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Team Santa Cruz 2006 Race Reports

Peak Season #1, Watsonville, CA USA, 12/17/2006

Mike Evans

Singlespeed:

I had a pretty clean start. After the finish line, leaving the pavement on the first little up hill, I bogged down a bit and was passed by several people including Stella. I still had an overlap on Stella going into the next left hand turn, but I knew what was coming and back off just in time as Stella chopped the apex into the corner. Stella would rather eat her first born than concede a corner to me! I passed her back when she bobbled the little log crossing. As we exited the muddy path on the perimeter of grass field I was forced to dismount for the tiny little up onto the grass and Stella passed me for good.

There were three tiny up hill sections on the course that were giving me problems because I was running the biggest possible gear combination that I on my have on my singlespeed; being that the rest of the course was so flat. The one after the S/F line was doable because I could carry a lot of momentum up from the pavement, but I would still have to grind over the top. The other two, up onto the grass and up from the service road, I couldn't ride consistently during practice and decided to dismount and run during the race. I figured riding the two sections and then bogging down and being forced to dismount and run was slower than just dismounting and running both.

For the next two laps Stella slowly pulled away from me while my teammate Erik Thunstrom slowly reeled me in. After remounting from running up from the service road, Erik caught me. I didn't think to ill of this as I thought we could work together and try and bring Stella back. Erik went immediately to the front to take a pull and on the way by he gave me grief for not riding the hill up from the service road! We hit the double barriers before the finish line side by side when I heard a Ka-Whack-Thud and I knew immediately that Erik had tripped and crashed over the barriers. I asked the spectators after the barrier if he was all right and they replied in the affirmative.

I rode the almost the whole next lap alone while Erik slowly reeled me in again. By the time we reached the service road he was right behind me. I dismounted and ran up the little hill, remounted and look back over my shoulder to watch Erik ride it. He bogged out at the top and was force to dismount and run it! Erik eventually passed me on the grassy section and I clamped onto his rear wheel and held on for dear life for the next lap.

My body was giving me the signal that I was about to blow. I figured I would throw one last move at Erik before he dropped me. Just before the drop in to the service road I sprinted past Erik. I figured I would be in better shape if I hit the little hill first. Eric, once again gave me grief for dismounting and running. 30 seconds later I blew sky high and Erik rode away from me. I rode the next couple of laps solo and enjoyed the course and the day. With most of the course being so wide open, I could see I was in no danger of being caught from behind. I even got to smile and say "hi" to David Crum, who was a spectator at the little hill after the service road whom I haven't seen in a while.

PEAK SEASON numero uno, Watsonville, CA USA, 12/17/2006

Brij Lunine

After actually putting in a little work Friday afternoon and Saturday morning it was great to get out on a stellar day and race a course I had tiny bit to do with. With Nats on and many moving on it was an intimate affair. After waiting on the start line for Kem and who I assume was Thomas Sullivan the start took me by surprise. I had to ride like the devil to get from the back towards the front but it was too late I missed the bus. Howie and Thomas Feix had about 20 seconds and I couldn't find the extra gear to close the gap. (I also pulled a lame one and had to cut off teammate Eric Thumstrom although I'm not sure it was a finable offense.) The course was awesome and I was having fun holding Feix at a steady 15 seconds while Howie absolutely steamrolled. I was able to ride the run up four of six laps (with at least one dab and a cramp which put an end to that). My buddy Brett Lambert reeled me in which was fine by me—he's like an older version of Howie—steady and smooth. We divvied up the work with Brett probably doing a bit more, although I did wait when I'd gap him. Brett took a monster hot lap and we had Feix super close. So close I was thinking there was no doubt we had him (this was just before the descent). But to his credit he put it down and opened it back up to nearly 30 seconds by race's end. Had I been able to match Brett's work it might have been a different story but I was content to ride within my limit after being on the ropes for most of a lap. Brett was limited when his handlebars loosened up and I was feeling a yellowjacket bite that sketched me out a bit. Tactically I decided I wanted to be first to the barriers since there wasn't much room afterwards for the finish. I attacked with a bit of an aggressive line for the descent and led up the run up. Was surprised to have a gap but road an easier gear saving it for the final effort. Brett stayed back and I thought he had decided not to contest the finish but after I jumped on the pavement as planned he came storming up and we hit the barriers side by side. I concentrated on not screwing up. Poor Brett hit his front wheel on the barrier (I think it was) and barely pulled it. Third place—I was aiming for second but quite happy with where I ended up. Great job by our team—really nice scene, awesome course, really good burritos after, the whole nine. If our next two races are half this good we'll be in great shape.

CCCX #4, East Garrison Fort Ord, Seaside, CA USA, 12/10/2010

Mike Evans

Preface:

Same drill as usual except it was pouring rain! By the time we arrived at the East Garrison are of Fort Ord for the 4th race of the CCCX series, it was still pouring. We erected the team compound as fast as possible, surrounded it on 3 sides with cars, filled sand bags and lashed them to the tents to keep them from blowing away and finally put plastic sheeting on the weather side of the tents to keep the wind out. This whole gyration worked amazingly well! While not exactly toasty, it was significantly warmer inside the tents than it was outside.

The Course:

A slight variation of the normal East Garrison course that featured a long climb (for a cross race), a super slimy mud singletrack and a new paved descent. In conditions like this it was very important to pre-ride the course and ride through the larger puddles to see if there were any hidden ruts or holes. I found a large hole in the first big puddle after start/finish paved section and almost went over the handlebars. I could tell by my reconnaissance laps that I was very tired from racing the day before as I was struggling a bit.

The Race:

From the get go I didn't have it. I had a bad start and couldn't seem to clip in. The group arrived at the first big puddle and 3 guys augured into the hole I had found earlier. One guy went head first so deep into the puddle I thought he would have raise his snorkel! From there I steadily slid backward. Lap 2 was even worse, as I suddenly seemed to forget how to ride a bike. With a lap and a half to go I was caught by from behind by Robert Barber and Paul Sadoff. I managed to get a little gap on them on the paved section before the finish line going into the last lap. Around this time I was starting to feel better and kept extending my position until the finish. I didn't do much for my overall standings in the series, but it could have been worse!

The Epilogue:

The sun came out for the last race of the day (A men) and dried out our tents. This, however, was the only thing in my van that was dry. Two days of rain and mud had taken their toll on the equipment. When we arrived back at my house, we washed everything. I took my kit with me to the shower and tried to rinse as much mud out of it as possible before I threw it into the washing machine. I was amazed to find that a small beach had formed in the bottom of my washer after I had removed the load of clothes.

These last 2 days of racing were amazing and won't soon be forgotten!

Surf City #3, Watsonville, CA USA, 12/9/2006

Mike Evans

Preface:

It was the usual story; up at the crack of dawn, load the van, load Race Director, Field Marshal/Dictator for Life David Gill, get coffee and breakfast and drive to the venue. The only difference was that when we arrived at the Watsonville fairgrounds for the final race of the Surf City Series, we were told we would not be allowed to set up anywhere near the course and in fact we would have to set up the team compound in the parking lot a half a mile from where the center of action and in fact you couldn't even see the course! This didn't sit well with Race Director, Field Marshal/Dictator for Life David Gill and he put his game face on and marched off. Upon David's return, he informed us that everything had been worked out, so we hopped into the van and drove to the back entrance and down to the lower portion of the course. We set up at the bottom of the long downhill after the Start/Finish straightaway, next to the covered cement pad. It soon became apparent to us that the cement pad would become very dangerous as mud and water would soon coat the surface making it very slick. This proved correct throughout the day, as numerous riders crashed there.

The course:

The Surf City crew was restricted in where they could put the course so most of the course ended up in the lower section of the fairgrounds. This location combined with 8 hours of rain prior to the event could only mean one thing: MUD!! I did 2 reconnaissance laps and encountered every type of mud on the Dave Carr's list (http://members.aol.com/napavelo/mud.htm). The mud had turned many rideable sections into running sections and in fact this course had more running that any course in a long time.

The Race (Singlespeed):

After watching several people rip their derailleurs off of their bike I was glad to being racing my singlespeed! I got the holeshot at the start and led the field to the concrete section where the team compound was set up. I could hear the collective cheers of my teammates! Just after exiting the concrete, I got completely sideways and lost most of my momentum, as well as several places. I now could hear the collective groans of my teammates! After that excitement, I settled in. I was having a great race! I had lowered my tire pressure considerably and it seemed to be doing the trick as I felt completely hooked up. I seemed to be making my best progress on the flat muddy straightaways. While people were sliding all over the place I just seemed plow straight ahead at good pace. For the fist couple laps I had been really sticking it to my teammate Mike Martin, when it occurred to me that Mike was in second place for the series and I might be jeopardizing his standings, so I stopped and waited for him. I told him we should work together and see if we could bring the rider in front of us (Monty Worthington) back. All was going according to plan until I had my first bike exchange. I had borrowed Team Dictator and Field Marshal for life, David Gill's bike and I had forgotten to change pedals (Time for Crank Bros)! Duh! This was actually not as bad as it sounds, but the main problem was the semi-slick tires on his bike didn't sink through the mud and pack up like you read about! I was now running sections that I had been riding on my bike and promptly lost Mike Martin. I finally got my bike back, but Mike was gone. After riding a lap by myself I spied Monty in front of me. He was coming back to me pretty fast. I caught Monty on the big run up, he made some excuse about his freewheel not operating correctly and that the low barometric pressure was making his corns hurt. We both knew that Barry Wicks was about to lap us again just before the finish line and this would eliminate the need to ride one more lap. As we hit the finishing straight, Monty sat up to wait for Barry. I thought about it for a second or two and thought to myself "no way I'm stopping" and headed off for my last lap. It was a very lonely lap! I was at the very end of people finishing and in fact, the Surf City crew had started to tear down sections of the course as I rode by.

The Epilogue:

The bike exchanges not withstanding, this was my best race of the year. I felt good, my bike worked perfectly and even though I got completely got sideways twice, I never came close to crashing. I was rather shocked how well I rode in the mud! All the worries about Mike Martin and his second place standings were for naughtl as Mike was going to finish in 3rd overall no matter what I did. I did however ruin my chance for 5th place overall as I lost the tie breaker and finished 6th overall. Ugh!! Cheers to the Surf City crew for all of the work this year; I know it was difficult!

Surf City #3, Watsonville, CA USA, 12/9/2006

Phil Trenholme

Well this is my first race report and Surf City #3 was what I had visions of (and feared) when I decided I was going to try and race CX this winter. I am a new team member, 51 years old and race in the 45 A group. I used to do a lot of bike racing but pretty much quit 10 years ago and bought a racecar to fuel my competitive needs. This race was my 4th race and was promising to be a lot different than the first 3 races where the weather had been pretty darn nice. It rained hard the day before the race and driving to the Fairgrounds the rain was still coming down. Fortunately the weather let up just before my warm up lap. That scouting lap opened up my eyes big time and actually had me laughing as I could not really imagine racing in mud like that! My bike was completely trashed after that 1 lap but conveniently there were plenty of hoses setup so that everybody could wash their bikes down. It wasn't terribly cold so I went to the start line for my race in my short sleeved jersey and regular bib shorts, and as we lined up the hardest rain of the day was coming down and I was kind of wishing I had a rain jacket. I finally got a good start and when I went by the SCCCC compound I was in 2nd place! Keeping in mind my main goals of not crashing and not getting lapped I went as hard as possible but still found myself going backwards through the field. My bike sounded terrible and would not shift into the big chain ring (although now I am not sure why I wanted to do that) and I was convinced that I was going to last longer than the bike. In places the mud was so deep that riding used far more energy than running although running/stumbling/walking may have been a bit slower. The bike stayed together, the SCCCC support team kept cheering me on and giving me water bottle hand ups (thanks!), I didn't crash or get lapped and I ended up finishing 7th which was my best result of the year. I am looking forward to the club race series and it looks like there will be plenty of mud!

Piarcitos#5/Districts & CCCX#4 Ft. Ord, San Burno/Seaside, CA USA, 12/10/2006

Brij Lunine

Pilarcitos Final and Nor Cal District Championships

Let's see what I remember from two weeks ago…

Great venue and the added districts made for a loaded Masters 35 field. I got the start I wanted and was thinking good thoughts ("good start, good start, I'm on D'Aluisio's wheel…") when BOOM I got shoved way hard from the back and went off piste right at the top of the climb just before the parking lot reprieve. Lost a lot of ground but figured I could go to work like years past and move up. Not this time. I wasn't feeling too good and really had a tough time. I battled back and forth with a Kevin Merrigan riding for Otis Guy but he won out. Then came a number of others until I found my spot with Jordi Cortes riding in 12th and 13th where we finished. I was hoping to be up a few spots and ride a little stronger but I did manage to hold my 7th overall for the BASP series.

CCCX #4 Ft. Ord.

After driving to LA with my 5 and 2 year olds (and no wife to help, but I did have my little brother) Friday and then back Saturday night I was in a giddy state of sleep deprivation and excitement. Happy to ride after not getting out much at all last week. The motivation to train hard has really faded but racing is still fun. Plus despite all the extra work I really like racing in the mud. It's all about attitude and having "the ass of power." Plus General Gill was there with DS Evans. The compound was buzzing and we had posse running so deep. Evans' pressure washer took the cake.

I love the start at Ft. Ord and managed second over the barriers. It was really cold and I had trouble feeling my feet and legs. I quickly got out of the way of the big boys and tried to hold on to who else? Howie. Ran fourth for a couple laps and was then caught by Anastasio Flores Jr. We road well together for awhile and then he dropped me like a bad habit. I don't know to what degree he speeded up or if it was me slowing down—I bobbled and had to dismount and it took me half a lap to catch him at one point, but he was soon gone. Then I was caught by John Kammeyer of the Lapierre/Ritchey team. I would drop him but he kept coming back. Last lap (of six) good guy Brock Dickie (Buy/Cell) catches us and it's on. Brock and I start racing back and forth with some good passes and attacks. We all definitely went for it on the descents—I know I figured it was time to take a few more risks. I attacked on a flat dirt stretch before the one dirt climb (a great addition to the course) and got a big gap. But those boys had me back and on the ropes on the climb. I kept trying to pass Brock on the right with nowhere to go. I finally got around him at the top on the left for the mud mogul section which I really wanted to lead through. Cruised and was thinking how nice it was to make it through this whole race without crashing when BAM I stack it onto the pavement. So lame. So weak. John and Brock come around and Brock gives the "Are you OK?" and actually slows up and means it. I tell him "Yes, go." I straighten the bars and the ride the brake/shift lever rotated in for a frustrating 7th. Gannon took it, with Krammer, then Howie and you can figure the rest. John worked Brock over. These guys are way too nice. After they said they felt guilty…please I'm the idiot making the mental mistake. I somehow got a shiner and sore chin which my wife says makes me look like I got out of jail. Just now the poison oak is coming up—I did take a trip into the bushes in the mud mogul section…you got love it. Peak Season Baby it's about to be on.

Pilarcitos #5 BASP, Coyote Pt., San Mateo, CA USA, 12/3/2006

Mike Evans

Preface:

Yet another race over the hill, which means getting up at the ungodly hour of 4:30. This particular morning was more difficult than the others as my girlfriend's company Christmas party was the night before. I ended up playing bartender for four hours, but in the process I managed not to pour myself it oblivion and only consumed two glasses of wine. Just when I thought we were about to make our escape I heard the rallying cry "let's go to Brady's Yacht Club," which is the neighborhood dive bar. Bugger! To make a long story short, I managed not to over indulge but we didn't get home until 01:00. When the alarm went off I was convinced it was a terrible mistake!

Field General and Dictator for life David Gill arrived on time and we were off to Coyote Pt, San Mateo for the 5th and final round of the Pilarcitos BASP that also doubled as Nor. Cal. district championships. Upon arrival we disemboweled the van and set up camp next to the water front.

The Course:

It had been a couple of years since I have raced here and I had forgotten how hard this course is. From the beach section, to the grass filled with S turns, to the uphill section under the eucalyptus, this course just sucks the life out of you! I can't possibly imagine what it would be like if it rained!

The Race (Singlespeed):

This race was absolutely brutal. If it hadn't have been for the sight of Brent Chapman dangling in front of me, I think I would have quit. Needless to say this was not one of my best races, but I did finish. Afterwards my body felt like I had been run over by a cement truck.

The Epilogue:

All in all, this was a great event and venue, but two days later I still feel like I was hit by a cement truck!

Pilarcitos #5 BASP, Coyote Pt., San Mateo, ca USA, 12/3/2006

Julianna Perry

There's nothing like a sleeping child, a desire to escape more fining, and a rough finish to yesterday's race to inspire a race report. The latter not only made falling asleep difficult (the tape rolled over and over), but it made the morning bed-lingering less comfortable (see below for details)

I hadn't been racing much in the Pilarcitos series, only raced the last two given the good venue report they had. Coyote Point being the District Championships, a good venue, AND close to Grandma and Grandpa made it an easy decision. I am so glad that I decided to race. While the course was challenging, I really enjoyed the rigor.

The Eucalyptus forest was SKETCHY—the incessant uphill, combined with downward sloping S-turns and bumpy drops made the whole experience a killer. While the first lap up that hill into the duffy mess just spelled crashes, it got a bit easier with more distance between riders. Still, the fun didn't end with the spill out onto the beach. Thank goodness for the bell-ringing, beer-drinking crowds to cheer you on (and images of pavement danced in my head). And just when you thought you could "recover", all those road racers picked up the pace so you ended up hammering down the sidewalk. That actually was a good portion for me, as I could see my "bait" in front of me, and it helped me to catch those who led my way. But where was I to find the strength for the energy-sucking grass and continued S-turns?

Despite what I write, it wasn't such a nightmare. Hey, we only had to do FOUR laps. No, the nightmare came when I was on my last lap just yards away from the finish line and my chain dropped. The woman whom I had passed on the second lap was creeping back. On the last set of barriers, she was just behind me. My mind entertained the idea of just letting her pass me, after all, I didn't have much vested in the series, and she clearly wanted to beat me. But, I had just a little more to go—enough to have a mechanical problem. I remember Steve telling me how he had dropped his chain several times in his race, how I should keep it in the big ring, especially on the bumpy downhill. But nobody mentioned curbs! *@$#%, I almost had second in Districts and third in Masters race. Oh well, I guess the cross karma gods were at work—I do remember last year in a Peak Season race smiling when my competitor blew her tire.

A big thanks to my team mates: Brij and Simone—I love how you place yourself along the course and cheer me on; Lindsay—your words of encouragement on the first lap; Mike, Eric, and Philip—for screaming at me as I ran on the beach, and waving a cold one in front of my nose; David Gill—your feeds and your update as to my place in the race; Steve—your feeds (despite saying, no, no to you) and most importantly your shoulder to cry on.

CCCX #3, Manzanita Park, Prunedale, CA USA, 11/26/2006

Mike Evans

Preface:

This is becoming the usual drill: get up at the crack of darkness, fill up water bottles, load into the cooler, load the van, wait for Race Director and Team Dictator for Life David Gill to show up, load David into the van, drive to Coffeetopia for liquid stimulation, drive to venue, if it's a long trip, stop for more liquid stimulation along the way, upon arriving at the course dump entire contents of the van on the ground and build the Team Santa Cruz compound/pit.

This is what has been going on every Sunday since late September or so it seems. The only difference on this Sunday was we were greeted by Rod Hernandez's smiling face At Manzanita Park for CCCX #3.

After setting up the pits David who has been injured all season, asked if he could borrow my bike and take a lap. "This is an encouraging sign" I thought to myself and let him borrow the bike. David reappeared on my bike after taking a lap with sealant blowing out of the front tire. Staring at my tire, I moaned in disbelief, but little did I know this was to be the beginning of a day filled with flats. Fortunately all of the flats occurred during warm up!

The Course:

You can't beat Manzanita Park for a cross race! I think this is the 9th year I have been coming here for CCCX races and I have raced many different version of courses here and they all have been great. I think the park has the perfect combination of pavement, sand, dirt, grass and of course, elevation changes. This course was a slight variation of the normal course with a new run up added. Although it wasn't steep or long, it was directly after a high speed straightaway and had a steep berm at the base. I believe Barry Wicks was the only rider who was able to ride the run up.

The Race (Master 45A):

I just couldn't seem to get my legs going during warm up and I paid for this at the beginning of the race. I had a slow start and it took a couple of laps to feel good, but after that I felt great for the rest of the race. Teammate Tom Sullivan was dangling behind me so I slowed down and ask him to help take pulls in an effort to reel the guys in front of us in. This didn't work so well as I kept popping Tom off of my wheel. I had convinced myself that 2 were better than 1 on this course and with hindsight this was wrong. The first time this happened I should have hit the gas and kept going. I'm sure this caused me a couple places in the end. All in all though, I felt very good about this race.

2nd Race (Singlespeed):

I joking told Pat Schott at the starting line that I would lead him out. So I did. The whistle blew and I got the holeshot and sprinted as hard as I could, uphill until we reached the first turn. The combination of the first race and this sprint just fried me! I spent the rest of the race in pure agony. My legs were so shot I couldn't ride the little bump after the singletrack at the top of the course for the last 2 laps. I was very glad when then race ended!!

The Epilogue:

It's nice to see so many teammates showing up for these events. It makes getting up so early worth it!

Surf City Cyclocross Race #1, Soquel, CA USA, 10/15/2006

Mike Andalora

Yikes, the universe works in mysterious ways. I was talking to Ron Riley at Alex and Winona's party and telling Ron I needed to change my routine and he suggested the CX Race at Soquel High.

Now I'm an old mountain biker/motorcycle rider and can't resist falling sometimes. So Saturday I get my M-Bike ready (I thought) and off I go on Sunday morning. Funny the feeling you get when trying something the first time, it's like everybody else there is a pro, you're the only rookie in the whole universe and you know that there are people who are there for there first time but you don't see them.

I go up to the friendly face at registration. She says its $35 bucks since I don't have a license and yikes I only have $30! So she gives me the number and I race on down to the ATM at the Quick Stop and get the 5 bucks, she's grateful and I am too because she is so patient. So I get my number half/ass pinned on and the big guy stops me before I get on the track and says I got the wrong number. So back to my smiling lady at Reg, she helps me out.

Boom, I am out on the track, again I feel like I'm the only one on the planet. Then (yikes again!) flashes come whizzing by. I finish two practice laps and I pull up to the Team Santa Cruz booth and David greets me with a "so you wanna try this?" smile and the team helps me out again with my numbers and bike. I get my Picture taken and get a last word of advice on how not to get run over and next thing I know I'm standing in a sea of bikes again.

I feel like I'm in this void 3, 2 1. Gooooo. I carry my whale of a bike up hills and over jumps and I'm watching not to get in somebody's way. I feel Ron Riley pushing me up a hill, faster and faster I go, being careful not to crash. I ride by David, he hands me a water bottle and I think "I always wanted to throw one away." Then I see Harriet Riley taking my picture and I feel very good about the warm friendship. Faster and faster I go; I want to make at least 3 laps, getting a little winded now, I don't know if I could make 4, then my front derailleur casing breaks on my bars and I have to hold it in the middle chain-ring to finish, faster, faster there's the finish. "You're done!" the man says.

YIKES I DID IT! THANKS EVERYBODY!!

Pilarcitos BASP # 4, Golden Gate Park, S.F., CA USA, 11/19/2006

Mike Evans

The preface: All around nice guy and Team Santa Cruz Dictator for Life David Gill and I got up at the unworldly hour 04:ish to make the long drive in my over packed, lethargic, VW van for the 4th round of the Pilarcitos at Golden Gate Park. The plain was to get there early enough to find a good set up location for our team tents and a good parking spot. All was going according to plan as we arrived a little before 07:00 until we were informed we would not be able to drive 200 meters up the paved access road to the set up site and would have to hump the contents of the van on foot. While David and I were staring at each other in disbelief one of the Pilarcitos workers volunteered his wheelbarrow for our use. 3 cheers to him! We set up at a prime spot right next to the course and in fact it was such a good location, people kept coming to our tents trying register!

The course: This had to be one of the best courses of the year! It had everything: lots of single track and double track, a high speed sand pit, lots of roots and some nice paved areas. I really enjoyed the sand pit. I would wind up my single speed to terminal velocity and just send it into the pit! I never exited in same place twice! The Pilarcitos BASP series is a bit of an enigma though; you either love their courses so much you wish you could race 3 times a week or you hate them so much you contemplate taking up a different sport.

The race: After a bad start I settled in with rider by the name of A.J. and for the next several laps we traded pulls in an effort to bring back the rider in front of us. With 2 laps to go we finally caught the guy in front of us and dropped him. I then got a pretty big gap on A.J. after the little run up (for me). I'm not sure if A.J. had a bobble or if he went for the money people were sticking into beer cans. I then blew sky high just after the uphill double barriers. A.J. caught me on the long paved straight away and when he came around me I had no answer. I spent the remainder of the last lap making sure the guy we worked so hard to catch all race didn't pass me. I succeeded in this little victory and finished the race. All in all I felt good about this race.

A side note: It was excellent to see Teammate and genetic mutant Phillip Sims back on the course after 3 months of not riding due to an injury. His break didn't seem to slow him down much!

Piarcitos#4 Golden Gate Park (BASP) & CCCX#3 Prunedale, San Francisco, CA USA, 11/26/2006

Brij Lunine

Pilarcitos #4

Well after a welcomed week off from the Surf City fiasco it was great to race in Golden Gate Park again. The full squad was in effect and I'm always extra stoked to race in the city in front of friends and the family. The course was so much fun and utterly relentless with Chris D'Aluisio killing it on the long slightly downhill sections. As Team Manager D. Gill said, I really turned myself inside out. I was racing for third and I'm glad I was in the mix but ultimately paid the price fading from the group of Howie (some day I'll hang with him, maybe), Dan Harting, D'Aluisio & Jordi Cortes. I tried pulling through with Harting and letting Howie sit on (a mistake but I was willing to experiment after sitting on him numerous times only to be slowed down in to the corners and gapped continually out of them). We caught Jordi and the erratic riding D'Aluisio. After Jordi was dropped it was my turn as Howie went to work. I suffered in no man's land for way too long only to be caught by the holder of the hole shot, Greg Regan. Luckily I was planning for this and worked him over in the sprint for 6th. Up front in was all Alan Coats and Steve Reaney with scientist of sprint winning out. Great fun. This race marked the return of the certified mutant Philip Sims back after an extended hip injury. He may have lost a little but it's pretty unfathomable how good he's going after three and half months off.

CCCX#3 Yo soy pavoté

The team was in super full effect again, great to see DS Evans and the crew.

I felt like a turkey bog. John Funke decided to slum with the old guys including Rich Maille, Gannon Myall (4th overall in the US Grand Prix!), Kramer, Hoefner and most of the usual suspects. Made the front group after a few pedal issues at the start. Sat on Funke who was a little whippier than I'm used to. Then I got gapped off somewhere, don't remember but predictably I was with Howie. Then he dropped me, no surprise, I was paying the price for a lot of effort lap one. Kept him fairly steady for awhile and watched him just about bridge up to the front group of Kramer, Hoefner, Funke and Maille (Gannon had a mechanical). I was suffering by my lonesome waiting for my friends Mark Abele, Eric Bustos and Tim Thompson to catch me. I was glad to see Mark and then eventually Tim and settled on to Mark's steady wheel. Long story short: I attacked those two on the downhill with one to go since there was a pause, not the smartest move but I kept some in the tank. Got caught on the S/F climb and then Tim absolutely punched it onto the little singletrack section at the very top. I got around Abele on the first decent (right after all the sand) and chase Tim as hard as I could. I think I caught him at the last barriers. We had a good sprint with me nipping him by a wheel for 6th.

This race marked the return of Janel Lodge and teammate Steve Hess—a welcomed sight on both accounts.

Welsh League Cyclo-Cross Series, Race 7, Abergavenny, Wales, 11/12/2006

Alex Anderson

Now this was a cyclo-cross race! Great course, a large field, barriers and multiple run-ups.

After races in Bristol and Bath the last few weekends with turnouts of less than 25 riders I thought I would try a race in the Welsh League again. The event was in the historic town of Abergavenny just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park in a very scenic valley of South Wales. After destroying my shifter on my ‘cross bike last race I had no choice but to ride my single speed mountain bike for the event. If only there was a SS class I could have my first UK podium since there wasn't a single speeder in sight, but I wasn't going to be that lucky.

We lined up for the start in the now-expected UK mass start of Juniors, Seniors and Vets all going off at once. There must have been 70 racers at the line which was a great turnout since the biggest race I had been in to date had about 40. We started off on a fast grassy track and then hit a quick gravel section before a short road climb that lead to a narrow, slick run-up. One of the first riders in my group tried to ride up the hill, but quickly went down and a group of 10 piled up behind him. The rest of us shouldered our bikes and got around the crowd. After a little more climbing we had a fast short descent into a nasty off-camber right-hand turn just below the next run-up and a pair of barriers. A couple more riders went down as they got off on the downhill side of the turn and lost their footing in some strategically-located mud. After getting back on we had a short, quick downhill into a tight series of S-turns through the trees then back around to the start/finish line. I went around for the usual fifty minutes plus one lap and was only a little distressed at being lapped 3 TIMES by the winner – a 20-something local star. Still it was a fun, challenging course and I'm hopeful I placed somewhere in the middle of the pack (if I did I'll let you know, otherwise the link may get lost)

Piarcitos#3 McClaren (BASP), San Francisco, CA USA, 11/5/2006

Brij Lunine

I guess our squad disdains travel north—Lindsey, Eric and myself excepted. In this case it was y'all's loss. Really a great course if you ride your CX bike off road a lot. I know riding up & down Wilder really paid off for me.

The course was really selective. A nice fast flat S/F, great steep dirt run up, and then tons of hard climbing and descending, basically single track although there was room to pass on the extra bumpy sides. There was also an overdone grassy tree section with turns that were close to 280°—a bit too much in my opinion. (This section was faster to run but too long to.) A real backbreaker of a day. I was pretty dizzy from being sick but managed to pretty much pass people the entire race to snake into 10th. Bike handling was at a premium. I had fun on the descents, passing people on the top of the last absolute grinder of a hill and attacking through the S/F. My back is pretty thrashed after the whole ordeal. I wouldn't of raced if I wasn't in the points but once I got there I was glad I did—I really like all the Wilder-like terrain. Lots of DNFs and crashes though. Funke has a good description on his blog (link to on the NCNCA site). And of course Aaron Kereluk with the big WIN. Too cool.

Note: Told ya—Jordi Coates with two wins—Fairfax and Sacto. While he tries to play it off noting the field size I argue that: it's really hard to win a race, you can't control who shows up, and, most significantly, any time you beat Rich Maille you're riding well. Way to go Jordi (a former teammate and super nice guy).

Mid season Cyclocross race report, 10/29/2006

Brij Lunine

SCCCCCC teammates,

It's the mid-season, 6 races in. I'm sitting here with an eye infection, lacking motivation, just like I did trying to put in that one hard day training today…

Looks like the pecking order has definitely been established in the Master's A's: The A list: The Strawberry Mob: Gannon Myall, Henry Kramer, Todd Hoefner and (newcomer to the Masters?) Steve Reaney. These guys have how many wins this season between them? How many stars and bars and even a rainbow tunic in the closet? The Specialized employees/Morgan Stanley duo of Chris D'Aluisio and Alan Coates are to be feared. And good guy Mark Howland aka Howie is definitely right there. Now there's some other eligible racers who choose to race A's or who aren't at most races but these seven are money.

On the bubble: Jordi Cortes, Cliff Bar. He's right there with speed and power to burn.

The B list: Tim Thompson, Eurosport/Flossaid—barely off the A list. The Strawberry Mob II: Eric Bustos and Anastasio Flores Jr. The Buy-Cell Squad: Brock Dickie, Caesar Chavez, Michael Matthews, Kurt Gensheimer—all nice guys who I'm betting will come on strong in the weeks ahead. Teammates Murray Swanson and Thomas Feix (over 45 and can beat most of us). The same goes for the undefeated-in-the-45s, Rob Meighan AKA Buckwheat, not to mention Mark, smooth-as-butter, Abele, and then there's your truly and injured teammate Steve Hess. On the one hand, it's nice to be in the top ten consistently even if it's on the "ugly end"; on the other, I don't where I'm going to find 30 seconds to a minute to crack the A list. Fun though. I need to motorpace (Philip?).

So yeah the race, Surf City Numero Dos at the Watsonville Fairgrounds. This course featured the coolest use of a field I've seen: the swirley. It was really fun to spiral through on grippy grass and then barrel back out to the next section of loose dustiness. The rest of the course was pretty routine. I liked the new run up and the long dirt road was a nice—in terms of being able to open it up. The start was ill-conceived but things sorted out and the above suspects from the A list including Jordi were grouped up, plus Buckwheat. After passing quite a few folks on the run up Howie (who was having a bad day and therefore with me) and I went to work. A lap or two together and we caught the lead group with Buckwheat on the front. It was nice to be up with big boys for a minute but when things reshuffled after the little run up it was Buckwheat, Howie and me for awhile. Howie dabbed after the big run up and I promptly hit his wheel and fell over. Never saw him again. By the time I got up the gap was too big to contemplate. Me and Buckwheat. We rode quite a few laps very steady—believe it or not. It was great to see the leaders and chasers in the spiral. Meighan didn't contest the final and I ended up pretty satisfied with 9th—few mistakes and a pretty solid effort. Gannon took the honors and I'm sure it won't be the last time. I'm definitely stoked for McClaren this weekend. It's raining right now!

Surf City #2, Watsonville, CA USA, 10/29/2006

Mike Evans

While sitting across the table from Melanie Dominguez at Simone's birthday party on Thursday night, I had an idea. Mel told me that she and husband-to- be Mark were flying to NYC for the weekend. I asked Mel if I could borrow her cat costume for the costume race at Surf City #2. I said this as a joke but Mel thought it was great and when I got home the next day, there was the costume sitting on my door step. I guess I would have to go through with it after all! To complete the costume I borrowed a skort from Shauna P. and added one of my old Bike Trip jerseys to complete the look. I wondered if people would get that I was trying to look like Melanie Dominguez; a lot of them did!

The course:

Even though I liked this course, I thought it wasn't very challenging in the bike handling sense. I think it was lacking some kind off camber section or some kind of section that would have made me pucker a bit! The new long run up did seriously kick my ass and the swirl got me dizzy a couple of times though.

Costume Race:

While at the starting line we were given instructions that ended with "it's only cheating if you get caught." At this point, cheating sounded pretty good to me, as I was encased in fur and was on the brink of overheating without even turning a pedal! After the race started, I cheated heavily and cut the course at every opportunity, but apparently I didn't cheat hard enough and finished 4th... or so I was told!

The race (Singlespeed):

I made my usual fast start then instant fade in the first few minutes. Both of my teammates got past me and I spent the next half of the lap trying to chase them down. I was just about to make contact with them in the section known as the "Pit of Despair," when both teammates (Mike Martin and Troy Boone) sat up. It appeared that Mike was having some kind of difficulty with his rear wheel. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I immediately attacked both of them and got a sizable gap going. On the second lap I could see Mike entering the swirl section as I was leaving. On the next lap he was even closer and I shouted to him how much I hated him at his point.

Mike was making me ride very hard in an effort to stay ahead of him. The next time through the swirl I was starting to blow a bit and he had closed the gap even further. By the time I had reached the big run up Mike was directly behind me! From the big run up to just after the pit of despair we were together, but then Mike attacked me on the tiny little run up out of the pit and that was it. I blew trying to close the gap back to Mike.

I went into survival/recovery mode and rode as hard as I dared without blowing sky high! I could see Troy about a minute back and figured I could survive one more lap without him catching me. I survived the big run up one last time, but barely. If I had had to do the big run up one more time I think I would have completely cracked! It is always my intent not to get lapped by my own species (singlespeed) and I came within 300 meters of my objective. All in all this was a great race and venue. Three cheers to the Bellas for such a fun event!

24 Hours of Chamberlin Ranch, Los Olivos, CA USA, 10/28/2006

Norman Field

I know people are interested in how the 24 Hours of Chamberlin Ranch turned out for me and I'm eager to share the experience.

A few enigmatic statements to start the report:

  • Only one small furry animal was killed during the race
  • Sleep is a weapon
  • Of all God's creatures, cows have to be the dumbest
  • Glowing eyes in the dark of the night are not to be feared
  • Success is defined by the victor of the battle between mind and body
  • Never trust the time keepers

I rode my mountain bike 180 miles, a personal distance record, did 24,000 ft of climbing, and came in first place in the 40-49 Solo rider category. While the prizes were irrelevant to me at the time, I must say the awards presentation was unusual. The race director would call up first, second, and third in that order and each person would pick out two items from a big pile of schwag. I picked out a new red Specialized helmet for Karen, my one-woman support crew, and a Light and Motion Vega commuter light (retail $175).

It was a long race with various facets to it. Karen and I arrived and camped the night before after a five hour drive. I woke up at about 3:30 am feeling cold—I've never been cold with that sleeping bag before and the rest of the night passed by slowly since I couldn't warm up. The race started at 11am—a Le Mans-style start with the front wheel removed. I didn't feel so great the first lap, nor the second, nor the third. Each lap was 15 miles with 2000ft of climbing.

The course wasn't too technical. The most difficult challenge was the cows. They were on the trail and sometimes wouldn't move. Worse yet, the calves would look one way and then run erratically the other way. I heard coyotes baying at night, saw owls flying, dodged mice skirting across the trail and herded cows off the trail.

I was worried about how fatigued I felt during the first four laps, since normally those would be the best. I thought it might have been the lack of sleep the night before or the hot conditions (sunny, about 90 degrees). I felt better when the sun went down and the race really got going. I rode until about 4am when I started getting loopy, crashed coming into the pit area and decided I need to lie down. I got in the sleeping bag and closed my eyes for a while. When I miraculously awoke without an alarm, through great will power, I forced myself to get out into the freezing cold (35 degrees) and continue riding. When I looked at the clock, I was surprised to see that an hour and a half had passed. I figured any chance for a podium place had slipped away. I felt lucky, given my fatigue, that I managed to wake up.

After getting back on the trail, I realized the sleep had done a lot of good. I felt much stronger. The sun came up on that lap and things started looking up. I rode another lap and figured I would just barely have time to do one more. I asked the time keepers for my placing and they said I had won the race. I felt relieved that I could stop at 11 laps. However, when I asked how far back the second place ride was, they fumbled through the papers and then told me it was neck and neck. So I went out and finished the race with 12 laps (which turned out to be unnecessary to win it).

If you ever want to have a successful 24 hour race, you have to bring along someone with great organizational skills like Karen. She set up camp, organized the food, kept track of times, and was always cheering for me. I don't think I would have won without her, because I would have had to spend the time and energy taking care of myself.

It was great to have a teammate at the race as well. Dan Henderson rode single speed and we didn't see each other after the first lap. However, we touched based the next day. Hopefully, he'll tell you his story. I will see you at a cross race again eventually. I am headed out of town again for the next few days and don't plan to race Sunday at Pilarcitos. See you soon!

Terri Schneider provided me with weekly workouts over the last four months where were a key factor in keeping me motivated and in shape. Thanks to Team Santa Cruz for the EZ-Up tent—must have for these races. I also received well wishes from all over the world: Alex from the UK, friends from Austin, Washington DC, and various team members. Thanks for the support!

24 Hours of Chamberlin Ranch, Buelton, CA USA, 10/28/2006

Dan Henderson

Well, what can I say? There was a whole mess of riding. Some of it was really fun and then some of it was awful and really scary. I was super into the glowsticks they had marking the course at night. Maybe I should start going to raves or something. Gosh, I don't know. I think I just need some time off the bike.

I think I was about 6th out of 15 total solos. Norman won his class and I think was 3rd overall.

England Western League Cyclo-Cross Series, Race 6, The Tumps, Odd Down, Bath, England, 10/29/2006

Alex Anderson

Another race, another tale of bike woe, but at least no flats this time.

This event was located near the historic town of Bath, in the village of Odd Down. The course was more challenging and fun than my 2 previous CX races in the UK. Part of the course was on an older BMX track complete with a pair of 2-foot tabletop jumps and 3 bermed turns which made for good fun. Although no barriers (again!) there was one legitimate run-up this race. The course was very short with my lap-times at about 5 minutes so it was likely under a mile. The combination of jumps, the run-up and significant portions of the course on soft, wet grass meant that there were few places to recover. This was the first of 3 races to be held under sunny skies but there were a number of mud bogs from the rain of the last few days.

Only 23 of us lined up for the start, with Juniors, Women, Seniors and Vets all going at the same time for 55 minutes plus 1 lap. I settled into a moderate pace about mid-pack and tried to concentrate on being smooth considering the nature of the course as I tried to chase the other vets. This is tough to do in the UK as we all have double-digit numbers, not the usual 3-digit numbers of our Santa Cruz races that distinguish the racers in each class. I just convince myself that the guys passing me are young and the ones I'm passing are old – wish it were really that simple!

About halfway into the race I slide on a bit of mud and drive my right hand shifter hard into the ground. When I get up can't shift at all. Fortunately I'm in the large cog in the rear so although I have to end the finish the race as a 2-speed my gearing is pretty reasonable. In the last 20 minutes of the race I get lapped by the young guys, but have no idea how I place relative to the Seniors and other Vets.

Another fun race, but I sure miss the relatively large classes and high-quality courses I experienced racing at home.

That's all until next time. Next weekend I have a choice of another venue in Bristol or a race near Swansea in South Wales – assuming I'm in any kind of shape to ride after the Guy Fawkes celebrations planned for Bristol over the weekend.

Ron RileyTeam Big Bear State XC Series Final, Castaic, 10/22

Ron Riley

The final Team Big Bear State Series MTB race was held Sunday 10/22 at the Lake Hughes Park in Castaic, CA. The temperature was in the high 70s under clear skies as the Sport categories started their two-lap, point-and-a-half value, race.

My race strategy was pretty simple: go for the win, but avoid a DNF. A DNF would eliminate my chance for the series (best 6 of 11 races) 65+ Sport Championship.

The Castaic course is seven miles of mostly single and double track. It is by far the toughest course we race on because of the granny gear climbing—four tough climbs per lap, one rated at over 30% grade!

Ron Riley crosses the finish line

I led Hans and Richard, the other two in my class, up the first climb. The course and a mistake-free ride now became my challenge. Relax, focus, push the bike when it's faster than pedaling, and stay hydrated. At the end of the first lap, Harriet handed me a new water bottle and I was away for another hour of pain.

As I crossed the finish line, I realized my long season that started in April, was over and that I had gone undefeated to win the State Series 65+ Sport Class.

Thanks Team Santa Cruz for your support and encouragement. Hopefully, Mike Evans won't fine me too many Swiss Francs for my unzipped jersey at the finish.

Ron and friend in their California State Champion jerseys!

England Western League Cyclo-Cross Series, Race 5, 10/22/06

Alex Anderson

My first UK 'cross race since my unimpressive debut in Wales a few weeks ago. This time I thought I would try one of the Western League races since I'm staying in the Clifton area of Bristol and the race was only about a 5 minute bike ride away. The Western League has 12 races over the season and races occur mostly in an area bounded by Bristol to the South and Gloucester to the North. This race was located in Ashton Court and old estate converted to a city park with some double-track mountain biking and a little bit of single-track riding through the woods. The course was again a surprise as, just like the race in Wales, there were no run-ups and no barriers to jump over. I asked the race organizer about this and he said that they only brought out the barriers for a few races a year but tried to encourage new riders by minimizing the technical difficulty of the races—seems backwards to me since a lot of the appeal of 'cross is the fact that the races were like no other bike races. Met a transplant from Lancashire (a few hundred miles North) who said the races there were usually very technical. One race had 13 dismounts in a single lap!

Turnout for this race was less than 30 but there were some fast, young riders. We started on a flat meadow for about 100 meters before picking up a fast double-track downhill for about 400 meters before entering a rooty, rocky, single-track section through the woods. Then out into a meadow where we picked up a flat double-track before entering the woods again and some more single-track. Finally, a double-track climb back to the start/finish. I had a bag of excuses (jet-lag being the primary one I plan to use for rest of the season) but I still battled as best I could for a mid-pack position until I pinch flatted about 1/4 of the way into a lap after about 35 minutes on the course. I decided to run it out as best I could and changed my tube back at the start/finish. Too bad no SCCCC contingent there with Mike Evans to take care of pit duties. I figured DFL was better than a DNF (plus I had to ride the bike back home anyway) so I didn't even think of not fixing the flat. Got back on the bike for 2 more laps but I was happy to be done after nearly a full hour of riding and a too-long run. Next weekend the race is in Bath which is only 20 minutes up the road from here. After 2 flats in the last 2 races I'm hoping for a better showing.

5 Races into Cyclocross Season

Brij Lunine

To avoid any further fines here's my early season update:

Central Coast #1—Prunedale...

...was a good first race of the year. I love Manzanita park and can't wait to race there again. I like the heat too and after a fairly lame start I managed to ride my way into the top ten. I was psyched to be with teammate Steve Hess until he flatted with an absolute gunshot. Passed on the last lap by the indomitable Mark Abele. 9th place I think.

Central Coast #2—East Garrison.

Same old place but a slightly different course not really to my liking (give me the jeep track climb any day). Actually started well—third place into the barriers. I was running OK with Mark Howland until a series of bobbles and such took their toll. Ended up dropping my chain twice and having to get it unstuck from the 3rd eye (see bayareacyclocross messageboard for this topic—I'm running the magic sandwich now). Ended up around 14th with Abele dropping me again towards the end.

Pilarcitos #1—Hellyer Park.

Tough course, all bumps and a beautiful velodrome. After avoiding some off-the-line pile ups I went work and moved on up to about as high as 5th or 6th. Steve Hess and I were together and having fun. I jumped on the super-impressive Jordi Cortes (watch out this guy will win a race as soon as he puts together a few more things, mark my words) and hung on for dear life. After getting dropped and staggering along I was disappointed to get passed by a couple of last-lap-late-chargers. 8th place and I couldn't complain. I was super sorry to see Steve Hess curled in a ball on the entry to the track. Here's hoping we can mash it up late season.

Surf City #1—Soquel High.

After a day celebrating Oscar's 5th birthday I was running a little slow. Coupled with the early start time I was a bit out of sorts. Finally got in a bit of a groove and was really happy to see Eric Bustos and Jordi charging along. Then I flatted. Ran the whole bottom section, was yelled at, got a wicked wheel change from DS Evans and was back inittowinit. Then I flatted again on the same spot (cement drainage crossing). Bummer. The kiddie cross made up for it all and then some. DNF, I'll take the fine too. Should've listened to Phillip and ran higher air pressure.

Pilarcitos #2—Candlestick Point.

Donde esta nuestra equipo? Only Matt and I lined up for this one with no other teammates in sight. After getting snaked out of my call-up by the eager masses it took a couple of laps to get going again. Lindsey Collins (the only other teammate I saw at the race), Phillip and I did a great ride Wednesday and I was feeling OK. Plus the heat was good for the weary bones This was by far the best course out in the postindustrial wasteland (y'all missed out.) Moved up trying to follow Gannon Myall for a lap or so (he had had a mechanical) and ended up with Jordi and Thomas Feix. Jordi dropped us last lap and Feix and I duked it out for 9th. He got me by a wheel with a hardman's line but I was pretty happy with a more complete ride. 10th place.

Thanks to Phillip for all the rides and feeds (not to mention strategizing and moral support), Mike and David too. It's great to be racing for SCCCC. Here's to improving as the season goes on. Onwards, Brij Lunine.

Surf City Cyclocross #1 Soquel High School 10/15/06

Mike Andalora

Now I'm an old mountain biker/motorcycle rider and can't resist falling sometimes. So Saturday I get my M-Bike ready (I thought) and off I go on Sunday morning. Funny the feeling you get when trying something the first time, it's like everybody else there is a pro, you're the only rookie in the whole universe and you know that there are people who are there for there first time but you don't see them.

I go up to the friendly face at Reg. She says its $35 bucks since I don't have a license and Yikes I only have $30! So she gives me the number and I race on down to the ATM at the Quick Stop and get the 5 bucks, she's grateful and I am too because she is so patient. So I get my number half/ass pinned on and the big guy stops me before I get on the track and says I got the wrong number. So back to my smiling lady at Reg, she helps me out.

Boom, I am out on the track, again I feel like I'm the only one on the planet. Then (yikes again!) flashes come whizzing by. I finish two practice laps and I pull up to the SC booth and David greets me with a "So you wanna try this?" smile and the Team helps me out again with my numbers and bike. I get my Picture taken and get a last word of advice on how not to get run over and next thing I know I'm standing in a sea of bikes again. I feel like I'm in this void.

3, 2, 1. Gooooo. I carry my whale of a bike up hills and over jumps and I'm watching not to get in somebody's way. I feel Ron Riley pushing me up a hill, faster and faster I go, being careful not to crash. I ride by David, he hands me a water bottle and I think "I always wanted to throw one away." Then I see Harriet Riley taking my picture and I feel very good about the warm friendship. Faster and faster I go; I want to make at least 3 laps, getting a little winded now, I don't know if I could make 4, then my front derailleur casing breaks on my bars and I have to hold it in the middle chain-ring to finish, faster, faster there's the finish. "You're done!" the man says.

YIKES I DID IT! THANKS EVERYBODY!!

Surf City Cyclocross #1 Soquel High School 10/15/06

Mike Evans

Directly after the last CCCX cross race I became very sick. This illness lasted almost two weeks and I ended up missing the first Pilarcitos race as well. Even though I brought my bike, I had no real intentions of racing at the first Surf City.

The morning was quite hectic! After emptying the contents of my van and setting up the team compound, the action started. I have never seen so many flats at a cross race before! Besides a few teammates and friends having problems, there was a plethora of other people having problems. It's kind of disheartening to see somebody pay $25 or $30 to race only to have them flat on the first lap! Many of the people in the beginning groups don't own a spare bike or spare wheels, so we at Team Santa Cruz took pity upon them and started to offer wheels to those that needed them. There is a bit of danger in this. There's good chance that our wheels and tires could be damaged by the borrower, but it all came out good in the end. There were plenty of mechanical issues, so we had several bike swaps as well.

In between this mayhem, I was busy preparing bikes for friends and teammates and I even rebuilt Rachel Lloyd's rear wheel because she broke a spoke warming up. I guess all of the activity got me fired up and I started entertaining the idea of racing. Before I got that far, however, I decided to suit up and take a couple of laps around the course to see what all of the fuss was about. I thought the course was very good. I thought the Velo Bella/Surf City people did a nice job in using the terrain, in particular the little run ups that required no barriers: the goal post, the baseball backstops and the little culvert. I was having difficulty with the baseball backstops section and never could seem to flow just right. As I approached the big drop in section there were four girls staring over the precipice apparently wondering what line to take. I gave them a whistle to let them know I was coming and they divided up two by two as I approached. I hit the apex just right, got my rear wheel to brake loose as I exited and then hit the drop totally crossed up. This was the best I hit any corner all day, very fast and smooth, but unfortunately my left pedal hooked the girl's rear tire on my left! I barely felt a thing, but the force of my pedal caused her to high side over the edge down to dirt and dust below. When I was finally able to stop I yelled back to see if she was ok and then I apologized and took off. I've been on this planet 45 years and I never cease to amaze myself on how stupid I can be while trying to impress women!!

I decided to race (singlespeed), but in retrospect I wish I hadn't. I almost choked on my own bile right after the start, I got worked over by Stella Carey, slid wide in one of the corners causing me to hit a chain link fence and flipped over the bars, hit a large bump causing my handlebars to slip and forcing me to ride in a very down position for two laps and finally, I flatted my front tire on a hole that I was knew was there after riding past it 12 times, forcing me to ride the last half of the last lap on my rim.

All of this paled in comparison to how I felt after the race. The combination of being sick, not riding in two weeks and this course, really worked me over. I can honestly say I have never felt this bad after a race before!!

Surf City Cyclocross #1, Soquel High School, 10/15/06

Lindsey Collins

I had a bit of an identity crisis during this race. First, people kept calling me Karen. You have lots of supporters, Ms. Kefauver! Now, I've seen the race photos, and I know for a fact that Karen looks a lot more cheerful during a race than I do, so I don't know how anyone could confuse a nice, pleasant smile with a scowling grimace. Nevertheless, I took all the cheering I could get, as Lindsey and/or Karen. I may have to get a chin-length blond wig to continue stealing applause from Karen's unwitting fans.

Second, Mike, in his apparent effort to emulate my Texan mama, has really taken a shine to calling me "Lindsey carol." Yes, Carol is my middle name. But only my mama calls me that when she's mad. You can imagine how it rolls off the tongue in an angry Texan accent: "Lindsey Carol Collins, what the hell are you doing??" So, being ever the southern gentleman, Mike cheered me on as Lindsey Carol. I think this must be what caused me to ride like a southern belle on sunday, while my poor, delicate back spazzed out and cramped up on all that bumpy dirt and grass. As my mom always says, "you're at the age now where you need to just SLOW DOWN and get off that bicycle." Apparently, Mike's cheer called out to my inner Texan debutante, slowing me right down to a painful, but ladylike, crawl.

So, I'm with Karen—or is it Lindsey?—on her race report: I was just glad to finish. my back hurt like a beeeatch. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm kind of ready for some mud...

Surf City Cyclocross #1, Soquel High School, 10/15/06

Karen Kefauver

I was an inch away from quitting the race today at Soquel High School. I was ready to bail: I was exhausted from busy weeks of work and was feeling the impact of ZERO riding since the last race at Fort Ord 14 days ago. On the hilly course today, I looked for a spot where I could exit unnoticed. Nothing looked good. I knew I should tell the officials I was a DNF. I imagined the torture would end soon and forced myself to pedal to the start/finish area to inform them of my bailout. As I approached the officials, they called out: 2 more laps! Grrrr. Could I survive 2 more laps? I decided I had to keep going and slowed down even more in order to pace myself to the finish.

What kept me in the race? My teammates! I did not want to go back to the tent and say I dropped out just because I was tired and out of shape. Plus, the idea of Mike Evans sending out an email with me getting the highest fine (in francs) for being a DNF was a powerful incentive to continue slogging around the course despite exhaustion. Team Santa Cruz spirit was so amazing! It propelled me along: David Gill and Winona handed me water; Grant Stoner, posted at the top of the steepest run-up, cheered my every aching run up; Mike Evans threatened me to stop smiling; and the whole gang cheered in unison. Janel Lodge helped by encouraging me over the set of barriers each lap, too.

My biggest victory was simply not dropping out today! Incredibly, I was not DFL in the Women B's. Also, I feel certain that with my donation of Team Food: homemade pear cake and chicken rice fiesta bake, I can avoid any steep fines. Oh yes, Troy and I both donated our winnings: beer and Gizdich Ranch pie for all! Those treats were from the Limbo Race, which for me, was 3 laps and two chances to go under a limbo bar. That was fun. Velo Bella did a great job on this event and I salute Sabine and that team for the work that went into this! Bravo!

Great to see more women joining our team. Good turnout today from Team Ladies. Congrats to newest ones: Lindsay, Katie and Deborah. Welcome. Missed Melinda, Samantha and Simone. Not the same without you all. Congrats to friends Michiko, Natasha Perry and her husband for their first cross races and congrats to Shauna for her first victory of the year and for sharing all those delicious strawberries. Steve Hess is a trooper in handling his injury with grace. Winona, thanks for reuniting the Go Go Go Girls who raced at 24 Hours: Winona, Karen, Henri and Michiko. We are going to miss Alex and Winona.

OK, I won't see you all again til November. I will be missing the September 22nd race (will be in Seattle) and the September 29th Halloween Fiesta (Norman and I will be in Santa Barbara for his 24-Hour mountain-bike race). Harriet, please go crazy with the photos at the Halloween race. Thanks and Good job to all Team Santa Cruz!

Pilarcitos Cyclocross #1, San Jose, 10/8/06

Lindsey Collins

Just wanting to hear about how today's race in San Jose went. I didn't go because of what is quite possibly the lamest bike accident in all history. I just finished a great ride on my cross bike up on the campus trails and was stopping at the light at the bottom of campus, when my girlfriend Lara tipped into me on her bike. My knee took all the impact, and today it doesn't like to bend very much. Please feel free to harass Lara about her clipping out problems at the next race.

I remember something about getting fined in Swiss Francs for stupid bike tricks—I think this might set me back a few.

Whiskeytown 9 to 5, 10/7/06

Daniel Henderson

I raced hard and felt good. I prepared the night before the race by pre-filling water bottles and making a couple of sandwiches. My goal this race was to finish well and get my pit times down to about a minute by eating while riding. Even with the time I gained I still lost by a whole lap to Matt and his friend Jim. These guys were totally crazed this race and they were riding like maniacs for 8 hours straight. Jim even beat all the teams there too. I had a good battle going with a guy from Soulcraft for a couple of laps, but he popped about 6 hours into the race and I knew that I had at least sealed third. 72 miles total.

For the series I finished 1st overall, but more importantly I feel like I learned a lot more about competing in long races. Total 397 miles on a 34:18 gear ratio, some of the best trail I've ever ridden, and some of the sweetest people I've ever met.

Central Coast Cyclocross #2, East Garrison, Fort Ord, 10/1/06

Mike Evans

Unfortunately, this will be the last bicycle race of any type at the building/church area of the East Garrison at Fort Ord. This is pretty sad as Keith and Rod have put on some really fine races here over the years. The East Garrison, with it chaparral and oak forest, will be leveled to put in (I believe) 2,000 to 3,000 new houses.

For the second night in a row I had no sleep and when I arrived at the course I was a grumpy jerk! So if I snarled at you I apologize! After setting up the team compound I eventually suited up and went to check out the course. This course was little different than previous years, but still incorporated the long paved straight and fast singletrack in the back. In fact this was a very fast course. I could leave it in the big ring for the whole race. While lining up for the start I wondered what I was doing there as I all I really wanted to do was take a nap. As soon as the whistle sounded I forgot about being tired and sleepy and had a great start and in fact for the first four laps I was feeling great! I was having a fun little battle with the two guys from the LGBRC, but on lap five I blew. For one lap I staggered around the course until I recovered, making many silly little mistakes in the meantime. For the next two laps, with nobody in my class in sight, I set my sights on teammate Ray Mendoza, who started in the class in front of me. I was slowly reeling in Ray, but the race ended before I could catch him.

I just couldn't bear the thought of doing the singlespeed race as well and packed it in. My original plan of doing six races in eight days came short by one. I'm very sore and brutally tired and I will take it very easy for the next week.

Central Coast Cyclocross #2, Fort Ord, 10/1/06

Karen Kefauver

Where: Seaside, East Garrison entrance

Wearing: Team SC kit for the first time. Borrowed shorts and jersey from Norman

Why: So I could avoid the nonstop barrage of "Where's your kit? " that I endured at Race 1, last Sunday and to enjoy my $10 team discount. Thanks!

Race Strategy: Tried to relax and let Norman's good race "juju" emanate from his clothing.

Mike Evan's Suggested Race Strategy for me: Smile less and race harder! :)

Race report: Great start charging uphill, fantastic sprint finish trying to catch Julie Brothers, and oh yes, some stuff happened in between: lost my chain, lost my balance and went down hard on the off cambre section where the trail split in a "V" in the dirt. But enjoyed myself and overcame strong desire to quit after lap 2 to go eat pumpkin pie that was in our tent.

The Winners: Team SC rocks! This is only my second race as a Team SC member and I am really enjoying being part of our local team. Thanks for setting up the Team SC tent. Thanks esp. to Mike Evans, Grant and David for keeping track of my water bottles and Team SC fashion statement. Winona, I missed seeing you in the race, but you are a great cheerleader. It's fun having Maya and Cooper at the scene. Simone and Mike, welcome back to town. Ladies, looking good out there! Lindsay, what a great way to comeback to cross: with a victory in the Women's Cs. Congrats to all.

Had fun there and see you all next Sunday!

Welsh Cyclo-Cross Series Race 1, 10/1/06

Alex Anderson

With my impending move to the UK I figured I should dive into the local racing series as soon as possible. I had no idea what to expect only that I knew from my few mates in the UK that I could expect "real" cyclocross weather (meaning that mud was guaranteed and ice or snow as the season wore on). I knew I was in for a good introduction when I heard the rain coming down when I went to sleep Saturday night and woke up to a steady rain with occasional thunder Sunday morning.

The venue was in a park in South Wales near the town of Tredegar. Interestingly the park was situated on the site of an open-pit coal mine that had been restored like many in the area after the demise of the industry in the 1980's. Luck shined on me when I got to the race and I had a full hour of dry weather to change out the 2.1" tires on my single-speed mountain bike (I left my CX bike in Santa Cruz in the hope of racing Surf City #1) to some narrow 1.5's and also change my rear cog from an 18 to a 15.

In the parking lot I met a few of the blokes in the Veterans division who would be racing with me. Definitely a different scene than Santa Cruz with only about 1/2 the riders on 'cross bikes and the rest on mountain bikes. I had just enough time to ride 1/2 the course before we assembled for the start. Under 12's, Youths and Novice Women raced earlier in the day. Juniors, Women, Seniors and Vets would all start at the same time—no staggered start. Also no ability categories in this series—no A's, B's and C's. It looked like about 40–50 people with maybe 5 or 6 women in the group.

The start was up a paved road for about 100 meters then quickly into a sloppy, rutted downhill with a sharp uphill off-camber section at the bottom. This rapidly sorted out the riders as a few went down hard in the mud at the bottom of the hill. At the start, I jumped to the middle of the pack from the rear position where the vets started but lost my chain at the bottom of the mucky downhill. Not a promising debut and I would lose my chain 3 or 4 more times over the course of the race. This made for a "competitive" race for me as I would pass the same 5 or 6 riders after getting my chain back on then see them go by as I cursed at my drivetrain. I repeated this over the course of the 50 minute race and ended up finishing 30th out of 41 finishers.

Odd thing about this race was that there were no barriers and no run-ups on the course—I'm sure Mike Evans would have imposed a 5000 Swiss franc fine on the organizers if he had been there. It's possible the organizers figured the two 50-meter sections of 3–4" deep mud was sufficient challenge—I didn't complain!

With ten races over the season in South Wales I'll have plenty of challenges. With Bristol and Glouchester, England less than an hour away, the West England series has as many races and I'll race a few of those to see how the scene compares. Results and other races are posted.

Team DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclo Cross Dress Series, San Francisco, Race #4, San Francisco, 9/30/06

Mike Evans

For some inexplicable reason, I had insomnia on Friday night and barely slept two hours. When I awoke early to go to the last race in the Team DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclo Cross-Dress Race Series at Golden Gate Park, I was a complete zombie! I knew this didn't bode well for me and I was right. I crashed five times and dropped my chain four times! Until this race I haven't dropped a chain all year. The last the crash was very nice, as I hooked my pedal on a log and was flipped over the bars, racking my shin in the process. The start of this race was hilarious, as about 50 people tried at once to go from the pavement to the dirt in a space that maybe was two riders wide. The resulting log jam had riders from behind busting through bushes on either side of the course. My handle bar hooked the guy next to me as we ran away from the carnage and we had to spend a moment detaching from each other. There was some character in a dress on an old Schwinn girl's bike who positively railed the thing! I know this from a first-hand account as I was behind this guy for a couple of laps; every time I went to pass him, I would inflict something terrible upon myself. Half way through the race I had enough. It was obvious that I had no flow or finesse so I put it on cruise control and rode to the finish. I very glad when this race was over!

Team DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclo Cross Dress #3, 9/27/06

Mike Evans

"Spectacularly unmotivated" would sum up my Wednesday to a tee. My phone starting ringing as I was driving to the rendezvous spot for carpooling to Team DFL race # 3 at Crocker Amazon Park in SF. Teammate after teammate reported that they were bailing for various reasons. I decided after the last call that if nobody showed up I would go home for a long ride (nap) on my couch. Just as I was about to give up and drive home, teammate Jeff Bronack appeared, so we loaded my car and hit the road.

When we arrived the first thing I noticed was there were no course markings on the East or South side of the park. After suiting up, I walked over to Dylan asked him where the course was. He pointed towards a gap between the skateboard park and the soccer field. I hoped on my bike rolled out in that direction and the first thing I encountered was a very long staircase; 52 steps to be exact with an arrow at the bottom pointing up it. "Bugger, this is going to be fun!' I thought to myself facetiously. There were a couple of other hard sections; in particular the climb up to Start/ Finish line, but in most cases there was a long downhill after these on which to recover. It felt a lot like doing hill repeats.

After the start of the race I promptly launched myself to the back of the pack. I was still too tired from Sunday's two-race effort and just tried to ride a tolerable pace until the end. This was my third cross race in four days and I plan on doing three more this weekend. Eating heaps of food and taking naps are sounding better and better to me all the time!!

Central Coast Cyclocross #1, Prunedale, 09/26/06

Mike Evans

The 2006 cyclocross season officially began with the first race of the Central Coast Cyclocross Series at Manzanita Park, Prunedale. I had a lot of apprehension coming into this race as the combination of two DFL races and a particularly hard Saturday ride in Santa Cruz, combined with several weeks of hard riding, had sent me over the edge. All week I had been extremely tired and very sore. I had even slept through my alarm a couple of times. I laid pretty low before this event and prayed my legs would feel better!

Team director and dictator for life David Gill, along with new teammate Katie London, hopped into my van which was loaded to the gills at 7:00am and headed to the course. The first thing we did was disgorge the van and set up camp for the team.

I suited up and went and checked out the course. I really like this course, but soon I was wondering which set of tires to run: file tread or knobbies? After several laps of swapping wheel sets and messing with tire pressures, I settled on the file tread. I knew I would be a little loose on some of the high speed turns, but I thought it would more than make up for it on the pavement and the long dirt straights. This is a decision I would soon regret!

Master 45+ A

I got a good spot on the line and had a nice start, but faded a little bit by the top of the hill. For the next couple of laps I held my position, but I was sliding all over the place. I then crashed over the bars at the 180 turn that dropped onto the baseball field. I got up very quickly, but decided right then and there I would swap bikes for my singlespeed with knobby tires. It soon became apparent that the singlespeed was much slower than my geared bike and I would have to swap back. The next time around the pits, I asked my teammates to swap the wheels on my geared bike. Next time around I came into the pits and had what I would consider to be a perfect bike exchange except for one thing; the chain wasn't on the front ring! After all of this I still felt pretty good and was able to keep pushing, but I failed in my goal of not being lapped.

After the race I put as much fluid back into body as possible, as it was very hot and I didn't want to cramp in my next race. I took the fact that I had to take a leak before start of the singlespeed race as a good sign.

Singlespeed

While on the climb, my legs let me know right away after the start just how unhappy they were, but by the end of the first lap I felt much better and was able to push the pedals quite well. My teammate Eric Thunstrom was dangling in front of me for the next three or four laps, but I just couldn't close the gap. On the fifth lap I blew very hard and went into survival mode for the remainder of the race. I guess the combination of the first race and the heat got to me. After the race I felt completely cooked, but I'm happy to report I had no problems with cramping as I have had in previous years. I have been taking lots of supplements, drinking lots of mineral water and it seems to be working; knock on wood!

Team DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclo Cross Dress #1, San Francisco, 9/13/06

Mike Evans

I'm Back!

I finally got to do my first race since my bad crash at the Surf City Halloween race last October. After that race I had water on my left knee for 2 months and I still have nerve damage there as well. To top it all off I then got tendonitis in both of my knees over the winter so bad I couldn't sit longer than 30 minutes without being in excruciating pain. With all of the pain and injuries over with I got to ride a lot this summer and made good progress towards my ultimate goal: the cyclocross season!

Teammates Winona H. Simone M. Alex A. Troy B. Larry M. David H. David G. and myself met at Big J's on the Westside so we could carpool up the first Team DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclo Cross Dress race of the year. To say I was excited would have been an understatement. I was literally bouncing off of the walls inside the car by the time we made the long drive up to Golden Gate Park. Unfortunately we arrived very late and we barely had time to pin our numbers on before they lined us up for the start. "Oh great," I thought to myself, "no warm up and I have no idea where I will be going." Having no warm up was bad enough, but not knowing the course would be worse as I wouldn't know any of the fast lines or what gear to be in. Team DFL leader Dylan uttered a few words to us, something about not running him over and that he would count down from 3. He yelled 3 and before he could say 2, the pack, almost exactly 100 of us, took off like a bunch of frightened cattle!

I thought I slotted into the start well, but Larry, who was to my left, seemed to find a crease in the masses and shot ahead. Without any warm up, I concentrated on not going out to hard initially as I was afraid of immediately blowing up. Larry, on the other hand, put the pedal down and soon I couldn't even see him. Any thought of getting lost on this awesomely sandy and root-strewn course was immediately put to bed as the first couple of laps were nose-to-tail riders playing follow the leader.

Somewhere in the middle of the second lap Larry came back into view as if he was going backwards. I soon passed him like he had thrown out his anchor. Larry had completely blown and I never saw him again. At exactly 27:53 into the race I started to blow as well. I glanced at my HRM and saw 184 (I avg. 175bpm for the race) and immediately throttled back for almost a full lap. After I had recovered, I started having fun with this course as I became more familiar with it. I must say that Team DFL always seems to lay out nice courses and this was no exception. There were barely any spots to rest as this course had many undulations, numerous dismounts and runs, plus one long steep run up that really started to kick my ass in the last half of the race.

In all of the confusion before the start, I completely lost track of teammate and arch rival David Gill. I was totally convinced that David had lined up behind and throughout the entire race I keep glancing over my shoulder trying to spy him so he didn't lay a sneak attach on me. At the end of the race I thought I had finally beat David in a cross race! Imagine my dismay when I saw David standing after the finish line already done! Apparently in all of the confusion just before the start, David has weaseled a spot on the first row and managed to avoid all of the bottlenecks that happen behind the first 10 or 20 riders and was launched. Bugger

Team DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclo Cross Dress #1, 9/13/06

Winona Hubbard

Race was brutal. Basically, everything I worked on fell apart. No decent re or dismounts. Wore too many clothes—hot! Shoes came off on sandy hill climbs. Felt like retching. Not in the right kind of shape. Need to do sprints. Got there late. Noooo warm up what-so-ever. Joined the back of the pack as they were taking off! To go from sitting in a car for 1-1/2 hours (with a burrito in my tummy) to sprinting was horrible. Cross is boss!

On the upside: lots of guys in sexy dresses. (Anyone who cross dressed got in free). Troy looked HOT in his pink negligee. Especially loved the ruffled panties. Temptress Alex was fetching in his ensemble of see through top w/ his wife's mini skirt. Incriminating photos to follow. Mikes, Jeff's, David's, Larry's and Mark's? macho egos were too fragile for cross dressing. Cowards! Thanks for the support Simone!

Ron RileyTeam Big Bear State XC Series Race #7, Elings Park, Santa Barbara, 9/9/06

Ron Riley

What old guys do on a saturday morning

Our four hour drive from Aptos to Santa Barbara on Friday was the maiden bike race trip in our new Honda FIT. With my Specialized Epic's front wheel removed and the bars turned backwards, it fit behind the front seats nicely. The rear seats of the FIT fold down and form a huge cargo space. The 1.5 liter engine had no trouble maintaining the 70 MPH speed limit found on much of Hwy 101.

After four hours behind the wheel I was ready for an easy pre-ride of the course that had beat me up pretty good back in June. I found the steep downhill switch backs that had done me in then to be even nastier with big breaking bumps, deep ruts and loose powder – gulp! The Saturday 11o'clock start was under overcast skies and mild temps – a BIG difference from June's 90 degrees + scorcher.

The Elings XC course is a mix of paved and unpaved roads and single track that ascends and descends a 700' "hill" once each four and a half mile lap. I escaped my one crash with just a dirty backside. Harriet took care of my hydration by handing up my water bottles at the start/finish line each lap. I had a good day, was able to avoid any major problems and beat my one challenger to win the 65+ Sport category. My time was 1:52 for three laps. After I washed off some of the grime, we had some delicious tri-tip sandwiches from the on-site caterers. A couple of New Belgium beers from the beer tent topped off the "recovery" requirements. At 3 o'clock, after the awards presentation, we headed for Aptos.

University Road Race, UCSC Campus, Santa Cruz, 8/27/06

Dennis Pedersen

A Cautionary Tale

The University Road Race and the San Ardo Road Race are part of the "2006 California Cup" race series put on by Velo Promo. But since they were both on the same weekend I really couldn't see myself racing both of them. The University race would be 10 or 14 laps of a 3-mile road course up a long, steady climb on Hagar Road (with a nasty steep section or two), right on McLaughlin and downhill to Coolidge. I had originally decided to race the San Ardo Road Race on Saturday the 26th, upon the advice of Larry Morin, Larry Broberg and Scott Martin. With 2 or 3 laps on a nice, mostly flat, 22-mile course with a few rolling hills, it sounded like a great way to finish up my season. The only downside was the long drive down Highway 101, while University was within easy bike-riding distance for me. But when Matt Wocasek called me and said he was going to San Ardo too, I was settled.

The Thursday night before the race, though, I slept poorly and was tired all day Friday at work. The idea of having to get ready that night, then get up at 4:00 a.m. was totally unappealing! Yeah, I do this for fun, not as self-punishment. I think. So I called Matt and Larry B and told them I'd cancelled. If I felt better later I'd race University on Sunday the 27th. The Velo Promo web site actually had a list of pre-registered riders this time, and I saw that the field was only about 2/3 full, so I'd likely have no trouble entering on race day.

Sunday morning I woke up at a pretty reasonable time: 7:00 a.m... a big improvement. And since I felt pretty rested I went ahead and ate my usual huge breakfast, packed my backpack, dressed in my team uniform and pedalled off to the UCSC campus. It was gray and damp, but not too cold. The further up the hill I rode the more damp it was, and my legs didn't feel all that strong either. Still, I've learned that some days I can feel mediocre at first but feel strong during the race, as was the case at Coyote Creek.

Unfortunately I discovered that others had the same idea as I did, and when I went to register I was told the Master 45+ race field was full! But they reassured me that since I was first on the waiting list I'd have no trouble getting in. So I waited around while the previous Master 35+ 4/5 race finished. I spotted Martin Wolff and Scott grunting along, with the whole peloton fractured into individual riders and small groups. Doug Smith was spectating for a while, and was riding his cyclocross bike around. He told me the fog was already gone just a mile away from us, so I decided to ditch my arm- and leg-warmers before the race.

15 minutes before my 10:30 start time I was back and got signed up! I then quickly prepared myself for the race, and was lucky that Larry B's wife, Priscilla, could help me get my number on and stow my backpack. Mark Edwards and Larry B, both of Bicycle Trip, and Chris Cerruti of Giant Strawberries were also racing in my group, so I was happy of that. Scott had just finished in the 35+ 4/5 race, so he could cheer us on with Priscilla and Mark's wife Margaret, as well as a few other friendlies. I told Mark I just wanted to see how long it would take before I got lapped, and he replied that he had no idea why he even entered this crazy race. I told him "at least we know the course" (from our hill repeats training before Pescadero) but he said maybe that wasn't a good thing. "Yeah, it might just demoralize us," I replied!

We were grouped with the Master 35+ 1/2/3 riders, and started 2 minutes after the Category 3 riders, so there were essentially three races on course at one time. Our group had numbers starting with 200, and they'd separate the 35+ 1/2/3 and 45+ racers later on in the results, and the Cat 3's numbers started at 400 so the scorers could tell us all apart on course. We were given a brief spiel by the starter, and were soon huffing and puffing up Hagar Road on our first lap. I was glad of the rest downhill on McLaughlin... that was not a good sign that early in the race. But it was still gray and cold, and the long drop made me shiver with chills.

The climb back up Hagar was hard! I couldn't believe the pace... well I could, but I didn't want to! These were the mutants from Patterson Pass all over again. Even Larry B was looking weak as we neared the peak at the end of it. I passed him, wondering if I should hang back instead, but he somehow dug deep and passed me just as we crested the hill. Mark and Chris were still in the main group about 100 feet ahead of us, but I could tell the gap was growing. At least I wasn't chilly any more.

The next two laps Larry slowly gapped me... I just couldn't do it. I was wheezing some, my legs were wooden, and my breath was coming in gasps. I was clearly not on the form I'd had at Pescadero and Coyote Creek, or the course didn't favor me, but I hoped I could hang in there long enough. As in Scott's race we were spread out all over the course. All I could do was team up with a few other guys and try to minimize the damage, and Larry did likewise.

At the end of my third full lap a smiling guy by the scoring awning said "flat tire" to me. Huh? I looked: my tires were fine! "What?" I asked. "Please retire." Huh??? "Why?" I asked. "Because you're 2 minutes back from the leaders," he said. I was a little puzzled, and deflated. I was clearly having a really bad day, and I coasted to a stop by the spectator's area.

As I mulled things over I was joined by some other pulled riders and Scott. We were a little sheepish, and not too happy either. Scott said I should just keep going, but I knew it was pointless, and I am too obedient anyway. The next lap more riders were past the 2-minute cutoff and also got pulled. Larry was one of the guys asked to retire, but unlike me he just ignored them and kept riding, as did some other riders. It was sort of a civil disobedience demonstration! It sucks to pay $30, then suffer for it, then get told that you, well, suck!

Each lap more and more riders were pulled. Larry finally pulled out, but not before giving the guy a piece of his mind! Mark and Chris did well, but eventually they too got pulled. Mark said his laps were a fast 7-1/2 minutes, which was a good speed, but that was still not enough? We all just stood around shaking our heads, not knowing what to do next. The leaders from our Master's race were so fast they caught up to, and then passed, the leaders from the Cat 3 race that had started 2 minutes ahead of us! But the vast majority were flirting with the 2-minute cutoff, including none other than National Master Champion Larry Nolan. Somehow none of us thought he'd get pulled, and even though he did miss the cutoff we were proven right. That's not too cool.

It would have been nice if we could have been allowed to ride so we could get our money's worth. Larry B felt they could have just crossed out our numbers instead. But no. Instead I had to ride around town for an extra hour just to burn off all those calories from my breakfast! I still felt kind of lethargic, and the next day I came down with a cold.

On a happier note, Eric Clarkson managed to sign up on race day too, and finished with an awesome 3rd place in the Cat 4/5 race! Way to go Eric! Only 27 of the 60 riders finished with him—we're very lucky to have him on our team. And Matt finished 25th at the San Ardo race. Cool! Wish I'd been there instead.

When the results were posted I saw that only 6 riders had finished in my race. Yes, six! Clearly Velo Promo can't expect many people to sign up for this race next year if they don't change how they conduct the race. I know I won't.

Ending my season with a whimper!

12 Hours of Willamette Pass

Daniel Henderson

I arrived at the race in central Oregon a day early to pre-ride and when I saw Matt's car in the parking lot I knew I had my work cut out for me. This course was also beautiful, with a rough and steep climb up the front of a ski resort and a long singletrack descent down the back. I ended up coming in second behind Matt, who raced hard and had really strong descents. I completed 111 miles but felt uncomfortable coming in second. They were running a 24 hour race at the same time and the next morning after getting a good 8 hours of sleep, I woke up to watch a woman from Roaring Mouse complete her final lap with a bloody nose from a crash. It was very magical and inspiring.

12 Hours of 5th Avenue, Santa Cruz, 8/19/06

Chris Pearson

We decided in advance I would be Road Pussy #2, so I rode on over to 5th Ave. after a nutritious, mid-glycemic index breakfast of cheerios, almond butter toast, and OJ (sorry Dennis, I could not resist), arriving at 7:50am. I dropped off my backpack of spare clothes and food/beverages and did some light stretching and general preparations. All too soon, Dennis came tearing in and breathlessly handed me our route map and I was off!

My first excitement was nearly getting hit by a pick-up truck and locking up the brakes two blocks from the start just before dropping onto Lake. That got the adrenaline flowing. I managed to stay out of trouble on the rest of the paved section. I was tempted to run the light crossing a largely deserted Hwy 1, but a CHP car waiting opposite on River discouraged me. Then up on to the tracks, I rode by a few surprised homeless people and made my way to the singletrack. I got into a nice rhythm twisting uphill and soon enough made it to the top.

I'm really glad we had the pre-ride on Tuesday, as I would have been totally lost otherwise. Even with the pre-ride and the course markings (thank you volunteers!), I still had to stop several times to consult the route map winding through UCSC. However, I enjoyed the singletrack though I was not able to go very fast, and even managed to clear all of the log jumps. I crossed Empire Grade to Gray Whale, then cruised down the gravel path making sure I did not overshoot the LH turnoff to the Ribbon Trail like I did during the pre-ride. About halfway down my friend Credence, who was riding solo (nut job), caught me, so we rode together for around 15 minutes and chatted.

Then as he screamed down the rutty bit leading down to Old Cabin trail, my second water bottle shook itself free and ejected onto the trail. I slowed to stay in control; and a gap formed between us. About halfway down Old Cabin, I was again passed by Kazim and another rider, but caught them and Creedence on the climb out. Unfortunately, I had to stop almost at the top as I nearly collided with two riders coming in the opposite direction—again a gap formed, and alas I did not catch up to the racers who passed me.

Except for a low speed fall on the rocky strech before the kilns, I negotiated Wilder OK, and was psyched to hit the paved part back to down. I dropped into TT position (or as best I could on my mountain bike) and hammered back to 5th Avenue and was happy to see Larry Morin (Road Pussy #3) ready to roll as I arrived on the line. By my watch, first lap = 2:07; not too bad, I felt, for a Road Pussy.

I hung out at Mike's house eating and drinking and meeting people in the club while Larry and Dennis cranked out two great laps between them. I emerged from the port-a-pot around 2:15 just as Dennis finished his awesome second lap, and I was off for my own Part Deux. Climbing up Uconn proved more difficult this time as I started cramping in my legs every time I got out of the saddle, so I concentrated on spinning smoothly while seated. Lap two was uneventful and peaceful as I did not see any 12-hour racers and only a few recreational riders. I got into the nice flow you achieve while totally concentrating on the trail ahead, and soon enough made it down to Hwy 1.

I definitely appreciated the considerable tailwind riding back to town, and thought I was going to better my first lap time. Came close, arriving at 2:07 again—I'm not particularly fast, but I guess I'm consistent. While Larry motored off for lap 6, I happily sat down having survived my first MTB event! Thanks to my team mates, the whole thing was a blast and I'm glad for the experience. Kudos to Mike and club and volunteers for making it happen 9 years in a row!

Watsonville Criterium, 7/22/06

Dennis Pedersen

I love this race, so it was definitely on my list of races to enter this year. Last year David Gill warned me about the 35+/45+ race at Watsonville, making it clear that it had a very fast group of riders. Back then I made sure to race in the Category 5 race instead. That worked out well.

But this year, I felt confident that I'd be able to hang with the old guys because I'd already raced successfully with them several times. Ergo, I pre-registered as a 45+ rider. But our newest member, Chris Pearson who we "stole" from LGBRC, wanted to race in the Category 4 race, so I decided to race that one too if I felt good enough during warmup. Also, Eric Clarkson wanted to race the Cat 5s, and I thought it would be nice to show up and watch him.

When I arrived it looked like Eric's race's field had already been whittled down, but he was looking strong in a breakaway. Eric had been forced to bridge up to this good-sized break, so he was too tired to really contest the finish. Even so he finished 4th. Good job Eric! Now we just need to get him to wear a Team Santa Cruz jersey instead of his old UCSC duds!

The latest heat wave had even affected mild Watsonville; when I got there the temperatures varied between 84 and 92 so there was little reason for me to warm up. I just pedalled around a little and tried to keep cool. I felt pretty good though (maybe it was because of my huge breakfast!), so I went ahead and signed up for the Cat 4 race after checking to make sure Chris had signed up. While I wandered around I met David who was helping run the event. He sure is hard working. I also saw Robbie Abundis riding around on his brand new Trek. It turned out he was also racing in Cat 4. So with him and Chris I'd be in good company!

Category 4 Race

We were scheduled to race for 24 laps in about 45 minutes. When I lined up for the start I saw that the field was huge; 66 riders! Chris, Robbie and I lined up and listened to the starter's spiel, and I looked around for other familiar faces. Martin Wolff of Newman's Own was there, as was Doug McKenzie of Fightin' Bobas who I met the previous weekend and remembered from Pescadero. Soon we were off and running... er, riding! I had a little trouble clicking into Brij's loaner pedals (operator error... but my pedals are broken), so I lost some positions to that. But I rarely feel any need to be up front so soon, so I didn't care. That turned out to be a costly mistake, because the peloton just raced off like banshees. Soon we were stretched out in a long group snaking through the numerous turns (read my race report from last year for a course description).

When the pace is high, especially on a tight course like this one is in places, moving forward in the group is even harder because you have to ride really hard out in the wind; there are no wheels to follow. The only place where passing was easier was in certain turns or in the climb. But that meant I got very few breaks. And it's really disruptive to the peloton when riders try to pass in the turns. Most guys pass on the inside; that forces everybody else to swing wider, or risk squeezing the passer against the gutter on the inside. Dangerous either way. Later in the race several guys went wide in a turn, maybe for that very reason as several riders were trying to pass in the turns, where the race organizers had failed to move a parked pickup. Slam! Right into the rear fender! I think three guys went down just ahead of me, and I barely squeezed by them without running them over. Eek!

This course really demands that you be up front to avoid the usual yo-yo effect that comes from being at the back of the peloton. But since I was near the middle I did a lot of braking and accelerating through the turns due to the nature of the course. My friend Chris Tanner has tried to teach me his energy-conserving tricks which pretty much involve not using your brakes, but it was impossible here. So, I spent a lot of energy trying to pass people and dealing with the yo-yo effect. With the heat and exertion my skinsuit was soon drenched in sweat, but even so I felt pretty good. Chris did not, however, and he dropped out rather than waste energy hurting himself. On the plus side that meant that he could cheer me on from the sidewalk with his family... thanks! Mark Edwards and Scott Martin were also there and added their own voices. There was also a huge family who had set up chairs in the shade of their front yard to watch, and other smaller groups of residents who came out to watch. Cool!

With about six laps remaining one rider from San Jose Bicycle Club somehow managed to break off the front of the peloton and solo off by himself. He was quickly followed by another guy who promptly drafted him for the rest of the race without taking any turns at the front. Classic wheel-sucker! I noticed this happen, and also noticed a second SJBC rider was at the front of the peloton and allowing the gap to grow... suspicious. I called out "go around him, he's blocking!" But this had no effect and they were able to stay away. Darn.

On the last lap the pace went up slightly, but since we were already flying it wasn't as obvious as usual. I had managed to move closer to the front to maybe 20-something-th or so. As we sped through the last turn and started the climb up to the finish line I was surprised to find that I was actually able to sprint! Woo-hoo! I managed to pass quite a few riders by weaving through the tired masses and staying to the right. I even thought I might be good for a top-10 finish, but finished 14th out of 60 finishers. Robbie got 9th! I found that I'd averaged 179 bpm, which is a huge effort, and maxed out at 196 bpm, burning 728 calories in this short, 45-minute race!

After the cool-down lap I had to quickly slam a bottle of GatorAde to rehydrate and get ready for the Masters race. I only had about 20 minutes. I spent most of my break yacking with Eric. Suddenly I noticed they were staging for the Masters race, so I quickly got Eric to pin on my next race number and lined up for more pain.

Masters 35+/45+

This race's field was fairly big, but somewhat smaller at 47 riders. Michael Hernandez of Safeway/GA was there (which made me fearful of the pace we'd be setting!), Steve Hess of Bicycle Trip, and Mark Patten, Martin and Larry Hampton of Newman's Own were there, several Morgan Stanley riders, plus the other usuals.

Yes, I was right to be apprehensive; the pace was every bit as fast as my first race! In fact, Mark and Scott timed our laps and said we were 15 seconds per lap faster... just what I needed! This time the whole peloton was strung out in pretty much single-file all around the short course! Ugh. I was hanging in there, again in the middle, wondering how I allowed myself to forget to stay nearer the front.

I thought there'd be some slower laps, as often happens in Masters races, but I didn't notice any, and was I ever looking! That was maybe because a group of about six riders had broken away and were just tearing up the race without mercy. They seemed to all be in the 35+ race, so our main peloton was probably going hard because of the fast 45+ riders in there. I know the Newman's Own riders were all still in my group.

About 22 minutes into the race the guy in front of me suddenly sat up in exhaustion, in the twisty area of the course, and before I could get around him to chase back on the gap to the peloton had grown to almost half a block. Oh no; the beginning of the end for me it turned out! I wish he had sat up somewhere where passing was easier, or had pulled away more cleanly.

I chased the peloton by myself for three laps, folks, pretty much maxing myself out, and that gap didn't get one inch smaller! I kept thinking the pace would drop for a few seconds and I'd be able to catch up, but this race was like a time trial. No letup! And there was also that break still off the front for everybody to worry about. I wasn't sure there weren't any 45+ riders in the break, so catching the peloton wouldn't have been enough, I'd have to bridge up to the break to be in contention. This wasn't motivating enough for me. OK, I confess: I sat up and coasted back to my car. My first DNF ever!

Standing in the shade, drinking water and talking with Mark and Scott was much more pleasant, and we watched the break build their lead to at least half a lap. I started wondering if they'd lap the peloton. It would have been funny to see the whole peloton get pulled from the race! On the last lap one of the guys in the break slipped in the last turn and crashed in front of us. But because their lead was so big he didn't lose his position to anybody in the peloton, even though he staggered back onto his bike and pedalled very slowly up the hill to finish! Michael Hernandez won in 35+ and Mark Patten finished 2nd in 45+.

With the season starting to wind down I guess I am a little disappointed. I've worked so hard and have only one USCF road upgrade point, and 3rd- and 2nd-place cross-country medals to show for it. I don't know that I can make myself much faster, but I will put together a formal training and race schedule for next year that will hopefully allow me to do better. I wish it were as easy as buying a fancy bike, but choosing my parents more carefully would be a much better start! (Sorry mom and dad; it's not your fault!) Yet I have had a ton of fun and wouldn't trade that away. And positive things I've learned from racing have extended into the rest of my life. To even be in contention at all is pretty cool for a guy who always lagged when we ran laps in high school. I'll be back!

12 Hours of Humboldt, 7/15/06

Daniel Henderson

My friend Curt and I got about 4 hours of sleep on the side of the highway the night before the race because we couldn't find a cheap hotel anywhere near the venue. I woke up and didn't even know if I would be able to finish. At the start I met another singlespeeder named Matt from Team Nots and found out that this was his first endurance race. I also met a woman named Linda on a singlespeed as well. I became good friends with these two through the series, and Matt and I also became good rivals as well. This course was tough but it suited me well—steep climbs and smooth descents. I finished much better than I expected, winning the race overall with Matt behind me by about 20 minutes. In total, 113 miles and 22,000 feet of climbing.

Cougar Mountain Classic Supercuts Road Circuit Race, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, 7/15/06

Dennis Pedersen

I attempted to race the cross-country mountain-bike race in this cycling event in it's inaugural year of 2004, but failed to make it to the start line in time for my race start. Long story why, having to do with them not posting or announcing start times in advance, and more. I also didn't care much for the course. Because of this I had some negative attitudes towards it, and decided not to race there again, ever. Well, maybe not the cross-country, but perhaps the road races would be more suitable? I missed the Sea Otter completely this year, and this would be a nice substitute. I decided to chance it, and my wife and I decided to drive up on Friday after work, spend the night in Novato, then have me race in the Road Circuit Race's Masters 45+ 4/5 category the next morning at 9:47. I didn't decide to go until it was too late to pre-register, but the field limit of 100 riders was only up to 23 when I checked so it seemed like a safe bet I'd be able to register to race that same morning. Afterwards we'd hang out, then go wine-tasting and have a nice early dinner in Napa Valley before heading home.

The drive up on Friday was really nice, and we stopped in Sausalito for dinner at Scoma's and a little shopping. Our motel room turned out to be a smoking room, but they were overbooked already so we couldn't get it moved. Yuck.

On race morning I ate my own food, as I didn't want to worry about finding a decent race-day breakfast while travelling. I had raw oatmeal with milk, molasses and a banana, and orange juice, some energy drink and coffee. I also brought some recovery food for after the race, and some other munchies.

The nice sunny weather of Friday had changed to marine-layer fog, but it was pretty mild when we arrived at the raceway. We ended up parking in a dirt area, but we discovered later that we could have parked in the paved area behind the grandstands. Oh well. But Margaret was very happy to see that the grandstands had excellent restrooms instead of Porta-Potties!

I had tried to get others to go to the race with me. Scott Martin did sign up up for the Expert Men 45–49 cross-country (got 16th), but nobody else I know went. Scott and we ended up not carpooling—he wanted to drive up on Saturday morning—or even seeing each other. Oh well. I did see Larry Hibbard there briefly, though I couldn't find him in the results so I don't know where he finished.

This event really feels a lot like the kid brother of the Sea Otter Classic, though how they can call a race only three years old a "Classic" is puzzling. In any case they have tons of races, and this year it was also the NORBA National Championships because Mammoth Mountain down south, the original venue, was still snowed in after our crazy winter. We saw tons of downhillers, and their course was fully visible as it snaked down the huge hill above us. An occasional cloud of dust signalled the more aggressive riders, and sometimes we saw riders catch huge air on a double jump. The huge venue really dwarfed the crowds though, and it seemed like everybody was an entrant rather than a spectator.

The course was a treat: We used the famous road-racing course as used by the Indy Racing League, including the crazy "corkscrew," but with the extra loop in turn 11 used by NASCAR. A full 2.5 miles per lap, and we'd be racing on it for 90 minutes. It's very smooth, of course, but also has some pretty steep climbs, including "The Wall" that starts right after turn 1, similar to the wall on the Cat's Hill course. But I estimate the Infineon Raceway's wall to be only about a 12% average grade (using this course profile) vs. the Cat's Hill wall's 23%. But it sure felt like more during the race.. way more! I suspect it was because the climb is much longer than Cat's Hill's; about 950 feet long vs. only about 300 feet long. It was certainly tougher than I'd expected, and I would have eaten a bigger breakfast had I known. No joke.

I didn't warm up much, as I never seem to need it, so I was pretty well rested when I pulled up to the start line. They had a very nice podium and timing equipment, and even pace cars like in a road race, so I could see what the high $30 entry fee (plus $10 for parking, plus the $10 late fee) was paying for! Plus I'm sure renting the course for a weekend wasn't cheap. The small field was around 30 riders at most, and I only recognized a couple from the Pescadero Road Race, with a few teams like Morgan Stanley. One guy from Peninsula Velo asked me if I really was 45 years old... I liked him immediately! But nobody is more surprised than I am when I say "yes!"

We started a couple of minutes after the 35+ 4/5 race, and set a nice easy old-man's pace for a couple of laps. Well, except for the wall which took lots of effort just to keep from falling over. The wall started in turn 1, then went under a bridge to turn 2. The course then flattened out slightly in turn 3, then back up steeply through turn 3a for a second mini-wall. I stayed in my 39x23 gear the first few times, but after a while I was very glad to have the 30x23 as an option! The downhill through turns 4 and 5 was pretty fast, but the screaming turn 6 had us over 43 mph! Then it was a gentle up and down back to the start/finish area with only the wind being much of an issue. At the start/finish line Margaret cheered me on and took pictures every lap. I felt pretty darned good!

The two Alto Velo/Webcor riders in this race had a simple plan: Take turns soloing off the front. They both broke away a couple of times, but we didn't panic too much, though I did slowly pull the peloton up once or twice, just in case. I didn't have to use too much energy because the pace was mostly pretty reasonable.

A rider I remembered from Pescadero, by his odd breathing style, emulated the Alto Velo riders and also tried a couple of solo breaks, with the same result. He was pretty intense about it too. Most of the riders were pretty clean, though I did ask one guy to have a talk with his team-mate about his sloppiness.

I started to tire a little about 1:07 into the race. That's why I wish I had eaten a bigger breakfast; perhaps some yogurt and a little extra oatmeal. I didn't feel too bad, but I lost that extra "snap" that can make all of the difference. I had energy drink in both of my bottles, but it wasn't quite enough to keep me fresh.

So, the final lap approached, the speed went up, I had to dig a little deeper... the usual! But it wasn't until we got past the wall on the final lap that I realized I was getting really maxed out. I was still with the leaders at the front, but while they accelerated towards the mini-wall in turn 3a I just tried to collect myself a little. They really busted loose! I was still close behind them in turn 3a, but not close enough, and they even kept attacking down through the corkscrew. Whew!

The gap in front of me was widening, but somehow I was able to catch up to a Fightin' Bobas rider just before turn 7, and we worked together to try to catch the lead group. They, meanwhile, had split into a couple of chase groups who were all gapped by Steven Bobzien of CRC/Hill & Co., who I remembered from Pescadero as well. We just tried to bridge up to the three guys ahead of us so we could get top-10 finishes, while Steven was a sure thing for the race winner, finishing well ahead. The Fightin' Bobas guy and I flew towards the finish line, but couldn't quite catch the others, and he even managed to benefit from our timing to use me as a lead-out to out-sprint me with just a few feet to go. I got 11th out of the 17 finishers. Darn!

I averaged a 160 heart-rate with a maximum of 189, rode about 33 miles at an average of 21.5 mph, and burned 1569 calories during the 90 minutes we raced.

I had a lot of fun, and afterwards I was even treated to a complementary massage! There were also tons of displays in the expo area, including a Tour de France TV-viewing area with sofas which Margaret visited between my laps. Like I said, this was a big venue. The fog had burned off during the race, and temperatures were shooting up, so we took off for greener pastures. We had lunch at the Rutherford grill (steak and beer!), and a nice drive home with the AC on to fight off the 90+ degree heat.

Coyote Creek Criterium, San Jose, 7/8/06

Dennis Pedersen

Thursday evening, riding home from work, I felt so tired that I decided to drive to work on Friday. I wasn't bonking, but had no energy anyway. Plus, my trusty M2Racer "Orb" pedals were thrashed. Now I was using my Look-style pedals as a stopgap measure, and that morning the cleats popped out from the pedals twice while I was practicing sprints. Not good! I stopped by a bike shop on the way home to get new cleats, but the Look cleats they had didn't match my knockoffs exactly. Groan. Thankfully my friend Craig Thomas joined me on my commute and kept me from losing focus.

I was starting to think I should skip Monta Vista Velo's upcoming Coyote Creek Criterium. But that Saturday morning, at 4:45, I got up anyway, ate a splendid race-day breakfast, loaded up the car and drove over the hill. I knew Eric Clarkson, and Larry Broberg and Scott Martin of Bicycle Trip, would be racing and I wanted to at least be there to offer moral support.

When I arrived at the race venue, not too far from Hellyer Park and the Velodrome in south San Jose, I cautiously warmed up a little. Sometimes my legs will tell me right away whether I'm ready to rock or not and they didn't feel too bad. The weather was nice and clear, and felt to be in the low 60s. I was even wearing my brand-new Team Santa Cruz skinsuit, and boy was it comfortable. I love it! I then signed up, but discovered that I was $5 short... this race cost $30 which is a little more than most. Fortunately Larry loaned me the difference. That was actually just the first of several bloopers on my part.

After we warmed up on nearby streets we got a chance to pre-ride the course a little. It's a fairly basic business-park rectangle, but with curves on the two longer sides, and one of these sides went up and down a hill. The hill really wasn't that tough, supposedly 100 feet of climbing and I'd guess at a 5% grade, but I also knew that even a flat section can be tough if you're trying to stay with guys who are faster than you are. I was racing in the open 45+ race, so I was very likely to be in extreme pain!

While we were warming up Eric was getting busy ripping the legs off of his fellow Cat 5 racers. Way to go Eric!

"The race went well, there were two or three good climbers in the elite 5 race who pushed the pace every time up the climb and wore out most of the pack, and with a few attacks on the back stretch, the pack was slowing a bit and coming back together about halfway up the climb to the finish, and so I attacked there. To my suprise no one came out behind me, and I think that was just luck, I pushed all the way to the top with no response from the group and I took 1st! My first win! Looking foward to Watsonville."

At the start line we were told that 37 riders were lined up, including 5 in the 55+ race who would share the course with us. I spotted Mark Patten, with several of his Newman's Own teammates, among them, but not Rob Evans because he has an iliotibial band injury that's healing. There were several Morgan Stanley riders, one of whom I recognized from Patterson Pass and Pescadero and another who looked a little like Larry Nolan, National Masters Champion. But I finally decided it wasn't him, and told Scott so.

The race started out pretty slowly, on the climb, and I kept wondering when those middle-aged mutants would launch some attacks. I figured they'd start immediately, but the first couple of laps were pretty mellow. On one climb my cleat popped out of my pedal, and I cursed myself for not replacing them. I'd actually been told that the genuine Look cleats would work after all and had brought some along, but forgot to bring my tools. Duh. I had made a mental note to be gentle with my pedaling, but clearly that wasn't enough, and sprinting for a pizza prime or something was not an option. We had several prime sprints along the way, I think three.

I noticed a woman was also in our open race... that takes guts! But at one point she swerved to avoid a wheel in front of her and some guy cussed her out. She ended up dropping out, maybe from nerves. I felt really bad for her as she was clearly riding well otherwise and obviously had lots of courage.

On subsequent laps there were definitely attacks on the climb, and some half-hearted ones on the long stretch opposite into a headwind during prime laps, but I felt remarkably comfortable. I was consistently able to meet these attacks and never lost the peloton. On several laps I deliberately allowed a gap to form ahead of me towards the top of the climb, because I could tell that I would never have any trouble closing it on the descent. This allowed me to conserve energy for the insane attacks to come... if they came. I feel like nobody ever really launched an all-out attack like they did at Patterson Pass, but, like at Pescadero, it may be that I'm simply faster than I was then. My heart rate never went higher than 187 bpm.

After one prime I somehow found myself off the front on the climb, because the peloton was taking a breather from the sprint, and ended up pulling for a good part of a lap. This lap was actually also a prime lap, and I was third wheel with 200 meters to go. I decided to gingerly try for the prime, but as soon as I did my cleat popped out again. Argh. Some riders behind me freaked out, but I was in full control immediately and barely strayed from my line. Still, that's no fun, and I feel like I could have strongly contested that sprint. As the race progressed the attacks did become more ferocious, but I was still able to ride within my limits and never lost out.

I checked my clock at the 36-minute mark, and soon thereafter, or so it seemed, we had another prime lap. But this time everybody seemed to get really excited about it... I wondered what the prize was and if it was something worth trying for. It's embarrasing to admit it, but it turned out this was actually the last lap and they were sprinting for the finish line... I'm so lame! Even so I ended up in 11th place, only because I still worked hard to maintain my spot in the peloton, Scott took 13th, and Larry won the 55+ race! He wondered why I sat up on the final sprint, and I explained my stoopidity... he'd apparently thought I was trying to lead him out. I think he should bring cue cards for me next time! Or maybe I can set my alarm to go off with 5 minutes remaining in the race. Oh the shame! But with my pedal problem I don't think I had much room for improvement anyway.

After the race we rode around and cheered for Natasha Perry of the Spokesman team during the Women's 1/2/3 race. Then we cooled down some more, saw a gopher snake, and I packed up. I'd had the foresight to bring recovery food with me, but forgot a spoon for my yogurt. Duh. While that kind of summed up my day, I was totally stoked at the great form I had and was looking forward to unleashing it at the next race.

Larry MorinDavis Fourth of July Criterium, 7/4/06

Larry Morin

Great course with five lefts and one right, flat, 0.8 miles. Shape of  L, 20 laps.

It was nice to see a venue with trees and the activity of a downtown scene, plus it was the Fourth of July. Weather was a little toasty, but tolerable: mid 80s. My race was at 10:30 am and I was happy about that, because the temperature was climbing into the high 90s as the day went on.

Start line: I was with 50 or so starters in 35+ Cat 5s. I looked around and wasn't able to see any familiar faces. Davis Bike Club, U.C. Davis, Sacramento State Bike Club and Some team from Lake Tahoe had a good showing. We were off on the whistle and immediately setting a fast pace.

I positioned myself towards the front half of the field. Davis and some team from Tahoe were responsible for setting a fast pace for the first ten laps.  The fast pace weeded out half the riders and there were twenty or so riders still together.

With eight laps to go there was an attack that just strung out the group in single file for three fast laps and settle back-in, for the field to get a rest. I was definitely hurting from the last attack, but managed to hold-on in a good position.

Three to go and they started it up again. I was in a good position in the final lap and thought I might be able to have something for the final sprint. Going into the last left-hand corner I was in 6th or 7th place and was getting ready to get out of the saddle and sprint when a group forced us to go right; they came around and boxed us in the gutter. I was shut down and wasn't able to sprint. They must have been targeting me, knowing I was going to kick some ass on those Tahoe Boys, Ha! Ha!

Over all it was a fun race and I'm glad I went. It made the cold beer taste even colder! I ended up 12th place.

KeefeTeam Realtors 9th Annual Pescadero Coastal Classic, 6/24/06

Dennis Pedersen

"Are you racing Pescadero?"

Innocent sounding words, yes, but when Mark Edwards, of Bicycle Trip and Team Santa Cruz fame, asked me that during the drive home from the Panoche Valley Road Race, I was still cold and bleeding, literally, from that miserably wet race and my crash during it.

I had, in fact, been considering entering the race, but Mark's question spurred me on and soon I was visiting the Alto Velo/Webcor web-site to ponder the details. Oh no! The Masters 35+ 4/5 race's field was already full! I'd waited too long, just like last year. I did notice, though, that the Masters 45+ open-category race still had plenty of room. But I had a flashback to the pain I suffered through at Patterson Pass, racing against those same ex-pro mutants masquerading as middle-aged men.

There were some factors that led me to consider racing against them again, in spite of the pain: Then I raced alone; this time I'd at least have company. Then I hadn't started adding high-intensity workouts to my training rides to work; now I was doing both sprints and intervals. At least I figured I'd be able to hold on longer before getting dropped. No shame in that; after all, they were mutants!

Mark is pretty dedicated and disciplined, and he organized two hill-repeat sessions for those who wanted to get some high-intensity hill training as preparation for the race. I showed up for both, as did Larry Broberg and Scott Martin, while Rob Evans and LGBRC rider Chris Pearson came for the second session. Rob, needing some more challenges in his life, even signed up for the Burlingame Criterium for the day after... that's ballsey! He also told me he wanted to lose some weight before the race, to help on the tough hills, but I really thought that sounded like a bad idea. Most coaches say to just maintain your wait during the season, otherwise you risk serious performance degradation from calorie deficits. But he was determined, and there's really no good time for it after all... especially since Rob also wants to contest cyclocross races in the fall so he will have no off-season to use for dieting.

Rob had bigger news though: The Newman's Own team has been challenged by their very success, with Mark Patten forcibly upgraded to Category 3 now, but with Martin Wolff and Bernie Silviera still in Cat 4. They wanted to recruit a strong Cat 4 rider to help flesh the team out in Cat 4. Rob was their man. Larry and I haven't been able to help Rob much, because he's so frickin' fast, so it made sense for Rob to move on. Oh well.

On race day I... is it OK if I talk to you about... breakfast? Since I had done pretty well at Panoche, but felt my energy drop off at the halfway point, I did some research about eating better for races. The gist of it was that my race-day breakfast should consist of about 300 grams of quality carbohydrates eaten about 3–4 hours before the race start. This got me to looking up high-carb foods with low calories and low rankings on the glycemic index. Basically, complex carbs that won't fill me up too much or cause blood-sugar spikes and drops. After careful study I made a huge bowl of cooked buckwheat cereal with a banana (still one of the ultimate foods), a huge glass of OJ, yogurt and a glass of Odwalla B-Monster (OK, coffee too!). But this designer-breakfast had over 1300 calories!!! I love eating, Batman, but that's too much! I ate so much I felt empathy with pregnant women. But I couldn't force the yogurt and Odwalla down the hatch, so I popped them in my backpack for later consumption.

I then got out my team uniform, what's left of it after two crashes, packed up all my gear and rode off to Mark's house in the darkness of a gray overcast morning. There Mark, Larry B. and I loaded up Mark's crew-cab truck, and sped off to Pescadero along foggy HWY1.

We all agreed that Alto Velo had organized a great registration system, and it took just a minute or so. I also managed to say hi to Larry Morin and Rob who were getting ready too. They introduced me to Terry Kinn as well, who was racing with my group. Then came the question of "what to wear?" Weather is variable along that coast, and it was still overcast, but as we warmed up on the beautiful roads south of town the sun started to peek through and we all decided to ditch our arm and leg warmers. We even busted out the sunscreen. I just wore a plain jersey, because my long-sleeve team jersey was too warm. Since I was still full from breakfast I decided to skip the yogurt and Odwalla... better than losing it later! Instead I slammed an energy gel.

The staging area for the race start was right by the town's school, and was followed by a neutral parade into town with a motorcycle pacing us. There were 75 of us in this race, so it was quite a sight to see as we pedalled through the pretty, but tiny, town. The official start was after the stop sign on the town's north edge, and soon we were speeding along on tree-lined Stage Road that reminded me a little of some of the roads you see in the northern stages of the Tour de France. Both laps had a prime sprint along that section, but none of us had any interest in contesting them.

Soon we hit the first climb on Stage Road, and we all started huffing and puffing. I felt pretty good. I do have a pet peeve though: it's annoying when riders shift from pedalling seated to pedalling standing. They often lurch and slow briefly, so that the riders behind them are forced to dodge them. This throws off the rythm of the peloton and invites crashes; fortunately I saw none. The road had been patched in places during the week, but it was pretty clean on race day. On the second climb I noticed that a gap formed just ahead of Larry M., with most of the peloton behind it. I quickly pushed myself harder so I could be a part of the "selection," or lead group. With all of the climbing, and the large disparity in abilities, I knew from experience that the peloton wouldn't stay together the whole race, and it was imperative to stay near the front to stay in the running. I was working hard, but thankfully still able to hang with them. Larry M. was really just there to have fun (like all of us, right?) after a pretty race-packed schedule the whole year, so I knew he'd be happy pedalling with the main pack.

The whole group strung out on the descent, but the lead pack regrouped on SR84 (towards La Honda). Several riders from the main pack worked really hard to bridge up to us, and I didn't blame them... there'd be no catching us once we got up to speed there. Even so we set a surprisingly easy pace on 84, with just some minor attacks on the gentle climbs, so keeping up wasn't nearly the ordeal it had been for me at Patterson Pass. Then a thought formed in my brain: were we slower, or was was it I that was faster? Certainly I'd been training harder and smarter, and even tried to peak and taper for this race, so I ought to be faster. Hard to say. Since the roads weren't closed to cars we did have to deal with passing cars sometimes.

The course then turned onto Pope Road, with a climb past the neutral feed zone that forced another selection, but I was still in the running. Then... a right turn onto Pescadero Road, and the climb up Haskin's Hill. That climb was tough! Two miles of granny-gear with my heart pounding consistently at over 180 bpm, and my breath sounding like a broken steam locomotive! Larry B. and Mark had no trouble with this climb, and even managed to gain on me a little. After Haskin's Hill five of us formed a small chase group and caught up to the lead pack, after squeezing past the pace motorcycle. So the leaders regrouped, again, on this descent... why allow that? If it were up to me I would have forced the pace a bit higher to keep the chasing groups from catching up. But perhaps they were right in assuming that the bigger gaps were there to stay; certainly our lead pack didn't get much bigger. We passed Rob on this descent, even though his Masters 35+ 4/5 race had a five-minute head start... what happened? Maybe the weight-loss plan caught up to him and he was bonking? Bummer, but not too surprising.

Larry B. and I got bored on Pescadero Road, and he moved to the front, with me following, and we upped the pace a bit. Nothing too tough, but I was hoping it would soften up the field and force slower riders, like me, off the back later on the hills of Stage Road! That would help set Mark up for a stronger finish. I figured I should help my friends if I wasn't really in the running, and it was fun taking turns leading the race at the front. The wind wasn't too strong, so it was fairly easy work riding back to Pescadero town. After we got through town, Larry B. dropped back a tad, apparently to help me sneak away for the second prime sprint, but I didn't notice that and lost the chance as about 10 guys flew by me. No big deal though.

At the base of the second climb of Stage Road I moved up to the very front, then let the group slowly pass me on the uphill before I grabbed onto the tail end of them... a classic trick for saving energy. It works wonders, and I still felt pretty good as we regrouped on 84 again.

After we emerged onto 84 again one of the riders made a center-line violation, and the motorcycle referee made a point of having a long talk with him. Since the roads weren't closed it was obviously a very real safety concern. Shortly after that incident a crash was caused when an Alto Velo guy attacked roughly and a Fightin' Bobas rider crashed into his rear wheel. I think about five riders went down, and many others had to stop. Car traffic in the other direction had to stop to avoid running them over! I wasn't involved, but barely managed to squeak through the downed riders to continue. The crash took out Steve Archer of Morgan Stanley/AMD, who would have been my pick to win otherwise. The whole Morgan Stanley team turned back to help him... what a class act!!!

After the crash I had to chase back to the now-smaller lead group, where Larry B. made up the tail. I barely managed to do so before they really took off. I mentioned to a different Alto Velo rider that this was a contrast with the Tour de France where they would have stopped to wait for the race leader! On Pope Road a guy dropped his chain right in front of Larry B. on the last trip past the feed zone, followed by a guy from Trumer Pils who dropped out with a flat. It sucks to race that hard for that long only to be sidelined with a mechanical DNF! This climb, by the way, marked the end of my voyage with the lead group. I could no longer sustain the high pace they were setting and I started to drift back, just behind Larry B.

The second time up Haskin's Hill my legs burned even more, but I only had to lower my heart-rate down a tiny notch to maintain my climb. I almost forgot the finish line was at the summit, not back in town, but it wouldn't have mattered... the climb made its selection. I ended up in 28th place, just behind Terry, and maybe a minute or two behind Larry B. (2nd place in the 55+ group!) and Mark (12th place!). Larry M. was 49th. Pretty cool! I had a much better relative placement than I'd had at Patterson Pass, and I wasn't nearly as far behind the race winners. My hard training had paid off with a sense of belonging in this fast group! The winner was Kevin Susco of Alto Velo/Webcor... I wonder if he was the guy who attacked on 84?

On the cool-down back into town we were passed by a bunch of Jaguar E-types, Porsche 356s (and a pseudo-CHP Porsche Cayman S!), 1960s Corvettes, vintage Caddies, a Chrysler Imperial, an Alfa Romeo GTV and many other cool cars. It was like being in a bike race and a car show at the same time! Some details fom my HRM (includes the cool-down time): I burned 2696 calories during the 2 hours and 53 minutes of the race, and covered 55.9 miles at an average of 19.4 mph with an average HR of 156 bpm and a maximum HR of 192 bpm.

On the drive back I finally managed to eat the last of my breakfast, plus the designer recovery meal I'd put together (dates, peanuts and another banana). I was hungry! I ended my race day with a nice loosening-up ride back from Mark's house to mine. Very nice. Yeah, I guess I'll be back next year, and I even dared to pre-register for the Watsonville Criterium, racing with the same mutants of the open 45+ group. Wish me luck!

CCCX MTB Series Race 5, Fort Ord, 6/4/06

Dennis Pedersen

This is a fun cross-country race series, with awesome courses and soil, and I am still bummed that I missed out on races 1, 2 and 3. I'd even bought new tires just for the occasion, and now I'd finally get to try them out. I didn't have time to clean up my bike, or make any repairs to the loose headset, or the rattling front derailleur, but I knew my trusty old '98 Stumpjumper would be fine.

I love eating, and breakfast is one of my favorite things, so I put lots of effort into my pre-race meals. I pigged out that morning before kissing my wife goodbye. The weather was... spectacular! Really perfect at about 70 degrees with scattered clouds. Unfortunately it was too warm for my very torn long-sleeved team jersey, so I again wore a plain blue jersey with my team shorts, as I'd done at Cat's Hill. Can't wait for our latest jersey order to arrive so I can have a short-sleeved team jersey again!

When I got to the race site in Fort Ord's East Garrison area I managed to say hi to Karen Kefauver, Norman Field and Grant Stoner. Ron Riley was there too, but I didn't see him. True blue! Later on I also saw Mark Edwards, Larry Broberg, Scott Martin and Larry Hibbard who were going to race later on. Mark finished 3rd in Experts, Larry took 1st in his class. Good work! I had timed everything perfectly, so I was able to sign up, get my bike ready (even did an ad-hoc job of cleaning the chain), and warm up for a few minutes before lining up for the start.

I counted about 17 riders in my Sport 45-54 age group, so I felt pretty good about my chances. One of them was Martin Wolff of Newman's Own. I've only seen him at criteriums before, so this would be a nice change for both of us. I vowed to keep careful track of him because I know he's a strong rider, but another guy in an Excel jersey had that gaunt look I've learned to respect, so I knew I had others to worry about too.

When the start whistle was blown we all took off on the paved section, uphill against the wind. I never take the lead there, and drafted behind a few guys. Martin soon grew tired of the slow pace and pulled through as we entered the dirt trail, with me right on his tail and the rest of the group strung out behind us. I stayed right there for several minutes as we passed through the finish line and scoring area but he finally signalled that I should move ahead: "Go for it!" I wasn't sure what his motives were, but it was the right thing to do anyway. I was feeling great, and soon I had shot ahead and gapped him.

At the 11-minute mark I sighted the last guy from the 35-44 age group that had started a few minutes before us, and I drafted behind him for a little while. Unfortunately he got confused by the course marking tape and took a wrong turn... with me following. This cost us a few seconds and soon three guys roared past us before I could get back on the trail. Dang! It appeared that it was Martin and two other guys from our group, including one in a green jersey and one in, I think, Peninsula Velo attire. Oh well, I had no choice but to try to prevent them from gapping me.

It took me a while to catch up again, a good part of a lap at least, but soon I was past Martin and the other guy, and drafting the green-jersey guy. Along the way we caught and passed more riders from the 35-44 group, including Grant, but one rider chose to slide out and block me, forcing me to stop. Geez; this was making it hard for me to keep up with our race leader! But I managed to keep green-jersey in sight for quite a while, even though I wasn't close enough to draft him any more. Then it happened again: I was following a few guys who took another wrong turn. Argh! But wait, there's more: On the next lap I took the same wrong turn the first guy had lead me down, but this time I was alone. No excuse! I guess my subconsciousness had memorized the course in that (wrong) way.

On one lap, the third I think, I was trying to slam some energy drink on the very short paved section, but was unable to replace the bottle in its cage before we re-entered the dirt trail. Shoot; that can be dangerous, so I had to slow down and try very carefully to time my attempt at replacing it. Unfortunately that section was very fast and sandy and I nearly crashed in the process, only avoiding that by coming to a full stop. That was not the hot ticket, and soon Martin and a couple of other guys passed me again! Groan. I decided that my new tires really needed lower pressures than my old ones, as they tended to skip and slide a little too readily.

After another lap of chasing I managed to catch Martin again, but I had lost sight of the green-jersey guy. He wasn't very far ahead, I was sure, and when the lap cards said "1" lap to go I shot past Martin on the next climb and started my pursuit of green-jersey. I still felt pretty good, thanks in part to my upper-body workouts, but Martin was right behind me. Just then we caught Norman, and I called out to him to let him know I was there. On a short climb he signalled me to pass, and that I did, with some effort. Then it occurred to me that Norman might be able to block Martin for long enough to let me gap him for the finish... cool! I stoked my fires and shot down the paved section and the fast downhill sandy section one more time. Looking back I saw a sizable gap to Norman, and then I passed Ron too... even better! I felt confident I had a solid hold on second place, but kept the gas down as we approached the finish area.

There are some climbs near the finish, and perhaps I didn't push hard enough on them because when I next looked back I saw that Martin had gained a lot of ground on me and was closing fast... oh no! As we dropped into the last few turns I was really on the ragged edge, with Martin in hot pursuit. Entering the very last hairpin turn I could almost feel his hot breath on my neck, but I yelled and finally got to use my sprinting skills to pull away from him in the last few meters. Second place was mine!

The race took me 1:33 at an average speed of 14.2 mph over the 22 miles of trail. My heart-rate averaged 172 bpm, just like in a time trial, maxing out at 186 bpm, and I burned 1,592 calories. As we cooled down we shared some of our stories. It turned out that all three of us had gone down during the race, or almost in my case. Well, I still had the wrong-turn excuses! And I was introduced to the green-jersey guy: Brent. Maybe I'll get him next time, which will be June 18th. See you there!

Larry MorinICCC Dash For Cash, Pleasanton, home of the "Wheels of Thunder" Criterium, 6/3/06

Larry Morin

My race wasn't till 2:45 pm; 35+ 4/5s. I arrived a little early and watched some of the action. This crit is one for the spectator to watch. Every lap is a prime that results in a very fast pace and some great sprinting action. Cash is awarded to the first rider to cross the Start/Finish line on every lap.

I lined up at the start line with 50 or more starters. The official announced that there was going to be a delay in our race, because of a bad crash that occurred in the 35+ 1/2/3 race. Riders were still down on the pavement and were waiting for an ambulance to arrive. They said we were only going to race for 20 minutes and would call us back when it was time. Bummer.

We were called back after a good 20 minutes or more delay, and to my surprise, they said we "were going to have our full race time of 45 minutes." The whistle blew and we were off. "Oh Shit:" I drank most of my water during the delay, thinking I didn't need it for a 20-minute race. It was pretty hot at 80-something degrees and I probably would be craving water soon.

The pace started out fast and stayed fast throughout the entire race.  I positioned myself in the upper  pack and watched different riders go for the cash winnings every lap. By far this was the fastest crit this year for me. I was doing everything I could to hold my spot, definitely pushing myself to the max. With 6 or 7 laps to go I was out of water, not good. Every lap was new blood going for the cash. I had no desire to go for a prime, knowing I would probably blow-up and be struggling to just hang on. We were heading into the last lap and everybody was trying to get to the front. I moved up by following a group of three along the inside and out of the saddle to stay with them. I ended up getting 16th.

Ron RileySecond Annual Santa Barbara Bike Fest, 6/3/06

Team Big Bear State XC Series Race #5

This event was held at Elings Park about ten minutes from downtown Santa Barbara. The day's events included 46 classes of XC mountain bike races, downhill racing, BMX racing and clinic, little kids races, many vendors, great BBQ and live bands. The weather was clear and warm to hot.

Ron Riley and Richard Gordon on the podium
Ron Riley and Richard Gordon on the podium.

There were three entries in my 65+ Sport XC race: Richard Gordon, (65), me, and Hans Dieben (67) of Chula Vista, my main competition. On the start, I was able to get to the single track up the switch-backs first. Going down the switch-backs on the other side was my biggest challenge, but I made it OK. At the end of the first lap, Harriet handed up a fresh water bottle as I came through the start-finish. I had a big gap on Hans and Richard. My second lap was crash free, but it was really starting to get hot. Another hand-up from Harriet as I started my third and final lap still in the lead. This time up the switch-backs, I dumped it on the first one, walked the next two and rode the last. On the down hill switch-backs, I crashed two more times. I rode off with my forks backwards after the last crash I was so dingy! My front brake lever had twisted down so it was hard to reach and later that caused my last crash into some trail-side brush. It took about all the effort I had to unclip and haul myself and the bike back onto the trail. A final do or die grind up the pavement section to the soccer field and the finish. Richard (65) finished second, over an hour later than me and Hans was DNF.

At the Sport Class awards presentations, the audience chose the "most bloodied racer"... I won!!

ST Bikes Memorial Day Criterium, Morgan Hill, 5/29/06

Dennis Pedersen

I raced in this event last year, and I enjoyed it enough to decide to do it again this year. Just to make sure, I pre-registered online, in two races, to avoid the disappointment of encountering a filled field on race day. It's a very well-attended event, and my field was nearly full already when I first checked the San Jose Bicycle Club web site.

My former neighbor and triathlete, Craig Thomas, told me he'd try to be there so he could scope things out with an eye to entering some races himself, and sure enough, there he was with his wife and two cute kids. Criteriums can be pretty exciting to watch, especially when you have breakaway groups and crashes all mixed up. But based on this race I doubt his wife will let him enter any!

Elite 4

This race started at 10:15 a.m., and my next race, the Masters 45+ 4/5 race, started at 11:10 a.m. So when I prepared for the Elite 4 race I really had to prepare for both of them because I wouldn't have enough time between them to get ready for the second race. Whew! I pinned my Masters race number on first, then my Elite 4 number on top of it so I could quickly remove it and reveal my Masters number. I also lined up my water for a quick refill and placed my spare wheels in the pit area.

I thought Rob Evans would be in this race, as he'd just upgraded from Category 5 to Category 4, but he wasn't. So I was a lone wolf among the huge 75-rider field.

The course was pretty basic and flat, though one turn had been improved since last year by the replacement of some center-line "teeth" with a regular island... well, it was a change anyway. And, like last year, there was wind out of the west, so the usual mass sprint finish seemed likely.

As a lone rider I was in no mood to contest the prime sprints, and I just stayed out of the wind in the middle of the peloton, lap after lap. The pace was pretty easy for me, and I was extremely comfortable the whole race. The race was fairly clean, and I don't recall any crashes... until the last lap. Unfortunately, there were two crashes in the last lap and one of them took me down!

On the back stretch of the course, Jarvis Drive, the road was split down the middle with cones and steel barricades to keep the cyclists on the right side of the street and allow automobile access to the businesses at the north end of the street. As we approached that section on the last lap, with the peloton still packed together and getting nervous and fidgetty, I saw two riders ahead of me get tangled up and start to go down. Danger! Fortunately I saw that I could easily avoid them by darting between the barricades to the outside of the course and keeping them between me and the crash.

Not so fast: Remember that scene in Twister when the storm chasers drive around a toronado and a gasoline tanker-truck flies out of the funnel cloud and lands right in front of them? That's how it looked to me as one of the bikes somehow took an uncanny path through the air and flopped right in front of me. Bam! Bam! I was down and sliding again, for the second consecutive weekend! I remember the back of my helmet tapping the pavement and was thankful for its sacrifice! I jumped right up and took a quick survey: nothing broken, but my bike was tangled up with his so there was no way I could start riding in time to finish with the pack. I made sure the other victims were OK, dusted myself off and slowly rode to the finish line, and noticed my fancy front wheel was taco'ed. Shoot. The only trick bike gear I own, damaged or ruined! At least I was mostly unhurt and just added some road rash to the collection I acquired the weekend before at Panoche Valley. I was even wearing the same torn jersey, except now it was torn more.

Riding through the last turn I saw that another rider had gone down and scraped off a huge swath of his shorts... and his right hip. I found out later that he'd just gotten overexcited and had stood up to sprint while still turning: That's not a very stable platform for applying force to the pedals and he brought himself down, much like David Zabriskie did at the Team Time Trial at the 2005 Tour de France.

I had no time to dwell on any of this, so I quickly replaced my wheel (the first time I've had to use my spare wheels!), refilled my water bottle, removed my Elite 4 number, and pulled up to the start line.

Masters 45+ 4/5

In this race I was joined by Larry Morin and Rob, and I also spotted Martin Wolff of Newman's Own who was by himself because his team-mate Mark Patten had been forced to upgrade to Category 3. This race was unusual in that it was combined with the 35+ 4/5 group, but scoring would be separate for the two age groups. But there was no time to chit-chat before they started us off. You'd think the Masters riders would know how to clip in to their pedals and start pedaling, but one guy somehow had trouble and ended up coasting through the peloton seated on his top tube, and eventually toppled over taking another rider down. Doh!

The older riders are better at keeping things in perspective, so there was far less duelling for position during prime sprint laps. And I seem to remember hearing that one of them offered a $10 gift certificate as the prize so it was certainly not worth my bother. But Rob, with his limitless energy, gets bored and livens things up by jousting in these primes. He picked up another prime win that day. What a natural!

My LGBRC friends Erik Ostly and George Fuentes were cruising through the pack too, and I told Larry about the crash in my first race. This was Eric's second race after a 20-year break... how cool! He's a born sprinter. I also talked a little with another guy who had been in my first race... I also told him about my crash as we critiqued the peloton. I guess all this blabbering shows you that we couldn't have been working all that hard! In fact, my heart-rate monitor later revealed that my average heart rate was a comfortable 152 bpm average, with a maximum of 192 bpm (most likely at the finish)... oh, and we averaged about 25.3 mph over 19 miles for about 45 minutes, and I burned about 680 calories.

On the last lap I again prepared myself for the final sprint by trying to move forward in the peloton. Eric was also moving up. Everybody else was doing this too, so of course you get some tight spacing as riders vie for the same choice spots near the front. In this race I followed Martin as he moved up toward the front, and jinked to the left as he jinked to the left to avoid the rider ahead of him who jinked to the left for no apparent reason other than nerves. Suddenly I heard somebody cussing and yelling at me, by name no less, from behind! I guess I scared somebody who knows me. Oh well, nothing would fix that, so I soldiered on and flew through the last turn.

The field ahead of me looked thin as we sprinted, but still way too big for me to finish on the podium. I stomped on my pedals anyway, hoping for a top-10 finish. Well, it turned out to be worth the effort because I did manage 6th place out of 32... good for exactly 1 Cat 3 upgrade point! I noticed that Erik had somehow gotten himself ahead of me, and even though I was gaining on him he beat me to the line by several places. In the meantime, Rob, in his now-usual form, had stolen a lead-out that SJBC riders had formed to help their chosen sprinter and had won the race! That was awesome, and made me feel better about the race day!

Remember the guy who yelled at me? He turned out to be Phil of Le Matin... the same guy who crashed off of me at Menlo Park! What rotten luck. I guess he's probably not as charitable toward me any more. One more strike and I'm out? Well, we talked about it later, and he said I should have hit my brakes instead of jinking to the side, and that I was "abrupt." That pained me because I've always tried hard to be smooth as silk. I asked others, including Martin and Mark, and none of them had ever seen me do anything to deserve a bad reputation, so hopefully it was just an isolated mistake, or maybe Phil was just taken by surprise and overreacted.

What a day. Larry and Rob Jensen later told me I seemed really shaken up from my crash, but I don't remember feeling that way. What I do remember is feeling frustrated that I couldn't translate my improved fitness and speed into a podium finish. In the past I was rarely fresh enough on the last lap to do anything but try to survive, but I was now feeling way too fresh as I crossed the finish line which made me believe I wasn't realizing my maximum potential. Rob Evans was certainly not having that problem (though he is more fit too), and I would need to learn from his example.

I thought a lot as I drove to Los Gatos and dropped off my bike at my wife's office in preparation for its usual commuting duties the next morning. So many things have to come together for success at criteriums, which is what makes them so fascinating and keeps me coming back for more.

12 Hours of Weaverville, 5/27/06

Daniel Henderson

Team Bigfoot Solo Cup 2006

After the 12 Hours of 5th Avenue last year I decided that I wasn't interested in bikes too much other than endurance mountain races. I had several very inspiring moments during that race, most importantly going into and making it out of a severe fatigue state somewhere around mile 65. I completed my first mountain century that day, went to the Single Speed World Championships the next weekend, and set my sights on the Team Bigfoot Solo Cup for 2006.

The Weaverville race course was one of the best I've ever been on. There was an epic climb up to a beautiful view of the Shasta/Trinity wilderness followed by an amazing 6-mile singletrack descent. I ended up doing 94 miles and I came in second out of seven behind a guy named Fuzzy John, a very strong rider who is apparently well known in the Bigfoot series. I met a few really nice people at this race, including Dale and Eric from Fox down in Watsonville.

Rob EvansPacific State Bank GP, Stockton, 5/21/06

Rob Evans

Masters 35+ 4/5. Result: 2nd

This race had some of the same faces from the Modesto crit. In fact, one of my breakaway companions was in the race. We started hatching plans halfway through the race. I knew he was strong and looking for a win. With about 15 minutes left we attacked with a third racer that we enrolled in our little plan. The field would have none of it and we were caught after a couple of laps.

Nothing of any importance happened until the last lap. My break-away partner and I were at the front keeping the pace high when we entered the S-turn on the backside. We had a tiny gap when on the first turn I swung wide and hit the cyclone fencing. Ouch! My feet came flying out the pedals and I barely kept the bike upright. I got my feet back in the pedals just in time to see two or three racers blow by me. I started sprinting to catch the group and just got on the back into the last turn. Luckily, the final sprint was 300+ meters and I had time to pick my way through the field to take 2nd place.

Can you say lucky?

Panoche Valley Road Race, Hollister, 5/21/06

Dennis Pedersen

I signed up for this race just the day before the weather forecasts started talking about the possibility of rain that weekend. I'm always optimistic, so I hoped I wouldn't get rained on during the race, and the Panoche Valley area gets very little rainfall anyway. But the forecasts became more and more dire, so I decided to just accept that I'd race in the rain. Turned out to be a good thing!

Matt Wocasek likes road races too, so he also signed up, though he'd be in the 35+ 4/5 race while I had signed up for the 45+ 4/5 race. Mark Edwards had signed up too, and offered to carpool. So the race was looking like it would be an adventure, but a shared one at least.

On the morning of the race I was awakened at 4:43 a.m., just minutes before my alarm, by... the sound of rain. No surprise I guess. Then I cooked some carefully-measured 10-grain cereal with special fixins' (800 calories of yummy high-quality carbs!), brewed some coffee, enjoyed it all, and finished getting ready. I put the fender on my bike and rode in my rain clothes with my backpack full of stuff to Mark's house where I met him and his friends Larry Broberg and Scott Martin who would all be racing the open 45+ category (the category I'm determined to avoid for now!). We loaded everything up and headed out into the gray world of California's coastal regions during this crazy climate shift. At least it had stopped raining.

At the race venue, Blossom Hill Winery, I had to wait in line for the restroom because they only had four units. Well, soon enough the line was maybe 100 yards long! This was the first year with this race, so I hope they get the message and rent more units next time. It was dry there, but it looked like it might rain, so Larry, Scott and Mark were trying to decide what to wear until the last second. I definitely don't believe in wearing water-proof clothes in a long race, and also removed my bike's fender because it didn't look like it would rain very hard, if at all. Wandering around after they left for their warmup and 8:35 race start I bumped into Larry Morin... huh? That was a surprise. Cool, a team-mate in my race! I also chatted with Matt and his girl-friend Rita. Larry and I warmed up on the road while Matt used his roller trainer. Matt's start time was 9:10, and ours was 9:14. Then the rain started. Ugh. At least it was light rain. I got yet another surprise when we assembled at the start line: David Gill was there, helping run the race! There were 36 riders pre-registered, but our starting field ended up being less than 30, I think. The rain and wind had picked up some, and it looked worse on the horizon now.

Our race course was a 20-mile ride out to the east and 20 miles back to the west on the same route, through the beautiful Panoche Valley, home to several species of eagles, bobcats, mountain lions and such. Very pretty. We would climb gradually by 1,780 feet on these twisty, but smooth, roads, which seemed pretty easy and wouldn't favor the pure climbers. The prevailing wind is out of the west too, so I didn't think it would be a simple matter of racing to the top and then coasting back down; the race would continue all the way to the finish line. I thought we would want to stay in the pack the whole way, and maybe even see a sprint finish. Unusually though, the wind turned out to be out of the southeast at the start.

Soon the race whistle sounded for us and we were off... like a rampaging herd of turtles! I ride faster just cruising to work. But with the rain quickly soaking us, and the headwind fighting us, and with 40 miles to go, nobody felt much need to hurry. Later on Matt told me his group also started out slow. As we cruised along we were sprayed by the rear tires of the guys ahead of us and my lenses were spattered in no time at all. I started to regret that I removed my fender as my butt-crack got wetter.

An Alto Velo rider did much of the slow-motion pulling early on, with a couple of San Jose Bicycle Club riders close behind, then me and the rest. A few minutes later I noticed that there were three Pegasus riders who had moved to the front, and they were talking together. I distinctly heard the word "attack," so I was ready when one of them launched off the front. But he was rather slow, and couldn't maintain his gap for very long. Even so, because he was so slow and I was so bored, I started to bridge up to him and soon we'd caught him. But just as we caught him, the next Pegasus rider attacked. And he created a bigger gap and also brought the pace up to a more normal range.

After about five minutes of letting the second Pegasus rider dry (or try to) out in the wind I decided to launch a mini bridge/attack towards him on a climb, just for fun, but I was not in any hurry and backed off about halfway up to him. No sense in doing all the work of bridging, and there was no likelihood he'd be able to maintain that gap riding alone for the next 35 miles! At least we'd kept his gap to a minimum so we could keep an eye on him.

After a while the rain let up some, but the roads were still wet and remained so as it sprinkled lightly. I decided to conserve energy towards the back of the pack with Larry, and for several miles not much happened. But at around 10 miles out we hit the steepest climbing section, as I'd anticipated after studying a profile of the race course. Nothing too bad, and I truly felt great. We were going pretty fast, but I felt fine and not maxed out at any point.

After a couple of minutes I looked back and saw that we'd dropped most of the peloton on this climb... awesome! I was now part of a chase group of about 8–10 riders, which was so cool, except that I noticed Larry wasn't among us. Oh well. I figured he'd be able to work together with other riders after the road leveled off and maybe be able to bridge back up to us. But I didn't want to assume that, so I stayed with the chase group as we maintained that 15-second gap to the Pegasus rider. Nobody seemed concerned about the solo break. I said to an Alto Velo rider "he's not tired yet?," and he said "let's leave him out in the wind for a little longer." That made sense to me: he was clearly very fit, and it even seemed possible he'd be able to contest the finish later on even if/when we did catch him. By my estimation he'd been off the front for about 20 minutes then, which was pretty impressive with the headwind!

Did I mention the road was still really wet? After the steepest climbing section, we dropped into a short, fast descent back down towards the valley bottom. A sharp, fast right turn surprised our chase group a little, and there was a sort of "crack the whip" effect that swung the rear of the group a little wide exiting the turn. I was the tip of the whip, and as the guy ahead of me to my right swung a little wide, I had to swing a little wider... right over the painted center stripe. Oops. I didn't panic, but straightened out just a touch so I wouldn't slip on the paint... but totally lost traction on my front tire anyway and went down! Argh! I slid along the pavement for a while, apparently still holding on to my bars because my gloves weren't damaged in the least. Then I sort of rolled over a little and separated from the bike, and the bike slid into my back as I came to a stop.

I surveyed the damage quickly, decided the twisted levers weren't worth worrying about, looked down the hill to see how far back I was from my group, and thought my chances of closing the gap were excellent. The crash notwithstanding, I actually believe I have good downhill skills and thought I'd be able to catch up on the descent. As I started off in pursuit I also noticed my team jersey's sleeve was torn by the right elbow, my shorts by the right hip, and my new shoe cover too. Darn. Later on I found out that my right shoe had a hole worn through it too. At least my body wasn't too badly damaged, though blood seeped out slowly from my elbow, and I was soon time-trialing to the best of my abilities.

The descent didn't last very long, unfortunately, and the road was mostly level near the creek in the valley's bottom for a while with some more climbs thrown in. I could see my old chase-group friends ahead of me on some sections, but soon they started to extend their gap. I looked at my odometer: about 5 miles to go before the turnaround. I really wanted to catch them before then, because I was still worried a solo rider wouldn't be able to keep up on the long return trip because the descents would mostly be only moderately steep, and lots of pedalling would still be required. I was proven correct later, as my maximum speed for the race ended up being only 38.4 mph and I had to pedal downhill to accomplish that.

As I neared the turnaround point I passed the neutral feed zone, but declined their water bottles as I had enough of my own. Then I saw some pelotons from the race categories that had started before us on their return trip in the opposite direction. I was optimistic about my position since none of them looked like my group, and I hadn't even spotted Matt yet, who started 4 minutes before us, with just a short distance to go before I reached the turnaround at 20 miles. Then I spotted that crazy Pegasus rider, still off the front, still about 15 seconds ahead of my old chase group, just moments before I spotted the turnaround cone in the distance. I also noticed Matt was drafting my group... maybe I could catch him and we could work together! Naw... that's against the rules!

I think I was maybe one minute behind them when I rounded the cone and waved to the course marshalls there. I was pretty tired, but not completely discouraged yet; that was a gap I might be able to make up! I didn't know it then, but I was in for another 20 miles of solo riding, all the way back to the finish line. I gradually became aware of what lay in store for me as seemingly long periods of time passed before I saw small groups of riders from my race still climbing up to the turnaround point. Larry was in one of them and yelled, smiling at me, as I yelled back "I crashed!" It turned out later that he thought I was off the front, when the facts were quite different, and didn't hear what I yelled anyway. Well, at least that was pretty cool for him to think as he fought his way back to the finish line. I realized I would be better off fighting ahead on my own, so that's what I did.

As I chased back I swear the wind shifted from east to west! But that's how it always feels when you go from riding in the pack to riding solo. My legs started to burn, so I made sure to finish my bottle of energy drink, and also the energy gel I had brought. That helped for a while, but my legs were never the same for the rest of the race, and I couldn't get my heart rate much above 170 bpm for very long. I'd had an interesting discussion with both Rob Evans and Mark Edwards about this phenomenon. It seems that as you gain fitness your cardiovascular system catches up to, and then surpasses, the ability of your legs to propel you. Certainly my cardio fitness always lagged behind my legs in the past, but now the reverse seems true as I've become faster.

Many miles later, after working very hard with no further sightings of my group, I decided not to push myself too hard any more. No point to it. Though as I neared the finish I teamed up with a couple of riders from Matt's group who came up behind me. Not because I thought I'd catch my group with their help, but because it was more fun than riding alone. About 1/2 mile from the finish line I pulled out and told them "go for it!" They sprinted for 20th place or something... hey, it's all for fun, right?! I finished in 8th place out of 23 finishers with a 1:52 total time, averaging 21.4 mph and 163 bpm, and Larry finished in 14th place. I'm not sure if the solo breakaway rider won, but I do know that our race winner was a Pegasus rider named Rick Martyn. Amazing! Matt finished in 20th out of the 33 finishers in 35+ 4/5.

I found David under the timing/scoring awning, and asked him when our next team-shorts order will happen... and where first aid was! The nice lady at first aid clucked and shook her head at "you guys" as she cleaned my wounds and bandaged me up. I piled up my soaking jersey, gloves, helmet etc., grabbed a complementary banana and bottle of PowerAde, and wondered where I'd find shelter from the continuing rain until my carpoolers arrived from their race. Fortunately Larry showed up then and was more than happy to help even after he found out I hadn't been off the front after all. We said hi to Matt and Rita, then sat in Larry's van and reviewed our race as we tried to warm up. My heart-rate monitor said I burned 1,883 calories during the race, so I got right to work replacing them.

About 10 minutes later my carpoolers arrived, and I was finally able to get out of my soaking wet kit and into the fleece clothing I'd brought with me. Thank goodness! I usually don't bother with changing clothes after races, but I was very happy I could this time! Turns out I should have brought some coveralls too, because Larry Broberg's SUV lost its accessory belt on the way home and I got grease all over my rain jacket helping him to replace it. The rain never did stop on the drive home, but it was fun sharing stories and hearing how their race had gone. Their group had also split up, and Mark had tried to bridge up to a break of five riders while Larry and Scott cheered him on and blocked. Mark ended up in 6th place out of 14 finishers after a solo ride to the finish line even longer than mine, while Larry finished 8th and Scott 10th.

At home I faced the messy cleanup, laundry... and scrubbing the dirt out of my wounds. I use epsom salts and scrub a handful into the rash. I must enjoy the pain, I swear, but I read about this trick in a bike magazine years ago so it must be right. Right?

What an adventure!

Rob EvansModesto Criterium, Modesto, 5/20/06

Rob Evans

Elite 4/5. Result: 2nd

My first race of the day was the Elite 4/5 race and all I can say is: Don't confuse the white lines of the cross walk for the finish line or you'll lose! Oh, well.

Masters 35+ 4/5. Result: 1st

I was really looking forward to the Masters 35+ 4/5 race. At the start line I noticed that Sprinters Mark Patten and Bernie Silviera from Newman's Own were lined up as well as this really good sprinter from Galaxy Granola. The Granola dude knocked me off the podium a few weeks ago at the EMC2/Vellum Cycles crit, so I was happy to see him at the line.

I took it easy at the beginning of the race and waited for things to settle down. The pace was good and the course was nice. I watched Patten take a few of the first primes and this got me thinking. After the 3rd or 4th prime when Granola Dude and Patten were trying to recover from their effort, I attacked. It wasn't much of an attack as I really just wanted to lift the pace to tire them out but I did have the effect of opening up a gap. Newman's Own's Bernie covered me and I was ready to sit up when we were joined by three more riders. One of the new arrivals attacked and we had a real gap.

Long story short. We worked together (Imagine that in a 4/5 race) opening up a 30'+ gap. Granola Dude popped just before the final turn. I was able to enter the turn first and hold off the field. This time I crossed the finish line before putting my hands in the air. ;-)

ST Bikes Cat's Hill Classic Criterium, Los Gatos, 5/13/06

Dennis Pedersen

After racing Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club's premier Cat's Hill Classic race last year I was really exhilarated, but also a bit nervous about entering again. It's a really demanding course and attracts macho riders from all over the place. Just finishing was a tough enough task, and not crashing was more than many could handle. But what the heck; it's so conviently close to home, and a nice change from the business-park courses we usually see, so I pre-registered to prevent myself from backing out on race day!

Rob Evans sent out an e-mail asking who else was racing, but didn't get a lot of response. He and I were the only Team Santa Cruz racers, though Robbie Abundis, now of California Giant Strawberries, also entered. None of us attempted any race-tactics planning; the race is so fast-paced that it would be each man for himself. You really can't afford to wait for your team-mates if they get separated from you.

On race day my wife, Margaret, and I had breakfast at the Wharf House in Capitola. I had the banana pancakes with a ton of maple syrup and lots of coffee... who says sugar and caffeine don't help?!! Margaret had to go to the hospital to help her dad, who had just been admitted a few days earlier with emphysema complicated by pneumonia, so she wouldn't be present to cheer me on. I told her not to feel bad; it was I who should feel bad for not going with her instead of playing boy-racer!

Like last year, I parked at Testarossa Vineyards where Margaret works and where I usually keep my bike for commuting to work in Palo Alto. I had brought some solvents and rags, so I had a chance to finally clean the chain... what a relief! I also installed my new Maxxis Re-Fuse tires; they're a bit heavier but offer better puncture resistance, which I wanted after flatting during our club's Swanton Road time trial the previous Thursday. I also noticed that they are better at holding their line in a fast turn without skittering around.

I rode down the hill to the race registration area and quickly got checked in for the Masters 35+ 4/5 race I'd entered. The course is in the pretty Victorian neighborhood just off the downtown shopping area on North Santa Cruz Avenue. Its biggest challenge is "The Wall" formed by the steep 23% climb up Nicholson Avenue, and the broken concrete surface built during the Ford Model T era. I rode the course a few days earlier, but it wasn't as daunting as I remembered it so I only took one lap, and the pleasant feelings it gave me, with me as preparation. No sense in psyching myself out!

I met up with a few friends, George Fuentes and Erik Ostly, and Erik told me our friend Rob Jensen, hampered by using gardening to train for the race, had sneaked out of the Category 3 race after just 4 laps. Hmmm... last year he finished mid-pack. I hoped a similar fate didn't await me!

I couldn't find Larry Morin, David Gill or Rob Evans anywhere, so I called and left Rob a message. I needed somewhere to stash my backpack before the race. I set off to do some easy warmup riding... I don't need much so I took it nice and slow as I tooled around town. I also watched part of the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 race, with National Champion Larry Nolan. He was having trouble on The Wall, and once a spectator even pushed him up the hill!

At 2:00 I rode over to the staging area for my race, and was the third rider there. I downed a Power Gel for an energy boost, but I still had that backpack. I called Larry, and got through, but he told me he wasn't coming over after all. I didn't have David's phone number handy, so I called Rob again. No go. I didn't want to race with my backpack on, so I looked for George. His car was all locked up since he was racing the same time as I, so that didn't work. I then rode to the announcing stand at the start/finish line and they let me stash my backpack there. Whew! As I turned around to leave I saw that the whole peloton was already assembled just behind me at the start line... reminded me of playing Marco/Polo! I just barely had time to squeeze in and try to compose myself before they got ready to start us. Turned out Rob and Robbie were both right near me in the huge 75-rider field.

As we started the race I had trouble clipping into my pedal and lost quite a few positions; must have been nerves! I also noticed I'd forgotten to put my gloves on, and made a mental note to be extra careful not to crash! But soon I was comfortably situated in the peloton as we got ready for the first of our twelve climbs up The Wall. It seemed easy to me, maybe because my sister, her fiancee, my brother, and several friends were cheering me on! I really did feel good and was cautiously optimistic about my prospects.

I made sure to keep track of the time and the lap cards after being surprised by the finish in last year's race! One guy got caught in the gutter and almost took himself, and me, out, but recovered. I told him that was not a good place to be riding. I ended up having a couple of similar incidents of my own later on, but also held on. There were some prime sprints, but I didn't make any real effort to contest them, Like last year, I used the descent down Bachman Avenue to recover and gain positions. But unlike last year I never really felt maxed out. I honestly believe my shorter, but more intense, rides, with more days off the bike, are better for me.

In the last few laps we had a solo rider in a red jersey off the front with about a 15-second lead. Obviously he was pretty strong! But he was left out in the wind to dry, and soon one rider, followed by another, then another, joined him in his break. With two laps to go I was right behind Rob near the front, and just then Rob also bridged up to make it a five-man break. I could only watch, as the pace was getting fast and we still had two more climbs up The Wall before we could rest... and the previous one had finally started to wear me down a little. I huffed and puffed up The Wall, and managed to hold on and even advance a little. I didn't dare look back, but I sensed the main peloton was right behind our small chase group, with a tiny gap they could easily close. The last lap was getting really tough, and I had cotton mouth from gasping, and no time to drink. I reminded myself that I would soon be resting and laughing about all of this in less than a minute as we crested The Wall for the last time and prepared for the finish. I moved ahead some more down Bachman, but after the last turn there were still almost twenty riders ahead of me. I sprinted as best I could, hoping maybe I'd finish in the top ten, but ended up in 15th out of just 45 finishers. 30 riders had dropped out. Whew!

After the race I retreived my backpack and hooked up with my siblings. We watched the Women's 1/2/3 race and the Men's Pro/1/2/Espoir race from the shade of Bachman Park's trees while we munched on blueberries, figs and pecans. Our local boy, Ben Jacques-Maynes, won after an unusal race restart caused by a last-lap crash that brought a firetruck out on the course. I eventually found Rob; he finished in 2nd place! What a stud! Afterwards we went to my sister's house up in the hills for a sumptuous recovery dinner. How awesome! I guess I'll have to come back next year so it becomes a tradition.

Coolest Mountain Bike Race, Cool, 5/6–7/06

Karen Kefauver

See race photos here.

As 24-hour mountain bike races are growing more popular across the U.S. and my bicycling friends flock to sign up for relays or solo divisions of these events, I have been curious about what compels them to race nearly nonstop, night and day, lap after lap, on a looping, off-road course. I decided to accompany Norman at his first solo 24-hour mountain bike event, this past weekend, May 6–7, in Cool, CA, east of Sacramento. That way, I could investigate the appeal of this event without the pain of racing myself.

As it turned out, being a support person in one of these events is also a challenge in and of itself. Happily, I had superb help: Norman's sister and brother-in-law, Rachanee and Dan, arrived early Saturday morning and stayed til the end. They were essential to Norman's success. We also had fantastic aid from Hank, who arrived Saturday evening for a few hours with crucial resupplies and good cheer. Plus, our friend Melanie, a veteran 24-hour mountain bike racer, had provided great tips over dinner before we left and had generously loaned us camping gear. During the race weekend, she called often to cheer Norman and boost our energy.

We departed on Friday at noon, the Jeep packed to the gills. We missed Melanie, who was recovering from recent foot surgery and unable to join us as originally planned. But we wondered how we could have managed another passenger! After a four-hour drive northeast, we rolled into Cool, CA, ready to set up camp. We were grateful to our hometown Santa Cruz County Cycling Club Race Team for the loan of the pop-up tent which was our central hub where Norman stopped to refuel each lap. That blue tent became home for the next two days, in addition to our 2 individual tents.

Friday

On Friday evening, we went for a leisurely 2-hour dusk ride and were impressed by the beauty of the area—lush green hills, red clay paths. We scouted out the race course—some climbs so steep that they required walking! Ouch! Some downhills so strewn with rocks that they required my walking (Norman had the skills to ride them.) The highlight of our ride together was Norman spotting a lone bear ambling into the woods. He was a safe distance away, but I wondered if that fellow would visit our camp later for dinner. We turned in by 11 p.m. (No bears visited).

Saturday

12 noon—Norman started his first 24 Hour Solo Race with a mad dash, literally. Known as a "LeMans start," Norman and the other racers had to run a quarter mile around a field before they got on their bikes and set out to do their first 9-mile lap. Norman aimed to complete 11 laps, or 99 miles, during his 24 hour time period. The winners of these events are the riders who complete the most laps in their division. Norman was not out to win, just to experience the test of endurance. He went strong and steady, stopping after each lap, back at the tent so we could help him get more food and drink, clean his bike and give him a pat on the back. He remained upbeat even as the day wore on. I was in awe and baffled that he did not want to quit and nap, as I imagine I would.

At 7 p.m. he took a 2-hour break to enjoy a steak dinner and feast prepared and served in Rach and Dan's camper trailer. Thanks! Our friend Hank joined us and provided good cheer and supplies for a few hours on Saturday night. Norman was reenergized and after dinner, kept on riding, even after I went to bed at 1 a.m. He promised he would be safe and be vigilant about charging the two lights he had affixed to his bike, one on the helmet, the other on the handlebars.

Sunday

Norman Field and friends after he finished the 24-hour race.
Norman, Karen and friends after he
finished the 24-hour race.

When I awoke at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, to my amazement, I found that Norman was STILL cycling and had indeed ridden all through the night while I was asleep. At 7 a.m., he declared he would actually exceed his 99-mile goal and do 12 laps, for a total of 108-miles! I was floored. I got to work making breakfast and we all ate and celebrated when Norman rolled in, done racing, at 9 a.m. or so. Way to go, Norman!

We broke down camp and loaded for several hours. Fueled by coffee and chocolate, we hit the highway shortly after the noon conclusion of the event and traded driving duties all the way home. We somehow made it back to Santa Cruz on what felt like an interminable 4.50-hour drive. We collapsed into bed that night, both wiped out. I am very proud of Norman's accomplishments. I felt happy that I had played an important role in helping Norman achieve a goal that was meaningful to him. I had a hard time imagining myself doing this event, though I was inspired by the woman who had set up camp next to ours, Mary, of Folsom, CA. She was the only woman who had signed up to race solo, and on a single speed bike, (only one gear!) no less. It was her first solo event and she did really well.

Monday

Norman's body demanded 13 hours of sleep, plus an hour nap, and frequent feeding on this first day of recovery. (He was smart to have taken the day off of work). A massage and sushi dinner were part of the celebration, but mostly, good, solid rest was the top priority. After all, he is planning to do this 24-hour mountain bike racing all again this next weekend. But one major difference: he will be part of a 5-person team at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA.

Larry MorinEMC2/Vellum Cycles Criterium, Pleasanton, 5/7/06

Driving up 880 North to plesanton was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky (it was about time). I was planning on hooking up with Dennis Pedersen and Rob Evans to do the 35+ 4/5s race at 2:30 pm.

I met up with Dennis and Rob in parking lot. Dennis had already raced in two races and he decided to head home; had enough. I didn't blame him, but was hoping to have him around to mix it up in the 35+ race.

I did a nice warm up with Rob and we headed to the start line. It was a full field with 75 starters. I have been pretty consistent in going to races this year and was getting familiar with faces and jerseys. I positioned myself up front, we were given instructions, and then we were off in the typical fashion with the sound of shoes clicking into the pedals.

Larry Morin in the peloton.
Larry in the peloton (jamphoto).

It began in somewhat of a blistering pace. The course was a four corner, clockwise, flat, 0.9-mile course. The only problem I could see was Bott's Dots that we had to maneuver through in the corners and some squirrelly riders who seem to be getting themselves in trouble overlapping wheels. The pace seem to be picking up on every lap and I could see the field getting smaller. I tried to position myself towards the front and stay tight with the group, it seem to be a safer position going thru the corners.

There were a few primes that put some of the riders off the back. It was a short course, but there was a head wind on the back side of the course and if you weren't able to hang, you were fighting the head wind alone and it would be impossible to bridge yourself up to the group. Time was ticking away and I tried to move up in the group on the second to last lap. I was finding it quite difficult, because the pace was definitely at its fastest. We crossed the start/finish line and heard the bell. Everybody seem to be out of the saddle and pushing it to stretch things out.

Larry Morin in the peloton.
Rob chatting with Mark Patten
(jamphoto).

We were going into the second turn and there was a major pile up right in front of me. I immediately slammed on my brakes and went into a sideways slide thinking, "Oh Shit!, I'm going down." Somehow the Tarmac Gods were with me and I avoided the pile and dove right. The sounds were mixed with metal slamming on the pavement and bikes flying everywhere, too people yelling "you f__cken idiot, what are you doing." I looked back and was so stoked that I was not involved in that mess. The group did not let up at all and I was luckily I was with a couple of riders to catch back on.

We found ourselves at the back of the group going into the final turn and I did everything I could to pick off a couple of places. I ended up in 34th. I felt O.K. but was definitely on a top-10 mission for that race. The crash didn't help.

Congratulation to Rob Evans on his 4th place!

EMC2/Vellum Cycles Criterium, Pleasanton, 5/7/06

Dennis Pedersen

Rob Evans and I had exchanged a few e-mails about this race, and after considering the remote Rancho Cordova race I decided to enter this one instead. Rob and I carpooled out to Pleasanton on race morning in my wife's Nissan, leaving Santa Cruz at something like 6:30, and would meet up with Larry Morin later in the day.

I was considering entering two races, and figured I'd either race the open "Elite" Category 4/5 race at 9:00 with Rob, or maybe the old-man's Masters 45+ Cat. 3/4/5 race at 10:50 a.m., or maybe both of those, in additon to the Masters 35+ 4/5 race at 2:40 that I'd pre-registered for. Well, that was mighty ambitious, and I also had a scheduling issue to consider: Since we were attending a friend's Cinquo de Mayo party that evening, I decided it made more sense to just race in the morning and then go home, rather than race in the afternoon and have to race back home in my car and have to rush to get cleaned up and ready. So, when Rob checked in at race registration, I checked in for my 35+ 4/5 race, then promptly had them switch my entry over to the 45+ 4/5 race. After that I asked about the Cat. 4 race, but was told the field limit was reached, and they had two guys already on the waiting list. Oh well... I added myself to the waiting list anyway.

Rob and I got plenty of time to watch the Cat. 3 race at 8:00 a.m., and while the course was a very simple square shape, the finish line was only about 150m after turn 4. That's a pretty short sprint, and would undoubtedly determine race tactics. We decided to practice a sort of abbreviated lead-out where we'd ride single-file toward the inside of a turn simulating that turn 4, then the leader would swing fast and wide out of the turn while the follower would take the slightly tighter, shorter inside line for a sprint to the finish line. The concept was that the lead-out rider would block attempts to sprint past us on the outside by swinging wide. And the inside line would still be fast enough to maintain speed into the sprint because the follower would let a slight gap form ahead of him and the lead-out rider just before the turn that he could then use to start accelerating a little earlier. This would hopefully even give both of us a shot at the podium.

Elite 4/5

Well, plans are great to have, but as George Patton said: "Plans become obsolete as soon as the battle starts!" or something along those lines. The huge field was 75 riders in size, and it was very hard to maintain contact with each other during the race. We'd discussed having me try for a prime sprint or two during the race, but Rob and I had a hard time getting close together at the front in order for our technique to work. We missed a few primes (there were seven total!), but I found myself in a good spot during one of the prime laps, and Rob yelled encouragement to me... time to hit the gas! I was on the outside of turn 4, and was able to maintain good speed exiting the turn as I followed just a short distance behind another prime contender. I was able to move ahead of him very slowly, but just as I neared the start/finish line another rider, who'd been drafting behind us, shot past us and grabbed the win. Darn! Later on Rob, with his usual habit of making it look easy, won a prime! He was going to lead me out, but we were blocked again so he took advantage of his better positioning (no coincidence I'm sure; he's a smarter racer than I) to make the mad dash work for him instead. Cool!

Later in the race we had the usual speed build-up during the last few laps as stronger riders and teams upped the ante to drop slower riders from contention. I still felt quite strong, but in the last lap I couldn't get into striking position for the usual sprint finish. I tried the inside, then the middle, then the outside finally. That seemed to be best, but as we rounded the bend there were already too many riders in my way... move it! Oh well, at least I finished around 20-something-th. This race was about 38 minutes long, and about 17 miles. That would be an average of about 26.8 mph.

After the race I went back to registration and found that I was ""on" for the 45+ 3/4/5 race... awesome! I still felt strong so I was looking forward to racing with the other geezers. In fact I've been feeling strong ever since the Menlo Park race.

Masters 45+ 3/4/5

Lining up for the start I could tell it was getting a little warmer, and perhaps a bit toasty with the long-sleeved, fleece-lined team jersey I was wearing. But the wind would keep things a little cooler. Mark Patten of Newman's Own was there, as were quite a few teams. No Rob to help me this time... he's still a youngster!

The pace of this race seemed faster to me, but when I looked at my heart-rate monitor later on, it showed my average rate was a touch lower: 166 bpm vs. 169 bpm. What happened was rather funny: every time we had a prime-sprint lap announced with a bell at the start/finish line (seven primes again!) the pace would shoot up instantly to a lung-searing, leg-burning dash for the sprint... then die back down to an easy group-ride pace afterwards! These smart old guys wouldn't waste energy on just ordinary laps!

I wanted to try another prime, but the crazy pace of those laps made it hard to get to the front, much less contest. Even so, I managed to get the inside line Rob and I had practiced during one prime lap, and on exiting turn 4 I found only three guys ahead of me. I quickly saw that I had a chance, but just as I started to stomp on the pedals the guy in third veered right across my path, forcing me to break off. Shoot. Rob was watching and later told me I shouldn't have given up. The odds weren't in my favor, but you never know what might have happened.

With about 5 or so laps to go we had a strong breakaway group form off the front, with a Galaxy Granola rider and two from Trumer Pils, and a San Jose Bicycle Club rider trying to bridge up to them. The peloton seemed to be indifferent, but when I saw that there were several Trumer Pils riders at the front of it I suspected collusion; yeah, they were blocking!

It's always tricky deciding whether a break will last long enough to win, and when you're a solo rider up against teams there's more pressure on you to join them, just in case. With several team members you can always send one of them up, then join the blocking and hope the break survives. I decided that with just five laps remaining it was close enough to make the break a threat, so I scooted by the blocking riders and tried to bridge myself to the break, or pull the group up in the attempt. I think it helped because the break was caught after a few laps of concerted effort by like-minded riders.

This extra work did tire me out though, and, of course, set me up for the usual mid-pack finish: 22nd out of 35 finishers. The race was about 50 minutes long, average speed was 24.5 mph, and my max was 32.3 mph. So, a bit slower in spite of the fast prime laps.

Rob and I watched the next races while waiting for Larry to appear so we could throw Rob's gear into Larry's van. When Larry showed up he tried to guilt me into racing with them, but I resisted... two races was enough! But I did wish them luck.

Ron RileyFirestone Walker Classic Mountain Bike Race, 4/30/06

Ron Riley

The Firestone Walker Classic weekend of Mountain Bike racing has something for everyone: downhill race on Saturday, seventy-five mile endurance race, XC race and free little kids race on Sunday. There's also a pasta feed Saturday evening and a BBQ Sunday afternoon. I think it's well worth the three and a half hour drive from Santa Cruz to Buellton.

Ron Riley on the top step of the podium!
Ron at the start.

The fourteen plus mile XC course is on private land and a good mix of farm roads and fast single track except for a killer half mile climb. Sunday's XC racing started under low clouds, but by my race at 10:30 AM, the sun was coming out and the temps were in the seventies.

Ron Riley on the top step of the podium!
Ron on the top step of the podium!

There were three of us in the one and a half lap 65 plus Sport race. I had the lead before we reached the top of our first climb. The race went well for me and I finished in first, nine minutes ahead of Buz (my main State Series competition).

Berry Wicks (Kona) won the twenty-eight mile Pro XC race in 1:47:07.74. Ryan Trebon (Kona) was .25 of a second back in second place!! Larry Hibbard (Family Cycling Center won the Expert Men 45-49 race in 1:56:56, Sabine Dukes of Watsonville (Velo Bella) was fourth Expert Women 30-39 in 2:45:12. Arlo Buijten of Davenport (Titus Bikes) won the marathon (75 miles) race in 5:31:10.

Berry Wicks and Ryan Trebon at Firestone Walker 2006
Wicks (816) and Trebon (807) just after
the start.

Ron RileyNapa Valley Dirt Classic, Angwin, April 23, 2006

Ron Riley

Pacific Union College in Angwin, California, hosts this event as a fund raiser. Harriet and I got to the race site about 8:30 AM under cloudy but dry skies. Registration/sign-in was held inside the gymnasium complex and was well-organized and quick. Racers were able to suit up in the locker room—how civilized! I took a little ride out onto the course and it looked pretty dry, and I considered taking the "splash" guard off my down tube. On my way back to the start area, I was following the arrows to the finish line when over a little rise appeared this evil-looking "swamp". I back tracked to dry ground and left the splash guard in place.

Ron Riley's race start
Ron Riley's race start.

The 10:30 AM start had the Open-Pro/Elite men off first. (Mark Weir beat Andy Jacques-Maynes here last year in 1:23:55). Every two minutes another group started off on a short paved section that led to a nice level dirt road. I was just behind two riders in my 50+ Sport Class.

Maybe a mile into the course the road took a sharp left up a hill and it looked like a cycle-cross event. This huge pack of bike-carrying/pushing riders was making their way up the slippery mud-covered, rocky slope. A fellow next to me said "this is the first of many hike-a-bikes today." Gulp!

The next few miles were still fire/jeep road through mixed forest, and I was still in sight of one of the guys in my class. Then I heard the "crowd" and I knew things were about to get exciting. As I started down this steep section that had some pretty good-sized boulders and was lined with spectators looking for blood, I picked a line that looked like I could survive and let 'er roll. I got a little out of control at the bottom and wasn't able to shift soon enough to make it all the way up the other side without dismounting and pushing. By the third one of these giant whoop-de-doos, I got it figured out and made it without pushing. By now, the rider in my class ahead of me was gone.

Soon the course became tight single track and headed down toward a creek. This was great, fairly technical single-track that went up and down across a creek for what seemed like forever. I was doing ok, but having to let faster riders by when I could. I'm always amazed at how fit and skilled mountain bike racers are.

When the single track sections ended we were on steep rutted jeep trails that demanded close attention. As we started down one particularly steep danger-marked section, a course marshal warned us of a ditch at the bottom. I dismounted and walked my bike while the guy behind me slid down and did an 'easy' crash into this three-foot-deep mud-filled ditch at the bottom. The course marshal/first aid guys on the other side of the ditch told me only four riders had ridden across that ditch all day!

Ron confronts the 'swamp'!
Ron confronts the 'swamp'!

The next few miles were a real challenge for me—lots of steep hike-a-bike sections. I was glad I'd brought two packets of Gu and two water bottles. I wasn't racing, I was surviving! Finally, we reached the top and the folks at the water stop said we were almost finished. They got that right!!! I actually felt a little 'racy' as we headed toward the finish on some of the same flat roads we'd been on at the start and was able to pass a few riders. I went through the 'swamp' with no problem and on to the finish.

The sun came out toward the end of the race, and it was great to be able to get a hot shower in the college locker room. They had a few food tables set up by the finish line and held a small raffle. Harriet and I left about 2PM and we were home in time for dinner.

Preliminary Results:

Aren Timmel won the Pro/Elite class in 1:31:58.
Paul Begbie won my 50+ Sport Class in 2:03:33.

My 2:43:12 wasn't listed in the preliminary results. No mechanicals and no injuries. I'd rate this course as challenging as anything I've ridden.

Wente Vineyards Road Race and Criterium, Livermore, 4/22-23/06

Dennis Pedersen

I really wanted to try my hand at road races last year, but I never managed to get to any. This year I had been in three already, and this one was to be number four. My wife had plans with her girl friends for the whole weekend, so it was a natural to enter the road race on Saturday and the criterium on Sunday. Her plans ended up changing to just one day, but I'd already pre-registered. Too late!

I'd been having trouble with my shifters, but got them tuned a few days prior. What a change! And I'd need that for the steep hills in the road race which were on the west slope of the same hills I'd raced on in the Patterson Pass Road Race.

Road Race, Category 4

I got up at 4:45 to make the drive over. Yawn. Rob Evans was racing in Elite 5, but their start was over three hours later. I don't blame Rob for not wanting to carpool! While there was a chance of rain it was really only cloudy, and a bit chilly.

This race was about 50 miles long on a course using three 15-mile laps along small roads around HWY 580 toward Altamont Pass through pretty countryside. This was followed by another five miles up the first climb.

I didn't notice any familiar faces at the start. Except maybe a Roaring Mouse Cycles rider. I had also seen some riders at registration I recognized from the Patterson Pass Road Race... presumably entered in the open 45+ race. Not for me this time!

The first lap was fairly mellow, and even the tough climbs were easily managed. I stayed with the lead group the whole time and matched every move... though there weren't any serious attacks. I didn't feel as lively as I did the previous weekend, but I still felt pretty good. The wind was pretty strong in places, this is windmill territory after all, so staying with the pack was critical, in spite of the climbs.

On the second lap we hit the big climb much harder, but I was still feeling in control. But then somebody just drilled it near the middle of the first big climb and the lead pack surged ahead in pursuit. I was below my max and thus still in the running, but suddenly I started wheezing... my asthma chose this moment to strike! I can push myself harder than that with no problems but every once in a while my airways spasm and I can't breathe fully. Not good for racing! The last time that happened was last year at a CCCX race. The only way to stop it is to slow down for a while. And I still had the rest of the climbs in that lap to complete. I kept the pack in sight for a long time, and I hoped I'd be able to catch them on the descent.

I was to be disappointed: even on the descents it was too hard to ride into the wind alone, and the gap actually grew. I was still wheezing a little, and my legs started burning uncharacteristically.

That all really surprised me, but as I hit the flat section, finally breathing easy, I was joined by a dropped Berkeley Bicycle Club rider named Chris. I suggested that we work together, and this we did. When the pack splits up, like this type of hilly course seems to promote, you tend to have riders of similar fitness group together. Soon another Berkeley Bicycle Club rider, Mike, a Fremont Freewheelers rider, Jorge, and a Roaring Mouse Cycles rider, Salvatore, joined us and we all pace-lined the rest of the race. My legs were toasted, maybe because of oxygen deprivation, but I still managed to pull from time to time.

My first lap took me about 41 minutes; my last two laps took about 45 each, and they were harder... there's the benefit of riding in the peloton! I ended up in 69th place out of 78 finishers.

After the race my legs were shot, but I managed to hook up with Rob Evans and wished him luck in his race... I don't want to take credit but maybe that's why he ended up in first place!

By the way, my heart-rate monitor said I burned 2363 calories during this 2:26-hour race!

Criterium, Masters 35+ 4/5

Larry Morin and Rob had both expressed interest in racing the crit and we coordinated our plans. Larry offered us a drive over to Livermore in his van, and with gas at over three dollars per gallon, we were happy to accept. Larry caught me still eating breakfast when he knocked on my door at 5:10 a.m. Then we picked up Rob. Trundling along in Larry's van we shared a few ideas on tactics on the way... beats driving over alone!

We had plenty of time to warm up, and rode around town in the cold, gray dawn. The first race started at 7:30 so we only got one warmup lap. At the start line l spotted various friends/competitors like Mark Patten and Martin Wolf of Newman's Own. The field was huge... about 75 riders. But we had the advantage of a clear sense of teamwork, and the knowledge that we were as fit as we could be.

Rob had suggested that I experiment with prime sprints. I had to agree that was a good idea because it's really hard to get real sprint practice the way I race! It's also a good way to gauge your own abilities against those of other riders. Larry wanted to keep his options open and see how he felt at the finish. He'd done very well with a late-race attack at Menlo Park that helped reduce the final field sprint to help Rob.

The course was flat but had several gently-curving "straights" connecting the corners. These caused some riders to get squeezed against the curb, but I don't think we had any crashes. We would race for 45 minutes.

The start was uneventful, and we set a quick, but manageable pace. Most riders were doing a good job of steering clear of trouble, and so we avoided the crashes we had in Menlo Park. Rob was calling out advice and encouragement as we sped along.

For the first prime sprint (I think) Rob tried to lead me out. But I didn't know this in time, so I was on the right side of the group and Rob was on the left, with several riders between us. So he went for it and won the darn thing!

The next lap in which we had a prime Rob told me to "grab Mark's wheel!" as we all prepared for the sprint. What he meant was that Mark Patten was just in front of us with a nice gap ripe for the taking, and that he wanted me to draft Mark to use him as an unwitting lead-out man for my own sprint. Clever! But what I saw was not Mark, but his team-mate Martin Wolff. I was confused and looked around for Mark, but Rob kept saying I should go, so I decided he'd confused them and just went for it. OK. Whoever was confused may not matter, and maybe my memory isn't what it used to be, but I know that as I approached the 200m mark before the finish line, Mark tried to scootch in front of me to take Martin's wheel but I blocked him. Perhaps that was some other prime I went for but I don't think so. Anyway, Martin started pulling, but then backed off to the right, perhaps because he saw that Mark had shifted over to the right. But I was fresh and shot right past them. I drafted another rider, but he too backed off, and I found myself just behind a big guy really going for it. But I'd spent too much time moving up, so even though I was gaining on him I didn't win the sprint. But it was close, and great practice!

The next lap I found myself wheezing just a little, as I'd done the day before, but I recovered soon enough. But some guy behind me took exception to me sitting up and said "why not just stop?" Whatever.

Not much else happened for a while, but soon we were counting down toward the final lap. I moved forward and felt pretty good which really surprised me given how drained I'd felt the day before. Cool! And with a couple of turns to go I spotted Larry shooting off the front, and Rob maybe eight riders back. Awesome! I figured we were in a strong position to control the race. So I called out to Rob as I passed him on my way up to Larry. I envisioned instinctively that we could either do a three-man lead-out, or that maybe Larry could block for Rob and I. Perhaps we'd manage to catch the peloton by surprise. Whatever the case, I rode by Larry and yelled out, "let's break this thing up!"

I shot into the final hard turn, and started really pulling at the head of the pack. Exiting the turn I still had about 400m to go, and a slight headwind, so I started pooping out, and could only pull to about the 300m mark. Darn! I thought Rob could have won from 200m against anybody in our race, so l was a little bummed but still hopeful as I pulled off to the right and let the pack rush by. Mark Patten, with George Fuentes shamelessly sucking his wheel, squeezed by me on the right, but way too late. Rob was way up front, though he chose to draft one more guy before the sprint, and that guy ended up being able to out-drag him for the win.

Still, it was a good feeling to know we'd worked together as well as we did. My biggest mistake was in not realizing how long Larry had been in the lead. He was too tired to be able to work in a three-man lead-out, or to block, so we were not able to make a gap that would have held off the chasers.

Rob ended up in 2nd, while Larry and I, spent from our last-lap attacks, cruised in at 51st and 61st place out of 66 finishers. Rob showed his appreciation for our work by giving Larry some gas money and offering me his prime-win prize of a bottle of Wente wine.

The next race was the Elite 3 race, and my friend Chris Tanner was entered. After watching him for a while I noticed that something had happened out there. It turned out there'd been a crash on the back stretch. Soon a police car appeared, followed by a fire truck. Then an ambulance. Ouch. I'd lost track of Chris, but after the final sprint I was sure he was MIA. I looked around for a while and finally found him at first aid. He'd crashed, but thankfully not in the wreck requiring the EMTs. He'd been fifth wheel into the last turn, ready to lead out a friend, when the rider right in front of him wiped out. He was a little scraped up. But not too bad.

After Rob got his trophy I got a sport massage... after waiting for the masseuse to finish with some guy named Larry Nolan (FYI: Masters National Champion!). Then we all got back in Larry's van and headed home, discussing how things had gone. Oh, and stopped at Jack in the Box... I passed!

Copperopolis Road Race, Milton, 4/15/06

Matt Wocasek

The Master 35 plus field was actually smaller than last year hence it was not broken up into two races. After getting dropped on the big climb I started reeling in other stragglers. We formed a chase group of about five riders. But it wasn't a group for long. I and one other rider dropped the rest. We could see a large pack of riders in our race a little ways ahead of us so we slowly pulled them back, only to catch them right before the second big climb on the first lap. I was back in the group for about a mile or less before I was time trialing again. I rode through the start line by my self and started the second lap.

Matt Wocasek
Matt pedals on

Going up the rock creek climb on the second lap some riders caught me and we formed into a pack. We worked together until the last long climb where one rider pulled away off the front. I dropped the others trying to catch him. On the way to the finish I passed the scene of an accident. As I bounced by on the rough decent it looked like there was a rider sitting up the pavement with people helping him. And then I passed no less than four emergency vehicles going up the hill with lights and sirens on. I finished all alone 30th out of 50. Hey at least it didn't rain. I saw in the results that Levi Leiphimer won the pro race. I was so wrapped up in my own race that I didn't know he was there.

Rob EvansTri-Flow Menlo Park Grand Prix, Menlo Park, 4/15/06

Rob Evans

Better late than never...

"We might be able to stay away but it's gonna hurt." Ken was shouting. We had been away for a couple laps. We didn't plan a break away. It just happened.

It all started when the bell signalled the first preem and Ken moved to the front. I knew what he was doing and why the pace was getting faster-- Ken was leading me out for the preem. Neither of us cared about the Gift Certificate. We wanted to practice our end game; Ken's leadout and my finishing sprint. As the pace increased and the field got increasingly twitchy, I did my best to keep a cool head and stay smooth through the final 2 corners of our 4-corner course. Ken dropped me off ~200 meters from the start/finish and I started my sprint. ~100 meters from the finish I looked around and there was this guy from SJBC who, just a few weeks ago, had beat me in the finishing sprint of the Rohnde Van Brisbeen Crit. I dug deep and a came across the line well ahead of SJBC. Just as I started to recover from the effort, I hear an approaching Ken yelling, "Come on! Let's keep going."

So that was how we ended up off the front in a breakaway with 30 minutes left of racing. We were off the front for the 2nd preem (Ken took that one) and I think that helped get the field motivated to chase us down. Then again, maybe not. All I know is that when the field did catch us, I was relieved. No gut wrenching time trial for us, and since the chase happened reletively quickly, there was enough time left in the race for Ken and I to recover for the end game.

I didn't contest the third preem because I wanted to conserve energy; but when the bell rang for preem number four, I moved in behind Mr. SJBC with the intention of sitting on his wheel and taking the sprint from him at the last minute. Well, I lost. Mr. SJBC bettered me even though I did everything right; I was 2nd wheel, I waited until ~100 meters, I was even well rested. Even though I jumped as hard as I could, I could not come around him. He just seemed to keep getting faster. Oh, shite!

Mr. SJBC would go on to beat me in the next preem as well, and that's when my heart sank. It's painfull to bump up against one's limits--harder still to find a reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, the limit is a little further out there. While I was navel gazing, Ken rolls up and tells me that Mr. SJBC has a faster acceleration than I do and that I'll need a fast pace coming into the final sprint in order to beat him. Ken's a smart racer; Me, I'm a big dummy, so this takes a while to register.

Rob Evans on the top step of the podium
Rob Evans on the top step of the podium

Sufficiently motivated, I settled in for the finish and did my best to stay out of trouble. Like many crits, the pace picked up in the last three laps. Just as the bell was rung for the final lap, Larry charged to the front and put in a fierce attack that stirred up the field. Ken and I sat back and let others expend thier engery chasing Larry down. Just as they caught Larry, Ken appeared at the front and pushed the pace even more. As we dove into the final corner I started my sprint. With about 100 meters to go I could hear Ken shouting, "Go, Rob!" and I dug a little deeper. The next thing I knew I was speeding past the finish line, the winner.

Tri-Flow Menlo Park Grand Prix, Menlo Park, 4/15/06

Dennis Pedersen

It's been hard to even train with all the rain we've been having. So when we had an apparent break in the weather I decided at the last moment to go up to Menlo Park and hope there were still openings in the races. Larry Morin, Rob Evans and Ken Sato would be there, all racing in Cat 5. And my LGBRC friends Rob Jensen and Chris Tanner, and their long-time friend George Fuentes. My wife Margaret had a facial appointment scheduled, so she'd be luxuriating while I suffered!

On the drive up the weather was OK, but still a bit cloudy for comfort. After I signed up with the nice Velo Girls at registration and started to warm up on course it did start to rain lightly, and the wind picked up from the West. Oh well. But it turned out to just be a passing shower.

The course was perfectly flat with four turns. A few Bott's Dots, two cars parked on the back straight and a nasty sewer grate in one turn were the only obstacles. A perfect sprinter's course with a 200-meter straight from the last turn.

Masters 35+ Cat 4

The field assembled at the start line wasn't too big... I guess a 9:00 a.m. start on a wet day kept riders away. But at least the course was dry by then.

Very soon after the start I heard the sound of the bell... a prime sprint! And we had no less than five prime sprints in this race! Now-familiar Mark Patten won three sprints; he was on fire! But a SJBC rider took the first one after another Newman's Own rider, Bernard Silviera, missed it because he had a slight cramp, then got confused and thought it wasn't a prime lap after all. I can relate! It was pretty funny because we could all see him plainly way off the front, but he then sat up and let us catch him just before the finish line! We all chuckled. He was really bummed later when he found out it was a $50 prime!

The race really didn't have a lot of drama otherwise, at first. The frequent primes seemed to dictate the conduct of the peloton too much. Eventually we did settle into a good pace, and the final laps were quick but pretty manageable. I felt great and ready to contest the final sprint.

As we exited turn 4 and nervously approached the line with one lap to go, two riders started to squeeze me from each side. I was about one foot behind them, so I thought maybe they hadn't noticed me. I called out "in the middle," but they kept coming. I suddenly realized that a routine positioning in the peloton was about to become a potential danger... when they both struck me nearly simultaneously!

I kept my cool though, and tried my best not to overreact but to just hold my line, and my grip on the handlebars. But they weren't so prepared and the shock of suddenly finding some guy pressing against their flesh was too great... they both crashed yelling down onto the pavement! I miraculously managed to hold on, and scooted off from in between them... whew! But I soon discovered that the impact had caused my rear wheel's quick-release to, well, release, and I had to stop to get that fixed. The wheel-speed sensor arm of my cycle computer had been torn off too. I could only watch the field continue on without me.

I immediately went back to registration to sign up for the Category 4 race. But there I spotted the two riders who crashed, as they received their first aid. Scrapes eveywhere, and completely shredded jerseys and shorts, with the smell of friction-burned flesh permeating the air... yuck. I almost, but didn't quite, change my mind. "Get right back up on that horse," I always say!

It surprised me that these two guys were both big, as in over six feet tall, and one weighed at least 200 pounds! Yet only I, the small guy, stayed off the pavement. I was nervous about telling them that it was I who took them out, in a sense, but decided to do so anyway. I'm glad I did because they were both very understanding and completely absolved me of any guilt. "These things happen." They even shook my hand and we all introduced ourselves. The big guy was Phil, of Le Matin, and the other was from Village Pedallers. I also got to know Larry Knott from the Olympic Club team.

Category 4

As we waited for the start of the Cat 4 race I spotted several strong teams, including Roaring Mouse Cycles, San Jose Bicycle Club and Alto Velo. I was alone again, naturally. I predicted to George that it would rain before the race was over... I was proven right after just two laps! I don't think it coincided, but there was a guy who crashed in turn 1 right around that time. Turned out he crossed wheels with Martin Wolf, Newman's Own. This apparently set a precedent, because we seemed to have a fresh crash every several laps. After the light rain had soaked the pavement for a while the surface became slick. One rider wiped out in turn 3... I noticed later how slick it was when my rear tire scooted sideways just a hair!

I ended up chasing down several attacks, in part because a solo rider can't risk letting them get away, and in part because I still felt really stong and thought it would be fun.

One break I caught was by two Alto Velo riders. One of them had gone off the front and the other thought he should follow. This provoked much hilarity by some riders as it's not usually considered a smart move... you should try to get riders from other teams in the break so they will let the break get away. It was kind of funny, especially since it happened twice! But in one way I suppose it made some sense because there was no doubt they'd work together to make their break stick. But they also guaranteed that the rest of us would not let it last!

Another break I caught was a solo attempt by a Roaring Mouse Cycles rider. That lasted longer than it should have because I didn't want to do all the work, and couldn't convince many others to take over.

With seven laps to go a six-man break formed off the front. I thought this had the potential to stick, so I bridged up to join them, or pull the peloton back together if it didn't. In turn 4 an Alto Velo rider at the front clipped his pedal on the curb when he cut the turn too tight and wiped out spectacularly. That also contributed to the break getting caught, and soon we were forming up for the final sprint.

As we neared the final lap I heard my friend Chris roaring "move further up!" I thought to myself "but I am further up!" I kept telling myself not to hold anything back, but also not to pull anybody up either. In retrospect I should have been a few spots further up, because when we exited the last turn I was already too far back to be able to force myself through the leaders. Maybe my near crash from the first race had left me a little skittish. I don't think my fitness was an obstacle to victory in the least. He told me "I'm going to get some black electrical tape and cover your heart rate monitor with it so you can't read it!" Chris was right on the money, like usual.

You guessed it; I got another mid-pack finish. I ended up in 19th out of 36 finishers. But I felt so strong, and so exhilarated over surviving that crash, that I was in a great mood. I'm ready for Wente Vineyards next weekend!

I had to leave so I could attend a pre-Easter family get-together, so I missed the the Cat 5 race. But I later learned that Rob Evans had taken the victory! Way to go!

Troy BooneSea Otter Classic, 40+ Opoen Clydesdale XC, Laguna Seca, 4/9/06

Troy Boone (9th of 25 on a single speed 29er!)

At this year's Sea Otter Classic, Cross Country Mountain Bike race, I raced the +40 Open (beg/sport/pro) Clydesdale (+200lbs. for you civilians) race. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd from cycle-cross and other mtb events. I have to say, this being my first year racing in the...sniff, sniff...+40, Clydesdale group. I have to admit I was expecting to see a bunch of tired, beer gut sporting dudes but, no way. Just lining up at the start and doing a surface survey made me realize, most of these guys came to throw down. Lots of fit and trim type A linebackers in team jerseys straddling finely tuned racing machines. But spirits were high and the banter was focused on fun. Before I knew it, count down had begun. Time to hear the pounding of my heart beat, sense the nervous silence of the crowd as we all look forward and down, "Okay, ride your own race, ride your own race", the click of cleats sliding into pedals and then...(BANG!), GO!

Being the only single speed in the group, as expected, I launched ahead and into second place. My solo gear (32:20) would soon betray me on this flat stretch as I hit my RPM max. Within a couple of minutes, the pelaton stretched across the race track. Soon I found myself trailing at the back of the pack. Attempting to draft of off faster cyclist was futile. Cyclist after cyclist passed me on my left and right, that is, until the hill climb. Hills are where the BIG BOI factor seemed to usually kick in as a handicap. One by one, I began to make up ground. This group was definitely slower than my lighter practice buddies. Ahhh, my people! Being 230lbs I'm definitely a Clyde, I just probably spend more time climbing hills than most to make up for it.

Troy smiling through the tears
Troy powers up the climbs

Once at the top of the track, and off to the ridgeline speed run, I kept pace with a fellow acquaintance from an mtbr.com group ride. He and I had pre-ridden on a group ride and I knew that I'd be seeing him in the beginning. Sure enough, he and I went back and forth for the first few miles. I'd climb a hill and pass him. On the first couple of steep and fast descents, he'd sweep down the hill, catch air on a water bar, and begin to disappear. It was a friendly exchange and we even encouraged one another. Finally on one twisty hill climb, I maneuvered past him and didn't see him again.

At least a couple of slower groups got released in front of us. I attempted to be polite. Typically I'd yell the standard "On your left!" wait for a line to pass and go for it. I seemed to really hit my stride on the windy, uphill, single track sections that required the grit and finesse that come with piloting a single speed. I began to patiently pass other racers and gradually make up ground. It seemed that a lot of people went out fast and slowly blew up. My mantra was "Ride your own race, and avoid mistakes." Also, with several groups of racers out at once, making my way up from the back, there was no way of knowing how I was placing.

A couple of times I scared the shite out of some of the female sport riders by getting, (in their minds) too close. However, I never hit or touched anyone. Maybe it was my Psycho-Cross background that gave me a bit of a different sense of space. My way of politely pushing people out of the way was to get behind them and encourage them. Breathe down their back with kindness if you will, and typically they would let me pass.

Along one of the first twisty, uphill single track portions I started keeping pace with what appeared to be a speedy female junior rider, (or maybe she was racing up a class or two). Instead of passing her, I just trailed behind since she was kicking ass and passing a lot of folks. When we'd typically come up to a group of slower guys, I'd announce "On your left, lady coming through!" They would make way and we'd buzz on by. I noticed she seemed to be breathing rather rapidly but was still maintaining pace. So onward and upward we made our way for about five minutes through twisty, sandy, single track as the sun slowly began to emerge and heat up the course.

Once we got up to the top of the summit the course extended on to a fire road. As I began to pass her she seemed to begin to have an emotional breakdown. I gave her a pat on the shoulder, told her she was doing great, and to just stay smooth.

Afterwards, I kind of felt like the big bad monster nipping at the heels of an innocent. At the time all I thought I was doing was giving her some encouragement and a chance to lead. Or maybe she was a first time racer, and was just feeling overwhelmed? Only she knows for sure.

Anyway, once we hit the mud bog area (right before the 2nd sand hill descent), this other racer in my class on a white Santa Cruz bike shows up. He passes me giving me props for riding a single speed, and passes me as if he wasn't going to see me again. So, I tagged along behind him. We kept again going back and forth. I'd clear the puddles in the bog area straight on, cyclo-cross style by dismounting and running straight through them. Curiously, a lot of other racers seemed to just stop, ponder their options, and slowly proceed. I found that kind of ironic, seeing that this was a mountain bike race. Well, back to my new friend.

He'd catch me on the downhill areas or the flats with his gears and full suspension. I'd then put the hammer down, and pass him on the hill climbs, look back and grin. He'd look down, focused, and fiercely pedal away. Finally I got out and ahead of him on Skyline Rd, on our way to the 44. For some reason I began to forget about him while passing other racers, dodging more tire and cleat sucking puddles, and attempting to summon up what ever gusto I still had in reserves. On the way up the hill, I caught up with appeared to be the lead group for a class of women's sport racers. Again more encouragement from them for climbing the hill on a single, I sent lots of encouragement back their way as well. And when ever someone did pass me, I throw them a "Go get 'em." Then an older gent decided to strike up a conversation. Here I am out of the saddle, huffing and puffing, grunting...and dude wants to chat? "Hey, didn't we battle it out last year?" he says. I muster a, (inhale)...no, sorry. And don't look back.

I made several passes by dismounting and running around folks on the short hills where a lot of people were granny gearing. By the time I hit the very steep and long Jack's Road, my slight scoliosis was kicking in along with my sciatic nerve...PAIN! Every bump and jarring of the rear of the bike began to echo up my hips and back once I sped down the single track at the top. Then I got the "Only 4km to go!" voice from an official. Okay, focus..Charge!

And about then who would you know shows up, Mr. Santa Cruz bike dude! Yikes, where did he come from? Oh well, we had some encouraging exchanges. At this point, I was feeling spent and sloppy. Off to the side was a fellow curled up on the ground in the fetal position, puking away in the lush green grass. I thought, "Oh well take it, I don't care anymore". Then I again caught up with him on a hill climb. He noticed our exchange as well. He said, "Same thing all f*ckin race, back and forth with us, (smile and head shake)"!

Finally on the last hill, with less than 3km to go, undetected I trailed him and soon began to taunt him. "Don't let me catch you now big boy"! With that he took off like a bullet. I just smiled and let him go figuring he was gone for good this time. I got to the twisty section of single track right before entry to the track. Lots of blind turns as you sketchily descend and accelerate with compromised motor skills and judgment across mud, deep puddles, ruts, and sand just tasting the exhilaration of the finish line. Just a little bit more, just a little further. Hitting an almost final straight...there he was...within my sights again. With a hidden reserve of adrenaline, my pain disappeared and with some one else's legs running me along, I dismounted my bike cyclo-cross style and dashed past the tight, uphill right turn leaving three more racers in my wake. Got on his rear wheel and whispered..."I'm baaaack". He looked back and with an expletive shifted into his higher gears and started cranking out of the saddle. With that we hit the track together in a full sprint passing surprised racers left and right. My 29er wheels helped get me down the hill pretty fast, but in the end, his gears won out.

He beat me by 4 whole seconds! After the finish line, we both exchanged hand shakes and had a good laugh about the whole thing. Oh well, great race and even better racers. My hats off too everyone who had the courage and the game to enter and finish!

Ron RileySea Otter Classic, Men's 60+ Sport/Expert XC, Laguna Seca, 4/9/06

Ron Riley

Harriet and I left Aptos about 6:30AM for Laguna Seca. High clouds but no rain. We were up early enough to be able to park in the infield rather than up on Wolf Hill. As I rode around to warm up, I said hello to Grant Stoner and my racing friends from the Team Big Bear Series.

Ron at the start
Ron mixes it up with the other crazies
(Harriet Riley)

My 8:35 start included the Sport men 50-54, 55-59 and the combined 60+ Sport/Experts. By the time we left the track and headed out onto the dirt, we were pretty much single file. I was in my usual "toward the back" position and determined to be patient and pace myself. Soon we were on a sweet new downhill single track. Going downhill early in a race means only one thing ?| uphill next! Trail 50, another new trail, took us up to the next ridge. This mostly middle ring single track climb wasn't bad.

Along the next ridge, the trail opened up and I was able to pass and be passed. Soon we took a sharp right turn down trail 60 ?| also referred to as 'the beach'. When I first pre-rode the course back when it was fairly dry in February, I'd dumped it here going down hill in the deep sand. But today, with damp sand, different tires, less air pressure and staying completely off the brakes, I was actually able to pass a few riders. Yahoo! Remember, though, going down hill early in the race means...! At the bottom of trail 60 we crossed Crescent Bluff Rd and then up a very nice but steep single track, trail 82. I'd rate this as the toughest climb of the race. I was feeling OK and letting the occasional single speeder squeeze by. Then comes a tandem, and then another! I have to let them by ?| these guys are amazing ?| and in costume! As I came up to a switchback, the two riders ahead are slowing and I see a chance to put my newbie cyclocross skills to use. I dismount and run around them ?| oops, now I have to remount going uphill. Luckily it leveled off just enough for me to hop on the saddle and get going without doing an "Artie Johnson" (Laugh-in tricycle dump).

Some downhill single/double track followed by - you guessed it, a tough middle chain-ring grind. Up Pilarcitos and Skyline roads to some familiar, nice rolling single track although going in the opposite direction from the "old" course. Having pre-ridden the course, I knew as we got to Jack's Road what lay ahead - the dreaded "Three Bitches" but in reverse. Love that granny gear! I'd passed both of my Team Big Bear friends earlier but Gordon Gracia, 62, of Nipomo, had a little more momentum starting up the first "Bitch" and passed me. Seventy-five percent of the mud on the course was in the next ridge top single track section with big bog-like wheel/shoe-sucking mud. A hapless rider in front of me fell in one of these traps and cramped at the same time. Are we having fun yet??? After a short zoom down another sandy "beach" section, it was back up our last single track climb. Descending to Jack's Road next for a little pavement time, I had a chance to grab some nourishment. A little more single track and we were headed up Skyline Road for the two-plus mile middle chain ring grind back to the track. I locked out my front suspension, said a quick prayer to the "Cramp gods", and settled into my best "Hazel Dell" like effort.

There's a short single track section just before the racetrack and, about half way through, I realized I'd forgotten to 'unlock' my front suspension. I was doing ok, though, so just left it locked. There were lots of spectators yelling encouragement and I actually passed a few riders just before we got to the racetrack ?| single speeders who were feeling lots of pain. The quarter mile or so dash to the finish on the racetrack was all a downhill, big ring, big smile blast. I was 9th (10th last year) of 19 riders in my class. My 2:02:44 for a little over 20 miles was twenty-one minutes behind the winner, Stan Ford of Temecula, but three minutes ahead of 11th place finisher, Buz Brockway (66 of Granada Hills) my main Team Big Bear Series competition.

Neat course, no crashes, no mechanicals and no rain!

Larry MorinSanta Cruz Classic Criterium, Men Masters 35+ 4/5, Santa Cruz, 4/9/06

Larry Morin

Sunday morning I rode over to the Crit knowing I had no legs to do this race (35+ 4/5). I was going to do the best I could. Well, to make a short story short. The race started out fast and right then I new I was going to suffer just to hang on. I found myself at the back and realized that I am in the worst position, getting the Yo! Yo! effect. Too many laps of this and I am done. There was no way I could move up and hold a position. I lasted 6 or 7 laps and found myself in "No Mans Land" O.T.B. I finished the race and sucked it up.

Thanks for reading!

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium, Men Masters 35+ 4/5, Santa Cruz, 4/9/06

On the Start Line we have Philip Sims, Mike Martin, Steve Hess, LarryMorin, Matt Wocasek, Dennis Pedersen, Ken Sato, Rob Evans (not Hooptie), and Gary Gogol on a town bike, complete with huge basket. Gary jokiingly lined up and wanted to know if his number was correctly placed.

33 Riders are under Starter orders... And they're off for the first of 14 laps!

The pack is strung out single file already and one Cycle Sport rider is off the back.

At the end of lap 2, Steve and Philip are in the middle of a strung outpack, with the remaining Team SC riders entrenched at the back.

Mike Martin chasing
Mike Martin chases down an attack

Cycle Sport riders are driving hard, but Mike Martin is hot on his heels, pulling the entire pack. Team SC is farther up the pack. More riders are off the back, as the race is taking its toll on the slower riders.

Geoff Gunderson from Cycle Sport attacks with 10 to go and his teammate blocks in second position.

Gunderson has been swallowed by the pack and Andrew Murray from SJBC has a slight gap as the bell rings for a next lap prime (sponsored by The Bike Trip!).

Murray just takes the $10 from Keith Defiebre, who tried to catch in a futile effort. Uh oh, Larry Morin has cracked and is off the back. There are other riders still behind him, hopefully they can work together?

With 7 to go, Cycle Sports are again on the front with two riders, followed by the sjbc rider and the pack, which is now whittled down to 20 or so. Larry otb.

Murray has a slight gap with 6 to go, Rob Evans is in the top 6. Larry now has a couple of riders to work with.

Steve Hess in fifth and it's all together with 5 to go. Other team riders doing well in the pack, Dennis and Matt looking comfortable on the back.

Larry and co will be lapped soon, as the pack comes through with 4 togo. Mike Martin looking... retro. No suprise there.

Larry swings wide to allow the pack through, as Ken takes up the pace-making with three to go. The pack is bunched up.

Two to go, Cycle Sport has three riders on the front and Steve Hess carefully watches them in fourth.

One to go, Ken in front, followed by a Cycle Sport rider, Steve Hess,and the rest of a single file pack. Steve's tongue is very pink.

The lead moto crests the last rise, there is one rider in sight, then the pack swamps him and is all over the road! It's mayhem! Riders are swinging their bikes all over the place and it looks like a Clif Bar rider Jordi Cortes takes the sprint, followed closely by a bunch all across the road. All remaining Team riders "died at the finish" (per Philip) but finished in the main bunch (sorry Larry).

Waiting for the judges to review the video... Will post full results as soon as they're available.

Results here.

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium, Santa Cruz, 4/9/06

Dennis Pedersen

This race is the club's only sponsored road race, so there was no way I wouldn't show up, rain or shine! Fortunately the weather gods smiled on us and while the weather didn't equal the absolutely perfect conditions we had on Saturday, it was still pretty nice.

I ate my cooked 10-grain cereal breakfast with coffee, packed my backpack with gear, and rode my race/commute bike the two miles or so over to Beach Hill. David Gill, of course, was already there, as were Simone Montez, Mike Evans, and others I'm sure. My thanks go out to our hard-working crew!

I felt pretty good, and I thought I should take advantage of the proximity of the race to my house, so I decided to register for the "Category 4" race as well as the "Masters 35+ 4/5" race for older Cat 4 and 5 guys like me. I got two race numbers and carefully labelled the back of each with the respective race.

Men's Category 4 Race

Mark Patten
Mark Patten is easy to spot

At the start area I was told I'd pinned on the wrong race number. Hmmmm... I could have sworn... oh well. Around me I could see a small field of only 20 riders. Mark Patten was the only guy I recognized. But my brother-in-law Steve was there to cheer me on; I believe this was the first bike race he ever watched, and he really seemed to enjoy it!

We set a pretty fast pace right from the start, though I couldn't tell if it was a specific team pushing the pace, or just some fast individuals. This was a 50-minute race, so we had our work cut out for us. It was great hearing the scattered cheers of "go Santa Cruz," or "go Dennis!"

Lap cards were displayed prominently, and I could hear the announcer very clearly, so I knew exactly where we stood in the race at all times. There weren't a lot of attacks, but there were a few minor attempts at softening up the field. I made no effort to counter any of them, except to close one minor gap that formed on Laurel Street. We had one prime sprint that I didn't have any intention of contesting, though others did and forced the pace up as a result.

As I did last year, I used the downhill after the hairpin turn to rest almost every lap, and found I could recover in time for the climbs up 3rd Avenue. I think I'm always worried, though, that I'll blow up at the wrong moment and get dropped, so I always try to keep a good reserve. Maybe this worry is a vestige of races like Patterson Pass where maxing out pretty much meant that the next attack would kill me!

Speaking of the hairpin: In one lap I was approaching it on the right edge of the group when a rider from Central Valley Cycling rode up on my right and called out "inside." No big deal, usually. But shortly after that it was clear he had under-estimated the extra braking required by the tighter line, shouted something to the effect that he'd lost it, and started to press into me. I pressed back just a little, so as not to over-compensate, but still ended up putting my right foot down and popping my front wheel off the ground. He shot through the pack and onto the sidewalk but mostly managed to stay upright. Fortunately the field was small so there weren't too many riders behind us who would slam into us. He apologized later, but I told him not to worry about it; these things happen. Mark later told me it was "fun to watch." I guess racing in RAAM forces your mind to look for entertainment where it can find it!

Matt Wocasek
Matt is already in trouble...
maybe for looking too fast!

In the last couple of laps the fast pace kept me from being fresh for the final sprint but I tried anyway. Since the group was small and the course very wide at the finish there weren't too many wheels to follow and the wind became a big issue. I really huffed and puffed up the hill on 3rd Avenue, but couldn't produce much added power, even though I still had some room left according to my heart-rate monitor. Odd. Still, I wasn't too far behind and got 13th place. I was pretty happy with that!

I had a little time to get ready for my next race, and chat with Larry Morin, Matt Wocasek, Philip Sims and surprise-entrant Mike Martin as they arrived in turn. Doug Smith and Gary Gogol were also on hand to get us psyched. This race had an awesome club turnout just like last year's! Philip pointed out that Matt had been the fastest at the latest Swanton Road Time Trial, so he felt we should try to work for Matt. Cool, I like to hear that kind of thinking!

Men's Masters 35+ 4/5 Race

This race had a bigger field, with 32 riders, including Mark Patten again, plus Rob Evans and Robbie Abundis who I never did spot. Long-time club friend Steve Hess, with a Bicycle Trip jersey and Team Santa Cruz shorts, also lined up. Apparently David has been working on him, and this symbolized him being in both camps. My wife Margaret watched me race this one, just like last year, so I now had two family members cheering for me!

The start was just as fast as before. This race had more attacks than my first one, and we had to chase down one pretty serious break for at least a full lap. Mark Patten did almost all of the leading in our chase group. I thanked him for his hard work later! But so did Mike.

We team members mostly kept quiet in the pack and tried to save energy. Apparently Larry dropped back, and later told me he hadn't recovered fully from the tough Sea Otter Circuit Race held on the previous Friday. I again ignored the prime sprint they announced, but did shoot to the very front a couple of times on the downhill, even just while coasting. Clearly the other riders were saving their energy here too. One guy in a solid yellow jersey lost his chain on Laurel Street and had to drop back, but rejoined us later. Keep him in mind for later...

Philip and Dennis
Philip and Dennis, with Mark
(Doug Smith)

We soon had another prime sprint announced, or so I thought. The Velo Promo web site didn't list the total race durations, only the start times. I'd mistakenly assumed this race was also 50 minutes, but it was actually only about 30 minutes. I hadn't heard the announcer call out laps like he did in the first race, and I hadn't bothered to look for the lap cards because I thought we still had 20 minutes of racing to go... I was in for a rude surprise!

On Pacific Avenue Philip said something to Matt that I didn't quite hear. Apparently it didn't involve me, but I asked Matt what was up. He said they were going to try to get him up to the front. That seemed like a neat plan; sometimes prime sprints result in a slow-down just after the start/finish line and that can make it a great place to launch a coordinated attack. Cool! But they weren't asking for my help which was a little puzzling. Perhaps Philip thought we should sacrifice Matt? Hmmmm... I didn't have enough oxygen in my brain to make sense of it.

Larry Morin
Larry stylin' (Doug Smith)

After the last turn on that lap I finally figured out it was our last lap! The announcer's frenzied voice made that pretty clear. Oops! It was a little late to jump, but I really wasn't in any better of a position than in the last race anyway, so I suppose I lost little and I kept the leaders in sight at least.

Remember that guy in the yellow jersey? He was just behind me and to my right when he again lost his chain while trying to sprint with us. This time, though, he slammed down so hard on his pedals that he flipped over onto the pavement flat on his back and with his bike on top of him. Ugh! It turned out Mike Martin was right behind him and barely missed him.

Philip, Larry and Steve
Philip, Larry and Steve cool down

While I was straining at the bottom of the hill I noticed a guy on a Cervelo ride by me; only later did I realize it was Rob on his way to an awesome 4th place! As for Philip and Matt, Philip was too worn out to offer any help to Matt and so Matt just forged ahead on his own to a nice 17th place. Steve and I ended up in 20th or 21st (it seems scoring couldn't make sense of our numbers), Philip in 22nd, Mike in 24th, Robbie in 26th, and Larry in 28th.

After the race we chatted a little, but nobody had much to say about our results. Plus, I had to hurry off to get ready to work as a course marshall. Still, it had been pretty cool to be out there on our home field, with friends and family rootin' for us.

Other races

Rob Evans suited up for the first time in a team jersey for the Cat 5 race and finished with another great spot: 2nd place this time! Eric Clarkson also raced in Cat 5 and did very well with a 6th place. We have some amazing new talent in the club; I only hope we can do right by them.

Larry Hibbard
Larry Hibbard brought a mountain-
bike to a road race... and did fine!
(Doug Smith)

I worked the end of the Master's 35+ 1/2/3 race, and it was pretty exciting. Some of them were guys I raced against at Patterson Pass. Larry Hibbard raced his mountain-bike with worn-down mud tires, finishing mid-pack! I love the final image I took with me from that race: a guy way back from the finishers up ahead, spent, but loudly cheering the victory of the team-mate he had worked so hard to support.

The Women's 1/2/3 race was very different from the men's races, as usual. I've noticed they always seem to split up more than the men. Sometimes the women cheer each other on, but not this time for some reason.

I didn't enjoy the Men's Pro/1/2 race as much as last year's, except for a few incidents. One being when local Cal Giant guy Chaba got a little too excited and started chasing down a four-man break his team-mate had joined. At the hairpin turn another Giant rider had to yell at him, and I quote: "Chaba! Stop pedalling!" It started sprinkling lightly during this race, and a crash in that turn by one of the riders in the break later killed the break, except for Karl Menzies, Health Net, who, amazingly, turned it into a successful solo break with about 13 miles to go. OK, maybe it was pretty cool after all!

Meanwhile, on the dirt of Laguna Seca, other team members were competing at the Sea Otter Classic. Last year these races didn't conflict, but we all had to choose between them this time. Grant Stoner finished 61st out of no less than 105 riders. There may have been others, but they'll have to let us know how they did!

Larry Morin2006 Sea Otter Classic Circuit Road Race, Laguna Seca, 4/7/06

Larry Morin

I left my house a little before 9:00 a.m. Weather seems to be holding out as I drove down highway one south to Monterey. I entered the 40+ Cat 5 race, with a field of a hundred registered racers. Arrived and was directed to a parking area out in the back forty, boondocks. Was forced to park my van on a grassy hillside. There was no way I was going to warm up using my trainer on this hilly grass. I suited up and decided to find registration and then find some roads to warm up on.

While warming up, I ran into Ben Shank (Family Cycling) and Eric Clarkson (SCCC), both were entering the Elite 5 race at noon. We decided to head towards the track and do a couple of warm up laps. I felt good going into this race, was well rested. This course was a eye opener to say the least, 320 feet of elevation gain, with 2.25 miles per lap. The climb began with a long sweeping left turn to a long straight upward climb, only to be fooled be a false summit leading to an additional wall, (I thought to myself this is going to be a bitch). We immediately descended into the famous swooping "Cork screw." Man Oh! Man Oh! This was worth the climb! You went from 5 mph to 50 mph within seconds. Cool! I should be able to catch on the descent if I get dropped. The rest of the course was a fast, rolling and very turny to the start/finish line.

I headed to the start line to get a good position close to the front. The fields were huge! All the Cat 5s were lined up to start, Elite 5, 30+ Cat 5, 40+ Cat 5, 50+ and the 60+. We were going to go off in 4-minute increments. I looked around to see if I knew anybody. Everybody looked like they were pros, am I in the Cat 5 race? Dan Palmer from the Spokesman Team lined up right behind me, along with Mark Fuss to my right. I was way up front and glad, because the climb was going to be a struggle.

We were given instruction and we were off... cool. The race started out brisk to the base of the climb. I was up front and hiding behind about ten riders, watching Dan Palmer pushing the pace. I felt good sitting where I was in case the pace increased before the descent, knowing I could jump on some 90 riders behind me. We crested the top of the climb dropping off into the Roller Coaster "Cork Screw," I was glued to the riders in front of me. We were screaming down this section much faster than in my warm ups and I was thinking, "Holy shit, that was Freaken fast" (thank god it wasn't raining), this is where the race was going to be won. The pack was spilt in two on the first lap and I was surprised. I sat in comfortably behind mid pack and wasn't going to put my nose in the wind at all. I held my spot every lap and was confident I could hang onto the climb, as long as I didn't do anything stupid. Every lap was getting tougher/faster on the climb. It was getting difficult to hold my position on every lap and finding myself fading, close to the back of the pack (feeling the pressure). We were going into the 6th lap when there was an attack at the base of the climb. Shit! I could feel my legs seizing up and riders passing me, hoping I wouldn't get left behind, OTB. I was digging deep to hang on over the top. Cresting the top, I was with one other rider and I knew I was in trouble. I grabbed his wheel and was praying we would catch on the descent. We were joined by ten other riders and managed to catch the main pack just before the start/finish. I was done/shot when we closed the gap and thought there is no way I can hang on for one more lap. Going into the final lap I could see several riders feeling the same way I was, fading. Approaching the base of the final climb there was an attack that just tore the field in pieces. I could see Dan Palmer (Spokesman) riding away from the pack with a few riders trying to hang on. I crawled up the climb with 6 other riders and was just surviving the ordeal. I rode in and crossed the finish with one other rider. I was reflecting on the last climb/attack. There was nothing I could do different, maybe steroids? Dan Palmer won the race with his heroic move, congratulation Dan, "Good job." I placed 42nd out of 100 starters.

On the drive home I was thinking about the race and was stoked that I raced and at the same time disappointed that I wasn't able to hang on. I'll keep on entering and get that experience.

I woke up the next morning and went out on the Saturday ride to stretch out my tired legs. I turned around at Manresa Beach, because I knew I had the Santa Cruz Crit on Sunday.

Ronde Van Brisbeen, Brisbane, 4/2/06

Dennis Pedersen

This is a two-day "Omnium," as the race organizers call it, which is really just a two-stage stage race:

A two day, two stage Omnium format. Race one day or both days, and the combined results will be used to declare an Omnium Winner.

I decided to only enter Stage 1, but Larry Morin and Rob Evans entered both stages.

The Stage 1 course is described in detail on the Pilarcitos web site. But to summarize, it's 1.7 miles of pretty decent pavement that loops around a mostly green area, with condos and light industry on the periphery. They converted the street to one-way traffic so the inside lane could be used for the race, but regular traffic could still use the outside lane. The course is on a gently sloping hillside, so it goes downhill, then back uphill, with each lap. There are some fast turns, and one tight turn that they lined with haybales... a good thing it turned out!

The weather was actually pretty decent that morning. I'd worried I'd be racing in soaking wet conditions, and I did drive through a few very local showers on the drive up, but it stayed dry at the race course the whole day. I arrived at about 11:00, which gave me plenty of time to warm up.

Larry and Rob had already raced, in Cat 5, and Rob told me he'd crashed into those haybales on the first lap after somebody over-corrected in the middle of the fast turn, and forced him to swing wide. Larry later told me he'd seen "some guy" crash there, but didn't realize it was Rob until I told him! Cyclists all start to look the same after a while, so I can understand that. Besides, Rob doesn't wear a Team Santa Cruz jersey. Rob managed to catch up after one-and-a-half laps of hard work, but then got blocked for the final sprint. Larry flatted and had to abandon after five laps.

The Masters 35+ 4/5 field was pretty big (we had 52 finishers anyway), and as we lined up I did my usual scan to see what teams were present. Peninsula Velo had maybe ten riders (!), San Jose Bicycle Club had a large presence too, and there were many other teams. Mark Patton of Newman's Own was there again... we seem to go for the same races. But I was a lone wolf-in-team-clothing.

As soon as our race started my wheel magnet started banging against the sensor... it had been fine just seconds ago. Thwap, thwap, until I managed to reach down and twist it out of the way, but it occasionally shifted anough to start banging again during the race. It had never been a problem until that moment. What rotten timing!

The drop down from the start line was fast, with an S-turn, but nothing too tricky, and I could usually keep up with the peloton just by getting into my aerodynamic tuck; no pedalling necessary! The pack spread out every time we went through that turn with the hay bales, but it wasn't too hard to close the gaps on the section after it. We usually had a pretty tight group heading up the long, gentle climb back up to the finish line.

The wind seemed to be swirling through the valley, and I swear we had a headwind the entire time, so keeping tight was the way to go... no chance of breaks having much luck. But after one-and-a-half laps we did have a three-man break form off the front. They managed to maintain a slight gap, maybe 50-100 feet, for about a lap before we easily swallowed them up. This was immediately followed by a big Los Gatos rider trying his hand at a solo break, which was clearly suicidal, though he did manage to stay off the front for a good part of a lap. The pace was pretty fast those first few laps, but nothing too bad, and then we settled in for the long haul. I did see a close call when a rider crossed wheels with some guy on an old steel bike, but he somehow managed to stay upright... many jokes about soiled shorts ensued!

I ended up covering several minor attacks later on, which you kind of have to when you're alone. At one point the peloton split the long way, and through this gap I spotted a rider in Thomas Weisel Painting shorts taking a long hard look back at us. He promptly drilled it up the hill—he must not have been too impressed with what he saw! But I shot through the gap and grabbed his wheel, as another rider tried to join us on what he must have hoped would be a break I guess. But this lasted all of maybe 15 seconds, and I had no intention of trying to pace-line with these two guys for the rest of the race! We settled back in, and I practiced my energy-saving techniques.

On the last two laps the pace shot up pretty hard. I noticed that Peninsula Velo had a huge presence at the front. It's amazingly hard to pull that off! I said to an Alto Velo rider "watch out for Peninsula Velo!" On the last lap I had to work hard even on the downhill to maintain contact with the leaders... some of them, perhaps Peninsula Velo, must have been attacking hard. Rounding the last sharp turn at the base of the final climb, I was really straining, and a quick check showed that my heart rate was at 190 bpm. Ugh! I felt maxed out, and that confirmed it! Unfortunately, many of the other guys still had just enough oomph to be able to gap me, and I was soon fighting a headwind uphill. There were plenty of other stragglers to join me though, and I ended up in 35th out of 52 finishers. That surprised me as the group ahead of me looked about half that size to me. Wishful thinking maybe.

I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise when I tell you that a Peninsula Velo rider won my race... certainly they had enough team members to eliminate any excuses! This also highlights, for me, the value of working as a team. But at this level of racing it's very hard to get a team that can work together that well. It's too common to have different ability levels, different commitment levels, and different opinions about the value of teamwork get in the way. As a counter-point, my friend Rob Jensen, of Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club, started the Cat 3 race with a large team dedicated to helping their two designated sprinters win. But on the final lap the two sprinters were alone at the front because the other Los Gatos riders had all been dropped. Different teams, different results.

Hopefully Larry or Rob can provide a report on Stage 2, as it was an interesting course I'm told. Rob finished 2nd on Stage 2, for 6th overall. Good job!

CCCX MTB Series Race 4, Fort Ord, 3/26/06

Dennis Pedersen

My first bike race ever was the Sea Otter Cross Country, about 10 years ago, and I still enjoy hitting the dirt. I had intended to race the entire CCCX series this year, but I missed the first three for various reasons. I was determined not to miss the remaining ones.

The weather has been so wet this month, old rainfall records have been broken. Fortunately, the weather was really nice on race day. That morning I had time to go out for a pancake breakfast with my wife before driving off and making her a racing widow. I had everything loaded into the car so I'd be all ready to go.

Grant, Dennis and Ron at the start line
Grant, Dennis and Ron at the start line (Harriet Riley)

When I arrived at Fort Ord, I quickly signed up in Sport Men, 45-54 (first time for me; geez, I am getting old!), and discovered David had somehow managed to arrange a $5 discount for the first three team members who registered! Grant Stoner and Ron Riley got the other two discounts (they entered Sport 35-44 and Sport 55+ respectively). New member Eric Thunstrom must have arrived later, and entered Sport Singlespeed. I still haven't met Eric; must try. Mark Edwards also entered, in Expert 45-54, but I didn't even know this until the day after. Maybe we should bring the team awning for us to assemble under... we just need a volunteer with room to transport it! It was a bummer that Philip, Mike, Mike, Matt, Norman and Larry didn't race again as they did last year, but injuries and other priorities got in the way.

Grant, Ron and Harriet, and I all chatted a little, but soon it was time to get ready for the 11:00 Sport/Clydesdale start. I ditched my leg warmers and windbreaker since the weather was so perfect. Unusually for me, I brought two water bottles, one with an energy drink because I think that I may sometimes run out of steam with only straight water. I hadn't even ridden my mountain-bike in months, but everything seemed to be in good repair, mostly. The headset is a little loose (the bearings are shot), and the front derailleur is worn so it rattles a bit. We lined up by age groups, like usual, and were told that the race scheduled for May 6th was cancelled, but two more had been added for the summer. Then we were sent off a few minutes after the younger, 35-44 age group.

Dennis dicing it up
Dennis dicing it up (Harriet Riley)

My group stayed fairly tight as we rode up the paved start section into a headwind. I drafted behind the leader as we neared the start of the dirt, but a few guys shot ahead. I then followed them and was near the front as we hit the trail. One guy, who ended up winning the race, shot off the front and slowly pulled away from the rest of us. I resisted the temptation to try to hang with him, as my heart rate was well into zone 4, and instead drafted some other hapless guy. Though the wind wasn't strong it was enough to make drafting an advantage, and for the whole race I would always draft a little before passing guys. I tried to keep track of guys in my group, but we soon started to overtake slower riders from the previous group, and the jerseys started to blur together a little. After the first lap I caught Grant on the pavement. On the loop-back section after that I saw Ron pedalling along.

Ron's turn
Ron's turn; note that he's just
passed a younger rider from
my group! (Harriet Riley)

The course was similar to last year's, and even the recent rain hadn't had much effect on it, due to the sandy soil. There were a few big mud puddles, but the trails were mostly in perfect shape. The poison oak seemed to like the conditions too. I'd forgotten what a beating a mountain-bike race can inflict on my body, and I started to hurt in places like my hands, shoulders, and lower back. My long-sleeved jersey was a little too warm, so I unzipped it. In one turn that I kept trying to late-apex, I nearly lost control when I went slightly wide at the entry and caught some soft turf. I also started wheezing a little at one point. Dang; I was getting tired! But I managed to keep my heart rate over an impressive, for me, 180 bpm most of the race! I think my sprint training is starting to pay off with a higher lactate threshold and VO2max.

New member Eric Thunstrom on his single-speed cyclocross bike
New member Eric Thunstrom
on his single-speed cyclocross
bike (Harriet Riley)

At one point I was drafting the guy I was fairly sure was in 3rd in my group, and I passed him before the finish area. Race organizer Keith called out that we were 3rd and 4th. Cool! On lap 2, I think, a rider came up behind me on the paved section, and started powering past me. I, of course, drafted him, and near the crest of the hill just before the dirt started I shot past him. Take that! On lap 3 the same thing happened, except I didn't let him catch me. Then, on the dirt section, I looked back and saw that his number started with a 2. Oh, that meant he wasn't in my group! I asked him if he was in the 35-44 group, but he replied that he was a clydesdale: ugh, I don't like getting caught by clydesdales; it's embarrasing! He said "if it makes you feel any better I'm 42 years old." Uh, yeah, ya' punk: I happily volunteered that I was 45! He asked me to name each member of the Beatles, which was easy, even in the middle of a race! I let him get by me as I couldn't even see anybody in front of me. Later another guy came up behind me, on the last lap, and called out something I couldn't quite make out. This made me lose focus, and I nearly lost control again and ended up with rug-burn in my crotch from working to stay upright. As we neared the finish line I decided to sprint by him, just in case he was in my group. Turned out he was another clydesdale who was telling me he was trying to catch the other clydesdale who passed me earlier.

Grant on a downhill section
Grant on the downhill
section near the finish
line (Harriet Riley)

My race ended up being about 1-1/2 hour long. The official results show me a bit over four minutes back, in 3rd place out of 17, so I got another medal to add to my very small collection! Grant finished in 21st out of 30, Ron was 2nd out of three, Mark was 4th out of 10 in spite of flatting near the end, and Eric was 4th out of 14. What an awesome race.

Orosi Road Race, 3/25/06

Eric Clarkson

Well I would say that the race conditions were, less than optimal. The rain started out 15 minutes prior to the race start, there ended up being only 6 people with me in the cat 5 race. The course was a beautiful 28 mile loop through the Sierra Nevada foot hills, but with the poor condition of the roads, stray cows, cattle guard, and some national level time trialer in my group, it ended up being a somewhat tough 4 hour-60 mile-4,000 feet of climbing. I ended up getting third, and getting a little exposure in my fingers and toes, and had to throw away my socks and I might need to get new shoes, but it was a great experience! If they repave the road (so the rattling won't loosen my crank arm again!) it would be a great race!

The 8th Annual 2006 Kovarus Monterey Circuit Race, Fort Ord, 3/12/06

Dennis Pedersen

I really don't like the way people spit out the word "excuses" as if it leaves a bad taste in their mouths... I prefer to use the much more polite word "reasons!" OK, I'm just joking; feel free to call them whatever you want... just be warned that I will be discussing "reasons" here!

I pre-registered for this race weeks in advance to avoid the disappointment of missing out due to full fields, as happened at the Snelling Road Race. This was long before several issues arose; issues like my knee hurting after riding home from work two weeks previously. I decided to take some time off the bike, just to be safe. You can't be too safe when you're 45 years old! Ususally I'd just take a week off while popping ibuprofen, but that week was followed by a week in New York to watch my niece perform in a Broadway play. Ergo, two weeks off before this race with no riding. That's not ideal! All I had time for was a short ride after work on Friday to adjust my derailleur and check my knee's condition: all was well.

Larry Morin had also pre-registered. I thought it would be fun to join him in the 45+ Category 4/5 race, hoping it would be more relaxed than my humbling experience at the Patterson Pass Road Race with the open 45+ maniacs. It turned out that new member Eric Clarkson and hopefully-soon-to-join Rob Evans were also entering the race; in the open 4/5 and 35+ 4/5 races respectively. Mark Edwards from Bicycle Trip was in our race. Awesome turnout from the locals!

On race day I woke up at 3:41 and couldn't get back to sleep. This isn't that unusual for me, alas. And this was after only four hours of sleep following a fancy in-home catered dinner at a friend's house that involved some incredible vintage wines that had even been cellared properly. If you know your wines you'll understand why I couldn't pass up the wine when I drop names like Williams Selyem, Rocchioli and Nuits Saint Georges! Usually I would just have abstained, but now you know more about my priorities in life. The alarm woke me up at 5:00, so apparently I did get in a few more winks. Hey, my new secret weapon (which I'm now rethinking in view of my performance later... just kidding!) is a breakfast of cooked 10-grain cereal with blackstrap molasses, flax oil and a sliced banana, plus OJ, and lots of coffee. I think the 10-grain cereal works so well because it has a huge variety of grains that all rank differently on the glycemic index for an energy time-release.

Driving down to Fort Ord's East Garrison, same race course as at the CCCX race we entered in January, I had some misgivings. Piles of hail left over from Friday night's massive storm were still evident along the freeway, in spite of the cold rain drenching the dark landscape. Not too inviting! When I arrived at the race site I noted that the temperature was only 37 degrees... with rain! That's pretty unusual around here; we usually just get one without the other. The registration awnings were spewing rain runoff, but Sunnyvale-Cupertino Cycling Club had provided an incredible spread of delicious-looking goodies from Noah's Bagels and Hobee's. Really awesome, but I had already eaten.

Waiting for the race to start I got to meet Rob and Eric, and Larry joined us later. There was no discussion of team tactics; three riders had been insufficient last time, and two would definitely not work, especially since I was certain I'd lost some speed with my time off the bike. Some guys brought trainers and warmed up in the abandoned army buildings, out of the rain. I'd brought an assortment of clothes since I didn't know quite what to expect. Fortunately the rain stopped a few minutes before our race, and I decided what to wear: my warmest gloves, shorts with leg warmers covered in turn by fleece-lined tights, thick shoe covers, and a long-sleeved fleece-lined jersey covered by my thickest jacket and my team windbreaker!

Our field was surprisingly large: about 30 riders, including several teams. The race start was nice and slow as riders felt out the course, and remained so for perhaps three laps. The course was soaked, and we got sprayed by each other's tires, but not by any real rain. It was pretty windy out of the south-east, and when the sun made a brief appearance we could see snow on nearby hills. I wasn't feeling strong, but I was doing OK.

At about 20 minutes the pace picked up, and I started gasping a little on some of the climbs. A few riders got dropped. I started really concentrating on using some of the energy-saving tricks discussed in Thomas Prehn's racing tactics book. Things like starting climbs near the front of the pack and letting myself lose some places, then using the descents to catch back up. Trying to carry more speed down the descent leading up to the big climb, without pedaling, to get a running start. Maintaining momentum through turns instead of tapping the brakes and having to jump to catch back up on the exits. That sort of thing. Seemed to be working fine.

Then, at about 45 minutes into the race, while we were climbing up the back straight, the group started to surge a bit. Nothing dramatic, just enough to put my heart rate near maximum. A gap started to form ahead of me, and even though there was a short descent ahead I knew that I had to maintain a reserve for the tough climb right after that. The result was that I was suddenly at the front of a chase group, or maybe we were even a gruppeto... I'm not sure how many of us got dropped. Oh, did I just say "dropped?" Yeah, I guess I did! The front group of about 10 or 15 riders just powered off into the distance, snapping that invisible aerodynamic cord that had allowed us to maintain contact with them. And I was the breaking point!

Fortunately Larry was also in the gruppetto and we were able to work together to at least finish the race and avoid getting lapped. Larry ending up doing most of the pulling since every time I pulled I got blown out pretty quickly. Thanks Larry! Still, I tried to do my part. When I think of working as a team I don't usually think of it in terms of avoiding total defeat, but I guess that happens sometimes. I had plenty of time to consider the "reasons" I was in that situation. Reasons like drinking too much good wine the night before instead of carbo-loading. Or flying off to the big apple instead of staying home and training. Mind you, I have no regrets... I just like to be aware of how one decision affects other aspects of my life.

We finished with a total time of about 1:30. Average speed was 18.1 mph over almost 29 miles. Mark Edwards ended up in second after getting snaked just before the finish. Way to go Mark! Here's Mark's race in his own words:

I think you can relate, before each race I always have a strategy going in. Up until yesterday, I've always had these well thought out and detailed plans on the start line. Then when the whistle would blow, my plans would go out the window and it would be purely survival. Yesterday, for the first time, I was actually able to execute my plan. Basically I was planning to push the long hill, then sit in the rest of the lap (with the occasional pull to keep my heart rate up). I had hoped to slowly, each lap, cause a little damage on the hill. It worked perfect, the last time I hit the hill I took it up a notch and the lead group of 7 became 2. In hindsight, I easily had another gear, but I hadn't anticipated dropping the group. If I could do it over I would have cranked it up on the last climb and attempted to solo in. As it was I waited for one other guy at the hairpin turn, feeling we'd have to work together to hold off the chase group. Turns out he sat on my wheel, unwilling (or possibly unable) to take a pull, and then came around me 50 yards from the finish - live and learn!

I'm glad Mark's plan worked so well, I'm just not so glad that Larry and I were among the resulting casualties! Larry and I hung out to watch the next race, but when the cold rain started again we both took off for the warmth of our homes... and a long nap for me. As I drove away from the race site I noted that the temperature had climbed... way up to 38 degrees! And the dark clouds started pouring rain down on the racers. Poor bastards.

By the way, Eric's race went really well... not bad for a first-timer!

The race actually went really well, one of my friends who raced in womens 35+ caught a ride home early and left me her car, so that worked out well. I got fifteenth overall (not bad for my first bike race) a good friend of mine told me to sit up if I was sprinting for anyhting less than 8th to avoid crashes, so I guess I would have been in the top 10 if I had pushed it, but I am happy with how I did. I actually won the first prime so I got $20 afterwards, which was nice, and I almost got the second one. It was good to meet you guys, hopefully we will all be in the same race some time.

Rob had some bad luck though:

Crashed during the first lap in the hairpin turn. Chased back on and stayed at the front until cracking on the last hill of the penultimate lap after which I could not continue the race.

I've never regretted entering a race, and this is no exception. We had a lot of fun, believe it or not, got to practice pacelining, and I started rebuilding my speed. Soon I'll be back, and hopefully faster than ever! By the way, my wife and I had planned on having dinner at the Crow's Nest with my family that evening, but they were all trapped over the hill by yet another snow storm on the summit. Crazy weather!

County Line Jamboree #8, February 25, 2006

Brij Lunine

The single speed classic dubbed by Stella Carey as the "World's Stupidest Bike Race," is a race, on one speed bikes only, from the northern boundary of Santa Cruz County and Highway 1 to the southern at the Pajaro River (on the beach). The course starts on the highway for about ten miles, goes onto the railroad tracks at Davenport all the way through Santa Cruz, Live Oak and Capitola and then features about ten miles of beach (an eternity), from New Brighton to the river--40 or so miles.

Down to Bizness

This year there were a few less riders than last—about 55 or so. Less hoopties and drag; although there were some sweet getups: David Gill had me fooled for time in his high-fashion sweat suit, aviator glasses, headband, mustache and special haircut—just legit enough to completely throw everyone off, well, me at least. The big boys came to play, professional rider and new emigrant, Barry Wicks and his buddy, Carl Decker, I think it was, but I'm not completely sure. In any case, the pros had folks exclaiming that this had gotten "too serious"—although Barry Wicks and Co. certainly didn't take things at all seriously. The usual local all stars were there too, mostly: two-time defending National Cyclocross Champion, Justin Robinson, two-time World Single Speed Champ, Stella Carey, Hilary Daniels, local frame builder and course mastermind, Tall Rick Hunter, Aaron Kereluk, 24-hour single-speed specialist, Sean Sullivan, SF's own DFL club, The Bike Church guys, and even other Oregonians who are not professional cyclists but friendly enough folk. No directions this year, just peeing and smoking blunts at the county line in the bushes and a gradual roll out around 12:30 p.m. to coincide with low tide.

Idiot

Now last year we took off like gangbusters with a raging tailwind and DFL chick bare-breasted salute. This year was downright civil: no flashing, no breaks, no crashes, just a headwind-inspired trip to the tracks. Of course when he hit the tracks everything went crazy: Kereluk is a strong man and thinking cyclist, he led the way and the rest of us tried to follow. I suppose it's noteworthy to mention at this point that in honor of the World's Stupidest Bike Race I performed the World's Stupidest Crash the evening before. You think you've had a totally lame pile in? I'll see you and raise you one. All jazzed to go for my second ride on Phillip Sims' secret-single-speed weapon (a beautiful Hunter with super-trick parts, seriously the best-riding mtb I've ever been on) I had it leaned against a stump in my yard. Time to go, I went for my combo le mans/cross mount and ran up behind it, planted a foot on the stump and jumped on the bike. No problem, I do this stupid stuff all the time. This time my hands missed the bars and my butt missed the seat. If you ride cross you know one has a lot of momentum on bike mounts and coming off the height of the stump really increased the force of me flying over the bike and driving straight down into the ground while my shin scraped the bars, the stem went into my ribs, and the end of the bars went into my thigh. Of course I immediately jumped up and tried to play it off—even though nobody was there to witness the hilarity. Needless to say by the end of my ride my shin had a bump about three-quarters the size of my knee and the bruised ribs were starting to make themselves known. Too lame for words.

So I was in a bit of pain from the night before and realizing I had picked the wrong gear. Memories of last year's spinning out on the highway in a 2:1 had overclouded how nice that ratio was for the tracks and beach. Totally over-geared (in a 36x16), and a little beaten up, I had trouble staying with the first group on the tracks any time we lost momentum. After some of the usual hilarity with people getting stuck on the "wrong side of the tracks," or on not-so-fast shortcuts through the stinkiest farm access roads ever, a front group took shape with los Pros, Aaron, Justin, a nice guy named Josh, Patrick from DFL, and another local badass whose name I should know, but don't (and who would've won according to the ever-humble Justin, had he not flatted just before the beach—for the second time in three years no less). Rod of Central Coast Cyclocross promoter fame and I managed to bridge up on a smooth section of side road dropping Sully in the process. (Sully had an impressive 5th place at the Old Pueblo 24 hours race last weekend in Tucson and was probably feeling the effects.) Thank god we got on and they let up a little. It was great to follow Wicks and his bro and reassuring when they had trouble too. But alas, dropped again. I'd get back on where I could turn the big meat and hosed anytime it was too soft. This dropping and getting back on became a real pattern with carnage starting to set in—Patrick lost his chain trying to scurry across Bay St. and not get hit (a nice Fred Flintsone save!), Aaron flatted coming out of Santa Cruz—just as I had caught him on the Boardwalk trestle—as did said local badass, and the pros, well they decided to turn back, and in a total Oregonian move (draw your own conclusions) to take a picture with some graffiti writers. Tourists.

The Sound of One Hand Clapping

So Justin was off by himself deserted, meanwhile I took up the chase. The tracks through the eastside and Capitola inspired good feelings and words of encouragement to Josh and Rod. Rod and I hit the beach and he didn't want to play so it was the mind-fuck section with only Justin's track and a completely insurmountable lead. I knew what I was in for this year and settled in for one long hour of sand riding fun. Still it's a haul and I was glad to see Justin lying on the banks of the Pajaro River after making it through the runoff sections (nice to rinse the farm sludge off with clearer contaminated water), a few soft parts, and the occasional dog or kid fun. Justin had been there "three or four minutes" (probably more like five or six). Rick Hunter came in a bit later having fixed a flat and taken a shortcut(?) riding the rocks/beach starting in Capitola. Los Pros were next popping wheelies and exclaiming, "That's a lot of beach." Then in small groups folks finished and made their way back to the Sunset State Beach parking lot.

Good luck for the Idiot

While I hate to take second at the expense of flats and disinterest, so it goes.

Next year, biotches.

Apple Pie Criterium, Santa Rosa, 2/4/06

Evan Cushing

So, I should've known better than to ride in the Santa Rosa crit. At first they said the Cat 4 and 5's would be seperate, but in the end they combined us into a giant 75 rider mass... the course was very short with 5 corners that lots of the newbs were having a hard time navigating without veering every which way... so I tried to stick to the first quarter of the pack up front, which I did for most of the race. This was the first race I got bumped multipile times because people couldn't stay in line on the corner, it was surprisingly not very scary and I didn't worry too much... then in the final lap, coming up on the last corner (but still on a straight away), some guy gets bumped by his teamate and falls down like a sack of bricks, and in a split second he takes me down, not sure exactly what happened I think I went over the handle bars and took the impact on my back + ass + back of head, and then I proceeded to get bike after bike of the massive pack into the back of my head and neck, OUCH, it felt like an eternity that people were hitting me... finally it was over and all I could feel was pain and and shock, a rider came back around who happened to be a fire fighter and he wouldn't let me move my head until the ambulance came over... so, I got a trip to the hospital for pelvic xrays and checked out fine... after a bunch of ibuprofen i'm feeling pretty good, and surprised I'm in such good condition, I think I got a spinal readjustment and a sore brain, my helmet got fractured. I'm glad I had my helmet on tight, I remember landing on it with the full weight of my noggin, first time I've ever taken one to the head in a bike accident. My front wheel got mangled, but for the most part that appears to be the extent of the damage. I should be riding in no time...

CCCX Road Circuit Race, Fort Ord, 2/4/06

Dennis Pedersen

The weather was unappetizing that morning, but while my wife and I were having an appetizing breakfast at the Capitola Wharf House on the end of the wharf, it looked like the drizzle we were getting didn't reach as far south as Fort Ord. I'd already decided to go regardless, it wasn't all that cold (maybe mid-50s), and I was really looking forward to it because it looked like we might have five Team Santa Cruz riders for this race! But Brij Lunine ended up having a meeting that day, and Matt Wocasek called me just as I was about to leave and told me he raced the 35+ 4/5 race in the morning instead. So, we ended up with three riders: Evan Cushing, Larry Morin and me.

The race course wound through old abandoned military buildings from past wars. Kind of spooky. The three of us warmed up on the course, and I decided that Matt had downplayed the course's technical challenges. It wasn't a demanding course for riders like him who are used to mountain-biking and cyclocross, but it had enough climbs, headwinds, turns and narrow sections that it would affect team tactics greatly. It looked to me like a course that might favor breakaway groups, or maybe even solo breaks. That made me think of Evan's excellent time-trial power, making him the natural choice to win.

At the start area, we were greeted with the sight of at least six Joselyn's riders and seven Giant Strawberries riders. I'd raced against these teams before, but I had never seen them work together very well, so I was not super worried. But the potential for them to dominate was there; since the field was only 31 riders they had the numbers to block us if some of their riders were off the front in a break. There were also three veteran Newman's Own riders, including Martin Wolf, who apparently used to be in our club in the 70s and 80s, and Mark Patten, who has raced RAAM six times! The latter also loaned me his extra helmet as I'd forgotten mine (for the first time ever!).

Evan in the first break
Evan in the first breakaway group
(Assured Photos)

The first attack came pretty soon; maybe 300 feet into the race! I was rather surprised, and even more surprised when Evan flew by me and hooked up with two other riders (an unattached rider and a Joselyn's rider) to form a three-man break even before the first turn! I had mentioned to Evan that he'd likely have to be the one to try to grab on to these breaks, and his move did make perfect sense as you'll see later. I guess in my own mind I had no confidence such an early break would last, so Larry and I just stayed comfortably in the pack, out of the wind. But the gap widened.

Dennis catching the second break
Larry and Dennis blocking in the narrow climb
section. Look at all those Giant jerseys!
(Assured Photos)

After the break managed a full lap off the front I decided maybe I should help them out by blocking the peloton, just in case they could maintain their gap. After all, the big Joselyn's team had a rider in the break and might even join me in blocking, unless they envisioned a 1-2-3 Joselyn's finish! I decided the best place to block was just before the first steep climb. The climb was just after a tight left turn by an old military chapel, and was followed by a couple more turns and climbs into a headwind past the finish line and then a downhill followed by a longer, steeper climb that almost rivalled Cat's Hill's "wall" for steepness, but was longer and curved. Basically, a time-trial section that I thought would favor the break.

I'd never blocked before, but it seemed easy; just pretend to pull, while actually holding back, weave a little, that sort of thing. I did this for a couple of laps or so. Surprisingly, I didn't see Joselyn's block with me, though I think Giant did do the major work of pulling the break in as you'd expect. And at about 19 minutes the break was caught just after the steep climb. Was I bummed! Not surprised, but bummed. It was pretty cool seeing that break up ahead, knowing we had a rider in it, and knowing the pressure was off of me. All I had to do was ride like a Fred; that comes naturally to me! If we'd had more riders, who knows; maybe we could have blocked enough to keep the break alive and land Evan on the podium!

Dennis catching the second break
Dennis catching the Giant/Joselyn's
break (Assured Photos)

The next few laps were somewhat less dramatic, but there were still more attacks (and mooning from some women who apparently knew a couple of the riders!). One of them had the potential to be a major threat: a Giant rider and a Joselyn's rider broke away on the big climb, and I was worried that their team mates would be able to block the rest of us with sheer numbers... and the numbers were definitely in their favor! The Giant team was blocking at the front (excellent team work!), but I was able to sneak by them on the right side of the wide section of road on the fast, long descent. This has led me to believe my own ideas of where to launch a break were better. I rode at near 100% and managed to catch the break at the first turn. That was pretty cool and kept us in the running! It also created a gap to the rear that spat riders off the back. Including Larry.

I had suggested to Evan that he try for a final break with 1-1/2 laps remaining. Why so early? I hoped we could use Evan's power to avoid a big field sprint. When that time came I told him to follow me, and I attacked down that descent. I checked to make sure he was behind me, and proceded to blow myself up. My hope was that Evan's strong time-trialing would enable him to escape. At worst he'd maybe have to accept that a few riders grabbed his wheel, though I would try to block most of them. I think I timed my attack perfectly, and l blew up right before that short, steep climb... awesome! I shouted to Evan to "go," and I started to slow and weave incoveniently for the following peloton. But it turned out that even that spot was too wide for a single rider to be able to block them for long enough. Soon the main peloton group of about 15 riders had passed me. And they caught Evan just before the finish line with a lap to go, and the finish ended up with the usual mad field sprint. Just then we got a light drizzle that cooled us all down, but that was it for precipitation.

Dennis and Larry conserving energy
Larry working in the peloton (Assured Photos)

While it didn't work completely as intended, and I doubt Evan finished any better than he would have without our "help," I still think my plan was a pretty good one. A plan should play to your strengths, and maybe it would have made sense for Giant and Joselyn's to send a rider each after Evan, while the rest blocked like me. Instead they pulled the entire peloton with them, opening the door to many more riders. But l'd sure welcome any feedback.

So, in the end, the Joselyn's rider who had attacked several times won, followed by a Kovarus/Squadra Ovest rider and a Giant rider. So no 1-2-3 for Joselyn's! Evan finished a lucky 13th, I finished a few minutes off the main pack, and Larry was a little further back. My total time was about 1:08, at an average of 19.4 MPH over the 25-mile course. The official results don't tally exactly, as they have me down a lap, behind Larry, which was not the case.

Evan had a few choice words about his race:

I googled that Micah guy who was kicking ass at Ft. Ord... I guess he's some kind of expert mountain bike racer and single speed cyclocross champ? Learning this helped my bruised ego... he was practically carrying the entire break for 20 minutes and I was the one about to pass out, lol. simply amazing.

I'm still such a newbie when it comes to racing... I feel like as soon as Micah broke off the front, right at the start of the race, I lost all of my intelligence and pre-race planning we did together. I definitely have to learn to control myself, and spend my energy wisely, and keep thinking of economy (wind, etc). I can't help but ponder how the race would've gone if I had stayed in the pack for most of the race... I'd like to think I would've at least had the remaining power to sprint in the bunch to fight a few riders for a better placing. But I had tons of fun, and I am keeping track of the numerous mistakes I make, lol.

Here's what Larry had to say:

My race pretty much went good until I came-off with 4/5 laps to go, was gapped behind 5/6 rider's. We formed a group and it came down to the two of us at the end, a "Joselyn" rider and myself. He was definitely the stronger rider. I did all I could to just sit on his wheel the last lap. I came around him in the sprint and it felt like I took a cheap shot, but hey, "that's racing"!

Awesome! Larry found a lead-out man! :-)

I had a blast racing with my team buddies, and I look forward to our next team race! Maybe Snelling Road Race on February 25th?

Patterson Pass Early Bird Road Race, 1/28/06

Dennis Pedersen

Four firsts for me... my first road race, my first race in the open 45+ category, the first race I've ever done that was over 2 hours... and the first race in which I ever got dropped! And yet, it was also one of the coolest races I've ever entered.

This race is held west of Patterson off of Highway 5, so I had to leave my house at about 5:30 a.m.! Even so I was nervous I'd be late as l cruised through the cold pre-dawn. All registration was race-day only, so it was possible I'd drive all that way for nothing. I decided to enter the open Men 45+ race, as it left later than the others and I'd get more time to warm up. Enough people had warned me that 45+ was populated by crusty old veterans that I didn't expect it to be easy... and it wasn't! Instead, I got myself into a major suffer fest.

I'd hoped I could convince some other Team Santa Cruz members to go with me, and while Evan Cushing did go, he was still Cat 5 so we couldn't team up, though we did talk a little while we waited for the start. The first clue I had for what awaited me was when I looked around the starting area, and slowly it dawned on me that I was almost alone in being alone. I spotted five riders in Morgan Stanley uniforms, some Team Spine uniforms, and a few from various other teams. Teams! Arghhh! And many of them had that "smile fold" that is typical of super-fit, gaunt Pro riders. Shudder. When the starter woman asked us if any of us were new to the race, I was almost the only one to raise his hand! She said "you're very brave!" I said to the guy next to me, "I think I'm in the wrong class."

The course started with a short neutral zone, followed by a right turn onto Del Puerto Canyon Road from where it climbed fairly gently for about 23 miles to a U-turn for the return trip. That right turn was apparently also a marker for the start of the attack zone, because we had barely had time to group together before I heard somebody yell "way to go Steve," and a guy sprinted past us! I was incredulous... didn't these guys know there were more than 22 miles to the summit, followed by a fast ride back? My fear, well-founded as it turned out, was that they knew exactly what was going on and I was in for some humble pie!

For the next 20 minutes or so, we had an attack, followed by a counter-attack, every two or three minutes! These old guys sure had their mind games going; each attacker would sprint hard for a short while, then stop pedalling, look each one of us in the eyes to see who was hurting, and take a break. I tried to look comfortable and confident through the pain, and was, in fact, quietly confident I could maintain this for the entire race.

After 20 minutes of this we passed the Women 3/4 class that had started 7-1/2 minutes ahead of us. Geez! Let's see: that's about 4 MPH faster! We used this as an opportunity to attack even harder, and soon my heart rate was in zone 5! After five minutes of 190+ beats per minute, my rib cage was aching, my lungs and legs burning, and my vision became blurry. I was afraid I'd crash from disorientation, and l knew I couldn't sustain that rate, but they kept going! And I do mean "they," because I got dropped. My first slice of humble pie.

As the small peloton rode off into the distance, I worked on recovering. After a few minutes, the women passed me. Where I'd been part of a powerful machine flying by them, now I was just another obstacle in their path. My second slice of humble pie. I no longer had any pride... I didn't hesitate to latch onto the tail-end of their pack, rules notwithstanding. This upped the pace of my recovery as well as my speed.

After a few minutes I felt stronger and spotted two dropped Delta Velo riders spinning along further ahead. I 'attacked' the women and caught up to the two riders. We quickly organized ourselves and pace-lined back up to our peloton. Woo-hoo! A succesful bridge! That was so awesome! This was at about the 40-minute mark.

It was too early for me to put away my fork and plate though; I was due for a third helping of humble pie in a few minutes. Yup, the peloton started a second serious surge and my heart-rate shot back into zone 5. I'm not certain, but I think this may have been caused by the eventual race winner going off the front by himself. Yes. A solo break... in this group! Can you believe it? I was racing against the 45+ mutant ninja turtles! I got the aching rib-cage thing, burning legs and blurry vision again, and quietly allowed them to drop me for the second time. I wasn't too ashamed though. I'd done my best, and it just wasn't quite enough to keep up with these tough old birds.

From then on I tried to recover without letting the gap grow too big, but they were out of sight within a minute or two. No way. I kept in zone 3/4 and tried to minimize the damage. Soon the women caught up to me again and handed me a fourth slice of humble pie. I dragged behind them a little (maybe from the weight of all that humble pie in my belly!), but we soon hit the steep climb of the course. Just what I needed. It was perhaps a 15-20% grade, and maybe a mile long. Kind of like Jamison Creek, but not as long, thankfully. I held my own with the women, while grinding away in my granny gear, but one of the Delta Velo riders caught up to me; apparently he'd been dropped even before I was. We got to watch our race leaders as they flew down the hill after the turnaround. To add insult to injury the turnaround point was about 1/2 mile past the summit, so we had to climb back up before we could start the final 20-mile-long return to the finish line. I said to the Delta Velo guy "I think it's time to admit we've been dropped!" He laughed through his tears.

The descent was pretty fun, and as I plummeted past slower riders (recorded 44.4 MPH max on my computer!) I got a chance to enjoy all of the scenery I had missed on the oxygen-starved ride up. Very pretty countryside! I teamed up with a few other riders from time-to-time, but mostly the gaps were so big at this point that I just cruised along in the wind.

When I crossed the finish line, after about 2:20 total time in 21st place out of 26 finishers, I had averaged 18 MPH over the 45-mile course. I was really enjoying what had become a pleasant training ride, and tooled off to my car to clean up. One of the Morgan Stanley riders was parked nearby, and I chatted with him for a while. He turned out to be the "Steve" who launched the first attack, and ended up in 3rd place. I told him how tough the race was for me, and he said to just be happy that one of his team-mates, who happens to be a former National Champion, couldn't make it! And guess what the first thing he asked me was? Well, whether I had any team mates with me. I had to admit I raced alone, and you could tell he felt sorry for me. At least I'd been able to team up with those two Delta Velo guys to bridge, but that was plainly not enough. And I don't think any amount of team effort could have kept me in the running after that second surge, though the gap would have been smaller. He mentioned that he wished he'd installed a 27-tooth granny sprocket instead of his 25, and I mentioned that I only had a 23... conveniently forgetting to tell him that I had a triple-ring front vs. his double!

These guys may have been awesome riders, but just think how fast guys like Lance Armstrong would be in comparison... the mind boggles!. All-in-all, it was very exciting, but humbling!

Evan did much better than I did, finishing 9th out of 32 finishers:

I had a lot of fun. I was pretty confused when it ended at 44.5mi, I wasn't expecting the finish to come up so suddenly! The climb was really brutal, it felt like an eternity... I was trying to chase down the 3rd place guy in my category but he took the descent faster than everyone, and was being kind of dangerous about it so I backed off and joined a 6 person chase pack that wasn't exactly trying very hard to chase :P lol.

Peak Season Cyclocross Race 1 Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, Watsonville, CA 1/15/06

78 riders, Sunny & Muddy

David Gill

The first Peak Season Cyclocross race of the year was held this past Sunday at the historic Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. Classic Cross Conditions ruled the day and, as several riders found out, there were plenty of shoe-sucking mud bogs in which to wallow.

The course was bereft of the traditional runup, favoring this time a different and much more muddy zig-zag runup on the Southeast side of the venue. Depending on the rider, this was either a Very Good or Very Bad Thing.

The first race of the day was comprised of the Category C Men, the Juniors 14-18, and the Juniors 13 & Under. The race start was a half lap away from the finish line, and Cat. C rider Gregory Klingsporn, out of San Francisco, led through the finish line after the half lap. Junior 14-18 rider Michael Landry from Santa Cruz was close on his wheel even though all Juniors started with a 30 second deficit to their older competitors. Junior 13 & Under rider Kendall Barr (Cal Giant) was heard to exclaim "oh...my" after just half a lap. Landry quickly made up the gap and rode to a clear victory, not only over all Juniors, but also all Category C Men. Scotts Valley CycleSport's dynamic duo of Jack Fogelquist and Taylor Shamshoian continued their season-long battle in the Juniors 14-18 but since they seem to be tied at the waist, neither of them can put any distance on the other. They finished with a one-second margin between them, possibly their largest gap all season.

Scotts Valley CycleSport fielded a plethora of riders all day, beginning with the Category C trio of Scott Canatelli, Andrew Mince, and Eric Highlander. Collectively, however, they could not overcome Klingsporn, who rode to a 30 second victory over Canatelli. Jeremy Milburn (Team Santa Cruz-SCCCC) was the top rider from Santa Cruz County in Men's Category C.

In the Juniors 13 & Under Category, Darik Thunstrom and Raymond Mendoza, both riding for Team Bicycle Trip, had a race-long battle, ending with Thunstrom's first race win ever. The Boulder Creek rider rode around the venue the rest of the day with an ear-to-ear grin and excitedly recounted his win to anyone and everyone. Thomas Mendoza (Bicycle Trip) seemed to enjoy the mud more than anyone this day and wound up in fourth place.

The next race of the day was the 10am Category B Men, Master 35+ B Men, and Master 45+ B Men. Before anyone could start, however, Livermore Cyclery's Shane Huntoon decided he was in the wrong category. Though he asked for and received an Open Category B Men racing bib, the Master 35+ B rider quickly corrected himself and lined up in his correct category. This pre-race excitement caused a quick start, and out in front shot the Open Category B trio of Geoff Luttrell (SF Guitarworks), Josh Lerner (Fusion Sport), and Erick Brady (Lapierre/Ritchey). Luttrell then came through the finish line in first for each of the first four laps. Waiting for Luttrell to come around on his fifth and final lap, the race judges were looking to award him the win, when, much to their suprise, Brady and Lerner had already come through. This confusion was quickly sorted out and the win was awarded to the Alamo-based Brady, with second place going to San Francisco's Lerner and third place to Luttrell, all within four seconds of each other.

Shane Huntoon overcame his pre-race registration error and wound up taking first place in the Master 35+ B Race by just over a minute from Soquel's Chris Baker, with Scotts Valley's Mitch Bramlett taking third at 2'30" behind the category leader. Taking the Team Santa Cruz-SCCCC bragging rights from Jeff VanDamme was DJ Grant Stoner, who is just getting over his cold. After the race, VanDamme was urged to use the hoses provided for bike washing, but he begged off, saying "I just want to show my kids how much mud can accumulate on a bike." This proved unfortunate for the Milpitas resident, as the sun soon took its toll and solidified his bike into a 30- pound hunk of aluminum, caked-on mud and horse manure. Scotts Valley CycleSport's team owner, Mike Colombani, suffered a first lap pedal mishap and struggled to finish the race, just getting lapped before the finish. LGBRC's Steven Woo defended their Team honor and wound up the only teammate from LGBRC, as Scott DeLaurentis did not show for the day. Rumor has it he was busy filling bags with sand anyway.

The Master 45+ B race was an exciting affair, as Kyle Samuel (Cal Giant) from Watsonville and Alex Anderson (Team Santa Cruz-SCCCC) from Santa Cruz locked into a race-long duel. Samuel led each of the first four laps, but Anderson chipped away at his lead and by one to go, Anderson was just four seconds in arrears. On the last lap, Samuel had some trouble with the slippery mud, which allowed Anderson to sneak by and take a lead he would not relinquish. Anderson was elated to end up with a slim win by just 15 seconds, but Samuel good-naturedly promised he would not be denied a rematch. Look for this battle to continue for seasons to come. The SCCC/Le Village Imports team showed they are always ready to throw down in the mud: teammates Tom Monica, Bob Malheiro, and Wayne Smith placed much higher than LGBRC's no-show Dino "Mittens" DeLaurentis.

At 11am, the Master Men 35+ A and Master Men 45+ A squared off for a 45- minute romp in the mud, but by this time the moisture content from the previous day's rain was already starting to dry, causing the sloppy mud to turn into something more resembling peanut butter. Undeterred, "Mountain" Larry Hibbard (Family Cycling Center) used this to his advantage and wound up with a field-crushing winning margin of over four minutes. The only unknown variable about his win was trying to guess how many riders he would end up lapping. In contrast, however, was the battle for second in the Master 35+ A race; this definitely was exciting racing! Three Santa Cruz area riders engaged in heated carnage: Matt Watson (Bicycle Trip), Pat Schott (Black Market Racing), and Charles Steve Hess (Bicycle Trip) each took turns thrashing each other over the course of the six-lap race. First it was Watson and Schott distancing themselves from the rest of the field, with Hess barely in contention on lap two. It was a different story, however, on lap three: Hess had made up the gap and was now sitting on. Each time up the runup, Hess would use his running abilities to put some time into his competitors, but each time Schott and Watson would come back. Riding a single speed, Schott paid a dear price on the flats, but that just played to his strength; the harder the racing, the better Schott performed. Coming back from a season-long exile, Watson seemed content just to be in the group while Hess and Schott traded salvos. On the last lap, Hess put in an attack that would prove decisive and ended up increasing his lead to 45 seconds by the time the mud settled. Watson pushed Schott to the line, but it was clear that Schott was the stronger of the two on the day, as he mockingly threw his bike forward at the line to take third place by one second over Watson. The suprise finish of the day was Philip Sims (Team Santa Cruz-SCCCC), who broke his seat early in the race and was stopped in his tracks looking for a replacement bike while the rest of the field stormed away. He managed to find a spare bike but had to install a borrowed road wheel in back, as no others were available. He slowly started to pick riders off and wound up taking 6th on the day. Matt Wocasek (Team Santa Cruz-SCCCC) seemed to enjoy getting lapped, meaning he could end his suffering that much sooner.

Brett Lambert (Scotts Valley CycleSport) won the Master 45+ A Category by a margin of 1'30" over 2nd place Tom Sullivan (Amsterdam Bicycles), 3'12" over 3rd place Joe Fabris (Fightin' Bobas) and lapped rider Kem Akol (Bicycle Trip) in 4th. Lambert trains with Scotts Valley's Brent Carkeet and promised to bring the youngster out for a dose of the muddy confines that the Fairgrounds have to offer. Sullivan has now been wearing the same race jersey for a record 117 straight races, earning him the dubious title of Most Cheap Bastard. Taking it in stride, he found solace in the fact that a free race entry goes along with the title. Akol, however, wanted it known that he suffered a flat and that his wheel change was the only reason why he was lapped. Other than that (and apart from the not-going-very-fast-in-the- mud part), Akol would have been right there.

Lauren Costantini (SyCip Racing) ended up with the largest winning margin of the day; almost seven minutes over her nearest competitor in the 12noon Women's race. Although there were only five women lined up for the race, there was still plenty of racing action to witness. Due to a nasty cold virus going around, both Stella Carey (Kelly Bike Co.) and Hillary Daniels (Norcal Velo) chose not to enter the competition, which left Costantini the lone Elite Women entrant. Watching the action from the sidelines, Carey, also a coach for Harbor High School's Mountain Bike Team, was thrilled just to be out of bed. Melanie Dominguez (Bicycle Trip) was Costantini's nearest competitor, but since she was in the Master Women 35+ category, she didn't pose a threat to Costantini's certain victory. Dominguez won her Master Women 35+ category by a margin of 3'28" over new Team Santa Cruz-SCCCC member Julianna Perry. Perry combined with Alyse Weyman (Velo Bella) and Jana Roberts (Lapierre/Ritchey) to provide the Queen's share of the racing action in this contest of She-Who-Is-Most-Fit. True, Costantini took the crown, but it was Perry, Weyman, and Roberts who engaged in hand-to-hand combat over the course of the five-lap campaign. After the first lap, Weyman had a very small gap over Roberts, who had an even smaller gap over Perry. Each lap, Weyman came across the line just ahead of the other two, but Perry eventually caught Roberts and set her sights on the ever-pink-and-shiny Weyman. Was that sweat on Weyman? No, just sequins. Perry seemed determined to bring Weyman back, but eventually finished a minute behind, with Roberts a further minute back. By the time the categories were settled, it was Weyman taking first and Roberts taking second place in the Category B Women. Roberts was later heard to profess her love for the muddy quagmire and assured everyone within earshot that women just love playing in the mud. Costantini delighted in her race winnings, a new pair of Voler racing shorts, and vowed she would return with more SyCip teammates, including the expertly-skilled Heath Maddox and dubiously-talented Scott Lynch.

Finally, the 1pm Elite Men and Single Speed race started exactly on time, with 17-year-old Chance Noble (Scary Fast) taking an early lead over his father Mark Noble (Amgen Cycling), Ben Jacques-Maynes (Kodak/Sierra Nevada), and Aaron Kereluk (Rock Lobster/Traugott Guitars). After Kereluk came off the group, this quickly turned into a knock-down drag-out affair with Noble The Younger trading the lead with Jacques-Maynes lap after lap. Not to be deterred, Noble The Senior kept the other two honest and demonstrated the strength that led to his 2004 Master 40-44 National Championship in Portland. Jacques-Maynes allowed the young rider out of Camarillo to take a large lead during the third lap and slowed to a crawl just to take his knee warmers off. "No problem," Jacques-Maynes quipped, "I'll catch him on the next runup." This allowed Noble The Senior to catch and the two set off in pursuit of the rabid Noble The Younger. True to his word, Jacques-Maynes came around the next lap with a sizeable gap on the family duo, but this would prove to be fleeting. Chance Noble, who will represent the United States at the Cyclocross World Championships later this month in Zeddam, The Netherlands, caught up to an annoyed Jacques-Maynes and pressed him for the lead. This was enough for the Kodak/Sierra Nevada rider, now based in San Jose, and he set upon showing the youngster a few things about how it's done in the mud. Jacques-Maynes took and held the lead for the last two laps, increasing it to 1'16" by the end and nearly lapping Lapierre/Ritchey rider Jesse Mayberry. Mayberry appeared to wait for Jacques-Maynes before the finish line, but was too far "ahead" to get lapped and ended up having to ride a whole lap by himself in what is always The Loneliest Lap. Chance Noble, now acutely aware of the price one must pay when trying to hold such a hard pace for so long, had just enough left to hold his father off by a mere seven seconds. Kereluk, riding in No Man's Land for the duration of the race, ended up a further minute behind Noble The Senior, but the next three places were decided by just 18 seconds. Monterey's Pat Rocchi was just barely able to hold off Phil Roberts (Lapierre/Ritchey), who in turn was just barely able to hold off Brian Vernor (Rollin' Thunder).

The Single Speed race, with only two entrants, provided scant action and most of it was trying to figure out if Melanie Dominguez (Bicycle Trip), now riding in her second race of the day, would be able to keep her steed upright and still see straight. First-placed single speeder Damian Handisides from San Carlos kept up with the Elite Men for most of the hour-long race and ended up lapping the ever-tiring Dominguez.

This, however, is far better than any rider from the dfL team could do, even if they were riding in their first race of the day. After reneging on a promise by Team Fluff Girl Cameron Falconer that they would show up en masse, it is beyond this writer how the entire dfL team can even hold their heads high. Suffice it to say they would have been lapped anyway. Pansies.

Our attention now turns to Race 2 in the Peak Season Cyclocross Series, to be held this coming Sunday January 22nd at the same Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds venue in beautiful Watsonville, CA. Yesterday's rains should keep the ground soft and will provide the much-desired Classic Cross Conditions. Sure, these races are small, but it's the only time of year we get to take advantage of that which all cyclocrossers desire: mud, mud, and more mud. Except those wearing dfL jerseys anyway.

It's not the end of the cross season, it's Peak Season!

Wallowing in it,

David Gill Peak Season Cyclocross Race Director http://www.cyclocross.cx

Early Bird Criterium #1, 1/8/06

Dennis Pedersen

I raced a couple of these Early Bird Criteriums, held in Fremont and sponsored by Velo Promo, last year. They are practice only, no points or trophies, except for the road race on January 28th and the last criterium, #5, on February 5th. They're a great way to learn techniques and etiquette, practice tactics, and measure your fitness level. Read my race reports from 2005 for details on the course and such.

I wasn't totally sure I'd go, since I could just stay home and go on the Sunday ride for free, but I hoped to meet some friends up there, and new member Evan Cushing. But since my race was at 9:00 a.m., and theirs were all later in the day, I never saw anybody I know. The weather was clear but in the chilly mid-40s; I ended up wearing my long-sleeved jersey with windbreaker. Still, I was glad I went, because the race ended up being at the perfect pace for me. I wore my heart-rate monitor, and I was comfortably in my zone 3 almost the entire race, with a few spikes into zone 4, finished by a brief foray into zone 5 for the final sprint. Exactly what I wanted as it's hard to get those high-speed training sessions going when you're riding solo... or to keep them from going on too long if you're in a group ride that ends up being dominated by hammer heads! The race was pretty clean, with only one crash that brought down a couple of riders in turn 3. Perhaps moving into Category 4 is the reason my race was so much safer than last year's Cat 5 crash-fest!

I managed to keep myself out of trouble, with just a couple of bumps or nudges with other riders, and was able to draft comfortably for the full 45 minutes. There were a few heroically silly and doomed efforts at breakaways, but all of them were too early in the race to make a gap bigger than about 10 feet. Except one from a guy who tried with three laps to go... but the peloton had no trouble keeping him controlled and no gap formed. I didn't bother with any of them.

With one lap to go I yelled out "there are no trophies," just to make sure people kept things in perspective! In the final field sprint I managed to be in a good position with about 200m to go in spite of having to unblock myself from some other riders, but just as I started moving up towards the front another rider shot right into my path and I had to slow and veer to the left to avoid him (another advantage of having a team; we could ensure we had riders blocking them instead!). This put me on top of the Bott's Dots, and the effort of fighting them and getting back on course prevented me from contesting for anything better than about 15th, and perhaps two or three seconds back. Still, that was pretty good out of the 50-60 rider field, so bring it on!

Evan Cushing had this to say about his race:

It was tons of fun and a great learning experience... I'm starting to realise how very important certain things are besides fitness. Riding in such a large pack on such long straights allowed me to see how much the real enemy is the wind, and your ability to place your self in the best position of the pack more often than the other guy will give you the greatest chance of a good finish... I didn't race intelligently, but I had fun. I spent a lot of time in the front 1/4 of the pack, doing a fair share of pulling... something comical happened, on the 2nd to last lap coming around the final corner of the lap, a few people from behind past the front of the pack in a sprint towards the line, and for some reason that fooled me into thinking I lost track of the lap count, and it fooled many others so I sprinted to try and catch onto their wheels, and upon approaching the line I realised to my dismay there was another lap left, and after having given the sprint my 110% effort, I struggled like a ragged zombie to cling to the remaining pack, it was pretty funny :D I think after just one crit this year I'm already addicted.

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