Oct 02, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Anyone in for the 40+ with me?
there is also a Cat 3 and a Cat 4 race. Should be fun.
AND a relatively late 6:45 start.
Pete Senia Memorial - Oct 6, 2013
Oct 02, 2013 at 12:32 PM
Oh another brilliant Van Chump decision. Have a park race start really late! Think he'll have 4 or 5 marshals and combine all the fields b/c only one moto showed up, or just let them ride without one?
Oct 02, 2013 at 01:38 PM
I'm in for the 4s. But I thought this was Saturday and now its Sunday.. Yeah @Jeff, I don't know how he'll manage 11 laps for the cat4 field with such a late start but... we shall see.
Oct 02, 2013 at 02:23 PM
Ragot, depending on me getting over a bout of the plague, I could be your lead-out guy.
Oct 02, 2013 at 04:43 PM
I might try to help as long as John doesn't give me the plague.
Oct 02, 2013 at 06:23 PM
Yeah, starting a long race at 6:45 seems like not the greatest idea. Just hope there are no cyclist/pedestrian collisions!
Oct 02, 2013 at 06:24 PM
Phillip I may join you, deciding whether to race this or FBF.
Oct 02, 2013 at 08:07 PM
Go for it @David! Maybe we can double up and head to FBF for the 9am start of the 4 field there too.. (sounds painful to me though).
Oct 02, 2013 at 08:10 PM
One is enough for me. See you at the park. Pastries and coffee afterward!
Oct 02, 2013 at 08:18 PM
Pie!
Oct 04, 2013 at 02:20 AM
Pie shop doesn't open until 10a on Sundays bro. Kondatori post race, but we can also hit up donuts in Greenpoint afterwards...
Oct 04, 2013 at 05:04 PM
I don't have time to grow an ironic mustache. Will they let me in?David Yang said:Pie shop doesn't open until 10a on Sundays bro. Kondatori post race, but we can also hit up donuts in Greenpoint afterwards...
Oct 04, 2013 at 05:37 PM
I can't do this race. I've avoided this for many years, but I have to take Luka to soccer. I'll be at the parade grounds.
Oct 04, 2013 at 05:52 PM
J.P. you can ride my townie after the race....
and the rest of you fat bastards can draft behind him on the way to your post race, gluttonous carb binge.
Oct 04, 2013 at 07:13 PM
Yacks, you coming?
Anyone else for the old man's race?
Oct 04, 2013 at 09:28 PM
The very curt polish counter ladies don't give a crap about mustaches or anything. Just have your cash in hand and know what you want. No dillydallying! No donut for you. NEXT!mugwump said:I don't have time to grow an ironic mustache. Will they let me in?David Yang said:Pie shop doesn't open until 10a on Sundays bro. Kondatori post race, but we can also hit up donuts in Greenpoint afterwards...
Oct 05, 2013 at 02:53 PM
I've been asked to lead the wheelchair division of a local 5K run tomorrow on my bicycle...soooo no racing for me.
yacks
Oct 05, 2013 at 11:06 PM
good luck tomorrow, riders of rohan kissena!
@twoyacks: i think you took the "most noble reason to skip to race" KOM
Oct 06, 2013 at 03:00 AM
Skipping the senia. Not feeling it, possibly because it looks like a pack of wheesuckers.
Oct 06, 2013 at 11:49 PM
Cat 4 wrap up - Me, Phillip, and Aaron today. It was not a fast race, not a fun race, but a really illuminating race. I got to watch a team execute on their game plan and get their guys into a winning break.
Right off the bat Foundation lead off with a high paceline. 2 guys attacked right off the front as two teammates let a gap form on the hill while another 2 or 3 guys were waiting in the wings in the back. By the time the rest of us dummies near the front realized what was happening the 2 man break had a good 20-30 seconds on the field by the bottom of the hill/chute. Nate on Foundation played his roll as blocker PERFECTLY as he kept the pace just high enough so that if you were 5 to 10 guys back you'd think that people were actually working in the front.
The handful of us in the front fell for it and chased and caught them. When we did around the finish line, boom, another set of Foundation guys immediately attacked again. I thought I'd try to stick with them up the hill, but (A) I absolutely suck at going up hills and (B) I was tired from trading pulls in the chase. So away they went. Westwood Velo dude and a plain black kit guy were in the same boat as me in the first chase and we just couldn't keep up. A few smarter guys who had been sitting in with fresh legs bridged up and that was the winning break.
After recovering for a bit, a couple of us attempted to chase again and close the gap. I think we came pretty close at one point, but fell apart when noone else would pull through. A pack of wheelsuckers today... Then Nate (and sometimes a teammate) would fly to the front, initially keeping the pace high but slowly bringing it down to an easy club ride pace. A few guys who should have been contributing to the chase earlier made a go for it sporadically by themselves. Maybe it was my hangover, maybe we just knew we were dealing with the inevitable, but we eventually let the warm tide of defeat wash over us and let the winning break go.
Easy laps then the inevitable field sprint. Aaron got caught out in the front a little early with about 800m to go, peeled off around 500 (I think screaming something like "Avenge me!" which is strangely exactly what Yacks said to me last week at Floyd), and I was in second position. I made a half hearted jump after a couple of wheelsuckers decided to go for 10th place or whatever and ended up probably in the top 15 - not that we'll ever know since AVD doesn't post race results outside of the top 5.
Highlight - Watching Foundation do their thang. It was pretty cool to watch. Their blocking technique was truly impressive and something I would like to learn and emulate.
Lowlight - Guys squabbling in the field, handing their bikes poorly, overlapping wheels, and crashing on the downhill.
So that's it, the last of the Prospect Park races for 2013...
***Special Bonus Edit: Maybe it was just fuzzy morning brain, but think Jim was sitting at the KOM like Obi Wan, silently observing us trying to make us learn to harness The Force...
Oct 07, 2013 at 01:01 AM
I was watching from the Parade Grounds. Glad I missed it.
Oct 07, 2013 at 01:14 AM
@yang which foundation guys were in the final break?
Oct 07, 2013 at 01:45 AM
@Wes - Not sure, but think one or both of the Altchek bros had a mechanical so not them.
Oct 07, 2013 at 02:25 AM
One of the Altchek bros dropped a chain right before the top of the hill. Him and his brother were at the back already by then.
Oct 07, 2013 at 05:01 AM
@Yang - Excellent race report.
I'm going to let you in on racing's dirty little secret now. Keep this in mind on every training ride, subway ride, during every slow day at the office for the next six months until your next race:
If you want to win, never ever do a single watt of work, ever, no matter what. Never work. Ever*. Doing work in a race is self-defeat and literally nothing else. You working = you losing the race and helping someone else win the race. Everything about working prevents you from winning. As someone who's done a lot of pointless work, I feel confident in saying this with certainty.
Watch Brendan's footage of club champs and take note of who does work when things get tough. I'm serious. Do that.
"Racing is licking your opponent’s plate clean before starting on your own." -- Hennie Kuiper
*Unless you're purposely losing the race for yourself.
Oct 07, 2013 at 12:46 PM
+1 to mr. white. nice report, yang. pithy, honest, and insightful. you may not have won the race, but you won the contest to summarize it!