first year open to all as opposed to just CRCA. 4/5 already has 49 reg'd. i'm not on form, but i'd have to imagine most aren't except for cross dudes? may do it, should be a chilla.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/Register.asp?EventID=14493

Hmmn. You got me thinking. THanks.

Paging Mr Herman... Paging Mr Herman.

The last Hurrah for 2011—Cat 4 and 5 combo 64 in field so far. 1 Kissena entered.
Who's in? FBF crew? High of 59 degrees Sunday, should be 43 degrees at start of race. Pretty sure I'm in.

P.S. I will be dressed as Niven with the sten gun, Harry I think you'd look great in the sheep vest.

F***! Although they made no mention, there's a 75 rider field limit to the 4/5. Perhaps this is USCA regulation, but doesn't seem a fair shake to me. Can anyone offer an opinion as to the worth of turning up on the day if you're wait listed number three?

If you're wait listed number three, I'd say odds are good at getting in. BTW, I don't think it is a USAC regulation, but perhaps a CRCA park safety guide.

PS, I'll be there, in which costume I have yet to decide.

hi all,
just noticed this tread. funny pics john...look forward to the last horrah in cpk for '11. not sure about the 'areo' aspect of sheep skin but happy to play anthony quinn at any opportunity...out in a blazzzzze!

re: wait list the last/only time i races in cpk was 12th on wit list and was in like flynn(note it was a wet day) given that you are #3 on list am certain you will be racing saturday. other kissenas note thst the rule of thumb is 10% will not show on race day acc. CRCA so, i suspect #7-8 will be racing even with good weather.

i wrote CRCA their reply below:

"You are 12th on the wait list.

Generally - this is just an example; about 10% of the confirmed field won't show up, which would be between 7 and 8 riders for this race. Meaning that 7 or 8 wait list riders are likely to get in. Of course, not everyone on the wait list shows up. So, I set the wait list so everyone on the wait list has a good shot of getting in but I make no promises and I make the least promise to you unfortunately because you are the last one registered (bikereg allows you sort confirmed riders by date entered). If it rains, no shows go up."

so, hardy riders 'sign-up!'
-h;>

Did the Guns of Navarone ever make it to wider audiences in the US?

@JP...there's cross racing in Harriman State Park this weekend! Don't you think you could use a little break from racing against Will Schneider? I can see it already...you get in a break with Molloy, Martinez and Schneider. You spend 2 laps trying to get Schneider to work, then you try and attack him out of the break. Except you can't shake him and in the process you set up Molloy for a killer counter and he wins solo, you get 5th and Schneider beats you by 1 or 2 places.

Well, if you must race in Central Park...for chrissssake, don't let Schneider beat you, okay?

@John and all rule nerds:

"1J7. ...The maximum field for a road event that includes category 5 men with other categories shall be 75."

I am on the wait list. I think I'm 5th. Maybe I get in...maybe I don't. Either way you are all going to wish I stayed in bed as I'm either going to smash it up the climb and hurt everybody or I'm going to buy a 40 ounce malt liquor and heckle the crap out of you guys...GYMKATA !!!

yacks

LOL=Yacks sign up as Yacks "GYMKATA" on bikereg.

Worst case scenario I'll pull a Mengoni and just wait in the bushes at the top of Harlem Hill.

@ Adam: Definitely Quentin Tarantino has seen Force 10 to Navarone—the sequel that featured Harrison Ford.

I will drop some Sun Tzu on you for tomorrow:
Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the Attack. -- Sun Tzu

Hilarious!!

How did it go ?

Hairy race: think 75 4/5's riding dodgem's—lot's of collective freaking out and near misses. Wheel touch! Guy accelerates past into a space that wasn't there, then slams brakes in front of me... I was so mad I actually came up along side and smacked the guy (oops). 30+mph downhill, guy in front of me plowed into one of those giant orange pedestrian signs and I narrowly avoided running over his head.

I was genuinely fearful going into Sorint: I had position at the bottom of hill, but escorted to the curb by a guy in front of me. Race paid only 3 deep, so it was game over. Harry and Yacks were constantly on the front brought back a dangerous break and had a nice breakaway on Harlem hill.

Nice post-race pancake decompression sesh with Yack's and Harry and then hammered out to Nyack with Harry and Mitch.

Gymkata!

cpk Turkey Classic cat4/5 was a BLAST!

the fall leaves, harlem hill &course long enough to stretch out legs(6.25mi)...agreed it was a bit dodgy out there &received a bit of enroute instruction from john&chris, 'harry, follow me, harry ride in a straight line, harry go, etc.' basically, when not admiring the foliage, the Dekota, Metropolitan or Gughenhiem, i was riding a front wheel or two...with intention to get away in final lap4 @1km togo &made an effort with 500m, briefly, felt curiously alone out front until the pack gobbled me-up like a savory ThanksgivingDay meal with 200m togo, i pushed as hard as i could &managed to bring back 7 or 8 of the 30 that bolted past me to finish 23rd/75; well behind yacks, johnM & carl nelson who took a v.nice 6th overALL &4th in cat4

Finish line video, http://vimeo.com/32035856

gobble gobble KCC!
-h;>



fun...died on route to Nyack then up to Orchards for "recovery"...still, trying to recover 3days out.
-h;>

I'm given pause whenever I think about entering the 1st and last races of the season. Reason being I don't wnt to crash and ruin a season in the 1st race and I don't want to tempt fate by entering one more race before the off season. The fear of cabin fever compelled me. It was a but squirelly, the field was kinda big and my first race in tights since March all conspired to keep me in check. In hindsight I wished I raced more like Harry. Big field sprints are not my thing. When it becomes obvious that a field sprint is on everyones mind, it is time to get your intervals in and start launching attacks. I don't know how that rider hit the traffic sign on the decent after harlem hill...but it sounded horrific. On the final lap I positioned towards the front and was hoping John would find me for some sort of lead out. It got dodgy quick, and defending my position took all my attention. I coud not for one second turn my head and attempt to look back for a teammate...too many guys jockeying for too little space. I had the death grip on my bars for the last mile of the race. I had Harry behind me for a bit, but then he went for the flier before the sprint. This tactic can work at Floyd or Prospect but I have yet to see it pan out at Central Park. Cats Paw Hill has hosted the demise of many ambitious cyclists. I am no stranger to the "horse shit alley" flier. All it has ever gained me is a manure free face. Just before the sprint I found myself sandwhiched between 2 really tall gentlemen who treated me like a pebble in their shoes. I touched my brakes, surrendered position and attempted to survive the sprint upright. The sprints in Central Park are a curious affair. There are times when you take momentum into the hill and are swallowed and other times when you brake at the base of the sprint and wind up taking back 10 places at the line as you never know who is going to spit the bit in the last 50 yards. I braked while others were able to have a clean run at it. Carl was the 1st to shoot past me on my left and he was motoring. The riders in front of him fanned out at the line and blocked his advance. John then came past me on the right and a rider in front of him decided to stop sprinting, sit down and peel over towards the curb. The timing was aweful as John was moving up fast to take the line near the curb. There's a million stories in the naked peloton and this is only one.....GYMKATA !!!!

lol

good report, ya madman!

yack yack, ...sweetReport! &poetic insights. thanks, -h

For those hoping that the road season isn't dead yet, we have a revival of one more NYC race before the end of the year.

Turkey Race has been brought back!  Sunday Nov 13.

https://www.bikereg.com/crca-turkey-race-pb-lucarelli--castaldi0

excellent news. i should be around. 

Yess

i decided to register for this about 10 minutes ago.  anyone else in for the 3's?

edit: decide quickly, reg closes in 40 minutes and there's no day-of

https://www.bikereg.com/crca-turkey-race-pb-lucarelli--castaldi0

Good luck, Brendan.  I was contemplating it, but it would have been racing just for the sake of participating for me and I'd rather catch the extra few hours of weekend Zs and save $35.

David Yang said:

it would have been racing just for the sake of participating

pretty good description of what it will be for me too, hah

the field is going to be pretty big, i see ~70 people registered for the 123. my goal is to hang in there and remember what it's like to do a bike race

Yeah man, at this point I'm going to assume most people's summer fitness is long gone.  From what I could tell last weekend, you still have those sprinting chops.  Stay in the front, mark the fast guys, and make a break for it whenever possible.  Might as well have some fun!

I'll be there with Rigby in a field of 84.

Excited to be amongst the wheels again.

Coming off a two-week break nursing a sore knee... I'll be hanging on for dear life in the 5's (with Giacomo!)

what happened?

Race is tomorrow.