I'm in.

For the 8am....not the 5:20.

Ok no one is responding so I will assume no one is down for the 8am BB meet up.

I will be there at 8 AM

After the race, after the Grant's Tomb crit practice, John M suggested that our group of 6 or so, head up to meet the 9am Sunday Group Ride. I usually regret these things but, as my wife later said to me, "what else are you going to do on your day off, sit around and watch TV?" Plus I was enjoying the company, and don't always get to ride with all of these guys.

We met up with a few other Kissena's--who didn't race today--at the usual spot and rolled down to Hudson River Road (oh, the lure of Alpine, is strong in some). I struggled on the easiest of rollers and by the time I got to the Court House, the guys had just finished packing up their picnic baskets and were ready to ride some more. Rolled on 9W were we "Borged" into another big group ride and all the way to Pierrmont with about 20 riders. It was like the Gimbel's ride, except we were orderly, riding 2x2, free of douche-baggery.

Muffins and coffee for most in Piermont. Mandatory bike ogling too. Our crew was the unofficial "team Trek" today with lots of Wisconsin formed carbon fiber from 1996 (mine thank you) to current generation steeds too. But it's always fun to see what other folks are riding while stuffing your face. On the way back, the group voted for 9W, while I was secretly hoping they wanted to take the flatter, "low road" back to Englewood. Harry the "Honey Badger" assured that us we would take it easy. And I'll give you one guess what that meant. The following is a true story:

He charges to the front out of town, hammers back up to 9W and sets a high tempo on the rollers leading up to State Line climb. Un-daunted by the angles in front of him, he pushes more and more until he blows. Anchor dropped, the rest of the group speeds away. I'm behind, but closing in and eventually pass Harry. I keep going the only speed I have these days (forward), while the rest of our group is long gone. Harry fights his way back to my wheel and thanks me for waiting (ha, I wish) and I see the switch flip. Secret irrational rage for having been dropped I think, and he puts in a mighty impressive effort to close the gap to the group leaders. I can only assume he reconnected and flashed everyone a Cheshire cat-like smile.

I limp along in another time-zone, Malcolmson feels sorry for me and drops back for moral support. The rest of the crew set up for picnic #2 (sashimi was on the menu I think) at The Kikoman House or whatever is called and we're back together again, this time for the rest of the ride. Good times, yo.

epilogue:

One of our group was not a Kissena member, nice guy, who met Tito the other day and was looking for a more competitive group than the New York Cycle Club (I think, they are strictly recreational) and not like NYCVelocity. Apparently, to join their team, you HAVE to commit to riding 15 hours a week. Apparently they are a club of bachelors, with 9-5 jobs and no prospect of any hot dates at any time, ever. I kind of gave him the 10-cent tour of what we're all about, and by the end of the ride, he said he was going to join. We have mentors, workshops, group training rides where there are plenty of guys who will rip your legs off many days of the week, forum posting tomfoolery, etc. I mean, really what's not to like? Good group of guys today as always.

Nice group ride post race today. I ventured north post Piermont coffee to hang with my aunt for lunch (she lives in Nyack). Except we talked for a while, and I forgot to eat lunch.....so I made a quick pit stop back in Piermont for a bite. I knew my ride back would be solo and not as cool as the group 9W paceline - but the allure of some family time was nice. and Marc - I rode the low roads back did some drills, found another rider following the same path and we yo-yo-ed a bit, so I got him to trade pulls with me, it worked so much nicer.

All in all a great day riding. I am going to sleep amazingly tonight.

Marc! So serendipitous! I had been about to post a looooong question on the membership thread after I ran into that guy (Rod? Ron?), about what the heck we're supposed to tell folks who are interested in joining...and I got timed out of the site and lost everything I wrote.

Anyway, whenever I get asked about Kissena from prospective members, I'm always long on enthusiasm and short on practical details; glad you were able to help him.

Posted By: titoMarc! So serendipitous! I had been about to post a looooong question on the membership thread after I ran into that guy (Rod? Ron?), about what the heck we're supposed to tell folks who are interested in joining...and I got timed out of the site and lost everything I wrote.

Anyway, whenever I get asked about Kissena from prospective members, I'm always long on enthusiasm and short on practical details; glad you were able to help him.

I would always suggest telling any potential member why you are part of Kissena. The enthusiasm of the members is one of the things that continues to draw folks, as well as the non-jerk mentality (both of which make Kissena a very attractive option for many). If you wanted to share specific benefits of the club the key ones are A) Discounts on racing, Free coaching and mentoring C) a team mentality without requiring a huge $$$ or time commitment.

Maybe we need another thread...Why did you join Kissena?

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: Dan Reiners</cite>Maybe we need another thread...Why did you join Kissena?</blockquote>

I don't know anything about the upcoming Kissena site refresh, well except that our people are working on content and stuff, but --if it's not already in the plans-- we could have a few Kissena Rider stories/interviews which address this "Why Did You Join Kissena" theme --or a similar theme.

BTW: I joined Kissena for one reason and that reason was a man --one man-- Stéphane. I had not heard of him before joining, and I didn't meet him until after 10 months after joining Kissena, but I know he is the reason that I joined. Now that Stéphane has left us for France, I cry a little now and again, but I still ride with Kissena because Kissena *was* Stéphane's choice and --by my reasoning-- that means there is no other choice.

Is one of our French clubmates willing to be Norm's "Stephane" from now on? Aly? Thierry?

I would, but I'm only half-French...and it shows sometimes. Like when I try to order wine in a restaurant.

is anyone ridin BB tom?

Nosson,

A bunch of people are meeting at 9AM at GAP and head to the velodrome.

haha Im not a true frog either, my mom is though and I've lived there for 10 years...but I'll do my best ;)

if anyone is in the area, I'm riding this tomorrow: http://www.ocbicycleclub.org/calendar.php
6200 feet of climbing: not too shaby also considering i have an 11x23 which I wasn't able to switch, im smart i know. I hope everyone on the ride is fat and out of shape, which is highly unlikely...
my warmup to get to the ride will also be a mere 37 miles.

why i joined kissena: cause there's no arrogance and everyone I've encountered is welcoming and fosters a good training and racing mentality.

so whats hapining at the veldrome tom?

Why are we always stopping at lame coffee shops when this place is around the corner:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/nyregion/a-review-of-alains-bistro-in-nyack.html?pagewanted=1&ref=nyregion

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/03/11/nyregion/11DINEWE3/11DINEWE3-popup.jpg

Think they'd let us eat in spandex?

But Lance never went there

Depends on the spandex

http://chubstr.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/bw1.jpg

John, that looks really good. Im down to go have coffee there one day, or try to.

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: alyoshas</cite>haha Im not a true frog either, my mom is though and I've lived there for 10 years...but I'll do my best ;)</blockquote>

Merci Aloysha!

Don't know if I can make the Sunday ride at 9am, but I strongly encourage everyone to come out and hammer. I know I want a hard ride Sunday to make up for the lack of racing and overall prep and fun.

If it's raining, at least get out and ride. I think this is important for those building to Battenkill. As that race will take around three hours, try to ride at least three hours in the rain.

I'd love to join folks for a "bag of hammers" ride in prep for BKill. Rain or shine, lets tear each others legs off.

Count me in!

sigh

i'm never in town when the group rides actually happen

starting in may, you will all be exposed to the hairy-legged fury that is william on a group ride

also, the jawbone will make its return as soon as i pry it from tito's cold, stiff fingers

i'm planning to head out and over GWB on Sunday for some hard efforts, but can't get going until the afternoon. assuming i'll miss the group fun, but if there *is* anyone in a similar afternoon-ride only predicament, give me a shout.

Ill be riding Saturday at 8am. Brooklyn bridge.

saturday I'll be headed to Floyd for some uninterrupted intervals and RC car/plane dodging
sunday I'm up for the aforementioned bag-o-hammers ride

Kissena 9am club rides are usually single paced, wait for the slowest, work them in , etc

Advice desired from those with more wisdom than I :
Since we have a multitude of abilities out there, what should the protocol be for a "dropping the hammer ride" . Do we split into a couple of groups of ability, and then tear each others legs off ?
Within each group should there be any sort of re-grouping (fast guys go back down hills, and re-ascend with the slower? ) - or just an all out 3 hour race ?

id like to ride this wkend. perhaps 8am at bk bridge.

Josh, Good question.Sorry I hadn't thought of it.

It depends on who shows, but my feeling is roll out from the GWB as normal and once on Piermont road, have the people who want a more aggressive ride come to the front and those who don't follow wheels. There are actually a few hills off the low road the people looking for a harder ride can hit and still return to the low road.

Remember, there shouldn't be any attacking, especially early on, just a hard tempo.