Come on guys; there has to be more chaos and despair we can sew earlier than AUGUST.

@Jules

Open those threads up. Write down your intentions. What are you after? Top 10 at Catskills? Looking to crush the TT at Dragons and willing to act as domestique for the other stages? Write something positive on those threads and not negative on this one. No doubt there are like minded individuals who would be keen on those races too. Clearly people are thinking ahead and are keen to race out of town, as per this discussion.

xoxo

@Adam I'm still sussing out my season's goals.  Lisa is having a baby (somebody lock the door that damn postman won't stay away) in April so I have no idea what my ability to train & race will be.

Jules, goals wise, if your power numbers are good right now, it may be a good to take advantage of early season fitness and hit the park races pretty hard. Because as you said, you've got lots of unknowns coming around the corner. You and JP can tag-team the field. He's always ESPECIALLY good this time of year. And has usually lacked support in the early season CP races.

Wow with this kind of participation should we start the debate if having so many Cat 3 Kissenas at GMSR is unsporting? I'm willing to wear a black jersey if need be.

There is always a lot of interest in races a long way out from actual race day.

"Oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming."

LOL. I'm just happy that the race is at least on peoples' radar. I have no doubt that some will not be able
to make it, but those who do will make this a priority race for the following year. That's what happens at Green Mountain. Because it's awesome.

@Marc interesting; I loathe the wet, freezing early season races but perhaps they'll be my huckleberries this year.

Bump. Who's doing this thing? I know Konrad is hyped on this race. Anyone else want to flog themselves up and down the VT mountains for days on end on their Labor Day weekend?

I'm planning on it.

Yeah me too I think

Think so

Gauging interest, mentor led, group discussion on courses and tactics towards success at GMSR. Time and date TBD. Please click "agree" if this sort of thing interests you.

Id like to

I'm in.

With just 3 of you interested so far, we can easily do it at my place. Back in the way-back, I pulled up the course maps on my computer, got them onto my TV and we talked around that bad-boy. Alternatively, with a smaller group, it would also be easy-ish to get together for dinner somewhere mutually inconvenient for all of us. LOL. JK, sort of.

That said, if you guys are definitely racing, then I would recommend, if you are thinking seriously about GC, that you start NOW (if you haven't already) doing one ride per week on your TT rig of choice. Whether it's a full blown TT frame with disc wheel and all the goodies, or just a pair of clip ons, you're going to want to get experience generating good watts in your preferred aero position. The GMSR TT is not insignificant, and you will spend lots of time in an aero tuck.

Related, riding 9W and/or River Road TT style would be good prep as well. While the traditional TT starts with a nice medium grade, long-ish climb, after that there are plenty of undulations in the road, and if you aren't proficient and keeping up the watts on downhill rollers, you are just giving away free seconds.

Marc, it used to be that full TT rigs were not allowed for the GMSR TT. Has that changed? Last time I did this race only road bikes were allowed, though you could use a disc wheel and TT helmet.

Joaquin said:

Marc, it used to be that full TT rigs were not allowed for the GMSR TT. Has that changed? Last time I did this race only road bikes were allowed, though you could use a disc wheel and TT helmet.

Good question...and good memory. I think you may be 100% correct on this. I'll poke around to see if the tech manual is up. Last year's certainly would be and they probably won't change that particular point of order.

Joaquin is right. Only bikes allowed in mass start events. But TT helmets and disc wheels okay. So no clip-ons. Okay, well practice riding in the drops and/or tops of hoods in faux aero position.

But what other ways are there to ride a road bike?

Marc Bertucco said:

Okay, well practice riding in the drops and/or tops of hoods in faux aero position.

Adam said:

But what other ways are there to ride a road bike?

Marc Bertucco said:

Okay, well practice riding in the drops and/or tops of hoods in faux aero position.

Hey, you can't buy this kind of genius wisdom.

Seriously though, most of us spend most of our riding time on the tops of the bars, or on the hoods, both in a pretty upright position. If you are already comfortable riding 14-18 minutes in your drops or in a hunkered down aero position, awesome, keep up the good work.

Adam said:

But what other ways are there to ride a road bike?

You can always ride with your butt on the bars and pedaling backward.  

im in for this one.

This is a combo post. Part commentary on my new compact gearing, used to it's fullest at Capitol Region and a recommendation for gearing at GMSR.

I'm still getting used to the different combos. I'm shifting at diff't times and with diff't frequencies and I have to say, it's been somewhat awkward at times. Part of me thought that having a compact would make me fly up the climbs. Yes and no. During the meat of the climbs, it still hurts. You don't even know what gear you are in. However, I did notice as the road gets less steep, I'm able to spin sooner and recover somewhat quicker. Bonus.

But also, I noticed that on a not very steep descent I was in my biggest gear and while I wasn't spun out, it made me think of Green Mountain. Understanding that there are going to be various opinions on this depending on past experiences and riding styles. Regardless...

Now is a good time for you to be thinking about what kind of gears you want to bring to play. I like to spin, and in years past I've been mostly okay with a 39 x 27. However, that gearing wasn't exactly kind to me in the final kilometer of the App gap.

Also, if you are planning on contesting the Circuit Race finish line sprints (Hot Spots and/or GC), then I recommend having an 11-tooth sprocket in the back. It's super fast, wide open and downhill. The 11-tooth will also helps if you come detached from the group on the CR KOM as you have a pretty long, straight descent for chasing back.

Very sad that I'll be missing this again.

Today I rode in the drops for over 6 miles. #gettingTTready #whatchyadoin?

I'm doing an hour at tempo tomorrow -- six weeks out. In the old days an hour of tempo was a Waterloo sort of workout. I've been building up to it steadily, dare I say easily, for three weeks. Even though it's going to be a slam dunk, I am nonetheless going through the mental exercise of targeting this workout as important, defining success, and visualizing its achievement.

Race is coming. Let's get the squad together multiple times over the final run up. Let's start riding together. This Sunday's Triangle Ride will be a big one for me. I personally have had a wonderful mid season break and am going from this weekend. Any takers? Could be convinced to do a good ride elsewhere (Pawling, Catskills) if there is interest in a day trip from next weekend onwards.

I'm into it. This weekend may not work, but I agree... we should get together at least twice beforehand.