Pete and I did a follow up to Saturday's pain bucket ride, over the escarpment. It was a good pace.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/albany/525701611

6/23 Pain Bucket Ride

The train leaves from the tennis courts in Washington Park at 7:30 am, sharp.

Harlem Skyscraper Crit

Ah, to be racing in the City again. Tho I once lived nearby for some time, this is the 1st time I raced in the NYS Crit Championships in Harlem. Danny G, Eric Schou & I made the 3hr Trek from Albany. We wanted to be good & early. Early race organization left everyone wanting, but the races themselves did not disappoint.

All three raced the 4/5, a challenge just to avoid the sketchy riders. DG was looking typically strong near & at the front. He would place 12th on the day. He & I tried a minor attack, but found ourselves basically pulling the group along. We were top 6 going into the bell lap. Coming out of the last turn I began my sprint, then some clown smacked into the side of me, almost taking out my front wheel. He hit me right when my inertia was going the opposite way. I was fortunate to stay up; my front wheel will need some attention. Eric look very strong, & _almost_ didn't crash. Couple of dudes pulled a real bonehead maneuver in front of him w/ 1-1/2 laps to go; he was lucky to come away w/ only a small rash & bruise on his arm. And did I mention the three big pileups? Makes a good case for staying at the front. Would love to do another crit w/ larger team presence & w/ a better plan. Oh, the possibilities.

So, I had another race I had signed up for, the 3/4. What poise. Virtually none of the screaming, biting, yelling & kicking of the 4/5. And when a civilian chose the wrong moment to cross on a corner, the bunch just dealt w/ it. Alas, no teammates to ride with. But hey... Instant cheering section! And I could hang w/ the bunch. With ~4 laps, I bridged up to a group of three, figuring if I am gonna blown up, might as well do so doing something spectacular. The break disintegrated after about a quarter lap & I was sitting on the front riding sortof tempo. Not tactically wise, & I was starting to reach deep into the pain bucket. Ultimately, I finished somewhere in the pack.

My goal was just to sit in & make it around the course 25x. I did that, & more.

Then we had to drive home. Appreciated the company from Eric S.

-BK

2 fast, 2 furious, 2 wheels.

I participated in the latest edition of that famed street racing saga on the way to the ride tonight when a kid on an old Schwinn 10 spd came up to me on Washington Ave.
kid: "yo race me."
me: "we can't just race, we need a place to race too."
kid: "i'm going straight"
me: "me too, but I don't know if this is fair, I've got this bag, see." points to messenger bag full of stuff.
kid: "I'm wearing jeans!"
me: "okay, i guess its even then............ go!"
so we ride next to each other for a block then the kid sort of attacked me, maybe inadvertently, but I represented by countering, putting it in the big ring and dropping him. He caught back up to me at the next red light and announced, "nice job lance."


Here are a couple pics from a less successful racing attempt, the Nutmeg Crit in New Britain CT:

at the start.

chicane on the backside.

Its a fun course. There's no real sharp corners but it has multiple sweepers, a slight elevation change and a good 300m drag race zone for the finishing straight. It was difficult to move up once the bigger teams got control and I spent the whole race floating between 10th and 30th. I Narrowlly missed two crashes but didn't get to the front in time to contest the sprint and came in as pack fill. I'll be back when the run the same course July 8, hopefully, with a lead-out train.

Schillinger on TeeVee

http://www.news10now.com/shared/video/video_pop.asp?destlist=62195

just like Jens

I know now why Jens Voigt goes for it over and again. Because there is always the chance it could stick. Yesterday I pulled a total Jens, soloing off the front on the 1st climb of the 2nd lap at Balloon Fest in the Cat 5 race. I got sick of all the braking and negotiating in the main pack and attacked hard on the 1st climb the second time around. Nobody chased. I got to the top of the climb and looked back and I had what looked to me to be a full minute on the peloton. I put my head down and hammered the descent and looked back and they were nowhere in sight. Then I suffered in the wind on the flats for nearly 20 miles (though it felt like much longer) while spectators cheered me on with shouts like "its gonna stick man!" and "you got it!" I started to imagine rolling across the line uncontested in front of my girls. Then I noticed I was cruising at 31 mph and my heart rate was 168 bpm. Hmmm--I know durn well I can only do that for a little while. Wonder if I'm about to pop. Yep, here it comes--pop! Like a f***ing dragster releasing the parachute.

The chase group caught me at the top of the last climb just in time to motor hard into the last corner and into the finishing straight. I jumped on the last wheel of the lead group and took 11th place, barely. Club member Gene Primono worked hard to keep me in and I thanked him over and over after the race. A pretty crappy result for all that suffering, but honestly--it was the most fun I've had in a road race so far. Having kids run beside me on the climb, strangers taking my picture, and taking bottles from spectators while in my head Phil Liggett's voice was saying "...ah, its really a shame he'll get reeled in--what a heartbreaking effort..." Later a guy told me that if I had gone 2 miles an hour faster (easy for him to say), I would have stayed away. Whatever. Winning is hard, I guess. Now I upgrade and it only gets harder (though hopefully a bit more organized).

I cleaned myself up in time to watch my daughters Anna and Ella in their races. Neither were really prepared for actual competition, so they both took dead last in their age-groups. But they did it. And they finished and they didn't crash. Which is more than a lot of guys in my field can say.

Real pulled pork bbq and cold beer and carnival rides followed. A fun, fun day. Dieter and crew did an awesome job. This is one the team must not miss next year.

Congrats to Mike Fallone--coming back from a 4-year hiatus from racing to finish 21st in the 3/4. And Phil took 8th place in the 50+ race! Rock on Phil!

Of course, my hero is still Curtis White.

Photo from Ed Sharp Photography

-dg

mapmyride.com

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/delmar/462830914

So, Danny told me to check out this wicked cool website called mapmyride.com. It is a nice way to post and share training rides. It gives distance and elevation.

The link above is a ride Danny, Eric Schou, and I rode the day before ESG qualifiers. It was a good 55 mile loop. Some flats for fast paceline work on 9J, a few small hills on the ESG course itself, and rollers in between.

I'd like to see Phil post that crazy 6K+ elevation gainer he planned out in Schenectady.