Kings Of New England....

Three days of riding and raging that made up the Kings Of New England race took place this past weekend. Here's my recap:

Friday night was the Hartford Alleycat sponsored by The Hartford Bike Messenger Association. About 30 some-odd racers showed up, raced around the city, wreaked some havoc and had a great time. There were some great prizes as well that consisted of some Baileyworks bags amongst other cool stuff. I raced with Tony Tyrant and because of our general lack of knowledge about the city, we got our asses kicked! But alleycats aren't about winning (right?).....

Saturday was the stage race from Hartford to New Haven. We left Hartford around 1pm and rolled a neutral start to Maple. Once we hit that, it was on! I attacked early on the Berlin Tnpk to see who would follow and 6 came with me. Broke a spoke just 2mi before the preem sprint. 2 others flatted but we kept on. Won the sprint preem for $50 towards a sitting @ Turnpike Tattoo with Shawn Hebrank, and the 4 of us kept on (2 fixed, 2 geared). When we got to Wallingford, one other fixed racer dropped off (I know he's from Bristol, but I'm horrible with names! Many apologies!). Much respect for hanging with us for that long. Then NYC Dan, myself and Doug kept a super tight paceline all the way into New Haven. We averaged around 20mph but slowed down as we got into the city because we were all really starting to feel the effects of exhaustion. As we got the finish, the other rider and I missed the turn by about 2 blocks, and Dan went on to win! Congrats, respect and much love for riding with us! I was super impressed by his ability to keep up with us on his track bike especially when we were coasting downhill at 30mph!

I think Dan is pulling us here. Doug is right behind me.
Me cornering somewhere on RT 5 (according to Tyrant). Doug, and NYC Dan are both just ahead of me here. Both photos by Jason Patrician. (Fun Fact: You can't read it from here, but my button says 'Crazy doesn't even begin to describe it.')

Sunday was the New Haven Alleycat sponsored by Ghettodrome Productions. With temps in the 90's, high humidity, relatively no shade, 2 manifests, and random clues after the manifests, I wound up with mild heat exhaustion and packed it in before I got seriously sick after the first manifest. Highlights of my day include, skitching off a redneck's pride and joy pick-up truck and then being threatened with getting run-over after he saw me, tales of NYC Dan, Shane and TJ (Hartford) riding on 95 for an exit, then jumping a barrier with bikes to get on the road they needed, and laying in the shade, trying not to puke for about 30 mins then drinking about a gallon of water in 15 mins.

A great time was had by all. Congrats to NYC Dan who won the race overall, thanks to Uva, Chris, Goo, and Darren for throwing kick ass races! Thanks also to all the sponsors for such great prizes (especially Matt from Devil's Gear who put up a Bareknuckle track frame for 1st!!). My personal thanks goes out to Tony T and Jason for getting me to Hartford, shooting some great photos and manning my personal support vehicle, NYC Dan and Doug for the sweet paceline action Saturday (couldn't have done it without you guys!) and Melissa for keeping me from sleeping on a park bench, feeding me and driving me home Sunday (I owe you big!). Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next race!

I've got a disc of photos coming, so if you're waiting to see them, sit tight. They'll be up soon!