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I have been to Estonia over 25 times in recent years, but this time had a bit more drama than most. (Referring to the Estonian government’s decision to move a Soviet WWII memorial from the city center to a military cemetery and resulting anger from the Russian community. BBC story) I arrived on Saturday, 4/28 when everything was mostly calm after two nights of protests turned to riots in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. I don’t work in the capital, I am out in the mostly Russian north-eastern part where there was some tension on Saturday night, but not it seems mostly gone. Although I am sure that there are still people mad on both sides of the issue.

As for me, I don’t have a strong opinion on this matter. This is even despite knowing basically only Russians here in Estonia. The way that the government handled the matter (suddenly in the middle of the night) just prior to the May holidays (May Day and Victory Day, 5/1 & 5/9) was inappropriate. However, the rhetoric from the Russians against the government (calling them fascists and SS, etc) cheapens the Russians’ case. From most reports, it seems like the violence was not isolated to Russians, but included some Estonians as well. But no matter who all was responsible for the rioting/looting, it seems clear that it was nearly completely detached from the actual matter. Anyway, I hope this mess will pass. The Estonian government has moved the memorial and will soon have the graves relocated. What will happen after that I don’t know.

On a more positive note, I took some photos to show some natural beauty of the northern coast of Estonia. Here is one showing the deep blue of the Baltic Sea (Gulf of Finland).

Contrasted by the unnatural hills formed in Kohtla-Jarve by oil shale mining.

The weather turned cold and we are going into May with a light cover of snow.

Well, it has been a week with my new bike. After 6 years with my trusty Trek 5200 (Ultegra 9-speed), I decided to get a new bike. I went with a Kuota Kebel with SRAM Force / Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels.

At this point, I have done a couple weekday rides and also raced it down in Mississippi (see Brookhaven post, #3). I went with a smaller size (60 cm instead of 62 cm) and increased my cranks from 172.5 to 175mm. Both those changes seem to positive. I feel like I have more power (cranks) and a bit more nimble (smaller frame) in the crits. I think I need to bring up my saddle a bit and/or drop my stem still, but am pretty close to where I need to be.

The SRAM Force has been great. I find shifting to be pretty instinctive and have only flubbed it a few times. This last weekend, there was a 2-3 times where I pushed on my brake lever to downshift…6 years+ of Shimano STI will take a while to unlearn. I find it nice to stay on the double tap lever when pace is changing….and finding the exact gear I need when the pace drops or increases during the race. I like it.

I don’t have the SRAM crank, my bike came with a Stronglight Pulsion Crank. This actually seems to be an upgrade with the Ti spindle and all-carbon construction.

The bad thing is that I need to get some more cassettes, to bring my wheel set collection up to speed. Over the years I have a quite a collection of Shimano 9-speed cassettes…. now mostly useless…..
I will be going back to Estonia for work and then for a Paris trip the next two weeks. Photos to follow…. My next race might be Sumner Co. RR / Nashville Crit. Soto S.R. is definite after that. Just wonder how two weeks away from the bike will work out…we’ll see.

R

Saturday report (4/21/07)

Mark, Andrea, and I are all down at the Mississippi Gran Prix (Brookhaven). Saturday for us included at 50 mile RR in the AM, and a 4 mile TT in the afternoon.

Mark and I raced in Category 4. The road course was changed a little this year and included some additional grades in the extra 5 miles…. our race started off pretty fast with lots of attacks. A small group got up the road, etc. All of that came back together by the end of the first 25 mile lap, but unfortunately Mark was dropped along the way. I was hurting too, but hung on. The field stuck together with some attacks. The winning solo break went into the wind with about 10 miles to go. I pulled plenty and tried to get more than a few to help close the gap, but couldn’t quite do it.

At 2km to go (there was a sign), I cranked it up at the front and strung out the field to 1km to go and held on for 13th (12th in the sprint). There were too many passengers in the 25 or so in the field. So at the end of the RR, I was tied with most of the field at 7th in GC at +0:13. Mark worked hard out there to get around, but ended up more than 15 minutes off. That wind was tough.

The TT was a rolling to flat 4 mile TT….. Last year I posted a 9:56. My result this year was 9:55 and Mark thought he was under 10 minutes somewhere (9:48).. It put us in 22nd and 25th place out of 37 starters…there were a couple Cat 4s just under 9 minutes.

Andrea started in a field of about 20 women of all categories. A solo rider (Debbie from Tupelo) motored off the front early in the race and put 9 minutes into the rest. Andrea ended up a very impressive 5th behind a bunch of 1 and 2’s…. She probably was 5th in the TT.

Sunday report (4/22/07):Another good day of racing with sunny skies, no rain down in Brookhaven. The Sunday race was a circuit race around a community college just north of Brookhaven. The course was slightly modified from last year. The long sweep grade was replaced by a shorter slightly steeper one. I think the race was made more interesting because of it. Andrea raced first with the women’s field. Overnight she had a 5th place in the G.C. with her 5th place TT result. From the start, there was a group of 5 or 6 that powered away from the rest. All the while she stayed in 3rd or 4th place lap after lap until there was only 4. About half way through the 40 minute race, Tupelo Debbie and another rider broke free of Andrea and another. And that is how it finished. Andrea beat out her competitor to take 3rd in the C.R. That was good enough for 5th in the G.C. .

After her race, it was Mark and I that raced in the Cat 4 race. As is usual, it started off fast to line out the field, etc. Unfortunately, Mark was shredded early in the race. I got a bad start, but managed to catch on and settled in for the long haul. I moved around the field quite a bit as everyone was trying to get to the front constantly. By the end of the 40 minutes, we had about 25 or so in our field. I was reasonably well positioned, but a combination of getting caught out behind some slower climbers/cornerers, put me at the back of the field. That is where I stayed. I ended up 17th. Overnight I was 22nd in the G.C., +1.13….. I improved to 20th @ +1:19.

I took some photos of the Women’s race and Andrea returned the favor with my camera for the Men’s 4: [2007 MSGP photos]

R

Road Race:

Circuit Race:

Photo that my mom took out on course. She stood down in the wind the rain to help marshal the course.

Turn 4 (TN134 & TN156), lap 2

Bryan & me with our small group at Nickajack Lake (Tennessee River)

The foul weather we have been experiencing in Memphis hung around for another day in Chattanooga today. The combination of wind (10-15 mph), rain, and cold temperatures (mid 40’s) made this race. I hadn’t done RMRR since my first year in Chattanooga (2002), so I wanted to give it another go.

Anyway, Bryan Marshall and I lined up with some reluctance (due to weather) in a huge TBRA field. I heard 92 riders and also 96 riders, but anyway, it was a big field. They also used chip timing for the first time….I haven’t heard any feedback on that… the attachment and collection went smooth. I will relay relevant feedback when I hear it.

Back to the race. The course is a 27 mile loop with a couple short hills and two longer grades. The longer one is about 2 miles long and climbs up about 700-800 feet (stair-step climb). There is another shorter grade to the finish of each lap (maybe 1-1.5 miles). None of it is that steep, but it definitely wears you out. Bryan and I were in the Cat 4 field, so we had two laps to do. We both were with the field through the finish climb the first time around. Bryan stayed with them, I had to chase most of the valley to get back…but I got there. The race started to move a bit faster up the finish climb and I was off for good. Bryan also got popped somewhere around there. My group of about 4 caught up with Bryan and another guy around 4-5 miles into the lap. We all rode into the headwind to the stair-step climb. We all stayed together more or less until the end. As for how many were up ahead, I am not sure. Maybe 25-30, maybe more. We were probably 2-3 minutes back from the field.

Memphis Velo alum. Greg Casals took the Cat 3 race (1st place).

Rick Carpenter and David Bell raced together in the 50+ / 60+, not sure how they did.

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[below proved how wrong my initial impressions above were:]

Preliminary results were posted:

The chip timing used at RMRR allowed very accurate timing results and even lap times. Here is what I see on the lists.

Rick Carpenter (50+), 3rd. [+0:00.7]
David Bell (60+). 2nd [+0:54]
Scott Horkey (Cat5, 30-39), 2nd [+0:06]
Ryan Bosio (Cat4) 57th [+9:36]
Bryan Marshall (Ca4) 58th [s.t., 0.5 second behind me]

Preliminary results:

http://www.sceniccityvelo.com/content2.php?id=raccoon_2007results&format=3110&ad=0300

Starting it off with a link to my previously built sub-websites…..
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