Thanks White. I guess that I'll reg for L&C, but if you can get a van, I'll bail on that and pay the $50 day-of for Brinkerhoff (because it's that good).

Next week tho?

I currently plan on doing the brinkerhoff race next week and will bring the minivan. I'll be able to take three riders/bikes. 

Would happily join next week patrick

I'd love to do it next week as well.

I most definitely plan on Trooper B next week.

Convoy!

Am I allowed to call "shotgun" in Patrick's van?

I call waterbed in Whitey's boogie van

Marc Bertucco said:

Am I allowed to call "shotgun" in Patrick's van?

no. 

I'm looking to sign up next week.

I have a van for Brinkerhoff. Room for one more at least, probably two.

It's looking like sunny and dry on Saturday. Which means, somewhat counter-intuitively, the race is going to be extra sweaty balls hard. #ohcrap

Come on though, worse than the one where we were covered in ice and couldn't see? I mean, I get that it's going to be hard. 

This race is hard?

#racesarehardyouguys

Can we get a roll call for this weekend? Along with potential drivers and spots? I'm definitely in, and would like to get a ride if possible from Northern Manhattan.

I'm over here being fat and slow

I'm reg'd for the 3/4s. I'm riding up in Whitey's van.

In, riding with whoever.

I'm driving up and will pick up Marc, JP and Sean. I can probably swing another if needed but will need to figure out pickup and drop off if not in Manhattan 

I think whitey has Adam and Vlad. 

Bruce still needs a ride

awesome.  Does everyone have a ride?  I'd loan my rack out if it were easy for someone to pick up.  

Keith was interested in going.  Any word from him?

My car is full. Vlad and Adam are coming with me.

Looks like Bruce and Keith are still in need.  Anyone else in need or has a car with space?

Quick note before the real reports come flowing in.

Many KCC racing today across three fields. Sean in the Cs, Patrick, White, Bruce, Adam in the Bs, JP, Vlad, Keith, and I in the As. If I'm missing anyone, apologies, I'm still a little wiped from the day. Insane crosswinds. Sean managed the best result of the day with 6th-ish in the C field. The rest of us did the best we could.

"It was going well, until it wasn't."

With fierce crosswinds and a stacked field of over 75 riders including a few pros, and a who's-who of New England Cat 1 elites, I made sure I lined up on the front row before the neutral roll-out.

The snowpocalpse edition, had riders racing cautiously and conservatively until they were sure their tires were sticking to the roads. That gave me, about 3 laps of relative "easy" racing. This week, I would not be so lucky. It was on like Donkey Kong from the very first kilometer.

Still, up front, KCC was well represented with Vlad, JP, Keith and myself never being too far from the pointy end of the action. But things changed pretty dramatically a few laps in. At the start of our 2nd lap shit got very real, very quickly. Past the 1k to go sign marker, I see JAM Funds Al Donahue ride past me and slot in what now was single file arch of riders sweeping down a right handed curve onto the "homestretch" flat. He's a strong Cat 1 with a record of multiple top-10s at this race over the last few years, plus he's not tiny. I was happy to ride his wheel through the first crosswind section. We turn right and things are getting worse.

The field is getting blown apart. We're all in the gutter, on the wrong side of the road. No one is paying much attention to the official's horn honking behind. No one wants to get dropped. An echelon forms at the front. And almost immediately, Al kicks over to the right of the road. Smart. He's starting a second echelon. I'm on his wheel, a few others join, we rotate through and get back in short order. Down a dip, up a rise, I move up pretty easily. Still feeling pretty good, I'm pleased to have made this critical selection. Some more climbing, then the roads widen, an actual double yellow line appears, and guys are single file again. Shit is really really ugly now. I'm blown off the back. No second echelon. It's every man for himself.

I'm chasing, by myself. The field painfully close and yet so far at 500 meters. Soon they're gone and I know my chance of finishing with the main peloton is done. Incredibly frustrating.

I keep pedaling by myself for god knows how long. Eventually a few riders catch up to me. We start working together. One rider, not pleased with how I'm pulling through, intentionally gaps me, then sprints back up to the "worthy" rider ahead. I crawl back, twice. I have words for him. There were three of us, and even my wimpy pull-throughs would be better than just two of them riding.

Eventually that douche is gone for good. He rode me off his wheel for good this time. "Good riddens," I think to myself. Which gives you an indication of where my legs are at. Clearly I'm in survival mode. I ride with an other Brooklyn based CRCA e2 rider for a kilometer or so. Until he sees his friend from the B race and they start chatting. I'm still racing. This guy appears to be done. So I'm by myself pedaling away with no cover, no friends, on the stretches of road with the fiercest cross winds. The roads with actual yellow lines.

I keep going, one lap to go. Still by myself. I see one of the guys I was riding with before hang a left off the course. I'm all by myself. It's feeling like Bear Mountain were riders not in the main group just climb off in the feedzone instead of finishing the race. I start to think about if another group will find me. I know I'm "just training" at this point, but I know what the group ahead looked like, I know that there are plenty, or rather should be plenty behind me.

Looking at my computer, calculating, I'm wondering if I can average 20 mph on the last lap. I just want the race to be over. I've got cramps. I'm tired. And I'm alone. And then I hear my name. Of course! JP would never quit a race, He's riding with a decent size group and they sweep me up. They are doing a rotating paceline to pretty good effect. JP later reports that it took "forever" to get them on board and working in a paceline. Clearly they skipped too many KCC Sunday Group rides.

But my legs are cooked. 200 watts feels like 300. I have to skip many turns. Still, thinking about when/where I got dropped, I'm convinced our group might be going for 30th-ish place. There just weren't that many guys ahead of me when I got shelled. I could be wrong. The wind and road race fatigue does funny things with a racer's head.

Still I manage to hang in the JP group, even take a few pulls here and there. Brutal headwind sprint. The longest 300 meters of my life. I'm last in the group. JP is second or third or maybe fourth in the bunch sprint.

But it probably is for naught. Even though our finishing time is likely under 8 minutes slower than the winners (based on previous winning times and our finishing time on the day), there are no cameras, no officials with clip boards, no one writing our numbers down. I guess there was a pretty nasty finish-line crash that consumed the officials time. Or at least that's what one official told me as he dismissed my complaints of not getting our results recorded. "At least you're having a better day than the guy who broke his collar bone." Well, yes, but fine...okay, now I'm an asshole, great. We'll probably all be listed as DNFs. Which is wrong. I'm extremely frustrated. (It's a good reminder that I should not sign up for Bear Mountain this year.) But honestly, I'm more frustrated that I didn't make the critical selection when it counted. I had a lot riding on this race. In my mind anyway.

By the numbers. Comparing watts/work from Week 1 (when I made the selection and finished with the peloton) and Week 3 is interesting?

• Week 3 overall average watts increased by 13.
• Week 3 burned 209 Kj more than week 1. Total from Week 3 is 2372. (Note to self, need to eat/hydrate better.)
• Week 3 Peak power for a variety of time intervals (5-120mins) up from 15 to over 30 watts; depending on which time block you are looking.
  

Sounds like a good day of racing regardless. Any day you can say we you went with Al D, you know you're doing the right things.

Get over this idea that somebody with a clipboard can validate anything for you though - you're sprinting in the opposite direction of inner peace there man .

By the numbers addendum:

Week 3 trooper numbers up over the windy prospect park race too. The trend is clear folks, the races are getting harder. Keep on training!

Racing solo in that wind is a bleak proposition.

Bertucco was COOKED when we briefly jawboned at the deli after the race. He had the thousand-yard stare of a man who had seen things no man should see.

I'll post my real report here in a bit.

Results
https://www.bikereg.com/Results/rr/5789/trooper-david-brinkerhoff-memorial-race-series-week-3

Marc, you're listed as a finisher!
Congrats to Sean with 5th place!