11 55/60+ VLEES HUIS RR WON BY EXPERIENCE & LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

By John McKee

The 2nd De Vlees Huis Road Race was scheduled for Saturday April 9th 2011 and there was a category for 55 and 60+ racers. There was a scheduling conflict in 2010 with the Torrance Criterium so the attendance wasn't that great but in 2011 the race had an open date. The location is 15 miles outside of Bakersfield on Hwy 58 which goes to Lake Isabella. I was quite surprised when I got on the course to see that there are many beautiful spots along the way with a river along the course and under the parts of the road way. No oil wells. Open space and ranch land though I didn't see any cattle. The course is 29 miles for one lap and gains 2400 ft. in that lap. No grade is over 8 or 9 present. There is some pretty rugged looking terrain just north of us. The course takes you into a valley at the second turnaround where you can see the river. Lots of water this time of year.  I forgot to put my road cluster on and did it in my crit cluster which is 11/21 and didn't have a problem. Great looking and challenging course. Of course road racers love it but bigger riders with lots of sustained power can do it well. The 55/60+ group was to do one lap. The start time was 8:20 am.

55+ Podium- Benner, Shuey, Mueller, Baron & Birditt

21 55+ racers and 11 60+ racers lined up. It was quite cold Saturday morning. Upper 30s to low 40s but with sunshine the air temp was going to rise quickly. There was a cold front that came into the southland on Friday and brought snow flurries to the Grapevine which most Socal riders had to travel through to get to Bakersfield. The highest point is 4,000 ft and there were snow flakes when I went through about 3 pm on Friday. When Bruce and Teresa Steele went through a few hours later it was snowing harder. When Mike Birditt tried to drive through around 8 to 9 pm there was more snow and traffic accidents. The north bound lanes that Mike had to drive on were closed down to one lane. The CHP had contemplated closing it completely down because of the accidents but kept it open. Mike didn't get to my room in Bakersfield until around 11 pm. Luckily it didn't rain Sat. morning. It was cold but would warm up and be a decent day for a bike race.

Map and Profile of De Vlees Huis Road Race course

The racers were off on time. You start down the steepest part of the course going out which means you have to climb it coming back and then it's 200 meters to the finish line. Going out there were a lot of bad spots in the pavement but after a couple of miles the pavement was actually good. Good thing when you are flying downhill and cornering downhill.
Everyone stayed together going out except Mike Birditt of Swami's. He went off the front by himself. No one paid much attention to him since there was over 2,000 ft. of climbing left. Maybe he could hook up with a mini break group?
As the road started to tip up more a few of riders went off the back including myself. The first climb is the longest and about the length of the climb in Bakersfield at the championship course. At the top of the climb and the turnaround there was 4 riders off the front and 2 major chase groups. I formed a group with Mike Crystal and Al Shorts to ride in for the crumbs. There were a few riders behind us.
Mike Birditt was caught before the end of the first climb and Bob Wilcox of UCC was giving it his all to catch him. Right behind him was David Brenner of Wolfpack. Wolfpack?? They have a all black kit and are from Solana Beach. Mike Mueller of UCC was behind him and the rest of the field was really strung out.  The lead group at the turnaround had Gary Shuey, Mike  Mueller, Richard (Skid lid) Barron, and Kim Bleuth. Behind were 2 pods of riders with a mix of 55 and 60+. Further on the course Gary Shuey hit it hard and dropped....Kim Bleuth. Oh no! Another Swami's rider. 
I could see the small groups going the opposite direction twice because there were 2 turnarounds. I could see Gary, Mike and Richard together with Kim looking stressed a little behind. Then the other 2 pods. Kim finally came back to the main chase group and there was no other movement throughout the race. The course going out to the 2nd turnaround has been described as "rolling" but that was not what I call "rolling". A little harder than that. Lol.
After the groups made the last turn for home it was all downhill except for the finish uphill kick. The front group was working together coming back and Richard Barron said he wouldn't contest the finish. Up to Gary and Mike to fight for the win in 55+. Coming into the last short hill Gary decided to hit it hard going up the hill. Mike sat on and when it leveled out and there was 200 meters to go, Mike turned on his jets and finished several bike lengths ahead. Gary was 2nd and Richard was 3rd.
The 2nd group came in with Socal points heavyweights Mike Birditt and Kal Szkalak. Also were 4 60+ riders to decide on their podium finish. Mike Marota(60+) of the host squad  Action Sports took it up the left side with David Benner on his tail. Bob Wilcox lead another string up the right side with Birditt on his wheel and Kal right behind him. Mike Marota and Bob tailed off and Mike Birditt got on David Benner. Once the course leveled out Kal clicked up his gears and started his sprint and Mike jumped on him. There was a hole to the left of Kal that he started to close but Mike made a statement and Kal leveled out and Mike sprinted by and finished a half a bike length ahead of Kal.
Mike Marota hung on for first place in 60+. Mike showed how strong he was at Roger Millikan and this was his backyard and he knew the course well. A win here was no surprise. Glenn Baldwin rode a great race and was 2nd in 60+ with Phil Richards taking 3rd and George Chester getting 4th in his first race of the year.
The promoters and his club did a great job with this event. Registration which was at the promoters front lawn the evening before was smooth. He also had food for anyone that wanted it. Packet pick up and same days were still possible the morning of the race. The course was well laid out with signs and volunteers that knew where and how to direct you. There were even some cool Flanders flags out on the course. There was a snafu with payout for 60+. Don't know if that ever got squared away. No good photo of the 60+ podium because the winner from the host team didn't show. Bad form. All in all a great event that should be ridden by more riders.
Going to finish with a short story. The winner isn't always the person that comes across the line in first place. It may even be the guy that comes across in last place. I am referring to John Sinz. John finished a tough course and was happy to be out there. 5 years ago John weighed 240 lbs and had a heart attack. Of course he survived and turned his life around and got on a much better diet and started riding his bike again. He weighs 195 now is looking to get back to his former racing weight of 180. Good job, John and keep coming out. It isn't always about finishing ahead of everyone. It's way cool to be part of the racing peleton. Fun and motivating that nothing else will do. Complete results below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Vleeshuis Road Race  (Rank 2.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	46688	Michael Mueller	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	28
2	44197	Gary Shuey	Swami's Cycling Club	22
3	2734	Richard Barron	Southern California Velo	20
4	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	18
5	54522	Kalman Szkalak	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	16
6	274212	David Benner	Wolf Pack Cycling	14
7	69952	Robert Willcox	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	12
8	162650	Jim Parkhurst	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	10
9	187845	Henry Pfister	Action Sports/Simply Fit	8
10	49191	Kim Bleth	Swami's Cycling Club	6
11	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	4
12	206734	John Huber	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	2
13	52251	Ricky Shorts	Velo Allegro	0
14	247382	Richard Gentili	Citrus Valley Velo	0
15	1254	Mark Ainslie	Ranchos Cycling Club	0
16	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0
17	277180	John Roest	Rock N' Road Cyclery	0
18	230085	Albert Shorts	Velo Allegro	0
19	177958	Kevin Ryan	The TEAM - SoCalCross	0
20		Tom Ackerley		0
21	66553	John Sinz	Canyon Velo	0

 

Vleeshuis Road Race  (Rank 2.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	72880	Mike Marotta	Action Sports/Simply Fit	28
2	45047	Glenn Baldwin	SLO Nexus-Gym One	22
3	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	20
4	196820	George Chester	LIVESTRONG Army KC / Midwest Cancer Care	18
5	48760	John Rubcic	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	16
6	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	14
7	236498	Bruce Steele	South Bay Wheelmen	12
8	269972	Fred Haim	Herbalife LaGrange	10
9	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	8
10	8283	Michael Crystal	METALMTN Cycling	6
11	189814	Leo Longo	South Bay Wheelmen	4

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY SUPERB! & HE'S STILL GOT THAT SNAP!

By John McKee

55/60+ racers waiting to start

It was April 3rd, 2011 and the Redlands Criterium is on the SCNCA calendar. It is a big race that the 55s worked into a few years ago and now the 60s have their own category. Raced together and scored separately. Both categories were to be paid a total of $225 for 4 places. The showing was around 35 plus or minus a few. Not that great considering the showing in Brea for the Roger Millikan Criterium  sold out at 75. Redlands is harder to get to but half the number is troubling. We will see if we come back in 2012. The weather was overcast and a little cool but quite comfortable compared to the weather that some of us raced in during February. The pro stage race was going on up and through Sunday and helped create a exciting atmosphere. The women pros started their road race about 60 minutes after the finish of the 55/60+ criterium race. The organizers do a great job with a fun feel to the whole event. The course is somewhat technical with turn one at 120 degrees and a downhill slalom after that. 2 quick corners coming off the downhill and you head back uphill to the start/finish. Bike handling does come into play on this course and the uphill section isn't that steep or hard but will wear on you especially the larger fellas.
The 55/60+ race was to start at 7:55 am and last 40 minutes. After a few words from SCNCA official Greg Alden the group was off. It was expected that the first 5 laps would be blistering but they weren't that hard. Hard enough that a few riders fell off the back. UCC was there with almost a full squad and started to animate the race early. Mike Mueller, John Wagenaar, Robert Willcox and Alex Collins of UCC and Kenny Fuller in his National Championship jersey(60+ criterium ) started the fireworks early with shots over the bow but nothing seemed  too threating or got that far away. The 55+ national criterium champion from Minnesota had talked about racing but didn't like his form at the SDSR and didn't show. It looked like a pre race stragery of UCC was too get Mike Mueller off the front a decent distance and Kal Szkalak jumped across the gap and off they go like at San Marcos last year. Mike Birditt was watching for this closely and when Kal jumped to do just this, Mike was right on him and Kal shut it down quickly. There was a lot of churning in the field even though this course made movement up through the pack more difficult. Swami's sprinters Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke were somewhat naked but had strongman Gary Shuey to muscle the field to their team benefit. Santa Clarita Velo was also light with 2 riders and Velo Allegro didn't have their full squad there with 3. UCC definitely had the 55+ field out numbered. John Rubcic also of UCC was doing his first 60+ race of the year. John won the Redlands criterium in 2010 and was rather anxious about getting back into action after taking the early part of the season off.

Mueller in solo effort

Hensler & Mueller

A little over half way through the race Mike Mueller went off the front again and stayed there for over 2 laps. Kal tried again to get across but was quickly covered my Mike Birditt and that was shut down with Mueller still out there. Mike was then joined by Steve Hensler. This was a dangerous move as Steve is riding quite strongly this year. Mike Birditt had Gary Shuey go to the front and not just pull but pull with near max pressure. It took several laps and I believe that Kenny Fuller also lent a hand at the end of the chase and the twosome for reeled back in.

Kal & Mike after twosome

The minutes and laps were now counting down and a 2 place cash prime was announced. I didn't hear the amounts but it turned out to be $170 for 1st and $25 for 2nd. John Wagenaar of UCC lead a small group around the course and toward the finish line. Glenn Baldwin(60+) who looked in good form was on his wheel and jumped the small group and got the big prize. That has to be the biggest cash prime in the history of 55/60+ racing. John W. didn't even get the $25 2nd place prize money. Oh well. Nice try.

Double prime sprint

The last major move off the front teamed up Gary Shuey and Alex Collins. They weren't far off but Kenny Fuller saw this as an opportunity. He jumped on the right side of the pack right after the start/finish line. John Rubcic was right on him. John knew that Kenny was by far the most dangerous 60+ rider in the race as he would be in any 60+ race in the country. Mike Birditt jumped onto JR. Between turn one and two the 5 riders were together and JR was gassed. He used all his strength just to stay on Kenny. Kenny wasn't too happy that John didn't pull through but he was doing all he could to hang on. Once together this very strong group couldn't get it together. At first Alex thought this was the move to the end but no one else felt the same and it fell apart quickly. It seemed Swami's had an advantage here but they were playing it conversative. Maybe not Scott Walker conservative but conservative none the less.

Late action being lead by 60+ Natz champ

With less than 5 laps to go it was obvious that a bunch sprint was going to decide the race. Advantage Swami's in 55+ and UCC in 60+. That is if JR still had that magic snap in his legs. No one knew including himself. Pretty darn sure about that.
The last lap came and UCC started to set up a classic leadout train. Between the start/finish line and turn one Mike Mueller went to the front to lead the team around. John Rubcic was on Mike and Mike Birditt jumped on JR. Birditt is super hot nowadays and was riding his new 2011 Cannondale with the Swami's paint scheme. It is 4 pounds lighter than his former bike and much stiffer as well. Look out!

55+ Pod-Szkalak, Birditt & Shorts, R.

The pace was moderately fast. Kenny Fuller had himself in good position but a number of riders behind his rival JR. Between turn 2 and 3 I tried to move on Fred Nicolet but couldn't get around him. Fred is also 60+. Fred had a 8th place finish at the Imperial Criterium out of 9 racers but showing himself to be quite strong here. I should have used more energy at this point to move up but was a bit stressed and held off. After turn 3 Kal moved over the top of Mike Birditt to "cut in line" and get behind the UCC train. At some point John Wagenaar also got in the train with 4 UCC riders lined up. Perfect right. NOT! Mike Mueller ran out of gas after turn 4 and the train stalled. Mike Birditt saw this as an opportunity and jumped with a maximum effort. 100%. No holding back now. 2 corners to go but once around the last corner it is only 125 meters to the line. Mike was already going a lot faster than Kal once he went by him and Kal knew this was major trouble. All hell broke loose from here to the finish line. Every man for himself now. Kenny also jumped hard and when he went by JR, John was able to jump on his wheel. Kal got himself going but by the last turn Mike Birditt was all by himself. As Phil Liggett would say "He was absolutely superb!" The rest of the 55+ field was racing for 2nd now. Kal was able to muster enough speed to finish 2nd. Ricky Shorts after racing a rather quiet event showed his finishing speed for the last podium spot. Ricky was followed in by Collins, Hoblit and Hensler in 55+. Alex was bumped on his right side between the last 2 corners and leaned into Fred Nicolet. This happened right in front of me which was the 5th time this year some like this occurred right in my path.

60+ Pod- winner- Rubcic

John Rubcic came around Kenny for 1st in 60+ and another blue Redlands winner jersey. Kenny was 2nd with the last pod spot left between Fred and myself. Fred had to take the corner wide but you can hold more speed that way. I cut closer to the corner and got out of the saddle. Dale Luedtke was ahead of me and also had gotten out of the saddle. At the line I looked to my left and Fred was ahead of me for 3rd place. Nice finish after being bumped. Glenn Baldwin came in a couple of bike lengths behind me for 5th place in 60+.
This is a first quality event and the racing was hard and challenging. Full results are below. The photos are courtesy of Jodie Borer. Thank you, Jodie! There are more race photos at Ken Hill's photo site-http://public.fotki.com/quatre24/road--mtb-2011/redslands-crit-and-/race-2-masters-55-60. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Redlands Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	48760	John Rubcic	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	14
2	46765	Kenny Fuller	Cycles Veloce	11
3	26089	Fred Nicolet	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	10
4	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	9
5	45047	Glenn Baldwin	SLO Nexus-Gym One	8
6	3793	Raphael Gomez	Rage Cycling	7
7	238828	Phillip Richards	Citrus Valley Velo	6
8	243425	mark wisnosky	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	5
9	107852	David Lang	DARE	4
10	101582	William Carvin		3
11	48278	Donald Davidson	Citrus Valley Velo	2

 

Redlands Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	14
2	54522	Kalman Szkalak	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	11
3	52251	Ricky Shorts	Velo Allegro	10
4	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	9
5	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	8
6	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	7
7	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	6
8	61193	John Wagenaar	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	5
9	107559	Rodney Malloy		4
10	206734	John Huber	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	3
11	69952	Robert Willcox	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	2
12	230085	Albert Shorts	Velo Allegro	1
13	245777	Steven Borer	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	0
14	167453	Bob Estupinan	Citrus Valley Velo	0
15	177958	Kevin Ryan	The TEAM - SoCalCross	0
16		Gary Shuuey		0
17	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0
18	46688	Michael Mueller	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	0
19	50765	Richard Roberson	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	0

STANDINGS FOR 55+ AND 60+ RACERS AFTER MARCH 20TH, 2011

By John McKee

I thought I would show how everyone stands after the first 1/3 of the racing season in Socal points, CBR BAR points and USA Cycling National rankings for the criterium. There isn't enough of a sample in road and stage racing yet to get socal riders in the mix.

Mike Birditt

 
SoCal Cup Standings For 2011

Masters 55+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	Michael Birditt	47255	Swami's Cycling Club	101
2	Kalman Szkalak	54522		91
3	Gary Shuey	44197	Swami's Cycling Club	80
4	Alex Collins	46255	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	61
5	Dale Luedtke	47262	Swami's Cycling Club	59
6	Kenny Fuller	46765	Cycles Veloce	56
7	Robert Willcox	69952	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	46
8	Fred Hoblit	16360	Santa Clarita Velo	34
9	Steve Hensler	15874	Team Redlands	33
10	Kim Bleth	49191	Swami's Cycling Club	28
11	Ricky Shorts	52251	Velo Allegro	26
12	Witold Czulak	276778	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	23
13	Dirk Cowley	7974		23
14	Malcolm Hill	156650	Breakaway-UBS Elite Masters	22
15	Mike Gourley	13802	Santa Clarita Velo	21
16	Warren Wicks	202108	Swami's Cycling Club	20
17	Jim Parkhurst	162650	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	19
18	Richard Barron	2734	Southern California Velo	18
19	Nour Tillo	35603		16
20	James Morehouse	283640	FFKR Architects/SportsBaseOnline.com	15

John McKee

SoCal Cup Standings For 2011

Masters 60+

Place	Name	License #	Team Name	SoCal Points
1	John McKee	180386	Paramount Racing	75
2	David Lang	107852	DARE	68
3	Bob Wright	39024	Santa Clarita Velo	64
4	Leo Pettus	219074	Paramount Racing	58
5	Harold Schneider	315702	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	44
6	Leo Longo	189814	South Bay Wheelmen	40
7	Robert Paganini	45763	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	28
8	James Morehouse	283640	FFKR Architects/SportsBaseOnline.com	27
9	Jean Villiot	59805	CA Pools/DeWalt	23
10	Bruce Steele	236498	South Bay Wheelmen	23
11	Richard Stahlberg	50911	Ironfly	21
12	Phillip Richards	238828	Citrus Valley Velo	20
13	Donald Kimper	195498	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	15
14	Herb Johnson	55245	San Diego Cyclo Vets	14
15	Michael Fleming	129293	South Bay Wheelmen	14
16	Mike Marotta	72880	Action Sports/Simply Fit	14
17	Raphael Gomez	3793	Rage Cycling	13
18	mark wisnosky	243425	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	11
19	Randy Drusen	287291	Judgement Velo/ TBOV	10
20	Joseph Wells	48252	Paramount Racing	9

Richard Stahlberg

California Bicycle Racing-2011 BAR (Best All-around Racer) Series, Masters 60+
Name,                   Team                       Total
1 Rich Stahlberg, Ironfly                           111
2 Bob Wright, Santa Clarita                     105
3 Philip Walters, Encino Velo                    95
4 Mario Seri, Herbalife/La Grange             92
5 William Carvin, Unattached                    82
6 Monty Pettus, Paramount                       81
7 Doug Knox, TIME/Coastal Tree Care     46
8 Cary Alpert, SBW                                   40
9 John McKee, Paramount                        40
10 H. Schneider, Paramount Racing         38

Dale Luedtke

California Bicycle Racing-2011 BAR (Best All-around Racer) Series, Masters 55+
Name,                               Team                Total
1 Dale Luedtke, Swami's                              124
2 Michael Birditt, Swami's                            117
3 Fred Hoblit, Santa Clarita                          107
4 Ricky Shorts, Velo Allegro                          99
5 Nour Tillo                                                    88
6 Pat Huber, Velo Avanti                               83
7 Don Denegal, Velo Allegro                         54
8 Rodney Malloy, Velo Allegro                      48
9 Craig Jones, Velo Avanti                            44

10 Wayne Rosenkranz, Pinnaclife               38


                                      USA CYCLING NATIONAL RANKINGS

Mens Master (55-59) Criterium Rankings (2011)
2011			Name	License
Rank	Points
1	61		Michael Birditt	47255
2	54		Kalman Szkalak	54522
3	41		Alex Collins	46255
4	40		Charles Jerabek	46930
5	35		Dale Luedtke	47262
6	27		Michael Gourley	13802
7	20		Steve Hensler	15874
8	19		Gary Shuey	44197
9	17		Pete Loftis	244641
10	16		Dirk Cowley	7974

                                        USA CYCLING NATIONAL RANKINGS

Mens Master (60-99) Criterium Rankings (2011)
2011			Name	License
Rank	Points
1	46		Leo Pettus	219074
2	41		David Lang	107852
3	40		John McKee	180386
4	27		Charles Griffiths	257813
5	24		Kenny Fuller	46765
6	21		Bob Wright	39024
6	21		Leo Longo	189814
8	20		Clifford Jackson	257185
9	18		Charles Hetrick	62551
10	17		David LeDuc	45583
11	13		Robert Paganini	45763

 

WEATHER PERMITS NEAR RAIN FREE RACE AT 55/60+ ONTARIO CRIT #2

By John McKee

It's March 20th and time for the 2nd of 6 criteriums in Ontario produced by Ray Moreno and Pacific Sunset Velo. This particular race is called the Spring Classic Grand Prix. March 20th is the first day of spring but the weekend in Southern California didn't seem to be so "spring" like. Lots of rain. Especially in the northern part of Socal. Ontario is pretty much right in the middle of Southern California and always draws riders from all over. The race series has planted roots and has a good following and in 55+ and 60+ circles as well. The first and previous race in Ontario had 50 racers in 55/60+ and that's with a 36 degree temperature. This race saw a fall off in attendance but rain was threatened and long trips in a car with the wind shields a going isn't a lot of fun. Of course racing in the rain takes most of the fun out of it unless maybe you are in Hawaii. Rain was forecast to hit Ontario around 7 to 8 am and the 55/60+ was to start at 7:35 am.
When we all got there it was dark of course because sunrise is 6:55 am after moving the clocks forward for daylight savings time the previous week. When it started getting light the clouds didn't look so ominous. It definitely looked like we would at least start our race without any rain or wet surfaces. YES!! I am tired of racing in the rain. It does make for a memorable experience but way too many negatives.

Hot 55+ rider- Mike Birditt

35 dedicated 55/60+ racers lined up at 7:35 including 2 women- Sanda Timbal and Hanh Nygyen. This was Hanh's first time in our group and I say welcome and I can tell you now that she did well but she needs to stay in the back of the pack on the last lap for awhile until she gets a feel for the last lap action. Sanda had just finished 3rd in the cat 4 women's race and is just back from visiting her homeland, Hungary.
We all started on time and on dry roads and the temperature was 20 degrees warmer than the first race on Feb. 27th, just 2 weeks before. The main 55+ teams were striped down. None had a full squad so would have to make do with who they brought. The pace early was brisk but nothing too fast. There were some early jumps and attacks especially from Santa Clarita Velo. A few small breaks formed with mini chase groups, etc. John "Clint Eastwood" Roest did a lot of work bringing back break groups or getting the peleton so close that we were effectively together. John is big and strong but needs to work on his flexibility and lose a "few" so he can ride leaner and lower.
The pace was frenetic with times at over 29 mph going between turn 1 and 2 which is slightly uphill. Other times the pace dipped to 20 or worse. The slow pace "trickled down"(sounds like the long time failed Republican economic policy-lol) the peleton with lots of braking. This lead to the first crash that took down- Monty Pettus, Richard Rodiguez, Pags, and the promoter himself, Ray Moreno. Monty and Pags got back to the officials area and got back in the race. This was half way through the 55/60+ race.

Hot 60+ rider- David Lang

Most of the early action were by the 55+ riders but I was closing some gaps and working it pretty good early. David Lang was marking me closely and when I went, David went. When David went, Monty went and that always triggered a mass chase. I think I was marked closer than the hottest racer in 55+. Without a doubt that is Mike Birditt. Mike is sprinting awesome, rolling it, chasing and moving across to breaks with ease. When Mike goes off that should bring alarm bells to every team and competitive 55+ racer.
Half the race is done and I believe that Rino Barbagiovanni of Santa Clarita Velo jumped off the front and Alex Collins of UC Cyclery with his new team Specialized bike took in chase. Mike Birditt of Swami's took off in chase after the 2 riders got together. No one else reacted. I thought about it and was going to make a move at the last corner which I like to refer to as the "slingshot" corner. A little dip that can catapult you forward. I didn't and the break stayed fairly close for a couple of laps. Mike didn't think it would work but Alex thought it could and would work with Mike. Mike and Alex stepped it up and Rino came off. The pace in the pack was dreadfully slow. Mike and Alex were pulling away and Rino was left in no man's land to cook. His teammates should have put him out of his misery early and kept Mike and Alex closer but... SCV was missing Tom Reilly and especially last races winner in 55+, Mike Gourley.
Only one rider would chase and that was Nour Tillo. Nour put in 2 hard pulls and the 2nd one formed a mini chase group between his group and the pack. I closed down to the mini group and David Lang was right on me as was the rest of the group. We needed "Clint" the enforcer to come forward but maybe he was tired from earlier action. Nour pulls made a dent in the gap to the break but would need several more strong riders and it wasn't going to happen this Sunday. Mike and Alex were working well together and needed to stay on it to stay away and they did.
A prime call came for the bonus Ontario series points. After the first race Dale Luedtke was leading the 55+ group and I was leading the 60+ group. The pace picked up. The bonus points were going to the peleton and not the break group. Dale Luedtke came around the last corner serious and turned on the gas to go for the points. David Lang was right behind him. Truthfully I didn't know if both cats got points or if the first person across the line gets points toward their category. After some research it appears that both do. David knew that because he got the prime points in the first race. So Dale and David got the prime points for race # 2 but David was gassed. The pace picked up rounding turn one and David was in a spot of bother but hung on the back of the pack. The next time around to the start finish line the 5 lap to go card came up. 
Unless Alex and Mike fell apart they were going to decide the winner of 55+. The pace in the pack was respectable but not earth shattering. David was in the back recovering and planning a return to the front. The laps counted down- 4, 3, 2, and 1 to go! In the mean time the rain started with 2 and 1/2 laps to go. Not hard but enough to wet down the road. It almost stopped as we headed to the last lap. With one to go Alex and Mike slowed down and Alex stayed on Mike's wheel. The old cat and mouse game. Mike decided to take it wide around the last 2 turns to make Alex jump on their left side if Alex was going to make an early move. They stayed in place around the last corner and Mike opened it up from the front when he came near the opposite curbside. That's about 200 meters or more from the line. Mike has a quick acceleration. Alex has a long sprint but it takes him longer to get up to speed. It was Mike Birditt first across the line for another win for himself and Swami's!
The pack was now racing for 3rd place in 55+ but the win in 60+ was still out there. John "Clint" Roest took the pace for the pack. The pace was decent and I was in good position but in the middle of the front group. The pace started to slow going into turn 2 and riders were moving up the outside and got worse going into turn 3. I had to get out and move up. I came out to the left and got in Leo Longo's path but he saw me coming and let me go. I moved up but not far enough. Rick Swanson came to the front to start pulling the pack. The pace picked up again. Kal Szkalak(Kal was feeling around 85%. He had bronchitis/pneumonia several weeks prior and was starting to get his form back) was up near the front with Monty on his wheel. Monty had torn shorts and bloody hands but was ready to launch his sprint at the end. I didn't even know he had crashed. It had happened behind me and I hadn't seen him for a while but that was not unusual. Dale  Luedtke and David Lang were moving up and into position. I was 2 back from Monty and on a wheel I didn't like. 
Should have moved up and Monty would have let me in but I stayed put. We made the only right turn and then 2 more lefts and no early jump like the last race from Mike Gourley. Right about the last corner Kal and former track rider Cyril Hunte jumped hard. Cyril use to ride for his home country of Guyana. Dale Luedtke started to wind it up behind Kal and powered home across the line for 3rd place. Kal followed for 4th place. Monty Pettus launched his sprint coming home and was out of the saddle 10 meters from the line when his chain came off the chainring. Yikes! No power. Something was damaged in his crash. David Lang came by him for 1st place in 60+ and 5th place overall. Steve "The Black Knight" Hensler also got by Monty for 6th place overall and 5th in 55+. 
A little further down the food chain was a small bunch of riders that rounded the corner and were trying to sprint for home. It was congested. A result of too slow a pace on the last lap which wasn't the case the previous week. Don't know what exactly started the carnage but something happened to Nour Tillo and he bounced off the right side of Fred Hoblit slammed to the pavement. Joe Wells of Paramount nailed Nour right in the back and went flying. Gordon Carr of SBW also went down. I was on the left side of a group of riders before the crash and and there was movement out away from the group and I had to also move out to the left and took my foot off the gas.  The 4th time this year that something has happened in front of me that interrupted my sprint. The main problem was behind me and to my right. I got out of my saddle and tried to get going again. Mike Fleming started to come by me and I saw Bob Wright just ahead and to my right. I got by Mike and was coming at Bob but Bob took 3rd, myself 4th and Mike 5th. 
After the warmdown lap I stopped to see how the crashed riders were doing. Joe Wells was scraped up but ok. The Paramount jersey I loaned him was toast. Gordon Carr was sitting on the curb and it looked like a broken collar bone. Nour Tillo was laying on his stomach on the grass in a lot of pain. He had movement in his legs but was really hurting. David Lang's wife who is a nurse was there helping out. The paramedics were there and put him on a flat stretcher on his back. He didn't want to go to a hospital. Later he was able to get up and walk. 
The overall pace of the race was slightly less than 25 mph which isn't bad on this course but the slower pace of the race was a factor in both crashes especially the last lap. If Alex Collins had been in the pack I am pretty sure he would have led it out hard from a long ways out. Taking over from Rick and stringing it out and making it safer like at Cattle Call. That was a long lead out and he didn't quit before the line. The complete results are below. Sorry. No action pictures. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Spring Classic GP  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	107852	David Lang	DARE	14
2	219074	Leo Pettus	Paramount Racing	11
3	39024	Bob Wright	Santa Clarita Velo	10
4	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	9
5	129293	Michael Fleming	South Bay Wheelmen	8
6	243425	mark wisnosky	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	7
7	189814	Leo Longo	South Bay Wheelmen	6
8	171652	Stephen Whitsitt	South Bay Wheelmen	5
9	46547	John Edwards	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	4
10	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	3
11	57726	Ernest Hoffer	Herbalife LaGrange	2
12	50406	Michael Edwards	Herbalife LaGrange	1

Spring Classic GP  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	47255	Michael Birditt	Swami's Cycling Club	14
2	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Flooring	11
3	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	10
4	54522	Kalman Szkalak		9
5	15874	Steve Hensler	Team Redlands	8
6	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	7
7	52086	Cyril Hunte		6
8	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	5
9	95649	Ken Burns	Southern California Velo	4
10	47314	Gary Prideaux	Lightning Velo	3
11	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	2
12	294290	Pey-Lih Littler	Celo Pacific	1
13	66553	John Sinz	Canyon Velo	0
14	9271	Pete Dern	Herbalife LaGrange	0
15	277180	John Roest	Rock N' Road Cyclery	0
16	34753	Rick Swanson	Swami's Cycling Club	0
17	289270	Sanda Timbal	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0