Race Reports

		Posted: Monday, July 07 2008	Updated: Monday, July 07 2008	Posted by: Joey Valdivia
		Title: Paramount Criterium - July 6, 2008 URL:
		Paramount Criterium Race Report – Sunday, July 6 Men’s 55/60 Members – John Rubcic, 60+; Paul Rodriquez, John Wagenaar, Rick Roberson, Joey Valdivia 55’s A decent size field lined up for a 9 a.m. start at the Carson CBR course. Our plan was simple. Stay near the front watch the break away, or TT guys and keep things in check so John Rubcic & Paul could stay relatively fresh for a field sprint. John was sick all week and was close to bagging the race. It’s amazing that even when sick, the Rocket can still go with the best of them. The Paramount cycling club did a great job loading the race with $800 for both fields & plenty of preems that kept the heart rate high for most of the racing. Paul won a set of nice tires, and then Vic Copeland went for a $20 gift certificate from a local bike shop. I was next to Johnny R and he was saying that he’d give Vic $30 not to go for it (remember, he was sick as a dog through Saturday). As the race developed the usual worker-bees kept doing the surges, especially the Healthnet/Citrus Valley team working for Richard Pollock. John & Rick also instigated a few hard laps to keep things honest. I sat on Al Shorts wheel near the end of the race to tag along just in case he tried to go with two, or three to go. On the bell lap Rick went hard then John W. ripped down the back stretch into turn three. I was still glued to Al Shorts wheel half way to the final turn along the inside gutter. I heard Paul call to me to “go”, but I hesitated and he could see the all the riders on the left coming hard. He bolted just in time to beat everyone to the final corner holding off Carlos Soto & Al Shorts for the victory. Johnny R got bumped & cut off, but still beat all the other 60 + racers to the line for team’s second win in the same race! Go green!
		Posted: Tuesday, May 27 2008	Updated: Tuesday, May 27 2008	Posted by: Joey Valdivia
		Title: 50+ Memorial Day Criterium - Dale wins # 10! URL:
		Dale Luedtke raced to his 10th victory of the season today and second in two days. Dale won a two up sprint by photo finish over Mike Gourley of ACME. It took several minutes of video review to confirm Dale’s win. In today’s race we had over 50 in the field, but only four members of UC Cyclery /JW Floors including Dale, Kal , Reed & moi. We all took turns at, or near the front along with members of ACME, Team EDGE and others to keep things in control. Dale won a preem for CBR points that will keep him atop the 50+ Best All Around Rider standings. With 5 laps to go Reed bridged up to a guy that was off the front by a few hundred feet (just to mark him) and then was joined by two more riders. It really didn’t get away as Reed was not working the pace. With three to go, everyone was “gruppo compacto”, with two to go, the pace went up and all the serious contenders were at the front of the arrow. On the bell lap Kal moved towards the front with many others following suit, he started his lead out for Dale with 1/2 lap to go through the sweeping turn three and then into the last corner for the final push to the line with Mike Gourley & Dale right on his wheel. It’s a long way to the finish line…Dale by 30mm!!!
		Posted: Wednesday, March 19 2008	Updated: Wednesday, March 19 2008	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Test Blog URL:
		Test blog
		Posted: Sunday, February 24 2008	Updated: Sunday, February 24 2008	Posted by: Dale Luedtke
		Title: Ontario 50+ and 45+ URL:Dale Luedtke
		Another wet and cold race day arrived today, the 50+ crew was there and ready to race. Again Mike and Mitch were controlling things up front to keep it together. Kal and myself ready to pounce...Mitch takes the last lap pull and then dumps the ACME guys at the front with about half a lap to go. That is much too long to try an leadout at Ontario. Coming out of the last turn I jump hard, catch the front runners and grab first place. Kal latched on to my wheel and just misses 2nd by the throw of the bike. So 1st and 3rd. These guys are working the tails off...this is a great team effort. Off to the 45+...cold, cold and wet again. Couple of teams have 6+ guys so they are sending riders up the road. Finally Turbo goes with an Edge rider and stay away. Kal then gets up the road with another Edge guy and are gone...Kal gets 4th. I get the field sprint for 5th. Not a bad day... Again I just want to thank the guys for help, it is a team effort and it shows with the results we have achieved so far.
		Posted: Friday, February 22 2008	Updated: Friday, February 22 2008	Posted by: Patrick Phillips
		Title: Brea, Ride like you stole it and VOS URL:
		A lot of racing going on for the senior squad. At Brea we had Jan, Trumpet Frank and myself. Great course and really fast. I got to Watch Dale Leudtke show the 40+'ers show em how to race and WIN. What an honor to be associated with this team. The 45+ and the 55+ guys really are inspirational and a hard act to follow. I did the 35+ 1,2,3 first and it was nice and fast. As I look around at the masters racing scene, especially at the 35+, I see some amazing teams participating. Cynergy, Amgen, Cal Pools. We have some really tough competition out there. At any rate, this was my first race of the season and my goal was to just get a little spin in my legs. I sure accomplished that. I finished somewhere in the top 30 but them I had the Cat 3 immediately after. So 50 min's followed by 55 minutes. The cat 3 race was no where near as smooth, but still a great workout. I think I finished somewhere similar to the first race. Jan and Frank also were using it as a starter. Jan raced 4 times this weekend. 2 times on Saturday at Imperial, Sun TT and Sun afternoon at Brea. Yikes......The rest of the team was tapering for VOS...As Hylton says...Turds Taper!! Love that guy. The following weekend was very busy. we had Mitch, Gary, TJ,Nate,Jan and Craigger all at VOS. That left Frank,Tracy and I to go up and race the CBR event in LB. Tracy and I did the 30+3,4....Great warmup race...we arrived a little late, thanks to me, so we really didn't get a warm up...Thankfully the race was slow at the beginning, the middle and the end...I ended up with 7th. I needed to be more aggressive. We watched Frank race the 40+ 1,2,3 and he had a blast..Nice and steady. Then we all did the 35+...Also plenty or action and many strong teams. Cynergy covered everything for Mark Scott and Amgen attacked all the time. In the end....Randall Coxworth came out solo and beat them all. He also won the Pro 1,2. The VOS boys...Had great days riding as a team. Gary ended up 11th in the TT. The cat 3 TT winner would have been in the top 8 in the Cat 2's. The roadrace saw Mitch finish 6th and the Crit saw TJ finish 3rd.....We had boys REALLy mixing it up. Very impressive. But for slower than normal TT times, we would have had boys all over the GC. That was Mitch's first TT ever and Gary just wasn't feeling it on that day. Normally Gary wins it. Awesome TT guy and Power guy. All that said...I am really proud that we had so many dudes travel out there and represent our squad. I can't wait till these damn kids grow up and move out so I can do what's really important in the world....race with my bro's.
		Posted: Wednesday, February 20 2008	Updated: Wednesday, February 20 2008	Posted by:
		Title: Valley of the Sun Stage Race Report : 13-17Feb08 (Mike Ash's Point of View...) URL:www.wmrc.org/vos/index.htm
		The Big Green UCC team was out there in force… 12 of us made the drive to Phoenix AZ for this 3 day stage race… Who was there… Men’s 3 Gary Tingley Mitch Porche Nathan Weber Jan Hagenbrock Gary Tingley Men;s 40+ Scott Bater (4th GC and his evil Twin Scott Baker from GST Racing in AZ was 4sec behind him for 5th) Craig Kim Tom Schwartz Men’s 50+ Bob Wilcox               7th Mark Huffman 10th Mike Ash Steve Cahill Highlights… The GE guys… Masters Men 40+                                                                                                 4 2:53:46 BAKER Scott from UC Cyclery/JW Flooring                 5 2:53:50 BAKER Scott his evil twin from GST Racing Masters Men 50+ GC 7 2:44:06 WILLCOX Robert 10 2:44:16                HUFFMAN Mark Getting there was the drill… Epic Drive out.. I-8 ended up closing due to freak snow storm stranding some 500 cars. We got stuck in traffic jam that ended up with needing to find a new way to get to the Race… Leaving just after 2pm we ended up getting there 14hr’s later at 4am. It was a tiring night with 90min sleep, then getting up at 5:30am to get ready for TT. Here’s the story from the 40-50 squad from Mike Ash’s point of view… Many thanks to Craig Kim who did all the driving with three of us (Tom Schwartz, Scott Cahill and me) 7 bikes racked and all the gear… Time Trial… started cold then got wet. I ended up starting well only to about ½ way out getting a flat front tire… was long way back at 9mpr cold and wet netting me the slowest time plus 1min… Scott Baker did an incredible time going 1min faster then last year and even with incredible time ended up 3rd… what’s crazy at the end of three days Scott Baker ended up 4th GC and his evil Twin Scott Baker from GST Racing in AZ was 4sec behind him for 5th). Bob Wilcox rocked getting 6th and Mark Huffman with 9th for 50+ Road Race Better day since dry albeit cold… Bob Wilcox who is riding strong was in contention for GC with Mark Huffman just behind him both with great TTs … I worked hard riding tempo near or on the front to try and hold down attacks so Bob and Mark would be fresher on the climb. I started at the back since Bob Wilcox was running close on time and had to park a long way from start. I picked him up about 1-2 miles from start and he rode my wheel to the line to stay out of the wind. I was stuck at the back due to narrow road until first right turn and worked hard to move up to where Bob was near the front. Bob asked me to go to the front and so a hard steady tempo to stop the small attacks that were going. Stayed at TT watts and was getting cooked when Steve Cahill rescued me. Couple other guys moved to front but pace started to slow so I got back on front to nearly the climb. I stay up toward the front and covered a couple attacks for Bob but was running out of juice. BobW, MarkH and others went hard near the top and I got dropped. Spent nearly 1/3 the course to get back on. Next lap moved to the front on the flats to and rode fast tempo again. One other guy took a couple pulls but got stuck on front long time. Covered a couple other break and started the climb in 3rd position but get away sticks were toast so just stayed there. About 1/2 way up climb BobW asked if I had anything left (to help him out for King of the Mountain Points) I stood up and I tried to go, saw some stars, and then it was like being on fast Swami's on the dump hill as I moved back. Bob nearly got KOM but was caught on the top. Spent the rest of the race suffering solo. Just before the 3rd climb got back on with some other shelled guys finished the race probably sprinting for 35th. Mark Huffman got 4th incredible, Bob Wilcox right behind him at 13th.... Crit 50+ crit was the fastest 20min of my life… Was a Tuff race. Mark Huffman and me got pinched right at the start line and got a slow start. I move to the front the 2nd lap and stayed for a lap to see what the course looked like – tight figure 8 course was challenging. I positioned moving up with 4laps to go and getting in 3rd slot with 3 and 2 laps to go and got crashed out as the last domino in the first sharp left after the start finish - some guy when wide and the group colliding into the outside of the corner. I was sliding both wheels with a guy pushing on my quad and hit the curb hard with my rear wheel... had to chase to get back in position for bell lap but couldn't get there. In hindsight with 2 laps to go the pack slowed a bit at the finish line and I thought that was a time to counter hard but didn't - that would have been the move to get me out of the crash and back in position – fun at times but overall a frustrating 3 days.
		Posted: Monday, February 18 2008	Updated: Monday, February 18 2008	Posted by: Joey Valdivia
		Title: Brea 50+ crit URL:
		UC Cyclery/JW Flooring had three first places. Rubic won the 60+, Kal won the 55+ and I won the 50+. This is awesome. In the 50+ Mitch Weinstock, Mike McConnell, and Kal worked their tails off so I could be fresh and ready to go. M&M controlled the front for most of the race and then Kal chased down the break on the last lap and sent me free. I can't thank these guys enough...so get the word out about their hard work. Everyone that raced last weekend is looking good, strong, and fast. Dale Leudtke
		Posted: Sunday, October 07 2007	Updated: Sunday, October 07 2007	Posted by:
		Title: Green Machine Makes it Mark at the Oct 07 Fiesta 20K TT URL:http://www.fiestaisland.com/docs/10-07-07_results.pdf
		All I can say is Scott Baker must be a MUTANT!!! He ended up with 26:29 holding 28.16mph, the best time overall today beating even the Cat 1,2,3 guys... Bob Estus as well ROCKED with a 27:40 getting 2nd behind Scott Baker in the Master 40-49 group netting him a 4th overall for the day... Other green card carriers from UCC included Steve Cahill with 28:51 bagging 5th in the 50-59, Craig Kim who rode even though under the weather and I was digging to get 8th in that group with a 29:42. The other regulars from UCC must have opted to sleep in on what was a very cold morning... If I miss any other Green Machine Guys let me know...
		Posted: Sunday, July 08 2007	Updated: Sunday, July 08 2007	Posted by:
		Title: Green Machine rocking at the The JAX - La Mirada Grand Prix URL:
		I didn’t have a hall pass to spend the day but when I while I was there every race that had a UCC member had a win… Dan Wulbert as usual denominated the 60+ race for a win… RocketMan ATA John Rubic won the 55+ (then went right into the 50+ and got 6th)... Paul Rodriguez set chilly until it really counted and blasted off to win the 50+ with a killer lead-out by Mark Helvie… amazing results – if it was happening, the Green Machine was there… I was stuck on the trainer so didn’t get to watch the 55+ race but would guess the Prime magnet Bob Barney was soaking up all the race goodies…
		Posted: Saturday, June 23 2007	Updated: Saturday, June 23 2007	Posted by:
		Title: CBR State ITT Championship URL:
		The course is about as straight forward as it gets-- 20k east, turn around, 20k west. Simple, huh? The trick was the steady 20-mph tailwind on the outbound leg, followed by the 20-mph headwind on the inbound leg. Outbound I had one of the best splits of the day with an average speed over 32 mph. The inbound leg was an entirely different story... A 20-mph headwind for 20k eats away at you. Let's just call it demoralizing. I was happy to have my front TT wheel back; UC Cyclery was able to quickly change the tubular this week and get me back on the road in time for this race. Thanks Dave! In the end I placed 3rd in the 35+ category. It's been a disappointing season for me but a podium at the state TT makes up for much of it! Be sure to keep an eye out for the SCV TTT squad that will be competing at Fiesta in September... Aaron
		Posted: Monday, May 21 2007	Updated: Monday, May 21 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: ROCKET ROCKETS WEST LA URL:
		Today was big decision. Good old Ontario, do a couple of races for SoCal Points, or take the challenge of West LA. The LA course is 1.3 mile with a climb like the inside of Torrey Pines from the first bend to the second. You can see the whole climb from the bottom, and it looks easy. You have 3 stages of confidence on the climb. The first is yes I can do this. I will attack. The second is, wow, this is getting a little rough. I think I will sit in. And the third, Oh God, just let me hang on. So we had the greatest team. Billy Goat Tippets, John I like it Wagman, Dr. Dan Only Two To Go Wulbert, Johnny Rocket fresh from giving his daughter away, and Myself the Accountant. So I think, but do not hold this to me as accurate, we did 11 laps? So Bill picks up a prime, and Rocket. And John W atttackks on the last lap. How could he do that????? The main opppponents chase. Rocket sets up. Wow!!! Victory. And we won the team competion???? A Great Team BoBBy
		Posted: Tuesday, May 15 2007	Updated: Tuesday, May 15 2007	Posted by:
		Title: ADT URL:http://outsidethebikelane.blogspot.com/
		Saturday was the second SoCal Cup races at ADT. Since I'm still a womens 4 on the track, I couldn't really participate in the SoCal Cup. But as ADT rocks, they had a small omnium for womens 4s. I went to the track early for a women's clinic. Every 2nd Saturday from 12-2pm, there's a women's clinic where any woman can pay $10, rent a bike and learn how to ride the Siberian pine. About 10 girls showed up for this clinic, including Julia from B&L. Only one other girl was intending on racing the afternoon session. Everyone else just wanted to ride the track. Hey, more power to them! There were only 3 other 4s racing: Tara from SBW, Hillary from Paramont and and some random woman (who got lapped every single race). Race one was a scratch race. The first race was a 20-lap scratch. Hillary, Tera and I settled into a paceline for the race. I totally screwed up the finish and went to high on the banking around the turn and lost ground. At this point, Hillary got tired from sitting around and called it a day. The second race was an unknown distance. We figured that it would be at least three laps but less than 10 laps. Every lap after the third lap, I would rev up the cadence in preparation to start the final lap. Lap 7 was the bell, I gained speed and fought with Tara for the final sprint. She got me by about 3 inches. Final race was a tempo. Tara took the first few laps but I came around by lap 5 and blew her away. My first win of the year!! Ooh, and I took 2nd in the Omnium.
		Posted: Thursday, May 10 2007	Updated: Thursday, May 10 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Barrio Logan-Saturday URL:
		Barrio Logan-Saturday Weather couldn't have been better, cool and a light onshore breeze. We started at 8:00,and living nearby made for a quick drive to the course. Finally! I sized up the group on the line and saw that we had Kenny Fuller, a past Masters World Champ, Ron Skarin, John Rubcic and last year's winner from Arizona, Norm Kibble. There were several UCC team members, so Rubcic would be well supported. California Pools had 3-4 riders, including Sergio Fernandez whom I hadn't seen since Murrietta. The course, for those that don't know, is a sort of figure 8. There are cones lined up diagonally across an intersection, which is the center of the "8". The whole course is on a slant Downhill one way, uphill the other. With Skarin and Fuller, I knew this was going to be a "Breakaway" type race. I wasn't going to make the same mistake I made in Indio, as in, going for a Prime and then having Fuller counter and leave everybody gasping and unable to get on his wheel(except Butch). We started and immediately Bill Tippets took off. I didn't think he was capable of staying away alone on this course, but thought that it may provide the springboard for a break. Which it did! First, Fuller took off and I got on his wheel, then Skarin came by and soon the 3 of us were working together pretty well and getting away. John Waggoner was helping Rubcic to bridge and the next thing I knew coming out of turn 8, a UC rider was walking with his bike. It was Rubcic with a flat. A lap or so later and Rubcic was right there, having taken a mechanical lap and rejoining with the break. Well, the 4 of us swapped the pace for the whole race and gradually increased the gap. until the point where we would enter the intersection at the center of the 8 and the pack was coming up the straight towards their side of the intersection. Before the end, we would go through the intersect and never see them at all. I think there were 5-6 Primes and a "first".....I didn't contest one of them! Skarin went for every one. He got a bottle of wine, $20. cash and I think a $50. certificate for ???. Fuller got one or two Primes and Rubcic may have gotten one too! Five laps to go and we kept the high pace. We didn't slow at all. It was funny, we ended up taking our pulls at the same spots on the course each lap. Two laps to go and we slowed ever so slightly with me pulling up the hill. I comfortably got into forth position at the bottom of the course with my plan to lead through the last two corners into the sprint. The finish straight is so short, I didn't think there would be time to come around anyone. So Skarin pushes hard at the bottom of the course and into the base of the hill for the last time. I'm ready to pounce! Skarin unexpectedly takes a very wide entrance into turn 7 thinking he's going to carry a ton of speed. Fuller is just overlapping him to the outside, not knowing that Ron's heading really wide. All of sudden the curtains are wide open to the corner up the inside, so I jump hard and rail thru turn 7 not knowing Rubcic is on my wheel. Not that it would have changed things, I was committed! Short straight to the final corner and then the relatively short finish straight! My speed is good and I had a good jump into the corners. I didn't look back. I just went as hard as I could. Here's the downside of being a large rider. You push a lot of wind for a small rider(i.e. John Rubcic). He's small and silent, like a baby Rattlesnake. I listened intently for a gear or chain whir, but heard nothing. Then, at the line, Youch! I was bit by the snake. Rubcic nipped again for about the thousandth time this year! Crap! But it was a good race anyway and everyone worked hard. On the podium John, Ron and I all got a bottle of fine California wine! Sweet! I'll think I'll drink it all tonight and blow off the San Luis Rey RR tomorrow! Then again, maybe not. What happened to everyone else? No idea! I remember about 3 laps in a row as we went through the fig 8 intersection, seeing Sergio F.(Cal Pools), off the front of the "group", trying to make it work, but he later said it was no use.
		Posted: Tuesday, May 08 2007	Updated: Tuesday, May 08 2007	Posted by:
		Title: Barrio Logan - Women 4 URL:http://outsidethebikelane.blogspot.com/
		The womens 4 race was a 35 minute affair. Our field was 28 girls strong. The course was almost fun. Lots of turns, a small descent and a climb that was so short and mild that it cannot in good faith be classified as a climb. I spent about 15 minutes riding in different positions in the pack, checking out the best lines to take through the turns. Once I was comfortable with the course, I started purposefully riding and moving up through the field. Odie even commented on how strong I was looking as the race progressed. Then, it happened. I crashed. First and only crash of the year. Since the crash happened so quickly, here's what I gather happened. There was one particular girl who has never raced before, evidenced by the fact that she was unable to hold her line through every single turn. As we rounded turn 4, I was in the middle of the pack, she doesn't hold her line, probably brakes a bit, and her rear wheel wipes out my front wheel. I manage to keep a hold of my bike and use my body to protect the bike from damage. Someone ran over my right arm and I have tire burns and bruises. There's a bit of nasty road rash on my right thigh. A few random bruises here and there, but nothing major. Most importantly, the bike is fine. Bob Richardson did a quick check of my machine and I jumped back in the group the following lap. By the time I'm back racing, there are 4 laps to go. It takes me a lap and a half to re-integrate into the group. I'm riding on pure adrenaline, anger and alot of hate. On the bell lap, I am all recovered and I start moving up through the field, intent on attacking on the climb. Then the newbie who took me out takes out Kelcie who takes out someone else. I was near enough to that crash that it slowed me up enough to frustrate my finish. Bummer for Kelcie, who's bike is presently inoperable.
		Posted: Wednesday, May 02 2007	Updated: Wednesday, May 02 2007	Posted by:
		Title: W3-4 El Cajon Race Report URL:http://outsidethebikelane.blogspot.com/2007/05/el-cajon-race-report.html
		The El Cajon crit was only a 30 minute race. I went into this race in an adventurous mood. 10 minutes or so into the race, I grabbed Gina, a trackie on the GS Adams Ave team and initiated a break. We were out front for only 4 or 5 laps. It was enough to learn a few valuable lessons. First, don't start a break at the beginning of the race unless you're strong enough to keep it going and perhaps lap the field. Second, don't pedal through the turns until you can do so without clipping the ground. Third, starting a break hurts. I didn't have my heart rate monitor on, but those 4 or 5 laps were anaerobic. There's nothing to note about the remainder of the race or the finish. I was pooped from that little break so I cruised over the line. Hopefully the little time Gina and I spent out front made the field's race interesting and tired them out that much more!
		Posted: Sunday, April 29 2007	Updated: Sunday, April 29 2007	Posted by: Mark Johnson
		Title: El Cajon 40+ April 29, 2007 URL:
		Scott was covering every attack from the gun. He got away with Mark Scott and one other guy (I think), at which point I rolled up to front to gum things up. It's always fun to sit on a wheel and not pull through when you have a teamate up the road. It seemed to be working, as the field was not gaining on the break. With about 20 minutes of bot-dancing remaining, Turbo, who was still back with us, launched up the left side. Pablo latched on with a handful of others and got the Turbo Express escort to the break. The newly-fortified break stayed away, Scott got 5th, and Pablo got 7th. Nice work, boys! I finished with the pack fodder then went to Petco Park to meet the frau and kinder at the Padres game. I arrived during the 6th inning, but ended up getting an entire game in as it went for 17 innings before the Dodgers took it 5-4. --Mark Johnson
		Posted: Sunday, April 29 2007	Updated: Sunday, April 29 2007	Posted by:
		Title: El Cajon Crit W 1,2,3 URL:
		After a couple of weeks with single digit hours of training, I wasn't feeling particularly strong going into the weekend. I had a great Saturday, so maybe I'd be able to hang Sunday. Even if I wasn't, I was looking forward to what was one of my favorite races last year (even though I was lapped). Very early in the race, I attacked just before the 3rd corner...and crashed. As I was still sliding, my tire blew. I came away with road rash on my right arm and thigh. After getting a new wheel, I jumped back in and shortly after THAT, I got into a break with 2 others! (WHOA!) I tried to get us going, but 2 more jumped across, and maybe a third...who brought everybody else. I was very active and aggressive, seeing a couple of break attemps and went with, took 2 primes, tried to get another break going myself, etc. But, in the end, I wasn't able to stay with the group the last half lap. This season is all about learning for me as I haven't done most of the races in SoCal, I don't know all of the women, I don't quite know where my limits are, and I upgraded just a year ago (and didn't do many races after). So, I learned a lot today and had a LOT of fun doing it! After the race, one of the motorcycle cops saw me at my car with Greg and said it was really neat watching me race because I have a lot of heart. I got a couple compliments from women in my field, which feels good, too!
		Posted: Wednesday, April 25 2007	Updated: Thursday, April 26 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Masochistic Madison of Mayhem and Misery URL:
		Tuesday night track racing has stared and it's not 4 weeks into the program. Last night was particularly painful night. Part of what is making the recent track races so hurtful is that I am forcing myself to use a pretty tiny gear: 88.6 or a 49x15 (comparable to a 53x17) as opposed to a standard 90 (comparable to a 53x16). This tiny gear for races that hit 35 mph. This Tuesday was special in that we had one of our first Madisons of the year. It was totally thrown together but we still got 7 teams!!!! That's pretty damn good for a random Tuesday night Madison. So Iggy Silva III (little Iggy that use to be that one random Jr desperately hanging on the SDBC ride) asks if I would be his partner. I say "uh sure...you know I'm kinda slow compared to you. You sure you want to ride with me?" He says he doesn't care, so I shrug and tell him I'll do my best. We line up on the fence and the reality of how in over my friggin' head I am becomes very apparent. We have Kevin Shiller: cat 1 trackie possibly going to the Olympics, Shaun Wallace: former pro trackie who has held many national and world titles, Adam Smith renowned sprinter, John Arnold: possessor of a 1500W sprint, Chris Bennet: Local cat 2 road and trackie, Dr Alan Richburg: Cat 2 track/road, former Master's Nat'l champion......Oh, did I mention that Iggy is a Jr National Champion? Yeah, I was in the DEEEEEEEEEEEP end. In fact, I am pretty sure that end wasn't just deep but bottomless. I knew there was no quitting in this race. I would not do that to Iggy and I would never hear the end of that. So we start off and things are fine and things are ticking along. Iggy and I exchange a few times and get the feel for each other throwing style. It was a pretty short race at 35laps (Thank God!) and the first sprint was at 20 laps so things stayed mellow for the first 12 laps. Somewhere at 21-22 laps to go the pace went from manageable to just plain old painful. I was able to time it right to throw in Iggy at a little less than a lap to go for the sprint with fresh legs: classic Madison move. Now, notice I said "somewhere at 21-22"? I am vague on that point because the pain of the next 20 laps has somehow degraded my memory of the events that transpired after that. We were supposed to have a mellow Madison to warm the crowd up for the big one coming in a couple of weeks. Mellow-schmellow! After that first sprint it was just on! Kevin, Iggy and Shaun were going at it like a bunch of greyhounds going after the last mechanical bunny on the planet. I was just trying to not throw Iggy in with a huge gap to close....and keep enough oxygen in my brain so as not to run into anyone. I missed one throw because Iggy was coming a lot hotter than I thought. I got used to those (somehow!!!!) and I tell you it's damn fun being accelerated from 15mph to 30mph+ in about 2 secs!!! Somehow I managed not to get dropped (don't ask me how! I don't think I was actually conscious) and got to about 4 laps to go when Iggy Sr asked if I wanted Iggy to be thrown at 1 or 2 laps to go. The question I was asking was "Why do you think I can do math now!?!??!! There is no oxygen in my math centers of my brain!!!" I didn't say that out loud...all I could manage was a "mumble-mumble-Wha?-mumble mumble" Yeah, no oxygen to the speech centers either. I stick it and get ready to throw Iggy in for the last sprint and things got really fuzzy as Kevin and Shaun started to wind it up. I just remember desperately trying to discern Iggy's black jersey from the other colors. This was hard as my vision was narrowing. I'm not sure if this was a because we were approaching the speed of light or was my brain shutting down to oxygen-debt. I think I threw him in, I just don't remember. You know what they say about track racing: Turn and Burn. Yep, I turned and I buuuuuuuuuurned.
		Posted: Tuesday, April 17 2007	Updated: Tuesday, April 17 2007	Posted by: Patrick Phillips
		Title: Omnium Cat 4 Crit URL:
		LOOK ODIE...I USED THE BLOG!!! You guys are role models to us all and on that note I want to extend a special thanks to Bob Estus who did the same for Mitch and myself this weekend. After doing 1 lap at the road race and EXPLODING....I was ashamed and depressed. Since I have officially become "CRIT TRASH" in the words of Joe D'agostino, I decided to save it for the Crit. I saw Bob before the crit and discussed a plan. We said at 5 to go, he needed to find us....Until then, sit in.....Bob doesn't do that very well...Sit in that is. After telling him to cover up a few times, he finally sat in and like clockwork, he was right where/when we agreed upon. Mitch grabbed his wheel and I grabbed Mitch's wheel. With one to go, Bob got on the front and did a MONSTER pull, 3/4's of a lap and there we were 1,2,3....Mitch was yelling at Bob to keep going and he did, at the last turn Mitch Jumped and I was off by 1 second, a UCSD guy(Omnium Winner) got on Mitch's wheel and I was now third. I Iet a little gap open between myself and the UCSD guy to give them a little room to sprint it out and once that was good I put my head down(Bad Form, I know) and started my sprint. Mitch ended up 2nd and I ended up 5th, I still think it was fourth, but who's counting. The point is.....BOB ESTUS KILLED IT!! Thanks Bob!! Mitch is going to share his prize money with you, or give you a full body massage, whatever you prefer!! I saw Mario and Odie in the Cat 3 race and that looked a little speedy. They did a great job of hangin in there, I think Mario got 13th....Not sure about Odie, it looked like a pack finish Mitch and Mark Johnson also did the 35+ race on a SOAKING wet, totally DANGEROUS course and finished in the pack. Nice job for race #2. I wanted no part of that, I did one lap and pulled off. I couldn't see diddley. I'm a wimp, I know. Then...MJ did the Pro 1/2...looks like he hung in the pack.............Looks like we have a break for a couple of weeks With that race, I received my 10th top 10 of the year and I think Mitch now has enough points for us to upgrade to Cat3's. At this point, I think we will ALL be Cat 3's. At that point, we got some racing to do.
		Posted: Sunday, April 08 2007	Updated: Sunday, April 08 2007	Posted by:
		Title: Del Mar 3 URL:http://outsidethebikelane.blogspot.com/
		The actual race was fast. Beatrice managed to break away for half a lap with another rider. Karryn, Claudia and I didn't get a chance to move to the front and control our field because Beatrice drifted back into the group shortly after her break. Karryn made a few attacks that would have stuck if the field were not filled with 3s. There was one nasty crash about half way through the race. I'm not sure what happened, but I believe some girl's power tap blew up causing her to move about the course erratically. Somehow Amanda Duarte from SDBC ran into the power tap girl and hit the pavement hard. She was down for a good 3-4 laps. Then, with one lap to go, another chick clipped her pedal during the left hand turn and her bike skidded out from underneath her. I was near both of those crashes and by near, I mean right next to the girls who crashed. They jarred me and caused me to fall off the back. But no sooner had I fallen off the back did I catch back up. I'm still lacking a good jump, so my finish was poor. As to how poor, I can't tell you because I left almost immediately after I crossed the finish line. No need to stick around when you're freezing and didn't place well.
		Posted: Saturday, March 31 2007	Updated: Saturday, March 31 2007	Posted by:
		Title: Indio Grand Prix URL:
		35+: Hot day. Bumpy course. Hot day. Bumpy course. Spent most of the race near the back of the peloton. Just didn't have the legs for more. Had a good sprint at the finish to get 26th place in the field of ~50. Couple crashes in the field, one apparently due to a broken carbon wheel... Bumpy course. Many pinch flats. Would have been a great course for tubulars! 2/3: Hotter day. Bumpy course. Hotter day. Bumpy course. This race was immediately following the 35+. After 2/3rds of the race I pulled out. I decided it was better to save myself for the 40k at Fiesta Island tomorrow. Did I mention that it was hot and that the course was bumpy? This course was considerably bumpier than Barrio Logan! Aaron
		Posted: Thursday, March 29 2007	Updated: Thursday, March 29 2007	Posted by: Patrick Phillips
		Title: Del Mar Crit 3-28-07....And stuff URL:
		Gents..... For those of us that need races or points to upgrade to the 3's. There is a race on Sunday at Dominguez Hills. CBR....There is a 4 race at 8:40 and a 30+3/4 at 10. I am doing both. Please let me know if you are going to be there. The more the merrier....... Del Mar Crit was yesterday....It was nice to see most of you out there. Midweek races are hard to make so it was great that the boys were out. I couldn't race the 35+, too busy at work, but I brought the new gear down for those that were racing. I saw MJ, Odie, Mitch, Frank...The 35+ race started out pretty fast....There was some jetisoned cargo really early. I think I saw folks off the back after 2 laps. I had to leave so I didn't see the finish but, I think the race ended with only 10 racers. Started with what looked like 30 at least. Not sure who was in the finish....but I think Mitch got 5th. Those that raced may be able to shed some additional light. The Mens 4/5 race was the second to last race. In this race were Mitch and Myself. This was a pretty fun race as Swami's had at least 10 guys and they did a good job of keeping the pace high. Between UCC, Adams Avenue and Swami's we all kept this race fast. I know I was certainly feeling it. I told Mitch to keep an eye on the 2 Adams Guys......both at least Cat 2's on the Track (James Kaiser and Kevin Schiller), both very cool guys to boot. Sure enough, James went and Mitch got on his wheel, Kevin and I got up front and did a little blocking, only after we let the Swami's guys burn a few match's. They got a good little gap but there were too many Swami's guys and they caught the Mitch and James. Then, James went again and we didn't get in on this one, it was James Kaiser and another Swami's guy. I was cooked and couldn't chase and Swami's wasn't going to and neither was Kevin. It got pretty strung out going into the last 3 laps and Kevin did a great job of bridging up to his teammate and not beating him or dragging people up to beat James. They ended up 1 and 2....They raced a great race as did the Swami's guys. Class acts, the lot of them. I ended up 7th and Mitch got 11th. Once again a great race. Mario and Odie did the P123 race and it looked nasty....I'll let them report on that pain train....... I really think this is one of the best races that we have in San Diego. Great course, great friends great cause...It is with great regret that I will not be able to make the Sat version of this. I will be in Deer Valley with my family. Offer was too good to pass up. FREE flight on a private JET to Deer Valley and a very inexpensive hotel room. Not to mention that my wife really wants to go, and I ain't ski'd once this year. Sorry to let ya'll down. The wife booked it and I'll be damned if I'm gonna tell her, "sorry Honey , I have a bike Race!!" I'd come home to Carbon Fiber schrapnel all over my garage. Make us proud boys!!! It would be great if we could have ALL member of the 35+ squad at that race in some form or fashion. Sorry I won't make it, Not setting a good example I know....But it wouldn't be a very good example to my son if I chose racing over his vacation with his family and snowboarding lessons. AND after all, as important as you Monkeys are in my life.......He crushes you lot. ODIE.......Sorry for not using the blog. I'm just not much of a blogger. Oh......Keep an eye out for Casper at Fiesta Island.....He has been training all year for that Spring/Summer Classic series. He will be defending his title there, so lend him a hand when you can. Also, it may be the only time you get to pretend-race with him. Go CASPER!!!!!
		Posted: Monday, March 26 2007	Updated: Monday, March 26 2007	Posted by:
		Title: L.A. Circuit Race URL:http://outsidethebikelane.blogspot.com/
		The course was a 4 mile loop with 2 180 degree turns. The promoter described the course as having "rolling hills." His definition of "rolling hills" is barely a .5% grade. I thought the turns were going to be problematic but they were 2 lanes wide. They were slow, as expected, but not dangerous. The womens 3/4 race was only 5 laps. Long enough to get a race in but short enough to not get bored. My goal was to be in the 1st 5 positions entering the turns and upon completing the turns, punch up the pace to make the back of the group hurt. I accomplished this goal, as all but 2 turns, I was in the top 5 positions. As soon as I was out of the turn, I sprinted for about 30 seconds. I know I'm not ready to be breaking away yet, so these little sprints were practices. I entered the final turn in 2nd position. Theoretically, I had set myself up for a good finish. The problem is, I don't have the power right now for a good sprint. The 3s took off and took the top positions. The 4s who have the power got the middle positions and I was relegated to 20th. If anyone has a good set of sprint workouts, I could use them, asap. After the race, I ran into Rodger, a friend on the Cynergy team. I was bumbed that my finish wasn't great. He proceeds to give me a 2 minute motivational speech along the lines of "you're just as fast as all the girls out there and you deserve a top finish. Start telling yourself that you deserve a top finish and plant the seeds that you are a winner." That was awesome.
		Posted: Sunday, March 25 2007	Updated: Sunday, March 25 2007	Posted by:
		Title: L.A. Circuit URL:
		Team- We had 5 riders go out today to compete at the L.A. Circuit Race. Alison, Karryn, and Kat were there for the women and Ruben and Roger were there for the Cat 3 race. Some of you probably are asking yourselves who are Roger and Ruben. They are two very new additions to the team. Ruben used to be on our team a couple of years ago but had some leg problems and took some time off. They are both juniors but also very fast. I will start off with the Women's 3/4 race which was first. The race was 20 miles. It doesn't sound like much but if you ever had to do 20 miles on that course you probably would be bored out of your skull. the race didn't have alot of attacking in it so Karryn and Alison stayed pretty close to the front to avoid any mishaps or missing out on any breaks. Alison is getting alot better at staying up front these days. Good Job. It came down to a final sprint. Karryn decided that drag racing would be a cool thing so the group went 4 wide and Karryn took a 4th. Alison, who is still working on her intervals/sprints took 20th. No crashes so it was a good race. Next was the Womens 1/2/3. It was right after the Womens 3/4 so Karryn didn't get a whole lot of time to relax. She got her upgrade approved by the way. Kat didn't get a great warm-up either because she decided to check out the area surrounding LAX (Lost is the term I believe) She still made it in time though. The race was faster than the 3/4's but that was to be expected. A couple of breaks went but nothing that was to serious. Since Kat didn't start training with the rest of the team she started to feel her energy go after about an hour. I have no doubt that with some more miles she will be a main player in the womens races. Again, a bunch sprint was in order. Karryn saw Anna Lang and knew that was a wheel to get on. She was promptly told by Anna's teammate that she couldn't be on that wheel because it belong to her teammate. The sprint started with Anna Lang jumping. Karryn was on her wheel (we don't ride for the other teams so no reason to listen to them) Good Girl. As you may know Anna has a very hard jump which makes it next to impossible to stay there. Karryn got a good enough tow to finish her first 1/2/3 race in 5th place. After rewatching some of the video tape, it was decided that Kat took 9th. It was really close and they had to go frame by frame. A very nice day so far except it was kinda cold. Our final race of the day was the Cat 3 mens race. It started out pretty fast with alot of attacking and countering. With about 6 laps to go a break of 5 went up the road. They eventually had a 45 second gap and it looked like they would hold it. Roger and Ruben did quite a bit of chasing since we didn't have anyone in the break. A disturbing trend. With one lap to go the break lost 2 of it's 5 and it was just a matter of time. With a quarter lap remaining the group was whole again except for the riders that were spit out the back during the chase. It was a crazy sprint for the finish and since it was downhill it didn't really favor our riders with junior gears. At the line Roger and Ruben took 4th and 5th i believe. It would take a while for the scoring to be settled and I couldn't take anymore of that after the Womens race so I left. I am sure results will be posted in a coupole of days. Great Job to those who raced. Keep up the good work. Paul
		Posted: Friday, March 23 2007	Updated: Friday, March 23 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Murrieta Race Report by Trina Bena URL:
		Saturday: So, I was a little anxious (again) on the way up. You have to remember that most of these races are brand new for me. When I got to the line, I looked around to see a BUNCH of Helen's riders. Oh...geeze. We start and right off the bat the attacks begin. I remember being at the front in the beginning (trying to get the ol' heart rev'd up). A crash on the back side took a few girls out. Tamara went down, too, but she was able to get back in the next time around. On the first corner, I was taken to the gutter and almost ended up on the sidewalk, so I was on my breaks and someone ran right into my big ol' butt! I had a huge bruise. As the pack settled into Helen's alternate attacks (two riders at a time, too!), I was able to see when the next one was setting up to go. I went with a couple of attacks (yay!) and was in good position with a couple laps to go, but I couldn't hold it in the last lap. Girls were sprinting all over the road, so I had to slow down to avoid crashing then start my sprint again. I finished 13th. Sunday: I was friggin' NERVOUS and it got HOT. Again, Helen's attacked off the bat. There were a few attacks by others that didn't stick. I got in a small break that lasted almost a lap and when I was back in the group, one rider here, one rider there rolled off the front (one of which I didn't see because I was cross-eyed. That puncher killed anything left in my legs and the last two times were painful! I assumed SDBC would go to the front on the last few laps to bring back some of those points for Anna Lang, but they didn't. We were going to be sprinting for 5th or 6th. My whole goal was to find Anna Lang's wheel and hang on for dear life. Well, she attacked right before the left hand turn and I was there, but couldn't hang to the finish. I limped in to finish 18th. I finished 15th GC - the last money spot! I was so stoked and knackered. It took until the end of the Pro race for me to feel human again. Trina
		Posted: Friday, March 16 2007	Updated: Friday, March 16 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Del Mar P/1/2/3 race report. URL:
		After a number of e-mail encouraging the UCC team membership to participate in the Del Mar crit, I figured I would give this event a try. I really couldn't last year seeing how I was working and living in the OC. I had originally hoped to do the 35+ and possibly the P/1/2/3s, but work obligations prevented me from taking a half day (yes, yes, yes. where are my priorities?) so I was stuck with the P/1/2/3s. I knew it would be fast, but I figured it would be fine and I would see how long I would last. As I got warmed up, I watched the Cat4/5s (see the 4/5 race report for details) and was getting pretty amped up. I snuck in a couple of warm up laps to check out the course. It's got a lot of sweepers and some funky pavement: perfect for shelling lesser bike handlers. As I lined up I took stock of the rest of the feild and noticed there was some SERIOUS horsepower. A bunch of Cat1s, and a couple of pros. Yeah, I was in the deep end, folks. We stared off and stayed behind the pace vehicles for our parade lap. As soon as the cars pulled off and the pack started wind up from fast to light speed in about one corner and it stayed that way for at least 4 laps. After a couple of blistering laps, I found the ideal line was pretty much on the outside. I could keep all my speed and even make position. It's a good thing I figured that out since there were gaps opening up faster than an unfurling net. It was strung out single file and people were coming off like flies. I found an SDBC elite rider's wheel and kept my self out of the wind till most of the dead wood was gone. The pace never slowed down too much and there was precious little margin for bad lines or dawdling. I was quite pleased on how well my S-Workds sucked up the funky pavement and was having a good time carving at speed. I only lasted about 30 mins out of 50, but what fun that was!!! The pack was strung out single file at least 4-5 times in that period and each time it took a little out of me. Eventually I started loosing my grip on the wheel in front of me. I was quite frustrated that I couldn't hold on a little longer as I was pretty sure that the pack would slow dow again. A group of 4-5 guys were just off the back trying to stay in the race. I tried to jump on, but I had nothing left. I watch the brutal pace shell more and more riders and it came down to about 10-12 riders. I enjoyed myself but I just wished I could have lasted longer.
		Posted: Friday, March 16 2007	Updated: Friday, March 16 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: 3rd person Del Mar 4/5 race report. URL:
		As I was warming up for the P/1/2/3 race (stay tuned for that race report) I watched the cat4/5 race with our 35+ rising stars: Mitch and Patrick. The course was great and I was getting pretty excited to race on it. I was watching the 4/5s and I noticed a couple of familiar faces from the track. Kevin Shiller and James Kaiser, local track cat2 and honest-to-god track bad-asses (Kevin did the Elite Track nationals and did pretty good) where in the cat 4/5 field. I heard that the local officials didn't care if they were cat 2 trackies (because we all know trackies are horrible bike riders, right?) they would have to start off as 4s. People vouched for them (even the guy who hands out track upgrades), but no luck. Kevin and James were stuck and the 4/5 were going to get a beating. Needless to say they pretty had their way with the 4/5s and strung the field out shelling numerous poor souls. I was screaming at Mitch and Patrick to watch the track ringers and they did a pretty good job. Mitch got into a break with Kevin that seemed like it might work, but as you know 4/5s will chase wild geese and paper cups. When it came down to the last lap, Kevin just punched it (in the saddle, BTW) and put an instant 30 meter gap on the field from turn 1 and held it. Not a thing that the rest of the field could do. Mitch and Patrick were very active and certainly made a good team showing. If they could have just stuck to Kevin's wheel, we would have MORE results to gloat about. But having first having first hand knowledge of how easily Kevin can teleport his arse 30 meters up the track, I can understand why no one could stay on his wheel ("Where'd he go!?!?! He was just in front of me and now he's half a lap up! What the heck!!?!?!") It was great fun watching that race. Now I was getting amped for the beating I was soon to get from the P/1/2/3s
		Posted: Wednesday, March 14 2007	Updated: Wednesday, March 14 2007	Posted by:
		Title: Del Mar Crit / #1 URL:
		Kam did an amazing job at setting up and coordinating this event – not only was it well run but he had a boat load of stuff to hand out... Fun time by all... Our own Scott Baker was on fire today.... Racing the 35+ got away with another rider and nearly lapped the field... then just minutes later jumped into the 45+ race and near the end got way again... Where does he get that secret power (and will he share)... Great to see so much green out there... See you guys at the next race...
		Posted: Monday, March 12 2007	Updated: Wednesday, March 14 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Tour De Murrieta Stage 2 Race Report URL:
		So, I ventured out to Murrieta to take part of the circuit race thinking it would be a nice change of pace from all the stinkin' industrial park crits I always do. Well, it was different alright. Complete with hot weather. I drive up and and it dawns on me that it's getting hot and I'm heading for the Imperial valley. I watch the thermometer in my car climb from a comfy 75f right on past the 80f and towards the mid 80s. I stop at a quickie mart to pick up some extra water and I think "this is fine! No worries". I sign up for the race and congratulate Mitch on his GC win and watch poor Alison chasing the women's field and wonder what happened. "She's a strong rider" I say to myself somewhat baffled. Little did I know... I start the race and things are going just fine except that I find myself somewhat parched by the first corner and that's about when the suffering began. I think I knew something was up with how freakin' hollow my legs felt. Being a trackie, I am usually pretty good at punching up little risers, as long as I get some relief on the back side. A break of about 4 guys got off the front and they were cooking right along. Things seems to be tolerable until some fast-movers like Mark Scott and Dan Voight decided they didn't like be out of the money like that and the accelerations began. I was actually doing alright (at least till the water ran out), the course was a lot of fun, but the accelerations were taking their toll and soon I had one of those distinctive weird feelings that I know are part of overheating. Things settled into a somewhat comfortable pace and I thought that I might be be able to hang on. Unfortunately that state of equilibrium was shattered when one acceleration quickly sucked away what ever surplus power I had and I started going backwards and exited the back of the pack about halfway through the 6th lap. I cross the finish line and turn off the course. Now I know what happened to Alison. Now, crossing the finish like shattered like that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when I stopped by my car. With no air flow over me all the heat I was desperately trying to get rid of had nowhere to go except cooking my noodle. That was distinctly uncomfortable 5-10 min till I cooled off and I could of swore I saw some dancing twinkies doing the Macarena. At that point I was cursing my air-conditioned office and living close to coast. Thus robbing me of heat tolerance training. It was really too bad because I really like that course. It was fast, fun and challenging....except for the overheating part.
		Posted: Sunday, March 11 2007	Updated: Sunday, March 11 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Mitch Porche Wins Cat 4 GC at TD Murrietta URL:
		Unbelievable day of racing for UC Cyclery/JW Floors. Mitch Porche got 2nd in the Circuit Race and WON GC!!!!! and Rick Pfeiffer wins the 50+. Not bad for March. The circuit race was contested on a really beautiful rolling course through the foothills of Murrietta. GREAT course. Rolling Hills and long straight flats, with tight right and left turns. Something for everyone. I plan on letting them know that they put on an excellent event. Turn one in the crit was a little sketchy, but all in all....It was a great event. The CR started off fast. We thought we would try to weed out a few guys and it didn't work too well. Mitch was blazing on the flat straight away sections and power climbs hoping to put a little hurt on folks and it did hurt some folks....Especially me. I wasn't feeling good at all. Legs felt like crap and I wanted to quit all day. Thanks to Mitch's encouragement I hung in there and with 3laps to go(11 Miles) is started to come around. At that point Tom, the guy who was in the breakaway with Mitch yesterday, got pulled for a centerline violation and thus Mitch was #1 on GC. Things were turning around for us. 2 to go I started to feel really good. I started moving up and got fixed in the front 10. Had to fight like hell to stay there. Everything was working from the left so Mitch made sure to stick to the line so no one could pass on the left. They would have to cross the centerline and they had already DQ'd 2-3 guys for that. So coming into the finsh is a series of R-R-L-R turns to the finish line. On the 2nd right, I see Mitch come flying up the left side at 140RPM to pass like 15 riders. He slots into 3rd or 4th wheel with some generosity from some of the Swami's boys. I would have ridden him into the dirt.......and with just a right turn to go and 200 yards...he hammered to second place. Great work. I finished 8th and bacause I was caught in the crash yesterday, I only got 16 th on GC. Mitch is on great form right now, it is a pleasure to watch. You guys should try it sometime......Coming out and racing that is. Mitch can really show you how to do it right now. Anyway......the weather was great the racing was great.......Good weekend. I am ready for a little break in the action. Looking forward to SDBC ride next weekend. Next race for me will be Maybe Redland Crit or Maybe Dominguez Hills after that.
		Posted: Sunday, March 11 2007	Updated: Sunday, March 11 2007	Posted by: William ODell
		Title: Tour of Murrieta Stage 1 URL:
		Great race today......We started the race today and we wanted to keep it safe. Mitch, Craing and Myself along with 3 other guys went to the front and we wanted to keep the pace up. I think we did a pretty good job as there were no crashes........... early on. Good fast pace realy on and at around five to go a guy jumped and I yelled a Mitch to get on his wheel.......He did and that was the last I saw of him. I went up front to stuff it up a little and along with a couple of other guys we managed to slow the pack and the gap got bigger and bigger, then, on the bell lap......the 2 guys leading the chase laid it down on turn one and that created just enough of a disturbance in the force to keep Mitch and his allie off the front. I got caught behind the crash and came to a complete stop. Mitch and a guy named Tom from Team One rolled away from the pack and never got caught. Mitch and Tom made an agreement and Mitch gave the win to Tom...Mitch got 2nd.....I gaurantee you that the next time we need a hand...Tom will be there to help our team out, we got a Photo of Mitch on the podium for our sponsors. Great Job Mitch...I am really impressed. You have been riding really strong. Tomorrow is the road race and it should be a lot of fun. Either way...we made some good allies today and it will be a little like having teammates around....Except, these teammates will sprint around you at the finish. Either way....GET YOUR ASSES OUT HERE AND RACE. Mitch and I plan on upgrading to 3's by the end of April. By that time we should have the team pretty much ALL upgraded to 3's. Mario, Craig, Me, Mitch, AJ, Casper, Odie, MJ(cat2), Frank......Not sure where Chris or Bob stand. At that point, we got no excuses. I'll send a race report for tomorrows race and let ya know if Mitch won the Omnium.