BIG TURNOUT AT ROGER MILLIKAN MEMORIAL CRITERIUM IN 55/60+

By John McKee

I don't know what it is but the Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium brings out the biggest group of racers of the year and 2015 was no exception. 618 pre registered entries! Perfect weather. It was 63 degrees when I got to the venue before 7 am. Unseasonal warm weather. It was February 8th, 2015. The host club Canyon Velo brought the race back to the Challenger course. A fun hard 7/10 of a mile course with a mixture of fast and uphill sections. The section between turn 3 and 4 was uphill with the start of the leg just slightly uphill. Coming off a downhill section this part was quite easy but the momentum was gone after a spell and you were on your own but being in the draft of a pack made the climb easier. The leg to the finish from turn 4 was a false flat and it was tough after coming up the hill.

Pelky's bike. His son started a t shirt company with this name.

There were 58 pre registered riders for the 55/60+ race. 28 60s and 31 55s. That ballooned to 31 and 37 by the time we all got to the line. A fine turnout for sure but we have actually sold this out before at 75. The question now is can we carry these numbers forward to other races. We haven't in the past so we shall see.
Both categories were loaded with the best riders for their age. One of the new teams for 60+ was derived from last year's Swami's team. Swami's was the dominant club in 60+ last year and all of their 60+ riders went over to a new squad started by Rick Swanson. Rick raced for them and isn't lining up right now because of a major crash riding home from work. A truck turned left into him and threw him against a utility pole. Rick survived and decided to put his own money into forming a club with the name of his company on the kit- Hi Tech. They also have a tie in with Ridley Bicycles and will be racing on them this year. Thanks for putting your own money into masters racing Rick!

HipTech/Ridley team members from l to r- Luedtke, Swanson, Birditt, & Poyorena.

OK. Racers. On your mark. Get set. Go! "Go Dog Go!"(Did you read this book to your son or daughter when they were young? I did.) The 1st lap was a neutral lap in honor of Roger Millikan, a long time rider, supporter of the sport and a member of the host club. Roger lost his life to cancer several years ago but members wanted to keep his memory alive by naming this very popular race in his honor. Great idea!

The 55/60+ race start at Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium. 

After the neutral lap the race for on. We were suppose to race for 40 minutes. The sparing started early. Once "Blue Boy" lead us around early. Lothar has turned green this year so I guess I might consider dropping his nickname but I do still like it. Lol. Thank you very much "Blue Boy" for the kickstart but we have some racing to do. During the race no one gives you credit for a hard effort. No one slows down so you can catch your breath. Its onward and upward. Faster! Faster! You can't keep up. Tough! No quarter given. I knew all this and have felt very good for the early season so I sat in took advantage of the draft. Monty Pettus and I came over to the course 2 times before the race and rode and did hill repeats on the 3rd leg. The 2nd time we did it we went from turn 3 to turn 4 as hard as we could. Good training and gave us a good feel for the hardest part of the course. Being the 2nd oldest rider out there and the oldest that finished I knew I had to "hide". I learned from the ageless one. Mr. Robert Paginni. Robert turns 79 this year and can keep up in most 55/60+ races depending on the course. He choose to not race this event because of the course. He will be back at Ontario. He likes Ontario.

BBI racer Frank Picarilly leads veteran 55+ racers Bob Pellkofer, Mark Hoffenberg and newcomer Robert Swigart.

 Malcolm Hill was going to be the animator for the Breakaway from Cancer squad. Mark Hoffenberg has joined the team for 2015. Mark had 3 races planned and was going to sit in and conserve energy in this particular race. Tough course to do 3 times. David Prechtl justed aged up this year and David loves to mix it up off the front. I knew he would try some "stuff". Racing "stuff". Bob Pellkofer on his "Gaawano" Specialized machine would surely mix it up. That is his racing style. Bob would also be doing 3 races as well. Bob is a cat 1 and can do any of the hard races. Masters and the final 1/2 race. Bob can do it. Really! AND do pretty damn well. That's means there is no speed in this race too fast for Bob unlike myself and a few others. No number of schnitzengruben would be too many for Bob. Now I think my limit is around 14 like Cleavon Little(fake schnitzengruben at that). Cleavon did have other limits as well seeing that he wasn't from Havana.  I am pretty sure that Bob is not from Havana either so we got to figure he does also have his limits for some things.

Lili Von Strupp "The Teutonic Titrvillorv" before the "night" and breakfast with the schnitzengruben in "Blazing Saddles".

All of the primes were picked up by the fastest and strongest riders. I was surprised by the prime prizes. Now I usually don't knock a host club but frankly I think Canyon Velo went cheapskate. Considering the number of riders that come here every year and this year was no exception. The purses and everything should have been larger. You notice there is no police presence. They don't even have to pay Brea to do this. They just have to keep the indoor shooting range and the church happy. That done and they are good to go. I guess the shooting range gave in on the objection of the race being at the the challenger course.The shooting range is on the other side of Berry from the race. Don't want to interfere with shootin'. OMG!

Break attempt lead by David Prehtl followed by Kal Szkalak, Mark Palmer, Danny Nicolette and unknown Simple Green rider.

The break looked good above right. Like all the other breaks there were too many teams to chase. Hi Tech wouldn't let this one get away. Most of the breakers are going to be the younger and stronger 55s but you can see Kal in this one and he of course is over 60. You can see Birdy below ready to pounce if this one looks in any way dangerous.

 All of the break attempts were kept close at hand. Because of the nature of the combo of ages the great majority of the 60s have no choice but to sit in. I use to try here when I was younger but precious energy would be lost nowadays. Even though Hoffy was thinking of sitting in he did make a go of it one time with his old teammate and friend Danny Nicolette. They caught a David Prechtl led group. Passed them and kept it up for about 2 laps. This was late in the first half of the race. They were caught and I think Mark was happy about that. Save some of that precious energy for later.

Yours truly getting out of the saddle to keep up. Looks like Cyril(on my back right) is struggling a little bit.

About the only time in the race that national champion Mike Birditt was behind me. Like Claude Rains said in "Casablanca"- I'm shocked, shocked John that you engage in such self promotion". Those weren't the exact words. I do believe that Mr. Rains was shocked that there was gambling going on at "Rick's". Ha! TCM is the best station!! You can also see "Blue Boy" with his Contour video camera in green of all colors!

The 2nd half of the race came and the action got thinner and thinner. I think everyone pretty much reached the conclusion that a break just wasn't going to work here. The pace was still brisk but I actually thought it would be faster and harder. I had some reserves. Like our friend in "American Pie". He was telling his French foreign student that he had "reserves" after he blew it once. Not exactly the same thing but I did have a little extra just in case. I didn't want to go into that reserve tank because I wasn't sure I could get out of it and wouldn't have had anything for the last lap.
Greg Alden the SCNCA official at the starting line told us before the race that the lap card was going to come up at 7. I was looking at the cards during the race and saw 7. Yes, 7 laps to go. I know I am going to make it!

You can see the eventual winner Gibby Hatton on my left. He was just hanging out and waiting. Notice the big guy in the shocking pick kit. Wow. I rode behind him for a few laps. What a wind block. He didn't seem comfortable out there so I ditched him. I stay away from potential "hot" spots.

Going up that hill was so much easier in a pack vs by yourself. I knew when I was doing the hill repeats here that it was going to be easier in the race. I at least tried to convince myself of that and it did turn out to be true.

You can always pick out Mike "Jon Voight" Birditt in his 2014 Natz jersey. Mike uses his small size and small bike to maneuver around the pack. He is an expert at this. Of course small isn't referring to the size of his legs.

The lap cards were coming and going quickly. I didn't see much of a panic shuffle in the pack. The pace was heated but manageable. Don't know who was driving the race. Primes did again play a part in the 2nd half of the race. Laps are always faster on prime laps. At least in the 2nd half of the lap. Sometimes the 1st half would be slower.

Tom "In N Out" Gates is following Don Kimper. Tom loves double/doubles with fries and a chocolate shake. I don't know how he squeezes into his kit. Looks like Tom wants to take over tail gunner duties from Nelson Alaan.

Malcolm Hill leading the race late at turn 4. You can see Mike Marotta at 3rd wheel in an old Swami's kit. Mike didn't get to the race but minutes before it started and didn't have time to put on his new Hi Tech kit.

  I saw 3 to go and knew it would be fast. I stayed tucked in though I have known for years that's its best to be on the left/outside because it is easier to move up. Lost that thought and it cost me later. With 2 laps to go Pelky went on a flyer up the left side with a rider on his wheel. The pack pretty much didn't respond to them thinking they would fold before the end and they did.
The bell lap came. Who would give themselves up to lead on the last lap. Lothar Cramer went to the front just before turn 1 and lead the group. After turn 2 a unknown 55+ rider from SDBC by the name of Mark Chavarria went to the front and Lothar stayed on his wheel until the rest of the field swarmed them about 150 meters from turn 3.
To back track a bit here let's take a look at the players and how it unfolded for their race. After turn 2 Malcolm looked back and saw his teammate Mark Hoffenberg and accelerated. He knew this would help Mark even if Mark couldn't get directly on Malcolm's wheel. Dave Prechtl got on Malcolm's wheel and Mark follow. Mark's shadow at this time was a former teammate and a neighbor, Robert Swigart. Robert was sporting an all black kit and had just aged up to 55. He knew a good wheel when he saw it. For the 60s it was catch as catch can but as we will see the 60 field was deeper than the 55 field.
At turn 3 Malcolm kicked it up a notch again. Dave, Mark, Robert and everyone else was in tow. Mark kept waiting for Dave to make his move. Mark was sure Dave would go long and he would ride the Prechtl wave to victory. Of course that was plan A. Scratch plan A and go to plan B. Mark decided half way up the hill to jump himself and max speed by the last corner and hold on for victory. Both plans A & B were victory plans. Like the Shakespearean actors that Leslie Nielsen shot in "Naked Gun:From the Files of Police Squad", They were "Good ones" . Mark was going with plan B and Swigart was hot on his tale. Lurking somewhere was Gibby "The Great White Shark" Hatton. Gibby was about 10 at turn 3. Mike Birditt was tucked in there somewhere. Mark went up the middle with Robert Swigart on his right. Mark left the door open next to the curb and Gibby took the opportunity to open the door and then close it on everyone. Gibby came by Mark with 50 meters to go to win the 55+ race. What acceleration by Mr. Hatton.

Gibby Hatton for the victory in 55+. Robert "Dan Aykroyd" Swigart and Mark "John Belushi" Hoffenberg are doing the neighborly thing near the finish line. Remember the movie "Neighbors".

The Prechtl wave is coming in for a respectable 4th place and a paycheck.

Ho Hum! Another 1st place for Mike Bird. Mike was 6th overall.

The rest of the mortal men come streaming in. A couple came flying in unfortunately.

Mark Hoffenberg was 2nd across the line with Robert Swigart taking 3rd. David Prechtl was 4th and Nelson Alaan was 5th. The 5th rider across was the 1st 60+ rider and winner Mike Birditt. Tom Gates was a ways back but the next 60+ rider across for 2nd place. The 60s took over from here. Kal Szkalak was 3rd, Dale Luedtke 4th and Mike Marotta 5th. I placed 10th in 60 but would have been 11th in 55+. After the first 4 riders the 60s dominated.
The only bad part of the race happened around 12th place for both categories. Malcolm Hill was limping home after giving his teammate a leadout and got his front wheel clipped. It sent him flying into the gutter and across the finish line for 12th place in 55+. Rick Carrera flew across Malcolm for a flying 12th place in 60+. Both were roughed up and Malcolm hurt some already sore ribs while Rick messed up his AC joint in his shoulder. Malcolm had some really bad road rash.
The race was clocked in at around 26 mph from a moving start. Pretty fast for this course but 2 mph slower than the 40+ race. Great turnout, great weather for the race, and great competition. The crash was the low point of the race. Thanks to all that came out. Let's carry these numbers forward for Ontario where 55s AND 60s are welcome again! Full results are below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe! Thanks to Emily Cramer for the great photos!
Finish video done by Maki! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc3bA8xHy_8
Another Blue Boy vid done on bike by Lothar Cramer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T4DQ5jCWf8

60+ results.

55+ results.

CARLOS SOTO MEMORIAL CRITERIUM A BIG SUCCESS IN 2015!!

By John McKee

Well the old wind bag is back. Windier and full of it more than ever. I have been told that people don't want to hear stories or history. I talk too much. Write too much. OK. You can stop now if that's the case. This is my 1st blog post of 2015. It just happens to coincide with my 1st race of the year. I was going to open up at Ontario since Ray Moreno brought the 60+ group back as a race. Separate with a purse. I pre reged for that race and the 55+ but didn't go because of the rain. I don't mind Ray getting my money anyway. No worries there. I ended up opening like I use to at the Carlos Soto Memorial Criterium.

Mondo Requejo is working registration. Monty Pettus is waiting for reg to open for 55/60+ racers.

Formerly known as Mothballs Criterium. I love to do this race. It is sponsored by the Echelon Cycling Club in the Santa Barbara area and their member Mondo Requejo is the promoter. Mondo and his teammates always put on a 1st class race. "Top Notch..Top Notch" as Judge Smails says in "Caddyshack"(who doesn't like this movie).

Carlos on his bike

Carlos Soto in the Air Force

Carlos Soto raced with a lot of us 55 and 60+ racers. He was a very strong sprinter and smart racer. He was a stickler for detail about everything including the courses we were to race. Carlos died way too young at the age of 61 in 2014. He will be missed by all that knew him and this race will carry his name as a tribute to what he meant to the cycling community in the Santa Barbara area and beyond. RIP CARLOS!
It's hard to get a lot of racers up to this race because of its location though it doubles up nicely with the road race the day before. There was a great turnout of 55/60+ racers at the Saturday road race with 40 to 50 racers lining up. Mike Birditt winning the 60+ race and Malcolm Hill winning the 55+ event. Raced together and scored separately. Unfortunately the turnout for the 55/60+ race on Sunday at the Carlos Soto Memorial Criterium(CSMC) had less than half that at 20. You just have to race against who lines up. The field was small but reasonably strong. There are always "new guys" that age up into 55+ that like to show there stuff. This race would be no exception.
We lined up on Jan. 25th, 2015 at 8:15 am for the race to start. Chris Black gave us our instructions. Eric Smith was in the "booth" handling the video of results and getting the finish sheets out in a timely manner. This was Eric's birthday and he barely made it there in his car which needed repair after the race. Thanks to Eric for all he has done for the 55/60+ racers. There was no memorial statement for Carlos Soto before the 55/60+ race but there was a nice statement by a friend before the 45+ race.

Doggie 1

Doggies 2 & 3- Love to take pics of dogs at the races

The race started on time and the racers were off. There was no great jump. Someone did try and mix it up and ride away into the sunset but the pack kept him close and the peleton pretty much stayed together for the 1st 5 laps. I didn't see a clear favorite in 55+ if it was a field sprint which meant many of the strongest 55s would try and get away. Anthony Reguero aged up this year and is very strong. In the last 3 years Anthony has lost 100 lbs. and is still a big guy but can really put out the watts. He doesn't quite have the finer points of racing down. He like to race 3 or 4 races at an event and usually rides caboose. 

The primes started driving the race. Mike Birditt is the new prime killer. 10 to 12 years ago Robert Barney was the premiere prime killer. Mike and Robert are different racers though. Mike has a great sprint while Robert was an all around strong rider. Anthony Reguero took off once on the back side of the D shaped course trying to catch everyone with their pants down and he did the 1st time about 10 laps in but I do believe that Birdy and Gibby Hatton caught him at the line 2 other times for whatever the primes were. It was hard to hear out there what the prime was for.  Doug "Grouchy" Knox looked pretty fit and mixed it up a little. I hadn't seen Doug since last year's 805 race series when he was really grouchy. Doug seemed to be in a better mood at CSMC. Dale Luedtke's form seems to be getting better with age. Dale had a down cycle a few years back that was health related but he seems healthly and cycling strong again. Great to see. Dale doesn't say too much but lets his bike do the communicating and it spoke volumes at CSMC. Dale doesn't usually look for an opportunity to get away but what do I know.
Randall Tinley won the last leg of the 805 trifecta event(2014) in Lompoc with a solo break so he was someone to be watched for sure. Randall rides a Giant bicycle with disc brakes. Not sure why the disc brakes but he had them. Certainly didn't need them until the race was over. Randall started the winning break with about 12 laps to go with Dale hot on his wheel. This was a very strong jump. I believe we raced 27. The race got very hard prior to this jump and everyone let this effort go. I was really stressed cardio wise. Is this the end of Rico? Lol. I was the oldest rider still in the pack. Dale Harness is over 70 but dropped off after about 4 laps to go so that left me with senior duties which was... don't suck! Make the young ones eat some of your wheel dust. I was definitely under pressure but once things sorted out up front the pressure was taken off.
It looked like Dale and Randall were going to ride off into the sunset with the win in 55 and 60 but that wasn't how the race worked out. Dale actually couldn't keep up with Randall and fell back. This was a bad tactical error on Randall's part. He should have kept Dale with him at a slightly slower pace to keep any stronger 55s from chasing him down but the field was small and there was no Mark Hoffenberg, Malcolm Hill or any number of the other very strong 55s. Randall was going to try and do it alone and its not like he hasn't done it before. I assume Randall knew Dale wasn't in his category.

P. Thorson 2- R. Tinney 1 in 55+

Dale fell back a bit but was met by Paul Thorson. Paul got on the wheel of the resurgent Doug Knox and Doug brought Paul up to Dale. Doug fell on cardio hard times and dropped back and out but Paul and Dale started working together. They were out of sight of the pack. Randall was a bit ahead on his own but not sure how much. Randall has been riding strong as we know from last year's 805 so it was no great surprise that he was able to hold off Dale Luedtke and Paul Thorson working together. Good things for him or he would have looked like a bone head BUT he didn't get caught and won solo! Nice job Randall!
Another off the front solo win. I can see though that you are a base sticker and won't mix it up with the rest of us down south. There wouldn't be any 55/60+ races if guys did 3 or 4 a year. Sorry for the lecture.
Paul and Dale worked nicely together and Paul came across for 2nd in 55+ while Dale won the 60+ category with style! Nice going Dale!
Behind these 3 very strong riders was Anthony Regueros trying to chase the guys down or finish solo for the last podium spot in 55+. Anthony rode strong but couldn't gain much ground on the pack. The last 2 laps came soon enough without a lot of stress. I was quite rested after being under pressure 10 laps before. John Vargas of Metal Mountain went to the front and Mike Birditt got on his wheel and I got on Mike. You would think Mike's is a good wheel to be on but actually its not for most riders. The last lap came and I didn't see Kal Szkalak anywhere. I guess he declared earlier he didn't like the race and went backward but he did finish the race. Vargas kept up a steady pace but someone almost always jumps before the last corner on the last lap but no one did. Once Vargas rounded the last corner, Mike (Clark Kent/Sup) Birditt got out of the phone booth and put on his cape. He turned on the jets and flew across the finish line for 2nd in 60+. He passed Anthony with about 60 meters to go.

Birditt 2, Luedtke 1 & Pettus 3 in 60+.

I tried to turn it on but had clicked up to a 12 which was way too big a gear for me and I started a terrible sprint. Mike was long gone and Gibby flew by. Lee Ziff also came by with a nice sprint. Gibby was 3rd in 55+ and Lee was 4th. I finally got on top of the gear and Monty came by me but I hung about a half bike behind him to the line.Monty was 3rd in 60+ and I was 4th.

Overall this was a great race as it always is but the weather was much warmer. The race was done in the 50s and it usually is in the 30s. By the time Monty and I did the 45+ race at 9:55 am it was nearing 70. Thanks to the host club Echelon and their promoter Mondo Requejo. No crashes. Everyone loved the competition. Nice to be back in the saddle so to speak. Thanks to all that came out and raced. Complete results below. There is a You Tube video done by Anthony Reguero. Thanks Anthony! http://youtu.be/UiiESXwndGg

Thats all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

SCNCA SUPER MASTERS CRIT CHAMP BRINGS IN STRONG FIELD FOR 2014

By John McKee

The San Diego Cyclo Vets have produced the Super Masters time trial and criterium for a number of years. For 2014 they didn't get on the SCNCA calendar soon enough so had to select a date beyond when all other events have finished included Nationals. September 21, 2014 was the only date available. In 2015 they will have a proper date sometime in May. I was burned out after the National criterium in Utah but felt compelled to do this race because I was the defending champion and to support a great club like the Cyclo Vets. In 2014 my teammate Monty Pettus has become 65. This race brought in the 2014 National Champion in John Rubcic. John out sprinted Monty in a very close finish in Utah.

2014 National Criterium Championship. John Rubcic took it at the end over Monty Pettus. Monty took the lead out from the last corner but couldn't quite hang on.

Add to the mix 2013 SCNCA champion John McKee and the resurgent comeback king Rick Lilleberg. Rick won the 65-69 Super Masters RR IN 2014 and the day before the criterium championship he won the Time Trial by 1 and 1/2 minutes over Hylton Murphy. Bill Langstaff finished a close 3rd to Hylton. Mike Fleming who was on the 2013 podium was also in the race. I would say the downside was a lack of total entries. There were 9 in 65-69 which was down from 18 2 years prior. So many riders talk about a 60/65 race but if you can't get double figures in the champ race, you can forget that idea.

Start line with all the masters 65 and older. The oldest rider was 85. Photo courtesy of the SD Cyclo Vets.

Also bringing their bike to the line was time trial strongman Hylton Murphy. You can only race against who shows up and brings their bike to the line. The field was small but very strong. 1, 2 and 7 from nationals and Rick surely would have placed top 5. No where else in the country would you have this strong of field. In 70-74 Gary DeVoss and Richard Haas aged up and would contest for this age group. There are maybe 20 total riders among all the groups. Pretty low turnout but maybe the time of year has something to do with that.

Our start time was a comfortable 8:50 am. This was a very big improvement over prior years where we had to start at 7 am. At 8:50 am most of us could drive to the venue on race day like I did with Monty. We got the standard race instructions and were off on time. It wasn't clear to me but I guess the 1st lap was neutral. I must have missed that instruction. On the 2nd lap Hylton went to the whip which is standard op. This lap was a prime lap for Gordie Shields corn tortillas. Hylton took this one with a gesture to the sky to acknowledge Gordie.

Gordie Shields in 2013 still riding at 95 years old. A goal few of us will obtain.

From this point forward the group would break up. It might have broken up more but Monty Pettus came up with a flat tire on the 1st lap. The pace was enough to split the field but Roger Springer came to the rescue and brought some riders back. The lead group lead by Hylton of course eased up and waited for Monty to join in. Once Monty got on or in as you will the pace picked back up.

Hylton Murphy ripping the field apart as only he can. Glad to see Hylton back and feeling good.

Notice that Monty is back after the wheel change. Flat tire on the 1st lap. Don't think I have seen that before.

There were efforts by a few guys like Rick and Monty but most of the field hung in there. Mike Fleming took a hard pull but paid the price for it. There were a few primes and one created a break that included Monty Pettus, Rick Lilleberg, and John Rubcic. I couldn't close it down because my teammate was there but Hylton slowly brought us so close that I jumped across and everyone else went with me. Monty was better off with me with him than without. Robert Paganini hung in there and did very well considering he is 78 this year. Every year at our age seems to make a difference. More so than when you are younger.
The lap cards finally came up and the lead 10 were together and were joined by a few riders that were lapped. We lined up with Hylton taking the lead and everyone figured he would take us home. Roger Springer was behind Hylton and I lined up behind Roger. JR was behind me followed by Monty. Monty and I had a pre race agreement that I would be on Monty's wheel at the end so Mr. Rubcic wouldn't be there like at Nationals and we know what happened there. Good for John but not good for Monty. Monty is my teammate so that was the plan going into the race. With 3 laps to go I called Monty forward and had him drop in ahead of me. Pre race plan perfect. John wanted Monty's wheel but no that wasn't going to happen.

The 65s lined up at the end with a few 70s and Pags of course.

The last lap came and things heated up with a much higher pace. Roger Springer dropped back and JR got on Hylton wheel's. Coming into the last corner I figured we were going to sprint after the corner but Rick had a different idea. He was so far back he decided to attack before the corner. Monty saw Rick come by and jumped immediately. I hesitated and JR did as well. John was thinking Hylton was going to release him to the inside and Rick and Monty were going way wide which had much better pavement. It was down to Rick and Monty. JR gave it a go but the hesitation cost him as it did myself. Monty beat Rick for the win and his 1st SCNCA criterium championship. Rick was 2nd, JR was 3rd and I was 4th.

Final sprint with Monty Pettus taking it over Rick Lilleberg. Rick had already won the 60-64 age category.

Gary DeVoss beat Richard Hasse in 70-74. Robert Paganini was the only 75-79 in the lead group so was the winner in that group. Jack Palmer was the only 80-84 rider so he was a winner. Same situation for 85-89. John Sanmartini was the winner there.
This could be the last race at the Hunnekens for the Cyclo Vets Criterium and for Spy Trolley which uses the same course. There is a new tenant on the block that uses the property every day so this could be curtains. Too bad. Good course. The pavement has gotten awful over the years but is rideable.
I wish there had been more riders out there but you race against who comes out.That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Race results

John Rubcic 3, Monty Pettus 1, and Rick Lilleberg 2 in 65-69. Wear a club jersey Rick!

Martin Katz 3, Gary DeVoss 1, & Richard Hasse 2 in 70-74.

Louis Brooks 3, Robert Paganini 1, & Leon Sowers 2 in 75-79. No photo available for 80-84 and 85+.

ANOTHER ONTARIO RACE SEASON COMES TO AN END WITHOUT A 55/60+ RACE

By John McKee

I haven't raced since the SCNCA Masters Criterium Championship event on June 21st which was at Ontario. I haven't done any of the 50/55+ events because well they replaced the 55/60+ that I loved to race. I needed to do the last few of these events to get ready for the National Championship in Ogden, Utah. The 50/55+ events aren't as safe as the 55/60+ events. When I was doing this race, safety was my major thought. The last Ontario race was scheduled for Aug. 17th, 2014 and I was locked on to racing it no matter the category.
I drove to Ontario without my wife who had said she would go and take pictures. At 5 am when I got up I could tell she didn't want to do it so I gave her a pass. I got to Ontario around 6:45 am thinking the race started at 8:05 am like in June but no, the race started at 9:25 am. The gals haven't been showing up very well so they were thrown into the early slot.

What would a race be nowadays without the Swan sisters. Now there are 4 of them!

Cutie in a bag!

It's early at Ontario!

The turnout wasn't that good for the last Ontario race.

There were over 45 50 and 55+ racers. 6 of the 55s were over 60. I am not going to get into the Xs and Os like I usually do. The 50/55 race is different. Faster of course. Sketchy at times. More than the 55/60+ events though as some of you remember I was crashed out last yr. at Ontario by a cat 5 rider. Cat 5s have pretty much been weeded out this year in masters racing which is a good thing.
The race got going on time at 9:25 am and I just tucked into the pack and sucked wheels like I learned from Robert Paganini. The race was pretty fast but not overly stressful. The 60+ race I did June 21st was harder than this race for me. I thought there might be a break but nothing really worked. Cyril Hunte got away late with  David Prechtl after the Ontario points prime sprints.

"The Man" coming to the last Ontario to get ready for Natz. Robert Paganini is 10 years older than the next oldest rider in the race. He kept up! I challenge anyone is to do this at this age-78. To go 26 mph for 40 minutes.

They were away for a few laps but not very far ahead and were caught with a number of laps to go. There was some controversy here. Did the 2 laps to go placard show up twice? The one thing I do know is the 1 to go came up and we were off for the last time. I kept safely tucked away and just wanted a chance to practice my sprint finish. Ontario is one of the fastest finishes around. The last corner gives you a mini sling shot. Lothar Cramer was about half way back and got behind another 50+ rider out of control. Not exactly sure what the rider did but I suspect a clicked pedal, tried to correct, blew his tires out and down he went. "Blue Boy" tried to avoid the downed rider and almost did but NO, down he went. Most everyone behind had to slow way down as I did. Lothar let out a loud groan when I went by and this gave me a bad feeling about the "video king". Lothar has become my partner at my facebook page 55/60+ bike racing. His wife Emily takes awesome pictures and he downloads his bike vids for everyone to see.
Anyway I rolled across the line at about 15 mph and went around and stopped to see Lothar. I asked if he could raise his arms and he could. No collarbone problem. Just lots of road rash and a sore neck.
The guys in the front weren't affected by the crash. Robert Swigart of Team Velosport won the overall race. Bradley Jones of BBI was the 2nd rider across and the 1st 55+ rider. Mike Okano was the 2nd 55+ racer and David "I don't miss a race" Fetah was the 3rd 55+ rider. David has more Socal points than most teams. The race overall was pretty fast at 26 + mph and my powertap showed 247 watts but the last 400 meters were at 50 so the race for me was around 250. Complete results are below for the overall and the 55s only.  As far as getting a 55/60+ race back at Ontario...well it doesn't look good. Below is also the 55 and 60+ Socal Cup point standing after the San Marcos event.  That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Nice picture of the finish. Thank you, Emily!

Lothar "Blue Boy" Cramer in a black and blue skinsuit. I don't like the sound of that. Black and blue. I am sure he was for the next few days.

Cyril Hunte and Mike Fleming speculating after the race about the "fish" that got away at Ontario.

Brad "I love the 50s" Decker and John "Dad" Rubcic hadn't raced together since the 80s. John is showing Brad where his frame is cracked. Oh No! They don't make bikes nowadays like the old 57 Chevy.

Yours truly with Mr. Rubcic and Mr. Decker. You can see announcer Ralph Elliot photo bombing us in his awesome shorts!

Overall results

55+ results

60+ Category

Place

Rider

Points

1

Michael Birditt (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

285

2

Kalman Szkalak (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

257

3

Dale Luedtke (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

231

4

Reed Moore (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

190

5

Mike Marotta (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

177

6

Richard Lilleberg (South Bay Wheelmen)

166

7

Leo Pettus (Paramount Racing)

105

8

John McKee (Paramount Racing)

98

8

Owen Thomas (Action Sports)

98

10

Ricky Shorts (Team Velocity)

97

11

Paul Rodriguez (G S Adams Avenue Bicycles)

94

12

John Roest (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

68

12

Peter Dufour (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)

68

14

Rick Swanson (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

66

15

Leo Longo (South Bay Wheelmen)

65

16

Fred Haim (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)

61

16

Bruce DePriester (Team Rokform)

61

18

Richard Mull (Velo Club LaGrange)

58

18

Kirk Freeman (Action Sports)

58

20

Jean Villiot (S2C/Primal)

55

21

James Swigart (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)

52

22

Ken Louder (FFKR - CONTENDER RACING)

42

22

Steve Bernede (Team Werks)

42

22

Pedro Ordaz (S2C/Primal)

42

25

Howard Miller (OCW/Paramount Racing)

41

26

Rino Barbagiovanni (Santa Clarita Velo)

40

27

Herb Johnson (San Diego Cyclo Vets)

39

28

Steven Borer (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

37

29

Robert Paganini (PAA/REMAX )

34

30

Roger Gottfried (Mazda - Pro Bike Supply)

33

30

Dwight Hibdon (FFKR - CONTENDER RACING)

33

30

Keith Peters (Team Jackson Hole)

33

30

John Wagenaar (SDBC/EMERALD TEXTILES)

33

34

55+ Category

Place

Rider

Points

1

David Fetah (Pinnaclife Racing Team)

420

2

Mark Hoffenberg (Team Rokform)

313

3

Bradley Jones (BBI-SIC Cycling)

262

4

Robert Willcox (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

169

5

Jeffrey Moreton (Team Rokform)

162

6

Malcolm Hill (Breakaway from Cancer Masters)

157

7

Daniel Swietlik (OTR Racing)

137

8

Marc Spivey (StageOne Cycling Team)

135

9

Yehuda Packer (OTR Racing)

124

10

Mike Okano (Team Simple Green/Cannondale/Stage21)

111

11

Gary Shuey (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

97

11

Ed Marcelo (Team Velocity)

97

13

Michael Hines (StageOne Cycling Team)

96

14

Cyril Hunte

94

15

Ricky Shorts (Team Velocity)

93

16

Daniel Nicolette (Team Rokform)

92

17

Michael Birditt (SKLZ-Swami's Cycling Team)

82

18

Carl Nielson (CA Technologies Racing)

77

19

John Bergman (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)

75

20

Steve Hensler (UC Cyclery/JW Floors)

74

20

Randall Tinney (SPY GIANT RIDE p/b MRI)

74

22

David B Stanton (Canyon Velo)

70

23

Lothar Cramer

65

24

Bill Pinckard (Microseal Racing Team)

63

25

Randy Liechty (Platinum Performance Cycling Team)

62

25

Joel Sothern (Team Rokform)

62

27

Zohrab Gevrikyan (TIME - Velo Pasadena Team )

60

28

David Benner (Wolf Pack Cycling)

59

29

David Cranston (Michelob Ultra - La Grange +21)

55

30

Chris Black (Morgan Stanley /Specialized)

54