TONY PRATT TAKES THAT FINAL RIDE TO THE SKY

By John McKee

I haven't written anything in over 5 years but I wanted to write a piece about someone I knew for a short time. As everyone knows the pandemic created problems for everyone doing almost anything including doing training rides on the road. I became more cautious than many riders and welcomed the opportunity to ride with a smart trainer on Zwift. Zwift is an online high tech interactive training and racing program. I met old friends and met new ones and organized groups rides called Meetups. I got reacquainted with a former road racer by the name of Jeff Moreton and invited him to my Meetups. Jeff asked me if some of his friends could join us and the answer was yes, of course. Zwift makes it pretty easy to do group rides with riders of different abilities. The two people brought in by Jeff were Jim Robb and Tony Pratt. Both were very friendly and loved to do my rides which were usually on Mondays and Thursdays. Jim was in better shape but Tony had such a positive attitude and loved to do the group rides with guys that use to race like he did. Tony was living in Arkansas but with Zwift it doesn't matter where you live. Perfect for Tony to participate. I started Meetups in March of 2020 and Tony was a regular rider and started getting some fitness back. He definitely was showing improvement. 

Tony 1993

Tony definitely became a fixture on my Monday and Thursday rides. In Zwift Meetups the organizer can select Stay Together mode which discourages flyers off the front and helps riders off the back but only so much. Sometimes Tony looked like he needed a little help and sometimes he would be doing fine on his own. Tony really seemed to like Zwift and branched out and did his own rides and did other group rides and races. The last Meetup Tony did with me was on October 12, 2020. Tony rode well and did 30.81 miles in 1:32:30 or 20.0 mph. Good effort for sure. Tony had been having headaches and visited a doctor and went through extensive testing. Tony had cancer. Stage 4. Devastating! Tony went through radiation and chemo treatments. Even after many treatments he got back on his trainer and rode on Zwift. Unfortunately, it was a stacked deck against our friend and on March 25th, 2021 Tony Pratt passed on surrounded by his wife Becky, son Mitch, and daughter Clara. 

Tony was born in Southern California April 11, 1956. He graduated from Arcadia High School in 1974 and attended UCLA. Tony got a job with the City of Los Angeles as a surveyor. Eventually Tony became head of the Survey division overseeing several offices from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro. Tony married his wife Becky in the early 80s and had 2 children- Mitch who is in the Navy and an Annapolis grad, and Clara who nows works at Trader Joes. Tony retired in 2016 and moved with his wife Becky to Arkansas to live in a beautiful gated community with 6 golf courses and bike trails everywhere. Becky has family there. 

Tony had always liked to ride bicycles and transitioned into racing. Tony became good enough to ride for the Chevrolet/L. A. Sheriffs Cycling Team in the late 80s. Tony met teammate Jeff Moreton and became good friends and  also became neighbors in the San Gabriel Valley. They trained and raced together. Fast friends. Tony raced through the life of the Chevrolet/L. A. Sheriff Cycling Team. Tony and Jeff were much alike and if there was a hill in the race then they would do well. As many of you know in Southern California most races are criteriums and this wasn't exactly Tony's strength but he was a good teammate and did his job. Tony raced many categories including 35+, 45+(Tony took a good spill at Ojai in this cat and ended up in the hospital) and eventually 50+. 

Tony is taking a pull at the 1992 Commerce Criterium. Jeff Moreton is on his wheel.

Tony transitioned away from bike racing and enjoyed life with his wife and finished his career with the City of Los Angeles. Tony would get out and ride with his buddy Jeff on special occasions like a Grand Fondo in San Luis Obispo in 2014.

Tony is riding a restored Raleigh bicycle with Jeff at SLO

Tony, Eli & Jeff Moreton, Elinor
& Marc Charlton

Tony also would take vacations like one to Italy in 2018 with his wife Becky, Jeff and Eli Moreton, Marc and Elinor Charlton. Earlier during his bike race phase Tony and his wife would travel to race sites for major races like Nationals  and other races like The Sequoia Classic. If you can believe it, Tony was stronger than Jeff early in their racing careers and Jeff would fall into a support role in some of the road races they did together. I organized a support Tony Zwift ride on March 14th. The ride was attended by Jim Robb, Mike McKinney, Kevin McDonald, Jeff Moreton, Craig Jones, Howard Miller, Cleave Law, Greg Page, Bruce Steele, and myself. We rode and swapped cycling stories and Jeff gave us some history on Tony. Jeff's wife Eli relayed to Becky Pratt some of the highlights and passed those on to Tony to let him know we were thinking of him. Tony was having a tough time but appreciated the sentiments and the well wishes. 

Tony may be gone now but his memory lives on and everyone's life that knew him is richer. His Zwift buddies are glad to have known him for the short time that we did but everyone will miss him!

2015 MASTERS NATIONALS-CRITERIUM PREVIEW

By John Mckee

Masters Nationals is rapidly upon us. I am bypassing the TT and Road Race. All good events but I spotlight the criterium because I am in it and that is the main form of racing in Socal. There are of course TTs and road races and good ones too!
The USAC has come up with a ranking system which is quite good. It ranks riders based on how they perform with other ranked riders. It favors Socal riders in the criterium because there are so many on the calendar. Listed below are all the predicted races for Nationals in each age group starting at 55-59. Good luck to everyone that is going. My old saying "Train hard and race safe" doesn't really fit but do race safe! Hope to see as many Socal riders on the podium as possible.

Sat 9/12/15 Criterium Men Master 70-74

Predicted Race Quality: 378.63 Place Name Team City, State Points 1 David Burnett Norwich, CT 378.63 2 Dale Harless Cycle U / Apex Racing Bellevue, WA 521.73 3 Michael Patterson Old Lyme, CT 548.12 4 Gary Simmons Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team Layton, UT 550.44 5 S Durward Higgins Village Volkswagen Cycling Team Chattanooga, TN 588.00 6 David Friedt Cucina Fresca Cycling Team Mercer Island, WA 592.07 7 Richard Shields Team Hammer Nutrition Fremont, CA 594.67 8 Charles Day Bozeman Masters' Velo Bozeman, MT 596.33 9 John Haney Park City, UT

Show Rider List Hide Race Predictor Riders: 9

Sat 9/12/15 Criterium Men Master 75-79

Place Name Team City, State Points 1 Robert Paganini PAA/Empire Bikes Los Angeles, CA 155.74 2 Stan Swallow American Fork, UT 591.33 3 Frans Berghoff Orem, UT 593.00 4 William Meyers Schwab Cycles Racing Team Golden, CO

Show Rider List Hide Race Predictor Riders: 4

Sat 9/12/15 Criterium Men Master 80-84

Place Name Team City, State Points 1 Frederic Schmid Bear Mountain Wolfpack Waco, TX 570.02 2 Walter Axthelm Durango Wheel Club Durango, CO 588.00

Sat 9/12/15

Criterium

Men

Master 65-69

Predicted Race Quality: 104.02
Place	Name	Team	City, State	Points
1	John McKee	OCW / Paramount Racing	Westminster, CA	104.02
2	Robert Tompkins	Ride-Faster.com	Anthem, AZ	137.04
3	Douglas Knox	Velo Pasadena Team	Santa Barbara, CA	138.91
4	David Hixson	Provision PEAK Performance Team p/b Visit Knoxville	Knoxville, TN	368.84
5	Bruce Coffey	San Jose Bicycle Club	Newman, CA	372.23
6	Ken Louder	FFKR - CONTENDER RACING	Salt Lake City, UT	394.61
7	John Rubcic	PR Velo	Hemet, CA	415.73
8	Loren Simons	OAM NOW/Athletic Mentors	St Johns, MI	496.96
9	David Linden	Team Dayton Bicycling	Yellow Springs, OH	498.53
10	Whitney Fanning	Geri Atrix	Waco, TX	515.00
11	Stephen Bennett	ColoBikeLaw.com	Littleton, CO	523.07
12	Dwight Hibdon	FFKR - CONTENDER RACING	Park City, UT	538.96
13	Len Unger	Hagens Berman-Society Consulting	Poulsbo, WA	593.12
14	Josef Lemire	ThirstyBear p/b Akamai	San Francisco, CA
14	Brad Swope	Kentucky Flyers Cycling Inc	Louisville, KY
14	Richard West	Shuksan Velo Club	Bellingham, WA

Sat 9/12/15

Criterium

Men

Master 60-64

Predicted Race Quality: 77.13
Place	Name	Team	City, State	Points
1	Michael Birditt	Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters	Escondido, CA	77.13
2	Dale Luedtke	Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters	Oceanside, CA	78.80
3	Thomas Gates	G S Adams Avenue Bicycles	La Mesa, CA	79.88
4	Mike Marotta	Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters	Bakersfield, CA	84.29
5	Ricky Shorts	Bahati Foundation/WinTeam Racing	Long Beach, CA	84.89
6	Dirk Cowley	Velosport Racing	Salt Lake City, UT	116.65
7	Robert Mosier	Bahati-WTR	Malibu, CA	132.70
8	Pete Loftis	Isagenix / SeaSucker / Guttenplan Coaching	Ponte Vedra Beach, FL	212.01
9	Steven Grusis	Off The Front	Madera, CA	256.33
10	Randall Bradford	Olev Rapido	Albuquerque, NM	296.82
11	Robin McKinney	Victory Velo Racing	Lincoln, CA	331.05
12	Rick Swanson	Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters	Corona, CA	349.40
13	Jerald Hunsaker	Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team	Midvale, UT	394.44
14	Steve Matous	Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Cycling Team	Boulder, CO	421.42
15	Robert Walker	Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team	Pocatello, ID	425.41
16	Gordy Bolstad	Union Bay Cycling/Bikesale.com	Snohomish, WA	444.23
17	Steve Matson	Reliant Recovery Water p/b Old Town Bicycle	Tacoma, WA	469.48
18	Steve Thompson	Bikesale / VOLKL	Seattle, WA	513.75
19	Guenter Heyen		Mount Gilead, NC	553.84
20	Bob Smith	Driver Racing	Grand Jct, CO	583.25
21	George Smith	The 99%ers	Menlo Park, CA
21	Wayne Watson	Natural Grocers Cycling Team	Denver, CO

Sat 9/12/15

Criterium

Men

Master 55-59

Predicted Race Quality: 69.67
Place	Name	Team	City, State	Points
1	Bradley Jones	BBI-SIC Cycling	Brea, CA	69.67
2	Mark Hoffenberg	Breakaway From Cancer Elite Masters	Ladera Ranch, CA	71.48
3	James Edwards	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	Rcho Sta Marg, CA	72.03
4	Cyril Hunte		Rancho Cucamonga, CA	78.30
5	Frank Picarelli	BBI-SIC Cycling	Long Beach, CA	78.77
6	Daniel Nicolette	BBI-SIC Cycling	Los Alamitos, CA	79.11
7	Robert Swigart	Team Velosport-CA	Ladera Ranch, CA	85.48
8	Scott Claes	Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters	W Bloomfield, MI	86.43
9	Glenn Schneider	CPO Bikes	Lake Worth, FL	89.28
10	Yehuda Packer	Core Cycling Team	Valley Vlg, CA	93.83
11	Greg Fenton	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	Ramona, CA	97.00
12	Scott Winzeler	Mandalay Bay/McGhie's	Las Vegas, NV	99.10
13	Aubrey Gordon	Liberty Cycle, Inc.	Reading, PA	103.14
14	Lawrence Nolan	Team Specialized Racing	Fremont, CA	108.55
15	John Avila	PR Velo	Redlands, CA	108.57
16	Guillermo Roman	Velo Club LaGrange	Marina Del Rey, CA	110.97
17	Mark Sommers	Team Beyer Auto	Washington, DC	112.59
18	Bubba Melcher		Reno, NV	112.64
19	Kevin Willitts	3 Ft. - It\'s The Law	S Lake Tahoe, CA	117.19
20	Shin Umeda	SunPower Racing	Sunnyvale, CA	119.39
21	Dean Abt	Team Oakland Cycling	Oakland, CA	120.01
22	Robert Downs		Belleville, WI	128.59
23	Daniel Swietlik	OTR Racing	Hollywood, CA	140.98
24	Bill Brissman	Pen Velo Racing/Summit Bicycles	San Mateo, CA	141.84
25	Erik Salander	Pen Velo Racing/Summit Bicycles	Belmont, CA	160.15
26	Alan Roberts	ThirstyBear p/b Akamai	San Rafael, CA	166.84
27	William Soden	Great Divide Brewing Company	Denver, CO	202.39
28	David Corthell	AUDI RENO- TAHOE CYCLING	Reno, NV	211.62
29	Jerome Jacobs	545 Velo	Haverford, PA	266.24
30	Will Stoeger	Clean Power Cycling Team	Reno, NV	286.58
31	George Miranda	SunPower Racing	Fremont, CA	291.32
32	Robert Hoene	Bobs Bicycles Cycling Club	Boise, ID	306.10
33	Joseph Foster	R4R-Make A Wish	Alamo, CA	306.47
34	patrick naylor	Old School Industries at Altitude	Boulder, CO	311.16
35	Joseph Paulson	Boulder Orthopedics	Boulder, CO	344.48
36	Norman Frye	Ski Utah Cycling Team	Salt Lake City, UT	359.95
37	Paul Gossi	AUDI RENO-TAHOE	Reno, NV	373.00
38	Bruce Ruana	AUDI RENO- TAHOE CYCLING	Reno, NV	419.71
39	David Gordon	Olympia Orthopaedic Associates	Olympia, WA	427.85
40	Max Thompson	ThirstyBear p/b Akamai	San Anselmo, CA	430.14
41	Kurt Bickel	SOS Foundation/ Trek	Reno, NV	435.49
42	Tom Potter	Olympia Orthopaedic Associates	Browns Point, WA	489.33
43	Darrell Davis	Velosport Racing	Salt Lake Cty, UT	503.42
44	Alexi Grewal	Grewal Development	Loveland, CO	535.49
45	Zan Treasure	Bountiful Bicycle Racing	Ogden, UT	553.42
46	Brian Searchinger		Boulder, CO	555.54
47	Rockland Draper	Team Endurance 360	Farmington, UT	561.03
48	Louis Hayes		Paonia, CO	574.79
49	Erik Scheller	Tête de la Course Cycling	Gig Harbor, WA	581.74
50	Alex Brede	Shuksan Velo Club Race Team	Bellingham, WA	585.74
51	James Barker	Steamboat Velo	Steamboat Springs, CO
51	Scott Hoffman	Team PLAN7	Salt Lake City, UT
51	Robert McWhorter	US Military Endurance Sports	Divide, CO

PROFILE IN COURAGE FROM A 60+ RACER- RICK SWANSON

By John McKee

I am going to write about Rick and wrap up some of the races that were done since the last time I wrote. I got a little overwhelmed and in a mental funk so I didn't write about every race I did like I use too. Below are the criterium ranking for the different age categories above. I didn't list road rankings because Socal riders aren't well thought of in the USAC ranking system. Thurlow Rodgers is ranked 40th in his age cat so I know Socal riders are slighted.
I also listed the ranking in Socal Cup points of the 60+ riders up through Brentwood. The 55s don't have a Socal Cup cat this year. There are 3 races left in Socal. Ontario and 2 CBR type races in Carson and Dom. Hills. Let's(55 and 60+ racers) support these last races and put up some decent numbers. It might help for next year. I can tell you for a fact that the numbers make a big difference in deciding who gets a Socal Cup category and which cats are looked on favorably by promoters.

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (55-59)
Rank	Points	Name	City, State	License	Racing Age
1	69.67	Bradley Jones	Brea, CA	18133	56
2	70.50	Thurlow Rogers	San Diego, CA	30417	55
3	70.82	Mark Hoffenberg	Ladera Ranch, CA	45461	58
4	73.31	James Edwards	Rcho Sta Marg, CA	53917	55
5	74.00	Evan Teske	Mission Viejo, CA	35248	56
6	74.23	David Prechtl	Garden Grove, CA	56118	55
7	75.47	Gilbert Hatton	Pottstown, PA	61128	59
8	75.51	Brent Emery	Menomonee Falls, WI	45303	58
9	75.97	Robert Swigart	Ladera Ranch, CA	259109	55
10	77.87	Gary Dyer	Alton, IL	50908	57
11	78.08	Stephen Tilford	Topeka, KS	35598	55
12	78.44	Cyril Hunte	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	52086	59
13	78.77	Frank Picarelli	Long Beach, CA	333410	56
14	79.95	Daniel Nicolette	Los Alamitos, CA	26090	58
15	80.11	Mike Okano	Trabuco Hills, CA	26616	56

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (60-64)
Rank	Points	Name	City, State	License	Racing Age
1	77.19	Michael Birditt	Escondido, CA	47255	61
2	79.25	Dale Luedtke	Oceanside, CA	47262	61
3	80.25	Thomas Gates	La Mesa, CA	45364	60
4	87.10	Ricky Shorts	Long Beach, CA	52251	61
5	90.56	Kalman Szkalak	Capistrano Beach, CA	54522	62
6	92.39	Mike Marotta	Bakersfield, CA	72880	64
7	109.81	Bob Wright	Castaic, CA	39024	64
8	110.57	Rick Carrera	Laguna Niguel, CA	222523	60
9	111.03	Demi Hechanova	Claremont, CA	15625	61
10	113.78	Pedro Ordaz	Oxnard, CA	55635	61
11	116.65	Dirk Cowley	Salt Lake City, UT	7974	60
12	116.82	Rodney Malloy	Los Angeles, CA	107559	60
13	118.79	Paul Pearson	Allentown, PA	54984	60
14	119.88	Donald Denegal	Los Angeles, CA	93812	60
15	121.53	Howard Miller	Long Beach, CA	49424	63

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (65-69)
Rank	Points	Name	City, State	License	Racing Age
1	105.59	Leo Pettus	Yorba Linda, CA	219074	66
2	108.12	John McKee	Westminster, CA	180386	69
3	118.08	Richard Lilleberg	Cypress, CA	64127	68
4	127.35	Michael Fleming	Pomona, CA	129293	68
5	157.10	Douglas Knox	Santa Barbara, CA	45552	65
6	166.93	Donald Kimper	Solana Beach, CA	195498	68
7	173.77	Francisco Vasquez	Cooper City, FL	159632	65
8	189.72	Robert Tompkins	Anthem, AZ	305794	65
9	199.50	Ed Grystar	Oakmont, PA	224526	66
10	202.58	Jack Neyer	Pittsburgh, PA	60507	69

Current rank points for Road: Criterium Mens (70-90)
Rank	Points	Name	City, State	License	Racing Age
1	162.73	Robert Paganini	Los Angeles, CA	45763	79
2	290.81	Michael Edwards	Pasadena, CA	50406	70
3	377.11	David Burnett	Norwich, CT	227154	71
4	387.88	E Michael Ozment	Champaign, IL	46412	70
5	501.57	Gary Simmons	Layton, UT	199407	70
6	521.73	Dale Harless	Bellevue, WA	57571	72
7	523.38	Roger Springer	Atascadero, CA	198617	70
8	529.30	Richard Ellwanger	Tucson, AZ	272136	71
9	534.30	Leon Sowers	San Diego, CA	351238	78
10	538.14	Scott Tucker	Golden, CO	71040	76

 

SOCAL CUP POINTS- Through Brentwood- Masters 60+

Place

Rider

Points

1

Dale Luedtke (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)

150

2

Michael Birditt (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)

120

3

Thomas Gates (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)

101

4

Kalman Szkalak (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

88

5

Mike Marotta (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)

70

6

John McKee (OCW / Paramount Racing)

46

7

Reed Moore (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

45

8

Ricky Shorts (Bahati Foundation/WinTeam Racing)

41

8

Robert Willcox (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

41

10

Michael Mueller (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)

40

11

Howard Miller (OCW/Paramount Racing)

39

12

Peter Dufour (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)

38

13

Paul Rodriguez (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)

37

14

Ken Louder (FFKR - CONTENDER RACING)

28

14

Kim Bleth (Bicycle Bob's Racing)

28

16

Leo Pettus (OCW / Paramount Racing)

27

17

Kirk Freeman (South Bay Wheelmen)

26

17

Mark Huffman (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

26

19

Rick Carrera (Team Simple Green/Cannondale/Stage21)

22

19

Richard Mull (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)

22

21

Mark Helvie (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

21

22

Lionel Space (Arizona Faster Cycling)

20

22

Ronald Lillis (Crest/RBM Cycling)

20

24

John Howard

19

25

Eddie Morris (Breakaway from Cancer Masters)

18

25

Kevin Ryan (Metalmtn Cycling )

18

25

William Cassity

18

28

Roger Gottfried (Best Chauffeured - Mazda - Pro Bike Supply)

17

29

David B Stanton (Canyon Velo)

14

29

Dirk Cowley (Velosport Racing)

14

29

Michael Fleming (South Bay Wheelmen)

14

32

Pedro Ordaz (S2C/Primal)

13

32

William Tippets

13

32

Rodney Malloy (Bahati Foundation/WinTeam Racing)

13

35

James Swigart (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)

12

35

Frank Tai (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)

12

37

Richard Lilleberg (South Bay Wheelmen)

11

38

Thomas Barron

10

38

Donald Kimper (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

10

38

Bob Wright (Jet Lagged Velo, HiTech/Ridley Masters)

10

38

Angela Wimberly (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

10

There have been a lot of great races since I last wrote and that was a LONG time ago. The 1st race that comes to mind is the 805 Criterium Weekend. There was a 55/60+ race each day. Friday through Sunday with a great race each day. Money for each cat, each day. PLUS there was an Ominium for the 60s with extra cash there. Thank you to Mike Hecker the promoter for including both categories in his event. Sorry I rolled over your sign Mike when you were setting up the 2nd day. LOL!  In 55+ action James "Breakaway" Edwards proved he has the stuff to stick off the front. In each of the 3 days, James was in a break that actually made it to the end. The downside of this was on the 1st 2 days he was away with Mark "Lightning Bolt" Hoffenberg. Mark beat him in the finish sprint each day and it was close on day 2 as you can see in the vid BUT on the 3rd day James was away with Mark's teammate Mark Palmer and he did win there.

In 60+ racing Tom Gates proved to be the best over the 3 days of racing. That was a tall order seeing that he was racing against guys like Dale Luedtke, Mike Birditt, Kal Szkalak, Mike Marotta, etc. The courses were great or nearly so-HaHa(I guess LOL is old fashioned. I just found that out.). There are 3 videos below from each day. The 1st 2 have everyone for the 1st 2 days while the 3rd only has the bunch sprint for the 3rd day at Lompoc. James Edwards and Mark Palmer were too far ahead to vid with everyone.

In the front row the 1st day of the 805 race series I can see- Tom Gates, James Edwards, Brad Decker, Me, Birdy, Hoffy and the rest of the gang lined up. This was the "wind" course and was tough but doable.

805 Criterium 60+ Ominium podium- Birditt 3, Gates 1, & Luedtke 2.

After the 805 race series besides Ontario there were a number of really hard events. San Luis Rey, San Marcos, Carlsbad(50/60 here vs the usual 55/60 and it really made a difference.) It was super hot at Carlsbad that day and that was a factor as well. Ontario had a race the same day and you can only imagine what that was like. Bradley Jones won the 55 race and Ricky Shorts won the 60+ race.
At San Luis Rey and at San Marcos climbing specialist Mike Mueller took 1st place honors. He won a close race against John Howard at San Luis Rey but won on a solo break at San Marcos which was the SCNCA Criterium Championship. Mike has come back from some serious injuries from a bike crash so kudos to Mike for his victories. The hard road back only made the victories that much sweeter. Strange course to have the criterium championship. Randall "base sticker" Tinley won the 55+ race at San Marcos. Randall doesn't often leave the confines of the Santa Barbara area but he made an exception here and it worked out nicely for him. Carlsbad and Brentwood 60+ were won by Mike Birditt. Bradley Jones won the 55+ race at Brentwood. 

There were a lot of great rides and I have mentioned a few of them already but I would say the best ride of the year was done by Rick Swanson. A lot of us like Mike have come back from bad crashes and tangles with cars and I had a bad crash at El Dorado in 2007. My wife and I recalled the other night the ordeal. It wasn't a pleasant memory. One thing stood out in my wife's mind was the kindness of Al Shorts helping her out. She had our dog, my bike and her stuff and was over whelmed. Al was most helpful and I am not sure I ever got to thank him. THANK YOU AL! My crash, Mike's, Pags, Hoffy's, Paul's, Ernie's(his was bad. His neighbor took him out. What are neighbors for anyway!) and the many other crashes you guys and gals have suffered were tough and hard to recover from BUT I don't think any of these were life threatening like Rick Swanson's. At least to the extent Rick's was. Rick was air vaced to a hospital and that probably saved his life. Rick was hit hard by a truck that didn't see him and he was thrown a distance and hit a pole. Rick doesn't remember the details and that is probably good. Rick had a fight for his life and then a fight to get his old comfortable life back. Rick had so many injuries to overcome. Walking was very hard to get back BUT he got himself walking again with many hours of PT time and of course time on his own. This was in 2014. I heard that Rick was riding again in 2015 and I was surprised and quite pleased because Rick has always been friendly to me and everyone else that I know in cycling. To see that he signed up to race the Ontario 4 corner race was a real eye opener. Would he be able to physically and mentally be able to do it. Racing isn't easy no matter who you are. Rick not only kept up but placed 18 out of 21 racers. THAT WAS THE RIDE OF THE YEAR! Nice going, Rick!

Some tough PT here for Rick.

Rick leaving the hospital with his wife Karen. It was plently tough on her as well.

Rick put some of his own money into a race team for 2015. He's got some pretty good riders there!

You can see Rick in the middle back with the orange helmet. This is somewhere in the middle of the race.

I think I have run out of words. Pics are some of my own and some from Emily Cramer. I don't know who took the pictures of Rick at the hospital but I am giving credit. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

MBGP & CBR JUNE CRITERIUM HAVE GOOD TURNOUTS IN 55/60+ RACERS

By John McKee

The MBGP(6-7-15) and the CBR(6-14-15) June Criterium had good turnouts of 55/60+ racers. Little did we know that when we raced with Steve McDonald at Manhattan Beach, it would be his last race and the last time we would see him. Steve died on Friday(6-12-15) from injuries in a biking accident near his home. Steve wasn't wearing a helmet and crashed on his own suffering severe head injuries.
The CBR race on the 14th became the Steve McDonald Memorial Race for the 55/60+ race. More on this later.

Steve McDonald(1960-2015)

The MBGP had about 50 racers line up for the very early 7 am start but at least we had a race at Manhattan Beach. We haven't always had a slot there. The event has to end early because so many residential streets have to be closed off though residents are allowed to be escorted on and off the course. Not sure why because I am pretty sure the streets have an exit at the opposite end but don't know for sure.
A good number of top 55+ racers didn't attend while all the 60+ top performers did. Some riders don't like the nature of the course and the danger of the last 180. This year's 55/60+ race was crash free and almost all the races I have done there have been as well.
To cut to the chase, Malcolm Hill used Dale Luedtke as a rabbit with 3 laps to go and shot off from the pack. He asked Mike Birditt to not chase so he could join Dale but when Malcolm got to Dale the man was out of gas. Dale came back to the pack. Malcolm WASN'T out of gas and had plenty left in the tank. Malcolm held off the entire pack though the 60s didn't really care. They/We had their/our own race.

Start of the MBGP race

Malcolm was able to hold off the field and won the 55+ race. Really strong riding by Malcolm. The rest of the mortal racers and I must say racers rather than men because we do have gals enter out events and they are welcome. Angela Wimberly has raced with the 55/60+ racers for a number of years but is racing more this year and looks better than ever.
The 60+ race wasn't decided until late into the last lap. Mike Marotta jumped off the front with Yahuda "Pacman" Packer. "Pacman" is very strong and tagged teamed with Mike for 2nd in the 55+ race. Mike Marotta won the 60+ event. Deo Asuncion sprinted in with the peleton for 3rd in 55+. Mike "Oh my aching back" Birditt finished 2nd with Ricky Shorts edging Dale Luedtke for 3rd place in 60+. The pace wasn't as high and as hard as it has been in the past. A few of the stronger 55s that sat it out might have made a difference. The avg. speed was less than 25 mph and the avg. watts from my Stages power crank arm was 210 watts. Thanks to Emily Cramer for the action photos! There are videos at my 55/60+ facebook page if you want to see the action. Very good work by "Chaser" and "Backman".

FINISH 1

FINISH 2

FINISH 3

60+ MBGP result

MBGP 55+ result

60+ MBGP podium- Birditt, Marotta, & Shorts

55+ MBGP podium- Packer, Hill and Asuncion

The CBR June Criterium was raced on the Carson course and that is a fun course but sometimes some of the riders go out into the cones. Stay away from those cones! Please! The turnout of 55/60+ riders ws pretty good but not as good as MBGP. 43 racers lined up behind a group of racers from

Best Chauffeured - Mazda - Pro Bike Supply team. I knew them as OC Armada. That's what you can see on the butt. All of these team members were there to lead a neutral parade lap to honor Steve McDonald. Thank you for doing that and thanks to Chris Lotts(promoter) for allowing it. You get to know people over the years of coming to race events and they are like an extended family. I didn't get to know Steve but of those that did, he is leaving a lasting memory. RIP Steve McDonald. 

We got to race after the parade lap but the race was an after thought. Unimportant compared to a man's life. The best thing to do in this situation is to race hard and I think for the most part it was a pretty hard race. The course is pretty fast and the avg. speed for the 33 minutes was 26.4 mph. The race was shortened because of a crash in an earlier cat 5 race. What a surprise. 

James Edwards and Frank Picarelli went off on a early flyer and were going pretty good but Lothar "Chaser" Cramer and a few others weren't having it so despite a good hard effort they were caught after about 3 or 4 laps. After that there were no majors threats that lasted very long. It was going to come down to a bunch sprint for the 55 and 60+ winners and podium placers. 

Mark Hoffenberg out sprinted the field for the win in 55+ with James Edwards and Steve Strickler following him in for the rest of the 55+ podium. Mike Birditt out sprinted the 60+ group to win that category with Ricky Shorts getting by Dale Luedtke again for 2nd place. Dale held on for 3rd. Good hard race. The 50+ race was 2 races later and had a strong field with the avg. speed coming in at a robust 27.4 mph. I did have a higher power wattage in the 1st race because I was circulating more. 245 watts vs 210. It was a solemn occasion but glad we got to honor a lost fellow racer and we did race hard in his honor. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

55+ podium- June CBR- Edwards, Hoffenberg, & Strickler

60+ podium- June CBR- Shorts, Birditt, & Luedtke

55+ result- CBR June Crit

60+ result- CBR June Crit