Think Racing, Inc.

Roger’s May Race Report 5/19 and 5/20

Kings County Circuit Race Report:

With 16 laps of the 2.2 mile course to go, I got in a move that formed with Jared Bunde (GS Mengoni) and former US National Team rider John Durso (Liberty Cycles) - we were then joined by Rob Lattanzi from Sid’s, Perez from Mengoni, Mike Margarite from Empire, and Matt from Bandit (the other Matt not Matt Howard).

Jared was riding to try and split the group with very hard pulls. I rode fairly conservatively but tried not to miss a turn although a few of the others were sitting on more. I stayed in the rotation behind Jared for most of the race because I didn’t want to be getting back on when he was coming to the front.

I felt really good up until 2 to go when I felt the tell tale signs of cramping. I knew I wasn’t going to outsprint the Mengoni guys. I was waiting for Jared to take a hard pull to launch an attack but he wasn’t going for it. I guess he is confident enough in his sprint. So the bell lap was pretty slow with no one wanting to pull. I dropped back about halfway down the stretch before the last turn and stood up to attack. As soon as I got passed them both of my legs seized up and by the time we hit the turn they were sprinting passed me. I rolled in for 6th.

It’s a big if but without the cramps the result would have been better.

Ricky rode great and got into a promising looking early move but Eugene from Mengoni kept trying to gap him off the back. That move came back right before the one I was in went off.

Great Neck Criterium Report:

George, Steve, Danny, Ricky, and I lined up for the Great Neck International Bike Race. Basically it played out like this:

Pedal hard, turn, pedal hard, turn, pedal hard, Danny gets popped, turn, pedal hard, Steve gets popped, turn, Ricky gets popped, pedal hard, George gets popped, turn, pedal hard, turn, pedal hard, I got popped, day over.

None of us finished and I feel like I got run over by an SUV. There’s always next year- It’s a great course.

Roger

After spending March and April on the road, it was nice to switch up and do a few different events in late April/ May.

Opening Weekend @ Kissena Velodrome
I won the omnium (overall) at Opening Weekend track meet at Kissena Velodrome. Not having raced on a velodrome in 5 years, there were a few things I needed to get used to such as the bumps created from the swamp land settling underneath the velodrome, having to pedal a fixed gear bike, and just some basic track tactics. Timed events are o.k. but I like the mass start stuff the best where tactics come into play and there is a cushy field to sit in behind. I was upset with myself for not starting my sprint soon enough in the scratch race, trying a breakaway in the points race too early, and not boxing in a stronger rider in the miss and out. Despite the screw ups, I was able to rack up enough points for the ominum victory.

Spring Couples Relay
The other fun event was the New York Triathlon Club’s Spring Couples Relay in Central Park. Since I am so bad at running, the only way I am going to be competitive in a triathlon is if someone else does the running. Fortunately, my girlfriend Janet is a good runner. Janet would run 2 miles on an out and back course, I would bike 12 miles, and then we would row 3/4 miles around the pond in the center of Central Park. The fun part was this would be my first semi-serious time trial longer than the 1 kilometer event I specialize in on the track. The dangerous part is that the event starts at 8 am so by the time I am flying around on a time trial bike, the park is just getting crowded. A 7 am or earlier start time would make it much safer. The participants are primarily runners and triathletes. If I felt any guilt about using a time trial helmet, long sleeve skinsuit, and Javelin Arcole time trial bike, I didn’t feel any regrets when I saw a lot of expensive time trial bikes including a few Cervelos, Orbeas, and the Trek Postal TT bike.

Janet got us a great start and once she got back, I took off mindful not to start too fast. I started catching and passing the cyclists that started ahead of me. After the first of two laps around Central Park, I had caught 20+ riders and we were in 3rd place. By the end of the bike leg, I had caught all but one rider. We were in 2nd place but we lost one spot in the transition and I couldn’t row straight. We were lucky we only lost one spot on the rowing leg to end up 4th overall and 1st in our age group. The event was a nice change of pace, well run, and most of all, a good way to do a triathlon. Many thanks for Janet’s friend Sherri who acted as team photographer, my teammate George, team coach Craig Upton, and my parents for coming out to cheer us on.

The Princeton Review - Think Racing team sponsored (and fueled) by Ommegang Brewery and Union Sq. Cafe had a very productive end of April campaign. On 4/14 in the CRCA club race in Central Park NYC Roger Friedman made the break on lap two of the seven lap A race and finished just off the podium in 4th. In the 4/21 CRCA club race (Harlem Hill Points Race) our man Ricky ( The Cannon Ball) Lowe was on his way to a clear victory after winning 2 out of the 3 sprints on harlem hill when a mix up with where the final finish line sprit was put us off the top step. A great heads up move by Leon Moser and Peirs North got Leon 4th in the last sprint and 6th over all. The 2nd and 6th placing put us right back in the hunt for the Team Cup. The real victory came at breakfast after the race at a local upper west side diner when a Man having pancakes lifted his Princeton Review text book and gave us the thumbs up.

Our first road trip as a team took us to Sturbridge Massachusetts for a rolling 70 mile RR. Out of over 100 starters there were 40 left coming in to the sprint with our team intact. We chose the left side of the road to gain the wind advantage but with a lot of bumping and banging the left side was shutout of the 45+ MPH sprint. Ricky and Peirs finished just outside the top 10 with Roger and George right behind them.

Ricky ridding solo scoured a soiled 4th place on the next day at the finale NYC spring series in prospect park Brooklyn. In a fast hairy field sprit with out a team to lead him out Ricky got boxed in but was able to fight his way through for 4th.