which greatly hindered my sleep.  Thankfully, we only had to wake up at the outrageously late time of 9:30 because we had no riders going off in the early categories.  Papa K was definitely thankful for that. 

The course for the road race was simply awesome.  A 20 mile loop, it featured 3 major climbs that severely broke up the fields, as well as some fun descents that were sure to keep things interesting.  Tucked into the backcountry of New Hampshire, it was a perfect place to end the season.

In the C road race, Dan prepared to do some serious damage.  On one of the first major climbs, Lazer propelled himself off the front, establishing a small breakaway with one other rider over the rest of the field.  After a hard effort, Lazer was pulled back by the peloton where he sat in for the rest of the 40 mile race in order to sprint for 17th at the finish.  Lazer was slightly annoyed with his finish after the race, but even though I didn’t see any Dan’s race, I know he must have rode in typical Dan Lazier fashion—aggressive.  He still placed in the top ten of C2, and did well to finish at the top of a combined field of almost 60 riders.  I often acknowledge that Dan is a much stronger rider than me.  His sprinting is off the charts, his climbing is absolutely insane, he is the best TT man on the team, and his desire to destroy everyone he races against is quite intense.  See you in Bs next season LazerBeam…lets crush some people.

In the B road race, I proudly pulled on the pink numbers next to Sam for the first time this season.  I have to admit, I was slightly really freaking nervous for this 60 mile road race next to the more polished riders in Bs.  The first 20 miles were pretty slow.  Everyone was just feeling out the course and getting their legs under them.  Towards the middle of the second lap, a pretty big selection occurred on one of the climbs.  I crested the top of that hill and caught back onto the group on the descent…yet at the conclusion of the second lap, Sam and a few other riders decided to push the pace on the uphill to the finish…and I was dropped pretty hard at that point.  Sam was a great help during my 40 miles in the group.  He is an outstanding navigator who can move through the pack with ease.  At one point, he moved us right to the front…prompting some of the veteran B riders to command me to get to the back where I belonged.  Haha…I may have listened.

I did the last lap by myself, while Sam stayed with the lead selection of riders until about 10 to go.  At that point, the group splintered and Sam ended up coming in by himself in 18th.  Sam did a great job, especially on a very hilly course, to pull off a respectable finish.  Thanks to Harry and Papa K for their help in the feed zone.  We had some pretty awesome food and bottle hand-offs that definitely made me feel extra professional.  Papa K summed up my race at the end with a fantastic statement as I rested exhausted on my handlebars: “welcome to Bs Case.”  We all climbed into the van and set off for some pizza, especially glad to have the long road race behind us. 

That night, Harry and Papa K set up a little scavenger hunt for Sam, Dan, and I.  We had fun with that, but really didn’t understand until the end that we were supposed to be meaner to one another while participating in this old Easterns tradition.  Later that night, we hopped onto Jeff Salvitti’s dear Google+ for some chatting with former Bucknell riders Dan Wood, Matt Means, Sinead, Wade, and Kevin Curran.  Thankfully, Jeff was busy at a Phillies game…so he wasn’t initially there to talk at the meeting that he had organized in the first place.  He finally showed up on the screen talking through a phone while huddled in the bathroom of the stadium…such a sad sight it was. 

In the UNH Criterium the next day…the Bucknell Cycling Team sure set off some fireworks.  In accordance with the highlight of the day, I am going to start with Kelly’s race. 

Dan started a funny tradition early in the season that fittingly describes Kelly’s final race.  The act entails Dan running alongside Kelly during her races, while screaming at her: “Kelly Desharnais: YOU ARE MY HERO!”  On this day, she was everyone’s hero, putting in a perfect finish to her collegiate career—with a victory in the women’s A/B crit.  In front of her parents, grandparents and King Sheldon himself, Kelly surely looked dialed in.  Throughout the race, she led the top ladies of the ECCC through the finish, and on many occasions, sat directly at the front of the pack.  During the second sprint lap, Kelly even contested the sprint to take 1st place on the line, and win herself a wind-vest from Team Liquigas Cannondale.  Even so, the announcers at the race seemed to completely forget THE SECOND BEST FEMALE RIDER IN THE ECCC when trying to predict the winner of the race.  Kelly shocked them, but definitely not us, when she flew around the final corner and left everyone else in the dust to finish over a bike length and a half in front of her other competitors.  Kelly looked calm and under very little pressure throughout the race.  By the end of the day, she had firmly secured 2nd place overall in the women’s A ECCC standings.  Below is a video of the finish.  The crazy man calmly yelling “go Kelly” in the background is yours truly.  I’d like to think it gave her the strength to pull off such a great win.  Congrats Dashark.  (Just a side note…Kelly went out for a race in the weekend following Easterns, and won that race too!)

Finish of Kelly’s Criterium – 1st Place

Before Kelly’s race, there were two other contests that featured Bucknell riders.  The first, was Lazer’s race in the Men’s C Criterium.  As one of the strongest riders left in Cs, Dan stayed right on the front of the pack throughout the duration of the race.  At one point in the first few laps, Sam and I were concerned Dan wasn’t feeling so good, as he was bringing up the rear—which is not a typical Dan thing to do.  Yet, just as we expressed this concern to one another, on the next lap around the course, Dan was sitting second wheel, and both Sam and I breathed a sigh of relief.  Cheered on by Kelly’s obnoxious screams of “go baby girl,” both Dan and our friend Sheldon finished well in this race.  With three to go, Sheldon was even off the front, in a solo bid for the win.  In the end, Dan finished 15th, and Sheldon picked up 18th.  Both slotted in the the top third of a field that featured well over 50 riders.

Finally, in the last men’s race of the season, Sam and I suited up for the men’s B crit.  It was a race that again showed, Mr. Sam Cowans had found his racing legs.  I spend most of the 50 minutes just trying to hold on to the back of the pack, but Sam was an active participant in the racing.  As few riders from UNH and Vermont sprang off the front early on in the race, Sam was there to chase them down, enabling him to take 2nd in the first sprint. About a third of the way to go, a single rider from KMS was way off the front, and Sam had an unfortunate mishap.  Someone’s pedal or handlebar somehow got stuck in Sam’s wheel, (we are all still confused how it happened) and Sam broke a spoke on one of his wheels.  Sam was only a few riders in front of me at the time, and as I passed by and asked him if he was alright, he wasn’t sure what exactly was wrong.  Fortunately, Dan had his bike race-side, and he hurried over to the pits to get Sam back into the race with one of Dan’s wheels.  I was completely gassed by the end of the race, and was only able to sprint for 23rd, while Sam came in inside the points in 16th.  All in all, what a fast race it was.  Sam was clearly one of the fastest and strongest in the field, we just have to figure out how to deliver that man to the finish line.  Next season, it will be a challenge for us all.

The team then said goodbye to New Hampshire, in order to arrive home at a reasonable hour.  Papa K once again drove the van the entire 9 hours back to Lewisburg—a very gracious thing to do.  At the conclusion of the weekend, Papa K’s list of observations had grown to 13.  I will be posting a special post listing observation lists from the entire season, but here are Papa K’s from the weekend at Easterns:

Papa K Observations:

1. Upon leaving for UNH the first thing I thought of was the last race (Army) and how sick I was and how grateful I was to have Tino to drive the van home. (He only fell asleep once).

2. We have a pump this weekend.....how are we going to make friends?

3. Holiday Inn Express.......Thank you!

4. We didn't have to wake up until 9:00am. I don't ever recall getting to sleep in that long.

5. This morning while standing in the shower, waking up the parts that don't wake up when I do, and staring at the faucet, the H C (hot and cold knobs) made me think of Harry Chen. I now fear that every time I stand at a sink or get into a shower I will think of Harry Chen.

6. It is bad luck to shave your legs on race day. I did not know that.

7. It is thought by some that Sam has no friends.

8. Ernie, Elwood, Buckets and Fast Eddie are the names of the Keebler elves.

9. Contrary to what the sign says in Omnibus #42, it does fit under the St. George st. underpass.

10. Sam is always nervous before a race, but he doesn't show it.

11. My highlight of the season was watching Kelly win the crit at Easterns in her final Bucknell race.  Well done!

Well, I guess that concludes the last race post of the season.  It has been a fantastic year of racing and riding, one that I could not have imagined when I set out for my first Bucknell ride with Harry and Fixed-Gear back in August.  The 2012 Bucknell Cycling Team may not be remembered for being a top racing squad, but in a year that featured outstanding racing from 4 new freshman, a final finish of 13th overall in the ECCC standings is nothing to sneeze at.  I feel as though I have made life-long friendships along the way,and would like to offer my sincerest best wishes to President Tino, Kelly Dashark, Billy Holm, Josh, Christine, and the rest of the class of 2012 for a successful post-Bucknell future.  A few weeks ago, the team elected its new representatives for the 2013 racing season, and we are already hard at work planning great new things for the upcoming season.  I hope to post to the blog throughout the summer, so continue to stop by the site in order to see what Dan, Harry, Sam, Zander, I, and the rest of the team is doing as we prepare for next year.

Cheers everyone,

CaseRace

Army 2012 – Bucknell Cycling Domination

Four Podiums – President Tino’s Final Race

One Weekend… ARMY 2012

Bucknell’s trip to the US Military Academy in West Point, NY can easily be marked as a defining moment of this year’s season. The atmosphere amongst the team was calmer than usual on Saturday morning upon our arrival at the course, and as the weekend wore on, I got the feeling a torch was being passed. Everyone on the team knew it was going to be President Tino’s final race, so that contributed to the feeling, but I think there was more lying beneath the surface. After a long and hard fought year, the early carefree rides of fall were long in the distance past, while the punishment from a long season was definitely being felt in everyone's legs. Thankfully, the team’s immense success on the road at Army made the weekend bitter-sweet. It will be hard to arrive at the DHLC next year for “Tino Monday Ride,” with Brian no-where in sight. Yet, for one final weekend, we had our President alongside us, who despite his Voodoo-ness, did a great job this year leading the team. I’m definitely going to miss this year’s team, and the tightly knit bonds we created along the way.

In total, six Bucknell racers set out to compete at Army: Tino, Sam, Kelly, Christine, Zander, and myself—joined of course—by Papa K. Friday started out like usual, full of jokes and laughter as our four hour car ride got underway. As tradition has dictated throughout this season, Friday is the night for pizza and conversation. There was plenty of both to go around. Kelly even had the chance to stop off at “T.G.I. Maxx” to look at some dresses for graduation. Sam's description of her shopping style was that it was “fast and authoritative.” Kelly knew what she was looking for, and after a fast military style sweep of the store, she wasn’t satisfied. The team finally arrived at a 5-star palace of a motel, booked perfectly by our President himself. Despite the grumbling about the accommodations, I think that a sub-par hotel brings the team together, and definitely adds to the experience—so thanks President Tino, for keeping us on our toes.

Saturday morning brought the Team Time Trial. Zander, Sam, Tino and I set out on the 15 mile course and put forward a respectable time in mens B, allowing us to collect 24 points toward the team standings. Zander did great in his first TTT, sticking with the three of us for the majority of the race. Tino and I set the pace up the climbs, while Sam bombed it down the descents. Again, I felt some sadness come over the group at the finish. It would be the final time I compete alongside President Tino, and he put in one hell of an effort to get Sam and I to the finish. Thanks to my mom and some others, we have some pretty nice pictures of the TTT:

Following the Team Time Trial, it was time for the circuit race. Similar to the Yale circuit from the week before, the circuit race was essentially a hill-repeat session, paired with a nasty and tricky descent that was full of pot holes and the occasional bit of rough road. Zander and I lined up for the combined C circuit with success in mind. After a hard fought first few laps, I settled in to a nice rhythm at the front of the main pack, while Zander lead the second main group on the road that had split off about two thirds into the race. The circuit ended up being 8 laps long, full of violent crashes, with some tough climbing along way. The course suited me perfectly, and my legs felt fantastic heading into the final sprint to the finish. I accelerated after two riders in the final dash to the finish and came in for 3rd in a combined field of about 80 riders. Little did I know, I ended up winning the C2 category, a “win” that I still wont accept, as two C1 riders did finish in front of me. Zander did a great job as well, putting himself well into the pain cave to finish off the race in 15th among C2 riders. Zander left the circuit slightly disappointed, and it showed on Sunday as he took it to the C2 field with some exciting racing in the crit.

In the men’s B circuit, Sam and Tino lined up for what would end up being a brutally fast race. One rider established a huge gap on the rest of the field, followed behind by three or four chasers, and then the main pack. Sam consistently controlled the front of the main field for the majority of the race, hanging in despite his recent troubles with climbing the past few weeks. Tino was exhausted from the TTT in the morning, sticking with the main field for about half of the race before tailing off in the end. Both rode just ok on Saturday, but they made up for it on Sunday with some awesome racing in the Army crit. I’ll get to that race later, it was a exceptionally exciting race by both Tino and Sam. 

The Women of Bucknell were up to the challenge of the circuit as well. In the womens intro race, the ever-cheerful Christine did well to pick up three points for the squad, placing 7th. She also did a fantastic job as navigator for the weekend…allowing Zander, Sam and I to be bums and sleep in the car…so thanks Christine! Kelly took control of the Women’s A/B race, again asserting her force on the best of the ECCC women. In a long 55 minute circuit, Kelly placed and impressive 2nd overall, way in front of the series' top female: MIT’s Katie Quinn. All those Tuesday Torture Rides definitely paid off for Kelly in this one, as she looked cool, calm, and comfortable in navigating the climbs. Here are the top Bucknell men and women at the West Point circuit race:

Sunday brought two more races, the ITT and the Army Criterium. The individual time trial was essentially two miles straight uphill—a brutal course. All one needs to know about the ITT is that I beat every other Bucknell rider and picked up some bragging rights for the rest of the day. Everyone else was saving their energy for the criterium, which turned out to be quite exciting in every category. Look to the left, everyone is so happy that I kicked their butts up the climb! The scenery for the Army Criterium was fantastic. The backdrop is detailed below thanks to my mom’s photography. Many parents joined us on Sunday, including my parents, brother and dog, President Tino’s parents as well as Christine’s parents and Kelly’s parents. It was great to have everyone there to enjoy the racing. In the first Bucknell crit of the day, Christine picked up the 3rd podium of the weekend for the team, sprinting her way to 3rd place in a hard fought women’s intro race. Zander and I witnessed the finish while we were lining up and were definitely thrilled for Christine who put in an outstanding race in front of her parents. In the men’s C2 crit, Zander came out for revenge following his disappointment with his result the day before. We went into the race with a plan to pick up some major sprint points, as we both felt we were two of the stronger riders in the pack. A crash midway through the race spoiled my chances during the first sprint lap and caused me to have to go to the pits to take a free lap. Zander and I re-organized however, taking 2nd and 3rd in the second sprint lap. And in the third sprint, Zander picked up 4th. Throughout the race, a few solo breaks came off the front, but thanks to Zander and I on many occasions, we were able to reel them all back. In the final sprint to the finish, I got boxed in despite the fact I felt like I had the legs to win. Zander was in much better position, scrambling his way to the finish to barely edge out another podium for the team in 3rd place. I was right behind in 6th. Both of us were happy about the effort, and Zander definitely showed that his mountain biking background is really coming to fruition during the criteriums. In two crits, he has two podiums. This would end up being my last race in Cs, as I will be joining Sam this weekend at Easterns in the B field. I wore some special socks for the occasion, and yes, they technically may be women’s dress socks, but you know what, they look awesome.

The men’s B criterium was one of the most exciting races of the year. It would be the last time President Tino kitted up for a race in the ECCC, and he and Sam came to play for the occasion. Early in the race, attacks were fast and furious, with a three man group establishing itself early on. Before the break broke free, Sam and another rider from UNH blitzed the field on the first sprint, allowing Sam to take 2nd. On the second sprint lap, Sam flew off the front of the field in a mad dash for points. He rode solo behind the 3 leaders, screaming the whole way with his face wide open in pain taking 4th in that sprint. In the third sprint, he took 3rd. The one thing I admire about the way Sam races is that he only has one gear: full throttle. He goes as hard as he can, moving to the front, destroying the back of the pack even if he knows he may have nothing left at the end of the race. Tino sat in behind Sam, often using his draft to conserve energy, lowering himself in typical Tino fashion into his aerodynamic position when the race became tough. The two were often in the top five places in the main field every time through the finish line. At the finish, Sam came around the final corner in 6th, falling to 11th at the line. Tino’s final stand had him taking 14th. Both men placed in the points, and were praised by the ECCC commentators for a hard fought race. It was a exciting way to send the President out.

Last but certainly not least, it was Kelly’s turn in the womens A/B criterium. Kelly would later describe this race as one of the toughest she has ever done, but she didn’t show it. Cheered on by the entire team, she and the rest of the field pulled back a few Katie Quinn breaks and allowed the race to come down to a field sprint. Along the way, Kelly picked up two placings on the sprint laps, while at the finish, Kelly was 6th in the combined field. Here is Kelly in the crit. She was definitely helped by the great night sleep she had gotten the night before, amidst the world-class beds at the motel.

In conclusion, this was one great weekend. I stand by what I said at the outset of this essay-of-a-post. This race was definitely bitter sweet. With the departure of President Tino, Kelly, Christine, Billy, Josh and our other seniors, the sadness began to come over the team this weekend. The racing is not over yet, as Sam, Kelly, Lazer and I will be attending Easterns at UNH this coming weekend. Nevertheless, I am thankful for all that the cycling team has given me this first year: a great group of friends, an opportunity to escape the Bucknell bubble, and the chance to race at a competitive level all across the northeast.

From the pizza, to the antics of Papa K, to the exceptional racing this season from the Bucknell team, I could not help but describe this season as an overwhelming success. For those of us who are attending next weekend, lets have this year go out with a bang. For those who are finished, the team thanks you on behalf your contributions to the team this season. President Tino: I cant wait to have you come back next season so you can have the opportunity to get your behind handed to you on your precious climbs like Supplee and Stein. So train up, for this season is almost over, but the pride of Bucknell Cyling never ends.

On to Easterns!! – CaseRace