Meredith and Luci on the Cat 3 Podium at Hunter Mountain Spring Classic! And congrats to Lucia D for 10th in the W4! Hard day in the rain, but great effort by the team. Looking forward to the Women’s Woodstock Grand Prix tomorrow!
Race Report: Fall ’12 Cyclocross Update
Cheshire Cross, Cheshire, CT – 11/19/2012 (from Christian Edstrom):
With morning temperatures in the 30s, it’s the time of year when cyclists start eyeing the deeper recesses of the closet to find that winter gear. In an attempt to keep the legs warm and enjoy the receding days of autumn, Darren McNeill and I headed up to Cheshire to contest the 4s race at Cheshire Cross, the 4th round of the Connecticut Series of CX. Joe Tramontano was flying the Signature Cycles/Rockstar Games flag in the 1-3s.
The CX course at Cheshire Park is a genuine woodland adventure. The start is a grass dragstrip with a quick right-hand u-turn and then another grass section before heading into the woods and a short log-stair run-up. After the run-up, the course descends into a mile-long section of tortuous roller-coaster single-track, which ends with a short bridge and an 80 meter climb and gentle descent onto the front of the course. The front winds around the tennis courts, bbq area and baseball fields, providing ample opportunity for spectators to offer their encouragement or condolences.
Darren and I managed a mid-pack line up, and got off pretty well, avoiding any drama in the 180-degree pileup-to-be at the end of the first start. About 3/4s of a mile in, I overcooked an off-camber single-track downhill and took a digger, letting a few riders by. Back on the bike, we battled for position with a group of 5 riders for the first couple of laps, until Darren closed the gap on “the Climb” and passed me, adding some in-race heckling for encouragement. Laps three and four were the usual cyclocross joy – “Oh, god this hurts” and “Oh no, last lap already?” – combined with some close racing on the more open sections of the course.
After crossing the finish and letting the heart rates subside, we ended the day cheering for Joe and relaxing on the tailgate of the car, savoring the last warming rays of the sun and the gentle burn of the embrocation. - C.E.
BUBBLE CX, Bubbling Springs Park, West Milford, NJ – 11/4/2012:
Lucia M, Lucia D, Kristine and Luci headed out to West Milford, NJ for Bubble Cross. We had a really great time racing together and Luci even picked up a podium spot – #2 in the Women’s Cat 4 field. An album capturing the ladies racing is on FB, but here is a group photo:
A successful weekend, and a successful photobomb by Tara.
Grand Opening RESCHEDULED!
Due to the approach of another storm that is expected to make landfall in the middle of this week, Signature Cycles has RESCHEDULED the Grand Opening of the relocated Greenwich Studio!
We are pushing back the date one week, to Thursday, November 15th, 2012 from 5:00-8:00PM.
The occasion will be all the same as planned, however, with over $10,000 worth of prizes being raffled, including a Lightweight wheelset and Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 group, as well as founders, CEOs, and representatives from our manufacturers and other companies within the cycling industry in attendance. Click here to learn more.
It will be a night to remember, and we hope to see you there. Please give us a call at 212-706-0025 (NYC) or 203-485-0500 (Greenwich) if you’d like any more details or information.
Help Wanted!
Hi All,
As some of you may have heard, Grant has recently announced his imminent departure from Signature Cycles this coming January, as he moves south to Nashville, Tennessee to take over management of a high-end vintage car restoration and fabrication shop called the Greening Auto Company (www.greeningautocompany.com). Of course, we’re very excited for him, but his absence will be felt immediately.
From Paul Levine, Signature’s Founder and CEO:
“Grant is starting a new chapter in his life and moving south to run a custom car shop. Grant is my first employee and has been with me every step of the way from working in my garage to becoming the top custom bicycle salesperson in the world. Grant will be missed, both personally and professionally.”
On that note, Paul is wasting no time in beginning the grueling process of combing through the inevitable flood of well-qualified applicants for the new position that will open up, as Blake steps into Grant’s role as head fitter, and Caffery steps away from internal operations and begins to fit and sell customers their dream bikes.
The following ad will appear in a few places, and we wanted to pass it along to our more immediate following to help get the word out:
Signature Cycles in Manhattan, NY provides a professional alternative to the traditional bike shop experience. We are seeking a multi talented professional Sales/Fitter to challenge us and make us better. This is a perfect career opportunity for the right person who wants to create exceptional customer experiences.
Qualified applicants must:
- Have minimum 3 years experience successfully fitting and selling premium products
- Have extensive knowledge in road and triathlon equipment
- Possess superior organizational skills
- Use a to-do list to achieve excellence
- Have mechanical aptitude
- Have excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrate effective communication
- Love making dreams come true for our clients
Competitive wage and benefits based on experience, ability and negotiating skills.
Email resumes or inquires to: signaturecycles@gmail.com, or call 845-978-6933.
Race Report: Weekend of 10/13-10/14
Weekend Results -
Putnam Cyclosportiff, Putnam, NY, 10/14 (from Mikael H):
What a course! This was one of the hardest 67mi rides I have ever done, and with my Suunto HRM telling me I needed 60hrs to fully recover from this epic event! It was literally the most hills I have ever ridden in one ride, with inclines crossing 10% and even hitting 15% several times!
Race Report: Bassman Fall Duathlon, 10/7
Weekend Results
Bassman Fall Duathlon, Bass River State Park, Tuckerton, NJ, 10/7 (from Mikael Hanson):
My last dualthon of the year was also my longest. The forecast for Sunday had looked awful for much of the week, so the crowds were a bit small, but racers had 3 distances to choose from: Sprint, Olympic, or Half Ironman. I chose the Olympic, which had a 4mi-29mi-4mi run/bike/run format. The weather was cool and damp with some light rain on and off throughout the morning, but that was perfect for me as I love cool temps! I hung with the front 3 guys during the first run and ran well within myself as I really wanted to fly on the bike. Four of us came into T1 together and within 1mi of the bike course I was all alone and cruising at about 27mph! I managed the fastest bike split of the day, averaging about 25mph for the 29 miles and felt I could have gone even faster! With no one in sight, I cruised through the second run at a surprisingly fast pace (mile splits of 6:40, 6:30, 6:25 and closed with 6:15), crossing the line in first with a 6-minute margin of victory! – M.H.
Race Report: Tour de Fort Lee
Weekend Results
Tour de Fort Lee Criterium, Fort Lee, NJ, 9/30:
From Mikael H:
(L to R) Christian, Wilson, Caffery, and Mikael pose before the start of the Men’s Cat 4/5 race (not pictured: Garrett and Drew). Photo by Robert Pytel.
I lined up for both the Masters 45+ race and then joined a few of my Rockstar and NYU riders in the Cat 4 event. The Masters race saw 4 riders shoot off the front from the gun, unfortunately a nice little depression in corner 2 sent 3 of them into the hay bails while the 4th rider made it through and used that little incident as an opportunity to attack (a GS Mengoni rider) and was gone despite average speeds near 26mph from the rest of us! With 5 to go, myself and 3 others got off the front and tried to chase, but we were reeled back in with 2 to go and I finished in the field.
Race Report: Weekend of 9/22-9/23
Race Results
Kissena Fall Classic, Prospect Park, 9/22 (from Mikael H):
Myself, Wilson T, Teddy B, Aaron , and one of my NYU riders (Christian T) lined up for the Cat 4 race in Prospect Park on Sat. It was a smallish field as it competed with the CRCA race in Central Park. We had a simple race strategy – starting mid-race we were going to hit the hill hard with 2-3 riders at the front and try to eventually launch one of our riders off the front at the top. We hit the hill hard twice, but the Cat 4 field hung together as the speed on the downhill was slow! On the 4th lap, we did it again and launched Wilson off the front, who quickly bridged to a solo rider who had gone off the front. The two of them managed to stay away for a full lap before getting caught (right when I flatted).
Race Report: Weekend of 9/15-9/16
Weekend Results!
White Plains Criterium, NY, 9/16:
Edward B, Brian W, Cheryl W and Emily U all went to the White Plains Inaugural Downtown Criterium over the weekend. According to Edward, the was perfect weather, not warm, not cold and the course was a simple rectangle. It was a really fast course too with two descents leading right into 90-degree turns. The roads were in pretty good shape too with only a few bumps and there was a lot of room in the turns. The race organizers did an awesome job with this one!
Note from Mikael, and Race Report – Weekend of 9/8-9/9
I will only be sending out a few more weekly updates with the season is quickly drawing to a close, as evidenced by the fact that I had to wear arm warmers for the first time since spring this week for my early AM rides! Where did the season go? My NYU students are back at school and I have a crop of new riders. Myself and Wilson will be doing regular weekend rides with the crew until the weather prevents us from doing so. I will post the details of these rides on FB. We had several friends do the NJ Gran Fondo under very nice conditions and had good things to say about it – especially the waffles served at each rest stop! I will be doing the Putnam Cyclosportif on 10/14th along with some of my NYU riders – details for this ride can be found here: http://putnamcycling.com/index
- M.H.
(Race Report below!)