Pack clear lenses too

Jules said:

Pack clear lenses too

I usually end up taking off the glasses because they become so hard to see out of in the rain.  Is it stupid to apply something like Rain-X on the clear lens?

It's not stupid if you have the time.

Bring a cap.

Tried it; wasn't narrow enough for me...

...and it's too short that it doesn't cover the whole of your back so you get spray there. 

@Phillip I have a "rain tail" and sure it's not stopping everything, but it stops enough to be worth it... we're talking mud, grit and water all directed at the place your going to be sitting for three hours.

I'm surprised you can race with a clip on fender. The USAC rules state that anything that can come lose and unclip easily is prohibited. I figure these might unclip easily given the terrain (unlike MSR - which is on smooth tarmac).
Also given that this is a race from which U19 and elite riders can be selected for national duty USAC officials should be applying more rigor to rule enforcement of USAC and full UCI regs.

2apr14
Good Luck Battenkillers!
-h;-)

The weather outlook looks brighter for the race, road conditions will be another story.

BTW here is the Map My Ride course route and elevation profile details:

http://www.mapmyride.com/us/hoosick-falls-ny/2014-tour-of-the-battenkill-65-route-323541109

Here's a screen cap.

Made a very simple little top-tube climb-reference sheet for the race if anyone wants (print @ 100%)... 

@Ros - Awesome!  I just printed out a bunch...

Awesome Ross!

how does the feed zone work?  is it hand-ups like the pros, or do people stop?  trying to figure out the logistics of how I will get my second/third water bottle.

It's a bottle handup; if it's great there will be people at the front hollering "water" and folks further down the line with a sports drink... people don't stop, but they do crash, so through you empty, grab a full one and get the hell over to the left quickly & safely.

are there neutral handups for water/drink or do you need to have someone there to hand you your own bottle?

Brendan Rigby said:

how does the feed zone work?  is it hand-ups like the pros, or do people stop?  trying to figure out the logistics of how I will get my second/third water bottle.

Le sigh.

but to get a water bottle/hand-up, I need to have someone there that is looking for me?  or are there race volunteers handing up bottles or cups a la running races?

@Brendan Rigby, check the tech manual (which I believe was emailed to all registered racers yesterday or the day before) to see if there will be "neutral" water in the feed zone this year.  If so, then there will be volunteers handing up bottles of water.  But those the bottles will likely be screw top bottles, so you might have to open and chug in short order.  If not relying on neutral water, then you'll need a friend in the feedzone.  The proper technique for handing up bottles has been discussed in another thread (I can't recall which) but it basically boils down to this: hold the bottle at the right height (more or less straight out), with a light but firm grip (not so tight that it's impossible to grab, but not so light that you knock it out of the hand when you reach for it), and be ready to swing a little with the force of the grab (another measure to protect against knocking the bottle loose).

In case it wasn't clear from my last post, toss the empty bottle in the feed zone.  That way you're not littering, and there's a chance you might actually recover the bottle after the race.

Thanks guys.  This is my first race that doesn't consist of a small number of loops around a short course in the NYC metro area.  Many questions.

I'll just tell Hannah or my father, whoever ends up doing feed zone duty, to listen for an angry swarm of bees.

As in JP's first video, your volunteer should dangle the bottle from the top so you can grab it around the middle. You should tell them where to stand in the feed zone and they should wear clothing that is easy to distinguish. You can expect a 50% success rate, which means if you had two people in the feed zone (one at the front and one at the back) then you would have a lot more confidence of actually getting your bottle.

And it wouldn't hurt to practice handing up with your feeders a couple times in the parking lot.

Always have your feeder in an easily identifiable top.  This is why giving your feeder a spare jersey, vest, or jacket with Kissena colors makes sense.