The 2011 edition of the Green Mountain Stage Race almost didn't happen. When you think of hurricane exposure, Vermont isn't exactly at the top of anyone's list. But, instead of nailing the coast hard, Irene saved her wrath for Vermont and upstate New York.
Torrential downpours led to rains rushing down mountain streams into valley rivers not prepared for 10" of rain in a matter of hours.
As we drove through the aftermath a week before the race, the damage was unimaginable. In Waterbury, the river jumped the banks, became a half-mile wide and destroyed everything inside 150 homes. People and their belongings were caked in river mud as they piled debris in their front yards.
To make matters worse, power lines were out and several valley towns were trapped due to roads and bridges completely washed away.
Against this backdrop, a bicycle race didn't seem plausible or appropriate and the race organizer Gary Kessler sent out an email to his 800 racers to say the race might not happen.
But, Gary's a Vermonter, in the coolest sense. Business owners in the Valley asked him to hold the race -- given the damage from the flood, they could ill afford the loss of income the racers bring to the Valley (around $1M over the weekend).
That meant Gary, Peter and their team had three days to find new courses for 2 of the 4 stages, get permits, permission from towns, state police, etc. Somehow, they managed to do it and on Thursday an email came, "Race On."
The Weston Posse guys rallied and Steve, Andy, Jeff, Thom, Mike and I made it to the start line. A local favorite route called 'Tour de Camels Hump' would serve as the new improvised route. 63 miles, 5000 feet of climbing with a mountain top finish on the 20%+ App Gap.
It was a hot and humid day. 11 miles into it we hit the first KOM (King of the Mountain) up the Duxbury Gap. I fought like a fat man needs to, to hang with the lead group. The pace picked up with 1K to go and half of the peloton went shooting out the back. I looked over my shoulder to see that I was the last man in line. Push hard or 50 miles in the wind alone. Luckily a little local knowledge helped -- there was a 4.5 mile descent following the climb, so lot's of time to recover. I turned myself inside out and stayed in the lead group.
Mike, Steve and Andy were there no problem and about half-way down the descent, I slipped to the front to get two minutes of time in first place. We hit the flat and the planets came back into alignment and the fast guys came to the front.
At 16 miles we hit a dirt section and all heck broke loose - guys were pushing the pace to fly over potholes. The end-cap of the dirt section was over a washed out road that was filled in with rocks. Guys were flatting left and right. Unfortunately, the Jeff Packman's tires were claimed and he slipped out of the chase group. Irene's revenge #1.
At mile 25, the road got really rough and Garmins were flying off of handle bars. Mike's was the first to go. He paused for 10 seconds -- you could see his mind spinning ("That's a $300 Garmin. I should go get it. If I go get it, I'm out of the race."). About the time he was turning back, a guy rode up and said, "Sorry pal, your Garmin was crunched immediately -- several of us rode right over the thing." Irene's revenge #2.
Meanwhile, Jeff had fixed his flat and was soloing back to the group. He hit this section and, you guessed it - Garmin went flying. He ending up chasing his into a field. Irene's revenge #3.
The headwind was strong and the lead group was now down from 85 to about 35. The message was clear -- if you attack us, we will let you dangle in the wind, let you fade
and then we will hunt you down and spit you out the back.
At 31 miles we had a 3-mile climb and a few more guys were dropped. The group was motoring. At 51 miles our average speed was 23.5mph and we'd covered two climbs. Steve went to the front to drive the pace. Mike, Andy and I happily let him. After awhile, I felt a little guilty about letting him do all the work, so went to the front and tried to play good domestique - "you need anything? bottles? food?"
Truth is, in about 5 miles we'd hit the base of a Cat1 climb and I was pretty sure that's the last I'd see of the business end of the race.
We hit the base of the App Gap -- a steep 4 mile section called the “Baby Gap” and the pace kicked up. I hung on for dear life for a few kilometers. At the back of the group, guys were throwing the anchor over and flying out the back. About half-way up, I became one of those guys and the green jersey holder and I agreed to form our own gruppetto (back of the bus).
The pros had started right behind us and I couldn't believe that we hadn't been caught by this point. He and I made a goal -- let's get to 3km from the top without getting passed by the big boys.
Up at the front, Steve and Mike were hanging tough. Jeff, Andy and Thom were chasing hard and I was in between in no man's land, trying to hold off the pros with my new best friend (the guy was pretty hilarious).
At 58 miles we hit the final 3 mile STEEP climb up App Gap. I had been out of fluids for a while and the heat was brutal. I pedaled but I'm pretty sure there are 80 year-olds moving faster behind walkers than I was moving.
At 3.5 km to go, the pro lead car came by. The race was on -- like idiots we pushed the pace trying to get that 3K to go sign before getting passed. About 100 yards short of it, Tom Zirbel came flying by, followed by Jamey Driscoll in hot pursuit. Yes, they were going at a very different speed.
The last 1km is brutal - averages 18%+. Finally over the line and finally the heat breaks into a cold rain. Timing was perfect.
The Weston/Wellesley Posse did great:
- Steve Lebovitz - 5th at 3:00
- Mike Moran - 13th at 3:05 -- looking for any old Garmins that might need a new home
- Jon - 24th at 3:13
- Andy Kessler - 26th at 3:15
- Thom Cranley - 31st at 3:28
- Jeff Packman - Hard Man award - - 40th at 3:44 -- awesome time considering flats, Garmin chasing and riding alone into a headwind for 30 miles.
The real winner was the Mad River Valley -- by the end of the weekend, about 80% of the roads were open, tourism was on the upswing and Gary and his team pulled off an amazing feat.
Next up - the Vermont 50!
