Hopeful Friday 4/13/2007

Section head text.

I have a theory I like to call the “movie cough”. It goes as follows: whenever you hear a character in a movie suddenly cough, it means that character will soon contract a terrible disease and either undergo a serious sickness or die. My reasoning behind the theory is such: if an actor accidentally coughs during the shooting of a scene, the director would yell “cut”, and the scene would be re-shot, so any coughs that make it to the screen make it there intentionally – they must be part of the story. Some people obsess about ways to make more money, others find ways to help their fellow man – I obsess on trivial Hollywood plot devices and spend time developing long-winded theories – it’s what I do. Why do I mention this theory? Because if you listen closely, you can hear a movie cough coming out of the Battenkill area…

CRCA race Saturday, Spring Series Sunday, Bethel is back on Sunday for it’s final race.

Oh yeah, today is Friday the 13th also…

138 Comments

losing bottles

Avoiding the biggest holes is the best way to not lose bottles — but that’s not always possible. Good cages will help for sure — King’s steel cages are great and I suspect their ti cages are too (but $$$).. There are probably others.

I didn’t do it for this race, but you can use a long twist tie (or electrical tape) to secure a bottle to the cage until the first time you want to drink from it. At BR that would get you through the first few dirt sections.

Anonymous

I read an article once by Julie Upton that hypothesized that having one ball helped Lance but I’ve never heard anything about the relationship between dick size and racing success.

Chris Y

renting an RV as a team car to go to a race is so pimp! I’m jealous…lets see…they had their own bathroom, their own shower and a fridge…so when everyone else was pissing in their water bottles, smelling like ass and drinking warm beverages…The Adler guys were living large….Lets face it…if you don’t like Adler or Empire, you’re just a hater!

not hating...

gently taking the piss is not the same as hating. Obviously Empire is a great amateur team. Ditto Adler…but you have to admit the RV is funny.

Hate Adler because they have fun?

Why do you participate in the sport again? Just to talk trash? Actually that is probably why a lot of people race. But notice that the best guys are rarely the huge dicks.

yeah but adler just rented the RV

Empire apparently owns a team van – complete with vanity license plate and a really snazzy roof rack system that looks like it would hold a complete bike shop.

exploding water bottles.

looked like popcorn at one point, there were so many of them.
Next time put them in your jersey.

Marcinko

Bethel Series 3/4

Dear Adler, Nice racing the spring series with you guys. Looking forward to more rematches throughout the season. What’s the next race for you? That RV is nice.

driving to cancelled race

I drove from Boston to a fall Harriman race back in the day, and it was cancelled due to snow. That kinda sucked….

Bat N Kill

The funniest thing about the race is the explosion of water bottles at the begining of the first gravel section. At least 20 bottles went bye-bye from the minimilist carbon cages in the 3 race. A big Battenkill no-no.
Congrats to Kim on Adler as well as Andy Collins and Royal Potty(tm) for 3rd and 4th respectively in the 4’s.

Matt S - South Africa.net

To the guys in the CRCA B race break, I commend you all on the great performance. I wasn’t expecting to stay away for more than two laps max, but we pushed it to the very end. Maybe we would’ve gotten it if they hadn’t rang the bell a lap before they were supposed to and screwed us up. Next time I’ll try keeping track of the laps. My calves hurt. Great job.

Greg F

Agreed. Good effort and good fun. The premature bell was a bit of a bummer, but nonetheless, impressive spint on the 5th lap;)

Chris M

Kendall D rocks! A strong girl finally showing what she can do when her head is in the game! Congrats to Kim R too – awesome win in a tough race.

Personally I think its way cool that Empire is mixing it up competitively in the region – I dont see how any racer in the area can be anything but impressed and give them some respect. How about we just agree they have some deep talent for a bunch of NYC working stiffs? Thank you… Anyone who feels otherwise, just keep it to yourself and ditch the negativity…

I raced on Sat out in PA at Mt Joy RR (near Lancaster) – For anyone who wants a set of very well run races on 6 mi circuits of rolling hills (kinda like Central Park on steroids with slightly bigger hills), I highly recommend the series held out there…amazing setting and some fairly real competition too…

ha

fun enough to talk about racing, but I didn’t actually manage to do it though. in the end it’s unlikely I’ll stray very far from the couch.

Phil / sids cannondale

Great race kendall, congrats. Great race at Battenkill and really enjoyed riding the course.

Congrats to the Adler guys in cat 4 you rode a smart race and controled it well, anyone know when or where race results will be posted ?

Anonymous

You guys are nuts. Whoever wanted to race bikes this morning needs to get their heads checked.
I say that nicely. But is it really fun to race in poring cold rain?

word on the street is...

fiora di frutta controlled BR from start to finish, yes they didn’t win in the end but the best team doesn’t always win as opportunists can always suck wheel and beat you at the line. that’s bike racing.

for the record, 1 jelly belly and 1 colavita rider doesn’t make a team in a race and to suggest that a certain team with 8 riders in the field road better than pro teams stupid, not to mention that the rider who did win was on proffessional team from canada.

get real.

Anonymous

are they really racing in Bethel? I was going to drive up after they canceled CP but couldn’t confirm it was really going to happen. The idea of driving all that way to another canceled race was reason enough to just head to the diner.

Word on the street also is...

that Sherry from Empire was solo of the front for around 80km, they had a rider in every significant move and 3 or four rides in the front split at the end. Not bad for a bunch of losers who can’t ride their bikes. Thanks god there were so many other riders and teams from the city represented by at the end of the race.

Live Update from Bethel

11:36:46

Men’s 40+

The group is all together again. All 6 of them.

It’s 80 degrees and sunny.

Will P

Spring Series Was Cancelled this Morning .A few riders showed, but conditions was bad and not enough riders for a complete field so Van dunk Cancelled .

adm

Those are some nice results.

I don’t get all the Empire hate. They’re* a bunch of normal guys with fulltime non-biking careers who also race and train hard. They’re just stacking up some pretty impressive regional results so far this year. Maybe not lots of wins yet, but I don’t see any other team putting as many different riders in the top of the field week after week.

Mark Alden (Blue Ribbon) got 2nd in the 30+ with a couple of old men Bandits also in the top 10 to round out a strong NY/Metro Area showing.

Nice job Kendall.

* This is as opposed to "their" or "there" for those of you who are still trying to master the English language.

Battenkill Hangover

I dont know the Empire team at all but I do know how incredibly hard the course was Saturday. For a team of Cat 1s and 2s to hang with Jelly Belly, Colavita and some other full time pros is impressive. Its too bad the Empire guy got ahead of himself and pulled a Zabel. But nonetheless, Empire had an impressive ride considering some pros came in behind them in a chase group.

Anyone who has not raced Battenkill has no idea how brutal the course is (Mud, wind, water bottles all over the road and hills so steep you can taste the dirt road in front of you). Great effort to all Metro area racers that showed up and raced.

Live Update from Bethel

Women’s Race:

10:49:27 AM

A break of two, including the race series leader, has a 00:00:56 gap to the peoloton, which consists of two riders.

@Radical Media

2 Top 10’a for @Radical Media Women: Ashley Prine 3rd in Cat 4 and Elena Leznik 7th in P123! Excellent!

word on the street is...

fiora di frutta controlled BR from start to finish, yes they didn’t win in the end but the best team doesn’t always win as opportunists can always suck wheel and beat you at the line. that’s bike racing.

for the record, 1 jelly belly and 1 colavita rider doesn’t make a team in a race and to suggest that a certain team with 8 riders in the field road better than pro teams stupid, not to mention that the rider who did win was on proffessional team from canada.

get real.

Grammarian

To the anon dope who corrected cjammet: you’re wrong. He wrote it correctly ("where were your fat asses…?"). He did, however, get it wrong with panninis: panini is the plural of panino, similar to spaghetti not being pluralized as spaghettis. No biggie; Christophe’s a good lad.

Technically, ‘spoon should’ve been spoon, too. But who’s really counting? 🙂

Anonymous

"and where were you are fat asses…"
no, it’s your. if you’re going to be a grammar correcting prick at least be correct.

Anonymous

…and if you’re ever in the position to make that decision, I’m sure you’ll be wiser than everyone else. But I’m also sure you’ll never be in that position.

Eugene

"Yo, dont… "

Isn’t there a name, or expression for that type of comment? (Condescendingly acting as Mr. Above-it-all, putting someone down who’s already down?) I’ll have to look it up.

Empire Pro

Borat: "NOT"
Yo, dont raise your hands up before you cross the line when you get your PRO contract. It looks bad when you get nipped at the line . FYI

Anonymous

Nobody cares about some team the goes out of town and losses another amateur race. Why do people talk about them so much? WHO CARES! THEY LOST!

Eugene

"Maybe they’ll even generate some interest in upper echelon racing in US…"
I don’t understand this. Is there no interest in upper-echelon racing in the US?

"… although Schmalz at least is hopeless. "
Now that, I understand.

Anonymous

to the guy bitchin about lisban coming in 2nd. unless you’re the french canadian that beat him, i’m not sure how you can criticize. to paraphrase adler, empire rode a good race.

Anonymous

Looks like Empire can take on Fiordifrutta and any other top amateur team in northeast. This is just the start for them and they will try to bring in more top young riders in the years to come. Watch them get lisban a pro contract. Great representatives for CRCA and NYC. Maybe they’ll even generate some interest in upper echelon racing in US although Schmalz at least is hopeless.

JPK

Conn. Coast took 5. and 6th I got 6th in the 3s nice break away/ rode away with about 2.5 k to go.
We also had a CAT 4 girl win in a Solo break and 2nd place in the Cat 4’s by Warchol.
Cat 4 Adler guys did really well in the 4s placing 1st and 3rd.
The course was not as bad as I was everyone was making out to be . But was still a great ride.

adm

Any news on B-R?

Matt Loftus won the CRCA race from a 5-man break that snuck away and stayed away for about 4 or so laps. Also in break were Rashad (2nd), Willingham, Neu and Friedman. Lattanzi got 6th from a group of 4 that made a late move out of a chase group of about 10. Fun race.

Aaron

BR: Great weather, roads fine. Dirt just a hair spongy.
Here’s just what I remember.

4s: Kim 1, Collins 3, Stoffel 4
3s: Euri 7, me 9.
Pro Men Lisban 2?
Pro Women: Labance 1

That’s all I’ve got.

Future of nyvelocity.com

sense a cough coming on.
stuff here is very played out.
the b word boring says it all.

Anonymous

Hey future guy, don’t ever count these guys out. I think they may have some surprises in store for you yet.

Anonymous

sounds like whatever the Salem weather had to dish out will be nothing compared to tomorrow’s weather.

lee3

off subj. but WOW!

Some dude committed suicide and jumped off of the Empire State bldg. today! landed on 34th

Salem Weather Forcast

Rain and snow showers in the morning. Then becoming mostly cloudy in the afternoon. High 49F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 30%.
And then on accuweather Clouds and breaks of sun Saturday

Chris C

In Schuylerville, NY. Drove to Cambridge to pick up my race number and the roads look very good. The dirt is probably a little sloppy but the main roads are fine, all the snow is cleared well off the shoulder.

tree on homepage

I’m reminded of the circuit race at Fitchburg one year when a powerline fell in the middle of the race and held things up for 10 or so minutes.

yo schmalz

im not that bright or maybe i just don’t hear so well or both, what’t the movie cough coming out of battenkill? i like how the current course condition went from "good" to "interesting" y’day

No Jokers?

great women’s turnout for BR, even a waiting list for Cat 4’s. But what happened to the jokers? Have they disbanded?

i'm doing Battenkill because...

…even though i’m a pretty marginal 3 and am in no way a contender to win, and can frankly ill afford the time to go out of town, I also get bored of going around and around a city park x number of times.

Sakonnet U25 would do club races

If they lived locally and it fit their schedule — but wouldn’t focus on them.

Nor is Empire — props to them and Sakonnet (and Mengoni) for heading to Virginia. Jason Bremer won a state there a few years ago BTW when it was the Tour of Shenendoah.

upgrades

"don’t you have to win a few stage races to even be considered for an upgrade"

Are you talking about upgrading from 5 to 4? If so, the answer is "No."

JFT

Anonymous

Empire gets to warm up for Tour of Virginia against a very tough field. It’s now clear that they are serious in becoming the top amateur team in the northeast and are in a totally different class than any other sub team. Sakonnet U25 doesn’t compete in club races. Interesting to see how they do against each other in Va.

cat 5 hate

is tooootallly justified. I mean, look at how much more accomplished cat 4’s are compared to 5’s. don’t you have to win a few stage races to even be considered for an upgrade??

BK

Agreed. Look at the confirmed rider’s list, every field is stacked. Anyone who places, regardless of field will have some bragging rights. unfortunately, I will unlikely be one of them.

Anonymous

"If you put on a number and there is a finish line. It is a race"

Close, but not really. Those MS rides have numbers and finish lines.

Cough?

What a sleazy cheesy way to say that something is going to go wrong at Battenkill. The field is fantastic at every level of rider. The only issue is the weather and right now it looks good for Saturday. Schmalz doesn’t do real races anyway so he should keep his mouth shut and not wish anyone else bad luck. Go back and watch cycling.tv while we race at Battenkill.

TH

what’s with all the hate toward the 5’s? it’s like being mad at puppies or sunshine. doesn’t make any sense.

Hate the 5s?

Bike racing snobbery is like the old song:

“Irving, The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West. A hundred and forty-one could draw faster than he,
But Irving was looking for one forty-three.”

Everyone looks down on the guy one rung lower, 1s dont hate on 5s, the 4s do, and so on

Anonymous

he obviously belongs in the 4s already. if you win two in a row in a 4/5 field you should just go ahead and apply for an upgrade. you don’t need 10 pack finishes when you’re winning all the time, that’s silly.

Yo Scmalztz

When you wrote "movie cough", I thought you meant that thing you do when you’re opening a beer in the theatre.

Anonymous

How far did they get in repaving CP? Weren’t they supposed to go down to the 70s on the west side, or is that just wishful thinking?

Captain Ed

I know you guys don’t care too much about cat 5, but one of our riders, Ryan Pettit has now won six in a row( Branchbrook 3 times 4/5, Pine Cone 4/5, Prospect 2 times cat 5) and barring bad luck (sure to be a factor with the conditions) he has an excellent shot. He’ll be a 4 after this race and probably a 3 before long.

Anonymous

i wish there was some way to know what the weather was like in another part of the country, like a web site where you could go and type in a city and see the forecast. someone should really invent that.

Potty

Predictions:
Cat 4 – There’s a number of very good riders but I am putting my money on Dan Hoffman and other top 10’s could included Kim Riseth and Scott Wisenbaker and at least one lake placid planet guy. Also Collins.
Cat 3 – Because he asked so nice, Will O’Donnell. It’s not a real climbers’ race and Will is in good form.
Pro 12 – So many excellent riders – I have no idea but I don’t think it’s gonna be a NY/NJ guy.
Not that they are any less important but I have no idea about any of the other age categories and Cat5’s

don't listen to the BR promoter

in fact, don’t even ask him!

Just ask in nyvelocity and spread rumours here.

Thanks!

Anonymous

We’re getting only rain up here, the roads are wet and Roubaix-like – just
in time!

See you tomorrow!

Dieter
Race Promoter

I heard a rumoyr there were several feet of snow in Salem

and that we’d better bring running shoes with spikes to deal with the ice sheet on top of that. And a life preserver for the soft mud if it melts.

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