SCNCA SOCAL PTS & CBR BAR PTS-55 & 60+

SoCal Cup Standings For 2010 as of 5/28/10

Masters 55+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	Kalman Szkalak	54522	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	300
2	Dale Luedtke	47262	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	246
3	Michael Birditt	47255	Swami's Cycling Club	184
4	Michael Mueller	46688	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	152
5	Alex Collins	46255	Canyon Velo	134
6	Mark Huffman	59572	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	133
7	Steve Cahill	204724	Moonlight Velo	121
8	Gary Shuey	44197	Citrus Valley Velo	107
9	Keith Ketterer	48434	Amgen-UBS Elite Masters	99
10	Mark Planellas	202041	Southern California Velo	97
11	Eddie Morris	49080	Amgen-UBS Elite Masters	92
12	Kim Bleth	49191	Platinum Performance Cycling Team	85
13	Victor Miera	280155	Allegiant Airlines/Pain MD's.com	71
14	Robert Willcox	69952	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	63
15	Ricky Shorts	52251	Velo Allegro	60
16	Mitchell Weinstock	55591	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	43
17	Rino Barbagiovanni	49110	Santa Clarita Velo	42
18	Warren Wicks	202108	Swami's Cycling Club	39
19	Mark Helvie	15760	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	38
20	Bob Guglielmelli	14374	Central Coast Tire CCT	38
21	Todd Schooler	49144	Alliance Cycling Team	36
22	Rick Swanson	34753	Radsport Cycling Team	34
23	Paul Rodriguez	58847	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	33
24	Witold Czulak	276778	Amgen-UBS Elite Masters	32
25	Kenny Fuller	46765	Cycles Veloce	31
26	Wayne Stetina	34063	Amgen-UBS Elite Masters	28
27	Dean Swank	215598	Bear Valley Bikes	27
28	Matt Becica	3067	Swami's Cycling Club	24
29	Rodney Malloy	107559	Velo Allegro	22
30	David Kelley	65663	Webcor/Alto Velo	21
31	Albert Shorts	230085	Velo Allegro	21
32	Dirk Cowley	7974	Velosport Racing	20
33	Jon Miller	167489	Platinum Performance Cycling Team	20
34	Henry Schnepf	70853	Team Velosport Club	20
35	Mike Marotta	72880	Simply Fit/Action Sports	20
36	Keith Laird	205255	METALMTN Cycling	18
37	Donald Denegal	93812	Major Motion Cycling Club	18
38	Thomas Reilly	155459	PAA / RE/MAX	18
39	Steven Borer	245777	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	16
40	Steve Bernede			16
41	Thomas Bain	45045	Geri Atrix	15
42	Steve Bernede	126351	Unattached	14
43	Thomas Gates	45364	Team Gran Fondo	14
44	Eric Nelson	108843	SLO Nexus Cycling Club	13
45	Gary Prideaux	47314	Lightning Velo	12
46	Larry White	37980	Team Coastal Tree Care-SGBC	12
47	Reed Moore	61353	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	12
48	Richard Keegan	142249	ironfly	10
49	Richard Roberson	50765	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	10
50	Fred Haim	269972	Herbalife LaGrange	10
51	Henry Pfister	187845	Simply Fit/Action Sports	10
52	Ken Burns	95649	Southern California Velo	10
53	Alain Levi	195876	South Bay Wheelmen	10
54	Todd Schooler	49114		10
55	Wayne Rosenkrantz	30596	Pinnaclife Racing Team	10
56	John Rubcic	48760	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	9
57	Rory O'Reilly	45744	Echelon Santa Barbara	9
58	Shannon Storrud	242162	Porcupine Cycling	8
59	Randy Drusen	287291	Judgement Velo/ TBOV	8
60	John Luke	21803	Unattached	8
61	Fred Provence	303394	San Diego Cyclo Vets	8
62	Carlos Sato	47380	Unattached	8
63	Duane Mulvaney	77005	Landis/Trek	8
64	William Tippets	125634	Unattached	8
65	Fred Nicolet	26089	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	7
66	Ronald Carlson	288193	METALMTN Cycling	7
67	Steve Bernade	126351	Unattached	7
68	Kevin Ryan	177958	Team CICLE	7
69	Peter Boberg			7
70	Peter Boberg	275439	Platinum Performance Cycling Team	7
71	Stephen Horine	195618	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	6
72	Ron Carlson	288193	METALMTN Cycling	6
73	Jack Briggs	4835	Century Road Club Association	6
74	Eugene Poyorena	177283	CA Pools/DeWalt	6
75	Daniel Rock	30251	Swami's Cycling Club	6
76	Trent MacLean	313446	Herbalife LaGrange	6
77	Thomas Doughty	45274	Amgen-UBS Elite Masters	6
78	Howard Miller	49424	Paramount Racing	5
79	Richard Gentili	247382	Citrus Valley Velo	5
80	Philip Walters	257503	Encino Velo Cycling Club	5
81	John Wagenaar	61193	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	4
82	mark wisnosky	243425	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	4
83	Cynthia Sjogren	271949	Team PossAbilities Gary Fisher Subaru	4
84	Carlos Soto	47380	Unattached	4

SoCal Cup Standings For 2010

Masters 60+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	Bruce Steele	236498	South Bay Wheelmen	173
2	John McKee	180386	Paramount Racing	167
3	Leo Pettus	219074	Paramount Racing	145
4	George Chester	196820	LIVESTRONG Army KC / Midwest Cancer Care	144
5	Raphael Gomez	3793	Cycles Veloce	133
6	John Rubcic	48760	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	128
7	Kenny Fuller	46765	Cycles Veloce	127
8	Glenn Baldwin	45047	SLO Nexus Cycling Club	107
9	Hylton Murphy	72995	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	101
10	Michael Fleming	129293	Coates Cyclery Cycling Club	86
11	Carlos Cruz	48651	Canyon Velo	86
12	John Edwards	46547	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	60
13	Donald Kimper	195498	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	55
14	Jean Villiot	59805	CA Pools/DeWalt	52
15	James Morehouse	283640	Paramount Racing	48
16	Phillip Richards	238828	Citrus Valley Velo	44
17	Michael Barnes	220804	ArtsCyclery.com/Wild Horse Wines	42
18	Hans Jorgensen	222120	Canyon Velo	42
19	Loren Stephens	234791	Pinnaclife Racing Team	41
20	Richard Rodriguez	50498	Pacific Sunset Velo/Pac Sun Velo	38
21	John Diemont	71231	Webcor/Alto Velo	37
22	Philip Young	55550	PAA / RE/MAX	33
23	Robert Paganini	45763	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	33
24	Daniel Crain	246256	Paramount Racing	32
25	Mario Seri	61278	Herbalife LaGrange	30
26	John Magnanti	71812	Unattached	29
27	Sydney Duck	58170	Paramount Racing	28
28	Richard Stahlberg	50911	Ironfly	26
29	Domenick Forte	45342	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	26
30	William Carvin	101582	Unattached	25
31	Harold Schneider	315702	Paramount Racing	24
32	Douglas Knox	45552	Unattached	23
33	Gary DeVoss	51495	San Diego Cyclo Vets	22
34	Alan Dedman	251983	Southern California Velo	21
35	Mark Tokar	288633	Privateer	20
36	Donald Davidson	48278	Citrus Valley Velo	19
37	mike wagenbach	219942		18
38	Vicente Gomez	3794	Cycles Veloce	18
39	RIDER UNKNOWN			15
40	mick iwadare	301363	South Bay Wheelmen	15
41	Dan Lipnisky			12
42	Robert Gerdes	289101	San Diego Cyclo Vets	12
43	Karl Weber	47819	CA Pools Racing	11
44	James Ring	206266	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	10
45	George Carter	282510	Unattached	9
46	Cully White	188249	PAA / RE/MAX	9
47	Barnett Feigenbaum	48063	ironfly	9
48	Peter Kerklaan	60684		8
49	Matias Garcia	314990	Unattached	8
50	David Linden	190519	Michelob Ultra Cycling	7
51	Daniel Wulbert	46904	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	6
52	Dale Harless	57571	Cycle U	5
53	Robert Kaplan	223579	LEADERBIKE/CANARI	5
54	Sydney Duck			4
55	tim Marquez	177403	METALMTN Cycling	3

California Bicycle Racing-2010 BAR (Best All-around Racer) Series, Masters 55+

Name, Team Crit Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total

1 Dale Luedtke, UC Cyclery/JW Flooring 42 42 38 47 169
2 Kal Szkalak, UC Cyclery/JW Flooring 38 38 34 38 148
3 Ricky Shorts, Velo Allegro 36 34 28 32 130
4 Al Shorts, Velo Allegro 34 12 30 24 100
5 Howard Miller, Paramount 30 32 26 0 88
6 Witold Czulak, Amgen 0 0 42 30 72
7 Don Denegal, Major Motion 0 36 0 34 70
8 Rino Barbagiovanni, Santa Clarita Velo 22 26 20 0 68
9 Vic Viscio, Velocity 12 14 14 0 40
10 Steve Cahill, Swami's 0 0 0 36 36
11 Mark Planellas, SC Velo 0 35 0 0 35
12 Reed Moore, UC Cyclery/JW Flooring 6 0 0 26 32
13 Al Levi, SBW 0 10 18 0 28
14 Alex Collins, Canyon Velo 28 0 0 0 28
15 Thomas Reilly, PAA/ReMax 2 24 0 0 26
16 Wayne Rosenkranz, Radsport 26 0 0 0 26
17 Gregory Painter, Velocity 24 0 0 0 24
18 Rodney Malloy, Velo Allegro 0 0 22 0 22
19 Philip Walters, Encino Velo 10 0 12 0 22
20 Joe Mastro, Team Velocity 0 22 0 0 22
21 Alex Gonzalez, Velo Allegro 0 0 10 11 21
22 Craig Jones, Velo Avanti 0 20 0 0 20
23 Steven Borer, Aqua al2/SDBC 14 6 0 0 20
24 John Luke, Unattached 0 18 0 0 18
25 Richard Barron, Simple Green 18 0 0 0 18
26 Sanda Timbal, Velo Avanti 0 0 16 0 16
27 Rick Carrera, Cycles Veloce 0 16 0 0 16
28 Ken Burns, SC Velo 0 0 8 0 8
29 John Sinz, Canyon Velo 8 0 0 0 8
30 Rick Roberson, UC Cyclery/JW Flooring 4 0 0 0 4

California Bicycle Racing-2010 BAR (Best All-around Racer) Series, Masters 60+

Name, Team Crit Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total

1 Rich Stahlberg, Ironfly 38 38 42 42 160
2 John McKee, Paramount 36 32 38 36 142
3 William Carvin, Unattached 34 18 0 34 86
4 Donald Davidson, Citrus Valley Velo 32 42 0 0 74
5 Allen Kizuka, Velo Allegro 0 24 32 0 56
6 Leo Pettus, Paramount 42 0 0 0 42
7 Michael Edwards, Herbalife/La Grange 30 10 0 0 40
8 Doug Knox, Time Factory 0 0 0 38 38
9 Carlos Cruz, InCycle 0 0 36 0 36
10 Barney Feigenbaum, Ironfly 24 12 0 0 36
11 Mario Seri, Herbalife/La Grange 0 0 34 0 34
12 Sydney Duck 0 34 0 0 34
13 Doug Feist, Fog Racing 28 0 0 0 28
14 Michael O’Connor, Alliance 26 0 0 0 26
15 Phillip Richards, Citrus Valley Velo 0 22 0 0 22
16 Michael McKinney, Radsport 0 14 0 0 14

YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!

By John McKee

It's May 23rd, 2010 and its the last day of the Tour of Amgen for the top riders in the world but for 55/60+ racers in Socal its another day to compete against each other in the Brea "Old Course" Criterium. The race is produced by the Velocity team. The usual players show up minus a few here and there. I am sure that some guys were attending the T of C race. The old St. Valentine's Day Massacre use to race on this course but moved and changed its name. The new early season course is but 400 meters away on connecting streets. I think the new course is more popular so they keep the race there but Velocity needs to get their race in so they brought back the "Old Course". The course is very much like Chuck Ponitus. 4 corner rectangle with a slight rise on the far side of the course and slightly downhill toward the start finish line. The ends of the course are fairly short but for this race the bottom leg between turn 1 and 2 was into the wind.
The temp was a little cool considering its late May and the race was to start at 8:45 am. Our field wasn't too bad at 30 considering the women 1/2s had 4. There were 3 women racing with us and 2 of them finished the race. Good for them. We want them to come back.
Our race was off. Right on time! 45 minutes of racing. It didn't take long for the real racing to start. No shadow boxing in this one. One of the riders said "You want a piece of me, A------? Come and get it!" This piece has been in quite a few movies lately but I believe it started in 1984 in "Swing Shift" with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. All about "Rosie the Riveter" and the women that occupied the defense factories like my mother and maybe some of yours as well.
The rider with the attitude was Alex Collins. Alex wasn't messing around and with 1/2 a lap into the race was off the front. Everyone was looking around at each other and scratching their heads thinking 'is this guy serious'? Well he was. Alex laid it out and pushed it as hard as he could and was going to try and go the distance. Don't think anyone has done this in a while that I can remember but Alex was out there lap after lap and starting to put in some good time on the field. UCC the strongest team in the race had 3 55s and 1 60 to work with. Most people were thinking that UCC had the most to lose by Alex being off the front so figured they should do most of the work bringing him back. They did do some work with Dale, Kal, John Rubcic and especially Richard Roberson. Wasn't sure if Richard was trying to get across the gap or help the pack bring Alex back. He was in no man's land for a while.
Mike Birditt, Steve Cahill, Larry White and Mark Planellas also did some work along with a few other riders. Alex was starting to get out of sight on the long stretches and got up to 28 seconds on the pack at the apex of the break. I think a combination of Alex tiring and the pack speeding up that the time started to come down and you could see Alex on the long stretches. This didn't necessarily mean we were going to catch him. The gap came down to 18 and then 15 seconds. Kal is very good at figuring out races and thought he could get across the gap and jumped. Steve Cahill got on his wheel and off they went. Things happened quickly in the race for a short span. 31 minutes of solo riding were coming to an end for Alex Collins.Kal and Steve made it up to Alex. Then Mike Birditt jumps thinking he can get across the short gap. He can and does so. Soon after John Rubcic and then Dale Luedtke also jump and get across the gap. This was the makings of a flying machine but they couldn't get themselves rolling right away.
Bruce Steele decided he was going to get across the gap or pull them back. Don't know which but I wasn't going to let him without myself clued to his wheel. Bruce was 5 points ahead in the Socal Cup competition in 60+ going into the race. Bruce made a nice pull and then looked around and I figured well it was my turn. I had ducked and covered wheels enough so I put in the last pull and brought us all back together. This was around 5 laps to go or less. Not sure Kal knew this because he put in a hard pull on the uphill straightaway. I was thinking damn. I just went into the wind and was winded myself and I have to put up with Kal putting the hurt on. I did hurt but Kal stopped and no one wanted to race for laps now. No team had extra guys to pull us around. Mike Birditt made a short move and Carlos Cruz went up to him but that was short lived.
With 2 laps to go Steve Borer went to the front and started pulling the group around. Thank you, Steve. With one and 1/2 laps to go Carlos Cruz tries to jump the field. Monty Pettus of Paramount was all over this as was Bruce Steele. The next half lap the 60s used this as their play time while the 55s lined up and watched with amusement. 5 60s were up front playing because no one wanted to lay it out yet.
On the back stretch was where the race was going to explode. It was 100% certain. Going up the slight uphill Steve Cahill attacked the field on the right side nearest the curb. Steve was going to try and take it from a long ways out. Dale, Kal  and JR were just waiting for the right time to strike and they happened to be on the right side of the course and nearest the curb and this moved played into their hands perfectly. The race was on. I was on Monty and Monty wanted to bring me home and accelerated faster than I did. Mike Fleming and Bruce Steele filled the hole right at turn 3. Doh! Everyone was smoking it from turn 3 to 4 because the last stretch was downhill and wasn't that long. You weren't going to make up many places if any coming home.

Dale Luedtke timed everything perfectly and came across the line with the 55+ plus win. Kal was on his wheel and looking at second but looked around to see where Mike Birditt was. Kal came across for 2nd. Mike sprinted it out with JR just for fun. Mike bested JR and placed 3rd in 55+ while John Rubcic placed 1st in 60+. JR is undefeated in bunch sprints in 60+ this year.
Alex Collins had enough left to place 4th in 55s. Gary Prideaux of Lightning Velo had his best finish yet in 55+ with a 5th place finish. Gary and I go back to the early 2000s at El Dorado when Lightning Velo and Paramount use to duke it out in the 40+ category there every Tuesday.

Monty Pettus kept the action going down the home stretch and placed 2nd in 60+. Bruce Steele smartly locked on his wheel and came across for 3rd. I had hoped to pass both Mike Fleming and Bruce after turn 4 but couldn't get Bruce. Bruce is on fire this year. He is time trialing well, climbing well, working breaks in crits and finishing well. Damn. Where is the Godfather and his henchmen when you need them? Lol.
This was a good clean hard race and was fun! I hope everyone else there did have fun as well. It was a good workout. Thanks to Velocity for the separate payout for 55s AND 60s. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe! Placings below(Possible vid might be added of the finish from one of the racers son-I will let you know if I can get ahold of it and put it in the story).

55+
1-Luedtke
2-Szkalak
3-Birditt
4-Collins
5-Prideaux
6-Planellas
7-Cahill
8-White
9-Reilly
10-Burns

60+
1-Rubcic
2-Pettus
3-Steele
4-McKee
5-Gomez, R
6-Fleming
7-Kimper
8-Carvin
9-Pags
10-Forte

VICTORIES FOR THE USUAL AND THE NOT SO USUAL AT ONTARIO

By John McKee

May 16th 2010 saw the 3rd criterium in the Ontario race series. I can see a little race weariness is setting in. Happens every year. The early races tend to have bigger fields. Hope always springs eternal I guess. There were 28 racers that lined up to contest the 55/60+ race at 7:35 am and only  12 were 60+. There were a number of events this weekend so that had to play a part in a smaller then usual turnout. Most of the usual crowd was there. Monty Pettus was back from his rib injury. The promoters moved the race to the more boring 4 corner course just to give everyone a change.
The race was off and we were in store for a more animated race then we have seen in a while. Both 55s and 60s were involved in the break attempts. The earliest attempt was started by Doug Knox. Doug seems to be taking his cycling and fitness more seriously lately. He is looking better every week. I can't possible get all the members of each break attempt correct. All of the attempts picked things up a bit as far as excitement and making everyone more aware as to what was going on. UCC and SC Velo had the most riders there and both were very active in the action. I know I will miss a few guys but here are the people I remember- Ken Burns, John Edwards, Mitch Weinstock, Raphael Gomez, Ed Keck, and Steve Cahill were a few of the guys that mixed it up. The one guy that was needed to really get a break going was Kal Szkalak but Kal was marked closely.
Kal was itching to get across to a couple of the breaks but everyone was all over him. Kal was watching the breaks carefully seeing who was in the mix, who was working, etc. If he didn't think things were working out for his team, he would put the break out of its misery. The break attempts did put the pressure on Mike Birditt. Mike and his buddy Steve Cahill had to put in an extended chase to bring one of the break groups back later in the race. Carlos Cruz tried to get across to one of the break groups and I felt I couldn't let him go so I went off after him. He got close but ran out of gas. I got within 10 meters of him and stayed the distance as the pack was close on my heals. Rick Swanson was active in several chases through the race.
With 6 laps to go it all back together again. Ken Burns of SC Velo decided to make on last solo shot at glory.
Ken didn't get far away and this slowed the pace of the race way down. No one wanted to use their energy stores taking down Ken. It made the last 5 laps slow and very tactical. Dale and Kal kept an eye on Ken and made sure he wasn't that far away. Once during the last 5 laps Dale put in an effort to keep Ken at the right distance away. Ken didn't know it and he was giving it his all that he was doomed. The last lap came and no one wanted to pace the group. It was ugly as I saw it. The pace didn't pick until about half way down the back side of the course.
Doug Knox did one of his patented 500 to 600 meters solo jumps at the end of the race. John Edwards was waiting for this and tried to get on his wheel but couldn't quite make it. Doug got up to speed rather fast. Not long afterward Kal and Dale also made one of their patented last lap jumps. They made it on the outside or right side of the pack. I knew I was on the wrong side and was behind an inexperience rider which is the last thing you want in the crunch. Kal and Dale got going and everyone started to wind it up for the sprint home after the last corner although if you weren't in good position by then you weren't placing well unless you can sprint like Monty Pettus or Mike Birditt. Mike had been buried in the middle of the pack on the back stretch and made up an amazing distance with his late move.
Coming to the last corner Ken Burns was put out of his misery. Nice effort, Ken. Doug Knox though found a second wind and kept up a hard effort. The only person to beat him to the line was Dale Luedtke. Dale did one of his power finishes and is very hard to beat. Doug finished 2nd overall and won the 60+ race. Nice going. Doug will have to be taken much more seriously next time. Mike Birditt was the next rider across the line having passed many riders coming home. Mike has an incredible finish and he doesn't think he has hit his peak yet this year. Monty Pettus was the next to finish and take 2nd in 60+. Kal came across for the last podium spot in 55+ followed by Cahill, Collins, Swanson and Planellas. Carlos Cruz was the last podium finisher in 60+ at 3rd place. Good clean racing, no crashes or close calls that I know of. No pics or vid-sorry. Wifey forgot the camera. Got to be her fault right. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe! Results are below:

Mid-Season Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	47262	Dale Luedtke	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	14
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	11
3	54522	Kalman Szkalak	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	10
4	204724	Steve Cahill	Moonlight Velo	9
5	46255	Alex Collins	Canyon Velo	8
6	34753	Rick Swanson	Radsport Cycling Team	7
7	202041	Mark Planellas	Southern California Velo	6
8	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	5
9	55591	Mitchell Weinstock	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	4
10	15625	Demi Hechanova	Southern California Velo	3
11	61504	Andrzej Fidelus	Ranchos Cycling Club	2
12	47314	Gary Prideaux	Lightning Velo	1
13	289270	Sanda Timbal	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	0
14	95649	Ken Burns	Southern California Velo	0

Mid-Season Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	45552	Douglas Knox	Unattached	14
2	219074	Leo Pettus	Paramount Racing	11
3	48651	Carlos Cruz	Canyon Velo	10
4	3793	Raphael Gomez	Cycles Veloce	9
5	129293	Michael Fleming	Coates Cyclery Cycling Club	8
6	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	7
7	50498	Richard Rodriguez	Pacific Sunset Velo/Pac Sun Velo	6
8	45342	Domenick Forte	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	5
9	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	4
10	46547	John Edwards	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	3

HELVIE AND DEVOSS WIN IN CHULA VISTA

By John McKee

It was May 15th, 2010 and there were 3 events on the calendar. There was a lot of talk about "real men" doing the ITT and wimps doing the criterium this day. If the "real men" were doing the ITT then I assume those doing the Mt. Whitney Stage race were "real real men" since they were going to have to climb 15,000 ft over the course of their race. Well anyone that went down to do the "wimp" event in Chula Vista were in for a surprise. The course was down right hard. Plain and simple. It was more of a circuit race at 1.3 miles but it really doesn't matter what you call it other than just  hard. The course was shaped like a cooked hot dog with 2 180 turns.
The 40 minute race was to see 12 laps and probably 800 ft of climbing over the length of the race. It was like doing 24 power hill intervals. Quite a workout for wimps anyway. 16 racers showed up for the 55/60+ categories which doesn't sound like much but wasn't bad considering the cat 3 men had 11 and the 45+ race had 13. The wind at the time of the race which was slated for 12:55 pm was blowing pretty good. Mostly a cross wind at the bottom of the course. The valley at the bottom was like a wind tunnel making the 404s I was using a little dicey but manageable. The wind was slightly in your face coming toward the finish line which wasn't going to make the finish of the race any easier. The race broke down to 7 60s and 9 55s racing for one purse as a combined group but scored separately for Socal points. UCC had the most players with 3. Mark Helvie, Steve Horine and Richard Robertson. All known to be good climbers. Did UCC know something that the rest of us didn't? Mike Birditt of Swami's and Steve Cahill of Moonlight Velo were there to contest the race in 55+. Steve Borer, Mark Wisnosky and Nicolet of SDBC were also there to mix it up. Fred Provence of Cyclo Vets filled out the 55+ field. In 60+ besides myself were Don Kimper and Gary DeVoss. Both men very able climbers and Gary is showing very good form although he doesn't race with us much. Both men beat me at SLR so I knew my hands would be full. Filling out the field were sprinter Raphael Gomez of Cycles Veloce, Robert Gerdes of the Cyclo Vets, Matias Garcia riding unattached and the ageless one, Mister Robert Paganini of PAA.

The officials instructions were simple. Race for 40 minutes and go on the whistle. We started at the top of the hill and not at the finish line which was 70 meters away. Easier to start us with a straight shot at the out leg of the course. The first time down and up the course it didn't seem that hard. The finishing leg was harder for some reason. I think it was slightly steeper and with a cross headwind this leg was tough. After a couple of times around we started to feel that we were in for a pretty tough race.
Mark Helvie, Steve Cahill and Gary DeVoss were the first 3 to venture off the front. They were away for a couple of laps but didn't seem to work well together. Don't think Mark was comfortable with Steve there so decided to not give the full effort. Back together again but with a few guys starting to show some wear. Robert Gerdes was the first to fall off the pace. This event didn't fit his body type.

The UCC team tried to use its numbers to its advantage and Richard Robertson and Steve Horine would test the waters and jump it. All attempts were covered but this had a psychological effect on Mike Birditt. He didn't feel he and Steve Cahill could cover all the moves of UCC. Mark Helvie made a move after about 7 laps and he developed a gap quickly. No one tried to come across and off he went. Mark pushed himself and got far enough away after 2 more laps that everyone else in 55+ was racing for 2nd place. 60+ was still in play from the chase group which was down to 8 riders.

Mark Helvie came across the line with a well deserved victory in 55+. A minute or so later the 8 men came around the last 180 turn with a very tough finish to go after the downhill. Even before we got to the bottom Don Kimper gave it a go and jump started the group. He was quickly covered and the pack calmed down. I was on the inside near the curb and the pace had slowed down so much that I freewheeled it by Mike Birditt. I decided to launch myself right at the bottom of the hill. Out of the saddle jump. Didn't take long for 3 of the 55+ racers to come around me. One by one. Cahill, Robertson and Birditt. I kept the pressure on the pedals hoping I could hang on to the 60+ victory. Coming toward the line Robertson and Birditt passed Cahill who was tying up a bit. Mike got an advantage over Robertson and came across for 2nd place. Richard was 3rd and Steve 4th in 55+. With 50 meters to go Gary DeVoss came by me and got about a half a bike length lead on me and with my legs full of lead I couldn't respond. Gary won the 60+ category by a half a bike length. Don Kimper was 3rd in 60+. Steve Borer, Fred Nicolet and Steve Horine rounded out the chase group finishers in 55+. The ageless one Robert Paganini came across the line for 4th place in 60+. His best finish this year. Hard race for sure and this could be a good event if it doesn't match up against other popular races. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe! Full results below.

International Friendship Crit  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	15760	Mark Helvie	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	14
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	11
3	50765	Richard Roberson	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	10
4	204724	Steve Cahill	Moonlight Velo	9
5	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	8
6	26089	Fred Nicolet	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	7
7	195618	Stephen Horine	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	6
8	303394	Fred Provence	San Diego Cyclo Vets	5
9	243425	mark wisnosky	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	4

International Friendship Crit  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	51495	Gary DeVoss	San Diego Cyclo Vets	14
2	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	11
3	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	10
4	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	9
5	314990	Matias Garcia	Unattached	8
6	3793	Raphael Gomez	Cycles Veloce	7
7	289101	Robert Gerdes	San Diego Cyclo Vets	6