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

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

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

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+

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