Write up your own version of the weekend’s racing, feel free to be inflammatory, try not to be libelous or anonymous.
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Here’s our quick and sloppy recap:
Sandy Hook TT
Good weekend for ML (not that we’re biased or anything), with the dreaded quadruple triple, plus Brick House Harris on fire. Ken hit for the cycle over the weekend, with 3rd overall at the Sandy Hook TT, second in the 35+ at the Tour de Lamb, first in the 3/4 at the Tour de Lamb, and rounded it out with a dnf in the 123’s because he was ‘tired’. Kids today. I used to walk 50 miles barefoot to school in 5 foot snowdrifts… ML got three more thirds with Orcutt in the 35+, some bestial pornographer in the 4/5’s, and Liuzzi at Bethel in the 3/4’s.
@##=#<1,c>@##=#
Tony ‘called shot’ Settel killed it. Tony would’ve been 4th overall, winning the 45+. Bonus points for pointing to left field and calling his own win, and schwag for best prediction.
Bob ‘where’s your birth certificate’ Clifford won the 55+ with a 47 second margin. I think someone’s lying about his age.
Ellen ‘Woodward and Bernstein’ Moses took the women’s race, with Mara Miller 3rd and Karen Ulrich 4th. We’ve been advised that Ellen is actually ‘Snowman’ Moses, but that’s just as cryptic.
Branchbrook (Tour de Lamb)
Roger Aspholm won the 35+ over Harris. Their break of 3 lapped the field twice.
Harris wins the 3/4’s. He lapped the field twice.
Our intrepid reporter went home for a nap before the finish of the 123’s.
Bethel
Badger scores another 2nd in the 123’s. One more 2nd and he will be ‘The Bridesmaid’.
Heather LaBance, a NYVC fave, wins the women’s race.
John-Paul Kaminski wins the 4’s, with Chris ‘my last name is it’s own nickname’ Uglietta 3rd. How will Adler cope with the stress of its first winless weekend?
Spring Series
Scot Willingham beat Pascal Sauvayre in a two man break in the 3/4’s, followed by Alejandro Guzman, Justin Lubeley, and Will Riffelmacher.
Edwin 2nd in the 123’s? Settel 3rd? Anyone???
If I Hurtcould’ve, I Hurtwould’ve
Expecting a relatively easy race at the level of a CRCA B race, Edgemont brought 9 guys, including one without shoes, to Hurtwood (Kirkwood, PA) for a 20 mile 4/5 race and 35 mile 3/4 race.
Kirkwood is Amish country, and that means horse plow teams and horse buggies, and that means horse shit. Add rain and the 7 mile circuit became a sloppy, slippery mess of wet Amish exhaust.
4/5 Race
RedRoseRaces runs near perfect races that would be an example for any small race promoter. The 4/5 race started 20 seconds late, and went off with a squishy sound as the 75 rider field started taking the 6 turns of the course.
Our plan was to get to the front ASAP, but before we could all navigate the narrow lanes to the front, Edgies Tony Slokar and Rob Kolb had itchy trigger fingers and launched a couple of blistering attacks, which drew an equal if not more blistering response. Tony and Rob waved bye bye to the pack, and the rest of us struggled to survive.
I worked my way up to the rapidly shrinking lead group, trying to bring along teammates I passed. I found myself there securely at last, but without teammates, in the lead group of about 12 with a 2-man break a bit up the road working very well together and pulling away. I tried encouragement. I tried gentle instruction. I tried desperate pleas. I tried angry yelling. But this group could not be made to chase in any effective way. A few of us did work and kept the break within sight, but it was not enough.
By the third and final lap the pace in the “chase” group had eased a bit, and our numbers had dwindled to 5. What was left of the field out was of sight behind us. Coming into the uphill and windy homestretch, two attacked up a steeper part just before the 1K sign. I started chasing but stopped when I saw I was dragging the other two with me. This turned out to be a mistake–I easily outsprinted the other 2 for 5th place, and probably could have caught the two.
How hard could a 20 mile 4/5 race have been? There’s the subjective sense that can only say it was one of the harder 4/5 races I’ve ever been in. Then there are the power numbers that say it was very, very hard. Unfortunately, operator error prevented further analysis of those numbers.
3/4 Race
This one started more reasonably and with a smaller field of 40-50. The wind had picked up considerably. Tired from the first race, most of the team quickly said “see ya” to the front. After working my way up I was sitting comfortably at the back of the lead group of maybe 15 when I flatted just after the turn to the uphill and windy homestretch. I stupidly refused the first wheel offered to me by a teammate, accepting one from Ben Hughes, the nicest guy on ML, about 10-15 seconds later. In spite of my best efforts make good use of Ben’s generosity, I gained rapidly on the pack but fell short of catching them by maybe 10-15 seconds before they made the turn downhill and away from the wind and rapidly disappeared. Over the next lap I continued chasing, hoping to catch on to a small but growing chase group in front of me containing Anthony Accardi. But as that group got organized it powered away from me. I took a third cool-down lap and joined the rest of the team comfortably spectating at the finish line.
Thanks Aaron, great report. Sorry about your spell of bad luck
Was the game an April’s fools joke? I started to believe it when it was up on Sunday.
report from Mullica RR
"I got my ass kicked in a field sprint"
Tony, glad you got the shirt despite my less-than-winning ride. I want to see you wearing that Chicka-bow-wow.
why is Ellen nick-named after the Watergate reporters? She wasn’t racing back in the Nixon era. The peeps want to know.
From an out-of-towner definitely a cool site. Been poking around a bit, and although not racing in NYC (or anywhere anymore, for that matter), nice to see a vibrant site dedicated to local racing. Hell, this is better than watching the banter about the pros!
Cheers,
Hincapieista
catvii.blogspot.com
I want to know why Ellen is ‘Snowman’.
is this like an exchange of secret code names on a dark corner? she’s "snowman" because she wears 3 layers of clothing, 2 pairs of gloves, a wool hat and neck gator if the temperature is under 65 degrees.
Sorry, Kristi, that wasn’t juicy enough for me to give up my secret.
Lots of wind, lots of action. Fiordifrutta, Toga, Mengoni, Deno’s, Gotham in attacks all race long. Final move of 8 escaped with 4 laps to go. Morel and Curt Davis bridged on last lap just as Burgos rolled off front of break to win solo. Morel and Settel countered with 1 mile to go and held on to 2nd and 3rd. Break sprint won by Devin “you can’t believe how large his legs have gotten” Flaherty.
Loudon for the field sprint, with NYVC’s own Justin Brown right behind.
Where Pulla ????
My first race this year in Prospect Park . I didn’t see any potholes , most of the uphill section repaved . It made for a safe race . Whoever is responsible for the roads in PP is doing a lot better job then the people in Central Park.
serious lag-time on those sandy hook tt results. i saw something on the uscf site but it looks like we all crossed the finish holding hands! no individ. times?
Kevin, did you try the link in the article above?
Central Park is farther north than Prospect Park, so the winters are rougher on the roads up there.
The reason my roads are paved, my races are laid back and my overall demeanor JOYFUL is because I love bike races!!!
Snowman contact "Best" if location is ready before weekend …need run for my money by Saturday.
I heart runners
The reason my roads are paved, my races are laid back and my overall demeanor JOYFUL is because I love bike races!!!
How long will it be until CRCA starts having club races in PP?
love the post-coital smoke in pooch’s paw. niiiice.
I love eating carbon wheels! mmmmm
Kev! You’re the man! 1st place cat5’s baby! A monster ride, under 17min. and going "eddy merckx"
Great ride.
Harris = UPGRADE
OR
The rest of the guys on the field "suck"
What happened to him during Grants Tomb?????????
They either need to upgrade Harris or downgrade everybody else.
He tries, but Judy Miller don’t like crits.
Believe everything I say. – Jayson Blair
it’s not crits she doesn’t like, it’s 20mile 3/4 races with no hills and no corners.
Hats off to Kevin B.
Killed the 5s in Sandy Hook.
Just so you know I respect Ken Harris, and really think, that he deserves to uprgrade, but most NY races simply do not qualify for upgrades. The main reason is that in order to upgrade from Cat3 to Cat2, you need Road races that are longer than 50 miles and Crits that are longer than 20 miles. And as we all know local races are just too short. As far as I know there was only one race in Prospect last year that was long enough (15 laps) and Judy Miller had no problem to accredit my points from thas race. As for the competition, even though local races are sure not easy, I think that we all know that it ussualy gets harder outside of the city. Check the exact rules for upgrade at http://www.usacycling.org/forms/USAC_rulebook.pdf Go to page 5 and it’s all there. Good luck Ken, I wish you to upgrade soon.
Yeah, the commentary over the mic at Prospect is annoying. And it’s not right coming from the promoter. Unless he’s also giving accurate splits (back splits) to the break, it’s unfair to keep the field updated with info on the gap. I liked the music though….
is gonna win the team cup this weekend
1) Harris solo
2) Auth solo
3) some axis rider who missed the break
Does Seaford have upgrade points from 3 to 2 in the 3/4? The distances are long and it suits Harris’s strengths.
The "dude in blue" who got 3rd in the Cat 5 race is Christoffel Prinsloo, a gentleman of a rider who would never berate fellow Cat 5s from trying to hold a line even when they meander a bit.
nyvelocity needs to give kevin a commentary section on the site. the spoke thing sucks.
Kev, I suppose you missed…
guy who dropped his water bottle, right in the front and nearly took out the pack.
the other guy who cut so far into the walker lane he nearly went into the grass.
then the guy who kicked up the cone which went flying into the pack.
Did I forget about the guy who slammed on his brakes on the hill.?
And finally, the winner of the squirrely, rookie cat 5 award goes to…..
the guy who pulled a McEwen on Rashad with about a 1.5k to go. With a nasty elbow, and a head bonk just as we’re coming off of the descent about to set up for the finish, I guess he wanted to whisper sweet nothings into Rashads ear.
Love the 5’s!
Branch Brook 1/2/3’s
The 1/2/3 started late enough that I think that everyone that got lost going to the wrong place finally found it.
We actually got a friendly Police Escort to the race, after the Officer realized that we would get lost trying to remember his directions, he said oh heck, just follow me, man things sure change when you cross a small body of water.
And the race had most of the usual NJ cast of characters, Roger Asphalm already having won the 35+ with his Westwood Velo guys, A big squad from Liberty Cycles, The Van Dessel Guys, Colivita local squad.
a couple of the new young guns from Mengoni.
As usual the race started fast, with a whole host of attacks and counter attacks, Peter from Mengoni was very active, but nothing really managed to stay away for more then a lap or two of the 40 lapper, with 12 to go there were whispers of a impending Field sprint, when Saul from Amino Vital threw down a blistering move coming out the last corner, quickly establishing about a 15 second gap, Gavi was quick to Bridge up, along with a guy from Westwwod Velo and two other guys (sorry I don’t know their names) and they quickly got into a smooth rotation, and were keeping the gap hovering at around 20 seconds as the laps were winding down, and though the chase was
on in the pack, at this point the field was down to about 15 guys, so the firepower was pretty equal.
Coming out of the last turn, the Westwood guy Jumped hard, and held it to the line, with Gavi coming in for a strong 2nd and Saul 3rd.
Once you upgrade, don’t think things get better. It just gets a little faster and a little longer but the same dumbass’ are there doing the same dumbass things. I do tend to hear a lot less "BRAKING!" though.
I have to fess up about the falling botte. My sincere apologies. The darn cage bent when I went to put it back in and the bottle slipped out. I’m glad no one went down (and I was front right and the bottle rolled to the side, where I snatched it after 2 laps). oops. Time for a new cage or no bottle next time…. at least it wasn’t the cone, which almost hit me (I got hit by the cone in CP in a March race). Some guys love the inside line I guess.
The other guy who rode in and out of the recreational lanes so often was crazy; was that supposed to be an attack? It sucks that Rashad got elbowed by you know who (the same guy who tried to tell us at the start that it was a 5 lap and not 6 lap race). Indeed, always a fun ride.
yeah, what’s with the cone thing? the 3/4 field always has about 2 of those as well….people may love the inside but do they need to love it from so close up? and there was some dude in the 3/4 field sunday (black and green colors, unfamiliar jersey) who was zig-zagging all over the road.
I thought the guy that elbowed me did it by accident. Then some of the boys said it looked intentional. Next time I see him I am going to pee on his bike.
Bethel
HEATHER, you’re a stud!!!!
yeah I do think that guy (mr. cant stay inside the cones) was going for a break away. maybe into the pond on the left! Even better, it was on the second to last lap! Did he really think he was gonna get away?
Yeah Rashad! very necessary. do it… do it
If that happens, thats worth a t-shirt.!
In Sundays 3/4 race I observed (no mentioning names,jerseys or gender)for some reason likes to ride up on you on the outside of the pack giving you a few inches of space while this person so adamantly holds his/her line,meanwhile the person on the other side of you is squeezed between you and the cones or the joggers lane.I personally dont get it ,I see some that ride very sellfeshly not giving much concern for the next racer.While most people in a crash would just get a few scrapes and a tear or burn of their jerseys we would do well to remind ourselves that none of use are pros and we are doing this for fun but occasionally a serious injury can occur especially when your like 130lbs. and most everyone else is like 170.I dont want to appear critical because we all make errors but some things I witness in the races makes me wonder,sometimes outloud.
that sounds like bike racing? I dont understand the criticism
not to mention trashing our bikes as well!
any of those guys doing these things, usually dont have it at the end anyhow. Why are they doing getting all sketchy during the race?
We should have some type of measure for this, perhaps they should have to wear a really loud uniform or something. Maybe all neon, including the helmet. This way we can see them coming. Also, we’ll know not to stay on their wheel.
Well, what do you think? Lets have a vote for that.
its not bike racing, its bad bike racing. I can do with out that. mistakes, ok but there’s no excuse for blatent foolishness, jerky behaviour etc.
there’s a fine line between sketchy and aggressive. It’s not a club ride, it’s a race. there isn’t supposed to be much space. defending your space is part of racing, if you’re 130lbs you will be at a disadvantage in this regard but you can also squeeze into narrower spaces. as long as the rider isn’t squirrely i don’t see what the problem is.
not to mention trashing our bikes as well!
any of those guys doing these things, usually dont have it at the end anyhow. Why are they doing getting all sketchy during the race?
We should have some type of measure for this, perhaps they should have to wear a really loud uniform or something. Maybe all neon, including the helmet. This way we can see them coming. Also, we’ll know not to stay on their wheel.
Well, what do you think? Lets have a vote for that.
Rubbin is Racin!
The problem is I dont want to look like the bad guy when I put a 130lb person on the ground because he/she is too aggressive and lacking in the skilzz dept.
Bethel
HEATHER, you’re a stud!!!!
As you move up through the categories, sketchiness is tolerated less, enough nuttiness will ensure a strike of "Belgian Lightning".
I’m not sure that sketchiness is tolerated less in higher level races, but rather it (a) doesn’t work and (b) matters less. It doesn’t work because riders who are sketchy when riding super close simply crash or get dropped. And it seems to matter less because the riders who actually can’t control their bikes get dropped, and random stuff (like dropped bottles) are not as much a big deal for higher category riders.
in my experience, the people who are most aggressive about holding their place are beginners, who’ve been told by their coach to hold their position; they stiffen up and don’t give and are like boulders. It’s like the only point of their race is not to give up that specific place. They don’t get the "flow" of a bike race yet, or how to relax. That doggedness about their position makes them dangerous to people around them.
I may know what the problem here is…The "experienced" or shall I say non sketchy riders are allowing brand new racers like me to contest the bunch sprints. As well as hang out at the front make breaks ect…I have a solution make the race harder keep it single file push us to the back. I’m sort of taking the piss out here, but there is some truth to my statement.
i hope you weren’t referring to me. i would be so insulted.
obviously a little flexibility is in order. nobody’s saying that anyone should squat like a boulder. but making sudden moves, going into the jogger lane etc. is worse.
by way the PP has been way safer this year and I attribute that to the new road surface.
Does ‘cottaging’ mean the same thing over here in the US as back home in the UK?
All hail Cycling.tv…..HAIL HAIL HAIL. I finally hooked up the premium – The freebee’s were good but I dried’em up – (premium for the year) live friggen PARIS ROUBAIX, Romandie, Dauphine and the list goes on and on and on…..everytime I log in, they’ve added another GOOD race! For those who dont know "you betta ask somebody"
Hail Lee3! Brilliant!
….its good ta be da king.
Thanks for the tip, Lee. Now another cycling-related thing online to keep me from my real work….! But it is very cool!
Heard the adlers got a prem in the 4’s and had a great 3/4 outing in Bethel — just a rumour
i like squirrels
cycling.tv = crack … now that’s good commentary!!!