SHO AIR ROCKS THE ROAD AT ROGER MILLIKAN 2012 55/60+ RACE

By John McKee

It's Feb. 12th, 2012 and Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium is scheduled for the 7th year in a row. Prior to this race being named after a lost rider Roger Millikan, the name was the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. I mentioned this before but for those that didn't read it, Roger Millikan dated Monty's Pettus's wife Diane before Monty won out and married Diane. Roger would have raced 60+ if he were still alive.
The 2012 race sadly had another tribute to give to another rider that was lost the previous Thursday. I am speaking of Todd Schooler. Todd has raced for many years and raced with us mostly in 50+ races the last few years. I believe Todd racing age is 58 this year. I didn't know Todd well at all but many of you did and he will be missed.
The RMMC is fast becoming the most popular race on the calendar. Many of the races were sold out including the 55/60+ race at the field limit of 75. 2012 had record attendance at RMMC. Last year the race sold out on the day of but this year the race was sold out by the Wednesday before the race. The field was heavily weighted toward the 55+ racers. Only 20 of the pre regs were 60s and several of those didn't race.
The weather was a little cool with a few sprinkles but the skies cleared before the start of the 55/60+ race scheduled for 8:30 am. Everyone lined up many rows deep. The  large group felt a little scary. Ed Keck(The promoter for Velo Avanti) got out in front for the usual lap in honor of Roger Millikan but this year because of Todd Schooler passing away, Kenny Fuller came out to lead the peleton along with Ed. Kenny had known Todd for 25 years and had talked about racing at Roger Millikan this Sunday just days ago.
Ed and Kenny lead us around the Brea course which is somewhat unique and challenging. It isn't as hard as Red Trolley but difficult enough to make it a very good race. Once Ed and Kenny lead the group past the start/finish line for the first time it was game on. Almost all the strongest riders were there. Keith Ketterer was pre reged to race but didn't show. He was to designate a teammate to replace him and that was Malcolm Hill.

Start of the race with Kenny Fuller in his stars and strips out in front- Eric Smith is on the far left in the officials shack. Eric is president of the SCNCA. Photo courtesy of Jodie Borer.

Another start picture- Targeted race for UC Cyclery.. You think? Photo courtesy of Jodie Borer

That's like seeing Babe Ruth being pinch hit for and thinking that you just dodged a bullet but out of the dugout comes Lou Gehrig. Pick your poison. There were a lot of short lived moves early in the race and the pace was fast and pretty darn hard. Nothing was sticking. UC Cyclery, Spy-Swami's, Sho Air, and Malcolm Hill of Breakaway for Cancer were all watching each other. Velo Allegro was taking a more wait and see approach.
The 55s were racing for $1,000 thanks to Morgan Gold of Irvine, Ca. Fellow racer Alex Collins who is a Senior Account Representative there is totally responsible for bringing in this great sponsorship. Morgan Gold specializes in precious metals for part of your retirement nest egg. Thank you, Alex! Any more sponsorships in the future would certainly be welcome and would get play in this blog. The 60s were racing for a separate purse of $150 which wasn't bad for the turnout we got. Most of the best 60+ racers like- Fuller, Pettus, Marotta and John Rubcic raced down in age in the 55+ category to go for the $1,000 purse. I decided to stay in my category and try and get a big slice of a small pie and get the Socal points as well.

Early race action with Lee Romans leading myself. You can see Rick Swanson between us. Photo courtesy of Mike Lee/Starlight Photography.

Mid race action with myself, Mike Mueller, Monty Pettus and John Roest- Photo courtesy of Mike Lee/Starlight Photography.

 As the race progressed some of the leading riders were getting discouraged about the prospect of a break working off the front. The pace slowed slightly. The pack churned continually. A few riders got pinched in turn 4 and went down. Wayne Rosenkrantz and Mike Chicci were victims but got back up and raced. With 6 laps to go Kenny Fuller went to the front to work everyone over Thurlow Rodgers style. Kenny is only about 80% right now so the pace was kept high but didn't shake things up much. This told me that we were looking at a bunch sprint unless someone got a good jump and gap. Sometimes a late solo jump can work if the teams are denuded but today the teams were loaded and this was unlikely to happen.

Paul Rodriquez pulled double duty for UCC. Being active during the race and being the designed finisher. Steve Cahill is chasing up the hill. Photo courtesy of Jodie Borer.

Bob Pellkoffer(leading the pack here) pulled lieutenant duties for Sho Air/Rock N Road. Bob was very active during the race. Photo courtesy of Jodie Borer.

Kim Bleth was the workhorse for Spy-Swami's. Photo Courtesy of Jodie Borer.

The clock was ticking down and the teams were starting to take stock of their players and lining things up. Kim Bleth and Gary Shuey were burning their matches keeping the pace high on the last few laps and left the team somewhat bare going into the last lap. Coming into turn 4 on the second to the last lap Sho Air had things looking really good. Bob "The Killer" Pellkoffer was leading Mark Hoffenberg ahead of Dan "The Broom" Nicolette. UC Cyclery were lined up with Steve Hensler leading Mike Mueller and Paul Rodriquez. Spy-Swami's was left with 2 riders near the front. Mike Birditt was at the front in the middle of the pack. His trusted lieutenant for the last lap was Rick Swanson. Rick was on Mike left hip and started fading to his left. After going around the corner, Rick was going to punch it and lead a small group that would include his teammate, Mike Birdittt.

A little over 1 lap to go at the last corner. Mark Hoffenberg rounding last corner with Dan Nicolette behind. Photo courtesy of Jodie Borer.

Next frame shows UCC lining up with Steve Hensler, Mike Mueller and Paul Rodiquez. Mike Birditt is behind the Jessup Auto Plaza rider. Notice how the Jessup rider is on the top of his bars. Photo courtesy of Jodie Borer.

After turning the corner Mike was accelerating right up the middle and faded a couple of feet to his right. Another rider on the top of his bars in a red, white and black kit (NOT Santa Clarita Velo or Sho Air) was to Mike's right and leaned to his left for some reason. They made contact as Mike rode by at a faster pace. The contact didn't faze Mike in the least and he kept moving forward in a straight line. The "other" rider was totally surprised by the contact and lost control of his bike and swung widely to his left behind Mike now. You can see it all in the 2 vids but he swung to his left and forced another rider into Rick Swanson's front wheel and down went Rick. The "other" rider then swung wildly back to his ride. His bike was steeply slated to the right and he almost went down in front of Mike Marotta. The "other" rider finally got control of his bike and no one else was taken down. The downside besides Rick going down were the guys that were behind Rick and had slow way way down to get around. Included in this group were Mike Marotta, John Rubcic and Don Kimper. Things really heated up after turn 1 and then 2. 2 comes quickly. Kenny Fuller was near "The Broom" and was able to take Mark Hoffenberg's wheel. Now this wasn't in the best interest of Sho Air. Dan had a problem here. It wasn't like at Red Trolley where he thought he could flick riders off Mark's wheel easily. Kenny has raced for 50 years and has over 50 Natz titles and several world championship. Dan "The Diplomat" Nicollette decided to try another approach. He put his hand on Kenny's back and asked nicely if he could have his teammate's wheel. Kenny acquiesced. He didn't see any reason to make an enemy of someone over this race. Mike Birditt was right behind them. Mike was now a bike length off Mark Hoffenberg. Everything was pretty smooth and fast on the bottom of the course. Fast yes but not sure if it was as fast as last year. Turn 3 was hit at high speed and then it was all balls to the wall going up the next to the last leg. Everything was a near blur. I remember Cyril Hunte going backward again but not as bad as at Red Trolley. Slopes and Cyril don't seem to mix. 
Bob "The Killer" Pellkoffer was leading the Sho Air train and Henry Schnepf pulled in behind Bob and ahead of Mark. Velo Allegro had 3 riders up near the front. Don Denegal, Ricky and Al Shorts were in play. Nelson Alaan of Cal Pacific Export had moved up into good position. Nelson always sits in the back and then comes forward the last few laps and uses his good sprint to place high. Malcolm Hill had quietly got himself into good position.
Flying toward the last corner Bob Pellkoffer took Sho Air just around the corner and then Henry Schnepf went way wide to his left leaving the door open for Mark Hoffenberg. Dan was still on Mark. Mike Birditt cut inside a little bit and started his sprint for home. Mike couldn't make up the ground on Mark Hoffenberg and the win went the Sho Air ace! Another victory. To really nail it down, Dan Nicolette rolled across for 3rd place after Mike Birditt. Followed in closely were Malcolm Hill and then Paul Rodriquez. Paul who is 59 this year had quite a day. Besides the 5th place finish in the 55+ race, came back and placed 4th in the faster 50+ race. Henry Schnepf followed in making it a trifecta for Sho Air in the first 6 places. Nelson Alaan bested Ricky Shorts for 7th followed in by Don Denegal, Steve Cahill, Mike Marotta, Al Shorts and Mike Mueller rolled in next. I came in with Monty Pettus and Alex Collins right next to me. I was the first 60+ finisher for 1st place in 60+. Mike Marotta would have won the 60+ race but entered the 55+ race for the big money. New 60+ race John Wagenaar placed 2nd in 60+ followed by Rich Stahlberg, James Swigart, Don Kimper and Steve Borer. 
The average speed was pretty high for this course at 24.9 mph(26.3 mph in the 50+ race). The normalized power(while pedaling) was 296 watts while overall the wattage was 244.  Good hard race with a few bad moments. Cycling strength and inexperience is a problem for us. Don't know what more to say about that. The finish pictures are below. Complete results are below as well. I want to thank all the photographers that contributed photos to this story: Jodie Borer, Mike Lee/Starlight Photography, and Peter Carlson. 2 vids are available on Youtube:
http://youtu.be/zk35yVgfMoI by Mike McKinney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11H6E0NTCk by Peter Carlson
That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Mark Hoffenberg with the win in 55+. Photo courtesy of Mike Lee/Starlight Photography

Mark at the finish line. Courtesy of Peter Carlson.

Mike Birditt in 2nd place. Photo courtesy of Peter Carlson.

From left to right-Malcolm Hill, Dan Nicolette, Paul Rodiquez(behind Dan), Henry Schnepf, Ricky Shorts and Nelson Alaan. Photo courtesy of Mike Lee/Starlight Photography.

Finish photo showing Malcolm Hill and Paul Rodriquez. Photo courtesy of Peter Carlson

Photo showing Mike Mueller, Alex Collins and Monty Pettus. I am blocked out by Alex and the 1st 60+ finisher. Photo courtesy of Peter Carlson.

The 2 winners- Mark Hoffenberg and John McKee

Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	14
2	61193	john wagenaar	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	11
3	50911	Richard Stahlberg	Ironfly	10
4	228631	James Swigart	ACQUA AL 2/SDBC	9
5	195498	Donald Kimper	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	8
6	245777	Steven Borer	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	7
7	203244	cary alpert	South Bay Wheelmen	6
8	27989	Richard Pfeiffer	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	5
9	3793	Raphael Gomez	Rage Cycling	4
10	61278	mario seri	Velo Club LaGrange	3
11	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	2
12	50406	Michael Edwards	Velo Club LaGrange	1

Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium  (Rank 1.0)

Masters 60+

Place

License

Name

Team

SoCal Points

1

180386

John McKee

Paramount Racing

14

2

61193

john wagenaar

UC Cyclery/JW Floors

11

3

50911

Richard Stahlberg

Ironfly

10

4

228631

James Swigart

ACQUA AL 2/SDBC

9

5

195498

Donald Kimper

UC Cyclery/JW Floors

8

6

245777

Steven Borer

UC Cyclery/JW Floors

7

7

203244

cary alpert

South Bay Wheelmen

6

8

27989

Richard Pfeiffer

UC Cyclery/JW Floors

5

9

3793

Raphael Gomez

Rage Cycling

4

10

61278

mario seri

Velo Club LaGrange

3

11

45763

Robert Paganini

Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)

2

12

50406

Michael Edwards

Velo Club LaGrange

1

Roger Millikan Memorial Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	45461	Mark Hoffenberg	Sho-air/Rock 'n Road	14
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team	11
3	26090	daniel nicolette	Sho-air/Rock 'n Road	10
4	156650	Malcolm Hill	Breakaway from Cancer Masters	9
5	58847	Paul Rodriguez	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	8
6	70853	Henry Schnepf	Sho-air/Rock 'n Road	7
7	64439	Nelson Alaan	Cal-Pacific Export Packers / LV	6
8	52251	Ricky Shorts	Velo Allegro	5
9	93812	Donald Denegal	Velo Allegro	4
10	204724	Steve Cahill	Celo Pacific	3
11	72880	mike marotta	Swami's Cycling Club	2
12	230085	Albert Shorts	Velo Allegro	1
13	46688	Michael Mueller	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
14	46255	Alex Collins	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
15	219074	Leo Pettus	Paramount Racing	0
16	46765	Kenny Fuller	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0
17	162650	Jim Parkhurst	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0
18	47652	Bob Pellkofer		0
19	47262	Dale Luedtke	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team	0
20	45431	Bruce Hartley	Pinnaclife Racing Team	0
21	195285	Ken neumeyer		0
22	13594	Doug Gonda	Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada	0
23	15874	Steve Hensler	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
24	45364	Thomas Gates	MOAB Masters Racing	0
25	277180	John Roest	Team CF-Club	0
26	21803	John Luke	Santa Clarita Velo	0
27	52086	cyril hunte		0
28	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0
29	155459	Thomas Reilly	Santa Clarita Velo	0
30	50141	Robert Gregory	MOAB Masters Racing	0
31	53584	Greg Mathes	Velo Avanti Cycling Team	0
32	287584	Charlie Tatarian	Canyon Velo	0
33	271566	Alex Gonzalez	Velo Allegro	0
34	50765	Richard Roberson	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
35	195618	Stephen Horine	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
36	110259	Lee Romans	Velo Allegro	0
37	44197	gary shuey	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team	0
38	48760	John Rubcic	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0
39	178495	Steve Diamond	Swami's Cycling Club	0
40	151059	Joseph MASTRO	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0
41	107559	Rodney malloy	Velo Allegro	0
42	222764	thomas buescher	South Bay Wheelmen	0
43	56643	robert shupper	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	0
44	49191	Kim Bleth	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team	0
45	167453	bob estupinan	Citrus Valley Velo	0
46	222523	Rick Carrera	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion	0
47	9271	Pete Dern	Velo Club LaGrange	0
48	126668	Joey Valdivia	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	0

RED TROLLEY CRITERIUM HARD RACE FOR 55/60+ RACERS

By John McKee

It's Feb. 5th, 2012 and time for the Red Trolley Criterium. Red Trolley is always the day after the Blvd. Road Race and never has had a 55/60+ race but this year with the help of Steve Borer we were in. Not everyone was happy with the promoters though. They asked a premium entry price at $30 and only offered $200 in prize money split between the 2 cats and might have reduced that per the flyer if 50 riders didn't show which didn't happen. Blvd. tired a few riders out and there was a TT at Fiesta Island though I doubt if more than one of those riders would have done a criterium. It also was Super Bowl Sunday but as you should know, the game lasts a long long....time. No worries in missing anything important except some of the one of a kind TV commercials. Always a lot of really good fun stuff there. Loved "We Go" fetching Bud Lights. The team(Patriots) I rooted for didn't win but didn't care that much and was glad in the end when I saw a pic of Rush Limbaugh in the Patriots owner's booth.
Spy eye ware (the major Spy-Swami's sponsor) was there and giving out free glasses to the winner of each race so Red Trolley had that going for it. For a change the 55/60+ racers were slated for a mid day race. Wow. That doesn't happen very often. Some of our riders liked it and some didn't. If you race early, you have the rest of the day to play with but have to get up way early.

Early action at Red Trolley- from left to right- Steve Diamond, Mike Birditt, Paul Rodriquez and Alex Collins - Photo courtesy of Jinna Thomas

About 35 racers showed up to start the race at 12:35 pm. 20 of the racers were 55+. 40 minutes was the allotted time for the race. The Red Trolley course was new to many of us. Once we started racing it didn't take long to figure out that the course was difficult. From turn 1 to turn 3 of the 4 corner course the grade was slightly downhill and required tempo type pedaling. It was more downhill from turn 3 to 4 and you picked up good speed. After the last turn toward home the course kicks up quite a bit. It is a good power climb. It really helps if you can keep your mo going into the climb. It took a few laps to figure that out. After the power climb it was still a pretty good distance to the finish line and it was a false flat with no mo going into it. Pretty tough course I would say.
The first few laps were an education. Got a feel for the course and learned how to take the climb. The pace was pretty high and there was some probing but it took about 4 to 5 laps for a break to form off the front. Mike Mueller of UC Cyclery, Mike Birditt of Spy-Swami's, Mark Hoffenberg of Sho Air/Rock N Road and Scott Bohlman of Jessup Auto Plaza were in the break. There may have been a mystery 5th person later but that is unconfirmed. 3 really strong riders so I figured this was it. The 3 strongest teams were represented as well. Spy-Swami's, UC Cyclery, and Sho Air/Rock N Road. No 60s in the group though so I wasn't worried. John Roest started a chase. John is strong and pulled for several laps. Steve Cahill also helped out. The combination of the chase and lack of commitment up front spelled... caught. All together. Surprised the heck out of me. The pace picked up again and some riders were going off the back. Mostly 60s but a few 55s as well.

Mike Mueller and Mike Birditt in the early break- Photo courtesy of Jinna Thomas

A prime lap came up and don't really know what it was for but Bob Pellkofer thought it was worthwhile to go for. Paul Rodriquez hung on his wheel and snatched the prime at the line. They looked back and had a mini gap. They decided to go for it and traded pulls. They started to build a lead but Paul was getting tired and thought about throwing in the towel. Bob was feeling great and was having none of this. They came to an agreement which is often done in pro cycling. Paul would sit on and Bob would do all the work. Paul would not contest the sprint if they stayed away.
The pack worked the gap down to 20 seconds but didn't have the fire power to reign in the 2 riders. Kim Bleth did his best for Spy-Swami's but not enough riders to do the work. Steve Cahill was on Kim once but was tired from racing Blvd. the day before and couldn't pull through. After the 20 second gap the next reading was 30 seconds and 5 laps to go and it looked like that was that. The pace slowed a bit and everyone took stock of themselves and where they were in the pack. My heartrate had hit 163 and my max is around 168 so was I was near my limit. An easier pace was find with me!
The final lap came and Bob and Paul were still away. Bob Pellkofer came across the line for the win in 55+. Paul Rodriquez was 2nd. The 55s in the peleton were now racing for 3rd place but the 60s still had all the players out there. Getting a good ride up the hill was critical in the sprint for home.  Cyril Hunte took an inside line at the last corner and was the first to it but came in at to shallow an angle and took it wide after the corner taking most riders further out then they would have otherwise. Mark Hofenberg showed his bike handling skills and after a short bit was ahead of everyone by quiet a ways. Mark had the help of his teammate Dan "The Broom" Nicolette. Dan was making the claim after the race that it was easy sweeping Mark's wheel clean during the race. Cyril Hunte found himself  in way too big a gear and bogged down going up the hill. Mike "Jet Butt" Birditt was behind him and saw a small opening between Cyril and another rider. Mike yelled stay and it was like Charleston Heston in the movie "Ten Commandments" parting the Red Sea. Mike started his sprint for home with a good 20 to 30 meters to make up on Hoffy. Mike was really chewing up the real estate and gaining on Mark coming for home. Mike was able to overtake Mark by the finish line for 3rd place. What an effort for 3rd place. He must have jets in his butt! Mark Hoffenberg rolled across the line for 4th place in 55+.

In 60+ action John "Rocket" Rubcic was doing his 1st event of the year and looked in mid season form. The uphill sprint is a natural for him since he lives and trains in Hemet. I have trained with John before around his place and he likes to climb the local mountains and does his sprint drills uphill. John had a good race in 2011 at Natz in 60-64 criterium. The pace was faster than Natz 55-59 on a different course.
Monty Pettus had 3 wins running already in 2012 and wanted to challenge John Rubcic and came along side of John right after the last corner but Monty's mo took him to Cyril Hunte's wheel and Cyril was pedaling squares and going backward. Monty took his foot off the accelerator and that was that. The "Rocket" kept up the pressure all the way to the line and was the next finisher after Mark Hoffenberg. Lee Romans was the next racer across the line for a very good finish at 5th place in 55+. Monty Pettus came across for 2nd in 60+. I rolled across with a few 55+ riders for 3rd place in 60+. Howard Miller was 4th 60+ giving Paramount 2, 3 and 4. 5th place in 60+ went to Fred Nicolet of SDBC.
The race was hard but pretty safe. The average speed was 24.66 mph with an average wattage of 195 from a Powertap. 270 watts while pedaling. We gained 962 feet during the race. Monty Pettus hit 1148 at the end of the race. New challenging course for everyone. Podium pics below plus a bonus picture. Full results below as well. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

60+ podium- Pettus 2, Rubcic 1, McKee 3- photo courtesy of Steve Borer

55+ podium- Rodriquez 2, Pellkofer 1, Birditt 3- photo courtesy of Steve Borer

Mark and Mike after race- 55/60+ racers are tough competitors during the races but good friends afterward- photo courtesy of Jinna Thomas

Red Trolley Classic  (Rank 1.0) Masters 55+ Place License Name Team SoCal Points 1 47652 Bob Pellkofer 14 2 58847 Paul Rodriguez UC Cyclery/JW Floors 11 3 47255 Michael Birditt Spy-Swami's Cycling Team 10 4 45461 Mark Hoffenberg Sho-air/Rock 'n Road 9 5 110259 lee romans Velo Allegro 8 6 47262 Dale Luedtke Swami's Cycling Club 7 7 59572 Mark Huffman UC Cyclery/JW Floors 6 8 26090 Daniel Nicolette Sho-air/Rock 'n Road 5 9 46255 alex collins UC Cyclery/JW Floors 4 10 352540 Scotty Bohlman Jessup Auto Plaza p/b P.S. Cyclery 3 11 15760 Mark Helvie UC Cyclery/JW Floors 2 12 204724 Steve Cahill Celo Pacific 1 13 178495 Steve Diamond Swami's Cycling Club 0 14 50765 Richard Roberson UC Cyclery/JW Floors 0 15 52086 cyril hunte 0 16 195618 Stephen Horine UC Cyclery/JW Floors 0 17 277180 John Roest Team CF-Club 0 18 177376 James Aslagson Spy-Swami's Cycling Team 0

Red Trolley Classic  (Rank 1.0) Masters 60+ Place License Name Team SoCal Points 1 48760 John Rubcic UC Cyclery/JW Floors 14 2 219074 Leo Pettus Paramount Racing 11 3 180386 John McKee Paramount Racing 10 4 49424 Howard Miller Paramount Racing 9 5 26089 Fred Nicolet ACQUA AL 2/SDBC 8 6 245777 Steven Borer UC Cyclery/JW Floors 7 7 61193 john wagenaar UC Cyclery/JW Floors 6 8 195498 Donald Kimper UC Cyclery/JW Floors 5 9 101582 William Carvin 4 10 203244 cary alpert South Bay Wheelmen 3 11 301363 Mick Iwadare South Bay Wheelmen 2 12 45763 Robert Paganini Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA) 1 13 50406 Michael Edwards Velo Club LaGrange 0 

Race Duo for 55/60+ Racers in Los Olivos/Goleta- Part 2

By John McKee

Promoter Amando "Mondo" Requejo with the writer guy

We are racing on the road and this is what it is like elsewhere in the country like Denver. Hope I can still mountain bike there next week.

We all or at least most of us had one race under our belt for the weekend of Jan. 28th and 29th, 2012 after the Poor College Kids Road Race. Most of us relaxed in the Los Olivos area or drove down the mountain to stay in Santa Barbara/Goleta area. I came down the mountain so I would be closer to the venue and could take a shower before the long drive home. The 55/60+ race was 2nd in the day's lineup and set to start at 7:35 am.

Cold but at least it was dry in Goleta(I am sure racers in other parts of the country are saying- QUIT COMPLAINING). Last year was a major downpour in Goleta for the Mothballs Criterium. 6 inches of water standing in turn 1 early in the race. No mishaps though. 23 riders finished the race. We only had 5 riders more this year than last with the good weather. A shame. This is a good race and Armando "Mondo" Requejo(the promoter) has supported 55/60+ racing for a long time. Safe course and good support from the Echelon team volunteers.Next year we will move up in the food chain and start 3rd. Ahead of the cat 4s.In 2012 there were 17 55s and 11 60s. We use to get more local 60+ racers. By the time everyone lined up the temperature was in the upper 40s. Warmer then it has been in the past. Instructions were given by the officals. The race slated for 40 minutes would come down to laps based on the time the group did in the first 2 laps.

The 55+ race would have a number of players including Spy-Swami's crit duo of Dale Luedtke and Mike Birditt. They would have their lieutenant, Kim Bleth  to support them and mix things up. Mark Hoffenberg would be there with the outstanding form he has already shown in the early 2012 races to contest anything  thrown his way. In 60+ the Paramount duo of Pettus/McKee would tough to top. The race started on time and the 1st 2 laps were fast. Mike "The Stalker" Birditt was watching Mark Hoffenberg. Steve Cahill was watching Birditt. Monty Pettus was up front in case a break got going early. Monty usually patrols further back early on. There was a lot of probing going on early. Hoffy was willing to work with anyone off the front but  "The Stalker"  was always right there. Hoffy was working it from the front and he stockpiled this information for later use.

Race action mid race @ Mothballs

There were a number of 55s mixing it up. Mike Cicchi, Alex Collins, Kim Bleth, John Luke, and Rino B. were quite active but the few mini breaks were short lived. Doug Knox of the 60s was also active. I saw the 18 lap to go placard. Not sure I liked that. 18 more laps to go. Lol. Mark Hoffenberg was trying to calculate how to get free from the "The Stalker". 5 laps to go came up and Mark moved off the front and blended in the middle of the pack. John Luke and Kim Bleth tried a duo effort off the front. Mark jumped out of the middle of the pack on the left side on the back side of the course. Mark can jump hard and fast. Mike B. was locked in the pack and could only watch. Mike Cicchi was already ahead with Mark Ainslie. With about 2 and 1/2 laps to go the small groups up front got together but it wasn't fluid. Dale Luedtke went to the front to pull Mike Birditt back to the group or at least get him close enough to jump across. I was on Mike and Monty was near by. We knew we had to very attentive now. No 60s were up front but the thought was the payoff was to an overall finish list.

"The Stalker" watching Mark Hoffenberg

Mike B. jumped with less than 2 laps to go and it took a bit but he finally made it to the front. Coming to the last corner for the next to the last time, Monty Pettus jumped. He was trying to get across the gap. If he was going, I was going. Fred Hoblit was sandwiched between us. Near the finish line with one lap to go the 3 of us joined the other six. Mike Cicchi was at the front and keeping the pace high. Good for Hoffy and not good for "The Stalker". Mike was still in a bit of oxygen debt. Somewhere in the last lap John Luke and Kim Bleth went south. Steve Cahill was hanging in there.
Coming around the last corner Mark Hoffenberg hit it hard. It was a ways to the finish line but he figured Mike B. was still hurting a bit from coming across the gap. It was too early for a breeze which would be in the racers faces coming home but it was pretty still this time of the morning. No one else could muster the strength and speed to match these two. They were blasting down the straightaway. Birditt has that low sprinting position that no one else in racing can match.You can see the video. It looks like its Birditt...no its Hoffenberg.... no its Birditt....YES IT'S HOFFENBERG by less than a wheel. Great finish!

Kim Bleth and Mark Hoffenberg
in a break attempt

The second finish pod had Monty Pettus taking Steve Cahill by 6 inches but in the end it didn't matter. Payouts were split based on the separate finish lists of the 55s and 60s. Monty Pettus won the 60+ category. Monty hasn't lost a 60+ criterium yet. Mike Cicchi came across the line next for 4th place in 55+. The 3rd pod came in with Mark Ainslie and myself very close. Mark was 5th in 55+ and I was 2nd in 60+.
Doug Knox actually kept the pressure on through the finish line and got 3rd in 60+ followed by Mike Fleming.
Bill Pettus and Peter Carlson took some great photographs and Peter also did a great Youtube video which I will have the link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrBD5IpZe9E.The average speed was around 25.1 to 25.2 mph. Good hard safe race. Finish pics and group photos below plus full results. I want to give a shout out to my long time coach, John Howard. John blew out his L3 disc and won't be on a bike for 6 to 8 months. Here is to a speedy recovery!! That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Hoffy by a bike throw!

Monty Pettus- 1st 60+, Cahill 3rd 55+ and Cicchi 4th 55+

Ainslie 5th 55+, McKee 2nd 60+, and Hoblit 6th 55+

Post race Swami's confab- Dale Luedtke, Jane Faulker, Kim "Always Tan" Bleth, Mike Birditt

Monty Pettus, Robert(The Ageless One)Paginni, and Doug Knox

Winners- Mark Hoffenberg 55+ and Monty Pettus 60+

Mothballs Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 55+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	45461	Mark Hoffenberg	Sho-air/Rock 'n Road	14
2	47255	Michael Birditt	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team	11
3	204724	Steve Cahill	Celo Pacific	10
4	280887	Mike Cicchi	Fast Friday	9
5	1254	Mark Ainslie		8
6	16360	Fred Hoblit	Santa Clarita Velo	7
7	21803	John Luke	Santa Clarita Velo	6
8	47262	Dale Luedtke	Swami's Cycling Club	5
9	46255	alex collins	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	4
10	49191	Kim Bleth	Swami's Cycling Club	3
11	203811	Barney Berglund	Polli Veloce	2
12	288193	Ron Carlson	METALMTN Cycling	1
13	364971	John Johnson		0
14	49110	Rino Barbagiovanni	Santa Clarita Velo	0
15	47380	Carlos Soto		0
16	141141	Steve Nelson	Echelon Santa Barbara	0
17	193819	Chuck Thompson	Polli Veloce	0

Mothballs Criterium  (Rank 1.0)
Masters 60+
Place	License	Name	Team	SoCal Points
1	219074	Leo Pettus	Paramount Racing	14
2	180386	John McKee	Paramount Racing	11
3	45552	Douglas Knox	Time Factory Team	10
4	129293	Michael Fleming	South Bay Wheelmen	9
5	195498	Donald Kimper	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	8
6	3793	raphael gomez	Rage Cycling	7
7	170779	Edgardo Potes	Bike Palace	6
8	61278	Mario Seri	Velo Club LaGrange	5
9	45763	Robert Paganini	Pasadena Athletic Assoc (PAA)	4
10	245777	Steven Borer	UC Cyclery/JW Floors	3
11	126351	Steve Bernede	Team Werks	2