Branchbrook NJ Spring Series

Mar 15, 2014 at 03:18 PM

I left my Cyclemeter app on the "indoor" setting...so all I got was power and cadence info. I'm sure others will post more ride data with things like avg speed. The Stages meter lost contact with the iPhone for a few minutes in the 2nd race...to be fair the phone was jammed in my back pocket and the signal had to pass through my multiple layers of back fat.

Jules

Mar 15, 2014 at 03:19 PM

#getagarmin

twoyacks

Mar 15, 2014 at 03:28 PM

got a garmin...then I returned it. The 500 display is too small for me...A 510 may be in my future...or I'll wait for the market to make me something I want....I just can't see a display unless the numbers are big and honkin In fact, I can't see much of anything these days. Remember this when you are racing next to me and things get dodgy.

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dstokes

Mar 15, 2014 at 05:56 PM

The Joule GPS allows you to configure the various screens to show numbers that I can actually see. I have one screen set with large power numbers, another set with large time-elapsed. Below is an example.

konrad

Mar 15, 2014 at 06:04 PM

Today was cool. Nice weather, first 123 and I'm definitely happy I raced today. I was sick during the week so I felt a little weak today and figured I would just sit in an see how these races are.

Sitting in was definitely not as easy. Constant game of people grabbing wheels and surfing up then getting pushed back down. Pace was probably high thanks to the other Kissenas pushing the pace at the front.

I learned a lot, felt pretty comfortable, and have the confidence to try and be a more active part of the race next time around. Just had to dip that toe in the water and now I'm hoping to jump in.

David Yang

Mar 15, 2014 at 06:55 PM

No podium for Kissena in the 4/5 races. Pack finishes for both races for me. Fighting a cold and little sleep (i forget how early races are). A lot of squirrelly stupid riders today so I didn't want to get too involved with the field sprints.

Race #1 had a break that Jeff White brought back halfway before another guy and I took our turns. No organization after that so they stayed away with the help of teammates blocking.

Race #2 field sprint had a line of chugalugs at the front that created some level of frustration. Heard there was a crash. I felt pretty good to sprint though so need to put myself in better position at the end.

Nice seeing and racing with old and new Kissenas. The hibernation is over!

Jeffrey White

Mar 15, 2014 at 06:57 PM

This was my second day of racing this year and it was a double! Great racing as usual at Branchbrook, and my first year of eligibility in the 35+ field.

It was a squirrelly but fun 4/5 race. The remnants of the breakaway that I started going into three to go stayed away by a whisker. Me and one other guy (I nudged him earlier about going away) got it started. In the midst of my third quick full-gas pull another five or so bridged up to us and yelled about having a gap and to start rotating (hell yeah!). I pulled off the front and latched onto the back of the group with a workable lead on the field. A gap promptly formed a few riders ahead of me, and that was the three-man break that stayed away. I was already all-in and couldn't jump right back out into the wind and get back to the wheel. I recovered in the field for a lap, took one all-out pull (the front of the pack was all clogged up either with blockers or simple disorder, so no concerted effort seemed available) that brought the move around halfway back, and pulled the plug with about 1.5 laps to go. Two of the three in the break stayed away by probably 20 feet.

The 35+ race was fairly uneventful for me. There were about four credible breaks during that race and Eric was in two of them, but neither of those happened to be the winner. I did what I could during that race in terms of blocking and working on the front. Stokes was a lot more effective in that capacity today. But with the speed of that field, I simply didn't have that many pulls to give out. The break up the road had an ideal mix of team representation, so all moves were marked quite skillfully and the blocking was even done rather tastefully. It was novel to be part of a race with such sound tactics on display.

Two random things:

1. Eric demonstrated a nifty sure-fire move to get to (or off) the front of the race. Get to left side of the field by the start-finish and then roll up the left side when exiting the parking lot. It was there probably 75% of the time, at least today.

2. Three or four laps into the P123 race, I was at the start-finish watching it come up the home stretch. Here's what I saw in the next 30 seconds of race visible to me on that part of the course: Mike and two others made a gap in the distance. They were taking short, burly looking pulls and it was looking legit. A couple chasers peeled off the front of the pack one after the other, until Joaquin was on the front, where he of course stayed. As the chasing pack approached the start-finish where I was watching, three riders got wise and muscled around Joaquin to start working to bring Mike's break back. Joaquin then promptly dropped their wheels. Clinic.

eragot

Mar 15, 2014 at 07:52 PM

numbers for those inclined -

Masters - 53min - NP 318w

1-2-3 - 1:16 - NP 272w

Hard day in the saddle, I didn't have much left for Andy' sprint!

mperlberg

Mar 15, 2014 at 11:52 PM

I worked hard all race to get something, anything, established off the front. I was actually pretty selective but when I went for something I went all in.

The data tells the story - last week crazy mike did 1hr 3 min @ 291 avg 317 normalized, this week 1hr17min 274 avg, 302 normalized. Hard either way you look at it. Much more selective this week for sure.

Anyhow, the story of the day was the nothing was getting away because of two things:

1) riders didn't want to or couldn't ride hard enough to establish a gap (duh)

2) Lupus, my new favorite team to hate, put someone into almost every move and then refused to work. It was clear they were working for Savory

I only take solace in my 2 to go attack that I think confused Lupus a tiny bit and caused Wilson to follow. I just hope that took just enough to cost Savory the 1st place.

Anyway - we still have things to work on to figure this out, but we're heading in the right direction.

I'm crazy fit right now and itching for a result. I probably just need to take a deep breath and let it come to me.

mperlberg

Mar 16, 2014 at 07:38 PM

Pics and photo essay type thing.

http://2nmr.com/2014-race-5-lucarelli-castaldi-branchbrook-spring-series-dst-tour/

Marc Bertucco

Mar 16, 2014 at 07:58 PM

Awesome to see so much KCC in the mix. If one thing is clear is that we need a sprint weapon. We need to be players if it comes down to a bunch sprint. There's every good reason to believe that we can place someone in the money in a group sprint. And with some practice and luck, even better than that. Let's think about how we can make that work within the context of who we are.

twoyacks

Mar 16, 2014 at 07:58 PM

dstokes said:

The Joule GPS allows you to configure the various screens to show numbers that I can actually see. I have one screen set with large power numbers, another set with large time-elapsed. Below is an example.

thanks Dave...Cateye gave me a brand new, in box replacement and it synched with a satellite very quickly...so the antenna was likely bad on mine. The Cateye is a very basic data collector with no power smoothing feature. It is though as complicated as a hammer and about as sturdy. It has one button...one. It is a completely sealed unit that you could throw in the bath tub and it would work (no chance of water getting in). The screen has the big wonky LCD digits I like to stare at. Until I do any more with my power besides download and stare, I won't need anything else. I use the computrainer head unit to pace indoors and outdoors I tend to use cadence more than anything for pacing.

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mperlberg

Mar 16, 2014 at 08:01 PM

Marc Bertucco said:

Awesome to see so much KCC in the mix. If one thing is clear is that we need a sprint weapon. We need to be players if it comes down to a bunch sprint. There's every good reason to believe that we can place someone in the money in a group sprint. And with some practice and luck, even better than that. Let's think about how we can make that work within the context of who we are.

Agreed. We got close last week with Andy 12th. This week was a little messy with a bigger field and more aggression, so it just didn't work out. I think we are on the cusp. Any chance we can get you and JP out to Branchbrook next Saturday to help out???

dstokes

Mar 16, 2014 at 08:16 PM

These cateye hieroglyphics are very interesting:

But these buttons seem a little difficult to reach:

twoyacks

Mar 16, 2014 at 08:21 PM

Dave, much of what you see is reverse engineered alien technology and some of the "glyphs" have yet to be deciphered. ...apparently aliens have incredibly small fingers.

konrad

Mar 16, 2014 at 08:54 PM

If every isn't already amazed - just look at how many of the attacks Mike is in. From where I was sitting everyone was holding their own pretty well but daaaaaaaamn, Mike seriously rode the hell out of yesterday's race!

... and then went on to hang in a break today. Woof. I've got some learnin' to do!

twoyacks

Mar 16, 2014 at 09:02 PM

I don't know how you guys race two days in a row like that....it is impressive. Perhaps it is my choice in post race recovery drink? Scorpion Bowl anybody?

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Marc Bertucco

Mar 17, 2014 at 04:27 AM

mperlberg said:

Marc Bertucco said:

Awesome to see so much KCC in the mix. If one thing is clear is that we need a sprint weapon. We need to be players if it comes down to a bunch sprint. There's every good reason to believe that we can place someone in the money in a group sprint. And with some practice and luck, even better than that. Let's think about how we can make that work within the context of who we are.

Agreed. We got close last week with Andy 12th. This week was a little messy with a bigger field and more aggression, so it just didn't work out. I think we are on the cusp. Any chance we can get you and JP out to Branchbrook next Saturday to help out???

I won't rule out racing at Branchbrook, I've done it before. But it's actually, for me, quite stressful and uncomfortable to get out there and back by train from Washington Heights. Anyway, JPs the dude you really need on your team.

Andrew Da Silva

Mar 17, 2014 at 03:08 PM

Yeah JP and Marc come to jersey!!

Branch brook has been serving as my intro class to p123 sprinting with Eric acting as my instructor. Each week Eric has been leading me through the front end of the race in the final laps and I've been learning how to stay calm and follow him when things get fast and dicy. In addition the entire team has worked to Shepard me around. I
I feel like I'm getting my footing slowly and learning something new each week.

Mark Inaba

Mar 17, 2014 at 03:54 PM

I finally have a few minutes to recap this weekend's race. After last weeks drubbing, it was good to be back in the mix of the race. The size of both cat 4/5 races was much bigger than what I was expecting and accustomed to over the last few weeks. These two races were classic early season cat 4/5 races with a lot of jittery riders and first timers mixed in. The goal for me was to stay out of trouble and plant myself on the front. It was great to see Jeff putting in some early attacks in the first race to mix things up. As the race progressed I decided to try and get into the winning break and forget about field sprinting. With only a few laps to go and 3 guys off the front I attacked the group twice to bridge up to the leaders. First time Dave was with a GFNY rider in between the leaders and the pack. Here I should of just pulled through to help Dave and the other rider bridge up. Failed attempt. Second time put in a good attack and had numbers with me (4 other riders) but unfortunately it didn't organize fast enough and failed again. The field has now swarmed us and I am out of position for any thoughts of a field sprint. I opt to roll in after the leaders.

2nd race is pretty much the same as the first one. Just using these races as a test lab to try different things. Today was all about attacking and looking for that one break that would succeed and avoiding the field sprint at the end since there were so many graceful riders ; ). Put in a big attack near the end but again it failed : (. Great day and happy to ride with the team again. KCC showed dominance by having numbers in the front and this will bode well as the season moves along. Managed to get my 5 sec CP over 1000W, which for me is huge.

Kinda sad I couldn't make it to Prospect Park on Sunday. But reading the reports it sounded pretty awesome.

twoyacks

Mar 17, 2014 at 05:37 PM

I spent Saturday pack surfing. The first race felt awful. The 1st race of the year always does. A rubbing brake block did not help. Thank you to the Kissena dude that helped me fix that. I tried to get position for the sprint but the second I stood up, I knew it was over. You know in 2 seconds what your legs are going to do in a finale...mine wanted to drop anchor. The second race felt much better. Coming out of the sweeper I found myself in a small break but it got closed down quickly. I had great position for the finale but there is no snap to my sprint yet. I was able to stand and turn the pedals in anger, but people were not exactly hiding their women and children when they saw me coming. 8th place. I find myself in a familiar position. Do I save everything and stick my nose in the top 10 as much as possible to grab upgrade points? Or do I throw down at every race and try and get in as many moves as possible, sprint finishes be damned !? Being a cat III raises the prospect of competing at Prospect (see how I did that?) against the likes of team Lupus, who will be shutting everything down and setting up their sprinter every week. The notion of passing a kidney stone every weekend just to stay in the pack is not an enticing one. So with that, I plan on attacking like my chamois is on FIRE and then providing a nice cushy lead out for whoever wants. A schmear that serves everybody, no? yacks

twoyacks

Mar 17, 2014 at 05:39 PM

schmear...

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Marc Bertucco

Mar 17, 2014 at 05:57 PM

Yacks, race with your head, get your points, and join us in the 1/2/3s! The process of going after points will itself make you better racer.

It's time for a new challenge. And the fact of the matter is that once the competing Spring Series' races go away, we'll have a more cohesive unit racing at Prospect Park. And we definitely have the firepower to deal with Lupus. Sure, they'll get their sprint finishes, but we're going to run rough-shod over those jamokes more than I can count this season. They're going to have to work a lot harder than they have so far. Trust me.

Also wanted to mention that in an earlier post, you mentioned some wattage number and said something to the effect of, "not enough to win, but enough for a good leadout." This is a common misconception, that you need mega-watts to win a park race sprint. The fact of the matter is that position, timing and your ability to snap or accelerate suddenly are so, so, so much more critical to success in a group sprinting situation.

twoyacks

Mar 17, 2014 at 06:08 PM

Well then...I hope my fellow cat IV's have air in their tires...cause I'm sitting on their wheels like it's a warm toilet on a cold day...(is that a thing?) anyway, I may already have enough points to upgrade...I'll try and navigate USA cycling's online upgrade system. Get ready III field...an over the hill 43 year old with bad knees, back, teeth & posture is about to join your ranks !

Andrew Da Silva

Mar 17, 2014 at 06:12 PM

From Cav's mouth.

“You’d be surprised at my watts,” Cavendish says.

“Most people who say that their maximum is 1,600 watts won’t put out 1,600. My maximum is 1,580, and that is a lot. Not many guys will do more than a hundred more than that. But no one will ever get close to that in a race after 200 kilometres,” he continues.

“I put out 1,490 today in training, on bad form, but I won’t put that out in a race. It’s not watts, and it’s not just my frontal area in a sprint. It’s everything beforehand. How I ride in the peloton. My pedalling action. How I sit. I save so much energy for the finish.”

Andrew Da Silva

Mar 17, 2014 at 06:13 PM

If ive learned anything the past few years and especially this past month it is that position is everything.

Craig London

Mar 17, 2014 at 06:17 PM

There's an anecdote from Andrew Coggan's Powermeter book about how winner's pedal the least during the race. However, when they do pedal hard, they go so hard that no one can stay with them. It's a very Zen, one hand clapping notion to think about when you race next time.

Mark Inaba

Mar 17, 2014 at 06:45 PM

Andrew Da Silva said:

If ive learned anything the past few years and especially this past month it is that position is everything.

Amen to that.

Chris please stop with the age thing. I'm 52, 10 years your senior and in the best shape of my life!! C'mon bro I'll help you get into the 3's. Lord knows I can get my fill in the Masters.

Jules

Mar 17, 2014 at 07:24 PM

@Yaks race in whatever category keeps you hungry for more, that's my 2 cents. To me a 2 hour eyeball bursting PP race sounds petty cool right now, and I sure hope to get there.

Since the rules allow you to downgrade, I don't really see any risk in it for you - chase some points, get a fancy Orange helmet and then return from the front-lines to be a Drill Sargent extraordinaire, if that seems more fun.

Phil Maronilla

Mar 20, 2014 at 03:28 PM

Low turnout so far for this Saturday's 4/5 race (both). Reg closes in 12 hours slackers.