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Team Santa Cruz 2005 Race Reports

2005 FIAC National Cyclocross Championships, Watsonville, CA, 11/6/05

Troy Boone

I decided to race the single speed because after helping out the team set up the course and with a few duties at the scoring tent, it was the only remaining event that I felt I was maybe qualified to race. There were just six of us at the line-up with Philip winning the race. He could probably give you the best observations of it all from the front. I know the two Team dfl guys who raced came in behind him but, were in the noon race as well. So my observations are from the back but, alas not... DFL, hehe. Additionally, my training and previous racing experience, (+35B cross, track, SS MTB, and SS team 24hr MTB) is all about keeping it on the one.

So after helping out with the set-up and operation of the race, I had about an hour to suit up, and take a couple of practice laps around the course. While doing so I noticed that I hadn't changed my gear ratio for the course. My bike still had the 34:17 ratio I use to pedal up and down some local fire roads... yikes! After settling down with the opinion of "Oh well, it's all about fun for me anyway" I resolved to making the best of my lack of planning and race anyway.

The race got off to a quick, dusty stampede of a start. The six of us racing SS weren't too sure if we were going to get our own start or not. But when the official said, "GO!" no one flinched, and we all just took off behind the Men's A group and integrated into the peloton as it rounded the first left turn.

At first I was thinking, "Hey, this gear ratio may be okay". Granted I was a little off the back but, for being a SS Clydesdale, this is almost expected. Or maybe the sleep deprived nights with our one year old finally kicked in, or maybe my fragmented training regiment? Ahhh... excuses, I'm here and the race is now, so put the pedal down or go home dammit.

We all neatly filed into a single file line, strung out along the course. Quickly clearing the first set of barriers smoothly, down to and around the up-sloping, grassy turn then followed by a powdery, twisty turn along the fence, and a right turn down hill to the lower area. We speedily crossed through the grass, hopped the barriers, dismounted and quickly ran up the first hill and landed onto the gravel road, shooting off toward the dirt track loop. By the time I was making my turn around the track, after the first straight away, I was hanging off the back of the pack and spinning my tiny gear ratio and feeling like some sort of mad, brightly clad circus clown making a spectacle in the ring.

Resolved to finish the race and just do my personal best, I kept pace with the two other single speeders just a breath ahead of me. After the second lap however, this became almost impossible to maintain. Undeterred, I still kept pedaling and pedaling attempting to make my transitions over barriers, stairs, and hills as smooth as possible in an attempt to not lose any additional time over the remainder of the hour.

At about lap 3, the single speeder in front of me slowly appeared within my sights. Again at the dirt track, head down and focusing on breathing and cadence, I caught up with him on the flats. He seemed to effectively be done with the race and maybe decided to just cruise along the remainder of what was left. So on and on I spun through the course feeling some sense of satisfaction.

Toward the end of the race, with about 3 or 2 laps to go, my lower back began to ache beyond any attempt to ignore it, (slight scoliosis and unpredictable sciatica is great fun at times!). The trauma of the race began to make itself know with each jarring bump over gopher hole strewn course. Right about then the unidentified A race leader zipped by me in a flash: Ben or Andy both look even more identical from the rear. He just seemed to hover above the ground as he cranked and cranked, defying laws of gravity, resistance, and human endurance. I mustered up a "GO GET EM"!, as he passed. He was trailed by a pack of three other riders that seemed like about a minute behind him as we sprinted past the horse corrals.

Finally with 2 laps to go, it looked like the guy that I had passed was gaining a little more steam. Maybe a final try at a come back? Keeping an eye on him, and focusing on smooth transitions and turns, along with making the most of flat smooth sections, I hammered on thinking he doesn't matter, just go harder and don't let up now. "No matter what don't walk the run up, run to the top." Occasionally I'd look back and not see him but begin to slowly imagine or maybe feel that someone was on my tail. This pushed me through the final run up, despite my back's sharp protests. Next I pushed through the grassy upper section and onward for a final jump over the last set of barriers. Ahead I sprinted toward the cheers of team mates, friends, and spectators at the finish line! Yes, done and not DFL, another great race.

Surf City Cyclocross #2, Soquel High School, 10/30/05

David Gill suffering from heat stroke!
David Gill suffering from heat stroke!

As usual Karen and I arrived very early to set up the Team Santa Cruz tent at Soquel High School for what promised to be an unusual day, being that it was Halloween. Soquel High has been the site of some best cross races ever (in my opinion). I believe almost exactly eight years ago the race at Soquel High was quite possibly the hottest race ever (not including the East Bay Series!). The November 1st sun was a scorching 100 degrees! I was lucky enough to have double flatted and was out of the race. Many people died on the vine that day, but nobody as bad as David Gill. This was the day I met David for the first time. I found him lying in the middle of the football field after the B race completely delirious and suffering from heat stroke. After removing his incoherent mass from the field to the relative safety of the shade under the bleachers and with the help of Doug Smith we poured water on David until he finally cooled down enough to form one word sentences!

Exactly one month later we were back at Soquel High for the next Surf City race and it rained six inches! The grounds of the high school were brutalized and we were banned from having races there for a long time. It is the only cross I have ever done on flat non-clipless pedals!

Back to the present; this course flat out-rocked! It had a little of everything: a steep run up, high speed flats, sand and dust, grass, pavement, a curb jump, lots of bumps and a sharp downhill section. A lot of people complained about the bumps, but it didn't seem to bother me. I had a lot of time to kill being that I was racing on my singlespeed and would have the last start of the day. I watered teammates and friends in the morning and watched the hilarious Halloween costume race. The guys linked together in the chain gain was a sight to see! After the costume race the girls went at it and Melinda and Karen had another good race finishing 3rd and 4th respectively.

Finally it was my turn. I didn't anticipate any problem or bottlenecks at the start like the last race, but I was wrong! They stated the singlespeeders with the elite A category and when whistle blew the pack thundered off into the first corner and threw a huge amount of dust up. The Dust was so thick I could barely see the rider in front of me. Sure enough somebody went down and we came to a stop. I never saw the crash, I just heard it! The pack started to accelerate again when suddenly out of the dust appeared a rider dismounting directly ahead. He had thrown his chain. The rider immediately to my right swerved into me and this shoved me into the rider on my left. I'm not sure how I survived this without going down!


Mike Evans finds his happy place...
(Doug Smith)

After the first lap things settled down and I started to concentrate on the singlespeeder in front of me. I caught the guy in front of me and for the next four or five laps we would battle. I was faster in the sand, over the barriers and on any incline while he was faster on the flats and any downhill. He was riding a mountain bike with front suspension and this seemed to help him a lot in the chop. After the sand pit section there was a nice flat area before the hallway section and somehow this became neutral ground for the both of us. We were both carrying water and would sit and have a drink at this section. I actually introduced myself to him (Brad), but he had already guessed my name from the large amount of people cheering for me around the course.


...then bites it, big time!


Melinda, on the other hand,
even has time to smile!

I was actually having a lot of fun and a pretty good race as well. I hadn't blown up or bonked and I figured I had half of clip of bullets left to fire at Brad. I lost track of what lap it was, I was following Brad down a steep downhill when the next thing I know is I'm laying on the ground covered in dirt and my left knee is in extreme pain!! I have no idea why or how I crashed. I just happen to have crashed in front of Matt Watson and Steve Hess, who were spectating there to watch the crashes. They asked if I was alright and to tell you the truth I wasn't sure. Matt started to haul my bike over the catch fence assuming my day was over. I told him to stop, hopped back on and coasted to the bottom of the hill and got off. My left knee had taken brunt of the impact and it was quite stunned and not bending very well. I was bleeding from my knee as well, but there was enough dust packed into the wound that it wasn't that bad.

I hopped back onto the bike and continued on very slowly and was eventually able to pedal with force again. The next time around on the downhill section my friends gave me a big cheer. I finished the race and immediately went to the first aid station where the nurse dressed as a very HOT nurse cleaned me up and sent me on my way. By the time I got home my left leg was pretty useless.

God, I love cross racing!

Surf City Cyclocross #1, Aptos High School, 10/15/05

Karen and I arrived pretty early to the bowl on the hill known as Aptos High School. The high school is surrounded on three sides by hills and has been the site of some truly epic races back in the old Surf City days. Who could forget the nasty V shaped descent onto the cement pad next to the baseball field and then the very next day having to run up the same descent! Or the mud race a few years back! The very nature of the terrain here means you'll get more of an old style course with a lot more running than today's flatter, faster courses.

As I pre-rode the course I instantly realized that the first run up after the start would turn into a giant bottleneck and it did. I stood in place for nearly 10 seconds, waiting for the herd in front of me to move! Not more than 1 minute after the start I started to feel really bad! The more I rode the more nausea I got. After a few laps I really wanted to puke!!! One more lap later I contemplated stopping and puking or quitting the race and then puking! Three more times I wanted to get off of my bike and let it fly, but eventually I did finish the race and soon afterwards my nausea went away. This was immediately replaced by bad stomach cramps!

The next thing I knew I was running for the bathroom, praying there was a large amount of tp available! I'll spare the gory details, but for the next 40 minutes I didn't venture very far from the bathroom. I have no idea what I ate to have caused this reaction. I drank as much water as I could get down in an effort to remain hydrated.

Luckily, there was a long break between my race and Karen's. Karen rode a very nice race to finish 5th while our teammate Melinda (a new bride for less than 24 hours) finished second! I was never happier to pack the van up and leave a race!

Team Big Bear 19th Annual Fall Classic Cross Country Race, Snow Summit—Big Bear, CA, Sunday, October 9, 2005

Ron Riley

I registered and got my race number Saturday afternoon after our seven hour drive from Aptos. We checked into our favorite motel, the Robinhood Inn. Dinner at Paoli's Italian restaurant later took care of my carb loading.

Sunday morning dawned clear and cool with predicted temps in the mid-60s and light winds—perfect. The X-C race was to start at a very civilized 11AM, so there was plenty of time to enjoy my obligatory pre-race oatmeal breakfast at the Teddy Bear restaurant.

My wife, Harriet, and I were then off to the start area at Snow Summit ski area. We said hello to racer friends and exchanged pictures from our race at Tahoe in July. I put my number plate on the bike and checked tire pressure. (At 7000 feet, the Santa Cruz air expands and needs adjusting.) I then took a nice easy warm up ride plus a few short hard efforts.


The Old Guys' Start

I staged along side Buz (my season-long competition in the 65+ Sport category) along with the fourteen 50+ Sport riders. Pat Follett (one very hard working race promoter) gave us our race instructions. These instructions included course changes and course hazards like, "It's the opening day of deer hunting season, so remember to duck if you see a guy in an orange vest." And then we were off!

The Fall Classic X-C course is basically the same every year and this was my third Classic. The course is about two-thirds fire road and one-third single track. The only really technical section is called "Lower Fall Line" and comes toward the end of the race. As usual, Buz led at the start. Half way up our first climb to the ridge I passed him. I'm still ahead at the top and then down a very cool single track known only as Trail 1E01. Buz is 65, a third year Sport Class rider and a better technical (i.e. downhill) rider than me. So, I'm not surprised when he passes me as we start back up the mountain, but soon I overtake him again. I take a peek at my heart monitor—175. I'm a gear or two higher than usual and feeling OK. On this part of the course, the fire road is loose decomposed granite and named "the five bitches" for good reason – because of the five climbs. Buz is still behind me somewhere. After an hour and a half, I'm at the summit again and I blast (well, for me, anyway) down the fire road toward 'Fall Line'. Buz is still behind me somewhere. As I break hard and start down 'Fall Line', my concern is that I stay out of the way of the Pro and Expert riders who are on their second half lap and going by me like I'm standing still... oops, I am standing still or close to it! I scramble/ride down this miserable dusty boulder strewn downhill. What a sight! Some riders are bouncing/sliding at impossible speed. Others are crashing, getting up and crashing again. Some, like me are just trying to stay out of the way!


Yeah… Team Santa Cruz!

Where's Buz? This is his kind of trail and he should be catching me. Finally, I'm through the worst part, but then I start to cramp! OK, stay loose and gear down. I get to the bottom and the half mile of fire road back to the finish. Buz is still behind me somewhere. As I cross the finish line, I hear my wife yelling and the announcer call out my name and say that I was first in my class! Buz finished 42 seconds later. His second place finish earned him the series championship with 413 points to my 398 points (best of six races). What a nice day!

CCCX Cyclocross Race #2, Fort Ord East Garrison, 10/9/05

My neighbor Shauna and I arrived at the East Garrison of Fort Ord for the Central Coast Cyclocross round #2 at the crack of 0 fog thirty. We promptly set up the team tent. It was rather chilly with fog and a light Easterly wind. By the time my race started the fog was burning off and the temperature was rising rapidly. My race started and I was promptly spit out the back. I can never seem to punch it right from the start. The middle part of the race was pretty fun as I got to mix it up with some friends from 45+ class, who I will get to join next year. About half of the way through, I blew. It wasn't bad as I recognized it before it happened and backed off a bit. My goal this year is not to get lapped and I almost made it.

I really liked this course! The single-track section on the back part was a real nail-biter. If the back end wasn't breaking loose, the front end was getting stuck in a rut. It raised the hair on the back of my neck more than once. I heard there was a lot of crashing on this course and I almost ran over one of the victims. Luckily, he able to get out of the way as I came flying by, I had no where to go to avoid him!

After the race I volunteered to water Shauna and Stella during the women's race. About half of a lap through the race Shauna broke both of the seat rails on her bike. I frantically tried to stuff my seat and post into her bike and only succeeded in getting her seat post collar stuck onto my post! After watching this, Shauna couldn't handle it anymore and took off without a seat! Riding any bike without a seat is hard, but on a cross bike it would be crotch suicide! Luckily for Shauna, Team Black Market Racing came up with a seat post and seat that fit and she was able to finish the race.

It was now time for my second race of the day on my singlespeed. In this race, which was to be longer than my first, I concentrated on not blowing and settling into a nice rhythm. Things were going good and I actually felt better than I did in the first race. I then started to bonk! I immediately slammed down a GU and felt much better. This race seemed to take forever. The Elite A's and Singlespeeders usually race for 1 hour or sometimes 1 hour plus a lap. I rode through the start finish with about an hour gone and looked at the lap cards and it read 2 to go. When I came back around it read 2 to go again and I looked at Rod H., Central Coast's start and finish man and he rang the one lap to go bell. I just assumed he forgot to change the lap cards. This couldn't have been better news to me as I was really starting to struggle! My legs were just starting to cramp. I was dreaming of something very cold and very sweet to drink! When I came around the start finish the next time the lap card read 1 to go and Rod was ringing the bell madly. I could have killed him. I said something unkind to him on the way by and set off on the "real" last lap. I managed to pedal one more lap without turning into the human C clamp and finished. I spent approximately 1:23:00 on the course and afterwards I was completely shot. Later that night about 02:00 I did turn into the human C clamp as both of my legs locked up while I was sleeping, awakening me in withering pain. God, I love racing bikes!

Bay Area Super Prestige Series Race #1, 10/2/05

Mike Evans

Karen and I made the long drive up to the first race of the Bay Area Super Prestige Series (sometimes better known as Pilarcitos), held at the oasis known as Candlestick Point. It was a very beautiful morning, lots of sun and no wind. We went and registered and then suited up for a couple of reconnaissance laps. Course turned out to be virtually featureless and very bumpy with two tiny run ups. With just the first class of riders warming up, the course was breaking down in the corners and turning into sand. It would only get worse as the day wore on.


Mike Evans clears a barrier.

I had a terrible race! The race started on pavement and about 150 meters later it turned left onto the dirt with a tight right, left, right chicane. Once the thundering pack hit this dirt it turned into a giant bottle neck I was spit out the back. Near the end of this chicane, a rider was forced into me and he was pushing me into the tape on the outside of the turn. I politely gave him a forearm to put him back on his course. This caused him to whine a little, to which I replied "Jeez mate, you came into me!" Right around then the Master A 45+ leaders came plowing into us from behind. The bottle neck had been so bad that even with a 30 second delay they had caught us less than 1 minute into the race!

After that, things seem to settle down until 25 minutes later when I blew sky high! I spent the next two laps crawling along while trying to recover. With two laps to go I suddenly felt better and was able to pedal hard again, but to no avail. It was a minor miracle I didn't finish last!


Karen Loutzenheiser at speed.

Karen had a much better race. Afterwards, she was convinced that she had won! She passed everybody in her class (C's) on the second run up and by the end had passed a bunch of B riders. She was so convinced that she won that after changing clothes she put her jersey back on for the podium presentation. The results finally came out and showed that Karen had been lapped twice and was second to last! Karen immediately protested to the officials and after a lengthy reevaluation they scored her in fourth. This didn't sit well with Karen and the long ride home was spent pondering what went wrong. Days later Karen still believes that she won the race.

CCCX Cyclocross Race #1, 9/25/05

Larry Morin

Sunday morning 6am and the alarm goes off... 1st Central coast race is awaiting me. Always questioning what I am doing until I pour a few cups of coffee in me and a good soak in the hot tub, I'm human again. Pack the van, Kiss Dane and Kathy good bye and they wish me luck in their sleepy who-cares state... O.K. I am ready to go...

The drive down to Monterey was a little un-nerving realizing I haven't done much cross racing in my life to speak of. I went up to the DFL race on Wednesday night, to get some of the kinks out, glad I did... It was a nice sunny morning in Monterey when I pulled into the Monterey Peninsula College parking lot, was glad about that. There were only a few cars with bikes and I thought that I was a little early, 7:45am. David Gill drove up to me and said he had things to unload, so he was going to get a little closer to the start/finish line. I got suited up and headed to the course to see what lay ahead. I ran into Keith Henderson and did a few warm-up laps with him to find out only that he will be racing in the same class, B-45's. The course was technical with some challenging obstacles; fitness along with good technical skills was going to be a factor. I realized after warming up Keith definitely had some experience with this game. I decided to line up behind him and attempt to stay with him. We bunched up at the start line and I counted 15/16 riders. We were off in a mad dash. I was tight with the group and sitting in fourth behind Keith. We hit the first run-up and it felt good to get going. Feeling good at this point, telling myself I can do this. Coming down a steep drop-in to the football track I was still with Keith. We passed one rider on the track and could see the first place guy ahead of us making the right hand turn off the track. We both hit the run up together and could see the first place guy hopping on his bike. Cool- we might catch him! We both hit the top of the run-up and put our bikes down almost simultaneously. I jump on my seat and start to pedal when I realize I have dropped my chain. Panicking, I try to shift it back on and jam it between my crank and bottom bracket. I jump off and try to get it untangled and riders are zooming by. At this point I am loosing confidence of doing well. I tell myself to fix my chain and get back in!

I chased the rest of the race, picking off a few riders and getting ninth. I felt disappointed with what happened, but was O.K. with my first cross race—live and learn. Thanks for the water, Mike!

CCCX Cyclocross Race #1, 9/25/05

Mike Evans

I got up early the next day and drove to Monterey with Shauna Potocky for the first Central Coast Cyclocross race of the year. Once there, we immediately set up the team tent and unpacked the van. The singlespeed class wasn't set to start until 1:00 so I had lots of time to water other teammates during their races. I finally suited up and went for a lap to check the gearing on my singlespeed and immediately realized my legs were totally dead from the previous day's effort.

At 1:00 we finally lined up for the start. The A class started in front of us and about 30 seconds later we were off. I immediately shot into the lead! I suddenly realized this was pretty stupid, backed off a bit and was immediately passed by Micah who bunny hopped the first barrier and rode up the first run up like a jackrabbit whose tail was on fire. That was the last we saw of Micah, who spanked all of the singlespeeders. I wasn't feeling all that great, but I was hanging in there. After a couple of laps I could see teammate Mike Martin slowing gaining ground on me so I let up a bit figuring we could work together. After all, this was going to be a long race. I spent half of a lap glued to Mike's wheel and was having no real difficulty in keeping up. I knew this would change once we were back on the loose dirt. Mike is one of the best bike handlers that I know and sure enough I would have to accelerate a little harder out of the corners to keep up with him. Then it happened: I crashed on the running track just after the steep drop in. I was very embarrassed as there were a bunch of spectators there! It felt like I was on the ground forever as I could not unclip my left foot. I finally got to my feet and discovered one of my brake levers was turned in and my rear brake was rubbing. I fixed both of those problems and was on my way. I then immediately crashed going over the next barrier! Unlike the first crash, this one hurt! My back felt a little tweaked and I had raked my shin over the barrier! After all of that I went into survival mode and did my best just to finish the race. It seemed to take forever, but the bell lap finally sounded. I love the bell!!! After the race I got to do a damage assessment and discovered some missing skin, a very sore back and a bruised ego!

DFL Cyclocross Race #4 at Golden Gate Park, 9/24/05

Mike Evans

Teammates David Gill and Simone Montez and I made the long drive up the coast to the final DFL race, taking place in the Northwest corner of Golden Gate Park. It was a beautiful sun filled morning with not a drop of wind anywhere along the coast. As we passed surf spot after surf spot I wondered if I was partaking in the wrong sport. "At least I'm not entering the food chain while racing cyclocross" I thought! BTW, Waddel Creek had the best waves! We arrived quite early and had time for a proper warm up and then pre- rode the course. This course totally rocked! Tons of loose, rutted singletrack, lots of roots with a couple of big fallen trees as barriers and a couple of man-made barriers as well.

At the start they had us go down a long dirt road that deposited us onto a single track. We started the race and the pack thundered down the dirt road. The dust became so thick I couldn't see. I felt like a herd of Lemmings charging to the cliff's edge when suddenly we took a left onto the singletrack. This instantly became a huge bottleneck and the guys at the front were launched! There were people crashing, dropping chains and just generally having a shocker all over the place! I was feeling quite good until half way through the race, when I blew sky high! I backed off the throttle (not by choice!) and went into survival mode and tried to not lose too many places. I recovered a bit before the end, but was still glad the race was over!

David Gill was flying at this race and had a great result! After the race we took a cool down ride for the entire length of the Great Highway and back. It was unbelievably warm and nice out! It's a rare day when you can ride there a not go hypothermic from the wind and fog.

DFL Cyclocross Race #3 at Crocker Amazon Park, Brisbane, 9/21/05

Mike Evans

I again made the long journey up to the frozen tundra known as Crocker Amazon Park for the third race in the DFL series. Before I left I switched tires to something more flat resistant and lowered the gearing on my singlespeed cross bike. As it turns out this course was a lot flatter than last week's, but it seemed a little harder. In my case the run ups were a little longer as I couldn't ride some of the steeper hills even with my reduced gearing. There were definitely more racers out this week as people are starting to ramp up for the upcoming season.

The start was on a very narrow section of asphalt, about 3 riders wide. I got to the line late and started near the back, which of course churned into a huge bottleneck after word "go" was uttered. The paved section was long enough that the pack was strung out single file before the first dirt section. There was a hard right turn onto the dirt from the pavement and a rider several place in front of me got it all wrong and fell. This created another bottleneck as most everybody behind him was forced to dismount and start running to pass him. After passing the guy on the ground, I found a place on the singletrack to remount and when my butt hit the saddle there was a loud KA-BLING! The guy in front of me heard it and said "that didn't sound good!" and indeed he was correct. The nose of my saddle was now pointing skyward. I immediately got off of the bike for a quick inspection and discovered my seat post binder had stripped. Unbelievably enough there were still racers filing by when I gingerly remounted my bike and continued on.

I very gingerly rode for 2 more laps, got lapped by the leaders and decided to pull the plug. I was very uneasy about having a catastrophic failure of the seat post and unlike last week, where I ran the entire race, I decided to take it easy for this weekend's upcoming races.

I spent the rest of the race handing water bottles to my teammates and generally enjoyed watching the race. I hope to have all of my bad luck out of the way now as the cyclocross season starts in earnest this weekend.

p.s. they may call this the DFL Cross Dress Series, but to me it looks like a mobile Halloween custom party. You should have come to this race just to see Rachel Lloyd!

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium, Santa Cruz, 9/16/05

Dennis Pedersen

I anticipated this event more than any other criterium this year, except perhaps Cat's Hill. As this was the race's 37th annual running, it has lots of history. Team Santa Cruz member Doug Smith was even interviewed by a Sentinel reporter to provide some background 'color.' Very fun story!

The course is perhaps the most unique aspect of the race, as it eschews the usual flat, basic criterium course in favor of a challenging combination of hairpin turns, climbing and descending. Nothing like Cat's Hill, but still pretty tricky to figure out. I'd practiced the course a few times, so I wasn't too intimidated by it, and I liken it more to the Watsonville Criterium's course which I also enjoyed.

Team Santa Cruz and Velo Promo co-sponsored this race, so we were expected to volunteer to run the event as well as race it. Most team members contributed, but I helped mostly just by spreading out informative flyers to residents in the Beach Hill neighborhood, updating the web site, and working as a course marshal on race-day. I think David Gill came close to a breakdown trying to coordinate everything! In the weeks before the race David informed us that seven, yes, seven, team-members had entered the Masters 35+ 4/5 race (Category 4 and 5 racers over the age of 35, in case you didn't know). How cool was that!

It occurred to me that we might be able to accomplish a lot with seven riders by working as a team to better our chances of a strong finish for at least one of us. I'd seen this work before at other races, so why not for us? I sent an e-mail out with my own idea of how we might be able to harness this power, and others e-mailed their own ideas back and forth, which I really enjoyed (read some of the great tactics we came up with). It's a lot like military battle planning, but more complicated! I really wanted to be a part of a cohesive team, working for the larger good, so I took a while to write up my own idea, and solicit those of others from inside, and outside, of the team. I envisioned a strong team leader being designated to call the shots, adjust our tactics to suit the real-life conditions, and keep us focused.

But I could tell from our e-mails that we still think more like individuals than as a team, which is understandable. Perhaps the nature of cyclocross and mountain-biking, both much more popular within the club, encourage this individuality. I think we all agreed on some basic plans to attempt, if conditions allowed, though we never did settle on formal team roles. Anyway, it was fun for me to be a part of what planning we did come up with, and I don't think it was wasted time... but more on that later.

Ron Riley and Dennis Pedersen
Ron and Dennis admire the awesome
team accommodations! (Dennis Pedersen)

The morning of the race I had a nice big breakfast and rode over to Beach Hill. We had a little morning fog, but then a gorgeous clear day with temperatures getting up around 80 degrees in the afternoon and a little wind from the southwest. The Cat. 4 race was just under way, and I said hello to our course marshals. When I got to the registration area I saw that our team members had set up a team awning with folding chairs, bike trainers for warmup, snacks, coolers full of water and soda, towels, tools etc. manned by Ron Riley! A little later Norman Field, Matt Wocasek and Larry Morin arrived, and I warmed up with Norman and Larry on West Cliff Drive. It turned out that Mike Evans changed his mind about racing, and Philip Sims and Mike Martin were arriving a little later. We then warmed up a bit more on the trainers. Long-time team members Gary Gogol and Doug Smith also visited and wished us the best.

Matt Wocasek training
Matt training hard! (Dennis Pedersen)
 
Doug Smith and Norman Field
Doug and Norman chat.
(Dennis Pedersen)

I brought up the subject of our team tactics, but the only thing I heard was that the others felt that anybody as into tactics as I am ought to be the team leader! That was flattering, of course, but I thought the strongest rider should fill that role. Larry said that if he was in a position to go for it, he would do it, team tactics or not! But knowing that a team rider is in that position is actually what a good team should be able to recognize and support, so I agreed with him. I decided to just let it rest and allow democracy to rule. That didn't mean we'd have no tactics, but it did mean we had no strong leader to keep us focused on a common goal.

Men Masters 35+ 4/5 Race

To see six Team Santa Cruz members line up for a criterium is a first for me! Quite a sight! And my wife arrived too, just seconds before the start, and gave me a good-luck kiss! We were spread out a bit at the start line, but the field was only 51 riders, going for 14 laps (about 12 miles) so I didn't worry we'd be unable to group together during the race. After the usual announcement of the race rules we were off at the bell! The pace was pretty much a sprint at first, much like Cat's Hill, into the hairpin turn. Nobody wanted to lose too many places that early on, so there was a lot of cautious jockeying for position as we skittered through the hairpin (and I do mean skittered; my rear tire slipped sideways on one lap) and down the hill. Mike Martin pulled furiously up front for the first lap, setting a precedent which lasted for the remainder of the race, but quickly flared out and had to recharge in the pack for quite a while.

We really appreciated the many spectators cheering us on, thanks to our home-field advantage, and I tried to identify familiar voices yelling my name. The peloton was tighter and faster than I'd originally thought it would be, though there were some gaps caused by the turns and hills. Even so, it was hard to try to get the team together, and we never really did. This is partly because the course kept splitting people up. Even on a basic four-turn flat course keeping a team together isn't as easy as it looks, and this course and the fast pace made it even harder. I wonder if the suggestion that we make two three-man teams instead of one six-man team would have been best for this course. Interesting theory anyway!

Norman had volunteered to take a stab at establishing an early break, knowing it was likely to fail, and he briefly soloed off the front according to the plan before shooting off the back and nearly getting dropped. This was actually the only part of our plan that we followed to the letter! I'd also volunteered, but I could tell I wasn't strong enough given the fast pace. I noticed that Philip was doing a good job of using the peloton to stay out of the wind, and I tried to stay close to him. So close he nearly took me out once on the climb when I crossed his wheel and he took a sharp left to avoid another rider. I could tell Philip was stronger than me, which was no surprise as he was always faster than me at the CCCX races and our Swanton Road TTs. I decided to help set him up for the win, but the fast pace prevented me from leading him. Just keeping up was hard; my heart-rate monitor was almost always displaying between 177-183 bpm! Matt and Norman moved in and out of visibility, Mike was still at the back, and Larry got pulled after losing the peloton, so we weren't staying together well. All these things made communicating very hard, and following through with any of our plans nearly impossible.

During one prime, which I didn't contest, I tried to spot the winner but couldn't quite make out the jersey or number. That would have been helpful for the final sprint, as prime winners often become race winners, or at least will lead out a team member. Philip mentioned later that he tried for a prime, but couldn't do it. I suggested that we try for a break right after a prime, but none of us was strong enough or near enough the front to make it work. I've noticed in past races that breaks are often easy to make right after primes as the peloton slows, and even nearly initiated some myself, as I did at Watsonville.

Philip pulling the peloton
Philip takes a turn pulling the peloton (Ron Riley)

In spite of all this, I did spot an opportunity to help Philip when he managed to bridge to a break that had formed just ahead of the peloton on the climb. It wasn't far, maybe 15 feet, but enough of a gap that I thought Matt, Norman and I could block to help establish it as we neared the hairpin. Unfortunately neither was close enough, and by the time I got their attention the break was caught. Matt didn't think blocking for a break with one team rider in it made sense, but I think we should have tried to work for him at that point so at least one of us could maybe stand on the podium.

Mike comin' on strong for the final sprint!
Mike comin' on strong for the final sprint! (Doug Smith)

On the final laps the paced picked up, like usual, and this served to render weaker riders, like me, incapable of launching any last-minute attacks. At this point I had given up any plan other than just holding on. As we climbed toward the finish line Mike Martin suddenly reappeared with a strong surge, while I struggled just to hold on. Since we were mostly near the front, we all finished pretty much mid-pack even without any other strong sprinting. Matt was 16th, Mike 19th, Philip 25th, Norman 28th, me 29th.

So, was I disappointed that most of our team tactics fell apart? Well, yes, of course. But at the same time I know that this takes lots of discipline and practice, plans must change with the shifting circumstances, and that none of us had worked together as a team before. Perhaps we'll take this experience and apply it to our next criterium. I'd love to try this again, it really was a blast! (I have a dream: that next year we'll form a core of crit riders who will train together, work out tactics, and take turns on the podium!) In fact, it was so fun that when I heard Philip and Larry say they were also entering the open Category 5 race, I entered it too! We all quickly got ready while the Women 4 race finished up.

Men Category 5 Race

The Cat 5 race had a smaller field of 31 (and just 11 laps, about 10 miles), and there were just three Team Santa Cruz riders: Philip, me and Larry. This was nice because working as a team would be simpler with fewer people to work with, and fewer riders could get in our way. I felt great in spite of the last race, and was hoping to try the team thing again, albeit at a reduced scale. I'd mentioned to Philip that I'd tried to help him in the break earlier, and that maybe we could try something like that again. He seemed a little puzzled, but I figured what the heck; this team thing exists only in my mind anyway! I was pretty comfortable waiting for the start, and soon we were off again!

This race started out much slower than our last race, maybe because Mike wasn't there to drive the pace up! I soon ended up right behind the race leader, and I decided to just sit on his wheel until he got wise to me... which happened at the end of the second lap when a spectator (coach?) yelled at him to "stop doing all of the work!" He promptly sat up, and we slowly rode up the climb to the start/finish line. I got bored, and also knew that our best chance would only come if we broke up the race with a faster pace, so I decided to pull the peloton for a while. I swooped down the hill, carved the turns nicely, and I think I was pulling for a full lap before I found somebody willing to trade off. No break resulted from my efforts, but at least I'd softened the group up a bit.

I was riding hard, but with about 10 bpm in reserve, which was great, because it meant I could either respond to attacks, or even initiate some of my own. That was cool! A few laps later, I'm a little fuzzy on the details now, we had a prime sprint, and a rider or two attempted to break away. I figured they'd get caught, as there were plenty of laps left, so I didn't bother to respond, but just stayed near the front.

Dennis and Philip cruising
Dennis (purple helmet) and Philip (light green helmet) kept pretty close during
the Cat 5 race. (Doug Smith)

As we neared the end, the pace picked up some more, but Philip and I were comfortably up front and ready to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, or so I thought! We swept up the hill toward the finish line; I followed Philip, with Larry further back, as we sprinted our way toward the line. A few riders beat us to the line, but I felt pretty good about our 6th, 8th and 20th places! What I didn't know was that the race was already decided before we even sprinted. A solo rider from earlier had managed to maintain his break all the way to the finish line. Drat!

Yeah, I was happy with my finish, but even more disappointed with our teamwork than I was after the first race. Philip knew the guy was off the front because he was closer to him when he jumped, but didn't let me know. While this guy was pedaling his way to victory, I kept telling Philip when I was right behind him so he'd know I was available to help him if needed. I think Philip was puzzled about my behavior, because he talked about this later, and I had to explain why I did that.

Here's what could have happened: Philip could have told me there was a solo break. Since I recognized Philip was faster than me, I would very gladly have volunteered to either help him bridge up to the solo break rider, or forced a chase on the guy with the peloton. Either way, Philip's chances would likely have improved, and we would have been more likely to have a team member on the podium that day. Instead, I sat with my reserve power untapped until my final futile sprint. But I was still so jazzed from my finish, and the other aspects of the race that I was in a great mood the rest of the day!

The Aftermath

After the race, we chatted for a while, washed up (thanks to our excellent team accommodations!), changed our clothes, and got ready for our work assignments. I was a course marshal on Laurel Street. This turned out to be awesome, as I got to watch the Women 1/2/3 and Men 1/2/Pro races. The location was nice because it turned out to be where the riders talked the most, and I got some insight into their team tactics. I also had way too much fun calling out equal-opportunity encouragement and advice to them, alternately telling the breaks that they could 'do it,' and telling the chase groups that they could "catch them!"

Most interesting was how the McGuire team riders managed to help their teammate when he joined a successful break of six riders. When the break formed Matt heard one of them tell the others to 'ease off.' Then a rider from another team tried to bridge up to them, and was soon joined by two others, including a different McGuire rider. Lap after lap, maybe dozens of them, these three tried to bridge up to the other six, but with no success. Eventually, the two other chase riders started cussing and yelling at the McGuire rider, telling him to take his turn pulling. He yelled back that he was, and they kept plugging away, but with no change. It became painfully obvious that he was just sitting on this chase group in order to help his teammate up ahead. These McGuire riders ended up in third and fourth, so their tactics obviously helped them both. That was pretty fun to watch! During the cool-down lap, I complimented the two McGuire riders on their teamwork; they turned to me with huge smiles on their faces and thanked me. I'm pretty sure they knew exactly what I meant by that! The Health Net rider who won, Michael Sayers, had also been smart when he joined the break: he didn't contribute much to the break, but instead spent most of his time behind them until a few laps remained and he swept away with the fastest lap times I'd recorded! That tells you how much reserve he had to work with!!!

Larry, Dennis, Mike, Jeff and David
Larry, Dennis, Mike, Jeff and David
party down!

I hope nobody reads any negativity into this report; I honestly had so much fun at this race it definitely ranks as number 1 for the year! Having an attempt at teamwork, even a partly failed one, with so many teammates was a fun change. And the post-race party at Tampico's was fun too. My wife and I, David and Simone, Jeff Van Damme, Larry, and James Hrika had beer, margaritas and great food and company!

Hey, you can read the Santa Cruz Sentinel's story here (that's yours truly in the middle of the article's photo!).

DFL Cyclocross Race #2 at Crocker Amazon Park, Brisbane, 9/14/05

Mike Evans

After a long summer of doing what I do best (racing sailboats), I thought it was about time to start getting ready for the cyclocross season. The best way to train for a race is to race and that's where the DFL series comes into play. I have long heard good things about the series and decided to make the long drive from my office in Gilroy to Crocker Amazon Park, Brisbane. I went to Google maps and found the location and then checked the satellite photo of the place, which of course looked perfectly flat from space. I was shocked when I pulled into the parking lot and saw the terrain! It was anything but flat! This was quite worrisome, as I had brought my singlespeed cross bike with a 36x16 gearing. Ack! I suited up and went for a couple of laps to familiarize myself with the course. Indeed my gearing was too high for the climbs, but I would just have to live with it. I went and signed in and received a very recycled race number to pin on. I then made my way over to the starting line, which was as far away from the parking lot as you could get. This was to be a mass start with no classes. Everybody was lining up when I noticed that my rear tire had gone flat. Bugger! I was completely pissed off by this! I had no spare wheel or tube and even if I did I would never be able to get to the car and back.

The race started and right then and there I decided out loud "Screw it! I came 75 miles to train and train I will!" And with that I shouldered my bike and started running. The first lap wasn't so bad; I seemed to be running in a 2-to-1 ratio with the riders: they road two laps in the time it took me to run one. I was very conscientious of riders coming up from behind, as the course was very narrow in places and I didn't want to screw up anybody's race. By the start of the second lap I was feeling quite lubed, but the weight of the bike on my right shoulder and arm was starting to bother me. Every time Rick Hunter passed me he gave me some sort of smart comment. I must have looked like the Forrest Gump of the cyclocross world! By the beginning of the third lap I was really feeling it! I switched the bike to my left shoulder and carried on. This felt completely awkward and I soon switched back. The hills on the course were really starting to hurt and I prayed that this was the last lap! As I approached the finish line (not the same as starting line, about 1/3 of lap into the course), I sensed the race was over and it was. Thank God!

Well, a workout was what I wanted and that is what I got. I was worked! While I was running I sweated even more than I usually do, which is very high. Directly after the race I slammed down a coke and started to freeze. Being that this course was only about 4 miles from Candlestick Park, one of the coldest places known to man in the summer, it was very windy, gray and cold here as well. I didn't notice it as much as the riders, but the wind was playing havoc with them at the top of the course. I heard a couple of people say they were almost blown over! I immediately got out of my wet clothes and split. By the time I got back to Santa Cruz I was feeling semi human again until I pulled up to my house and got out of the car. I took one step onto the driveway and both of my hamstrings locked up and once again I was turned into The Human C Clamp. I was able to unlock myself in relatively quick fashion and hit the shower I'm not sure what was up, but there were a lot of people racing with dresses on. I think they got free entry into the race.

12 Hours of 5th Avenue, 8/13/05

Dennis Pedersen

"This is not a race, it's an enduro!" Thus spake Mike Evans to the cyclists gathered in the pre-dawn gloom on the street in front of his house on, you guessed it, 5th Avenue. A race requires things like USCF sanctioning, insurance, permits etc. But if you told Mike you'd be at his house, and chose to team up with two other riders, and leave at 6:00 a.m. sharp following a route he'd drawn on a map, and meet your teammate at Mike's house after you rode a lap of Mike's route, allowing them to ride the subsequent lap, he'd keep track of you and your teammates' departures and arrivals so you could see who rode his route the fastest. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

In the weeks preceding the appointed Saturday, e-mails and phone calls floated around, teams formed, and information about how we'd conduct the "enduro" was promulgated. It was to be a relay enduro specifically. Teams would consist of three riders who'd each take turns riding one lap of the route, handing off a "baton" (consisting of a route map in a Ziploc bag) to the next team member in line, until 5:30 p.m., after which you couldn't start any new laps but could finish your current lap. Or, if you wanted to go solo, you could just keep riding laps by yourself until you fainted. There were single-speed and geared categories to assign yourself to. I was teamed up with Greg Audino and new Team Santa Cruz member Jeff Van Damme.

Since the course, uh, I mean route, was about 7 miles on pavement and 18 miles on dirt, mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes were the favored weapons of choice. The smart riders took advantage of Mike's Tuesday Night Moto Ride to pre-ride the complex route. And it was complex. Large picture: Through town on the levee, ride the railroad tracks toward Felton, up a trail on the left, climb to the ridge on several singletrack trails, drop through Gray Whale to Wilder Ranch, back into town via the bike trail, and return to Mike's house. Ron Riley and Jeff (any others?) volunteered to help Mike by marking the course with pink ribbons. Kudos! I had only ridden the UCSC campus' famous trails once, yes, once, in my entire life. Kind of embarrassing. I went there with some friends about 12 years ago, and I don't think they knew the area very well because I was underwhelmed by the trails we rode. Well, it turns out there are some awesome trails on campus, and I couldn't believe I hadn't managed to make the time to explore them further since then.

So, on the morning of the race, I cooked myself some oatmeal, got dressed, and rode the one mile from my house to Mike's in the darkness and with a light drizzle from the heavy marine layer. I also had to dodge a skunk I encountered on the way. It turned out not to be too startled... that could have been nasty! As is my usual routine I was cutting the time pretty close, and I arrived just as the other #1 riders lined up at the start line. Geez. Mike called out to me "Dennis, you're always late!" I was suitably chagrined, while at the same time thinking that I was exactly on time. Hmmm. I got my "baton" and was ready to go!

Mike gave us last-minute instructions, hopped on his bike, and leaded us out to avoid a bunch race through the dark city streets. We looped around the upper yacht harbor, rode past Aldo's, over to the levee, across Highway 1 and onto Highway 9 where Mike let us run loose like dogs at the beach. We then shot off to the left and up onto the railroad right-of-way with Mike Martin in the lead on his singlespeed welding experiment, followed by another singlespeed rider, then me. I was determined to stay up front so I wouldn't get lost (I didn't pre-ride the course because even on a good day I have a hard time getting from Palo Alto to 5th Avenue by 6:00 p.m., and my co-worker had just quit forcing me to shoulder his burden).

Mike Martin knew exactly where he was going, and just before a trestle he crossed the tracks in true MTB fashion. While I fumbled my way across and tried to get into my Speedplays, he and several others shot ahead of me and jackrabbited up a rutted singletrack trail, squeezing past somebody's pickup. How the truck got there I have no idea... perhaps they drove up the tracks as we had done? Fortunately, Norman Field was there too; he pre-rode the route, and was setting a nice pace I could follow without fear of getting lost. Thanks Norman!!!

The route was mostly singletrack, and we rode up "U-Conn Trail," taking several confusing turns and passing several other trails, ending up on "Chinquapin Trail." These names were all new to me, so when we crossed Empire Grade Road I felt more at home. But we immediately left the familiar and entered Gray Whale... I remember when they were talking of adding it to Wilder, but I never got out there to sample the trails after the deal was signed. (Here's a nice map. Click on the purple diamonds for panoramic VR views.) My lord; some of those trails are super nasty! My hands were screaming from the punishment, and Norman was kind enough to wait while I retrieved an errant water bottle. We passed Brian Vernor with his CX bike; he flatted there. We swept into Wilder like banshees, and ended up on "Old Cabin Trail" where I nearly flew into the creek at the bottom; I guess being on familiar ground made me overconfident! I scraped my arm on a mighty redwood, and later I noticed an end cap on my bars had popped out. I kept Norman in sight, and "Burley," who'd joined us on his singlespeed after taking a wrong turn. The route was actually pretty good for singlespeeds, as it rolled a lot and didn't have any ridiculously long, steep climbs. Well, that's my excuse for getting beaten by some of those guys!

After we rode under Highway 1 by the ranch we totally pacelined our way back into town, though it was hard for me to lead as I didn't know the route. Twice I went the wrong way and had to catch up with Norman and Burley. We saw several other riders heading out for the second lap as we looped back through the upper harbor and then we were crossing the finish line with a time of 1:56! One lap down, one or two to go for me, depending on how fast my team mates were. (To get my third lap in we would have to average 1:54 per lap.) I handed the baton to Greg Audino, my team's #2 rider, and he sped off while I cooled down.

The weather was still gloomy and it never did clear up. But it was fun hanging out and meeting people, including some Team Santa Cruz guys I hadn't met yet (Brian Vernor and Doug Smith; good fellows!). Mike Martin had the fastest lap so far at 1:48, while his #2 rider, David Gill, had crashed while trying to pass somebody on the worst possible section. Mike Evans showed up later; the long week had taken its toll and he bonked so hard he decided one lap was enough. Not a nice way to reward him for all of his hard work setting up the enduro!

This race, uh, enduro, was so epic I had time to ride home, shower, have a second breakfast (like a hobbit!) at Sunny Cove Café with my wife, clean my bike's chain, change into fresh bike clothes and ride back to Mike's place in plenty of time to start my second lap. Mike and others had brought tons of goodies, and were smoking chicken. Yum! Some folks were already downing beer, though I heard one guy lost his breakfast right after starting his lap (no names, huh Grant Stoner?). I met our #3 rider, Jeff Van Damme, for the first time. Jeff quit smoking three years ago, lost 50 pounds, and is now racing bikes... what a huge life-style change! When Greg returned (with a nice 2:06) Jeff shot off and I had a chance to get to know Greg while waiting. Greg sells cars and doesn't get a lot of weekends off, so he makes them count by hurting himself riding bikes, just like the rest of us! Jeff took a while to return, and I started worrying he'd crashed, flatted or gotten lost. It turned out he was having bad cramps, but he made it back just fine with a 2:45. I was happy in a way, because it meant I wouldn't have time to start a third lap... that would have hurt me!

So, I was the baton-holder again, and I soloed my way back on the route, seeing things with new eyes as I went. When I got to Highway 1 I just missed a green light, and while I was waiting the tourist train to Felton drove up the hill. Darn! I worried that it would block my way, but by the time the light turned green again it was gone. I thought I'd get lost riding alone, but I was fine for the first section. I passed Grant on the climb, which was reassuring. When I got to the top of the hill on campus, I took a wrong turn but figured that out without losing more than a couple of minutes. I did stop a few times to check the map, and even asked directions once. I think I may have skipped the last short singletrack section just before Empire Grade, but I'm not certain

Riding into Gray Whale I felt pretty confident of the route, but when I came to a junction I thought required me to turn left, I saw an "Area Closed" sign in the way. I didn't remember that being there. I slammed on the brakes, stopped next to the sign, and couldn't unclip in time to avoid falling into the sign. It's bent now, and you'll know why next time you see it! I looked at the map, got confused, and decided to just bomb down "Long Meadow Trail." I checked the map again when I got to "Wild Boar Trail," and had no problems after that point. When I got back to Old Cabin I took a minute to look for that missing end cap (remember that incident?). Who would have thought I'd find a small, black object somewhere on the forest floor? But I did find it, and slammed it back in place with a triumphant grin! Riding back into town I passed two, yes two, riders from other teams. Wheeee! I was feeling my oatmeal! One of them (a DFL jersey guy) tried to grab my wheel, did so, but lost it soon after. I'm just too macho! Yeah, right. I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:55, handed the baton to Greg, he sped off, and I had another chance to BS with folks.

I didn't stay long though, but went home, showered (again!), got dressed up nice, helped my wife with some yard work, and waited in my armchair for her to shower and get ready. Well, it was so cozy my cat Maui fell asleep on my lap, and I soon started sawing logs myself. As a result I totally missed the finish of the enduro, the awards ceremony, the awesome food and beer, etc., etc. Jeff told me his second lap was much better, but he still didn't get back in time to see any of that either! I hope everybody else enjoyed themselves. I think they did, most definitely. I'm sure David has "official" results, but that isn't the point. This was about having fun, and I know I did. Many thanks to Mike, Ron, Jeff, David, Simone, and all of the many others who made this awesome event happen!

Timpani Criterium, 8/7/05

Dennis Pedersen

I'm nipping at the heels of my upgrade from Category 5 to Category 4, and the Timpani Criterium, organized by Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club and sponsored by Sana Security, would put me within one race of the 10 I need to qualify. Since I'd worked rest station #1 (with David Gill, Barnaby Lee, Mike Evans and Larry Morin) for our club's annual century ride the day before, instead of riding it as I did last year, I was well rested (and well fed on left-overs!), though I didn't get much sleep. For the uninitiated, it's the "Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge;" a "challenge" because of its 10,000 feet of climbing! Also, our friend Rob Jensen invited us to a fun post-race BBQ. So, in spite of the weather forecast that called for heat, I decided to drive over the hill to race in Santa Clara instead of spending the day in gorgeous Santa Cruz. I must have a problem.

I'd considered racing both the open Cat 5 and the Masters 35+ Cat 4/5 races, which would have qualified me for Cat 4 that same day. But in the end I chose to race only the Masters race which started at 12:30, since I have enough other races lined up to qualify me for the upgrade. That way I'd get to catch up on lost sleep a bit, have my favorite banana pancake breakfast with my wife, clean up my bike, mount the race tires, and take it easy driving over. Well, I have a talent for pushing time limits, and I ended up instead throwing everything into the car at the last minute, and almost burned rubber as I desperately checked my watch on the drive over. My wife decided to watch me race, but left later for various reasons. At least I knew exactly where the race was so I didn't get lost! I got to the site about 12:08, and quickly ran to registration where I grabbed the very last spot in the Masters race. In fact, while I was standing in line getting my breath back, a worker told them to cut off Masters signups after me, to the dismay of at least one guy behind me!

Then I made a mad rush to use the Porta-Potty, put my bike together, and otherwise got ready. There was no way I could mount the race tires in time, so I kept my clunky commuter tires on (I need extra wheels!). They weigh over 400 grams apiece and have Kevlar belts, so I wouldn't flat anyway. Filthy chain, dirty bike, no sunscreen, clunky tires and all, I sped off to the start line. At least I had water. My LGBRC friends Rob, and Chris Tanner, were calmly waiting in their folding chairs, in the shade, while the Cat 3 race finished. Chris had finished 4th in the Cat 4 race, and Rob 21st. Good start to the day! Rob had lead Chris out, and Chris would return the favor in the Masters race. Teamwork rules! They encouraged me to quickly get in some warm-up time. Oh, yeah, that. Off I went...

My car said it was 78 degrees when I arrived, and a bit of wind kept things cool. The course was extremely basic, to the point of boredom almost: Four turns through a business park with no elevation change whatsoever. OK, there was a bush hanging over the curb a little in turn 1, but who could possibly have trouble with that? Well, it seems a guy in the Cat 4 race did, and brought down about 10 riders with him, so they'd placed some orange traffic cones at the entry of the turn to warn riders. I heard he had skirted that bush every lap, getting a little closer each time, until finally his bars caught on a branch. Seems avoidable. The awning for the start/finish officials was oddly placed though; right on the shoulder of the street, jutting out about 6 feet onto the pavement. I think they could just as well have placed it in the entrance to the parking lot just a few feet down the street, but perhaps the owners wouldn't allow that?My wife hadn't arrived by the start time, but my parents had (and so had I, barely!). It's nice to have family around to cheer me on, and they have watched me three times this year. The start went fine, and I was up ahead for most of the race, keeping out of trouble while my parents cheered me on. (I doubt it's common for Masters riders to have their parents in attendance!) The Masters race was pretty clean, and I decided that crashes became fewer as this season progressed because the people who caused them earlier in the season were either recuperating from their wounds or had learned their lessons!

Pretty early on, maybe after three laps or so in, a breakaway group of about five riders formed with maybe half of a straightaway's lead, and I started to move up in the peloton to attempt a bridge up to them. But then I remembered how many laps were remaining and I held back... wisely as it turned out, because we reeled them in pretty quick. The wind was hitting us pretty hard on the back straightaway, so I think they were disadvantaged due to their small group size. Within the peloton I was working hard, but only occasionally needing to hold back to rest. At one point, I think right after a prime sprint I didn't contest, I had some momentum going and pulled the peloton for a lap or so, but mostly I kept out of the wind. Later in the race, maybe with seven or eight laps remaining, two guys started to break away, and I happened to be right there with them, so I grabbed the wheel of the second guy and we sped off for part of a lap. They switched places, but when it was my turn I had nothing to give, and the one guy complained. I explained the situation, but he didn't seem pleased. I think it was irrelevant anyway, because we had a two-second lead at most!

OK, the lap cards were getting smaller, and with two to go I made sure I was up front. Oh yeah, bring it on! The peloton was getting decidedly nervous, and I could tell there was some pushing and shoving for position, but we all stayed upright, even though some cones didn't. On the last lap I was in a fine position to move up. With only two turns remaining a bunch of guys just ahead of me slowed and shifted to the right, so I used my momentum to leap forward... right into the headwind. Unhhhh... must grab a wheel! Unfortunately the leaders were all single file, and nobody offered me a wheel to grab onto. Through the turn I could feel myself tiring from the effort, and before we got to the last turn several guys (who I'm sure had sucked my wheel!) attacked me, and I couldn't grab their wheels. As we approached the turn I was quickly redlining, and I realized there was no way I could recover from my mistake. More guys passed me and on the final stretch I just watched as the peloton sped off. I didn't even bother to hold on to a mid-pack finish and started my cool-down lap well before I crossed the finish line. I looked back and saw "Jeff," another LGBRC rider, doing likewise. I didn't see anybody behind him though. I'd met Jeff on Monta Vista Velo's Tuesday night hill-torture-fest, uh, I mean club ride. He knew me as "the backpack guy" because I hooked up with the group on my way home from work! That's when my wife arrived; to see me finishing almost dead-last! She'd undoubtedly had more fun stocking up our new buffet than she would have had watching me.

One fourth of the riders had dropped out of the race, including my friend Glenn Kubaki (who I hadn't even known was racing!), so I guess we could be happy we even finished (I was 53rd). Our race lasted pretty close to the full 45 minutes scheduled. Chris, who was supposed to lead Rob out, had finished 4th, and Rob was 10th. It seems Chris is really getting up to speed and had lost his sprinter! It's interesting how they keep telling me how fit I am, yet they beat me. I have an inkling of why, but I'm still learning. I was pretty clever in one way though; I had spotted a strong rider who'd won primes at Morgan Hill, and I had tried to follow his wheel going for the finish. But he apparently had some issues and ended up mid-pack so that wouldn't have helped me anyway.

I watched the Masters 1/2/3 race for a few laps. It was pretty exciting! A breakaway of about five riders formed, as with my race, though a couple of riders bridged up so strongly I knew their chances of maintaining the lead were good. Then a chase group formed. But the breakaway held on to a 16-second lead over the chase group, and about 26 over the peloton. When I left they'd built their lead up to 22 seconds and 32 seconds respectively. If all that food and beer hadn't been awaiting me I'd have stayed to see the outcome! Yowsa!

Afterwards we relaxed in Rob's back yard, drank beer and wine, BBQ'ed, and told tall tales. Chris' wife, Leigh-Ann, had volunteered to help with scoring (she's an awesome racer in her own right as well), so we got extra helpings while waiting for them to arrive! The next day I rode 50 miles from Santa Cruz to Palo Alto, and 20 more in the evening, so I guess the race hadn't worn me out too much.

Watsonville Criterium, 7/16/05

Dennis Pedersen

I went to the Velo Promo web site to pre-register since the field limit was only 50 riders. Well, it turns out they don't offer online registration, so I had to, gasp, write a check, print out the standard USCF entry form and waiver, and mail it all to them via USPS! I don't even have a checkbook any more, so my wife had to write one for me!

Anyway, Matt Wocasek and Larry Morin had mentioned their intention of racing too, and I told them I'd pre-registered for the 35+ 4/5 race. David Gill promptly corrected me by pointing out that there was no such category at that race. Hmmm... I didn't know what to say, so I just had to assume things would be cleared up on race day. That's my style; always optimistic!Speaking of David, he had some dire, Nostradamian warnings to impart to us:

Make no mistake about this: there is no "Master 35+ 4/5" race at Watsonville. There is an open "Master 35/45+" race, in which you will be spat out the back in short order if you are not warmed up.

I found out the hard way and was one of the casualties of previous Open Masters races at Watsonville. Come to think of it, I've also been a casualty of the regular Category 4 race at Watsonville.

Bottom line: get a good warmup!

Shudder; I was scared after that!

On race day my wife said she was willing to go with me, and since the first race didn't start until 12:00, we went to breakfast at The Wharf House in Capitola where I had their great banana pancakes. We then rushed home so I could at least clean my chain and get everything ready. Barely made it on time! At registration I changed my race from 35+/45+ to Category 5, hurriedly got ready, and just had time to ride a couple of laps before they assembled us for the start. It turned out Larry couldn't make it, Matt wasn't there, but Philip Sims was. He told me this was only his fourth criterium ever.

The weather was partly cloudy, and it was a perfect 68 to 70 degrees. Downtown (uptown?) Watsonville has some nice old houses, and this neighborhood was a great venue for the course. The course was actually very cool, my favorite so far! It had a bit of a climb up to the finish line, but nothing like The Wall at Cat's Hill, with a total of four right turns and two slight rights, and one hard left plus a slight left up the hill (the start was at the last right turn, then up the hill). The only downside was that there were some minor bumps, and a drainage that crossed the course in that hard left turn.

We got a nice lecture at the start line, and we were told there were about 25 entrants (including a guy on a hardtail mountain bike with knobby tires!). And we were off! My wife had positioned herself at the base of the hill, and could watch us there, then take a very short stroll a few steps behind her to watch the left turn on the next block. Very spectator friendly, and a great spot for the pit area since you could access it from two points along the course. It was great hearing her cheer me on, and I even managed to smile and wave to her.

The pace was hard for the first lap or two, but nothing crazy, and we settled down nicely into a sustainable fast pace. I vowed to stay up front the entire race to avoid the yoyo effect from the many turns and the hill. I also kept an eye out for prime sprints and the lap cards. I heard the bell and announcement for the prime sprint after a few laps, and since I was up front and feeling strong I decided to give it a try. As we neared the last turn I moved up and to the outside of the turn. My friend Chris told me that's the way to go because you can maintain your speed better out there, room permitting and as long as there are no crashes. I started pedaling before the turn, heard some guys calling attention to me, and pounded on the pedals as I exited the turn. Wheeeee! But I started to fade a little as we hit the climb (I'm not a strong sprinter), and a guy sneaked by me on the right to grab the sprint. But I think I was second anyway, which was pretty cool! (Though reading David's account, I now see I missed the other prime.) After the sprint I had some momentum going into the downhill, and just kept pushing with the result that I pulled the peloton for almost two laps, riding the perfect race line through the turns (thanks to my car-racing skills). After that the sprint winner took over and told me to "hop on" or something to that effect. I think he must have felt we could form a breakaway group as the peloton was pretty leisurely. That didn't happen, as they were able to hang on for the most part, though we soon started to lap stragglers from off the back, including the mountain-biker.

As we neared the final laps I set up for the sprint as best I could, as the pace did pick up some. I saw that Philip was right behind me, but he fell back a few spots on the last lap. In that last turn I was in a good position, maybe fourth or so, but as I exited the turn I was passed by a few guys and couldn't answer. Well, I thought I couldn't until another guy rode up from behind me and I somehow dug deeper and moved slowly ahead of him again to maintain my spot. I counted six guys ahead of me after the finish line, but it turned out at least one of them was lapped (so why were they getting in the way of the sprint???). We finished 6th and 9th respectively. The guy who won was the same guy who won the prime sprint. It's always good to keep an eye on those guys. So, this race gave me my first top-10 finish. Not too shabby! We ended up with about 31 minutes and 17 laps.

Afterwards we watched Matt ride in the Category 4 race, and chatted with Philip, Larry and his son Dane, Simone, and David. Matt's group was a bit larger than mine. He was pretty much mid-pack the whole time, in spite of our cheering. His peloton stayed pretty much together, with the huge exception of a breakaway group that formed surprisingly early when one guy shot off the front. Then a different guy bridged across, riding super hard for what must have been a full lap, then yet another guy bridged somehow. That break held together the whole time I watched, with a 15 to 20 second lead. Amazing. But one guy flatted and abandoned (after winning the prime). I'm not sure what became of them, though I hear Matt finished 26th.

Watsonville Criterium, 7/16/05

David Gill (via Verizon Wireless BlackBerry)

We're at the start, everybody's about to go. From Team Santa Cruz, we have Dennis Pedersen and Philip Sims. Other local dignitaries (sp?) Include Matt Watson (Bicycle Trip), Anthony Gallindo and David Samples (Cal Giant) and some guy on a mountain bike.

Matt Watson leads the first two laps, then is swallowed by the pack in the third lap.

Dennis comes through fourth wheel next lap and is on the front with 13 to go

Mtb guy is off the back (no surprise there), Dennis still on the front

Now a break of 8 goes clear containing Dennis. Philip chases very close back

Pack comes back together, but Matt is off the back with 11 to go

A prime stretches out the pack and riders are getting lapped Anthony still in the pack, along with Dennis, Philip, and David

7 to go, the bell rings for a prime for the next lap6 to go, Matt still chasing and won't make it back4 to go and riders are getting dropped

Everyone we know is still in the pack with 3 to go

A Family Cycling rider won, everyone else in the pack

Reviewing camera now

Dennis got 5th, Philip 8th, Anthony 12th, David 13th, and Matt 17th. Matt Wocasek got 27th in the Cat 4 race

Coyote Creek Criterium, 7/9/05

Matt Wocasek

The course was a 1.8-mile rectangle with a gradual hill on one side and a flat windy strait on the other. Connecting the two longer sides of the rectangle were short straights and ninety-degree corners.

My race was fifty minutes of everyone hammering up the hill then bunching up in the headwind on the strait. There was a breakaway early in the race that was caught within a lap or two. I started the up-hill sprint to the finish from the middle of the pack and that's about where I ended up.

I didn't notice a creek or coyotes in the area.

Burlingame Criterium, 6/26/05

Dennis Pedersen

This race is part of the NCNCA's "Premier Series," as is Cat's Hill, so this was my second big criterium, I guess. Originally I'd planned on racing the Pescadero Road Race, but racers in my category had taken all 50 slots a month in advance, so I signed up for this one instead. I also missed CCCX race 5 (due to a wedding), dropping me from 4th overall to 6th. Argh!

To prepare for the race I rode in the crazy "Crow's Nest Ride" that Saturday morning. David Gill had mentioned there'd be a bunch of Team Santa Cruz members riding (we ended up with seven Team riders!). I thought it would be fun, vowing to take it easy so as to save some energy for Sunday. Maybe not my smartest move, as the group of about 40–50 hammered down San Andreas Road, and then turned south out of Watsonville to ride the extra loop through Aromas. I considered just soloing through the short route, but I figured I might be able to work less by staying tight with the pack. I think I was wrong! After furiously pace-lining our way along the highway, and nearly getting hit by two cars (!), I voluntarily sat up at the base of the hill leading up to Aromas and let myself get dropped. Last time I rode with these folks I got dropped involuntarily at the crest of that same hill, and once more on Hazel Dell Road, so I figured I'd be better off just soloing back on my own from there instead of blowing up in a vain attempt to assuage my ego. So I rode alone for 30-plus miles, though I ended up rejoining the Team Santa Cruz riders later on. They (except Philip and Matt Wocasek) had taken the short route without me noticing, and then enjoyed coffee and pastries at the coffee shop while I was fighting the wind! All were planning on attending the Team BBQ at Philip's place, but not the race.

OK, so race day: I don't think I'd ever been to downtown Burlingame before, and it's really quite nice. The weather was partly cloudy, in the mid 60s. I parked, signed in, got my number, got all ready, took a deep breath and looked around. Pretty neat event! Kodak, Fidelity and other sponsors had awnings. The announcer was pretty fun too, which is great for the spectators. They even had some amazing performance artists to entertain us: One was dressed all in red velvet with a tail, holding a whip (the devil?) and riding in-line skates, another two were on stilts and had feathered wings (angels?)!

We all got a chance to take a warm-up lap. The course was pretty basic with six turns, one of them a sweeper. Though it did have some sharp bumps here and there, some paving stone crosswalks, and some heavily-crowned sections, it was really pretty decent. The course through the old-fashioned downtown was lined with cones, tape and hay-bales, and had a nice digital timer/lap counter, so it all looked very high-end. In spite of the 60–70 miles I rode on Saturday, some at race pace, I felt pretty good about racing that course for the next 40 minutes.

The start was almost a sprint, and I was soon sucking air. Nothing too terribly tough, but the pace left me with only a small reserve. During the race I heard somebody call out my name. It turned out to be Robbie Abundis, in his Family Cycling Center jersey. I'd met him during the ride on Saturday. Nice guy. Amazingly, our race progressed very smoothly, and I never did see any crashes. Lap after lap we managed to agree on our lines, though with about five laps to go another rider and I nearly hooked bars when he turned wider than I'd expected. But we both just smoothly held our lines and disengaged. I then shot through an opening to gain some spots. That was pretty cool! I think my dirt experience has taught me to just hold on until things sort themselves out instead of trying to influence events too much and only causing problems. Another time I watched a guy veer sharply across the path of another rider, for no good reason, provoking some shouts. That was about it. I did learn that my wheels can wobble a bit when I'm really cranked into a turn and I hit something... or somebody.

The final two laps were an oxygen-deprived blur as the peloton picked up the pace and I maxed out. I kept contact with the main pack, but I didn't have enough reserve to move up to the front. Soon the final sprint formed, and a handful of guys up ahead flew past the finish line, leaving me between 20th–30th, or so I thought, which turned out to be 47th out of 80 per the official results (how can they keep track of us in that short space of time anyway?). Oh well. This is starting to sound like a broken record. Maybe I need to train more in zone 5! Or not ride like crazy the day before.

I talked with Robbie later, and he mentioned that Peninsula Velo riders had worked together to put the winner, Murray Swanson, in the lead. I had noticed some same-jersey riders leading out at times, though earlier in the race I think it was maybe some of the Sana Security team members. That's awesome; I wish Team Santa Cruz worked together like that. At least we know how to party! OK, so I even missed the BBQ, which bums me out. There's just not enough hours in a day, and it was my mom's birthday.

They had the cutest kid's race afterwards. I'd never watched one before, but I was laughing so hard I nearly cried! Imagine several dozen kids, all riding their tiny bikes with training wheels, baskets, flowers etc., with the performance artists chasing after them! Too funny, too cute by far!

CCCX MTB Series Race 4, 6/5/05

Dennis Pedersen

Another pretty day, another mountain-bike race! It was really windy driving down, and a tad chilly, but still very pleasant. This race was originally supposed to be the last race of the series, but another one was added to the schedule for 6/18, and the race-series points competition was changed to add the points awarded from the best four out of five races instead of from all four original races. When I got to the site, I met up with Philip Sims, and he quickly pointed out how the extra race will benefit me, as now I can throw away my transferred results from the Beginner's race I won in February. Only half of those were transferred, so this gives me another chance at getting full results for four counted races.

Right off the bat I saw that turnout was less than the previous races. Not sure why, as conditions were so nice, but perhaps people didn't keep track of the updated schedule after the original race 4 was cancelled. It's also possible that slower riders decided to drop out of the series competition. Last race had 91 Sports, this time there were only 69. But we didn't have any shortage of entrants in Sport Men 35-44 as we had 32 this time, down from 35 in the last race. Nice thing was that the line at registration was very short, as in one person. Matt Wocasek and Rita were there, and Larry Morin, so we all rode out to warm up. While getting lined up for the start we were joined by hard-working Barnaby Lee (on his cyclocross bike!) and Grant Stoner, so there were six team members!

After the start Matt quickly shot ahead of everybody on the pavement leading uphill into the wind. I tucked in behind him, but soon we were passed by several guys just as we entered the singletrack trail. It was pretty amazing watching Barnaby (photo at right) strain up those hills on a cyclocross bike! The course was roughly counter-clockwise, and fairly similar to previous courses. As before we had a bit over a mile to ride before starting the first of four full laps at the finish line. I quickly learned that the sandy soil was a lot drier than it had been in the previous races, and there was a lot of dust in the draft of the lead riders. Pretty soon we came upon a short, steep, powdery section through some bushes, and a bottleneck formed when somebody ahead couldn't maintain traction. So we all jumped off our bikes and ran up the hill. I had some trouble getting clipped back into my pedals though, and lost several spots. Dang! I managed to gain some of the loss back pretty quickly, but I was still eating dust for the rest of that lap. After we crossed the finish line for the first full lap the group split up some, though I managed to draft some guys in a few sections to keep out of the wind. Around the end of that lap I noticed that I'd lost my almost-full water bottle. Shoot. That's a first I think, and a bad time for it! I tried not to worry, as I'd hydrated well before the race, and I figured I'd be fine without the water. Around the end of the second lap, on the paved section, I was passed by a couple of guys who surprised me at the crest of a hill. Soon after we were flying downhill, me eating their dust, when we came upon a dog running down the trail. What the...? A dog?!! It seems some guy was out riding for fun, and brought his dog along... on a race course! We each passed in turn without too much trouble. I was able to reel them back in later on the section of uphill fireroad right before that powdery section (with a headwind even!). One of them even complimented me on the move! At the finish line (photo at right) Rita told me I was in sixth place (she was sitting there in the shade, taking the pictures you see here; thanks Rita!).

During the third lap I started to wheeze whenever I went over about 180 bpm. I used to occasionally get excercise-induced asthma on really tough climbs, but I think the last time that happened was around 1996 or so. Maybe the dust brought it on? Anyway, I just tried to keep my heart rate below 180, but then I developed a side stitch. Ouch! I tried to stretch out to get rid of it, but I ended up having to drop down to about 160 bpm before I got rid of it. While I was dealing with this those two guys passed me again. Oh man! Toward the end of lap three I came up on Philip, just as I had in Race 2. But this time he just motioned me past as he wasn't feeling well, and he dropped out at the end of that lap. Bummer (you can see him in the background of the last photo in this story below).

I spent the fourth lap trying to make up for the time I'd lost with the side stitch and the wheezing. I passed some Women riders, one of whom refused to do anything to make passing her easier; she said I should just figure it out. Sure, we're all racing, but rules clearly state that the passing rider has the right-of-way, whether we're in the same category or not. I managed to get by OK. On the paved section I re-passed one of the two guys who'd passed me in that same section on lap three; take that! We chatted a little, and he turned out to be in the 45+ group, and I never did catch the other guy, who was in my group, so it didn't help me any.

So I finished 8th, actually. I quickly slammed a bottle of water after getting off my bike! Matt (photo at left) was waiting there with Rita, and told me I wasn't that far behind him (I was 1 minute and 3 seconds back), but that he'd finished 2nd. Awesome, Matt! Even without my issues I couldn't keep up with him earlier in the race, so I guess his long rides over the hill to San Jose, plus the Crow's Nest rides, were bringing him up to peak form! But that 1:03 gave him 44 points vs. my 29, and Matt, Philip and I were now 2nd, 3rd and 4th in points! Grant (photo at right above) and Barnaby finished 23rd and 25th, Larry was 12th in 45+.

ST Bikes Memorial Day Criterium, 5/30/05

Dennis Pedersen

I hadn't really decided to enter this race until the day before race day. I'd checked their web site and my usual category (35+ Cat 5) wasn't listed in a separate race, and the open-age Cat 5 was already filled through pre-registration. But my friends Rob Jensen and Chris Tanner, both of LGBRC, were planning on entering in "Elite 4" (same thing as "Category 4" it seems), so I decided to go too, even though my 44-year-old carcass would be competing against both the more experienced guys and the younger guys.

My car is a convertible with a roof rack (ponder that if you will!), and the weather was simply beautiful (high 70s were forecast), and I enjoyed the drive over the hill to Morgan Hill with the top down, against the crowds driving out to the beaches. But when I got off of 101 onto Cochrane Road, I saw an ambulance approaching. Geez; could it really be another serious race accident had happened, or was it an accident on the freeway? Then a fire truck followed it, and turned off onto a side street that appeared to be close to the race course. Hmmm... It seemed more likely to be another race accident. Let's see: Early Bird #3, Santa Rosa Clo-terium and Cat's Hill had all needed ambulance assistance, and now this one too? Yup; when I got to the race I found it was a crash (in Women 4 I think), and it delayed the schedule for at least 30 minutes.

When I got to registration it turned out that there were only three spots left in the 75-man field, so I had cut things close! Rob and Chris were pre-registered, and had carpooled down. I quickly got everything together, and we all warmed up on the streets and discussed tactics while M 30+ 1/2/3 raced. The course was pretty standard, but happened to go right in front of an office I used to work in which is now some other business. The pavement was nice and smooth, and had four turns. The only wrinkles were that one straight was actually a very wide arc, and one turn had some nasty concrete teeth separating the right lane from a left-turn lane on its exit. There were Bott's Dots in some places, but most of it was clean. There was some wind out of the west, but nothing major, and the warm day was really quite pleasant.

Eventually it was time for us to line up at the start, with a long delay, and I ended up in back like usual. I don't think it matters in a crit, but I really should get into the habit of securing a spot in the front for those times when it does matter. I made sure I knew exactly where the lap countdown cards were (!), and soon we were off! Like Cat's Hill, in fact. I hit 190 bpm by the end of the first lap! I worried that it would be another ordeal, but the peloton soon settled into a comfortable pace and we started the usual broken-up pseudo paceline with my HRM showing 160-170 bpm. I didn't contest any prime sprints, but at least I was more aware of them than in the past. Rob and Chris were always right in there, shifting around in the peloton with me.

Even though this was my first Cat 4 race, we ended up having a crash. In the middle of turn 2, I saw a rider up ahead on the far inside go deep, but somehow lose his bike right next to the curb. I can't tell if he got squeezed, or if he was trying to sneak by on the inside where there was no room, or if his tire caught that lip where the pavement joins the concrete gutter, but whatever the cause he took out another rider or two. The riders in the middle shifted to their left, of course, and a few more went down. Ouch! Somehow most of the guys behind them were able to stop in time, thanks in part to some guys who shouted out a warning, and some ran their bikes past, while the rest of us were mostly able to ride past them. The look on the face of one guy as he lay on the ground watching us approach was sheer terror!

The crash splintered the peloton, and we were forced to bridge up to the group that had been ahead of the accident. Chris joined me, but no sign of Rob who I thought must have been caught behind the crash. I had no qualms about exploiting the crash to build a breakaway group, but nobody else seemed to feel that way; perhaps the guys up front didn't know how much havoc had been wrought, or they had better etiquette than I? In any case, I was soon out front pulling the group, trying to up the pace. I also wanted to test my chances at starting a break on my own; they were approximately 0%! This lasted maybe half a lap before I maxed out and shifted to the side to let the group take over the hard work. I think this is when I saw the lap card announcing 3 laps to go, and I felt my chances were good. We'd split up the peloton some, and I'd be able to recover enough to contest a sprint finish. I also saw Rob cruising back toward start/finish; I guess he was in the crash. Darn! Next lap around the card read 1 lap to go... huh? Did I miss a card or something? Argh! Later on Chris said that he noticed the same thing. Perhaps we were going over schedule, or they were worried the crash would slow things down even further, and they dropped a lap. Oh well, I had to just accept that and make the most of it, even though I was not fully recovered.

As we approached the last turn, the pace rose quickly, and I was again maxed out as we set up for the sprint finish. I had enough left to sprint some, but that only allowed me to maintain my place: 18th out of 78, and about 50 feet back from the winner. Not too bad! Chris was just a short distance back. He's an amazing rider, especially considering he has only been riding in any form for just about a month after many years' absence! Then again, he tried out for the U.S. Olympic cycling team in '88, so he definitely knows his stuff.

I quickly returned to the paddock to find out if Rob was OK. Well, he was OK in the sense that he didn't have any broken bones or serious road rash, but he showed me his helmet instead. Cracked all the way through! He was rather dazed, and said his lever had been caught by the rear wheel of one crasher, and he'd flipped over his bars and landed heavily on his back. His butt hurt quite a bit, and he had seen stars. Perhaps a mild concussion? Bummer. I helped Rob get packed up, and Chris retrieved his spare wheels and took over the driving duties. I was pretty happy about my finish, but that was tempered by Rob's plight.

On the way home I dropped off my bike at my wife's work so it would be waiting for me for my morning commute, and pondered my next adventure; maybe a road race? Hmmm... Pescadero Road Race is coming up soon...

Testarossa Vineyards Cat's Hill Classic, 5/7/05

David Gill (via Verizon Wireless BlackBerry)

I got to the course just in time to watch the entire Master Men 35+ 4/5 race. Representing Team Santa Cruz in the 95-rider field was Dennis Pedersen, Matt Wocasek, and Norman Field.

Due to a nasty crash in the Women 3/4's, the officials shortened the subsequent Masters race from 12 to 10 laps in an attempt to make up time. This forced the pace higher, which exacted a heavy toll on the pack and those riders without a good warmup quickly learned a painful lesson. Dennis looked to be in a somewhat comfortable level of pain and stayed in the middle of the pack, while both Matt and Norman seemed to get reacquainted at the back of the pack with Pain's nagging girlfriend, Suffering. At the midway point, Norman and Matt both gave it all to remain with the pack, with Matt succeeding and Norman exploding off the back, leading to the end of his race just three laps before the finish.

Dennis did very well to maintain his position and finish in the main sprint group, while Matt impressively sold out and just managed to finish near the back of the main group.

The Pro 1/2 race is on its 20th lap, where Ben Jacques Maynes has just won a pizza prime and Rob 'Hooptie' Evans is still in the main field. Hooptie has clearly mastered the fine art of masking his pain.

Now on the 21st time up The Hill, a rider dropped his chain and a large gap opened up to the lead 10 riders.

Will it hold? Stay tuned...

The break looked good for just a couple of laps until the pack caught.

Ben J-M and Eric Saunders are, however, looking mean and leading the pack at the top of the 23 percent Nicholson hill.

Now a four-man break containing two Kodak riders goes 20 seconds clear and a rider bails on the hill and has to run to the top to attach his chain. He gamely chases but is ultimately doomed.

Hoop tie and Anastacio Flores looked great for a short while and moved up near the top 25 but are both now in the clutches of the dreaded Rear of the Peloton.

The break has 5 seconds on a three-rider group including Saunders, all of whom now have 25 seconds on a pack led by Ben J-M. Hooptie is back mid-pack and Ana is hanging tough at the back with six to go.

The lead trio consists of two Kodak riders, one McGuire rider and Webcore. Oops, make that one Kodak rider- the other has just exploded, leaving Jackson Stewart the lone Kodak. Saunders (McGuire) is bringing the trio up to within striking distance, making it a bit more interesting.

With three to go, the lead trio dropped the chasers the winner will come from this group.

It's Ben Haldeman, Zac Walker, and Jackson Stewart the last time up the hill.

Stewart leads at the top of the hill and Walker looks done.

Finish: Stewart, Haldeman, Walker. Saunders finishes fifth.

1. Jackson Stewart, 2. Zac Walker, 3. Ben Haldeman. My mistake.

Anastacio and Hooptie finished in the main field, with Ana placed just ahead of Hootie. "I was with Rob until the sprint, when I justed gapped him," says Ana.

A festive atmosphere now permeates the Finish area at the corner of Tait and Nicholson, where a crowd of teammates and wellwishers congratulate Stewart on his win.

The real race now begins: who will be first to get their Drink on at Hooptie's party? Some are destined for greatness, others will dnf.

Testarossa Vineyards Cat's Hill Classic, 5/7/05

Dennis Pedersen

This is one of the country's premier one-day races, and still quite a memorable achievement in the minds of its participants and winners over the past 31 years. Past winners have even included Greg Lemond! It's also quite popular for spectators, and brings a lot of people into town. I watched this race in the past, and I was amazed at the demanding climb up "The Wall" on Nicholson Avenue, and the frightening obstacle course the broken concrete surface presented to the riders. I also remember being hugely impressed with the powerful windstorm that coincided with the peloton passing by us on each lap; it took me a few laps to realize that they were creating that wind! Add the usual crazy antics of riding full tilt in a peloton of testosterone-laden men, and the end result was that I vowed never to do that race!

This year my wife's boss, and our friend, Rob Jensen, decided to sponsor the race. So, it became the Testarossa Vineyards Cat's Hill Classic. He also started an impressive reentry into the sport after a 15-year hiatus, ramping up steadily, losing lots of weight, and gaining strength, endurance and speed every day. He was on the fence over entering Cat's Hill, but after some good results in previous races, he decided to enter in the same group as me (Masters 35+ 4/5). No way could I not enter too!

Remembering how tough the race was, I spent the previous two weeks worrying about the race, and riding practice laps on the course on some of my rides home from work (I usually carpool with my wife to Los Gatos and ride to work at HP in Palo Alto from there). My biggest worry was that I'd be in a crash (witness the constant crashes at the Early Bird crits I entered), followed by the fear that I'd blow up and get pulled out of the race as a hindrance!

On the morning of the race, Matt Wocasek called and asked if I wanted to carpool over, as he'd signed up at the last minute; I thought for a while I'd be alone out there! That ended up working out nicely as my wife wasn't interested in standing around being bored while I messed with my bike, warmed up etc. We were going to have dinner after the race with my family as an early Mother's Day celebration at Chart House in Los Gatos, just a short walk from the course. This way she could just arrive when the race was about to start, and give me a drive home after dinner. Thanks Matt! I owe you.

Matt and I parked at the winery, and rode down the hill holding his spare wheels. The town was jammed with people and cars, but bikes got through pretty quickly. We signed in, dropped off the spares and had time to ride back up College Avenue for a warmup. When we arrived at the staging area we realized that we couldn't get a nice position at the front as most of the peloton was already there. We spotted Norman Field (another last-minute entry) and Rob up ahead, as they'd arrived earlier. We had to wait quite a while, well past our official start time, as there had been a crash in the women's race before us that was still requiring emergency personnel on course. Didn't sound too good. I also spotted my brothers and parents waving at me from the other side of the course. It's a lot of fun to make it a family event, and not something I'm used to.

Finally we were moved over to the start line, after a minor pileup caused by a barricade (an omen?). We were told the race had been shortened to 10 laps from 12 due to the delay, but I'm pretty sure it ended up being even less than that in the end. I made sure to find out where the lap cards were this time, after my embarrassing lapse in Santa Rosa the weekend before! Then the start was sounded, and we were off!

And I do mean off; we were so maxed out from the start I had my doubts whether I'd be able to stay with the pack. The pace was all-out from the very first and never let up. The first climb up the Nicholson wall went smoothly, but my heart was at 183 BPM already! In fact, I think every time I looked at my HRM my pulse was 183. Geez! And after cresting The Wall it was even worse as my body's response caught up to the unreasonable demands I'd placed on it, as in: over 190 bpm! The flat area next to Bachman Park was no rest, as riders used it to make attacks instead. The fast ride down Bachman Avenue was much better than I thought it would be; I could remember the Pros ripping through that last turn when I spectated, and how tricky it looked at those insane speeds. I tried to tuck and just coast there in an effort to recover a little.The rest of the race went surprisingly smoothly, which made it easier to avoid blowing up. I didn't see any crashes, or even any real issues with the quality of the riders, though I nearly paid for overlapping wheels with a guy once. Another time I nearly rear-ended an Alto Velo rider who suddenly stopped pedaling just past the wall. I stayed around 183 BPM, and kept out of trouble. The wall didn't get too much harder, and I felt that I could at least stay with the lead pack for a while longer. It was so awesome getting cheered on by my family and friends, including David Gill, most of whom had stationed themselves on the wall. Walking on the sidewalk along The Wall later, I realized again just how steep it was; it was hard to even stand there!

I was pretty sure no breakaway groups had formed, and I still had the leaders in sight, but I was in no position to follow any attacks as I was already pretty near my maximum effort, or beyond it. Just staying in their draft was the only option I had. I tried to keep track of Matt, Norman and Rob, and I was really impressed that Rob was able to hang right in there. But I eventually lost sight of all of them.

Way sooner than I expected, the race was over. We rode for only about 20 minutes. Huh? I felt a little cheated, but at the same time I was happy with the way the race had gone for me. I finished 45th, Rob 53rd, Matt 57th, and Norman stopped to adjust his derailleur or something. Out of a field of 95 that wasn't bad, especially considering that 32 riders dropped out or were pulled out.

After our race I hooked up with wife, friends (some of whom I hadn't seen in a while) and family, swapped stories and checked out a lot of the exhibits; wanted a massage but found out there was a long waiting list ahead of me. We all watched the Pro Women's race from The Wall and Bachman Park, while my brother photographed them from all angles. While the sky had become overcast by then, it was still very pleasant, and it never did rain. Drinking world-class wine at Testarossa Vineyards up the hill on College Avenue was a nice bonus, and having filet mignon at Chart House afterwards, and desert at Dolce Spazio, was a great way to end the day. I'd survived in style, and I will try to be there again next year!

Leesville Gap Road Race, 5/2/05

Matt Wocasek

The race was in Williams, a small farming town about an hour north of Sacramento on Highway 5. I did the Masters 40 to 45 class, which was open to all categories.

When I started warming up for my race at around 8:00 a.m. the temperature was already on its way up to 100 degrees. I didn't warm up very long.

We rolled away from Williams on bumpy narrow farm roads towards the hills looming in the distance. The closer we got to the hills the worse the road condition got, eventually turning to deep gravel in some sections. The small group of 13 riders that started the race stayed pretty much intact until we started up the steeper part of the first climb. I was climbing in the middle of the pack when riders started drifting past me towards the back. Eventually there was no one in the pack behind me and it was my turn to get dropped. There were 3 or 4 guys climbing around the same pace as me but were a little too fast for me to stay with. They formed a group just ahead of me as we went over the top of the climb. I settled in for a long time trial.

After a short descent that was so bumpy it numbed my feet, the route went through a nice green valley in the hills. I was loosening my shoes to get some feeling back in my feet when I heard riders coming up behind me. All right someone to work with!

The road started to tilt up again, climbing out of the valley we just rode through. About this time I was running out of water and wondering if there really was a feed zone on the course with a neutral bottle exchange. The descent out of the hills was mercifully smooth and paved. At the bottom was the water stop. This was at about the forty mile mark. The feed zone was on a short hill like they always seem to be.

A small rider attacked immediately after the feed zone making our group of four into a group of three. The three of us worked together each taking turns at the front into what felt like a head wind. At this point I was starting to count down the miles to the finish. The sag wagon was busy on the road around us picking up stricken riders from classes that started before us. I was hurting so bad, if I wasn't in a group I probably would have taken the easy way out.

When we got close to the finish the little guy started attacking again. I chased him down when he rode the other guy in the group off his wheel. It looked like we all were going to finish together so the other guys decided to let me go across the line first since they felt that I had done more than my share of the work. It didn't seem like that to me but I was too worn out to argue. We were all happy we didn't have to sprint for it. I finished seventh, eleven minutes off the winner's time of 3:15.

Clover Stornetta Farms Clo-terium, 5/1/05

Dennis Pedersen

Grumble; I don't want to write about this one, but I guess I will anyway. OK, I messed up big time, I confess. I didn't make a note of where the lap cards were posted, and I couldn't hear the announcer very well, so I missed the end of the race! There, I said it!I drove up to Santa Rosa with my friend Rob Jensen, who wanted to use the race as a warmup for Cat's Hill the next weekend. My wife was volunteering at the "Rivers of Chocolate" fundraiser, so I had the day free. Sounded like a good idea, so we yacked away on the long drive up there.

The course was a very basic six-turn crit through the downtown business district, which is pretty small as you'd imagine, but very pleasant. The weather was pretty much perfect too. Only wrinkle was a narrow decorative horseshoe-shaped arch we rode under, and the usual Bott's dots.

The race went pretty smoothly, with no crashes, and the pace was almost leisurely, except for the prime sprints. I'd started my cyclocomputer's timer at the start, as backup if I lost track of the race (it was supposed to be 45 minutes long). But it stopped working after a few laps, and I didn't think we were near the end, so I didn't look very hard for those lap cards and didn't realize the race was over until everybody slowed down. Doh! Embarrassing!

As we left the race, we walked by a crash in the women's race just after ours. One woman was pretty badly hurt with a possible broken leg, and an ambulance was on course to help her. Yuck. I felt so sorry for her. But it was a nice way to spend a day anyway, and I felt ready for Cat's Hill, assuming I could keep better track of the race's progress!

Sea Otter Classic, Cross-Country, 4/17/05

Dennis Pedersen

This is the big one! Our signature event, and possibly the future site of the first World Cup race to be held in the U.S. in several years, from what I've heard. It's a zoo, anyway, but a pretty cool zoo that I didn't want to miss after I'd nearly been on the podium last year in Beginners class.

I saw Matt Wocasek, Rita and their friend Mark on the drive down, plus lots of other cars with bikes of all descriptions. Pretty cool! The Sea Otter is one of those events that makes cyclists feel less isolated; we're the majority there!

Lots of heavy fog dropped in just before I got to Laguna Seca. I always drive slowly through the fort anyway, because I know too many people who've gotten tickets for speeding in there. The local police really do patrol those back roads during these events.

I had pre-registered in the cross-country for Sport Men, 40-44, so all I had to do was check in at registration. My packet had no promo stuff in it this time, unlike previous years' packets which included lots of flyers, coupons, energy bar samples, etc. They use those cool chips you strap on your ankle that make scoring much easier and accurate. It was still pretty gloomy even though the fog had started to lift, and rather breezy and chilly, so I opted to wear arm warmers this time. No real chance of warming up either.

I was running a bit late for the start like usual, and had a bit of a scare when they wouldn't let me through the paddock without my wrist strap; I thought the ankle strap was good enough, but noooo. I had to quickly get another one at registration just so I could get to the start on time. Thus I missed getting a nice spot like Matt, who I spotted up front. I had seen Grant Stoner riding around after I checked in, but never saw him again. Were there no other Team SC members in our group? I didn't spot any. I was tempted to squeeze in with Matt, but I hate it when people do that so I took my place at the back of the pack. A few guys showed up later and started behind me, so I can't say I was at the tail-end of the start, unlike my first time at the Sea Otter!

The start was crazy like usual, but better than the old days; we had a longish climb up the racetrack pavement before we entered the dirt singletrack. I think I gained dozens of positions during this sprint, and was nearly maxed out at the top. The sprint/climb had served well in spreading the riders out, and we moved along briskly through the cool trails with no traffic jams at all.

The first half of the course is mostly long descents down bumpy singletrack, connected by short steep climbs. The soil seemed to be in better shape than last year; perhaps because of more recent rains that kept riders from pre-riding the course? Not as much dust either. The course was changed from last year, and now has fewer sand traps, though the loose beach sand was still hard for my tiny 1.8" tires to track through. I really enjoyed it! Unlike one guy just behind me who couldn't keep out of a rut I narrowly missed getting stuck in. All I heard was the crash; I had no way of looking back without meeting the same fate! Another guy spun his tire on a climb (geez; just keep some weight on the back already!) right next to a guy who'd stopped, and I had no choice but to grab my brakes to keep from rolling backwards. This made me pop a wheelie before I could get off my bike and run it up past them. I got a sort of rug-burn in my crotch from this! Speaking of crashes; the downhill guy from my CCCX races was there; I spotted him a little ways up, but soon lost sight of him in the twisting singletrack. I couldn't catch up to him, and was wondering if it was the several extra pounds I added to my stomach since last year that were catching up to me! Even so, I found that the old truths still held; you can't win a XC with your DH skills, and the few who passed me on the downhills I would drop on the next climb, plus a few others in the bargain.

At the back of the course I declined the water bottles they offered us at the water station; I carry enough of my own. This marked the start of the fireroad sections that would connect the singletrack on the return back to the race track, and where passing becomes a lot easier. I passed a few guys who were absorbed in their new water bottles or something, and passed more on the "gentle" singletrack climb that followed. In one place the trail was so washed out and super steep that none of us had any choice but to carry our bikes, scrambling for footholds and even handholds. Later we emerged onto a paved section. I got into an aero tuck and sprinted down that hill, passing several guys before the sandy soil came back underwheel. Several of the short climbs back are really steep, but not as loose as I remembered, though one had huge ruts forcing us to walk. The only clean line was held by hike-a-bikers. I again used these climbs for passing.

Ahhh, the final long fireroad climb back; and I was ready for it! I'd kept my heart rate in zone 4, and I still felt strong, so I poured the coal on. Here I experienced a first; a paceline of sorts in a XC race! Well, nobody took turns to pull up front, so after we passed several guys at a good tempo the paceline split up. I then managed to steal a few more positions, including the downhill guy's!!! Woo-hoo! And he hadn't even crashed this time! Near the top I came up behind a strong rider who was standing and pounding a low cadence. I sucked his wheel a little, then passed him near the crest as we dropped down onto the race track pavement again. Oh man did I sprint then! I let my rate go up to 180-something, and did my aero tuck again. Incredibly, he sprinted past me like I was standing still! But not for long; I saw that he couldn't sustain that pace, and I sneaked up into his slipstream and sucked his energy like that monster from Star Trek! I soon managed to drop him and suck other wheels as I gasped my way toward the finish. Just after the line I saw Matt who had apparently been just a short distance ahead, though I never saw him. I'd nearly caught him. Woo-hoo! We talked for a while, and spotted a pool of vomit just past the finish line. Yuck.

The results were posted so fast that we barely had time to ride around to cool down before they were stapled on the wall (it was getting more windy and cold, so cooling down was no longer desirable!). Matt and I finished 17/18th! Awesome! I felt great, except for some coughing, I guess from dust or exertion. I'm very happy that these things take so little out of me at my age. I don't take that for granted! Light weight training, stretching and yoga help too.

I was getting cold and hungry, and I quickly got back to my car and used Windex to clean off as much poison oak as I could; assuming there was any, which is a safe assumption! On my drive out through the fort, I was trying hard not to get pressured into speeding by the SUV-driving guy close behind me; and a good thing too as we spotted the police when we rounded one turn. I'm sure any annoyance he felt toward me evaporated instantly! Later it sprinkled briefly, but I had again managed to avoid racing in the rain!

Swanton Road Time Trial 1, 4/7/05

Dennis Pedersen

I'd never raced in an individual time trial before, except the San Bruno Hill Climb, though that was a mass start. So I really wanted to try one of these informal races. They're really more a way to train and assess your current potential than anything else. The forecast called for evening rain, but we got some light afternoon rain instead. But by the time I was ready to leave work it had cleared up, and I decided to chance it.

Running late (I had to sort of sneak out of work), I didn't have time to put my new race tires on my road bike, or even remove its lighting system (I ride this same bike to work most days). But I knew I'd want a little warmup, so I parked in Davenport and rode the mile or so, into a strong headwind, up Highway 1 and onto Swanton Road. Just up the road I saw the riders and timing crew (David Gill, Simone Montez and Ron Riley) standing around and yacking. I had a few seconds to chat with them, while standing at what was to become the start line, when David said "Who wants to race?" Well, I did, and I shifted slightly to let three guys ahead of me in what was suddenly a line. Hope I didn't cut in. Anyway, Grant Stoner was right in front of me and we chatted a little while trying not to get cold. It was a simply perfect evening, and with a beautiful view of one of the prettiest areas on the coast, but a little chilly in that wind.

Soon enough it was my turn to start (we started at one-minute intervals), and I decided to run with my lights on; after all that wouldn't hurt me any, there was some traffic on the road, and the sun was getting low. I quickly got into my zone 4, and tried to find places on the road that were more sheltered from the headwind. I passed some neat farmhouses, and settled into my rhythm, keeping my heart rate in that 170-181 bpm range. After a while, on the first longish climb, I spotted Grant up ahead, but soon lost sight of him. I enjoyed the scenery as much as I could, and tried to guess where the turnaround point was. Grant told me it was 12 miles total, so I started looking after 5 miles. Just then, on the longest climb, I caught him and huffed and puffed my way up to the turnaround where Barnaby and another guy (I think his housemate Jeff) took my name and split time.

Time to descend. Woo-hoo! There was still some climbing on the way back, and towards the end I let my heart go up into the 180s. At some point I raced just over 40 mph for my max speed. On the final sprint to the finish I could really feel that wind propelling me along to a 35:16 final time; good for 15th out of 19 riders. Cool!

I skipped the pizza dinner afterwards, as I don't eat cheese (too much fat and sodium for an old fart like me!). But I had a nice glass of wine with my wife!

CCCX MTB Series Race 3, 4/3/05

Dennis Pedersen

Wow, this race series has really been lucky with the weather; One of the wettest seasons in recent memory, and so far each race has been held under dry, and even gorgeous, skies. The green grass and wildflowers have been a nice addition to the race scene. And for this race my parents decided to show up and watch, and that helped apply some pressure to my wife who came too! That's a welcome treat.

Registration went smoothly, though the start time was set back to 10:30 in the absence of the Norcal High School Mountain Bike Racing League group (what a cool idea; if they'd had something like that at my school back in the day... well, it was before mountain bikes, but I would certainly have joined!). That worked well for me, because we planned on having lunch at the Crow's Nest afterwards. Something to look forward to as I grunted through the race course's torture!

For warmup I rode through the first half or so of the course, before time constraints forced me to cut across the course to get to the start on time. It was significantly different from the previous ones, and each lap was longer so we only ran three laps, but it still had the same fun rolling singletrack. I again rode in light summer clothes.

At the start I found that Matt Wocasek, Philip Sims and Grant Stoner were also ready to go for it. My parents and wife were yacking while we waited nervously for the start.

The start was pretty similar to the previous races, and we shot off from the pavement onto the singletrack. The course sort of turned in on itself, and it was a little hard to figure out where we were, but I think we went back toward the finish area, but up the hill above it, then circled around and onto a section of pavement we hadn't raced on before right near the entrance to the East Garrison entrance. Like usual, I found myself back a few places, and used these paved sections to pass other riders. A lot of them looked like serious triathletes; maybe from the Clydesdale class that had started before us. Just before we got back to the finish area, I caught up to the same "downhill guy" who'd crashed in front of me at the last race. Guess what: In almost exactly the same place, and in the same manner, he lost his rear tire again, and I slipped by him never to see him again (until after the race when I noticed a big bloody gash on his left knee). Geez, he should learn from this!

The second lap started encouragingly; my wife and parents cheered me on from the sidelines; my wife with a cowbell we got at the Cat's Hill Criterium! I definitely rode faster after that! It was nice and warm, and I started to drip sweat all over my face and inside my glasses. Just before the second paved section, I noticed Matt up ahead of me, and just before we entered the singletrack again I jammed past him. "Sorry," I called out; we're supposed to be teammates after all! Yeah right! Well, a bit later, in the singletrack out back, he passed me... avast!

OK, third lap, and I'm still alive and in my zone. Did I mention I was using my heart-rate monitor? Only the second time I'd done that (first time was at the San Bruno Hill Climb). Well, I found that I could pretty much race almost the entire time in my zone 4 (170-181 bpm, and 82-89% of my maximum 198 bpm), which theoretically is my lactate threshold. I think that means I should have burning legs and such, but it wasn't until I got in my zone 5 (181-186 bpm, and 89-94% of my maximum) that my legs started to scream. So I learned to keep it in zone 4, and back off if I hit zone 5, except for very short sprints. Later, Philip told me his rate during the race generally stayed in the 140-150 bpm range, and he beat me. Interesting.

So, the third lap was well under way, and that second paved section was coming up, and Matt was back in my sights; the race was on! Again, at the crest of a hill, but just after we'd reentered the singletrack, I swooped by him, in the weeds this time! A friendly wave, and I sprinted for the finish area.

Nothing got in my way, and I finished nicely, about 17 seconds ahead of Matt. After a little confusion, caused by a lapped rider, I found out I'd finished fifth and was due a medal. Woo-hoo! My first podium finish in Sport category! Philip finished third. Awesome finishes for Team Santa Cruz! Racing is the closest I'll get to childbirth; all of that suffering, but it's forgotten soon after I cross the finish line and hold that baby (medal) in my hands! And boy did that Fat Tire Amber Ale, on tap at the Crow's Nest, taste sweet!

CCCX MTB Series Race 2 , 3/20/05

Mike Evans

Due to the late starting time, teammate Mike Martin and I didn't arrive to the event until almost 1:00. We immediately went for a practice lap with Stella and Aaron. The course was almost the reverse of the first race. There were 3 sharp, but very short climbs with one long climb directly after the start finish. The rest of the course was either ripping rolling single track or double track with a tiny bit of pavement. Of more concern was the wind which was blowing out of the south at 10 to 25 knots. Being that it was an out-and-back course, the entire section out was directly into the wind. It would really pay to be in someone's draft on the way out.

Amazingly enough the race started right on time. The whistle went off and Mike Martin shot into the lead. Being that the starting section was a paved road directly into the wind nobody was to keen to come around Mike. He was left dangling off the front. The pack sat up behind him and waited for the dirt. Due to the fact that I had only ridden twice in the last 2 weeks due to a family emergency, I had a new strategy; I was going start slow and suck wheels for as long as I as possible. With this in mind I promptly launched myself to the back of the pack. I was on the French guy's wheel (Le Bonquer), who was on the wheel of Really Big Guy. Ahead of us and slowing pulling away was Guy In The Blue Jersey (GITBJ). Really Big Guy had enough of us sucking his wheel and pulled over to allow Le Bonquer to pull through, but Le Bonquer refused. That was enough for me. At the next opportunity I hit the gas and dropped the both of them. Shortly after that I was able to bridge the gap to the GITBJ.

My sudden appearance on GITBJ's wheel seemed to have motivated him to click up a notch on the tempo. This was just fine with me as I stayed in his draft. We were on the down wind section (the "back" portion of the course) when Stella and 2 other pro/expert women passed us. It looked to me as if Stella was toying with them! Once we hit a long rolling downhill, the girls disappeared from us. It was apparent that their extra gears were a real benefit on this section of the course; we simply couldn't pedal any faster on our single speed.

Nothing much changed after this for awhile. I drafted GITBJ's wheel and made a few pulls myself. On the second lap we were caught from behind by another pro/expert Girl In A Santa Cruz Jersey (GIASCJ). Her sudden appearance startled me as I didn't hear her coming. She passed us but we were able to hang with her. Somewhere around this point we caught a couple geared riders in front of us. We were now 5. Coming out of the start/finish complex I was dropped, Dooh! This is where the longest climb of the course was. I didn't really blow, bonk or cramp, but a small gap opened in front of me. It took me 1/3 of a lap to close it!! Once again we were 5. The 2 geared guys suddenly found some more juice and were gone. The GITBJ was on the GIASCJ. wheel and I was on his when we came to a downhill left hander that had quite a few bumps. The GITBJ suddenly lost control, unclipped from his pedal and ended up in a nose wheelie and somehow recovered! I laughed out loud in amazement and the GITBJ just shook his head. Then the GIASCJ just checked out and dropped us! It was just me and GITBJ. At the beginning of the 4th lap we hit the climb after the start/finish and both of my quads cramped. Bugger!! The GIASCJ went by me like I was anchored and that was the last I saw of him. I was in big trouble, but at least the climb out of the start/finish complex was shallow enough that I didn't have to stand up. Directly after this hill there was a downhill and I was able get rid of my cramps. Every little hill afterward though, I would start cramp again. Oh boy!

I made it around on the 4th lap relatively intact, my cramping had subsided. At the start of 5th lap I hit the climb out of the start/finish area and immediately had both legs cramped hard! I was in agony! I figured if I got off of my bike I would be done; I would be the human C clamp, both legs locked and withering in pain on the grass! After much pain I made it to the top of the hill and was able to coast for while. While coasting I noticed old empty black shells from when the army used to play war out here (Fort Ord). I started praying that I would run over an old hand grenade or something and put myself out of my misery! My legs were still intermittently cramping and I hadn't even made it to the far side of the course yet. It then started to rain. I then prayed for a bolt of lightning to finish me off!

I finally started back towards civilization and like a bad episode from Star Trek when Scotty jump starts the warp engines with a coat hanger, my cramps went away and I could pedal hard again! I can't explain this. If anybody out there has any ideas on how to prevent cramping, besides staying home and watching basketball, please let me know! I finally finished the race and actually felt reasonable well.

CCCX MTB Series Race 2, 3/20/05

Dennis Pedersen

My first race in "Sports" category! After my win in "Beginners" I knew it was time to move on, though the sandbagger in me resisted, but not too much. Just in case, lest I yield to temptation, I made sure I didn't arrive in time to race in the earlier group with the Beginner categories! I was really no more tense than usual, maybe because I had realistic expectations about how I'd compare with the other riders.

I got there early enough to hook up with Matt Wocasek and Philip Sims, and we rode the first half of the course to warm up. The course was pretty dry, and essentially a modified version of the first race's course run in reverse. It was a beautiful day, but with enough clouds and wind to make me worry I'd be cold, especially if the threatening rain clouds started dumping on us. We had to cut our warmup lap short to avoid missing the start, and I made the quick decision to ditch my arm warmers, again riding in my summer gear.

At the start line I found that the three of us were also joined by Grant Stoner and Barnaby Lee, so there were five Team SC members. Awesome! I joked that we should form a paceline for Team SC only, as the wind was, in fact, getting pretty strong, but Philip told me it was every man for himself. Hey, what happened to the team concept? Just joking!

After the start I was a few spots back, right behind Matt and a few others, with Philip leading, I think. We all did a fair amount of drafting on the windy paved road sections, but things settled into the usual mountain-bike race style after we entered the singletrack. I found out pretty quickly that I needed to be at my maximum to hang with the leaders, and lost a few positions, one of them to a guy who obviously had good downhill skills and meant to use them to win the race. He could have passed me just a few feet further on in the paved area, but he preferred the steep rutted slope. Hey, whatever. Matt lost his chain on one of the few steep climbs, three riders ahead of me (I remember him mentioning he wanted to adjust his derailleur; I guess he didn't have time), but he ran his bike up the hill and lost very little time.

Afterwe finished the first lap I'd pretty much lost sight of Philip and Matt, and knew I had to accept that, as I was going to blow up if I didn't hold back a bit. I managed only to shift myself down from zone 5 to zone 4 some of the time, and maybe a little in zone 3, during this "rest lap." Whew; those Sports riders don't hold back! I don't remember anything too noteworthy during the rest of laps two and three, except that the downhill guy and I swapped places a few times, once when I followed a guy in the wrong direction (I knew better, but instinct made me do it!) and at the end of the third lap he held the lead going into the finish area. Just then, he lost his rear tire and I slipped by him to take a comfortable lead. Hah! About a third of the way into lap four I spotted Philip up ahead, all by himself. Huh? I called out to him as I caught up, and sure enough, it was him. He told me he was in bonk territory, and that Matt was up ahead with some other riders. He then promptly dropped me! I guess he's faster than me even when he bonks! So the last part of the race I spent trying to keep him in sight, and just before the finish I got right on his wheel and stayed there through the final turns. I tried hard to sprint by him, but the tight turns and loose soil kept me from having any luck there. So he finished one bike-length ahead of me.

Matt was waiting for us, and said we were about a minute behind him. I asked David (keeping score again; what a workaholic!), and he said Matt was fifth. Awesome! So the three of us finished 5th, 6th and 7th! Woo-hoo! 7th out of 34 ain't too bad for my first try, and it was pretty fun racing with friends. As I drove home light sprinkles starting falling on my windshield. Good timing!

CCCX MTB Series Race 1, 2/27/05

Mike Evans

When I arrived at the race site I promptly ran into teammates Mike Martin and Grant Stoner. Mike agreed to do a reconnaissance lap with me and off we went. Man, did this course rock! The course consisted of 90% singletrack that was very undulating with 3 sharp climbs. The other 10% was pavement. During the recon lap I felt great. My legs felt very snappy and I was stoked. After I got back to the finish line I went over to my van and hopped on my trainer and continued to warm up. While warming up I noticed it was pretty muggy and I was sweating profusely.

I went to the starting line and queued up. The whistle went off and I shot into the lead. After about 10 seconds nobody had come around me and I shot a glance back to see what was up. The pack was about 10 or 15 feet behind and they were not closing the gap. I decided that going out this hard was a mistake and backed off the gas. As I did this whole pack swarmed around me and I was shot out the back. By the time we hit the first climb my legs felt like bags of cement and I wondered to myself what happened to the legs I had during warm up. The first lap was torture as I hung onto the back of the pack.

By the second lap I felt much better and started to pass riders one by one. By the end of the third lap I had passed several riders and was riding by myself. I find it very hard to ride by myself as I tend to day dream. I was brought back to reality when I almost missed a corner at full pace and gave myself a bit of a start. At the start of the 4th lap, I spied a rider in front of me. It took me half of a lap to reel him in. It was rider from the class that started in front of me. He was a little faster than me on the descents and I was faster on the ascents. I was mainly faster on the ascents because I couldn't shift into a lower gear; I was on a singlespeed while he was on a geared bike. On the last big climb before the start/finish line I knew I was in trouble. My quads tried cramp every time I stood up! I had been drinking water and Cytomax religiously every lap, but I knew it wasn't enough. I had opened a pretty nice gap on the ride from the class before me (R.F.T.C.B.M), but I was in trouble!

At the start of the 5th and last lap I drank half of what was left in my water bottle (Cytomax), took 2 huge pulls off of my Camelback, slammed some Gu into my mouth and took to more huge pulls off of my Camelback. I then prayed my legs wouldn't seize. By the time I hit the first climb on the last lap the R.F.T.C.B.M. was closing in for the kill! I made it 2/3's of the way up the hill and I had to stand up to pedal. That was it. Both of my legs started to cramp. I had visions from the singlespeed race at the Sea Otter where on the second lap I cramped so hard, I was left withering in the weeds for 10 minutes while my legs remained completely locked!! Not this time. I was able to get off my bike and run (not like Carl Lewis, more like my grandma) to the top of the hill. I was fortunate that there was a slight downhill after the climb and I was able to spin my legs a bit and un-cramp. The R.F.T.C.B.M. had now passed me and I hung onto his wheel for dear life. We turned left onto a slight uphill paved section and he stood up and was gone. I had no answer for him.

I was now in full survival mode. I didn't have a clue how close the next rider was, but I did know there were still to 2 climbs to go before the finish. I drained the remaining Cytomax in my bottle and then sucked my Camelback dry. As we hit the second climb, which was very short but steep, I could still see the R.F.T.C.B.M. I could also see a rider on the side of trail who was pushing his bike and appeared to have bonked very hard. Cool, I was going to lap someone! I actually made it up this climb without getting off my bike or cramping. Huh, go figure? The course after this was relatively flat with a long descent before the last big climb. I pushed as hard as I could while trying to avoid becoming the human C clamp. I finally got to the last hill, which by the rules of the universe was the biggest on the course! I made it half up and started to cramp while seated. Ack!! I got off and started pushing as fast as possible which by this time was a slow walk. I kept looking over my shoulder for the next rider behind me, but still no one in sight. I made it to the top and hopped back on and realized it was all down hill to the finish. Yahoo! With no one in sight behind me I put it into auto pilot and finished the race. I really enjoyed this race. I finished 12 out of 16, 2 spots down from my target. Not bad for an all age class. Next time I will drink more water before the event!

CCCX MTB Series Race 1, 2/27/05

Dennis Pedersen

My first mountain-bike race of the year could have been a muddy mess, but instead was a thing of beauty: Perfect weather, a good-sized field, and an awesome course!

The course is in the old Fort Ord "East garrison" area, so it's not surprising it was a lot like the rolling sections of the nearby Sea Otter course, but with more trees, fewer steep, loose climbs, and less sand. It was mostly sweet singletrack, and really good for spectators, as they could watch riders for a good amount of time along two twisty stretches of each lap by taking a very short stroll. And those sections had some very fun drops to test riders' downhill skills, and some short, steep climbs to show off riders' technical abilities. Another nice course feature was that you could spot riders ahead of you in a section that was way out at the back of the course that doubled back on itself. You could just look about 20 feet to your left and see who was pummeling you! Then make the turn at the end and look to see who you were pummeling! Each lap was 5 miles or so, with about 500 feet of climbing. Beginners raced three laps, Sport four, the rest five. Did I mention how perfect the weather was? I brought cold- and wet-weather clothes, but just raced in my summer jersey and shorts. I registered in Beginner Men, 35-44 (next year I'll be 45, so watch out!), and took advantage of the special Team Santa Cruz half-off discount. Like usual, I ran a tad late, so I didn't get much time to warm up. Start was even a little like the Sea Otter in that we sprinted down a paved stretch of road onto the singletrack. I got squeezed out at the start, so I had to hold back a bit, but with the small field (17 riders) there was no traffic jam at the bottleneck. Instead I had to force my way past slower riders on the start/finish area climbs. Most of the riders spread out in this section, and there was plenty of room for the rest of the race.

I've learned now that I need to keep an eye on my class' leaders if I hope to do well. Fortunately there were two guys with bright blue and orange jerseys up front who were easy to spot... they were also setting a furious pace that pretty much maxed me out. I lost sight of them for a while, but about halfway into the first lap I spotted them up ahead. Just after that I took one of the numerous off-camber, sandy turns a little hot, and crashed (slowly) into a bush at the base of a scrub oak. Got a little scratched up, but I caught up to them shortly thereafter, just before the part out back where the course doubles back on itself.

I was still heaving, so I just sucked the leader's wheel as we entered the paved section heading back. I could tell right off that he wanted me to take a pull up front, but I was too tired, it wasn't a very long section anyway, and hey, how does that help me win?!! :-) He started some really abrupt zig-zagging to throw me off, but I just concentrated on breathing. Then he made a small, quick shift to the left, uncovering a traffic cone right in my path. I smashed into it, but kept my line. "Nice trick," I told him. Another guy had just caught us, and he told the guy off. We then flew onto the singletrack, with the new guy in the lead... actually he dropped us pretty thoroughly! I just held the cone-guy's wheel in this downhill section, and his buddy passed me near start/finish. In the climbs leading away from there I sensed they were tiring, and since that other guy needed to be pulled back I dropped them both at the top of a rise, and never saw them again. Take that, cone guy! ;-) I settled in for the remaining two laps, and tried to bring that other guy in view, but I didn't see him until the doubled-back section, where we eyed each other. The rest of the race I never did see him, even though I pushed hard. I believe I saw fellow Team Santa Cruz member Jeff Bronak cheering me on from the side of the course (thanks Jeff!). Perhaps he was taking a safety break, but I didn't see him later at the start/finish area. On the last lap I came up behind another rider, but he was in another class, so I told him not to worry about me, and I passed him when I was ready. The finish was fun, and I crossed the line with my hand up. I was pretty proud of my second place. The race organizers said "way to start the season" and stuff as I crossed, so that was cool. David Gill was also there and congratulated me. I asked him to confirm where I'd finished, and he said "first." Huh? Woo-hoo! I guess that other guy was in the older age group. Maybe it's time for him to move out of Beginners and into Sport. I know that's what I'll be doing.

This win was very rewarding, in a quiet sort of way. Getting sixth at the Sea Otter last year was more exciting though, perhaps because that was the first time I knew a win was within the realm of possibility if I applied myself. According to the race results, I could have won the 19–35 age group with my finishing time, and that doesn't even include the several-minute head start they got! But the 45+ group was faster, and I would have finished second. Interesting. Assuming I could maintain my average pace for an additional lap, I would have finished 10th in my Sport age group. Good to know. I notice team members Philip Sims and Matt Wocasek finished second and third in that group. Awesome! I guess I should try to learn from them, or suck their wheels when we start racing together. ;-)

Afterwards I hung out and talked with my competitors, including the cone guy (no hard feelings). I also got to meet Mike Evans and Mike Martin (who were racing their single-speeds!), and Philip Sims. They seem like nice guys that I could borrow money from. ;-) I plan on entering the remaining three races of the CCCX MTB Series in Sport, so I'll be racing with fellow team members. Should be fun!

County Line to County Line, 2/5/05

Mike Evans

The County Line to County line is a single speed race (freewheel or fixed gear- your choice), that starts at the San Mateo/Santa Cruz County line and travels south in three parts; road to Davenport, train tracks to New Brighton Beach, then sand to the Southern Santa Cruz/Monterey County line(Pajaro River). The race is timed to coincide with low tide with the hope that the sand is rideable. This event is about 42+/- miles long and takes anywhere from 2.5 hours to all day. In last years edition I had 8 flat tires and it took me over 4 hours to complete it. I ended up riding the last 3 miles on flats as I was out of tubes and patches!

Teammates David Gill, Larry Morin, Philip Sims, Grant Stoner, Barnaby Lee, Troy Boone, Mike Martin and I raced in this past Saturday's County Line to County Line singlespeed race (freewheel or fixed gear). With start being at the county line sign at Waddell Creek there is always a logistical nightmare of getting everybody to the start. We rendezvoused behind A.B.S., loaded the cars, trucks and vans and headed north. When we arrived at the parking lot it was packed with like minded lunkheads ready to race. We finally departed the parking lot and rode up to the county line sign where we were given our last rites and sent on our way.

Standing on the berm between the parking lot and Hwy 1 were a bunch of our chauffeurs, mainly girlfriends and wives who decided to flash the peloton on the way by. Why this didn't cause a huge crash is beyond me! Since there is no real warm up for this race, the hill out of Waddell going south on Hwy 1 is usually quite painful and this year was no exception. The front of the pack had already split into two and I was being hacked off of the later when David Gill came around me and I was able to latch onto his wheel and recover a bit. By the time we had topped the little climb from Big Creek lumber I was feeling much better and was able to start taking some pulls. With the help of another rider we were able to pull the group in front of us back, but in the process David was dropped.

The climb up and out of Scotts Creek was pretty sedate and our chase group, which I think numbered 6 or 7, had settled into a nice rotation. Suddenly, a rider two spots in front of me overlapped the wheel in front of him and lost control. His back end initially pitch out to the left and the rider directly in front of me bore hard to the left. I made a split second decision to bore to the right only for this guy's tire to regain traction and sling him back to the right! Ack! His sling back to the right was quick and he lost all traction and went down. I'm not sure if I had time to touch my brakes. I then plowed directly, and I do mean directly, into this poor guy (just like NASCAR!). This instantly shot me over the handlebars and the last thought I had was "Oh shit, I'm finally going to do my collarbone!!" Somehow I was able to get into a semi tucked position with my left elbow hitting first followed by the left side of my head and then my left hip followed. The first thing I remember is the taste in my mouth that an impact to the head leaves. I'm all too familiar with this taste having suffered several concussions and two rounds of amnesia before. The taste went away quickly and I could think clearly and I realized that nothing was broken. I turned to look at the other rider who seemed much worse for the wear. Asked if he was ok and he said nothing. Meanwhile rider after rider was passing, including some teammates who inquired to my well being. I then noticed that the other rider on the ground had whipped out his cell phone, but was staring at it blankly. I think he was waiting for the mother ship to call! Asked again if he was alright and he said that he was. I took this as my cue to get up and get out of there and start riding again.

By this time teammate Barnaby Lee had turned around and had come back to me to see if I was alright. I informed him that my elbow and lower back were killing me and I would probably drop out once we hit town. I told Barnaby to take off and that I would be alright.

It took me ten minutes to get my compression back up and start racing again. By now I was off Hwy 1 and on the railroad tracks past Davenport heading south. I started to pick people off due to the fact that we pre-rode the tracks the Sunday before and I knew where all of the good lines were. By the time I had reached the Westside of town I was feeling pretty good and had passed a bunch of people. Any thought of retiring were now gone.

I was now entering the attrition section of the ride. For some reason there are always a bunch of people with flat tires right before the crossing at Bay St. and this year was no exception. As I progressed towards the eastside there were more and more casualties. A flat tire here, a dropped chain there. As soon as I rode over the trestle in Capitola I could spy the blue jersey of a teammate in front of me. By the time we were half the way down Park Ave I realized the teammate was David Gill who promptly threw his chain as I passed him.

It was finally time for the beach. I stopped to let some air out of my tires and was passed by several riders. Dooh! I was riding by myself when Hillary Daniels passed me and I was able to catch her wheel. To say that Hillary is a strong rider would be an understatement, but in the sand she is a monster! Hillary is somewhat vertically challenged and light as a feather which allows her to float over the sand. While sucking Hillary's wheel we started to vacuum up the riders in front of us. As we went pass, every rider would try to jump on the Hillary express only to miss it or get dropped a minute later. By this point we were down near La Selva Beach and Hillary was just killing me. I made one small pull at the front, but I was maxed out and Hillary came around me and started pulling again. We passed two more riders and the express showed no signs slowing down. We reached the beginning of Sunset Beach when 2 small bombs went off in my legs and a small gap opened between Hillary and me. I reached down hard and closed it only to have Hillary make small acceleration and that was it for me!

As Hillary rode off into the distance I sat up and took a look around. There were two riders maybe 500 to 700 meters behind me. I knew I still had two to three miles to go and I also knew that the end of this race is very deceptive in fact it never seems to end due to location of the river mouth. By the time I reached the beginning of the Pajaro Dunes the riders behind me had cut my lead in half! I knew I had about a mile to a mile and half to go so I put my head down and started digging harder. I passed the end of the Pajaro Dunes where the river should be and of course no river in sight. I took a look behind and realized that I had actually opened that gap a little bit and there was no way the riders behind me were going to catch me before the river. I finally saw a clump of humans and then the river mouth and finally the race was over!

I went over to Hillary and thanked her for the tow and she thanked me for not talking; like I could have! I counted up the riders already there and figured I finished 16th! I had passed all of my teammates except Philip! I had also taken 10 minutes out of my personal best time from 2 years ago. I was pretty stoked until I remembered that the finish is nowhere near the parking lot and you have to ride up the bloody beach a mile and half to get there! Ugh! By the time I got back to the parking lot the effects of my crash were making themselves known to me and I discovered that I had broken my helmet in the crash as well. Man, what a great race!

p.s. The guy who I t-boned earlier in the race actually finished. I was very stoked to see him mobile!

Early Bird Criterium #5, 1/30/05

Dennis Pedersen

I'll keep this one brief:Good news: I finished 2nd on the first prime sprint! I wanted to test my mettle as part of feeling out the peloton with an eye toward the bunch sprint at the finish. Seemed like I might be able to contest it at least. Bad news: I got a flat soon thereafter, with 4 laps to go. Argh! I was bridging over to a breakaway group when I felt a strong wobble in turn one. I raised my hand and pulled to the side, and watched as the others finished the remaining laps. Looking for Kevlar-belted tires...

This race was a lot of fun, like the other I entered, but with more crashes; three this time! Careless mistakes and beginner errors. One involved a rider, in second place at the time, who looked over his shoulder to see where the peloton was. This made him veer into the rear wheel of the leader. Fortunately this put only him down. Another resulted in a rider who ended up with a broken collarbone. "That means six weeks" David Gill told me! David was there to officially get his race administrator rating from USCF. The final crash was near the finish line, but I think with a full lap to go, and involved at least five riders. Hmmmm... you'd think we'd learn. My friend Rob, from LGBRC, joined me in the race and finished well ahead of the majority of the pack. It looked like he was having fun! He was able to share some of his experience, and his assessment of the group's performance, with me and a select few other riders. It's great to have some friendly faces in the group, and I hope that will happen with Team Santa Cruz members joining me in my future races. I guess I should try to meet them all first, as most of them have no idea who I am yet! Beautiful weather, and helpful mentoring, made this series great for new riders like me. I highly recommend it. I hope to put my newfound knowledge to use in the regular season.

Early Bird Criterium #3, 1/16/05

Dennis Pedersen

I'd never raced in a criterium before, and I was frankly a bit intimidated. I visualized lots of mind-games in the peloton, and elbow-banging. Perhaps there is some of that, but in humble Cat 5 we're more concerned with just finishing! The Early Bird Criterium series, held in Newark and sponsored by Velo Promo, seemed to offer a low-key intro; especially since they also offered mentoring from crusty old veterans with lots of road-rash scars and stories of arthroscopic surgery!

My wife's boss, and our friend, Rob Jensen, who is LGBRC member and owner of Testarossa Vineyards, the sponsor of the 2005 Cat's Hill Criterium, had already entered two of these crits, and he promised to be on hand to provide me with an extra helping of mentoring. He competed in Cat 2 years ago before kids and career, and knee surgery, put an end to that. So I was in good hands.

I drove up to Newark, found the event site easily, and was promptly greeted by a worker asking me to park out by the main street as they wanted to make room for the ambulance. My worst fears confirmed!!! Sure enough, a fire truck was already there helping a crash victim, and soon the ambulance arrived. The worker said a rider had possibly broken some ribs, and had a nasty concussion after a spill into the curb. He was "in-and-out at times," which sounded bad.

In spite of all that I parked and got my bike ready, and rode over to registration, where I signed up for Masters 35+, Cat 5 New. I think that translates to "old slow beginners."On the way back I met Rob on his first-generation carbon Trek. I got all settled in, and Rob and I joined a mentoring group in mid-session. They did a great job of getting us to practice pacelining and such, and gave us lots of tips on how to conduct ourselves in a fast peloton. Rob supplemented with his thoughts. I'd had experience with mountain-bike races, and group rides like the crazy Crow's Nest rides, so I was pretty OK with the whole peloton/race thing.

I finished last-minute prepping, and lined up for the mass start. The younger slow beginners (Cat 5 New), lined up ahead of us, and started at 11:15. I don't think we ever saw them again; how could that be? No lapping at all, even after 50 minutes? Our group of about 40 or 50 left a minute later, and soon settled into a nice sustainable pace. I was determined not to hang in the back, as Rob had advised me not to do so since I'd be more likely to be involved with any crashes. I'd seen the Tour de France and other races enough to see the wisdom of that, and I quickly stuck myself in with the lead group. In short order we lapped a few riders, and some dropped out (or got pulled?). Rob was so nice, cheering me on!

Lap after lap played itself out pretty consistently, with headwind toward Start/Finish keeping us all tucked tightly together. The course was pretty wide and essentially a wobbly square in shape... with annoying Bott's Dots to add the spice of danger. In general I thought we conducted ourselves well, though we too tended to square off the corners. Only occasionally were we able to discipline ourselves into using most of the course to make the turns; but the course was wide enough not to require us to slow in any case. I took my turn several times pulling off the front, as I knew was expected of riders at the head. Twice I pulled after "prime" (sp?) sprints had winded the group. I didn't contest these, so I was OK with pulling, though I think I made a bit of a gap in my zeal that they had to make up.

Saw another guy who'd crashed, but it wasn't until our last lap that I saw anything first-hand; but then it was a real mess. As we approached the finish line, I'd expected we'd spread out to contest the final bunch sprint. Instead, perhaps because of the headwind, perhaps because of inexperience, the group stayed bunched together in the middle. I tried to widen the group by shifting to my right where there was lots of room, but was blocked by a rider who seemed very intent on maintaining his position in a typical drafting mode. I ended up having to back off to go behind him before I could move over, as the center was too jammed by far. Just as I did so, somebody in the center, just ahead of me and to my left, went down. It happened so fast, and I likened the result to a flash flood of water suddenly encountering a rock in the riverbed; bikes and riders flying into the air and splashing down as they slammed into the downed rider and started a chain-reaction down the middle of the peloton. Lordy, what a close call for me! I think at least ten riders went down, though none was seriously hurt. Amazing.

I sprinted for the finish as soon as I got past the crash and into the open, but it was too late for anything like a 'podium' finish; I think I finished between 10th and 15th anyway. At least I felt great, except for some soreness in my left hamstring area, and I hadn't crashed or caused any problems!

The race was concluded with a post-mortem from the veterans, which was helpful in pointing out our many and obvious shortcomings. All-in-all a great introduction for a first-timer.

When I got home to Santa Cruz the weather was perfect, almost like summer, so I finished off this "me" day with a short cool-down ride and a surf session on a sweet WNW swell!

San Bruno Hill Climb, 1/1/05

Dennis Pedersen

When I was a kid I always thought it would be cool to race bikes, but then I didn't have the courage to try it. As a big boy, I've raced mountain bikes a few times, and I decided to expand my horizons. I joined the club, and resolved to have fun and do my best.

My choice for my first bike-race on pavement is called the San Bruno Hill Climb. It's a race that just starts at the bottom of San Bruno Mtn. And ends at the top. I figure hill-climbs should be my forté, and there are only two or three in this area every year. Next one is Mt. Tamalpais on 9/11. Another in October up Mt. Diablo.

Since it was on Saturday, 1/1/05, I had to stay sober the night before (no sacrifice there!), and just had a little wine. Got to bed at 12:30, and slept well, getting up at 6.

So, my wife Margaret, and our nephew Matt who was staying with us while en route to his future life in NY and/or LA, actually joined me. That was cool! Margaret just got a new car she could drive us in, so perhaps that helped 'convince' her!

It rained off and on during the drive up that morning, but it was mostly dry when we got there. Registering was quick, and I assembled the bike (complete with my new pedals and saddle, and the original-equipment lightweight "Turbo" tires... no headlight this time!). There was a convenient hill I could warm up on, and I was ready at the mass start in plenty of time.

Cat 1/2/Pro riders were assembled at the front, the rest of us behind (I'm a Cat 5 rider, meaning slow!). Then it started raining, cold rain, while we waited for the whistle. M&M waited at the side, in the rain... how cool are they! Margaret even brought a cow-bell to ring! Then they stopped traffic, blew the whistle, and click, click, click more than a hundred times as we all clipped into our pedals and sped off. The leaders raced off, while I determined to pace myself to avoid blowing up too soon. The rain stopped, and I concentrated on keeping my heart rate at 180 bpm. Passed some, was passed by a few, and settled into a nice rhythm.

After about 10 minutes I realized that the course was much faster than I'd envisioned, so I upped my rate and started passing some riders. After a while we entered the road into the park and it got steeper. I decided I'd need to move if I was going to finish out of breath at all, so I went all out for the last segment. 198 bpm!!! I'd never seen more than 191 before (on Jamison Creek), so I'm exploring my personal limits I guess.

Awesome 360 views from up there, but a bit windy. It got steeper and I started passing more riders. Wheee! Saw the 200m sign, looked around, and saw that I was pretty clear; no need to sprint. Just kept my pace and finished comfortably tired. Enjoyed the view, started to ride back down, and got more rain. Margaret and Matt were there to welcome me; they were impressed as I was one of the earliest riders back down. I think a lot of the fast guys were at the top still! By the time I got to the car it was pouring.

Couldn't get final results without suffering in the weather while I waited, and M&M needed breakfast, so we took off (I snoozed in the car!). Did see results on their site.

My time would have placed me in 15th in either category (M35+ and Cat 5). Not sure if that's something to be proud of or not, but I'm OK with it. Not sure I could have made up the 4+ minutes to win, but I'll try harder next time! The Team Santa Cruz maillist had this fun write-up:

Here's a welcome note and a hearty congratulations to new Team Santa Cruz member Dennis Peterson.

Dennis is already the Team's fastest rider this year- he raced in the San Bruno Hill Climb and took 15th of 24 riders in the Master 35+ Open category. Full results are located at http://www.peninsulavelo.org/sbhc/05sbhc_res.htmlWay to go Dennis! I'm glad we got that jersey to you in the nick of time...

David Gill

Thanks for the warm welcome!
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