55/60+ BIKE RACING NEWS

1st 2012 CBR 55/60+ RACE DRAWS LARGE CROWD

2012-01-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

By John McKee

It's Sunday Jan. 22nd, 2012 and time for the 1st CBR race of the year and the 1st CBR race under the umbrella of the local USAC affiliate, the SCNCA. The 55/60+ racers had moved up the food chain in the off season and were going to start around 10 am. Awesome start time but as the winter progressed we got moved earlier and earlier until we ended up at 8:15 am. Better than the 7:35 am from last year. Since CBR was now a USA Cycling promoter a second license wasn't needed but Chris got creative and came up with the idea of the "Loyalty Club". For $50 you got a reduced fee at all the races. At 6 or 7 races it pays off. OK, I'm in. Chris and Vera produce good events so I don't have a problem with this.
I was surprised then to see what a large field the 55/60+ racers had. No Loyalty Club and no pre reg and the entry fee nears $40. Ontario had 48 racers for their 1st event and the Dom. Hills CBR event had 66! Wow!!! 9 short of a sell out. The large turnout was due to the 55s. The 55s are driving the field sizes. There were 19 60+ racers. Not sure why so many racers drop out when they get in their 60s. I say good job to all the 60s that came out and raced with younger riders.
There were cars and riders everywhere when I got to Dom. Hills around 7:10 am. Pretty long lines at reg but they moved pretty fast. I never feel like I have enough time to get ready for a race. By the time I got my number on I forgot about getting on my trainer and just started riding around. My stomach was killing me and my right leg wasn't feeling that great. I have had a short bout of sciatica this week and visited my chiro, Dr. Richard Olson earlier in the week. All week and this is the worst my leg has felt. Damn and a large field to fight. We got called to the line and there were riders everywhere. Damn. The race started a little late but once the gun went off it started fast. I still wasn't feeling that good and was in the back. Everyone seemed to be going fast and I was thinking "Mother of mercy...is this the end of Rico?". After a couple of laps I started feeling better physically and mentally. I started to get in the flow of the race. I have done this course so many times.
The pace was brisk early but not much happened. I just wanted to get the race over with. The standard blender action was going on with some snake moves, etc. A prime lap came up about half way through the race for a free entry. Gary Shuey of Spy-Swami's went for it and took the prime. Mark Hoffenberg countered off of Gary. Mark just aged up to 55 and was expected to make a big impact on this category. Mark has a long history of being a strong rider and his Sho Air/Rock n Road teammates are strong as well with just aged up Dan Nicolette and Henry Schnepf who is 57 in 2012.
Mark was soon joined by Mike Birditt and then John Luke of Santa Clarita Velo. We all know about Mike but John is new to us and just starting racing some last year. He gets the thumbs up by Mike Birditt for being a strong rider. Ricky Shorts of Velo Allegro made it 4. As I heard it, all the riders were taking pulls. The foursome was joined by Steve Cahill, Fred Hoblit and a party unknown at this time. Fred is also with Santa Clarita Velo so they had 2 members in the break group. The break group moved along but didn't make consistent headway. There were a lot of guys chipping away at the group. Surprisingly a number of 60+ riders started to act up and chase or maybe get across. Bruce Steele with Rich Stahlberg made a go of it. Monty Pettus and Doug Knox worked at the front for a bit.
With 3 laps to go the lead was quiet small. The breakers were getting ready to abandon ship. Steve Cahill didn't want to throw in the towel and pulled for most of the next to last lap. Wayne Rosenkrantz and Bruce Hartley of Pinnaclife were putting a lot of pressure on at the front of the peleton. Mike Birditt and Mark Hoffenberg were sitting in the break group waiting to get caught and assuming a bunch sprint.
This came true at the start/finish line with one lap to go. Everyone was all together. Who drove the pack after this is a little murky. The pace was good. Maybe even brisk but not fast going through turn one to three. By turn three Sho Air/Rock n Road had lined up their riders nearly perfect. Mike B. saw this and was thinking...uh oh! There was another solo rider ahead that was acting as a carrot(Lee Romans-Velo Allegro) but wasn't really a challenger. Sho Air was still lined up at turn four and after turning the corner slung Mark H. toward the finish line. Mike Birditt did what he could but wasn't making up any ground and Mark won the race. Mike was 2nd by 1 to 2 bike lengths. 3rd went to big man Bob Pellkofer. Bob only did 3 events last year but is a strong rider and rode a very good race. 3rd place showed originally as an unknown rider but that was because Bob waited to the last minute to get his license and his name didn't show up.

Mike Birditt(left) finished 2nd and Mark Hoffenberg won the 55+ race at CBR #1 2012


Mike Marotta(left) 2, Monty Pettus 1, John McKee 3

4th and 5th places went to the Sho Air duo of Nicolette and Schnepf. 3 out of the top 5 55+ places went to Sho Air. Nice work! Now actually Monty Pettus of Paramount finished 5th overall but Monty is a 60+ racer and would be put in that category. He did pick up a 5th place overall check though. Monty is riding super right now. 6 and 7 in 55+ went to Dale Luedtke of Spy-Swami's and Cyril Hunte. Dale and Cyril were fighting for Mike Birditt's wheel for a ways before the sprint to the line. Mark Hartley finished a very respectable 8th in 55+ in the large field.
Last year's 60+ Socal Points winner Mike Marotta finished 8th overall and 2nd in 60+. Mike looked strong as usual. I finished somewhere around 12 overall and 3rd in 60+. Rich Stahlberg of Ironfly and Mike Fleming of SBW were 4 and 5 in 60+.
The riding was decent with no close calls that I saw. Great size field. 55+ racing has really come alive in 2012. There are still a couple of heavy hitters that haven't joined us yet. It will get faster and that usually means safer. The finish lists are on my new facebook page- 55/60+ Bike Racing. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe! The video below is courtesy of Lee Romans's girlfriend, Maki.

1ST ONTARIO 55/60+ RACE- JAN. 15, 2012

2012-01-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

By John McKee

It gets earlier every year. Too many races for the calendar to fill. The first Ontario Criterium series race had to be scheduled for Jan. 15, 2012. This time of year can be pretty cold in Ontario. I think many of you remember the race last year at Ontario in Feb. 37 degrees at race time. This year the temp was around 45. Not bad but still cold. The pre registration for the 55 and 60s was good at 38. 25 55s and 13 60s. We had some new riders age into 55. Nelson Alaan of Cal Pacfic, Rocky Bower of Socalcycling.com, Laszlo Lukacs, Bruce Hartley of Pinnaclife, and Dale Raymond of SC Velo. Steve Borer now of UC Cyclery is 60. Besides Steve UC Cyclery added Don Kimper and Steve Hensler to their arsenal of riders. Paramount's Howard Miller aged up to 60+ and was looking for a good finish in his first race in 60+ with myself and Monty Pettus.
We saw some nifty new kits out there. Velo Allegro, Santa Clarita Velo and Spy-Swami's all had some nice looking new dudes. Swami's had better get their name straight or they are going to collect Socal points under 2 different names like Paramount does every year. Swami's has a new major sponsor in Spy sunglasses. Spy made a special run of sunglasses in Swami's colors with the name Swami's printed on the inside of one of the arms. Really cool looking racing shades.
Rain looked like a small possibility but most of the forecasts showed rain for later in the day. The clouds looked dark but didn't shed any tears. The pre race prep seemed like I had just done it last week. Only been to Ontario to race over 40 times. I think I have the route down now. Lol. I hadn't used my Trek race bike since Natz last Sept. in Bend, Oregon. I was adjusting the seat cap just before this race. Forgot my Garmin needed charging. Blank. Oh well. It doesn't help one pedal. It was working Sat. when I checked it. Damn.
I saw so many familiar faces when I got to Ontario. It felt comfortable. I knew just about everyone. There were a few new faces in 55+ but none in 60+. The overall showing of riders was good but disappointing for 60+.
48 riders lined up at 7:35 am for the 55/60+ race. The women 3/4s raced before us and had a good field and no crashes. Good for them and good for us. Ray Moreno the promoter had us doing the 7 corner grand prix course. The course is popular and wide/safe. Ralph Elliot was in his booth announcing the race action with the officials. Ralph always does a good job and makes the event more fun for everyone.
The race was off. The first race jitters seem to dissipate at the first corner but I actually didn't feel totally comfortable until 2/3 the way through my second race. The pace seemed hardy in the 55/60+ race. I had no idea how I would feel. I felt totally within myself after doing Roger Young's motorpacing at the track the prior 2 weeks on Thurs. evenings. I dropped out of the motor game at 32+ mph in a 49 x 15(88 inches) gear. 25 to 28 felt ok at Ontario.
The first break attempt was done by Swami's Dale Luedtke. Dale was trying to rev up his engine and was joined in his effort by Bruce Hartley of Pinnaclife. They lasted less then a lap. Don Davidson was very active in the race. Don had been doing tris, biathlons, and runs. Don will mix in crits and road races. Don has a very ambitious schedule of racing. Nice to see guys with such enthusiasm for these activities at our age. Go Don!
The first prime of the day was for the coveted Ontario Series T shirt. Ricky Shorts thought he needed one and pulled it home. Then the race series points prime came and I finally saw Monty Pettus and David Lang. Monty likes to sumber early in a race and David does as well. Mike "Thunder Thighs" Birditt took the 55+ points and Monty took the 60+ points. Mike has been going through a very hard block of training and wasn't sure how he would do but I knew. Lol. You will too but later.
The race pace kept up nicely. There weren't a lot of break attempts. The high pace made it hard to stay away. I just hung near the front most of the time and on Ricky Shorts's wheel a lot. Ricky was always at the front. Steve Borer had decided to mark me and followed me through the entire race until 3 laps to go when he banged bikes with Alex Collins and fell back.
The 5 laps to go sign flipped over and we were all together. UC Cyclery seemed disorganized. Racing without a plan. Their race leader Kal Szkalak had injuried himself the prior week during a training ride and wasn't in attendance and will be out for a while. We miss the "Muscle Head". UCC still had Alex Collins and Steve Hensler. Swami's was going to work for closers Dale Luedtke and Mike "TT" Birditt. Paramount's goal in 60+ was a sweep of the podium with Monty, myself and Howard. Ricky Shorts was riding with but one teammate and Don Denegal seemed to be lacking some form this time of year. There were a lot of independents in the mix looking for a good finish.
Once the 1 lap to go card came up the pack was bearing down on 3 guys that were off the front. Not far away and it didn't look like they were a threat. I never got the names of the guys that were in that group(anyone want to help me out here). It was probably a good thing to give the peleton a carrot to ride too. Once the small group got caught though the pace slowed and there was some jostling. Unnerving for sure. I lost some position and looking to get on Dale but Bruce Hartley also wanted Dale's wheel. We both got moved off Dale and I was starting to feel buried. Steve Diamond of Swami's went to the front and started working for his team. The pace picked up. Gary Shuey of Swami's was next in line for his club. The pace was good. I was trying to move up on the right side of the pack.

Dale Luedtke and Mike Birditt- Mike 1, Dale 2 in 55+

Rick Swanson was the last man for Swami's to move forward. Really good teamwork here. Mike and Dale are right there waiting to pounce. Ricky Shorts is on his own and has stayed at the front the entire last lap. Ricky was right next to Rick Swanson and getting very nervous. He knew the big push was coming right after the last corner. Ricky decided to jump just before the last corner. Mike Birditt jumped out of the saddle quickly and got right on Ricky. Dale was right behind him. Rick Swanson's job was done. Good job, Rick. Could Ricky take it all the way to the line. This was too far a sprint for Ricky in the wind. The win was a foregone conclusion. Ricky dropped back and Mike and Dale came across the line 1/2. Dan Nicolet came quietly across the line for 3rd place. Cyril Hunte was quite fluid in the last lap jumping wheels. Cyril got himself in good position and used his power to come across the line in 4th. Nelson Alaan of Cal Pacific in his 1st 55/60+ race got 5th. Good job, Nelson. Alex Collins was next across and the 1st UCC rider. Monty Pettus followed up and was the 1st 60+ rider for the win in 60+. I was 3 places further down overall for 2nd place in 60+. David Lang was right behind me and charging hard and got 3rd place. Howard Miller had gotten himself in good position late in the last lap but had some fuel problems and got passed by Monty, myself and David.

John McKee and Monty Pettus- Monty 1, John 2 in 60+

The icing on the cake for the day was Mike Birditt winning in the 50+ race. Many of us did the 50+ race for training but Mike went for it at the end and pulled a double win home for Spy-Swami's. What a day!!
The speed in the 55/60+ was a good 25.3 mph while the 50+ race which had 84 riders was 27.7. Good day of racing and a good start to the season. We need better participation in the 60+ category though. I know a lot of guys are fearful of crashing but from what I hear all the time of riders getting taken out on our roads, criteriums are pretty safe. NO CARS. Thanks to everyone that did come out and for those that didn't but were thinking about it, next time! Top 12 places are below for both cats. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

55+ Finishers
1-Birditt
2-Luedtke
3-Nicolet
4-Hunte
5-Alaan
6-Collins
7-Bower
8-Shorts
9-Rino
10-Hartley
11-Lukacs
12-Denegal

60+ Finishers
1-Pettus
2-McKee
3-Lang
4-Miller
5-Fleming
6-Kimper
7-Swigart
8-Seri(Mario was out for 5 months after his crash at MBGP last yr. Glad to have Mario back!)
9-Pags- Pags racing age is 76 and he did both 55/60+ and the 50+ race. Way to go, Robert!
10-Borer
11-Hofer
12-Edwards

2011 SOCAL CUP FINAL STANDINGS- 55+ & 60+

2011-12-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

By John McKee

The Socal Cup in 2011 was dominated in 55+ by Swami's Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke. Kal Szkalak was 3rd and lost part of the season do to a bad crash and injury at Ontario. Kal was 2nd at the time of his accident and out too long to challenge for the top spot and was passed by Dale. Dale had good form at the end of the season and Swami's worked to help him secure the 2nd spot. Kal was able to come back but no one could come back from that kind of injury and be in top form. Fred Hoblit showed consistently good form through the season and secured the 4th spot. Steve Hensler was 5th and the last paying spot in Socal Cup. The SCNCA paid out to 5 spots in both 55+ and 60+. The podium ceremony was Dec. 4th, 2011 in downtown LA during a Socal Cross race.
The 60+ Socal Cup lead changed hands a number of times. Bob Wright and myself traded time in the 1st slot with David Lang right there. Mike Marotta definitely had the best form and once Mike started racing consistently he took over the 1st spot. I was 2nd with Bob taking 3rd place. Bob gave up some Socal Cup points to secure the BAR series lead in 60+ with CBR. David Lang was 4th and Monty Pettus was 5th. I published the Socal Cup down to over 40 places below.

60+ podium- from L to R-David Lang 4th, Mike Marotta 1st, John McKee 2nd, Monty Pettus 5th. Not shown Bob Wright 3rd.

55+ podium- Mike Birditt 1st, Dale Luedtke 2nd, Steve Hensler 5th. Not shown Kal Szkalak 3rd and Fred Hoblit 4th

SoCal Cup Standings For 2011

Masters 55+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	Michael Birditt	47255	Swami's Cycling Club	428
2	Dale Luedtke	47262	Swami's Cycling Club	275
3	Kalman Szkalak	54522	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	238
4	Fred Hoblit	16360	Santa Clarita Velo	224
5	Steve Hensler	15874	Team Redlands	217
6	Keith Ketterer	48434	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	206
7	Michael Mueller	46688	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	190
8	Gary Shuey	44197	Swami's Cycling Club	187
9	Malcolm Hill	156650	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	169
10	Kim Bleth	49191	Swami's Cycling Club	165
11	Alex Collins	46255	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	138
12	Paul Rodriguez	58847	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	131
13	Ricky Shorts	52251	Velo Allegro	121
14	Robert Willcox	69952	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	119
15	Mark Huffman	59572	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	101
16	Steve Bernede	126351	Team Werks	96
17	Donald Denegal	93812	Velo Allegro	81
18	Kenny Fuller	46765	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	79
19	John Huber	206734	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	72
20	Rick Swanson	34753	Swami's Cycling Club	64
21	Mark Helvie	15760	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	63
22	Richard Barron	2734	Southern California Velo	47
23	Jim Parkhurst	162650	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	47
24	Cyril Hunte	52086		46
25	Ron Bell	269462	Paramount Racing	46
26	Bill Pinckard	291027	Barry Lasko DDS Race Team	39
27	Reed Moore	61353	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	37
28	Mark Ainslie	1254	Ranchos Cycling Club	35
29	Michael Hines	125061	Ranchos Cycling Club	35
30	Wayne Stetina	34063	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	35
31	Robert Downs	9947	Planet Bike	34
32	John Wagenaar	61193	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	33
33	Steve Diamond	178495	Swami's Cycling Club	32
34	Steven Borer	245777	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	31
35	Thomas Reilly	155459	Santa Clarita Velo	31
36	John Sinz	66553	Canyon Velo	30
37	David Kelley	65663	Webcor/Alto Velo	30
38	Craig Jones	18156	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	27
39	Bob Pellkofer	47652	FRANCO MRI Racing p/b Wins Wheels	27
40	Eddie Morris	49080	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	27
41	Steve Cahill	204724	Celo Pacific	27
42	Rodney Malloy	107559	Velo Allegro	27

SoCal Cup Standings For 2011

Masters 60+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	mike marotta	72880	Action Sports/Simply Fit	371
2	John McKee	180386	Paramount Racing	343
3	Bob Wright	39024	Santa Clarita Velo	327
4	David Lang	107852	DARE	276
5	Leo Pettus	219074	Paramount Racing	254
6	John Rubcic	48760	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	218
7	Bruce Steele	236498	South Bay Wheelmen	216
8	Leo Longo	189814	South Bay Wheelmen	183
9	Phillip Richards	238828	Citrus Valley Velo	173
10	Kenny Fuller	46765	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	159
11	Glenn Baldwin	45047	SLO Nexus-Gym One	139
12	Michael Fleming	129293	South Bay Wheelmen	116
13	Donald Kimper	195498	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	114
14	James Morehouse	283640	FFKR Architects/SportsBaseOnline.com	112
15	Michael Crystal	8283	METALMTN Cycling	104
16	Fred Nicolet	26089	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	92
17	Richard Stahlberg	50911	Ironfly	85
18	Raphael Gomez	3793	Rage Cycling	72
19	Keith Peters	27851	Herbalife LaGrange	71
20	George Chester	196820	LIVESTRONG Army KC / Midwest Cancer Care	67
21	Fred Haim	269972	Herbalife LaGrange	61
22	Robert Paganini	45763	PAA/REMAX	52
23	William Langstaff	49334	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	51
24	Bob Guglielmelli	14374	Central Coast Tire CCT	47
25	Harold Schneider	315702	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	44
26	Josef Lemire	46799	SHO-AIR/ SERT	35
27	James Swigart	228631	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	33
28	Hans Jorgensen	222120	Canyon Velo	30
29	Mick Iwadare	301363	South Bay Wheelmen	30
30	Edgardo Potes	170779	Bike Palace	28
31	mark wisnosky	243425	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	25
32	Jean Villiot	59805	CA Pools/DeWalt	23
33	William Tippets	125634		20
34	Richard Rodriguez	50498	Pacific Sunset Velo/Pac Sun Velo	19
35	John Edwards	46547	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	19
36	Matias Garcia	314990	Donny's Cafe Cycling Club	18
37	Richard Pfeiffer	27989	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	18
38	Steve Close	204901	Rage Cycling	18
39	Domenick Forte	45342	PAA/REMAX	17
40	Randy Drusen	287291	Judgement Velo/ TBOV	16
41	Michael Edwards	50406	Herbalife LaGrange	15
42	Mario Seri	61278	Herbalife LaGrange	14

2011 MASTERS NATZ 55+ ROAD RACES- BEND, OR. 9/3 & 9/4

2011-09-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

The road races at Masters Nationals were started on Saturday, Sept. 3. The 65-69 men started at 8 am and 10 minutes later everyone 70+ would race and be scored separately in their respective categories. The men 60-64 would start at 10 am and the men 55-59 would start Sunday, Sept. 4 at 8 am.
It was a little cool on Saturday but not bad at all. I had ridden and driven the road course several times and everyone knew the hardest part was the power climb on Archie Briggs near the end of the racing loop. Short but fairly steep stretch. 300 to 400 meters of up to 10/12 %. After you get off the steepest portion it is still uphill for a ways and has 2 more rollers that pound you. It seemed like more of the course was downhill than uphill but that's probably because I am such a good climber. LOL. There is a portion of the course out and back from the start/finish line to the 14.5 mile loop which gains 1,253 feet. All of the 55+ groups did 2 laps which amounted to 57 kilometers. In the 65-69 race I was popped after climbing Archie Briggs the first time but chased back on after getting to the downhill portion. I hung until Archie Briggs the 2nd round and got popped going up. 8 guys stayed together to the end and John Elgart won the field sprint. which was no surprise since he won the criterium in front of me 2 days prior.
In 70-74 Daniel Wulbert won the road race with a great performance. Daniel did well in all 3 events and won the overall in 70-74. In 75-79 Robert Paganini won the field sprint in eye popping speed. Pags really turned some heads with his top end speed. In 80+ Link Lindquist placed 3rd in 80+ in another good ride by Link, the oldest rider at the competition. 84 years young. After the games Link and his gal, Kathy went to Provence, France to lead a tour and ride up Mt. Ventoux.
The men 60-64 went off after the older categories finished and had a very big field of at least 50 starters. David LeDuc of North Carolina bested Kenny Fuller at the end of the road race. Kenny had dropped him on Archie Briggs but David fought back to the small lead group and got the jump on everyone to win. Kenny was 2nd in the race. Kenny won the 60-64 all around.
On Sunday the men 55-59 started at 8 am with almost 60 riders. Paul Rodiguez of UCC was the 5th and Wayne Stetina of Breakaway from Cancer was 3rd. They were the only riders from Socal to medal. Very strong field. I have a lot of podium pictures and will include as many as I have. I don't have the 55-59 podium. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

80+ podium- On left Link Lindquist 3rd place

75-79 podium- Robert Paganini at the top- 2011 National Champion

70-74 road podium- Daniel Wulbert at the top- 2011 National Champion

60-64 road podium- Kenny Fuller 2nd from the left- 2nd place

65-69 road podium- John Elgart at the top- No Socal riders here but I wanted to remind myself where I want to be next year.

Daniel Wulbert- 70-74 Overall champion

Kenny Fuller- 60-64 Overall champion

LONG SEASON ENDS WITH CBR STATE CRIT CHAMPIONSHIP - 9/11/11

2011-09-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

It's time for the final race of the season for the hard core racers. The same guys you see week in and week out. Sunday comes and there's Mike Birditt, Dale Luedtke, Kal Szkalak, John McKee, Monty Pettus, Bob Wright, etc. The date is 9/11/11. A somber date and anniversary.
California Bicycle Racing was holding their own Cal State Criterium Championship with a champ jersey at stake and BAR points to be finalized. The BAR points were locked up by Dale Luedtke in 55+ and Bob Wright in 60+. Dale was also 2nd in Socal points and Bob was 3rd in their respective categories. The start time was the usual 7:35 am though next year it will change to 9:35 am. Premium time. Not sure why we rate that but pretty sure our number of entries was higher than groups starting in front of us. Over 30 guys showed up to race. Just plain pure racing. 2 categories racing at the same time but separated for BAR points but racing for the same purse(one finish list).
The description of the race could be one of many this year. A number of break attempts with Swami's always in the action joined by Santa Clarita Velo and Velo Allegro. I had nothing to lose so chased down and on a number of early efforts. The major effort came about 40% into the race. The group included Fred Hoblit, Mike Birditt, Ricky Shorts, Rick Swanson and Deogracia Asuncion. Rick was a little tired from being at the UCLA night football game and wasn't totally into it so he soon dropped back to watch after Dale.
You would think we had a perfect mix of riders here to stay away for sure but Craig Jones and Pat Huber of Velo Avanti were chipping away at the break group. Howard Miller of Paramount made one effort and other than that I can't say there was much of a chase. The break group wasn't fluid and there were attempts to break from the break group. Swami's was going to have a good chance to win either way. They were in the driver's seat. Mike out of the break group or Dale out of the main pack or even Mike again if the break group got caught. It didn't look like they would be caught but with a few laps to go you could see the gap closing. Pretty sure there was infighting ahead.
With one lap to go Rick Swanson took matters into his own hands and with Dale Luedtke on his wheel he went to the whip. If the break group stays away, he leads out Dale for the bunch sprint. If the break group gets caught he leads out Dale for the win. Rick dropped Dale off a little early after turn 3 but Dale was locked on. The pace really reved up when we hit the hump which is about half way between turn 3 and 4. Pretty hard actually. About that time the pack met the break group and riders were going in all kinds of different directions to find a hole to ride through though Mike Birditt and Deogracia Asuncion from the break group saved some for their sprint.
Dale Luedtke won the sprint for first place in 55+. Monty Pettus got himself in very good position and finished 1st in 60+ and 4th overall. 2nd and 3rd in 55+ and overall went to Mike Birditt and Don Denegal. I finished 2nd in 60+ and 9th overall. Cully White was the last 60+ podium finisher. Carlos Soto raced with us and very glad to see him out there racing. Carlos has one of the best sprints around and finished 4th in 55+. Hope you race with us more next year, Carlos. Bob Wright finished off his season with a 4th place finish which secured the BAR points in 60+. Complete results below.
All in all it was a good clean fun race. Average speed was a hardy 25 mph for the 44 minutes. Only .9 lower than a younger and bigger 50+ field. It was a good year of racing with mostly highlights. Love to see us build on this year and show more "boots on the ground" next year. We are going to have a large number of races that count toward Socal points. If anyone has any ideas on making our racing better, lets hear it.
We had an after race get together that I invited everyone to though not many came. Those that did, thanks. It was fun. I did have a plastic tie wrap in my veggie burger but other that it all good. The group included- Pags and his wife,Terumi, Cully White, Rino B. Monty Pettus and myself. We ate at a nearby Chili's. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

60+ race podium- McKee, Pettus, & White

60+ BAR points winner Bob Wright- Dale Luedtke won the 55+ but didn't do a podium

55+ race podium- Birditt, Luedtke & Denegal

55+ finish list


60+ finish list

55-59 NATZ CRITERIUM- BEND, OR. SEPT. 2, 2011

2011-09-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

The criterium for the the ages 55-59 and lower were held on Sept. 2, 2011 in Downtown Bend, Or. It was a simple 4 corner basic course. Between turn 3 and 4 there was a little dip so there would be some speed going into the last turn. There was a long distance from the last corner to the finish line and the wind was into the racers faces coming home. The race was to start mid morning. There was a lot of interest from racers all across the country. In 2010 there were 26 starters and that nearly doubled for the Bend race with 49 starters. Cat 5 riders are allowed in this age group and though there weren't many it was a problem. With the rapid growth of this category cat 5 racers should not be allowed.

55-59 racers to the line in Downtown Bend for the criterium - 40 km

Many racers had come up from Southern California by car and plane. Swami's and UCC/JW Flooring had large squads. Definitely the 2 largest in the field. Having a lot of "boots on the ground" as the Republican prez candidates would say doesn't insure success. Most of the medalists from 2010 were here including the winner Charles Townsend. There were some notable riders that also aged up including Breakaway from Cancer's Malcolm Hill. Malcolm was a close 2nd in 2010 in the 50-54 category and has been training very hard. If Malcolm doesn't get in 3 races at a criterium, he doesn't feel he has gotten much of a workout. I am not talking about just sitting in either. Full boat all end racing. Malcolm did 3 races the Sunday prior to this event. I wonder if that wasn't too much or maybe that helped peak his fitness. Let's see.
The race was off and it didn't take long to see that Malcolm Hill was going to race aggressively. He attacked twice but was brought back. Others also made moves but were neutralized.

Early 55-59 action on the backside of the course near the dog park

Pressure is on. Home stretch- You can see Fred Hoblit, Craig Jones and Rick Swanson on the far side

There was a crash early on and it affected a number of Socal riders. Don't know who it was that went down but first he bounced off the barrier, went down and the bike separated from him and hit Dale Luedtke in the hip. Steve Borer went between the downed rider and the flying bike. The bike ended up hitting Alex Collins in the chest. Didn't knock him over but threw him off his stride and he was off the back. Officials will only give you a free lap if you go down.
The 3rd time in most anything can be charmed or a strike out. Malcolm charged off again for a 3rd time. This time he as joined by William Watkins riding for Team Army. William is a good size guy. Didn't look nearly as fit as Malcolm who doesn't have an ounce of fat on him. Looked like maybe a mismatch if they could stay away or would it be. Looks sometimes can be deceiving.
The pack didn't react to the 2 riders. Let them go. At natz most riders are riding by themselves. No teammates. Didn't look like Swami's or UCC was worried because Hill and Watkins started to build a lead.

You can see the 2 breakaway riders in the top 3 photos- In this photo Malcolm Hill is leading William Watkins

You could see Dale sitting in the very back of the peleton. Dale likes to save energy but he usually doesn't sit in the very back. Mike Birditt wasn't at the front like he always likes to race. More mid pack. Some of the bike handling was atrocious making many of the Socal riders nervous. As mentioned Dale had already been hit by a flying bike. Kal Szkalak was buried in the bunch. Paul Rodiguez was more prominent in the front.
It didn't take long for Hill and Watkins to get a 12 to 15 second lead. There was a lot of firepower in the pack behind them but it would only fire off sporadically. Kim Bleth and Rick Swanson of Swami's made pulls at the front and Paul Rodiguez and John Waganear of UCC did as well. No Dale, Mike or Kal. UCC had a strong rider that wasn't even suited up. Time trial and road specialist but could have used his strength in the race.

Some late action in the peleton- You can see Paul Rodiguez and Kal Szkalak of UCC here

The 5 lap to go card came up and Malcolm Hill and William Watkins had lengthened their lead. They were going all out. Full boat. Take no prisoners and take no chances. From the side lines it was obvious that they weren't going to get caught. These 2 guys were the strongmen of the field. I know there were some really good riders and strong ones in the peleton but they all miscalculated the power of these 2 guys. The overall pace of the pack wasn't that inspiring coming in at a little over 40 km/hr. Slower pace than the 60-64s the day before at N/W Crossing and slower than the prior year which had a smaller group. There is always a chance the distance was a bit off but those are the figures.
The 2 leaders didn't take their pedal off the floor board until 1 and 1/2 laps to go. They had a substantial lead and weren't to be caught. They played cat and mouse for the rest of the race but at the end William Watkins was too much for Malcolm Hill. William broke clear 150 meters or so from the line and became the champion of the 55-59 category.
The remainder of the pack were bouncing all over the place on the last lap. I hear it was really nutty from turn 3 to home. Robert Downs of Wi. won the bunch sprint for 3rd place. 4th went to a rider that was relegated and moved Mark Caldwell from 5th to 4th. Henry Schnepf was moved from 6th to 5th. Henry didn't show for the podium and his medal so I guess he didn't know. The first rider from Socal was Paul Rodiguez at 7th. Kal Szkalak was 11th and Mike Birditt was 12th. The race was a little slow and our local teams dropped the ball in not taking the 2 breakaway guys more serious earlier. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

55-59 Criterium podium- Socal rider Malcolm Hill is 2nd from the left(looking at the pic). William Watkins of Team Army and from Georgia is the champion.

60+ 2011 NATZ CRITERIUMS- N/W CROSSING/BEND, OR. SEPT. 1, 2011

2011-09-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

Welcome sign for all the racers. Photo courtesy of Link Lindquist.

The first day of the criteriums was for ages 60 and over and was Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011. Downtown Bend, Or. didn't want to be shut down for 2 days so another location was found. They put the 1st day criterium race in a high end commercial/residential/retail area. Quite new and very attractive. Beautiful high school right down the street where the TT and the road races started and finished. The course was short(1 km) and had 6 90 degree turns and 2 soft turns. The streets were fairly narrow and got narrower at times. This course wouldn't take a field larger than 40 guys. I have heard they have done other races with large fields and had riders spread almost end to end on the whole course after a while. In the older masters categories there is always going to be large differences in ability so after a small number of laps there are going to be riders off the back especially on a course like this. Monty, Phil and I rode the course on Tuesday. Monty had already seen it and was in shock. We rode it on Tues and Wed. and started to get a feel for it. You could take the corners at speed but what speed before you couldn't pedal through. Many riders would be hitting pedals through the races.
The first race for men was at 10 am and included all men 70 and over. There would be 3 races done concurrently and scored separately. There would be men 70-74, 75-79 and 80+. Local favorites racing were Daniel Wulbert in the 70-74 race, Robert Paganini and Dick Wagner in the 75-79 and Link Lindquist in 80+. About 20 guys started. It didn't take long before there were riders everywhere and the officials didn't want to call anyone out because there would be an opportunity for 13 medals for this one race. 3 80s and 5 for the other 2 cats. The 70-74 guys were driving the lead group and Dan Wulbert was right there. Dan isn't known for his sprint but is known for his time trial and climbing ability. In 2002 in Bakersfield Dan was racing 60-64 and lapped the field solo in the criterium and then just for the heck of it jumped away from the field again and by the way the temp in Bakersfield in July was over 105. Dan was in a harder fight here and barely lost to Leonard Pettyjohn of Boulder, Colo. A lot of silver for Socal riders this day.
Robert Paganini also placed 2nd using his tried and true wheel sucking program but lost the wheel of the winner somewhere along the way. Bummer. In 80+ Link Lindquist finished 3rd. Didn't get a pod pic of 70-74. If anyone has a pic, let me know and I will add.
Here are descriptions of the above races by USA Cycling "In the men’s 70-74 contest, Leonard Pettyjohn (Boulder, Colo./Vic’s Espresso-Peerless Tyre) narrowly beat Daniel Wulbert (Cardiff, Calif./Sun Coast Velo-UC Cyclery-JW Floors) and William Meyers (Oak Creek, Colo.) to earn the Stars-and-Stripes jersey. In the men’s 75-79 contest, Walter Axthelm (Durango, Colo./Durango Wheel Club) won by 49 seconds over silver-medalist Robert Paganini (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena Athletic Association-Remax). Albert Piemme (Sequim, Wash.) won the men’s 80-and-over criterium by two seconds over the time trial winner Paul Tetrick (Evergreen, Colo.)." The 70-74 group finished the 35 km course in 55:58 and the winner of the 75-79 feed off this group and was 49 seconds ahead of the 2nd place rider, Rober Paganini.

Robert Paganini 2nd and Dick Wagner 5th(far right)- There were only 5 racers in 75-79

Link Lindquist on the left(as we are looking at the picture). 84 years young and going strong. Photo courtesy of Link Linquist. 80+ podium.

Link Lindquist called to the line as the defending champion in 80+. Link was also wearing #1 as the oldest rider at the 2011 championship. Photo courtesy of Link Lindquist.

The next race of the day was the 65-69 category. I aged up to this group this year as did John Elgart. Lucky me being the same age as John Elgart. Also in the race was defending champion Richard Shields from Fremont, Ca. Scott Hennessy coming off a resounding win in the TT by a minute and a half was in the field.
Also in the field was Gary DeVoss of the San Diego Cyclo Vets. Gary had just gotten back from a world championship event. Gary did a number of races in Europe. Mike Duck the 2011 SCNCA 65+ champion was in the race and sporting the new Paramount colors of blue and yellow. In all there would be 28 racers starting vs 17 in 2010. I can tell you right now that the field in 2011 did the race 4 and 1/2 minutes faster than the year before on a more technical course which in my book should make for a slower race(not everyone agrees with that). There were 5 cat 5 riders which would make most any seasoned racer jumpy. For the most part they would fall away early but there was one rider from Texas with a visor on his helmet that scared the hell out of me when he would move forward during lulls in the race. Getting ahead of myself already. Stop!
The 65-69 group was called close to the start line about 11:15 am. There was 35 km to race over a very technical and narrow course. The announcer who always does the national events called the defending champion Richard Shields to the line. After that we all got a chance to move forward. I got behind Dale Harless who placed 4th in 2010. The group took off at the gun and John Elgart went to the whip. Dale Harless had trouble clipping in so I started between 10 and 12 as we were lined out. I saw Elgart going to the front and was immediately worried. When John aged up to 60+ he rode away from everyone in Penn. and no one could catch him. There was no way on this course that I could get near him any time soon. Was my fate sealed already! I sure hoped not. The pace was hard for the 1st 5 laps. I moved up a few each lap. No big gaps opened up early which is what I was worried about. Scott Hennessy kept Elgart in check early on. After 5 laps the pace eased off. I took stock of my fitness, my breathing and what I needed to do to do well in this race. Do what you always did and like Mike Birditt always did. Stay close to the front and monitor all the action. Also take a page from Pags and Dale Luedtke as well. Don't do any more work then you have too.

Stayed in the drops the entire race. An advantage with all the corners.

It also didn't take long to figure out who the strongmen were. Hennessy, Elgart and Shields. They showed themselves early and drove the race. None of them jumped off the front or were marked so closely that it didn't seem so. Richard Shields did roll off the front once and got about 100 meters away. I was behind Elgart and wondered why he let him go. Figured he was going to let him get out there away and bridge across or maybe he wanted someone else to chase. In any event I wasn't going to let Shields get to far away and got out of the saddle after the last corner and charged toward the solo rider. Everyone else came with me. It felt like a Socal race when I make a move.

Late in the race Lance Brigman went to the front and drove the race- In photo- Hennessy, Shields, and myself. Elgart is too my left.

Half way through the race about half the field had fallen off and the officials called them off the course because we were lapping them. Dangerous situation on this narrow course so pulling lapped riders that looked over matched was the right move.
The second half of the race I stayed on Shields or Elgart. As the laps counted down a cat 5 rider came to the front that seemed quite strong. Lance Brigman is his name and from about 13 laps to go to about 5 he stayed on the front pulling everyone at a pretty fast and steady pace. Wasn't that hard but kept everyone in line. I was now on Elgart's wheel and I wasn't giving it up. James Youngblood of Maryland tried a number of times and you can try but I wan't budging. It just made the race dangerous for the person that tried to move in. I wasn't trying to hurt anybody but wasn't going to give up the wheel. David Burnett of Ct. was also trying to take Elgart's wheel. I had had my fill of Mr. Burnett at Churchhill Downs 3 years ago. I was in a 6 person break in the criterium with Kenny Fuller, Elgart and Louder. Burnett was there with another less experienced rider. Kenny doesn't like riders taking a free ride and attacks them. I had just taken a pull and went to the back of the line and Kenny attacks. Elgart and Louder responded right away. I looked in horror as the 2 new guys didn't move and shouted at them to no avail. I started to go between them and they collapsed on me and the 3 guys were gone. So I remember David Burnett very well. He actually is a very nice guy to talk to off the course. He is rumored to have one of the best private aquariums around. Must have some money. In any event he wasn't getting Elgart's wheel and messing things up for me. John Elgart wasn't so harsh and let David and Youngblood in front of him so I wasn't going to sit so far back and moved up myself. I stayed in the 2 to 6 slot all day. I was in the 2 slot on Elgart earlier and had to pull through for a half lap but that was all the work I did except chasing Shields down.
The race was counting down. 5 to go. Brinkman was starting to tire. I was afraid that we would all get swarmed over and I saw the visor guy come forward. A sure sign to move up myself. Not sure who drove the race late. I am sure Scott Hennessy was part of it. He should have pushed harder and dropped more guys. We were about 16 strong by then but strung out. A good thing for sure. Scott won the TT by a 1 and 1/2 so he was stronger then anyone. John Elgart didn't do the individual TT so can't compare. He did do the tandem and he and his partner had the lowest time of the day no matter what age.
Within the last 5 laps Elgart moved up and I got back on his wheel. The bell came and the placings were out there for the 1st 5 guys to come across the line. Hennessy was driving the front with Shields, Elgart and myself following. Scott Hennessy ran out of gas or decided to move back or Richard Shields wanted to lead badly. Hennessy had to move back because Elgart and myself weren't inviting him in front of us. The pace picked up and we made a hard left and then a right. I kept pedaling but on the right turn I hit my Speedplay(Elgart and Shields were also using Speedplay Zeros) pedal down and my bike did a shake and the front of the saddle went down. The Bontrager seat cap is the worst design. I hate it. Love the Trek bike though but have to use their seat cap. I almost went down but got control quickly and got out of the saddle. JE was a little ahead but I closed the gap. The downhill right turn into a narrow street was next and I had a good feel for it. I took this one well and easily stayed on Elgart. We had a short uphill, a soft right and a soft left and then a fairly soft final turn with 120 meters to the line. I have relived this last part of the race over and over and over in my mind. Can't redo history but I can tell you that my finish has really motivated me for this winter and next season.
We took the soft right and then the left. I didn't feel anybody behind me and there was a gap. After the soft left next to a roundabout was where I should have made my move like Dale races but I didn't. We came to the last corner and Elgart jumped hard. Used that track training/racing to accelerate away. I had already clicked up one gear and should have clicked up 2. I got out of the saddle with max effort and made up some ground but with a short downhill and then a small uphill I wasn't going to go by Elgart. John Elgard won the championship in the 65-69 category. I came across the line behind him and slightly ahead of Shields. There was a little gap to 4th and 5th place. James Youngblood of Maryland was 4th and Whitney "Visor" Fanning were the last medalists to finish. Here is a description from USA Cycling "The thrilling men 65-69 contest resulted in a bunch sprint won by John Elgart (Sacramento, Calif./Alto Velo Racing Club-Webcor) narrowly beating John McKee (Westminster, Calif./OCW-Paramount Racing) and Richard Shields (Fremont, Calif./Team Hammer Nutrition)".
The time for the 35 km race was 35:52 or 39 km an hour. That computes out to 24.36 mph. The 70-74 group were only 2 minutes slower than this so they were moving too. The 65-69 was clean and hard but overly so. I had more in my engine. I know Lance Brigman said afterward that he was trying to wear down the sprinters when he went to the front. You needed to be more like Coffee Crew(OC training ride)to wear me down. The USA Cycling new online ranking system also has a predictor and they had the top 3 right. They picked me to win but Elgart didn't do many criteriums during the year but his track work kept him sharp. Of all the racers I have seen he is the most well rounded rider I have known of for his age. Great rider so I am not totally disappointed I lost to him but as Arnold said "I will be back". Stronger and faster then ever. I write this down so I pin myself down. Next year if I lag mentally I have to tell myself I said I was going to be stronger and faster. Get your butt moving. Natz is a great experience. If you have the ability, you are short changing yourself by not coming.
The last men's race on this course was right after the 65-69 race at 12:30 pm. 35 km as well. The men 60-64. This was going to be a humdinger and a very fast race. Kenny Fuller was the defending champion. David LeDuc from North Carolina was aging up in 2011 and for his age is one of the strongest men around. David didn't do the TT the day before like Kenny so he would have fresh legs. The race had a number of Socal riders besides Kenny. John Rubcic, Monty Pettus and Phil Richards were entered. Strap on your seatbelts because this was going to be a barn burner.

David LeDuc sitting in with John Rubcic near him

David LeDuc pushing the pace late in the race


Kenny Fuller with John Rubcic on his wheel at the last corner. Kenny needs to ride in his drops when the pressure is on. Get lower. Less drag.

LeDuc wins 60-64

The race started with David LeDuc smoking it and being at the front and then gone. This is how the race went. LeDuc would go off and everyone would chase including Kenny Fuller. 35 riders started the 35 km race. Riders were falling off the pace early and often. Only 10 of the 35 riders ended with a time close to the top finishers. When LeDuc would be caught others would push the pace. Not sure why. They should have been saving their energy but that's how racing is. It all was back to together with one lap to go with Kenny Fuller and John Rubcic in the lead mix. LeDuc hit it hard and really strung it out. 3 guys or so were near LeDuc. John Rubcic got gapped off and chased. John caught back on when the pace eased nearing the last corner but he had no energy left. David LeDuc lead it out and wouldn't be caught. Steve Worley was 2nd and Kenny Fuller 3rd. John Rubcic dug deep to sprint but didn't have the punch. He was way tired. John got 4th none the less. Smoking fast race at 50:17 or 41 km/hr. Fast for this course. Faster pace then the 55s would do the next day on a more straight forward course with more riders. Here is a description by USA Cycling "The men’s 60-64 was equally exciting as David LeDuc (Willow Springs, N.C./Atlantic Velo-Virginia p/b Walt's Racing) broke away early and gradually built a significant lead. The peloton worked together to narrow LeDuc’s advantage before catching him with just a few laps remaining in the 35-kilometer race. LeDuc, howver, refused to be absorbed and launched attacks to answer the each of the chase group’s efforts."
Overall a good day of racing. A few crashes but not as many as expected. Hard, fast and tough but clean racing. Beautiful weather. Blue clear skys with mild temps made it comfortable. Really nice upscale area. I couldn't afford to live here but could eat at some of the restaurants which were quite nice. Especially Thai Thai. Great food and drink.
I have below as many of the podiums as I have plus some bonus pics. Full results will be below as well. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

65-69 podium- Youngblood, McKee, Elgart, Shields, & Fanning

60-64 podium- John Rubcic on the left. Kenny Fuller 2nd from right. Guess where LeDuc is.

McKee and Fuller after criteriums

Pags and McKee after criterium- Both with silver

Criterium on 09/01/2011
Men - Cat 1/2/3/4/5 - Master - 60-64
Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	License	Bib	Team
1	400.00	David LeDuc (1 - Cat2)	Willow Springs, NC	0:50:17	45583		Atlantic Velo-Virginia p/b Walt's Racing
2	402.21	Steven Worley (2 - Cat2)	Boulder, CO	0:50:17	47502		Vic's Espresso / Peerless Tyre
3	404.41	Kenny Fuller	Corona Del Mar, CA	0:50:17	46765		Cycles Veloce/Team Simple Green/Bike Religion
4	406.62	John Rubcic (3 - Cat2)	Hemet, CA	0:50:17	48760		Sun Coast Velo/UC Cyclery/JW Floors
5	408.82	Wayne Watson (1 - Cat3)	Denver, CO	0:50:17	50623		Natural Grocers Cycling Team
6	411.03	David Hixson (4 - Cat2)	Knoxville, TN	0:50:17	16327		Team Gran Fondo
7	413.24	Paul Mack (5 - Cat2)	Crested Butte, CO	0:50:34	22026		Vic's Espresso / Peerless Tyre
7	413.24	Paul Mack (6 - Cat2)	Crested Butte, CO	0:50:34	22026		Vic's Espresso / Peerless Tyre
8	415.44	Peter Banko (2 - Cat3)	Seattle, WA	0:51:08	46648		Apex Racing Team
9	417.65	Hank Pfeifle	Brunswick, ME	0:51:10	57045		Portland Velo Club/Cyclemania/OA/CycleMania
10	419.85	Richard Distlerath (3 - Cat3)	Bluffton, SC	0:51:52	216139		National Capital Velo Club/UnitedHealthcare/NCVC/UnitedHealthcare
11	422.06	Steve Troseth (1 - Cat5)	Corvallis, OR		357312
12	424.26	Morgan Caldwell (4 - Cat3)	Lafayette, CA		55374		Morgan Stanley Cycling Team/Morgan Stanley Smith Barney/Specialized
13	426.47	Leo Pettus (5 - Cat3)	Yorba Linda, CA		219074		OCW/Paramount Racing
14	428.68	Larry Wolff (6 - Cat3)	Sacramento, CA		219527		Team Hammer Nutrition
15	430.88	Brad Swope (7 - Cat2)	Louisville, KY		47984		Kentucky Flyers Cycling Inc/Texas Roadhouse Cycling Team P/B Motorex
16	433.09	Ken Louder (7 - Cat3)	Salt Lake City, UT		179491		Velosport Racing/FFKR Architects/SportsBaseOnline.com
17	435.29	Fred Galata (8 - Cat3)	Omaha, NE		229278
18	437.50	Jerry Shafer (9 - Cat3)	Seattle, WA		54693		Seattle Super Squadra/Cucina Fresca Cycling Team
19	439.71	Dan Meyer (10 - Cat3)	Lake Elmo, MN		117486		Loon State Cyclists
20	441.91	Phillip Richards (1 - Cat4)	Beaumont, CA		238828		Citrus Valley Velo
21	444.12	Thomas Zoumaras (11 - Cat3)	Kirksville, MO		65996		Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Racing
22	446.32	Russell Bowers (12 - Cat3)	Flower Mound, TX		4441
23	448.53	Les Banta (2 - Cat4)	Oklahoma City, OK		200890		Oklahoma City Velo Club
24	450.74	Charles Hetrick (13 - Cat3)	Edmond, OK		62551		Oklahoma City Velo Club
25	452.94	Lee Sobchak (3 - Cat4)	Boise, ID		245624		Boise Cycling Club/George's/BODE
26	455.15	Randall Maddox (4 - Cat4)	Greenville, SC		81544		Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club/Headstrong
27	457.35	Robert Tompkins (14 - Cat3)	Anthem, AZ		305794		Racelab Cycling Team/Team WM Arizona Masters Racing
28	459.56	Mike Ambrozewicz (2 - Cat5)	Fair Oaks, CA		358707
29	461.76	sam roberts (5 - Cat4)	Tulsa, OK		275927		Tulsa Wheelmen/Tulsa Tough Racing
30	463.97	Mike Marotta (15 - Cat3)	Bakersfield, CA		72880		Action Sports/Simply Fit
31	466.18	Ed Chamberlin (16 - Cat3)	Grand Junction, CO		245225		Livetrainrace.com
32	468.38	Carl Recine (17 - Cat3)	Salt Lake City, UT		80238		Barry Lasko DDS Race Team
33	470.59	Philip Holman (8 - Cat2)	Tucson, AZ		58212		Team RPM
34	472.79	D Jack Groves (18 - Cat3)	Alameda, NM		90462		Olev Rapido
35	475.00	John Ackelson (3 - Cat5)	Arvada, CO		291473		Peak to Peak Training Systems/WestSide Cycling
Men - Cat 1/2/3/4/5 - Master - 65-69
Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	License	Bib	Team
1	400.00	John Elgart (1 - Cat2)	Sacramento, CA	0:53:52	45071	162R	Alto Velo Racing Club/Webcor/Alto Velo
2	402.50	John McKee (1 - Cat3)	Westminster, CA	0:53:52	180386	184R	OCW/Paramount Racing/Paramount Racing
3	405.00	Richard Shields (2 - Cat3)	Fremont, CA	0:53:52	140693	165R	Team Hammer Nutrition
4	407.50	James Youngblood (3 - Cat3)	Silver Spring, MD	0:53:52	39327	195R	NVRC/National Velo Racing Club
5	410.00	Whitney Fanning (1 - Cat5)	Waco, TX	0:53:55	89401	198R
6	412.50	Scott Hennessy (2 - Cat2)	Salinas, CA	0:53:55	15827	169R	VOS Racing
7	415.00	Harry Williamson (4 - Cat3)	Healdsburg, CA	0:53:55	38449	185R	Fightin' Bobas
8	417.50	Gary Simmons (5 - Cat3)	Layton, UT	0:53:55	199407	170R	Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team
9	420.00	Randall Hancock (3 - Cat2)	Folsom, CA	0:53:55	48103	187R	Hammer Nutrition-CMG Racing Team/Hammer Nutrition/CMG Racing Team
10	422.50	S Robson (Rob) Walton (6 - Cat3)	Scottsdale, AZ	0:53:55	37148	180R	Boston Mountain Cyclist
11	425.00	lance brigman (2 - Cat5)	Longview, WA	0:53:55	353536	164R
12	427.50	Monty Maughan (1 - Cat4)	Oklahoma City, OK	0:54:02	237092	163R	Team PG13
13	430.00	Gary DeVoss (7 - Cat3)	San Diego, CA	0:54:02	51495	190R	San Diego Cyclo Vets
14	432.50	David Burnett (2 - Cat4)	Norwich, CT	0:54:54	227154	186R	Mystic Velo Club
15	435.00	Michael Williams	Metairie, LA	0:55:02	53228	193R
16	437.50	Norman Kibble (4 - Cat2)	Tucson, AZ	0:53:58	45539	191R	Team RPM
17	440.00	Michael Gilpin (3 - Cat5)	Bozeman, MT	0:55:02	113324	171R	Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club/Bozeman Masters' Velo
18	442.50	Jack Kelso (3 - Cat4)	Pleasanton, CA	0:55:02	202171	172R	Team Hammer Nutrition
19	445.00	Dale Harless (4 - Cat4)	Bellevue, WA	0:39:04	57571	173R	Cycle U
20	447.50	Robert Brust (8 - Cat3)	Hutchinson, KS	0:34:24	60610	192R	River City Racing Club
21	450.00	dan austad (4 - Cat5)	Silverdale, WA	0:24:52	268436	174R	Northwest Velo/JL Velo Racing Team
22	452.50	Jerry Powell (9 - Cat3)	Portland, OR	0:19:56	45812	182R	Multnomah Athletic Club
23	455.00	John Forbes (10 - Cat3)	Portland, OR		72771	189R	BRIHOP Cycling
24	457.50	Michael McCollum (11 - Cat3)	Largo, FL		48126	194R	Florida Velo
25	460.00	Sydney Duck (12 - Cat3)	Agoura Hills, CA		58170	196R	OCW/Paramount Racing
26	462.50	Weslye Bruce (13 - Cat3)	S Hutchinson, KS		84252	197R	River City Racing Club
27	465.00	Bill Valenta (5 - Cat5)	Beaverton, OR		206763	183R
28	467.50	Butch Richardson (6 - Cat5)	San Diego, CA		186694	176R	San Diego Cyclo Vets
29	470.00	John Haney (5 - Cat4)	Park City, UT		68337	167R
30	472.50	John Cox (14 - Cat3)	Baltimore, MD		45210	161R	Chesapeake Wheelmen
31	475.00	Barry Nazarian (15 - Cat3)	Chula Vista, CA		113281	188R	Montclair Cyclists
Men - Cat 1/2/3/4/5 - Master - 70-74
Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	License	Bib	Team
1	450.00	Leonard Pettyjohn (1 - Cat2)	Boulder, CO	0:55:58	235722	31W	Vic's Espresso / Peerless Tyre
2	456.82	Daniel Wulbert (1 - Cat3)	Cardiff, CA	0:55:58	46904	18W	Sun Coast Velo/UC Cyclery/JW Floors
3	463.64	William Meyers (1 - Cat4)	Oak Creek, CO	0:55:58	53368	17W
4	470.45	Mike Macdonald (2 - Cat3)	Rancho Cordova, CA	0:56:48	45626	14W	Jaeger Wheelmen
5	477.27	William Fallis (3 - Cat3)	San Mateo, CA	0:56:03	45315	28W	Peninsula Velo Cycling Club/Peninsula Velo/Pomodoro
6	484.09	Dan Taylor (2 - Cat4)	Alamo, CA	0:57:09	306272	19W	Lamorinda Cycling Club/Taleo Racing
7	490.91	Thomas Neary (1 - Cat5)	New Meadows, ID	0:57:33	280339	27W
8	497.73	Earl Henry (2 - Cat2)	Pinellas Park, FL		45449	29W	Florida Velo
9	504.55	Franz Hammer (3 - Cat2)	Oro Valley, AZ		45423	16W	Team RPM
10	511.36	Edward Camarena (2 - Cat5)	Yorba Linda, CA		99513	23W	Veloce Santiago
11	518.18	Walter Schafer (3 - Cat5)	Chico, CA		356756	24W
12	525.00	Douglas Hoelscher (4 - Cat5)	Golden Valley, MN		165590	30W	Minneapolis Bicycle Racing Club/MBRC/Flanders
Men - Cat 1/2/3/4/5 - Master - 75-79
Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	License	Bib	Team
1	450.00	Walter Axthelm (1 - Cat5)	Durango, CO	0:56:00	2153	6W	Durango Wheel Club
2	468.75	Robert Paganini (1 - Cat3)	Los Angeles, CA	0:56:49	45763	11W	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)/PAA/REMAX
3	487.50	John Oakes (2 - Cat5)	Palo Cedro, CA	0:57:18	231437	10W	Team Hammer Nutrition
4	506.25	Frederic Schmid (3 - Cat5)	Waco, TX	0:56:11	109257	8W	Bicycles Outback/Magura
5	525.00	Dick Wagner (1 - Cat4)	Yorba Linda, CA	0:57:32	51108	7W	San Diego Cyclo Vets
Men - Cat 1/2/3/4/5 - Master - 80-99
Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	License	Bib	Team
1	450.00	Albert Piemme (1 - Cat3)	Sequim, WA	0:57:32	28111	2W
2	487.50	Paul Tetrick (2 - Cat3)	Evergreen, CO	0:57:34	113498	3W
3	525.00	Link Lindquist (1 - Cat5)	Foothill Ranch, CA	0:56:23	235545	1W	Team Velosport Cl

55+ RACERS @ 2011 MASTERS NATIONALS TT- AUGUST 31

2011-09-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

Wednesday August 31st, 2011 saw the first day of competition at the 2011 Masters National Championships in Bend, Or. On Tuesday Phil Richards, Monty Pettus and I rode the 25 km TT course because Phil was going to ride it the next day. We also rode the road race course and 60+ crit course at North/West Crossing that day.
The TT course was challenging and had a good amount of climbing to it. The racers 65+ and up would ride the 18 km course and the rest of the field would ride the 25 km course except the tandems. They would ride a little further. The pavement was pretty good until you started riding out a ways toward the turnaround but everyone seemed to do fine on it.
I am only going to highlight men Socal riders that placed in the top 5(podiums) that were 55 and older. There were plenty of those so let's go. No Socal rider placed in the top 5 in the 55-59 age group. Vic Miera placed 5th and is from Las Vegas and they are part of the SCNCA. In 60-64 the favorite Kenny Fuller smoked the field. I know he flew up the day before. Don't know if he got out and rode the course. If he didn't, it was a hell of a ride. His time of 36:25 would have placed him 5th in 55-59 or 4th in 50-54. The only other Socal rider that podiumed was Link Lindquist. Link was 3rd out of 3. He gets the bronze for that. Only have to finish to get that. You never know how good the last person is as a rider. In women 35-39 the last woman in the TT(Cheryl Fuller-Muller) won the criterium against my Paramount teammate Hilary Crowley.

Kenny Fuller atop the podium in the 60-64 TT

Fritz Tomasello/Dave Prechl were 2nd in elite tandem TT- Fritz is 65 in 2011 so this qualifies for my blog

"KANEOHE BOYS" DIAL IT UP FOR 2011 55/60+ ONTARIO #6 CRITERIUM

2011-08-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

John McKee

In 1957 my family moved from Jacksonville, Florida to Kaneohe, Hawaii. From one coast to the other. My father was in the Marine Corp and was to be stationed at Kaneohe Marine Base for 3 years. I didn't know it but Dale Luedtke Sr. was also in the Marine Corp and was also stationed at the same place about the same time. I am 8 years older than Dale so when I was playing Little League baseball on the Marine base Dale Jr. was playing in the yard and riding a trike or a very small 2 wheeler. What a coincidence. Sunday August 21st, 2011 saw both Dale Jr. and myself racing the last in the Ontario criterium race series. My father is long since gone but Dale Sr. is still very much alive, very active and was at race. After the race while some of us were milling about at Swami's central, Dale Sr. said something like "there are the Kaneohe boys". Well the "Kaneohe Boys" had a very good day.

The last race in the series always sees very hot weather in Ontario but alas it was actually pretty nice there. Not hot at all. It was a little overcast and maybe 68 degrees at race time which was 7:35 am. There was a smaller than expected turn out especially in the 60+ field. There was about 20 55s and 10 60s. That maybe stretching it a bit. Down probably 8 to 10 riders from 2010. Maybe everyone is getting spoiled with the big payouts we are seeing at some of the races. At least at Ontario the entry fee is still $24.
Swami's was out with their A team with specific goals in mind. UCC was completely absent. Nada like in no riders. It looks like UCC likes to dual with Swami's with a full deck or nothing at all. Santa Clarita Velo was out with a pretty good showing and also had a specific agenda.
The "30" riders were off on time and it wasn't long before it was quite apparent that this was no sit in and sprint criterium. I hear this criticism a lot about some of the 60+ riders. "You guys just sit in with the 55s and sprint at the end". Phil Richards and Bob Wright made sure of that. I desperately needed a win in the 60+ category to keep my hopes alive in the Socal Cup competition. I couldn't let ANY 60+ riders get away. The 55s started it off quickly with a move off the front within the 1st few laps. There were so many efforts during the day that I can't possibly get the names of everyone in the groups. One thing that all the groups had in common was the look over there shoulder every few seconds. You guys need to take a lesson from Mike Gourley who we sorely miss in the races. Mike would just put his head down and go as hard as he could as long as he could in any break he was in. Of course it wouldn't hurt to be as strong as Mike is but that's another story. Mike hasn't been back since the Kal/Birdie/Gourley/Pettus crash several Ontarios ago. Too bad.
There were 3 55s away and had been joined by Phil Richards and Bob Wright. I am pretty sure that Kim Bleth and Fred Hoblit were among the missing. Monty said something to me that this looked dangerous and I had to take action. I saw Mike Fleming make a move to get across the gap and I went also. Whenever I go everyone takes notice and starts chasing. Within 1/2 a lap we were all together again. This was the first attempt but it wouldn't be the last.
Kim Bleth and Rick Swanson made the race quite active and Phil Richards and Bob Wright were doing their best to get away but I wasn't having any of that. There are few primes at Ontario but one came up for a Ontario series T shirt. Don Dengegal thought he would pick up a free T but David Lang thought he wanted it as well. Don looked at David coming by and thought you really want that shirt. The prime lap came up for Ontario series bonus points and since it was the last race the bonus was 4 points up from the 3 points it usually is. I had already figured that I couldn't overtake David Lang for 60+ so I wasn't interested. Dale Luedtke was in a commanding lead in 55+ and wasn't worry about the prime sprint. Monty Pettus wanted to move onto the podium in the 60+ series so he came off of David's wheel in the last 50 meters and banked the 4 points.

Dale Luedtke besting Fred Hoblit for 1st place in 55+ action

Rick Swanson taking 3rd, Mike Birditt 4th, Don Denegal 5th and Steve Hensler 6th in 55+

John McKee besting David Lang for the 60+ win

Monty Pettus to my left was 3rd with Mike Fleming(just showing a wheel) 4th and Bob Wright 5th

The race was quickly coming to a close and the lap card was showing 4 to go the first I saw it with a number on it. Not long after this Kim Bleth and John Roest got away. Phil Richards came across but used too much energy and had to drop back. When everyone was overtaking Phil, Phil got tangled up with David Lang. I was by Phil and heard God ... it and then a very loud God ... it and a bike slamming to the ground. Phil was the only one that went down. Since we were within the 5 laps to go, no free lap. Phil would have to race one lap down. At some point in the last few laps Rino B. of Santa Clarita Velo was able to come across and join John Roest and Kim Bleth.When Phil got up off the asphalt mat he joined the lead threesome but just sat on the back.
The bell lap came and the break group was little more than 100 meters away. Not much of a lead at all. Kirk Freeman of Santa Clarita Velo came to the front to start pulling the pack up to the break group. Kirk was trying to help Fred. Monty Pettus was on Kirk and I was on Monty. After Kirk pulled his share he pulled off and Monty started to pull. Mike Birditt came to the front to do a balancing act. Kim Bleth had broken away from Rino and John so Mike was trying to slowly catch Rino and John so Dale could sprint was 2nd, Rick to sprint for 3rd and leave Kim for the win. Steve Hensler got right on Mike as his pace was pretty good. I got on Steve and was in the position I wanted to be in. Monty got on my wheel. We got closer and closer to John and Rino and Kim wasn't much ahead of them. John and Rino got caught with 2 corners to go and the field swarmed by me and I had to brake for a second but then got out of the saddle and got right on Bob Wright. I figured I would sprint off of Bob once we got around the last corner.
Kim Bleth got caught right at the last corner about the time Dale was winding it up. Fred Hoblit was right on his wheel and would surely love to come past Dale at the end like Dale did to him at Ladera Ranch. Dale was really moving and it took about 100% effort for Fred to stay on his wheel. This is from Fred. Fred backed off his effort a bit nearing the line trying to bank some energy so he could come by a out of the saddle Dale Luedtke. Not many racers can do this. It was a really good effort though as you can see in the picture inserted. Dale Luedtke the winner and Fred Hoblit 2nd place. Again. Yikes! It did give Fred some valuable Socal points which was the team objective coming into the race. 3rd, 4th and 5th place was way close. Mike Birditt was watching to his right to make sure that Rick Swanson got 3rd but still beat Don Denegal between them. Mike was able to do this and it was Rick- 3rd, Mike- 4th and Don- 5th. Steve Hensler followed right behind for 6th in 55+ and the last paying spot in the race.
The battle for 60+ was right behind. At 300 meters out I jumped off of Bob Wright's wheel to his right and got out of the saddle. I wasn't going to sit until I got to the line. I was in my 53 x 11 since the last corner has a sling shot and gives you a whip toward the finish. Monty was to my left and David Lang was right behind us. I had looked up out of the saddle and didn't see any 60+ riders ahead. Decided to stay out of the saddle and keep the pressure on the pedals. Didn't want to lose it at the line. Mike Fleming was lurking near Monty and David Lang pulled around to my right and ducked his head and was trying to come around me. David fell about a wheel short. He was going good as he did get by Monty. Mike Fleming came across for 4th place and Bob Wright had to settle for 5th place in 60+.
It was a fun clean race with a lot of action. The 60s were in a lot of the action and I had to do a lot of work keeping it together so I could use my sprint for the win with the help of my teammate, Monty Pettus. Swami's strategy worked to near perfection. They placed 1, 3 and 4 and ended up sweeping the podium in the Ontario series. Dale was 1st in the series with Mike 2nd and Rick 3rd. In 60+ David Lang won the series with myself placing 2nd and Monty taking 3rd. In the end the "Kaneohe Boys" came through and the wins!
There was one glitch in the race and that was the officials video camera malfunctioned and there was no vid of the finish. David Lang's wife Laurie had a vid of the finish on her camera and this helped out a lot. Guys came forward and pretty much figured out where everyone finished. Unfortunately not everyone got placed for the finish list. Like mentioned this was a good hard race and fun for everyone but Phil. Phil and his bike weren't hurt too bad and is still on track for Natz like many in the race. The finish lists are below. Thanks to Laurie Lang for the finish pics which came from the finish vid which is below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

55+ race podium- Fred Hoblit 2nd, Dale Luedtke 1st and Rick Swanson 3rd

Ontario Series podium- Mike Birditt 2nd, Dale Luedtke 1st and Rick Swanson 3rd

Ontario # 6 race podium- David Lang 2nd, John McKee 1st and Monty Pettus 3rd

Ontario Series 60+ podium- John McKee 2nd, David Lang 1st and Monty Pettus 3rd

Summers End GP (Rank 2.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	28
2	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	22
3	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	20
4	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	18
5	43812	Don Denegal		16
6	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	14
7	167453	bernard estupinan	Citrus Valley Velo	12
8	187428	Michael Evans		10
9	66553	John Sinz	Canyon Velo	8
10	49191	Kim Bleth	Swami's Cycling Club	6

Summers End GP (Rank 2.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	28
2	107852	David Lang	DARE	22
3	219074	Leo Pettus	OCW/Paramount Racing	20
4	129293	Michael Fleming	South Bay Wheelmen	18
5	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	16
6	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	14
7	50406	Michael Edwards	Herbalife LaGrange	12

2011 SOCAL CUP STANDINGS - 55+ & 60+

2011-08-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

With the race season winding down here are the Socal Cup standings with just 2 weeks and 3 races left. This coming weekend has a TT omny and the Ontario crit. The last weekend has the San Clemente criterium. Mike Birditt and Mike Marotta are leading the 55+ and 60+ categories. The SCNCA will be paying out to 5 places in the standings. The 55+ standing are updated through Ladera Ranch. I corrected Kal Szkalak's points because they didn't include Ladera. He would have gotten 20 points there.

SoCal Cup Standings For 2011

Masters 55+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	Michael Birditt	47255	Swami's Cycling Club	410
2	Dale Luedtke	47262	Swami's Cycling Club	247
3	Kalman Szkalak	54522	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	236
4	Keith Ketterer	48434	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	206
5	Fred Hoblit	16360	Santa Clarita Velo	202
6	Gary Shuey	44197	Swami's Cycling Club	187
7	Steve Hensler	15874	Team Redlands	183
8	Michael Mueller	46688	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	174
9	Kim Bleth	49191	Swami's Cycling Club	159
10	Malcolm Hill	156650	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	157
11	Ricky Shorts	52251	Velo Allegro	121
12	Robert Willcox	69952	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	119
13	Alex Collins	46255	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	110
14	Paul Rodriguez	58847	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	103
15	Mark Huffman	59572	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	101
16	Steve Bernede	126351	Team Werks	82
17	Donald Denegal	93812	Velo Allegro	81
18	Kenny Fuller	46765	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	79
19	Mark Helvie	15760	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	63

55+ points leader - Mike Birditt

SoCal Cup Standings For 2011

Masters 60+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	mike marotta	72880	Action Sports/Simply Fit	343
2	Bob Wright	39024	Santa Clarita Velo	311
3	John McKee	180386	Paramount Racing	293
4	Leo Pettus	219074	OCW/Paramount Racing	234
5	David Lang	107852	DARE	222
6	John Rubcic	48760	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	218
7	Bruce Steele	236498	South Bay Wheelmen	188
8	Leo Longo	189814	South Bay Wheelmen	183
9	Kenny Fuller	46765	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	159
10	Phillip Richards	238828	Citrus Valley Velo	159
11	Glenn Baldwin	45047	SLO Nexus-Gym One	139
12	James Morehouse	283640	FFKR Architects/SportsBaseOnline.com	112
13	Michael Crystal	8283	METALMTN Cycling	104
14	Donald Kimper	195498	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	100
15	Michael Fleming	129293	South Bay Wheelmen	78
16	Fred Nicolet	26089	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	74
17	Richard Stahlberg	50911	Ironfly	71
18	George Chester	196820	LIVESTRONG Army KC / Midwest Cancer Care	67
19	Raphael Gomez	3793	Rage Cycling	61
20	Robert Paganini	45763	PAA/REMAX	52
21	William Langstaff	49334	Cycles Veloce	51

60+ points leader - Mike Marotta with his new Mad Fiber wheels

SLIMMER FIELD @ 2011 55/60+ LADERA RANCH GRAND PRIX

2011-08-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

It is August 14th, 2011 and date for the Ladera Ranch Grand Prix. The Ladera Ranch course is interesting and challenging but I wouldn't want to do it in a very big field. There are 3 fairly narrow corners and a power climb at the end which is not too steep. The field size for the 55/60+ race was about half of what we had at Brentwood. Ladera might even be safer than Brentwood so I am not sure why the big drop off. Location has to be a factor. Ladera like Brentwood has done a very good job making their event into a fun and exiting overall experience. Ladera does give out a winner's jersey to all cats though it is the same design as 2010. Only 13 60s signed up for the race and along with 26 55s made for 36 starters. I would have hoped for at least 45 to 50 to make our cats more saleable in the future. Can't sell no shows to promoters.
The race start time was 7:40 am for the 55/60+ race. The prior cat 5 race went off without a hitch with no crashes so we were able to start on time. Almost like at Brentwood but not quite as fast the race picked up quickly. UCC was full on with every rider that races on a regular basis there. Including the eclusive Paul Rodiguez. He needs the race miles since he is doing Natz in 55+ as are a lot of guys that were out there. Probably 12 or more for 55+, 60+ and 65+(Mr. Medicare{myself}).
Swami's was down to the bare bones and UCC was going to try and take advantage of that. Attack, attack and let's see. Oh yea, ATTACK! There were some mini moves and chases early but the first real move included Mike Mueller, Phil Richards, and .....(don't know right now). They were away for a number of laps but not that far. They were caught and per the pre race plan UCC would attack off a catch. In fact if they didn't like the make up of the break group that included a UCC rider they would bring it down themselves. I was right behind 3 UCC riders that did just that. Paul and Kal were 2 of them.

Mike Birditt was very active for Swami's. Chasing and getting involved in a few break groups himself. I actually saw Dale Luedtke out there chasing. UCC was taking Swami's to the ropes but was Swami's doing the infamous "Rope a dope". I really can't do everyone justice that was in a break because there were so many of you that were there. Pretty sure though that Phil was the only 60+ rider that was. Mike Marotta did pull the pack up toward a mini group. I believe someone told him there was a 60+ rider up the road but that was incorrect. All the 60+ riders were keying off of Mike and keeping him in their sights. Now whether that would matter in the end remained to be seen. John Rubcic did beat him at Brentwood but John was sporting some sore ribs. He took a tumble on his dirt motorcycle and landed poorly a few days before the Ladera race.

60+ riders Mike Fleming, Bob Wright, David Lang and Raphael Gomez with 55+ rider Steve Bernede

John's a tough guy. He wasn't pulling out.

In the middle of the race on a counter Paul Rodiguez took a solo flyer. He was away for 5 or so laps. Nice effort but it didn't last. UCC was pulling out all the stops. No stone unturned. Wear down the opposition and attack again. Mike Mueller and Mark Helvie were also very active for UCC. Kal Szkalak was mostly marking Mike Birditt of Swami's. Mike Birditt was in a break group that included Mike Mueller and Kal Szkalak but UCC didn't seem committed to this group and it failed. Mike usually would let a group get a short distance away and launch. Since Mike can accelerate better than anyone in this race it was a good strategy. Kal would chase him as would then everyone else. Others that were in break groups included Steve Hensler, Fred Hoblit, and Ricky Shorts. Rod Mallory put in a good chase at one point to help his Velo Allegro squad.

Paul Rodiguez on a solo break

Mike Fleming and Mr. Medicare marking Mike Marotta

The minutes were counting down. 40 minute race and 30 minutes had gone by and no break had stuck. We were suppose to see 7 laps to go but I had a hard time sighting the lap card. I heard Ralph say 3 laps to go. Before the 3 lap card though when Paul Rodiguez got caught Mark Helvie slipped away. Nothing seems to get by Mike Birditt and he filed this away. With Mark away another mini break group got a very short distance away and inside the 3rd to the last lap I thought I would jump across. I didn't know Mark was in front of this group. When I was half way across I turned my head I could see the entire pack was on me and was being dragged up to the break group which I closed. That was ok. I wasn't in that much oxygen debt. 2 laps to go and Mike Birditt went to the front and took a look for the long lost Mr. Helvie. He could see him ahead. His duty in his mind was to bring Mark back late in the race. If he brought him back too soon, UCC might counter with Paul Rodriguez or Mike Mueller. The last lap came and Mike Birditt started to pull pretty good but not all out.
Mike Marotta was 3rd or 4th wheel and I right on him. At turn one John Rubcic came up and wanted his wheel bad so I gave it up and tried to stay on John. Shouldn't have done that but I did. Everyone pretty much stayed in line until between turn 3 and 4. Mike Birditt was gaining quickly on Mark Helvie. It was just a matter of when and where. The pace kind of slowed a hair or everyone else picked it up. Riders started coming around to my left and right. Dale Luedtke and John Wagenaar came around to my left. John started to lean on Dale. Don't know if he lost his balance or what. Dale leaned back and then there were some elbows and a little further up there were some more elbows. I got afraid and started moving to my right in case the worst happened which it didn't.
Once Mike Birditt had caught Mark he turned the corner and held to the right curb knowing he was totally out of gas. Another 55+ rider shot off and Mike Marotta got on him for a short spell and he started his own sprint for home which was uphill and a good distance away. Velo Allegro's Rod Mallory was setting up on the left thinking his teammate Ricky Shorts was on his wheel but Ricky was on the other side of the group. Poor team work there.

Mike Birditt charging off with Kal Szkalak, Ricky Shorts, Steve Hensler and Mike Marotta in pursuit

Dale Luedtke was taking another approach coming out of the last corner on the far left side and lots of riders to pass. Dale has a long sprint and it was going to be tested. Fred Hoblit had gotten himself in great position and felt like maybe this was his turn to win. Coming to the line it was Mike Marotta with a bike length or more on the field for the 60+ win. Mike creamed everyone. He seems to be getting stronger as the season goes on. He could be tough at Natz.
Fred Hoblit could now see the finish line and had thoughts of winning but alas it wasn't too be. On Fred's left a long buried Dale Luedtke came up on Fred's left and pipped him at the line with a bike throw. Yikes! In 3rd place was Kal followed in for the 55s by Cyril Hunte and Paul Rodiguez. All that work by UCC and they got 3 and 5. Tough finish for them considering all the work they did.
In 60+ John Rubcic beat Monty Pettus for 2nd with Monty taking 3rd and myself- 4th and Mike Fleming- 5th. Overall it was a very good race. Swami's was pushed to their limits and came out on top. UCC threw everything at them. In hindsight when Mike Mueller and Kal Szkalak were away with Mike Birditt they should have put more of an effort into it. They could have given him the old one two as the laps counted down.
No one went down though there were some close calls. Bob Wright got pushed toward the curb at turn 4 just before the bell lap and bounced off the orange barrier on the left to stay upright. That is why Bob was last in 60+. There were 5 55s and 3 60s that didn't finish. It was pretty hard out there. Vid below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

55+ Placings
6-Dengegal
7-Hensler
8-Mallory
9-Borer
10-Diamond

60+ Placings
6-Richards
7-Gomez
8-Kimper
9-Lang
10-Wright

60+ Podium- Pettus, Marotta & Rubcic

55+ Podium- Luedtke & Hoblit- missing Szkalak

BRENTWOOD GRAND PRIX DRAWS LARGE FIELD FOR 2011 55/60+ RACE

2011-08-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

It was Sunday August 7th, 2011 and time for the Brentwood Grand Prix. This has become a big and popular event for the few shorts years that it has been in existence. The host club is LaGrange Velo Club. They have been able to get lots of sponsors, vendors in their Expo area, and political support. When you stage an event like this in a VERY upscale affluent area you had better have political support. Just think if it takes mom 5 more minutes to drive Johnny in her SUV to his gym sessions. Major inconvenience here.
The 55/60+ race was to start at 8:55 am and a great start time for sure. There were over 60 guys lined up to partake in this race. 2/3 of the entries were 55+. All the players in 60+ were there except Kenny Fuller. The course is new at least for the last 2 years. Many of us were at Natz in 2010 and weren't able to race this event. Natz is much later this year so no problem. The course is very technical. More turns then any course we do through the year. Hard and fun but with the proviso that crashes can occur. One side note is a race like this can draw novices. You can be a cat 5 racer and enter one of our events. Usually that isn't a problem if the pace starts out fast but here there were 2 guys that were pretty strong but had trouble in the turns. One guy looked totally novice and was wearing a ball cap on backward under his helmet and had a red, white and blue Brooklyn jersey on. We passed him many times during the race but the rumor afterward was the reason he wasn't pulled was because it was Gibby Hatton. Monty knows Gibby and thinks this wasn't him but couldn't say for sure but Monty did say that Gibby was there afterward in more casual attire. If it was Gibby, wow. He couldn't have fallen that far or could he?
The 55+ field was strong of course with Malcolm Hill in attendance. 2 stand out no shows were Keith Ketterer and Paul Rodiguez. They would have made the race even harder. Swami's was racing for their top sprinters in Dale Luedtke and Mike Birditt. Velo Allegro was working for Ricky Shorts. I think? Or were they all just out there racing. It was hard to tell.
When I line up and race I try and turn on my recorder button and observe as much as I can but I can't be everywhere and this race I had to turn the recorder button off but I will get to that in a second. The officials started the race and the 1st series of turns was started with a 120 degree turn. Some of you guys need better brake pads. Noisy. Damn. If you have carbon wheels, the SwissStop Yellow King brake pads work great. No noise and smooth.
I didn't know who was leading us after the first lap but it was ball busting fast and hard and I didn't know the course. Rick Swanson lead most of the first lap and tried to make a wrong turn but fortunately he was able to correct himself and no one else followed him. It could happen to anyone, Rick. Like I mentioned the 1st 12 minutes of the race were very hard and I was struggling to hold position about 1/3 the way back from the front or so. I couldn't move up. That's why I turned the recorder off. I was just trying to survive. Damn(Think I have said that before. How about shit. The blog is PG-13 today. No F bombs though. Don't want to be R rated). I was asking Mike Birditt some questions after the race and Fred Hoblitt asks if I was in the same race. Yes, Fred. I can't know all the details of every race without help. Especially in a big field with all the turns and hard racing.
After the first 12 minutes or so the sky turned blue, the Red Sea parted and the race slowed down. Now 2 out of 3 isn't bad and the last part of the last sentence is TRUE! Don't know what happened but I think Malcolm decided the take a siesta break and wait. I started to move up and the blender mode was on in the race. 2 guys went down solo at the 120 degree turn and I only know one of the names so I won't embarrass that person. There was a lot of incidental bumping and some hands on stuff but no one else went down. I tried to stay away from the 3 novices but they kept popping up near the front. You didn't want to be behind them because they may not make a good turn and you lose position. One of the guys took a turn too wide and fast and went into a driveway and onto a sidewalk in the last series of turns late in the race. Didn't see him again, thankfully. There were a lot of primes including $50 cash primes. Popular of course. Malcolm Hill would counter off these prime sprints and what was hard going to the finish line just got harder. That was part of the hard pace early. Overall the race was hard.
Once 20 minutes came around I knew I would finish and depending how things went I could do well. I moved up to the front and got behind Mike Birditt. Fred Hoblit went on a solo flight one lap and picked up a money prime. I did see that, Fred. Malcolm jumped solo off that prime sprint and made some fast nice moves through the first series of corners. He had a gap and hit the accelerator. It was up to UCC and Swami's now. This is where UCC really missed Paul Rodiguez. He is a major player for them with Kal making a comeback from his injury. Kal looks good but isn't where he was before his crash. Swami's didn't have Gary Shuey and Kim Bleth and Rick Swanson can only do so much.
With a little more than 17 minutes to go in the race Tom Reilly went for a money prime and got it and took Mike Mueller with him after the finish line. I was right on Mike Birditt on the right side near the finish line and he jumped. Mike thought this looked too dangerous. Can't let too many good riders get "up the road". Kal was in front as well but let him go. Mike got on just before the first corner. Mike Mueller was really drilling it. After coming out of the series of corners onto the straight away Tom said "Uncle". After drilling it himself to get the prime he was out of high test. Mike Mueller had a short gap and Mike Birditt closed that down. Tom had to go back to the pack. Mike and Mike shared the load after that trying to stay away and maybe catching Malcolm.
Back in the pack the paced slowed a bit. No one to pace now. Kal Szkalak did try to come across the gap to join M & M but failed and got caught by the pack late in the last lap. There were a couple of $50 primes for 60+ only which was much appreciated. John Rubcic and Mike Marotta shared them. The podium was basically gone by the time I saw 4 laps to go for 55+. Malcolm Hill is on great form and M & M weren't going to catch him. Malcolm Hill came across the line with a solo effort for the win in 55+! Nice job, Malcolm. M & M stopped working together and planned their moves for 2nd place on their last lap. Mike Mueller jumped hard on the last little corner coming off a little riser. Birditt was all over this and put him in 2nd wheel. Mueller wound it up but when Birditt hit it on his Cannondale Six, Mike Mueller sat up. No match here. Birditt 2nd, Mueller 3rd.

The rest of the pack was really churning. All the 60+ pod spots were still available. Mike Marotta was always up front and John Rubcic was most of the time. Going into the last lap I was in great position but Swami's didn't want to set too fast a pace and endanger Mike Birditt though in reality he couldn't have been caught but Rick Swanson didn't want to take a chance. I kept losing position on the last lap. Dale Luedtke got himself into a great spot. JR was right on Mike Marotta. Monty Pettus was in the pack not far behind as was Ricky Shorts. Al Shorts was in the mix as well as was David Lang and Bob Wright. I was behind these guys. After coming around the last corner JR lost Marotta's wheel on the right side and moved himself over to the left and started his sprint off of someone's elses wheel. The finish is very narrow. Don't like that part of the course. Dale Luedtke was the 1st rider across the line for 4th place in 55+. John Rubcic was able to get by Mike Marotta in a close finish. Monty Pettus was 3rd in 60+. I followed a close line to the rail on the left but ran into the UCC "slow train". Kal had quit and I had to go around him and then I almost ran into John Waganear who was really going slow. Cost me a couple of places but I had no chance at a pod spot. David Lang was 4th in 60+ and Bob Wright was 5th. Rich Stahlberg came by me at the end for the last paying spot in 60+.

Mike Birditt looks pretty happy being the closest to the podium girl. Malcolm Hill and Mike Mueller also shown

In 55+ Ricky Shorts came in after Dale for 5th place followed by Steve Hensler, Fred Hoblitt, Al Shorts, and Rod Mallory. This was a good hard race. The cream rose to the top. I liked the course but would be crash prone in a large field. Didn't like the narrow finish but I guess the pros have this too. We are usually lucky to have wide industrial roads to finish on. Photo courtesy of Dale Luedtke. Complete final results below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Brentwood GP (Rank 2.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	156650	Malcolm Hill	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	28
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	22
3	46688	Michael Mueller	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	20
4	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	18
5	52251	Ricky Shorts	Velo Allegro	16
6	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	14
7	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	12
8	230085	Albert Shorts	Velo Allegro	10
9	107559	Rodney Malloy	Velo Allegro	8
10	52086	Cyril Hunte		6
12	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	2
13	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
14	61193	John Wagenaar	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
15		John Brown		0
16	206734	John Huber	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	0
17	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0
18	12354	Kirk Freeman	Santa Clarita Velo	0
19	49191	Kim Bleth	Swami's Cycling Club	0
20	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	0
21	9271	Pete Dern	Herbalife LaGrange	0
21		Alex Gonzalez		0
22	50765	Richard Roberson	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
23	277180	John Roest	Team CF-Club	0
24	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	0
25	126668	Joey Valdivia	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
27	177958	Kevin Ryan	The TEAM - SoCalCross	0
28	54522	Kalman Szkalak	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
29	222764	Thomas Buescher	South Bay Wheelmen	0
30	155459	Thomas Reilly	Santa Clarita Velo	0
31	277731	Ira Schneider		0

Brentwood GP (Rank 2.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	48760	John Rubcic	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	28
2	72880	Mike Marotta	Action Sports/Simply Fit	22
3	219074	Leo Pettus	OCW/Paramount Racing	20
4	107852	David Lang	DARE	18
5		Bob Wright		16
6		Rich Stahlberg		14
7	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	12
8	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	10
9	170779	Edgardo Potes	Bike Palace	8
10		Michael Fleming		6
11	48278	Donald Davidson	Citrus Valley Velo	4
12	189814	Leo Longo	South Bay Wheelmen	2
13	353418	jeff golden		0
14	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
15	101582	William Carvin		0
16	23456	Mark McGarry	West Coast Wheelmen	0
17	228631	James Swigart	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
18	3793	Raphael Gomez	Rage Cycling	0

WIND DOESN'T HAMPER LUEDTKE AND MAROTTA @ 11 TORRANCE CRIT

2011-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

Not sure exactly how this happened as the 55/60+ racers always race in the morning and often do so before 8 am. To change things up the promoter at the Torrance Criterium had us racing at 4:20 pm. I am going to stop bellyaching about having to get up so early any more. The entire day before the Torrance Criterium was pretty much honed around getting ready for the race. When we do it early like we usually do the rest of the day is ours to do whatever and I would have rather been at my grandson's baseball tournament in San Clemente in the afternoon.
The drama for the race scheduled for July 31th, 2011 started days before...no weeks before. A lot of talk about the high fee for the race($30) for a unspecified amount of merchandise. Are promoters taking advantage of higher Socal point values in the later races? They know they have a built in customer base.
A number of us had contact with the promoter and he assured us that we wouldn't be sorry about the race prizes. Word was passed around. (feedback after the race wasn't that positive as we all have helmets, bibs, jerseys, and hats. Gu and bars were good.)It didn't seem to spur the pre reg. 5 60s and 10 55s but somehow a lot of racers wanted to race Torrance. There were a lot of same day signups. Mike Marotta seemed to have a fire lit under him by the his Socal Cup standing. He was in 2nd by a few points overall and passed myself with some great finishes in 60+. He had said he wasn't going to race after Paramount but.... those intoxicating Socal Cup points got in his blood. He is addicted now. By the time I got to the race there were 55s and 60s everywhere. 16 55s and 15 60s including one host team member which would be able to enter for free(Bruce Steele- Mrs. Fredell's favorite 5th grade student. Have to see his facebook page. Which boy is Bruce in the class picture?).

55/60+ racers line up at Torrance Criterium- Dale Luedtke is posing. Is this good luck or??

By the time the 55/60+ race was to move to the start/finish line the wind was blowing big time. It had completely blow up the 45+ race which was right before ours. There were pockets of racers all over the course. Last year there was some wind at a CBR race and it split the 55/60+ field wide open. It looked like our race was going to divide the strong from the weak. One thing though that came into play at the Telo course used for the Torrance race was a long stretch downwind. This would be the difference in the race from the CBR course. Easier to chase down riders. The upwind portion which was very hard of course was broken up by a chicane. The off wind portion which were short really made the bikes unstable. Knowing how to use the wind was going to be important per Fred Hoblit. Definitely, I say.

The group was sent off by the officials on time. I had heard that there were a number of crashes through the day but the 55/60+ have had a good history this year except the rain crash at Ontario. A number of guys have been taken out by training crashes but I always hear how dangerous the criteriums are. In any event the majority of the racers once off and into the race played carefully on the new course with the wind. There were a couple of brave souls that sprang away right from the gun. Tom Buescher and Rick Swanson decided to give it a go and had a gap by the first chicane which wasn't far from the start/finish line. After a couple of laps Phil Richards decided to come across the gap and make it 3.


1st break of the race- right from the gun-Rick Swanson, Tom Buescher and Phil Richards

The break group just hung out there with Mike Marotta at the front doing race tempo. Everyone seemed fine with sitting in. The threesome weren't getting anywhere. They were out there for about 5 laps. Swami's and SBW were out there so no chase from them and they had the biggest teams there.


Mike Marotta leading the chase of Rick Swanson, Tom Buesher and Phil Richards

Not sure who chased them down but they were. Steve Borer was very active in chasing throughout the race. The rest of the race was a series of small group breaks. We only had one solo effort and that was from Fred Hoblit. Rick Swanson put the chase on Fred. I assume he was trying to get across the gap and make it 2 but it all failed. The effort level in the race varied more than usual. Most the race was pretty easy. I was expecting a harder race like Eldo when it is windy there. The upwind sections weren't that hard when you had a good draft and there were a lot of tall guys out there. The down wind section was where all the mini breaks were chased down. Pretty easy to go fast there. We got to over 32 mph at times while the 35s got to over 36 at the same stretch.

Fred Hoblit going it solo midway through the race

Rick Swanson putting the chase on Fred Hoblit

The race counted down to 20 minutes to go and then it was 5 to go. 5 laps to go and it is customary to hit the snooze alarm and except for a few brief efforts this was true here. Whatever effort one made to stay near the front early meant nothing as the group churned endlessly late in the race. The lap card hit 2 to go and it was no surprise that Bruce Steele made a move. Solo move but he a had a tail gunner. It was Mr. Robert (tail gunner) Paganini. They had been hanging out together in the back. Robert is expert at sucking wheel and he was doing his best to hang on to Bruce. The lap card hit one to go and Bruce was still out there the tail gunner. It looked assured in a race that included faster 55s that Bruce would get sucked up. Rick Swanson went to the front to bring the Swami's guys home. Bruce did get caught but not sure exactly where it was.
The pace really didn't rise that much until going into the next to last turn. I had been in good position but was losing it quickly. Mike Fleming chose to hang onto Mike Marotta's wheel and Monty Pettus was nearby. Mike Birditt seemed to struggle staying near the front especially on that last lap. Mike is really focusing on his prep for Natz. Dale was moving into good position. Don Denegal was signaling to Ricky Shorts to get on his wheel. Deogracias Asuncion of SBW was threading himself in good position. Not a lot of wind draft there. Once the group hit the last corner all heck broke loose. It was well over 400 meters to the line and all into the wind. Unless you were in good position you were going to be hard pressed to do much about it because you would have to get in the wind. Dale Luedtke showed some early season form and smoked all racers for 1st place. Good job, Dale!

Luedtke/1st 55+, Hoblit/2nd, Asuncion/3rd(Behind Dale), Birditt/4th- Marotta behind Asuncion placing 1st in 60+

Fred Hoblit came in close to the cones for 2nd. Mike Birditt was right behind him but placed 4th. Deogracias Asuncion had his best race of the season as he placed 3rd coming in to the right of the other 3 riders. Deogracias should race with us more often.
Mike Marotta came in pretty far ahead of the other 60+ riders for 1st in his category. Monty Pettus held off a hard charging David Lang for 2nd. David was 3rd. The 60s were quite competitive. After the 1st 4 55s, 6 of the next 8 riders were 60+. Ricky Shorts was 5th and Don Denegal was 6th in 55+. Mike Fleming was 4th in 60+ and Bob Wright bested myself for 5th place. I saw Bob about 150 meters from the line. Bob is easy to pick up because he is tall and throws his bike from side to side more than anyone. Tip to Bob... Reduce the throw and you will go faster. I tried to make the best of the situation and at least pick up a point and a half on Bob but was 20 feet behind. I got within less than a foot at the line. Racing for 5th place like this. It's the Socal Cup point addiction. Lol.
The race was different in the wind and there were no close calls that I saw. The overall speed was slightly less than 22 mph so the wind really made a difference. I wish the last laps were harder but you need large teams with a master plan to do that. Photos are courtesy of Alicia McKee as is the first vid. The second vid is compliments of Laurie Lang. Vids below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

UC CYCLERY/JW FLOORING DOMS 55+ RACE AT 2011 SAN MARCOS CRIT

2011-07-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

It was quite a weekend for climbers with the Sisquoc RR and the San Marcos Criterium on Saturday and Sunday. Most racers did one or the other but there were a few "fanatics" like myself that did both. I have already written about the Sisquoc RR so here is the story about the San Marcos Criterium held on July 24th, 2011. The SMC is held on the campus of San Marcos State University. The course has developed quite a reputation and rightfully so. It is hard. A 1.7 mile circuit with 5 sides and 3 of them are up. The 4th leg has the power climb but what makes the ride so difficult is once you make it to the top of the power climb and turn right for home your winded and its still unhill. Modest yes but you have no speed after the power climb and it feels like your wheels are stuck in tar. It's at least 350 meters to the start/finish line. Most of the downhill is in leg one after a quick right from the start/finish line but you have to waste a lot of that energy braking going into a right turn. You don't want to over cook that one and go into the cones. Leg 2 is slightly downhill and very fast. Leg 3 after and a 45 degree turn and a roll over bricks is slightly uphill and leads into the power climb. Wow. I get tired just writing about this monster of a course.
The rep of the race and the fact that there was a crash last year may have held down the entries in 60+ but not in 55+. UC Cyclery/JW Flooring was there in force with their A team and most of their A team had fresh legs. Swami's was there but all of their A riders had ridden the Sisquoc RR the day before and worse had to drive so far to get to and from the venue. In 60+ there were only 6 racers that showed for the race. Bob Wright and myself are locked in a Socal Cup points race which he forged to a decent lead after the Sisquoc RR. We were lined up in 60+ along with Fred Nicolet, David Lang and Don Kimper as contenders though this wouldn't be David favorite course.
30 riders in all showed up at the line at 7:45 am. There were a few pre reg no shows. The race went off and the early pace was brisk but everything that moved out front was covered. The 1st 3 or 4 laps were hard but everyone was together. Mike Mueller and Paul Rodiguez were sitting back waiting for the right moment. Both are riding very well right now and Mike was in the winning break the previous year with Kal Szkalak. Kal lined up this year again and this was his 2nd race back after his crash at Ontario. Kal did well at Sisquoc. Better than I thought was possible but Kal is super motivated as all of you know. Glad to have Kal back. For sure!
The first decisive move would come on a prime lap which would be no surprise. 4 laps in and Ralph Elliott announces a $50 prime at a local bike shop. Gary Shuey of Swami's is leading the field in with Mike Birditt on his wheel. UCC is watching carefully looking to catch Swami's in some oxygen debt sprinting for the prime. Mike tells Gary to go for it when they get to 100 meters of the line. Gary wins the prime and UCC goes. There were a few gaps because of the prime sprint and Paul Rodiguez and Mark Helvie go! Mike Birditt has no problem jumping aboard. Might have been a little harder for Gary but he also got aboard the the lead train as did Fred Hoblit and Steve Hensler and also UCC's Mike Mueller. Mike M. tilted the race to UCC.
Once the dart for freedom settled down after a couple of laps, Mike Birditt suggested that everyone work together to get a decent gap on the field before everyone attacks each other. All the top riders were in the group anyway except for a few other UCC strongmen like Kal and Mark Huffman. They couldn't chase so this group was "Bound for Glory".
In 60+ action Bob Wright and myself were usually fairly close to the front and I felt good I was hanging in there since I got dropped the previous year. Fred Nicolet and Don Kimper were also hanging in there well. The lead break group worked together except that Mark Helvie and Fred Hoblit hung back and wouldn't pull. Mark was saving himself for later. For sure. Fred must have felt out numbered.
A mini break formed later and included Mark Huffman, Bob Willcox of UCC and Mark Dufour of SDBC.
Kal Szkalak joined it a little later as the small group was less than 100 meters from the rest of peleton. Bob Wright made his move for 1st place in 60+ by coming across the gap at the hardest point which was the last leg to the start/finish line. Bob made it and wouldn't be challenged after that in his category.
Up front UCC would be able to take advantage of their numbers over Swami's and they also had fresher legs. None of the 3 UCC riders were at Sisquoc the day before but Gary, Mike, Steve and Fred had been. Paul Rodiguez jumped with 3 laps to go. Solo effort. Steve and Gary were working the front trying to keep Paul within reach. On the next to the last lap Gary Shuey hit it hard going up the power climb but this only helped UCC as Mark Helvie jumped across the gap to Paul. 2 UCC riders now in front.
On the last lap Mike Mueller hit it hard going into turn 4 just before the power climb. Mike Birditt covers this and counters going up the hill. At the top Mike Birditt is pretty gassed and Mike Mueller jumps off of him toward Paul and Mark. In the end it is a UCC trifecta. Paul Rodiguez is the winner. Mark Helvie is 2nd and Mike Mueller is 3rd. Mike Birditt came around Fred Hoblit for 4th with Fred taking 5th followed in by Steve Hensler and Gary Shuey. The next mini group came in with Bob Wright as mentioned earlier. Bob Wright 1st place in 60+. Fred Nicolet had shown some energy near the end of the race with a solo effort to reach the mini group ahead but died and looked like he was going back, back, back and he's gone(the baseball background in me coming out). No he rebounds off the wall and makes a comeback.
The main field was lead to the power climb on the last lap by Rick Swanson who was trying to set up Dale Luedtke. Steve Borer was on Rick and I came charging up the hill but I was gassed at the top and Fred came by and looked super strong coming home besting Dale across the line. I asked Fred later what got into him and he said he thought I was on his wheel. No Fred. This is not my course. Barrio Logan Si. San Marcos No! At least I didn't get dropped and finished 3rd in 60+ but lost more Socal points to Bob Wright.
Good hard race and a good course. Pretty good showing actually. In 55+ that is. Not 60+. Complete results below. No photos were taken. Sorry. I wish there were. That's all for now! Train hard and race safe!

San Marcos Criterium (Rank 1.5)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	21
2	26089	Fred Nicolet	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	17
3	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	15
4	271696	Bruce Coffey	SJBC	13
5	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	12
6	107852	David Lang	DARE	10

San Marcos Criterium (Rank 1.5)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	58847	Paul Rodriguez	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	21
2	15760	Mark Helvie	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	17
3	46688	Michael Mueller	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	15
4	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	13
5	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	12
6	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	10
7	44197	Gary Shuey	Swami's Cycling Club	9
8	59572	Mark Huffman	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	7
9	54522	Kalman Szkalak	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	6
10	69952	Robert Willcox	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	4
11	250331	Peter Dufour	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	3
12	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	2
13	61193	john wagenaar	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
14	1254	Mark Ainslie	Ranchos Cycling Club	0
15	325878	Lamont Loy	Swami's Cycling Club	0
16	338398	Bernie Bogard		0
17	18156	Craig Jones	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	0
18	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
19	23055	Reed Mayne	Swami's Cycling Club	0
20	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	0
21	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	0
22	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0

KK SHOWS THE FIELD HOW ITS DONE @ 2011 55/60+ SISQUOC RR

2011-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

The Sisquoc Road Race was scheduled for July 23rd, 2011. 2 laps of the 14.2 mile course was due to all that signed up and lined up. The course was deceptively hard. Only 600 ft of climbing a lap but when you turn for home on Dominion Rd. the climb kicks up to 7% and the pavement is very rough making for a poor roll and you can't fake it or just tough it out. You have to climb at speed.
The Sisquoc RR is located near Santa Maria and for those that live south of San Fernando Valley is quite a drive on Friday and Saturday. The field size considering was very good at 34. There are a number of "road race only" guys and add to that some all arounders, Socal Cup point chasers, and a few local lookyloos. There were kids all over the place since it was Jr. SCNCA championship and good for them. Nice to see kids doing something quite healthly. There were 6 porta toilets but always seemed to have a line to get in. The SDBC gals had there own idea and went into the bushes and just did a drop and go. Pretty good all around turnout considering how hard it was getting there and the low payouts with a lot of them merchandise only. More on this later.
The 55/60+ race was scheduled to go off at 10:15 am giving a few guys the opportunity to drive up on Sat. morning. I drove up on Friday like a lot of people and stayed at the opulent Holiday Motel in Santa Maria with Gary Shuey. Not much of a place. Lol. We did have a good meal at the Magic Dragon on Broadway. Veg only for us. Of course. Kung Pao Beef(fake) and Lo Mein.
Kal Szkalak was back! Very glad to see Kal back in the saddle and racing again. As mentioned 34 guys lined up pretty close to the 10:15 am. Swami's was there in force. Santa Clarita Velo had several riders. Keith Ketterer is a team all to himself and rides for Breakaway from Cancer. The course was all rolling and down for the first 10 miles or so. KK was constantly attacking drawing a number of riders to cover like Gary Shuey and Kim Bleth. I was midfield or slightly further up and could see the attack go and knew it was going to cascade back for a very hard effort. We were plainly going very fast most of the time. Basic crit riding actually with a few short hills. Nothing too long though.
Once the field turned onto Dominion Rd. which would lead directly back to the start/finish line the race hit its decisive point. For myself and others. Guys were dropping off and forming small groups. George Chester told me before the race that this would happen. George loaned me some arm warmers as it was pretty chilly in the morning there.
The pace up Dominion Rd. was heated and I looked ahead and saw the road continue up and knew the jig was up for me. The road was mostly 4 to 6 % with some points at 7 %. Don't know for sure but assume KK was pacing up the harder parts. I went backward fast and that was that. See Ya! Rick Szkalak of Santa Clarita Velo joined myself and we rode most of the course together.
Ahead of me the field kept chasing KK and dropped off a few more riders. I believe that 18 riders hung in there in the main field including 60+ racers- Bob Wright, Mike Marotta, Bruce Steele and Mike Crystal.
There was a small group in between myself and the main peleton and that included Dale Luedtke, George Chester, Leo Longo and Fred Haim.
The main field kept in contact with KK until about half way into the second lap. Not even on Dominion from what I heard. He got a gap with Steve Bernede but Steve was dropped and it was see you later. Turn out the lights. The party's over as Dandy Don use to sing on Monday Night Football. KK has a lot of natural talent but like Kenny Fuller and maybe even more so he REALLY works hard in his training. At the Paramount GP he did 3 races and worked hard in them and then went over to the track to do more work. At the Bakersfield Masters Champ race he did 2 races. At this event he went for a 3 hour tempo ride after the race.
KK then did a TT into the house for 1st place in 55+ and 1st of course overall since the payout was to be overall. In the main field coming for home Gary Shuey was setting a brisk pace on the uphill sections and gaps were forming but the gaps closed on the downhill portions. There was a fairly good downhill section before the final 200 meters or so uphill to the line. Jim Parkhurst of Simple Green was the first one to jump for the finish line but was way too early. Mike Marotta then went and we know that is his MO. He is strong and can hold his sprint for a long time. Mike Birditt was holding back and then sprang forward in his 53 x 13 and was the first across the line for 2nd in 55+ and overall. Kal Szkalak was 3rd. Nice result for Kal's 1st race back. Fred Hoblit was 4th and Steve Hensler was 5th. The 55s had the 1st 8 places so no 60+ rider got anything for their effort.
Since Mike Marotta went a little too early, he paid the price and Mike Crystal's jump got around him at the line by the width of a tire. Nice job, Mike. Nice to see you win a race. Bruce Steele was 3rd in 60+.
The finish line took a very long time to come up and it came up separate because that is what the chief judge sent to Marilyn Allen. Marilyn had to send it back because the payout was mixed. They had to go over the finishes completely again and came out with one list to help the promoter with the payout. The payout turned out to be one bottle of wine for the 1st 4 places. Don't know what 5 and 6 got. We were suppose to get $250 in merchandise but..... I have a message into the promoter asking for clarification on the payout but haven't heard from him. You will have to check the SCNCA website for complete results when available. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

rpoints

SWAMI'S SWAMPS STEVE HEDRICK 55+ CAT @ 2011 PARAMOUNT GP/SCNCA CRITERIUM CHAMPIONSHIP

2011-07-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

"You all"(My Bama roots showing through) got the scope on the background of the 2011 Paramount GP held on July 17, 2011 in the 60+ write up. The 55+ race was being sponsored by Rick Swanson who had put in some money into the Paramount 55+ race in 2009. Rick wanted to do so again in 2011 and doubled up on the amount that he would put in but he didn't want the name of the race to have his business name on it. Rick instead wanted the race in the name of his long time friend that has since pasted, Steve Hedrick. I told Rick that we could have some script written up and read by the announcer but he wanted to say a few words himself. I worked with the officials and that was no problem. In attendance was Steve's wife, Gale and his son, Carson.

Rick Swanson talking about his friend Steve Hedrick before the "Steve Hedrick 55+ Memorial Race" at the Paramount GP

After the short presentation the racers were off. Over 50 strong. The 55+ field was near as strong as any other during the day. The race was going to be probed by Breakaway from Cancer and UC Cyclery/JW Flooring. Swami's was looking to contain all the moves and set up a bunch sprint for "on form" Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke. Dale's form was unsure after a medical problem 9 days before but he was feeling good and ready for the race.

Malcolm Hill of Breakaway from Cancer leading the field around early in the race

Keith Ketterer and Malcolm Hill of Breakaway from Cancer were active early as was Paul Rodiguez, Mike Mueller and Mark Helvie of UC Cyclery/JW Flooring. Swami's was using Kim Bleth, Rick Swanson, Mike Birditt and Gary Shuey to counter and control the race. Early on Gary broke his chain and he was out of the race. Velo Allegro and Santa Clarita Velo were also looking to get into the action. Kenny Fuller was there for his second race and definitely was looking to get in a breakaway.

Paul Rodiguez and Mark Helvie of UC Cyclery/JW Flooring probing early in the race

Early break with Malcolm Hill, Mark Helvie, Paul Rodiguez, Mike Birditt, Fred Hoblit and Bob Pellkofer

None of the breaks lasted long even the one you see above. It looks like the "Heads of State" as Paul
Sherwin would say are in this group with almost all the teams represented. It didn't work. Another strong group got away in the picture just below but KK will shutdown if anyone is in the group and will not pull through unless there is some communication from the others. Swami's master plan was a bunch sprint and it looked like it was going that way but not if Kenny Fuller had anything to say about it.

Mike Mueller, Steve Hensler, KK, Kim Bleth and Ricky Shorts(blocked out)

Kenny Fuller jumps from the peleton with Breakaway and Swami's responding immediately

Kenny Fuller was very active late in the race and very serious about finishing it off in a break. The break you see above was covered quickly so Kenny goes again but even later in the race. Within the last 5 laps.

Kenny Fuller jumping the field late in the race

Why don't you chase him

I can just hear what these guys were saying:

Mike Birditt: Why don't one of you guys chase him. I'm tired.
Mike Mueller: I don't feel like chasing him either. What about you, Bob.
Bob Pellkofer: Back in the day when I raced cat 1 with Kenny we use to....
Mark Helvie: Knock it off Bob. We don't want to hear about the good old days. What are we going to do now! He is a "beast".
Kim Bleth puts his head down and pretends not to hear any of this.
Malcolm Hill: I know he is a "beast". I train with him on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in the Coffee Crew training ride. I am tired also. Someone has to do something or he will be gone.
Bob Pellkofer: He is over 60.
Mike Birditt: Yeah but he doesn't race like it.

After all that Mark Helvie puts his head down and charges off to pull everyone back to Kenny. He doesn't get there but sets up teammate Paul Rodiguez who comes across the gap to join Kenny. 2 strong but KK also charges off from the back of the pack with Ricky Shorts in tow. D. Asuncion of SBW made it 5. Pretty sure that KK saw Ricky "The Shadow" Shorts behind him and shut down. That made the break just Kenny and Paul. 2 laps to go and Kenny was pulling hard. All in for Kenny. Paul was pulling through as well but not quite as hard. 1 lap to go and the 2 of them were still ahead but Rick Swanson and Mike Birditt kept them close and Rino B. and Bob Wright of SCV closed them out between turn 1 and 2 of the last lap. A bunch sprint it be, my laddies!
Dale Luedtke has a long sprint and he started his from a longs ways out. Longer than usual up the inside or right side about half way between turn 3 and 4. He got clear of most everyone. Don Denegal was on his wheel but was barely hanging on. Mike Birditt was caught in the pack for a bite but broke free before the last corner and put the after burners on. Dale used that sprint of his to race for home. Dale Luedtke the SCNCA Criterium Champion! Mike Birditt 2nd and Don Denegal 3rd. Fast hard good race. The highest purse in $1,000 of any 55+ race in the country. EVER! Paid out to 14 places with a way cool event glass to go with it. Thanks to all that came out and thumbs down to those that didn't. Full results below. Photos courtesy of Jodie Borer(outstanding) except the podium pic which was taken by Scott Sharp of Paramount. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Don Denegal comes in for 3rd place

Podium shot- Don Denegal, Dale Luedtke and Mike Birditt

SCNCA Masters Crit Championships (Rank 3.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	42
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	33
3	93812	Donald Denegal		30
4	58847	Paul Rodriguez	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	27
5	52251	Ricky Shorts	Velo Allegro	24
6	156650	Malcolm Hill	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	21
7	18156	Craig Jones	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	18
8	219074	Leo Pettus	OCW/Paramount Racing	15
9	206734	John Huber	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	12
10	50532	Deogracias Asuncion	South Bay Wheelmen	9
11	48434	Keith Ketterer	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	6
12	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	3
13	48760	John Rubcic	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
14	107559	Rodney Malloy		0
15	47652	Bob Pellkofer	FRANCO MRI Racing p/b Wins Wheels	0
16	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	0
17	15760	Mark Helvie	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
18	222764	Thomas Buescher	South Bay Wheelmen	0
19	61193	John Wagenaar	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
20	50911	Richard Stahlberg	Ironfly	0
21	167489	Jon Miller	Platinum Performance Cycling Team	0
22	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
23	174212	Brian Carrico	PAA/REMAX	0
24	230085	Albert Shorts	Velo Allegro	0
25	46688	Michael Mueller	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
26	52086	Cyril Hunte		0
27	222523	Rick Carrera	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0
28	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	0
29	47314	Gary Prideaux	Lightning Velo	0
30	49191	Kim Bleth	Swami's Cycling Club	0
31	61504	Andrzej Fidelus	Ranchos Cycling Club	0
32	277180	John Roest	Rock N' Road Cyclery	0
33	61353	Reed Moore	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
34	49424	Howard Miller	Paramount Racing	0
35	189814	Leo Longo	South Bay Wheelmen	0
36	9271	Pete Dern	Herbalife LaGrange	0
37	301372	Tom Herman	South Bay Wheelmen	0
38	187428	Michael Evans		0
39	50765	Richard Roberson	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
40	66553	John Sinz	Canyon Velo	0
41	23055	Reed Mayne	Swami's Cycling Club	0
42	50302	Richard Lee	San Diego Cyclo Vets	0
43	167453	Bob Estupinan	Citrus Valley Velo	0
44	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
45	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0
46	46765	Kenny Fuller	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0
47	126668	Joey Valdivia	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
48	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	0
49	177283	Eugene Poyorena	Santa Clarita Velo	0
50	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	0
51	101582	William Carvin		0
52	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	0

DOES HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF@PARAMOUNT GP/MASTERS CRIT CHAMP

2011-07-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

It was July 17, 2011 and the date for the 2011 Paramount GP and the 2011 SCNCA Masters Criterium Championship. Back in November 2010 when the SCNCA had their scheduling meeting Paramount had put in for a May date but conflicted with Ontario and Paramount was put out in July. The date seemed like a decent date and had no local conflict though their were pro/cat 1 races(Cascades and Super Week) and one stage race in Utah(Capitol Reef Classic). The Paramount race was a criterium so a few of the masters climbers weren't there but everyone else that likes to race in Southern California certainly would have a chance to race. Carmageddon was this weekend which was another impediment but for those that didn't stay home their was little or no traffic delays on the alternate routes.

The 60+ field at the 2011 Paramount GP/Masters Crit Championship

There will be separate write ups for the 60+ and 55+ race. Every other race the 2 categories race together and are scored separately and there was pressure put on Paramount to combine the 2 with the incentive to save money on officials and the County Sheriff fee. Paramount had received some money from UC Cyclery/JW Flooring to co sponsor the race and get on the USA Cycling racing permit and fulfill their obligation to the national organization. Because of that and this being a championship race made the decision easier to keep the races separate. There was also generous monies coming in from Rick Swanson as a sponsor but will get into that in more detail when I write about the 55+ race.
Paramount had 31 enteries for 60+ and that made the minimum of 30 I had in my mind as acceptable as a separate race. I got at the race at 5:15 am to do some last minute things and only thing around besides a guard at the NEC building were coyotes. When race time of 8:15 am rolled around I had 3 hours in and and 8 more to go before my day was over.
The 60s lined up and the announcer read the script I had provided to mention something about the sponsors of the race which were JohnnyMcKee.blogspot.com and UC Cyclery/JW Flooring. He kept saying blogsport instead of blogspot but oh well. Everyone knew where the money came from.
The field was very strong with the defending Natz champ Kenny Fuller entered along with new 60+ strongman Mike Marotta. John Rubcic has enough races under his belt to be "on form". Several other riders including Monty Pettus, Bob Wright, Rich Stahlberg, myself , David Lang and Bruce Steele would be considered challengers. Bruce rarely does criteriums any more but with this being a 60+ only field the conditions would be more suited to his strengths. The field strength was near Natz quality. No other local organization of USAC in the country would be near this good in this category.

Bill Langstaff doing some early pacing

After all this the racers were off. Phil Richards and William Langstaff did a lot of the early pace setting. Mike Marotta was always at the front and jumped on anything that moved. There were primes throughout the race including prizes from Pinnaclife and Amino Pure. The biggest prize would be half way through the race and that was the teeth whitening donated by the field dentist, Bill Langstaff. This was a $500 value and Kenny Fuller has won this before and was targeting this one.

Phil Richards doing some early prime killing- Go Phil!

All of the early break efforts were easily covered by Mike Marotta and everyone else. Kenny wasn't expected to make a move until the teeth whitening prime had come up. The prime killing was being done by Mike Marotta and Phil Richards. Hylton Murphy who was the defending champion in this race made a few moves early but Hylton commented later that the pace was pretty high and the race felt hard. I think most of felt this as well. A lot of pumped up riders and a strong field.
It came to half way through the race and the call came up for the William Langstaff teeth whitening. I went to the outside of the pack looking for Kenny to make his move early but he waited until between turn 3 and 4 of the 4 corner .8 mile course. EVERYONE was on him and he was picking up the pace quite high. Monty was on his wheel and figured he could come around but was going to concede the prime to Kenny but Mike Marotta jumped hard. He got it by 10 to 15 feet. Kenny later felt his legs weren't acclimated to this kind of effort at that time.

60+ racers coming into the very fast turn 2

After this Kenny went on the attack every couple of laps. John Rubcic, Monty Pettus and Mike Marotta were those that chased the hardest. There were others but those guys were always there. Kenny would shut down because no one would pull through and everyone else got back on. The thing that Kenny doesn't realize is almost everyone is totally gassed after chasing him down. Not sure about Marotta because he is riding very strong right now.
After a while it almost looked assured that the race would end in a bunch sprint. Pretty sure even Kenny thought so. The 5 lap card came and went and the group was all together. Bruce Steele was thinking of a way he could do well. Maybe even win. He figured he had nothing to lose. Bruce didn't contest the sprint at MBGP and finished 17 out of 18 but that was a combined 55/60+ field. Bruce won on the Dom. Hills course in 2009 when he was in a breakaway with Kenny and John Rubcic. He jumped them on the last lap and held them off. In 2010 Bruce got in a 2 person break with Hylton Murphy and conceded the race to Hylton. What to do? Why not jump the field when they are the most vulnerable. When is the pack the most vulnerable? The last few laps if there aren't any strong teams. If everyone is racing for themselves, they don't want to chase someone down and give up their chance for a good finish. The team in the race with numbers was SBW. Bruce's team.
With less then 2 to go Bruce jumped away on the down stretch between turn 1 and 2. No one reacted. Bill Langstaff and Phil Richards did some pacing but NOT chasing. The lap card came to 1 to go. Bruce was still off the front but not that far ahead. After turn one Hylton Murphy went to the front to pull for his teammate John Rubcic. Hylton wanted his friend and teammate to win but remembered that Bruce had conceded the title to him the previous year. Hylton went 85%. Fast enough to keep everyone from swarming John Rubcic but not quite fast enough to overtake Bruce or to get the pack close enough to overtake Bruce in the sprint. Hylton may have been in front of John Rubcic but John had his eye on Mike Marotta. Myself and Kenny Fuller were marking John Rubcic. After turn 3 Kenny let me have Rubcic's wheel. Monty was on me. I knew the script in all the prior crits that Mike Marotta has done was to jump early and hard and try and keep it going to the line. Midway up the power climb to turn 4 Kenny jumped on the left side with Monty on his wheel. At almost the same time Mike Marotta jumped further ahead. Rubcic got right on this. I hesitated like I didn't know this was coming like a dope and Rich Stahlberg filled the breach in front of me. Bob Wright was right on my wheel.
As the field turned the last corner it was evident that Bruce Steele wasn't going to get caught. Bruce kept the pressure on none the less. Bruce came across the line for another SCNCA Criterium Championship to a rider that is better suited to road racing and time trialing but Bruce is better at crits than he likes to put on. Very strong all around rider.
John Rubcic was showing really good form and easily came around Marotta with Kenny Fuller on his wheel. Kenny couldn't come around John and it was good night Irene for the podium. JR 2nd. Kenny Fuller 3rd. Mike Marotta was tiring more coming down the stretch and Monty Pettus went around him for 4th place. Mike was 5th. I came around Rich but Bob Wright came around me in the last 100 meters for 6th. I was 7th and Rich was 8th. Here are a series of finish photos courtesy of Paramount member, Scott Sharp. Podium pick below those. The earlier photos are courtesy of Alicia McKee. Good hard race. The feedback that I got was that the 55+ race wasn't that much harder. Thanks to all that came out. It was a good day for 60+ racing though we could have had a bigger field. Complete finish list below. Video of the finish at the Paramount Racing facebook page. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Bruce Steele steam rolling to another SCNCA victory!

John Rubcic holding off Kenny Fuller- Monty Pettus taking on Mike Marotta

Finish Pic # 3

Monty Pettus overtaking Mike Marotta

Bob Wright coming by John McKee

Podium threesome(same as 2009- same order as well) John Rubcic, Bruce Steele and Kenny Fuller

SCNCA Masters Crit Championships (Rank 3.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	236498	Bruce Steele	South Bay Wheelmen	42
2	48760	John Rubcic	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	33
3	46765	Kenny Fuller	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	30
4	219074	Leo Pettus	OCW/Paramount Racing	27
5	72880	Mike Marotta	Action Sports/Simply Fit	24
6	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	21
7	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	18
8	50911	Richard Stahlberg	Ironfly	15
9	170779	Edgardo Potes	Bike Palace	12
10	71812	John Magnanti		9
11	129293	Michael Fleming	South Bay Wheelmen	6
12	3793	Raphael Gomez	Rage Cycling	3
13	189814	Leo Longo	South Bay Wheelmen	0
14	107852	David Lang	DARE	0
15	101582	William Carvin		0
16	188249	Cully White	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	0
17	228631	James Swigart	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
18	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
19	110233	John Fitzgerald		0
20	50498	Richard Rodriguez	Pacific Sunset Velo/Pac Sun Velo	0
21	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	0
22	45763	Robert Paganini	PAA/REMAX	0
23	171652	Stephen Whitsitt	South Bay Wheelmen	0
24	3794	Vicente Gomez	Rage Cycling	0
25	49334	William Langstaff	Cycles Veloce	0
26	72995	Hylton Murphy	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
27	99906	Michael McKinney	Pinnaclife Racing Team	0
28	266647	Allen Kizuka	Velo Allegro	0

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

2011-07-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

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

2011 ONTARIO GP #5 "EXTREMELY" FAST IN 55/60+

2011-07-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

By John McKee

In honor of Paul Sherwin I used his favorite word in the title but the description was not far off in this race. This was probably the fastest race in 55/60+ that I have seen in quite a while or maybe the fastest ever in these categories. Ray Moreno of Dare and the promoter of the Ontario series had the 55/60+ racers using the Grand Prix course on this hot Sunday- July 3rd, 2011. The last 2 races at Ontario are always hot and this was no exception. I did get a pointer from a SDBC woman racer and former Paramount member. Take some ice and wrap it paper towels and stuff it between the boobs in the bra. She showed me so I know she did it. The problem was I don't wear a bra or have man boobs so this tip was no help to me. She did offer me some ice she pulled out of somewhere else but I don't know where it came from so I declined the offer. Thanks but no thanks.
The 55/60+ racers were to go off at 7:35 am but there was a crash on the last lap of the women's cat 4 race. You will have to check out how this woman was treated vs Kal Szkalak. The first aid crew which is this elderly couple that are very nice and provide very basic first aid. The first time I saw the woman she was on her back. No one wanted to move her. Suspected broken collarbone. We waited and waited for the paramedics to come but it took 20 to 30 minutes to get there. Ray said there was a miscommunication. Ray was over across from turn one with an Ontario police officer. They were trying to work with a tenant that was having an event and cone off some of our race course. Ray thought the first aid couple was going to phone for help but they didn't. Finally the paramedics got there. They took a long time before they took her away and in the end she didn't have a broken bone. Her shoulder was just bruised. I saw her back at the race course later with her arm in a sling. Compare that with Kal. A course marshall tried to badger him to get up and get off the course. Kal had a busted up shoulder, broken ribs and a punctured lung. Kal didn't want emergency aid which of course he should have taken. The race he was in wasn't stopped or shortened. Too bad, Kal. Just get out of the way.

Strongmen Keith Ketterer and Malcolm Hill of UBS/Breakaway from Cancer

Swami's speedsters- Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke

After all was said and done the 55/60+ race was delayed between 50 and 60 minutes. We had a great turnout at somewhere between 45 and 50 racers. Most were 55+. When we all finally lined up we were told we were going to get 30 minutes to race vs the 40 we usually get there. There were a lot of strong 55+ riders so everyone had better put on their seatbelts because they were in for a barn burner.
Swami's had their full race contingent. UBS/Breakaway from Cancer returned Keith Ketterer and Malcolm Hill from MBGP. No UC Cyclery riders were there. Fred Hoblit of Santa Clarita Velo was there with Kirk Freeman, Tom Reilly, and Rino B. to support him. Ricky Shorts of Velo Allegro was there with Alex Gonzalez and Don Denegal to support him. With several shorts solo 55s in Steve Hensler and Steve Cahill the field was loaded with talent and fast riders. In 60+ the field wasn't quite as strong with the top 3 finishers from MBGP not in the field. Monty Pettus, John McKee, David Lang and Bob Wright looked to be the strongest 60+ riders in the field.
The race was off about 8:30 am. It started fast and kept up fast until the last 2 laps. Malcolm Hill and Keith Ketterer would tag team it with attacks off the front. Swami's would cover with Mike Birditt, Kim Bleth, Rick Swanson or Gary Shuey. A number of guys jumped in and there were quite a few small groups of riders that got not that far off the front. None of them seemed to have the right combination of riders to make a break work. There was one very strong group that fell apart about 1/3 the way through the race. KK, Mike Birditt, Fred Hoblit and Ricky Shorts got together. One of the riders wasn't pulling through and KK pulled the plug. The group stayed a short distance off the front and a number of riders were coming across the gap. At one point there were 7 or 8 riders off and in the end Fred Hoblit tried to take off with Mike Birditt but it was all back together shortly. The pace was almost always high. Coming around the last corner the speed was usually 30 to 32 mph with the sling shot dip at the last corner.
They don't have much in the way of prime sprints at Ontario but the Ontario series points prime sprint can be important. David Lang was in a commanding lead so I didn't try and contest him this time in 60+ and he took the prime sprint uncontested. Rick Swanson took the 55+ series primes points so Swami's is looking good there.
The final laps came up quickly with the shortened race. I heard 4 laps to go and we were all together. I was mostly up front and didn't see many of the 60+ racers. Monty was going to take it easy and move up later in the race because he had done a long training ride in Davis, Ca.. on Sat. and then drove over 7 hours to get home. He wasn't the only one a little tired. Malcolm Hill had done a 6 hour training ride on Sat. Malcolm is pointing toward Natz and Worlds. Malcolm was going to do the 55, 50 and 45 races at Ontario for training.
With the 4 laps to go Keith Ketterer went off the front solo. This is a very dangerous period for each race because solo riders don't want to use their energy to chase down someone because that would effect their finish. You would have thought Swami's would have brought some troops forward to put the chase on KK so that Mike and Dale could sprint for 1st place. KK didn't get that far away but he stayed there. It came down to 1 lap to go and KK was still out there. Gary Shuey went to the front to pace somewhere before the 1 lap to go card. He was pulling pretty good but not strong enough to eat into Keith's lead. Going into turn 2 of the 7 turns Gary was thinking, why am I doing this. I want to have a good finish as well. Mike Birditt had been right up there and I was on Mike and looking good if the pace stayed high the whole last lap but NO.... Once Gary turned it off all hell broke loose and this happens a lot in our races. I was getting swarmed and I was going to have to fight to stay in position. There were a lot of good 55s here plus David Lang, Bob Wright and Monty in 60+. I saw Monty move in good position and Bob Wright went by me so I grabbed onto his wheel. Should have raced against the field rather than specific 60+ riders but that's what I did. Dale moved up near Mike. With 3 corners to go it wasn't that fast.
KK is ahead and going to win. No one is going fast enough to catch him. Keith was actually looking to work on his field sprint but you take a win however it comes. Nice job, Keith. His teammate Malcolm as tired as he was had enough left to lead it out around the last 2 corners. Mike and Dale were playing off each other perfectly. They came by Malcolm with about 100 meters to go with Dale taking the field sprint for 2nd place and Mike taking 3rd place overall.
Monty Pettus had gotten himself in good position and finished very strong. Monty didn't get out of the saddle but finished after Mike for 4th overall and the first 60+ spot. Nice win for Monty. Ricky Shorts, Malcolm Hill, Steve Hensler and Fred Hoblit followed in. I would have thought Fred would have taken a flyer on the last lap like he did at MBGP but he didn't.
I was on Bob Wright and went wide around the last corner to come around his group and try and finish as high as possible. Monty was too far ahead but thought about another Paramount 1/2 finish. I went too wide
on the last corner and threw Kirk Freeman and Gary Shuey way off. Sorry guys.
I was coming home pretty good but wasn't paying close enough attention and saw a 55+ racer at the last second right in front of me and I tapped my brakes to keep from hitting him. Right then David Lang(2nd place) jumped hard and flew by me and Bob Wright(3rd place) did as well. Oh well. I finished 4th and behind me were Don Kimper, Phil Richards(Phil did some work on the last fews laps so didn't have a lot left in him), and Jim Swigart in 60+. Mike Fleming had done some pacing on the last few laps and didn't finish as didn't a few other 60+ riders.
The overall pace was over 26 mph. Gary Shuey had 26.5 on his Garmin GPS 500 computer. The fastest I have ever heard of here. Maybe not quite as hard as the previous week at MBGP but pretty close except on the last few laps. That was the standard treadmill mama bear speed. No crashes so that was great. Complete results below. Remember the Paramount Masters champ race is July 17th. $500 for 60+ and $1,000 for 55+. If anyone wants to contribute money or product for prime prizes, please contact me(ajmckee@sbcglobal.net). That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Ontario Grand Prix (Rank 1.5)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	48434	Keith Ketterer	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	21
2	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	17
3	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	15
4	52251	Ricky Shorts	Velo Allegro	13
5	156650	Malcolm Hill	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	12
6	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	10
7	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	9
8	52086	Cyril Hunte		7
9	206734	John Huber	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	6
10	18156	Craig Jones	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	4
11	30596	Wayne Rosenkrantz	Pinnaclife Racing Team	3
12	21364	Jonathan Livesay	Montrose Cycling Club	2
13	44197	Gary Shuey	Swami's Cycling Club	0
14	250331	Peter Dufour	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
15	66553	John Sinz	Canyon Velo	0
16	47314	Gary Prideaux	Lightning Velo	0
17	277180	John Roest	Rock N' Road Cyclery	0
18	155459	Thomas Reilly	Santa Clarita Velo	0
19	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	0
20	93812	Donald Denegal		0
21	49191	Kim Bleth	Swami's Cycling Club	0
22	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	0
23	186482	Rick Skalak	Santa Clarita Velo	0
24	271566	Alex Gonzalez		0
25	174212	Brian Carrico	PAA/REMAX	0
26	9271	Pete Dern	Herbalife LaGrange	0
27	61504	Andrzej Fidelus	Ranchos Cycling Club	0
28	167453	Bob Estupinan	Citrus Valley Velo	0
29	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
30	12354	Kirk Freeman	Santa Clarita Velo	0
31	204724	Steve Cahill	Celo Pacific	0
32	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0

Ontario Grand Prix (Rank 1.5)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	219074	Leo Pettus	Paramount Racing	21
2	107852	David Lang	DARE	17
3	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	15
4	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	13
5	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	12
6	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	10
7	228631	James Swigart	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	9
8	50498	Richard Rodriguez	Pacific Sunset Velo/Pac Sun Velo	7
9	45763	Robert Paganini	PAA/REMAX	6
10	45342	Domenick Forte	PAA/REMAX	4