Very big (and fast) shoes to fill Ben Fino!

Miss you already Jill

Good luck Jill! For those of you that don't know, Jill did a ton of heavy lifting for the club over the last year. When she wasn't storming off the front for legendary solo wins she was organizing the women's team, managing kit orders, new member rides and generally making things happen. A big thank you Jill, I really appreciate all the hard work you've done for both the women's team and our club.

Just a reminder that we still have (I say optimistically) Alice, Delna, Ulrike, Julie, Tatyana, Kaley, Daniella. I'm hopeful Ben can help us field a killer women's team in 2017. Cheers.

It saddens me that my first "act" as president is to say goodbye to you Jill. In addition to being a great addition to the club you've done an amazing job as membership chair. The work you put into it was appreciated by all our members - whether they told you directly or not. We wish you continued luck and success in your growth as a racer. On a more personal note I hope you find your way to our group rides. Once a kissena always a kissena. 

Thanks, everyone! I hope to see you on a group ride soon!

So this message is long overdue and many might not even know who the heck I am but I thought i'd post however given the recent reminder that my membership will be expiring at the end of February and I don't know if my forum access will continue....

Thank you Kissena. I love you all. I miss you all. I will always be grateful for how this club taught me how to race bikes and if wasn't for Jill and Jeff I might have never joined. 

If you're in London, let me know. I've probably got a bike you can borrow (+44 7964318273). If I'm in NYC I've got a couple of numbers to try and ride with some of my favourite cyclists.

See you around guys.

Kissena - I'm bummed to announce that I'm leaving the team. My road ambitions have changed to a less-Kissena direction and after being invited to join a small team with some very old friends, it felt like the right decision to make, even though it was a hard one. 

I've had a lot of fun times with this group and seriously can't thank y'all enough for being generous enough to share your wisdom. You're doing good things for the NYC Cycling community. Even though I'll be in different kit, I'll always be cheering Kissenas on. See you on 9W.

Good luck!  What team?  Change is healthy...and inevitable 

twoyacks said:

Good luck!  What team?  Change is healthy...and inevitable 

Thanks! 'Two Seconds Ahead' is the new name (previously Hatchmap) of the team that recruited me. They're cx-only so I'll be racing road with Coalition.

I'll see you at the cross races @RileyHoonan with Greg and Rick!

All the best Riley!!!

Sad to see you go Riley and best of luck!

@RileyHoonan been missing you. enjoyed riding w you last year and hope to see u at some CX races this Fall. 

Hey Kissenas! Wanted to let everyone know that I've been extended an invitation to join a smaller local team (tobedetermined.cc) and will be finishing out my season and racing cx with them as of this weekend's Prospect Park race. I'm starting to get really into this bikes thing and think this is an opportunity worth pursuing. 

I want to thank everyone that I've raced / ridden / talked on the forum with over the past year! When I joined Kissena a year ago I knew almost nothing about bikes and bike racing, and I attribute any small success I've had to the knowledge transferred down from all of you. Kissena has an amazing infrastructure for new racers and I will continue advocate for Kissena and encourage riders interested in racing to go on recruitment rides, because I really don't think there is a better way to get into the sport. 

So yeah, thanks for everything! I'd love to stay in touch and am always down for a 9w ride - my number is (954)540-2092. Seeya on the road/park/strava!

See you on the road @SebastianVidal

I can't say that I am at all surprised @SebastianVidal - you are a natural talent! Best of luck with this new adventure.

KCC — I wanted to let everyone know that I decided to ride for Redbeard Racing this coming season. After significant deliberation, I decided this was a good direction for me given i) my focus on track racing  (for those who don’t know, Redbeard’s race team is track centric), and ii) how much I adore Kasia and Ilya. We are so lucky to have such a fantastic sponsor. 

I will be back and want to stay close to all of you. KCC is a fantastic platform for all types of riders. I’ve thorougly enjoyed hanging with ya’ll, tapping into the club’s vast wealth of knowledge, and of course trolling the vanilla forum. 

I’ve met and became friends with many amazing people. Learned a lot these last 1.5 ish years and am certainly a smarter and stronger rider bc of the training program and all of you.

I hope there will be some degree of organic crossover w Redbeard and all, but I will certainly reach out to peeps to do one off rides and stuff.

Hope to see some of you at the track next year!

Thanks Kissena  

I will miss your playful banter.   I may see you at the velodrome....I'll be the guy on the Thunderdome with the orange POC passing you on the right...

As I'm sure most of you have heard by now, I'm going to be moving back to the Bay Area. Sunday, in fact. Jill will be staying here in Brooklyn until April to finish up at work.

It is with a heavy heart that I leave Kissena, as it is my first and only bike racing team, and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. There are so many memories of races, rides, and just hanging out with really good people. I have lifelong friends on this club. I am proud of this club. I am so very proud of this club. Keep doing it right, ladies and gentlemen. I look forward to riding with you all back here when I visit NYC and in California should any of you find your way out there and want to ride. Oh, and above all, thank you.

I am hosting a going away party at Loki in Park Slope this Saturday at 4 p.m. I'll be there until around 8. Anyone is welcome, so come on by and we'll reminisce.

This makes me sad....

Come back zinc, come back!

https://media.giphy.com/media/l2JedXZ4nP20npVXG/giphy.gif

Jeffrey White said

It is with a heavy heart that I leave Kissena,

I was hoping to be racing with you in the local 1/2/3 races this season.

Sad owl.

I can't make Loki, but urge you to find the gear and come out and ride on Sunday.    

Jeff’s flight is at 11am Sunday 

JillWhite said:

Jeff’s flight is at 11am Sunday 

FAKE NEWS !!!!!

JillWhite said:

Jeff’s flight is at 11am Sunday 

6am BB - ride to Floyd - he takes uber to JFK. Done. (Except I'll be skiing)

Super sad to see Jeff (&Jill though seems we have a little more time with her) leave. It's been a pleasure to ride, race and serve on the board with you.

Jeff is the reason I joined Kissena. Here we are after a rain soaked finish to the TOC... what have we gotten ourselves into? I think that was the same year he was run off the course by a herd of stampeding horses.

Goes without saying you'll both be sorely missed Jill and Jeff. It's been a pleasure to get to know you guys over the years and I admire how you've both driven hard to take it to the next level, all the while doing great things for the club. Big thanks from us all. And lest we forget you're sacrificing your lucrative Kissena modelling careers...  
Cheers, and also we're heading to 'Frisco (don't ever call it that) on the 19th if you forgot your undies or something.

Will miss that wheel.

Dropping some Lao Tzu...

it's a shame your not driving to Cali...cuz I found the perfect helmet for that...

@JohnMalcolmson if you want to ride the weekend of the 19th, let us know! I’ll be out there too and have rented a bike from sports basement since there is some thief riding around the Bay on my Madone currently.