@Dusan - not sure if you check the forums but I hope you're feeling better after the crash.

Your bike is safe and sound in my basement, thanks to Lt. Dan's skillful 2-bike handling skills (learned as a young bike thief in southern Cali?)

In case you lost my contact info you can ping me at davidestearns@gmail.com or 718.501.8666 when you want to retrieve it. Seems in pretty good working order - the rear wheel was jammed a bit.

Heal up & we'll see you out there soon.

What happened to Dusan?
Head a little fuzzy now and still a bit forzen...but I have warm memories from this morning. Lt. Dan not only has new legs, but he now has the GREEN JERSEY! Some excellent Kissena train work, a bit of chicanery on my party to draw out the wheelsuckers and Dan closed the door in the 1sr sprint. The 2nd sprint left Dan a bit too far from the line and he hung on for 3rd. But his points are starting to stack up. Volback went out for about 2 laps with 1 guy with him...Impressive...really impressive condsidering his raids are no longer a surprise. Jules and Ryan lit up after that in the penultimate lap but wer reeled. I got on Jules' wheel in the finale and we came up on Christian and put him in good position, but again we dropped him a bit too far out & I think hergot swamped. I am convinced we can nail the finale lead out with 3 or four guys....hitting the showers...yacks

This just in:

Ricky Lowe has lots of mental problems.

But it was a fun, relatively safe race. And I think we did a lot of good things. Just starting the lead outs waaaaaaaaaaay too soon.

Next time!

What happened to Dusan?
Head a little fuzzy now and still a bit forzen...but I have warm memories from this morning. Lt. Dan not only has new legs, but he now has the GREEN JERSEY! Some excellent Kissena train work, a bit of chicanery on my party to draw out the wheelsuckers and Dan closed the door in the 1sr sprint. The 2nd sprint left Dan a bit too far from the line and he hung on for 3rd. But his points are starting to stack up. Volback went out for about 2 laps with 1 guy with him...Impressive...really impressive condsidering his raids are no longer a surprise. Jules and Ryan lit up after that in the penultimate lap but wer reeled. I got on Jules' wheel in the finale and we came up on Christian and put him in good position, but again we dropped him a bit too far out & I think hergot swamped. I am convinced we can nail the finale lead out with 3 or four guys....hitting the showers...yacks

Yes...Ricky Lowe...very impressive screaming at a guy who you out weigh by 100 lbs. I don't see him having that "conversation" with W.D.C. if he had won..may have been a little "roid-rage". I didn't see what happened in that race but William told me he took his hands off his bars and pushed him. Either way, screaming at another guy after the race violates the most sacred unwritten rule....there is NO crying in baseball!

It will be GREAT to see Dan wearing that green jersey. He's been showing up at these races, acting as road captain, and helping others for a long time. It is well deserved.

Big kudos also to Yacks, without whom it couldn't have happened. He's a great teammate. Selfless and strong like bull.

Quick report for now. I was 4th across the line today after a break that lasted the last 6 laps. We protested the winner who attacked through the joggers lane in the sprint and I'm pretty sure they DQ'd him, so maybe 3rd, but I didn't stick around to find out (I was freeeeezing).

The break was started by Ragot attacking at the base of the hill. I positioned myself near the front to let gaps open so they could establish it. By the start finish line, it seemed like Ragot was at the back of the group and possibly leaving the group. I bridged across.

The break really shouldn't have stayed away, but my teammates in the field did an excellent job of blocking and disrupting the chase. We ended up finishing with a tiny tiny gap. I had to really fight to hang on for my position, I was hurting and cramping like crazy.

Thanks dudes!

It will be GREAT to see Dan wearing that green jersey. He's been showing up at these races, acting as road captain, and helping others for a long time. It is well deserved.

Big kudos also to Yacks, without whom it couldn't have happened. He's a great teammate. Selfless and strong like bull.

Huge Thanks to All the Kissena Cat 4s. I would not be in the green if it wasn't for the work you all did. Yacks, David Stern and Jim Nelson turned themselves inside-out to make it happen. They killed it, and all I had to do was finish the job. Looking forward to defending this for the series.

Not all of our plans worked and sometimes we missed the communication, but I think we learned some more. I totally believe we have to do leadout practice some more. Maybe there will be some time this week to put in a couple leadout practices in PP. Especially for the KOM and the finale. I think we can do a better job there, but you all killed yourselves and it seems we are going too early. Next time, we have to be patient. It is hard to be patient and go hard, like being a calm pond on the outside with a hurricane on the inside.

I'm a so fucking happy to see Dan in the green!

I don't think Dusan checks the forum, and I can't find a phone number for him.

This is the email I have for him: djstrika@optonline.net

I have no idea how the crash happened.

Posted By: twoyacksYes...Ricky Lowe...very impressive screaming at a guy who you out weigh by 100 lbs.

Highlights for me included:

"Don't FUCKING curse at me! You hear me?! Don't FUCKING curse at me!"

"I'm a man first! Got it? We race bikes together but I'm a MAN FIRST!"

"You and me got problems. From now on in a race you see me on one side you be on the other side. That's a THREAT!"

It was embarrassing.

Perls...the view from the sidelines was awesome! It's strange how a 44 mile race turns into a game of inches. I thought the break was gone but alas there are no certainties. Love watching the sprinters get foiled! yacks

That guy showed his true colors today. I guess Ricky hasn't heard of all these anti-bullying campaigns... I was embarrassed for him. I would like to know who taught him the definition a "a man".

Dan...if you can find some green frames for your glasses that would be PIMP !!!

nice work today, dudes

i want to give a BIG shout out to Malcolmson, who blocked liked a PRO in the last 4-5 laps, covering all kinds of moves (even on the hill) when Ragot and I were tired and helpless. I kept on telling him to chill and save it, but he totally committed to helping Mike's break stick and it paid off.

welcome to the 123's - super glad you're here!

Re: racing thugs. We gotta reach out to Charlie on this. Last season at Floyd I got pushed and shoved around by We Stand Uniteds and Rickey too. Taking your hands off your bars is a flagrant violation of the rules. Those guys think they own the sprint and if anyone gets in their way they will stop at nothing to literally push you out of the way. I'd send Charlie and email myself, but haven't been the victim this year, and the only time I send him an email, it seems like I've got something negative to say.

thanks marc

it was really not a pleasant interaction, either on the bike or off it.

with about 600meters to go, i was about 8 wheels back in the chasing peloton. ricky decided that he wanted my spot, so he put a giant hand on my side and just shoved me out of the line. it wasn't like he rode next to me and stuck his elbows out and forced me over . . . he just plain pushed me across the road.

the conversation that followed was ridiculous. i went over to him after the race (and after reporting it to maurice) and told him calmly that pushing me off wasn't ok and was very dangerous. it went to 60mph pretty fast, because apparently calling him out on his push was a deeply offensive to him as a racer AND AS A MAN!!!

thank you, christian, for stepping up behind me when ricky was starting to get really nuts (informing me that he's going to fuck me up if he sees me in the street) and providing some backup.

wow peeps gotta stop doping.

Congrats the the successful results, sorry to hear about the bs in the end.

the race itself was super awesome. mike got away with 5 or 6 to go, and like he says, that move SHOULD NOT have worked, but Kissena put on an award show of blocking, totally frustrating some fancy teams and buying Von Bismarck (is that what we call him these days?) the rope he needed, cause we know he's a CLOSER!

nice work, dudes.

Mike is an inferno! So great watching that stick and Kissena NOT getting the break dickspot.

Yeah, Ricky was my first real in-person witness of 'roid rage. Or adult tempter tantrum, ala 10 yr old. I don't think he had any idea that dozens of people were laughing at him.

From my perspective threatening other racers should be grounds for being eliminated from the series. Come back when you want to behave like an adult.

An open handed shove during a Pro123 leadout should get your fucking USAC license removed.

Way not cool; 2x so if our team is sponsoring a series that puts up with that behavior.

Jules I agree....you can not have people running around threatening other riders who lodge complaints with the race marshall. It's intimidation, plain and simple.

Another thing we could do, is to, as a club, use our numbers, and boycott the Mango Seed series, and let them know that their behavior (Ricky is riding for them this year, I think), is not acceptable.

Hey guys,

I'm not sure we need to jump to roid rage, it could just be a temper thing.

There is only one serious course of action involving 2 steps.

1)Inform Charlie
2)Contact the police and make a complaint.

No joke, if this guy threatened you verbally this is the only recourse. This is not about bike racing/lead outs/L&C cup. It's about breaking the law. He has broken the law and should therfore be treated as a (suspected; innocent until guilty and all that jazz) criminal.

great racing guys. important news first: dusan went down at the bottom of the hill right where it squeezes before the turn. dan and i found him - waited around until he got picked up by the PS ambulance guys. he just stopped by my place to retrieve his mostly unscathed bike - his face is pretty banged up, took some stitches, but nothing broken apparently.

i think owens is probably right, that the leadout started too soon. on the other hand - at least for the sprint primes - just the fact that we're organized and working together at all is paying huge dividends, because no one else seems to be doing it. on the second prime, where we probably went even earlier than the first, we were rolling past 2 dudes in Foundation kits and I clearly heard one say to the other "that's a nice sprint train."

yacks and jim were the real heros in the lead outs - jim setting the early tempo, and yacks was like a friggin' rocket when he went past me taking dan to the line. i was just trying to hold wheels and keep the speed high...glad i could contribute (YES!!).

i think in hindsight i probably could have put on more of a burst at the end, but dan was in my ear yelling "keep it steady!" i also need to figure out how to stay latched on after that second sprint when I'm totally gassed, to help Christian etc....at the end. (Ryan helped after the first sprint by yelling at me - KEEP GOING! thanks for the reminder!)

will be great to see dan in green in a couple of weeks - chapeau!

guys:

i appreciate the solidarity on this shitty interaction.

marc: you are my homeboy, but i do not believe boycotting the Mango Seed series is useful.

i will be writing to Charlie about what happened today, both in the race and after. i'll post it here before i send it to him so we can get the talking points straight, because i would like som e support/corroboration from anyone who witnessed it. that said, i was extremely foggy right after the race and i can't remember word-for-word what Ricky said to me. i do remember the line that Jeff posted in the other L&C Cup thread: "You and me got problems. From now on in a race you see me on one side you be on the other side. That's a THREAT!" but i don't remember exactly what he said about seeing me on the street and fucking me up.

on the surface, ricky's entire complaint/reaction was that i had cursed at him after he pushed me (i asked him "what the fuck are you doing?"). of course, he completely denied pushing me afterwards! it was definitely an over-the-top attempt to intimidate me and was extremely inappropriate.

Reposting from main L&C thread:

dusan was a bit banged up but fine - no major injuries.

he went down at the bottom of the hill right where it squeezes before the turn. dan and i found him - waited around until he got picked up by the PS ambulance guys and taken off to hospital.

he just stopped by my place to retrieve his mostly unscathed bike - his face took some stitches, and had his bell rung, but nothing broken luckily.

from 1/2/3 L&C thread:

Posted By: WilliamDC
guys:

i appreciate the solidarity on this shitty interaction.

marc: you are my homeboy, but i do not believe boycotting the Mango Seed series is useful.

i will be writing to Charlie about what happened today, both in the race and after. i'll post it here before i send it to him so we can get the talking points straight, because i would like som e support/corroboration from anyone who witnessed it. that said, i was extremely foggy right after the race and i can't remember word-for-word what Ricky said to me. i do remember the line that Jeff posted in the other L&C Cup thread: "You and me got problems. From now on in a race you see me on one side you be on the other side. That's a THREAT!" but i don't remember exactly what he said about seeing me on the street and fucking me up.

on the surface, ricky's entire complaint/reaction was that i had cursed at him after he pushed me (i asked him "what the fuck are you doing?"). of course, he completely denied pushing me afterwards! it was definitely an over-the-top attempt to intimidate me and was extremely inappropriate.

Word has it Ricky suddenly got "civility" when Christian rolled by. Big props to the Kaiser for a timely intervention.

I totally support a formal avenue of protest to Charlie (and the police) on this. I have no interest in racing in a series that tolerates that kind of behavior.