mperlberg said:

Is anyone interested in splitting a hotel for independence cross (formerly beacon) weekend? It looks like they're having 2 races at the same park Saturday and Sunday.

There are lots of affordable hotels in Vineland NJ about 10 miles away. The hampton inn and suites has a 2-queen bed plus sofabed w/ kitchenette that we could easily put 3 folks into  It's $110 per night. There are other cheaper hotel options as well. I'm mostly looking to Stay Saturday night, but if 2 folks wants to head down Friday night as well I might be up for that. 

This is one of my favorite cross races. Sandy trails, big staircase run, beach ride/run. Very fun overall. They have a Cat 4 Master 40+  field for you sandbagging old guys. 

Let me know. 

and so is Bay State

https://www.bikereg.com/Net/baystate-cyclocross-weekend-uci-cat-2-verge-series--9-and-10

mperlberg said:

@Hotlist

What do you have a job and a child or something? The masses await the next edition...

Well, it’s official. With 4 uninterrupted weekends of UCI racing in the books, plus plenty of local action for followers of rule 118, cyclocross season is on track and screaming through fall at full throttle. Hotlist is pleased to report that after two quieter weekends where just a few KCC racers suited up for dirt bike fun, this, the last weekend in September, featured crushing performances in two separate regions by multiple cars of the blue and orange freight train. Let’s take a look at who’s hot and who’s…less hot this week.

1.     Eric Ragot. After being relegated to number 2 for the last few weeks, Eric Ragot comes back after a 2-week hiatus from cross racing and promptly places 4^th in the Master’s 35+ 1/2/3/4 category proving that locally he’s a legitimate podium contender in this competitive category. It’s not all sunshine and roses here though, with a largely local cross schedule planned for 2013, Ragot is officially on notice that top placings in these races (where the top guys are pretty badass and the performance drop off is steep) are going to have to be the norm if he expects to remain #1 on the Hotlist.

2.     Todd McLoughlin. In the battle of the local result vs local result, Todd, much like his sprint line bike toss at Westwood which resulted in a solid 6^th place, this week loses his number one ranking to the reigning double discipline club champion.

3.     Michael Perlberg. Fueled no doubt by a 150th consecutive 3^rd place in the KCC road racing champs, the Prez rages to a 7^th place finish (just behind McLoughlin) at Westwood in the Cat 3 race. An aggressive start got him where he wanted to be early, but a hard fade in the end gave room for the more experienced and steady ‘crosser McLoughlin to finish just ahead of his teammate on two “results” sheets this week.

4.     Joaquin de Baca. Holy-schmoly. 3^rd and 7^th places at Gloucester in the Cat 4/5 35+ race is no joke. After keeping his jets on a low simmer by quietly placing in the top 10 at the deceptively competitive KCC road championships, then mid-pack in the 2/3/4 race at Charm City the next day, JDB and his “Angry Face” were on full rage this weekend on the rocky coast of Massachusetts. For skeptics of the quality of New England Cat 4/5 fields, consider that his crossresults.com pointage for 3^rd (355) would have him placed a rider behind Perlberg (347 points) if he raced the Cat 3s at Westwood.

5.     Patrick Grehan. Dude WINS the Cat 4 40+ race at Westwood. That is all. If you doubt him, he will show you all at Whirlybird where KCC “New England” converges with KCC “MidAtlantic.” Game on.

6.     Jules Roazen. Racing with only one functioning brake on Saturday to finish in 7^th and finishing in front of JDB for 6^th on Sunday in Gloucester, Roazen was “this close” to #5 on the Hotlist this week. He now owns crossresults.com pointage that is squarely sub-400. And if he keeps up this string of top 10s in the most competitive cat 4/5 fields anywhere…he’s going to have to join JDB, WDC, TMcL, M?P in the cat 3s soon.

7.     William Doyle-Capitman. With a 16^th place finish at the Town Hall Cat 3/4 race, our ex-Prez and current purveyor of all things near and dear to him (look for his wife’s keepsakes to get tossed in the Kissena Marketplace soon; JP will promptly purchase them all) might have pulled off one of the weekend’s more surprising performances. Lining up for just one local race this weekend coming through with a strong result, WDC appears to be managing his comeback both carefully and well. It is unclear what, if any, races are in his future. But for now he owns number 7 on the Hotlist.

8.     Jim Feehan. Feehan keeps his standing as one of the club’s best crossers by racking up solid mid-pack (or better) placings in the Mid-atlantic’s category 45+ 1/2/3/4 races week after week. This week at Town Hall, his competition included fellow KCC racers Stokes, Strika, Nelson and new to the sport Harry Edmund Bolick (offering up a rare opportunity for a little head-to-head competition and comparison). Feehan’s 27^th out of 61 starters confirmed his status as the best of Kissena’s 45+ age-groupers.

9.     David Stokes. His 2013 tear continues. This week he’s all like, “screw the Master’s 55+ race, I’m throwing down like it’s 2003.” And throw down he did. Stuffed at the back, he kept the power flowing and hammered his way to a 30^th place finish in the 45+ 1/2/3/4 race. Just a few spots behind teammate Feehan.

10. Jeffrey White and Harry Edmund Bolick. Sharing the number 10 spot and nearly identical crossresults.com points from their respective finishes this weekend, both these guys are deserving of a spot on the Hotlist this week.

Harry lined up for his first ever cross race, in 45+ category and finished in 35 ^th place, just behind Stokes and Feehan. IN HIS FIRST CX RACE!

White lined up at Gloucester with the KCC Cat 4 wrecking crew and before he shattered a boulder with his knee Thai Kickboxing style on day 2, he secured a 33 ^rd place finish on day 1.  It’s one of White’s best all-time CX race performances, but he’s no stranger to the big show and if he wants to stay on target, Hotlist expects him to be fighting for 25 ^th place in races of Gloucester’s caliber.

This coming weekend, we’ve got another ass-kicking round of racing in front of KCC. Holy Week concludes with Providence, and for the atheists, the Garden State will be offering trips up the amphitheater of pain at Independence.