I am going to write about Rick and wrap up some of the races that were done since the last time I wrote. I got a little overwhelmed and in a mental funk so I didn't write about every race I did like I use too. Below are the criterium ranking for the different age categories above. I didn't list road rankings because Socal riders aren't well thought of in the USAC ranking system. Thurlow Rodgers is ranked 40th in his age cat so I know Socal riders are slighted.
I also listed the ranking in Socal Cup points of the 60+ riders up through Brentwood. The 55s don't have a Socal Cup cat this year. There are 3 races left in Socal. Ontario and 2 CBR type races in Carson and Dom. Hills. Let's(55 and 60+ racers) support these last races and put up some decent numbers. It might help for next year. I can tell you for a fact that the numbers make a big difference in deciding who gets a Socal Cup category and which cats are looked on favorably by promoters.
| Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (55-59) | ||||||
| Rank | Points | Name | City, State | License | Racing Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69.67 | Bradley Jones | Brea, CA | 18133 | 56 | |
| 2 | 70.50 | Thurlow Rogers | San Diego, CA | 30417 | 55 | |
| 3 | 70.82 | Mark Hoffenberg | Ladera Ranch, CA | 45461 | 58 | |
| 4 | 73.31 | James Edwards | Rcho Sta Marg, CA | 53917 | 55 | |
| 5 | 74.00 | Evan Teske | Mission Viejo, CA | 35248 | 56 | |
| 6 | 74.23 | David Prechtl | Garden Grove, CA | 56118 | 55 | |
| 7 | 75.47 | Gilbert Hatton | Pottstown, PA | 61128 | 59 | |
| 8 | 75.51 | Brent Emery | Menomonee Falls, WI | 45303 | 58 | |
| 9 | 75.97 | Robert Swigart | Ladera Ranch, CA | 259109 | 55 | |
| 10 | 77.87 | Gary Dyer | Alton, IL | 50908 | 57 | |
| 11 | 78.08 | Stephen Tilford | Topeka, KS | 35598 | 55 | |
| 12 | 78.44 | Cyril Hunte | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | 52086 | 59 | |
| 13 | 78.77 | Frank Picarelli | Long Beach, CA | 333410 | 56 | |
| 14 | 79.95 | Daniel Nicolette | Los Alamitos, CA | 26090 | 58 | |
| 15 | 80.11 | Mike Okano | Trabuco Hills, CA | 26616 | 56 | |
| Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (60-64) | ||||||
| Rank | Points | Name | City, State | License | Racing Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77.19 | Michael Birditt | Escondido, CA | 47255 | 61 | |
| 2 | 79.25 | Dale Luedtke | Oceanside, CA | 47262 | 61 | |
| 3 | 80.25 | Thomas Gates | La Mesa, CA | 45364 | 60 | |
| 4 | 87.10 | Ricky Shorts | Long Beach, CA | 52251 | 61 | |
| 5 | 90.56 | Kalman Szkalak | Capistrano Beach, CA | 54522 | 62 | |
| 6 | 92.39 | Mike Marotta | Bakersfield, CA | 72880 | 64 | |
| 7 | 109.81 | Bob Wright | Castaic, CA | 39024 | 64 | |
| 8 | 110.57 | Rick Carrera | Laguna Niguel, CA | 222523 | 60 | |
| 9 | 111.03 | Demi Hechanova | Claremont, CA | 15625 | 61 | |
| 10 | 113.78 | Pedro Ordaz | Oxnard, CA | 55635 | 61 | |
| 11 | 116.65 | Dirk Cowley | Salt Lake City, UT | 7974 | 60 | |
| 12 | 116.82 | Rodney Malloy | Los Angeles, CA | 107559 | 60 | |
| 13 | 118.79 | Paul Pearson | Allentown, PA | 54984 | 60 | |
| 14 | 119.88 | Donald Denegal | Los Angeles, CA | 93812 | 60 | |
| 15 | 121.53 | Howard Miller | Long Beach, CA | 49424 | 63 | |
| Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (65-69) | ||||||
| Rank | Points | Name | City, State | License | Racing Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 105.59 | Leo Pettus | Yorba Linda, CA | 219074 | 66 | |
| 2 | 108.12 | John McKee | Westminster, CA | 180386 | 69 | |
| 3 | 118.08 | Richard Lilleberg | Cypress, CA | 64127 | 68 | |
| 4 | 127.35 | Michael Fleming | Pomona, CA | 129293 | 68 | |
| 5 | 157.10 | Douglas Knox | Santa Barbara, CA | 45552 | 65 | |
| 6 | 166.93 | Donald Kimper | Solana Beach, CA | 195498 | 68 | |
| 7 | 173.77 | Francisco Vasquez | Cooper City, FL | 159632 | 65 | |
| 8 | 189.72 | Robert Tompkins | Anthem, AZ | 305794 | 65 | |
| 9 | 199.50 | Ed Grystar | Oakmont, PA | 224526 | 66 | |
| 10 | 202.58 | Jack Neyer | Pittsburgh, PA | 60507 | 69 | |
| Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (70-90) | ||||||
| Rank | Points | Name | City, State | License | Racing Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 162.73 | Robert Paganini | Los Angeles, CA | 45763 | 79 | |
| 2 | 290.81 | Michael Edwards | Pasadena, CA | 50406 | 70 | |
| 3 | 377.11 | David Burnett | Norwich, CT | 227154 | 71 | |
| 4 | 387.88 | E Michael Ozment | Champaign, IL | 46412 | 70 | |
| 5 | 501.57 | Gary Simmons | Layton, UT | 199407 | 70 | |
| 6 | 521.73 | Dale Harless | Bellevue, WA | 57571 | 72 | |
| 7 | 523.38 | Roger Springer | Atascadero, CA | 198617 | 70 | |
| 8 | 529.30 | Richard Ellwanger | Tucson, AZ | 272136 | 71 | |
| 9 | 534.30 | Leon Sowers | San Diego, CA | 351238 | 78 | |
| 10 | 538.14 | Scott Tucker | Golden, CO | 71040 | 76 | |
SOCAL CUP POINTS- Through Brentwood- Masters 60+
Place
Rider
Points
38
Angela Wimberly (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)
10
There have been a lot of great races since I last wrote and that was a LONG time ago. The 1st race that comes to mind is the 805 Criterium Weekend. There was a 55/60+ race each day. Friday through Sunday with a great race each day. Money for each cat, each day. PLUS there was an Ominium for the 60s with extra cash there. Thank you to Mike Hecker the promoter for including both categories in his event. Sorry I rolled over your sign Mike when you were setting up the 2nd day. LOL! In 55+ action James "Breakaway" Edwards proved he has the stuff to stick off the front. In each of the 3 days, James was in a break that actually made it to the end. The downside of this was on the 1st 2 days he was away with Mark "Lightning Bolt" Hoffenberg. Mark beat him in the finish sprint each day and it was close on day 2 as you can see in the vid BUT on the 3rd day James was away with Mark's teammate Mark Palmer and he did win there.
In 60+ racing Tom Gates proved to be the best over the 3 days of racing. That was a tall order seeing that he was racing against guys like Dale Luedtke, Mike Birditt, Kal Szkalak, Mike Marotta, etc. The courses were great or nearly so-HaHa(I guess LOL is old fashioned. I just found that out.). There are 3 videos below from each day. The 1st 2 have everyone for the 1st 2 days while the 3rd only has the bunch sprint for the 3rd day at Lompoc. James Edwards and Mark Palmer were too far ahead to vid with everyone.
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| In the front row the 1st day of the 805 race series I can see- Tom Gates, James Edwards, Brad Decker, Me, Birdy, Hoffy and the rest of the gang lined up. This was the "wind" course and was tough but doable. |
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| 805 Criterium 60+ Ominium podium- Birditt 3, Gates 1, & Luedtke 2. |
After the 805 race series besides Ontario there were a number of really hard events. San Luis Rey, San Marcos, Carlsbad(50/60 here vs the usual 55/60 and it really made a difference.) It was super hot at Carlsbad that day and that was a factor as well. Ontario had a race the same day and you can only imagine what that was like. Bradley Jones won the 55 race and Ricky Shorts won the 60+ race.
At San Luis Rey and at San Marcos climbing specialist Mike Mueller took 1st place honors. He won a close race against John Howard at San Luis Rey but won on a solo break at San Marcos which was the SCNCA Criterium Championship. Mike has come back from some serious injuries from a bike crash so kudos to Mike for his victories. The hard road back only made the victories that much sweeter. Strange course to have the criterium championship. Randall "base sticker" Tinley won the 55+ race at San Marcos. Randall doesn't often leave the confines of the Santa Barbara area but he made an exception here and it worked out nicely for him. Carlsbad and Brentwood 60+ were won by Mike Birditt. Bradley Jones won the 55+ race at Brentwood.
At San Luis Rey and at San Marcos climbing specialist Mike Mueller took 1st place honors. He won a close race against John Howard at San Luis Rey but won on a solo break at San Marcos which was the SCNCA Criterium Championship. Mike has come back from some serious injuries from a bike crash so kudos to Mike for his victories. The hard road back only made the victories that much sweeter. Strange course to have the criterium championship. Randall "base sticker" Tinley won the 55+ race at San Marcos. Randall doesn't often leave the confines of the Santa Barbara area but he made an exception here and it worked out nicely for him. Carlsbad and Brentwood 60+ were won by Mike Birditt. Bradley Jones won the 55+ race at Brentwood.
There were a lot of great rides and I have mentioned a few of them already but I would say the best ride of the year was done by Rick Swanson. A lot of us like Mike have come back from bad crashes and tangles with cars and I had a bad crash at El Dorado in 2007. My wife and I recalled the other night the ordeal. It wasn't a pleasant memory. One thing stood out in my wife's mind was the kindness of Al Shorts helping her out. She had our dog, my bike and her stuff and was over whelmed. Al was most helpful and I am not sure I ever got to thank him. THANK YOU AL! My crash, Mike's, Pags, Hoffy's, Paul's, Ernie's(his was bad. His neighbor took him out. What are neighbors for anyway!) and the many other crashes you guys and gals have suffered were tough and hard to recover from BUT I don't think any of these were life threatening like Rick Swanson's. At least to the extent Rick's was. Rick was air vaced to a hospital and that probably saved his life. Rick was hit hard by a truck that didn't see him and he was thrown a distance and hit a pole. Rick doesn't remember the details and that is probably good. Rick had a fight for his life and then a fight to get his old comfortable life back. Rick had so many injuries to overcome. Walking was very hard to get back BUT he got himself walking again with many hours of PT time and of course time on his own. This was in 2014. I heard that Rick was riding again in 2015 and I was surprised and quite pleased because Rick has always been friendly to me and everyone else that I know in cycling. To see that he signed up to race the Ontario 4 corner race was a real eye opener. Would he be able to physically and mentally be able to do it. Racing isn't easy no matter who you are. Rick not only kept up but placed 18 out of 21 racers. THAT WAS THE RIDE OF THE YEAR! Nice going, Rick!
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| Some tough PT here for Rick. |
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| Rick leaving the hospital with his wife Karen. It was plently tough on her as well. |
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| Rick put some of his own money into a race team for 2015. He's got some pretty good riders there! |
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| You can see Rick in the middle back with the orange helmet. This is somewhere in the middle of the race. |
