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Stedman GP And Casters GP 2006

W. E. Stedman GP of Cross, Dec 9 2006

Saturday was cold, but sunny... but COLD. I showed up late, and Jen was already racing with the B Women. I didn't get to see much of her race, because I was panicking around trying to register, change, warm-up, etc, but she finished solidly in 5th place, after duking it out with the other sandbaggers in women's B I'm sure (although I don't blame anyone -- UCI liscences are damn expensive, especially for just a few races).

My race came around, and Richard Fries was already making fun of me. Yes, I do own socks. No, they don't fit into my shoes, so I don't wear socks. Yes, I like it that way. He also came up with a new one, about my pants (so I rolled up to the start line still wearing my flannel-lined carharts, a move I picked up from someone older and wiser than me. Plus it was COLD.

My race was pretty unexciting, there was a big front group and lots of sitting up, surging, and other things I hate. So I attacked. Long story short, I sprinted backwards to lose a several second gap and fall to fourth.

Up next were the women's elites, featuring alums Amy Wallace and Kat Carr. I didn't get to see the race because I was stuffing my face and changing, but I'm told the alumni both had less-than-stellar days on the bike. It happens.

The big boys were up next, and Toby was rabidly defending his U23. After an incredible start (for starting third-row, anyway) Toby tore it up in a race with some huge names -- Tim Johnson, Jeremy Powers, Todd Wells, and Matt White to name the top 5. Jamey Driscoll, U23 cross pro/rockstar stayed well behind Toby, probably afraid of being bitten by the rabid, foaming, U23 series leader. At the end of the day Toby finished 17th, the second U23 rider.

After the race we went out to dinner at the nearby Mews Restaurant. Featuring 69 beers on tap and a monster 2-lb burger, a good time was gauranteed for all. To add to the fun, an unidentified troupe of children came in to sing carols to the patrons. The leader (clearly one boy's father, since he kept telling the boy to sing louder and stand up straighter) didn't know all the words himself, and would periodically slur/hum the lines he didn't know. Quite funny.

Caster's Gran Prix of Cross, Dec 10 2006

General Stebbins left no doubts of an on-time departure on Sunday morning (a big thank-you to Toby's parents for their hospitality!). After a blur of roundabouts, egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches, and blue blast gatorade, we arrived at the warm and sunny venue with plenty of time to spare. The course was sweet, and quite different from Saturday's, with lots of technical turns in the woods, two beach sand pits, and a sweet little downhill section.

Jen's group of sandbaggers proceeded to lap the rest of the field (again, no offense). Jen did one-better today, finishing with a very solid 4th place.

The Men's B race was delayed due to an injury in the final lap of the women's race, so we all got to preview some more laps of the awesome course. As we all milled around the starting area, I noticed Lyne Bessette there, getting ready to race with us. Oh crap. I'm a little confused as to how they did call ups, but I do know that I completely forgot to pin my number, and left it sitting in the car. Good thing I'm not a pro yet, because that was definetly 'not pro'. The officials were incredibly (inexplecably?) gracious, and gave me a first row spot, and told me that I would be fine without my number.

So Lyne Bessette creamed me in the start, and i filed in somewhere around 8th. Later that lap she crashed in front of me in the sand pit and i kinda ran her over a little. Sorry. I enjoyed the advantage of the technical course, but definetly didn't have the legs today. But at least i didn't get girled. Ryan Kelly did.

The only photo i could find of a Dartmouth rider from the weekend as of yet:

Although the other photos on this site may lead you to believe that my cross game is smooth, fast, and (pony)powerful, this is the truth: often awkward, kinda slow, and generally funny looking. I'll put up more photos as they surface.

Kat and Amy had better rides today, although I didn't get to see them, like usual. Sorry guys.

Toby's race was quite exciting. I mean there was Toby, but that wasn't the exciting part. He could have drank beer and heckled the spectators during his race and still would not have been able to lose the U23 jersey, thanks to his huge lead. He was apparently less rabid today, and was unable to scare off Jamey Driscoll, but still came in solidly overall with 16th, after a sweet downhill sprint in the final seconds. The exciting part was watching Matt White almost hold off Mark McCormack. If he had, he would have taken the overall series lead from Mark. But Mark caught him with a lap and some to go, and then dropped him.

Good luck to everyone next weekend at Nationals! -Rudy

Toby's race report

" In a nutshell I went kind of fast for half of the first day, and then kind of slow for the rest of the weekend. The first day was sweet though, since I was ahead of Mccormack at the start. I said "damn im pro" and then proceeded to attack hard, backwards. (ed note: I am one of the pioneers in the backwards attack. Second oldest trick in the wompatuck book)

I really suffered on the second day. especially since it was really twisty and turny.

I kept the [u23 verge series leader] jersey though, which was kind of easy since the second place guy (jesse anthony) didnt even show up on Saturday. Or because you look at a guy like me, and you see dedication, and what it takes to do the whole fulltime pro athlete thingy. (ed note: it isn't pro to use the word "thingy")

Other highlights of the weekend: - Rudy beat Lynn Bessette. But Rudy has bad gas, and Lynn looks much better in a skinsuit. So who's the real winner? - Jen did well both days. (ed note: so pro fo sho) - we all cuddled and watched greys anatomy on Saturday night - An hour ago, I ate 4.5 cubic meters of Ben and Jerrys ice cream in one sitting. I have a problem. " --- end of quote ---