Kanc Kanc Kanc!

The team at the top of Kanc!

Last weekend we took our annual trip up to the White Mountains in NH. This year we stayed in northern Maine, some 3 hours away from the hustle and bustle of Boston. The menu was the same as always; drive up on Friday, ride Saturday, ride Sunday, drive back immediately after, and then start homework.

In Fryeburg, ME, the team started their ride with a quick 10 mile warm-up loop at a leisurely pace. The temperature was 40 degrees and conditions were damp with fine rain coming down. Riders gingerly unpacked their bikes out of the vans, donned their Velotoze (and other rain gear, we just mention Velotoze to flex) and set out for the warmup. Why do a warm up loop? Well, I passed on age-old wisdom from my BU cycling elders and said “if anything on the bike were to malfunction, break, or felt ‘off,’ it would likely go wrong in the first 10 miles.” Lo and behold, Jack’s handlebar slipped down 7 miles in, so we made a quick stop back at the vans to torque the bolts and to also stock up on food and water.

An uneventful 30 miles later we arrived at the foot of the Kanc. Fortunately it started to warm up. We were approaching 50 degrees according to my headunit, and it was sunny according to everyone clamoring about our fortune as we made our way towards the climb.

As always the climb was a full-gas effort. Robert, Arun and I decided to launch an early attack, entering TTT mode from the Bear Notch Fork to the early steep pitches. As Jack came thundering past, I managed to hop on his wheel when we entered the steady 5% incline. Unlike many of the riders who shed layers at the Bear Notch turnoff, I kept my thermal jacket, leg warmers, and Velotoze in anticipation of the thirty minutes at the vista point taking pictures and the following descent. As expected, Jack rode me off his wheel with about 1 mile to go.

Isabella, Jack, and Yumeto atop the “podium” at the Kanc Summit

As Jack and I waited at the summit, he told me he was holding 400w up the entire climb, which made getting dropped sting a little less. After a few minutes, we could see Arun and Isabella coming up, head to head in a sprint for third. Isabella started her sprint with about 100 meters to go, leaving an exhausted Arun behind as she rounded off the podium.

We always stop at the vista point before we head all the way down the descent, and with the relatively warm weather, we were able to spend plenty of time taking pictures, re-capping the climb, and “awwwwwwwww”-ing at the dogs that were hanging around.

The descent is always flowy, fast, and over too soon. We soon made our way down the Kanc, some faster than others, and reconvened at Bear Notch Road. Our route split from Highway 120 as we made our way to the northern loop. The group split up at this intersection; we were approaching late afternoon and the sun would set soon. Riders who were determined to ride the century and could feasibly return to the van before sunset, made their way towards Bartlett. Others went for the direct route back to the van, which still totaled 80 miles. The rest of the ride was a blur for most, if not all, as we fought exhaustion and hunger. Nevertheless, both groups made it back to the van within minutes of each other, all of us anticipating the team tradition pasta dinner.

120 meatballs and a couple of veggie balls…all gone by the end of the night.

We hit the kitchen hard, pots, pans, and ingredients flying out of the cabinets and refrigerator. 10 boxes of pasta went into the pots, and 4 jars of marinara sauce as well. The meatballs went into the oven in the meantime…all 150 of them.

The team lines up to chow down!

Silence overcame the table as all of the riders voraciously consumed the pasta, Not even a “this is good” was heard. The chatter started up again after everyone had had a handsome serving of pasta, with my teammates going back for seconds and some even thirds. Each plate was consumed with coffee (of course), as we all struggled to stay awake from the food coma. An early bedtime for most left some of the night owls relaxing on the couch, recounting the day’s experiences.

We woke up late the next day for a short recovery ride. A quick Dunkins run proved fruitful not only in waking everyone up, but also in finding a route, as the friendly lady behind the counter recommended that we go follow a quiet B-road! Her words were worth their weight in gold, as we soon found beautiful New England Fall Scenery to enjoy at a leisurely pace.

Nothing much to say here, other than “beautiful.”

The weekend was overall, a 10/10 experience, and I cannot thank enough our generous donors, alumni, community, and sponsors for their support for the team, which makes this trip (and the spring road racing season!) possible every year.