Who's going up to Ravena that has room for one more (plus bike) in the car? 

What he said^^

SeanMiles said:

What he said^^

What he said he said

I'm in. Have room for one more, so Max gets it.

Thierry Bonnaire said:

Greetings racers,

Hope you had a great holiday weekend and are enjoying the weather. 

Registration has been extended through Thursday, midnight for the 15th annual NY Capital Region Road Race. All fields will run, with prize payouts as listed.  

Results and podiums will be presented at the finish line, immediately following races. 

Thank you for supporting the NY CRRR hosted by Capital Bicycle Racing Club (CBRC). The 2016 Technical Guide is attached. 

See you Saturday!

-Beth

Le sigh.  

Cephexlin coursing through my veins curses me.

Feel better JP! 

If anyone needs a lift, I can take one more leaving 7am from Manhattan Bridge on Manhattan side. Text me to coordinate 2062917578

Results...?

I lined up in a field of thirty-three Cat 5 racers and spent the neutral start chatting up the Capital Bicycle Racing Club guy who won Battenkill (where I finished four minutes behind him, in 20th.) We recognized each other. 

"Have you raced this before?" he asked me.
"I've never even seen the course," I said. "What about you?" 
"I live nearby and ride here all the time."

I lost contact with him and a group of nine or ten others during the first lap somewhere on Tracy Road. How disappointing--because I expected more from myself, but also because, as I learned at Bear Mountain, organizing a coherent chase group of Cat 5s takes lots of time and patience, and even then it probably won't be that powerful. But maybe we have a chance, I thought, because this is a long race (two laps of a 20-mile course) with an opportunity for a paceline to make up time on the rolling hills after the action-packed climbing section.

Turns out the Battenkill winner and a teammate--who I later identified as the guy who rode a solo breakaway from the start line to victory at Trooper Brinkerhoff--tore away from the rest of us 5s, and respectively finished three and five minutes ahead of the winners of the Cat 4 field, whose race was neutralized to let them pass.

Meanwhile, our chase group had grown to twelve or maybe briefly fourteen, swept up a couple guys who were spit out from the group ahead of us, pace-lined in the rain, split up on the second time around through the major climbs, came back together on the flats--down to about eight riders--and steadily increased our pace over the final 5km. I rolled over the finish line in a group of four, places 10-13. I wish I'd realized I had a chance for Top 10, because I wanted it badly enough that I would have at least tried to attack the uphill climb to the finish. Alas, 13th place at 2:02:49, almost twelve minutes behind the (extraordinarily strong) winner and about five minutes short of a spot on the podium. I've got some work to do.

Reg'd for Saturday ... anyone else in? I have a spot or two in the car (leaving from East Village)

Definitely pre-ride that finish! It's not convenient to do but it's a steep uphill drag and it's super easy to time it wrong an get boxed in.... don't be the guy making this face because he never got to sprint.

Also if I remember right I think there is a hairpin uphill that you do twice; don't get fucked dropping your chain there. Shift beforehand.

Jules. Good thoughts! This is my third (-ish?) time racing this course and your advice is spot on. I'm hoping some gaps open up on that hairpin climb and it's a smaller group rolling into the finish.

Race report? 

How did did it Go?

Two of us are reg'd for the 10 July race in Albany. I understand it's a new course this year.

Jules said:

Also if I remember right I think there is a hairpin uphill that you do twice; don't get fucked dropping your chain there. Shift beforehand.

It looks like the hairpin is still on the course.

I'm thinking of heading up to this one. I rode the Trooper Brinkhoff race last week. It was great to race on varied terrain outside of the city. I see that  James and Thierry are registered in the 50+ (1-4) which is in a field combined with 40+ (1-4) for 68 miles. It would be great to ride with the 2 of you, but I'm tempted to join the 60+ (1-4) grouped with the Cat 4's for 47 miles. 68 miles on that terrain would be brutal, but in a fun way, right? Misery loves company?

@James Reeder  @Joe Matunis Just registered for the 5s and happy to see @AdamYaffe signed up. I will most likely stay in Cold Spring the night before, but looking forward to seeing you guys up there and trying out some non-prospect park racing. 

I'm also really looking forward this race! Glad to see there will be some more Kissena comrades filling up the Cat 5 roster. 

(in parenthesis, if the 50/40+ race is a road race, those 68 miles sounds like pure pain, kudos to you kissenistas that are hardcore jumping on that)

In the end I decided to race the 47 mile Masters 60+/Cat 4 field - (the 68 mile option looked like perhaps too much of a good thing). I picked up Thierry at 6:30 and we arrived in Ravena before 10:00. After sorting out a mix up with Thierry's number, we rode a few warm up miles and found our perspective fields for the start of the race. I was able to speak briefly with Collin as well - he and Adam were racing with the Cat 5's. It was a gorgeous day, (sunny, temperatures around 80), to be out of the city racing on some country roads with a variety of topography. I started in near the front and and hung on with the the lead group through about 1/2 way through the first of the 2 laps. I spotted a small group a short distance down the road behind me that had been dropped earlier and bidded my time until they caught up with me. It was a group of 3. I jumped on with them and traded pulls through the remaining climbs, flats and descents through some really gorgeous terrain - (with a brief detour when, leading the descent down the big downhill towards the end of the first lap, I missed the flagman signaling a hard right turn). The rest of the group spotted him on time, (he was strangely postioned some distance away from the actual corner, kind of back in some shrubbery), and had made the turn. I had to expend a little energy soloing back to the group, but was able to reconnect and carry on as before. I was feeling strong and good as we started the second lap. We picked up 4 more riders and settled into some double pacelines when we could and sharing time in the front in other sections. I was working hard as we approached the top of the last short but steep ascent before the long downhill that led to the flat finish. I felt good and our group was synched up and had made the riding challenging but fun. I was plotting out my strategy for the inevitable moment when we would stop cooperating and would try to outsprint each other to be the first of our group across the line. I was looking forward to, post-race, meeting and thanking my companions of the past 30 miles and congratulating them on our effort. My revery was brought to a sudden halt when I heard a hissing sound that didn't register as my front tire losing air until I felt myself decelerating and my rim hitting the road. My group crested the hill as I was left to wonder how the staple gun staple that was protruding from my front tire had found its way onto NY Rte 396. What to do but find a shady spot by the side of the road and watch the rest of the race go by? Fortunately the race was well organized and supported so I didn't have to walk the remaing 7 miles back to the start. I informed a race official in one of the passing support vehicles that I had flatted and they informed me that a nice local named Gary with a white panel van would be by to pick me up. While I waited for Gary I was able to spend a glorious 45 minutes under a shady hickory tree contemplating the folly of attachments, the beauty of nature, and the nature of bicycle racing. My attention turned from time to time from an appreciation for the clouds boiling up in towering columns over the surrounding mountains to an appreciation for the great variety of humanity of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities who had come out to race bicycles on that day. So thank you fate and the cosmic powers that rule bike racing for this valuable reminder that rewards of racing bikes are many and varied. All in all, not a bad day at all. One to the next one. 

What a fantastic race report!

Great report on Cat 4 field! I had a grand old time in Cat 5. I started near the head of the field, waved to @Colin Stief on the other side of the bunch, and hit the road feeling hopeful I wouldn't be dropped, given that I shaved my legs for the first time (gulp). But that was the last I'd see of Colin! I knew the first bunch of hills would be bad, but wasn't expecting them to be more up and down than simply long steady climbs. They were relentless. Still, I was able to manage the rollercoaster effect for a time when I noticed my power meter had gone off-line. I stupidly put my attention on reconnecting the sensor and learned the important lesson to NOT lose your focus for even a second if you're in danger of getting dropped, because that's exactly what happened. So now I had a working power meter with my nose in the wind and the peloton drifting away in the distance. There was no way I could catch up. A short time later, a small chasing group formed and we started to make steady progress getting back to the peloton. One rider, who was more experienced, got the group organized and working well together. But then, as we neared a confusing turn, he loudly called out a hard right (he was behind me and probably couldn't see the Marshalls so well) and I hit the brakes, skidded into a ditch only to see everyone else forging straight ahead. I heard the chase organizer's voice apologizing for giving me bad directions before that group was long gone. I was in a big gear in the ditch now so starting from a stand-still there was no way I could catch up to the chasers. At that point I was resigned to a long solo ride to finish the race. I passed an older racer who was really struggling, saying he was cramping all over. I told encouraged him to drink more fluids as I rolled past, not knowing I would eventually succumb to the same fate. Later on the 1st lap my riding buddy, Kevin Womack (he may be joining Kissena soon) caught up and we finished the race out working together. We got lapped by Cat 1/2/3, and the Women's field but we picked up a couple of riders for stretches and worked together to get to the end. Mid-way through the 2nd lap I felt my inner thigh starting to cramp so I started drinking more. But the damage was done. I tried to stand up on a hill and my leg completely locked. I've never felt that sensation before. I no longer had a leg with a joint, but a pole attached to my hip that would not bend. I had to stand without pedaling for a time before the cramping subsided enough to sit back done. After that, I said no more standing! So I finished the race seated and managed the cramping OK...until the end where I rose to sprint Kevin for the finish and got peg-legged again, nearly toppling over. I'm a little bewildered about that cramping, given that it wasn't so hot and I thought I was pretty well hydrated. Also, not sure why my heart-rate was so crazy high from the gun. My power numbers were not nearly what I'm capable of but my heart set records all over the place with 20 minutes maxed out at 180 and 1 hour at 172! Was it the heat? Was it just nerves? Or maybe I really was majorly dehydrated with the wind drying up my sweat more than I realized. Next week I am hoping I manage all these little details better and finish with the pack...but the biking Gods may have other things in store. 

Great race report Adam. Longer road races are a great place to learn.
If it was hot I'd suggest that's the simplest answer to the high HR. Nothing special - your body has to work much harder in the heat. Add to it the nerves of a road race and there is your answer.

@AdamYaffe

I'm inclined to agree with Jules.  I think heat is largely to blame.  Nerves, from anxiety or fear or excitement, can play a part as well.  But I'll add a few possibilities.  

Dehydrated before starting race.  If you were off your usual routine, and I'm assuming you drove up in the morning, which is probably a change in routine, you might not have had enough to drink to begin with, and were starting the race a bit dehydrated, which you couldn't come back from.

High humidity.  the higher the humidity, the less easily sweat evaporates, and that keeps your body a bit hotter as you lose the cooling effect of evaporation.  

and a less likely culprit--power meter not correctly offset.  

I don't think there are any big things to take from a +/- 5 bpm variance in HR on a hot nervous day. The same goes for sub-par power numbers on a hot day, especially if you'er looking at your short-time "maximums" vs what you got out of yourself in a race.

Drink to thirst, don't be shy about a mid-race "shower" with water if you need it to cool off.

Great reports guys. The experiences and hard lessons learned in these races will pay off in future races.

This may be my favorite race report ever:

Joe Matunis said:

I was able to spend a glorious 45 minutes under a shady hickory tree contemplating the folly of attachments, the beauty of nature, and the nature of bicycle racing.