This is just a quick loop I scouted out at Mack Park, Salem, MA. As I don’t have a CX bike, I’m not sure it’s even ride-able on a CX bike. It was definitely tough enough on my Heavy MTB.
You can find the segments on the web at:
What can I say about Purgatory? As with last year, it was a tough race!
Only this year, I actually had a good bike to ride! This race marks my one year anniversary as a road cyclist. When I signed up for 2011′s Purgatory Road Race, I had just gotten back from Iraq within the month, and I had no road bike. I definitely didn’t have any decent training to speak of. But sign up for it, I did with excitement.
I showed up on a chromium 1997 Trek 1220 with 2×7 gears, and the wheel off my wife’s 8 speed cruiser (to give my a larger gear, but only 7 of 8 cogs were usable by the derailleur). At the time, that bike had one major flaw for the race. To quote the guy I bought it from, “The previous owner wanted to make the bike faster, so he removed the smallest ring.” This left me with a 52, and a 48, up front, and 12-28 in back. 48 is way too big to get up the monster hill at Purgatory!
This year, I raced a 2011 Cervelo S5 with compact gearing, 11-28 cassette, andZipp 303 tubular wheels. Talk about a world of difference! The race still hurt, only more so this year, and I still got dropped, but I definitely improved.
And most importantly, I had fun with my friends, riding bikes. 
You can find the results at Road Results.
This year’s American Diabetes Association’s North Shore Tour de Cure couldn’t have happened on a nicer day! Last year as in the low 50′s, misty, and very cold if you had just come back from Iraq, like I had. This year was bright, warm, and in the upper 60′s to low 70′s! My arms and legs show witness to the beautiful weather, with nicely formed cycling tan lines!
Not only was the event a large success in raising money for Diabetes research and awareness, but it was a well run, high participant event, full of fun and camaraderie.
Essex County Velo, made a great showing in the new for this year, special edition, Rosa kit in White, red, and black. Talk about looking like a International Pro Tour team!
Yeah, I’ve been a bit busy with races, post-deployment Army training, trying to readjust to civilian life, work, and just all sorts of craziness! I should have been posting the details and what I’ve learned from the various races I’ve done, but maybe I’ll try to do an End of Year Review to do that.
It’s been a bit hectic, to say the least.
I have, however, found a tiny bit of time to add some new graphics and details under my “Joe’s Cycling” section! You can at least see the results from the races, and my overall standings.
I’ve joined the Essex County Velo cycling club this year, so I’ll be shifting to ECV kits when I race, and saving Velo Rabbit for my personal moniker, and for charity events. It’s not going to go away. It’s just getting more personal! 
The Salem Witches Cup did not go as well for me as I had hoped. I had expected to get pulled (like I did from the Attleboro Crit), but I didn’t expect to get pulled after only 4.3 miles! I only made it 9 laps in 12 minutes. The race went on for 40 minutes total… Ouch.
From the plotted speed, you can see when my legs decided they’d had enough. Right at about 3.1 miles in, my speed drops from 25mph average to 22 mph average.
Maybe commuting by bike (for the first time) for the week prior to a race was a bad idea…
And probably better bike. I use a heavy 7 speed bike which puts me at a disadvantage to the other riders right off the start. It doesn’t give me the selectability for gearings as other bikes, allowing for more optimal/efficient effort. It’s also a lot more effort to accelerate the bike than everyone else’s bikes.
One thing that I did notice I did well, was my cornering. Being not as sharp cornered as other Crits, this course is considered a very “safe” course. The turns are easy. I was able to do them without braking…. At least I would have been able to, if it hadn’t been for everyone else braking in front of me. Oh well. Next year I’ll do better.
The Tour de Cure took place on a very cold day, but we all toughed up, and rode for a good cause that day. Despite the high 40′s temperatures, and the cold misty ocean air, the ride went on, with FitWerx’s Marty’s pre-ride words driving us on, on this good cause.
The ears were a big hit!
Velo Rabbit raised $1020, and we hope to raise much more next year!
Tomorrow is the big day! Sunday morning, Velo Rabbit will be setting off to ride the North Shore Tour de Cure to help raise money for the American Diabetes Association. We’ve exceeded the team goal of $1000, but every bit more would be better.
You can go see the current progress or donate at Velo Rabbit’s Tour de Cure page.
Help us support the American Diabetes Association and help make someone’s life better!
We have a new member to the team!
Matt is a two time Operation Iraqi Freedom, one time Operation New Dawn veteran. He’s a good man and a good friend.
Welcome, Matt!
As of today, 20 Feb 2011, there is 91 days left till the North Shore Tour de Cure, and VeloRabbit has raised $635! I’m really excited!
We’re doing better than I’ve expected and have surpassed not only my personal goal, but the team goal as well, so I’ve raised both goals!
You can go see the current progress at Velo Rabbit’s Tour de Cure page, or you can find out more about the team at Velo Rabbit’s Team Page.
Help us support the American Diabetes Association and help make someone’s life better!
Velo Rabbit is getting bigger!
We now have a team of five members! Four athletes and one very awesome member without whom I’d be a mess of forgotten dates, times, and clothing items, as well as being an excellent photographer working on her own business.
You can see the team mini-bios on “The Team” page.
Very exciting!
Also in the world of exciting is the posting of the 2011 North Shore Tour de Cure routes, whose 100 mile Gran Fondo just happens to overlap part of my favorite coastal route near Gloucester, MA! You can find the routes in the “Charity Events” section, or by clicking here.
And don’t forget to donate! (Click on a rider and sponsor them, please!)
