A few portrait shots of the race crew and special appearance by Charlie Issendorf!

Charlie commented that the 1/2/3 race was crazy hard and couldn't believe just how fast the park races have become since he left NYC.

I'd love to take your KCC24 portrait, so whenever our next group thing is happening I'll be there with a camera.





(Also a photo of JP's sweet race bike):

David Yang said:

A few portrait shots of the race crew and special appearance by Charlie Issendorf!

Charlie commented that the 1/2/3 race was crazy hard and couldn't believe just how fast the park races have become since he left NYC.

I'd love to take your KCC24 portrait, so whenever our next group thing is happening I'll be there with a camera.





(Also a photo of JP's sweet race bike):

Great photos! 👌🏽

BlakeFoster said:

I’m in for 5s in the L&C Grand Prix on the 31st 

Unfortunately I can't make this week (or next). L&D & Pedal Power will prob have some decent numbers in there and typically chase down any breaks.

Good luck & try not to start behind 968!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-bem93iW9k&t=9s

David Yang said:

I should be in for 3/4 after a weeklong fam vacation in Maine. You might not recognize me outside of the kit since I'll be mostly lobster when I return.

https://www.bikereg.com/verge-8-31-24

Plans changed, may be in Maine through the weekend.

I feel like I made a big mistake in this past Saturday's race.  The racing has trended towards field sprints, so I was thinking that a late move, if anything, would be the only way to race.

But, there kept on being these big splits that would happen, then get sewed back together, and then happen again.  That was a sign that a big break could take it from a long way out.  And I ignored that.  And it happened.

I think 16 riders may have gone up the road.  For the finale, I was thinking I might want to mix it up.  I stayed in good position across the flats, onto the hill, in the top 8 or so.  When I got swamped halfway up the hill, I shut it down.  


https://www.strava.com/activities/12208260987

Peoples!
     Saturday, 8/31 marks the second-to-last NYC road race of the season.  At least according to BikeReg

https://www.bikereg.com/verge-8-31-24

    So far, Blake is the only Kissena registered.  

Anyone joining?

I’ll be in the 3/4 

In for 3/4

Upstate so will miss this  :'(

Good luck all!

I'm in for 3/4.

How is there an instagram of @eloyon the podium and no race report?

Cat 5 race report: 
I was the sole Kissena in Cat 5 this weekend. The first lap started super slow, a lone rider floated off the front. An L&D rider floated up on lap two and they kept the break alive until the 4th lap. No one really wanted to work to pull them back. I did a couple turns on the front, but I wasn’t willing to burn everything if others weren’t going to work either so I moved back a bit. A pedal power guy kept aggressively yelling to get people to work (not his teammates), I eventually called him out for doing absolutely nothing despite his screeching. 

Awesome Blake!! Great seeing your progress throughout the season.

Looking forward to Eloy’s report too!

Lucarelli's & Castaldi Gran Prix p/b Verge

Quick way too long report:

• JP on the 1/2/3 race
• Blake in the 5s
• Greg, Joe, myself and about 35ish other riders in the 3/4
• This race is kinda unique as it is not part of the series
• So it did not have any sprints, we are just straight up racing for whoever many laps
• Also, they'll have separate results for Master 45+ (watch this space)
• I wonder if the race will be slow and boring, without the sprints/kom moments, but that's not at all what happens
• Post race Greg mentions that we were either moving at 20 mph or 28 mph, no in between
• My goal is to stay in the front and mixed it in if possible
• There's a guy wearing a jersey I don't recognize
• Matt Hallock, racing for a team from Sweden, 
• Matt attacks first time on the hill
• Takes about the full lap to catch him, altho I fully expected we would...
• He then attacks again, now brings another guy
• This will continue multiple times, bringing a few people more peeps everytime
• This would force the pack behind to race hard and bring the moves back
• I am often and the front and trying to bridge/chase, and frankly just having so much fun racing bikes
• At some point someone is on my wheel "close it!" and I'm like, "dude you know how old I am??"
• I tell myself to stay on Matt's wheel and go next time he does
• But no way, I have to pay the price of the chases, and can't keep up when he goes full blast
• This group is 4 peeps, which then turns into 8
• Takes 2 laps to bring it back, literally as we get the bell, 
• Before we do, Greg Garret (Veselka) and Matt Solina (Swatt) had countered and will stay away
  
• Kissenista Greg gets towards the front in the last lap and I stay glued to his wheel
• Matt even attacks one more around the zoo, effectively making the last hill longer
• Greg will cross the line P14 with me on his wheel and Joe close behind
• Good enough for me to get P2 in the Masters 45+
• Also, there was this quick post race moment where Tom thought I had won Masters, so that's how it feels to wait for the photo finish, haha
• Matt commented post race that he likes attacking as he thinks he doesn't have a good sprint, I'm like "wut, dude, seriously" 
• Probably the most fun I've had racing bikes in PP in a while!
• Hungry Ghost Coffee post race hangs forever a highlight!

Let's go race bikes!

POV 50 seconds Video (needed more broll):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCR6uJmKSs

Photos by Blake and James Reeder:

...

Congratualtions to Eloy for a great race! This was my second race of the year - after a year of post-crash doctor visits, PT, "letting my body heal", and some soul searching about whether or not I really needed to, or should be, racing bicycles at the tender age of 63. Did I still have enough drive to put in the training miles necssary to just hang on in a race? Did I have the confidence to ride shoulder to shoulder in a race, knowing that a crash could happen at any moment? Aren't there other ways to get the benefits of bicycling that don't involve racing? Racing after that much time off felt pretty much like starting over again as a new Cat 5. My confidence and race instincts were defintely off. I felt myself drifting off the front to a spot near the back where the riders weren't packed so tight. Conditioning wise, I felt pretty good. I have a better sense of when to train hard and when to rest than when I started racing. Still, I had a pretty good sense that I was going to start to fade in the final laps, but tried to keep in mind that everyone else is struggling at that point as well. A big, important thing I need to redevelop is turning off my brain when it starts sending those "Pain! Stop what you're doing!" signals, and ride through it. It definitely got tough holding on at the back, and in the end I finished 5 minutes off of the winning time; nothing to brag about, but good enough to convince me that a return was possible, and that I still enjoyed getting out there and racing bikes. We have a great group of strong, consistent, and experienced Cat 3/4's and some strong and eager Cat 5's. I'm hoping that I can stay healthy, train consistently and be of some help to the team in future races. 

This year's race calendar is out! As per @newyorkcyclingnews:

March 9
March 30
April 6
April 20
June 7
July 12
August 2
August 16

I'll put them in the Kissena Gcal tonight. Stay tuned for a tactics session and the skills and drills rides we'll do this spring.

Sign up to volunteer for reg desk for the first race March 9!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfbaEGDagKqwOxoVO8-n8l5FaIWUlxY4ghCees_uE_7kFO7-w/viewform?usp=header

Attendance?

I'm in the 3-4 and expecting to get dropped. In it for the post race coffee and hangs.

Debating on racing the new bike or sticking with the old.

Realized I was posting in the wrong race series thread, but yes, think I will be there in the 3-4.

I will join you both!

@KevinWomack did you buy the timing chip too? Appears we need to have that now if you don't already (I do not)

I have one from last year 

@MaxBucksbaum the KOM and and sprint points might be restricted to timing chips since they're the most accurate. Be prepared to install in the morning - I'll bring some spare innertube so you don't bork up your fork finish.

You definitely need the timing chip for Sprint/KOM. They have a marshal there to make sure everything is kosher, but the timing is 100% based on chip times.

Looking forward to some good race reports/pictures/videos! Sad I won't be able to join this squad of hitters!

@David Yang I bought the chip as an add on- figured I would maybe just have it in jersey pocket for this one, but maybe it doesn't read well from there. I also have spare tube but its butyl and kind of thick, may just go buy some electrical tape today

@David Yang
@MaxBucksbaum
Do you wanna do some PP laps tomorrow am? I'd be up for cycling down there.

FWIW, I've always found zip ties to be better than tubes for attaching he timing chips.  The tubes tend to rip.

MaxBucksbaum said:

@David Yang I bought the chip as an add on- figured I would maybe just have it in jersey pocket for this one, but maybe it doesn't read well from there. I also have spare tube but its butyl and kind of thick, may just go buy some electrical tape today

To state the obvious, the jersey pocket chip should work, but you will be a serious disadvantage for everyone that has it in the fork