Hello track enthusiasts. I am pleased to announce that registration is open for the 2007 Kissena Opening Weekend and the 2007 Kissena Twilight Series. I am looking forward to another great season on the track; but there is one very important piece of information that everyone planning on attending these events must know.
This year the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is enforcing a current policy upon us that no money may be collected at a park venue unless a special Temporary Use permit is obtained. After reviewing the details, the cost of the permit was way too expensive for us to bear, so we have no choice but to run these events with PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY!!! We cannot have onsite registration this year, and for that I do apologize. But the only other alternative was to not have the events at all, and I feel that pre-reg only vs. no racing at all is the better of 2 evils. Online registration is available by jumping to the following hyperlinks:
I would encourage everyone to sign up for the annual pass for the Twilight Series; it will make my life that much easier and you won’t have to go online every week to sign up. The annual rate is discounted 15%, so you can save a little money too.
So please tell everyone you know that will be coming to race at the track this year about this and to plan accordingly.
If anyone has questions, please feel free to e-mail me and I can answer them. I’m looking forward to the racing this season; I hope you are too.
And BTW…don’t forget we have racing this Sunday courtesy of Joe Brennan; start time is at noon. The flyer is online at kissena.info.
See you at the races……………..Alan
Hi folks. Just a reminder that this weekend’s races at the track are PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY!!!! – so don’t miss out. I have extended the registration period on BikeReg.com until Saturday night at 9pm. If you want to come race this weekend, or even for one day, please sign up at http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=4638.
I hope to see you this weekend. Weather looks good and pleasant; perfect racing conditions.
Thanks,
Alan
P.S. – Thanks to NYVelocity for helping me get the word out.
I can’t speak for anon, but maybe alan and the others shouldn’t take this as an attack. They do a good job putting on good races. Without Alan and Campo and Brennan there would be nothing. But anon is saying that we could be doing muich more. Wouldn’t having a velodrome as good as Trexlertown be incredible?
The cat is back and what happened while I was away?
The only thing we have to fear is unsolicted speculation and more hammering nails. Communication is key to getting things done which includes this website. Discussion is a good thing albeit without the putdowns, no one is perfect, most of all me. I can’t evey fill out my unemployment without making mistakes. Filling permits can be a mine field waiting to take your leg off.
Comparisons – Ktown vs. ttown is silly. Tracks and director all have problems and that is why all the track are in contact with eachother to make things better. We all have problems with the cities we reside in. The big problem is people in parks leave and are replaced which means you have to educate all over again. Which is what happened here. Alan, Joe, Jarred, DelRoy,Diedra and Talila are doing a fine job.
Parks has been very good to us, and we will be featured in the New York times Sunday edition and New york magazine in the coming weeks.
I am also constantly working to find supporters in and out of city goverment to help us further our cause as is every velodrome director in the country. If you have a contact for me – call me.
The main thing is ridership, national champions, world champions and so on. So when I bring a rider into my circle and train them only so that a road team can pick them off never to be seen or heard from again it diminishes my efforts.
I’m not saying don’t road race. I’m saying specialize, the complaint in cycling is "We don’t have a sprinter." As per Tour of Cali, While JJ, was working out the last five years at TTown and is now on CSC. The hammers might win for a couple of years but in a few years that abuse will get you bad knees and new hammers are always around the corner. Learning different way to win can be done on the track with six or seven chances every night with plenty of time for road racing. It will eventually get you to a point where you can do your road schedule and just show up to any track and be a winner. Ivan spoke of that in his interview by me. Check it out.
We appoligize about the way you have to register. Like Joe said we have ways around it so show up and we will hip you to the gan. Dig it! But no more speculation with out involvement please. It only causes confusion. When I took over I went on the assumptions that were told to me by roomer mongers. Like the hump in turn four was a pipe under the track. Bull pucky… It was a clogged drain outside of the track spilling over into the infield. I fixed it. It was fixable, but a pipe theroy was not and the roomer just caused no one to even investigate and try.
When you put your hands in the ground you can come up with potatoes, if you don’t – you starve. We need everyone to just do one thing, no matter how small and we will have a better day for all of us. This pollicy works for TTown and every other velodrome. We are the best city in the world, why should we have the best facility?
That is my question…
Come on out and have some fun even if you just watch.
Gotta say I think there is more money in New York than in the Lehigh Valley. But there is more competition for that money too. And as flamey as anon’s posts are… I do think mr. anon has a good point about the track existing solely for the purpose of track bike racing as opposed to the park roads being used for road racing as well as other recreational activities. The park roads are multi-use… if we could just keep the cars out of the parks 24×7 that’d be even better, and while we’re on that topic implement a congestion toll on vehicles in manhattan from Chambers street 96th st.
Anons ideas are crazy.
An organization to develop relations with the City and Parks is a ridiculous idea. A plan to work with the City and Parks to improve the track is even more ridiculous and an insult to Campo’s wheelbarrow.
If New York was as wealthy a community as the Lehigh Valley, I could see the possibilites for developing a track with govt and private support and run by a 501.3c but it isn’t.
Heroic efforts of the martyrs is the only way to run NYC cycling.
Stop kissing ass Dave. You still have to pay….! Get you ass out to the track and help…
I will be at a BMX race in Virginia that weekend, but look forward to doing as much of the full Wednesday Night season as possible.
Keep up the great work Alan, Campo, everyone that actually contribute to the community.
Please stop responding to ANON…not worth it.
David
If referring to a Parks Dept. employee as a jerk will impact your non-existant negotiations you better shut down this entire site before anyone starts thinking that bike races are total jerks and assholes.
In response to the last anonymous post, we do understand your point. But, this has been a somewhat recent development, and we are doing what we need to do to keep this season on track.
However, this is a public forum. Referring to Parks Dept. staff (people just rying to do their job) as you have in your post will only hurt our chances to negotiate a better arrangement with them.
Joe
The additional charge was an issue between you and the Parks Dept. Seeing it that way is a problem. The cycling community deals with many people in different parks and has other contacts in powerful places. But no organization exists to exert its influence when some idiot in Parks decides maybe on his own to charge a stupid fee. you were on your own to deal with the individual jerk. That’s the problem.
I can almost understand Parks harrassing races in CP and PP because their is opposition to having racing but the track exists only for racing.
I’d also like to hear about the campaign to work with Parks to improve the track. Is their coordination with Star Track to show the city that the track is a valuable resource?
Last message signed…….Alan Atwood
Before you make comments like that state your name so we can reply in kind.
This is a local weekly series event that I have organized the past couple of years and done pretty well at it, at least that’s what the riders tell me. How is it that a lack of organization caused the NYC Parks & Rec department to enforce a rule on us that was not enforced on us before, and what lack of organization found out the enormous cost of obtain the needed permits to do race-day registration. And what lack of organization helped me to decide that I’d rather run things the way I am instead of charging $20 EACH WEEK for a series race.
The lack of organization comes from people like yourself that bitch and moan about the races you go to but do nothing about it. You don’t like what you’re seeing; think you could go better; GET INVOLVED!!
Before you make comments like that state your name so we can reply in kind.
This is a local weekly series event that I have organized the past couple of years and done pretty well at it, at least that’s what the riders tell me. How is it that a lack of organization caused the NYC Parks & Rec department to enforce a rule on us that was not enforced on us before, and what lack of organization found out the enormous cost of obtain the needed permits to do race-day registration. And what lack of organization helped me to decide that I’d rather run things the way I am instead of charging $20 EACH WEEK for a series race.
The lack of organization comes from people like yourself that bitch and moan about the races you go to but do nothing about it. You don’t like what you’re seeing; think you could go better; GET INVOLVED!!
i don’t understand the problem with parks. CRCA , AVD and Charlie all collect money in parks. It doesn’t make any sense. Failure to deal with a stupid thing like this shows the lack of organization of cycling community. You’re not using resources that do exist to get things done and no one expects anything anyway. Other communites organize to build new velodromes, you can’t even get permission to do on-site registration for races at an antiquated track. Everyone is isolated and left on their own to do their thing. Most riders are totally passive consumers waiting for the market to deliver them great new races.
The pre-registration deadlines for Sundays April 15 and 22 have been extended to Friday at 4:00PM. If you can’t pre-register, just show up. We’ll give instructions on how to pay at the riders’ meeting.
Joe
The pre-registration deadlines for Sundays April 15 and 22 have been extended to Friday at 4:00PM. If you can’t pre-register, just show up. We’ll give instructions on how to pay at the riders’ meeting.
Joe
Hi Jon.
For those that want to race multiple categories, all you need to do online is sign up for one. So say if you are a cat 4 that wants to race both the B Men and Masters at the Twilight Series, register online for the B Men –or– the Masters and then let me know at sign-in that you want to race the other one also. The online process is mainly for fee collections. Same goes with Opening Weekend, sign up for one and then tell me at sign-in you’ll be doing another race.
Thanks,
Alan
Alan – just checking: some of us older guys qualify in a few categories. I’m up for the annual pass but don’t want to get totally locked in or out of race choices.