Race  Winters Road Race –masters 35+ Cat 5’s, 2 riders (Kenny and John)

Weather  62-degrees, light wind…perfect

Race Plan  Stay with the lead group over the climbs.  Stay out of the wind.  Don’t chase breaks.

Race

I started this race without a ton of confidence.  Due to family commitments and an ailment, I hadn’t been on the bike for 11 days leading up to Saturday, so I really didn’t know what to expect from the legs.  I certainly didn’t feel 100% for the first few miles, but the course starts off flat, so I had time to get comfortable even though the pace was brisk. 

After starting in the rear third, Kenny and I worked well together to move up to the lead 15 or so heading into the first pitch of Cantelow, right where we wanted to be.  Then it happened.  Right at the feed zone, I dropped into the small chainring and did my best Andy Schleck imitation losing the chain completely <insert chain catcher recommendations here>.  I jumped off the bike, threw the chain back on but the crank wouldn’t move, the chain had jammed against the frame.  I pulled it out and finally got it on, jumped on the bike and managed to get clipped in on a climb without falling .  All told, I probably lost 25 – 30 seconds, but it seemed like 10 minutes at least.  All I could hear was everyone passing by…

OK, time to throw the Race Plan in the trash – hey, at least I followed it for 10 miles this time.  The good news is that I’ve been chasing the peloton at seemingly every race this year so I knew the drill.  I hammered up the climb picking off stragglers one by one and keeping the heart rate at the max (180+ BPM).  At the top, I started looking for help and reeled in a couple of guys on the decent yelling at them to work with me, which they did (that was pretty cool).  We picked up a few more and had a group of 5 by the end of the first lap.  After 20 miles of chasing and a ton of work we finally caught the leaders at mile 32. 

The second time up Cantelow wasn’t anything to write home about.  Having burned way too many matches to get back to the peloton, the legs let me know I was in for some pain as soon as the road turned up.  The leaders broke away again and I was in chase mode once more.  This time a Rio Strada guy and I formed a group of 5 that cranked the pace.  We had no illusions about catching the leaders, but we wanted to pull in any stragglers we could.  At about mile 43 my right hamstring started to cramp badly.  I managed to stretch it out and stay in contact with my group until it settled down two miles later.  The finish was a mess.  Right at the 1K mark we ended up running into the rear of the Pro/1/2 group (they had another lap to go and must not have been pushing the pace).  This pretty much killed the sprint since we couldn’t really get through them.  In the end I took 11^th place.  Not great, but I’ll take it considering.  Interesting to note that my time of 2:14:46 was on par with the Cat 4, 45+ winning time. 

Kenny had a pretty rough day in the saddle, getting gapped the first time up Cantelow and not finding anyone willing to share the load to reel in the leaders.  After essentially hammering solo into the wind for 15 miles, fatigue caught up with him and he pulled the plug on the day. 

 Key Learnings

1. Study the course if you can’t do a recon ride.  All the course info from everyone was greatly appreciated.  I felt like I knew what to expect on the climb which really helped to measure my effort the first time up.
2. Study the course on the first lap.  I learned on lap 1 that the Cantelow descent has only one corner that required serious breaking (back to back hard left hand turns).  The second time down I was able to pass several riders who were more cautious.
3. Act like you know what you are doing when trying to form a chase group.  I was barking out commands like a drill sergeant as we chased the leaders yelling at riders to join in, take a turn up front, or get off the front if the pace lagged.  This was actually a lot of fun and a few of the guys mentioned that they appreciated this after the race.  I’m guessing this is more of an issue in a Cat 5 race when everyone is still very new.
4. This was another case of coulda, shoulda, woulda.  On paper, Winters looked like a pretty good race for me.  Enough of a climb to split up the group but nothing like the carnage at Patterson Pass.   I’ve just got to find a way to put it all together to get a good result.

I was watching the HBO special, “Hard Knocks”, a show about the pre-season life of professional football.  The defensive coordinator was telling a tale about the devil’s most potent weapon: discouragement.  When you are discouraged, you lose focus, get slower, and start making mistakes.  That story fit me to a “T” on Saturday. 

I was feeling just fine in the peloton as we started out. The ride out on Winters was pretty uneventful.  Both John and I were in the back 1/3 for a few miles but then manage to move up to the top 15 or so.  We turned onto Allendale and things picked up slightly but no big worries as we were staying out of the wind.  Timm presented some rollers and we hit those at 20+ mph.  So far, so good.  The road narrowed at Cantelowe and we were both in good position.  The rollers started hitting and John drops his chain.  I am hanging on the first two rollers but my heart rate is spiking nicely.  The Velo Vie guys from Auburn were clipping right along, passing folks.  The third roller I started getting unhinged from the lead group.  John came around and hit the major climb.  I saw people blown up on the hill and I heard the cow bells of the lead group hitting the top. I hit it about 3 minutes behind and rocketed down the descent.

As I feared, I hit Pleasants Valley Rd solo with a group of two riders in front of me and two more ahead of them. I got down in the drops and hammered.  The head wind was pretty nasty but I was riding strong.  I was riding in the mid 20’s trying to catch up.   I finally caught up with 1 rider about a mile before Putah Creek and tried to work with him.  He just hooked up to my rear wheel and I kept saying that he needed to pull.  He said we was spent and took only very little pulls (at lower speed).  I said screw it and just rode my ride but my energy was fading fast.   I basically spent 15 miles on my own trying to TT up to somebody, anybody. 

I hit the start/finish line and my energy was depleting fast. I had only 2 gel blocks and less than 1 bottle left.  I was in trouble.  The guy who was “spent” then zipped around me and took off.  Glad I could help!   I was heading down Winters when the group of 6 riders (the ones who got summarily dropped on the hills) passed me and told me to hook on.  I got on the back but just couldn’t seem to keep up.  Discouragement just parked itself in my head and stayed for lunch.

By the time on got to the Allendale exit I was gone.  I knew that I didn’t have the energy, the speed, food, or water to finish.  I turned tail back and slumped my way back, broken.  To make matters worse, I ride my bike to my truck parked on the grass only to get a bunch of frickin’ burrs in both tires and blew ‘em.  Oh, perfect.  Nice way to finish.

 KEY LESSONS:

1.  Ride more.  I spent the last two weeks with work and my mom in town barely riding.  It cost me.
2. Know that 50 miles on flat races uses far less energy than a hillier ride. I was burning way more energy on this ride than the last. Prepare properly.
3. Discouragement.  Get rid of it.   The result of that is days of “I should have…” It sucks.

Carlos is on the mend, though is having a “bit” of discomfort as the bones are healing…he stopped by BC Friday and wished everyone luck. There were MANY at the race asking about him and sending him best wishes!

 Race: Winters Road Race –masters 45+ Cat 4’s (7-riders) and masters 35+ Cat 5’s (2 riders)

 Weather: 62-degrees, light wind…perfect

Race Plan: Goal was to keep the race together with Rob/Randy F covering on the flat sections, Steve/Matt covering the rollers and Todd/Rick covering the climb with all of us to set up Randy Volkmar for the finish with a 1-k leadout.

Let me start off by saying this was the best TEAM race we have pulled off this season…great communication, whole team getting involved at some point in the race and great flexibility as the race unfolded….We dominated from start to finish!

Race:

We rolled out of town neutralized with Randy F and myself on the front…I ended up staying there for about the first 4-miles as it was one of the “no chain” days for me…then we rotated a couple times with Steve, Randy and Matt taking pulls. After a bit Randy F asked me if we were going to pull on the front the whole race…which I thought was kind of funny ). So I suggested he and Matt roll off the front while Steve, Rick and I did some blocking. A couple of Giant Strawberry guys finally started chasing after they got off about ¼ mile…which took a bit of effort to close the gap and from there to the climb, other teams took a roll on the front with BC riders keeping a close eye on the front.

As per plan we hit the bottom of the climb with the majority of the team in the front 10-15 riders with Randy V safely tucked in. Todd, Steve and Rick kept everything under control up the climb and we were all in touch with the front of the race as we topped the climb. The descent was “interesting” with a lot of riders grabbing heavy hand fulls of brake into the corners. Everyone made it down safely and we were all together as we headed back into town.

Rick took a short flyer off the front shortly after we hit the bottom of the descent and was quickly covered by other teams…he is a marked rider now, especially since he is now sporting the NCNCA Best-Allround-Rider (BAR) jersey. Right after Rick was brought back into the group, Steve jumped off the front (according to him, this was because his Hamstring was tight and he wanted to get a little space to stretch) with Timothy Spillane of Rio Strada going after him. No one went after them and we started blocking. I figured they’d stay off the front for a while and was glad that we got to sit in and relatively do little work other than covering anyone trying to get across to them. Much to my surprise, as we started the next lap 9-miles later, they were still off the front and no organized chase from other teams appeared. I was staying in the top 4 riders jumping on anything that looked like it was going up the road keeping a lid on the group.

As we started up the climb for the second time we were in perfect position again…I had been talking with Todd and Rick about how important is was that we keep the group together so that Randy V. would be able to make it over the climb…he had described the first time climb as a 9/10 effort on the first lap. Apparently Steve and Timothy were just off the front of the group near to top of the climb but with Todd riding shotgun on the front, no one from other teams were risking a move to bridge the last few meters. We went over the top strung out but still in contact…Randy F, myself, Randy V…Randy F did an awesome descent (over 41mph) making up time on the front of the group and we were all back together again (now down to ~20 riders) ~200-meters after the right turn at the bottom of the descent. The group was still not attempting to seriously chase the leading duo…Todd sitting on the front row and the rest of us strung out in the first 15 riders.

Before I knew it the 1-k sign was on us…because the group were riding relatively slowly we were all bunched up. Todd on the front-far left, myself in the 3^rd row-center, Matt and RandyF to my right-row behind and Rick with RandyV two rows back-far left…no where to go! Matt was letting me know that Rick and RandyV were boxed in…we are now down to 500-meters…the row in front of me moved to the right a little and I punched it up into the second row and move left onto Todd’s wheel…Matt was able to follow my wheel…RandyF got boxed in on the right…300-meters to go and I tell Todd I’m on his wheel…we come around the last right bend and the 200meter sign is there…I yell for Todd to Go go go go go! and he takes off like a rocket up the centerline…I’m riding his wheel and we immediately move forward, can’t see anyone to my right, Matt tries to go with us and immediately cramps and has to sit down, Randy V gets some daylight and comes rocketing up behind us…150-meters to go and I jump around Todd on the right…

Steve takes 1^st 1min24seconds ahead of us, I take 3^rd, Todd 4^th, Randy V 6^th, Rick 11^th, Randy F 14^th, Matt 16^th

 In the 35+ 5’s: John Depew placed 11^th…a Very Good result for his first Winters RR…Kenny was not able to finish.

I have to give it to Todd for staying with the group…he REALLY wanted to bridge up to Steve, and may have been able on the climb, but sacrificed to help keep Randy V and the team in a good position…Todd and  Rick are getting a ton of respect from other teams/racers. Any time they twitched you could feel the whole peloton twitch…having them as marked riders definitely allowed other team members to take advantage today.

 Lessons:

1. You can do some really fun things when you have a team that is willing to work for and with each other for a common goal!
2. Being flexible, recognizing opportunity in a race, taking advantage of that opportunity and then executing a new plan is not easy and when done well is amazing…fantastic job guys!!
3. Communication was on a whole new level in this race…REALLY REALLY important for what we were able to do from start to finish in this race!
4. I probably should have had Todd to push the pace up higher when we came to the 1-k sign to allow Randy V to move forward as the group stretched out
5. Congrats to Steve on a really spectacular breakaway!
6. We need some more team members for the 35+ team for next year and get those two guys up into the cat 4’s )

 Next race is Challenge RR…I told Todd he gets to go CRAZY at this one…watch out everyone )

Rob

First off, my family’s thoughts and prayers go out to Carlos for a speedy recovery. He is a stud. 

John and I were in the 35+ CAT5 round that started a little after 9am.  We recon’d the finish with the overpass so we knew it was going to be a race to the top of the overpass for position then 200M to the finish.  This isn’t going to be a lengthy overview as the race was pretty straightforward.  The pace was less dramatic than the average Tuesday evening ride as two teams, Victory Velo and Fun Sports, kept the pace fairly sublime.  John and I pretty much rotated through the pack but kept noses completely out of the wind.

The last stretch was about 20 miles long paralleling Hwy99 and I was waiting for the surge to happen.  There wasn’t one.  Every once in a while the pack would speed up a touch but nothing that latest too long.  With about 5 miles to go, I managed to get myself up to the top 10 and hold myself there.  I felt pretty good about the fact I was getting smarter on how to hold my position.  The odd thing was the last turn came up upon us at mile 41, not 43, which caught a few people off guard.  I heard a Davis guy cuss afterward that he got caught flat footed.

 At the last turn, I hit the gas to get myself top 5 over the overpass but spent too much fuel as I couldn’t hold my position. I tell you, 200M is frickin long!  I ended up in 12^th place (out of 53) with John in 13^th.  He can give you more detail but looks like he was trapped behind a wall of bikes so couldn’t get a good position going into the last turn.

 KEY LESSONS

1. I kept my nose out of the wind, finally.  With 53 riders that was pretty easy.
2.  Hold your position!  The first 35+ miles I was letting people in without too much protest.  The last five, fuggetaboutit!
3. Keep enough in the tank to finish.   I blew most of my energy to get over the overpass and didn’t leave enough for the finish.  And I keep pulling up at the end rather than rocketing through.  I see that I am not in the top 5 so I tend to soft pedal rather than jam through.  That won’t happen anymore.

Rob’s Race Report

Race:  Dunnigan Hills Race ~46 miles of rolling terrain

Category:   35+ 5’s (Kenny and John)

45+ 4’s (Todd, Rick, Randy F, Matt, Rob and Carlos-designated rider)

 Weather:  high 70-low 80’s, no wind to speak of, clear and wonderful

 Race Stategy:

35+: sit in, watch for breaks of 4+ riders going off the front, top 3-4 going through last corner…go into full on sprint leadout from top of the overpass

45+: Cover all breaks (Taleo, Davis, Tri Valley, Rio Strada, Wells Fargo) set up for a sprint finish leading Carlos out from last right turn ~800-meters from the finish line.

 Race:

The first break of the day was initiated by Taleo at the first feed zone (blocked the entire road with their team as one of there riders went up the road…sounds like Sonora tactics?).  A few minutes later another couple of guys went after him including Tri Valley Velo, Wells Fargo and Davis. That left Rio Strada and our team out of the break. Randy was nearer the front than I and did an awesome solo dig to bridge up catching the second group before they caught the leaders. That left Rio Strada out so I lined up behind Robert Goss and waited until he and a team mate attacked out of the group a minute or so later getting a free ride up to the break…the main pack was right behind at that point and we were back to “groupo compacto”. From that point on Todd decided to implement his 15-match technique over the next 20 miles repeatedly (literally 15-attacks) stretching the pack out…making other teams work to stay with him as a “marked rider”. Rick and Randy pulled back a few other attacks keeping the plan intact. Meanwhile Carlos and I were sitting in saving for the finale.

 Last year the final 15 miles was a tailwind with average speeds over 28mph…this year no wind so speeds were more in the 23 area. In the final 10 miles Taleo sent out several solo attacks that the ever present Todd covered along with other teams. I got on Ricks wheel and told him that Carlos and I were going to be glued on his wheel…he guided us like a cruise missle through all the flack, attaching to Todd’s wheel from time to time between attacks. Matt and Randy were keeping in the top 10-15 riders and things were looking good for BC.

 Before the race started the refs warned all of us that any rider even touching the centerline for any reason would be immediately DQ’d not just relegated to the back…sure enough the designated rider from Taleo went over the centerline about 2-k from the finish to get on his buddies wheel and the moto-ref was on him pulling him out of the race in less than 5-seconds…finally! the refs following through with the warnings ).

 1.5-kilometers from the finish things are getting dicey with people pinching into small holes trying to stay in position or attempting to move up…the final right turn was on us. The plan originally was to put the hammer down from the final corner…that didn’t happen.  Just before the turn Carlos came off my wheel so I told Matt to get on my wheel…Randy had moved back in the group to bring Carlos back up. There is a freeway overpass about 100-yards after the right turn and we went over it in a group…Todd in about 3-4th rider, Rick in 5-6th, Myself and Matt on his wheel…not sure where Carlos or Randy were at this point…we are all focused on what is happening in front of us. I yell up to Rick that “we’ve got to go” as we came over the top of the overpass…still no movement in the pack…everyone is waiting. Apparently, Randy and Carlos had moved back onto Matts wheel at this point based on Todd’s photos. We pass the 200-meter point and a large orange semi-truck of a person comes flying up my left side…no one on his wheel…I make the decision that it is now or never and jump on his wheel going by Rick, then jump out of the saddle and angled left all the way to the edge of the road going flat out from ~150-meters. As I’m coming by the group, I can’t believe no one has opened up the sprint yet. I hit the front free and clear with ~100-meters to go and just keep looking for the finish line, I can feel someone coming up my right side (Gregg Marioni-Giant Strawberry Team).

A couple of guys roll up after the finish line and tell me that one of my team members has crashed in the sprint…I’m totally surprised by this information because I didn’t hear a crash during the sprint. I wheel around and ride back through the finish line and can see Linda (my wife) and Todd (Carlos’s friend/Co-worker from the sheriffs) are huddled over someone. Kenny and John are also there. As I get off my bike, I see it is Carlos and he is really hurting. Linda and Todd are trying to keep him still…he’s covered in dirt and blood…Linda’s shirt is bloodied. Paula Mara is arriving and there is another guy on a cell phone calling in the medics. About 10-minutes later volunteer firemen arrive and a little later an ambulance. They close the race course as there are emergency vehicles all over the final 200-meters. I pick up his helmet and there are cracks in one side and impact signs in the front/right side. The EMT calls in a hellicoptor from UCD because there are signs of concusion and difficulty breathing. Todd says he’ll take Carlos’s vehicle/contact his girlfriend Kat and I/Linda take his bike and head to the ER. To make a long story shorter Carlos is going to be fine: he broke his right Clavicle, Scapula and ribs that collapsed his right lung, a concussion, and road rash from head to foot…they are trying to determine if they are going to do surgery on his shoulder fractures…  It is a Very good thing Carlos is in such phenominal physical shape…that prevented a potentially even more devestating injury, plus he is as mentally as tough as they come… Carlos has an amazing family who all arrived within a short time as he was going through a bunch of testing…it is very obvious they all really adore him. He also had probably 8-fellow sheriffs come by while we were waiting…pretty cool people.

 From the photos taken by Todd (Carlos’ friend) it looks like Carlos crossed his front wheel over Matt’s rear wheel in the sprint…something that can happen at any time in a ride even in the pro’s. I absolutely know Carlos was giving it his all and it was just one of those things that can happen…no one’s fault, just unfortunate…    Being the consumate team mate, Carlos was most disappointed that he didn’t win because the team had worked so hard for him and he was in the perfect leadout position. Carlos is very fatigued but would, I’m sure, like to hear from you: cponce@sacsheriff.com

 Results:  While relatively unimportant given Carlos’s crash…

Kenny 12, John 13th in the 35+ 5’s

Rob 1st, Rick 3rd, Todd 6th, Matt 11th, Randy 15th in the 45+ 4’s A-group

 Lessons:

1. Race results are not important when someone gets hurt…we are all very thankful that Carlos was not more seriously hurt…His helmet saved his life!

2. Thanks to all who helped Carlos including bystanders, Linda/Todd, fire dept, emt’s, lifeflight crew and the awsome professionals at UCD med center.

3. Having a Stud like Todd on your team who has 15-matches to burn compared to everyone elses 2-5 makes a difference…just ask Gregg who had to chase Todd repeatedly today and ended up second.

4. Having a Team race together, covering attacks (Todd, Randy, Rick), creating attacks (Todd and Rick) and guiding each other through traffic (Todd, Rick, Randy) is what it’s all about…a successful finish is the result of that team effort! You guys are showing everyone how its done…great job!!

5. We need to work on our leadout train…this is our second attempt this year (Snelling was the first)…

    a. we got lined up much better this time…

    b. we need to communicate more in the line going into the final 500

    b. we need to work on pulling the trigger sooner, we have the horsepower, we just need to be committed to the plan and execute it…we get another chance over the next 2-weekends )

 Next week…San Ardo RR…Matt is the designated rider….Randy F, Rick and Rob supporting cast…wish us luck

Rick Kile’s Race Report

Patterson Pass:  I received the profile and course description below from teammates Steve Cooke and Randy Floyd.  I was not feeling confident as the diet and training intensity took a planned break, that along with work accelerating with a couple deadlines, my head was not in the right space.  We lined up a good Body Concepts contingent with Steve Cooke, Randy Volkmar, Matt Conidaris, Todd Peterson and myself in a full field of 50 riders.  I decided to take a ‘masters pit stop’ just before the start, about 7 minutes to post time.  Coming out of the facilities, I just happened to notice a skid spot on the rear tubular where the casing was showing, not good, that could spell disaster.  I scurried back to the truck, grabbed the spare wheel, installed and pumped it up in reasonable time, locked up the truck and I’m rolling; I’m only about ¼ mile from the start.  Well so much for printed post times, crap – the field left without me.  I start to chase, I could not see them until I went around 2 or 3 corners, luckily since the race started on a long steep climb into the wind they did not have the gas on, so in short – I got an extra hard warm up.  The first climb was long with several steep sections as well as some steady grades and a couple flat spots, then a small valley before part two which looks like a wall from down below, best not to look up that far and psych yourself out.  I was able to stay toward the front, getting some shelter behind the mountain goats over this beast.  The second climb was a different story, this was a down hill section of the Wente RR and I knew what was in store, a pretty healthy climb with a strong tail wind, no where to hide. I was able to summit just behind the lead group and caught on by the first corner of the decent watching the strong tall Webcor guy go off the road on the sharp 15mph corner but luckily no crash or meeting with the barbed wire.  The remainder of the lap was mostly down hill with a tail wind and a couple small climbs before the last flat 1 KM to the finish, but wait we had another lap to go and thought to myself, I should be feeling like this going into the end of the race not the half way point.

We lost over half the field on lap 1 and I was able to stick with the lead group on the big headwind climb, hats off to Todd, Steve, Webcor guy, Rich and his teammate from Giant Berry, they were pulling who was left up this monster.  I got toward the front at the bottom of the 2^nd tailwind climb, my teammate Todd was at the front pushing the pace, about halfway up my legs and lungs were burning and I faded back in the company of 3 other guys.  We crested the summit about 30-40 seconds back.  One of the Taleo guys started a mean chase, it took me most of the first down hill section to catch him and one other guy, I had a guy on my wheel as well.  We had a little headwind riser to cross over 580 at the summit of Altamont Pass, but the lead pack of ~10 was within sight and maybe striking distance.  The four of us worked well together and my legs were coming around, after a steep down hill we then made a right into a long shallow down hill section with a tailwind.  The four of us took turns gaining on the group then I made a big push to catch on and bridged up with legs burning but not fried. We had about 6-7 miles to go at this point with a couple more climbs and change of wind direction before the finish.  We were motoring along pretty well 35+ mph then as we approached a CHP directed intersection, I heard a big POP!, it turned out to be Mike Nissen, flat rear tire, luckily he stayed upright.  Going into the final section the first smaller rise went fine, the second shallow but longer climb was going good also, until I got up out of the saddle and the legs locked up, I realized I was still in the big ring, some quick shifting, spinning and Jens Voight ‘shut up legs’ self talk barely got me over the top in good position.  On the run for the final 1 KM Todd took off about 200 meters before the two sharp right hand corners that led up to the final 250 .  I was 3^rd spot behind the Webcor guy. At about 200 meters I jumped by the Webcor guy then reeled in and passed Todd who had about a 10 meter gap.  I kept my head down until the finish and the legs cramped up again just as I crossed the line, the most satisfying win I can remember.  Steve Cooke nabbed 3^rd and Todd 7^th; they had to call back riders 2^nd-7^th for video review since it was such a tight group.

 Lessons Learned:

• A break from training can be good
• Always check the bike thoroughly two days before race day
• Never give up, bridging up to a group can refresh the legs and spirit

Sponsor Note: I really noticed how well the Nike Vision glasses worked since I lost mine, both pairs from the back up bin do not measure up.

Steve Cooke’s Race Report

Team BC  rolled up to the start about 5 minutes before the gun was to go off. Rick indicated he had to go for a bladder break and about a minute after he took off, the race official said the race starts in 1 minute; a minute later we were gone and Rick was not only finishing up business but he was also changing out a bad tire. As a result, he ended up having to chase back on probably 2 miles or so. Fortunately for him the initial pace was reasonable as no one appeared to be interested in animating things just yet.

Once the road pitched up, a big Webor (Holger) dude went to the front to lead the group up the first climb. As soon as that happened Todd gassed it to follow and several others chased after Todd (the cats out of the bag and Todd now has the dubious honor of being a marked rider). We cleared the first climb with a few less riders and descended toward the second climb. At the second climb, Todd and a few guys pushed the pace and put the hurt on many. At this point a few others fell off.  Just after the top there was a downhill section combined with a hard left turn. Randy V had warned me to watch out for it as it was easy to carry too much speed into the corner and ultimately good off the road.  Sure enough my friend Holger was leading the pack down the road not realizing  that the left turn was quickly approaching .  As we all approached Holger locked his rear break and started fish tailing. At that point I cut inside through the turn smiling and mentally thanking Randy for the hint and hoping Holger the Webcor warrior didn’t crash. 

As we were nearing completion of  the first lap, a race official mentioned there was a guy 59 seconds off the front. This guy had casually rolled off the front near the beginning of the race and much to his credit had built up a pretty good lead. Two Giant Strawberry guys and Todd went to the front and picked up the pace and half way up one of the climbs we caught the wanna be winner. Todd added insult to injury and just rode the dudes wheel before the worn out racer caved in and fell back into the lead group.  By now the lead group was probably scaled down to about 20.  We didn’t hit it hard enough early on to trim the pack down to a more “manageable” size and consequently it looked like the race would ultimately come down to a sprint finish.  We cleared the last climb and headed back toward the the start/finish. We had a strong tailwind and Todd and I traded pulls for a short time hoping we could shed a few more riders.  About 2-3 miles from the finish, Holger went to the front and I rode slightly left of his wheel to get out of the wind. He stayed at the front much to everyone’s delight.  About a mile out Todd came up on my left with Rick on his wheel and then I grabbed Rick’s wheel. It looked like we had the makings of a lead out.  I rode as close as possible to the center yellow line to prevent others from trying to jump in our train.  So there we were Holger at the front, Todd, Rick and me of his left and two Giant Strawberry guys on Holger’s right.  We had the perfect set up.  About 1/4 mile from the final two sharp right turns leading up to the finish-line, Todd picked up the pace. Coming out of the final corner it was Todd, Holger, Rick, Strawberry and me. Rick picked up the pace, I grabbed Holger’s wheel thinking he was the strongest and followed, however, about 200 meters out he started wilting. Rick was pulling away. Todd was behind him and then Strawberry. I started to try and come around the Strawberry guy but got box in. I then started around Holger’s right side and I could hear a bunch of riders coming up from behind. I punched it, but ran out of real estate at the finish-line. Rick won by 15 feet, Strawberry beat me by 1/2 bike length and then the next 4 places were decided in the 6-8 feet behind me. It was a close tight sprint.   

So, all in all, Rick was 1st, me 3rd and Todd 7th.  Randy V finished about 15th and I didn’t get a chance to talk to Matt to see how he finished.  It was a good day. The team picked up more “BAT” points and Rick once again showed everyone why he is leading the individual racer points. Todd took many a monster pulls and both he and Rick from time to time kept me out of the wind. Without their efforts, I most likely would have finished further back in the pack.

 Lessons learned:

Don’t monkey with your bike a day or two before a race. I changed out my small chain-ring only to find out that it caused my chain to drop off the large ring during shifting. I had a few bad shifts during the race which only acted to detract from my focus.

Use your opponent to your benefit. Holger was a hell of a wind block and by riding off his wheel numerous times I saved lots of energy.

Never give up. Rick had to chase on at the beginning of the race, got dropped on one of the climbs, chased back on and then ended up winning the race. Congratulations Rick to a well deserved win.

Weather: Clear, sunny with a start temperature in the mid to upper 70’s

Course: 11 miles per lap, two 1/2 mile climbs of about 5 percent. Good pavement and scenic assuming you had time to notice such things.

Field Size: 40+/-

Race Statistics: 45.2 miles, avg speed of 23.5 mph and 1:55 hours of pedal time.

Todd, Randy Floyd and I all raced but in separate races, Todd in the 45-49yr group (55 miles), me in the 50-54 group (44 miles) and Randy F in the 55-59 group (44 miles).

Showed up a little before 7 AM, got my number, said hello to Randy and Todd and then warmed up on the trainer for 30 minutes. Filled water bottles, coordinated the water hand up with my wife and then went to the start line to get a good position. Lots of 2-3 person teams were there: VOS, Safeway, Symantics, Webcor, Paco’s, Bicycle Plus, Morgan Stanley and a few others. I felt a bit intimidated knowing that the majority of these guys were either Cat 2’s or 3’s. My game plan was to stay near the front and ride the wheels of the other teams when and if the attacks came.

Within the first mile of the start, a guy took a flyer down River Road and the group went nuts and worked quit hard to bring him back. Right then and there I wondered if this was going to be an indicator of things to come. During the first set of climbs on lap one everyone behaved themselves . A Paco guy touched the rear wheel of a VOS guy which in turn caused a VOS teammate to go off the pavement into the dirt. No one went down but some choice words of love were exchanged and then the focus on the race resumed. Best I could tell if anyone was dropped on the climbs, they quickly chased back on. On lap two the dynamics changed a bit. Safeway and VOS went to the front and started attacking right after the neutral feed. They opened up some small gaps and the other teams closed them. Every time the gap opened I waited for someone to chase it down and then followed their wheel. That worked ok however just before the beginning of the first climb on lap two I got boxed in and a gap opened off the front and the chasers were already covering it. I finally got around a few guys and had to hit it to chase back on. At that point I realized I had to get positioned well before the climbs otherwise my box of matches would soon be empty. At the beginning of the second climb of the second lap Safeway hit it and guys started falling off. Fortunately I was near the front and was able to hang on. The same attacks kept coming every so often and each time the “attackers” would look back to see how many “attackies” we still alive.  Lap three was pretty mellow to the base of the first climb. Four guys went off the front and opened up a 30 m gap. A group of about 10 guys including myself chased them down and had just enough time to recover for the second hill. Once again the pace quickened and folks were struggling to hang on. I was maybe 2-3 guys from the end but held on. As we headed back to start lap 4, I looked back and the road was naked of any riders for as far as I could see. I looked at our group and noted that most of Paco’s, Webcor and all of Morgan Stanley and Bicycle Plus were gone. We were a group of about 12.

Apparently during the flurry of attacks 2 guys got off the front and had a 30 second lead. Some folks were trying to get a pace line going but no one wanted to participate. More attacks ensued but nothing came of it. The pace dropped off  and I guess we either caught the guys off the front or we as a group gave up. It’s hard to see these things from the caboose. Life was good once again up until the last climb. VOS and Safeway went to the front and hit it. Two more  guys fell off and then the pace slowed as everyone reloaded for the finish line sprint. By now my legs were almost jello. The sprint started about 300 m out and I did my best to hold the wheel in front of me but it speed away. As the finish line approached I sat up and right at the line another guy nipped me. The race was done and so was I.

Afterwords I hooked up with Randy to discuss his race and then Todd showed up looking rather fresh. I told him he looked more like he sat under a tree reading a book for a couple of hours than he did racing. Todd responded that he felt great and could have raced another couple of laps. Boy I wish we could all be so lucky!

Results haven’t been posted. I think I finished 10th overall or perhaps 12th if we didn’t pull back the two who escaped off the front.

Lessons learned:

Pay attention and anticipate changes along the course. Set yourself up for whatever the course throws at you. Racing is hard enough so no need to make it any tougher than you have to.

Don’t be intimated by others. Believe in yourself, don’t give up and hang on. Everyone is suffering. The ones who prevail know how to suffer just a little bit longer than the rest.

The race isn’t over until you cross the finish line; don’t let up until then.

Steve Cooke

http://www.eyefinityofficemateblog.com

Body Concepts Road Race 45+ Cat 4’s Team

Current leaders of both the BAR and BAT points for Northern California-Nevada Cycling Association!

Thanks to our sponsors:

Nike Vision, Western Health Advantage, Bicycles Plus, Eagle Vision Eye Care, Premier Access, Voler

Leesville Gap RR (Paris – Roubaix of Northern California) Report

Stats:

~61-miles (11-miles of major potholes and gravel roads)

2,664 ft elevation gain

Main climb ~15-miles into the race ~3-miles long, at average 6% grade, 1,500 ft elevation gain

Temp: 80’s

Wind: from the north east 10-15mph with gusts (25mph?) that were blowing me at nearly 200-lbs sideways

45+ Cat 4 field of ~50-riders

Body Concepts had 7-riders starting

35+ Cat 5 field of 4 riders

Body Concepts had 1-rider starting (John Depew just back from Team Will event…850 miles in 10-days…check out http://team-will.org/)

So we were very lucky and had great weather today for Leesville!  Our plan starting out was to put Rick and Todd in the lead group up the first climb to try to slow the overall pace while the rest of us attempted to chase back on with Randy F. as our designated sprinter for the day. If we were not able to chase back on, Rick and Todd were to win the race for us )

Davis attacked almost from the start into a head wind, but never got away. This resulted in us catching the 35+ 4’s category before the rough pavement began. The moto refs neutralized the 35’s and we went around them which was great because we now had a clean shot through the rough section less than ½ a mile ahead. Unfortunately, the moto ref’s did not keep the groups apart and 100-riders hit the dirt/potholes section at the same time with both groups vying for position as tires popped and water bottles flew out of cages as is typical of this section. Our team had at least 4-5 riders in the top 15 at all times…myself included. I did not want to be back in the melee that was behind. Randy V had a mechanical issue and his rear wheel stopped rotating causing the rider behind him to crash into him…both hit the ground, race over (bummer!! We didn’t find out until after the race was over)

We made the bottom of the climb with Rick and Todd perfectly positioned. Both groups were still mixed together and it was impossible to tell how many people from our category were ahead as things stretched out. I rode the climb with our designated rider for the day Randy F and came over the top of the climb with about 6 other riders (Randy put in a great effort with me to chase back on in the last 500 meters of the climb). We had been looking behind as we climbed the switchbacks checking for Carlos and Randy V, but they were nowhere to be seen. Randy and I decided to immediately push the pace and shortly caught up with Matt who had gone ahead on the climb. We now had about 10-riders in our little chase group…but only 3-4 of us were doing any work…the next time I rotated off the back I “asked” the guys sitting on the back to either take a pull or “get lost”. We finally started getting some cooperation and settled into a semi-functional rotation chasing riders ahead.

Going through the feedzone one of the stronger riders took off. We grabbed water bottles from Linda (my wife…she successfully gave me two bottles at once as I rode by and got one each to Matt and Randy F right behind me as well, a pretty amazing feat)…nothing like cold beverage 35-miles into the race! On the downhill (47+mph) I kept wondering if my bars/fork/wheels were still intact after all the pounding from the miles of crap we had just ridden through…they apparently were because I stayed upright. (NOTE: my Nike Vision glasses successfully deflected all bugs in this agricultural region with deft aplomb even at close to 50-mph…thank you Nike Vision)

We had no idea at this time how far the lead group was away by, but after the end of the race, Linda said that Todd was so far ahead she thought he was another team member from an earlier group. We put our heads down and started reeling in the rider who attacked in the feed zone. With Matt and Randy F pulling on the downhill sections. I would take pulls though the flats and we soon caught our bait. Now we were after the lead group again…the wind was at our backs and we were cruising 26-30mph. On a turn we ended up in a quartering head wind and just like we planned, went into a 3-person echelon putting the group in the gutter…~3-miles later at 21+ mph there where only 5–riders left in our group as we turned into another down wind section. My lateral Hamstring was now starting to cramp on both legs so I put it into a really big gear and kept saying to myself Glutes and Quads…Glutes and Quads…the Hamstring cramps dissipated. We caught two more riders in this section then turned into the quartering head wind again heading for the little blue tent in the distance and finish line. We went into our echelon again Rob-Matt-Randy and ~3.5-miles later had not dropped anyone but were at the 200-meter sign and I was toast.

I had been talking with Matt who let Randy F know that I was going to pull to the 200-meter sign and then it was up to them. At the sign I pulled off and they went for the “win” in our little group. Randy took 3^rd in our 7-rider group sprint.

Data (Rob)

Average HR from climb to finish 173 (zone 4 for me is 167-178)

Overall race zone 4 = 62% zone 5 = 5%

Average bike speed entire event 19.1, Max of 47.2

Total time of race 3 hours 10 minutes

Final 3.6 miles average HR 182, Max of 190 (pulling into head wind section)

Final 3.6 miles average bike speed 21.8, max 24.7 at 200 meter sign

Results

45+   Todd 2^nd, Rick 11^th, Randy F 15^th, Matt 17^th, Rob 18^th, Carlos 28^th (coming back from long illness), Randy V dnf-mechanical

35+   John dnf-flatted twice after the really nasty sections

Lessons

1. NEVER forget you chamois lube…I’ve got the outline of my saddle tattooed on my buttocks and will not be on the bike again for a week while it heals

2. It is good to have two plans…options are great ) Awesome job Rick and Todd!!

3. Check all your bolts, screws and any other fastening devices on your bike before doing an event…ask Randy V for details )

4. You feel really good when you’ve ridden your best and laid it all out for your team mates.

5. Like I’ve noted before, you can do more than you think you can…all you have to do is be willing to risk defeat to find out what you are really capable of. If you are defeated, you get to learn something for the next time. Playing it safe teaches you less…you don’t find your limits to know what you need to work on for next time.

Next Race: Lodi Crit…next weekend

Have a great week!!!

Rob

Pescadero RR 6-19-10

Category:

45+ 4/5 (50 riders) and 55+ open (25 riders) field of 75 riders

Route:

~50 miles total, 2-laps of 25 miles

2×1-mile climbs, 1×2-mile climb to finish line

Plan:

Randy V, Randy F, Rob, Carlos and Matt attack the field and wear out the competition…

Todd, Steve and Rick to sit in and clean every ones clock on the final climb, 3 in top 10

Weather:

High fog/low clouds 55-degrees, light breeze

Race:

Never having raced this event before, I was a bit nervous getting started…what were the climbs going to be like?

Carlos covered the first break of the day that was going after a sprint prime before the first climb. Randy F and I were covering the front on the first two climbs which ended up being hard efforts but manageable. Steve was bombing the downhills “having fun”. Once over the first two climbs we did several attacks…I think at least 6 prior to the third climb…I know I did three. Morgan Stanley’s 55+ team kept chasing us back down but it stretched the group out and made a few people hurt ). I got a bottle from Linda, my wife, in the feed zone with a perfect hand off and got rid of my vest. Going up the third climb things started  s t r e t c h i n g  out with Todd, Rick and Steve doing well in the lead group, Randy V and myself followed by Randy F, Matt and Carlos strung out behind. Randy V and I went over the top together and had a great time bombing the downhill getting back on the lead group after about 10-minutes of hard work with 4 other guys. We immediately went up to the front, rested about 5-minutes and then decided to take another stab at going off the front. We got a good gap this time with a chase group of about 10-riders catching us after a while but not willing to work to stay off the front…we were all back together before town and settled into a tempo effort.

Starting the second lap, I thought about going for the second prime but decided to save the energy for later (good thing I did). Getting over the first two climbs was harder this time with the accumulated fatigue building in the legs but the team was present on the front all the way through. In the ~10-miles of rolling terrain before the feedzone/final climb I worked with 3-4 other guys on the front setting a good tempo…there were two 55+ guys supposedly off the front but I wasn’t sure they were not 45+, so I put in the remaining energy that I had left chasing them down. At the feed zone, I pretty much sat up and was done for the day, watching the lead group, which was down to ~30-35 riders, go up the road into the final turn heading up the last climb…Todd, Rick, Steve, Randy F, Randy V and Matt were still in the lead group…not bad for a days work. I kept rolling up the last climb at about 85% effort just to keep in front of anyone coming up from behind and enjoying some of the scenery of the amazing Redwoods. As I came across the finish line I got to wave at Linda and Todd’s wife Janine who were video taping the finish…they were not sure who won. I had a more relaxed descent back down and caught up with both Randy’s and Matt, they didn’t know who had won either. We got back to the school (start line) and met up with Todd, Steve and Rick. Todd thought he had won and Steve/Rick thought they had placed in the top 5 but were not sure since the 55+ guys were in the group as well. 2.5 hours later we finally got the official results:

Todd 1^st, Steve 3^rd, Rick 4^th, Matt 18^th, Randy V 19^th, Randy F 20^th, Rob 23^rd, Carlos 34^th

Note: I used my Nike Vision Glasses with Max Speed lenses which were awesome in their ability to adapt to changing light of open rolling hills to dense redwood forest shade…I was a little concerned going into the race with these lenses and almost switched to my MaxVisability lenses but they were great!

Lessons:

I love it when a plan comes together!

We can all contribute to a successful team result J

Rob

Dunlap TT

35+ 4/5’s

30-k

Light wind from the SW

94-degrees

Dead flat course with ~6-turns

30-second intervals between riders

Goal was to finish around 45-min

Caught 8-riders in front of me

Finished 46’03”

10^th place out of 40 registered

Winning time: a little over 42 minutes (would have placed top 10 in the pros) next fastest rider was over 43 min and was the rider off just in front of me

Interesting…they had a start ramp set up, never used one before…I liked it.

Promised myself not to do this again at the end…my hip rotators are not used to going hard in the TT position and were VERY painful and stiff after the ride…could hardly walk over to registration and just about fell over getting my clothes changed…hip rotators not really cramping…just extremely painful and not wanting to work anymore.

Feeling better now…still stiff and sore but will live to play another day.

Thanks for loaning your TT helmet Brad…it helped!

Lessons:

Practice longer TT efforts for at least 6-weeks leading into an event like this…those 1-min power intervals Matt and I have been doing are not enough )

You can dig deeper than you think…

Ice in a camel back bladder stuffed down your skin suit lasts about 15k on a day this hot….hot water is better than no water on your first 90+ ride of the year )

They had a TTT this year that we definitely need to do as a team next year!!