Over the Fourth of July weekend I raced the 51st annual Fitchburg Stage Race in the pro/1 field in and around Futchburg, MA. It was just about my first time to do an NRC stage race in the pro category as in the past I’ve always done the amature 1,2 race and the only preious time I ds Fitchburg was in the category 2 race.

I did not do very well. I got a flat tire on lap 11 of the 24 lap circuit race (3 mile loop with a pretty solid wall of a climb each lap) and was lapped twice by the pack. Then during the next day’s 98 mile RR I went down in a stupid mid pack pile-up that happened just 8 minutes into the race. I chased back onto the pack just in time to get dropped again on the climbing part of the lap and chase on again before the climb the next lap. I was then dropped and rode with a group but a few of us miscalculated the time cut and rode our last two laps too easily getting time cut. (not finishing within the alotted time of the winner’s time 20%)

Since my race was over, instead of an 8 mile TT on day three I rode from our host home in Boston 50 miles to the TT start in Fitchburg where I met my teammate Pat McCarty at the end of his TT and we drove back to Boston. This hammer fest training ride an the first two days of rcing gave me about 215 miles of hard racing in less than 48 hours so I was happy with my training over the holiday weekend.

Pat was pretty solid in the race and finished 8th overall.

I then spent the week after the race hanging out with my friends in Boston. it’s always great to hang out on that city and to spend time with my college roommates and best friends.

Oh then on Friday I raced the track at T-town in PA with my teammate Chris Carlson as he was there for his son Zach who was racing in the junior national championships. It was fun getting to have a teammate and friend on the track with me in T-town and it was also great seeing all the junior racers out there. Especially the ones from Texas.

Thanks to Kevin Hill of IC3 for letting me chill with them in their tent in the infield since all the stalls/carrals were already taken when I showed up.

While there I got to see: Zachary Carlson race actively and get 5th in the scratch race, Christina Keoppe race with real heart and guts to finish her scratch race, chat with Landon Beachamp (sp? sorry) on his off night, Peyton Thomas race a strong scratch for I think 5th, the GS Tenzing boys actively contest their scratch race and more.

It was a fun night tuning up my legs after the 4.5 days of recovery after Fitchburg and before Saturday night’s Iron Hill USA Crits crit.

-Andrew-