55/60+ BIKE RACING NEWS

Monday, May 16, 2011

CRASH MARS ONT. MID SEASON CRIT-SANTA CLARITA VELO WINS 55 & 60

By John McKee

Weather has really plagued the Socal bike racing circuit this year and has been especially tough on 55/60+ racers because we race so early in the morning and it is cold besides being wet. The weather report didn't look that bad for Ontario for their Mid Season Criterium on their somewhat boring 4 corner course BUT the day of was something different. The date is May 15th, 2011 and the weather is suppose to be nice or maybe mild but NOT cold, windy, wet and rainy and that's what it was. It wasn't raining at home when I left about 5:40 am but got some sprinkles on the way to the course. When I got there it started to rain a little more and that feeling of dread of having to once again race in the rain was coming over me. My pre race morning did have some nice surprises. Richard Rodiguez handed me a 60 inch by 70 inch crocheted blanket. His wife Yvonne made it for me because I write this blog. Thank you so much, Yvonne. I had that going for me and then Steve Borer comes up to me with a folder. It had 2 very nice 8 X 10 photos of myself racing at Barrio Logan the prior week. Thank you Steve and Jodie Borer. Personally the day was starting out pretty good but the weather was depressing. Walking to registration I stopped and chatted a bit with Kal Szkalak and he was down on the weather. He said if it was raining at the start of the race that he wouldn't do it.

Looks lovely in Ontario on Sunday, right. Not! Photo courtesy of Hilary Crowley's I Phone

After I got back to my car with my number in hand the rain started to lighten up and then it stopped. Wow. Hallelujah! Monty came over and we started to warm up. The roads were still going to be wet though no matter what. We all lined up around 7:45am. 10 mins beyond our scheduled start time. No big deal. The cat 4 women had a massive turnout in the race before ours. Very impressive. Sanda Timbal who races with us quite often finished 2nd. Nice job, Sanda!
We had from my count 32 racers. 20 55s and 12 60s. The 60 cat is not doing well this year. There was another event on the calendar which was the Death Valley Stage Race. Most racers that would do that wouldn't be doing a short criterium but there are a few guys that do both types of races. Gary Shuey(Gary won the 55+ cat), Kim Bleth and Glenn Baldwin come to mind. They brag in the race flyer for DVSR that there are "no bogus FLAT miles". That is a direct quote and here we were in Ontario and were going to race on nearly pancake flat roads. As flat as it may be on this day the race at Ontario wasn't going to be easy and everyone wasn't going to finish it. You can read about the Death Valley race at Jim Morehouse's(Jim won the 60+ cat) blog: http://400000milesandcounting.blogspot.com/.
The race was off at Ontario and almost immediately it started to rain lightly. Enough to keep the roads wet. The first break attempt was by Steve Borer, Rino B. and Pat Huber. After a couple of laps out there Steve and Rino felt Pat didn't have his heart in the break and sat up near the start finish line. Rino is with Santa Clarita Velo and per Captain Bligh's instructions when one attack is caught counter, counter, or counter. Just playing with Fred a little. Fred Hoblit is the team maestro, captain, playing coach or team race director, or whatever you wish to call him. Mike Gourley of SCV went off then and Kal reacted right away. Mike "The Godfather" Birditt saw the danger of 2 very strong riders getting away so he jumped on their train. Everyone else reacted as well. The got a bit of a gap but going into turn 2 they didn't seem to be picking up much territory. They were just getting started. Turn 2 was deceptively treacherous. There was a little dip right after the corner and with the wet conditions Mike Gourley who was starting to wind it up washed out his front wheel. He was down in an instant. Kal was right behind him and he went down. Mike Birditt was next in line and had no chance and went over the bars and landed on one of the guys down. Everyone else saw the crash and slowed and started toward the outside of the road but the 3 of them were sliding from left to right or inside to outside. We slowed more and aimed further out to get by. Monty Pettus thought he would cut inside the sliding riders and hit the same spot that Mike Gourley did with too much angle and slide out. Mike Gourley got up pretty quick. Mike Birditt and Monty Pettus also got up quickly. Kal didn't get up quickly.
Once the racers that were still rolling got by someone hit it really hard. It was fast. Coming back around toward turn 2 Mike Birditt was waving his arms in an attempt to get everyone to slow down and go by the crash site neutral. Everyone did. Kal was on his shins bent over with his head near the ground and obviously in pain. The next time around Mike did the same thing and Kal was in exactly the same position. Mike told me later that Kal was really hurting and it was his ribs. Kal wanted to get up and move to the side of the road. Mike and a few others helped Kal up. They got him to the side of the road where he sat down on the curb. He was still in a lot of pain but didn't want the paramedics called. He wanted to drive away himself which wasn't a great idea but that is what he did. As of the time of this blog story, I haven't heard anything on Kal's condition. Here is wishing Kal the best on what surely will be a fairly long recovery. Kal is one tough dude and races more than anyone. His number just came up. Mike Gourley had some scratches on his face and hip while Mike Birditt and Monty came out with very minor injuries. A number of riders were gapped off at the crash site because it was strung out getting by and the pace was so fast coming by there or maybe the site of the crash took the will to race out of a few of the guys.
Just seeing all this put a pall over the race but we did continue to race. Some of the favorites were out in both 55 and 60+. The rain lightened up and we kept going around and around. The wind did pick up and it was in the racers face after turn 4 and made that stretch from turn 4 and by the start/finish line very difficult. Everyone was looking for cover in this area. A few brave soles were attacking in this area and made the racing hard. It was a hard day all the way around.
Most of the rest of the race it was attack and chase but nothing major happened until after the prime sprint for the Ontario series points. Dale Luedtke and David Lang pulled those home. After that all hell broke loose. Fred "Captain Bligh" Hoblit and Rick Swanson got away. Decent gap. John Roest put in the chase all by himself. He was out in the lead for several laps and got everyone so close that there tenure as race leaders was effectively over. Don't know who finally closed them out but when they were back in the fold the Santa Clarita Velo playbook was followed. Aye, aye Captain. Tom Riley jumped off and was followed by Brian Carrico of PAA I guess. His kit is way old.
They got going pretty good and eventhough Rick Swanson was quite tired from his last venture he started to try and close the gap to them by himself. He was eventually joined by Pat Huber. The 2 of them worked hard and finally caught Tom and Brian. Four off the front with 2 to go. Steve Cahill tried to come across solo but got caught in no man's land. Dale Luedtke put in a hard effort to try and catch Steve and came toward the start/finish line with one to go and since I was on Dale's wheel, he wanted me to pull through but I didn't. I figured that if I pulled hard into the wind and got Steve who is a 55+ racer I would be in oxygen debt and there would only be one lap to go and my rivals, Bob Wright, David Lang and Mike Fleming would get a free ride up. I choose to hang back and I know Dale wasn't happy with me but that is what I did. After turn one Steve Diamond of Swami's came forward and offered to lead Dale around but Dale choose wisely I believe to hang back a little more. I got on Steve's wheel and was 2nd wheel going down the back stretch.
Back up front where the win for the 55+ cat was unfolding Tom Riley put in a hard surge going into the last corner and got a small gap and made it stick to the line. Nice job, Tom. 1st place, 55+! Rick Swanson was 2nd, Brian Carrico was 3rd and Pat Huber was 4th.
1st place in 60+ was still out there and I was hoping that Steve Diamond had a lot of stuff left because I know what happens when a lead out man dies. The 2nd man has to take over or gets passed like he is standing still. After Steve took us around turn 3 I asked him to ramp it up but whatever speed was called into Steve's engine room, it wasn't there. At turn 4 Fred Hoblit came by with my rival Bob Wright in tow like I was standing still. Dale Luedtke and Craig Jones did as well. I got going as best I could and was aiming at Bob and gained some ground but he was effectively too far ahead. Bob Wright was 1st in 60+. I was 2nd. David Lang was 3rd, Mike Fleming 4th, Don Kimper 5th and Pags 6th. Side note- Pags comes driving in 5 minutes before the race is suppose to start and luckily we started 10 minutes late. Now that was what I call cutting it close. He made it.
6 out of the 12 60+ starters finished means it was tough out there.
Dale Luedtke won the field sprint for 5th place catching Steve Cahill before the line. Fred Hoblit also passed Steve for 6th while Mr. Cahill got 7th place. I only have one photo now but may have more later and will insert them. There will be a vid available as early as Tuesday. Complete results are below as best the officials could do them. The camera wasn't working that well. It was a bad day for racing although we have raced at many venues this year with wet and or rainy conditions and had no accidents but not at Ontario. Again I wish Kal a speedy recovery. If someone hears anything about Kal, let me know and I will spread the word. You tube vid added thanks to Mike McKinney.
http://youtu.be/hNx0dbTBRh8 That's all for now! Train hard and race safe!

Mid Season Criterium (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	14
2	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	11
3	107852	David Lang	DARE	10
4	129293	Michael Fleming	South Bay Wheelmen	9
5	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	8
6	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	7

Mid Season Criterium (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	155459	Thomas Reilly	Santa Clarita Velo	14
2	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	11
3	174212	brian carrico	PAA/REMAX	10
4	206734	John Huber	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	9
5	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	8
6	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	7
7	204724	Steve Cahill	Celo Pacific	6
8	18156	Craig Jones	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	5
9	one day			4
10	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	3
11		Unknown		2
12	277180	John Roest	Rock N' Road Cyclery	1
13		unknown		0
14	9271	Pete Dern	Herbalife LaGrange	0
15	52086	cyril hunte		0

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

MOTHER'S DAY CBR #6 WINS FOR SHUEY/55+ & PETTUS/60+

By John McKee


Swami's Gary Shuey & Mike Birditt "The Godfather" of crit racing

It's Mother's Day May 8th, 2011 and time for the CBR #6 May Day Criterium in Domiguez Hills, Cal. The race I am writing about is the 55/60+ race scheduled to start at 7:45 am. Since all of us are over 55 years of age, not many of us have mothers or mother in laws alive any more but most of our wives are mothers so we all have to take care of business there. Most wives are understanding enough to let the boys play in the morning as long as attention is paid the rest of the day. Mothers take care of things 364 days a year so this one day won't hurt us men to pay tribute to all their mothers in their family. I say Happy Mother's Day to my mother(Alta Faye Wright McKee)long since passed and to all your mothers whether alive or not and to your wives that are mothers. How about Mother in Laws while I'm at it. Lol. OK. Race day is play day and 35 guys came to partake. It was Sunday and the day before was the veteran race Barrio Logan Grand Prix brought to us by SDBC. I am sure it was a long day for all those guys and gals so they can have a pass for not coming on this Sunday. Some racers just do SCNCA races and some just do CBR. Only one license is required then but the die hard racers carry 2 cards and do both. One can do CBR races without their license but it costs more.

Paramount's dynamic 60+ criterium duo of McKee & Pettus

CBR had worn the Paramount criterium course to near death in Dom. Hills so they came up with another course across Wilmington Ave. Similar type industrial park course but slightly harder from my first experience. Not bad. I like it. I actually still like the old worn out course.
35 hardy 55/60+ racers started on time. The pack was neutral the first lap because 3 cat 5 racers were littered across the course after a crash on the last lap. We rode by carefully and they all looked ok and were getting up with their bikes and walking off. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I see crashed riders get up and feel a sinking feeling in my stomach when they can't get up. All good this time. Next time by the start/finish line Dale Luedtke takes it out. Not ramming speed or even attack speed but maybe hard tempo speed. After a 1/2 lap I decided to ramp it up a bit. After having won the day before, I was somewhat indifferent as to a result and was just looking to do some good racing and let the finish fall where it may. I went by Dale and tried to incite him to go with me but maybe I was going too fast for Dale. Yea, right. That's a good one. I was out there solo but kept the pressure on and knew someone or the whole pack would catch me soon and after less than a half lap Gary Shuey brought everyone with him. I say thanks there. Gary, Kim Bleth, Dale Luedtke were added to the Swami's lineup which had Steve Diamond, Mike Birditt and Rick Swanson on the 55+ podium on Sat. at BLGP. Rick couldn't make it at the CBR Mother's Day race but everyone else was there. Very strong team!
There was a lot of shadow boxing and some prime killing going one early but a definite break formed with the major teams involved about 1/3 the way through the race. Santa Clarita's Fred Hoblit, Velo Allegro's Alex Gonzales, UCC's Alex Collins and Swami's Kim Bleth. The driving force for Swami's was to protect Dale Luedtke's BAR point lead over Fred Hoblit, Ricky Shorts and Pat Huber. The foursome stayed away for several lap but Mike "The Godfather" was at or near the front closely monitoring the situation. After several laps away Doug Knox tried to get across the gap which hovered between 100 and 200 meters. Doug had a tough time but made it. After 5 or so laps away I measured the distance away and on a section of the course where you get a little sling shot I jumped hard to try and get across when the break group was at around 100 meters. I was just having fun. When I joined the group Fred Hoblit said that the group wasn't working well together and was quite negative about the whole thing. While I was there Alex Collins made a hard move but nothing was smooth and Kim was there more as an observer than a break participate. Bottom line this wasn't going to work. It didn't get the blessing of the "Godfather". I was with the break for a little less than 2 laps and was starting to get my sea legs and do some work when the pack closed it out. Que Sera sera!
The race didn't seem like it was going anywhere but a bunch sprint when Gary Shuey quietly rolled off the front with 7 laps to go. No one paid any attention to him. Once he got out there he went ALL IN! What does it have to lose. If caught, his team still has the 2 fastest sprinters. Gary kept going and no one reacted and everyone went into that reserve your energy for the sprint mode.
In 60+ action I saw Rich Stahlberg and Bob Wright continually at the front. Monty Pettus as he usually does was cooling his heels comfortably tucked away in the pack. Max draft and max energy conservation. Monty came forward in the last 10 laps and was working for good position like Rich and Bob were. Rich and Bob were close in BAR competition. Phil Walters was also close but didn't show.
Within the last 2 laps Gary was out of sight and definitely out of mind of anyone. Swami's could now ramp it up and bring Dale up for the bunch sprint. Swami's is now the 100 pound gorilla like other teams in the past. Gary easily came across the line in 1st place in 55+. Nice job, Gary.
In the peleton Mike Birditt went to the front to ramp it up big time with Dale Luedtke on his wheel on the last lap. Each corner Mike ramped it up faster. Everyone was single file with 2 corners to go. Between the next to last and the last corner is a tough little hill. It doesn't look like much but at ramming speed it was hard. I got passed by Ricky Shorts and Don Denegal of Velo Allegro on the hill. Once near the last corner I got a second wind. Mike took Dale to the corner and no one was going to pass Dale now.
Dale was the 1st sprinter across the line followed by-Fred Hoblit, Kal Szkalak, Monty Pettus(1st in 60+), and Ricky Shorts took the last money spot and 5th in 55+.
Bob Wright was ahead of me when we turned the corner and I closed some ground on him but came up at least 1/2 a bike length short. Bob got 2nd and I got 3rd in 60+. Everyone else streamed in. Pretty good race though lopsided with the fire power that Swami's brought to this race. They have a lot of strong cards. I have a podium pic for 60+ but don't have one for 55+(sorry about that). Results down to 12 are below for each category. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!


60+ podium- McKee(3rd), Pettus(1st), & Wright(2nd)

55+ results from 6 to 12
6- Denegal
7- Huber
8- Hunte
9- Collins
10-Malloy
11-Jones
12-Prideaux

60+ results from 4 to 11
4- Stahlberg
5- Carvin
6- Pags
7- Seri
8- Fleming
9- Edwards
10-Alpert
11-Kizuka

Monday, May 9, 2011

SWAMI'S DOM 55+/MCKEE BESTS 60+ BREAKERS @ 2011 BLGP

By John McKee

Racer floored! He missed pre reg for the 2011 BLGP

The Barrio Logan Grand Prix is the San Diego Bicycle Club's sponsored and produced race. Ralph Elliot is the promoter/announcer and Steve Borer is the president of the host club. The date of the 2011 race was Saturday May 7th and the location San Diego, Ca. There were some glitches coming into the event. The cut off date for pre registering was the Sunday before the race(May 1st). Most racers like myself don't look at registering for the next race until the Monday before but that was late. Oh well! Add $5.

John McKee on the right coming across the line in 1st place in 60+- Mike Birditt(2nd in 55+) lead John in. Fred Nicolet follows in for 2nd place in 60+.

SDBC always puts on a great event and the course is way cool. Rough pavement for sure but doable. Another problem for the race was several cycling events on the same date. There was a Tour of California pre ride to Mt. Baldy that many cyclists did and much of the Breakaway for Cancer riders did in support of their sponsor Amgen as I understand it. There was a Tour de Cure ride in San Diego County that the sponsored UC Cyclery racers had to attend. That really weakened the 55+ field and 60+ as well.


Swami's Rick Swanson coming across the finish SOLO with the win in 55+ @ the 2011 BLGP

Proceeds from the race were to go to Logan Heights Family Health Center. That made the $5 late fee issue no big deal. Glad to see a worthy cause get our money. Especially in hard times like we are in and with the U.S. House majority wanting to trim programs that help the poor to give to the wealthy. Reverse Robin Hood.

55/60+ racers before start @ 2011 BLGP

Only 9 55s and 14 60+ racers lined up. There was $300 to be paid out to BOTH categories. Good pay day compared to other races. The host team SDBC had a good showing of riders as they should. The start time for the 55/60+ race was 7:50 am. Before the race promoter and announcer Ralph Elliot read the former winners in 55+ and 60+ over the years. Those that win here get their name in next year's Barrio Logan GP race booklet as a race winner.

"The Godfather" starts the break w Wright & McKee chasing

Very cool thing. The race started on time and Doug Knox started the ball rolling with a jump off the front. Mike "The Godfather" Birditt got right on it and I was determined to stay at the front and go with anything that moved off the front. Without UCC and only one Santa Clarita Velo racer the race was wide open and Mike Birditt and Rick Swanson were definitely the two strongest riders in the field. If Mike went, I went. I didn't let him get very far away. Mike and Doug were going and I jumped across the gap to get in on the action. Doug took it for a little over a lap but everything was together again and Doug went back to sleep. Steve Borer and David Lang were being attentive. Rick Swanson did a short solo effort for a prime lap and softened everyone up. Mike "The Godfather" Birditt started the winning break with Bob Wright and myself in chase soon afterward. After a lap away Mike, Bob and myself were together with only 50 meters of a gap. Not much.

Break evolving with McKee, Wright and Birditt

Fred Nicolet of SDBC started across the gap with Norm Kibble of RPM in Arizona. Norm is a former 55+ champion at BLGP. Once the 5 of us were together we got going but Norm wouldn't take a turn at the front. The 4 of us started working it with "The Godfather" doing the most work. He was the strongest. Rick "Cobblestones" Swanson decided to come across now before the gap got too large. After Rick joined, the six pack started slowly but were picked up steam. Steve Borer also tried to come across and Doug Knox was chasing hard. The pack was strung out single file. The pressure was on every rider. Mike Birditt taking the most work in the break. We were hearing that we had 10 seconds on the pack and then 12, 15, & 20. The key to the break group was Fred Nicolet. He was of the host club SDBC. They had many members in the main pack to pace and block and they did their job well near the beginning of the break which is where the help was needed. Once the block was put on the break was going to work almost surely.

Fred Nicolet & Norm Kibble starting to come across the gap

There was a $100 prime for food at a host sponsor- Acqua AL 2 Restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter. That really got Mike going. I was on his wheel but it was pretty hard. Bob Wright said he was really hurting and had to suck it up to get back in close contact. Mike was uncontested for the prize prime.(Enjoy your dinner there with Nancy, Mike. No Lulu though[Lulu is a Min Pin just like my companion dog]. This is high end Italian.) No one wanted to risk cracking with a high effort sprint for the prime. This was the hardest lap. We started to see the pack opposite us on the course which meant we were one half a lap ahead. We weren't going to get caught. We all continued to work except Norm. Norm just hung on the end of the break group. Rick and Mike were 55+ racers and the class of this field. The remaining 4 of us were 60+ and were going to have to fight it out at the finish for one through four.

SDBC put on the block with Don Kimper leading

Back in the pack Phil Richards was doing most of the pacing. Phil can't stand to just sit in. The 5 lap to go card came up and everyone was plotting their finish. At first Mike was going to lead out Rick though however they finished was up to them. Later Rick decided he was going to try and take it solo in from 2 laps out. Mike was happy to let his teammate get some of the glory. Swami's already had 4 different winners in 55+. Rick would be 5.

Mike "The Godfather" Birditt leads the break group around one of the many corners on the Barrio Logan course

The 2 lap to go card came up and Rick put in a hard surge. He didn't go out of the saddle but just pushed very hard on his pedals like he was in France riding on the famous cobblestones in the Paris Roubaix. Rick actually was there on a bike tour and rode many of the sections of the race and watched the 2011 race in person. At BLGP Rick was going good and I started to chase. Then a light went on in my head. If I break my neck and connect with Rick and bring everyone else across, what have I gained? If I fail and tire myself out, I would really be sunk. Rick is not in my cat so I took the pressure off the pedals and let Fred and Bob pull through. Rick kept going to solo in for an excellent victory. Nice job, Rick!

Rick Swanson zipping up for the finish photos- In the background the sprint is heating up- Birditt, McKee & Nicolet

On the second lap to go I asked Mike if he would help me and lead me out. I got on his wheel coming to the finish line for the next to the last time. Rick was off ahead and headed for victory as mentioned. Mike lead us around for the last time. Mike kept a steady speed up and when we made the first left turn on the course headed for the bottom of the course I asked Mike to ramp it up. About that time Norm Kibble jumped the field from the rear position. Mike got right on him and I stayed on Mike. It was uphill from this point home with the hardest stretch after the next corner which was the 3rd corner to go to the finish. I was out of the saddle going up the hill. Once we hit the next to last corner I could tell Norm was spent. Mike stayed on him then went around. The course flattened out there. I was starting to hurt but saw the last corner. It was a sprint home from there. Mike hit the last corner hard and went wide. I turned inside him and once I straightened out I got out of the saddle for a max effort. It was my race to win now. I hadn't looked behind me but Fred Nicolet had stayed on me but must have been tiring. I sprinted as hard as I could and with 20 meters to go Mike looked around and told me "You got it". I kept the pressure on and then freewheeled it across the line and raised my tired right arm in triumph.

McKee at max effort with "The Godfather" checking for followers

The main peleton were racing for the final 55+ spot on the podium and the 60+ racers were going for 5th place at best. The payout was to 6 places so there was money out there. Doug Knox jumped the field coming home as he usually does from pretty far out. David Lang got on him but Doug was able to hold David off for 5th place. David got the last paying spot in 60+. 6 of the first 8 finishers were 60+.

Doug Knox and David Lang sprinting home

Steve Diamond of Swami's lead the field in for 3rd place in 55+. Steve is another body builder turned bike racer. Steve Borer raced in for 4th place in 55+.

Steve Diamond on the left leading in the field with Steve Borer next. Phil Richards & Don Kimper racing in for 60+ placings

Sydney Conine w her trophy.

The Barrio Logan Grand Prix is always a fun event and the cause that the proceeds go to is quite worthy. The course is challenging and the pavement choppy. Of course this is a poor mostly Hispanic area so that kind of tells you why it is so bad. I of course had an especially good time this year. LOL! Wonder why. I wish the top riders in both 55+ and 60+ could have been there but for those that did come it was a great experience. I dedicate my victory to my 4 grandchildren. I started the day off and was finished off by my athletic grand kids. My granddaughter Sydney(8) won a trophy for runner up in her softball league losing to a much better team 7-2 though Sydney got 2 hits. Sydney's team lost every game going into the playoffs but at 8 years of age...well anything is possible when you watch them. Sydney's mother who is my daughter told me "The kids love trophies and medals too." I was smiling to myself thinking my racing friends race to near exhaustion for the smallest of medals. I guess we are all just older grown up kids but I don't think that is a bad thing. If racing keeps us "Young at Heart", that's great. Better than sitting on the couch watching TV and letting everyone else have fun. I am having fun just like my grandchildren.

Jenna finishing 2nd place in a 5k run at Angel Stadium

Jenna Conine(12) played a soccer game that Saturday and her team won 1-0. Way to go, girl. Jenna is a 10 year cancer survivor. Jenna is also a good distance runner. My grandson Brett(14) had an excellent day to finish everything off getting to the final championship game in a baseball tournament and pitching a shutout in the final game. Way to go, Brett. My youngest grandson is 5 months and Jonathan is very big for his age and also photogenic as you can see below.
Since not many of you racers are still reading and that's ok since I went so personal, I want to give a shout out to my many readers that follow my blog around the country. Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoy what I write and the photos I insert. The photos here are mainly from Steve Borer's wife, Jodie. Some of the pics are from my wife, Alicia and from Season Everton. Season is the wife of a new Paramount racer, Ben Everton. Thank you all for the great photos. Below are 2 vids courtesy of my wife. The first is the break finish and then the pack finish. Podium pics are below as well. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Brett Conine nailing one-chip off the old granddad block

5 month old Jonathan Wooley in his Ivy League button down collared shirt

55+ Podium- "The Godfather", Rick Swanson, & Steve Diamond

60+ Podium- Fred Nicolet, John McKee, & Bob Wright holding up the tortillas won along with cash

Barrio Logan Grand Prix (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	14
2	26089	Fred Nicolet	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	11
3	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	10
4	45539	Norman Kibble	Team RPM	9
5	45552	Douglas Knox	Santa Ynez Valley Racing Team	8
6	107852	David Lang	DARE	7
7	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	6
8	195498	Donald Kimper	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	5
9	243425	mark wisnosky	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	4
10	228631	James Swigart	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	3
11	314990	Matias Garcia	Donny's Cafe Cycling Club	2
12	50498	Richard Rodriguez	Pacific Sunset Velo/Pac Sun Velo	1
13	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	0
14	72139	Armen Khachadourian	Echelon Gran Fondo/Zteam	0

Barrio Logan Grand Prix (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	14
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	11
3	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	10
4	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	9
5	51028	Marc Lee	SDBC	8
6	167453	Bob Estupinan	Citrus Valley Velo	7
7	66553	John Sinz	Canyon Velo	6
8	23055	Reed Mayne	Swami's Cycling Club	5
9	338398	bernie bogard		4

Sunday, May 1, 2011

GREAT RACING AT SLR/2011 SCNCA CHAMP FOR SUPER MASTERS

By John McKee

San Luis Rey Road Race is on the SCNCA calendar at April 30th, 2011. Celo Pacific produces the race and always does a good job though bare boned this year with not even a water, coffee, or anything to purchase at Sullivan Middle School in Bonsall, Cal. High prices as well at $39 pre reg and $50 same day. As most of you know the "old" course is out and the "new" course is in which is easier and not as much fun. The "old" course would take you out to Hwy 395 with its steep power climb and 50+ mph decent over the 2 inch freeway expansion joint. The "new" course is an out and back course starting down the hill around and back toward the freeway and a turnaround and home again with the last few miles uphill at different percentages with the steepest parts at maybe 6 to 7 %. Much of the last climb is 2 to 5 %. There was a good showing of racers with 30 55+ racers, 16 60+ and 19 Super Masters(65+ and up to 80+ in 5 year increment).

Mike Mueller- 55+ winner- rode across the line solo

Different waves were to go off at 7:30 am, 7:35, 7:40(55s and 60s) and 7:45(Super Masters). The "young guys" were off in a flash and I mean the 55s and 60s. Lol. I raced 65+ this year. The Supers started 5 minutes later and once started I went near the front. Didn't want to mix with the older riders as many are terrible bike handlers. No offense intented. I got stuck in the "Brea tar pit" at the Cyclo Vets Criterium on the last lap and it was scary. Climbing specialist Herb Johnson of the Cyclo Vets went to the front at the beginning of the Super Masters race and paced but once down a ways disappeared. I went to the front and did some pacing and once on the flats riding toward the freeway myself, Fritz Tomasello, Jim Roebuck and Jim Fitzgerald did all the pacing with myself and Fritz doing most of the work. I would rather do that than ride at a crawl. Once Pags came up toward the front and was 2nd wheel and Jim Roebuck pulled off, I shouted to Pags to go and pace for a while but he wouldn't do it so Pags definitely has to be branded as the #1 "Wheel Sucker". Going toward the freeway I saw Mike Mueller and Kim Bleth off the front of the 55/60+ race and were at least 400 meters ahead. What a start for them.

Kenny Fuller- 60+ winner-Kenny also won solo but ahead of the 55+ winner- Don't know how he doe it

Glenn Baldwin- 2nd place finisher to the "Super Star" in 60+

The Super Masters made the right turn for home and uphill so Herb Johnson went to the front to shred the field. Just a few words about Herb. Herb Johnson is a climbing specialist. He does 10,000 ft of climbing 5 days a week in training. He did taper into this race though. He will enter the San Dimas Stage Race and just do the uphill time trial even though he has to pay full boat price of $80. His time this year was 16:54. That's good! Only 18 seconds short of Gary Shuey and 38 short of Mike Mueller and faster than Robert Wilcox and Mark Huffman. So if you think moving up to the Super Masters will be a piece of cake...well forget it! Herb kept the pressure up in the big ring. As strong as Herb is he looked so awkward climbing. Throwing his bike from side to side and wandering about when he looks around. I know he is fast going uphill but he sures looks inefficient. I first saw Herb in 2002 at San Dimas when the time trial was all the way to the top of Glendora Mountain Road. I was doing the best I could and some guy came by me breathing so hard I thought he was going to explode. I thought he was going to drop dead before he made it to the top but he did and what a great time. Howard Miller told me later in explanation "Oh well that's Herb Johnson". That was all he had to say then.
Herb had done his job at the turnaround and only Fritz Tomasello, Gary Devoss and myself were still with him. I know I surprised Fritz and Gary to still be there but I surprised myself. Lol. I paced a lot coming down and once we turned on the rolling part of the course Gary and Herb took turns attacking Fritz and I. I covered most of the attacks but Fritz covered Gary often and I always covered Herb. Didn't these guys know I do every crit in Socal and have to keep up with very fast 55s. This was a piece of cake but that was ok.

Gary Devoss-3rd, Fritz-winner and Herb Johnson 2nd in 65+(Sorry about quality of photo but taken with Gary's cell)

Fritz Tomasello- winner of 65+ category

70+ racers Jacobo Melcer- 2nd and winner Dan Wulbert

The person that got in trouble was Herb one time when Gary counter attacked. Fritz saw this and pulled through but Herb finally got back on. I should have countered then but didn't. The 2 Cyclo Vets stopped the attacking before we made the right turn for home and the last uphill climb. Herb was pacing going into the sharp right turn and tried to take it fast to keep the mo going into the uphill section but almost went into the cones. Fritz followed his wheel and immediately for thinking "Why did I follow Herb around a corner". I cut inside about 15 feet and looked over at them in amazement but Herb did miss the cones and a fall. Now Herb went to the front with Fritz on his wheel followed by myself and Gary. The first part of the climb is easy so no pace here is going to do any good but Herb was trying. As the hill kicked up a bit it got harder. I popped about half way to 60% up the climb. Gary was on my wheel and he was through as well though I don't know how much longer he would have been able to stick if he had been on Fritz's wheel but from my observation he was cooked as well. It was between Herb and Fritz for 65+ but the other Super Masters categories were behind us and to be determined. Fritz was in some difficulty but he is a superb climber in his own right and only weighs 137 lbs. He told himself to just hang on during the hard parts and the road would pretty much level out near the finish. It did and he was still there. Once near 200 meters to go Fritz locked and loaded into the big ring but a bigger cog in his cassette so he could spin it up faster and easier. He jumped Herb and it was no contest. Fritz 1st and Herb 2nd. Herb would have preferred a much harder and longer race but the older cats don't have them. Gary and I were coming for home and he reminded me that he helped me last year with 9th place at the champ road race in Bake so I relented. Gary 3rd and myself 4th. Butch Richardson came later for 5th place in 65+. Great to see Butch back out on the road again after all he went through. Great job, Butch. I call that the "Ride of the Day"!
In the 55+ race Mike Mueller dropped Kim Bleth on the last lap and 60+ winner Kenny Fuller went by him to finish ahead of everyone. Mike was next across the line for 1st in 55+. Mike Birditt outsprinted everyone for 2nd in 55+. Kal Szkalak was 3rd in 55+.
In 60+ action Glenn Baldwin was 2nd in a great ride. Ultra rider Bill Tippitts finished 3rd in his first race as a 60+ racer. In 70+ action Dan Wulbert bested everyone for 1st place with Jacobo Melcer finished 2nd. Jim Roebuck was 3rd. In 75+ the world's #1 wheel sucker was 1st. Nice job, Pags.

Link Lindquist- 80+ winner

In 80+ Link Lindquist was 1st out of 2 riders. I think the other guy may still be riding..... No he just finished. Just kidding. I am sure we all would like to be able to ride our bikes when we are over 80 years of age. There are too many categories to cut and paste into my blog so you will have to the SCNCA website for full results. I have inserted a photo of how all the Super Masters finished as a group since it was the SCNCA championship for all of them. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!