T-town and the Skyscraper Classic

Following the Nature Valley Fixed Gear Classic I headed to one of the hot beds of track cycling, Trexlertown, Pennsylvania for more much needed racing. I planned on spending a week doing as much racing as possible while getting in some great training on the beautiful farm roads around the Lehigh Valley. This was the kickoff week of the T-Town track season and I didn’t want to miss it. Plus, it coincided with the Rockstar Games Skyscraper Classic in Harlem and I could fly out of New York for Europe, where my next races were.

When I flew in from Minneapolis, it was later evening and before landing, I could see the woods and farms in the valley in a really neat light and after not being here in 11 years, I finally remember how beautiful this place is. Once my luggage came, I was picked up  and made it to my home for the week – the infamous “Stone House.” The Stone House is home currently home to my bad ass teammate Kacey Manderfield but over the years it housed many top cyclists from all over the world. I was lucky enough to get an air mattress in a corner of the living room which was perfect for me. It was great.

The Stone House

This was really nice stop because not going did I get some more racing in, I got to hang out with some of the people that I have not seen in a long time. Not only did I get to hang out with Kacey and her other roommates but people like my teammate Liz Reap Carlson, as well as Erin Hartwell, Marty Nothstein, Jackie Simes (both III and IV), and Bobby Lea. Those guys were great company during the week.

Erin started pumping me for the Tuesday night racing, which had started a couple of weeks before. When I was here back in 1999 (the year I got my Cat 1 upgrade on the road here), Tuesday was off limits to pros and Cat 1s. Only development. Now, it’s not only open to pros but it’s very hotly contested. While there are no points and the results don’t really matter (I was told), everyone uses it to test tactics, strategies, and gears in some very fast racing. Eventually, I decided to use the night to try some big gear stuff, as everyone seemed to be putting on some large gears – 100 to 106 inch gears but only after starting the night with a 91 inch gear. We had a mix of scratch and points races and I remember just spinning out my gear while attacking in the points race. I remember thinking it was like I had nothing under my feet. I don’t remember what my results were (something okay but nothing spectacular) but at Erin’s suggestion, I decided to put on a much bigger gear for the last few races. Consequently, I went out and had no trouble following attacks with the large gears but really felt that it was too big when I went on the attack. It was a worthwhile experiment though and I was glad to have tried it out – especially come Friday.

During the week, I did some great rides around the area with Erin and later, Jackie. The roads around there are something out of a cyclist’s dream, at least at this time of year. Erin took my on a ride where we rode up some ridgelines and hills through some really spectacular roads. Then we met up The Derby, which is Trexlertown’s well known fast group ride. I actually had a blast with this, even though I had no clue where I was going. At one point, I broke away and had Rodney Santiago from Puerto Rico with me and he would shout where the turns were. As it turned, I ended up leading out  Shane Kline perfectly to a sign that, lo and behold, turned out to be the actual finish of The Derby. We laughed about that afterward. It was great fun.

Typical gorgeous Lehigh Valley roads to train on.

The Friday night race arrived and with much fanfare, the start of the track season in T-town had arrived. The evening’s feature was the US 10 Mile Championship. There is no recognized 10 mile championship in the US so this is the next closest thing. There’s no jersey or medal or anything but it is pretty damn cool to win it. I have to say, even with very little racing in my legs for the season, I liked my chances. I couldn’t quite decide on gears so I decided to start on something on the small side and go bigger if I needed. The racing was fast. I got a top 5 in the preme race, one of the early races, but could see that I would need something a little bigger. So I went up for the 10 mile final. Long story short, I played the whole thing wrong- very wrong. I expected it to be a high consistent pace throughout with guys falling off the back. So I would make a turn at the front and pull up, expecting everyone else to do their pull. Well, when I did that early on, about 9 guys pulled up behind me and  slowed way down. Right then, Bobby and couple of other guys attacked at the bottom. Pinned up at the top, I tried to get guys out of the way but to no avail. Eventually, I had enough daylight to get through the pack and bridge but the break had nearly a half lap. I got pretty close – maybe about 15 meters away but couldn’t close. Eventually, I got caught by the field but kept trying. I had the right gear on, I felt good, and I knew I could do it. However, I just couldn’t get in the right break. That’s how it goes sometimes. But I didn’t bother to sit in and wait for the sprint. I just kept trying until the end. I figured I still needed the workout and so I got it.

I got to watch Liz dominate the women’s races with her typical aplomb. Liz is something like six time national sprint champion and a rager on the track.

Following that race, Jackie (IV) and I did a great 3 hour ride through some hills and the Holy Valley and back through Kutztown. It was super nice and great to do some good climbing. We hadn’t planned on doing that much as we had the Skycraper Classic the next day but, as Danny Stam likes to tell me, “Hey, the sun is shining and we are on our bikes. What’s the hurry to get back?” It was a nice day and a fun ride. A great way to cap off my time in the Lehigh Valley.

There are actual climbs here too.

Huge thanks to Rockstar Games for sponsoring this.

Next was the Rockstar Games Skyscraper Classic in Harlem. This was held around Marcus Garvey Park. I had never been to Harlem before and it was an incredible experience. New York City isn’t someplace that I’ve ever felt particularly comfortable. The fast pace, all the crowds, and all the concrete have never been my cup of tea. However, I felt right at home the minute we got out of the car in Harlem. The race was being set up, the park was beautiful, and the gathering crown very friendly and fun.

For this year, the format was changed from a straight crit to a points race format following by an elimination race with a keirin at the end. Furthermore, it was by invitation only and they made a clear effort to make it track focused by bringing several Six Days stars, namely Franco, Leif Lampater, Ben Edmuller, and some others. In all, there were 40 of us or so, and that was a clear nod to keep the quality of the field high and the race safe. In the past, it’s been known as the Skinscraper Classic because of all the crashes.

Shortly after getting there, fellow track racer Colin Prenksy, who was there for the keirin, and his father Jay, took me on a ride through Central Park for a warm up. I have seen Central Park before but never ridden through it. And not only did I ride through it but I did so on a Sunday. Holy cow that was madness. All sorts of walkers, rollerbladers, tourists, slow bike riders, fast bike riders (like the Zipp disc and aero helmet in the park kind of fast) were all over the place. It was cool. We rode around a bit and then made it back to the race course. Rockstar Games, the presenting sponsor, had a VIP tent for their people and some of the racers. It was extremely well done. I went into the tent to watch some of the warm up races, while chatting with some of the invited guests of the sponsor. It made for an excellent place to prepare and get ready for our races.

The course before the action gets going.

The points race was pretty solid. We raced for 30 laps with sprints every five laps. With all the players having teams around them, I knew that I wouldn’t have a real chance to do much so I decided to work for a couple of other guys by keeping things together for the sprint. So I spent the race getting in some breaks and pulling back several others. It was very worthwhile. Not only did I get a good workout but seeing the leadout trains that Leif and Europeans had as well as Jackie’s Jamis-Sutter Home team, I would have been a moron to aim for sprints all day. As it was, I did a pretty good job and was happy with the performance.

After that, we had and elimination race. An elimination race on the track is crazy but in a crit it was even nuttier. Essentially, we would sort of sprint to the line but if you were in the back 10 or 20, you had no place to go. I did a good job of staying up near the front but things went a little pear shaped when another rider tried to cut out of the group and took out my front wheel. I stayed upright but my tire was punctured. So that was the end of my day.

All in all, it was a great race and a great experience. John Eustice did a great job organizing the event and the racing. The new format is great and I look forward to doing it next year.

That race concluded my stay on the east coast and I packed my bags right after the race and got ready for my next stop: Europe!