Kissena Women's Team - Forum Archive

Mar 21, 2014 at 09:57 PM

Fenders work when you're alone or in a group when everyone's using them. Fender or no fender, your kit's gonna look awful after 4.8 laps of a wet Central Park race...provided you're behind someone's wheel. And you should be behind someone's wheel for at least 4.6 of those laps.

Marc Bertucco

Mar 21, 2014 at 11:14 PM

I'd go for fenders to keep your posterior dry-ish until race time. If you've got the cheapy kind, like me that clips to the seat post, then I'd take it off for the race. If you have more robust real deal fenders then no harm in leaving them on for the race too.

'Course, I used to train in sweat pants and a members only type jacket.

Unknown

Mar 22, 2014 at 12:50 AM

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Unknown

Mar 22, 2014 at 12:42 PM

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Bruce van-Schalkwyk

Mar 22, 2014 at 12:56 PM

Damn, what happened? Is she ok?

Meredith Martin

Mar 22, 2014 at 01:04 PM

Please update soon so we know if Erika is ok!!! Sending good thoughts.

Jules

Mar 22, 2014 at 01:06 PM

More importantly, how is Peppermint Patty?

[spoiler]

She was still grinning in the pictures I saw...

[/spoiler]

Jules

Mar 22, 2014 at 01:41 PM

She's well enough to text, and has her priorities straight:

1) such a good position going into the sprint...

2) torn kit

3) bike

4) cuts & scrapes

#racing

Marc Bertucco

Mar 22, 2014 at 01:49 PM

The women of KCC kind of rock. Proud to be their teammate.

Erika Tarte

Mar 22, 2014 at 02:04 PM

Blerg. Yes, I was in great position going into the sprint. Outside right going into the Tavern finish. Woman sneaks by on my outside right just as the woman to my left slams into my shoulder. We all go down. I slide on my back and shoulder for what seems like forever. Someone's rear der snags in my leg. I get up, finish, clean up at the boathouse, realize I need real medical attention, and watch Garrigan sprint down a moving ambulance. Now my bike and I are waiting at urgent care at Cornell / NYP. Gave the paramedics some advice about buying their first road bikes (apparently transporting banged up racers hasn't deterred them from wanting to take up the sport). Nurses like my Osmo bottles. My elbow suffered some deep road rash and probably needs a few stitches. Sore a few other places (shoulder, ribs) but otherwise good. Embro is burning like mad. Thanks checking in! Awesome racing with Glori & Gwynna today! Having teammates in the field is a novel experience for me, and I can't wait to roll out with you ladies again!

Unknown

Mar 22, 2014 at 03:20 PM

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Glori Campbell

Mar 22, 2014 at 03:38 PM

@Erika Tarte‌ I'm happy you are ok!! You are one badass momma!!!
@Gwynna Smith‌ so much fun to race with you both!! I need a lot of practice and def hill sprints (is that a training thing?)
Happy I signed up, it was exhilarating & a good learning experience for sure!!!

David Yang

Mar 22, 2014 at 04:58 PM

Glad you're okay Erika, did they give you a tetanus shot? Horse poop and open wounds equal bad news.

Daniella Shachter

Mar 22, 2014 at 05:03 PM

Glad you are ok!

Daniella Shachter

Mar 22, 2014 at 05:04 PM

Glad you are ok!

David Yang

Mar 22, 2014 at 08:10 PM

Also this may he too soon, but it might be a convenient excuse to get a new bike...

Erika Tarte

Mar 23, 2014 at 02:34 AM

Thank you all for the love, support, way too generous offers of assistance that have poured in since this morning! I wanted to let everyone know that my bike and I are home and doing fine after spending about 6 hours in urgent care watching Ricki Lake and reading National Geographic magazines from the early 80s... which is exactly like hanging out at my grandparents house when I was home sick from middle school.

The field was especially twitchy today and the race seemed really disorganized. Notice that Glori and Gwynna? There were several racers at the hospital and a pedestrian who was struck by one of the CRCA club fields. The women's 4 field had a very strong lone wolf in Toga kit (a triathlete who has caused crashes and created dangerous situations in park races before) who kept going off the front, slamming on her brakes, then cutting across the front of the field from left to right, right to left, etc. Some of the women were scolding her but I didn't catch details. We also lost our moto for a good lap, only to have him come careening past us at ludicrous speed in the east 90s, and then speed off into the distance again. We were neutralized at least 3 times (maybe 4 or even 5 times... we lost count and we lost our moto so who knows) on the last lap and a half, including right after Harlem Hill, so everyone in the main women's 4 field had really, really, really fresh legs going into the sprint. Disaster waiting to happen.

I ended up not needed any stitches, but I did fracture a rib and have a mild concussion. The doctor actually cleared me to start riding again tomorrow (my wife asked, not me!) but I'm going to stick to the trainer until the next cold snap passes.

And if you thought I left my dignity all over that horse shit covered asphalt today, you'd be correct (still searching for that, Jules? I'd like to have it back soon.) Because, while covered in all sorts of dirt and grease and blood and clif shot goo, and while clothed in kit so tattered and torn it wouldn't look out of place in a Bon Jovi video, who happens to appear in the waiting room but one of my supervisors. Ugh.

Phil Maronilla

Mar 23, 2014 at 03:30 AM

I'm glad to hear you're OK @Erika Tarte‌ (and the bike too!)

Marc Bertucco

Mar 23, 2014 at 09:58 AM

Ouch...broken ribs...be sure you get up close and personal with a fluffy pillow, hug it, and take deep breaths a few times a day. And if hurts too badly when you do that, don't be shy about taking any pain meds that may have been prescribed/recommended for you.

Unknown

Mar 23, 2014 at 11:04 AM

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Mar 23, 2014 at 11:32 AM

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Jules

Mar 23, 2014 at 02:11 PM

@Erika very glad to hear you and Peppermint Patty are more or less in one piece!

Search party has been combing the park for close to 24 hours but thus far all they've turned up are three empty gel packets, a 2-dimensional "ex" squirrel and a dude in a wetsuit with one flipper. No sign of the dignity yet. We're gonna keep the frogman though...

EmilyAtwater

Mar 23, 2014 at 04:18 PM

All of you who raced are awesome. Wishing @Erika Tarte‌ a quick recovery!

Erika Tarte

Mar 24, 2014 at 05:10 PM

Awww @Gwynna that sucks that a) you had a mechanical and b) you were pulled! Another example of how poorly this race was managed. I've never seen anyone, especially a single rider, pulled from a Central Park race. It's a long course and there are recreational cyclists everywhere. You paid your money, you deserved to finish and get in a good workout. I mean, they weren't even pulling women from Grant's.

Excellent race report. Both @Gwynna and @Glori were fantastic wheels in their very first (or second?) park races. They raced smart and stayed off the front.

Taking @Gwynna's wheel down the S curves was a blast. Yeah, there was a woman in CRCA club kit barking orders for the duration of the race who totally pooped our party on that move. But it was pretty awesome watching @Gwynna FLY down that descent with her excellent handling skills and superior speed, which caused the whole field to ramp it up in a part of the park where I've seen the W4s be very timid. The fast descent gave the field more momentum that usual going up Harlem Hill, and when @Gwynna pulled off, I was flung into the front and up that hill with minimal effort. I also wouldn't be surprised if a few women were dropped off the back thanks to that move. If they took the descent cautiously, there's no way they caught up after the hill. We need to do that again, next time without the commentary.

@Jules, if we call off the search party for the dignity, can I have the frogman's quads? Stuck indoors and on the trainer this week, and not able to fully engage my core (who knew ribs were so important?!) I might as well become a sprinter.

Bruce van-Schalkwyk

Mar 24, 2014 at 05:39 PM

Gwynna Smith said:

1) We got to the top of the S curves, and I just had to see what the descent was like. I pulled out smoothly and just glided to the front with no effort - and promptly had to slow in order to stay behind the moto. I led a strung-out field all the way to Harlem...

2) I dropped a chain (time for new cables!). I watched the group roll away...

3) I tried to get some of the dropped C guys to work with me (is that legal, BTW?),...

4) Anyway, to my shock, I really enjoyed being inside the peleton. My strengths and weaknesses were exactly where I expected them to be. I had enough fun that I'll keep doing these here and there. Another massive thanks to Glori and Erika!

Great race report. Nice job. With humbleness:

1) Imagine what happens when you pour on the gas downhill instead of gliding to the front! You've found a great strength, that you can crank it downhill. Breaks happen when there's an opportunity, and a will, but this is a place where you can make the opportunity.

2) Mechanicals suck. Dropped chains on hills happen when one shifts hard from the big to the small chain ring (and there's chain stretch, gearing isn't set up correctly etc), because you just pop that thing right off. When I'm shifting like this, I skip a pedal stroke so I'm not pushing down, I ease the gears, ease my next stroke. Counter-intuitive when you're racing and going fast, which is why I practice it - especially on River Road where there are places where I hit an uphill with high speed. Also, you could buy a chain catcher so it doesn't happen again.

3) Strictly speaking, no.

Rules 3B5. Taking pace or assistance from any outside means is forbidden, including holding on to a motor vehicle or taking pace from riders in a different race that is concurrently on the same course.

3C3. A lapped rider or one who has fallen too far behind and is considered to be out of contention may be called off the course by the Chief Referee. Riders on different laps may not give or receive pace from one another. A lapped rider must not interfere in any prime sprint or finishing sprint and must ride sufficient laps at the end so as to cover the entire distance in order to qualify for a prize, unless excused by the Chief Referee from covering the full distance.

But you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't done it at least once. My main concern is the women's field being neutralized so many times. This is not good and takes the energy out of the race and does make it that much more dangerous for the final sprint when everyone has fresh legs. What's the solution? Earlier start times? Is there a solution?

4) Welcome. You will want more.

Unknown

Mar 24, 2014 at 06:27 PM

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Jules

Mar 24, 2014 at 07:21 PM

Unless ok you are riding off-road or your drive train explodes a dropped chain is

*always* user error

but like all common mistakes, this one is also made in good company

http://youtu.be/I3lynCWEIXo

Kayt Mathers

Mar 24, 2014 at 10:47 PM

Thank you @Erika and @Gwynna for the race reports. It sounds like a bit of a shit show, but at least one that provided plenty of learning opportunities.

Erika, I'm so glad you're OK all things considered. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that photo you posted, lying in the ambulance, and I'm glad to hear you didn't have to go down the stitches road. Also happy you can take it easy on the trainer this week--well, sort of. I'm sure it's been painful; rib damage is zero fun.

Congratulations @Glori and @Gwynna on your maiden road races and hanging in there despite the lack of organization. Are you planning on doing it again this weekend? I hope so!

Unknown

Mar 25, 2014 at 01:15 PM

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Glori Campbell

Mar 25, 2014 at 02:40 PM

hi guys, sorry about responding so late but here are my thoughts about the race...

Since this was my first one, I really didn't know what to expect...I was able to keep up with the group for the first two laps...but the 3rd harlem hill killed me!! I actually didn't remember what Marc said about staying towards the front going into the hill so that when you are a slowing down (like I did) you don't get dropped off too far....in hindsight that seems like great advice!

I ended up finishing the race on my own...No one asked me off the course and I didn't see any other cat 4 women pass me (So perhaps I was last?)

Even though I prob was one of the last women in , I was really excited about completing my first race!!....I approached the race director (dude at finish line). I told him I had finished...The guy was pretty disorganized and I thought a little rude (it seemed like he didn't even want to be there)...I told him I finished and he just said OK...not sure how this works, but is someone supposed to record your number down? I was a little bummed about the anticlimactic ending but I headed back to the start and found @erika & @gwynna...

When Erika asked the same guy about medical attention I was also really surprised at the lack of concern and compassion...I think someone there told her that IF she could ride she should bike to the ER....seems kinda crazy to me to ask someone injured to do that.

I stuck around a lilttle longer and witnessed some more craziness...This same race director was totally clueless... he asked the group of women who they thought won....One girl said she did and this was confirmed by her fellow riders...but while he was looking at the video he said that she did not win... this went back and forth for a while and the girl who did win was getting upset (understandably so). Finally another guy walked up and watched the video and had to tell the race director that they were looking at the wrong moto video!! I mean this seems crazy to me also....The women in this group were also complaining about the motos slowing them down a lot as well as taking off and leaving them for a period.

All in all I had a fun time, but it definitely seemed disorganized and a partial shitshow.

I would like to try to race some more soon! Not sure if I am ready for this weekend, but maybe I could just give it another shot...who all is racing??

Hope you are doing ok @Erika and have a blast at mountain bike camp @gwynna....that sounds like fun!