I'll be lurking around this ride doing some openers.

@perlberg i will be there.

Wanted to share I thought based on a passing comment I read on the forum.

Mentor-led clinics, workshops, talks are NOT just for beginners or new racers. Many times the participation numbers are such that it's easy to accommodate the skill/experience level of all involved.

So if you are a seasoned vet, cranking out good wattage during training, but having trouble putting it together on race day, consider going to a clinic, or touching base online with a mentor who may be able to break through whatever may be holding you back.

Mentor-led slow group ride (SGR) THIS Sunday the 16th. So, due to some family stuff, I can't make the usual KCC Sunday ride start time. So, I'd like to offer up this, my third official SGR ride of the season.

Route and saddle time to be determined based on interest. I have two suggestions:

1) Giddyup. Saddle River, NJ -- only if you have roughly 3.5 hours GWB to GWB to spare. No easy way to turn back.

And my own, very top-secret, "even-JP-has-never-done-this-exact-route" ride I'll call:

2) Alpine Secrets. What's nice about this ride is that it gives you access to some interesting climbing in nearby Alpine New Jersey. We will never go further North than 1/4 mile south of the northerly exit to the classic Hudson River Road climb to the po-po station. And yet, we'll take in 2 climbs of >5 minutes. There are multiple variations of the ride once we climb back up to 9W including heading home "backwards" on Hudson River Road, or just hustling back on 9W with paceline practice. So if you google map this bad boy in your brain, you can see that it's easily about 45 minutes GWB to GWB (or less, or more depending on how many ways we go up and down the ridge).

Let me know if you are interested in such a thing. Either option.

Marc - what time are you planning on starting the ride ? 

I'd like to join you guys on Sunday, sounds fun!!

For those attending the CP clinic tomorrow, looks like we're going to get rained on a bit. We'll push through it, just consider packing some extra dry layers in a plastic bag for your return trip home and/or whatever ride you had planned after the clinic.

Fenders are always a good thing too when it rains like this. Please bring everything you need to wear to be warm. The bigger the group the more stopping and starting we're going to have to do.

I may be sporting my cyclocross warm-up kit...rain pants, rain coat. You'll recognize me by the beard.

Also we're meeting at the traditional start finish on top of Cat's Paw Hill on the East Side.

Wanted to send a big thanks out to Mike for tonight's Prospect Park ride, and to Eric who took us through a lap to get us warmed up and pointed out spots on the course to keep in mind during a race.  On each lap, we picked up more people until there were 9 of us, Mike pointed out places in the park to pick up spots or make breaks, we did a group rotating paceline, broke into groups for another lap of paceline drills, and then a couple of lead-outs with groups of 3.  And, yeah, that was every heavy dinner this winter I felt.  And thanks to Jeff White, as well.  

I second Bruce. Thanks Mike & Jeff W! Was good to meet some of the new folks.

So for Sunday's late SLOW group ride...looks like 10:30 a.m. on the Jersey side of the GWB meet-up time is the best I'm going to be able to do. Again, we've got two options. I guess we'll decide our route then.

(Of course, if you can make the traditional 9am GWB meet-up, ride to Piermont, up the low road, back on 9W, that ride should be going off as well. No official leader for that ride this week, just show up in your kit, wait a few minutes and head off for fun.)

Cross Post from Kissena Ladies:

Attention KCC racers planning on participating in one or more of the three criteriums in nearby New Jersey this weekend:

Would any of you be interested in having me on site, at the race sites before, during and after YOUR races for guidance, pre-race course breakdown, warm-ups, hot laps, strategy talk, etc?

Sincerely,
The crit guy mentor (gauging interest.)

Yes.

@eragot‌--that is sad.

Kayt and all...let me check my racing calendar. The short answer is "probably." But I need to coordinate with my ToAD and mom-visiting schedules this June.

@Future State Crit Champs. I'm loosely planning on being around and "mentory" all day at White Plains this Sunday. Looks like a tight schedule, so the time for multiple hot laps is going to be before the first race. It's not a super challenging course, but there are a few tough bits where a little black-magic trickery will help. If you can't make it early, there should be time to get in 1 or 2 laps in between races.

Can I get a roll call of who would be interested in some individual/small group attention on this day?

Kayt Mathers said:

Dear Crit Guy @Marc,

I won't be racing in NJ this weekend, but I have the Watermelon Crit (May 30), the Zeppelin Crit (June 14), and the Harlem Crit (June 15) in the calendar. Any chance you might offer a crit clinic/specific wisdom on any of the aforementioned crits on another occasion in the not-too-distant future?

So Harlem...I'm currently signed up only for the big-boy race. And it's close to home, so my family can come later in the day to watch me try to match the outrageous efforts of full-time bike racers and semi-pros alike.

Sooooo, I'll be there during the day to help folks as much as possible giving the schedule. When we get closer to the date, I'll post more specifics. But in general, I think getting to the course before the first race, but after they've closed down the streets is the way to go for practicing hot-laps. JP tells us that there's new traffic furniture to make things more challenging. And if they honestly go with those ridiculous 125-rider field limits (honestly 75 riders on this course is pushing it), a lot of us are going to be in trouble real fast if we're not real ready from the word GO.

Okay, I'm back wearing my mentor/group ride leader hat.

What: SLOW, pre-race group ride, with skills (sprinting, descending, cornering climbing, pacelines).
Where: Jersey side of GWB, through top-secret Alpine/Tenefly passes, to 9W turn right go home.
When: Saturday July 19; 9am Start. 1 hour-ish bridge to bridge
Why: Open up the legs a bit for Sunday, work on some skills, learn some new roads close-ish to home.

Marc - is that a 9am start?

Craig Zolan said:

Marc - is that a 9am start?

Yup, sorry, missed that bit. Although if folks want to rally, it's easier for me to do earlier too. I just want to make this ride "Brooklyn" friendly too.

Hi Marc

Would it be ok with you if I join even though I am still hesitant to do pacelining until my wrist is more solidly healed- not that I've had any accidents that way but just to be on the cautious side.

Daniella.

Daniella, of course. This ride was almost literally designed for you! The whole pace-line thing is more intimidating than it sounds. Just think of it as riding in a straight line, scooching to the left a bit after your face is in the wind for like 3 seconds.

But we're going to take it easy, so no worries. Please come out and join us!

ok, thanks!

I'm totally fine/ actually love/ and no fears with pacelineing but I have to ride as safe as possible for the next short while. My doc warned me that I'm still at risk for fractures which he said he wouldn't be able to do much to help/ fix it...
He probably would not even want me on my bike now, but I'm ok as long as I don't do the city miles.

I'm in unless my schedule changes. What time are we meeting?

9am jersey side of the GWB.