@Brendan - if Dave's wheels gets sold, I've got a pair you can borrow.  Shimano R501A, SRAM 10 speed cassette 11-26.  Nothing fancy though.

Brendan,

mugwump said:

Brendan,

Tire choice has already been discussed ad nauseum.  Go through the thread to see.  Fish out important comments, paste them together, and ask if anything has changed.  For me, it hasn't.

And do it quick will ya, this race is only 3 months away!

I just registered for this. 

Ryan J said:

I just registered for this. 

Cat 3's, cmon

What are you doing talking about B'kill?  It's only 2.5 months away.

@JP I'm the guy who has one big race on the calendar before he has a baby in April.

@Ryan is so PC that *he's* having the baby while Maria fetches ice chips

Just seeing someone describe me as "PC" in writing on a public forum is amazing.

Any Kissena folks planning on doing the Gran Fondo on Sunday?

crickets

Gran Fon-don't!  Fon-don't.  Get it?  Fon-Don't?  Hey is this thing on?

LOL @yang! It's for us mere mortals. Throw us a bone.

I'm not against Gran Fondos at all, just trying out my material before I take it to the Comedy Cellar.

Battenkill isn't for the super human; especially in the lower categories anyone who has been doing "their homework" ie: training over the winter will have a really fun time racing it.

@Jessica, you've been crushing it over the winter! I'm registered for the women's 4 field (not the 3/4). Join me!

Join her! Out of town races with teammates is where it is AT. No lie.

OOPS, already registered for the putt putts. @Erika I'm sure you'll do awesome. This is not the race for me to start with. . . .

Email Dieter; he'll change your field to the right one.

It's the perfect first race! I've never raced Battenkill, so pardon me while I speak with absolutely no authority... In fact, just saying this amongst all the Battenkill vets here, I should have negative authority, but... It seems the big scary field breaks up quite a bit. And any rider with off-road or gravel experience, and pack riding experience, will have the necessary handling skills. And you've got the endurance. And you're a great climber. Do it!

Erika is right. There is no fear. It's a vigorous 60 mile ride with numbers pinned on. Go and enjoy it!

Should I switch to a 50/34 up front instead of the 53/39 that I have now?  How decisive are these climbs?

@Brendan the climbs usually make the selections (as opposed to attacks) but the issue people run into with a standard is that they have to grind so much on the climbs that they are shot for the end of the race.

Brendan
I'm not here to give you recommendations so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I used a standard crank with a 11x28 cassette and it was fine for the Battenkill course last year.

BTW the cue sheet, GPX files, and elevation profiles:
http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com/race-info/

List of registered riders:
https://www.bikereg.com/net/Confirmed/20091

thanks for the cue sheet.  i had no idea my garmin can do turn by turn directions.  never again will i accidentally turn left at floyd!

Local lodging info:
http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com/lodging/

I called and reserved a room for 2 (2 queen beds) at the Holiday Inn Express Clifton Park.  Ping me if you want to split the room/cost.  Most likely I'll be driving you up as well...


Some details:

The event group rate is $109+ 8% tax for either 2 queens or 1 king bed. 

Confirmed with the front desk that late checkout is at 1pm (standard is 11a).  Cat 4 start times begin at 9:40a meaning checkout needs to be done before the race.

I tried to check for rooms on their site, but the TOB group code brought up nothing.  Best to give them a call to reserve rooms.


Details that got lost at the end of the previous page:

Cue sheet, GPX files, and elevation profiles:
http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com/race-info/

List of registered riders:
https://www.bikereg.com/net/Confirmed/20091

@Gwynna, not to be contrary, but dirt rides won't really help you prepare for Battenkill, IMHO - not compared to doing your homework, getting those hours and hours and hours at tempo and above in.

Thanks for the gearing guidance Thierry et al.  I'm totally stealing my girlfriend's 11-28.