What do you get whenever you mix a rose, bud, and thorn? Apparently Albuquerque, New Mexico for the 2024 Collegiate Highway Nationwide Championships. Who knew?
Eight members of the street crew traveled down south to go up in elevation, competing in 4 nationwide occasions over three days – the crew time trial, particular person time trial, street race, and criterium. Let this weblog function proof that we found out how you can breathe with out oxygen, and let’s stroll by what our week of races seemed like! After all, since we’re in Albuquerque, and since it’s Seamus’ favourite exercise, every day can be offered in rose/bud/thorn vogue. Don’t know what that’s? You’ll determine it out (nobody ever defined it to me so idk both).
Workforce and Particular person Time Trial day
Rose
Hannah, Melissa, Chen, and Bianca (left to proper on the beginning) set off for the crew time trial to the candy sounds of the commentator making an attempt to recruit us for jobs. Apparently Los Alamos, NM has the very best variety of PhDs per capita or one thing, little did they know that none of our riders have a level but. Regardless, they’d a blast of their first crew time trial and completed seventh within the nation and Melissa completed the person time trial with a prime 10!
Throughout the person time trials, Hannah and Mason zoomed each rider into Lee Lopez’s thesis protection, persevering with our time honored custom of embarrassing each other once they’re hyper-focused on turning into a health care provider. (We’ve solely discovered his masters thesis on-line to this point however will replace this as soon as the doctoral thesis is up too). Rumor (heard right here first) has it Los Alamos is in his future.
Bud
On the boys’s crew, Derek (pictured right here in a very authorized aero place), Felix, Seamus, and Mason spent many of the warmup fearful that Seamus wasn’t feeling that nice after which spent the second half of the race fearful about him dropping the opposite three. A sooner time than final yr was an important end result, and with three of the 4 returning for subsequent yr we’re wanting ahead to the long run. Impressed by the marginal positive factors acquired by the TT helmets and skinsuits (each new experiences for a few of the crew!), the entire crew is wanting ahead to a way forward for aero positive factors. Positive factors are positive factors.
Thorn
After the races the true journey started, because the crew headed to the Petroglyph Nationwide Monument in order that Seamus might stamp his nationwide parks Passport. A quite thorny journey awaited us, with a number of sharp scrub greeting the hikers. The worst a part of the day was undoubtedly Derek and Melissa going an additional stroll at Petroglyph and lording it over everybody else at dinner. After dinner, it turned out the bathe’s sizzling water wasn’t working. For the reason that close by volcanoes weren’t very interesting (editorial remark: what volcanoes? Clearly this submit isn’t being written by a geologist), crew mother and most senior mechanical engineer Hannah disassembled and reassembled the bathe to make sizzling water!
Highway Race Day
Rose
Solely Mason and Hannah competed within the street race, which was roughly a forgettable expertise for Mason. Hannah, however, gained her small group’s dash and was in all probability top-5 among the many sea-level of us. In the meantime… the remainder of the crew was on the important obligation of shuttling across the two of them, handing up bottles and meals, and huddling round Hannah on the finish of her race to maintain her heat. This was arduous work, and required at the least three journeys to Sprouts (Melissa’s favourite place on earth), beans, cuties (the citrus, not Derek) a number of additional USAC water bottles, and a couple of journey down the musical freeway to the tune of “America the Lovely.”
Bud
Dinner this night was, effectively, difficult. We’re nonetheless ready on the cornbread to complete cooking… Within the interim, everybody has now made it their purpose to match Hannah’s t-shirt alternative with out her figuring out, as Mason managed to perform at the least as soon as on this journey.
Along with this admirable purpose, some, extra, intrepid (?) members of the crew proposed the aero-enhancing camelbak skinsuit as a startup concept. Their slogan? Hydraero 3000! Or perhaps Watersuit! Bianca is workshopping nonetheless however regardless, catch us on Shark Tank subsequent week!
Thorn
The crew actually wanted dinner that night time, since many of the riders ended up doing longer rides than Hannah or Mason between shepherding us across the course and concluding their rides with a giant climb up Sandia Peak (which will get above 10k toes on the prime). This was notably accentuated by the pretend truce Seamus tried to make with Felix close to the highest, as the 2 of them slowly ramped up the tempo on the best way up the climb. Melissa, Bianca, and Chen adopted at a extra affordable tempo and it turned virtually everybody’s greatest climb ever! Opinions differed on how pleasant the descent was: Melissa tore down like a slalom ski champ, Chen honed their apexing abilities because of WTC cornering day, Bianca obtained in her arm day pulling brakes.
Derek, though he didn’t race or do the massive climb and solely ultimately obtained cornbread, was nonetheless disregarded to dry. Hannah went to “””lay down””” in his mattress to get away from the hullabaloo and awoke there the subsequent morning, Derek banished to the sofa and woken up at 5am by the remainder of the crew. Her solely excuse? Sorry, it was very comfy! (editorial remark: Hannah had additionally set a greatest 20 minute energy through the street race… at 7,200’… tiredness was justified.)
Criterium Day
Rose
The crit was a tough time out for everybody with the one rose-worthy race point out being Hannah successful her second mini dash of the weekend (albeit for twelfth general/prime 5 of the sea-level colleges after crashing earlier within the race however a dash win continues to be a win!). Jealous of the Sandia Crest outing by the group the day earlier than, Derek motivated Mason and Hannah to go peak bagging within the afternoon. We missed out on the fantastic solar and as a substitute had been handled to 30+mph wind gusts and temperatures on the highest to match the remaining winter snow. Regardless of the chilly, the views had been nonetheless gorgeous and the group photograph ended up approach cuter than anticipated!
Bud
With the rotation of the Nationals venue each two years, it would truly be at sea degree subsequent yr! #bringontheoxygen!
Thorn
For the second yr in a row, the Rio Grande Celtic Competition was occurring contained in the crit course all through the race (to be clear, this isn’t the thorn, preserve studying). This led to a relentless soundtrack of bagpipes all through the day and to some stellar intermingling between the biking followers and the Celtic followers. A thorn for some was a rose for others when Hannah shortly deserted Mason to elucidate to somebody’s grandma how bikes haven’t modified a lot in 70 years. Mason had simply been pulled from his crit, was not amused, and Hannah, in fact, documented the event with glee from afar.
Journey Day
Rose
Half the crew headed again on Sunday morning, leaving Derek, Hannah, and Mason to fend for themselves on the criterium. It’s arduous to discover a rose on a journey day, however Seamus convincing all 4 of his NUMTOTs to take public transport house, bike luggage and all, was by far the spotlight.
Bud
One option to journey, and that we’re wanting ahead to seeing extra of sooner or later, is Dartmouth’s chosen technique. Helmets within the airport (simply identifiable), paceline strolling always (drafting is necessary at 2.5mph), and further compact use of porta-potties (don’t ask) are all admirable journey strategies we count on to see extra of from them on the subsequent ECCC race. Groups from different conferences at nationals didn’t perceive however Dartmouth, we see you and respect you.
Thorn
Sadly, journey day 1 ended up hanging out within the nice metropolis of Houston for six additional hours on Sunday. Bianca selected to go the time alternating between her newly acquired USAC water bottle and napping, whereas Felix returned to the working world. Seamus, Melissa, and Chen had been nowhere to be discovered (in all probability joyriding on the airport tram if we had been to guess although).
Closing Ideas
Rose
General, nationals was an enormous success. MIT was certainly one of 5 Membership groups to ship each full women and men’s groups and have racers in each occasion of the weekend. We had enjoyable, we challenged ourselves, and we seemed professional whereas doing it with nail polish to match our equipment. What extra might you ask for? (editorial remark: the Gatorade Man is what extra. Mason’s favourite volunteer from final yr was again once more this yr, enthusiastically forcing ice chilly hydration on us at each flip. We wanted him, and he delivered. Thanks, Gatorade Man.)
Thorn
Marking the tip of the season is bittersweet as buddies graduate and we wait a complete yr to do that all once more. On the intense aspect, the very best using months in Boston are simply arriving and a few would possibly say #crossiscoming or perhaps even observe season?!
(Fancy) images credit score: Craig Huffman Images
Textual content primarily by Mason
