Due to overwhelming demand for Cat 5 race spots, the Capital Region Road Race is now offering a Category 4/5 field to compliment the sold out Cat 5 field.  If you are a Cat 5 racer and have been closed out of the Cat 5, you can now register for the 4/5 field at http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10509.

We still need a few more corner marshals to pull this off properly.  PLEASE contact Paul McDonnell to volunteer.  All club members are expected to volunteer at at least one CBRC event each year.  If you haven’t stepped up yet, here’s your opportunity.

This year we are a part of the Masters Cycling Racing Association (MCRA) series.

A rolling 20-mile loop, with several steep climbs (plus a 3-mile neutral start), the NYCRRR is a perennial favorite.  Elevation gain is 1,300 feet per loop, maximum grade 16% (53×25 gearing recommended).  The course is located 10 miles South of Albany, in Ravena, NY.  Registration located at the Ravena/Coeymans/Selkirk High School on NYS Route 9W (1-mile north of Ravena).

To Enter: Pre-registration on www.BikeReg.com or Day-of Registration $40 (Except Juniors).
Staging: All races have a 3 mile neutral start from the High School parking lot (included in race length).
Rules: All USA Cycling Road Racing Rules apply (no aero-bars or sleeveless jerseys; helmets required).
Questions: e-mail Paul McDonnell.

Download the flyer and directions.

Download the Racer’s Guide.

Download the Course Map.

Download the Elevation Profile for the course.

Curtis White, also from Delanson, NY and Emma’s older brother, put in an outstanding effort in the Junior Men 15 - 6 Time Trial, racing to 17th place. Curtis, racing for Corner Cycles is in fine form at the National level.  In the 15-16 year old Criterium, Curtis was in a perfect position in 6th wheel with 400 M to go when he had to make a split second decision and a last minute correction that cost him several positions. Similarly, Curtis was at the front in the road race in a break away of five when the dreaded cramps in the closing moments of the race cost him a podium spot. Curtis was right there at the front in both races, in good form, racing well.  Late-breaking news:  Curtis went down hard at Fitchburg and is now nursing a broken wrist.  All our best for a speedy recovery, CW!

Congratulations to both Emma and Curtis for the excellent results, great racing, and for representing our area, CBRC, and their sponsors with veracity and modesty.

Well, it’s finally here, OUR time of year, the time of year, where for three delicious weeks, a group of normally(well, there really is nothing very normal about us) active people suddenly become couch potatoes, at least after our daily ride , to watch the greatest show on earth, the Tour de France. Well, they do it for the NCAA B’Ball Tourney and the World Series, so a group of us at last weeks Solstice Ride Post Party (under the influence of some local IPA) thought it might be fun to have a le Tour Pool. Guess the podium and you get some swag. Now don’t get excited, it’s not much, and the bragging rights will be worth more, but it should be worth your while and a lot of fun. So here is how it all goes down. You will send me an email with your top three podium picks in their order of finish. I will keep your picks secret until the deadline for sending in your picks closes ( 6pm Friday). After that time, I will publish everybody’s picks. A tiebreaker will be decided based on whoever picks the closest time between the Yellow Jersey and 2nd place. I think that is pretty simple. So, what do you get if you win? Well I consulted with Eric and Danny and they agreed that the winner receive one of those new CBRC caps that actually fit your head a pair of the new CBRC socks and a 2010 T-shirt.  2nd place wins a cap and T-shirt, and 3rd place gets socks and T-shirt. (yeah, I know, generous aren’t they ☺).  Anyway, no matter the prize, it should be fun.

So, after giving it your best thought and a glance or two at the Velonews TDF Special Edition, send me your name and the top three podium positions(in order) and the time difference between 1st and second to : tmleonard@roadrunner.com

Oh, please keep a copy of your email for verification in case the cycling judge messes up the finish, sorta like having the camera at the finish line.

Remember, deadline is Friday, July 2, 6pm eastern time.

Tim Leonard

SITE: From Albany I-90, take Exit 8, continue to the third traffic light, turn right onto Best Road (County route 55), continue straight 8.1 miles to Millers Corners, turn right onto Nassau-Burden Lake Road (County route 15). Continue three miles, turn LEFT onto CEntral Nassau Road (County route 16), Left on Smith Road. Park on right side of Smith Road. Registration and rest rooms at Camp Schodack, Krouner Road. The Camp is open so there is NO PARKING THERE.

ELIGIBILITY: To compete in the trials for the Empire State Games in Buffalo, July 21-25, you must have a USA Cycling road/track/cyclocross competition license (you can purchase a one-day or annual license at race registration), and be a resident of the Adirondack Region as defined on the ESG web site.

OPEN MEN/WOMEN: open to any USAC athlete of any age. You must pre-enter on line at http://www.empirestategames.org/summer/tryouts/register.asp
Note that a fee of $10 is required this year for open tryouts. You must print the email registration confirmation and bring it to the trials. If you are unable to register on line you may register the morning of the race. At check-in all entrants will also have to complete and sign a USAC standard release and pay the $3 insurance surcharge.  Field limit of 75 per USAC rules for any race open to cat 5 men. If a 35+ qualifies for the open team, he/she must choose, when results are official, whether to compete in the Open or Masters division at the finals. Top ten men and top three women qualify for finals.

MASTERS MEN/WOMEN: There is 35+, 45+, 55+ and 65+ (men only) competition at the finals (open to USAC annual licensees only). You do not have to qualify, but may compete in the regional open trials. Masters finals is by ONLINE REGISTRATION ONLY BY JULY 5 at http://www.empirestategames.org/summer/masters/default.asp

COURSE: 9.5 mile rolling road race course on county routes 16, 18 (Hoags Corners Rd.) and 15. (COUNTERCLOCKWISE this year – all LEFT turns), including two 0.5 mile climbs – 39×21 low gear recommended. Men – 8 laps/75 miles. Women – 4 laps/38 miles. Rest rooms available at registration. Center line rule in effect at all times, including the finish. No cars may park on course – support personnel must park on Smith Road – feed from right side only on finish climb. No feeding on first or last lap. USAC rules apply – no tank tops or tri bars.

SCHEDULE: Registration opens 7:30am. Race start 9:00 am. Team named immediately when results are official.

ENTRIES: Online at  http://www.empirestategames.org/summer/tryouts/register.asp or on site. $10 ESG fee + $3 USAC insurance. Under 18 must have ESG and USAC releases signed by parent/guardian.

INFORMATION:    Contact Gary Toth, regional coach, at 518-766-5280 or gdtoth@hotmail.com.

Phil Hershberger and Emma White sport their Green Jerseys.

A collection of CBRC’s finest ventured to Syracuse this weekend for the long running Tour de Syracuse.  The team had racers in nearly every field, and pulled out some great results along the way.  Highlights included:

• Emma White and Phil Hershberger winning the criterums  and green jerseys.
• Jim Leone riding to a strong eighth place finish in the very demanding road race.
• Joe Toth rocking in the time trial and battling back from a mechanical in the road race.

Along with these results, CBRC racers rode aggressively, making themselves a force to be reckoned with in each field.  Seth deMarrais made a epic solo breakin the cat 5 Crit, only to suffer the heartbreak of being caught with less than one lap to go.  Brad Stratton animated in the crit Cat 4 too and  Kirby Hazlip rode well in his first stage race and first race since upgrading to cat 4. Vice Prez, Lizzie Lukowski represented in the women’s field, with a strong TT performance.   Gene Primomo, Paul McDonnell and Danny Goodwin raced well in the 45+  and even I managed to represent us briefly in the 1/2/3 crit.

All in all, it was a fantastic race weekend for the team.  Great job everyone.

Sunday, August 22, 2010 from noon to 5 pm at the Bethlehem Town Park at the Bethlehem Cup cyclocross Pavilion.   Swimming at the town pool included.  Picnic will be catered.  Please bring family and friends and celebrate the end of the road racing season (and the start of cyclocross) with us!

First up is Tim Leonard’s adventure at the Ramble Around Prattsburgh a few weeks back.  Enjoy…

Scene Racing – The Ramble Around Prattsburgh

First of all, no, I didn’t misspell Prattsburgh meaning to write Plattsburgh. Prattsburgh is a little gem of a town/village in the heart of the Finger Lakes with the most gorgeous dirt roads emulating from it. Well, most of the time they are dirt. Saturday night, somebody snuck in and covered the entire 32-mile course with an inch and ½ of oily peanut butter ……and in a promise that this will be my last reference to Battenkill, the course at The Ramble Around Prattsburgh is the opposite of Battenkill. Instead of ¾ road and ¼ dirt, the surfaces are reversed with the dirt sections being much, ah, “natural”. Also included for our pleasure were sections of cow paths and single tract, you know, that ribbon of a trail through the woods laced with rocks and roots and trees to crash into.

So, the first decision is what rig to bring down there. Road bikes are definitely out, so the choice comes down to a mountain bike or a cyclocross bike. Each has its’ advantages and disadvantages in a race like this. The mtb rigs handle the single tract and with its’ suspension, downhills better, but the cx bikes manage the road sections and smooth dirt better. Since I am not a very good mountain biker, (in fact every time I get on that bike I get injured) I opted for the cyclocross rig. The next critical decision is what tires to run and at what pressure. . I quickly looked at the forecast the night before, must have clicked on the wrong city, maybe Plattsburgh, but the forecast was for no rain. Ok, that makes it easy. I chose my not so aggressive Maxis Raze clinchers and filled them to 60 lbs. I was gonna smoke those mountain goats on the road and dirt.

On Sunday I awoke to a dry and pleasant morning….. but, as I started to approach the Finger Lakes Region, the weather started to change, to first a sprinkle and then a downpour. As I approached Prattsburgh, I looked into the fields and they were covered in mud. I had chosen, for sure, the wrong tires and maybe rig. Too late now. ( ok, I’m usually much more prepared than that bringing along a couple of different wheels, but I had just gotten in the night before from Florida)

I found a good parking place, registered, and then chatted with my Ithaca friend, Ernie Bayles as we tried to get ready and stay dry and warm. We both agreed, this was going to be an epic day.

Ok, to the race. We all assembled at the starting line and as I looked around, I noticed that there were about an equal number of mountain and cx bikes. I horn started the race and off we went follow a motorized dirt bike on a not so controlled start. Dirt bike, what does that mean? We were soon to find out. After circling town crit style we headed up a lonnnnng gradual hill that I remembered from two years ago. But, this year they change things up a bit. Instead of climbing this long hill to its’ summit, ¼ of the way up we took a right, into the woods on some pretty knarly single tract covered in mud, roots, rocks and big trees to crash into. Yes, today was going to be different. I don’t know how, but I made it out of there on the road again without too of an incident. (I was pushed off the trail by an approaching mountain biker). So, now began the lonnnnnng climb again. It was on this climb that I paid for all my sins and excesses in Florida. That singlespeed Surley was no help at all on roads like this. Oh, as I mentioned before, this was not a dirt road I was on, it was a mud road and my wrong choice of tires and pressure was now becoming evident. I was fishtailing all over the place.  Ok, I’ll cut to the chase. literally!. I got spit off the main group on this climb and spent the rest of the race chasing groups. (Sound familiar, story of my life, it is so agonizing to see a friend like Ernie just ride away and there is nothing you can do about it so you look for other objectives, maybe I can catch that mountain goat that pushed me off the trail and let him eat some of my mud.)

So I chased on, on the soupy mud roads, sometimes diverting into the woods, down a cow path, past Amish Carts. For every big climb, there was an equally big descent, on mud. And that’s what makes this race so hard. In a road race you can rest on the descents. Not here, one mistake or slip and you are history. It is just as tiring going down. This is the way it was for the first 1 and ½ hours and then we hit the WALL. This mud hill was 20% and there was no way I was going to climb this in the saddle with the gearing I had. I stood up and stared spinning and had to dismount and walk like Paul Sherwin on the Koppenburg at Flanders. I was humbled! I never walk a hill, I’m too proud. But this one defeated me. (Later I found out that nearly everybody else had to walk also) After the wall there was another 45 minutes of ups and downs and relief as we headed back out on road, yes asphalt, mother asphalt, for what I thought would be a beeline to the finish. But these course designers had one more trick up their sleeve. Just before town,  (I was with the first female, who had run a half marathon the day before so please excuse me “I’m a little tired”) we were guided left into a field and then into a creek bed. Being the gentleman I am, I motioned for the lady to go first. (All right, the water was almost axle high and I had no idea what “lie beneath” – I wasn’t going to be the one to find out what lurked in those depths. She was the one that was going to make some money, earn it) So, she plowed through the water, didn’t hit anything as I followed her track. We finished together on Main Street some 2 hours and 40 minutes later, I, looking like George Hincapie in that famous Roubaix photo (see attached pic). Pretty neat! I was totally wasted only to realize, that in my haste, I forgot my recovery drink. Will ice cream do? I thought so. Cherry Garcia.

I don’t have results yet but I do know that buddies Ernie Bayles and Mark Speranza finished first and second in the 50+. I’m pretty sure I finished out of the money. I didn’t stick around as I was pretty tired and it was raining.

So, for you enduro types, mark this on your schedule to do next year and remember, it’s Prattsburgh, not Plattsburgh.

CBRC VP Liz Lukowski and Paula McConnell, two local women actively involved in cycling, create and plan VeloHello, the Capital District’s Girl Meets Bike Event to encourage women to try road, urban or mountain biking.

Albany, New York, April 23, 2010 – - Liz Lukowski and Paula McConnell, two local women passionate about cycling, are as different in person as their bikes are on the road. Liz, a fast road and cyclocross racer, and Paula, a “cargonista,” or cargo biker, often wonder why women are not well-represented in the sport of cycling.  So rather than complaining, the two women decided to break down the barriers that keep women away from bicycles and created VeloHello, the fun, informative and woman- friendly cycling event. Kicking off Friday, April 30 at the Downtube Cycle Works in Albany with a fashion show, mini-workshops and party, the event continues on Saturday, May 1 at the Boor Sculpture Studio on the University at Albany campus with workshops, a glamour photo-shoot (with bike) and much more.   Sunday will close VeloHello with an opportunity to participate in the Saratoga Spa Criterium.

“Biking with the ‘boys’ is challenging and fun, but sisterhood is nurturing and inspiring.  I thought it would great to create an event, and hopefully a movement, where women can connect in a powerful way through cycling,” explains Ms. Lukowski.  The local cycling community have long recognized this need and have stepped up to assist. “We could not have pulled this off without the help of the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club, Albany Bicycle Coalition, Team Luna Chix New York, and especially the Capital Bicycle Racing Club,” said Ms. Lukowski.  The two women were fortunate to find many sponsors in the bicycle industry that agree and that have offered support.  Terry Precision Cycling, The Downtube Cycle Works, Planet Bike, Go Girl, Bern Helmets, and many others are sponsoring VeloHello and the mission of “Girl Meets Bike.” Ms. McConnell, an employee at the Downtube Cycle Works, is amazed at the overwhelming response from her colleagues locally and across the industry.  Ms. McConnell said, “We even have an invitation to take VeloHello to Chicago!”

VeloHello, The Capital District’s Girl Meets Bike Event, begins Friday, April 30, 2010, at the Downtube Cycle Works in Albany, New York with a party from 6-9 P.M.  The cocktail party will feature product giveaways, a fashion show, a bicycle fit demonstration and several mini-workshops on cycling skills.  There is no charge for the Friday evening event. On Saturday, May 1, 2010, The Art Department of the University at Albany will be host to workshops in bicycle mechanics, mountain, and urban biking; and a glamour photo shoot highlighting the participants and their bicycles. Racers from CBRC will be teaching road racing skills and leading a practice ride.  A bag lunch and product samples will be provided.  The fee for the Saturday events is $30.00; registration is required.  Women who are interested in participating in the Saratoga Spa criterium are eligible for a discounted registration fee of $15.00.  For more information, please visit www.velohello.com.

Space is limited, so register now!

I’ll be distributing kits on Wednesday night before the “smackdown” ride for the next few weeks (except next week, when I’ll be doing so on Thursday, April 22, at the Park & Ride in Delmar).  I’ll plan to arrive around 5 pm.  If you can’t make it in person, please let me know in advance if you have made arrangements for someone who is riding on Wednesday to get your stuff.

IMPORTANT, LATE-BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT:  we are doing a second clothing order starting right now (instead of late June as we had planned). Deadline for this one will be Monday, May 10. That should leave enough production and shipping time so that those who missed out on the first round will have new kits before (or at) Balloonfest. If  you missed the first deadline and your order didn’t make it into the first shipment, you’ll be all set in the second order. If you want additional stuff, head to Bikereg any time in the next three weeks and go nuts.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9712