Section head text.
It’s Friday again already, so we need to take a look at what’s happening in the area as far as bikes and the racing thereof goes.
On Saturday, there’s the R&A Cycles Series race in Prospect Park. PLEASE NOTE that there’s a new location for the start/finish and registration, so if you show up to the old reg area and there’s no one there, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
Also on Saturday is the Berkshire Cycling Classic in Lenox, MA.
And on Sunday, there’s the Father’s Day tradition of flying around Marcus Garvey Park in the Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic.
Calling out a rider, ANY rider, who uses their real name on this forum is cowardly and classless. Especially if it’s done anonymously (like me right now). A Cat 1, 2 or 3 who feels it necessary to publicly belittle a 4 may have earned the points for upgrade but not a lick of respect…from ANYONE.
1ST
Hey Charlie, are we on for the race this morning at prospect park?? Anyone? I never got my follow-up email whether or not the course is still flooded out or not.
Rumor on Facebook is that it’s on. Without official word and I’d imagine not many areas but Brooklyn represented, this series just became irrelevant.
Stephan Dioslaki here. Hoping you might be able to help. In a state of oxygen deprived stupor, I put my red and white Oakley jawbone sunglasses down at the registration table or at the camera table immediately following the R&A race at Prospect Park today and forgot them there. If anyone happened to find them, I would greatly appreciate it if you can hang onto them for me and let me know. Please call or text me at 973-296-2568 if you know. In case you don’t know who I am, I am wearing the red and white KOM leaders kit. Thanks very much!
DIO
Big shout out to Charlie for putting on two amazing races this weekend.
yep second that…Charlie was up literally all night fri/sat, then put on Harlem which had to be a ton of work, and then has FBF on Tuesday. I can imagine on Weds he will need a break…
People crash in turn one because the road is crowned. If you are consistently taking the turn on the inside, not a problem. But if you go must past the center you are not in an off camber turn situation. It’s gets very tricky and many folks can’t handle it and just go into the barriers.
On the last lap in the last corner, things also get hairy. But that’s the situation in all crits on the last corner of the last lap. Be at the front and hope the guy in front of you doesn’t wipe out.
That explanation is comical. People crash because they are riding to hard with no expertise on how to race a bike.
if they were riding at a pace they can handle they would not crash.
Harlem, off camber? Learn to steer. Easy corners.
We are very lucky to have a race promoter like Charlie in New York.
Thanks for the great race.
It happened. Plenty of people showed up.
On what channel will the harlem crit be televised?
Plenty of people showed. And others were waiting around for the four am follow up email, including several of the contenders. Things happen. Hats off to Charlie for spending the night in the park pumping water.
I get that it was confusing and no one wanted to risk traveling far only to find that it was cancelled but I took it as a safe assumption that if Charlie didn’t think he could get the course in shape he would have cancelled it by 4am.
Yeah – big thanks to Charlie for going above and beyond with efforts to make it happen. Far as I could tell, all of the contenders WERE there. All of the leaders jerseys were there and most if not all of the top 10-ers were there too. BTW that’s a great spot for the start / finish. Hope it stays there.
At least two of the top five masters weren’t there. As others have said, things happen. And that’s ok. But it did impact the series. Charlie did a great job, and things are clarified for the future.
the revolution will not be televised
NBC holds the US media rights to the revolution, but you should be able to find it on a low fi Russian pirate feed online.
What!? There were crashes!? In Harlem? But seriously folks. Road rash aplenty but with no medical treatment/supplies available because the only ambulance had left for the hospital. Nice.
More like World Championships. Guys trying to fit into spaces against the barriers only to find out they should have used there brakes a bit sooner. Some pretty jacked up pot holes that claimed a few tires. Ahhhh the crunch of dollar signs floating away in the air. Will I be back next year? Hell Yeah!!!
Despite the crashes, I really enjoyed in enjoyed racing today (3/4). Back stretch could use some new pavement though…
Wish I was a master or a woman…that sounds like a great start/finish
Maybe Charlie will keep that finish for the L&C races.
so what is the logic / why did they change the location of the start / finish ?? Also, does anyone know where parking is best as a result of this change ?
I can’t speak for why the finish was moved, but it will make the hill much more important on the last lap, considering a 5-6 second gap gained on the hill can be held that distance.
Regarding parking, just park anywhere, what’s the difference.
I went years ago, but can’t remember the exact location and want to take our 8-year-old who now rides regularly with me. The course is near Marcus Garvey Park, right?
Axel,
I am scared to bring my 10-year old Harlem, with all the crashes, it might be scarry
He said something about it last week before the masters race, they changed the finish because of the construction barriers in the last 1000m before the old finish….too narrow.
Crashes at harlem make little sense to me. It’s a very easy, wide coruse. I wouldn’t call this a technical crit by any means. Yet NYers, who are generally not used to cornering, seem to find ways to crash. It’s mind blowing how bad NYC bike handling skills can be sometimes. I wonder if Chris Tenn will beat all of the 20 something year old Ca 3s.
That’s exactly why they happen. It’s flat and not technical enough to drop anyone, but fast enough that in a big field bad things can happen.
Yes, A. Brazeon. The race goes round and round Marcus Garvey Park. Very child friendly, your 8 yr old will have a blast. As for crashes, not a problem for the kids races. Don’t let the sarcasm as a second language found here keep you from going.
anybody know what condition the pavement is in on the Harlem course these days?
If you have to ask that question in general, I advise not racing. Condition is: Pavement
If only Michael Ball and Rock Racing would show up again with their Escalades and Jumbotron at the start/finish line… yeah, they were dopers, but you gotta admit they put on a hell of a show in ’08. Wasn’t there a chopper overhead filming the whole thing, too?
Harlem Criterium: Now with less pavement!
the DOT removed the road furniture for the race. The course will be no better/worse than it ever has been.
new finish line at prospect park is safer as its after the KOM so pack gets strung out and weak guys get dropped instead of the usual full on bunch sprint shit show. Nicely done Charlie and hope you’ll keep it this way always
All the guys that crash are from out of state, from your state.