SWAMIS/PARAMOUNT DIF TO WIN AT CBR # 9 IN DOM HILLS

By John McKee

There are different ways to win a race and Gary Shuey and Monty Pettus used method # 1 and #2 at CBR's 9th race of the season on July 10th, 2011. 30 hardy and healthy 55 and 60+ racers came to CBR race course # 2 at Dom Hills. Chris Lotts had us racing on his new course on the west side of Wilmington Ave in the city of Carson. The old course which is the site of the upcoming Paramount  2011 SCNCA Masters Criterium Championship is not in any city actually. The mood of the race was tempered by the news of Swami's member Dale Luedtke being in the hospital for tests after a medical "incident" at his home. We all are wishing Dale a speedy recovery and return to racing. It didn't seem the same without Dale out there. Dale races every weekend unless his work keeps him away on Saturdays. SCNCA, CBR..doesn't matter. He is out there. See you soon, Dale. Swami's had 3 riders at this event and wanted to protect Dale's lead in the CBR BAR points in 55+. Fred Hoblit, Ricky Shorts and Pat Huber were next in line in BAR points so Mike Birditt of Swami's spent the entire race watching these 3 guys.
The 55/60+ race started right on time at 7:45 am. An early start but we are use to it. The masters women were already bitching about an early start at the Paramount GP for the 35/45+ championship crit. Like I told one of the women once the gals produce total entry numbers greater than some other group than they can move up the food chain. Otherwise TOUGH BANANAS, Ladies! We race early just about every week.
Since the 55/60+ guys were in their usual time slot it was no problem for the action to start early. Pat Huber of Velo Avanti got away with Steve Borer of SDBC and Alex Gonzeles of Velo Allegro right off the bat. No one felt much like chasing. Gary Shuey went to the front to pace and just keep us upright. The 3 adventurers actually got out of sight. I wasn't feeling that spry and didn't seem to have very good legs or  a good mental approach to this race. No SCNCA Socal points and I am way out of the BAR points which I won last year. Felt lazy.

Gary "Grasshopper" Shuey- winner of the 55+ race

Finally someone got off their duff and made a solo move but it wasn't solo for very long. Mike Birditt was all over Fred Hoblit. The 2 of them moved forward with no reaction from anyone else. Were there going to be riders all over the course? NO! The lead 3 fell apart and and Fred and Mike met up with them. Seemed like they all looked at each other and said....siesta time. We were all back together after 15 minutes of racing. We got 45 minutes of racing today so there were still 30 mins to go.  The minutes were counting down and not much was happening.
Pretty much everyone was following Gary Shuey around. Round and round we went. After a while Velo Allego's Ricky "Counselor" Shorts went up to Gary and put his arm around him. It looked like a very warm moment. Lol. Ricky said "Grasshopper, it is time for you to hop the pack. You must go solo". This really shook up the young grasshopper and he sprang forth. 7 laps to go and Gary was off the front in time trial mode giving it his all. Totally inspired by the sage and wise "Counselor".

Monty Pettus- winner of the 60+ race

Several others seem to also be inspired by Gary's example. Tom "Late Breaker" Reilly jumped and Steve Borer and Craig Jones chased and formed a threesome in chase of the "Grasshopper". With Swami's and Santa Clarita Velo ahead Fred Hoblit and Mike Birditt just sat in. The 3 riders were working well together and holding a small lead on the peleton. Gary was ahead of everyone and looking good.
Gary Shuey came across the finish line for the 1st rider in and the 55+ winner. Nice job, Grasshopper! The 3 other adventurers were also going to stay ahead of the pack. Don't think you could say there was a sprinter in the small group but here they came for the finish line. Tom Reilly bested everyone for 2nd place followed in by Steve Borer and Craig Jones. The pack was setting up for the field sprint with Santa Clarita Velo's Kirk Freeman on duty up front. Fred "The General" Hoblit was shouting orders to Kirk several riders back. The orders were the same every time. Go faster! The new course that Chris came up with is similar to the old one but slightly harder with a stinger hill between turn 3 and 4. After turn 3 it heated up with Mike Birditt, Fred Hoblit, Ricky Shorts, and Bob Wright shooting forward. Monty Pettus was right in the mix. I decided to stay on Monty's wheel this day. Tired of having trouble with bad "wheels" on the last lap. Monty knows what he is doing so I just stayed on him. Coming around the last corner the front mix was the same. Bob Wright was on his teammate, "The General" and whizzed by Monty and myself just before the last corner on the outside. Bob is very close in BAR points with Rich Stahlberg who was right behind me. Bob was looking good for a possible win in 60+.
Coming across the line were Mike, Ricky and Fred for 5, 6 and 7 in 55+. Things worked out great for Swami's in 55+. They won the race and none of Dale's competitors picked up as many BAR points as they could have. In 60+ Monty Pettus took the inside line and finished off Bob Wright. 1st place for Monty Pettus of Paramount. I clicked it up a gear and got out of the saddle and also got by Bob. 2nd place by the depth of my Envy carbon wheels. Bob checked the vid and filled me in. I knew we were close but figured I was ahead.
The race went well. A little sluggish at 24 mph. The 50+ race was 2 mph faster and the cat 3 race was 3.5 mph faster. It looks like at this moment that CBR will not be a separate race entity next year. Chris and Vera's races will most likely be part of the SCNCA. All cats will be get Socal points and elite categories will get upgrade points. They can still have their separate BAR series like Ontario does. I wish Chris and Vera the best. They are great for racing in Southern California. Thank you Chris and Vera for all you do for us, the racers! That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!
The finish lists for 55+ and 60+ are below:

60+ Finishers

1.  Monty Pettus - Paramount Racing

2.  John McKee - Paramount Racing

3.  Bob Wright - Santa Clarita Velo

4.  Richard Stahlberg - Ironfly

5.  William Carvin -

6.  Robert Paganini - PAA/Remax

7.  Cary Alpert - Southbay Wheelmen

8.  Mike Edwards - Herbalife La Grange

9.  Allen Kizuka - Velo Allegro

 55+ Finishers

1.   Gary Shuey - Swami's

2.   Tom Reilly - Santa Clarita Velo

3.   Steve Borer - Acqua al 2/SDBC

4.   Craig Jones - Velo Avanti

5.   Michael Birditt - Swami's

6.   Ricky Shorts - Velo Allegro

7.   Fred Hoblit - Santa Clarita Velo

8.   Don Denegal - Velo Allegro

9.   Pat Huber - Velo Avanti

10. Rodney Malloy - Velo Allegro

11. Brian Carrico - PAA/Remax

12. Gary Prideaux - Lightening Velo

13. John Sinz - Canyon Velo

14. Andrzej Fidelus - Ranchos

15. Kirk Freeman - Santa Clarita Velo 

16. Steve Diamond - Swami's

17. Tom Herman - Southbay Wheelmen

18. Pete Dern - Herbalife La Grange

19. Alex Gonzalez - Velo Allegro

20. Rino Barbagiovanni - Santa Clarita Velo