2009 YEAR END REVIEW 55/60+ RACING

By John McKee

When I mentioned I was going to write a year end review I didn't realize what a monumental task this would be. There were LOTS of races and LOTS of different championships that many of you raced in and won or did well in. The season had many highs and lows. The low in our sport is a crash or worse a tangle with a automobile and a number of you did that in 2009.

I have to think back to the "Wide World of Sports". I use to watch it most every Saturday from 5 pm to 6:30 pm. You all must remember the "thrill of victory and agony of defeat". In the agony of defeat some poor athlete messed up in the ski jump and wipes out really bad. ABC showed that every week. Some claim to fame.

Those that I know that tangled with cars are Steve Horine, John Edwards, Barney Feigenbaum and Ernie Hoffer. Not sure what happened to Steve but I know John Edwards got smacked by a trailer, Barney had a car turn in front of him and he did a 360 over it. I am saving the worst for last. Ever set up on the street in front of your house thinking about getting a good training ride in. Ernie Hoffer did but much to his surprise a neighbor had something different in store for Ernie.

His neighbor slammed into the back of Ernie sending him through the windshield backward and then as a late panic maneuver the neighbor puts on the brakes. A little late right. This sends Ernie flying out and onto the street many feet from the car. Ernie had a number of broken bones including in his face but is recovering and hopes to race again in 2010. What are neighbors for but a good takeout.

There were a lot of high moments in the season and many of you had some great races and have medals and jerseys to show for it but one person comes to mind and that is Kenny Fuller. Kenny has been winning medals and championship jerseys most of his life but had a mind blowing great year in 2009. Kenny doesn't enter many local races but builds his form for the "big fish". The one that usually gets away from the rest of us but Kenny bagged a good number in 2009. Kenny won the SCNCA TT and road championship building his form. Kenny went to Natz in Louisville, Kent. and destroyed everyone else in each of his races-TT, road and then criterium. Kenny bagged his 38th National Championship. Kenny took his great form to Worlds and won the TT and podiumed the road race. If that wasn't enough Kenny heard about the one hour record for masters and thought he would give it a go. Roger Young the director of the LA Velodrome worked with Kenny on a plan to break the one hour record in the 60+ category. Keith Ketterer of Amgen was also going for a record on the same day in the 50+ category.

The deal in the one hour record is to go as hard as you can for one hour on a closed velodrome and see how far you went. With a UCI official there Kenny went further than anyone had before. A new world record! Now if that isn't a great way to cap off a season. KK by the way also set a record in the 50+ category.

The racing season for us mere mortal type racers started in Imperial Beach in El Centro and Mothballs in Santa Barbara. Dale Luedtke entered the 55+ category in 2009 and with Kal Szkalak also of UC Cyclery/JW Flooring gave the 55+ and 55/60+ races a speed surge at the end that amazed me and most everyone. Kal was fast but Dale was really fast. Dale showed his great form throughout the 2009 season and won many races as did Kal.

UCC/JW Flooring proved to be the dominate team with John Rubcic also of UCC/JW Flooring cleaning up in the 60+ category making things very difficult for all 55/60+ racers with this lethal mix of very fast racers.

The 2009 season wasn't all about the favorites winning. Take the SCNCA Masters Championship in Dom. Hills hosted by Paramount Racing. Yes the 55+ race had Dale, Kal and Carlos Soto finishing in that order as you might expect but the 60+ race had a surprise finish. A 5 pack of riders shed Phil Richards and John McKee leaving Bruce Steele, John Rubcic, and Kenny Fuller. Coming into the last lap Bruce knew he had to do something exceptional or JR would outsprint everyone at the finish. With a little less than one lap to go Bruce made a move on the downhill northside. John R was hoping Kenny would chase but Kenny wouldn't chase leaving Bruce off into a twilight zone that he had nevered experienced before in bike racing. Bruce gave it 100%. He was as they call in Vegas "All In". John Rubcic decided he couldn't wait any longer and made a desperate chase with 2 corners to go but alas Bruce had done it. This day, this race Bruce Steele was the winner and champion! I love stories like this because I always liked the underdog. Whenever I saw a 50s cowboy and Indian movie back in the day I always rooted for the men of color but I knew the pale faces would win in the end.

The 55+ road race was won by Kal in a small field sprint in Bakersfield. I already mentioned that Kenny won the 60+ race as I mentioned Kenny won the 60+ SCNCA TT. The 55+ was sweep by TTing specialists. I must say I have some disdain for those that only do TTs when we are trying to build group racing in our categories but I do understand some of the reasons...crashes.

The MBGP is proably the biggest non champ race on the calendar. Paul Rodiguez won the 55+ category in a break which was great for him and UCC/JW Flooring but slowed the pace behind him and bunched everyone up. John Rubcic won out in the 60+ race as was pretty much the custom when John lined up. John had a great year and won MBGP with a soft cast on his arm from a training accident.

There were many of you that podiumed at Natz on the road, cyclocross or the track. I will try to include everyone but if I leave you off, let me know about it. At the road championships in Louisville we know that Kenny Fuller proved to be super human but Gary DeVoss managed to podium in the 65+ criterium. Fritz Tomasello with his teammate Dave Prechtl won the 110 division in a 2 up sprint in the road race as you can see in the photo.

In cyclocross Natz Bob Llamas placed 2nd in 65+ in Bend, Org. with freezing weather. John Rubcic placed 6th in 60+ which is one off the podium and this author knows what that feels like. Lousy!

In track Natz racing held in Colorado Chuck Watson showed great form and won the red, white and blue jersey in the 65+ points race. Barney Feigenbaum was 3rd. Chuck also got 3rd in the 65+ sprint while trackie Steve Whitsitt placed 3rd in the 60+ points race.

Trully sorry I couldn't mention more names and get more of you in my report but I think the final SCNCA points standing are a good way to get more people some acclaim for their racing efforts. The final points standing are a result of your placings and the number of events that you pointed in. The final standings for the top 10 racers in 55+ and 60+ were:

SoCal Cup Standings For 2009

Masters 60+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	John Rubcic	48760	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	302
2	Bruce Steele	236498	South Bay Wheelmen	226
3	Kenny Fuller	46765	Team Simple Green	188
4	John McKee	180386	Paramount Racing	178
5	Paul Springer	33679	Citrus Valley Velo	165
6	Loren Stephens	234791	EDGE Racing	149
7	Benjamin Maciel	275832	Citrus Valley Velo	148
8	Leo Pettus	219074	Paramount Racing	140
9	Michael Fleming	129293	Coates Cyclery Cycling Club	124
10	Phillip Richards	238828	Citrus Valley Velo	97
11	James Morehouse	283640	Paramount Racing	87
12	Donald Kimper	195498	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	82
13	Michael Crystal	8283	CA Pools Racing	80
14	Glenn Town	205555	Simply Fit/Action Sports	66
15	Mario Seri	61278	Kahala LaGrange	59
16	Steve Close	204901	Team Chicken Ranch	59
17	Stephen Whitsitt	171652	South Bay Wheelmen	55
18	Domenick Forte	45342	PAA / RE/MAX	48
19	Joseph Wells	48252	EDGE Racing	45
20	Robert Paganini	45763	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	42
21	Richard Rodriguez	50498	DARE	41
22	Glenn Baldwin	45047	SLO Nexus-Gym One	38
23	William Langstaff	49334	Cycles Veloce	36
24	Sydney Duck	58170	Unattached	34
25	Scott Hennessy	15827	VOS Racing	33
26	Warren Keyser	180504	Bike Religion	33
27	James Heise	163415	South Bay Wheelmen	31
28	Michael Barnes	220804	Rock Solid Cycling	31
29	Alan Morrison	166644	TBS Racing	27
30	Jim Roebuck	115793	Southern California Velo	25
31	William Carvin	101582	Unattached	23
32	Vicente Gomez	3794	Team Simple Green	21
33	Cully White	188249	PAA / RE/MAX	21
34	Daniel Crain	246256	Paramount Racing	20
35	Ernest Hoffer	57726	EDGE Racing	20
36	Cary Alpert	203244	South Bay Wheelmen	18
37	Peter Schindler	98729	8th Wonder Cycling	18
38	Charles (Chuck) Watson	37370	South Bay Wheelmen	16
39	Richard Lilleberg	64127	South Bay Wheelmen	16
40	Michael Edwards	50406	Kahala LaGrange	15

SoCal Cup Standings For 2009

Masters 55+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	Kalman Szkalak	54522	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	354
2	Dale Luedtke	47262	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	321
3	Richard Pollock	219983	Citrus Valley Velo	188
4	Warren Wicks	202108	Swami's Cycling Club	145
5	Ricky Shorts	52251	Velo Allegro	125
6	Albert Shorts	230085	Velo Allegro	110
7	Howard Miller	49424	Paramount Racing	109
8	Paul Rodriguez	58847	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	87
9	Donald Davidson	48278	Citrus Valley Velo	76
10	Craig Jones	18156	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	75
11	Mark Huffman	59572	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	75
12	Carlos Soto	47380	Unattached	74
13	Karl Weber	47819	CA Pools Racing	72
14	Mitchell Weinstock	55591	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	72
15	Steve Bernede	126351	Team Simple Green	68
16	Raphael Gomez	3793	Team Simple Green	67
17	Richard Stahlberg	50911	Ironfly	56
18	Rick Swanson	34753	Acme Racing	55
19	Kenny Fuller	46765	Team Simple Green	50
20	Rino Barbagiovanni	49110	Santa Clarita Velo	49
21	John Rubcic	48760	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	44
22	James King	226956	Unattached	44
23	David Holt	182726	Sho-air/Sonance	42
24	William Tippets	125634	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	40
25	Wayne Rosenkrantz	30596	EDGE Racing	39
26	Reed Moore	61353	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	38
27	George Chester	196820	Amgen Cycling Club	37
28	Bob Guglielmelli	14374	Central Coast Magazine	35
29	Stanley Appel	1825	Fog Racing	35
30	Thomas Reilly	155459	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	34
31	David Kelley	65663	Alto Velo Racing Club	33
32	Steven Borer	245777	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	29
33	Stephen Horine	195618	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	27
34	Brad Holland	244084	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	25
35	Eric Nelson	108843	SLO Nexus-Gym One	25
36	Mike Marotta	72880	Simply Fit/Action Sports	24
37	John Wagnon	266614	Liquid Fitness/Adageo Energy Reno	23
38	Hans Jorgensen	222120	Unattached	21
39	Todd Schooler	49144	Alliance Cycling Team	21
40	Henry Pfister	187845	Simply Fit/Action Sports	20

That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Nothing Like Success to Motivate!

By John McKee

It was August 23rd, 2009 and the last criterium of the season was being held in Ontario, Cal. for the Socal Cup series and the Ontario points race series. The weather in SoCal has been unseasonably cool for August and this held true for Ontario as well. It can be blistering hot this time of year in the Inland Empire and racing a bicycle in it is hard. Cooler weather definitely makes life easier at least when you are racing in Ontario in August.
The last race brought out a good field for the 55/60+ race which was scheduled for 8:05 am. At least 37 racers lined up to duke it out including 2 women. Most of the field from Ladera last week were there and then some. Al Shorts the winner of the 55+ cat at Ladera also came out and Al mentioned before the race that he had never done Ontario before. Wow! Michael Edwards has done just about every race in Ontario for 13 years which would be well over 60 races. I have done at least 30 so to hear that Al hadn't done it before was more than a bit of surprise. Didn't seem to matter out on the course. Al looked like he had been doing it for years. You've seen one crit course you have seen them all or so he made it look like!
The field was good size but lacking a little punch from usually strong UCC/JW Flooring. Kal Szlakak is at World's and with some injuries and other reasons leaving Dale Luedtke somewhat vunerable. John Rubcic also of UCC/JW Flooring was back in action in the 60+ field after taking a week off to give his hand another week to heal. Also back in action was Warren Wicks of Swami's who hasn't raced since SLR. Nice to see Warren back and you have to figure that Warren would join other known "breakers"- Don Davidson, Craig Jones, Tom Reilly, George Chester, Rick Swanson, and the Shorts brothers to make life miserable for Dale Luedtke. Everyone knew if the race came down to a bunch sprint that it was 90% chance that Dale would win. Attack! Attack! Attack! That would be the watch word for the more aggressive of the 55+ racers. Phil Richards of Citrus Valley Velo was the only known 60+ racer that could also mix it up with a small group off the front of the peleton.
At a little after the scheduled start time of 8:05 am the race was off and I mean off. Today's race was one of the fastest races of the year that I have done and the average speed and wattage indicated this. The first lap saw Don Davidson start in the back of the field and Don just slowly moved up along the right side of the pack and rolled off the front. First lap and there he goes. The "Energizer Bunny" has been sharp lately and we know from past races that when Don is on form the rest of us pay and that also can be said for his partner in crime Phil Richards. Phil has been getting better lately and when these two tag team it, yikes!
The first part of the race saw many of the above mentioned riders trying their hand at forming a break group that would stick except maybe Warren. Warren as I heard hasn't had a lot of saddle time or so the story went. Mr. Wicks did well in the finish but didn't mix it up during the race. Ontario had a small amount of money for us but only for a mixed result which meant the 60s would for the most part be left out. Ontario is also known for lack of primes so the prime bell didn't go off much. Primes often are the seed that a break would grow from. Added incentive to go fast and separate from the field. The first prime and the only one that had something of some tangible value was for a T shirt. This was about 60% through the race and Craig Jones was out there and not because he cared about the shirt but because he wanted to get something going in the way of a break group. Rick Swanson came on to win the T Shirt. I would bet one of my bikes against the T shirt that it wasn't made in the USA. No result as far as the a break. Was it going to happen today?
Paramount had its own plan and its was to win the 60+ overall series. Monty and I studied the rules and the standings and figured who would be eligible, who had what points and how we were going to approach the race. Simple. Win the points prime and do as good as possible in the final.
When the points prime was announced the field wasn't that concerned because only a few guys had any chance in 60+ while the 55+ series was locked up by Dale Luetkde. I got on Monty's wheel and followed him around. After the one right hander we were moving up on the right side and closing in on the next corner and Rick Swanson hit the field hard. Very hard. I was thinking that was a long ways out to hit so hard but Rick was going very fast in a short time. Monty took off in chase. I had to dial it up and chase Monty. I felt like yelling out like we did when we were kids "Hey wait for me!" I couldn't quite get on Monty wheel and was hitting a lot of wind. At the last corner Rick turned it off and I got close to Monty's wheel but my legs weren't feeling so good. We started to close on the finish line and about 60 meters from the line John Rubcic came whizzing by.
John was hardly even seen in the first half of the race but John has a lot of ability and came up along the right side and as soon as I saw John flying I shut down. Dale came by of course to make mince meat of everyone in 55+ as far as the overall series was concerned. Much of the time after everyone collects themselves and no break group is off the pace is pretty easy. Not this time!
Thanks to Craig Jones and some of his "I love pain" buddies the pace went up. Not just for a short time either. I was hanging in there but after that prime thing I starting to really hurt.
My heart rate was going up to my threshold limit. The only thing that helped me mentally was something I always try and convince myself of and that is if I am hurting then most of the other riders are as well and it can't keep up. Can it? Alas, No! After a short breather some of the fools were at it again to make things hard. The only thing was they weren't fools. They knew that everyone was tired so hit em' again. Not sure who started the final break but most likely it was Don Davidson or Craig Jones. Al Shorts joined quickly and they developed a little gap. Tom Reilly of PAA thought he wanted in on the break and came across the gap to make it four. About this time the race got the 5 laps to go. Not much of a chase although Howard Miller put in a pull to try and get the pack close but no. The pace overall actually went down and with 3 laps to go my heart rate was lower than it had been at the beginning of the race although my legs weren't feeling that great. The break group was going to make it for sure now.
The lap cards then read 2 and then 1. Dan Crain of Paramount came to the front but a little premature of the Paramount plan. Dan was soon overwhelmed but would surface later to help at the moment he was asked to start a move for the red, white and blue. The pace was fast on the last lap. Just 2 years ago the pace as I remember was pretty tepid for the first half of the last lap.
Up front it was a fore gone conclusion who was going to win. Not only can Al Shorts ride strongly overall he can sprint very well too. Nice combo to have, I would say. Don't know exactly how the group played out but Al won again and I would have put good money on that in Vegas. Don D was 2nd, Craig Jones was 3rd and Tom Reilly was 4th.
It was pretty much a formality but Dale raced in for 5th in 55+ with John Rubcic on his wheel and finishing 1st in 60+ and 6th overall for the last payday. Loren Stephens put on his usual late but fast sprint and over came Monty Pettus for 2nd while Monty was 3rd. Monty had been trying to help me but I couldn't get on his wheel. He did his job but I floundered. Cully White and Rick Lilleberg came on nicely at the end to finish 4 and 5 in 60+. Warren Wicks had enough mustard to finish after Dale in 55+ for 6th place.
Overall the pace like mentioned was quite fast with my cycle computer saying 25 mph on the dot while Monty's read 25.48(Only 1/2 a mph slower than 50+ which had a much larger field) and George Chester's read 26. I think George's was high but George showed a reading of 290 watts as an average. Very high and showed what a strong race it was. There were a few lulls but not that many. Good clean race without any real close calls. Sorry but no photos or vids this time. The remaining places were:

55+

7th- Miller
8th- R. Shorts
9th- Gomez
10th-Hechanova
11th-Chester
12th-Barbagiovanni
13th-Mastro
14th-Odell
15th-Wisnosky
16th-Borer
17th-Swanson
18th-Moore
19th-Dern

60+

6th- Seri
7th- McKee
8th- Rodriguez
9th- Duck
10th-Richards
11th-Edwards
12th-Volpe
13th-Hoffer
14th-Crain

That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Al Shorts Gets Dragged Out to Ladera and Wins!

By John McKee

Al Shorts thought he was through with racing for the 2009 season after the Brentwood Grand Prix but his younger brother Ricky Shorts wanted to do the 2009 Ladera Grand Prix and wanted Al to join him. Ricky agreed to pay Al's entry fee so you know Ricky really wanted to be there but not sure about Al. Ricky and Al have had great form all year and are always a factor in any 55/60+ race they are in. Al is probably the strongest overall rider but Ricky has tremendous acceleration and can hold the top end speed for a pretty good distance as well. Their unique abilities came into play in the Ladera Grand Prix but lets start at the beginning.

This is the 4th year for the Ladera Grand Prix and the promoter does a pretty nice job with the race. He has a few things to learn but overall does pretty well. 100% of the proceeds of the race go to charity so one can fault the high entry fee($30). The problem that Dale Luetdke saw in advance was the lack of return love by the promoter for our cats. No money for finishers and medals for just 3 places for our cats. Dale worked with the promoter got a few concessions. $200 in prime cash was the main concession and I got the promoter to verify that the 60+ winner got a winners jersey just like the 55+ winner. The jersey was pretty nice as well. A step up on the one awarded at the San Pedro GP. The sign ups went slow but I tried to cajole everyone to get some racers out there. Having a race without many racers makes us look bad so we ended up with 19 pre reged riders. Not bad considering the Ladera course has a reputation for being somewhat difficult and has some narrow stretches that add to the danger. The course is .7 miles with turn one being the most difficult. The road that you turn into is quite narrow and must be the minimum for a course width. The last corner is also narrow. The pitch of the course is very slight. Nothing over 2 %.It is down going out and up coming home. The leg from the last corner to the finish line is deceptively long. The grade like mentioned is not steep by any means but it makes your tires feel like they are going through mud. The road is straight and you think you can see the finish line but there is a little curve to the right and the ride to the line is longer than it looks at the bottom. The 55/60+ riders were scheduled to start at 8:50 am but they had trouble getting the set up ready for the officials. Needless to say the promoter didn't hire Ralph Elliot. When was the last time Ralph wasn't ready for a race. The delay was a half an hour but didn't concern anyone actually. Just gave everyone a little more relaxed time to get ready.

Between 25 and 30 riders came to the start line at about 9:20 am on August 17th, 2009. UCC/JW Flooring lined up 3 riders and didn't have the numbers to dominate the entire race like many other contests. Citrus Valley Velo had Don Davidson back in their lineup and Don is riding well. Newly married Rick Swanson lined up for the second time since his wedding. Rick looked pretty good at Orchard Hills last Tues. night at a training session so Rick might he able to mix it up. The 60+ race was also wide open with John Rubcic giving his sore hand another week to rest.

I had a good week of training and Monty joined me a couple of those days. Doesn't seem to matter how Monty's training looks. He is always sharp on race day as long as the course doesn't tilt up too much. Mike Fleming is as cagey a rider as there is around. Mike has been racing since 1961. I would say he has some experience. Bruce Steele is riding very well this year and any tilt to a course gives Bruce an edge but Bruce doesn't like technical courses like this. Loren Stephens packs a hell of a wallop at the end of a race so he can never be counted out and Phil Richards can always be a factor.

The race started and the pace from the get go was fast. No let up. Flat out fast. After a lap or two I was a ways back, breathing pretty good and thinking how the heck was I going to be able to move up if the race keeps up like this and with some narrow streets and tight corners just made matters worse. The answer and it always is that the pace can't keep up like that because no one wants to wear themselves out before the finish. After 3 or so laps the pace did calm down and I and others moved up and the churning began. This always happens as well. Part of racing. There were going to be a few key factors in this race and they were break attempts by the 55s and prime killing again by the 55s. These two things drove the race. There were a number of riders that attempted breaks and I might miss a few but Don Davidson, Rick Swanson, Al and Ricky Shorts, Kal Szlakak, and Steve Bernede were very active throughout the race. Dale and Kal were the most active when it came to the money primes and thats where 100% of the cash was.

The race went by quickly without any crashes although turn one was hairy. The officials didn't have Ralph Elliot's lap count down thing and used their fingers to indicate the laps remaining. I didn't even see the hand until he put up 2 to go. Wow! I felt like the race had flown by. The earliest break attempt that looked like it had the horse power to make a go of it included Al Shorts, Steve Bernede and Kal Szlakak. This was half way through the race. The peleton didn't let them get very far away although they were out there for a number of laps. The next collection of breakers formed with about 6 laps to go and included Rick Swanson, Al Shorts and Don Davidson. These 3 guys put their hearts into the break and as happens so often with the race coming down in laps to go the motivation to chase is reduced drastically. No 55s went after them that I saw. Bruce Steele and reincarnated racer Rick Lilleberg(nice to see Rick back out with us) came to the front and put in efforts to chase but both are 60+ and SBW didn't have a 55+ racer so the burden was really on UCC/JW Flooring because they would have the most to gain by a bunch sprint. Who has much of a chance against Dal and Kal except maybe Al and Ricky Shorts.

Like I mentioned earlier the official signaled 2 laps to go and the 3 breakers were away with a good lead and it didn't look like it was possible to bring them back. I was looking for Dale's wheel about then and found it. Monty asked me the day before what my plan was to win because he thought the way my training went through the week that I had a chance. I told him I was going to try to find Dale's wheel and ride it in. I talked to Dale before the race and he said he didn't mind. He and Kal didn't have a set plan and were going to figure things out on the fly depending on how the race went. Everyone went around the next to the last lap at a good pace but not real fast for sure. Coming to the finish line with one lap to go it was a forgone conclusion that the break was going to decide the 55+ race with places one through three but the 60+ race was wide open.

Dale moved up on the left of the pack and I stayed on his wheel. Kal went to the front and drove the pack with Steve Bernede and Phil Richards between Kal and Dale. Kal set a good pace but again wasn't really fast and I was worried that riders would move up but after 3 turns and one corner to go no one had moved up. Coming toward the last corner Mike Fleming started to move up on the right and was right next to me but in the wind. Monty was on my tale.

Up ahead the 3 breakers worked to the end but Don and Rick weren't going to beat Al Shorts with the form he has right now. Al came flying across the finish line with the 55+ win. Don Davidson came free wheeling across the line for 2nd and Rick Swanson came in a number of meters back with a solid race and 3rd place in 55+.

Kal was still driving ahead of the bunch and everyone made the last tight turn ok. Dale started to turn it on as did Mike Fleming. I was playing a bit of a waiting game trying to find the right gear.

I had a borrowed rear wheel(had a blow out just before the race started and Steve Borer was kind enough to loan me his training wheel) with a 12-30 cassette. I didn't even know Shimano made these. In crits I prefer a 11-21 or 11-23 with small changes in gearing. 1/3 of the way up toward the finish line Kal decided his team duty was done and slowed way down which is often done and no big deal. Dale and Mike went to his right to go by and I followed to the right. As I was going by Ricky Shorts hit the hole at the same time but was accelerating and going faster than myself. Ricky caught my front wheel and it made a loud noise(so loud that Steve Bernede heard it several bike lengths ahead), broke one spoke and sent my bike into what I call the "death spiral wobble". I hung on for dear life and quit pedaling and righted the ship and felt quite relieved that I didn't hit the deck. I am not blaming anyone as our sport is inherently dangerous. I know Ricky is not out there to hurt anyone. The hole ended up smaller than it appeared.

Since Monty was on my wheel he decided it was the time to strike and when Monty is in striking distance of the finish with a chance at a win... well lookout. I tried to get going again but my mo was gone as was a good finish. Monty took aim at Mike Fleming who was starting to tie up. Mike had been in the wind was a long time and it was showing. Monty passed Phil Richards and then Mike Fleming for the 60+ win. Nice job, Monty! Loren Stephens used his finishing strength to come by myself, Phil and almost got Mike but finished 3rd. Phil Richards was 4th and I was 5th in 60+ Dan Crain of Paramount had a good race and came in right behind me for 6th.

The bunch sprint for 55+ was lead in by Dale but Ricky got around him for 4th place. Dale was 5th and Howard Miller had another solid race and finished 6th in 55+.

The winners got jerseys and Monty was all smiles with his on. The promoter did the 55+ podium right away and the cameras weren't on them but myself and Jodie Borer were able to photograph the 60+ podium with Mike Fleming, Monty Pettus and Loren Stephens. The pictures are complements of Jodie Borer and Alicia McKee as my wife Alicia also did the video(See at the bottom). Thanks to all the 55/60+ racers that came out! Complete results were:

Ladera Grand Prix (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place
License
Name
Team
SoCal Points
1
219074
Leo Pettus
Paramount Racing
14
2
129293
Michael Fleming
Coates /On Deck Foundation
11
3
234791
Loren Stephens
EDGE Racing
10
4
238828
Phillip Richards
Citrus Valley Velo
9
5
180386
John McKee
Paramount Racing
8
6
246256
Daniel Crain
Paramount Racing
7
7
236498
Bruce Steele
South Bay Wheelmen
6
8
188249
Cully White
PAA / RE/MAX
5
9
64127
Richard Lilleberg
South Bay Wheelmen
4
10
101582
William Carvin
Unattached
3

Ladera Grand Prix (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place
License
Name
Team
SoCal Points
1
230085
Albert Shorts
Velo Allegro
14
2
48278
Donald Davidson
Citrus Valley Velo
11
3
34753
Rick Swanson
Acme Racing
10
4
52251
Ricky Shorts
Velo Allegro
9
5
47262
Dale Luedtke
UC Cyclery/JW Flooring
8
6
126351
Steve Bernede
Team Simple Green
7
7
49424
Howard Miller
Paramount Racing
6
8
297255
Mitchell Odell
Unattached
5
9
23055
Reed Mayne
Swami's Cycling Club
4
10
3793
Raphael Gomez
Team Simple Green
3
11
49110
Rino Barbagiovanni
Santa Clarita Velo
2
12
245777
Steven Borer
Citrus Valley Velo
1
13
54522
Kalman Szkalak
UC Cyclery/JW Flooring
0

NEW GUY SAYS "IN YOUR FACE"

By John McKee

I jokingly wrote Randy Drusen and asked him if he had been living in a cave all these years and riding a trainer all day long. Randy Drusen had one race under his belt and that was at San Pedro in Cat 5. His result there didn't stand the racing world on end so Randy must have sped up on his trainer. New riders often get free rein because no one figures they can pull off anything to the line. Being off the front is one thing during the race but being there at the end is another! Great story but lets start at the beginning.

Last years Brentwood Grand Prix finished with a 2 person breakaway but what it is remembered for is the peleton mass sprint photo that you always see above. Last years course was long enough to do 2 180 turns on one lap and work. There were a lot of complaints from residents in the neighborhood that major east/west streets were blocked off so the promoter had to downsize the course for 2009 so only one major street was blocked off. The new course just doesn't work with its shorter length and the hard 180 at the end of the course and off camber street to turn into. All with 400 meters to the line and that may be stretching it. The course was touted at 1 mile and that seemed right. A slight rise after the first turnaround which made the effort harder but didn't slow anybody down that I saw. The race which was on August 9, 2009 was hosted by Kahala LaGrange. They always do a good job on their race. They had a lot of boothes with vendors and did a nice job bringing in category sponsors to pump up the volume on the prize money. They had a last week change for 55/60+ that brought in Riordan, Lewis and Haden. I wonder if that is former LA major Richard Riordan and Pat Haden formerly of USC and the LA Rams(when they were in LA). Richard Riordan always was a big supporter of cycling and rides himself. Not like we do. Not many people are crazy enough to do that or have the ability to do that. The purse was increased from $200 for 55s and $200 for 60s to $300 each. Nice payday for 6 in each category. Thank you LaGrange and Riordan, Lewis and Haden! LaGrange does have a number of riders in this age group but only one has been racing with us for years and that is Mario Seri who is 68 years young this year. If you turn say 58 this year and aren't getting the results you would like, try adding 10 years to that and coming out every week to race with us like Mario does.

The criterium was to start at 8:30 am and the start was pretty close to that. 40 riders toed the line to mix it up for 40 minutes. SCNCA official Greg Alden gave us our pre race instructions and SCNCA president Eric Smith was there to over see the officials and do the video and race results. Eric always does a nice job here. I know I appreciate what he does compared to what we use to see.

There off! Why does it seem like there is always someone in front of you that has trouble clipping in. Lol. The first laps saw Don Davidson the defending champion mix it up. Don hasn't raced with us in a while and it was nice seeing him out there again with his new facial hair program.

The promoter had a lot of primes for us and not just a bottle of chain lube but $50 in cash and other worthwhile items. The problem for 60s is the 55s are obviously younger and are going to be faster so take almost all the primes but that ok. There was plenty on the table for all of us.

There were a number of break attempts but the one that looked troubling had 4 riders in it and was about mid race. When Kal shows up to a break it has a chance. We all know Kal is strong and brings a lot to a small break group. Ricky Shorts was there and pretty sure Don Davidson was in it. Don't know the 4th. They didn't get far off the front but hung in there for a small number of laps. At times they were 30 or 40 meters ahead. When this attempt failed Ricky shot backward like a rock dropping in water.

We got the 5 laps to go and everyone got a little more nervous making the corners that much more troubling. No crashes but a number of shouting incidents on the 180s. At some point in the last 5 laps Randy Drusen got the idea to move up to 2 riders that were off the front. They actually were just prime killing but Randy is new and figured he would just bridge up to them and work with them. He caught up with them and they just folded because they got whatever they were after. Randy decided to just keep going and going and going. What batteries did he have in him. The long lasting ones of course but everyone just figured he must just have the cheap ones because it takes years to hone batteries like this. The last lap came and Randy was still off. Everyone was trying to line themselves up. I got on John Rubcic's wheel figuring that was the right place to be. No other 60 was ahead of John and he was near Kal and Dale. The pace slowed going into the next to last turn and more riders swarmed in. I got knocked off Rubcic's wheel. Damn! After the turn and going into the little rise Dale Luetdke took charge. It was his turn to lead out the UCC/JW Flooring machine. Dale picked up the pace but didn't string it out. We were going up the street in the shape of a forward shaped mushroom.

I figured either end of the mushroom would push forward into the last corner because there was a big advantage being up front in this 180 corner. You could take it faster. No... Dale came around the turn first with Kal on his wheel and John R next. No bunch sprint finish this year.

Dale and Kal got a little gap. John R had trouble coming out of the corners because his hand is still hurting. Actually hurting more than at MBGP. Having to accelerate after every turn was wearing on John's hand strength and he doesn't have the training miles lately. Bone health is so important for us at our age. We all need to reflect on that now and then and take that into consideration in our training, eating, drinking, etc. To beat a dead horse- cross training, bone stimulating exercise, no sodas of course, etc.

OK, we have the classic UCC finish setting up but "The New Guy" is messing with the UCC program. Doesn't Randy know who Dale Luetdke, Kal Szkalak and John Rubcic are? Probably not or he wouldn't take them on. The assumption that the "The New Guy" would fold wasn't coming true. In fact Randy Drusen came across the finish line as the 55+ winner without any one in sight. Yikes! Nice going! The 55+ race was decided but there was one other cat to be decided but lets finish the 55+ race. Dale put the pressure on coming home looking for his 12 gear but couldn't shift into it but he didn't really need it to do his job of leading out the UCC train. Kal was in position to come around but pulled his foot out of the pedal. Didn't go down but gave everyone a scarce behind him. Al Shorts came on at finish to beat everyone in the sprint and placed 2nd. Dale is so damn strong that he leads it out from half way on the other side of the course and places 3rd. That is impressive. John Rubcic was the 4th person to finish to win the 60+ race. Nice job, John. He is one tough guy. Monty Pettus was charging at him but John still has a lot of juice left in the bottle. Monty was 2nd in 60+. Ricky Shorts made a nice run to the finish to place 4th in 55+ and Howard Miller also had a nice run in to place 5th in 55+. Kal rolled in for 6th place and the last paying spot in 55+. 3rd place in 60+ and a podium spot was still out there for 60+. I was riding in on the 55s and there were a lot of guys ahead of me and I assumed that Phil Richards or maybe Michael Fleming were ahead of. I eased up with the 55s but a never say die group of 60s in Loren Stephens, Mike Duck and Cully White came flying home up the left side. Loren and Mike beat me to the line for 3rd and 4th. Doh. Bonehead McKee! Cully was 6th and the last paying spot in 60+. There were 20 55+ finishers and 16 60+ finishers. A few drop outs.

All in all it was a good clean race on a lackluster course. Great area and fun event. There was an after race cool down ride to Venice with a few of the guys. An after ride thing is becoming common now for some of us. I will try and keep you informed if I know something is up. There is a vid of the bunch sprint below compliments of Alicia McKee. 2 of the inserted photos are by Jodie Borer and I took the podium shots. Complete results below:

Brentwood GP (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place
License
Name
Team
SoCal Points
1
287291
Randy Drusen
Judgement Velo/ TBOV
14
2
230085
Albert Shorts
Velo Allegro
11
3
47262
Dale Luedtke
UC Cyclery/JW Flooring
10
4
52251
Ricky Shorts
Velo Allegro
9
5
49424
Howard Miller
Paramount Racing
8
6
54522
Kalman Szkalak
UC Cyclery/JW Flooring
7
7
47380
Carlos Soto
Unattached
6
8
48278
Donald Davidson
Citrus Valley Velo
5
9
245777
Steven Borer
Citrus Valley Velo
4
10
Michel Glouchevitch
No License
3
11
50911
Richard Stahlberg
Ironfly
2
12
250689
Gintaras Janulaitis
Unattached
1
13
49110
Rino Barbagiovanni
Santa Clarita Velo
0
14
34753
Rick Swanson
Acme Racing
0
15
3793
Raphael Gomez
Team Simple Green
0
16
297255
Mitchell Odell
Unattached
0
17
Alan Stoddard
NO LICENSE
0
18
269972
Fred Haim
Kahala LaGrange
0
19
257503
Philip Walters
Encino Velo Cycling Club
0
20
Stephen Saks
NO LICENSE
0

Brentwood GP (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place
License
Name
Team
SoCal Points
1
48760
John Rubcic
UC Cyclery/JW Flooring
14
2
219074
Leo Pettus
Paramount Racing
11
3
234791
Loren Stephens
EDGE Racing
10
4
58170
Sydney Duck
Unattached
9
5
180386
John McKee
Paramount Racing
8
6
188249
Cully White
PAA / RE/MAX
7
7
129293
Michael Fleming
Coates /On Deck Foundation
6
8
238828
Phillip Richards
Citrus Valley Velo
5
9
64127
Richard Lilleberg
South Bay Wheelmen
4
10
236498
Bruce Steele
South Bay Wheelmen
3
11
220804
Michael Barnes
Rock Solid Cycling
2
12
50498
Richard Rodriguez
Nytro Racing
1
13
246256
Daniel Crain
Paramount Racing
0
14
45763
Robert Paganini
Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)
0
15
Lewie Levy
NO LICENSE
0
16
50406
Michael Edwards
EDGE Racing
0

Thats all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

A Glimpse into the Sport of Triathlon

By Bill Langstaff

Last weekend was the National Championship for Sprint Triathlon---half mile swim, 20K bike, 5K run---should take about 1 hour 15 minutes. The event took place on Sunday last. About 1200 participants of all age groups competed at Pelican Cove State Park across from El Moro School. Triathlons are all about planning and preparing for the transitions from one sport to another so the set up early before the race is important. There were about 35- 60+ participants from all over the US trying to qualify for the World Championships in Australia in August. The first 12 qualify. Usually there are 10-15 participants at this age group so this was an unusual number.The set up are on racks lined up by wave number---each wave represents age groups. Usually the swim is first, bike, then the run...but on Sunday the waves were too dangerous to swim safely so instead of the swim a run was substituted. The start was on the far end of the beach, up the ramp(about a 12-14% grade)to the bike. The competition was really stiff---Peter Hoyt is known as the fastest 60+ much like Kenny Fuller for cycling---the hard part is many of the competitors were from out of state so for many the competition level was unknown. So let me paint the picture of what the day is like..... The transition area is open at 5AM for bike and run set up.There were 1200 competitors setting up at once in a small area at the end of the parking lot..what a mess!! The earlier you set up the better position for the bike transition. Transition area closed at 6:30---first wave goes off at 7:05---there were 12 waves going off 10 minutes apart.Our group was wave #10 and started at 8:05--but the race was delayed so we didn't start until 8:20. The run was on sand so the closer to the water the easier it is to run on hard sand....we went with the "Clydesdales" the over 200 lbs group so we had about 60 in our wave. The start with a run is difficult because of the lack of warm up...so off we went down the beach about a half mile to the ramp---up the ramp to the bikes....by that time you are wondering why you are doing this when you could be watching Lance drink champagne in Paris..... yet you have a chance to go to Australia so on to the bike....which is quite an art to shed the running shoes, put on the helmet, run the bike to the mount area (shoes are already on the pedals held by rubber bands to keep them straight) on the bike you go to PCH. They gave up half of PCH for both directions---the route was from the parking lot towards Laguna Beach...up the hill make a 90% turn back down the hill towards Coronal Del Mar---not an easy bike because most of the road is uphill until Newport Coast...past NC to the next light turn around back towards Laguna to do it again---two loops.... My run is average for my age group but my bike is usually much faster than the majority so I was smoking on the bike until the 2nd loop where my chain got stuck between the frame and the 11 tooth cog....had to cross the lane, get off the bike,put the chain back on the cog then by the time I got back on the bike many in my group caught me--advantage over! After the 2nd loop its back to the transition area. Shedding the cycling shoes is quite and art----just before the dismount you peel out of the shoes and ride with your feet on top of the shoes---you slow down and dismount running with the bike....to your place in the bike rack---which I of coarse got lost---finally found it---put the running shoes on, and off I went ahead of most of my group.....until about half way into the run where I was caught and passed by 6 guys---very frustrating no gear to shift into!! So I wound up 11th out of 35 good enough to qualify for Worlds but not what I wanted....The time difference between 4th place and 11th place was 1.5 minutes. My time was 1 hour 6 minutes and 29 seconds. The winning time was Peter Hoyt at 1 hour and 3 minutes and 15 seconds...What a hoot!! The most fun is the friendly and encouraging folks that you compete with. Whether you are new or have done the sport for a while most of the guys that you rack your bike with are helpful and encouraging---I was beaten by 10 guys yet I am happy they qualify for Worlds----it was a fair competition and fun as well. It is all good.

UCC/JW Flooring Perform on Home Turf

By John McKee

North San Diego County is UCC/JW Flooring's home turf. They are good everywhere but take it to their home field and its like playing the USC Trojan football team at the LA Coliseum or the Florida Gators in "The Swamp" in Gainsville. UCC fielded 5 of the 30 or so 55 and 60+ riders at the 8th annual San Marcos Criterium. This event was held July 26th, 2009 in San Marcos, Cal. at the CSU San Marcos campus. The race was hosted by the Rancho Cycling Club. The race course around part of the campus has developed a "rep" as being difficult and somewhat treacherous. It is 1.7 miles long and has 5 sides to it. The start finish line is at the top of the course and the first right turn is but 40 meters away. From there the riders plunge down a sloped section to the second turn and this is the most dangerous section out there. Riders have to scrub some speed swing left into the left turn lane and then make a 90 degree right turn. There is a hole in the road that is marked and is a problem that riders have to avoid. It has been there for years. The set up reminds me of a turn in the Foodpark ride in OC on Sat. but the San Marcos turn is tougher because you have but 2 lanes to turn into while avoiding this hole and the slope is greater. The corner at San Marcos is also off camber. The riders have to hit this at a good speed because the pace on the next section is always fast. Up to 34 mph. There might be a slight downward pitch to the road but it isn't readily apparent. The 3rd turn is level and is taken at pretty much full speed. The 4th turn takes you into the power climb and it is important to take as much mo into the climb as possible. Its tough but the thing about it is once you get up it you are going to have to do it again and again each lap. Yikes. Once you hit the last leg you are breathing hard and hoping for a bit of a respite but nooooo!! More pain. The 5th leg is about 250 meters to the finish and is slightly uphill most of the way and with little speed coming into it, you have to power your bike along as best you can. All in all a pretty tough layout. The flyer mentioned 60 ft. gained per lap but my cycle computer was showing close to a 100.
The 55/60+ race was to start at 7:40 am. I got there before 6 am with Dale Luedtke showing up a few mins afterward and parking next to me. Dale served as the cat 5 mentor/advisor in the parking lot. Pointing out to some bonehead newbies that peeing in the bushes and elsewhere is frowned on. Dale helped some hopeless racers with their numbers upside down but Dale had to scratch his head with the guy that locked his car with the keys in it and his helmet in it as well. Not much Dale could do there. Oh those cat 5s.
The 55/60+ race started a few minutes after the finish of the cat 5 race with a few less than 20 55s and 11 60s. The course "rep" hurt attendance with the 60s plus the early start time. The juniors raced after us which are always the "rabbits" at most race events. 40 minutes of racing ahead. The first lap or two saw some shadow boxing with most riders getting up the climb in good style. Craig Jones decided to mix it up and ventured off the front. I believe that Mark Huffman joined him at some point early on. Each lap saw more riders struggling. Kal and then Paul Rodriguez were able to get away from the group. Most splits occurred after the power climb on the 5th leg. Craig ended up dropping back and the 3 UCC riders were together and no one was going to bring them back once they started working it together.
2 riders did hit the deck after turn 2 when a cone was clipped and a Citrus Valley Velo rider(Dick Gentili) hit the spinning cone and went down. Don Kimper went down on top. Neither rider broke any bones and seemed alright after the race. That left 9 60+ riders in the race. The 2 top climbers in the 60+ group were SBW's Bruce Steele and Paramount's Jim Morehouse.
Through the middle of the race there were 2 small chase groups with Paramount's Howard Miller leading the front chase group. The 2 groups meshed after a few laps. Phil Richards did some good work in the 2nd chase group and I finished the chase off after it was so close that it was easy. Near the end of the race there were the 3 UCC riders off the front, the main chase group of about 10 to 11 and everyone else off the back in ones and twos.
The break group decided amongst themselves on the finish order while the rest of us had to fight it out. The order of finish for the 3 55s was Paul Rodriguez, Mark Huffman and Kal Szkalak.The last lap of the chase group saw a moderate pace with the real push coming on the climb and the sprint toward the finish line. Dale Luedtke powered his way to win the bunch sprint and make it 1 through 4 for UCC in 55+.
In 60+ Bruce Steele kept a good position in the peleton and kept up the pressure to the finish line to win the 60+ race. Phil Richards hit the wall coming for home after leading everyone out and was passed by Jim Morehouse who finished 2nd and then myself who took the last podium spot in 60+. Phil finished 4th in 60+. What a relief to have this race over with. Hard event for sure. The remaining places in 55+ were:

5- Jones
6- Rosemeyer
7- Miller
8- Mayne
9- Dufour
10-Haim
11-Pollack
12-Gomez
13-Edwards
14-Sanda Timbal

The remaining 60+ places were:

5- Crain
6- Fleming
7- Pettus
8- Pags
9- Forte

Thats all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!