2014 NYC Spring Series Recap
In past years, a race report on the New York City Spring Series coming several weeks after the event would be the first any non-participant would hear about it. But I have to hand it to the organizer. This year, he has stepped it up a notch, with efficient registration, on the ball marshals and regular and timely results reporting. Several teammates and I hit the Cat 1/2/3 races on the 16th and the 23rd of March. As a result of the brutal winter weather, riders in the early season NYC amateur peloton fit into one of three groups: the well trained (usually involving a life or leisure or an extended block of time spent riding in a more hospitable climate), the trainer trained (thanks, Netflix) and “other.” This meant that the dynamic was the same in both races, different parcours notwithstanding.
The well trained attacked vigorously in the early going, established breaks and won the race. As a member of the trainer trained thanks to my new Wahoo, but with too many commitments and a bad case of cycling-induced pagophobia to be race ready, I followed every promising move and ended up in early breaks both mornings.
Working in the breaks was good training. But while we stayed away, I was not the front group at the end of either race. Through team tactics and better conditioning, a handful of riders got off the front each race and took the top spots.
Eager to get some muffin money, I tried to jump away from the break in the last lap each race and steal a money spot. But neither effort stuck, and I rolled across the line a little puckered from the morning’s efforts.
Still, it’s good to be riding and racing outside again after a long cold winter.
