Dad in Training: Stay-at-Home Winter Olympics

With the mountains of Sochi filled with abandoned 1/2 pipes, ski jumps whooshing now only as the crosswinds blow, and luge runs empty of athletes hurling themselves down icy tracks in toddler-tested methods (head first, feet first, really expensive sled first), you might think that the winter games are over.

But you would be wrong. The torch has been passed. There is an elite group of competitors packed away in an athlete's village called New York City. And we're all staring at a weather forecast that promises to dump another 8 or 10,000 inches of snow to be plowed and shoveled oh-so conveniently right in front of the place where you are supposed to cross the street. Also we can count on crusty mounds of blackened plow-snow to be blocking pedestrian access to our bus and subway stops. Stops that take us to family-friendly venues that will save our apartments from cabin-fever induced disaster management.

Why does my 19-month-old son Peter delight in taking every single book off the shelf and hurling it across the room with both the skill and deadly accuracy of a Norwegian Biathlete?

We are the stay-at-home parents of the 2014 Polar Vortex Games! And while I'm not a podium contender yet, I do have some top-tips to make sure you are wearing gold at the end of these winter games (which I predict to be sometime around Father's Day).

1. Get a membership. While the upfront investment of a few hundred dollars is significant, do a little math and you'll realize that being

   

   Not everyone minds the snow in NYC.

   
   

   able to drop into the Children's Museum of Manhattan or the Bronx Zoo at a moment's notice throughout the next year without worrying if you've got enough time to make the daily entry fee "worth it,"  is a gold-medal-winning move. Plus, romping around children's museums? Educational and fun! And being able to recite, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" while staring at two actual brown bears wrestling? Kind of Double awesome.
   
2. Get a backpack. No, not that kind. I'm talking the kind that you will carry your toddler to the zoo, the museum, the store, through subway turnstiles without a second thought at record pace. It turns every trip into a ride and your kid will love it. Plenty of parents embrace front-of-the-body packs like the Ergo or Baby Bjorn, but at some point they get shoved in the back of a closet and the omnipresent umbrella stroller comes out. And for an island that currently boasts snowy ridges blocking crosswalks, the stroller is just the wrong tool for the job. Strollers are for STROLLING. And in New York, we don't usually stroll. We walk (more quickly than rickety small plastic wheels can handle), we climb (up and down subway stairs), we run (for the bus), we do ("Ninja-quick" shopping trips at bodegas that pack more items in the same footprint that a suburban grocery store fits their Redbox and Coinstar vending machines.) My dad says he used to get looks carrying me around in a backpack...and that was in the 1970s. 40 years later, I get looks of surprise, followed by realization, a smile, then the comment. "Looks like he's got the best seat in the house." Yes, yes he does.
   
   
3. Get a snowsuit. In the world of Olympic and athletic competition, speed is of the essence. And let's face it; with the jackets, the mittens, the hats, the shoes (all of which routinely get torn off the second you get them on), it probably takes you 1/2 the day just to get crew ready to leave the house. But a good lined snowsuit with a long zipper will not only cut down on your prep time (pants optional!), but keep him warm as can be.  Also snowsuits make your super adorable kid even more so:

Supercross Cup (UCI C2) Weekend Preview

STONY POINT, NY— After a largely “embro-free” season of sunny skies, short-fingered gloves and file-treads, sub-freezing temperatures are predicted to fall November 23 during the opening day of UCI C2 racing at the Supercross Cup just 34 miles north of New York City.

With no other UCI racing on tap this weekend, some of the country’s top crossers will be slogging it out in the shadows of Harriman State Park's Bear Mountain. Tim Johnson (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld) and Ben Berden (Raleigh Clement) are the prohibitive favorites (especially if muddy conditions prevail) for the top two steps of the podium. The battle for bronze looks to be equally, if not more, exciting. Let’s take a look at some of the contenders:

Anthony Clark (Jam Fund/NCC), along with teammate Stephen Hyde, Clark is having a breakthrough year already taking third places in two UCI races (Full Moon Vista & HPCX). But standing tall next to the likes of Johnson and Berden this weekend? That would be a career achievement.

Mike Garrigan (Van Dessel) can always be counted on to ensure a blisteringly fast opening lap, but this year, we’ve seen—with 3 UCI podiums, including a win last week at Kutztown—that he’s got staying power too. Look for the Canadian to be a legitimate threat for the podium, especially if it’s muddy.
  
Dan Timmerman (House Industries-Richard Sachs-RGM) won at Supercross in 2012, finished sixth on day 1 of Cycle-Smart International in 2013 and if his lingering left leg circulation issues ease on race day, a podium placing is a very real possibility.

Shawn Milne (Keough Cyclocross p/b Felt Bicycles) has had his share of “double-legit, this-dude-is-for-reals,” results in 2013, including a win on day 2 of the Cycle-Smart International  (2^nd on day 1) and 7^th place on the opening day of Jingle Cross. But he’s also logged in results in the teens and twenties. Which Shawn Milne shows up this weekend remains to be seen.

Jeremy Durrin (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) was “the little engine that could” in 2012/2013 as he racked up top results as an amateur racing in the UCI Elite fields. This year, as a full-on pro, he’s struggled to put all the pieces together for the kind of results we know are possible. This may be his weekend to shine.

Adam Myerson (Team SmartStop-Mountain Khakis), on his best form in years, just may be the dark (and tattooed) horse for this weekend. Race organizer and course designer Myles Romanow typically creates courses that demand good handling skills (as well as strength and fitness), and there are few better bike drivers than the cagey vet.

Stephen Hyde (Jam Fund/NCC) had stunning early season success, including besting the likes of no less than Jonathan Page (Fuji-Spy-Competitive Cyclist) in Baltimore, but injuries have kept him from pinning on a race number since his DNF at the Cycle-Smart International.

Kerry Warner, Jr (MOB CX Team) is the reigning Div 1 Collegiate CX champion, and despite a light CX racing schedule in 2013, he still managed to score an 8^th place on day 1 of Cincy3. Fresh legs may rule the day come this weekend. Stay tuned!

Boasting $2034 to the top 15, the UCI Elite Women's field looks to be a largely regional battle. Laura Van Gilder (Van Dessel p/b Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers) will be looking to extend her winning streak to 5 races in a row. While Van Gilder has won no less than 7 of her last 8 races, that doesn’t mean she won’t have competition. Arley Kemmerer (C3-Twenty20 Cycling Co.), 15^th in the opening round of the World Cup just one month ago, has come in second to Van Gilder for the past two weekends in a row. It’s hard to imagine she’s not extra motivated to reverse the trend.

Much like the men’s race, the battle for third appears to be a little more wide open. Emma White (Cyclocrossworld.com) has proven to be a consistent performer, racking up top-6 placings (including 3^rd at Cycle-Smart International day 2) in her last 4 UCI races. However, racing much more recently than White, Amanda Carey (Stan’s No Tubes Elite) went out to Jingle Cross and came back with two top-10 performances against the likes of Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) and Maureen Bruno Roy (Bob’s Red Mill p/b Seven Cycles). Finally, the field will ignore local stand-out Stacey Barbossa (NY/NJ Colavita Women’s Team) at their own peril. Just two weeks ago, Barbossa placed 5^th at the UCI C2 HPCX race suggesting that she’s finding her form just in time for a Supercross Cup showdown.