Kissena Cycling Club

by William Doyle-Capitman

Boy Howdy!

What a weekend of racing!

Brooklyn Spring Series - Floyd Bennet Field (NYC's first airport - flat, mercilessly windy 2.2 mile circuit)

I flatted out of my first Floyd Bennet Field 1,2,3 race the previous Saturday, so that one doesn't count. As such, I was determined to prove wrong Eric Robertson's declaration that "no one finishes their first 1,2,3 race at Floyd" so I went out conservatively (unlike the week before) and let the race beat me up, rather than beating myself up following the attacks. I rode pro rider Jackie Simes' wheel for a few laps to try to divine The Secret and noticed that he was always in that perfect spot close to the sharp end of the pack but just far enough back for there to be three riders abreast and allow him a spot in the middle completely out of the wind. Also, I noticed that when he attacked (which he did several times), it was as furious and sudden as a taxi plowing into a Duane-Reade. He eventually got away with two AXA riders and a Mengoni, and for the next 2/3rds of the race, AXA and Mengoni did an excellent job of blocking/stifling any and all attacks and coordinated efforts. We should have worked better with BVF, the other reasonably well-represented team that, like us, wanted to prove that there's room for the little guys as well, but we didn't explicitly coordinate, and JP's patented Subliminal Mind Meld technique got all messed up by the radio waves emitting from some nearby RC airplanes - Damn Boyscouts!

With three or four to go and the break away for good, I was hungry and tired and near the back of the pack. JP told me to go to the front and drill it for as long as we could. This made no sense to me, but when I told him I was tired and didn't want to get up for school drill it at the front until the last lap, he insisted that I do it at once. The funny thing is that once I had some "marching orders" I stopped thinking about how tired I was. Up to the front I went, putting my head down and pushing the pedals just below my whimper-threshold for half a lap. On the back stretch JP jumped from mid-pack, swung really far to the left and pulled away on his own. Still on the front, I hoped no one would notice that it was my teammate who had just launched, and I began my bid for Oscar Glory, dropping a gear, rocking side to side, hanging low over the bars, but all the while watching for the attacks, which came intermittently for most of another lap and which were easy to chase down.

At this point, JP was in 4th position (Simes had flatted out of the break) and I was hoping that if I stayed on the front, we could keep it that way, but with just over one to go, Simes came TEARING past us and an AXA rider followed. Tad jumped on their wheels and stuck himself assiduously into the middle of the flurry of attacks that followed. I was toast and watched as Simes and the AXA rider eventually got away and caught JP, but I knew he'd at least be in the money. In the last half lap I pretended to care about setting up for the sprint before totally crapping out, and watching Tad and the rest of the train chug by me. I'm sorry I didn't help you, Tad. I crossed the line dead last, but felt like I had earned it. so there, eric.

New York Spring Series - Prospect Park (3.3 mile rolling circuit)

William in an early move. Photo by Nick Nishizaka

I've made it a policy to get close to the front at the beginning of every race. On Sunday this proved to be a BIG MISTAKE. A break of 5 rolled off before the hill, and like an impetuous young Chevie Chase running after a convertible full of cute coeds, I dashed up to them. All of a sudden we were actually . . . A Real Break, and OMG we were going fast! The move comprised of Stephan Dioslaki from Metra/Wendy's (imagine Mattio, but built like Lenny), Kyle Peppo of Mengoni, Gerry Martinez of Innovation, my break-buddy from Bear last year, Jimmy Ruhl of Babylon Cycles, and The Man In Black who was a total Ox. We were working terrifically, but after a few laps of smooth rotation, I began to get that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know the one - out in the woods, nightfall closing fast, you left the map in the car and threw all your trail mix at that funny squirrel that looks like Justin Bieber.

Yeah . . . so I realized that I was stuck in the break and that I would have to continue what was beginning to feel like a torturous pace as long as my pride could stand it. Stephan was keeping us in order, encouraging us after pulls, barking to keep the pace high, and his words of motivation definitely kept me in it better than I could have myself. I actually gave my apologies after six laps and dropped off the back, but I immediately felt like a wuss and chased back on. I lasted another two laps before my vital brain fluids began to drip out of my ears and I started losing all memory of once-cherished concepts like Fractions and Conjugation. After one more little acceleration trying to close a gap in the rotation, I finally crumbled and drifted into the joggers lane. Soon, the peloton approached and I heard someone yell my name. I got back on, recovered for a lap in the pack, found JP, eventually towed him part of the way back up to the break and then completely, totally, finally imploded and dropped out.

A few moments later, I see Al and Michael Perlberg riding up the road to me and I try to act excited about their 3rd and 4th places in the 3/4 race, but at the time I was more interested in flopping in the grass and blubbering into my gloves. Sadly, nothing came together for us in the sprint that I watched from the sidelines, but I know from after the fact that the whole squad rode like brave champs and that makes me glad. Those 8 laps in the break were definitely in my top 3 hardest hours on the bike ever, but I'm proud to have done it, even if I couldn't help make it stick at the end.

And speaking of "the end", I'm going to rewards myself for getting to "the end" of this race report in one sitting by putting a pack of frozen peas on my "rear end".

Mazel Tov to everyone who raced this weekend - we pulled in some great results and made a valiant showing!

Best,

-William