From Jeff Ker, Toronto:

Greetings from TO.

Ok, raced the Tour of the Battenkill for the second time last Saturday. What a truly amazing course. A 105km race course with 4942' elevation gain of which 25% is gravel and/or dirt roads.

It is an unforgiving course but fantastic in it's design. It is point to point and addresses the root of suffering.

Last year I got my ass handed to me by thinking it was safe to register in the Master 40+ group. TOB does not really draw the enthusiast, yet the expert. So it doesn't matter what your passion level is for great races and great topography, it matters more what your climbing ability and raw power is. That said, yes, loving 'the art of the race' is not to be discounted, but you will pay a price.

This year my climbing was much better, my recovery much better and my raw power much higher. A good friend put me on a great program this past winter which was both interesting and very profitable. So this year I registered in the 45+ cat, new to this year, and I approached the start line to join a group of exceptionally fit 45+ year olds. It's rather amazing when you look around, you assume they are all stronger than you(and they probably are), some look well over 50 and you are not mere mortals in this world. You don't eat Cheese steak sitting on the couch for hours on end.

The weather was good. It was about 7deg C and it had rained the day before for the better part of the day and had packed the dirt sections down. Some were a little sticky and overall times were down.

The race pulled out with a neutral start for a few KMs when the pace car moved away and we leapt into a faster pace over some rollers. I was trying to remember around which corner the two first climbs were sitting. They sit one in front of the other, are about 20kms in and are nasty. The first not so steep but long and stepped, the second, gravel/dirt and about 13% and long. If you climb out of the saddle this one will step on you as it is gravel/dirt and steep so your rear tire will slip. 'Sit down!' the climb yells!

Last year I was dropped on the first climb. This year I sat for both climbs and made it to the top with the lead group. They dropped me shortly thereafter as they really hit the accelerations at the top like good climbers can. I wasn't alone though. I had probably 30 guys behind me and between them and some in front we took up chase and over about another 30 kms (50 total) we harvested enough eligible bodies to catch the lead group again. It was a beautiful exercise of sheer determination to 'not get left behind'.

I'll be straight with you, at that point I was satisfied with my efforts and could have packed it in there.

There was still the matter of the other half of the race to finish. The hills go up and down and each time you hit them they take a little more from you, and the speed is as high as one can get. Remember this is a long race with 86 in our group and if you are not at the front, then you are trying to balance who can help you and who you can drop. I don't really know how many climbs there are, but there could be 30 legitimate climbs.

Something I learned this time around, is one must eat at the neutral start, because the pace is too high for the first 30kms to eat OR drink. That's 1/3 of the race and you have nothing in you. I will touch on this a little more later.

I was working with a few guys, and it's just as well. When you are not climbing you are either going down hills or battling wind.

I was thanked for my long and hard pulls. Let me say that again - some guys thanked me and commended me on my pulls.

I felt giddy.

I've never been complimented like that by guys I considered strong racers. Scott's winter training was really paying off. This was another moment I thought,'I could get off my bike right now and hop in the broom wagon', ' these guys are impressed and thankful - i am a worthy racer'. We picked up more people, we lost people, some guys left me, it went on and on.

It wasn't until about 20kms to go that some fast group came up behind me and another racer and we realized they were in our cat. I couldn't understand how we could be so far into the race and these guys were moving at such a pace, though they were obviously way behind us. I still don't get it. They ended up dropping me with about 10km to go on a nasty climb where my legs were cramping so badly and spasm-ing, that I could see my leg muscles receding bout 3 inches up my leg and shaking in spasm. I knew I had the power to hit this climb as faster or faster than they were. I felt the power inside of me but it seems my legs were working at about 60%, and so it was...

One of the guys through out ' hey, that's gotta be a 20lb bike there' to my Marinoni. hardly 20lb but perhaps 17.5. It's not as old as anyone ever thinks it is. I was running homemade wheels of Record hubs with Reflex's and FMB Robaix green walls. Many of the racers bring their hottest road bike with carbon wheel set. I can't really imagine that, as there are so many places to crash on the gravel downhills, potholes and the other racers negotiating the same in a pack at times. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have my deep dish rims for the open paved stretches.

Re. the cramping, I remember what Gilbert said last year about a sprint at the end of the World Championship. He something to the effect of,' Everything is telling you to sit down, but if you do it is over, you must just keep pushing the crank'.

I knew if I stopped pedaling and pushing at a constant the muscles would just collapse, so I just kept on a willed the muscles to stay in check. They did and I got though it. They had been threatening me on and off for at least 15kms by that point. I had drank and eaten but a little too late. I suspect If I had done it right I would have gained 5 positions at least and 5 minutes off my time.

Up the last climb of the race, a fellow racer who had stuck with me through most of the second half fell to the mercy of cramped hamstrings and collapsed. I urged him on but to no avail. He was done. I powered on and at up one position in the last km.

I finished with 54th and a time of 3:21.

Comparitively, I took 10 minutes off my time from last year and felt good at the end. I climbed really well, seated for every one, and significantly helped the groups I was in with my pulls

Last year I cursed Scott for talking me into the race and this year I was eager to go back for next year. A very big difference.

To put it in perspective, the 60+ men's group winner was better than my time and 30 of the 75 or so were within 10min of my time.

That's men OVER 60 years old. This race does not draw the sportive rider.

I'm proud to be a contender and next year I will do ever better.