Northeast - North Jersey Cycling Classic this Sunday 7-15
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I thought people might be interested in this. Link below. It's a nice ride to Park Ridge from NYC or as a side trip off a Piermont/Nyack ride.
http://cyclesportonline.com/page.cfm?PageID=189
slynkie
07-12-07, 11:14 AM
This looks cool, looks like a 1mi crit course, 8 laps for cat 5. I might actually be able to hang for 8 laps, could be a good first race..
Thanks for the info.
I don't race, not by a long shot, but I'm thinking of taking my kids to watch it. There are various "festivities" like bike stunts in addition to the race.
HigherGround
07-14-07, 01:38 PM
This looks cool, looks like a 1mi crit course, 8 laps for cat 5. I might actually be able to hang for 8 laps, could be a good first race..
Thanks for the info.
If this is the same course they had in the late 80's / early 90's, it will be a very challenging course for anyone, let alone a first time racer. At the time, there was a short, very steep climb on the course. The rest of the course was either downhill or with a tailwind, and the first two turns are sort of a wide, sweeping arc that could be taken very fast. All of that meant that it was like doing a quick succession of hill intervals with very little time for recovery. Don't be fooled by the short distances. If it's the same course, it's a tough one! One year my chain dropped at the base of the climb, and I had to stop to put it back on and chase like hell. I got lapped and pulled. I still remember going to the first corner, pulling off the course, collapsing on to my back, and panting like a hyperventilating dog while staring up at the sky. God I miss racing.
slynkie
07-14-07, 01:54 PM
...descriptions of pain...
God I miss racing.
:)
i decided not to race anyway...i'm sticking to my plan to get a couple dozen more group rides under my belt, beat myself up on some hills, and give some races a shot in the spring.
still sounds like a fun day, though!
HigherGround
07-14-07, 02:27 PM
:)
i decided not to race anyway...i'm sticking to my plan to get a couple dozen more group rides under my belt, beat myself up on some hills, and give some races a shot in the spring.
still sounds like a fun day, though!
I'm sure it's a great race to watch. ;) I actually just remembered that I think I was at that race in 1989 when I heard that LeMond had won the Tour by 8 seconds.
Enjoy the racing! It's a tremendous opportunity. I enjoyed being fit, being outside, and the camaraderie of suffering with teammates and competitors. I'm working on getting back in to close to that level of fitness again.
Same course. Everyone said it was brutal. (I was only there as a spectator but cruised the course before it started.) About 1 mile with an 18% grade hill that's about .2, the rest flat or downhill.
Because the course is short, anyone who got far behind was pulled off so they would not get lapped. A good 1/3 of the Cat 5 riders got eliminated by that hill in the first two laps.