I'm racing. And I may even write a report about it, or post a picture. And god help the first person who asks me what I'm trying to prove.

For those about to rock, I salute you.

Long week - sorry to be late to the thread. Kissena does have a tent. Now that racing season is back we can dig it out of storage. It breaks down small enough to fit in most any car, for the record.

Good luck everyone competing!

@Brendan, I am betting there'll be a small safe field, this is a race I could see you winning. The manhole cover won't be a factor as you can pick a line inside or outside of it. The only corner I'd be slightly sketched on is the 180 going into the sprint, that's where you could attack and solo to victory if you have fat tires and have practiced it a few times in warm up. You'd be surprised how well your tires will stick in the wet.  

@Bertucco Thanks for the props. I'm bummed I don't have the fitness for this, it's been a tough winter with no trainer. If you've carried a bit of last season's form, I can see you on the podium.

Results bros?

I have been besieged by allergies this week...Neti Pot ensconced in my nose.  Also not risking crashing in the 1st race of the year and ruining all those brutal indoor miles I logged this winter.  Sorry lads, this old muscle car only comes out when the suns shining.

Malcolmson, thanks for the vote of confidence.  I'm going to sit this one out though.  I'm getting boring in my old age.  Good luck to everyone racing!

Just went out to pick my number up. Ran into Harry who was spectating. In the 2/3 race KCC had new recruit Jake Jolly and Forum Ghost Rider and fellow crit lover Keith Snyder. Didn't see any other KCC names, on the results sheets, but the lists were looking a little rough and tattered from the rain.

Jake reports a race that was hard in the middle manageable on the ends. He came in 14th place out of 18 or so finishers. Don't know if they'll list the DNFs, but he reports about 30 guys at the start. Race was won by Jake's former team (Green Line) from a break. Hopefully when he dries off he'll write up a report of the glorious details.

 JP and I will be lining up to racing the Pro 1/2/3 event at 4:35.

Woa...well that sucked. For JP and I. Not for Keith. That dude was awesome. Thick fog and heavier rain rolled in for our start. I got stuck behind a vet who couldn't clip in, and was a little too timid in the turns in the early laps. From then on I was bridging gap after gap after gap. But then the field literally disappeared into the Stephen King worth mist and I ran out of time.

JP and I got yanked pretty quickly, just about 15 minutes in, but Keith rocked it, using his love of crits, a solid "warm-up" race in the 2/3s, and then staying in the main bunch for 45 minutes before retiring.

Both the long-hairs are puzzled and frustrated. Many, many years ago, I resolved to never beg off the early season races by saying, "it's still early." The season will be over in a flash. You must seize every opportunity and I blew it big time.

But really big, big props to Keith who raced like a champ in difficult conditions!

When I left, Weather Channels Mike "400-watt threshold" Margarite, a Green Line dude and some other rider were well on their way to lapping the field. Dan Chabanov (Foundation) and Gavi Epstein (Champion System) seemed oddly content just to kind of ride herd at the front of the field. Both of those guys in theory have the legs to have been in that move.

Looks like Kayt scored 7th in the women's Cat 4 race. Great job Kayt!

First, props to Keith for his ride.  And it should be a lesson for us all.  Skill matters.  Warmup matters.  Keith was the first to say he didn't have the legs today and that getting his ass handed to him in the cat II-III race earlier opened him up for his later ride.

For me, it was a bitter pill.  I usually put in a hard warmup before a race like this, but between some articles I was reading about warmups in the fall and the gentler-than-I'd-do openers prescribed by Peaks, neither my body nor mind was ready for the start.  And that cost me.   I should have either put in a few brutal efforts yesterday or a few today, or both, and I think I would have been more ready for the race.  Think I'm going back to those. 

So it goes.  I started, knew I wasn't where I should be.  Was near Gavi and Margarite early, and saw them move up, thought 'I should do that, too,' and didn't do so immediately.  And that cost me.  Too many guys in front of me  holding back through turns and getting around them cost.  

The one amusing thought I had during the affair was thinking of Etixx director Brian Holm yelling "eat shit! eat shit! eat shit!" to Leipheimer in the otherwise awful movie "the levi effect."  To do well today, you had to be eating the rooster tail of the guy in front of you. 

BTW, the lead three didn't lap the field.  the third, Alan Rego, got dropped and ended up at the back of the pack.  Margarite put in one attack with two to go and that was it.

Supposedly, there were only two crashes today for all the races.  One biggie in the cat IV, and supposedly a guy in the I/II/III hit his head towards the end.  Didn't see it.

Random. Jake's former teammate, Mike Heiss of Greenline-Zip Car signed up and raced 3 races. THREE! I thought this was insane. Actually, I thought he's either insane or insanely strong. Well, 5th in the Cat 3/4 race, 8th in the 2/3 race, then 14th in the 2/3 race pretty much answers that question. Yikes. Good job Mike.

Couple of shots of Kayt making it real.
http://nyvelocity.com/photos/grants-tomb-race/
and more
http://nyvelocity.com/photos/grants-tomb-part-2/

Other links are starting to pop up.

I see some shots of Jake in there as well.  Hardcore.

That looks like a race I'm glad to have missed. I actually did race that day, but it was a ski race and was dressed appropriately.

Bruce, you doing men's 4 or masters?

I'm looking at the 4s, though don't think I'll sign up early.  It would be nice to see what the weather will be, as there's always something that gets thrown our way on that specific weekend.

The current page states my race is at 4:45am.  

I'm thinking it's a mistake.

Bump.  I'm looking to register for men's 4 race.  I won't see good results, but happy to help someone with higher ambitions.

^ where is the "hope" button?

People interested in the race should DEFINITELY read back in this thread - one bit of advice is that this race never starts as scheduled because they end up having to tow way too many cars - the delays can play havoc with a racer trying to stay "race" warm while not getting frozen in the early season weather.

FYI: There is an 8am race clinic given at Grant's Tomb before the races begin that day!

This is perfect if you're thinking about racing Grant's, but you're not quite sure if you're ready to start with a crit.

Any cat4s racing?  Cat3s that are doing the 3/4?

Definitely considering it Yang. You reg yet? There are 83 in the 4 race as of now.

This is one of my favorite races, but alas I will be out of town. Rip it up, gents! Stay near the front the whole race and sprint for the finish line!

Sean, not yet, but if you're in I'm in.  

I'm game, do we wait to see if any 3's want to do the 3/4 or hop in the 4?

If big John malcolmson is racing 3/4 I'd do it, but just us 4s should probably stick to the 4 race.

Sounds good. Prices go up Monday. If no one pipes up (Wrongway?) before then or the # of reg's gets to 90 we'll both register for the 4's. Whichever comes first.