2003 SEASON RACE REPORT
2002
Report Archives
Pilarcitos SuperPrestige
CX, Coyote Point,
San Mateo, CA
A's
By Brent Chapman
Day 2.
OK, this is my first 2 days of Cross racing. I wasn't sure if I could even
do it. I was gonna race the B's, but I took wrong turn and missed the start.
So, I signed up for the A's, ouch. I was out warming up and who do I pass,,
Todd Wells. Nice guy we chatted for a few.
Oh.. Marc Gullickson, Travis Brown, and the other freaks of Speed, Jackson
Stewart, Ben and Andy Jacques-Maynes, Justin Robinson, and John Funky are
here.
So I am nervous..
Bang the start is off, the pace is great, these guys are much smoother over
obstacles. I see Aaron again, and I ride just behind him, for a little while.
The course was really a fast course, with a few good run ups.. I felt pretty
good, but the upper flat section was over a wood chip covered field, and man
it felt like that was sucking the power off my legs.
So I did pretty good the first lap. Second lap, I dropped back a few places
and took it easy to set into a pace. Each time I made the climb I got weaker,
it wasn't really hard, just enough to be right in the middle of easy and tough
and for some reason I suffer in that place.
So I start to get dropped.. Bye.. They ride away. So after being lapped I
just had fun, cruising and hopping stuff.. It was cool.
Justin, wasn't doing too well as he was sick, so I could see him coming behind
me. At first I thought that by picking up my speed, I was holding him off
from passing me. But he was just riding out the race. So I take the cool twisting
downhill, to a little drop off just before the last little descent, and I
missed my brake and got launched off the top, landed totally sideways and
rode off.. My heart almost jumped out of my throat, I got lucky.
Anyway, I just rode out the race. Fortunately they were not pulling racers
who were getting lapped, so I was able to finish the race off the back.. Way
off the back. Last place :).. But hey. It is all in the plan.
Surf City CX #3, Santa
Cruz County Fairgrounds,
Watsonville , CA
A's
By Brent Chapman
Puke fest for Chapman;
I was praying for rain.. It never came. Fortunately the course was nice and
soft from the earlier evening rain.
Bang..the start.. I decided to get aggressive today and to grab some wheels
I know would have good results. Aaron Kereluk, there was a wheel.. Over the
first barrier and bang.. It looked like Ben Jaques Maynes was down.
huff huff, I'm doing ok.. So I loose Aaron's wheel, but get onto another one,
I can see Brian Vernor hanging out in front of me.. So I decide to hang on
and follow him as long as I can. The thought was that if I could follow him
for a while, regardless of how pooped I got I would at least be able to spin
out and stay clear of a few guys.
Second lap, another guy Jeff Hantman, I recognize from Clif bar, and another
guy Bob who always kicks my ass. I am feeling great, legs feel good, breathing
is right, Bikes working good..
We run up the hill after the barricade and I jump on my seat.. Blat.. Barf
shoots out my nose, and out my mouth..
So there goes breakfast.
I am kinda dumbfounded.. not sure what happened.. So
I keep pedaling and chase back up.. Blat.. More comes up. This isn't good..
Within another 200 yards, I can feel a bonk coming on. Thank god, Jeff Bronack
is rolling the course and gives me a Enervit Gu.. I suck it down in hopes
it will help me recover. But I am fried. I have to stop.. I gave up.
Kicking my self in the back side for stopping.. I start to get mad at myself..
So Bang I jump back into it, of course at this moment its when I can tell
my back is pretty tight! So I ride on.. little stronger, little stronger..
I started feeling better, by this point I am a almost 2 laps back from the
leaders, so I knew it was only a moment of minutes before they would lap me
two times.. But I kept on.
I wanted to finish. I did. On the last lap, I can see Brian coming up the
hill behind me.. So I started yelling at him.. Come on and Get me Brian!!
He slowly gained inches.. I was hoping to sprint it out with him at the line..
But as luck would have it, I slipped at the barriers before the run up and
slam my knee into my pedal and dropped my chain.. So I just stayed within
a few seconds of him to follow him in.
Wish it would have rained.. I got second to last. I expected as much my first
year anyway.
Mount Hamilton Road Race
San Jose, CA
Cat 5
Conditions: Sunny, headwind for 38 of 38 miles
By
Cullen Wojcik
I learned an important lesson at this race: When
faced with a difficult decision, make sure you have all the facts. (More on
this shortly.)
The drive over Mount Hamilton to the start area
for the Senior 5s, Women 4s, etc. was long, slow, and winding and would have
definitely been more fun on my bike. Next year, maybe. And the pre-race warm-up
time was far from uneventful. Less than half an hour before the race started,
on of the Senior 5s, while descending the hill before the start area, went
down hard and had to be ambulanced out of there and to a hospital. I'm not
sure exactly what happened, but I did see a neck brace being put on him while
he was lying on the ground.
The race started with an immediate uphill followed
by a medium length decent with one hairpin turned the organizers warned us
about before we started. It was the turn before that, however, that caught
me off guard. And this is where I learned my aforementioned lesson. We'd spread
out quickly on the decent and I was in the front three of the pack when I
realized too late that I'd come into a left turn too fast. Time slowed down
and I took in the situation: "I'm going to blow out this corner. Should
I slide out and take the road rash or should I ride through it into the shoulder
and up the side of the hill into that bush?" Seems like an easy enough
decision, right? So I rode through the corner, down the shoulder, and up the
side of the hill into the bush. And there I was ripping my bike back out of
the bush and running back onto the road as the rest of the peleton went by.
But I didn't have all the facts. And it wasn't until late Monday night that
I realized this as my body slowly broke out into one big, itchy, red rash.
Poison oak! Would've make that decision a little more interesting. But not
of that played a roll at the time.
I was able to get back on my bike and catch back
onto the peleton in less than a mile, and for the next seven or eight miles
of rolling flats there was a steady stream of attacks, of which I probably
worked a little too hard to help reel in my share. By the time we hit the
3-mile, 1000-foot climb, I was a bit worn out, but was able to hold on to
the front for most of it and finally got dropped off the back of the lead
group not too far from the top.
After cresting the summit there was about twenty
miles of winding downhill to the finish. Near the top I got in with a group
of six or seven other riders (including a few lagging Masters, I think), and
we worked together all the way down, but by 1km to go there were only a few
of us left, but we finally saw the lead group and they were only 50 yards
up. I sprinted as hard as I could for the finish, but ended up leading the
other two guys out. When I crossed the finish I figured I'd be lucky if I
got top 10 or 12, but later found out I grabbed 6th (supposedly #1 got DQ'd).
This is an okay race for the 5s, but going over
Mount Hamilton would be a lot more fun, I think.
24 Hours Adrenalin Laguna
Seco Solo National Championships
Laguna Seca, CA
Solo
Clear skies!
By Brent Chapman
24 hours of adrenaline Laguna Seca Solo National
Championships.
I finally got some math figured out. Here is
the formula. Laguna seca + Brent = Bad Luck! Beautiful weather and dry conditions.
The La mans start sucked. I hate running, so I jogged, got shouldered by every
nimrod on earth trying to get to the front. ugh. I took it easy the first
lap but climbed every climb too fast. I came into the finish of lap one 20
minutes ahead of what I planned. Lap 2, another fast lap, 10 minutes ahead.
Lap 3 10 minutes ahead. Finally I figured out where it was. I slowed. I decided
to consume a protein shake every lap to keep my protein levels high and allow
for fast digestion as well as lots of liquids. This seemed to work. I managed
to ride 5 laps straight without any discomfort. At the end of the 6th lap
I came in for a much needed clothing change. Then proceeded out again for
2 more laps and returned for dinner. After dinner, we looked at the time and
saw I was ahead of schedule and decided to rest for 2 hours to keep my fresh.
At 3 am I got back up and headed out. I felt a cramp on the 5th, 6th and 7th
lap that all started at the same spot after a downhill that lead to a little
kick. I decided to take it in Granny to see if that helped.
It did. As I rounded the mountain side for the climb up Hurl hill, a racer
behind me started to whine about getting out of his way. Obviously he was
not a solo, as I was not going that slow, but told him to hang on a few seconds
and he could pass when the trail widened. With a little cussing and shouting
he made his decision to screw the soloist and made his pass on the narrow
hillside path, just seconds from the corner where it widened. As he passed,
his bar ends locked with mine and he turned his head to face me and blinded
me with his helmet mounted light. I looked away and went down. As I fell,
my right foot came out, but my left did not and my body twisted over onto
my belly and my bike the other way. He rode on. Fortunately another racer
was not far behind and helped me get my foot out of my pedal. My knee was
trashed. I made it to the top of Hurl Hill by foot and knew it was over. I
had to make this final lap, and continue on. I walked several sections that
were not even steep. I got to the Nationals right turn, where non-national
competitors turned left the easy way (wishin I did that one now) and headed
just ahead of another female soloist. As we were out on the flats I could
see some eyes in the grass. I slowed and turned on my dual beam jet lights
as well as the helmet light.
This was no coyote; it had feline movements and shoulders that stood above
the grass. I could see a tail too. Ok so I was a little freaked, I couldn't
tell how big this was due to where it was in perspective to where we were.
But I am pretty sure I saw a mountain lion. I held up and slowed for the woman
racer behind me. She advised she was sick and had been vomiting. We rolled
together and I made sure she made it to the downhill back onto the normal
course toward the Grind fire road. That's where she passed me as I rolled
in the dark fighting the pain in my knee. As much as I wanted to keep pushing,
I knew if I did I would ruin the rest of the race season for everything else.
On the way up the grind, my chain snapped. I tried to fix it, but it only
broke again. I walked out and coasted back. About a 2 ½ hour lap. ouch!
I got back to my tent and called it quits. That was it. 8 laps. I know I could
have at least turned out 14. oh well.
Berkeley Hills Road
Race
Berkeley, CA
Senior 5's
Clear skies!
By Cullen Wojcik
I spent Saturday night in Berkeley so I didn't
have to get up at the inhuman hour of 3:30 am to drive up from SC (Brent and
Brian), and instead got up at the much more reasonable time of 5. I'd like
to be able to say that I got a great night's sleep, not nervous at all about
my first race...of course, I'd also like to be able to say that I woke up
in a bed full of bikini models, but I don't think either statement would be
true.
So after a restless night's sleep, I showed up
at the start area around 6:30 to stand in line to register, then stand in
a MUCH longer line for the bathroom, and then went and sat on the rollers
for about half an hour.
The races started a little bit late, and I think
they finally let CAT 5 (we had a full field of 50 riders) out of the gates
a little after 8. The first
two miles were neutral, and when we finally turned on to the course and the
race started I think all of the nervous energy finally bubbled over and we
started out at a pretty good pace leading up to the first climb. The main
climbs of the race, aptly named in order of appearance Momma Bear, Poppa Bear,
and Baby Bear, come in quick and painful succession followed by a long and
fast decent off of Baby Bear. On that first decent one rider overlapped my
rear wheel and went down pretty hard.
The pace kept up pretty steady around the rest
of the first lap, but starting into the second lap, the memory of those three
climbs started to
sink back in and the group slowed considerably as no one wanted to go to the
front and work. So we poked along for 5 or 6 easy and fairly flat miles at
about 18 mph in the Catch-22 of frustration at going slow and unwillingness
to work to go faster.
However, when we hit the bears the second time
somebody put the hammer down and we hit all three of them pretty hard. Hard
enough that by the time we hit the flats again, we were down to about fifteen
riders. There were some feeble paceline attempts, but once again everyone
was focused on saving energy for that final climb to the finish. There were
a couple of break attempts in the last rolling section before the climb, but
nothing even remotely successful. We finally hit Momma Bear, the pace went
all out, and I held on for 7th place. For the first time out there, I'll take
a 7th. It was definitely a good race.
Cats Hill
Los Gatos, CA
Senior 4's
Clear skies!
By Heath Maddox
My first race as a senior 4 was Cat's Hill, on
Saturday, May 3. As I suspected, it was fast and furious, and there were two
crashes, but for me
it was was fairly uneventful. 74 starters, and I don't know how many finishers,
but I hear lotsa folks got pulled. I dangled a bit at first, but
got in the pack eventually and held up fine. The race was short, 12 laps,
under 11 miles, but painful. I almost got pushed into a crash early in the
race, but just missed it. In the penultimate lap, the pace slowed as no one
wanted to pull through the flats so they could power the hill. So I pulled
and predictably got dogged on the hill. I picked a good time to go forward,
however, as there was a crash behind me at that point. I was pooped out in
the last lap, so wasn't able to charge out of the hill and be there for the
sprint. My friend Brian Ort was there at the finish and he counted me at
about 20th, but the official results don't have a placing for me, so they
must have screwed up. Oh well.
Wente Crit
Livermore Ca
Senior 5's
Clear skies!
By Heath Maddox
Weather: clear and cold. Got up at 4:45 and picked
up teammate Brian Vernor to make the 8:00 start. The first of couple of warmup
laps on the flat, but
far-from-square course were more like a cool-down due to the unseasonably
frigid weather we have been having, but in the final practice lap, I got
things moving and, little did I know, probably rode faster than during much
of the race that was to come. Pre-race jitters were almost nonexistent.
After getting destroyed in Japan for three days in a row, I felt like a little
more abuse was no really no big deal.
I lined up at the rear, close to Brian. The first
few laps weren't very fast, so when it came time for the first prime, I gave
it a go and came away
with a box of Clif bars! There was only like one guy who gave a serious challenge,
and it took the pack half lap to lumber up to me, even though I
practically sat up. Early in the race, Brian took position at the head of
the pack and repeatedly tried to push the pace, with me tight on his wheel.
On off-prime laps, on the back side of the course, Brian would consistently
ramp things up and string it out. I would pull through and by the time we
reached the start/finish, I would find myself alone, as none of the three
or four stronger guys at the front with us would commit to riding fast and
maybe making a break. After a while, when Brian would make a go, the other
guys were just shaking their heads and looking at one another or yelling,
"there he goes again, get him!" I made halfhearted attempts at a
few more primes, but never really dug deep again until the finish. The sluggish,
timid pace continued, despite our best efforts to get something going. It
was a short, 45-minute race, so the last lap came very quickly. Rounding
the final corner before the long straight-away to the finish, I overlapped
wheels with the guy in front of me as we simultaneously pulled left to pass
a
guy who was content to go into the corner slow. I nearly went down here, and
only a very desperate bit of leaning kept me from scrubbing wheels and
causing a crash. It all happened fast, though, and didn't slow me down any,
so I came out of the turn about fourth, I think. With a long way to go, I
didn't go all out right away, but made sure I was within striking distance
and kept my eyes on the shadows from the guys behind me. About two thirds
of the way to the finish from the turn, there was the terrible noise of a
crash behind me and I could see some shadows starting to gain, so I came out
of the saddle, staying in the drops and went about 90%, happy to see that
the shadows weren't coming around, then I settled back down and spun my big
ring and my little cog just as fast as I could, shooting by everyone but the
guy who took first. Brian ended up seventh, narrowly missing the crash in
before the sprint. It's always fun to do well, but it would have been more
fun if the other guys in the race would have worked with us instead of
against us, and with a couple of more SCCCC guys in the race, we could have
absolutely dominated!
Wente Road Race
Livermore Ca
Senior 4s
Sunshine / chilly morning
By Brent Chapman
I got to this one nice and early since I have
had a track record of suffering this year for being late and not getting a
warm up. So I warmed up, but I forgot my arm warmers and leg warmers. Anyway
this race is a climbers race at least in the sense, if you cant hang on a
climb bigger than a huge roller your going to suffer. So that was me. Three
days after getting back from Japan I thought I would go out and kick some
bootie! Ended up kicking my own. I held on fine for the first lap then the
second climb I pooped out. I did the wente Time Trial ;-) and was going to
finish the race if I wanted to or not. On the final return to the last climb
I was working with another racer who was going to pull out, but kept him going.
We passed a guy who was cheering us on and yelling "keep going guys!".
It was kind of a weird place for a spectator but none the less we kept going.
A few miles later, we hear some wheels coming hot and heavy on the outside.
I looked back expecting the pros to be catching us, but instead it was the
spectator and he was providing a NICE draft for a racer who had been dropped
and never caught on. I ensued in the chase and dropped the poor guy I was
working with. Well I was pissed. So the free ride supplier pulled off on the
last corner before the climb. Then I paced myself to slowly inch on this guy.
I was going to make this guy pay for cheating. On the final climb he tried
to jump on some pro guys wheels but ended up not gaining much. I knew where
the finish was and had a spot marked to make an attempt had I been in the
lead group to break off for a win or something. So I hammered and passed the
cheater and beat him to the finish with "it doesn't pay to cheat".
Then he was DQ'd. OK.. so this race is tough, but its cool and I plan on getting
better at this one.
3 Day Cycle Road Kumano
Criterium Stage
Kumano Japan
BR2
By Brent Chapman
3 day cycle race Japan;
Day 1
Criterium. 80 Degrees in the sun. 1 bottle of water.
So we made it to Japan and are warming up in
the morning, below a huge damn on a very unique criterium course.
The course is tight in spots and sharp turns. At the start of the race Heath
is already lined up front and I figured I
would just hang out in the back. Within a few minutes of hiding out I heard
my name being called " Brenta Chapmana ".
Crap.. they want me to come to the front, I was really embarrassed. Fortunately
they called the rest of the guys up with me.
We cant speak Japanese, so I am not sure if the first lap is a prolog or all
out. I figured it out in a few seconds when a few racers went on the
attack. I ended up countering. It seemed rather easy to hold my position in
the front of the race. The racers were damn fast in the straights but are
not
as aggressive in the corning as we seen in California, sometimes putting the
brakes on hard. It was obvious that they relied on their superior sprinting
abilities. So a few laps in there is a wreck, and a rider falls down in front
of me and I hear a crash behind me. The plan as I understood it was that the
team was going to work to support me at the finish if I could hang on. There
was no one, I never saw a teammate until about 8 laps in when we passed David
going the other way on the loopback. The sun was beating down and the wind
was hot. I could feel my skin burning and my lips drying out.
Then within a few seconds I could hear Heath. Why you going so fast!! I was
just trying to hang on.
A little while later, I saw Brian and Mike. Brian advised not to go to the
back as it was fast and he had barely hung on.
Well, I was running low on water. I am used to racing a 1 hour crit, not a
2 hour one so I was unprepared. The sun was beating down and Mike and
I were like marionette puppets jumping back in and out of the race. Eventually
the heat beat me, I couldn't take it anymore and I was very dry. I figured
I would relax and hope to catch on to the tail. I did and I passed Mike who
flatly said "I'm done". That was the last I saw of him.
I rode on and stayed with a few racers but we
were now dropped off the back of the main pack. Brian was in the front group
still, smart move on his
part and I rode with my pasty mouth of foam looking at the 4 to go lap card..
I was thankful. So, I hung on and hung on. Mike got pulled, so I knew if I
didn't keep it up I would be out as well. On the final turn into my last lap,
I could see the leaders coming. I got out of the saddle and cranked passed
some racers and managed to get a good time trial pace going. I rolled across
the line 4 minutes behind the winner for 51st.
3 Day Cycle Road Kumano
Mountain Stage
Kumano Japan
BR2
Fair Skies slight wind
By Brent Chapman
3 day Cycle Race Japan
Day 2
Road Race. Mountain stage. Warm but cool breezes. Race started earlier so
temperature was great.
I started out in the morning with a sour stomach. Hotel food was "ok".
I am not used to Japanese breakfasts. I missed my Potatoes and Sausages or
bacon. Couple of bites of rice, a few seaweed skins, cup of Miso and a tofu
ball. My belly felt like it was going to explode.
So were headed up the first hill of the day. We were told this one would be
slower. Ok.. someone forgot to tell the racers that.
The first climb, wasn't too fast, but I was feeling it by the second climb.
My belly was aching. about the 3rd climb in I knew we were headed up hill
seriously soon. A racer crashed into a raised cement reflector on the shoulder
of the road. Threw him off his bike and destroyed his wheel. I checked to
see if he was ok, and he was.
A few hundred yards later, breakfast returned.. A green pile of rice poured
out of my stomach. I was wobbling all over, then I felt a hand on my back
to support me. It was the racer who had crashed. He had a new wheel and was
riding with his shredded jersey. I finished what I was doing and he rode on
or should I say he lit up his after burners and disappeared.
So at this point, I know David is back behind me and I could no longer see
him. Heath, Mike, and Brian had made it with the group as I released my belly
pain.
I rode on and caught up with a cyclist who appeared to be having a bad day
like I was. His breathing was sporadic. I put my hand on his back and pushed
him up the climb. I remembered him from the day before and knew that he was
a strong rider. I helped him calm down, I assume something mechanical happened
and he wanted back on and had gotten over excited. So we worked together,
back and forth until we could see the pack, but not anywhere near us. We went
into the really long tunnel which was really freaky with sunglasses on. But
the wind was at our backs and we accelerated, we were flying up the hill and
we shot out the other end.
At this point we were advised we were about 2 minutes behind the lead. I kept
on pushing and so did he. We got to the bottom of the climb and I looked back
at him. I slowed, but I knew he was not going to help me at this point.
I took off in chase alone. I got to the valley where the road traversed
back and forth overhead. I could see the main group about 2 turns ahead. I
pushed hard and watched the helicopter shadow passing over head. My pace was
good as I am not a climber but I felt like I was going to make it. I could
hear the bells ringing as the KOM points were earned. I figured there was
a big push at the top and I would loose time. 2:30 behind. Downhill.. Tight
narrow roads were ahead and I figured the pack would have to slow. As I rounded
each corner I saw the Malay of riders on the side some still laying on the
ground. I knew I was close. Last corner. I took too hard, put my foot on the
guard rail and held myself up. Lost serious speed. I could see the bridge
and I sprinted to it knowing the tunnel was there. It looked like they were
saying I was only a minute off the back. I turned in the tunnel and Wham!
Headwind. Serious headwind. This was the wind that pushed us up the tunnel,
and it was now against me. I pedaled furiously and could see a shadow on the
side walking toward me. It was Heath, broken spokes (cursed). I finally made
it out the tunnel, and worked my way down the mountain, it wasn't steep so
I Time Trial as much as possible. 2 minutes, 3 minutes.
I was losing ground the peleton slowly worked away from me. Then finally the
turn into the final climb to the top. Ouch.. The climb
was like 28% for what seemed like miles. An old man passed me with a bamboo
walking stick! Just kidding. I suffered, weak and tired I crossed the line
alone for 53. Only one other racer came in within the time limit and that
was the guy I had left behind on the climb. He did what he could and managed
to make the time cutoff at the last checkpoint.
3 Day Cycle Road Kumano
Circuit Stage
Kumano Japan
BR2
Rain, wind, Heat!
By Brent Chapman
3 day Cycle Race Japan
Day 3
Circuit race. Coastal town, steep climb, long rollers. Super hot! and rain!
I will admit it. I was worked at this point. I barely ate any breakfast. I
felt like crud. I tried to hide it so I didn't rub off on my teammates. My
back was super sore and I had Dan stretch my legs (which we over did). The
race started and it was a fiery start once again. Now on the first and second
day I thought some riders popped off the back and purposely blocked me. But
I don't think anyone really believed it. Then on the second climb, David and
I are working our way up and a racer pulls in front of me and locks up his
brakes. EEEK.. David saw that and asked "what was that?".
So, now David and I are struggling to catch back on. Within a lap, we passed
the racers going the other way already a 1/4 of a mile ahead. I tried to get
David to hand on, but I think we both knew it was useless.
Mike and Brain were in.. but where was Heath? We didn't know. David dropped
his chain on the climb, I waited at the top. We talked about what to do, and
then came Heath. At this point we had already gathered together with a few
racers from another team who were in as bad a shape as us. One of the racers
was obviously stronger and was trying to help his teammate and would accidentally
accelerate too
much and create a gap. So Heath jumped in and when the other guy accelerated
we got popped off. We climbed the climb one more time and suffered, suffered
horribly in the heat, but we were kissed by cool rain. "Happy Easter"
called out David. Amen.. A few corners later we were pulled as we did not
meet the six-minute cutoff. Heath was there waiting. Mike got pulled a lap
later as his chase group was about 3 minutes off Brian's who was about 3 minutes
off the lone breakaway. Brian was the only finisher that day.
Santa Cruz Criterium
Santa Cruz CA
Senior 5
Rain, wind
By Ben Weiner
35th Santa Cruz Criterium, April 13 2003
After watching this race the past two years,
I screwed up the nerve to race it this year. To be honest I was really nervous
beforehand as this was my first crit ever. Not to mention the famous hairpin
corner, and the forecast for rain. But when I got to Beach Hill it was beautiful
and the sun had dried the roads. About 20 riders took the Category 5 start,
probably quite a few people were deterred by the weather forecast. There were
some local fast guys, Brian, Mike, Jeff, Cameron ...
This is a neat course, with a 120 degree downhill
hairpin, a couple of turns, a short climb back onto 3rd St, and just as you
think you'll recover from the climb, a nasty little headwind down 3rd Street.
At the whistle we sprinted like mad and braked for the hairpin corner. I got
round it OK but the group was already stretching out on the downhill. We hammered
through the backstretch and onto the hill. I couldn't keep the fast pace up
the hill and drifted back. I tried to keep the group in sight, but was exposed
to the wind, and they continued to pull away. There was no way I was not going
to finish the race, so I put my head down and pedaled, concentrating on getting
around the turns smoothly. A few laps in, I passed one of the Alto Velo riders
struggling up the climb - he had gone out harder than me but blown to pieces.
On the last lap, the pack finally lapped me, and I tried to latch on, but
it exploded on the final hill. The team did well as Brian Vernor and Mike
Martin got 2nd and 3rd places. Even though the race was only ½ hour,
my legs felt heavier the next day than after a 5 hour ride. Wait til next
year!
This race is a tradition and lots of fun to watch
as well as ride, I encourage SCCCC members to come out and see the hometown
racing action.
CCCX MTB Race #2
Fort Ord Ca
Beginner
By Ben Weiner
Central Coast MTB race 2, March 23 2003
This was my first race after cross season, where
I never felt like I improved. I have my old Bridgestone MB-2 fixed up with
a Softride stem
(honest, Brent) so it was 80s technology out there. Made it to the start in
time, but no real warmup. We're off, the start hill was steeper than I
thought and I clipped out, a terrible start, dead last. As we climbed away
from the start/finish I started to catch back on and feel a little better.
My legs felt good but the deep sand was difficult and I went down in a corner.
Just a scrape, back up quickly and chasing again, riders were
strung out, and I caught up to a few people. I was tentative on the downhills
and a couple of times, riders passed me, but I brought some
back on the climbs, and dropped a couple of people on the last climb out of
the start/finish. On the second lap the leaders were long
gone, but my endurance seemed ok and I caught a few more people who were tiring.
As the course doubled back on itself I kept seeing other
riders but couldn't tell if they were way ahead of or behind me, or both.
I really suffered up the last climb until I realized I was in
the high gear, not low, so maybe I was a bit oxygen-starved myself. I finished
mid-pack in beginners, realistically, better than I have
been riding. A coworker of mine got first in the beginner 45+; I hadn't even
known that he raced, so that was cool.
After getting home I took Doug's advice about feeling like a pro and singlespeeded
up to UCSC and back for a little extra burn.
McLane Pacific Road Race
Merced, CA
Senior 4/5's
Rain and wind
By Brent Chapman
Yet another extremely long drive out to the mid
valley North of Fresno in the pouring rain. Brian Vernor and I made it to
the race this time with a little time to spare. Not much time, but enough
to get on the waiting list as the field was already full. The rain was coming
down, but not too heavy. Temperature was not too cold, however there was a
pretty good wind.
After trying to keep dry and getting our bikes prepped we rolled over to the
registration desk and got our numbers.
The race started a few minutes later with a light drizzle. The course would
be a 48 mile 2 lap loop with minor rolling hills and a few short roller climbs.
At the start we had been told to be prepared to be lapped as we would be by
the pros and that it was inevitable! (Although this never came to be). On
the first lap we came across a crash of the women's field just about a mile
or two into the race and we passed by a few women standing off to the side
with bloody foreheads and banged up bikes. Brian and I stayed relatively close
together and I tried to monitor his actions and keep him behind me in the
flats to make sure he would be strong for the second half. This was the biggest
field so far this year and there were no centerline rules in effect so the
road was ours for the taking. The first lap we came to a section of road that
I had recognized from a couple weeks previous at the Snelling Race, and was
stoked to know that section of the road as it contained most of the climbs.
I got up to the front with another local racer Aaron and we kept the pace
rolling up the climbs. Aaron had dropped me last year at the districts so
I was pretty intent on not letting that happen again. The rain was pelting
us in the face and the pace was much faster than the weeks of prior racing.
I lost site of Brian and dropped back into the pack to find him. I got out
to the back and he was nowhere to be seen. I thought he had been dropped or
was in a wreck. But to my surprise on the next riser, he was charging at the
front! So now I had to kick myself in the rear and work my way back through
the crowd to get back with him. I got a little spook as my left cleat popped
loose on a corner due to all the mud stuck in my shoe from the wait for the
start. The first lap was a pretty good pace, but the second lacked the necessary
action needed to wear anyone down with only 24 more miles to go. The field
stayed pretty much together. I worked to a good position on the second to
last corner only to get cut off by racers unable to keep a safe line on the
second turn into the final straightaway. Brian and I were back together again,
but the cards had been dealt. We saw people making crazy moves to get to the
front, some rode in the mud on the shoulder to make there moves. At this point,
I knew there was going to be a wreck and decided to stay a safe distance from
some of the wacky wheels out there (and there were plenty) since my own brakes
were worthless and the roads were really slick. We rolled into the flat and
I could see the finish, but we were only doing about 22 MPH, there would be
no lead out to a good sprint, instead it would be a slow road-wide block to
the line and a sudden attack. Then it happened, only a few hundred yards left,
and Wham! a wreck to my left, all I saw was a bike flipping and some feet,
I just kept my line and tried not to loose any placement and rolled in across
the line. Brian came in only a few back from me. We talked for a minute with
Aaron and headed right back to the car to get out of our wet clothes. The
race was so short neither of us felt tired, and when we returned in Santa
Cruz, we got into some dry gear and headed up Hwy 1 to Bonny Doon road to
burn ourselves up into the mountains and push on through to get the necessary
burn to feel like we really raced.
Madera Stage Race
Madera, CA
Senior 4's
By Brent Chapman
Madera Stage Race:
I was a fool for being late.... Again and again and again!!
Saturday Morning first event Criterium 8AM.
-745 AM, I parked the car, ran to the sign up and got my number.
-755 AM, on my bike for a quick trip around the course
-805 AM, race starts. This was the root of it all. We had gotten in Friday
night to my mother in laws house approximately 45 minutes from the course.
I was up late as I had realized that I had given teammate Heath Maddox bad
directions. He and friend Nick were cruising the mountains looking for the
place and finally made it in about 12:15 AM. I had just laid down to go to
bed. Now I was up and getting Heath and Nick situated. Back to bed, I remember
looking at the clock and seeing 230AM at one point. I couldn't sleep.
So 5 AM and I am now awake trying to drink a cup of instant coffee (yuck)
and enjoy a bowl of oatmeal. I felt crappy.
So the Crit starts and I'm feeling ok, about 2 laps in there is an attack,
5 guys go hard right as we turn into a bad headwind, I jump to chase and my
lungs are burning. I look back and field of now 15 is looking burnt, so I
go more, then we get a tailwind, I swerve around some glass and bam, I'm off
the back. Now this I am not used to! So I ride in chase for half a lap. Then
I look back and see Jeff from Alto Velo coming behind and have raced with
him and know that he is normally strong. So I back off and wait for Jeff and
we work together, we never lost sight of the main group. Couple laps later,
here comes a rider "you've just been lapped boys". Into the headwind
and he's gone. I look back and see a couple of guys pushing to keep behind
him, but I increased the pace and got Jeff to pick it up with me. I have never
been lapped so now its all about not getting lapped by anyone else in the
field. By now the leader has caught the group and it riding ahead of them.
We caught up with a racer who either flatted or dropped, it appeared he was
dropped, we allowed him into our pace line, but did not work so we dropped
him. On the last lap I looked and Jeff and he advised he was saving for the
Time Trial so I took off in chase. I finished a few seconds behind the peleton,
maybe another lap and I would have caught them.
So now I watch Heaths Race in the pouring rain,
he does great. Then my wife's race and the sun starts to come through and
headwind dies down. Next David Gill's race goes but we had to leave to get
over to the start of my time trial. My start time was 1:11 so I had only about
a half hour to warm up. So somehow during my travels the clock on my computer
(damn cheap thing) gets off by 5 minutes. So I show up to my time trial 5
minutes late and after a little cold comments from the judges and wasting
more time I rolled off the line to try and save some time. According to them
I finished in 30:50 seconds? I timed my ITT and it was close to 26:20 +or-
a few seconds due to the wasted moments of discussion with the start judge.
That would have put me in fairly good position. Oh well. So I realized that
I wanted to do good but I really wanted to just use this as a gauge to see
how I would do in a stage race as I am preparing for the Shingu Japan trip.
Sunday Morning: Road Race 51 mile / 17 mile loops.
Nick and I head down the hill from Mother laws and should have enough time
to get to the race on time with enough time to warm up a little. Instead we
make a wrong turn and miss the road. But we ended up on the course. Now once
again we are running late.
So we get to the start with only a few minutes each to prepare. Again no warm
up! UGH!
So 8:15 comes and were lined up. We thought there was to be 4 laps but the
judge announced it would only be 3. Bummer as the distance would not be enough
to poop anyone out. So we start off and fortunately there is a long promenade
to warm up!
The first lap was a few uneventful attacks that went nowhere, but I decided
to pull up to the front to do some work in order to warm up. I knew the race
would get slow so I decided to keep warm by doing a lot of work. Which I did.
The motorcycle was behind us on the start down the hill that had centerline
rules. About 10 guys crossed that line and if there is no DQ's I would be
really surprised (well maybe not). So now I have to decide if those guys are
DQ'd should I just go for it and work real hard. I decided to stay in front
and jump any breaks that appeared to have any staying power. There were a
few attempts but nothing held. So again I remained in front. The course had
this awesome "pavé" rough section of road that stretched
a few miles. I dug this and thought it would be a good place to attack. On
the third lap we dropped to a non-blistering pace that a turtle could pass,
so I just stayed in front. I did not feel tired at all. We rounded the corner
onto the "pavé" again and I stayed up front. Nothing happened,
no one attacked. I was bummed. I wanted to at least hit that section hard.
So I just remained in the front.
Now we see the corner coming that lead up to the "roller coaster"
of rolling hills that you could do in your big ring. The first hill could
burn you up if you were not prepared. And guess what? I was not, a racer jumped
to the front and I dropped my chain to the little ring. There was not time
to respond to a shift and instead I had to chase with the little gear to the
top, as we crested I tried to shift and jump on, but it was too late. Now
it was a race to the finish against others who were at the back of the group.
I passed a couple of racers and could have gotten the attack on the last guy,
but instead I let him get in ahead.
All in all I had a great time. This race is excellent,
but the key to these stage races is a good warm up, which I did not have.
I did not even feel tired from any of the events other than what I would feel
from a good training ride. I think I am in line to peak in April!
Pine Flat Road Race
Snelling, CA
Senior 4's
By Brian Vernor
Pine Flat Road Race: 65 miles
Brent Chapman and I made the drive at the crack
o'
dawn for this one. No other team members showed up,
but this was one of the early races of the year.
Apparently, some of the Factory teams make this their
season debut. Brent and I raced Cat 4. Following
some advice from Justin Robinson, we sat in and didn't
sweat the early breaks. Others made efforts to be
wasted as the group went into the climb as a whole.
Races with climbs seem to play out one way: hit the
hill, skinny guys to the front , see you later.
Kinda, sorta, well...exactly as this one played out.
Six guys dropped everyone, and three straglers
(including me ended up in between. About 8 miles of
rollers and a headwind until the last 1000 meter climb
(dramatically layed out with each 100 meters marked on
the side of the road). I hit the hill about 50 meters
back on one of us three, but dug deep, and ended up
nabbin 7th by half-a-bike.
County Line Jamboree
Single Speed
Santa Cruz, CA
By David Gill
Teammates Heath Maddox, Mike Evans and I raced in this past Saturday's County
Line Jamboree. A single speed event (freewheel or fixed gear- your choice),
this race starts at the northern San Mateo/Santa Cruz County line and travelssouth
in three parts; road to Davenport, train tracks to New Brighton Beach, then
sand to the Southern Santa Cruz/Monterey County line. Timed to coincide with
low tide with the hope that the sand is more rideable, this event is about
43 miles long (anyone have the exact distance?) and takes anywhere from 2.5
hours to all day.
I get a phone call early Saturday morning, finally ending
weeks of wondering where and when everyone will gather before the race. We
meet behind ABS on the West Side of Santa Cruz and I grab a cup of coffee
in a last-minute attempt at getting a jump-start. Then it's off on one of
my favorite parts of the whole race, the caravan up to the start. Bikes and
bodies are loaded in various trucks, vans, and cars and the annual pilgrimage
is off- wait, do we have everyone?
We meet at Waddell, where there are as many people waiting
for us as there were at ABS. This is going to be a big race- about 40 people
or so, including the resplendent Kirk in his custom bunny suit. We roll up
the hill to the County line and find a small turnout. Finally the start is
upon us and DFL Duncan takes an early (and short-lived) lead. Turns out he
just wanted to be in front as we rolled past the few spectators still at the
parking area- he raises his hands in mock victory for the start photo.
After a few up and down rollers that only serve to warm
up the throng, we finally get into Davenport, where it seems there is a sprint
for the town sign. Maybe Cameron got this, I can't tell, but I do know that
it was at this point last year (right where the train tracks portion begins)
that the winning break was made. I put in an effort and pass about 10 people
to better position myself in case a similar event takes place this year.
Once we're on the tracks, the group gets strung out
into a very long line, and I'm just trying to hang on the back of the front
group, which now consists of Aaron, Rod, George and unknown Gianni guy who's
strong as shit. I last exactly as long as it takes to get to the first little
hill- there are a bunch of tiny hills that take you up alongside of the tracks
and I couldn't match their speed climbing the first one- it's going to be
a long day. Looking behind, I notice there is a sizeable gap opening up. Wow,
I'm feeling good today!
Now I'm behind the front group and it looks like I have
quite a gap to the next group, so I just charge ahead hoping to either hook
up with the leaders or someone comes up to me so I can get a bit of a rest.
Of course, the latter comes to pass. Finally a group catches me- Pat, Heath,
Hillary, Brian, Nick, and I'm sure a few others. Now I can get a rest- or
can I? We're riding on a dirt road next to the tracks but the road is about
to end. As we come down a little hill, I keep my momentum and get in front
of this group and start grinding on the rocks beside the tracks. I find it's
a little easier if you crank up the cadence and float over the rocks, but
you do pay the price with
the extra burst of energy. I look back and this group is becoming fragmented,
with the exception of Rick Hunter, who comes by me without hindrance. We both
pass Rod, who is stopped with some sort of mechanical.
I just watch Rick and try and follow his line- I mean,
this is his race, so he's got to know what he's doing, right? This seems to
work well for the most part, until the train. Yup, that's the sound of a train
coming the opposite way, and we're riding right next (and sometimes on) the
tracks. I watch as Rick rides the good line next to the tracks, but I can't
seem to keep my concentration- I guess I have this weird thing about accidentally
falling into the path of a 300-ton moving object- so I ride just down a bit
on the not-as-nice line. Since the train wasn't that long (maybe 12-15 cars?),
I didn't have to stop riding at all and I see by the lack of anyone behind
me
that I was lucky and made some distance on them.
I figure there are four guys ahead- nope, make that
three, as I pass George, who asks for a pump. I stop and throw him my quick-fill
CO2 device. Now I don't have any way to fill my tires in case of a flat, but
this offering appeases the flat gods and I make it the rest of the race without
incident. Oops, here comes Rod by me, he's trying to make it back to the leaders
again. Can I keep his pace? Nope.
Now Rick's chain comes off, so as I go by I start thinking
about the beach. How many riders are ahead of me? How many are charging behind
me, waiting for me to crack? I can see Aaron up ahead; he's having trouble
negotiating the traffic at the intersections, which give me the chance to
catch. We both come across Rod, who is again stopped with a mechanical.
Finally, Aaron and I hit the beach. We both stop to
let some pressure out of the tires- I could have sworn that was Hillary's
secret last year, so I let out a lot, my tires are really squishy. I jump
back on and quickly discover that I let out way too much- I'm bouncing up
and down on the back tire. You can see the bike tracks on the sand, but where
are the leader's tracks? I thought we were second and third, are the faint
tracks I see those of the Gianni guy in the lead?
Well, Aaron and I trade places for about ten seconds
when he just up and rides away from me. No big deal, I thought, I can keep
up a good pace. I look back and see a rider, but not for quite a ways. I keep
checking over my shoulder, but don't see him anymore. Suddenly, Rod speeds
by on the other side! Turns out he saw me looking over one shoulder so he
rode on my other side for a while until he came by me at a speed I couldn't
match.
Next up was Rick, who passes me and just laughs as I
try and take a draft. He motors away from me on his huge fixed gear. I keep
up a good pace for a while and as the smoke stacks at Moss Landing get bigger
and bigger on the horizon, so do the small figures of riders behind me, eager
to catch and pass my quickly fading top-ten hopes. Can I make it to the finish
before these riders make the catch? I keep pushing it and take a look back-
they're gaining, but so is the finish. The next time I look, however, they've
almost caught. It's Matt and some guy who has the same jersey as the Gianni
guy in the lead. I can't stay with either of them, so I just plod along. At
this point I'm in full survival-mode, pretty much tapped of any bursts of
energy.
The moment has arrived- I can see a group of riders
up ahead, they're all the finishers waiting at the Pajaro River, the finish
line. But there's only five of them here- in order it was Rick, Aaron, Rod,
Matt, and Gianni guy. "Where's the other guy?" I want to know. Turns
out the "other guy" was in fact Gianni guy, who missed the turn
onto the beach. Hmm, I guess Aaron and I were in the lead at one point, and
I later take great solace in this (for me, anyway) infrequent occurrence.
We walk back to the gathering spot on the beach and
as much as I want to wait here and see who comes in, it's way too cold for
me. After showering, the best part of the day is at hand- beer and food at
Rick's shop. And lots of it.
SnellingRoad Race
Snelling, CA
Senior 4's
By Brent Chapman
After driving 3 1/2 hours, the sun came up and
the skys were mostly clear for the Snelling road race. This is a 60 mile race
with 11 mile laps. The road is mostly smooth rolling hills, with a few short
climbs. Right up my alley... First lap the large group stuck together, we
kept a pretty low key pace you could tell there was some still early year
legs. After 2 laps of the slow pace, I rode up with Ryan Murphy of alto velo
and worked with him in the front to up the pace, until that time there wasn't
much working going on.
We took the peleton through the rougher sections and put the pressure on.
As we came across the finish line for the 3rd lap a photographer took a photo
of me out front. The climbs did not feel tough at all and I had to refrain
for going too far out front. I decided to settle in as we were headed back
south into the head wind. I broke out a powerbar and started to eat, then
grabbed my water bottle for a quick squirt. Right then someone came out of
the peleton alone and rolled off as though he was going to hold some sort
of breakaway. I wasn't too concerned but then a handful of guys jumped and
chased, I slammed my bottle back in the cage and chased, but kept getting
dropped off the back as I gasped for air around my power bar stuffed mouth!
Eventually the winds were in my favor and I caught back on, the peleton caught
back up on a short downhill that led to the steepest climb of laps, which
wasn't too bad. We ended up getting neutralized about then as the master 123
men came by and remarked that we were getting passed by old farts. I figured
that was going to happen anyway as the first 2 laps were exceptionally slow.
So after 8 minutes of neutralization and allowing to allow all stragglers
to catch back on, we were let go. After that point, I don't think the master
123 guys left our site for more than a minute or two the remaining 2 laps.
So the last lap, I shook out the legs and moved to a good spot, inside the
front lead and enough room to chase any breaks. There were a few break attempts
but either myself or another would pull them back in.
Finally the last lap came and we turned onto the roughest straight-away about
a mile long leading into the final turn and sprint. The peleton got edgy as
they could see the master 1/2/3 guys ahead, and we were passing some women
racers. There was a pace motorcycle in front of us with his hazards on and
we were catching up fast, this caused some confusion and pushed the peleton
to the right side of the road. I stayed to the left but just clear of the
front group of loose looking wheels. As we rounded the corner I hear a loud
pop and thought I blew my tire and figured what the heck if I blew it I only
have a few seconds of sprinting left.. The attack started and I stuck with
the front. The attack started early so there were racers peeling off in exhaustion
in front of me, I had to weave my way through to cross the line. Somehow the
results were boffed. I complained that I thought I was in top ten, or at least
top 20, and the refs said they had my number and to wait for the results to
contest. So I did and that didn't get resolved. So what I think should have
been 7th place was marked as X again on the results. Oh well, I know where
I was.
