Wednesday, March 31, 2021

                           TONY PRATT TAKES THAT FINAL RIDE TO THE SKY

By John McKee

I haven't written anything in over 5 years but I wanted to write a piece about someone I knew for a short time. As everyone knows the pandemic created problems for everyone doing almost anything including doing training rides on the road. I became more cautious than many riders and welcomed the opportunity to ride with a smart trainer on Zwift. Zwift is an online high tech interactive training and racing program. I met old friends and met new ones and organized groups rides called Meetups. I got reacquainted with a former road racer by the name of Jeff Moreton and invited him to my Meetups. Jeff asked me if some of his friends could join us and the answer was yes, of course. Zwift makes it pretty easy to do group rides with riders of different abilities. The two people brought in by Jeff were Jim Robb and Tony Pratt. Both were very friendly and loved to do my rides which were usually on Mondays and Thursdays. Jim was in better shape but Tony had such a positive attitude and loved to do the group rides with guys that use to race like he did. Tony was living in Arkansas but with Zwift it doesn't matter where you live. Perfect for Tony to participate. I started Meetups in March of 2020 and Tony was a regular rider and started getting some fitness back. He definitely was showing improvement. 

Tony 1993
Tony definitely became a fixture on my Monday and Thursday rides. In Zwift Meetups the organizer can select Stay Together mode which discourages flyers off the front and helps riders off the back but only so much. Sometimes Tony looked like he needed a little help and sometimes he would be doing fine on his own. Tony really seemed to like Zwift and branched out and did his own rides and did other group rides and races. The last Meetup Tony did with me was on October 12, 2020. Tony rode well and did 30.81 miles in 1:32:30 or 20.0 mph. Good effort for sure. Tony had been having headaches and visited a doctor and went through extensive testing. Tony had cancer. Stage 4. Devastating! Tony went through radiation and chemo treatments. Even after many treatments he got back on his trainer and rode on Zwift. Unfortunately, it was a stacked deck against our friend and on March 25th, 2021 Tony Pratt passed on surrounded by his wife Becky, son Mitch, and daughter Clara. 

Tony was born in Southern California April 11, 1956. He graduated from Arcadia High School in 1974 and attended UCLA. Tony got a job with the City of Los Angeles as a surveyor. Eventually Tony became head of the Survey division overseeing several offices from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro. Tony married his wife Becky in the early 80s and had 2 children- Mitch who is in the Navy and an Annapolis grad, and Clara who nows works at Trader Joes. Tony retired in 2016 and moved with his wife Becky to Arkansas to live in a beautiful gated community with 6 golf courses and bike trails everywhere. Becky has family there. 


Tony had always liked to ride bicycles and transitioned into racing. Tony became good enough to ride for the Chevrolet/L. A. Sheriffs Cycling Team in the late 80s. Tony met teammate Jeff Moreton and became good friends and  also became neighbors in the San Gabriel Valley. They trained and raced together. Fast friends. Tony raced through the life of the Chevrolet/L. A. Sheriff Cycling Team. Tony and Jeff were much alike and if there was a hill in the race then they would do well. As many of you know in Southern California most races are criteriums and this wasn't exactly Tony's strength but he was a good teammate and did his job. Tony raced many categories including 35+, 45+(Tony took a good spill at Ojai in this cat and ended up in the hospital) and eventually 50+. 

Tony is taking a pull at the 1992 Commerce Criterium. Jeff Moreton is on his wheel.

Tony transitioned away from bike racing and enjoyed life with his wife and finished his career with the City of Los Angeles. Tony would get out and ride with his buddy Jeff on special occasions like a Grand Fondo in San Luis Obispo in 2014.

Tony is riding a restored Raleigh bicycle with Jeff at SLO

Tony, Eli & Jeff Moreton, Elinor
& Marc Charlton
Tony also would take vacations like one to Italy in 2018 with his wife Becky, Jeff and Eli Moreton, Marc and Elinor Charlton. Earlier during his bike race phase Tony and his wife would travel to race sites for major races like Nationals  and other races like The Sequoia Classic. If you can believe it, Tony was stronger than Jeff early in their racing careers and Jeff would fall into a support role in some of the road races they did together. I organized a support Tony Zwift ride on March 14th. The ride was attended by Jim Robb, Mike McKinney, Kevin McDonald, Jeff Moreton, Craig Jones, Howard Miller, Cleave Law, Greg Page, Bruce Steele, and myself. We rode and swapped cycling stories and Jeff gave us some history on Tony. Jeff's wife Eli relayed to Becky Pratt some of the highlights and passed those on to Tony to let him know we were thinking of him. Tony was having a tough time but appreciated the sentiments and the well wishes. 

Tony may be gone now but his memory lives on and everyone's life that knew him is richer. His Zwift buddies are glad to have known him for the short time that we did but everyone will miss him!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

2015 MASTERS NATIONALS-CRITERIUM PREVIEW

By John Mckee

Masters Nationals is rapidly upon us. I am bypassing the TT and Road Race. All good events but I spotlight the criterium because I am in it and that is the main form of racing in Socal. There are of course TTs and road races and good ones too!
The USAC has come up with a ranking system which is quite good. It ranks riders based on how they perform with other ranked riders. It favors Socal riders in the criterium because there are so many on the calendar. Listed below are all the predicted races for Nationals in each age group starting at 55-59. Good luck to everyone that is going. My old saying "Train hard and race safe" doesn't really fit but do race safe! Hope to see as many Socal riders on the podium as possible.


Sat 9/12/15CriteriumMenMaster 70-74
Predicted Race Quality: 378.63
Place Name Team City, State Points
1 David Burnett
Norwich, CT 378.63
2 Dale Harless Cycle U / Apex Racing Bellevue, WA 521.73
3 Michael Patterson
Old Lyme, CT 548.12
4 Gary Simmons Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team Layton, UT 550.44
5 S Durward Higgins Village Volkswagen Cycling Team Chattanooga, TN 588.00
6 David Friedt Cucina Fresca Cycling Team Mercer Island, WA 592.07
7 Richard Shields Team Hammer Nutrition Fremont, CA 594.67
8 Charles Day Bozeman Masters' Velo Bozeman, MT 596.33
9 John Haney
Park City, UT
Show Rider List Hide Race Predictor Riders: 9
 
Sat 9/12/15CriteriumMenMaster 75-79
Place Name Team City, State Points
1 Robert Paganini PAA/Empire Bikes Los Angeles, CA 155.74
2 Stan Swallow
American Fork, UT 591.33
3 Frans Berghoff
Orem, UT 593.00
4 William Meyers Schwab Cycles Racing Team Golden, CO
Show Rider List Hide Race Predictor Riders: 4
 
Sat 9/12/15CriteriumMenMaster 80-84
Place Name Team City, State Points
1 Frederic Schmid Bear Mountain Wolfpack Waco, TX 570.02
2 Walter Axthelm Durango Wheel Club Durango, CO 588.00

Sat 9/12/15CriteriumMenMaster 65-69
Predicted Race Quality: 104.02
Place Name Team City, State Points
1 John McKee OCW / Paramount Racing Westminster, CA 104.02
2 Robert Tompkins Ride-Faster.com Anthem, AZ 137.04
3 Douglas Knox Velo Pasadena Team Santa Barbara, CA 138.91
4 David Hixson Provision PEAK Performance Team p/b Visit Knoxville Knoxville, TN 368.84
5 Bruce Coffey San Jose Bicycle Club Newman, CA 372.23
6 Ken Louder FFKR - CONTENDER RACING Salt Lake City, UT 394.61
7 John Rubcic PR Velo Hemet, CA 415.73
8 Loren Simons OAM NOW/Athletic Mentors St Johns, MI 496.96
9 David Linden Team Dayton Bicycling Yellow Springs, OH 498.53
10 Whitney Fanning Geri Atrix Waco, TX 515.00
11 Stephen Bennett ColoBikeLaw.com Littleton, CO 523.07
12 Dwight Hibdon FFKR - CONTENDER RACING Park City, UT 538.96
13 Len Unger Hagens Berman-Society Consulting Poulsbo, WA 593.12
14 Josef Lemire ThirstyBear p/b Akamai San Francisco, CA
14 Brad Swope Kentucky Flyers Cycling Inc Louisville, KY
14 Richard West Shuksan Velo Club Bellingham, WA



Sat 9/12/15CriteriumMenMaster 60-64
Predicted Race Quality: 77.13
Place Name Team City, State Points
1 Michael Birditt Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters Escondido, CA 77.13
2 Dale Luedtke Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters Oceanside, CA 78.80
3 Thomas Gates G S Adams Avenue Bicycles La Mesa, CA 79.88
4 Mike Marotta Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters Bakersfield, CA 84.29
5 Ricky Shorts Bahati Foundation/WinTeam Racing Long Beach, CA 84.89
6 Dirk Cowley Velosport Racing Salt Lake City, UT 116.65
7 Robert Mosier Bahati-WTR Malibu, CA 132.70
8 Pete Loftis Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 212.01
9 Steven Grusis Off The Front Madera, CA 256.33
10 Randall Bradford Olev Rapido Albuquerque, NM 296.82
11 Robin McKinney Victory Velo Racing Lincoln, CA 331.05
12 Rick Swanson Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters Corona, CA 349.40
13 Jerald Hunsaker Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team Midvale, UT 394.44
14 Steve Matous Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Cycling Team Boulder, CO 421.42
15 Robert Walker Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team Pocatello, ID 425.41
16 Gordy Bolstad Union Bay Cycling/Bikesale.com Snohomish, WA 444.23
17 Steve Matson Reliant Recovery Water p/b Old Town Bicycle Tacoma, WA 469.48
18 Steve Thompson Bikesale / VOLKL Seattle, WA 513.75
19 Guenter Heyen
Mount Gilead, NC 553.84
20 Bob Smith Driver Racing Grand Jct, CO 583.25
21 George Smith The 99%ers Menlo Park, CA
21 Wayne Watson Natural Grocers Cycling Team Denver, CO


Sat 9/12/15CriteriumMenMaster 55-59
Predicted Race Quality: 69.67
Place Name Team City, State Points
1 Bradley Jones BBI-SIC Cycling Brea, CA 69.67
2 Mark Hoffenberg Breakaway From Cancer Elite Masters Ladera Ranch, CA 71.48
3 James Edwards UC Cyclery/JW Floors Rcho Sta Marg, CA 72.03
4 Cyril Hunte
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 78.30
5 Frank Picarelli BBI-SIC Cycling Long Beach, CA 78.77
6 Daniel Nicolette BBI-SIC Cycling Los Alamitos, CA 79.11
7 Robert Swigart Team Velosport-CA Ladera Ranch, CA 85.48
8 Scott Claes Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters W Bloomfield, MI 86.43
9 Glenn Schneider CPO Bikes Lake Worth, FL 89.28
10 Yehuda Packer Core Cycling Team Valley Vlg, CA 93.83
11 Greg Fenton UC Cyclery/JW Floors Ramona, CA 97.00
12 Scott Winzeler Mandalay Bay/McGhie's Las Vegas, NV 99.10
13 Aubrey Gordon Liberty Cycle, Inc. Reading, PA 103.14
14 Lawrence Nolan Team Specialized Racing Fremont, CA 108.55
15 John Avila PR Velo Redlands, CA 108.57
16 Guillermo Roman Velo Club LaGrange Marina Del Rey, CA 110.97
17 Mark Sommers Team Beyer Auto Washington, DC 112.59
18 Bubba Melcher
Reno, NV 112.64
19 Kevin Willitts 3 Ft. - It\'s The Law S Lake Tahoe, CA 117.19
20 Shin Umeda SunPower Racing Sunnyvale, CA 119.39
21 Dean Abt Team Oakland Cycling Oakland, CA 120.01
22 Robert Downs
Belleville, WI 128.59
23 Daniel Swietlik OTR Racing Hollywood, CA 140.98
24 Bill Brissman Pen Velo Racing/Summit Bicycles San Mateo, CA 141.84
25 Erik Salander Pen Velo Racing/Summit Bicycles Belmont, CA 160.15
26 Alan Roberts ThirstyBear p/b Akamai San Rafael, CA 166.84
27 William Soden Great Divide Brewing Company Denver, CO 202.39
28 David Corthell AUDI RENO- TAHOE CYCLING Reno, NV 211.62
29 Jerome Jacobs 545 Velo Haverford, PA 266.24
30 Will Stoeger Clean Power Cycling Team Reno, NV 286.58
31 George Miranda SunPower Racing Fremont, CA 291.32
32 Robert Hoene Bobs Bicycles Cycling Club Boise, ID 306.10
33 Joseph Foster R4R-Make A Wish Alamo, CA 306.47
34 patrick naylor Old School Industries at Altitude Boulder, CO 311.16
35 Joseph Paulson Boulder Orthopedics Boulder, CO 344.48
36 Norman Frye Ski Utah Cycling Team Salt Lake City, UT 359.95
37 Paul Gossi AUDI RENO-TAHOE Reno, NV 373.00
38 Bruce Ruana AUDI RENO- TAHOE CYCLING Reno, NV 419.71
39 David Gordon Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Olympia, WA 427.85
40 Max Thompson ThirstyBear p/b Akamai San Anselmo, CA 430.14
41 Kurt Bickel SOS Foundation/ Trek Reno, NV 435.49
42 Tom Potter Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Browns Point, WA 489.33
43 Darrell Davis Velosport Racing Salt Lake Cty, UT 503.42
44 Alexi Grewal Grewal Development Loveland, CO 535.49
45 Zan Treasure Bountiful Bicycle Racing Ogden, UT 553.42
46 Brian Searchinger
Boulder, CO 555.54
47 Rockland Draper Team Endurance 360 Farmington, UT 561.03
48 Louis Hayes
Paonia, CO 574.79
49 Erik Scheller Tête de la Course Cycling Gig Harbor, WA 581.74
50 Alex Brede Shuksan Velo Club Race Team Bellingham, WA 585.74
51 James Barker Steamboat Velo Steamboat Springs, CO
51 Scott Hoffman Team PLAN7 Salt Lake City, UT
51 Robert McWhorter US Military Endurance Sports Divide, CO       

Saturday, August 15, 2015

PROFILE IN COURAGE FROM A 60+ RACER- RICK SWANSON

By John McKee

I am going to write about Rick and wrap up some of the races that were done since the last time I wrote. I got a little overwhelmed and in a mental funk so I didn't write about every race I did like I use too. Below are the criterium ranking for the different age categories above. I didn't list road rankings because Socal riders aren't well thought of in the USAC ranking system. Thurlow Rodgers is ranked 40th in his age cat so I know Socal riders are slighted.
I also listed the ranking in Socal Cup points of the 60+ riders up through Brentwood. The 55s don't have a Socal Cup cat this year. There are 3 races left in Socal. Ontario and 2 CBR type races in Carson and Dom. Hills. Let's(55 and 60+ racers) support these last races and put up some decent numbers. It might help for next year. I can tell you for a fact that the numbers make a big difference in deciding who gets a Socal Cup category and which cats are looked on favorably by promoters.

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (55-59)
Rank Points Name City, State License Racing Age
1 69.67 Bradley Jones Brea, CA 18133 56
2 70.50 Thurlow Rogers San Diego, CA 30417 55
3 70.82 Mark Hoffenberg Ladera Ranch, CA 45461 58
4 73.31 James Edwards Rcho Sta Marg, CA 53917 55
5 74.00 Evan Teske Mission Viejo, CA 35248 56
6 74.23 David Prechtl Garden Grove, CA 56118 55
7 75.47 Gilbert Hatton Pottstown, PA 61128 59
8 75.51 Brent Emery Menomonee Falls, WI 45303 58
9 75.97 Robert Swigart Ladera Ranch, CA 259109 55
10 77.87 Gary Dyer Alton, IL 50908 57
11 78.08 Stephen Tilford Topeka, KS 35598 55
12 78.44 Cyril Hunte Rancho Cucamonga, CA 52086 59
13 78.77 Frank Picarelli Long Beach, CA 333410 56
14 79.95 Daniel Nicolette Los Alamitos, CA 26090 58
15 80.11 Mike Okano Trabuco Hills, CA 26616 56

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (60-64)
Rank Points Name City, State License Racing Age
1 77.19 Michael Birditt Escondido, CA 47255 61
2 79.25 Dale Luedtke Oceanside, CA 47262 61
3 80.25 Thomas Gates La Mesa, CA 45364 60
4 87.10 Ricky Shorts Long Beach, CA 52251 61
5 90.56 Kalman Szkalak Capistrano Beach, CA 54522 62
6 92.39 Mike Marotta Bakersfield, CA 72880 64
7 109.81 Bob Wright Castaic, CA 39024 64
8 110.57 Rick Carrera Laguna Niguel, CA 222523 60
9 111.03 Demi Hechanova Claremont, CA 15625 61
10 113.78 Pedro Ordaz Oxnard, CA 55635 61
11 116.65 Dirk Cowley Salt Lake City, UT 7974 60
12 116.82 Rodney Malloy Los Angeles, CA 107559 60
13 118.79 Paul Pearson Allentown, PA 54984 60
14 119.88 Donald Denegal Los Angeles, CA 93812 60
15 121.53 Howard Miller Long Beach, CA 49424 63

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (65-69)
Rank Points Name City, State License Racing Age
1 105.59 Leo Pettus Yorba Linda, CA 219074 66
2 108.12 John McKee Westminster, CA 180386 69
3 118.08 Richard Lilleberg Cypress, CA 64127 68
4 127.35 Michael Fleming Pomona, CA 129293 68
5 157.10 Douglas Knox Santa Barbara, CA 45552 65
6 166.93 Donald Kimper Solana Beach, CA 195498 68
7 173.77 Francisco Vasquez Cooper City, FL 159632 65
8 189.72 Robert Tompkins Anthem, AZ 305794 65
9 199.50 Ed Grystar Oakmont, PA 224526 66
10 202.58 Jack Neyer Pittsburgh, PA 60507 69

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (70-90)
Rank Points Name City, State License Racing Age
1 162.73 Robert Paganini Los Angeles, CA 45763 79
2 290.81 Michael Edwards Pasadena, CA 50406 70
3 377.11 David Burnett Norwich, CT 227154 71
4 387.88 E Michael Ozment Champaign, IL 46412 70
5 501.57 Gary Simmons Layton, UT 199407 70
6 521.73 Dale Harless Bellevue, WA 57571 72
7 523.38 Roger Springer Atascadero, CA 198617 70
8 529.30 Richard Ellwanger Tucson, AZ 272136 71
9 534.30 Leon Sowers San Diego, CA 351238 78
10 538.14 Scott Tucker Golden, CO 71040 76

Place
Rider
Points
1
Dale Luedtke (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)
150
2
Michael Birditt (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)
120
3
Thomas Gates (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)
101
4
Kalman Szkalak (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
88
5
Mike Marotta (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)
70
6
John McKee (OCW / Paramount Racing)
46
7
Reed Moore (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
45
8
Ricky Shorts (Bahati Foundation/WinTeam Racing)
41
8
Robert Willcox (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
41
10
Michael Mueller (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)
40
11
Howard Miller (OCW/Paramount Racing)
39
12
Peter Dufour (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)
38
13
Paul Rodriguez (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)
37
14
Ken Louder (FFKR - CONTENDER RACING)
28
14
Kim Bleth (Bicycle Bob's Racing)
28
16
Leo Pettus (OCW / Paramount Racing)
27
17
Kirk Freeman (South Bay Wheelmen)
26
17
Mark Huffman (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
26
19
Rick Carrera (Team Simple Green/Cannondale/Stage21)
22
19
Richard Mull (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)
22
21
Mark Helvie (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
21
22
Lionel Space (Arizona Faster Cycling)
20
22
Ronald Lillis (Crest/RBM Cycling)
20
24
19
25
Eddie Morris (Breakaway from Cancer Masters)
18
25
Kevin Ryan (Metalmtn Cycling )
18
28
Roger Gottfried (Best Chauffeured - Mazda - Pro Bike Supply)
17
29
David B Stanton (Canyon Velo)
14
29
Dirk Cowley (Velosport Racing)
14
29
Michael Fleming (South Bay Wheelmen)
14
32
Pedro Ordaz (S2C/Primal)
13
32
Rodney Malloy (Bahati Foundation/WinTeam Racing)
13
35
James Swigart (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)
12
35
Frank Tai (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)
12
37
Richard Lilleberg (South Bay Wheelmen)
11
38
Donald Kimper (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
10
38
Bob Wright (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)
10
38
Angela Wimberly (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
10
There have been a lot of great races since I last wrote and that was a LONG time ago. The 1st race that comes to mind is the 805 Criterium Weekend. There was a 55/60+ race each day. Friday through Sunday with a great race each day. Money for each cat, each day. PLUS there was an Ominium for the 60s with extra cash there. Thank you to Mike Hecker the promoter for including both categories in his event. Sorry I rolled over your sign Mike when you were setting up the 2nd day. LOL!  In 55+ action James "Breakaway" Edwards proved he has the stuff to stick off the front. In each of the 3 days, James was in a break that actually made it to the end. The downside of this was on the 1st 2 days he was away with Mark "Lightning Bolt" Hoffenberg. Mark beat him in the finish sprint each day and it was close on day 2 as you can see in the vid BUT on the 3rd day James was away with Mark's teammate Mark Palmer and he did win there.
In 60+ racing Tom Gates proved to be the best over the 3 days of racing. That was a tall order seeing that he was racing against guys like Dale Luedtke, Mike Birditt, Kal Szkalak, Mike Marotta, etc. The courses were great or nearly so-HaHa(I guess LOL is old fashioned. I just found that out.). There are 3 videos below from each day. The 1st 2 have everyone for the 1st 2 days while the 3rd only has the bunch sprint for the 3rd day at Lompoc. James Edwards and Mark Palmer were too far ahead to vid with everyone.

In the front row the 1st day of the 805 race series I can see- Tom Gates, James Edwards, Brad Decker, Me, Birdy, Hoffy and the rest of the gang lined up. This was the "wind" course and was tough but doable.
805 Criterium 60+ Ominium podium- Birditt 3, Gates 1, & Luedtke 2.

After the 805 race series besides Ontario there were a number of really hard events. San Luis Rey, San Marcos, Carlsbad(50/60 here vs the usual 55/60 and it really made a difference.) It was super hot at Carlsbad that day and that was a factor as well. Ontario had a race the same day and you can only imagine what that was like. Bradley Jones won the 55 race and Ricky Shorts won the 60+ race.
At San Luis Rey and at San Marcos climbing specialist Mike Mueller took 1st place honors. He won a close race against John Howard at San Luis Rey but won on a solo break at San Marcos which was the SCNCA Criterium Championship. Mike has come back from some serious injuries from a bike crash so kudos to Mike for his victories. The hard road back only made the victories that much sweeter. Strange course to have the criterium championship. Randall "base sticker" Tinley won the 55+ race at San Marcos. Randall doesn't often leave the confines of the Santa Barbara area but he made an exception here and it worked out nicely for him. Carlsbad and Brentwood 60+ were won by Mike Birditt. Bradley Jones won the 55+ race at Brentwood. 
There were a lot of great rides and I have mentioned a few of them already but I would say the best ride of the year was done by Rick Swanson. A lot of us like Mike have come back from bad crashes and tangles with cars and I had a bad crash at El Dorado in 2007. My wife and I recalled the other night the ordeal. It wasn't a pleasant memory. One thing stood out in my wife's mind was the kindness of Al Shorts helping her out. She had our dog, my bike and her stuff and was over whelmed. Al was most helpful and I am not sure I ever got to thank him. THANK YOU AL! My crash, Mike's, Pags, Hoffy's, Paul's, Ernie's(his was bad. His neighbor took him out. What are neighbors for anyway!) and the many other crashes you guys and gals have suffered were tough and hard to recover from BUT I don't think any of these were life threatening like Rick Swanson's. At least to the extent Rick's was. Rick was air vaced to a hospital and that probably saved his life. Rick was hit hard by a truck that didn't see him and he was thrown a distance and hit a pole. Rick doesn't remember the details and that is probably good. Rick had a fight for his life and then a fight to get his old comfortable life back. Rick had so many injuries to overcome. Walking was very hard to get back BUT he got himself walking again with many hours of PT time and of course time on his own. This was in 2014. I heard that Rick was riding again in 2015 and I was surprised and quite pleased because Rick has always been friendly to me and everyone else that I know in cycling. To see that he signed up to race the Ontario 4 corner race was a real eye opener. Would he be able to physically and mentally be able to do it. Racing isn't easy no matter who you are. Rick not only kept up but placed 18 out of 21 racers. THAT WAS THE RIDE OF THE YEAR! Nice going, Rick!

Some tough PT here for Rick.

Rick leaving the hospital with his wife Karen. It was plently tough on her as well.
Rick put some of his own money into a race team for 2015. He's got some pretty good riders there!

You can see Rick in the middle back with the orange helmet. This is somewhere in the middle of the race.
I think I have run out of words. Pics are some of my own and some from Emily Cramer. I don't know who took the pictures of Rick at the hospital but I am giving credit. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Monday, June 15, 2015

MBGP & CBR JUNE CRITERIUM HAVE GOOD TURNOUTS IN 55/60+ RACERS

By John McKee

The MBGP(6-7-15) and the CBR(6-14-15) June Criterium had good turnouts of 55/60+ racers. Little did we know that when we raced with Steve McDonald at Manhattan Beach, it would be his last race and the last time we would see him. Steve died on Friday(6-12-15) from injuries in a biking accident near his home. Steve wasn't wearing a helmet and crashed on his own suffering severe head injuries.
The CBR race on the 14th became the Steve McDonald Memorial Race for the 55/60+ race. More on this later.
Steve McDonald(1960-2015)
The MBGP had about 50 racers line up for the very early 7 am start but at least we had a race at Manhattan Beach. We haven't always had a slot there. The event has to end early because so many residential streets have to be closed off though residents are allowed to be escorted on and off the course. Not sure why because I am pretty sure the streets have an exit at the opposite end but don't know for sure.
A good number of top 55+ racers didn't attend while all the 60+ top performers did. Some riders don't like the nature of the course and the danger of the last 180. This year's 55/60+ race was crash free and almost all the races I have done there have been as well.
To cut to the chase, Malcolm Hill used Dale Luedtke as a rabbit with 3 laps to go and shot off from the pack. He asked Mike Birditt to not chase so he could join Dale but when Malcolm got to Dale the man was out of gas. Dale came back to the pack. Malcolm WASN'T out of gas and had plenty left in the tank. Malcolm held off the entire pack though the 60s didn't really care. They/We had their/our own race.
Start of the MBGP race
Malcolm was able to hold off the field and won the 55+ race. Really strong riding by Malcolm. The rest of the mortal racers and I must say racers rather than men because we do have gals enter out events and they are welcome. Angela Wimberly has raced with the 55/60+ racers for a number of years but is racing more this year and looks better than ever.
The 60+ race wasn't decided until late into the last lap. Mike Marotta jumped off the front with Yahuda "Pacman" Packer. "Pacman" is very strong and tagged teamed with Mike for 2nd in the 55+ race. Mike Marotta won the 60+ event. Deo Asuncion sprinted in with the peleton for 3rd in 55+. Mike "Oh my aching back" Birditt finished 2nd with Ricky Shorts edging Dale Luedtke for 3rd place in 60+. The pace wasn't as high and as hard as it has been in the past. A few of the stronger 55s that sat it out might have made a difference. The avg. speed was less than 25 mph and the avg. watts from my Stages power crank arm was 210 watts. Thanks to Emily Cramer for the action photos! There are videos at my 55/60+ facebook page if you want to see the action. Very good work by "Chaser" and "Backman".


FINISH 1
FINISH 2
FINISH 3
60+ MBGP result

MBGP 55+ result

60+ MBGP podium- Birditt, Marotta, & Shorts

55+ MBGP podium- Packer, Hill and Asuncion
The CBR June Criterium was raced on the Carson course and that is a fun course but sometimes some of the riders go out into the cones. Stay away from those cones! Please! The turnout of 55/60+ riders ws pretty good but not as good as MBGP. 43 racers lined up behind a group of racers from
Best Chauffeured - Mazda - Pro Bike Supply team. I knew them as OC Armada. That's what you can see on the butt. All of these team members were there to lead a neutral parade lap to honor Steve McDonald. Thank you for doing that and thanks to Chris Lotts(promoter) for allowing it. You get to know people over the years of coming to race events and they are like an extended family. I didn't get to know Steve but of those that did, he is leaving a lasting memory. RIP Steve McDonald. 
We got to race after the parade lap but the race was an after thought. Unimportant compared to a man's life. The best thing to do in this situation is to race hard and I think for the most part it was a pretty hard race. The course is pretty fast and the avg. speed for the 33 minutes was 26.4 mph. The race was shortened because of a crash in an earlier cat 5 race. What a surprise. 
James Edwards and Frank Picarelli went off on a early flyer and were going pretty good but Lothar "Chaser" Cramer and a few others weren't having it so despite a good hard effort they were caught after about 3 or 4 laps. After that there were no majors threats that lasted very long. It was going to come down to a bunch sprint for the 55 and 60+ winners and podium placers. 
Mark Hoffenberg out sprinted the field for the win in 55+ with James Edwards and Steve Strickler following him in for the rest of the 55+ podium. Mike Birditt out sprinted the 60+ group to win that category with Ricky Shorts getting by Dale Luedtke again for 2nd place. Dale held on for 3rd. Good hard race. The 50+ race was 2 races later and had a strong field with the avg. speed coming in at a robust 27.4 mph. I did have a higher power wattage in the 1st race because I was circulating more. 245 watts vs 210. It was a solemn occasion but glad we got to honor a lost fellow racer and we did race hard in his honor. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!
55+ podium- June CBR- Edwards, Hoffenberg, & Strickler

60+ podium- June CBR- Shorts, Birditt, & Luedtke
55+ result- CBR June Crit

60+ result- CBR June Crit