Here's the course. Only the very bottom portion of the oval roundabout is used.

we can ride the subway together.  safety in numbers.

anyone got insight on the course? line recommendations a la bertucco's recommendations @ grant's tomb?

thanks for the advice, mr. ragot.  my race goal is to not shame my team and to have a good time!

messrs white and perner, you guys want to do some pacelining/leadouts in the park this week i could be convinced.  open schedule; exam on friday at 1pm but other than that nothing but studying and can likely meet you whenever works.

Brendan Rigby

(774) 219-4511

rigby.b@gmail.com

I've got a minivan.  Do you guys want a lift to Orchard Beach?  I'm registered for the 4/5 as well.  Unless of course, you guys really do prefer the subway..  :-)

does your van also have candy?  i only get in vans that have candy.

Where should I meet you?  What time? my address: 205 State St. Brooklyn NY 11201. 

Do you have room for me and one non-biker?  Or just 1 me and 1 bike?

Brendan Rigby

(774) 219-4511

rigby.b@gmail.com

I can pick you both up that morning.   I assume @Jeffrey lives in Brooklyn somewhere as well?

917 232 8731

Or smoke signals.

Orchard Beach. Which is -- err -- two corners and a tight-ish curve. How would you win in the following three end games:

1. One Kissena in the winning break of 3-8 guys.

2. Two fast Kissenas near the front with no break away.

3. One fast Kissena near the front with no break away.

Peach trees by the surf, apples in the sun. Orchard Beach.

Thank you.

First race (Cats 4/5): Made a two-man break with a Siggy for three laps from 7 to go to 4 to go. Thought I'd be toast after we got caught, but was able to sit in near the front and came into Turn 1 on the bell lap fifth or sixth wheel -- great position to go for it or get Brendan (somewhere in the top 20) to the front by the curve if he showed some good timing. But a visionary criterium theorist executed his radical new strategy of bombing the inside line of Turn 1 at a speed that did not take into account the Newtonian laws of angular acceleration, the shape of the course, or the in-the-box thinkers who took the "actual" line. He found himself riding directly at a bunch of guys on his outside, grabbing a whole mess of brakes, and sending the guy in front of me into the grass -- and me with him. Brendan lucked into being the first wheel able to ride to the inside of the carnage without too much brakes. He got through Turn 2 and muscled up through the gap made by this guy's cute little stunt to the four guys left out front. He got into third, but he rode through such a big stretch of wind that he got jumped in the last 100 and had to settle for fourth. Still, super gutsy and savvy racing. He'll be a hitter in the 4s.

Second race (Cat 4): The first three laps were HOT HOT HOT. RBNY and some collegiate-looking cats applied the heat and didn't let up. I heard dudes were getting shelled off the back, big time. Then on lap three in a strung out field, I hear what sounds like a gunshot a ways back from me. I thought it had to be a tire blow out, but it sounded really "hefty." No, some unattached dude went down in Turn 2. Next time around going slowly, I see him lying on his belly, not moving, with his eyes open. Really fucking scary. I started to think bad things about what that loud pop was. Word got around that his carbon wheel taco'd, but I don't know whether that was the cause of the crash or an effect. Eventually we saw him moving his arms as they put him on the board, and there was a collective sigh of relief in the pack. Multiple laps of neutralization made the field big again and took the impetus out of the tough guys driving it at the start. I lost a lot of position during this lengthy period of neutralization and spent the rest of the race slowly moving up. (Lesson learned.) It was hard to move up and doing so was slow going. I picked my spots to eat some wind and got myself to around 15th wheel going into Turn 1 after the bell. I chose the inside track because we were hauling and I knew that we'd get hit hard by the cross-headwind exiting Turn 2 and I'd be in a good position to crank it all out for the bend on the good side of the wind. Alas, the best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft agley, and an esteemed Siggy's colleague stacked it going into the turn right in front of me. I was somehow able to ride through the maelstrom, but that was it.

Raced OK, I guess, but came up with nothing. My only real regret was not taking longer pulls while I was away in the first race. The dude I had with me, while tough and willing to work, just wasn't putting out enough power. (Isn't that always the story? I bet his write-up on the Siggy's listserv says the same about me.)

Awesome course. Will do Orchard Beach again next year.