TRIFECTA OF RACING FOR 55/60+ IN BUELTON/LOMPOC AT 805 FIRESTONE

By John McKee

The 805 Firestone race series started in 2012 with one race and a lot of money for all the racers. Promoter Mike Hecker started with the deceptively difficult Ave. of the Flags course.  The turnout was modest for 55/60+ racers especially in 60+ but the entire event was a success. It looked like the 805 event was coming back in 2013 with the one race but Mike added an event on Sunday following the Ave. of the Flags race which was held on Saturday the prior year and was scheduled for Saturday for 2013 as well.

Mike added a criterium on Sunday in Lompoc with big money like he had for the Saturday Ave. of the Flags race. Both races were great and the area is fun to visit because of the wineries. For 2014 Mike added a afternoon/twilight series at a police/sheriff practice oval in Lompoc on Friday to make the 805 Firestone race series a 3 day affair. Awesome event for all racers. One mile track with some banking on the oval ends. Great course but at 2:40 pm on May 9, 2014 the winds were howling at 25 to 30 mph. Warm but not hot. The winds made the course super difficult for most riders but of course the stronger riders can show their stuff in these conditions.
The 55/60+ race was scheduled for 40 minutes and was the 2nd race of the day. A few trial laps and pretty hard ones at that 4 riders slipped away. All 55+ racers. One of the racers dropped off quickly and left Mark Hoffenberg, Chris Black and Randall Tinney. I knew Chris from other races and knew how strong he was but I didn't know Randall Tinney. Randall showed amazing strength through the 3 day event. We all know Mark and how strong he is.
The pack shredded a few riders. It was brutal out there. The break group was going an amazing speed. In the end Chris Black gave out first. Randall tried to sprint with Mark but Mark took the 55+ race. The 60+ race was decided in a sprint in the pack with speedster Ricky Shorts winning. Dale Luedtke took 2nd and Paul Rodiguez was 3rd.

Chris Black starts the break. You can see Mark Hoffenberg at the front and will pounce on Chris shortly.

Black, Hoffenberg and Tinney in break. Going very fast.

Field sprint. Bob Kubinski is the 1st 55+ racer placing 4th. Ricky Shorts bests Dale Luedtke for 1st in 60+.

The 1st day was very hard and uplifting for some and discouraging for others. At least the 2nd day of racing would be at 10 am in the morning and the wind wouldn't be blowing as hard.
The 2nd day of racing would be at the Ave. of the Flags course in Buelton. The start time was 10:05 am. There was a breeze that would be a cross wind for most of the course. It made a pretty hard course that became that much harder.

Ave of the Flags 55/60+ start. Official Greg Alden is giving instructions.

The race started and the 1st couple of laps were modest for this course but then things heated up. A fairly large break group formed and was joined by some of the stronger 55+ riders that could get across the gap like Mark Hoffenberg. One 60+ racer was in the break and that was Paul Rodiguez. Same as the prior year.
One thing that is always apparent when I am at races with riders outside of Socal. They don't corner as well as riders from Socal. As a general rule. We do more criteriums then anyone and fast corners are the norm. I see guys braking going into the corners and I think WTF. I had to add that. It is always worse at the national level and gets even worse with the older groups because they do fewer crits than anyone. That grand prix course in Bend, Or. in 2011 and 2012 was way over the skill set of a lot of the senior racers and we saw what happened there. It was carnage.

Break group on the Ave. of Flags course.

The defining picture above shows 7 helmets. 6 55s and 1 60(Paul Rodiguez). There was one rider in between and that was Steve Hensler. The pack kept pretty close until the last few laps. Kal Szkalak took a flyer but Monty Pettus got on him and pulled through but Kal didn't want to work with Monty. Kal is very particular about who he goes on a break with. Rick Swanson was pulling from behind anyway to close it down. Pack all together.
The break group finished in a sprint with Mark Hoffenberg winning the sprint. Randall Tinney was 2nd. Jonathan Laine of Truckee and the 3 ft.- It's the Law team was 3rd. Paul Rodiguez didn't need to sprint and rolled across for 1st in 60+. The pack sprinted it out and Ricky Shorts got 2nd in 60+ and Monty Pettus who was feeling good this day got 3rd. Monty didn't do the Friday race and was fresh.

Hoffy wins sprint from Randall.

Paul Rodiguez wins the 2nd stage in 60+.

Ricky Shorts wins field sprint for 60+. Pettus and Szkalak follow in.

55+ finishers- Laine 3, Hoffenberg 1 and Tinney 2.

60+ finishers- Pettus 3, Rodiguez 1 and Shorts 2.

Another hard day of racing was wrapped up. Now it was time for relaxing or maybe some wine tasting. Monty Pettus and his wife Diana hosted Rick and Karen Swanson and myself and my wife Alicia(the photographer) at Demetria Vineyard Winery in Los Olivos. 

Ate a picnic lunch while tasting wine. Some really good stuff but of course it was expensive. I throw up my hands. Whatever my wife thinks is good and wants to buy is alright with me. I like white like Karen Swanson. My wife likes red.

We were going to have a group dinner at the Firestone restaurant near the Sat. race course which would be packed with racers this weekend but it was closed for kitchen renovations. I think that was bad timing. 
The 3rd day of racing would be a get away day. Race and get away home or maybe do more wine tasting like Monty. The 55 and 60+ categories were close for the ominium so there was more at stack then just the day's results. The 55 cat had Mark Hoffenberg ahead but Randall Tinney was 2nd and close. No one knew what Randall had in store. He told his wife Lola "Blue Hair" Tinney he was going all out. Finish 1st or last. That was the goal. 

55/60+ racers line up in Lompoc for the last day of racing.

Sunday's race was on a flat bumpy course through the streets of Lompoc. Lots of corners and some wind. Mostly a cross wind. The race started out reasonable. Rick "Caboose" Lilliberg went to the front to start things off and after a turn at the front went back to the very back of the pack. He likes it back there.

Randall "Go for It" Tinney is breaking away.

3 laps into the race Randall Tinney made his move. A lot of riders make a solo move and maybe it starts something with other riders joining that person but usually they fade out and come back to the pack. Not Randall. He was on a mission. Win or Die! ALL IN! Jeff Moreton went to the front to control the break distance but Randall was going good. Jeff should have gotten out of the saddle and closed the distance while it was short or gotten so close that the rider would get discouraged or another rider would take over and close out the break. 
Randall became a "carrot" and kept the pace of the race quite high. This was the easiest of the days of racing but it was still very hard. This course fit me better and I was feeling more comfortable out there. 
Mark Hoffenberg's Rokform squad kept trying to bring Randall "The Carrot" Tinney back with Jeff Moreton and Mike McConnell. Mark even went to the front and went full gas but no luck. I didn't see much help from other sources. 
There was a Ominium points sprint midway through the race and Mark wanted to be sure and win this and he had to get it if Randall was to stay away. In 60+ action Ricky Shorts had a small lead over Paul Rodiguez. When the sprint lap came the pressure was really on in the 2nd half of the lap. Fast. Paul took the 60 sprint and Randall took the 55 sprint because he was away but Hoffy took the bunch sprint in 55 which gave him 2nd place ominium points. 
After the points sprint the pressure really got put on by the Rokform squad but the seconds of distance to Randall kept going up! 21 seconds. 25 seconds. Then 30 seconds. It looked like a lost cause for Mark but he could still win the overall. The 5 lap to go sign came up and things got harder out there. There were a few lulls but it seemed to get faster. With 1 and 1/2 laps to go it got even faster. Rick Lilliberg said riders were dropping off and he had to maneuver around to stay in contact with the peleton.

One lap to go! One lap to go! Hoffy is REALLY putting the pressure on.

Mark Hoffenberg was at the front really putting the pressure on. Everyone was lined out. Hoffy was really taking a chance trying to catch Tinney. Mark finally took the pressure off to catch his breath for the field sprint. He conceded to Randall Tinney. The last lap except for a few brief moments was smoking. With 3 corners to go I got chopped by a non Socal rider. Naturally. Had to brake and lost my chance to stay near my teammate Monty Pettus. 
Back at the front between 2 corners to go and the last corner it was into the wind. Everyone kind collected themselves and then shot for the last corner to give it everything they had for the finish. While everyone was doing this Mr. Tinney finally was able to relax and put his arms up in triumph. A great effort. Randall said he was in so much pain that he was seeing stars and stuff!

And the stage winner is Randall Tinney! Great job!!

The pack rounded the corner and sprinted for home knowing all the pain was going to go away soon!  Mark Hoffenberg came across the line first like you wouldn't know that would happen. Mark got 2nd in the stage and won the overall in 55+ by 1 point. It was very close.

Hoffy takes field sprint over Chris Black.

Rodiguez takes the 60+ sprint over Szkalak.

 

Bunch sprint from a different perpective. Photo courtesy of Lola Tinney.

Chris Black rolled across right behind Mark for 3rd place in the stage. In 60+ action Paul Rodiuguez put his stamp on the race and won the field sprint and the ominium. Kal took 2nd in the stage and Ricky Shorts took 3rd in the stage.
It was another tough hard stage but was easier than the prior 2 days. Great hard racing with no crashes!
Great job by everyone in the races especially the Socal riders since they are so smooth and I include Chris Black in our group. 

Last days 55 finishers- Fetah 5, Tinney 1, Hoffenberg 2 and Laine 4. Photo courtesy of Lola Tinney.

Last days 60 finishers- Pettus 5, Shorts 2, Rodiguez 1, Szkalak 3 and Luedtke 4.

Pags gets flowers because he is the oldest racer by 10 years at 78! Robert is the best! Notice Hoffy ride below with its oval chainrings. Photo courtesy of Lola Tinney.

3rd place in the ominium in 55+ went to Chris Black and 3rd place in 60+ went to Kal Szkalak with Ricky Shorts taking 2nd.
It was a great 3 days of racing minus the wind but nature is what it is. Thanks to promoter Mike Hecker for keeping the 55s AND the 60s in his awesome event. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

WEEKEND OF BIG RACES FOR 55/60+ RACERS-BLGP & DPGP

By John McKee

It was a great weekend for 55/60+ racing. In San Diego on Saturday May 3rd there was the Barrio Logan Grand Prix. Always a fun event in a interesting part of San Diego. Great course expect for the pavement. I always hear that the pavement is improved. LOL! I would hate to have seen it in worse shape. It was doable though. Not if it rained and if Hylton Murphy, kamikaze of Barrio Logan does it.
Hylton of course only knew one speed and one effort level. All out. When there is 2 to 4 inches of rain in the corners you have to have faith that you are going to come out the other end rubber side down. Hylton never worried about such things and he didn't crash but just kept pushing the pace until he had to cry "Uncle". That was over 10 years ago now. It really did rain there in May. Buckets!
In 2014 because of a lackluster showing in 2013 our race was put on the clock so to speak. I say thank you for all the racers that came out and one(Steve Whitsitt) that signed up and never intended to race. For those that didn't make the effort to come out because it was too far or too early or something or other. We will end up with a few 50/55+ races with no pay days and courses that are ok but overdone to say the least.
A big thank you to Alex Collins and Morgan Gold that was the title sponsor and put up lots of money to sponsor the race. $500 went to the 55+ category 10 deep. The same for 60+. Tremendous payouts for our categories considering the number of racers that we could turnout. 11 55s and 18 60s pre registered.
There were a number of heavy hitter 55s that signed up on game day like Mark Hoffenberg and Malcolm Hill and Kal Szalak in 60+. I never understood why Kal always does same day. You know he is going to race. Why not save the 5 to 10 dollars and prereg? There were 12 60 finishers and 16 55s. How many actually signed up will never be known. Somewhere north of 30. Not that good considering.
So many 55/60+ racers are what I call regional racers. They only drive so far or leave their house no earlier than....blah, blah, blah! It all amounts to a lose of important races.

Lining up at the Barrio!

 OK. Ralph Elliot announced prior winners and mentioned that the 55/60+ race was in honor of Jerry Rimoldi. Jerry was co founder of SDBC way back when and was an official mechanic of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team in Mexico City, and was the 1972 U.S. Olympic Track Coach in Munich. 

After the officials gave the pre game chat we were off. Lothar "Blue Boy" Cramer was the 1st to take the lead in a new skinsuit with a blue top. Nice! Completely plain since Lothar rides independent.

The racers dithered back and forth and everyone tried to get there sea legs on the course. 

After 6 or 7 laps Paul Rodiguez went to the front and really put the pressure on. Malcolm Hill was right there with Mike Birditt and David Fetah there as well. Kal Szkalak and Mark Hoffenberg were a bit back and chose to not chase but block. Cramer was near them leading the peleton. Mark didn't want to lead everyone to the promised land and decided to wait until there was a gap and come across solo. 

Kal Szkalak and Chris Black didn't wait long and got on board quickly. Mark let the gap go and got teammate Jeff Moreton to bring him part way across and then Mark did the rest. Jeff started to drift back and here comes Dale "Sweat Bomb" Luedtke. Jeff said that Dale was really sweating and didn't think he could make the rest of the gap but NO Dale made it. Nice effort there, Dale!

Once the break went it was a sea change in the pack. We just went around and around at a moderate pace and maybe a plus added to it. 

Strong men Paul Rodiguez and Malcolm Hill start a break with Mike Birditt and David Fetah smartly grabbing on.

Kal and Hoffy form a early block line.

The pack saw Rick Lilliberg try to go solo from the main pack. I thought he was kind of crazy for doing this but I didn't care. Rick actually did quite well and was solo for 4 or 5 laps. Nice work there. Rick is 67 this year and the 2nd oldest racer at BLGP to myself.

In the break all 8 guys did some work. There were 4 55s and 4 60s. All the rest of us were racing for 5th place in both categories or so we thought. They got a very good gap over the pack and weren't seen from again until it was all over. The 5 lap to go card came up. Rick was still away from the pack and the break was planning their sprint.

The sprint in the break went as one might suspect. Mark Hoffenberg won the 55+ cat and Mike Birditt won the 60+ cat. Mark was followed in by Chris Black and Paul Rodiguez. Paul is 61 this year but chose to race 55+. Mike was followed in by Kal Szkalak and Dale Luedtke for the 60+ podium.

In the pack Rick was caught but Bob Willcox took off with a few laps to go and was chased by Jeff Moreton within the bell lap. Jeff went by Bob and got 6th place and Bob got 7th. The pack sprinted in with Tom Gates taking the field sprint and finishing 8th. Tom was followed in by Bill Pinckard and Alex Collins for the last paying spots in 55.

Monty Pettus bested the rest of the 60+ crowd for 4th with Rick Lilliberg hanging on for 5th. I have seen harder races at the Barrio but once the best riders were gone the pressure came off a little.

This is always a fun race and the turnout was ok but a bit disappointing. Complete results below.

Mark Hoffenberg wins again!

Mike Birditt wins the 60+ race.

Chris Black and Kal Szkalak finish 2nd in 55 and 60+.

Paul Rodiguez rolls across for 3rd in 55+ even though he is 61.

Field sprint with Bob Willcox leading the way. Ahead of everyone is Jeff Moreton.

Field sprint.

55+ podium- Black 2, Hoffenberg 1.

Szkalak 2, Birditt 1, & Luedtke 3.

55 and 60+ racers line up at DPGP.

The next day Sunday May 4th was the newly popular Dana Point Grand Prix. DPGP has quickly become one of the biggest events on the calendar. It is on the NCR calendar. There hasn't been a 55/60+ race here in years though it was the SCNCA championship one year. The course is wider and safer now. More 55s showed up for Dana Point while fewer 60s showed up. There was $500 to pay out to 6 places in each category. This was a pretty strong field and you would expect a fast hard race. 33 55s pre reged while 15 60s did. 50 or so racers showed up at the line to contest this race. All but Monty Pettus. Monty was in the porta potty when the race started. They say life is all about timing. Monty didn't time this one so well.

Mid race action.

Everyone else got going quickly. There was too much firepower in 55 and spread across lots of teams for a break to get away. The 60s were going to have to sit in and do the best they could. The course was rather hard to move up on. I quickly found that out after starting near the back. Paul Rodiguez mixed it up but Paul is riding so strong it figures he might do this.

It all came down to the last laps and a sprint finish for everyone. 55+ sprinter Evan Teske won the 55+ race and was followed in by Natz Champ Mark Hoffenberg and Brad Jones. In 60+ action would you be surprised to hear that Mike Birditt won. Of course not! Filling out the podium was Ricky Shorts and Mike Marotta. Complete results are below. There were a few close calls with pedals hitting down but no one actually went down and that was a very good thing. Both races this weekend were challenging and fun. Thanks to all that came out to both events. Photos are courtesy of Alicia Mckee and Emily Cramer. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Sprint finish with Teske winning 55+. Birditt is pictured winning the 60+ race following in a number of 55s.

2014 LA CIRCUIT A TOP RACE FOR 55 AND 60+ RACERS-UCC WIN ON BREAKS

By John McKee

April 13th, 2014 has the prestigious LA Circuit race. This year the promoter Brad "Tool Bag" House had a separate race for both the 60s and 55s. There is a 4 mile up and back loop that makes it possible to put 2 groups on the course at the same time. This is a big benefit to both the promoter and the racers. More races more opportunities for racers and more racers more money for the promoter. Brad is promoting it for the Big Orange Cycling Club in conjunction with Back on Track Productions.
The 60s got their own race and it was to start at 8 am. 2 races later at 9:30 am is the 55+ race. Both races were to be 20 miles rather than the usual 40 minutes criterium race. Brad was hoping we would get 35 racers but I thought 30 was a better target number. We got 25. Thanks to the guys that did come out. I know Sea Otter is at the same time and kept some 55/60+ racers away but the ageless one did some Sea Otter and drove back down to do LA Circuit. Your the best Robert Paganini!

It's the man! Brad "Tool Bag" House. Brad raced the 55+ race with his tool bag on his bike. Brad has been the long time promoter of LAC and a big friend of 55 and 60+ racing.

Prior to the beginning of the 60+ race the National Anthem was sung.

Christina "Rico" Ricafort singing the National Anthem. I saw "Rico" later at the track. She was doing a short TT. Photo courtesy of http://www.cat-ears.com/.

 The 60+ race got off on time and almost right out of the chute Dale Luedtke takes off on a solo effort. Dale was away for less than a lap but a lap is 4 miles. Good warmup for Dale. The rest of us just sat in. The 1st time through we got the 4 to go card and were all together. There were a few efforts at breaking away including Jonathan Livesay but nothing really pushing it or anything that looked dangerous. Mike Birditt was very active through the race and Reid Moore was as well. Don Davidson always gives it the old college(He works at UCR) try.

There was a lull in the action coming half way through the race.  I was chided by Dale Luedtke for not taking a pull and I could have here off of Howard Miller.

Alex Gonzales chasing the 2 break partners- Mike Birditt and Reid Moore.

With about 2 laps to go Mike "Staples" Birditt jumped out there and Reid Moore went after him. They teamed up and got a quick gap. They didn't have much of a gap and you could see them at the 180 turns just ahead. There were just a few people chasing like Kurt Freeman, Alex Gonzales and Rino B.
The race seemed to go by so quickly and actually was a longer race than we normally have. The lap card came up with one to go. The bell was rung. Early into the last lap Robert Mosier tried to jump across the gap and looked like he was going to make it but ran out of gas just short of the prey. Robert came back to the group. Mike and Reid were sharing the load. Reid was getting a little tired but they hung in there. Reid knew he stood no chance at beating Mike at the end but the word chance will definitely come into play here.
The Paramount team and SBW didn't even try to catch the 2 guys making the bunch sprint good for the last spot on the podium or so it seemed. We came up to the last corner and there would be one mile to go. Just as we turned the corner and got upright on our bikes there was Mike Birditt on the right going very slow. Flat tire! A staple entered his tire and let air escape about one mile too soon. Bummer! The race now took on a little different complexion.
I got on Kal Szkalak's wheel thinking this was a good wheel to be behind. Monty Pettus was going to freelance it and pick his spot. Up front Reid Moore was proably in shock that his partner in the break got a flat and he was going to win solo at LA Circuit. He indeed rode across the finish line in 1st place. Kudos to Reid for being aggressive and taking it too the sit in sprinters.
The sprint train was coming back toward the finish line but not a very fast pace. Being on Kal was a decent spot but the slow pace allowed riders to come around us and all of a sudden I wasn't in good positon. Monty came up the right side and lanched his sprint pretty far out and everyone else got out of the saddle. There was no clear favorite here but I might have put money on Dale Luedtle. Dale is riding very well this year.
Monty got going and he didn't slow down. He smoked the field for 2nd place. Mike Marotta sprinted in for 3rd place and the last place on the podium. 4th place was a surprise with Rick Lilliberg flying in for a very good finish for him. He got a new Trek just like mind. Same color only it is a faster model. Rick almost didn't get a chance to race because he had a flat before hand and didn't have a long enough extender to work with a new tube. Monty gave him what he needed and saved his bacon.
Dale rolled in for 5th followed in by Kal. I sprinted by Jonathan Livesay and let off the gas a bit and Leo Longo "Kimpered" me at the line. Leo 7, myself 8 and Jonathan 9. Kal was upset after the race that the leadout wasn't fast enough but he could have forged his own trail like Monty did.

60+ podium- Marotta 3, Moore 2, & Pettus 2

The 55 race had more riders at 42+ because half the field were 60+ riders doubling up. Not sure where all the 55+ riders are. There is actually a purse for everyone here. Great start time. Good course. WTF? I think a lot of 55s are afraid to get beat by "older" riders.
The 55 race was the same distance at 20 miles and played out remarkable the same. The players were different though and there were no flat tires. Kal Szkalak was still smarting from the 1st race and decided to take things in his own hands. Mid way through the race Kal jumped off the front and went by Cleve Law. Jeff Moreton saw this as an opportunity since sprinting is not his long suit and he jumped across to Kal. Cleve gave up and came back to the pack.
Kal and Jeff got a bigger lead than the 2 breakers in the 60+ race. I believe it was around 20 seconds. The last lap came and they were still away. In fact they finished 1/2. No contest there for the win since Kal is a good sprinter but 2nd is a good finish here for Jeff. Good job, Kal Szkalak and Jeff Moreton.The sprint built up for the field was almost the same as in the 60+ race but not quite that slow. Danny Nicolette came flying out of the pack to finish 3rd and fill out the podium. Mike McConnell(Mike hasn't raced with us this year. Get with it buddy! Lol!) finished 4th followed in by 60+ racers and buddies Dale Luedtke and Mike "Staples" Birditt. 11 of the 1st 25 finishers were 60+ so maybe I wasn't blowing smoke earlier.

55+ podium- Nicolette 3, Szkalak 1 & Moreton 2

The racing was good. Not real hard. The pace wasn't as fast as it could have been. John Roest got taken out in the 55+ race by a SBW member who was looking around rather than paying attention to the task ahead of him. Other than that it was all good. Complete results below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

BIRDY BREEZES IN 60-FLOOD GATES WASHES AWAY TROUBLE IN 55 @ 14 RBC

By John McKee

The 2014 Redlands Bicycle Classic continued to include 55/60+ racers in their great race. Thank you for that. For sure. 2014 is a pivotal year for the 55s and especially the 60s. Those 2 categories need to show numbers to keep going into the future. Turnouts have been good where there has been a 55/60+ combo race and hasn't been bad when both cats had separate races like at Roger Millikan and Chuck Ponitus.

Here is Tico Pico. The mascot dog for the 2014 RBC. No one will get the movie reference for the name of the dog.

   I have struggled this year getting all my "stuff" to the races. This race was no exception. I didn't have my pedals or to be precise, I had one pedal so short one, right. Speedplay Zero. Gray. I luckily found my coach John Howard and he wasn't racing until 2 races after mine so he loaned me one of his green Speedplays. Color didn't matter. I could race. Yes!

You looking for pedals Mike? I have quite a few sets in my garage. Not at the race but plenty in the old garage.

The idea Mike is to point your bike straight ahead at the start.

The 60+ field was quite strong while the 55+ was lacking some of the stronger riders in this category. I figured this meant a field sprint but I knew that breaks work on this very technical course. It is fun and challenging. You gain 850 ft. in a 40 minute race. The 55/60+ was to be 40 mins and start at 7:55 am. Both cats had the same race number series and the organizers and officials weren't using Eric Smith's finish program. This would be a problem later.
We all came to the line at 7:55am and the we of course included myself. I felt lucky to be able to race. 30 minutes before I was ready to drive away dejected. We flew off on the officials whistle. I knew the first few laps would be hard for me since I didn't get a warmup. The first few laps were speedy but steady. I started to settle in. I think maybe I can do this. This course will take no prisoners. Like when Peter O' Tootle got caught up in the moment in the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" when his crew of local tribesmen were going to attack a retreating Turkish army. He yelled "No Prisoners". This course is always yelling "No Prisoners". Especially when the pressure gets put on.

Early action that strings out the peleton.

The back of the field early on.

A number of riders whipped up the pace. Dan DeMuth of Team Redlands was one that looked strong and wasn't afraid to go to the front and power on! Right on! Power to the pedaler! Don Davidson always is up for a good pull. The course takes bike handling skills as well. 

Kal Szkalak was looking to get away and took a stint off the front but didn't get very far away. He asked "Birdy" if he wanted to go with him because Kal was racing 55+ rather than 60+. I guess he thought he had a better chance of finishing. We all had the same number series and Kal didn't show up afterward to let the officials know what his intention was. It was a disaster when the results came out.

Nothing was sticking as far as break attempts. The peleton would string out when the pressure was on but when the pressure was taken off the pack bunched up again. A few more top riders to hit it when there were lulls would have made a difference.

Swami's whipping up the pace. Cyril "Trouble" Hunte mixing in with Swami's.

I started feeling better in the 2nd half of the race and was looking for the lap cards to come up and soon enough 5 came up. The pace still seesawed but got pretty high with 3 to go. Monty Pettus had to put out 1100 watts to move up into position for the finish. The pace eased a bit with 2 to go.

You can see the electronic lap counter with 2 to go. Swami's still at the front.

The electronic lap card showed 1 to go. We hit the first turn and the pace wasn't high. Lothar "Blue Boy" Cramer in his white jersey came to the front between turn one and two. He decided to take the pack home and see where he could finish after being at the front for most of the last lap. Mike Birditt and Dale Luedtke were in prime position as was Tom "Flood" Gates and Cyril "Trouble" Hunte. Lothar got to the last corner leading but after the turn the sprinters started flying by.

Finish! Birdy and Flood win!

"Birdy", Dale and Cyril were the first to go by and then Mr. Gates. Tom knew Mike and Dale were 60+ so he had his sights set on Cyril. He had to pass Cyril to win the 55+ race. Mike Birditt came up the inside track and easily beat everyone and of course was first in 60+. Tom Gates did pass Cyril Hunte for 1st place in 55+. Cyril took 2nd. Dale Luedtke took 2nd in 60+ with Kal taking 3rd, Paul Rodiguez 4th and Monty Pettus 5th. In 55+ David Fetah filled out the podium. Lothar hung on for 4th in 55+ and took the last paying spot there. Ron Mallory was 5th in 55+ but was behind myself. I was 7th in 60+ so the 60+ field was definitely stronger as far as the finish was concerned.
Once the race was over the fun started. There was a different finish program that was used. Not the usual Eric Smith program that spells out the age on the far right. Since there was the same numbering system the official that was in charge of the result sheets was having trouble. Lol. 2 or 3 lists came out and were incorrect.  I had to list the finishers correctly verbally and the top finishers were put in the correct categories. Kal wasn't around to let anyone know what category he was racing so he was put in the category that related to his age. This was a bad deal for Monty because that bumped him out of a paying spot in 60+. The results still don't show in USAC 6 days after the event so the different program had to be a major problem. I hope we eventually get credit for the effort there.

Mr. Gates seems to be enjoying his time with the podium girl. Didn't he know I was taking pictures. Lol.

55+ podium- Hunte 2, Gates 1, Fetah 3.

Ludtke 2 and  Birditt 1.

It was  a good fairly hard race. Could have been faster with a few more 55+ stars. The pace was 25.5 mph on a pretty technical course. Thanks to everyone that came out and I was very happy to get the chance to race it. Results below as shown on the final finish lists. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

Final finish lists.