Flame on! Upgrades, Points Races and NYVC Love/Hate

What a busy week it's been. After Last week's CRCA C-race antics and it being my 10th race, I decided to upgrade. My teammates/coaches had been giving me crap about it over the past couple of weeks, so I guess this'll get them off my backs. Well, I'm now part of the proud tradition of Cat 4 mediocrity! I'm excited to see the new challenges that will come with a higher category, and hopefully there will be less crashes.

photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ nyvelocity.com

I raced in my first CRCA B race this past weekend. It was a 7-lap points race, with points at harlem hill on laps 2, 4, 6, and the finish. I found the race to be tougher than the C races (duh,) partly because it was longer, and partly because everyone's in better shape. Moves are harder to make- people react. Teams are more cohesive. It makes it more challenging. I like it.

Puttering out in the final sprint- courtesy of Andy Shen @ nyvelocity.com

I wasn't able to pull any sprint points off this time, although i came close on lap 2 with 4th across the line (which equals zero points for yours truly.) I had a good position for the final sprint, but my leadout started a bit too early, and i couldn't keep the sprint up long enough. Leave it to a sprinter to blame his lead out! there's always an excuse! I've also got to remember to use smaller gears in the sprints- leg speed is what its all about. That's what I love about cycling- you can always blame something/someone in order to preserve your fragile, spandex clad ego!

I was happy to be mixing it up in the race, and our team rode aggressively. Big ups to the Settanta boys, who pulled off a 1-2-3 finish at the line, and Ave A/razorfish rode a good race as well. It was also great to not have the customary final lap crash like we normally did in cat 5 races. I'm excited to see how things go for the rest of the season.

My upgrade to chubby cat 4 also allows me to take part in all 3 stages at Owasco in two weeks. (is that Littlefield doing "blue steel" on the website??) I'm excited for this event- it'll be my first stage race. I'm planning on "Canniballing" the TT, since my bars aren't clip-on compatible and I don't have Deep Carbon Rims (although that would be nice...). I might replace my k-wings eventually with some carbon bars that have a more traditional bend and are clip on compatible... I'm super excited to be doing the Crit at Owasco- I enjoyed the experience @ Harlem (even with the crash), and think it'll suite my type of riding. However, I'm a bit wary of how 3 races in 3 days will affect me- does anyone have any exp with stage races? Any tips on recovering between stages? Right now I'm thinking it's all about the Massage stick, Steak, and Beer (half kidding, that's for after the 3rd stage!)

It also looks like i briefly made it onto the Hangover spotlight on NYVC.com - who know that a chubby cat 4/5 writing about his racing & training could cause so much vitriol?!? It's pretty hilarious. Either way, a bunch of people said they love the blog, and I've gotten mucho support for it since I've started. So kudos to you, my friends- I'm glad that people enjoy this. I figure there's many people just getting into racing these days at an amateur level, and It's fun to document these shared experiences. (it also keeps my ego nice and inflated!) Getting some Hate on the NYVC msg board is almost a rite of passage- and frankly it's pretty funny.

Above: Me submitting another blog post onto NYVC.com

Went for a 4th of July Ride with Bill$$, Richard and some of his magazine buddies. Good times up to Piermont. Good muffins. Highlight of the ride- watching a guy going up alpine road (the climb up to the police station)- he ATTACKS at the base, giving it his all. His upper body is swaying so much that he looks like he's dancing at a Euro Club. I provided the soundtrack and off he danced. Too bad he died halfway up the hill.

I'm probably racing the New Britain Criterium next Sunday. should be good times if a bunch of us go. anyone else doing this one? how was it last year?

I have an idea for a ride... Let's call it "Jan's night out." Everyone shows up wearing pink T-mobile kits and one earring. We proceed to go to a German restaurant (think Heidelberg), Stuff ourselves with Sausage, Schnitzel & Beer, and then try and race 1 lap in the park. Winner gets a Jelly donut. Bonus points if you do it while on Ecstasy. Who's in??

Happy 4th of July. Go drink some beer and have fun. Don't blow your hands off lighting M-80's!

Shake and bake! 2nd place in central park, and a romp up to Bear mtn

I decided to do a club race this past weekend- the CRCA was putting on a Harlem hill points race. The way it worked was as follows: on the 2nd and 4th laps, there would be points for the first three people to get to the top of Harlem hill. There would also be points at the final sprint.

I was interested to see how different a points race would be when compared to a regular points race. in central park, it's a race that seems to favor sprinters. However, you can't just follow the old "sit your fat ass in the peloton and do no work till the end" sort of game plan, cause you'll probably lose that way. you have to pony up for at least one of those hilltop sprints as well.

Our team had closest to ten people in the field of 40 or so C-riders. we paired each other off so that we could attack in pairs, and we decided who was going to attack and when. I was going to sit and wait till the end, and hopefully get the final sprint, with the help of a friendly lead-out.

Well, what you plan and what unfolds can and do usually differ. Our guys were attacking, but you can't control how the peloton will react. Our early attacks/counter attacks worked on the first hill, and one of out guys picked off the hill for points.

on the 4th lap, we started approaching Harlem hill. I was near the front of the pack, but only saw my teammate Matt in front of me. i looked around expecting another of our guys to follow suite for sprint points, but didn't see any. I decided to go along with Matt, and nabbed 3rd place for 2 pts.

photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ nyvelocity.com

Matt, by the way, was the all star of the race.

By the time the last lap came around, it started to speed up. I jockeyed for position, and found a decent spot behind my homeboy Ryan (who works at Metro), and then Matt. We got a good jump on the sprint, and took first and second at the line.

photo courtesy of Andy Shen @ nyvelocity.com

end result? Matt took 1st with 19 pts, and I nabbed 2nd with 8 pts.




Shake and Bake!


Some other of our teammates nabbed 5th, 6th, and 7th, respectively.

Big ups to the following people: Matt for dominating the C field, Greg Faber for riding super strong during the whole race, Ryan for being a monster, Cassie for sticking with the women's pack (which is a combined 1,2,3 and 4 field) and Bandit bad boy Jeff king for taking the win in the A field


The race went really smoothly and I thought the C field held up really well- the laps were going in the 15 and 16 minute range, which is a pretty good pace. I don't believe there were any accidents, either. There's been alot of talk on the local listserves and racing sites about cat 5's and their abilities as beginning racers. I don't know where I stand on it, because i don't think there's a clear judgment to be made. Not all cat 5's are sketchy, but there definitely are some (I won't mention names of people or the bikes they ride- just to keep the anon haters at bay... and besides, I don't want a frame pump to magically appear jammed in my spokes during a race...). I think the CRCA has done alot to help cat 5's improve and move on up vis-a-vis coaching. That being said, I do get the feeling that some people consider the cat 5's as a bunch of drooling special 'eds with fresh loads in their bibs. Well, you know what I say to those people? That only happened once!

After the race we headed on up to Piermont for a celebratory Muffin. Matt and I were buying- he won $25 and I won $20!. Ah, the spoils of victory... At least its good for a few pastries.

On Sunday we drove up to Bear mountain to do a couple of laps of the course for the Bear Mountain race. a big ole' team ride ensued, and the weather was fantastic (and HOT)



The funniest part of the day came around when one of our coaches, Alex, realized that he forgot his shoes. I instantly remembered the scene in "breaking away," and quickly asked,

"does anyone have any duct tape?"



electrical tape? no problem! I taped both of hug gigantic clogs to his speedplays, and off we went. i think he got about 30 miles in before the tape tore apart. Hardcore points for Ostroy...



I'd like to equate it to Central park X3 with 'roid rage. It looks like the course makes for a tough and interesting race. What I do know is that it's definitely not a race that I'm suited for. the long climb at the beginning of the lap would be brutal under race conditions. I'll give it a try come the Fall race, but I'm going to sit out and marshal the spring race just so i can get a better sense of how the race normally unfolds. That might also give my chubby ass more time to unload some more junk in my trunk...


I've been meaning to look into more sprint-specific workouts. my coach gives me a bunch, but I've heard (and read) that stuff like Plyometrics are great for sprinters. Anyone out in internetland know anything about that? One of these days I'd like to get some sprint drills done with some of the cat 1's or 2's just to get my ass handed to me and learn. I need to ask around...

This weekend burnt me out in every sense of the word. The weather was fantastic- high 70's/ low 80's and sunny. I've got my retarded tan lines back, and they're only going to get worse... it's funny how that brings a smile to my face.

I went for a recovery ride this morning. Ran into Josh from TNT as well as a teammate. I forgot how much I love riding just for the sake of it- i didn't bring my HRM and i did not glance at my computer at any point during the ride. it was great. The weather made it even better- no arm or leg warmers. hoo-rah.

Anyway, my legs are killing me, and I've got an itchy throat. this week is mostly a rest week, except for tomorrow, which is another time trial lap of the park. I'm looking to beat 17:04- hopefully I'll be able to ride the park a little smarter.

asta!