race report

getting out of the elevator, realize i forgot to top off my tubes.  dismiss this concern even though the last time i topped them off i purposely underinfliated because i was headed to FBF.  even though i had the time to go upstairs and put in more air.  ah, hindsight

as adam and i pedaled resolute over terrain that would strain NASA's choicest rovers, that is to say flatbush avenue, i heard the terrible hiss.  the snakebite you only want to hear from your competitors.  we pull over.  first tire change happens in short order.  unfortunately, in my pump-stroking excitement i failed to properly hold the pump: excessive force on the valve head leads to a pinch flat where the valve meets the tube.  careless error.  brendan, 0; life, 1.

no problem!  i've got another tube.  in a box, even.  so fresh.  i proceed with normal tube replacement procedure, inflating first to around 20 psi then verifying that all is seated correctly.  i notice a strange bulge.  i attempt to reseat the bead around the bulge.  commence pumping.

and then the tire explodes in my face.  i guess i didn't reseat the bead properly.  or there was something between the tube and the tire.  i may never know.  the tube looked like someone shot a very small bullet through it.  it sliced the sidewall of my near-new continental 4 season tire.  and my spirits.

equal parts curious and frustrated, i applied a patch to the offending tube.  and in doing so destroyed a sweet picture of a truly fucked tube.

after the second flat, adam and i agreed that he should set off in order to arrive on time.  i hale another cyclist, a junior named josh, who gives me a tube and we discuss how to use a boot to make the tire usable.  mark and wes show up.  mark offers to call a cab.  thank you mark.  i use another tube as a boot but when i get to about 35 PSI i can see that i should not even bother trying to ride the thing under pressure on the Flatbush-roubaix.  the tube is already poking out of the hole.  i started looking around for cabs.

like so many children whose lives will never be the same, i saw an unmarked van with a friendly-looking driver.  words came out of my mouth to the effect of: “are you one of those vans that drives people where they want to go” and she said “yes, i’m working” which gave me a very different impression than i think she intended to communicate.  

turns out she’s been to FBF before for a Guyanese festival.  i paid her five times more than other passengers, $10, so she drives right over to the registration.  unfortunately she misunderstands my directions and nearly runs over people.  “go through the hole in those barriers off to the left side” becomes “go through the cones that are off to the right side of those barriers.”  bless her heart.

Charlie lets me use the loudspeaker to ask anyone if they have a tire.  initially no one bites, but then Malcolm of CIS and his coach/overlord David Lipscomb offer up a Zipp wheel.  at first i thought "what benevolence!" but then he gives me his business card and i realize it's part altruism, part advertising.  doesn’t matter because now i have a rear wheel that has air in it.  he even pinned my number on for me.  (upside down)

i get to the line after they say last call and realize i have no idea if these gears are even going to shift right.  last-minute tuning

the rest of the race was pretty ordinary.  highlights:

• i owe victory to yang's penultimate-straight attack that drew out and burned the legs of the others
• thanks aaron for lending me $15 to race
• a siggi's rider forgot it was the long course and turned instead of going straight. i followed him. people yelled
• i conserved energy for most of the race. 5 laps is really short though.  the guy who told me "i'm saving it for later" when i told him to pull last week told me to pull this week and i said "i'm saving it for later." he laughed
• got the whole thing on my new gopro. will post link to youtube video once i upload it; 1080p video is slow to generate on my computer
• jules is right: looking at the video, i totally thought the finish was the orange cones.  not the giant finish line flag.  was i even out of the saddle at the flag?  i did an awkward sitting acceleration. hahah what a fool
• there was a crash at one point. glad none of our guys were deep in it.  apparently adam had to go around it though, which is slow and never fun
• it didn't dawn on me to ask for a wheel (i just kept asking for a tire), and i don't think lipscomb from CIS was being purely altruistic to give me his (he owned the wheel, but was letting his client/underling/teammate Malcolm use it; maybe he thinks i'll one day pay for coaching services-hah!). but it didn't reflect well on kissena that with the tens of kissena guys there we couldn't manage to get a teammate race ready.  sure: we're more of a laissez-faire club than these for-profit coaching services that call themselves teams (have you seen the ridiculous application to join veloorigin?!).  i'm not comfortable asking people to fork over expensive wheels when they're trying to warm up, and i'm sensitive to the fact that throwing a wheel into a cat5 race is just about the last thing anyone wants to do with their hard-earned hoops ("hey, want to bet $500-1200 that i won't crash?").  i would not expect anyone to do what lipscomb did absent a paid coach relationship.  i'm just pointing out that maybe we should have some sort of system in place for this kind of thing.  something to ponder.  i'm definitely bringing a spare tire from now on.  probably wouldn't have been an issue if we were at a race that a bunch of KCC people drove to.  or that yacks attended.  i hear he doesn't go to the bathroom without bringing an extra set of wheels.

mperlberg said:

@Brendan and David

My comment was not meant to be disparaging. From my vantage point on the corner, David blasted through with about a 1 bike length gap. That forced some other guy to chase who then tried to go around David, but slowly because he'd already used energy to close the gap. Brendan went through David's slipstream and into the clear FTW. So, not textbook, but effective. 

Other observations as I rode parallel to the 5s during my warm-up. 

1) David keeps himself very well positioned. 2-3 guys back (small field) directly on a wheel. 

2) Brendan is in the wind way too much. 

3) Adam is back far enough, but kinda hanging off the side of the pack. This is a pretty ineffective way to draft - but it's exactly what I did when I was a terrified cat 5. You gotta squeeze your way in there and get a proper draft. 

Mark Clifford said:

sorry guys for being a largely ineffective part of the 3/4s.  being my first race in a new category i wanted to make sure that i could at least hang with the big boys.  turns out, apart from the last couple of hundred meters, it was fine.  next week i plan to be in the mix a lot more. and be a lot better at holding position.

Mark Clifford said:

sorry guys for being a largely ineffective part of the 3/4s.  being my first race in a new category i wanted to make sure that i could at least hang with the big boys.  turns out, apart from the last couple of hundred meters, it was fine.  next week i plan to be in the mix a lot more. and be a lot better at holding position.

regarding the floyd virus.  last night my eyes were horribly red and itchy, like andy's.  plus, i seem to have contracted some kind of weird cold / allergy thing.  i suspect it'll be a matter of hours before this happens...

I think you guys who are upgrading and jumping into your first races, should have confidence that you belong there and you can compete in your FIRST race in the new category. Don't waste that first race, "just seeing if you could hang." Of course you can. You can do better than that. You can race! This is a mental hurdle for y'all to leap, nothing more.

I caught a DNF yesterday, and was happy to do so.  Can't stress enough that this isn't a 5k fun run - it isn't about finishing or finishing with the pack - it's about winning points, chasing breaks, helping the team or working on your weaknesses.

If you can't help the team then help yourself with the little steps along the way.  Pick three or two or even ONE THING to work on for the race and then tell people about your goals and the progress you made towards them.

Riding comfortably in the pack, moving up without burning matches, being "not first" to chase a break, cornerning, communicating, riding in the break, getting caught from the break and not being so blown you can't get back on... these are all critical skills to hone.

The more clearly you can articulate what you are trying to learn the better you'll be able to "study"

People give CIS a hard time but their motto is right on "Train with a Purpose" so if you aren't sure what you should be doing at a race corner a mentor or a senior rider and ask.  This club is an unbelievable store of racing expertise - take advantage of it!

@Brendan
I don't travel to races with spare tires. It's just not usually done, so don't call out the club and your teammates for NOT having something that is unusual.

Andrew Da Silva said:

Race report for the 3/4 finale... Somehow John and I made it through that moshpit of a field sprint. Moved up on the outside in the final turn. The Yellow jersey just had better position. When I saw him jump I followed but he had a good gap. Pulled John to the line and held on for third. Awesome work everyone on those green jersey sprints. I was only really helpful in the first one where I swept johns wheel and edged out the current points leader at the line. For those who race track It felt like I was playing devil in a elimination race. I was hacking up all kinds of crazy stuff this morning...