So reg has opened for Harlem. Just so you know there are much smaller fields this year than previous years. Cat 2 and Cat 3 are only 35 riders apiece within a 70 person field, Cat 4 has 60 riders. These are all being run as a points races to make them even more interesting. The smaller fields will hopefully be safer since this race has lived up to the nickname "Skinscraper" with lots of crashes over the past few years.

I would recommend if you're interested in racing the one true four corner crit in NYC this year, I would recommend signing up early for this.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=13239

Note that this is on the same day as Housatonic Hills:

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=12478
http://bethelcycle.com/about/housatonic-hills-road-race-hhrr-pg374.htm

Posted By: Jeffrey WhiteNote that this is on the same day as Housatonic Hills:

but the cat4 field starts at 1:30 in the afternoon. 1:30!

Then maybe you can do the Housatonic/Harlem double. There should be an overall prize for this.
Also, I was talking to Eustice after the park race last weekend and he'd really like to see some Kissena's in the mix, that Kissena was very important. He also mentioned that the 2 German guys who broke away last year were riding 60psi and never crashed. Eustice said around 70 people went down last year, and that's totally unacceptable. That's why he's trying the new format.

I'm registered

Is anyone doing both if so I will sign up for Harlem as well.

Joe, I registered for Harlem by accident (thought Housatonic was Saturday) and asked for a refund. I probably won't get it so I'm going to try and do both, it will be a bit tough though

9:20- Housatonic Race (54 miles)
11:40- Earliest possible finish (if there is no delay in start)
11:50- leave CT
1:10- In harlem with no traffic according to google directions.
1:30- Car 4 Harlem race

I guess it's doable. Would if be possible to get a ride from Housatonic to Harlem with someone if I decide to do both? I was going to take Metro North up there

oh man, i was more thinking "when else are you gonna get to race at 1:30 in the afternoon?", not htfu and do both! woops

Mostly like last year. THere is new pavement from 124th and 5th to the final turn, but everything else seems as it has been.

A friend of mine suggested that the good line for turn one is on the extreme inside. His reasoning was that if you shoot to the outside, you ride over a road seam at the crown of the road. He thinks this, with the help of an oil-soaked road surface is the reason for so many crashes when turn one is damp. His theory is that the road is slightly banked as you're heading to the crown and at the crown it suddenly goes to off-camber and this change is felt at the tires. Only problem with the inside is that as of this morning at 10am, it was damp. Probably thanks to poor drainage, but damp all the same.

Greg Donovan got an image of his from Harlem three years ago in the Wall Street Journal today. It's both on line and in print.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303635604576391673234979148.html?mod=WSJ_NY_Sports_LEFTTopStories

I, your humble correspondent, can be seen flying the Kissena colors.

Posted By: mugwumpOnly problem with the inside is that as of this morning at 10am, it was damp

Damp...well, yes, I suppose a full on puddle that would have covered the tops of your shoes if you stood in it is technically "damp."

I personally think JP's source of the "crown of the road theory" is probably a big sissy. Try racing in Milwaukee in July on roads and through turns that are more melting tar strips than actual asphalt, and then tell me about how this change feels in your tires. (it feels scary as shit, that's how it feels). Tomorrow I will kick his ass and any others who dare challenge me.

Or something...should be fun regardless.

Quick Cat 2/3 Report.

Kissena lined up at the start with JP, Jan Micko and Marc Bertucco. Race advertised as 45 minutes. We were given 20 laps, which we completed in 31:25. Sprint for points every 5 laps. Double points of the final sprint.

JP sticks to his plan of being aggressive early and often. He gets a gap in the first or second lap and holds it for a whole lap before the field swarms. Rest of the race JP remains aggressive, but nothing is getting away. Jan is at the front, looking strong as usual and doing his thing too. Before the race, JP points out a national caliber track sprinter in our field. I don't follow his wheel as well as I hoped. When he was off the front for 1/2 a lap, I try to bridge, but the wind is in my face and the field on my back.

In the end, we didn't score any points or placings. Hrumpf. Frustrating to be sure.

Great course. Free Dinosaur BBQ brisket sliders. Yum. Wish the race were longer.

Oh, and I gotta eat my words a little about the crown in the road theory...it was definitely felt in the bike and handling as we took that corner. Sorry JPs source/friend you may have a valid theory after all.

Check out Jan on the frontpage of

http://nyvelocity.com/

THe Harlem Skyscraper is Back! Again on Father's Day. Again with too-short races.

On the plus side, it is a true four-corner criterium. It's close to home (I think Gui Weinmann lives on the course). THe races are in the afternoon. THere isn't Housatonic Hills this year. I don't think there's another race on the local calendar.

And this year, they aren't points races. Back to scratch races.

Anyone interested? Places are filling up!

Registration Page: https://www.bikereg.com/Net/16531

I'm conflicted. While I love the idea of racing a 4-corner crit in my backyard (especially since the pavement has been re-done in the last couple of years), last year's 30-minute race left a really really bad taste in my mouth.

The too short races are a real point of frustration for me. I'm considering spending that weekend doing two crits in the Lancaster, PA region. Not too far and the racing will almost certainly be better.

A dollar a minute. Would this be considered a particularly technical crit? Haven't tried one yet, and was thinking about giving this a go....

Not particularly technical, but a true crit that will challenge.

Four 90-degree turns make this as straightforward as they come. However, the challenge in this race is that the roads are not particularly wide, and since the race isn't that hard or long, you have a physics problem. Too many riders shooting for the same lines. So it feels intense like a crit should. You have to be aware of all that's going on around you at all times. At the workshop we talked about the ideal racing line, and racing the line you are given. This is definitely a race in which you take the line you are given.

That said, I think it's a good "starter" crit for sure.

Also,
This is part of the USA Crits series. So you'll get to see pretty intense pro racing.

And,
Saturday is a L&C race in Brooklyn.

Posted By: mugwumpThis is part of the USA Crits series. So you'll get to see pretty intense pro racing.

Good learning experience to watch. Last year, Dinosaur BBQ was handing out free slider-size grub.

P.S. I wrote the organizer about my concerns about the length of the race (not as posted, that is what it is, but as it was last year). I figure as one of his potential customers, I owe it to let him know what I think. Not just complain on our forum.

Maybe he'll say something like, "I wasn't happy with how the officials shortened the races last year either. This year, we're working extra hard to ensure that we start on time and I'm speaking to the officials do their best to give everyone a chance to race the advertised distances."

$45 plus reg fees? Too expensive in my book as it violates the $1 per mile rule. $1 per minute is too rich. Its just not worth it.

^ Tru dat. ^

it's like the Gran Fondo ($2/mile) of crits. But....I might fork it over to get the father's day cheering section - my kids haven't seen me race, would be a a nice treat.

I understand the principle behind "$1 per mile rule" at the same time, shouldn't you also include travel time, gas, and car use in the equation?

Let's say you want better crits and see some good ones in Lancaster. That's probably 200-300 miles driving in total. That's at least $30 in gas. And if you're a car owner, that's wear and tear on the car. If you're renting, it's $60-100 per day. For a car renter, that could be $100 before you include entry fee. So even if you're racing 100 miles, you're above the $1 per mile rule. Even for a car owner, the cost of using your car is not insignificant.

But, really, the bigger thing for me is that we could potentially dominate this race. We've got plenty of guys who are strong enough to attack and stay away and if that fails, we've potentially got four guys who can handle the last few laps and sprint. I could see us having guys attacking basically all race and then if htat fails, we could have a good leadout train, which, on a narrow circuit, could be hard to beat if we get to the last corner first.

Stearns,
The trickiest part of the course is turn one. Not only are you going from a wider street to a narrower street, but the second street is crowned pretty dramatically and the camber of the turn changes once you're on 120th. This is why crashes occur here.

Still, the wife sees almost $50 to race. She doesn't think gas / tolls...

Plus, I'll do Zeppelin the day before and try to dominate that one.

Posted By: mugwump

I understand the principle behind "$1 per mile rule" at the same time, shouldn't you also include travel time, gas, and car use in the equation?

That's Ragot's rule. I don't follow that rule precisely because the numbers are always going to be better to do a race that I can commute to by bicycle. That's not even a big part of my decision-making process. Otherwise, I think I'd just go to Charlie I PP and FBF races. That's the most affordable way to go.

I think more about the race experience in total and sadly, I think I know how this one will play out if I race. Ragot's out...once he makes up his mind, he doesn't change it. And I don't see our other Cat 3 hammer-heads getting amped up for this one either. Plus this race is about constantly avoiding the swarm, which is a challenge for everyone on our team--myself included...and as you know, I'm not shy about claiming I'm a good crit rider. And so, like last year, you'll have JP and Marc riding around in square circles fast for say 35 minutes. Like Somerville, you and I will take our digs, get our little (in my case) gaps and get sucked back into the pack and the sprint will be on and you and I will roll in around 30-40th place when it's all said and done.

I think for me, finding "good" races is about finding a narrow balance between a race that is both challenging and offers me the potential for success on some level. I'm sort of in a "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears" situation here, and I feel like the PA races are closer to the "just-right" feel I need right now. Plus, I'm tired, mentally, of racing the same NYC guys all the time.

I don't know, it's still on the table, but it's not looking likely for me.

P.S. Last year felt like it was a race to turn 3 in the last lap. Yeah, a good leadout train should be able to control the last lap totally though. Getting and staying in the right position to lead it out though in the last 5 laps of this short circuit is the challenge.

I'm starting to creep up on the time of year when I need to back off so that I can regroup in time for a serious effort at Catskills and then again for CX season. For me (and I'm still pretty new at this) the races this year need to be ones where I have a concrete goal in mind or they really light my world on fire. *My* goals include not getting burned out and I'm starting to smell a whiff of carbon that isn't coming from my brake pads, if you know what i mean.

Marc,
FWIW, I was listed as 20th in the results in 2011. Something like 12th in the final sprint. And I moved up several places between turns 3 and 4, though, yes, if you're not in good position by turn 3, it's game over. When I raced it last before that, in 2008 I believe I was 52nd, immediately ahead of two pro's, one being Tyler Hamilton.

I look at the guys we have and we can be attacking all race with at least myself, WDC, Mike, Joe, and Vlad. Maybe Jan Micko would even come out. For the sprint, we have at least Eric, John, Rene, Lenny. I'm sure I'm missing people. You can float, protect sprinters, help manage the field, and so on. I think for a 45-minute 2/3 race, we can have a very good team.

(and the Zepplin race is $30 for 20mi, but I won't tell anyone's spouse or squeeze)

Jan is not kissena