K.C.C... Nice one Adam!

Greetings from uncharacteristically sunny Portland, Oregon!

"Are from New York?" ask many people who see me in a Kissena kit around town. I wear it with pride and I've been doing pretty well on the awesome race circuit here, placing in the top three in every race I've done. The greatest compliment I received from a fellow racer at Portland International Raceway, a butter-smooth course that is the antithesis of FBF, was that "racing on Monday nights really changed" since I arrived. That's cuz I spice things up real nice.

After a couple of years of Dale, John Malcolmson, Jim Nelson, Jules, and others telling me to try stuff--"just try it, what's the worse that can happen?"--I finally get it. It's WAY more fun to race when you start breaks, go from the whistle and generally make yourself and others work harder. More reason to be infinitely grateful for my time with Kissena.

While I've only been back in my hometown for a month, I quickly identified the strong team that works together. I was flattered when they asked me to join their ranks. As of this coming CX season, which will be absolutely MENTAL so I'm told, I'll be racing with Olympia Cycling Team.

Olympia is also a beer, so in addition to racing, there will be a fair amount of drinking and shenanigans--appropriate for a place like Portland, I guess. The kit isn't as classy as Kissena's, but I'm a fan of the horseshoe. 

So while this is by no means goodbye, I wanted to again express my thanks to everyone on Kissena for teaching me the rules of the road, that pain can be be good and for making me a full-blown cycling addict. I joined Kissena with a crappy bike and no competitive ambitions; I now have an awesome network of cyclist friends, six bikes and start every single day thinking about riding, racing and winning. THANK YOU!

I dunno Kayt, this is pretty sweet.

Good luck, Kayt! Not that you'll need it.

As an aside, I always get a little pit in my stomach when I see the Farewell thread bubble to the top of the forum  

Don't worry Jeff, I'm still here for you.

As some of you know, I made the decision a few weeks ago to race CX with KindHuman-Pactimo. I met some of the guys at cross practice, and given that we'd be racing the same fields, it made sense to race together because racing is more fun with teammates. Unknown to me, though, was that this is apparently not permitted by KCC (even though it's permitted by USAC and many, many other teams). I was given an ultimatum, and since racing is more fun with teammates, I'm being forced to leave Kissena effective immediately. It's been a blast riding and racing with many of you, and I'm sure I'll see some of you on the road and in the dirt.

Farewell Adam, we look forward to cheering for you in your new kit.

On the topic of riding for other teams...

Members in good standing are entitled to all the benefits including sponsorship discounts and access to special programs like Training Peaks.

If people want to ride for other teams, they forfeit Kissena member benefits.

If you have questions about member benefits, membership, or anything else to do with how the club is run please reach out to one of your board members:

Jules Roazen President
Theirry Bonnaire VP
Phil Marronilla Membership
Craig Zolan Sponsorship
Bruce Van Schalkwyk
David Yang Treasurer
Dale Suttle Development
Jeff White Public Relations
John Malcolmson Technology

Hey Kissena-- 

Sadly haven't been on the bike much at all since our little guy, Max, was born in May.

His arrival conincided with a bunch of other stuff that made my wife and I think that, just maybe, now is the time that we act on those thoughts of leaving NYC that we'd been having for two years.  Soooooo.... we are relocating to Houston, TX.  Which is a bit of a bizarre place, but makes sense on a lot of family levels.

Kissena's been great  The timing never quite worked out for me to get as into racing, or as consistent with training, as i'd wanted to over the last 2 years, but i learned a tremendous amount and really appreciated the mentoring and compatriotship of the team.  Will be glad to be rocking some ever-fraying old kit in Texas as ride some very, very, very flat terrain.

Selling some kit over on the sale/trade thread.

Be good y'all!  

Dave, its been good riding with you. Best of luck in Houston.

Good luck hoss

See ya, Dave! It's been fun.

Dave its been great riding with you over the years, bleary eyed in the mornings and dreaming of warmer days during the early spring. Good luck and stay in touch!

#kissenadaves

Hey everyone, its bitter sweet to be posting here. About 4 years ago I joined Kissena in part because I had the pleasure of re-designing the kits with Ros Knopov and also in part because Kissena's reputation in the NYC cycling community was legendary. Though I’d been riding since I was a kid I’d never been on a cycling club/team or even raced before. Being part of Kissena was an amazing learning experience for me. Getting a chance to ride along side really experienced riders and just down right good people has been awesome. Kissena was a great place for me to get my feet wet training, racing and pushing myself as a cyclist. Doing Battenkill two years ago was literally a life changing experience. I never knew I could be in so much pain and have so much fun at the same time! But even more the dinners, friendship and support surrounding that race was something that Kissena does best! 

Last year I got bitten by the track bug (who would’ve thought turning left could be that much fun!) and put in a solid season. The track is proving to be a place where I’m finding my groove as a rider and focusing most of my energy. 

As some of you may know Redbeard Bikes has launched a new race team with a focus on the track. I’ve been invited to join the team and though it was a tough decision to leave Kissena, the prospect of improving myself at the track with a group of riders who I really respect and look up to is an opportunity I don’t think I can pass up.

I’m looking forward to this new opportunity with Redbeard Bikes and hope to stay in touch with you all! I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for those white and orange jerseys out on the track or road!

See you on the track, Graydon! 

We'll miss you Graydon!

Team,

At the end of the year my family and I are moving to Duluth, MN. We are having All.The.Feels. about this, but ultimately more good/excitement than regret & sadness.

When I think about the things I'll miss most about living here - Kissena and the friends I've made racing and riding are very, very high on the list.

The good news is I'll be riding my Mtn Bike a lot and will still be on the forum from time to time.

If you'd like to join me for a farewell ride I'll be doing River Road on November 5th. (8am Brooklyn Bridge meetup)

So, a fond Au revoir. Thank you all for six amazing years of camaraderie. In case you are ever wondering - there are no other teams like Kissena. Keep making it amazeballs!

Stay warm!

Jules you better be planning on riding this.

http://www.almanzo100.bike/

Dan Reiners said:

Jules you better be planning on riding this.

http://www.almanzo100.bike/

I am

18oct16
Jules&Family,
ALL the Best..youALL will be missed &Kissena has been he better for you, your insights, grit, guts and comraderie! be well, stay warm...&come back! -harryB;-) 

@Jules - good luck with everything in your new city. Glad to have met and raced with you a few times.

Hey Kissena’s,

This note comes bittersweet, but this is my last week in NYC.  Some of you know already that I’ve been weighing a move to Houston with my company and in October I accepted the position.  I’m certainly sad to go but very excited for the opportunity.

 Man, Kissena will be my greatest memory of (my first round) living in NYC.  I joined summer of 2015 and wish I had found you guys much sooner. I got much better at cycling, picked up racing and am loving it.  You all have been super supportive with mentorship and I’ve met fantastic teammates.  Can’t say enough about Redbeard Bikes and their support, their shop is one-of-a-kind.

Do not fret however, as I won’t begin sitting on my butt and scarfing down barbecue.  Although I am moving to a city known for being consumed with poor cycling infrastructure, aggressive pick-up drivers and oppressive heat 6 months out of the year, it has a great race scene.  Not only in Houston, but also in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.  I’ve already joined a shop team, Ham Cycles (https://hamcycles.com/), a group of 40 or so racing levels Cat 3, 4 and 5.  I’m looking forward to maintaining my progression, mastering crits and wind and am super stoked that racing already starts in January.  If you want to do some winter training by all means hit me up … I certainly have space to host J  I’ll also be around on the forum so I look forward to updates on training schemes, great race reports and I’ll keep you up to date on mine.

 Finally, my company is maintaining its office in NYC.  I will be back from time to time.  I plan on making at least a Central Park / Prospect Park / Floyd race next summer, and will absolutely be at the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont on Labor Day weekend. 

 Thursday evening will be my last night in NYC for the time being; look forward to seeing you all at the Year End Party, 2016 edition!

Bring back some of that Texas racing sauce back to NYC when you come back. Sad to see you go, but congrats on the career progress!

Dear Kissena,

I also have a bittersweet goodbye to say.  After giving it a good shot at trying to start up a women's contingent this past year and succeeding at keeping only one additional active woman teammate (thanks Alice!), I have decided to move on.  After turning down offers this fall to join Radical Media, Rockstar, Dave Jordan, and even Redbeard Racing; I've been offered a spot that I'm really stoked about and feel that I need to give it a chance.  I've decided to join ex-Kissena BrittLee's team Velo Classic p/b Stan's No Tubes.  It will give me a chance to ride with a group of 13 really strong women.  I will be 1 of 2 cat 3s on the team, so there will be a lot of motivation to improve and train hard.  

My time on Kissena has been great.  I appreciate all of the mentoring and support that I've gotten since I started racing in August, 2015.  It's always nice to see a friendly face at races and on the road.  I do hope that we can still ride together occasionally.  Please give a shout out if you would ever like to ride.  Otherwise, I will probably tag along with Jeff occasionally, so I will likely see you then.  

Again, it's very sad to be saying goodbye, but I'm excited to see what's ahead! Please continue to say hello at races or on the road.  I will miss you guys!

All the best,
Jill

Sad to see you go, Jill, but super stoked to see you continue to crush it with a totally badass team. I will try my best to fill your large shoes as membership director, and continue to fight the good fight of getting more gender diversity going in Kissena!

best wishes Jill. Kissena will miss you immensely.