Saturday morning, we packed my Rav4 full of gear for 3 guys with way to many wheels and headed for Yuma. Jimbo’s first race was at 4:55pm and with the schedule laid out as it was with the 3 race early on Saturday and late on Sunday, Roger and I chose only to race to 45+ Omnium, with the criterium starting at 6:10 in the evening. After checking in to the Raddison and grabbing lunch, we arrived at the race a good 2 ½ hours before Jimbo needed to start warming up. The wind was whipping all afternoon and the tent was in danger of flying away, which would have left us broiling in the sun, but we battened down the hatches and persevered.
Anyway, we rolled to the combined 35+/45+ race with Jimbo having been released from doping control so he could join us. The race rolled off at a friendly pace, up the first hill, left turn, right turn, up the second hill, left, left and downhill into a right hander, which leads to the chicane. A couple of more turns and you’re back at the start/finish. The first 3 prime laps were for bonus omnium points, so it was important to be in good position. After the prime bell rang, one rider took off up the hill and got a good size gap on the field. I launched my own attack to bridge, picked up 2nd place points, but never quite closed on our leader. A lap later, after a 35+ rider launched his own attack, I went back and joined a pair of riders who were more than happy to share to work, one was in the 35+ category, so I knew I could discount his results. We rode a steady tempo for most of the rest of the race. Thanks to Jimbo keeping the field off our backs by covering every potential move, we never saw another rider. With the lap cards out, my competition for 2nd launched an attack around turn 1, I matched it just kept the hammer down up the 2nd hill and rode away from him, keeping a solid gap for the next two laps, but worrying that if the pair were still together and willing to work together, I’d be outgunned before the end, so I eased off and let them catch me. As they came up, I looked at my 45+ competition and commented that I hope that my effort hurt him as much as it hurt me. No response. He didn’t seem to be having nearly as much as I was having. We continued together as the bell rang for the final lap. It was pretty much a replay of 4 laps earlier with him attacking at the base of the hill and me riding away from him at the top. This time, our 35+ friend took off as well and gapped me, but once I realized that my competition had completely cracked, I didn’t try to cover the move, cruising home 4th overall and 2nd in the 45+ field. Sunday morning dawned too early for any of us, especially since we didn’t finish dinner until nearly 11pm thanks to USADA so desperately wanting a little Jimbo in their lives. The alarm went off at 5 and we were back at with Jimbo’s first race at 7:30 and ours at 9am. First place in the omnium was pretty much gone since Matt, the winner from yesterday, scored a clean sweep of 1st place omnium points. I’d not only have to win the race, but sweep all 3 omnium sprints and hope Matt, who is definitely strong, fell apart. After yesterday, we decided that no one else would be able to help knock him out of the lead, so if he got away, we wouldn’t chase him down. The first 2-mile lap held omnium point bonuses. Matt took me at the line for 4 points; I picked up 2 and the 3rd place finisher from yesterday picked up 1. We had the top 3 guys off the front. It was a solid break, except I knew that Matt would be able to use and abuse our 3rd place competitor, so I had nothing to gain by working my tail off in this break. I slow rolled a couple of my pulls and let the move shut down. Once we were back with the pack, the real break formed with a couple of 35s, Matt and my fellow trackie, James Kramer, who didn’t have a single point in the omnium. I missed the move, but 3rd place missed the move as well, so once they were gone, I was content to take the easy ride. Of course, Jimbo was right next to me reminding me that I wasn’t going to take a pull. Mr. 3rd place, who is somehow a Cat 1, seemed to be clueless that we were resigned to protect our 2nd place in the omnium. He started pulling hard and then sitting up sharply, veering from side to side to show his displeasure. My job at this point was just to sit his wheel and beat him for the omnium sprints. Either he was on the front or Jimbo came up to the front to shepherd me around, even riding with a flat tire for the last 3 laps. Aside from Mr. Cat 1s erratic riding and constant complaining, it was fairly uneventful. He’d attack, I’d cover. Jimbo would pull and the guys behind would laugh because it was obvious that this guy was just hurting himself. The omnium sprints were the same except for the last one, where I decided to just jump from the front and beat him from there. The kicker to the day was that Jim and Matt ended up working well together and Jim took the win, knocking our complainer from the podium all together. All told, it was a good weekend. 2nd in the crit, 3rd in the circuit and 2nd in the omnium. I wish I had been able to get across to Matt on day 1. That would have made day 2 more intense, but hats off to him for making the move and staying away. -Terry Great Report Terry! How can I match that? O.K. I had the first race. Its about 85° and Windy. We start and I go to the front. Go figure: after the first lap we have only 4 riders. I wanted sprint points ‘cause I don’t know these guys and I want to get an early lead! The course is technical and I love it. I get the sprint points but with 4 laps to go I start getting tired and I let 2 guys go up the road. I end up 3rd for the day and 2nd in points for the overall! When I finished the race a guy came up to me and said it your lucky day! I’m like ok what are you talking about? He said, “You get to pee in a cup!” So he escorts me to an office with a bunch of people in there. Now remember, I just finished a race its 85° and they want me to pee in a cup? Yeah, that’s going to happen! The people were very nice telling me everything and I’m like, O.K., you know I have a race in 30 min. They say give us a sample and you can go. I’m drinking lots of water and I told them its not going to happen to dehydrated. With 10 minutes left before my next race they walked me back to the car. Terry pinned my number on and we lined up for the next race. I think all that water was good. Helping Terry covering the attacks as he goes up the road is sweet and I got 4th! After the race back to the drug test drinking lots of water finally almost 3hours later we filled the cup! After that Dinner and Wine! Sunday After making Terry and Roger wait till I could fill the cup the night before I made them get up at 5am for my race. The race was flat and no wind. I attacked from the start tried to get away from the leader but it wasn't going to happen. I got 2nd in the race and 2nd overall. I had a great time with Terry and Roger Thanks Guys! -Cheers Jimbo. There was a new type of road race on Saturday, March 18, in Irvine, CA. It is called a Hunkr Race. I have no idea why it is called that, but I went there to check it out. It’s not a USAC sponsored or sanctioned race. But it was still a hard race. It had some good and some bad aspects. You line up by your expected finishing times, on an honor system. Not by age or Category. (Maybe, if these types of races become more popular, they will know where you should line up.) Then there was a mass, neutral start for about a one-mile circuit. It was chaos, like a technical crit, with everyone trying to move up on a narrow, twisty, crowded road. Then you crossed over a starting sensor that records your actual starting time, no matter which group you lined up in. This narrow circuit was repeated two more times before dumping the riders onto Santiago Canyon Road.
Once we got onto Santiago Canyon road, things settled down, and the real racing began. It's a nice route. Lots of short, not too steep rollers. I got into a very nice group and it swelled to around thirty after the first of three laps. Kal was in the first group, but could not stay with all the surges on the first lap. We caught him on the second lap. That second lap really hurt me, but I managed to hang on. No more pulls for me! Kal and I nearly got dropped on the last tough hill, but he made an incredible pull on the downhill to get us back to our group, that by now was down to about 15. Kal out sprinted me, but for some unknown reason, he did not get any official time. I took second in the 61-65 group. Because he started ahead of me, I may have had a better time. We will never know. Age group winners got medals. Over-all winners got $1,500! I liked the race, except for the mass start on narrow, windy roads. I think the three starting laps were just to get the total distance up to 100 km. I also like the timing system (I’m sure Kal doesn’t think so). Results are posted very quickly. I would do another one. -Reed. Congratulations to Greg Fenton for winning the 55+ division of the Tour de Murrieta Stage Race. Here is Greg’s report.
This year’s Tour de Murrieta was a hot one! Of course the Master’s Men events were in the heat of the day. Day One - Time Trials: The 55+ team managed to place 1st, 4th, and 5th (Greg, Kal, and Tony respectively). The team all had good times. Tony’s training and hard work are paying off, nice job Tony. Day Two - Crit/Grand-prix: The 45’s raced with the 55’s, which made for a fast paced race. Kal and I were representing UCC. Heat was a factor; it took a lot of wind out of my sails. Kal took some good pulls for me, which helped to keep me going. This is always a sketchy race and we both managed to keep the rubber side down and our skin intact. This is what success looks like at Murrieta. Kal finished 5th and I managed to place 3rd despite overheating and begging for the last lap bell a half hour into the race. Day Three - Circuit: I needed to keep a watch out for and beat one racer by at least one position to win the GC. Once again we were racing with the 45+ group and with the high speeds, frequent attacks, and narrow roads, this is a real erratic race! The race started off fast with lots of attacks. Kal was holding his own and doing a good job supporting me by taking some good pulls. Kal’s in good form. It came down to a finish line sprint and with such a short finish I made my move before the last turn, which ended up being the right strategy as I was able to get to the front, win the race, and clinch the GC. Kal rode strong all three days and took 4th, overall. The weekend was a success not only for the race results (UCC/JW Flooring on top of the podium) but we also left with all of our skin and “parts” intact! I’m looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday at the “Bike for Mike.” -Greg Several of the UCC/JW Floors mountain bike team raced the 8/4 hours of Bonelli located in San Dimas. Chuy Topete, Greg Twitty, Deron Dodero, and I (Ken Winston) entered the 4-hour race whereas Rhonda Geiszler and Bob Wilcox represented the team in the grueling 8-hour version.
This event consists of completing as many laps of a 5.6-mile course as you can finish in 4 or 8 hours, depending on the event entered. All racers, 150 solo entrants plus many teams, start at the same time. After completing a partial reconnaissance lap, I arrived to the start line a bit late and had to muscle my way into the crowd a few rows back from the front where Chuy, Greg, Deron and I all started together. It was a fast start with a few minutes of smooth fire road before the technical single track began. This allowed Chuy, Greg, and I to clear most of the slower traffic that managed to start in front of us. Chuy slotted in a few bikes ahead of me. Greg and I stayed together and ramped up to what I thought was a very fast pace but not sustainable. Deron was not far behind us. In the technical single track Greg and I methodically moved past a few riders and entered the smooth and fast part of the course where teamwork is a big advantage. Greg was a perfect companion and we traded pulls when we couldn’t catch other wheels. I wanted badly to stay with Greg to take advantage of working together in this section of the track, so I kept at the fast pace with Greg. On the second lap I asked Greg if he thought it was a good pace, hoping he would offer to back it down a notch. Instead he shrugged as if to say the pace was fine. So I shut up and kept riding hard. For lap 3 and 4 we continued at this same effort. Greg made a comment that maybe the pace was unsustainable. That was music to my ears. But then I noticed we were catching up to Chuy. I pressed on to bridge up to Chuy in the technical single-track section at which time I lost track of Greg. My presence caused Chuy to ramp it up, much to my dismay. Each time we hit the smooth parts Chuy would roar to the front and pull like a jet fighter while I hung on for dear life. Each time we entered the technical single track downhill sections Chuy would let me by and allow me to create a small gap, which never took him long to close once the descent was over. Several times I told Chuy I was running out of legs but he insisted that we were going to finish together. He did all the work and I reaped the benefits (I did give him a beer afterward). The net result was that we stayed together for the final 4 laps all the way to the finish where we finished tied for 2nd overall. Chuy won the 30-39 men. I won and Greg got second in the 50-59 men, which was the largest class of the day with 32 riders. Deron finished 7th, also in the 50-59 men. In the 8-hour event, Bob Wilcox won the 60+ men and Rhonda took 2nd in the Elite/Open Women. Team UCC/JW Floors made their presence known at the 4/8 hours of Bonelli. Below are some photos of the podium. My first kenda cup race by Chuy.
The day before the race , I had to admit i was nervous been my first kenda cup race. My first race of the year was at the same place temecula but it was the socal endurance. i was really dissapointed getting 9th place overall. i got sick 2 days before the race (but i still went to race). During the race i was doing good, but after 2:30 hours my body didnt respond at all, so i just decided to keep racing at a low pace to finish the race! This time was different. I wasnt sick and had been training good.... Ken and I were texting all week long checking the weather. Woke up on sunday first thing i did check the weather to see how it was going to be for the race! I load all my stuff as i started driving, it started raining really bad non stop ...all the way to Temecula. the course was in good condition, rain didnt affect too much! At the start line, I wish good luck to my team mates then turn on my race mode and clear my mind!! Race start, i decide to start hard and try to open a gap to avoid all kinds of traffic on the course...i position 4th place in the first single track. i kept my pace. Minutes later ken and Pascal got me, so i decided to go with them and work as a team! Descending/technical course began, they left me behind easy (I'm not good descending but i will get better). They opened a gap, so i decided to push hard on one of the fire roads and small climbs. Finally at the end or the first lap i catch them. i decided to keep my pace to open a better gap. Pascal got my wheel on the start of the second lap, then we started descending so i decided to let him pass me to avoid losing time on his lap. Same thing happen and I had to push hard to catch him. finally i catch him at the end of the second lap!! At the start of the 3rd lap, i decided to let him go and do my own race at my own pace...so I did my 3rd ,4th, 5th and the last lap by myself, didnt get a wheel or someone to work with in the race! My last lap was hard/funny because the CAT 2 XC started when i was doing my last lap, so a couple of racer passed me ...it was all right for me, but when more racer started to passing me, wasnt really nice, so i decided to race them even though it was my last lap and their first lap i didnt care! I start passing the guys that passed me. There were 3 guys that got my wheel and we were battling all lap long until i dropped them on the last climbing section. i push hard because I knew that was the only part of the course that i will open a gap....and it was. I ended my race with a sprint! Finished at 6th place overall and first on my 30-39 category. I was really happy on my first Kenda Cup race. Honestly, i wasn't planning getting podiums this year because i didnt know if i will adapt fast racing here at USA, but i think i had been training good! I'll keep training hard to become better. I'm glad that I'm racing for UC Cyclery/JW Floors. Great rides and great people! Thanks Ken for the invite to the team! Chuy. PS. I missed the podium, they gave me the wrong time....i will have to race and get another first place to have a pic with my opponents 😅.!! UCC/JW Floors team results on the day: Endurance MTB: 30-39 Men: Chuy 1st place 40-49 Men: Pascal 1st place 50-59 Men: Ken 1st place, Deron D 3rd place 60-69 Men: Bob Wilcox 2nd place Cross Country MTB: 50-55 Cat 1 Men: Greg Twitty 5th, Steve Boyd 7th 60-65 Cat 1 Men: Randy Liechty 1st The team was busy over the President's Holiday Weekend. There were Time Trials, Stage Races, and Track Omniums. Here are some race reports from them: Congratulations to Tony Darr! 55+ 1st place at a windy and rainy Fiesta Island TT. Rained all 3 laps. Tony’s first win of the year and 1st win of the year for UC CYCLERY! BOOM!! Valley of the Sun Stage Race: Stage 1: Time Trial The weather was sunny and the wind was the usual. There was a strong field in the 55+ including the ITT World Champion. Kal, Reed, Jimbo and I did our best and had good results. I placed 3rd, Jimbo finished 12th, Kal right behind at 14th, and Reed had a respectable finish especially considering he is still recovering from that bad crash a couple of weeks ago. In the 45+, Sal and Terry were as close as it gets to each other’s times, both finishing in the top 20. Roger put in a good effort and realized that it helps to train on the TT bike before the race. Stage 2: Road Race The weather was crappy! Strong winds, heavy rain, temperature kept dropping. In the 55+, all four of us started the race. Kal and Jimbo covered all of the attacks on the 1st lap. As we started the 2nd lap, Reed came off and was apparently smarter than the rest of us as he decided to stay warm in the car. Kal was riding strong but had a flat and the wheel support car was stuck in traffic which made it impossible for Kal to get back on. With Reed and Kal out, that left Jimbo to drag my butt around for the rest of the race. The second lap had a KOM that turned into a sprint between the National Road Champion and myself and I was fortunate and came out ahead. On the third and final lap, there were several attacks that had Jimbo and I working the entire lap to cover. On the last climb to the finish, I was battling with the National Champion and unfortunately I missed a shift and the 1st place finish by a wheel. The 45+ start time was later and the weather was worsening. Apparently Roger was the only one who didn’t watch the news as he showed up and braved the elements. Terry and Sal were wiser and had a much more enjoyable afternoon (so we hear). Roger suffered through the weather but hung in and finished the race. Stage 3: Crit The weather was crappy! Strong winds, heavy rain (does this sound familiar)? 55+: it was down to just Jimbo and I (there was no reason for Kal or Reed to be out on a wet crit course just for the glory of 1 race). I had no chance to advance my position in the GC and just needed to survive and finish for a 3rd place in the GC. Jimbo seemed to be enjoying the crit, he was out in the front several times keeping the pace fast. We both finished safe and kept upright the entire race. Even though the weather was crappy (am I driving this point across clearly?) we had a good time with teammates. Hey hey... I raced on Saturday too. We had a dry start, but by the 2nd lap, the rain was pretty steady and relentless throughout the day. Thankfully, while it was windy, it wasn't gusty, so it was manageable. I suffered. I couldn't find my legs at all and with the short climbs being all Z5-6 efforts, they were draining me like a D cell battery trying to start a car. I managed to go into the 4th lap with the main group. At this point, I couldn't feel the pinky and ring fingers on my right hand or either thumb. About a half mile from the right turn to start the climb, I took a flyer to see if I could get my legs to work. The pack let me go, and Paul Vaccarie from Monster Media went with me. Remember the car battery analogy? Paul and I are about 50 meters in front of the group and he pulls alongside and says we might as well give it a try, maybe the leaders will just be content with watching each other. He takes a pull, I go back to the front and watch my wattage plummet. Zero...drained...empty. No excuses...over. Paul pulls through and I head back to the pack. About a kilometer and half from the finish, I completely unravel as the pace picks up, losing about a minute before crawling across the finish line. I did skip the crit. Unfortunately, our anniversary weekend was spent with me riding in the rain and Paula nursing a 4 day long migraine. I just couldn't justify keeping her in the car for an extra few hours so I could defend 25th place in the rain for 30 minutes. All in all, it was racing. There were challenges and mixed emotions, but it was fun. I can't wait until next year! -Terry Great job everybody! While I didn't race at the Valley of the Sun I still managed to burn a few calories at the Velo Sports Center in Carson on Saturday. The second omnium of the year featured the following three races: Elimination (Miss 'n out), 30-lap Points race (sprints every 10), and 12-lap Scratch. It was my second official race as a Cat 3, and although the field wasn't as deep as the week prior it was still very competitive. I managed a 2nd place at the Miss 'n out and a 1st place at the Points race (4th, 2nd, and 1st during the three sprints). After the first two races I was comfortably leading the omnium, and in order to secure the victory I had to place no worse than 3rd in the Scratch. That did not happen because when the winning move happened I was boxed in. Five riders took off and I had to close a considerable gap with only 1 1/2 laps to go. I managed to pass one rider, crossing the finish line in 5th. I finished the omnium in 3rd place overall. A little disappointed, but I had a blast and felt strong and fast. Many thanks to Terry Johnes who gave me the team speedsuit. And yes, I managed to fit into it. 😉 -Andrea I have an unfortunate story to share about my friend, Nick, who rides for Monster Media, and his wife, Casey. Last Monday they went for a ride, and afterwards, Nick went to REI in Kearny Mesa. He was fiddling in the back of his RV when he saw a guy remove his bike from the rack and take off! He hadn’t locked it, yet. He was going to before going in to the store. Nick took off after the thief, but was too late. He came back to his RV just in time to see the guy’s girlfriend taking off with Casey’s bike! He couldn’t catch her either! Both stolen right in front of him. What a day! He called the police and reported the thefts. REI has video of the thieves, so we hope someone will recognize them. Here is a description of the bikes, keep your eyes and ears open: Nick’s bike is a Kestral Legend with Di2 and Roval Wheels. Casey’s bike is a Specialized Diverge with disc brakes. Race report from Santa Barbara Road Race, 55+ and 60+, January 28, 2017:
Spoiler alert! I'm going to have to add a new excuse to my list. Weather conditions were perfect, sunny and warm, 70F, light breeze, pretty rare for this time of year. Carlson and Fenton in the 55's and Kal and Reed the 60's. Pretty good field even if small. Three laps around the familiar road course and then a new finish section of a few kilometers that we've only seen backwards in the neutral roll out to the course. At the bottom of the main climb I saw Greg go to the front and lay it down blowing the field up. Reed and I were back with the second (third?) group by the top and the false flat. Reed managed to keep us in contact with the splintered field and we labored back to the growing peloton on the rolling downhill. Greg was away for a time but he was with hangers on instead of racers so they came back. We lost more riders on the last go 'round up the climb and looked like about 15-20 riders only coming into the sprint. The sprint set up was made unusually frenetic due to the terrible, crappy, lousy, did I mention terrible?, road conditions so there was two lines heading into the finish section. One line was to the far right of the narrow lane and one to the left. Both the tire lanes and the center of the road were so bad they were practically un-rideable. Coming into the finish section for the first time we went round a bend and the road straightened out and thankfully got much smoother. I was in the right sprint line behind Greg Fenton as we straightened and we both saw what we thought was the finish at about 250-300 meters. Parking area and big white tent next to the road. Greg lights it up and is motoring, big specialized rider hangs for about 50 meters and just opens up the door in between which was my cue, I make my 55x11 smoke for about 75 meters and start looking for the line, and start looking for the line, did I mention I was looking for the line? Finally I stopped looking for the line. Still can't see the line, Greg already sat up, then I sit up and still have to wait 5 secs for the remaining riders to catch up, I still don't see the line. Was there actually a line, maybe I just dreamed it. Anyway, we both coulda, shoulda, woulda, blah blah blah. Kal...out |
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