@JohnOlsson and I are working reg in order to get into the 3/4 race but it was never confirmed to me that that would happen. I'll have my bike and a borrowed jersey (thanks @JohnOlsson) ready to go, but at this point I'm not even sure I'll be allowed to race?

Depends on whether there are any DNS I'm sure. Might not know until check in is done

if you can’t join in this race, but volunteer, you’ll race for free next time

Either way I'll have the bike, if I don't race, no big deal. More time to prepare for the next one . Of course, I will stick around and encourage my new teammates since I have the Track officiating clinic at 10.

@ErikPfiffner @MaxThorn @AndrewJohnson It sounds like the odds are against you guys getting to race tomorrow. I do know Charlie needs marahals. If you are willing to do so he will pay you $30 each. Can I tell him you’d like to race but will marshal if necessary?

@PatrickGrehan I have no problems marshaling. In that case I’ll just assume I’m not going to race so it will be less confusing and chaotic. So after reg I guess I’ll head over to marshal at a drsignated location? Just so I’m preparrd, is the job the same as described by CRCA?

Just heard back from Charlie. He says day of registration is not going to happen tomorrow given size of 3-4 field. 

For anyone NOT racing, PLEASE consider marshaling during the race. Charlie will give you $30 cash AND a free race. Email him at charlesissendorf@gmail.com to let him know you are coming. Let him know you’re from Kissena. 

Marshaling is easy and we can go out for coffee at konditori afterwards. 

It would've been nice to know that this was a possibility when I signed up. I was unaware, and I've volunteered a dozen times over the course of three seasons and every time but one of those I've raced that day, without having to preregister, and the one day I didn't race was because I had volunteered to be the marshal patroller. The instructions at the top of the volunteer sign-up form should be revised with more detailed instructions to say that those volunteers who wish to race that day should pre-reg and will be reimbursed. I would've gladly done so in order to secure a spot. Currently it just says: "Pay: Free entry for that day's race or a future race." I can't be the only one who interprets that to mean that volunteers can race that day if they want to. 

If anyone is looking for some recovery spins after the races tomorrow, a couple prospects are meeting us at GAP at 9AM.

MaxThorn said:

It would've been nice to know that this was a possibility when I signed up. I was unaware, and I've volunteered a dozen times over the course of three seasons and every time but one of those I've raced that day, without having to preregister, and the one day I didn't race was because I had volunteered to be the marshal patroller. The instructions at the top of the volunteer sign-up form should be revised with more detailed instructions to say that those volunteers who wish to race that day should pre-reg and will be reimbursed. I would've gladly done so in order to secure a spot. Currently it just says: "Pay: Free entry for that day's race or a future race." I can't be the only one who interprets that to mean that volunteers can race that day if they want to. 

That's basically the right interpretation. But if the race is sold out, then you can't race the same day, there's no spot available. If there were, you could race.

Maybe some will DNS?

See, I think if there are any caveats at all about racing on the same day you volunteer, then my interpretation is wrong. (We don't have to get into the fact that in any race there are always no-shows.) Regardless, it's very easy to revise the sign-up sheet so that future volunteers are aware of this possibility. Then whether or not a volunteer pre-regs to secure their spot, then that's on them. 

Max, you are right that normally we can register day of. Charlie usually encourages us to register beforehand, but most of the time it isn't a problem because the 4 field doesn't close out. He was surprised that as a 3-4 field it closed out as quick as it did. It surprised me as well. Had I noticed I would have made an announcment. 

As a general rule for any rider and any racer: races sometimes close out. If you want to guarantee a spot, go ahead and pre-reg. 

JohnOlsson said:

Maybe some will DNS?

Charlie has DNS built in to his count, that's why he caps the fields at 110 instead of 100. He already expected about 10% not to show up. Fields are sold out, including DNS.

@PatrickGrehan I have never heard Charlie encourage pre-reg for volunteers. And though I have no way of proving this, I seem to recall having volunteered at a sold out park race and still getting to race. Maybe I wasn't as aware of what was going on as I thought I was, or maybe I was just lucky. But my experience has suggested the volunteers who want to race that day, can, full stop. But in general this problem is very easily avoided, without any ambiguity, by adding one sentence to the volunteer sign-up sheet. Which I've done:

Anyway, I'm marshaling tomorrow. 

Hi guys, I was out there today racing in Cat 5. Unfortunately, I couldn't stick around after the race today. Hope everyone was out there feeling strong. Catch you guys next time. 

how'd it go this morning?

TLDR: We missed the break. 

A bit longer:

• The strength and size of the attacks in the early laps, quickly suggested that a break could stick
• oh uh
• Sure, they were being brought back at first, but the fourth of fifth attempt worked
• Murphy's law, the move that worked was a counter to another that included Rob and Patrick
• I could smell the need to shift, that a break could work. This was my mistake: I failed to realize the urgency of communicating the need to cover
• We did chat and communicate when we were next to each other, so much awesome, but the size of the field and normal chaos of the first 3 or 4 laps made it hard to find each other
• Otherwise, everyone looked awesome. Richard and John P. had huge smiles at the finish, first 2019 Prospect race done. Rob, Ricky, and Patrick looked crazy strong, I expect them to be able to burn and smoke future races.
• Mega Kudos to John O., Jim Nelson, and Max, who volunteered and helped out in the early cold morning, even tho they knew their chances of racing were slim. You make Kissena awesome.
• As John M. stated, over communicating is key.

In 20/20 hindsight:

• Trust my instincts. I often run into Angelo Calilap and Clark Fredricksen in the Park, they been flying lately. I knew they could matter. They both made the break, Angelo won, Clark finished 6th.
• Once the break had a good gap, we did the right thing, which was to mellow in the expectation it would come back -- don't burn matches.
• Typically, you don't want to bring the whole pack with you. But once it was clear it was not simply coming back, we should line up the front and do our best to rotate and try to bring it back. It would be at least better workout than frustratingly sitting in the pack.
• For the next race, April 7th. we should clearly assign two riders or more to cover early moves. For example, today, Rich, John, and Patrick would have killed in that role. 
• These early move riders, should be warmed up at the start, and not just cover, but look to attack, and create the winning move. Although sometimes you got to go chasing a move, the easier way is to be the move. Let's burn those matches and be the race.

Was asked by Rich to be more forceful in my "Captain" commands. If you'll still have me, I will.

We chatted quite a bit post race, but would love other's reports, perspective, and comments.

Let's race bikes and be firah.

--------

Clark & Angelo, riding the break. Photo by Sebastian Vidal



Photos by Marco Quezada

I agree with everything @eloy said and he did a great job keeping us as organized as we could all things considered. I made it my mission to be a mule and keep dragging Kissenas up toward the front whenever I could. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. C’est la vie.

I was surprised how much I had in my legs and lungs for the first race. After one more, I’ll be ready and hungry to do as @eloy suggested and chase shit down. I’m not a sprinter or much of a climber, but I love a long hard TT and having a rabbit up the road to chase.

We didn’t get the results we wanted, but everyone communicated well with each other and each of us made our presence known in the pack. Looking forward to the next one.

I have pretty similar sentiments! It’s a bummer to miss out to the breakaway but that’s how it goes. I agree, we should have sat on the front to try and bring them back. Next race, we’ll have that in the back of our heads for sure. here were a lot of teams represented in the break so no one else had any urge to chase it down. I took JP’s advice and talked to some other teams about who was in the break and their response was “I have no idea”. Sure enough, they had guys up there.

There were definitely a lot of positive takeaways. John P and Patrick were moving super well through the peloton. There were several times where I sat on Johns wheel and found myself in the top 15 wheels. Eloy and Patrick provided some strong insights throughout the race on what we should/ should’ve done once the break stuck. Rich was really vocal and organized Ricky and I to try and deposit Ricky top 10 before the hill. I mistakenly thought we wanted to attack and Rich and I ended up a bit up the road. That was my b. We had a strong leadout and (I think) got Ricky to the front. There’s a whoooole lot of potential to make it work. 

Everyone finished, no one crashed and we have a bunch to think about for next race. Thanks for some good racing dudes. 

Although I’m flattered, those results can’t be right. I was in a good position, but I definitely wasn’t 15th. @PatrickGrehan finished ahead of me and he’s not on the list.

Yeah, results are wrong. I was #284 but that list has me as #285. 🤷🏼‍♂️

sounds like a fun race. it's cool that a break stuck, even though no kissena's were in it. hope to join you all for the next one - seems like we'll have a solid 4's squad this year. work kicked my butt too much this week for a 5am weekend wake up

Have they released the official results for Cat 5? I believe I came in 6th yesterday. I felt super strong at the end and passed the field around GAP. But, I don't think I attacked aggressively enough and was quickly caught and passed. But not sure what they are saying officially. 

Results here:
https://legacy.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2019-1020&fbclid=IwAR1M64y0tJATeeidMhxWPoWegxBpiVLKp5sHGJ7SFgzcsXriP_DQbSLnX4A

FWIW,
     I think for the 3/4 race going forward, if we bring several riders, it's a good idea to have one or two of them warmed up and ready to attack from the line.  Several years ago in the 1/2/3, we always had someone ready for the first move, as it inevitably came off the line.  It really put us in a better position during the race.

BTW, My own race was uneventful.  I wasn't sure what my legs could do, so I waited to find out.  They were sluggish.  Can hang on and move up without issue, but I wasn't ready to throw down.  I got the sense early on it was going to be a field sprint day, and it turned out to be.  On the start of the last lap, I had to decide whether or not I wanted to fight for position to possibly sprint at the end.  I felt I didn't have the legs to do it, so I backed off.  In retrospect, it was the wrong decision.  our last time up the hill felt slow, and I could have gone a good bit harder.  Don't know if I could have contested the finish, but there was more in my legs vis a vis the field than I expected.  I'll take that into the next race.  I can be more aggressive.

@eloy Thank you