While Turkey Hill has some appeal to me, and as it is situated in an area filled with Amish, the obscene sliding scale is tilted the other way when compared to NYC. It's kind of like a 10km long four-corner crit circuit, with hills and wind. I want to go back after bonking last year, but I'll be waiting until next.

It's Brooklyn for me or not at all. Will know in a day or two.

I'm not sure which I'll be doing - 4's or Masters. Which might not matter after the inevitable field mixup.

I'm in Austin this weekend.

Jeff, i'm probably in for sat morning @ the park too

reg'd for 4s. Looks like there are 3 Ks pre-reg'd so far: Jeff, me and a Richard Petersen, who I've not yet met. Breaks sound like a good idea, Jeff. If we get reeled back in, we surf wheels and go for the sprint. Anyone else?

I'm back in NYC but since its not a Kissena race, I haven't decided if I'm going to do this or if I'm going out on a group ride Saturday morning. I'll decide in a couple days. If I race I'll do whatever I'm told. I've got decent fitness but I don't think I'll win any bunch sprints, so happy to go to work.

Posted By: Ryan Jnot a Kissena race

pretty sure it's a Kissena race, just not L&C series

Cat. 5 is closed.

See Nathaniel's post below.

But know that it is not a Kissena race. It's a Kissena Sports race. We have nothing to do with the running of this series. For the history of why we have Kissena and Kissena Sports, I'd ask someone who has been involved with the club a long time and can speak to it better than I, like Eloy or Ragot.
These races have more fields in the park, which is great if you want to do a Masters-only event. But often times fields overtake each other and cause confusion.

Don't ask, just race. We split. Its history.
Buy me beer for the story.
E

We have the same type of problem in France, we call our French Swiss cheese Gruyère... except that quite often it's some Emmental with (pot)holes, but everyone knows there are no (pot)holes in Switzerland, therefore no holes in the real Gruyere, but I digress...

I'm in for the Big Apple Classic. We've got most of our P's and R's represented: Partland, Perlberg, Ragot, Romanow. Can we get Robertson? How about an S, a B, a D, an M, an H?

I'm also seriously considering the "team throwdown" on Sunday. Get some speed in early.

Anybody got any plans for these? The weather keeps flip-flopping: it doesn't know which day it wants to rain yet! Probably thinking of the PP on Saturday, it's cheaper for us!

Adam

can someone . . . ANYONE . . . explain to me what the Team Throwdown is?

Just a reminder, guys - this is a Kissena Sports event, not Kissena. There is a difference. Our club is not involved in the running of this event, and there is no discount. If you do the 5 race, the field that starts after you may overtake you if everyone is riding easy. If this happens they may slow your race down so that you at least have a clean final lap.

Thanks for the clarification- I didn't read that properly!

he explained it a few times. Poorly. every time. it has something to do with teams taking the money at the end as opposed to individuals. And a team can only get one placing, as in even if you finish guys first, second, and third, you only get first. I don't know if htat means that fourth then gets 2nd place money or if he gets fourth place money. It's a race, it's a mile from my house, I like the course, it's six laps, it's early. Love to go and ride long in Jersey, got some great routes to share, but right now staying close to home is important.

I'll consider it, but for Mother's Day, Liz would like to sleep in (acutally she'd like that everyday). So, I don't know.

I might come out Sunday for this Team Throwdown thing

Fumbling around the house getting some french press in me. Probably rolling over to the park about 5:30-5:45 and will look for you dudes around reg. or the bathrooms nearby if I don't see ya. If it's only a handful of us we can chat on a warm-up lap or two if timing works out.

I am now free.
Considering the Triangle Ride

Three-letter race report:

DNF

Race Reports
JP - Flat
Myles - ?
Eric - DFL (turned around before finish to get bottles)
Michael - Left early for work
Strika?

Anyone else race this morning?

Race Report:

Overslept.

First time I've done this. I could get used to it...

Jeff, it was a nice morning to sleep!

Our plan was to mark moves early, initiate break attempts in the 2nd half of the race and I planned to follow fast wheels to contest the sprint if it came down to it. On the 2nd lap I found myself following a jump that put a pair of NY Velocitys off the front. We worked together, took a few pulls and these guys elected to give up and drop back into the field rather than dangle off the front with only 3 of us so early. I stayed off the front for a bit and after a few glances back figured the field was inevitably shutting it down so sat up and returned to the shelter of the pack for a bit o recovery.

Lap 3 was a prime lap and I found myself following Pat Jacobs' wheel in a move at the top of the hill. We got a pretty good gap and started trading pulls, maintaining our gap, discussing whether or not we were going to try to stay away or just go for the prime. We decided we should be able to stay away for the prime and would keep working the 2-man break afterward. Coming up to the line we felt pretty evenly matched and were both feeling the effort but I thought he might be able to hold the sustained effort longer and I might be better suited for the jump, so I waited for him to go. Apparently he was waiting for me to go, which turned into a game of cat-and-mouse that turned into a terrible tactical error on both our parts. While we were busy playing games, NY Velocity took notice, and came out of nowhere with a sprint that closed the gap, caught us both off guard, and took the prime. The 3 of us were sitting out dangling off the front at this point so Jacobs and I, blown from the effort, returned back to the group after a few more pulls with NYV. I'm pretty upset that I had to learn a lesson the hard way.

I was hanging out mid-pack, recovering at this point, found myself boxed in for the 2nd prime, and a bit later saw Jeff White go off the front for a bit. I wanted desperately to move to the front and disrupt chase but was boxed in about 20 wheels back with nowhere to go.

Just before the last lap, I was able to slingshot into a decent position down the hill and hold top 10 wheels for the remainder of the last lap, sitting on Jacobs. A swarm came up the right threatening to swallow him up so I had to move around far left to give some jockey room. At this point I was sitting about 4th or 5th wheel, in perfect position and as things were winding up, the awful sound of aluminum and carbon being introduced to asphalt on the right side of the road.

Coming right into the sprint, positioning was good but I was nearly crashed out by an unattached rider to my rear right who was _way_ overgeared and weaving all over the road, He squeezed into a space to my right that didn't exist and checked me with such force that I almost lost it. At that point we exchanged a few words and I just kind of soft-pedaled in, having lost all momentum and amazed things didn't end worse.

Lessons learned, but not a great day on the bike. On the positive side, at least we were in the race and making moves. Apologies for blowing the prime, gents.

Anyone do the team throwdown and won the BAT? My train never came agh

If JP won the BAT, he probably doesn't even know it yet. In fact, I'd be surprised if Van Krunk knew who won the BAT.

Okay, team Throwdown report. As I mentioned on another thread, JP and I lined up with about 60 or so other 1/2/3/4s (field limited to 50 riders supposedly), to race 5 laps in Central Park.

It literally took me until this morning around 5:30 to figure out what the Team Throwdown was actually all about. Basically, it was an excuse for the AVD team to only have to place 5 riders. The winner got $500 (no idea who it was, not me or JP) and a f-ugly 6-foot tall trophy.

Having a bro-in law who is Track/XC running coach and going to lots of his meets, I can tell you that the winning team, is absolutely not the team that just wins 1st place. And by today's rules, you could be Will Schneider, for example, a team of one, win the race, the $500, the BAT, and be declared the winner of the "Team Throwdown." Now does that make any sense?

In collegiate track meets, fyi, the top 6 finishers in each event score points. Natch, 1st place is worth more points than 6th. And all the different events combined contribute to the team score at the end of the meet.

The only sort of vaguely team-ish concept in play today (other than the idea that good bicycle racing is always a team sport, in so far as everyone should be contributing to the winning efforts of one of their teammates), was that if the guy that came in, say 2nd place, was teammates with the guy who came in 1st place, then that guy would actually not get recognized as the "2nd place finisher." That honor would go to the next guy to cross the line. So the literally third place finisher would be recognized as the 2nd place finisher. And as if that wasn't asinine enough, if the first 3 guys to actually cross the finish line were from the same team, they would get a $100 bonus.

I like the idea of a team throwdown, but it should be about the overall performance of your team as a whole. The collegiate XC/Track and Field model is not too tough to figure out. But it would take a little more work on AVD's part rather than just picking out the first 5 from the finish. I'll be back with a report how JP and I did today.

At the start, JP and I were lined up and ready to go. I took a look over at the BAT, looked at JP, put my finger to my nose and said, "If we win this thing? Not-it!" 5 laps, we had to be out of the park before the Almighty Presence Itself took over. That's right, the New York Road Runners Association was hosting a race and our greasy chain-ring stained calves had to disappear by 7:45 or else.

For the "Team Throwdown" not too many actual teams were out racing. A few guys here and there wearing similar jersey's, but mostly just the usual suspects. Of note were "sprinters" teams like Team 15 Stone (otherwise known as L.Raphael-Leopard Cycles p/b Dave Jordan) and the Team I Like To Shout Weather It's Appropriate Or Not (otherwise known as Foundation, led by a hoarse Inson Wood).

JP was thinking that Mengoni's Brian Breech and Adler's Greg "No Carbon Wheelset is Too Expensive to Ride Up 6th Avenue" Olson would be the fellas to watch. They both have no love of the Empire (of sprinters), and the force is strong in both of them. I was worn and beaten from Saturday's battle with Wild Turkey's in Lancaster, PA but ready to give it my all this bright early morning. Despite, I'm assuming, having questionable quality and quantity of sleep since baby #2 arrived last week, JP seemed focused (so focused, he didn't even laugh at my HILARIOUS "not-it" joke) and ready to race.

Slow start, followed by medium-hard effort up Col du 110berg. I pushed close to the front on the descent and heading into the climbing rollers on the West Side, I was feeling crappy, but channeled my inner Mike Perlberg and attacked off the front. I get a gap and hammer away, but soon (way too soon) the field was on my heels and I was getting shit out the back of peloton, making me feel like one of those wanker 20-meter attacking heroes. (Except, I was trying to spice up the action, give the field something to counter, so maybe JP could break away with a group. I wasn't trying to bridge a 55 second gap solo...in a headwind.)

I grabbed the last piece of ass in the group, held on, recovered and repositioned myself for more fun.

Second lap going up the West Side, JP is at the front of the field hammering away. I don't like this. It's motivation to push forward and get him off the front. A group of 4 or 5 including representatives from Adler and Foundation take this as good time to attack off the front. Damn. JP's coming off a stiff turn at the front, and he's clearly not going to be able to jump on that. Fortunately, I'm near enough the front, that I launch to bridge. I get across the short gap, the guys have sat up, but I take the opportunity to literally split between two riders and continue the move.

Score another gap! Except my weak-ass legs aren't fooling anyone. Even the power of the blue and orange jersey and my freshly shaved legs isn't enough to excite any interest in my escape. I'm left to hang out to dry. I shrivel quickly and am re-absorbed by the charging peloton.

The next two laps are drama free. No escapes, no great moves. Some moments of pressure as one rider or another raised the pace for a few hundred meters, but nothing that was having any lasting impact on the peloton.

With one lap to go, I think, "Okay you teams of great sprinters who have been racing to keep the pack together, now's your time to shine." Go! West side, pick up the tempo a bit. No, not so much? Okay. Go! Downhill past Marionette theater the perfect place to let gravity help you start the stringing out. No, you want to wait a little bit more? Go! Tavern on the Green, leading into the narrow entrance to Horseshit Alley. No? Are you kidding me? Go! Horseshit Alley, it's now or never. Really? REALLY? REALLY, no leadout WHATSOEVER?!?!

I see Mengoni's Brian Breech take the front sweeping past the boathouse, JP is there too, at the base of the climb at the front. Both are clearly just trying to keep out of trouble. I'm stuck about 30 guys back (Horseshit Alley, was curb to curb packed with riders). I stand up and crank on the pedals pretty hard for about 10 seconds before I realize that even Mark Cavendish couldn't make up for my poor position.

I sit up, JP and I have a brief post-race debrief and I speed off to Yale University to watch the Ivy League schools compete in their Track & Field Championship Event. I love me some high jump action!