Tag Archives: staten cx

No CX Bike? No Problem! Kona Jake The Snake CX Rentals are HERE!

Without a doubt, the most pervasive excuse we hear from people who want to try cyclocross is, “I don’t have a cyclocross bike.”

Well, we’re here to make things easy for you. We have dedicated a fleet of brand-new Kona Jake the Snake CX Bikes just to cover that “convenient” excuse of not having a CX bike to use. Here are the awesome details:

Price: $65 per day/race $100 per weekend

Other Info: customers provide their own MTB pedals and shoes. The $65 covers cleaning and tuning of bikes, but customers are responsible for damage (you break, you buy).

Here’s a nice touch: 50% of the rental charge on a CX bike can be applied towards the purchase of a new Cyclocross bike at NYC Velo!

And because we’re a sponsor and love the race, rental fees will be waived for Staten CX.

If you’re wondering about the quality of the Kona Jake the Snakes, let’s just say they’re awesome looking, durable, feature-rich, and at a great price point. With a 105/ultegra mix, BB30 bottom bracket, tapered headtube and a carbon fork, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything similar at this price.

So give us a call and reserve a bike for whatever race strikes your fancy- there are some good ones coming up.

See you at the races.

Staten CX Celebrity Recap: Erik Tonkin

Photo By Marco Quezada

We are firmly in the wake of what we consider to be the best non-UCI CX race in the Northeast:  Staten CX.   Run by our very own CJ,  we were proud be a major sponsor of the event.  In our eyes is was the best representation of everything we love about cyclocross all rolled into one.  People enjoyed themselves to the max, regardless of whether they were competing, watching, eating waffles, or all of the above.  We had the fortune of working with our friends at Kona,  who not only decided to step up as the bike sponsor, but even flew out the “Cave man” himself, Erik Tonkin.  Below is a recap of Erik’s experience at our race (Stolen from the Kona Cog Blog).  We were stoked that he came all the way over here to experience our scene, and we hope he comes back for more next year!

Cross in Shaolin!

I didn’t know quite what to expect of the Staten Island Cyclocross. It turns out the least understood burough wasn’t exactly the rest of the city’s dumping zone, and Wu Tang Clan was nowhere to be seen in the place called Shaolin. In fact, the race venue was gorgeous—Wolfes Pond Park is right on the water, a smaller, more suburban version of Gloucester’s iconic cyclocross stronghold Stage Fort Park. And like Stage Fort, war history is celebrated at Wolfes Pond: the park is home to a memorial for men lost in The Battle of the Bulge. Without that American victory, there would probably be no modern Belgium. And without modern Belgium, there would be no ‘cross.

I was most excited to be racing in a new setting with a strong scene. The course was dry, the sun was warm, and we raced at 1pm instead of, say, 4pm, so I knew there’s be some post-race waffles and coffee leftover…for once. On the other hand, the red-eye flight from the day before followed by my personal one-day record for beer and meat consumption was not totally in harmony with the goal of victory. Of course, my habit is to be ready to race, no matter what, where, or when and without excuses—it’s what qualifies me as a professional, I guess.

And I needed to be a bit pro because there was competition. The Swiss kid Valentin Scherz might’ve been at the USGPs in Fort Collins, but he instead chose to defend his Wu Tang title. After an acceptable start I moved to 4th wheel in the course’s fast grass chicanes and, by the end of the beach run, stayed there to the course’s next feature, a truly tricky downhill dismount followed by a short run-up. At the top of the run-up, there was a choice to be made: remount and attempt to ride the technical, off-camber traverse followed by a very steep and lose on-the-bike climb, or run like an idiot. Scherz and another had gapped 3rd wheel, and then that rider made a mistake, trying to remount and ride at the top of the run-up. The choice was made for me: I ran like an idiot through the entire section and quickly got across to the leaders. Stupider like a fox, I guess. Now there were three.

On lap two I hit the sand as 3rd wheel, but I attacked hard, running inside all the way to the short staircase that took us up and off the beach. Only Scherz matched it, so it was down to two as we remounted and clipped in. He was quicker, and he countered with a surge that resulted in a 3-5 second gap on me for the next five laps. The loop was short and fast at about 5 minutes, so when I finally reeled him in there were still four to go. I followed for a lap—we seemed to take a break, and I was fine with that. Plus, it gave me a chance to finally come around him. I didn’t waste time: I led into the technical section, and instead of remounting and riding at the top of the short down-and-up, I put my head down and ran like I had early on.

I knew he was more fit, and he seemed fundamentally ‘cross strong. I figured my only chance was to put him on defense and then hope for a panic-induced mistake. Basically, I was trying to do to him what I always try to do to Kona’s new riders Sean Babcock and Spencer Paxson. They say I ride around at a “slug’s pace” and then pull them back with a sort of tractor beam that unwittingly slows them down. They claim I then manage to somehow mind-screw them and proceed to ride away very slowly, thus stealing the victory. (I take it as a compliment, even though it doesn’t sound like one.)

At this point I was pretty confident in what I could do to the end: I mean, I knew I could do my old man ride. The hard running sharply gapped him, but much to his credit he stayed calm. On a course like Wolfes Pond, a 10 second gap can be as good as a mile. However, he never let it open up, and he was good enough to not make a basic mistake.

Scherz told me afterward that he’d been a bit worried: the longer I stayed with him, the more chance there’d be of him blowing up. But he shouldn’t have doubted: he got back to me quickly, and right at two to go he attacked and held a 5 second gap into the sand. It was 10 when I finally remounted. So it was over, and I started looking for the dollar bill and beer hand-ups. I was happy to have made a race out of it with this Swiss kid. Valentin is actually quite good, and he should go well at Espoir worlds this winter.

There was then the podium ceremony and, with it, prizes and photos. I was able to use my sweet cash winnings to pay for waffles, coffee and chocolate-covered bacon for some fellow ‘cross racers and fans…and for myself. Best, I did walk away with the Pyrrhic victory of the day: one guy called me the least smug Portlander he’d ever met. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s one for the Caveman and Kona.

Photo by Eloy Anzola

Ring in the CX year

It’s that time of the year again.  The road season is coming to a burnt-out end,  the weather (hopefully soon) gets cooler, and we start to long for mud and cowbells.  the 2010 cyclocross season is set to kick off with Nittany Lion ‘Cross on September 11th.  The season will be chock full of barriers, caution tape, and screaming fans.

In celebration of our favorite racing season,  We’re throwing another season kickoff party.  The event will take place at the shop on Thursday, September 23rd, from 7-9PM.  We will be showing some epic CX movies, drinking delicious Kelso Beer, and its rumored that Wafels & Dinges‘ new waffle cart might unexpectedly show up.

We will have our CX bikes and equipment out and ready to go.  We’ll have some excellent embrocation from Mad Alchemy and Sportique for you to try out.  We’ve also got some fun schwag to give out courtesy of our friends at Embrocation Cycling Journal.  If you’re interested in trying out this awesome sport,  then stop by.  We’ve got all the equipment an awkward roadie needs to transform into a barrier hopping, beer-guzzling machine.

While you’re at it,  don’t forget to pre-register for Staten CX,  which is going down on 11/13.  It’s the only (and therefore the best) Cyclocross race in NYC.

Hup Hup Hup!