Section head text.
After a week’s grace period, we’re returning to our lovely little Wednesday discussion group. This week’s question is sort of a softball to ease ourselves back into the tepid waters of internet discourse.
I rode outside yesterday, as the parka clad news readers were getting worked up over the oncoming 2 inches of winter fury. It was 26 degrees when I went out. My usual “low” for training is 35 degrees (I have no “low” for racing – as I am very mighty), but I’ve got some new winter clothes and decided to put them to the test. I lasted for an hour before my fingers started to give in. It seems with a little costume reconfiguring, I could get down to 30 degrees. So what temperature is your “low”?
The insulated polar bottles keep your water from freezing longer than regular bottles.
Ok, Schmalzy, turn over the record. Are the Polar guys paying you the big bucks? I hope so.
People keep asking and I keep telling. And yes, the polar guys payed incredible amounts, all of which I invested into Power Ball.
I read about windchill on some website and thought it said it could freeze stuff. I’ll try to find that.
Well, wind chill is basically defined as what the temp feels like on the skin, so it makes sense that it wouldnt actually have any effect on ambient temp in a bottle or anything else for that matter. The temp is what it is, right? Wind chill is just a modern and possibly overdone measure of apparent sensation or something like that.
So, Im sure Eugene would just say "cover yur damn skin and shut up!" to those complaining about wind chill vs. above freezing mild temps. The only reason we feel colder at all in the wind is that our cycling clothes generally arent entirely windproof…
You are exactly right Chris. Wind chill affects the rate of heat loss from heat producing objects (like obsessed roadee’s like us who insist on riding when it’s balls out cold), you can’t get any colder than what it is. I propose a field test, at the end of the 4/5 on Saturday if you have a frozen waterbottle, (assuming it is above 32 degrees), bring it to the back of the pack lining up for the 3/4 and look for the old guy with the brown mustache who looks like he’s having cardiac arrest from trying to survive the first race. I’ll bet my right nut (and that’s my favorite one) I won’t find any frozen bottles.
I think it’s time to return to our regularly scheduled programming of bikee nonsense. Enough science!
I’m not biting.
Quick scientific response. Wind chill WILL NOT drop your water bottle temperature below surrounding air temperature. If it’s 35 degrees and the wind chill is -10 degrees, bottles WILL NOT FREEZE. Fact, carve it in stone. You will feel like it is -10 because your body is trying to maintain 98.6.
I used to be a wuss (spelling?!) and not ride outside under 45 degrees; Now my lowest to date is 11 degrees and windchill near zero. It is highly uncomfortable- yes- but I think it is great mental training! If you are out there training in this, you’ll have the confidence to kick ass when the time comes! As long as you don’t have a medical issue,poor circulation,etc. get your ass and bike out there!
I used to be a wuss (spelling?!) and not ride outside under 45 degrees; Now my lowest to date is 11 degrees and windchill near zero. It is highly uncomfortable- yes- but I think it is great mental training! If you are out there training in this, you’ll have the confidence to kick ass when the time comes! As long as you don’t have a medical issue,poor circulation,etc. get your ass and bike out there!
must…resist…windchill…retort…
some people say it’s counterproductive to ride when it’s too cold.
not good for joints, muscles. Or, counterproductive to go hard when it’s cold but not frigid. It does feel hard on the system and all the gear feels restrictive.
don’t know what’s the truth…I wonder what the science really says about it.
C’m Eugene, we want to hear it.
It looks like it could be in the high 30s at the races this weekend, and with windchill from 25mph they will freeze
Which is no big whoop for Vermont
Uhh… Berend is a crash waiting to happen and almost caused a few (aka the infamous "clip-out and recovery move"). No carnage actually resulted in that incident but I won’t ride near the guy. As the only OA guy in the A field at that point in time, obviously nothing meant against the team but given the publicity of that event its hard to seperate the team from the individual.
Maybe it’s the heat index.
Was minus 16 in VT yesterday. I managed an hour, then blacked out. Luckily fell in to a drift and came around almost straight away. Got my bird to collect me though as I couldn’t face the return leg. As long as its light I don’t mind. I’m afraid of the dark:-(
Was minus 16 in VT yesterday. I managed an hour, then blacked out. Luckily fell in to a drift and came around almost straight away. Got my bird to collect me though as I couldn’t face the return leg. As long as its light I don’t mind. I’m afraid of the dark:-(
Yesterday, Newport, VT:
High: 29, Low: 0.
What the hell are you talking about, br?
balmy day for vermont!
So, what is happening with spring series?
Nobody here wants triathlon bikes so piss off back to Canada already.
The post is ridiculing the person who suggested that a sponsor was not going to give NYV ad dollars because it accepted "salty" posts. Nobbody accused OA of causing crashes.
just do ir for me. Please!
I’ll send you a picture from back in the day.
A little late in coming, but Assos stuff is worth its cost. Why buy a crappy sublimated jacket (with sponsors only you care about) every year when a nice Assos jacket will last for years and years? Save up. It’s worth it. Even the guys from Verge will admit that they could make a jacket as nice and effective as Assos, but it would cost the same as Assos b/c the materials and design are top-notch.
And for all the Cat. 4’s: Want to avoid reg close-outs? Upgrade.
No it’s not a "hoax". Check Cycling news soon.
Hi, i am Phil from Potential Sponsor Cycle. I am not kidding about the new bikes for everyone. Even Organic Athlete. Three has to be no more potty language on this site though for a least a month and only nice things said about everyone. Then we can talk.
Butt. Ooops.
If you like seeing your product gettin dropped and causing crashes. Huge waste of new frames. Look @ CRCA development for new bikes if anything.
Any potential sponsor with a hint of sense, would not single out or talk down to teams it wants to sponsor, or go to woebsite’s viewers instead of emailing website owners directly….funny for about less than stupid.
is a hater, he’d fit right in…
to single out – Organic athlete. It must be a joke, although most of those dudes are in dire need of working equipment.
is a joke.
Phil iss from Cervelo. Take him seriously.
Go for it Eugene
Go for it Eugene. You’ll look so hot.
My sloppy mop is gone, and I’m not likely to go gold. It’s just not me any more.
Sorry Schmalz, i’ll cancel the contract we drew up yesterday.
You’re a nice guy , so no hard feelings. Come back when you get real backing and we’ll get you a car.
Sorry Dev but it was 78 and sunny today in Tucson. Supposed to go down to 74 tomorrow. Sorry about your upcoming rain. Boo hoo.
TS
grant tomb: cat 3/4 118 registered
p/1/2 2 registered
ps. didn’t see jb on champsys roster…
any chance they would split the 3/4 field into 3’s & 4’s in that case?
"Potential sponsor" is a hoax? Damn, back to the plasma center…
They’re starting an 1 1/4 hours early to fit in all the collegiate race. Obvioulsy no chance to add any more races.
See Lloyd’s comments on crcanet.
Devon,
You gotta grow out the locks and frost them up while you can. It doesn’t matter how you ride as long as you look like a rock star. I wanna see Platinum for the summer. Eugene, you’re still hot…even when it’s cold.
-Haig
but 50’s and rain tomorrow.
i saw Pellizoti & Liquigas riding today, and every other big name pro on earth..anyways, my point is: Eugene..you’re done sauce. i have never seen such an amazing flop of bleached curly locks.
-dev
p.s. it was 70
Attraction to sponsors is wise ass abrasive schmucks posting insults. We’re an excellent target demographic. Didn’t you watch the Super Bowl?
In an attempt to contribute in bringing back the bright aspect of the sport of cycling, I have been pushing my company to sponsor this site. We are not talking millions but a significant sum(say enough to run 10 CRCA team for a year, with each rider getting a new bike)
We have been monitoring his site for awhile – It offers a series of wonderful readings, and very unique.
This site has been one of the consideration.
However, my marketing dep’t and legal could not give it a go b/c of certain abusive?, negative and personal attacks we often encountered on this site.
Sorry, I tried.
Tough crowd.
"…look for this Team to make some noise during the season "
In which field?
You must have just started racing with that last post most of these guys have been racing for awhile now Raj aka Spider took a year off and is back a strong cat 2 rider , Migual is a former World Champion ,Frank is always a Dangerous breakaway artist the there is Cup cake and Kirt there the sprinters of the team so look for this Team to make some noise during the season.
Its funny that you have a problem with the word "lot" and not in my assessment of them being unicorns.
besides the skinny cat1 guy who should really be a 3, and of course el cupcake, who are all those ppl?
who says that around here? Is it type like a pirate day?
Well the lot of you are still unicorns
Well the lot of you are still unicorns
Cupcake you will know be know as cinnamon-bun
I work for South African Tourism and convinced our management to enter into a sponsorship agreement with Edgemont therefore the name changed to SouthAfrica.net. No infighting but that was funny though. I am one of the guys who entered still as Edgemont and I should be ashamed. I was in a meeting and was so rushed and then missed it anyway. We will get it right by the next race though.
Is cupcake now riding for Champion System?
Edgemont boys are unicorns.
JT knows which team will be getting results!
post crca crap on the CRCA message board, this site as far as I know is not CRCA. If it is then I would like to bring to the boards attention the nonsense that goes on here.
I thought they had it last year. It was called "The Game." I think I won.
I think a little video game on this site would be cool. We could compete for the highest score.
I only come here for the unicorns
We’re still completely together with just a couple of roster changes.
Pieter, actually we started the site to be about action figures, unicorns and hope, but these negative nellies keep coming back…
Welcome to NYVelocity, that’s what this site is all about. Think it’s bad now, just wait until it gets closer to racing 🙂
Why are some so concerned about what goes on in other people’s "kitchen"? and choose to start the discussion/rumor in public place such as this?
I’m just sitting back waiting for Tony S to flame someone, looks like he’s not taking the bait. Maybe Edgemont/ whoever they are now have written it in to Tony’s contract this season that he’s not allowed to post on NYVelocity.
Could have just been that the rider registered before changing team name in USCF site – you over-skeptical anon-slamming ninny… Edgemont had/has some quite strong riders – many of whom attacked a lot and rode aggressively to get good training in rather than sitting back to sprint – and were a great part of the B peleton in general last season – but you wouldnt know that from your vantage in the back of the field…jerky.
Except for that whole banana in the tailpipe trick played on Aaron…and the famous wedgie incident at the team training camp.
Sounds fishy to me, if Edgemont have a new sponsor how come there are riders reg’d under southafrica and riders reg’d under Edgemont for Bear Mtn. Sounds like someone can’t get their story straight.
Besides Wolfe there weren’t any good riders anyway that’s why Edgemont got blown away in the CRCA team Cup.
I’m from Johannesburg but love Cape Town too. Cape Town hosts a race, the Pick ‘n Pay Cape Argus that includes Chapman’s peak. It is the biggest timed race in the world with over 35,000 entrants every year. It is actually near impossible to get in for South Africans but overseas visitors are welcomed and accomodated even for fairly late entries. This takes place in early March each year.
yes I’m aware of the Argu s- everyone was talking about it &/or training for it…sounds fantastic.
Of course you know this already but for everyone else, the popularity of cycling in S.Africa is exploding now that the economy is growing, and the government is putting money into the sport. Combined with some of the best weather and best roads in the world, I think you will see some top pros coming from there soon.
He didn’t get into Bear. Doesn’t sound right.
Doing the Fall race. Marshalling the Spring.
I don’t think Edgemont changed it’s names. I heard that there was a lot of in-fighting on that team. They couldn’t decide who was there leader and now Wolfe upgraded I think some of the better guys jumped to another team and left the weak behind. Survival of the fittest I guess.
You are completely wrong. Edgemont has remained intact, with a couple of additions. We simply got a new title sponsor. There was never any infighting at Edgemont beyond the typical ebb and flow of team dynamics.
There now, dear lad. They’re not gonna edit your writing, so you might appreciate their insightful articles instead.
Grants Tomb coincides with my patron Saint, so won’t be in attandence…
I’m pretty sure that when I started club races in 1983 they started at 8am. The park was much less crowded back in the day.
But the same principle applied as now – relatively early start to avoid crowding as the days goes on. Just that now the park is crowded by 7:30.
try:
http://www1.southafrica.net
Where’s lee3?
why are they all cat4s…at 17 or 18 yrs old?? i mean, blake is a cat1, so how hard can getting a cat 2 be?
There’is a reason they’ve been starting CP races early since the dawn of time…….its too dangerous later in the mornings!
"wait list"
I was on the wait list last year. As long as the wait list isn’t closed, 95% there will be a spot for you. I believe last year the wait list was close after the 37th registration.
To get O’maille and the rest of us ready for pub opening on St. Paddy’s Day, the Columbia lads have been kind enough to start the USCF races at 6:45 am.
How ..about a volunter to video tape those ass h running into us at the races .Then mail it into the parks dept too show who the f is the guilty one.
What frequency Kenneth?
I like to whine
I’m a bike racer
You’re delusional if you think that’d help anything
Well, sort of twice. One of the two times it was in the fall and was cancelled due to a little snow. Bummer since I’d come down from Boston for the race.
It’s been decently big more recently too. Well, one pro won last fall. And it was NRC just a few years ago with a major turnout. Plus, at least one recent past winner is riding in the ProTour now.
seems like the Edgemont team changed names
There’s always the fall race folks and IMO its better to Marshall the Spring race and get:
a) CRCA dinosaur!
b) A spot for the fall race
c) You skip the crappy early season weather which could spill into late Apr./May
d) there are plenty of events to Reg. up for in May.
The park issue….I would much rather have smooth CPK paving rather than the late starts. The late start / announcer thing is a waste of energy.
I wasn’t in that big field in 2000, but there is more potential for yellow line problems the larger the field
ooo. . . esoteric. clever beyond words.
had to be faster than placing a winning bid on ebay
Actually I remember it used to be a 3-day event in the mid eighties: Perkins hill climb on Fri. p.m., road race on Saturday and Time Trial on Sunday. Al Toefield organized all three events at that time. 2-3 nice ladies would sit at a table by the old finish line with smoking cigarettes and hitting the double clocks. It was a pretty big stop on the calendar at that time. A legitimate pro would show up here and there. . . well. . . back to watching the ice drift up and down the river. . . yawn . . . G.G.
Jesus id hate to be fighting to get around the first hairpin – or second or third – with 190 riders in the field. Or even 100 for that matter if they drop 90! traffic jam!
Back in 2000 3/4 Harriman had 194 riders!
Anybody remember if it was really crazy?
After the first lap it’s only a problem of stragglers
on the course getting mixed with stragglers from other
fields.
What about upping the 4’s to 120?
In the 80’s or earlier some Central Park races had several hundred.
R U ready?
The sad thing is ,i dont even know for sure thati’ll be able to ride the event ,but i signed up on the chance i will
just how big is nyvelocity.com? i really can’t tell. sometimes it feels really small, but then i see links to articles on here all over the internet. what kind of traffic does this site see?
to allow more fields. The high demand to race there in the spring suggests another club maybe could step in and put on another race there. Maybe "someone" will do it sometime. Not me though.
Sometimes obnoxious and hate filled but the increase in new riders parallels the growth of nyvelocity.com. It wouldn’t be happening without the work of Andy, Schmalz and the other guy.(Alex O.)
I dunno, but they will ride a smart race anyway…
Did any Adler guys get in?
Yawn!!!
Maybe spend more time clued in and then perhaps gat registered.
Who’ll be in the final selection???? Less than 3 months away, and plenty of races before then to get REGISTERED for!!
I’m writing $60 CAT4 5/06 calls at $23 1/8. Who’s bid?
If you were allowed to trade, I think a spot could fetch a couple of hundred easy. I wouldn’t want to see race entry depend on willingness to pay, but it might not be bad to hold a few spots to auction to the highest bidders to raise money.
There are about 25 people on the Cat 4 waitlist
Rob Kolb and myself are running the open races this year. We reserved some spots in the Cat 4 field to ensure entry to the people who marshalled in the fall race as that was our incentive for marshalling last year. Bikereg was getting about 600 hits a minute for the cross nationals prereg, so getting a full field in 11 minutes isn’t impossible, as clearly evidenced. There is no favoritism in the process, the spots are simply reserved for guaranteed entries from marshalling. We will make the prereg list available either tonight or tomorrow morning.
Tony
to auction off spots:
http://www.offshorebearmountaincat4traders.com
Check it out. TRIGUY/TODD has resurfaced as SPECTATOR. I can pick out his clever prose anywhere.
Do you need to do anything special to marshal at Bear other then checking the box on the CRCA marhsalling page?
To "What’s going on?":
That’s pretty funny. First of all, Mike isn’t the Race Director, and second, he never pulled stuff like that. And I’m pretty sure the news guys and Alan never would either.
Last week I went out in 12 deg weather. I was out there for about an hour before my hands and feet told me to go home. I didn’t see many other cyclists in the park that night. 🙂
to ‘What’s going on’:
you must be new. Every cat 4 knows that this races closes really fast. It’s not that anyone is playing games with the start list. Mike Green is not running the race this year, but I know that he never did anything so stupid in the past. He was too busy putting on a first class race to do that kind of stuff. You missed the boat. If you want to risk it, sign up on the wait list.
I just found out from one of my non-CRCA pals in NJ that he got an email about the bikereg signup opening a few days ago, so I gather anyone who has raced Bear in the past got an email, so maybe not all CRCA after all… Not sure why I didnt get such an email though…maybe none sent to CRCA to even the chances a bit!
The waitlist is still open and since there is no list of riders, no one knows how many are on the waitlist. If the race really closed in less than 10 minutes there should be several hundred on the waitlist by now.There is no limit and it’s still open.
More likely that the race was limited to 20 riders and that the rest will be moved in by Mike Green. This lets him pick and choose who he wants in the race. CRCA – non-CRCA etc. Not totally bad if it keeps the race from being all CRCA , but they should be upfront about it.
Also last year many who signd up were (optimisitc) Cat 5’s who were bumped to the wait list
All men’s field (3s), p1-2, masters also filled w/o changing the race and opening them to other cats.
12:00???
i was registering at about 11:57. (maybe the clock on my compputer is wrong. Had time to sign someone else up as well as myself… It IS bear, what did you expect?
To Cat 4s: Past experience has been that many riders DO get to race from the waitlist – there are a lot who cant show up on race day after signing up months earlier, and I believe at least 20+ riders from the list got to race in the fall – maybe more, so go ahead and sign up…
Also, consider signing up for Cat3 race if they open that to 4s at some point – in the fall the field wasnt full so Mike G allowed some 4s. A bunch of 4s moved from 4 field to 3, allowing more waitlisted riders to race 4s. Great solution and kudos to Mike for allowing it. Best part was a serious number of the 4s spanking the 3s too…
there was email on the New England mailing list about Harriman reg opening a few days ago, and on the NJ and Penna lists this morning. So maybe a few non-NYC people got in
That tri-guy’s not a real tri-guy. You gotta shave your whole body for hydrodynamics. I goes all winter for the bigtime Indoor Tri Events. Girls love sexy shaved hard rippling tri-bodies in a mankini. From behind most guys can even appreciate the sexyness. Kona awaits chumps.
How many are on the waitlist already? Does it even pay at this point?
I think possible. It was live at 12:00 and to my surprise the site had no trouble refreshing the different screens. I suspect the same engine is used for running marathon sign-ups or big multi-day events like Criterium weeked.
As someone said – do the math
Yes, it’s time the awful truth came about registration fixing among Cat 4 fields. Turn off the gas in your apartment.
bikereg can’t even take a hundred orders in 10 minutes.
The process is fixed. How much is Mike Green charging for spots?
A friend of mine said he tried at 10 minutes and it was full. The date and time of open registration was posted here for the world to take note of. ChrisM, I am sure it WILL be all CRCA guys – if you do the math from the sub teams that gets you over 100 right there – and all these people had the experience of last year and it selling out + early notice onthis site.
Jaaaaysus- thats crazy fast! At least Im in, thankfully. I hope its not all CRCA guys though…
dude you rule! bring it ON!
btw, how much tinkering have you been doing with your aero position on the trainer these past couple of weeks? i bet it’s hard maintaining 20-30min just sub-threshold when you’re off and on the bike with the allen wrenches. big tip – you should only change the position 1mm at a time, up or down, front or back, tilted vs flat, bike chammy vs. mankini maxipad. wow. so many choices!
Dude, I’ll see you at the top of the hill when you come charging past like dodi fayed running from the paparazzi.
peace out
The race is listed as close but there is no list of riders. How many spots have been reserved for the in-crowd or whatever, not that I’m saying that spots can be bought or anything like that but a little daylight is a good thing. Besides all of the good races post a list of registered riders
I received an email from anthony a while back where he said that his races count for upgrades because they are listed as crits. For a 2-1 upgrade a crit has to be 35 miles.USCF rules state that a crit course can be up to 5k. Prospect is just over. CP is 10K.
I don’t know of AVD’s exact plans but a road race has to be 80 miles for a 2-1 upgrade. A 3-2 is 50 miles. 8 laps of CP is just short. Whatever AVD’s plans I wish him well.
Mike G.
wow…
royalpotty, where in S.Africa are you from? I was there for work last January (photo shoot) and was able to rent a bike from Bowman’s cylcle in Cape Town…rode over Chapman’s Peak and back a couple of times. It was absolutely glorious.
I shave my legs year round, bros. I need every bit of aero advantage when i’m working on one-legged cadence drills at spin class. it’s also nice to have shaved legs when staring at one’self in the mirror while donning the mankini
polar bottles can freeze, although much more slowly than a normal bottle.
i got about 2 hours in high teens\low 20’s before i noticed the nozzle was frozen shut and some ice had formed inside. i was still able to drink, but i don’t think it would have lasted too much longer. i have yet to try warming the liquid first before heading out – that may help.
my wife hates it in general…sore subject.
but I do it anyway…after all, peer pressure wins out over spousal
disapproval any day.
the wife likes it
I’m not saying go get fat per say, but more like don’t go nuts over your diet now…..
about being a little fatter in the winter making it easier to ride in the cold..but it that also a little counterproductive? would make for an interesting test if you could control the variables.
and why would anyone shave legs in the winter, other than habit?
This is what you missed out.
About 2 years doing the early Spring Series, a father and son rode their bikes to the starting line. I think I still remember what they said. They stopped and said to each others about watching the race. Guess what? They realized it was over. 😀 What time it was? 8am.
Personally, about 4 years ago I was riding in PP going up the hill while, I believe, the NY Empire State game was running. The NY Empire State game was the only race in PP lasting more than 2 hours, into 9am. I though I was going up the hill fast at 16mph until the main field charged up. The pace was unbelievable. The rest is history. I took up racing and with the relentless desire to get my bike to go fast up, flat, and down.
i’m continually surprised they even allow a hundred or so cyclists racing at high speeds through the park. we should consider ourselves extremely lucky. all it would take would be one or two aggressive lawsuits after someone getting hurt to end the whole thing.
coming a little late to the party, but here’s my 2 cents:
bottle-freeze….I rotate my bottles from my cages to my jersey pocket (under a jacket) to prevent from freezing. It’s worked the last few weekends….
body-weight….last winter I was a lot lighter (like, gasp, almost 10 lbs.)…and after regular long cold rides, I would get worn down and sometimes catch colds. I’m not saying go put some meat on your bones, but don’t worry about the may/june race weight so much during the winter. the extra flesh def helps your internals…this winter I’ve been feeling ok after the under 20 degree rides.
wait to shave…I haven’t shaved my legs and I grew a beard which has really helped my face. If your significant other or boss doesn’t mind that is……
feet…I hear the plastic baggy trick works, but two pairs of booties has worked well for me. One lycra/thin fleece pair under one neoprene pair.
hat….keep your head covered
thin layers should work fine. I go embrocation, knee warmers, and then bib tights for the legs. one to two base layers, then a jersey and a jacket….
P.S. for those worried about spell check…..use the new version of firefox, it has an internal spell check and works well….
P.P.S now if we could only get links to work in this blog, that would sweet….
More crowds = more loose DOGS! I’d rather keep waking up @ 4:30AM than that.
My GF comes watch this Cat 4 fatty race in circles as much as she can.. props to Mel!
For foot warmth that lasts me down to 25-20 degrees I double layer LG winter socks that are pretty thin, put on shoe, thin shoe cover, then bootie. I admit my toes start getting cold after a while, so I may try using this heat in a bag trick on the coldest of days.
Yeah, I can’t WAIT until you HARDCORE bike racers get announcers at all your cool Cat 4 races I’m sure the bleachers will be FILLED for those exciting events…. "Ooh, it looks like another rider is trying to get away from the pack – he’ll have to ride at least 19 mph to stay away and win – he’s looking at his cool power meter…. he’s risking his life out there on his own – oh no, he CRASHED…. ooh how I admire his toughness!" Where do I buy my ticket? GET A CLUE people – the last thing anybody wants to watch is you idiots doing your little hour-long "races" in the middle of the day.
Shaw, Id be psyched for more FloydBF too, but just pointed out that the earlier calendar is up to Charlie to deal with – he may not want to add more commitment to an activity that doesnt exactly make him uber-rich. And of course WE would not want him to burn out!
As for Victor, we need to remember that its not the cycling spectators that make races dangerous – no one is running into the roads waving Basque flags in our faces in CP. Its folks like the ‘crazy old jogging lady’ that screams at us that makes life difficult – ie the vocal minority that complains to the parks dept. – and the joggers that just want to run around the park and dont realize a race is on. Marshalls help, but after 8am its likely impossible to control every last pedestrian and make races truly safe…CRCA does a good job overall of crowd control now – lets not risk losing CP racing by advocating mid-day races that might run into safety probs.
No, but it’d be cool if they got their it’s and its straight once in a while.
copyediting – its a pain in the but
The people in CP/Prospect are not watching the races they are jogging/letting a dog run loose without a leash/crossing without looking/ignoring a marshal blowing a whistle etc.
Thats what makes it dangerous at 6AM.
8AM is impossible.
mecray, charlie i. has mentioned i think that he would start the season earlier. i’d be down. FBF gives my weekdays meaning (and excuse to leave work early)
my wife has never come to watch me in PP, and we live 5 minutes away…she will come meet me at Floyd, maybe catching the end of the race, only because we go to diFara pizza afterward (14th & ave J – best pizza in the New World, IMO). Who the hell gets out of bed at 6am on a weekend to watch someone else do their hobby?
You don’t want to overtighten your shoes, but leaving a little slop is not so good — it’ll allow your foot to slide forward in the shoe, cramming your toes more. To give your toes space it’s important to keep the foot held firmly against the back and top of the shoe.
Think about it.
Or maybe "someone" can do it. I heard that he likes copyediting when he’s not busy publicising races or putting on more cool events. Does anyone have someone’s email addy?
Can we get a spell check for this blog? At first the errors were funny but they are getting embarrassing. Maybe Andy/Dan/etc. could show some mercy and fix some of the more glaring mistakes.
Victor your a pud wacker. Crowds watching cat 4 fatties go around in circles. Nothing spells excitement like you at the front hammering away in your Kissena kit.
I can just hear the cheers now.
maybe? Lee3 says he’s the champ
Don’t tighten your shoes all the way, leave them a little loose within your boot. A little thing, feels sloppy but, it seems to help give me another 10 degrees comfort zone for my feet.
agree with last post…not every prospect park race or crca race needs an announcer. Harlem, Bear MT., Grant’s tomb etc are calendar highlights.
and while it would be nice to be able to sleep a little later, the last laps of a typical park race get pretty chaotic with all the activity even by 7:30. There just isn’t the same degree of risk with runners as there is with cyclists at 30+ mph.
I f’ing hate the cold…35 is my limit, but then again I have a trainer. Some people can’t ride a trainer due to noise or space concerns. For me, my feet are fine with regular socks and neoprene booties, ditto my hands with cannondale gloves. But I can’t seem to keep my upper body warm no matter what.
It’s just a little bike race for racers. Not every event has to be "special" Plus, if I was a nonracer just chilling in the park I’d find it annoying.
"Sporting activities should attrack crowds. "
No – save the hype for a handful of special events and have (most) other events that are well-run just for the participants.
people would become more interested with the local competitive cycling scene in CPK if there was an announcer to MC the races (ala prospect pk races) and key in the crowd on team cup standings throughout the season. Then atleast the team sponsers get thier plug, the CPK community have an opportunity to get involved with cheering on the winning attack and the club will grow. If Harlem and Prospect park can have PA systems, why cant we?
Sporting activities should attrack crowds. I don’t buy the mentality that our local racing scene should isolate ourselves from spectators. That’s just self defeating. Whatever…..
Are you comparing the Tour de France with our local Spring Series?!
Here is the irony in the US local racing sence. Just imagine the TOC or the Tour gets pulled off just because there are too many people on the road watching. 😀 Gee, we won’t want too many people watching our races.
When cyclists have the sort of membership ( ie money/ political muscle behind them ) and we start racing at the same speed runners and a few clown cyclists don’t spoil it for the rest of us then the CPC might let us have our races start at a more reasonable hour.
Unfortunately there are cyclists that think their amateur cycling careers are the most important thing in the world and therefore other park user should give them the respect they deserve. Sorry, can’t see it happening.
Bottom line is we are lucky they still let us race there at all.
As much as we all love the sport and know how great it is the rest of the world couldn’t care less. Remember this is New York it’s all about me, me, me and screw the other guy.
They don’t start them any later because the parks start to get crowded with people and things get even more dangerous.
We ride out of south jersey every Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 am. Both days are 40 miles 2-hours, Saturday is a race pace club ride with 10-15 guys; Sunday is 5-10 guys, 18-22 mph steady paceline. We’ve gone out every weekend, temp in the low teens. Our dirty little secret is "the third sock", used to keep your favorite appendage warm. So there.
Here is an idea: tell the promoter your idea rather than just posting it here.
But I guess you can ask "someone" to do it. I heard "someone" like doing stuff though he doesn’t post here very often
Spring Series.
Here is an idea. Start the race a bit late and adding more laps. Technically, March is still Winter. I am pretty sure at 5am in the morning the temp should be around the single digit. For those from Brooklyn, like myself, the thoughts of waking up at 4am and riding into the city in a single digit temperate is just……….:D
I really hope someone would put some corporate and political pressures to the park depart to allow these races to start later and end later. And have the Road Runner club doing their things at 5am instead. 😀
Something about this winter has seriously sapped my will to ride on cold grey days and to live thru serious roller/trainer sessions.
There are norules against starting late or having short races
nothing is too cold. Verge Warsaw Jacket, Warsaw Vest, Bib tights with knee warmers, wool socks, wool shoe socks, neoprene shoe covers. Ride your cross bike…
There are limits to how much I can put on my feet – one pair of thick booties is pretty much all.
Plus I’ve also got clearance issues between my gut and thighs – no fun riding if I have to sit upright.
How does Van Dunk even get a permit for these races when they are so poorly run?
Spring Series
Chris said AVD told him he was increasing the number of laps for his races to make them eligible for upgrade points, but who knows.
also no word on where he will promote them. in past years they were only on racelistings or by mail to him directly. RL now looks to be truesport so i would look there first.
I am Dutch. But my mother is Belgian. I used to race in Europe. Now I just live in NYC and enjoy riding here and there.
Aha! So it IS 1992. Phew. I was rockin’ the Nirvanna grunge look today anyway…
Not sure why earlier DST would automatically change the FBF schedule – I doubt Charlie is timing the races solely based on what can be done in terms of light. He must have some sort of life to live as well…Then again, I could be wrong.
Why bother with them? Not snapping just ask’n?
when does FBF start? earlier right, since DST is a month earlier. maybe april 3rd?
A corollary: there is no such thing as bad weather, just pilot error.
If you want those chemical heating pads to work best, open the pack, give a shake, and let them air out for at least 5 or 10 minutes before putting in your booties.
Pieter = Dutch or German or what?
is he also planning on posting these races on racelistings or truesport, or wherever?
i asked the spring series question yesterday on the crca group and chris castaldi replied that anthony v-d was planning on running the SS races starting with the first weekend in march. that’s march 4, i believe.
It’s a good thing you didnt come up with that idea when you were in a port-o-potty
But I’m not saying it won’t. All we here is rumour. If you want the info, either ask the likely promoter directly and/or check race permits with USAC.
Don’t rely on guys assuming stuff just cause they think they’re smart.
I don’t know anything about the SS myself, but the thing is I *know* I don’t know.
I rub the muscle warmer cream on my feet and then cover with a layer of Vaseline(water repellent effect)…put on a pair of wool or synthetic socks…A plastic bag over the shoes and a booty. If the ride is 3-4 hours, it will keeo you somewhat warm.
Good story, Aaron! I can now picture you, skinny as you are, just like the scarecrow in Oz, complete with hay hanging out of your feet etc.. 🙂 Too funny…
Thanks all for the warmer advice folks. Ive never done the chem warmer thing but it just might be the ticket…
I went up to nyack on sunday ,pretty hard on the way back
trying to dink my slush puppy ,i took an hour for my feet to warm up when i got home,i don’t know how cold it was but i’d do it again ,cause dads do when dads can
I go with the flat adhesive warmers on the bottom of my feet on the socks. If it’s really cold I’ll slip the hand warmer packets into toe warmers on the outside of the top of the shoes, and then the booties over that, of course. I find that extra sock layers don’t help me. If it’s wet, a plastic bag over the shoes but under the booties.
Last year I was riding the Bear course on my mtb in the slush and didn’t have warmers in. I stopped to take a leak next to a bale of hay and noticed it was steaming. So I stuffed my booties full of hot, composting hay. It didn’t really work, but there may have been some placebo effect, and it’s a pretty good story of how hypothermia can make you dumber than you already are.
i haven’t seen the info on spring series either. if it were happening in this day and age, we woulda heard something by now. it ain’t 1992.
This weekend was nice. Two weekends ago wasn’t. The sun is very important.
i’m good to about 15 degrees. the feet is always an issue, mainly because by the time i put on double socks, plastic bag layer, and chemical toe warmers, my toes can barely move in my shoe.
Chris,
Put them chemical warmers between you shoes and the booties, right over the toes. That’s been the best place I’ve found. Depending on your shoes you might have to throw some newspaper or something under your insole to keep the venting closed. This is a problem on my Diadoras, but the newspaper trick works pretty well. I’d rather suffer outside than on a trainer, didn’t buy a replacement after mine broke while moving, so I don’t have much of a choice. Besides cold air is denser than warm air right? Extra resistance!
With sports induced asthma and a Netflix subscription, I bottom out at 30. I figure if it’s not fun at all, what’s the point? I’ve got a movie list a mile deep…
Interesting news – so they arent holding the CP Spring Series? Where did this come from? Im gonna be more about Branchbrook anyway…but maybe the competition will be much stiffer if no CP races…
As for cold, how do people use the chemical warmers in the shoes – do they fit under the arch/sole or something? Ive been lame this winter – nothing much under 30 deg – no fun being too cold and I think the workout is less effective under 30 – Aaron is a better man than me, clearly. Im also not interested in the extra effort to keep bottles thawed etc just to be outside freezing my ass off. The trainer is becoming my friend.
Branch Brook Park Series
Newark, NJ
It ain’t gonna be happening I assume? That’s gonna suck. It was good when they had those Sat. and Sunday races. Will there be any replacement races by Kissena or CRCA?
There is no bad weather, only bad clothing (forgot who said that). But, I find it hard to get a good workout when it’s below 20. Too much lung damage.
In SA I used to be a fat pig (250lbs and upwards) and I did go for a 10 mile ride once. I had to push my bike towards the end (nothing has changed because I pushed my bike on the third stage of GMSR). Away from Wildebeest etc., I don’t think so. Cross bike is the answer, I know it but am heavily invested in bikes as it is.
but please, nobody write ‘chapeau’ here again
above 32 is fine for me, although this weekend i had to get out there. kudos to all the guys that rode up to nyack/piermont this weekend. that being said, thank god for chemical foot and hand warmers.
What kind of socks do you all use?
I’ve been out at least one day each weekend since the new year. 2-3hrs usually from 8-11 in the morning. The funny thing is that it’s usually a bit warmer feeling earlier in the morning. That and the fact that my now hairy legs provide a nice insulator under my tights. Other than that nothing special, usual kit, tights, balacava, 2 pairs of gloves (wind proof outers are my new best friend), wind vest, arm warmers and chemical warmers/neoprene booties. That’s usually good for anything down to 15 or so.
Proof of cross bike effectiveness is the guy I saw on Park Avenue and 16th Street just now — fenders, studded tires, track-standing in two inches of slush. Chapeau.
Ski gloves, a muffle, merino socks and chemical foot warmers and I’m okay all the way down to 20-25. Temperature isn’t as important as sunlight in winter, IMO — 22 degrees feels worlds different if it’s sunny or overcast.
Right? Are you with me?
Simple answer:
Cross bike!!
Alan
if your water starts to freeze, you should start to head home…
Wasn’t Will de Beast captain of the Springboks last season?
Surely it doesn’t get this cold or snow in South Africa, how do you handle the cold New York temps? I thought you’d be more use to riding away from Lions and Wilderbeasts 🙂
I know there is a temp that will be too low but snow is what gets me. I’ve tried it twice and crashed on both occasions. Don’t know if I’m maybe just using the wrong wheels or if my technique is not sound but I see guys in the snow (not this morning though) but I can’t. The minimum for training for me was Tuesday last week when it was around 9 degrees. I lasted 1h50 but my toes were really cold. I commute to work by bike and am used to fairly grim weather.