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The Season Is Here
After a couple of months of cold and snow, the weather turned cyclist friendly in March. In fact, most of March turned out to great for riding, and CBRC riders took full advantage. Many exchanged indoor workouts for the joy of riding outside again. Weekend Voorheesville rides were well attended., race schedules were planned, and a few hardy souls began their racing season at the Bethel Spring Series.
Chuck Quackenbush had the best early season result for CBRC with a third place finish in the tough 40+ field at Bethel. (See accompanying race account.) Tom Butler, Dave Spore, and Dennis Humphrey also raced at Bethel. Dave came in eighth on March 30, and Tom estimates he was 10th in the race he did on March 23.
Andy Ruiz (CCB Volkswagen) has had the best results of any local rider this season. Andy finished second and third in the Cat. 1,2,3 race at Bethel and as of the March 23 race was leading that series.
April offers a lot of racing, some of it fairly close to home. First up is the Check Your Legs race on Sunday, April 6. This race has two categories, A for Cat. 1, 2, and 3; and B for Cat. 4 and 5. Each race is two laps of a 12.8-mile circuit containing a good- sized hill. More information can be found at www.geocities.com/velosophy/page4.html.
CBRC Tuesday night training rides begin April 8, the first Tuesday after Daylight Savings Time begins. These rides are held on an approximately 5-mile circuit beginning at Albany Machine on South Albany Rd. about halfway between Rt. 102 and the Selkirk Railroad yards. Starting time is 6pm.
For anyone not familiar with these rides, there are generally two groups. The A groups is made up of dedicated racers and goes out at a race-like pace. The B group is a mixture of people who race and people who just like to ride fast. This group goes out at a slightly slower, but still rapid pace.
Other USCF events this month include races in Eastford, Ct., on Sunday, April 13; Palmer and Monson, MA., on the weekend of April 26 and 27; Binghamton, NY., on Sunday, April 27; and Bethel, Ct., on Sundays throughout the month. Information for all of these races can be found on BikeReg.
Thanks to those who supplied articles or race results for this newsletter. Now that the race season is starting, I need everyone’s help in getting complete and accurate race results. You can write a long or short account of your exploits, or you can simply tell me when and where you raced and how you did. Once again, my e-mail is thuneck@nycap.rr.com.
Bethel
M40+ Race Report
By Chuck Quackenbush
A break containing series leader Stephen Gray (Bethel Cycle Sport) and teammate Morgan Stebbins took off early in the Master 40+ race at Bethel, Ct., on Sunday, March 16. Nelson Macy (Cafeteros), not to miss a move like that, quickly joined up. Others in there included Charles Quackenbush (Capital Bike) and Michael Allaire (Kissena). They built a gap, and with riders like national bronze medallist Scott Bodin (Bethel Cycle Sport) covering moves, the break stayed away.
This week Stebbins took the actual win, with Gray second. Quackenbush finished third, while Macy warmed up by taking fourth in this difficult race. Allaire finished fifth of the break, and Bodin lead in the field to take sixth.
World’s 2003
By Lou Rossi
After 29 years, the World Championships return to Canada. In 1974, at Montreal, Eddy Merckx won. After last year's race in Belgium, designed for sprinters (Cippolini, McEwen, Zabel), this year's race is for all-arounders. The road race course is 12.4 km. Elite Men will make 21 laps, with two climbs and steep descents.
About 800 athletes will compete between October 7-12. Spectators are expected to total 250-500,000! The event is subsidized by the governments of Canada and Ontario; in all up $12.25 million dollars (Canadian).
The official website is: www.Hamilton2003.com. Most hotels are booked. The American and British teams will be staying at the Kittling Ridge Winery in Grimsby, the town adjacent to Hamilton on the east.
Five Long Years
After hearing an update on this year’s Capital Region Road Race, and discussing possible formats for a Monday night training ride, CBRC members settled in for a lengthy discussion of a proposed five-year plan for the club at the final meeting of the year. The meeting was held at the Guilderland Library Wednesday, March 19. About 20 people attended.
Dave MacLeod put together a comprehensive plan that included a mission statement followed by three sections: an assessment of the current status of the club, a section on goals the club could work toward, and a plan for reaching those goals.
Members discussed the first two sections, sometimes debating wording, or disagreeing over parts of the proposal.
The proposal was too lengthy to cover in one meeting and the section on five-year objectives was not discussed. It was decided that a work group should convene to and meet over the Spring and Summer to refine the document, obtain feedback from the club as a whole and work towards the plan’s implementation.
At the Back
The Presidential View
The coming of April marks the end of spinning and the beginning of true season for cycle sport. Within a few short weeks CBRC racers and cycling enthusiasts will be back at it in Feura Bush, hammering out their workday frustrations and their friends on Tuesday evenings and preparing themselves for the larger races to come in late April and beyond.
I am excited about CBRC’s 2003 season. Looking at the riders who are returning after gaining a season of solid experience, the club is poised to capture high placings all year long. High finishes aren’t given away though. It will require some planning and coordination to get the right riders to the same races and into the right moves. I will always be available to help coordinate strategies and offer what experience I can to help our riders obtain the best results possible, get CBRC racers some points to upgrade and pad the club’s resume for soliciting sponsors next year.
Here are some of the oportunities I see for 2003:
1. Tour of Somerville - Masters, Cats III and IV only. With one of the top sprinters in the Northeast and the experiance from Empire State Games points races we could get a prominent big win in NJ.
2. Capital Region RR - there is no reason why we can’t make use of the home road advantage and win a couple of the categories.
3. Tour of Vermont - build on last year’s successes and pull in a GC victory.
See you all on the road. Train Hard.
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