Thursday, October 9, 2014

SCNCA SUPER MASTERS CRIT CHAMP BRINGS IN STRONG FIELD FOR 2014

By John McKee

The San Diego Cyclo Vets have produced the Super Masters time trial and criterium for a number of years. For 2014 they didn't get on the SCNCA calendar soon enough so had to select a date beyond when all other events have finished included Nationals. September 21, 2014 was the only date available. In 2015 they will have a proper date sometime in May. I was burned out after the National criterium in Utah but felt compelled to do this race because I was the defending champion and to support a great club like the Cyclo Vets. In 2014 my teammate Monty Pettus has become 65. This race brought in the 2014 National Champion in John Rubcic. John out sprinted Monty in a very close finish in Utah.
2014 National Criterium Championship. John Rubcic took it at the end over Monty Pettus. Monty took the lead out from the last corner but couldn't quite hang on.
Add to the mix 2013 SCNCA champion John McKee and the resurgent comeback king Rick Lilleberg. Rick won the 65-69 Super Masters RR IN 2014 and the day before the criterium championship he won the Time Trial by 1 and 1/2 minutes over Hylton Murphy. Bill Langstaff finished a close 3rd to Hylton. Mike Fleming who was on the 2013 podium was also in the race. I would say the downside was a lack of total entries. There were 9 in 65-69 which was down from 18 2 years prior. So many riders talk about a 60/65 race but if you can't get double figures in the champ race, you can forget that idea.
Start line with all the masters 65 and older. The oldest rider was 85. Photo courtesy of the SD Cyclo Vets.
Also bringing their bike to the line was time trial strongman Hylton Murphy. You can only race against who shows up and brings their bike to the line. The field was small but very strong. 1, 2 and 7 from nationals and Rick surely would have placed top 5. No where else in the country would you have this strong of field. In 70-74 Gary DeVoss and Richard Haas aged up and would contest for this age group. There are maybe 20 total riders among all the groups. Pretty low turnout but maybe the time of year has something to do with that.
Our start time was a comfortable 8:50 am. This was a very big improvement over prior years where we had to start at 7 am. At 8:50 am most of us could drive to the venue on race day like I did with Monty. We got the standard race instructions and were off on time. It wasn't clear to me but I guess the 1st lap was neutral. I must have missed that instruction. On the 2nd lap Hylton went to the whip which is standard op. This lap was a prime lap for Gordie Shields corn tortillas. Hylton took this one with a gesture to the sky to acknowledge Gordie.


Gordie Shields in 2013 still riding at 95 years old. A goal few of us will obtain.

From this point forward the group would break up. It might have broken up more but Monty Pettus came up with a flat tire on the 1st lap. The pace was enough to split the field but Roger Springer came to the rescue and brought some riders back. The lead group lead by Hylton of course eased up and waited for Monty to join in. Once Monty got on or in as you will the pace picked back up.
Hylton Murphy ripping the field apart as only he can. Glad to see Hylton back and feeling good.
Notice that Monty is back after the wheel change. Flat tire on the 1st lap. Don't think I have seen that before.

There were efforts by a few guys like Rick and Monty but most of the field hung in there. Mike Fleming took a hard pull but paid the price for it. There were a few primes and one created a break that included Monty Pettus, Rick Lilleberg, and John Rubcic. I couldn't close it down because my teammate was there but Hylton slowly brought us so close that I jumped across and everyone else went with me. Monty was better off with me with him than without. Robert Paganini hung in there and did very well considering he is 78 this year. Every year at our age seems to make a difference. More so than when you are younger.
The lap cards finally came up and the lead 10 were together and were joined by a few riders that were lapped. We lined up with Hylton taking the lead and everyone figured he would take us home. Roger Springer was behind Hylton and I lined up behind Roger. JR was behind me followed by Monty. Monty and I had a pre race agreement that I would be on Monty's wheel at the end so Mr. Rubcic wouldn't be there like at Nationals and we know what happened there. Good for John but not good for Monty. Monty is my teammate so that was the plan going into the race. With 3 laps to go I called Monty forward and had him drop in ahead of me. Pre race plan perfect. John wanted Monty's wheel but no that wasn't going to happen.
The 65s lined up at the end with a few 70s and Pags of course.

The last lap came and things heated up with a much higher pace. Roger Springer dropped back and JR got on Hylton wheel's. Coming into the last corner I figured we were going to sprint after the corner but Rick had a different idea. He was so far back he decided to attack before the corner. Monty saw Rick come by and jumped immediately. I hesitated and JR did as well. John was thinking Hylton was going to release him to the inside and Rick and Monty were going way wide which had much better pavement. It was down to Rick and Monty. JR gave it a go but the hesitation cost him as it did myself. Monty beat Rick for the win and his 1st SCNCA criterium championship. Rick was 2nd, JR was 3rd and I was 4th.
Final sprint with Monty Pettus taking it over Rick Lilleberg. Rick had already won the 60-64 age category.

Gary DeVoss beat Richard Hasse in 70-74. Robert Paganini was the only 75-79 in the lead group so was the winner in that group. Jack Palmer was the only 80-84 rider so he was a winner. Same situation for 85-89. John Sanmartini was the winner there.
This could be the last race at the Hunnekens for the Cyclo Vets Criterium and for Spy Trolley which uses the same course. There is a new tenant on the block that uses the property every day so this could be curtains. Too bad. Good course. The pavement has gotten awful over the years but is rideable.
I wish there had been more riders out there but you race against who comes out.That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!
Race results

John Rubcic 3, Monty Pettus 1, and Rick Lilleberg 2 in 65-69. Wear a club jersey Rick!


Martin Katz 3, Gary DeVoss 1, & Richard Hasse 2 in 70-74.

Louis Brooks 3, Robert Paganini 1, & Leon Sowers 2 in 75-79. No photo available for 80-84 and 85+.



Friday, August 22, 2014

ANOTHER ONTARIO RACE SEASON COMES TO AN END WITHOUT A 55/60+ RACE

By John McKee

I haven't raced since the SCNCA Masters Criterium Championship event on June 21st which was at Ontario. I haven't done any of the 50/55+ events because well they replaced the 55/60+ that I loved to race. I needed to do the last few of these events to get ready for the National Championship in Ogden, Utah. The 50/55+ events aren't as safe as the 55/60+ events. When I was doing this race, safety was my major thought. The last Ontario race was scheduled for Aug. 17th, 2014 and I was locked on to racing it no matter the category.
I drove to Ontario without my wife who had said she would go and take pictures. At 5 am when I got up I could tell she didn't want to do it so I gave her a pass. I got to Ontario around 6:45 am thinking the race started at 8:05 am like in June but no, the race started at 9:25 am. The gals haven't been showing up very well so they were thrown into the early slot.
What would a race be nowadays without the Swan sisters. Now there are 4 of them!

Cutie in a bag!

It's early at Ontario!
The turnout wasn't that good for the last Ontario race.

There were over 45 50 and 55+ racers. 6 of the 55s were over 60. I am not going to get into the Xs and Os like I usually do. The 50/55 race is different. Faster of course. Sketchy at times. More than the 55/60+ events though as some of you remember I was crashed out last yr. at Ontario by a cat 5 rider. Cat 5s have pretty much been weeded out this year in masters racing which is a good thing.
The race got going on time at 9:25 am and I just tucked into the pack and sucked wheels like I learned from Robert Paganini. The race was pretty fast but not overly stressful. The 60+ race I did June 21st was harder than this race for me. I thought there might be a break but nothing really worked. Cyril Hunte got away late with  David Prechtl after the Ontario points prime sprints.

"The Man" coming to the last Ontario to get ready for Natz. Robert Paganini is 10 years older than the next oldest rider in the race. He kept up! I challenge anyone is to do this at this age-78. To go 26 mph for 40 minutes.
They were away for a few laps but not very far ahead and were caught with a number of laps to go. There was some controversy here. Did the 2 laps to go placard show up twice? The one thing I do know is the 1 to go came up and we were off for the last time. I kept safely tucked away and just wanted a chance to practice my sprint finish. Ontario is one of the fastest finishes around. The last corner gives you a mini sling shot. Lothar Cramer was about half way back and got behind another 50+ rider out of control. Not exactly sure what the rider did but I suspect a clicked pedal, tried to correct, blew his tires out and down he went. "Blue Boy" tried to avoid the downed rider and almost did but NO, down he went. Most everyone behind had to slow way down as I did. Lothar let out a loud groan when I went by and this gave me a bad feeling about the "video king". Lothar has become my partner at my facebook page 55/60+ bike racing. His wife Emily takes awesome pictures and he downloads his bike vids for everyone to see.
Anyway I rolled across the line at about 15 mph and went around and stopped to see Lothar. I asked if he could raise his arms and he could. No collarbone problem. Just lots of road rash and a sore neck.
The guys in the front weren't affected by the crash. Robert Swigart of Team Velosport won the overall race. Bradley Jones of BBI was the 2nd rider across and the 1st 55+ rider. Mike Okano was the 2nd 55+ racer and David "I don't miss a race" Fetah was the 3rd 55+ rider. David has more Socal points than most teams. The race overall was pretty fast at 26 + mph and my powertap showed 247 watts but the last 400 meters were at 50 so the race for me was around 250. Complete results are below for the overall and the 55s only.  As far as getting a 55/60+ race back at Ontario...well it doesn't look good. Below is also the 55 and 60+ Socal Cup point standing after the San Marcos event.  That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Nice picture of the finish. Thank you, Emily!

Lothar "Blue Boy" Cramer in a black and blue skinsuit. I don't like the sound of that. Black and blue. I am sure he was for the next few days.

Cyril Hunte and Mike Fleming speculating after the race about the "fish" that got away at Ontario.
Brad "I love the 50s" Decker and John "Dad" Rubcic hadn't raced together since the 80s. John is showing Brad where his frame is cracked. Oh No! They don't make bikes nowadays like the old 57 Chevy.

Yours truly with Mr. Rubcic and Mr. Decker. You can see announcer Ralph Elliot photo bombing us in his awesome shorts!


Overall results

55+ results




60+ Category
Place
Rider
Points
1
Michael Birditt (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
285
2
Kalman Szkalak (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
257
3
Dale Luedtke (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
231
4
Reed Moore (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
190
5
Mike Marotta (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
177
6
Richard Lilleberg (South Bay Wheelmen)
166
7
Leo Pettus (Paramount Racing)
105
8
John McKee (Paramount Racing)
98
8
Owen Thomas (Action Sports)
98
10
Ricky Shorts (Team Velocity)
97
11
Paul Rodriguez (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)
94
12
John Roest (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
68
12
Peter Dufour (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)
68
14
Rick Swanson (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
66
15
Leo Longo (South Bay Wheelmen)
65
16
Fred Haim (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)
61
16
Bruce DePriester (Team Rokform)
61
18
Richard Mull (Velo Club LaGrange)
58
18
Kirk Freeman (Action Sports)
58
20
Jean Villiot (S2C/Primal)
55
21
James Swigart (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)
52
22
Ken Louder (FFKR - CONTENDER RACING)
42
22
Steve Bernede (Team Werks)
42
22
Pedro Ordaz (S2C/Primal)
42
25
Howard Miller (OCW/Paramount Racing)
41
26
Rino Barbagiovanni (Santa Clarita Velo)
40
27
Herb Johnson (San Diego Cyclo Vets)
39
28
Steven Borer (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
37
29
Robert Paganini (PAA/REMAX )
34
30
Roger Gottfried (Mazda - Pro Bike Supply)
33
30
Dwight Hibdon (FFKR - CONTENDER RACING)
33
30
Keith Peters (Team Jackson Hole)
33
30
John Wagenaar (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)
33
34


55+ Category
Place
Rider
Points
1
David Fetah (Pinnaclife Racing Team)
420
2
Mark Hoffenberg (Team Rokform)
313
3
Bradley Jones (BBI-SIC Cycling)
262
4
Robert Willcox (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
169
5
Jeffrey Moreton (Team Rokform)
162
6
Malcolm Hill (Breakaway from Cancer Masters)
157
7
Daniel Swietlik (OTR Racing)
137
8
Marc Spivey (StageOne Cycling Team)
135
9
Yehuda Packer (OTR Racing)
124
10
Mike Okano (Team Simple Green/Cannondale/Stage21)
111
11
Gary Shuey (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
97
11
Ed Marcelo (Team Velocity)
97
13
Michael Hines (StageOne Cycling Team)
96
14
94
15
Ricky Shorts (Team Velocity)
93
16
Daniel Nicolette (Team Rokform)
92
17
Michael Birditt (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)
82
18
Carl Nielson (CA Technologies Racing)
77
19
John Bergman (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)
75
20
Steve Hensler (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
74
20
Randall Tinney (SPY GIANT RIDE p/b MRI)
74
22
David B Stanton (Canyon Velo)
70
24
Bill Pinckard (Microseal Racing Team)
63
25
Randy Liechty (Platinum Performance Cycling Team)
62
25
Joel Sothern (Team Rokform)
62
27
Zohrab Gevrikyan (TIME - Velo Pasadena Team )
60
28
David Benner (Wolf Pack Cycling)
59
29
David Cranston (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)
55
30
Chris Black (Morgan Stanley /Specialized)
54

Saturday, July 5, 2014

2014 SCNCA MASTERS CRITERIUM CHAMPIONSHIPS @ ONTARIO

By John McKee

The criterium championships and the other championships move around to different venues and in 2013 the criterium championships moved to Ontario. Those that race often see Ontario on the schedule at least 5 times through the year. I use to venture off there at least 4 times a year and sometimes every event that was raced there. In 2014 Ray Moreno choose to have a 50/55+ race rather than a 55/60+ and then a 50+ race. That left myself and the rest of the 60+ racers out in the cold. Such was the dynamic of categories within our district this year.

French bulldog taking in the event.
Your in...your out... maybe next year we will be in again. There is talk that for a race to get Socal points the event will have to include all categories that get Socal points. In any event I hadn't been to Ontario since last August when a cat 5 rider took myself and David Lang down 3 weeks before I was going to do the national championship. Broken collarbone so that was out. Funny how I didn't even think about that when I got to the venue this year. It was warming up fast as it always does during the summer in Ontario. A lot of small talk before the race. We didn't have to do any heavy lifting this year as far as lobbying. Last year the 55s and 60s were to race together and be scored separately but the racers rallied. We got Eric Smith to allow us to use the same time space and still race separately. The 60s just started a few minutes after the 55s. No big deal but separate races. Why we can't do that at other times is beyond me. Small fields would make separate fields awkward and passing one group would make for less than challenging circumstances but this year the field sizes were pretty close. 35 for 55 and 27 for 60. Plus the 60s kicked butt on the 55s as far as average speed. I don't understand this but it was true this year.
The fields lined up this year with that eager anticipation and anxiety sitting in every racer. The 55s were off 1st at 8: 20 am on June 21st, 2014. One odd note was that the 2013 champions didn't enter this years event. I don't know why but no defending champions. There are many new 60s this year as most of you know so the 60+ category was loaded with lot of really good riders and this years race proved that.
Pretty min pin at the venue. He was
 with a group that was cheering for the Mexican national soccer team. They got real excited when Mexico scored the 1st goal against the Netherlands. The goal wasn't enough for the Mexican team but John Roest was very happy since he is from Holland. A big fan of their soccer team!
The 60s started like we should have about 2 minutes after the 55s. The early pace was brisk but not killer. Dale Luedtke didn't do an early flyer like we had been seeing him do. This was a championship race so he probably decided to hold some chestnuts back for later in the race. There were a few quick moves that were covered. No big deal. There was one move of a few riders that included Mike Birditt. I was on Rick Swanson and he created a gap so I didn't wait for anybody behind me to jump across the gap. I just went. Of course everyone else was on my wheel. I could see when I got close to the small group that they were looking at one another waiting for someone else to pull the group to the promised land. I got close and free wheeled and someone countered but not really hard. I was a little gassed but got with the program. There was no major slowing at any time during the race. It was lively. Harder than in 2013.
At some point after this Mr. John Roest went off the front. This is John's speciality. John is strong and loves to try to start a break or even try and hold everyone else off. John hasn't raced since LA Circuit when a SBW rider trying to look behind himself moved off line and into John. John crashed and hasn't raced since then. You wouldn't know he hadn't raced because he looked really strong on this day.
John got about 100 meters out in front of everyone. John rides for Swami's and everyone knows Swami's is loaded in this category. The strongest 60+ squad in the country without a doubt. They were the big favorite to win the championship in Ontario.
What happened next is rather interesting and this is why you have to play the game because you never know what exactly is going to happen. Rick Lilliberg decided to take a flyer himself and see if he could reach "Big John". He did get there. Rick is riding really well this year at 67. Before the race my teammate Monty Pettus told me if the race came down to a field sprint that Rick would help Paramount get to the front. I was taken back because Rick is riding really well and he could do quite well on his own. I told Monty that I was surprised but if it came down to that, I would get on Rick's wheel and Monty could follow me and we could see where that would take us. Scratch that. Rick was going to try to turn things upset down with this move and make hard decisions for the Swami's team.
Rick sat on John for a bit to catch his breath after the effort to get up to John. After that they traded pulls and were going quickly. A number of riders started to chase including Reid Moore. Monty Pettus put in a really hard effort. Swami's put up a major block. They were going all in with John Roest vs Rick Lilliberg. Maybe they should have kept them a little closer or maybe they were monitoring the distance the break group got away. The breakers were all in and really going for it. Both are strong and took near max pulls.
2/3s into the race Mike Birditt decided to make a solo effort to get across the gap. Mike is riding so well I am never surprised at what Mike can do. Mike got over half way to the twosome and ran out of gas. I think John should have been a little more aware of what was happening behind him and made Rick do all the pulling while Mike was trying to come aboard. When I saw Mike slow a bit and look around, I was surprised but knew he had thrown in the towel. Mike came back toward the group. Monty Pettus thought about teaming with Mike and trying to get there with the 2 of them and they might have made it but they were tentative. Kal Szkalak also tried to bridge the gap in short order with a big effort but also ran out of gas. That was the last I saw Kal.
We got within 5 laps to go and even though Mike and Monty weren't going to catch the break group, they were still away from the group by a short distance. Ricky Shorts made short work of this. We were all back together with our tongues hanging out and John Roest and Rick Lilliberg were going to decide who was the champion. "Big John" went to the whip the last 2 laps. He wasn't sure they were going to stay away plus the fact that John only knows one way to ride. All out! He is like the 2nd coming of Hylton Murphy. Hylton only knew one way to ride and that was all out. Teammates would tell him to hold back at the start. Save your strength for later. Hylton would agree. Yup! That's what Hylton was going to do. Yeah right. When the gun went off, Hylton was off. Full chortle. All in! Hylton couldn't help himself. LOL! John rides in a similar manner.
John also figured that he would try and ride Rick off his wheel with his strength. It almost worked. John was going good but Rick hung on and when they got to the last corner John was pulling 100%. John gave it everything he had but Rick came around at the end and won by a bike length. Rick Lilliberg won the 60+ category when he turned 60 at the Paramount race for the championship in 2007. 7 years later Rick does it again. I say that is real good riding and quite an achievement. Rick didn't even race for a couple of those years in there and when he did come back he didn't get much in the way of results. Can't say that on this day.
2007 60+ championship podium. Fleming 2, Lilliberg 1 and McKee 3.
The rest of the riders weren't that far behind but were behind. Rick Swanson took the last lap most of the way. Rick looked strong but was riding in support. The one right turn came up and Reid Moore took over. Not sure what Reid was thinking here. Maybe he thought Kal was somewhere around. He wasn't. Reid took the group  past the next left. The pace was fast. Monty was right behind Reid and when Reid peeled off Monty was a little surprised and wasn't sure what to do. He decided to hold to a fast pace vs trying to go for it from there or trying to drop back. We came to the last corner lined up. Monty and 3 Swami's guys. Dale, Mike Marotta and Mike Birditt. I was right behind Mike Birditt. When the 3 Swami's riders went to the whip, Monty threw in the towel. I was out of gas and couldn't stay near Birditt. I just tried to limp in to the finish. Mike Birditt rolled across for 3rd followed in by Dale Luedtke and Mike Marotta. Leo Longo, Howard Miller and Wayne Rosenkrantz came by me and finished in that order 6, 7 and 8. The average speed of the pack was a robust 25.5 mph while the breakers averaged over 26. The breakers got close to the 55s so they weren't even going as fast as the 60s. Amazing actually! This tells you how lively the 60+ race was.
In the 55+ race Mark Hoffenberg was planning to hang in the pack and save energy for the 50+ race. He wanted to be able to help his teammate Robert Swigart. When the group came to the last lap, the Rokform team came to the front and Henry Schnepf gave Mark an excellent lead out. Mark doesn't need much help since he is so fast anyway. Mark was 1st, Brad Jones was 2nd and Mike Okano was 3rd.
55+ podium- Brad Jones 2, Mark Hoffenberg 1 & Mike Okano 3.


60+ podium- Roest 2, Lilliberg 1 & Birditt 3.
It was a good day of racing and the turnout was good. Not sure why so many turn out for this race and few others. We wouldn't have these categories unless racers supported them more than a few times a year. Congratulations to the two winners and all the podiums placers. Nice Going! That's all for now! Train hard and race safe!


Saturday, June 28, 2014

NEW EVENT BRINGS SMALL FIELDS BUT GREAT RACING @ GREAT PARK IN OC

By John McKee

There are events that click with racers and events that don't. Roger Millikan always brings out the crowds and the new race series The 805 Criterium has hit a cord but this one for whatever reason didn't seem to appeal to a large number of racers. There are Saturday MTB events but that usually is a separate crowd. This one is the Orange County Cycling Classic held at the Great Park in Orange County. This was the former El Toro Marine Base. They do a Thursday night race series. The basic course snakes around the runway. I have never done the Thursday night race so this course was completely new to me. The location is in between San Diego and LA so I thought this would be popular. Paramount back when we use to produce a race thought about moving their race here but they wanted $5k from us so we said No. The organizers of this event planned a 2 day ominium event with the final day bringing in a 1k dirt section to throw a wrinkle to what we normally do. It all sounded fun and different and kind of refreshing considering seeing how many times we do certain courses. The organizers tried to please everyone and had races for juniors through 55/60+. Something didn't click. I can't put my finger on it. The dirt portion may have stopped some people and you had to do both days of racing to win a cash prize. They did have very nice Simple Green kits to the Saturday podium placers though.
The Saturday race was on June 21st, 2014. The weather was great. A little overcast early but clearing and sunny and warm later. Not hot! Pretty darn nice for June. When I got to the venue I looked around and started asking about different people and got a lot of different reasons they weren't there. We have a number of 60s out with injuries like John Roest and Rino B. The turnout of 55s was low but 60s was really low. The race started with less than 30 riders on Saturday.
The guys that knew the course started hitting it early. I just stuck in the middle and followed and tried to not hit any cones that were everywhere marking the course. This wasn't AIPC. Another industrial park criterium. It wasn't a downtown thing either with people on the streets watching. The entire thing was around 2.5 miles and followed Thursday night's course exactly. I thought with the small field that a small group of elite riders might get away. There were a lot of attacks early on. Dale Luedtke did his usual early solo break. This is becoming a standard. I believe Dale does it to challenge himself and make himself a stronger rider in the long run. I think he is plenty strong enough right now. Definitely sharper than the last 2 years. Always great to see a rider come back from injury or illness and though they struggle, the Red Sea parts and away they go. Back on form! Rick Lilliberg falls into the same category. Rick is having a strong comeback year.
We were scheduled for 7 laps or 17.5 miles. A designated number of miles like the LA Circuit race. The race was pretty hard but not overpoweringly so. Robert Paginni who was the oldest rider by 10 years hung in there the whole race. That was pretty impressive. Robert was giving away 23 years to some where 5 years makes a big difference.

Lacking photographers at this event. This is the only photo of "The Man". Mr. Robert Paginni. There was a 2 hour wait for omium results. That's why all the long faces. Pags waited all that time and then didn't pick up his cash for 5th place.

"The Man" racing in France in the early 50s.
OK. The race was pretty intense in the early going. A number of riders gave it a go off the front. My previous race was Torrance and felt pretty good there. I didn't know what to expect at this race site. The 1st 3 laps were pretty hard but I felt fine. Stretched but within what I could do. I think everyone was aboard. Once we got into the 4th lap I knew I was good and just rode like I always do from there on out. Rockform was there in strength in 55. Swami's had Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke in 60+ and there was Reid Moore of UCC and he is riding very good. Rick Lilliberg like I mentioned earlier is riding very well. There are always new 55s coming in that are very strong and we know David Fetah will always be there. I don't think he has missed an event. Mike Okano and Mike Hines are new very strong 55s but only show up once in a while. 
Into the 5th lap Mike Birditt and 5 other riders had a very small gap. Rick Lilliberg joined them and went right on by. Rick was riding out there solo but not getting anywhere and decided to pack it in and pull back. Soon after that he was nursing a flat and out of the race. Ed Marcelo flated as well earlier. Rick got a piece of glass in his tire. I wonder how old that original bottle was that the glass was from. Probably pretty old.
With the 6th lap in play I knew no one was going to be able to do anything but sprint from a bunch. I could see Dale moving up. The last lap came and Rokform was trying to bunch at the front. The pace was hardy but manageable. With 3 corners to go and quite a ways from the finish line Dale charged to the front and the pressure really got put on. I stayed behind John Bergman. John use to race for Paramount like a lot of racers but has been with a number of teams since. John aged up this year and is a track devotee. I knew to stay on his wheel. I don't know who took over for Dale. I have to assume that Bob Pelkofer took over at some point. The pressure keep on to the next corner. A few guys were gapped off the back. The distance from the next to last and the last corner is pretty short for this course and the pressure was taken off for a short moment while everyone up front sorted things out and took some deep breathes. The last corner was taken at pretty much full in saddle speed. The final sprint was down wind in the morning so it was very fast. 
Mark Hoffenberg won the field sprint in 55+ and Mike Birditt won it in 60+. Mike Hines was 2nd and Danny Nicolette was 3rd in 55+. Dale Luedtke got 2nd in 60+. I finished right behind John Bergman who was 8th in 55+ but gave me 3rd in 60+. Slightly longer race time wise for us and averaged a touch over 25 mph. 
60+ podium. Day 1. Luedtke 2, Birditt 1, and McKee 3. Getting the Simple Green bags and goodies inside was better than getting cash. Nice pod gift.

Day 1 55+ podium. Hines 2, Hoffy 1 & Nicolette 3. Mr. Hines looks happy. Hoffy..ho humm. Another 1st place.

With Saturday's race under our belt I showed up for Sunday's race and took a look at the dirt section. I rode it twice with Danny Nicolette. It was rougher than it looked the day before when I 1st saw the dirt section. I knew the stronger riders would put the pressure on here.
There were fewer riders on Sunday than before. Only those riders that finished and even a few 60s that raced on Saturday didn't come out. I think they had a one day pass from their wife. The 55/60+ group came to the line at 8:03 am vs 9:52 am from the day before. The group would do the same course as Saturday with the added bonus of the dirt section taking everyone away from the normal course. The dirt section was 1k long and then everyone did a 180 and turned into the wind. The 1st time through was harder than I thought it would be from the 2 trial runs. The faster speed made it rougher. My MTB riding came into play. Stayed in my drops with my elbowed bent and slightly off my saddle. Tried to soften the shock as best possible. I came out of the dirt and turned back like everyone else and was breathing pretty hard. I got on a wheel and hung on. Once we turned again with the wind at our back on the asphalt and it got easier. I knew I would be able to hang on through the rest of the 1st lap. We had been scheduled for 4 laps of the new course but they miscalculated the distance and the earlier race came in quicker than they thought so they added a lap to our race.
After the 1st lap we turned again onto the dirt. There were some soft spots which gave you a mini fish tail. The roughest part was at the end of the dirt section. The 2nd time through I made it around with the group. I looked around behind me and there were no other riders. The 1st time through dropped some riders. The 3rd time through was hard but again I hung on. Mike Okano was really trying to work things in his own terms using his own cycling strength. Reminded me of the last day of the 805 Criterium. Mike would team with a rider or two or just work it by himself. Mark Hoffenberg was doing the math in his head figuring what would happen in the overall ominium if Mike stayed away. The 2nd day's race was worth more points.
The 4th time through the dirt it was hard and I came out and turned back into the wind. I saw John Bergman not far ahead of me and I got out of the saddle and tried to close the gap. I hit a wall so to speak and Dale and another rider came by me. Dale didn't like the dirt but get him back on the pavement and off it goes. I went into oxygen debt and I was cooked. The rest of the field was chasing Mike Okano and the pressure was really on. The 5th time through and Mike kept a gap and no one could close it. Mike was able to keep a small lead to the finish to place 1st in 55+. Rokform and Bob Pelkofer took care of Mark and got him into position and he won the field sprint and 2nd in 55+. Michael Hines finished 3rd in 55+. Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke rolled in the pack across the finish line to again finish 1/2 in 60+. I finished by myself for 3rd place in 60+. It was definitely different and amazingly safe considering the control over the bike but everyone spread out a little and the loose MRI water bottles that popped out weren't a problem. Mike Okano proved to be very strong as did Mike Hines. I understand that Mike is one of the stronger riders on the famous "Donut Ride" in the South Bay area.
The Ominium results were as Mark figured but was closer than he first thought. Mark 1st, Mike Okano 2nd and  Mike Hines 3rd in 55+. 60+  was Birditt 1, Luedtke 2 and McKee 3.
Day 2 60+ pod for finish and Omiuium. Mr. Birditt is holding a piece of the tarmac as a trophy. It was nice!

55+ Ominium results- Okano 2(lost by 1 omium point. Closer than Mark calculated in his head), Hoffy 1. (Mark looks happier today) & Mike "Mr. Donut" Hines 3(Mike, everyone gets a nickname at times in my stories).

Mark Hoffenberg holding court with his Rokform teammates- Mike McConnell, Bob Pelkofer and Rick Carrera. Rick raced on Saturday but not Sunday. Puzzling! I had to promise Bob that I would write a story but have had a really busy week.

I believe Mark is telling a joke to Pelky. Reminds me of a favorite joke of mind by Gary Larson. He wrote the "Far Side" but is retired like I am. Grandpa Shark is sitting in a rocking chair and baby Sharks are sitting around listening to his sage advice. There are plagues on the wall with heads of humans. Humans like to put heads of animals on the wall because they think they are great sportmen because they could kill an animal. Pathetic. Grandpa Shark tells him minion "Always always remember... a swimmer in the water is worth 2 on the beach".

This was a great opportunity to do a 2 day race. The course is fine. Plenty wide and safe. The dirt was fun. I know Dale didn't seem to like it but Mike Okano did. Local racing is going through a down cycle now. Not sure why. We seem to lose more racers than those that age into the 55 and 60+ categories. I think more 55s should attend 55/60+ races vs 50/55 ones. It is safer. I am not the only one that thinks this. Most of the 60s are behind you anyway. The ones that can mix it at the front are accomplished racers. Thanks to the organizers for including 55 and 60s in their event. It did take 2 hours to get ominium results and that was the fault of the organizers but that was the only glitch that I saw. Thanks to all the racers that did come out. It was especially important for the 60 crowd. We are teetering on extinction. To all the 55s, don't think your locked in either. Your numbers aren't that great. I see a lot of base sticking among 55s.  Sorry I didn't get the story out sooner but spent a couple of days with my wife in Long Beach for our 36th anniversary. Then I did volunteering at the track for Jr. Nationals. Bonus story at the end of results. Each days results are below but not Ominium. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!
I volunteered at the track on June 26 and 27. I helped carry bikes and hold with Kurt Sato on the 26th and helped Jim Kloss with the gates on the 27th. Both guys are awesome track riders. There is a current world champion and record holder in this picture. Can you find this person? Her dad's name is Cliff.

Day One
Day 2

This has nothing to do with cycling but since its my blog and I write. Lol. The last time I was on the Marine Base was around 15 years ago. My dad wanted me to take him to a reunion dinner at the base. My dad was in WW II but got out afterward like most of the men. He stayed in the reserves. He did a number of things while out of the miltary. He was a painter at Terminal Island and sold Nash Ramblers in Santa Ana at one time as well. His reserve unit was out of Los Alamitos Naval Air Station. We got in a shooting match in Korea in 1950 and they called up the unit and sent them off to Korea in a big hurry. The dinner was a reunion of this unit. The event was pretty well attended. Wish I had taken pictures.
Jack Dean McKee during WW II

Friday, May 23, 2014

ONE YEAR MAKES A DIFFERENCE AT TORRANCE IN 60 + / LEGEND WINS 55+

By John McKee

What a difference a year makes. Last year Mike Birditt won the 55+ race and Dale Luedtke placed 6th. In 2014 both Mike and Dale are 60+ along with a number of other very strong riders making the 60+ category tougher than ever.
A real cutie at the race. Host team jacket there.
The weekend of May 17th/18th 2014 there were 2 competing blocks of races. In Bakersfield there was the well known Vlees Huis Ronde Road Race on Saturday and Bike Bakersfield Criterium on Sunday. In Torrance was the Torrance Criterium which was on Sunday. Not sure how long this race has been going but it at least goes back to 1980.
Lee Romans at Torrance in 1980. 35 years later and Lee is still racing there. I think he has learned how to pin his number on after all these years.
 The Torrance race is still on the well known Telo course. Much easier in the morning than it is in the afternoon but just to make things interesting on race day 2014 there was a decent breeze toward the finish line from the last corner. Tough sledding going toward turn 5 but fast coming home. One of the riders would get up to 38.2 mph at the finish. I wonder who that was. Lol. The race is produced and hosted by the Penisula Cycle Club.
31 riders signed up which wasn't bad and wasn't good. Only 4 55/60+ riders showed up at Bakersfield on Sunday and one of them was from Nor Cal. The scheduled race start time was 7:35 am in Torrance. Early start time. Everyone started off and Lothar "Blue Boy" Cramer didn't go to the whip but Kal Szkalak did. Kal started it. Kal is leading 60+ in Socal points but was racing 55+ this day. I know Kal would have a long explanation for this but I don't know what it is. Maybe he was thinking he could get away with Mike Birditt if they weren't racing against each other.
A number of riders went to the whip early in the race to either get things going or try and see if they could get away. Mike Birditt hit it early around turn 2 to 4 on a number of early laps. Nothing too serious but revving up those monster legs of his and putting them to good use. Bruce Hartley, David "I don't miss a race" Fetah and Dale Raymond gave it a go early on. Mike Birditt went to the block but Cyril Hunte and Lothar Cramer weren't having any of it and shut down the effort quickly.
Whenever Kal would jump, Mike Birditt would go after him. It wasn't the kind of jump that said "I want to get away and join you" but "everyone get aboard. Not today Kal". There was another nice move by 2 riders. Ricky Shorts, and an unknown assailant. Who was that masked man? After one half lap it was too much effort for Ricky so he dropped off. Mark Spivey of Stage One Racing lead the chase with David Fetah and "Blue Boy" on his wheel. Once the "Lone Ranger" was caught, David jumped with Dale Raymond and Mike Birditt coming aboard. After a few hundred meters Mike does his usual spin in the saddle and see what kind of damage was done. Well none actually. Kal brought the rest of the troops aboard.
A lot of good countering moves going on keeping the pace high. David "Shutdown" Fetah wasn't having any of it and would quickly discourage the efforts. "Blue Boy" was often on his wheel recording the action on his Go Pro. There were a lot of primes. Don't know what they were. It was very hard to hear Ralph "The Man on the Mike" Elliot spout out what the primes were for. A bell was rung so you knew there would be some action on the next lap. Even "Blue Boy" went for a prime and Kal countered off of it but Birditt and Fetah were right on it and everyone else upped the ante so no cigar here.
It was looking like nothing during the race was going to work but maybe something late like in the last 5 laps. It takes someone bold to try this because most riders would be shot for the finish but riders don't like to chase these efforts either and ruin their finish chances.
Kal got another good effort going mid way through the race and got a good gap. Bruce Hartley put in a good effort to get everyone going after Kal. Once Bruce ran out of gas it was a mini chase effort. I think Kal just quit when he saw he wasn't gaining ground or no one came up to help him. There was almost always something going on to keep the pace up. There were lulls but for the most part for a smaller field there was a lot of action. Howard Miller went on a solo effort for 3/4 of a lap. Not sure what Howard was up to but he was caught and he was spent. You had better stay tight on the wheel in front of you or you were going to get passed but that's the way it always is in a race.
There was a group of about 6 guys that got going good with Birditt aboard. Dale Raymond was blocking and guess who decided to close it down. 3 guesses and the 1st 2 don't count. LOL. Old "long socks" himself and old really does come into play because I was the oldest rider in the race. I am usually covered by "The Ageless One" but he was in Bakersfield. One of 2 60+ racers. Mike Marotta won of course and I don't know if Pags stayed with the other 3 55/60+ riders but it would have been awesome if Pags could have won his category. Even if the fix was in. A lot of pro races have the fix in so to speak.
David "Ultra Man" Cranston of LaGrange went into the gutter a couple of times with 2 laps to go on a straight away and I really don't like seeing this when it isn't necessary and it wasn't. Dangerous move. Later in the lap he make Cyril "Wild Man" Hunte look like Mr. Smooth out there. Cyril is getting smoother out there with fewer "Cowboy" moves that can make a race dangerous like at Roger Millikan. I think most of us have seen the vid by now. A calmer Cyril is a good thing. He certainly is a strong and fast rider and doesn't need the extra "Cowboy" stuff. With 2 laps to go Tom "Flood" Gates came by me and tap me on the butt. I thought he was telling I moved in front of him but actually he was signalling for me to get on his wheel. He is a good wheel at the end of a race. He is like a major flood screaming toward the line.
OK. Bell lap. It will be over soon! All together. Bruce Hartley is out front. "Blue Boy" thought Bruce was having way too much fun and decided to take over. Oh Boy! I am out front. Maybe I can hold this to the line. Just joking! Lead out cannon fodder of course but someone has to do it. Ed Marcelo is the 1st person to come by Lothar. Kal soft pedals a little and Deo Asuncion moves in right behind Ed. Deo is in great position now. Ricky Shorts, Cyril and Tom Gates really heat it up between the next to last and last corner. They were overheated and couldn't take all that speed down the finishing stretch. They had to regroup and come out and sprint. Deo and Mike Birditt took a smarter and little slower line through the corner and cut tighter to the course and didn't have to trim any speed. Smart veteran moves. I am surprised that Tom took such a fast line but he was following Cyril and probably figured that Cyril had it all mapped out but we know that can be a bad move. Ricky Shorts quit. Cyril and Tom got going again. Birditt and Deo came into the middle in great position and waited a bit and then put in the message to the legs. Maximum power. In the movie "Ben Hur" our man Charlton was a slave and rowing in a Roman slave ship. They were going to attack another ship and the top speed that was beat out on the drum for the rowers in chains was "RAMMING SPEED". Charlton of course came out of that one smelling like a rose when he saved Alex Hawkins's life who was a high muckity muck in Rome. This lead to "The Man" getting in the chariot race. Stephen Boyd got his in that race but was so over the top smug in the movie that you couldn't feel sorry for him when he was suffering after his accident in the race. Oh yea I was writing about a local bike race. Back to it.
Birditt and Asuncion didn't panic when they rounded the corner and didn't start their sprint for a bit but finally hit "Ramming Speed" for sure and they definitely have that. Mike is ridiculous with the power and speed he has in his legs. Deo has great leg speed.
Mike Birditt is too fast for this picture. Deo bests Tom and Cyril. Close 1/2/3 in 55+. Dale is rolling in for 2nd in 60+. Photo courtesy of Maki Yamazaki.
Mike won the 60+ category easily while Deo just beat Tom Gates(2nd) and Cyril Hunte(3rd). Don Denegal just beat Mike Hines for 4th place and the last paying spot in 55+. Dale Luedtke got 2nd in 60+ and Mike Fleming bested myself for 3rd while I finished 4th.
There is a full video of the entire race from Lothar Cramer. You tube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXUGHmitBA&feature=youtu.be

There is a another vid of the finish on my 55/60 facebook page courtesy of Maki Yamazaki. Thanks to all that came out. The race speed was a little over 25 mph but this was a fast course. Complete results below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!
55+ podium- Denegal 4, Gates 2, Asuncion 1 and Hunte 3.

60+ podium- McKee 4, Luedtke 2, Birditt 1 and Fleming 3.