Racing roads to the Trans-Sylvania Epic

By Stephan Kincaid,

The Tour of the Battenkill is a road race spread over an entire weekend and catering to the beginner to the Pro. Littered with a bunch of dirt road sections it’s becoming a legendary event. This year had over 3,500 racers in attendance on Saturday alone.

So what does this have to do with getting ready for Trans-Sylvania Epic?

First, the Tour of the Battenkill is backed by one of my best sponsors. I’m blessed to have a wonderful company in Stan’s NoTubes, and an excellent team in Stan’s NoTubes p/b Proferrin behind me for a variety of events for 2013. One of these is TSE.

Who in their right mind would support a 40 year old semi-retired dude with product and incredible amounts of enthusiasm? Stan’s NoTubes, that’s who! I was happy to see Cindy, Bob and Richie working hard for their company and taking care of their riders and their prospective customers. They are truly one of the best in the biz.

Stan’s treats you like family!

How cool is this? Personalized frame stickers!

Second, my teammates are like my brothers and I want to take care of them. During the race I did my best to shepherd Jake, John, Mike and Jacob around the field. It’s especially important to be at the entrance of the dirt sections. Not doing so can put you immediately on the brakes, this then forces you to re-accelerate in order to stay in the field. Those of you not familiar with road racing can relate to a mountain bike race surging to enter the single track. Too far back and you may never see the front again. In addition, once you get dropped in a road race, it’s rare that you get back and there’s fear of being time cut (not being classified as a finisher).

Thankfully, even with my lack of consistent riding (thanks to my full time job, recently moving and yada yada yada), I was able to dutifully perform my domestique role. I was eventually dropped at mile 55. I’d rather be dropped busting my butt for my team than to sit in and be invisible. I finished the race with others in my position to finish the 82 mile day in under four hours. Here’s the Strava info.

Some of the best parts of race/travel is meeting new people, seeing new places and sampling good restaurant fare. Of particular fun was meeting a host family and their dog Copper! Thank you for taking care of us!

How can one not love this face!

Get in my belly! A post race refuel stop at the Gilded Otter in New Paltz, NY.

Keep on Keeping On!
Geronimo