ColinStief said:

looks like we have some rain on the forecast. Any tips for racing in the rain? 

So many!

1. Training in the rain.  Might be too late for this one considering tomorrow.  This is three-fold: it's about mental state, clothing preparation, and getting a feel for how the bike responds differently in the wet.  

2. Dressing for temperature.  If you get cold, you're done, so I'd want to err on the warm side.  Looks like it could be in the mid to upper 40s tomorrow.  How you dress depends on how hard you're going and how long you'll be out there.  And how you've found your body works.  If it were cyclocross, you might not wear any rain gear at all.  But for a long road race, it's a completely different story.  I'd definitely start with a rain jacket on (the descent from the start line will be cold).  Ever notice how pros are dressed at the finish of a long road race?  They started with far more clothing on. I'd probably go for shorts with leg warmers, fleece shorts if possible (over 50f, and I'd go with naked knees).  I'd probably opt for waterproof gloves and booties. 

3. Bike.  check your pads today and replace if necessary (if you have the parts and time).  There will be lots of brake grinding on the descent.  Check your tires; old treads are often more flat-suspectible.  I swap between 23 and 25mm race tires these days (clinchers!); I'd be sure to have the 25s on.  Tire pressure is critical.  If you have a regular tire pressure, I'd drop it by like 5psi, provided you don't already run it low.  

4. in the race.  Positioning is super-important.  While I wouldn't fight hard for position, I'd try to be toward the front and try to choose people to be around you believe are safe riders.  consider how other people are thinking.  Lots of people are going to be grumbling and negative and will give up kind of fast.  I'd expect a long break to take the race if the weather is bad;  While you'd be working harder than in the pack, a smaller group is likely safer, and you'll stay warmer.  

5. points of concern.  Lots.  Not only the downhill and the first turn, but, after the first climb, there are twisty rollers from the bridge to the Tiorati circle.  I'd keep an eye out for bad pavement (another reason to go for a long break), and the more dangerous moments might be when the pack is going easy and people aren't paying attention.  

6. nutrition.  It's hard to eat in the cold and drinking doesn't seem important.  For this reason, a drink mix is better than water, and gels might be better than solids.  And a flask for the gels is better than trying to rip them apart.

7. post race. Have extra-warm clothes to put on.  It will feel colder than the start.  Have a waterproof bag, a garbage bag if necessary, just for your wet clothes.  Another for your wet shoes.  

lots more.

Pretty great advice from JP.

To keep it sharp, stay towards the front -- less riders to be sketchy in front of you. Be ok giving your self a bit more room if it feels ok, add just little more time to brake. For the 180 turn, shift to the small ring, start your braking early, and don't worry about going too slow, just make the turn.

Most of this advice applies.
https://forum-archive.kissenacycling.com/discussion/1109-p14.html#Comment_103121

It's gonna be awesome! enjoy it and have an awesome race.

-Stay towards the front, especially for descents. 

-Keep your feet and hands as warm and dry as possible.

-Use an ass saver.  It might now keep your butt completely dry, but it's better than nothing.

Thinking more about this, I'd suggest to anyone feeling good not to be afraid of early aggression.  Riding steady hard is warmer, and you have less to worry about in terms of other people screwing up.  You might not be drafting as close as you would on a dry day in the pack, so the drafting advantage probably won't be as great.

Post race, btw, do as much as you can to change outside the car.  At least for your torso.  Less twisting, less getting the inside of the car wet and yucky.  

oo this is all great @mugwump @eloy @GregHoge lets see how it goes!

ColinStief said:

looks like we have some rain on the forecast. Any tips for racing in the rain? 

There is a whole section on riding in the rain in the “how to” document.

In honor of those racing in the cold rain, I rode up to Rockland Lake.  Saw one other cyclist the whole time.

Results?  Bros?

James pretty much nailed it on instagram with “what a day”.

I pulled up and it was pouring out and I was less than excited but it let up about a half hour later just in time for to warm up. It was a bit cold out but I knew I’d build a good bit of heat so dressing was a bit of a balancing act. I opted for for leg bibs, midweight jersey and vest. I then wore latex gloves under my thinner full finger gloves and realized I had no waterproof layer for my feet. Luckily I had extra dog poop bags in my car and if they’re good enough to pick up poop, they good enough (and crucially thin enough) to wrap my feet in and not even notice them in my shoes. Collin and I then warmed up and took to the start line. 

BUMP!

This year, the race is May 7.  Lots of stories and advice in this thread.  Read now.  Register Race.

https://www.bikereg.com/crcabearmountainclassic

Did they change the masters age range? They’re forcing me to race with the youths in their mid 30s!

This looks awesome, but I won’t be in town that day. 

David Yang said:

Did they change the masters age range? They’re forcing me to race with the youths in their mid 30s!

Well ,you look like your a youth in your mid 30s

Can't make it this year unfortunately  :'(

Bummer - anyone else planning for it?

David Yang said:

Bummer - anyone else planning for it?

I always want to do it.  And I'm on the young side of a new age category.  But I'm not feeling fast uphill these days.  So, I'm pondering.  

Think I may skip it, it’s a bit too much race for my very meager fitness.

If I do this, I don’t expect to place well at all. I’m not in great shape and I’m not good at hills. But, I’ve never done a full road race, just crits and park races and I kinda want to try it out. 

Results, bros?

24th in the 55+

When I realized that Bear this year was on the same day as the 5 Boro Bike Tour, I was faced with a choice, ride with my son at the 5 Boro Bike Tour or race.  I was going to ride with my son.  But then I went to register for that--and it was sold out.  So, he and I rode out to Closter on Saturday as consolation.

But the race.  I was feeling a bit optimistic about Bear.  I haven't been climbing great but I've been feeling better than I was last year.  And the old guys aren't that fast, I guess.  I saw that my contemporary, climbing monster Roger Aspholm, who is a month older than me, registered for the 45+.  Even thought the fields were mixed, I figured that made things easier.  I saw David Taylor and Michael Sambrano (Strava sniper extraordinaire) as the big challengers.  I figured I could hold on to the 45+ field at least two, maybe three, possibly four times up the main climb.  

Weather was just about perfect.  Pulled off the arm warmers on the line.  Easily got to the front on the descent.  Started the climb on the front row.  Feeling happy with myself.

then the attacks started on the second half of the climb.  The first guy to make a move was pretty thick, so I didn't see him riding away for the whole race and I didn't bother responding.  Then I saw Stephen Dioslaki counter.  And then everyone wanted in on it.  I couldn't respond.  I slowly was moved to the back of the field and then dropped.

Grrrr.  Limit losses and find a group.  Then try to get the group to just ride a hard pace line for the rest of the race.  

After the second turn, Tiorati, I saw a group ahead of me.  I rode up to them said hello, and then rode through them, no one hung on.  Another mile or so, someone caught me.  We worked together and quickly caught three people and someone someone caught us from the back. The group was sloppy, guys were shirking, but I figured as long as they could hang, they'd help the group.  

Second lap, there were people ahead of us on the descent.  I did my normal descent at the front and dropped a few and just about caught a guy in front of us.  We started the climb.  A guy we caught rode away a bit, only one person of the old group could contribute, Feydor.  He and I took turns pacing up the climb.  We distanced the people on our wheels and were closing in on the group ahead.  But once over the top, Feydor wouldn't help close.  I closed down the gap to a group of three, one person was strong but just wanted to hang in the wind behind.  Whatever.  We caught another guy on Tiorati and then nearly closed to another group of two before starting Lake Welch.

On the Lake Welch hill, Feydor, who had been shirking all day, surges away from our group to get to the two guys dangling in front of us.  So aggravating.  He was either taking short pulls or skipping pulls on the flats.  I was now in a group of four, chasing three just up ahead.  The second-strongest guy in our little group told me he was pulling out before starting the fourth lap.  The fourth-strongest disappeared shortly thereafter.  

Down to me and another guy.  We're struggling on the hill, but we get over the top together.  We're riding on Tiorati, the guy is starting to take a bit longer pulls, almost at 50% of the load, when I'm setting the pace up a hill and two teammates attack by us.  The guy on my wheel attacks me to get to them.  I ride in solo.

Up front, a group of three broke away for the win in the combined 45/55 race.  Two 45+ guys and a 55.  Two guys from the 55+ field, one of them David Taylor, finished in the 45+ main chase group.  The rest of teh 55+ finished about 10 minutes down.  

Looking through my file, it seems that my max HR was about 10 beats shy of what I'm capable of.  That might explain not being able to dig deep.  think it's time for a rest week.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9033278840

Tour pour La Paz* Race Review (*Bear Mountain Classic Route)

~12th* in the Cat B (field size 87)

New kit arrived this week so was looking to race and (try) show it off. Managed to get a lift up to Bear from Alex @ Verrazano which was a bonus, we left Strictly at 5:50 and got up there around 6:20.

Discovered Bear Mountain has it's own microclimate, so even though the forecast showed no rain in NYC, it was raining up there and probably didn't stop until 8:45 (we started at 7:36). I had a jersey and a vest and was pretty much soaked through before the race started. We were lucky it wasn't too cold.

*Shout out to @GregHoge and @mugwump for their advice on this thread re clothing and first corner positioning, & @eloy for referencing this in the Diamond thread. This helped immensely.


Lap 1 (Cat B + Women)

• It's raining
• Rolling from the car park to the top of the hill I moved to the front as per this forum's advice
• (For me) I think you can pretty much go down this hill as fast as you like, this is what i did and went into the first 180 degree corner around 3rd
• The plan on the hill was to do FTP for 5 mins then all out/as much as needed to stay in the front group for the next 5 (from Strava i though it was ~10 min climb)
• Made it up with some left in the tank
• There's a great feeling once you are up knowing that the rest of the course is pretty much rolling hills bar a 5 min, not too steep hill, a bit later on
• I was finding i could carry my speed over a lot of these rolling hills which was a bonus
• It's still raining
• Coming over the top there were 12 of us that had dropped the rest of the field
• 2 women (v strong, one ended up winning), myself, three independent guys (2 of which got 3rd & 4th) and the rest a mix of L&D/Samba/Team Alvarez
• Pro Tip: If it's going to rain do not talc your cycling shorts (at least i think that's what it was), I was right behind the guy that did this and there was all this white foam coming through his shorts ass area, like an overflowing washing machine
• We took turns at the front to establish a larger gap to the field, this worked as we never saw them again the whole race
• I was feeling good on the less steep climbs and the flat and was gapping at the front going downhill

Lap 2 

• Still raining
• We all go into the hill together
• Myself and 3 others drift out the back
• By the time we get to the top we are prob 20-30 seconds behind the front group
• We start working together and doing pretty well, we can see the group ahead in the straights and the gap isn't really going up
• Rain stops
• Rolling down one long hill I'm leading the 4 of us, there's a sharp 180 turn which we go round then I'm head down, working to try make some headway
• *FAIL* I miss the 90 degree right hander and go straight on, the three behind me take the right - there was a small sign with an arrow stuck in the grass I was just not paying enough attention
• Slam the brakes, turn and ride back but these 3 are already 20+ seconds ahead of me
• TT mode
  
• Did my best to maintain a constant effort going forward

Lap 3 

• Still in TT mode
• Could see a couple of guys ahead of me going up the hill but not sure if they were in our group or stragglers from the Cat A race. 
• On the longer straights I could still see the group of 3 which was pretty frustrating
• Passed a couple of guys. not sure if they were in out Cat B or not
• 5 miles to go i could no longer see anyone in front of me or behind me so eased off slightly (mistake)
• One long downhill to the finish line and I'm about to undo my vest as the race numbers are on my jersey
• 1k to go and i can see a few riders ahead of me (too foggy to see who)
• No time to sort the jersey so I go aero and try sprint, come in 4/5s behind them
• Roll through and have to go back to the line to show them my race numbers

Takeaways & Lessons Learned

• Awesome course, shame about the rain
• Check the weather properly and bring a change of clothing either way
• For me Road Racing > Crits/Circuits - feels a lot less hectic and working with others seems easier
• Take vest off well before finish line or add the/a race number to your vest
• Hard work (training) pays off
• Pay attention at all times - so annoyed i missed the turn
• Do not stop going! - if I hadn't backed off I could have caught the 3 ahead, maybe passed and got a top 10

Hell yeah Kevin!

Kevin that's an awesome race report and sounds like you learned a ton just in this single road race.

Nice work. Go find this app and install it. 

https://www.epicrideweather.com/

Anyone thinking about racing this on May 4th (bike reg here): https://www.bikereg.com/crcabearmountainclassic

I am thinking of signing up, definitely a longer race than I am used to + more climbing which I don't get to do much, but is a strong suit for me.  Would be fun to get a crew!

Go do it! Read back on this thread and learn some stuff

It's a great race.

My fitness isn't there and it conflicts with me riding Bike NY with my son, but for those who haven't done it, go!

The course has been a staple of New York bike racing for well over 40 years.  National road championships were there in 1980, I believe, and Junior Nationals were there in the mid 1990s.  The big boys race used to attract pros and amateurs from the entire northeast and as far away as Toronto and Montreal.  

Anyone want to hit the masters field with me? 730a start means I can get home at a reasonable hour...

Potentially in but I'd need to earn some major brownie points from the missus this week. That plus I'm carrying a cold at the moment. Do you/does anyone who might be going have a car?

Star Track look well represented in the Cat 4, would be fun trying to stick with those 85lb kids going up the climb.... :-\

I do not have a car, and figured it was maybe easier to get their by train than it appears to be now that I look into it

If the race start wasn't so early, I'd suggest taking NJ transit from Penn Station to Sloatsburg, and then riding the 10 miles to the start.  But with it so early, maybe someone in the club is going and can split a ride with you.