Hopeful Friday June 21, 2013

Lo and behold

 According to the druids, summer will begin this weekend (druids are always behind by a few days—it’s their thing—along with being stinky), and like the druids many bike racers will be up at ungodly hours to prance around in public in ill-advised costumes. Let’s explore when these events will occur, shall we?

Saturday in Sussex County, there’s the Giro Del Cielo. Up in Corning, NY you can race a bike at the Watkins Glen Race Track at the Corning Circuit @ The Glen.

On Sunday, I’ve signed up to do the Lucarelli & Castaldi Cup in Prospect Park, it’s a full field, so it’s certain to be an interesting experience.

56 Comments

Matthias Ziptie

what a horrible race report.

first of all:

– they are not “wheelsucking” Eli – they are marking you. this is a team tactic. why should they work for you when, clearly, their intention is to make sure you don’t get away? you can call it wheelsucking all you want. the rest of us might call it smart team racing.

– are you a racist for calling a Jamaican “cool runnings”? a jamaican, i might add, who you later more or less call a cheating sandbagger? well, i won’t go there. you’re probably no more or less racist than the rest of the world. i think the more accurate label is “unoriginal douchebag.”

i mean, really? cool runnings? that’s what you decided to go with, rather than just use his name? what should we call you? crossing delancey? dr. rosenpenis?

Gilles Cogset

Hopefully you spoke to him after the race like a real man.

If not..

You are a bitch for posting all this shit without approaching said rider after the race. You probably don’t have the balls to do so. Writing a self absorbed blog and posting videos about your nothing meaningless race.

Cat 4 – You are not allowed to speak or post until you are at least a 3. Your category was given to you after 10 races. You don’t even have the authority to speak.

Antonin Tracknut

you do know what 2’s say about you, don’t you? shutup, you’re a fred like the rest of us…all of us who aren’t pros are equally lame

Gilles Cogset

Not saying I’m a pro or even anyone worth talking about. Just sayin’, Cat 4 opinions are as meaningless as a junior high-schooler talking about high school

Just use it as a marker to when you can speak about racing and it actually mean something. You have no experience to build from and 4/5 races are a shit-show.

And if you have not…

Speak to the man like a man or be judged as less than a man.

Like I said – Shut the fuck up until you have earned something.

Sam Stiff

Since we are all piling on, a few observations:
* I am glad others raised eyebrows at the nickname.
* Whether or not Eli spoke to the dude at the races, he isn’t being shy or anonymous with his opinions
* In the grand winnowing of cycling, you at least want to be a 3 before you start waxing philosophical about the nuances of bike racing – getting to 4 is like getting a participation medal
* I am happy Eli prepares his race reports. I am not sure if he takes him self as seriously as it sometimes seems – I hope not.

Sammy Davis Jr

Amar’e Stoudemire too. Not to mention many of the guests at my table at a family dinner. I’ll ask them next weekend what they think of being called Cool Runnings, Cuz you know, Jews suck at bobsled.

but back on track, that wasn’t a particularly dangerous move. I didn’t see anyone come close to going down. All I saw was a sprint finish where a Cat 4 let a better cat 4 come out and outsprint him. You were in the wrong place and weren’t paying attention to the better riders around you. Stop whining.

Milan Skidmark

Yuppies calling each other racist because of a self involved blog.

Why bike racing in NY sucks now. That and the EPO, paid amateurs, etc etc etc…

Nathan Kevlar

I figure the racism charges are way off. I am not sure that “cool runnings” really qualifies for the level of charges being leveled at Eli.

Antonin Tracknut

look, it’s not an especially “bad” or dangerous racism, but it’s racism. You see a black dude with dreads and call him ‘bob marley,’ it’s racism. even though to you it may be a compliment, you may love bob marley, doesn’t matter, it’s judging someone and disrespecting them by not using their name, especially in this case. cool runnings are laughable athletes, kinda clowns.

Antonin Tracknut

it’s kinda sounding worse and worse, eli. I know folk who know you and you are supposed to be a decent dude, I’d suggest not explaining any more. zip it. and don’t give out nicknames

Moses

Jeeeeeezooossss! So what you’re saying is:

“It’s totally cool for me to be a racist prick since ‘my people’ suffered. Some of my best friends are black dudes who I’ve decided it’s ok to make racist comments towards. I mean, it’s not like we really hang out or anything, but they always smile when I call them names.”

This guy clearly rides a bicycle like a jerk, but you’re living life like a jerk. Imagine your response if this guy lined up next to you and started calling you Sandy Koufax.

Loic Chamois

Why is everyone on their racial high horse and making a big deal about a few nick names… No one on this board was ever a slave or in a concentration camp. Dave Chappelle made a whole show about racist jokes and that shit was funny. Racism is saying one race is inferior than the other, and not about a white dude not being able to call a Jamaican dude “cool runnings”. If you think its ok for a black guy to call a black guy cool runnings, but that a white guy cant, then you are he racist!

Mernsauce

Dear Eli,

I’m Jewish too, but using the holocaust as a means to defend yourself against being called a “white Jewish guy” (which you clearly are) is exploitive and immature. You have no idea what our grandparents and great parents went through, and if you did you would not use it as a defensive mechanism against random commenters on an ameteur bike racing website.

Lucas Geared

I never once mentioned the holocaust…in fact, I wasn’t even remotely talking about that – my great grandfather had a more difficult time than I will ever have the capacity to understand, due to the ever-understanding way this world is leaning towards.

With that said, I still don’t understand why I’m a racist, or why we’re even talking about that. Can we address whether or not his move was a risky one, or if I’m just being crazy? Totally inexperienced here, as you may have gathered…and am just looking for some guidance.

Rough crowd…

Antonin Tracknut

the way you guys take yourselves way tooo seriously is beyond. who the fuck cares what eli thinks? and by that, I mean exactly the opposite of you guys. He participated, ergo, he can have a fucking opinion about what he participated in. dicks. sure, we don’t have to listen or take it seriously, but he should feel fucking free to fill the interwebz with his observations of HIS OWN GDAMN race!

ps – though I agree with you about the nickname, that’s just straightup racist, eli

Mats Clearcoat

whoa – way too much time on your hands! More time racing and training. Less time bitchin’ and stirring up all this nonsensical drama. Who gives a rats ass. yes

Really

I hope Eli does read these comments so he can see that he is a TOTAL DOUCHBAG for that Racist Remark he made about the “Cool Running”. At the end of the day its only a bike race it no NEDED for the “RACIST”.

Kevin Tracknut

What exactly makes “Cool Runnings” a racist comment? The movie was about Jamaican athletes, and here the target is also a Jamaican athlete…. It has nothing to do with anyone being black, white, hispanic or superior/inferior in race. I think everyone here that has thrown the race card is inherently racist for essentially saying that a white jewish guy can’t call a black jamaican guy “cool runnings”.

Thibaut Post

Let’s just clear up a few things here. Eli does speak to Laniel before and after every race and does let him know that he is racing dangerously.

Lucas Geared

LOL I don’t mean it in a stuck-up manner, I’m just saying that’s why I sound like I’m speaking above my pay grade.

…I’m not actually the kind of bike rider who can be mistaken for someone who houses some type of strength or anything that can be mistaken for speed. Trust me. I’m a non-threat to you lofty 3, 2 and 1’s.

whoever

you may be right to call this rider on the b.s., but using nicknames (“cool runnings”) does not win you any points. take the high road, otherwise you come across as a racist douche, which i am sure you are not. good luck with the next sprint.

Kevin Tracknut

Based on the way he jumped, would doubt he was ever a Cat 1, and even if he was I find it hard to believe he would swallow his pride and downgrade so low…. But if you don’t want to get cut off like that you have to close the door and box him in.

Gilles Cogset

Hopefully you spoke to him after the race like a real man.

If not..

You are a bitch for posting all this shit without approaching said rider after the race. You probably don’t have the balls to do so. Writing a self absorbed blog and posting videos about your nothing meaningless race.

Cat 4 – You are not allowed to speak or post until you are at least a 3. Your category was given to you after 10 races. You don’t even have the authority to speak.

hater69

Uhm yeah a white Jewish guy can’t call a Jamaican guy “cool runnings” sorry you privileged fuck. Your racist.

Antonin Tracknut

That’s the weirdest shit I ever saw, either go with yall, y’all, ya’ll, you all, you guys….something…just know “you will”

Sam Stiff

“cool runnings” has a racist implication, probably unintentional, because it was a movie about Jamaican athletes … who were totally useless at a historically white sport.

Lucas Geared

OK I’m here now. To address some of the concerns here…

Lainel and I are on fine terms. I speak to him before the races, I speak to him after the races, I joke with him, I tell him how dangerous he is, I tell him he needs to upgrade. I call him cool runnings. I say “all right, man” in the same accent he uses – it’s all in good fun. Is it racist? Not intentionally. If it’s unintentional, he doesn’t mind – or at least he hasn’t said as much in our scores of conversations.

Yes, I’m a 4. Yes, I have opinions as if I were a 3+ (as if that gives racers the right to be supremacist elitists) because I regularly train with 1’s and 2’s – it’s just the way I think and speak. But no, I don’t take myself seriously at all. My friends who know me know that I regularly call myself a cat 6. Our team isn’t here to win the big races or to help guys get onto MountainKhakis (but if we could, we would). We’re here to race and have a great time doing that…which we’re extremely successful with.

I race my bike because it’s fun. It’s not my job. I don’t care that much about 3rd place vs. 4th place – it’s 5 or 10 bucks. But at the same time, I am chafed about not being able to best the guy – for the most part, us racers do have some of a competitive fire in us.

And for the record, those of you who are calling me a white, Jewish guy (as if there was a black Jewish community) and privileged as that…please don’t even pretend to know what I’ve been through as a Jew, or the suffering my people have been through. Some people…where do you get off…

Eli

^Direct flame here.

Post Script. Dan, thanks for the advice – in retrospect, I wish I would have seen that as a move that would have worked. It didn’t cross my mind, but I wonder if bridging the gap would have even helped me. My 2 cents? Lainel would have sucked DD and my wheels and then sprinted around us for the win, if we had survived. What if, what if, what if…

The Rock

Great race at Rockleigh with perfect weather last night. 50 starters in the 123 with a 27+ mph avg. Solid, agressive racing every lap and a fun time had by all!
(except the one guy who crashed into the tree on the final lap who thankfully and miraculously was not badly hurt)
Hope for the same next week, except for the crash.

coaster

Lucky for Ted H, the tree is in the shape of a “V” and he actually somersaulted right between the two rather large and solid branches. Folks, it’s Thursday racing – go hard but not stupid!

Armando O-Ring

Nation champ big deal. Cycling is barley a fringe sport in the states. Local kickball games get more spectators, races are nothing but a pain in the ass to local communities, and “pros” barley eek out a Tatooine moisture farmers sustenance.

Jeremy Seatmast

2 former/current National Champions in the field, not too shabby for a Thursday night race.

Antonin Tracknut

who?

do they give these things out more freely than they used to? i was on a group ride the other day and had two world champion jerseys around me

schmalz

Eli you had a golden opportunity to jump to that late break and punish a sprinter to get the win. Opportunity missed.

Vieri Ergopower

This guys is possibly the biggest idiot I’ve ever heard of.

How can he be a cat 1 from another country? Most other countries don’t have categories……….

Martin Limit Screw

as in you probably won’t break your face in a rock garden. it’s fast and smoother than some courses. favors power over technique. enjoy.

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