by the way --nice work Yacks and Jeff!

Thanks Yon,
I'll email it to you and here's a link to it "Stretching for Cyclists" for everyone else.
http://www.oakvillecc.com/assets/stretching.pdf

Riding the break...

There are no prizes or upgrade points for taking the most pulls.

Your obligation is to ride hard enough to allow yourself and/or your teammate the best chance of victory, but not so hard that you are a dried up piece of burnt french toast when it comes time for the sprint.

I'm not saying sit at the back of a break and do nothing, that kind of riding will catch up with you sooner or later, but you need to be good to go when the smack goes down.

When the split happened at about 1 1/2 laps in (What is the difference between a split and a break? Is it a ratio compared to the field or something more esoteric regarding the formation?) I was sitting about 20th wheel, just a couple riders behind the gap. I knew Jeff and Chris were in there with some pretty strong riders so I felt my choices were to either try and bridge and risk dragging the field up to them or cover the front of the field to improve their chances of staying away. Was there a 3rd option? I elected to stay behind because I liked our odds with two riders (not realizing that Scottos had 4!). Unfortunately we didn't really have a road captain this morning so I spent a fair amount of time second guessing my decision but in the end it was nice to know there were a couple teammates up the road.

Within a lap they were out of sight and it was clear they weren't going to be seen again. All the teams with more than 3 or 4 guys had at least one rider up the road so after a couple laps of covering some half hearted bridge attempts the field slowed dramatically and turned into a casual group ride as we got passed by the 5 break, passed by the 1/2/3 break, then melded the 1/2/3 field (who also seemed none to excited to up the pace).

Yacks and Jeff in full form on the hill:
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/NYC-Spring-Series-Race-2011-43/16463696_4DeJu#1238996688_bgxXR

John M. cranking it up!
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/NYC-Spring-Series-Race-2011-43/16463696_4DeJu#1238970657_VJBZb

Nice one Joe. So much classier than the Mengoni jersey-popper here:
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/NYC-Spring-Series-Race-2011-43/16463696_4DeJu#1238982408_S7xXf

Look ma' - I've got boobs!

What, you've never give yourself the twin titty twister as you cross the line?! You haven't lived.

Oh god. Doing my Elvis smile. That Scottos guy looked like that the whole race, which was awesome.

i also love this picture of the same Scottos guy holding on to his teammates saddle and getting towed up the hill. he at least could have bought the guy flowers first.

http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Cyclings/NYC-Spring-Series-Race-2011-43/16463696_4DeJu#1238974919_p5L4o

Posted By: mugwumpcan't help myself.

I spoke with both Gavi and Brian after the race. They said they knew that when a Kissena is in the break, they're going to get support from his teammates in the field. This is a good thing. If people know we're racing to support our riders, the break is more likely to work with us because they have greater belief in the success of the effort.

this is important

we don't always get results but we have a good reputation that we are thoughful racers and are NOT assholes

also, i think we have built a rep for working like dogs when need be

the more people know this, the more successful we will be

Yes, I agree with WDC's comment. Because maybe one of the reason's the field went ape-shit when Ragot went after Ricky's fake opening attack, was that they saw he was in a Kissena kit and that meant it could turn into something real. Maybe that means, we can try initiating an attack of our own, instead of following, knowing that some guns might jump on our wheels.

also, in regards to Will Schneider, Al told me a funny story about Saturday's race:

Al told me he got super fed-up of Schneider not pulling and generally being an ass, eventually lost his temper, and as he rode by the gap that Schneider opened up when he skipped his turn, he screamed "WORST BIKE RACER EVER!" at him

made me lol

Posted By: WilliamDCAl told me he got super fed-up of Schneider not pulling and generally being an ass, eventually lost his temper, and as he rode by the gap that Schneider opened up when he skipped his turn, he screamed "WORST BIKE RACER EVER!" at him

Not to harp on Will too much, but isn't it a concern that this guy is a self professed coach? He's strong enough to at least hang onto a chase group, but what kinds of race tactics is he teaching to others as a coach? Should we be afraid of Schenider acolytes bounding their way through the Cat5s chasing everything down and not pulling through?

FWIW - I never even knew Ricky had launched a fake attack. It either passed beneath my radar screen or he disappeared too quickly. I thought I bridged and blew past Tad and Brian.

Will would make a lousy coach for tactics, but a good one for hanger on strength...

Eric

AND he's looking at the camera! He's got some stones on him.

Congrats guys. Almost there John! GLad to hear that the team managed to avoid crashes this week!

Adam

I just checked and there's still 6 spots open for Sunday Cat 5.
So far we have: Jorge, Brian, Graham, Myself. How's everyone feeling?

With two races remaining—NJ 9 mile TT 4/17 and PP 4/24—the biggest threat to the jersey is Aaron Hegest (tall/orange jersey) 63pts back. It'd be great if we could mark him to protect the jersey. I see that Sam the ox is riding again, so it'll likely be an out of the blocks race.

This race could lock in the series, so in the off chance I puncture it'd be awesome if you'd consider stopping and giving me your wheel (Shimano nine speed). The remainder of the team would then ideally wait so we could chase back on as a group. I appreciate this is a big ask, so definitely no grudges if you'd prefer to stay in there. But I could offer you a beautiful C5 leaders jersey for your troubles! Can you tell I don't want to ride the TT?

Let's meet next to the bins @ 6am to discuss our race plan, then post ride meet at the S/F and roll around a lap together.

Looking forward to it!

Cheers — Cap'n J

Hi John, Jorge, Brian, Graham,
My name's Jef Kaminsky. I'm a TOTAL NEWBIE to racing / I've only done club rides. I just joined Kissena a few weeks ago. I'm a friend of McKay Duncan's. (fyi - McKay's a LOT LOT LOT stronger & tougher.) Not sure how I'll do on Sunday (can you say "no show"?), or how much help I'll be able to give this first time out of the gate. I'm already feeling sweaty just thinking about racing!!
Jef

Welcome Jef!!
John,
Sorry but no 9 speed, but definitely will wait to help pull you back in the case you flat!!
we'll cover you to keep the series...
Tomorrow I'm riding PP early morning, anyone cares to join me?
6:00 am sharp to 7 am... By GAP.
See you guys on Sunday.
Looking forward to it.

Greetings Jef, and welcome!

McKay is super strong! Re Sunday's race, I think the pace will be fairly intense. If you read through the race reports you'll see that the last couple of weeks have been breakaways and splits in the bunch (mainly on the hill) which is not the norm for Cat 5. There's a few stronger riders that can put the hurt on the bunch. Buut, hopefully a couple will be away at Battenkill upstate. How comfortable do you feel riding a pace line and with the racing basics? There's a lot of good info here: http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/Group-Riding.htm The two biggest things I'd focus on are "holding your line" and ensuring you don't overlap wheels with other riders. Happy to answer any questions you might have.

Aaron, Jeffrey, Dan, Josh, Joel and David: good luck in the Paris-Battenkill this weekend. I saw the race profile and it looks like a slog. My paltry advice is don't play your cards until the last 10km. I think most of your fellow Cat 5 riders will spend their glycogen $ too early; eat, drink, spin, conserve, conserve! Oh and if you see it's going to be echelon get right up the front.

Jorge, unfortunately by the time I'd fix a flat it'd be too late. Plan B would for Kissena to take the top positions/points. Can't make the morning. Enjoy!

Thanks, Jorge! Thanks, John! I appreciate the Welcomes.
To answer some questions... first, I'm not running 9 speed, so I probably can't offer you a rear wheel – but I can totally give you a front wheel, if you need it, no problem. I'm basically comfortable in a paceline and with riding basics, but I'm not sure yet on how I'll feel with the race-day dynamics. Maybe I'll puke in the bushes a whole bunch or maybe I'll feel basically mellow. I don't know yet ... Untested waters. I figured with everyone away at Battenkill, it was a good morning to see how I like racing.
I've been following the Cat 5 remarks on the Kissena forum for a few weeks, so I"m familiar with how successful you've been, John. Congrats on the jersey! I wish this weren't my first race, or maybe I'd know more about what I could do to help you keep it.
Jorge, McKay and I tried to find you this morning in PP but no luck. Sorry to have missed you this AM – see you on Sunday!

Jef,

Take it from someone who has spent far too much of his own racing "career" playing it safe...you'll have a better experience if you insert yourself, fully, in the racing action. From the get-go. Now. Go. Fast.

If, for some reason, you are feeling really sketched out by racing/riding in a pack, then take that as an opportunity to attack off the front like a madman. This will have multiple benefits. One, you will feel like Jens Voigt, and that is awesome, because he is awesome. Two, because Kissena is establishing themselves as one of the city's best teams (we are actually THE best team, but I'm being conservative here by suggesting that even the other weeny teams have to recognize at this point that we are one of the better teams), people are chasing down anything in a blue and orange jersey. Which means you can give your more experienced teammates a chance to rest and follow wheels. PLUS, you might get some breakaway companions to ride a small paceline for part of the race--and the longer you stay away, the harder you make the field work, and the better it is for our team.

I'm pretty sure that if you roll around "fast group ride" style in the pack, finish the race with energy to burn in your legs, having not participated in the team plan in any way, you are going to feel less satisfied, than if you rode your balls off making the first few laps of the race hard as hell for everyone else, and rolled in way behind the field at the end of the race.

In summary, keep an eye on your teammates, ride aggressively whenever possible (note this does NOT mean ride erratically), have fun.

Marc,
Thank you for your advice. Very much appreciate it. Since I've never raced before, I don't even know if I'll be getting dropped on Lap 1, much less be able to breakaway. But if John, Jorge, Brian and Graham think it's feasible and would like to add the possibility of my breaking away into the team plan, I'm happy try it. I would need some advice on the best Lap # & best spot to give it a shot.
Cheers,
Jef

Hi Guys,

Almost there John. Not sure you need to worry too much about the TT. There are not many guys in the Cat5 races who will be able to keep any sort of pace without streamlining so I'm sure you could do well. Remember, you're a beast!

I'm a bit gutted that I'm not about this week too. Getting race withdrawal symptoms. Oh well, will have to satisfy myself with the fact that I'm on South Beach in Miami right now. You guys started racing with fingerless gloves yet?

Jef: about your first race. My opinion is a little contrary to Marc's. As stated, just an opinion. Unfortunately, the Cat5 races are not particularly good examples of how racing should operate (if you're used to watching stages of the Tour, you may notice a difference). People are sketchy, unpredictable and largely unexperienced. I'm not saying this to scare you, more a warning. My opinion on a first race would be to gauge the field, your team, the way the race will operate and assess your fitness at the end. Any more of an objective might be a bit much on your first time out. However, I do agree that if you are feeling a little unsure, you can always bomb off the front to get some space. It will provide all the advantages Marc suggested and you'll get a good workout at least.

Adam

Hi Gang,

to team Battenkill, good luck! i've never been, but it always seems to be a big focus for many riders, so i imagine that it must be a pretty special event.

Regarding Jef, i just want to point out that he is underselling himself a bit here, because i know for a fact his Watts/KG are easily at or above mine. I can say that jef tends to run hot out the gate on a ride, so he should have no problem riding in the front for the first half of the race. He is light, and can keep up with the best generally, so is a good bet in an early break. He didnt mention it, but jef has many years of training paceline experience, so dont worry about that. Wish i could be there for this race, but will be racing on thursday at FBF.

John, I have 9 sp ultegra wheel you could take, but isn't the point that it be on a bike that is in the race so you can borrow it at need?

McKay

McKay, that's great to hear! Yes the wheel would be for during the race. Correction: If I puncture a rear wheel, I can ride 9 or 10 speed Shimano/SRAM (Campy not so much).

Jef. I'd say if you've been group riding for a while, you're going to find Cat 5 a little crazy. With Cat 5 anyone can just roll up and race, so it's guaranteed that many riders won't have the level of skill that you have. For you this translates into thinking about riding in a bubble and keeping in front of the crazy-pants riders (who use brakes, can't hold a straight line, don't call obstacles, not defensive—the list goes on). That's one good reason to drive the pace from the gun, because those riders tend to get dropped. I'd agree with Marc that it's far more satisfying to "leave it all out the on the road", if you have skills then there's no reason you can't participate with the team to this end. Although we are protecting the jersey, in my mind these are still training races and a chance to practice both team tactics and good hard honest racing to prep for Cat 4. One race tip to live by: if you're hurting, then everyone (except Cancellara) is hurting.

John

P.S. it's coming: http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/

hey guys --re: wheel change during park and floyd races... isn't it disallowed to rejoin the race?

Posted By: normanzohey guys --re: wheel change during park and floyd races... isn't it disallowed to rejoin the race?

not 100% sure but afaik you can change a wheel and chase back on, there's just no free-lap rule, as in most crits.