On that first spectacular weekend day of the year New York City cyclists are invariable like moths to a flame when it comes to sneaking in some long miles under blue skies. So much so that there was a queue several dozen riders long this past Saturday simply to access the GWB pedestrian ramp. For our part we couldn't help but suffer from the same over-enthusiasm by riding longer than was reasonable with our current post-winter but somehow still pre-spring fitness - ringing up 120 odd miles in truly glorious conditions. It was a long enough day with enough excitement that we'll have a full weekend roll from the ride later this week - for now a brief summary will have to suffice. We kicked things off by catching some accidental air time while cutting north through the city:

Once past that queue for the pedestrian ramp and across the bridge we started to rack up plenty of climbing in route to the Bear Mountain Classic Course for a bit of recon. 

By the time we turned around and hit the home stretch we realized that we had really done quite a bit of work. And we still had a ways to go, particularly for the Brooklyn boys:

In fact it was enough work that one of our number decided to pull the ripcord and take a bus back into New York City (pro tip: $8 from 9W to NYC is a hell of a bargain when you're close to passing out). But more on that later this week. And as monstrous of a day as the team had, Corey managed to put in an even longer day on a mostly solo cruise starting at 7AM and ending nearly one hundred and fifty miles later:

So there you have it. Sometimes even experienced racers do dumb shit on the first nice day of the year. And while that massive day may have left us a bit fried, it was far from the only feature in The Week That Was.

Weekday Racing at FBF Kicks Off

Earlier in the week the new H+H FBF Thursday Race Series got underway at everyone's favorite abandoned airfield in Brooklyn. Our #slowboiz were present and accounted for, racing for Cullen who unfortunately flatted out. So Clay made up for missing out on his breakaway dreams at the prior Lucarelli & Castaldi race in Prospect Park by going off the front in a two man move that put several minutes into a shattered field. In the end Clay walked away with yet another 2nd place finish (that's three this year?) and a few pretty terrific photographs courtesy of H+H Racing (for those curious: Strava). Look for the squad to have a continued heavy presence at both FBF series this year (and head over to the TBD Calendar if you're curious for the details). 

H2H MTB Series Also Kicks Off

Ted and Turk kicked off the 2018 H2H series with a 2d & 4th, respectively, in the M Cat 2 race at Ringwood NJ.  Despite the forecast the course stayed dry and fast through Ringwood’s notorious babyhead sections.  While we will miss race 2 of the series for our favorite Rasputitsa gravel race, we look forward to more XC MTB results mixed into our road season.

Reading, Links and Random Facts

• "In one of several haunting images of the aftermath of the hit-and-run at Manchester and Normandie that killed 22-year-old cyclist and area resident Frederick Frazier – “Woon,” to friends – yesterday afternoon, a concerned man stands over Frazier’s splayed and twisted body. His hand, gently cradling Frazier’s muscular shoulder, indicates both an attempt to offer comfort and an effort to discern the felled young man’s chances for survival. The rest of the scene provides the devastating answers." 22-year-old Killed in Hit-and-Run at Manchester/Normandie; Driver Plows Through Mourners Corking Intersection to Protest Death (StreetsblogLA)

• “If you’re a surgeon and someone runs over your hand, you’re still going to try to get back,” he said. “I’ve never had another job, and this sport is my way of life. I don’t know any other way.” This Man Expects to Run a 2:50 in the Boston Marathon on Monday (New York Times)

• "The other interesting finding was a link between the use the maladaptive coping and the probability that a runner would finish the race. For every one-point increase in the maladaptive score, a runner’s likelihood of finishing the race dropped by a factor of three. Crucially, this finding was calculated with the level of reported pain held constant, meaning that the athletes weren’t altering their pain coping strategy (and then dropping out) simply because they were in more pain." Why It Matters How You Think About Pain (Outside)

• "Some of the Dutch cycleways are used so heavily, that they have reached their capacity. This means the authorities need to come up with innovative solutions to make cycling convenient and attractive again at those locations." Intersection upgrade: a Banana and a Chips Cone

• "The price tag for the MTA’s problem-plagued East Side Access megaproject to link the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal has risen another billion dollars to about $11.2 billion — more than 2 1⁄2 times the original estimate when the project was first proposed in the late 1990s." East Side Access price goes up again, now stands at $11.2B (AM New York). As Yonah Freemark pointed out on Twitter: "For <1/2 the cost (€3.7b), Paris is extending RER E regional rail, with 5 miles of subway, 3 massive new subway stations, + 29 miles of renovated railway. Line will serve 2x as many passengers as entire LIRR.

Parting Shots