There was a period where Kissena had an influx of Canadians that seemed to come and go for reasons unknown to me.  It seemed to be some deal Greg Avon had, possibly because of Tim Hadfield, a Canadian who I think was living down here.  Matt Anand was with Kissena temporarily, I think he was national champ then.  Canadians Nat Faulkner and Alex Lavallee were on for years.  Peter Mazur was a top junior whom almost never raced around here but was on Kissena.  He eventually rode for the Saunier Duval team, which had guys like Gilberto Simoni and eventually Riccardo Ricco and company.  

That is crazy! Pictures?

You never saw these people in the park and this was way before Kissena had anything resembling a mentors program.  I'm not even sure they wore the same kit. This philosophy of having an elite team led to a revolution that brought us what we enjoy today.

this on the Hincapie Sportwear FB page today. He's holding up awards from his days with KCC.
https://www.facebook.com/hincapiesportswear

Cool mullet.

This one from 1985 courtesy of Charlie I.  Much less contentious than GH, I imagine...

Al B'slast year on Kissena I remember showing up to states and him racing in one of those kits. I have a picture some where ill dig up

Taken from Mike Mahesh's site

Former Kissena Rob Freedman (sp?) introduced himself at an Equinox spin class today (yeah I know — just wait for my bouncing 65rpm out of the saddle attacks this spring). He raced for Kissena in the early 80's, mentioned he raced Al Toefield's races and some guy named Lutz. Anyway I googled him with no result, but came across this little slice of history: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxe6UOMs85Q

Team,

We got a sad message on Facebook last night. Isaiah Adams seems to have passed away on April 8th.

He was a stalwart of the local racing scene in the days of Charlie I. If you have (or know anyone who has) stories or photos please head over to the facebook page and post them in the comments.

Apparently his favorite mid-race food was chocolate cake, so he was clearly one of us.

I was teammates with Isaiah on a CRCA sub team, CBS/Up To the Minute, which I think was the successor to the Tommy squad you see on his clothing above. 

I'm quite sure he was born here, but he said he had Irish family and was a regular at the Irish Milk Ras for many, many years.  He'd often find his way onto a composite team of what they called "county" riders.  When I went in 2001, I knew this and asked him for advice.  

He told me, "they don't let you quit."  I didn't know what this meant.  but, on the third day of the race, I saw the broom wagon on the road.  It was a small mini-van filled with gear, wheels, boxes, etc.  I don't know if more than one person could have quit per day.

Seeing  him on that Merckx also reminded me that I'm pretty sure that before he had this bike, he was a guy who believed in compact frames before they were around.  If my memory is correct, he would often race a conventional frame a few sizes too small and run a super-long post and a rise MTB-style stem.

If memory serves....last time I saw that guy was at Floyd Bennet Field around the year 1999...Pretty sure then he was riding a red steel Jamis with a rear wheel cover (like a condom for your spokes)....anyway I remember him in the finale of a 1/2/3 race sitting about 8th wheel in the sprint...then...he had to be in his 11...in about 3 pedal strokes passed everyone...I think people said he had been racing in Belgium

@mugwump as our resident historian can you tell us the story behind this?

https://www.facebook.com/marco.quezada.100/posts/10212853849249509?pnref=story

I didn't see a story along with this and I don't recall the specifics at the moment.  At the time, the Mengoni GP was a late September or early October race, often one of the last races of the season.  I don't think I joined Kissena until a year or two after the pic.

The guy with his hands up is Bill Innes.  Pretty sure Bill was a Queens kid who began racing with Kissena.  By this time Bill was living in Colorado most of the year, I believe, and Kissena had a largely detached elite team of 'mercenaries', and Bill was the closest to a local rider.  Bill, btw, is now a coach for the US National Team.    

The guy passing him is Wilson Vasquez, then on Mengoni, now on Lupus.  In his day, Wilson could beat just about anybody up Cat's Paw.  When Wilson started, he won some category IV races in Central Park by outsprinting everyone while riding a mountain bike with slicks.    

Third looks to be Ryan Oelkers in the Breakaway Couriers jersey.  Breakaway was a small team with a national profile--Adam Myerson and Kevin Monahan (eventual two-time pro crit champ) also rode for Breakaway and it was a pretty good crit squad.  The next rider looks to be Juan Pineda, also on Mengoni at the time.  You can see the Colnago he's riding outside Piermont Bicycle Connection most weekends as his dad rides it to work there.  Juan turned pro with Monahan and his brother Oscar for 7-Up, Oscar went on to represent Guatemala at the 2004 Olympics, while Juan ended his pro career by being busted for doping (took 10 years out of the sport and is now racing for Brands alongside his other brother Mynor).  Next to Juan is what appears to be a pro from the Navigators team, a long-running pro team that had an international roster and was based out of New Jersey.   Navs was pretty much always gunning for this race, but rarely won it.  

^you are amazing JP

so Innes is getting "Zabel'd" in the pic?

twoyacks said:

so Innes is getting "Zabel'd" in the pic?

Or Ellen Nobled. Are there any instances of people losing sprints to early celebrations who *didn't* go on to great success?

JP - Did Charlie I also ride for Breakaway?

jim_nelson said:

JP - Did Charlie I also ride for Breakaway?

Yes. pretty sure he did.

twoyacks said:

so Innes is getting "Zabel'd" in the pic?

I can't imagine Innes was that close to outsprinting Wilson and everyone else.  I'm guessing he was racing in a break and/or gotten away solo.

Remember that time AntiAnti redid the club kit and made a promo video?

https://player.vimeo.com/video/44433267

Assemblywoman Nily Rozic has started a petition to upgrade and maintain the  Kissena Velodrome. here is the link: http://nyassembly.gov/mem/Nily-Rozic/story/74961
Apologies if this has already been circulated, but thinking we should all sign it.

Support the Velodrome Upgrades and Maintenance

This thread is getting dusty.

Check out some photos

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92879490@N04/albums/72157632921445263

My understanding has been that Kissena was formed because CRCA wouldn't let in black riders. I see CRCA has issued a statement supporting BLM among other things.

While we all try hard to be apolitical (or at least keep it limited to bikes) I do think the board should consider if it would be appropriate to say something publicly.

Remember that time Erica Tarte had a lactate profile of a "grand tour rider?"

September 22, 2012

A bunch of the club bosses in that era were seen by some racers as communists, at that time, because they seemed to share everything they could.  

Toefield was a sergeant in the NYPD, 37 years.  I think he was also big in the Police Athletic League and had a big hand in the Harlem Skyscraper race.  He also promoted the Pepsi Challenge Bicycle Marathon, a 24-hour race in Central Park in the 80's.  It was actually the first competitive event I did, though, as a 12 year-old I could only ride 16 hours.  

here's his obit  https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/09/obituaries/alfred-toefield-68-us-cycling-official.html

Unrelated , 
I saw an old timer in the old pink purple yellow kit on 9w 
we waved 👍