Greetings all! Please come out to the USI BBQ to celebrate with friends and plenty of USI cheer!
We’ll be gathering early afternoon after the ride.
Sheri will be shooting portraits for the 2010 Banquet Book so
look sharp!
BBQ Ticket Prices are $10/person for USI members and family,
$15/person fo non-members and $15/person at the park.
Checks for the BBQ should be made out to USI Cycling Club and
mailed to Tim at his address;
Tim Compton
4901 Henry Hudson Parkway
Apt 2H
Bronx, NY 10471
You can reach Tim on 917-648-4364 or jtimrider@gmail.com
Grazie!
1 year ago
Some of us have bikes that heading into their golden years and as we retire them the tried and true gearing that has seen us up and over is now somewhat down and out…the triple chain ring on the road bike is becoming something of a rarity and is being eclipsed by the compact.
What exactly is a compact? Well on the road the compact was brought to prominence recently by the boys from Campagnolo. That’s right the firm founded by this guy:
Tullio not only gave us the quick release, but with all the crazies wanting go uphill as fast as possible in their Gran Fondo rides and races Signore Campagnolo’s descendents devised a two chain ring set up that uses a small 34 tooth inner chain ring and a 50 tooth outer chain ring. What is now called standard for chain rings used a 39 inner ring and a 53 outer ring. Go a bit further back and you’ll find standard was 42 and 53…so the standard was already shrinking before the compact made its debut…
A road triple usually has an inner (granny) ring of 30 teeth, a middle ring of 42 and an outer of 52. Granny is supposed to sound derisive, but my granny was a rather polite and tough nonna.
Ahem…so why replace your triple with a compact? Well for one thing there are less parts with a compact compared to a triple so it is a bit lighter, and even if you are not a weight weenie it’s always nice to not lug around extra stuff. I like to tell people that buying lighter parts is better…they never get heavier – if you lose a couple of grams on the Marshall Plan (Kate, that is) while training for the Golden Apple this September 9th (Go Sign Up NOW!) you are very likely to put them right back on in the celebratory moments of century ride completion euphoria. And besides who could, would, or should resist a second helping of your favorite nonna’s pasta?
For another thing a compact is easier to shift. Your front derailleur has much less distance to travel and less opportunity to become confused about where it should be or what ring it should be derailing. The compact works especially well with a full ten speeds out back on your rear wheel. With 20 speeds that’s as many as you had on your 7 x 3 triple (almost) and the range of gears is just about the same so hills don’t have to be so awful either. Of course if you do want the absolute lowest gearing, then a triple is still the best option.
I ride a compact and like it very much for all of my riding, but there are some triples that I truly admire and always make me smile.
Image credits:
http://67.228.130.208/~mike/remastered/Fiat_Compact_Car.jpg
http://www.campagnolo.com/images/company01.png
http://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/3stooges.jpg
1 year ago
3rd Annual Connecticut Coast Criterium
Presented by
Connecticut Coast Cycling
Bethel, CT
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Women
Name Team
Number
1 Dale Malkames USI
306
2 Kimberly Edwards CVC/Subaru of New England
303
3 Cheryl Wolf Bethel Cycle
309
4 Maria Murphy Retro Velo
310
5 Siri Hildowen Yale
311
6 Joanne Ross Stage 1/Fusion THINK
308
7 Rebecca Hussey Bethel Cycle Sport Club
305
8 Lyn McCabe
307
9 Karen Franzen CVC/Subaru of New England
304
10 Carmen Carlton CVC/Subaru of New England
301
11 Donna Davis CVC Subaru of New England
302
1 year ago
I am thinking about selling my Bontrager Aeolus 65 Tubulars. The wheels are amazingly fast but I want to get a powermeter and am looking to raise some bike money. Also, the way they are designed I cannot race them in cross otherwise I would keep them for that. I bought them from Sam for $900 (Retail for $2300). If anyone is interested I will sell them for $600 with skewers and wheel bags, and relatively new conti sprinter tubular tires. They have been raced on 4 times and trained on maybe another 4 times. Perfect condition, and I have the Shimano and Campy cassette body conversion hub (retails $175) I will throw in for free.
2 years ago
The Tuesday and Thursday night training rides start again this month since Daylight Savings Time is in effect. If you work in Westchester, these rides are a great way to improve your fitness. We even get some riders who work in the city that join us occasionally.
The mileage varies from 20 to 56 miles depending on the daylight, but the ride is always back by dark (assuming no mechanical issues). Even so, you should always have a taillight and we recommend a front blinker aswell.
Both rides are great for training. Tuesday is generally the harder ride, but it’s determined by who shows up.Thursday is a tempo ride—no breakaways and we relax after climbs, and you may even get a push up hill, but it still re-quires a lot of effort to keep up. If you want an easy ride, try Monday nights, but if you want to move up from regularGimbels, then the Tuesday / Thursday rides are the rides for you. The route is the same as Gimbels Long, but we do Whippoorwill instead of Rt. 120 due to traffic. The longer rides in mid summer also loops around Bedford like Gimbels does on rare occasion. The Thursday ride is the one to come on if you can do Gimbels Regular, but the Long ride is a bit of a stretch. Tuesday is good for anyone who does Gimbels Long but gets dropped or who wants to get better. Comeout every week; trust me, you will get stronger.
We leave the Waller Ave parking lot (between Post Rd. and Maple Ave.) in White Plains at 6pm sharp. If you are running late, try parking at the Stop and Shop on Rt. 22 in North White Plains and meet us on the road. If you park at the Waller Ave. lot, you must feed the meters, as they are 24 hours, or find free parking further south on Waller Ave.
2 years ago
This is the schedule and all the details for the 2008 Monday night rides.
April- 7,14,21 & 28
May- 5,12 & 19
June- 2,9,16,23 & 30
July- 7,14,21 & 28
August- 4,11,18 & 25
September- 8,15 & 22
There is no ride on May 26 (Memorial Day) & Sept. 1 (Labor Day). That is a total of 25 rides for this year. On June 23, 2008 a special longest day of the year ride will take a route over Whippoorwill Rd. in Armonk.
All rides will depart at 6:00 PM from the parking lot on Waller Ave. between Maple & Post Ave. in downtown White Plains, N.Y. Ride distance ranges from 16 miles to a full ride of 32 miles. The pace is 16 MPH or less and no rider will be dropped. A helmet must be worn on all rides.Any ride will be cancelled due to inclement weather at departure time in White Plains. This includes snow, rain, high winds & lightning. Parking in White Plains is $1.00 per hour & is strictly enforced.
Any questions contact: Mark J. Lalloo at (914) 946-8816 or e-mail: electrovelo@optonline.net
2 years ago
USI will once again be hosting the ESG Hudson Region qualifying race at FDR Park in Yorktwon Heights. The race is an USACycling open field race that determines the open racing men’s and women’s teams. Anyone of any cate-gory and age may try for a spot on the open teams. The race entry fee is $10 this year. The top ten men qualify for the team and the next 5 finishers are eligible as alternates. On the women’s side the top three finishers make the team and alternate slots are available.
Masters categories start at 35 so if you want to race in a Masters category you do not need to qualify. The field on the men’s side is limited to 75. With this being an open race it’s a good opportunity to test yourself against seasonedcompetition and learn about race tactics first hand. FDR is a 1.8 mile course with a moderate hill and the race distance is typically longer than the usual cat 4 races in the NY parks. USI Race Director, Mark Lalloo will be setting up a flyer with details for registration and other pertinent info.
We need a crew of about (15) volunteers to secure the course for the riders. Details will follow for the qualifier. The games are being held in Binghampton from July 23-27, 2008. The Empire State Games website is: http://www.empirestategames.org
If you would like information on the games and how you can help, contact Mark at electrovelo@optonline.net or give hima call at 914-946-8816. USI members who volunteer earn 5-points & should submit their event participation to points czarina, Gloria Deucher at points@usicycling.org in order to get credited with their points towards the 2008 points season competition.
2 years ago
White Plains has scheduled the bike training class for the instructors of the May 3, 2008 safety rally. The commitment from the W.C.C. & U.S.I. bike clubs is to supply a minimum of six instructors for the training class and the safety rally. The training class will be on Monday, April 7, 2008 at Gillie Park, 85 Gedney Way off Mamaroneck Ave. The two hour class will start at 6:00 PM. No bike riding necessary at the class. The safety rally, itself, is Saturday May 3, 2008 at 10:00 AM. The location for the rally is Delfino Park, Lake St. in W.P. This events targets kid and includes a helmet giveaway. Volunteers must be able to attend both the class and the rally, and NOW is the time to recruit the volunteers for this event. All volunteers should contact Mark J. Lalloo at: electrovelo@optonline.net or (914) 946-8816. In addition, W.P. will set up a meeting with the clubs shortly to finalize the details. USI members who volunteer earn 5-points & should submit their event participation to points czarina, Gloria Deucher at points@usicycling.org in order to get credited with their points towards the 2008 points season competition.
2 years ago
Dear Ed,
This sounds great and my family is very excited about contributing to the history of the club. I have been in touch with Otto Jr. and he was very well aquainted with my grandfather Michael Asarisi. Currently I am in arizona visiting my father, Joseph Asarisi who was a midget USI member in the 1950’s. He has a scrapbook that my grandfather kept of his early USI years.
I went thru the scrapbook and scanned a few photos. There are some early articles in the scrapbook but they are glued down to the pages so I really couldn’t scan them well. I am not sure as to what you are looking for but I am sending you a few scans. We do have many photos of Otto Sr. with the team (you will reckognize his face) at the USI club. Attached are 4 photos and one article.
When I return to NY I would love to speak with you. Thanks for the reply and my family is very happy to hear that USI is still going strong!
Best Regards,
Michelle Asarisi
Thank you so much Michelle!
Please enjoy the following 5 amazing photos.
2 years ago
