DBC Masters Race Reports

DOUG DOES A DOUBLE IN AUBURN

2009-06-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Team,

It was an exciting day on Sunday at the Auburn Criterium for me. I didn't think I would do crits but I made the decision that I want to upgrade from cat 5 to 4. As everyone says riding crits can get you the mass starts for upgrading. So this was my first crit ever and I believe it was the first running of this particular crit. I think the course was ideally suited for me and actually a good first crit if one can handle a fast descent into a left hand turn. I decided to get two starts, riding the elite 5 and the 35+ 4/5.

The elite 5 was early, only the third race to go out. I got there early and it was a good decision for this technical crit. I had the chance to warm up on the course and getting to know all the corners and the descent. The course started on the steep uphill, at the top the road narrowed and went into two quick tight right hand turns. There was a long stretch in the wind on the backside followed by two quick turns right into the downhill. The downhill swept left and at the bottom there was a nearly 90 degree left hand turn into a wide road (you could go light on the breaks towards the bottom and then let it go through the turn keeping your moment). A short straightaway into two quick right hand turns. Then it was a flat straightaway with a slight turn upwards to the start/finish. Due to the uphill, the wind and the descent, all races pretty much stayed strung out single file. This is why it was a good first crit. I didn't have to worry so much about a tight pack through the turns.

Elite 5 race. We started with a neutral lap behind the mentor and I stayed somewhere in the middle of the pack. When we came back around for the rolling start I moved up towards the front as I started to see some gaps forming on the uphill. For the rest of the race I stayed in the front five only taking the lead once on the back stretch. I was just trying to conserve energy. At one point I was second and the lead guy wanted us to come around but I just stuck on his wheel as I did not want to be leading in the wind, I think he was pissed about this but I didn't want to lead it and no one else wanted to take it up. Each time on the uphill I felt good against the other riders. Based on Zack's race before ours (congrats for winning), I knew that you had to be in the top three in the last lap to be able to go for the win. I wasn't prepared for what happened the last time up the hill. It was a bit psychological and my legs were a little cooked, I saw about 10-15 guys blow by me and I couldn't respond. I slipped back to about 15th position. One the back side I made up a few positions and going downhill through the rest of the course I couldn't pass anyone else. I sprinted for the finish and came in tenth place. I was still very happy to get a tenth place in a field of 50 for my first crit. Congrats to Jeff Weaver, he finished in the top 20.

Lessons learned: 1. I can ride a technical crit course and it was fun.
2. HTFU it the last time up the hill to stay in position (something I got a chance to apply in the second race).
3. Speedskating techniques actually help on crit courses (looking through the corners help to guide you through) and the feel of cornering and pack riding is the same.

35+ 4/5 - I had a little over two hours to recover for this race and that was just right. There was another neutral start behind the moto and Eric Zeigler and I went to the front of the group. On the descent I was the front man out and it was great going down hill right behind the moto. As we started the second lap I let a few people by so I could set myself up with a good draft on the back side. I sat in for a few laps moving around in the first 5-8 riders. On lap 4 or 5 I followed another rider out and we had a bit of a gap on the field. On the backside I thought we would try and make a go of it. He came around wanting to give me a draft and some rest. I looked back and knew we weren't going to make it stick. The next uphill it was gruppo compacto. I was pleasantly surprised on the uphill portion that my legs felt fresh. I felt that at any moment I could sprint ahead of the group. I just chose to sit in, ease up the hill and be in position to draft (conserve energy for the last lap). On the second to last lap I positioned myself in the top 5 or so making sure that if anyone was coming around I would chase to keep in the top positions. We came into the straight away to start the last lap. As soon as we hit the hill, I hammered it up to the top taking first position to lead out the last lap. I was trying to drive it hard on the back side in the wind and just wanted to make it to the last two turns before the downhill in a good position. Only one guy made it around me before those turns. I was in second place going into the downhill section. We jammed it in the downhill and he got a small gap on me. Through the last two turns into the finishing straightaway. I was hammering it home and made up a little ground on the guy. I just couldn't close the gap but I also didn't want anyone coming around. As I made it to the line I could feel someone coming up on the right and I made the final push for the line. I finished 2nd in my 2nd crit. Awesome. Congrats to Rod who finished 11th and Eric who wasn't to much further back.

Lessons learned: 1. Apply what you learn in the first race and you can end up with a good result in the next.
2. Don't start pedalling hard before your bike is close to upright out of a corner. I almost went down from jumping my bike off the ground.

So it was a great day and I look forward to upgrading. It was also fun matching Rod's 10th and 2nd place finishes from the day before at the Folsom crit.

Later all. Doug

LEE CLIMBS THE BIG ONE

2009-06-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

The main climb up Mt Hamilton can be broken into 3 steps. I got gapped on the 2nd descent and could not, would not close the gap as it ramped up onthe main climb towards the observatory. Darin was still in the front groupwhich allowed me to sit in on the chasers. The main descent is scary ( Isuck at descending). A guy overcooked a turn right in front of me and goes down. We neutralize to see if he is able to get back on; he does so we pickup speed and resume descending. A few seconds later a tire POPS behind mefollowed by a sickening thud and sound of metal sliding/scraping for several feet. I heard later it was the same guy. I did not see any ambulance come upof go by; Man I really hope he's OK. It sounded bad...

Darin's group is caught after the descent but he is starting to cramp up anddecides to slow down a bit to recover. A touchstone guy ratchets up thetempo and a couple of us try to follow. Ahead we can see another group. Wetry to work together but Touchstone is impatient and eventually attacks usand goes solo to bridge. Our little group totally falls apart. Lots of windin the valley section, I'm stuck in no man's land and losing ground to thegroup ahead. A follow vehicle passes me and yells "another group is about aminute behind!" I sat up and start eating and drinking -- a rolling picnicof Gu, Powerbar drink, Clif bar, and Jelly Belly Sport Beans while cruisingand waiting for the cavalry. A few minutes later a group of 7 including Timand Darin and... ahem... Trudy finally reaches me! YES! We got a pacelinegoing for a while but fell apart on the big rollers. The pace is a lothigher than I was able to do on my own and soon we catch Touchstone then afew others. They all looked pretty cooked and barely able to latch on. Wegot mixed up with a few riders from other categories but everyone hits thefinish sprint as if we're still in the money. I really had no idea how manywere ahead of us. I stayed long enough to see results posted. I ended up16th, Darin 18th and Tim 20th. No top 10s but not bad for flatlanders!

http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2009-549

I rode it 15 minutes faster than last year when I got 54th. Huge moralvictory! I'm really happy not only for the very real improvement but also inthe sense that I am actually racing instead of simply riding it out.

Lee

CAPTAIN ROD'S ADVENTURE

2009-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

35+ 4-5's A

We had 7 original registrants, but started the race with Mark Hockridge, Bob Blythe, Mike Broz, Walter Golding, Jeff Slaton and myself. The initial plan was to get two people into any breaks that happen, block accordingly and save a little for the sprint if it gets back together.

The race itself started off very slow. It felt like a leisurely Sunday stroll for the entire first lap. A few half hearted attacks occurred in the ensuing laps but nothing substantial until halfway through the fourth lap. A Metromint rider attacked at that point and a couple of riders latched on that included Bob B. and a Wells Fargo rider. They established a considerable gap that the peloton was content with letting them go. The pace once again slowed in the peloton and DBC and Wells Fargo took control to assist the breakaway with their chances.

A couple of attempts were made early in the fifth lap to chase the breakers but nothing materialized until later in the lap. About halfway through the fifth lap, a serious chase group of about ten guys formed and managed to break off the peloton. After realizing the amount of riders and representation in the chase group, I decided I would burn a match or two and bridge to that group. It hurt to catch them but I made it fairly quickly. I looked back and the chase group had a decent gap on the field and DBC was on the front controlling peloton.

The chase group made a feeble attempt at getting organized to chase the breakers while I took a back seat and offered no help. The face of frustration on the chasers was evident as one by one they began to sit up and soon the group lost interest in chasing. The lead group gained more of a gap but shed the Metromint rider.

The peloton reabsorbed the chase group before the end of the fifth lap and Bob was unfortunately dropped by the Wells Fargo rider around the same time. Walter G. was collected in crash just before the start finish line and was not able to continue. (It was a bummer because he was looking great, especially for his first race) It took a couple of miles before Bob was reabsorbed by the main group around the feed zone on the bell lap. Wells Fargo at this point took complete control of the peloton. Several riders shouted out at DBC to take control and help bring the lone rider back. Ironically, the ones asking us to do all the work were the ones that had the largest representation-Info Vista and Taleo. These two stacked teams didn't do much in the race. DBC obliged but it was too late

The peloton conceded the win to Wells Fargo by the lack of action. It came down to a race for second place. Mike Broz started to drive the pace for the final 5 miles and he successfully strung the field out. Jeff S. and Mark H. helped keep the pace up as well and I managed to latch onto Mark's wheel for the the final 3-4K. The approach to the finish was as expected, a race to the final turn. The pace finally ramped up to a safer speed and everyone was looking at each other to see who was going to jump first. I was well positioned on the outside heading towards the final turn. Two riders from Info Vista made the initial jump from the far inside and I was able to quickly react. I was third wheel through the final turn. At the 200M I jumped and managed to get around the two riders in front of me. Those 200M felt more like 300-350 meters and I was nipped at the line by two other riders.

I managed to secure a 4th place finish and earned my first race t-shirt. I came home and proudly showed off the "Cows on bikes" t-shirt to my family. Hopefully, I'll be lucky enough to get a couple more.

Rod

MODESTO ROAD RACE FROM JEFF EYES

2009-06-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

After watching my wife (Niki) race for the women's team the last couple months, I decided I'd better give racing a try as well. This was my first race. I raced with the Masters 35+ 4/5. Much of it was a blur - I don't know how Michele Feikert remembers the details of every lap! Overall, I had a great time. My primary goals were not to crash and not to get dropped. I achieved both goals. Other things I learned, or which were reinforced through the first-hand experience, include the following: (1) Being near the front of the main group is much easier through the corners and feels safer; (2) Things can change very quickly - I looked around once (2nd or 3rd lap, I think) and noticed that I was at the very back of the pack. I wasn't aware that this had happened. It just did. After that, I made a couple efforts to move back up to the middle of the pack; (3) Pay attention. Watch for squirrelly riders (I tried not to be one of these), road conditions, corners (calling out left or right turns is helpful - one guy next to me said, "Oh, I thought we were turning right," when we were actually turning left. Seems like that could lead to disaster.). Pay particular attention to the finish area and plan ahead. (I knew it was coming up on the last lap, but thought it was earlier than it was, and then all of sudden we passed the 1K mark); (4) people do some unsafe things in a sprint finish, so be prepared - this probably also falls under "plan ahead"; (5) Watch for gaps developing, especially through the corners; (6) Solid food doesn't work for me - takes too long to chew; (7) Don't wait for the last lap to get water at the feed zone - the pack may not neutralize (ours never did that I could tell) and you could get dropped; (8) Carrying an extra bottle in a rear pocket wasn't a problem for me. I didn't notice it and was glad I had it.; (9) I don't think I'm a sprinter, so I'd better come up with a different strategy if I ever want to finish in the top 10; (10) I'm not sure who the riders were up front setting the 27+ mph pace, but I don't think that's ever going to be me! I'm glad they were there, though.

I'm sure these things are second nature to most racers. I'd read and heard about what happens in a race, but there's no substitute for the actual event.

I appreciate all the helpful tips I got from several of the other DBC riders. Sorry I can't remember everyone's name - people look much different with a helmet and sunglasses on! I look forward to future races, and would be happy to help pull, leadout, etc., to the extent I can.

-Jeff

ITS TRACK TIME FOR MARIANNE

2009-06-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hellyer Velodrome Track Races Sunday May 17, 2009 One more meet (omnium?) catered toward us beginner women. I must say the track directors and mentors are doing all they can to foster our interest and new skills! There were the various men's categories also. As most of you experienced this weekend. It was DARN hot. The heat radiated from the concrete bowl we were in. Luckily, there were tents we could retreat under. There were about 12 of us in 4 races. The first race was Win and Out, then a Scratch race, next a Miss and Out, and finally a Points race. The longest of these races was 15 laps (3 mi). In the second race we were all bunched up until the final 1/3 of the lap where some jostling went on and one lady went down . . .HARD. Remember, no brakes, no coasting so when you go down you go straight into the track. It looked like she went face first and there was lots of blood. It streaked the track which made it rather ominous for the rest of the races. Miraculously now one else went down. She was unconscious for about 10 minutes When the ambulance took her off to the hospital she was conscious. .(Latest news is she 's transferred out of ICU for head trauma (also a broken collar bone) and is doing well). Sooo, we went back out there and they gave us 3 laps to decide that race, yep, just over ½ mile. I went out early, having the memory of the previous race on my mind and trying to break things up and, not surprisingly, most passed me at the finish line. The next race was the Miss and Out. The last wheel of each lap gets eliminated. I was boxed in at the bottom of the track at the end of the first lap so out I was the first one eliminated : (. The next race was a longer race and I went early again towards the end and was JUST nipped at the end for third place. After adding up the points for all the events, Carol got 6th place and I got 7th. The organizers were very generous and we all received wine, Clif bars, coffee, and socks. One gal got a free bike fitting too.

Be safe out there, Marianne

Niki and the Modesto road Race

2009-06-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

The race in Modesto last Sunday was my 4th. It turned out to be quite exciting and fun! It also helped me improve some skills and taught me a good lesson. As you know, Michele, and I were the only 2 women out there. I was a little worried we'd get some grief, but none of the men seemed particularly phased by our presence which was super cool. Well...except that guy who grabbed Michele when she was soloing. And I did hear a guy behind me comment to someone next to him that he wasn't getting much draft off me. Anyway, it was fantastic starting the race with the sea of orange and blue! We took off pretty fast, but after the initial shock to my body of lap 1 and reminding myself that my goal was to simply learn some good techniques, get a great workout, and stick with the group as long as possible, I felt much better. By lap 2, I'd gotten comfortable, moving around easily, cornering well and without fear in a large, fast moving group, and sprinting out of the corners to hang on. A few times one of the DBC guys would come back to check on me or give me news from further up. It was great to hear we'd put 2 guys off the front and were working to slow the pace of the group. I'm new to racing so hearing and seeing the strategy was terrific. It was also fun hearing the other teams comments when they'd realize the 2 Davis guys were long gone and there was nothing they could do. Bummer Dudes. There were a couple interesting moments, one when a large dog ambled across the road in front of us. People ahead were yelling something, but it wasn't clear what until I saw the dog. Luckily, we all avoided injury. The dog looked totally unfazed. Another occurred when riders ahead were yelling to avoid an object in the road. Some said it was a snake. Others a squirrel. I have no idea what it was, only that we all successfully avoided it. I tried to stay hydrated and eat blocks and gels throughout the ride, but was starting to get chilled around lap 5. I grabbed a "fresh" bottle in the feed zone coming into lap 6 and managed to hang onto the group. Coming into the start of the 7th lap, I was completely out of water again. I knew I risked getting dropped as I slowed to get the water, but I also knew it would be stupid to try to do the last 9 miles without water. In the feed zone, a guy near me missed the bottle he was handed and rode over it distracting me. I managed to snag a bottle a little ways up, but I'd lost momentum and the pack. I hammered to catch up and got in with a couple guys, but they weren't going fast enough, so I started to pass in a last ditch attempt to get back on. One guy stayed with me and then came in front. I thought we'd form a mini pace line and at least help each other finish if we couldn't reach the pack. He pulled off, and I started passing him to go in front when he tipped into me. I was actually holding him up! I thought we were going to crash, but we stayed upright with me yelling and him apologizing. I'd had enough of that nonsense, so pulled ahead and finished on my own. When I got home and out of the car, I realized I had a large swollen bruise on my left leg from where the dude's foot must have gone into me when we hit. Oh well. It could have been a lot worse, and I learned that I can stay upright and keep my wits about me even at the end of a HOT long road race! Looking forward to the Spring Hill RR with the DBC Ladies on May 31st! Niki

Lee and Panoche Valley

2009-06-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Will, Nelson and I met down by Hollister for the 4th Panoche Valley RR. Their 08 reports convinced me to check it out. Great event hosted by the local Lions club and Blossom Hill Winery. Awesome roads and scenery with sections reminiscent of Cantelow with lots of twisty turns, etc. Not an issue going up but lookout on the way down. Our field sold out weeks ago and the top finishers from Wente, Copperopolis and Berkeley RR were in attendance.
Yikes! Our immediate goal was to stick on the climbs. They told me that last year about a dozen made the selection over the top but this year about half the field made it as a group! Will attacked multiple times to soften up the pack. Great shots of Will putting in a blistering peel off the front on the way up. http://www.timallenphotography.biz/albums/2009_panoche_valley_road_race_race_photos/slides/TIM_8732.html
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Will was caught before the top but Nelson and I made it to the front as we prepared to bomb down the hill. We worked with another racer to keep it ramped up but he was clearly a better descender and easily put a huge gap on us. I looked back and saw the pack was strung out but intact so Nelson and I let him go and he kept going, and going and pretty soon he was completely out of sight! The guy easily put minutes into a disorganized pack. Lots of riders were able to latch back on while San Jose got taunted (they had 10 riders) and shamed into leading the chase. Will would randomly attack on the rollers and animate the group. We finally caught the solo breakaway with about 5 k to go. Will put in another huge dig up front that ramped it up for good. People finally got real interested and kept the pace high. The 1 k sign came into view and I hopped on the next wheel heading for the front. Eric Salander from Peninsula Velo surprised everyone by going really early. I waited just a hair to see if anyone else would chase -- NOPE! I sprinted to grab his wheel then he got off the saddle to sprint! No prob I was clearly gaining and about to overtake him then the darn finish line got in the way. He deserved the win! I'll gladly take 2nd. Nelson got 10th but Will deserves the prize -- he totally sacrificed himself by attacking no less than 4 times to soften up the (gullible) contenders! I spoke to the solo breakaway rider afterwards and he said we was full of self doubt and decided to sit up and wait for the pack! I told him the pack was disorganized and he could have won solo. He followed up with "MAN! I'm going to be thinking 'what if' all week..." Lots of food and drinks served at the finish. It was pretty hot especially for the central coast. People were diving for cover under the oleander bushes that lined the Winery. Several riders were brought in for heat stress. One guy came in with a possible broken femur. His spectacular crash was captured by the official photographer. He apparently overcooked one of those twisty turns. http://www.timallenphotography.biz/albums/2009_panoche_valley_road_race_stefano_scampini_wreck/slides/TIM_9338.html Podium shots: http://www.timallenphotography.biz/albums/2009_panoche_valley_road_race_award_photos/slides/DSC_5152.html I didn't want to strike that "Don't shoot, I give up!" AKA "Underarm deodorant commercial" pose So I did my best impression of Fred... ;-D http://www.timallenphotography.biz/albums/2009_panoche_valley_road_race_award_photos/slides/DSC_5153.html Lee

Michele and Modesto

2009-06-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

Great racing for DBC this weekend. I heard of a lot of top ten placings! Niki did awesome and hung with the dudes.Michele Molesto RR5.17.09Men Elite 4/5 Molesto RR, no that is not a typo... skip to laps 3 & 4 for the action. 7 laps on a 9 mile course- OUCH! Lap 1 I was excited to race with the guys again. Niki and I went with 12 other DBC guys for a totally of 14! We immediately formed a train on the left hand side of the road and went all the way to the front of the pack. The temp was HOT and so was the pace (at least I thought so).Halfway through the first lap I started feeling awful and was falling farther back in the pack in each turn. Niki and I found ourselves at the back of the pack at the end of the first lap. Lap 2 Niki was able to move back up into the pack while I struggled to collectmyself in the rear. I hung on until the first left turn after Hall Rdand decided that I was either going to puke or fall of the back and just chill out. No spunk in me this weekend! I came off the back and watched the pack go. Even though I knew it was hot, I started getting the chills, had goose bumps, and had to zip up my jersey to "stay warm".I was going to tell the officials that I was done, but Paula was cheering for me and told me to keep going, so I did. Little did I know what was waiting in the next laps... Laps 3 & 4... I lost track. The Mstrs 35+ 1/2/3 group passed me and I drafted them on a straight away until I got popped off at the corner. Next, the Mstrs 35+ 4/5 group passed me and Rod was up near the front. Rod told me to get into the group! I hopped on at the back of the group and started racingagain. But after a couple of minutes, the moto dude pulled up alongsideme and told me to get out. The next group that went by had 900 #s.They told me to get in, and then insisted by opening up a spot for me.I ended up riding with them for quite a while, almost 3/4 of a lap. Then the group with 300 #s passed us. That was intense! Put two full sized fields right next to each other, toss in a couple of moto dudes who are horn happy, and a left turn... I just thought, Crit! On the back half of the course the moto dude finally realized that Iwasn't wearing a 900 # and he told me to get out of the group, so I was once again by myself. I could hear some guys coming up behind me because they were chatter boxes. All of a sudden, there's a hand on mya$$. This dude grabs my left cheek and then slides his hand along my thigh as he rides by... Seriously? WTF! There were two of them, theyhad 300 #s, and all I could catch was the Morgan Stanley kit of the guy who did the grab and run. I was in such shock that I had no witty comeback to yell at him. And I didn't even get his number! Lap 5 The Pro1/2 field FLEW by, but I didn't even attempt to jump onto that bullet train. I tucked into the next group that went by and went though the feed zone with them. I watched this guy pull a Gatorade out of his back pocket, take one of his water bottles, uncap both, pour the Gatorade into the water bottle, chuck the Gatorade bottle, and then replace the water bottle in its cage. Wow, now if he could do that with no hands on the bars and hold a straight line through the feed zone,you'd think that the Morgan Stanley guy could have pulled out pen and paper, wrote down his phone number and slipped it into my jersey pocket! Lap 6The officials showed me a lap card for one more lap. I held up twofingers as I went by because I knew I had two more laps. Paula yelled,"No just do one more lap and you're done." This of course meant that my field was shortly behind me and I was about to get lapped by them. Whenthey went by, every DBC guy in that field said, "Hi Michele!", or "Keepgoing!", or "Hop back in!" You guys are awesome! Finally, the motocan't tell me to get out of the group because I'm back in with the same200 #s. I did most of my 6th lap (their 7th lap) with the group. In the final miles they took off and I fell off the back. After I crossed the S/F line I circled back to talk with the officials. I wanted tomake sure that I was done and the officials said that I would be placed,but that I didn't need to do the last lap because the race was over. Ohthank God! Lessons learned:1) Not so spunky every weekend.2) Those moto dudes are so picky when your number doesn't match therest of the group... darn rules.3) Watch out for Morgan Stanley... doesn't he know that I can figure out who he is when the results are posted?4) Do yourself a favor and just get rid of the neutral feed zonewater bottles ASAP. Don't' look at them, just chuck them when you're done. You don't want to know how much mold was really on the inside ofthat bottle!

Darin's Racing Week

2009-06-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

I must be racing a little too much as well as getting old because I can'tremember much about the race last weekend, except that the course was nice,wide and smooth, particularly the part that Rod Fernandez softened up in the2nd race with a little skin grease :-). But as I sit writing this, stillstewing about my flat with 1.5 laps to go (of 6) at Modesto, the Pleasant memories are starting to return. In the 4's, DBC was nicely represented (as always) with Rod, Lee Millon, Mark Fiori, Michelle Feikert, the Hockridge family (minus Ethan who I expect will join us soon) and me. The pace was fast but reasonable and I was hanging out in the mid-back section nicely until 5 laps to go. I was able to move up steadily after that and was feeling good to be on a Metromint guys' wheel (Paul Taylor, who dominated the final sprint in my chase group at Bariani) going into the 2nd to lastturn. Unfortunately his teammate, who was leading out, fizzled too quickly and he did likewise before the last turn. I was still in good shape, maybe top 5 out of the last turn when the serious sprint kicked in and while thefast-twitch boys moved up, I moved up more slowly and finished 12th,followed closely behind by my DBC brethren (I hope that term appropriately and in a PC manner covers our awesome DBC gals who represented and made us all proud! After a short 40 minute recovery while we got to see Jason and Joaquin mix it up in the 5's, the 35+4's was on with all the same DBC players except Michelle. I hung back for the 1st half to let my legs get additionalrecovery and therefore had a great view of Rod's valiant attempt to stay up after getting pinched and then his long fetal position slide towards the back.and me. I missed him, and Rod, as all DBC mates, follows the HTFU credo and jumped back into the race on the next lap. I found myself on hiswheel for a bit as the remaining laps ticked down and while lighteningrarely strikes twice, I thought better of it (no offense RF) and I moved up. I covered a potential one-man break near the beginning of the bell lap andled a fun accordion-like group as I attempted to extricate myself from being 1st or 2nd wheel still too long to go. I stayed in the top 3 on thebackstretch and after getting swarmed a bit on the straight section leadingto the final turn, I still found a nice available inside line and jumped upto 2nd or 3rd wheel into the last turn. It was a bit of an "agro" move butI made sure the other riders knew I was there and as such didn't jump in on anyone (at least nobody yelled or swore at me afterward, so I figured the move was ok). I was able to carry more speed into the turn than in the prior race (good lesson for future races) so the somewhat olderfast-twitchers couldn't inflict as much damage and I just cracked the top 10 with a 9th.
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Cautionary note: if you carpool to a race, don't meet at and park anywherein the Pedrick Produce parking lot (there's a lot of no-parking signs butyou can't see them when it's 0-dark 100). Yes, my car was towed, and yes itwas expensive, and yes I'm boycotting Pedrick Produce for the foreseeable future!
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I had a great time riding today with Fred F, Rhys R, Atac T and Chris B at Modesto today in the 45+3-4-5, at least until I flatted. I was a bit weary from 9 hours and 200+ miles of SAG work at the DDC yesterday but still felt good and lucky to be able to race with my awesome DBC mates. BTW, nice jobby Doug Rowland who finished the DDC in a pretty good time and when I saw him looked 10 lbs lighter and very glassy eyed! Anyway, we raced aggressively today and I recall receiving comments from other riders that it seemed like we had much larger numbers and "controlled" a good portion ofthe race. It was particularly fun when first Freddy and then Chris went off on their solo jaunts and the rest of us stayed at or close to the front and blocked or disrupted, in a nice way! Chris "Big/TT specialist" was off thefront for over 10 miles with a healthy gap and about 2 laps remaining and he may have had a chance to stick it if things didn't get screwed up withseveral neutral sessions as we were passed by the 3's.passed them back.andwere passed again. Anyway, it sounded like things got sketchy going intothe final turn and our guys were on the unfortunate line that got pushed out too wide and into the dirt. So no top 10's but still a good day! Congrats to Rod Fernandez on his 4th place finish and Michael Broz (9th) in the 354/5's, Chris Stastny (2nd!) and Keith Hillier (9th) in the Pro 1-2 race,Jonathan Teeter (2nd), David Carlson (4th) and Mike Gonzalez (10th) in theElite 4's and all the other DBC mates like who kicked a$$ out there! And to Michelle F for again racing against the dudes!

Marianne Friday Night Fighting Track Style

2009-05-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hellyer Friday night track races...
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Friday night Carol and did a couple of track races at Hellyer Velodrome. The first was 15 laps (~3 miles) with points awarded to the top 4 finishers. The next race was a Win & Out, win and you ride off track, next winner rides off . . . until you are the only one racing and Mike Hernandez, the announcer, can ridicule you for the entire lap. NOT REALLY!! Though, he does seem to especially enjoy doing that. The first finishers on designated laps get points but so do the people left at the end of the race. (Did I mention each race has different rules which seem to assign points randomly . . .) Anyway, it's all about crossing the finish line when points are awarded, generally just listen for the bell lap and plan to cross the finish line first on that lap. Carol is very fast!! I got a point in the last race-9 laps. I was once again reminded you can't stop pedaling. I was almost bucked off as I started to coast after crossing the finish line but reacted in enough time to stay on. Here is a photo of us lined up. Can you tell who the powerhouses are? Yep the 1st, 2nd and 5th gals. Also, here's a great photo of the "big boys" finishing one of their races.

I'm heading back out this Sunday May 17: warm-ups at noon, races at 1:00 p.m.---**** http://www.ridethetrack.com/pdf/09summer.pdf <http://www.ridethetrack.com/pdf/09summer.pdf> ****************

Let me know if you want to carpool. Berkeley Hills RR-2.7 laps, 51 miles The weather was puuurfect; cool and clear. The course is composed of few straight aways, mainly climbs and descents on smooth wide roads. My bike (and me) got the wobbles on one of the long fast descents. It is terrifying if you've never had it happen. Your bike starts shimmying laterally, then it wobbles more and more as you pick up speed, usually 40+ mph. I told myself "If I fall I will REALLY hurt myself! Get it together!" I took a couple of deep breaths, squeezed my frame with my thighs, slowed down and finally tamed the bike. I then had to put the hammer down to catch back on. Ugh! Anna led the entire race and pushed the pace. Her lead group dropped us handedly on the second climb (Papa Bear) of the second lap. After another lap, I finished third in the second group for 12th place. I was happy. I expected some of the lighter, younger gals to fly passed but they didn't. It's a tough race and tough finish. I recommend it!
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Marianne

Jason B... First Report... The Mendes Crit

2009-05-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hey team,

Here goes my first attempt at a race report:

Joaquin, and John, and I chatted briefly before the race started about strategy. I was feeling pretty good that morning and I thought I had achance to be in contention at the end of the race - the Elite 5 Crit wasonly 30 minutes long, and I figured, if I can hang on during the Thursday night race ride, 30 minutes with only cat 5 riders shouldn't be a problem. My plan was to keep my nose out of the wind, stay towards the front of the field, and be in a good position for the final sprint.
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The first few laps were pretty fast, somewhere around 27 or 28 mph, but after a while we settled down to around 25. There were a few attacks here and there but nothing got away. I didn't manage to keep my nose out of the wind entirely, but I tried to be smart about it and not spend too much time pulling.
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At three laps to go, I found myself on the inside of the field, about 10 bikes back. I didn't want to be on the inside for fear of getting pinched on a corner and losing too many positions, so I accelerated up to the front, pulled for about half a lap, and then pulled off to let somebody else takethe lead. I was able to slot in about 6 riders back, this time on the outside.
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With two laps to go, the pace was starting to quicken and the field was starting to get strung out. The group of 8 or 10 of us that were at the front realized we were starting to put the hurt on, so we all started to encourage each other: come on guys, let's push it and get a gap. Weaccelerated up to about 30 and now the field was really strung out. We kept pushing hard to the final lap, and coming out of turn three we finallyopened a gap. We came into the final turn, and the sprint was on. We had a decent gap over the rest of the field so it was down to the group of 10, andI was at the back of that group coming around the final corner. We started sprinting but I had too far to go to catch the front of the group, but was able to pull back about half the group and came in 5th!
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Had a great time and can't wait until the Folsom Crit!
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-j-

Michele- It's a chick and the Mendes Crit

2009-05-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

"Sorry, no women's events this year" AKA Joseph Mendes CritElite Men 4s Preface I saw this crit last year and was looking forward to the chance to raceit this year. When I went to reg, there were no women's events. I emailed the race promoter and he told me, "Sorry, we're a part of the Junior Points Series, so no women's events this year." Well then, I guess we're just going to have to race with the dudes... Race Day I was the only one in the parking lot, all set up and in the trainer at 6:30am. I was determined to get a good warm up. I was texting Ann because I was totally freakin' out! As other guys pulled into the parking lot with their vehicles loaded with bikes, I started to calm asI let the race energy infiltrate and take its effect... the stage was set up and the music started playing... ah yah. My biggest fear for the day was that dudes were not going to be happy to see chicks in 'their' race. I knew our DBC guys were happy to have us,but what about all the other guys? This fear was immediately squashed when guy after guy came out to me in the trainer asking if I was going to race with them. After I sheepishly squeaked out a, "Yes," they replied with, "Awesome! I wished more women showed up and raced with the guys." The first couple of laps I was settling in and finding it much easier todo the corners with the guys. The pace was definitely faster than the women's races, but the cornering was soooo much better. Speed was carried through the corner as opposed to a whole lot of braking into the corner followed by acceleration out of it. *Insert Kevin McSpadden's voice here*- "Don't coast when things bunch up. Soft pedal and keep the legs turning. This will help flush out your legs and keep things moving for the accelerations." I knew we had two primes in this race. When I heard the announcement for the first prime I was on extreme alert and ready to accelerate for the surge... find a wheel and suck it! When Imade it through the first prime lap and kept going I started thinking,"OMG, I'm still with the pack... I'm doing it, I'm doing it!" I settled in and realized, "just go with the flow, you're ok." At one point I sawa DBC train form on the outside. I thought, "Don't be an idiot Michele. Get on that!" I got pulled up to the middle of the pack or so and hungout there for a lap or two. Oh... there were 72 riders in the race...that's a lot more than the usual 25-30 women in our crits. So the middle of the pack still visually looked like being at the back of the pack. After a couple of more laps I noticed that the thing that hangs in yourthroat was vibrating with every breath I took. I was breathing so hard I could hear it and I was at the point of drooling on myself! I feltlike I was hitting the mental wall and my only thought was, "Stop this ride, because I want off!" *Insert Fred Schnaars' voice here*- "Just make that surge. Even when you feel like you're about to die and you can't hang on any longer, HTFU and push harder. You will stay on, and the guys at the front are going to get tired and let up. The pack will slow up long enough for you to just recover for the next surge." Fred was right. I thought I was going to die for about a lap, but then it eased up, Lauren, Big E (Ethan Hockridge) and Joaquin- I could hear all of you. I know for the second half of the race I pretty much stuck to the back of the pack and hung on for dear life. *Insert OB 1 Conobie's voice here*- "Use the Force Michele, use the Force." I survived the second prime lap and was having a blast. When I heard the announce saying, "6laps to go, riders, 6 laps to go..." my thought was "SWEET JESUS!" The pace slowed a bit and then took off again. "5 laps to go... no more free laps." I'm thinking, "Hell yes, I'm still with the pack. I'm going to make it." 4 laps... 3 laps to go... oh no, what's that?!It's... a gap! A gap is forming, no!... pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal,pedal... shelled with 3 laps to go. But let me tell you, those last 2.5laps I could still see the pack and I got so many cheers from everyone out there, even the corner marshals! I thought I was DFL, but when Joaquin was doing some warm up laps and I was still rolling on the course he came up to me and said, "Awesome racing Michele! You stuck in there and the pack shelled a handful of guys throughout the race!" I ended up 69 out of 72. Hey, can't complain about that number!One other highlight was when I got back to my car to cool down in thetrainer. There were 3 Wells Fargo guys warming up next to my car. When I rolled in, they all were laying on the props! They said they were watching the race and thought, "Wow, that dude has got some long hair."Then after a couple of more laps they realized, "Oh $HIT, it's a chick!" Way to go Carol H! You did great!! We'll definitely race with the the guys again.
Lesson learned: 1. Guys love it when the chicks race with them
2. Push hard and make those surges, you will recover. 3) I love crits! 4) DBC rocks and is so supportive for anything that you might wantto try!

Karl and the Mendes Crit

2009-05-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Team,I was thankful for a 1230 start and warm weather for the open 3 crit. It seemed like a fairly full field of 80-100 riders but no teammates today as many were riding in Berkeley Hills tomorrow. The course was wide open with a short sprint to the finish of 200yds on a .75 loop. Avg pace was 27 mph but felt smooth. Moved up thru the pack with about 10 laps to go and hung out in the top 5-10 riders. Kept catching other riders wheels as the last 3-4 laps ramped up considerably and was constantly looking back to keep from getting swarmed. Last lap I was in good position at 4th place until about 600m to go and a few riders moved up where I couldn't stay in position. 2 corners to go and I was in 9th with the wind at our back feeling good doing 32+ when the pack got out of the saddle to go and I hesitated because I thought it was too early. Big mistake as they gapped me 3 bike lengths and I came to the final corner in 9th and finished there too. Had I went with the pack its hard to imagine that I wouldn't have gotten top 6 at worst but that was a stupid mistake that I don't plan on repeating. I should have counted on the lead moving earlier with the wind behind us at that point in the course. Next crit will be specialized Folsom or San Jose Memorial Day. Can't wait to hear Darin's RR and others along with Keith in the P1/2.
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Karl

Carol... Michele and the Boys

2009-05-14T22:48:00.000-07:00

Michele and I both raced with the elite 4's (as Lee has reported so fastidiously...) :-)
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It was a great experience in both being in a pack ... the whole race... and riding aggressively.
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I felt nervous for about 5 laps and then relaxed and realized that I could stay with the front pack.
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Mark, Rod, Lee, Darin, and Mark Fiori were around all the time, and I just kept them in my sight and was constantly manuevering and fighting to get on their wheels. I felt so pumped
when the race was over!
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The master's 4's was coming up, and at the last minute I decided to enter it. why not?? There was one spot left.... it was meant to be! I really wanted to feel what doing 2 races felt like..I got my number pinned on by the registrar, and jumped into the start line right before the race began.
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This race was far more aggressive and sketchier than the elites. I felt good, though,and tried an attack at one point (that held until the next turn). :-) Hey, why not??It was awesome!! I even tried "blocking" for the guys, and going for it on the outside just to keep them guessing...
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When Rod went down, I was actually next to him (I didn't cause it, I swear!). I heard yelling and *&%^ and I felt his front wheel on my back wheel... I sped up and just missed going down myself. It was terrible hearing him go down behind me, and hearing him "slide" for a while... I was amazed when we came back around on the very next lap and he was up and slid right back into the race... HTFU to ROD!!Overall and great experience, and a real joy to race WITH our guys.
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I loved it when at 3 laps to go in the Master's race, a guy next to me yelled out "let's RACE"! I said "let's go..." Thank you for making Michele and I feel so welcome in your race!
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DBC is the best!!
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Cheers, and Happy Mother's Day!

Sonora Soreness from Bob B.

2009-05-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

I thought of a few other names for this race report, Sonora Road Rash or Sore-nora Road Race, but in the end decided to keep it simple.
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I woke up at 5:00am with the still pitch black sky sprinkling a light mist and thinking to myself that maybe I should just go back to sleep. The thought of Nelson's poetic plea to get people to the race and the HTFU emblazoned on the neck of my jersey steeled my nerve and I made the two hour ride to Jamestown.
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The day started off ominously for me. Prior to the start of the race the tire on my rear wheel developed a bulge in the sidewall. Minor but not something I wanted to roll out on. The only other tire that I had was a heavy training tire but Lee let me borrow one from him. (Thanks Lee) I heard about the slippery railroad tracks and that a couple people had fallen already but didn't think too much of it.
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We start the race and everyone is a bit tentative and taking it easy. We get to the first set of railroad tracks which cross the road at about a 45 degree angle and sure enough my tires go over it squirelly but I avoid falling. At the second railroad section, again at 45 degrees, I slip to the back of the group to take it as slowly as possible and about eight guys go down in front of me including Nelson and Lee but Mark and I make it over safely. Being at the back of the group I need to hustle a bit to get back on the group but do it in short order.
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Halfway through the loop there is a moderately steep decent that ends at 180 degree turn over a slighly pot-holed one lane bridge. They had a person on the side of the road yelling "slow down, sharp turn" since you couldn't see the bridge until you made a sweeping left just prior to the sharp right over the bridge. With the roads slick and your wheels wet, this was an interesting section of the course.
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It was on the second lap first set of tracks that I went down. I was being very careful but the guy in front of me slid a little and the slightest movement of my front wheel and "WHAM" I was down along with another guy behind me. Shoulder sore, hip scraped, hand cut, ego bruised. But I got up, checked my bike and chased to get back on, all the while cursing this course and the weather.
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Took me almost the entire rest of the lap to get back into the group. I know there are only two more trips over the tracks. One guy took off after the last cross of the finish line. I wasn't too concerned as long as we kept him in sight. Once we all slowed at the final track crossing, I couldn't see him. I moved up to the front and said that we have a guy off the front. Half the guys said "I know" and the other half said "no we don't". Anyway, we did so I was hoping to get some organization going to pull this guy in but after only few guys were willing to roll through the front everyone seemed to settle in for the race for second.
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At this point I just got pissed. Three hours of rain, mud, and crashes to race for second? I moved to the front and pulled the group through most of the rest of the race. I decided that I was going to push it, attack a couple times and see what happened. I figured there were a couple of outcomes. One of my attacks would stick or some of the group might get shed off the back giving Nelson, Mark and me a better chance to place higher. I did hope that some people would come up and take a pull but that really didn't happen. I launched two good attacks that got me some good separation but no one came with me and since I was already doing most of the work at the front of the group I couldn't make them stick. The finish was at the top of a hill and I had very little in me to try to fight for a win. I rolled through about eighth without a win but with the satisfaction that I was the most aggressive rider at the end and that I Fred would have been proud of my HTFU effort.
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Today I am sore but healing and glad that I made the trip.
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Bob

From Nelson... Sonora 09

2009-05-12T23:21:00.001-07:00

Maybe taking such an active role in encouraging fellow teammates into joining me for the Sonora Road Race 35+4 wasn't that great of an idea after all. Maybe I was going a bit overboard in sending personal emails to teammates encouraging them to drop their family plans for the day and come support the team. Maybe boasting to Lee on the drive down about how I've never seen a crash in a road race I was in was a jinx.The first omen of the day was when I returned from my warm-up ride and Steven Woo of SugarCRM said he just crashed going over some railroad tracks on the course, and just then Lee rides in looking shaken up and saying he just crashed going over some railroad tracks. He injured his shoulder, but said he thought he would be able to race. Lee was the only one responding to my race recruitment email, and it was only a maybe. After strongly encouraging him to come including an offer to help him get the win he hesitantly agreed to come saying it would at least probably be as good for training as the ride he was planning on. Bob B. showed up as expected, and I was thrilled to see Mark H. and Greg his father show up unexpectedly to support us as well.We rolled out from the quaint gold rush town of Jamestown onto the 13.5 mile loop for 4 laps with Mark setting the pace at the front up the first few climbs stacked at the front side of the course. Things went to pieces within 10 minutes when we rode over a rain-slicked railroad crossing and a big crash took out many racers including all the DBC'ers except Mark. As I chased back on I realized my handlebar stem was tweaked 15 degrees to the side, but I wasn't about to stop and straighten it and risk not being able to catch back on. After things regrouped, there were only a dozen or so racers in the front group, and Lee wasn't in it. I later learned Lee had a mechanical problem from the crash that took too long to fix to catch back on. Greg cracked a brand new helmet in the crash. The group stayed together as we rode through intermittent rain, mud slicks that splattered up into your face and a chilly wind on the lower section of the course that was making my legs start to cramp. Just before we finished the 3rd lap, Mark rode up, put his hand on my back and said his day was done, that he was cramping fiercely and calling it quits. "No, don't stop!" I implored! "Just keep pedaling and when you warm up on the climb they'll get better!" As we went up the climbs on the last lap, Matt Wocosek of Team Bicycle Trip broke away and nobody had the legs to match him. Bob led the chase around the back side, but after failing to enlist adequate support decided to go for it alone. For awhile I thought he might make it, but the headwind and rollers took their toll and he was caught. Mark pulled up and commented something like I was to credit (or was it to blame?) for him still being in the race. We hit the final stair-stepped 1K climb to the finish and I went around the pack on the first step and realized I overcooked it a bit and had to back off as James Porter of Webcor/AltoVelo (winner of the Sea Otter 35+4RR) and another rider went past me as I held on for fourth, with Bob following closely behind. Mark persevered through severe cramping and even passed a rider at the end for a top 10 finish as well!All-in-all, I would say it was a great race course except for the tracks, and people were wondering if they could cover the tracks for the race next time. But next time, I'm just going to sign up and race! Nelson

Wente 09 from Anna F.

2009-05-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

After 5 weeks of no races or only disappointing DNPs I finally had a good racing weekend again: I won the Wente RR on Saturday and placed 4th in the crit on Sunday :)I was quite excited about the RR because lots of people told me before hand that it could be my type of race. Biggest thanks ever to Brian for lending me his wheels ! Warming up with those I knew I was going to be the happy strider in the peleton - no matter what :D The race started fast with people going up the first hill for the KOM like crazy. I only hold on because Ididn't want a break to go without me. I won the KOM by out sprinting another girl on the line :) The 2 of us then rode on with quite a gap over the restof the field. I didn't actually think it would stick until Heather P from Team Touchstone bridged over and only then I started to work hard to make the break stay away. The motorcycles always gave us the time, we were up to 3 mins clear of the field. The 3 of us arrived at the bottom of the lasthill together and I was just the fastest up the hill, so I won with quite some gap. The best ever was to hear the DBC feedzone support cheer for me whenever I passed, especially on the last climb, when it was just "me and the moto" coming up the hill :D The cheering definitely made me go about 80%faster !! So a huge thanks to Michele and all the rest of the DBC team !On Sunday Marianne and I raced in the pro/1/2/3 crit ! It was fast ! Marianne just "loved how we raced around the corners" - I was a bit more scared to be honest... There were 9 primes in our race, and there was lots going on all the time. Just felt like a crazy race to me... I placed 4th incat 3 and top 10 or maybe top 15 overall. Lessons learned: Michele's mum cooks amazing pasta !!! So if you're racing around Livermore,think about inviting yourself to their place for excellent race preparation :D..... Anna

Wente Road Race 09 from Doug

2009-05-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I just wanted to give a short race report and it will be short because my race was cut short. I felt great going into this race. I had trained doing hill repeats and Ifelt great on the team ride the week before. I got new shifters, a 53/39chainring set (swapped for a 52/42) and a new wheel set. I wanted a good result. Well I think I jinxed myself. I road up to the finish line with Mark, Jason and a few other guys for the warm up and I didn¹t think that the hill was terribly bad compared to my training rides. The Cat 5 had a neutral start to the finish line and I was riding up front of the pack feeling great. We crossed the finish line and the race started. I stayed at the front leading the pack up the rest of the first climb. Once we hit the headwinds on the descent I wanted to conserve some energy so I floated back into about 8th place. I was riding behind a big guy catching a good draft. As wewere coming down the first descent, taking the sweeping right hand turn pastthe hay bails and coming into the sharp left hand corner my race ended. As Iwas sitting behind this big guy and the pack was bunching up. I left tolittle room between myself and the bike in front of me. He started driftingto the right as his momentum was going to take him off the road. I was toclose and his rear wheel hit my front and I went down. I got up pretty quickly but the moto stopped and a couple of guys were checking me out. I had a good dent in my helmet (great chance to get a new helmet that matches the DBC kit), a finger was bleeding pretty good and road rash in a few goodplaces on my body. My new shifters are a little beat up but working and the new wheels are bomber (Williams system 30s). I decided to take the guysadvice to go see the first aid. I checked out fine and thought about finishing the ride but as I wanted a good placing I decided to just call ita day and gear up for Davis DC and Spring Hill RR (if they ever open upregistration). See you all out on the road.

Doug

P.S. One last point I didn't include. Thanks to Joaquin for offering to hold up and get me back into the race. Also it was great having friends up in thefeed zone to wait with while my ride finished up his race. Thanks for themaking sure I was taken care of. It is great being part of DBC ... Doug

Wente Road Race 09 from Ruth

2009-04-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

Summary: Stayed in the front group or bridged back to it all race, made a couple of mental miscalculations and didn't finish as well as I might have liked, but still got a top-10 finish. Long version: We had only two loops. The first of three times over the hill, on the way to the start/finish, was a KOM. I succeeded in my goal of being in the front group. The KOM winner was out in front, and my group of 8 was behind. We let her work for awhile before becoming a larger group. The group I was in splintered on the second time on the climb. I thought Iwas just behind the back of the lead pack, then I realized I was just behind some others who were gapped. I caught the two just ahead of me, and after a couple of miles we managed to bridge to the front. I tried to plan an attack with Nicole to gain some ground before the climb. Note to self: don't attack on a downward-sloping false flat in a headwind. "You're a great puller!" exclaimed an impressed Nicole. I looked back and saw that she was right - I was pulling everyone right along. I didn't attack again,but it might have been a good idea. Our group miscalculated and a chase group caught us going into the last climb - bad timing for me. They started to out-climb me...I managed to get back ahead of a couple of them who weredying on the climb and ended up in 7th place. Almost halfway to a 3 upgradeby 10 top-10s. Looking forward to joining Trudy, Anna, Marianne and Larissain the 1-2-3 races! Happy cycling, Ruth
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PS: Thanks to the DBC folks who did the feed. It was great to see the orange and blue coming up the climb. Thank you to Parker for finding me to get my bottles before the race, and to those who collected all the ones Idropped and gave them to me post-race. And to everyone for putting up withmy little "I want water" temper tantrum. I see it made the feed funnies -glad you got a laugh out of it. :)

Wente Road Race 09 from Niki

2009-04-30T23:21:00.001-07:00

Wente was my third road race. Joaquin and I carpooled, and he shared some of his grueling experiences from last year's race on the drive down. Listening to him, I started to get nervous. Then, as we approached Livermore, Joaquin said, "There's the course." I squinted at the horizon. "Where?" Joaquin pointed to the windmills lining the ridge of some hills and my heart sank. I'd been told there would be wind and hills, but didn't realize we would be riding through a freaking windmill farm. I like hills (not like Anna likes hills, but I do like them), but I HATE wind. Mentally it has always been my hardest hurdle. I tried to put the site of the windmills out of my mind. At least there was sun. No rain or hail. Focus on the positive. After warming up riding loops on the road for about an hour and bonding briefly with other DBC'ers, it was time to move towards the line-up. I was waiting on the outskirts when I suddenly realized my group was already at the line getting instructions. I'd missed some of the key points about the KOM and start, and felt a little anxious standing at the very back. Then suddenly Kevin was at my side, taking my mind off my nerves, offering words wisdom on the course conditions, encouragement, and praising the skill with which my number was pinned on my jersey (the credit goes to Joaquin for that!). The roll-out was good. I maneuvered to the front to be closer to Ruth (the only other DBC lady in the 4's race) and was getting my wits about me and starting to feeling pretty good. I knew the first hill would determine much for me, and as I expected everyone started hammering when we started to climb. At first I was with Ruth and the first group, but then suddenly found myself slipping back. Shortly after the first hill I was spit off the back. I hoped to catch up and powered hard, but soon realized it wasn't going to happen. With my heart rate spiking and my morale sinking, I racked my brain for a good excuse to quit. Bad, bad, dark, grim attitude! Suddenly I found myself with a second group of about 10-12 strong women. Together we formed a line and powered down the hills, up the rollers, and back down to the "flats," taking turns at the front and working together through the wind. My heart rate returned to a sustainable rate, my attitude improved exponentially, I got my "second wind," and was having fun and feeling strong again. There wasn't much chit chat amongst us, but the teamwork was great despite our different affiliations. We remembered to warn each other not to "blow up" while encouraging each other to keep going hard. When we hit the hills again, we were back to racing against each other and started to splinter again. By the time we reached the rollers, there were only about 5 of us still together. Once again we worked through the hills, false flats and wind to reach the final climb to the finish. I told myself not to push too hard too soon, and to look for that 200 meter mark on the pavement. The cheers of first Dawn and then Michele, Carolyn, and others at the Feed Zone helped me dig deep. At first I had a small lead on a couple ladies from the little group I'd been working with, but I slipped back at the end. Clearly I still need to work on the mental and physical power for that final push. I ended taking 23rd. I had hoped to do better, but I learned that I can feel like hell in the beginning, overcome the down points and still rally for the finish in a tough race against really tough chicks. From the finish, I returned to the Feed Zone to cheer other riders and relive some of the race with Doug, Michele, Carolyn, Kevin and Ruth (who did great!). When Anna suddenly roared into view right behind the Moto dude, we went ballistic, jumping and cheering. The smile on Anna's face was fantastic! The following day, Jeff and I drove to Chico for the Wildflower. We started later than planned, so upped the pace and cut off some miles for a quick 70. The weather was almost perfect: sunny and cool. I felt surprisingly strong and good riding through the (lesser) winds and (steeper) hills of the century despite the events of Wente. I wasn't wearing my kit, but Jeff had on the DBC jersey, and we saw several other DBC folks out there. I only chatted with one other DBC'er, Dave (former race director), but was sure to yell "Go Davis!" when I saw others out there powering along. This team is great! I'm looking forward to my next road race - Michele and me with the men in Modesto in May. YeeHa!
.
Niki

Wente Crit 09 from Carol

2009-04-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

I was ready to roll, and my body felt ok, considering being sick for a couple of weeks. I started off strong, and was in a good position throughout most of the race. There are some sweeping turns and the wide road didn't help with keeping the lines nice and safe... I got a little freaked out a couple of times on the back side of the course when we would be 3 - 4 riders across and 10 deep... of course I was in the middle.. not sot fun for taking one of the sharper turns of the course. I tried to stayed protected for the most part, but got fed up being in the bottleneck effect, so pulled out in front for a few laps. Much more comfortable, but burned a lot of matches. I made some futile attempts at some primes, and missed them by 1 or 2 riders... I wasn't committed, although I should be.. :-) I really wanted to get a top 5 or even 10 finish, and I was in perfect postition coming down the back on the final lap. Because the road is so wide, gals were coming up on the right and left of me, and holding my line through the last turn, into the wind, the sprint was on.... 400 m or so out.... I got boxed in a bit, and swung to the outside, but by the time I got out, it was too late. I hammered as best I could and felt my front wheel lift off a couple of times (pulling too much with my upper body? wind?). I got 11th; but I did learn some key things: 1) Just stay protected.. it's the riders in the back that are the dangerous ones on that final lap. 2) If you want a prime, have that be the goal before the race even starts. 3) It's a lot of positioning, planning and some luck to be set up well for the final sprint. 4) Hammer hard and stay upright! Another great DBC experience, though! Thanks for the cheering and great support!
.
Carol Hockridge
ONE Pilates and Cycling www.saccore.com
916.457.7127

Wente 09... Hey I over heard!

2009-04-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Wente Feed Zone Funnies ...

"Is it okay if I eat in front of the racers?" - Parker Childress

"Where's the F---ing finish line!?" - some cat 4 female racer
"Hey! He just stole a bottle!!" -Dawn Spinella

"Not that one, no, no ,no. Water, plain water." -Ruth Anderson

"Wow, Mike Pugh is hammering up the hill... and he's smiling!" -MicheleFeikert

"I don't want it unless it's alcohol!" -Trudy Bjornsen, Miss I nevertook a bottle for all 4 laps

"Well, he wouldn't get out of the way." -Anna Fischer, riding up the moto's a$$ tearing up the finishing climb

Wente Road Race 09 from Marianne

2009-04-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

Wente RR This was my first Cat 3 RR so I expected it to be a bit faster than the Cat 4 but midweek I also found out that we did another lap too (50 miles, 4 X through the finish hill-ouch!). The first pass of the finish hill was a KOM so the pace, lead by our very own Anna, put the hurt on early. After the second set of hills, a group of 7 of us found ourselves chasing the main pack, which Anna +2 had easily left behind. It took us almost the entire second lap to catch the main pack but we finally did. This was the highlight of the race for me. It was so nice to catch them and have a reprieve. It was bad ass windy out there! Well, all that work was for naught when I dropped my chain at 2.5 laps--aargh!. It got jammed between the small chain ring and the frame so I had to hop off, yank it out and put it back on. Thankfully, a couple of gals came by and we worked together to the finish. It would have been very disheartening to ride the rest of the race by myself in that wind. As I predicted, and as you probably have guessed, Anna won the race handedly. I got 21st and the wine Anna didn't want : ) Thanks to the DBC water and cheering crew especially Michele for organizing everything! Wente Crit This was my second crit and my first in this fast and furious paced group of Pro/1/2/3 riders. I would recommend this course if you enjoy fast but not too technical course. I was very nervous at the start but after a few laps got more comfortable with the speed and the cornering required. Though, there are lots of bot dots and road reflectors to hit. I think I hit every one--call me "Fem bot dot." It was actually fun towards the end. I was happy to finish with the pack. Lesson learned for both races: STOP RIDING AT THE BACK OF THE PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wente Crit 09 from Michele

2009-04-30T23:12:00.001-07:00

Wente Crit- Women's 4 I had fun with this Crit. There were about 30 ladies in the race, thecourse wasn't too technical, and it was flat! My new favorite word...FLAT! Except for when it comes to tires... Doh! I flatted on the 2ndwarm up lap just before the race started. Ah, the Williams Wheels tentwith neutral wheel support to the rescue!! I tried shifting and itsounded like a wood chipper in slow motion... the dude (not Keith) puton a campy wheel by mistake (I did make sure to tell him I neededShimano 10 speed). But he realized what he had done, asked Janice (theofficial) to hold off the start for a minute, and he changed the rearwheel again- ah much better. And it was a nice tight cluster, I likedhave all the gears right on top of each other.Forty minutes goes by much faster when you're in the race, compared towatching it. There were 4 or 5 prime laps that kept things interesting.The first was early in the race and it was for a pizza at a localrestaurant. I was up near the front but didn't want a pizza. Then nextprime was a massage, and I thought I could give it to Mom, but I didn'tget that one. The next prime was for Athletic camps threshold testing.I felt like really going for that one. I was up there but didn't getit. And then they did back to back primes and said the next prime was acase of Metromint water. I was still going hard at the front with therest of the ladies through the first turn and then I said, "Wait aminute. Metromint water, I hate that $hit!" The other ladies smiledand let out a laugh and we sat up. For most of the race I stayed protected. I spent 1/2 lap out at thefront. The only one in front of me was the moto dude, who was tauntingme every time he glanced back to make sure he was staying a distanceahead of the pack. On another lap I thought I was at the front again,but then saw a Metromint rider up the road a bit. Get her! Then thepack came around us and I sat in the back a bit to recover.When I heard the announcer yelling two laps to go, I was once againsurprised to hear that the race was almost over. I need to look for lapcards when I go by the S/F line. But with our small fields, it isn'ttoo difficult to move up on one lap... except for when it is the lastlap and everyone is constantly trying to move up! When we came throughthe final turn, everyone jumped and started hammering. I was thinking,"Oh no, it is way too early to start your sprint now. It is a long wayto the S/F line from this last turn." But then I realized that itdidn't matter what I thought because everyone else was taking off! Sothen it was a game of catch up and then I thought, "Don't do anythingstupid sprinting for 20th place." So I stayed in the saddle and wascontent with a pack finish. Thanks for all the cheering from the sideline! I could hear teammatesbut not my parents. Mom and Dad need to yell louder! Lessons learned:1- Be ready to react and stick to a wheel in the final lap.2- If you're going for a prime, don't just increase your cadence...shift, get out of the saddle and really sprint.3- Look for lap cards.4- Rest and tapering before a race doesn't hurt you!!5- I really like crits! They're far more fun than RRs : )

Thanks... Michele

Wente 09 from Jason G.

2009-04-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Short Report: 2nd Place with a 2-man break-away in the last 4-6 miles. 60 degrees with wind -- enough to blow around deep dish wheels, but not enough to break up the field. Long report:"Be a parasite!" were the words of encouragement that Karl W offered pre-race. I followed his advice and stayed off the front for 2 of the 3 laps of the Wente Road Race. Wente by others' accounts is a race of attrition and that suits my style very well. My strategy even before talking to Karl was to stay towards the front, but off the front, for most of the race to conserve for a strong last lap. The K.O.M. ensured that we had a strong start into the first climb . . . I let others have the lactate test, not wanting to burn any matches. For two laps, the field stayed together and riders got shed off the back. 3rd time up Carrol Road, the 1 major hill (also to the finish), a Wells, another rider (ZTeam?) and I were slightly off the front. They opened up the third climb and we had a small gap on the remaining group. We pulled just strong enough to keep the field honest and ended up regrouping. Through the back side and through the descent, I was on and off the front for the first time in the race, but not spending too much time on the front. By Cross Road, the field was sitting. I'd have a strong pull, flick my elbow right . . . flick my elbow left . . . swing from the gutter to the center line . . . nobody was pulling through. I sat up and some attacks started. At ?Tesla? Road, a Rio rider, Steve Christiansen and I broke off the front. Into a headwind, we decided it was too early, not worth it, and let the field come back. Our plan was to open it up at Greenville Road, which had been a tailwind section . . . and I did. I hammered down Greenville, up the hill and recovered on the descent. I let others take a turn on the downhill and past the start line, but I was keeping in good position. Right around the 580 underpass, "Rio Steve" went again and I hopped on his wheel. We were gapping the field. We kept the tempo high and were working well together. Turning right on Altamont Pass Road, we had started passing slower fields. "RIDERS ON YOUR LEFT! RIDERS ON YOUR LEFT" was standard and we squeezed by, giving us further cushion on the field. On Altamont, I told Steve, "We've got room. I think they're going to let us go." From sitting up for a minute to dropping the hammer again, Steve and I worked together all the way up Altamont, back up Carrol Road. Half way through Carrol, the moto came up and said, "There's a two-man chase group, but I don't think they're going to get you!" I was leading and had been leading up Carrol with Steve on my wheel. "I don't think I have much more than you," he had said at the bottom of Carroll. Tactically, Steve was in perfect position . . . about 100m from the finish, I heard Steve go to his big ring and I had nothing left to go with him. But, we were 1 and 2. I love a break-away! I wish I had good news about other Masters 35+ 4's, but I think my teammates were shed off the back at various parts of the race. I saw Mark H on the second lap (I think), but that was it. The first and third times up Carrol were BRUTAL!
Lessons Learned:1. Thanks Karl! -- BE A PARASITE 2. Continue to have smart pulls when it counts -- NO HERO PULLS (none for me in this race) 3. Stay off the front in the beginning -- my main marked rider cramped when we went late in the race & I think because he spent too much time on the front, early. Plus, he got one of the KOM's.4. Continue to recognize the gap and go at the "right" time -- Steve & I didn't sit up on Altamont & kept our lead, even though we were both hurting.5. Be ready for that shift to the big ring. Shift first, or shift when he does. Back off a little if you're on the front?6. Riders who get dropped on the climb can regroup with the field on the descent. We were slow on the first two descent laps.

Thanks... Jason

Sea Otter 09 from Darin

2009-04-30T23:08:00.001-07:00

Nelson gets to write the race report on Friday's Sea Otter 45+ 4's RoadRace, which for me was a total blast.at least for 50 of the 56 miles.and forthe time I was away on a solo and then 3-man break-away in the 5th lap.Unfortunately, the break-away didn't last, and I didn't get to see Nelsonmix it up in the final sprint up the steep ascent to a solid top 16 finish.And, fortunately Nelson didn't get to see the pace motorcyclist trying topush & pull me back up to the peleton after my legs started locking up withcramps (is that legal? Did I care?). I got close but on a short-ish hillnear the end of the 6th lap before the long climb to the finish, both myquads and hamstrings went into complete lockup and I pulled off to deal witha different type of personal pain cave; I'm glad no one was around to hearmy screams! I've heard stories of riders getting leg cramps but hadn'treally experienced them before and really don't want to again. Anyway,after about 5 minutes I resumed the "race" to the finish at a very leisurelypace. Top 30, pissed off, and really freaked out about the cramps. After lots and lots of electrolytes, a great PT session with the students atPalomar Chiropractic college who had a tent at the event, and during theevening, numerous Margaritas topped off with a tasty BBQ and good wine (withDerek Byrne at my friend's house in Carmel Valley) I was almost ready forthe 45+ 4's Circuit Race on Saturday. First I had to warm up the legs inthe am with a couple sets of mixed doubles tennis.yeah maybe not the mostmedically sound warm up routine, but it was fun! Anyway, after a goodwarm-up on the course to confirm that the legs were operational and somegood pre-race pumping up from Director Rolles (who drove all the way down toMonterey to see us race.and enjoy the awesome scene that is the Sea OtterClassic), I lined up with Nelson for the 5 pm 60 minute circuit race on theLaguna Seca raceway with our 45+ brothers. Just ahead were Derek and MarkHockridge in the 35's and ahead of them were the Elite 4's. We weresupposed to start 2 minutes apart but the race director told us as we we'reabout ready to go that we'd all be racing together. Nelson and I lobbiedfor the 45's to get the front position but we were ignored and the racestarted.and with a much larger contingent than expected.and all those youngnon-crampy legs! At least we didn't have to go 70 miles like Paul Mach andLevi Leipheimer. By the way, Paul rocked not only in the Road Race but alsoin the Circuit Race! At the start, it seemed like the entire group of 90+ riders surged up theever steeper incline that begins each lap and we were up to 5 wide early ongoing down the cork-screw and around the many turns on the course. I triedto stay close to Mark and near, but not at, the front of peleton throughoutmost of the race. This tactic was helpful as a number of riders, usually inthe middle of the pack had chain issues on the steep climb at the beginningof each lap. Nelson appeared always to be close by. Derek has had lesshill training lately and said the race split up a bit from the beginning, sohe got to brave the wind and ride with a number of guys he met during theprevious day's road race. Every time we approached the steep climb I tried to think of all the DBCteam night rides up Cantelow and the WW Gibson-Steiger-Cantelow sessions Ihad done, and on the hairy turns I summoned memories of "trying" to staycalm and smooth during the Tues-Thurs race ride sprints and the many Critswe do. I managed to stay out of trouble and with I believe 3 lapsremaining, I was far enough up at the end of the climb to stay in a groupthat broke off a bit from the pack. There was a regroup before the climbwith 2 laps to go but the pack had diminished and I started looking for bluenumbers first (45+ group) and teammates next. There were still too many 45+blue numbers and not enough DBC mates. At the start of the climb of thefinal lap I decided to act like Fast Freddy and pulled off to the oppositeside and started hammering solo up the hill. I looked back and no one wascoming to help.but at least no one was coming! I did my best to extend mygap and got up to maybe 50 yards by the top of the climb before thecorkscrew. Let's say I wasn't looking too well at that point, but Fredwould have been pleased.it wasn't pretty. I flew dangerously down thecorkscrew, jumped forward on my saddle and tried my best to TT into thestrong headwind. I didn't last long. A line of riders approached beforethe turn onto the backstretch, but I've learned from the race rides that tostay in contention, it's critical to get into the line as quickly aspossible vs. waiting for the end of the line. I was able to do so safelyand then recover a bit for the last section of the course before the finalsprint. At this point there were 4 blue numbers in the group of about 12,and I was the last oldster.and I wanted a DBC podium finish! I took a moreaggressive line on the Andretti (I think) turn and moved past one of theelderly and maintained a good position rounding the last turn to the finalsprint. The riders starting going all over the road and I tried to keepmoving forward without getting taken out. I sprinted out of the saddle(somewhat feebly at this point) but was able to stay in 3rd for the 45's formy 1st podium finish! :-) It was truly special to have DBC teammates thereto share the fun with: Nelson, Mark, Derek and Robin, and my college buddyand family from Carmel Valley. So now that I've achieved my 1st goal this year of getting BAT points(Snelling) and my next goal of getting on the podium (and getting the podiumgirl kiss), I'm ready to retire to a life of tennis and golf. Oh darn, I'msigned up for Wente Saturday, Fred and Chris B are going to make me doModesto, and I guess I'll see you either on the night ride, the race ride,the WW ride, the junior dev team ride or at a race soon. Darin

Sea Otter 09 from Nelson

2009-04-30T23:07:00.001-07:00

Sea Otter 45+4's Road RaceThe only race course I like better than this one is the Sea Otter Circuit course. Derek rolled out from the Laguna Seca Raceway start in the 35+4's and Darin and I five minutes later, descending down the 2.5 mile canyon and onto the 8.5 mile loop for 6 laps. Each lap started with a 3.5 minute climb, and each time I came over the top with the pack and flew through the following twisty downhill and over some rollers I was reminded why I love this sport. If only my passion for racing was matched by a propensity for placing.Darin was usually near the front on the climbs, but right after climbing a steep kicker on the backside on the 2nd to last lap he pulled up and asked what I recommended for cramps. "Keep drinking" I blurted out between gasps, but then shortly after that I saw him breaking away. He was pedaling away down the grade just before the turn onto the last lap, and I realized he may be onto something: cramps usually only hit if you stop pedaling! He hammered up the climb and a couple guys bridged up. They stayed away half way around the last lap as I was blocking and enjoying the excitement as the guys rallied to catch them. After finally catching them the 25 or so remaining racers in the pack finished the loop and charged up the 2.5 mile climb to the finish where I got 17th.The camaraderie and sportsmanship of the racers at the end was great, and I congratulated guys I've gotten to know from other teams and met some new racers as well. Dean came from Australia just to race, and we talked about the race scene there which sounds similar to here. Brian came from New Jersey and was amazed how much harder the Masters 4's were here. He got dropped early, and I ran into him again after the Circuit Race and he was disappointed and angry that he got dropped and then pulled off the course without finishing. He blamed the last minute decision by the director to combine us with the 35+4's and the elite 4's into one big race, and I have to admit that ended up blowing the field apart far more than last year when the groups were smaller. It sure made for an exciting race though, with a huge pack flying through the corkscrew turns at 45+mph! Congrats to Mark and Darin for their outstanding performance in that race! Nelson_______________________________________________

Sea Otter 09 from Ruth

2009-04-30T23:06:00.001-07:00

In brief: - hills- 6th place (3rd top-10)- good alliance and first successful use of sneaky strategy- don't take clear cyto at feeds - it ends up being too confusing No team mates in the race, so I was a solo renegade warrior like Trudy B.Right after the neutral promenade the race proper began with the longestclimb of the loop. The winner of Friday's circuit race went at the climb assoon as the motorcycle could get out of the way after waving us on. Threewent with her. By the end of the climb, the field was completely blownapart, and I was in the first chase group of 5. I dropped all but one on adescent, then someone caught up with us, towing a group with her. Shedropped most of this 'dead weight,' and for a little bit there were four ofus. Then we split apart on the climbs, leaving Christine from Dolce Vitaand myself a bit back. Christine and I worked together over the rollers andflats to catch the other girls. We turned ourselves into a fantastic team.She was better on the climbs than I, and I seem to descend like a rock (Iguess I'm densely built) and we worked well together on the hills. She wasa great alliance-mate and would cheer me on when I was lagging behind on theclimbs. (Trudi H, she wanted me to let you know that the DBC-Dolce allianceis doing well). We managed to bridge to those girls after the first toughclimb, but didn’t end up making up the gap after the second. Later, we saw that Sarah had been shelled from the twosome just ahead, andshe ended up with Christine and me. She clearly wasn't going to work, and Ilater learned that the same was true up front. On a short climb, Christinerode next to me and mouthed, "DROP HER." I signaled my plan to drop her aswe came over the crest of the feed climb. That plan didn't work, as Sarahended up on my wheel with Christine 3rd wheel. I pretended I was justpicking up the pace and pulled off to let Sarah rotate through. Later, on a flat-ish section, Sarah was taking a very slow pull and I wassecond-wheel. I looked back at Christine; she smiled and nodded. Sarahpulled off and waved me on, and I threw it down. The fact that she had beengoing so slowly left me a lot of range for acceleration, and I was restedfrom riding behind her. I dropped both of them, but I dropped Sarah muchharder. I went super-hard for a little bit, then gradually eased to mediumhard until Christine bridged. She said something to the effect of "goodGod," and I apologized for not having had the chance to warn her that I'vegot a kick. The 5 times through the tough climbs had worn on us, and shewas fading more, so it was my turn to motivate. I told that it was the lastlap and we just needed to give it what we had. We did, and found ourselves at the long final climb with no one near usahead or behind. We took advantage of the opportunity to ride a bit easierand chat. At the final stretch, she said, "well, Ruth, we did it." "Yes, we did," I replied, as I stood up to throw the hammer down one lasttime and take what I later learned was 6th place. Happy cycling, everyone, and see you next time! Ruth

Copper 09 from Carol H.

2009-04-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

The race was short (er) for me... I made it through a lap + 5 miles and called it. I unfortunately have some sort of GI tract companion... It made my life difficult yesterday. I really liked the course, though, in a way that is very basic; it is definitely a course of attrition. There is no place that you can easily make up ground, or make a break, unless you are a mountain goat. I actually rode til I puked for that one lap, but I am glad that I got to experience it. I made a couple of friends on other teams, and hopefully the "karma" will come back to me down the road.... I do feel compelled to make a shameful plug about what I do for a living... I heard a lot of racers complaining of back, shoulder, and neck pain after the race. The course is relentlessly unforgiving, with the descent being a bone-jarring, white knuckle experience that can't be properly described... I didn't have any pain, even with my malady. I still feel nothing today. Granted, I only went around once, but some of the cyclists I spoke with after the race did only one lap as well. I firmly believe it is the core strength that I practice on a daily basis that is the key. That course was all core. I used it on the climbs, across the potholes, and most of all on the descent. I had one of the guys in the 4's comment that I descended "like a guy..." whatever that means. I'll be back next year... for sure. And thanks again to the DBC guys (and Anna F.) for being so supportive and just awesome.
.
Ciao... Carol H.

Napa Crit 09 from Karl W.

2009-04-30T23:03:00.001-07:00

Team, Haven't had an occasion to write this season as nothing good has happened as yet. The day started the same in the open 3's at Napa on an incredibly short and technical course. I'm thinking .4 mile each lap as we were hitting about a minute a lap. All was good in the first race until 4 laps to go sitting in 4th or 5th and feeling good coming around the crazy P turn and nobody hit me but I went down after my front wheel slid out on some hay at the corner. I got up but couldn't get my stupid chain back on and by the time I did the pack was too far ahead to make up the time. No damage to the bike just some rash on the left hip and elbow and considerable frustration. Keith Hillier got 3rd in that race and has enough for his upgrade to Cat 2 - great job buddy! Came back in the afternoon for the 35+ 3's race. After about 10 laps the pack started to thin out and I was bridging some small gaps to stay in contact. A group of six riders had seperated and gotten about a 10 second lead on us as I watched them for a few laps but no one seemed to be working together to bridge and they were pulling a bigger lead. I decided to bridge and it took 1 and a half laps to catch them and was spent when I did. I must have rested in the rear of that group for the next 15 laps before I took any pulls. The group behind made attempts to bring us back over the next 10 laps and then they seemed to give up and we started lapping the field towards the end of the race. Eventually it was just the seven of us on the course (I believe). I wanted to be 1st/2nd on the crazy P as the finishing straight is next with about 180 to the finish. I was 5th at the turn and ended up 4th overall. I would have been pissed if I didn't bridge and watched the group roll away from us, so I'm obviously really glad I went when I did. All for now. I'll be at Wente RR for sure and a weak maybe for Copper next week. Karl

From our Trackster... Mr JL

2009-04-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

Well, let me first assure you all that I did not break my chain! I raced the C's and got first in the overall omnium. Here's how I did: Keirin qualifying - 1stKeirin Final - 1stMiss & Out - 1stScratch race - 1stPoints race - 5th There was a huge wreck in the scratch race that took out 2/3 of the field, and two people were c-spined to the hospital. Two guys touched wheels high up the bank and essentially fell into the middle of the field and everyone went down hard. I didn't take any points in the points race because there were only eight of us left - four women and four men. Two of the women racers were fit enough to keep up and I helped them keep contact with the three guys at the front and that allowed them to score points and make the race a lot of fun. I think that was the point and I enjoyed it the most out of the whole day. I am well on my way to becoming a 3 on the track before June with today's and last year's points. I think I will be racing the B's from now on. JL

Warnerville 09 from Jas

2009-04-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hey Rod and the DBC Masters, First of all, my sincere thanks to Rod for his very kind words written on the DBC Masters Blog. It really means a lot and motivates me tremendously hearing these words. It really does... As Fred would say, it got me all 'misty'... :-} After my crashes last year, I basically threw in the towel for bike racing...I mean...damn...who wants to go through that again...why? At the ripe old racing age of 40, why would I think this is a good way of spending my free time? Why not just join the UCD intramural "C league' soccer team? Or take up something innocuous like the chess club? HTFU'n is one thing (you know...SSA! I'm all for it), but breaking bones in crashes is another thing....surgery, rehab, wearing that freakin arm sling for what seemed like eternity, nervousness on the bike after that.......count me out! That's not fun?! Is it? BUT.... sitting on the sidelines, reading the race reports, viewing the race pics, and hearing all the chatter.... I REALLY started to miss it all....but most importantly, I missed being an active part of the DBC RT 'gang'... the camaraderie of the TEAM... the best circle of friends you could have...I know it sounds cliche, but, damn, the DBC RT is the best group of people I have ever encountered! Good friends, awesome athletes, and just a swell group of folks that has your back covered whether it be in racing or life. As Rod stated, this was my debut back onto the racing scene.... Warnerville RR....what was I thinking!? Gravel section ripe for crashes?! Well, arriving in the parking lot of the reg area to meet my teammates put me at ease...there were my friends and teammates FRED...ROD...STEGGALL...DEREK...NELSON...and the fantastic new guys on the team...PETER, DOUG, and MIKE. It all started to feel normal once again! Was I nervous...hell ya! But I did feel OK. Everything was going fine, but we hit the gravel section, and my 'pucker' meter went to redline... :-} Decided to drift to the back of the pack and stay out of the way of the potential craziness...passed a few guys...saw Mike B stop due to handlebars/stem going south...and towards the end of the gravel section a guy in front of me swerved almost directly into me, he unclipped and came to a stop, and I unclipped and came to a full stop... remounted the bike and started the chase. The pack dangled in front of me for several miles, and I chased as hard as I could....but the wind took its toll. I just couldn't latch back on. You know what came next....a seriously long solo TT....I was not going to quit! Tried to work with a few racers in our group that also got dropped, but they were not able. So, I went it alone....Fred passed me (the 45+ group started 5 min after us) and gave encouraging words even though he was hammering at the front of a small chase group. Thanks Freddie for the motivation! When I passed the finish line on each lap, I saw SO MANY riders calling it quits (even after the first lap)....WTF?! ya, the wind was absolutely howling, but geez....you came all this way...why not just make the best of it and finish the darn race! At the very least it made for a great training ride...and it was. My legs sure felt it, but that is just what I needed...to whet my appetite for racing once again and get my bod back in shape! But, the best part of my race came at the end...not just because I was done (which was a relief!), but because my entire DBC Masters TEAM was there cheering me on! It doesn't get any better than that! Thanks guys! Congrats to everyone out there racing in the tornado of wind! Special congrats go to Nelson for throwing down all the way during the race and getting 6th place, and Doug for capturing the 7th place in only his second race ever! Way to go guys! Looking forward to doing it again soon! jas

Ronde Van Brisbane from Mike P.

2009-04-30T22:56:00.001-07:00

Brisbeen or “I think I can, I think I can”
Like life bike racing is a gamble: I traveled down to Brisbeen or Brisbane near South S.F. on Sunday for the circuit race. I signed up for the 45+ 3,4s and the 35+ 123 races. They were back to back and with a short 10 minutes scheduled between the two 50 minute timed events. The course was a gradual descent with a sweeping right hander to a 90 degree left then 90 degree right at the bottom of the hill. A gradual up hill for the second half of the lap with the finish at the top after a long sweeping right hander. This was my first 45+ race this year and I didn’t notice anyone of note in the field but there were a lot of teams represented. I was the only DBC guy. This was the second day of a two day omnium. I missed the first day. My goal was to get some good training for Copperopolis hence the back to back events. I hoped the hill would make me work also. 10 minutes into the first race a break of two had formed. One of the riders had won the criterium the day prior. The second man in the break had quite a few team mates in the field. I stayed near the front and monitored the gap and the team tactics unfolding. There was some blocking but it was very passive. With a little less than 40 minutes to go I jumped up the hill and caught the break that was dissolving. I hoped that the winner of the previous day’s criterium would join me. I dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Hmmmmmmmmmm whata I do now? I continued wondering if the pack would remain passive. With 36 minutes to go I had a 12 second lead that would eventually grow to 24 seconds. By the way if you are ever at a crit and warming up if you have a teammate in a break time the gap for him. This is priceless info. Darin Salk and Bryan were trying to help me out with this. Everyone else along the road was just “Go Davis Go” egging me on like…….. well some X-Games daredevil about to do a back flip on his motorcycle. With 5 laps of the circuit to go I had attained my goal of producing a lot of work for myself. My HR on the shallow climb was right at AT. Not getting any updates on my gap I soldiered on. With two to go the crowd was saying “you’ve got it” and even the announcer was getting excited. I had been here before and I had seen it before from the peleton and on that last lap even with a sizeable gap it is very tough to pull something like this off in a short race. I had lost the gamble many more times than I had won. On the last lap I really hunkered down and descended as fast a possible spinning down the hill in an aero position. Then came the hill, I went right to AT in an effort to maintain the gap It was a good 1.5 kilometer effort to the finish. The crowd or what little there was on the back stretch was going from “you’ve got it” to “stay on it, there coming but you can do it”. With about 500 meters to go I was looking at the highest HR on my Polar that I had ever seen while on the bike in recent times, well above AT an more like Max. With 200 meters I could feel them on me as I hugged the inside of the turn. No sprint left in some spent legs. At about 150 meters the first rider came around me followed by at least 20 more. Bike racing is a gamble, and like I said I have played this solo flyer game before and it is a low odds proposition, but I did get a great workout.
I arrived at the back of the 35+123 field after Darin squared my second race number away and handed me a bottle of water for my cage, I had thrown mine with two laps to go hoping to lighten my load a little. The majority of the 35+ race was spent watching John Licatesi break his chain at the start and maintaining position in the field fight with calf cramps and a half dozen Specialized riders. I hung on and finished what look like maybe a top 20. I was just glad to finish after completely exhausting all my resources. Looking forward to Copperopolis.

Bariani 09 from Doug R.

2009-04-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

Hey team, Bariani was my first race and I thought that was a good test of my newracing skills. Warnerville being my second race ever and now with acombined group of 4/5s, I really only had a goal of finishing with agroup or not very far back. Well I did end up finishing on my ownbut I will get to that later. The race started with a 3 mile neutral start with the wind at our backs. DBCbroke into two small groups within the pack with one group at the front andme in the second a hand full of riders back. Once we turned onto WarnervilleRoad, I was trying to get my bearings in the pack and keep track of theother DBC riders. The first few miles were a right cross/head wind that waspretty strong and I was trying to stay on the left side of the pack. Towardsthe first turn I crept to the front of the pack meeting up with other DBCriders. After the first turn we got a bit of tail wind and Rod, Nelson andDerek wanted (I believe) to drive the pack through the next few turns inorder to keep it strung out somewhat. Once we got into the long straightawaybefore the unpaved section, we let up on the pace. The tailwind and rollersfelt good and I was getting used to the riders around me. Then we hit theunpaved section. All I wanted to do through this section was to survive. Wehad a few DBC towards the front going in. I slide back some places throughthis section, staying somewhat away from most riders. After coming out ofthis section, I thought it was hard drudging through it, but I found a goodline and would stick to it through the other two laps. We finally came up tothe turn onto Warnerville Road (W.R.) and hit the wind again. I felt the second lap was pretty sweet. Again I found myself towards thefront of the pack keeping my eye out for other DBC guys. At one point I sawthat a DBC rider was up the road with two other guys. I think this wastowards the end of W.R. And I found myself with Derek and Rod at the frontof the main pack. Rod was great in his direction through the next few miles.We tried to control the pack in order to allow Nelson to get a bigger gap.Rod and I would chase down riders who wanted to bridge the gap. At one pointtwo Z-Team riders tried to organize and catch the break. I broke out infront and quickly started to soft petal slowing them down. I tried to stayin between them as they were trying to switch off. I thought I wassuccessful in breaking their rhythm to the point that they gave up.Somewhere down the road I drifted back a few places on the right side of thepack. I looked left and drifted ever so slightly as a rider came up theright side. It was almost the end of the race for me because he hit me. Istayed up, but he rode his bike through the ditch and eventually back uponto the road. He had some good handling skills. Right before the unpavedsection I found myself towards the front getting a draft off of a big guy.We turned onto the road with a slight head wind. I decided it was best todrift back in the pack a little getting some draft and conserving energyover the dirt. Again I found my line and survived it. Coming out of the unpaved section, the break didn¹t survive. I guess a guyflatted and Nelson the third guy couldn¹t keep the pace. We absorbed themand it was good to see a DBC guy in the pack. I was concentrating so hardthat I didn¹t realize we lost a substantial portion of the pack in unpavedsection and the rest of the DBC riders. A Z-Team rider was organizing thepack to echelon to separate us from the chase group. At certain points therewere about half dozen guys working a echelon but it never got superorganized. I guess enough to keep us out front. I was just trying to survivethis 5.5 mile stretch in the wind with this group. At times I thought I wasburning the match at both ends and soon I would pop. We made the last turnoff of W.R. And got the tailwind. I knew this was good because I couldfinally get some rest for my legs. At certain points Nelson and myself weredriving the train. At one point I told him that I wasn¹t sure I could dragmyself through the unpaved with the group. We made that final turn into theunpaved section and I did as before. I was at the front and then driftedback 6-12 guys getting a draft and conserving energy. I found my line andstuck to it. I ended up making it through with the front group. I tried toget some drafts to recover from the dirt. The pace was slow at first, 11mphat one point I think. The pace started picking up and I found myself on the left turning onto W.R.And a strong cross/head wind. After a bit of this I decided to drive upfront and saw Nelson driving it. I got in next to him to protect him fromthe wind and give him a rest. From there we tried to drive it home, tradingon and off being in the wind. I really didn¹t know it until the end but webroke 15-20 riders into two groups of 7 and 8-13. We crested the last hilland Nelson said he would lead me out. I thought I felt good but as soon aswe hit the last uphill to the finish, I went over some rough road, shifted afew gears lower and thought my legs were going to give out. I wanted tofinish with the pack but they were driving it, Nelson looked back and Icould only shake my head that I wasn¹t going to make it up with those sixguys. It may have been psychological (being the second race) or fatigue. Idrifted back and looked to see how much of a gap I had on the other riders.It was a good gap and I wasn¹t going to let them overtake me. I finished bymyself but in seventh place and ahead of that group. Rod also tells me thatI probably finished 1st amongst the Cat 5. Good race guys and thanks for the support. Lessons Learned:1. I am strong enough to ride with 4s.2. I need better climbing legs for uphill finishes into the wind.3. I need to leave my guts on the road at the finish.4. DBC is a great group to ride with.

Warnerville 09

2009-04-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

From Nelson...
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Warnerville 35+4/5's....
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Teammates...Rod, Derek, Jason E., Doug, Pete, Mike B. and I rolled out onto the traffic-closed 17 mile loop with the full field of 60 racers minus a few no-shows, and pretty soon Derek started driving a hard tempo at the front as we turned onto the downwind stretch. Several of us were trading pulls with him at the front, and after about 10 minutes I told him I needed to slow down and that we weren't shedding any riders anyway. We stayed at the front around the backside, across the 1.3 mile gravel stretch and into the final stretch heading west with a rising NNW wind coming into our faces from the right. As we came by the finish line at the end of the first lap, we led with an echelon of mostly blue and orange from one side of the road to the other led by Rod. What a sight! If only Hors Categorie were there to catch it. I suddenly realized that this was a great opportunity for a breakaway, as nobody could get around. I moved to the far left-hand side and settled into 350 watts (about 125% of threshold) for a few minutes. As I turned left onto the downwind stretch and looked back things were strung out and scattered, and from what the guys were saying afterwards, the field was essentially shattered at that point. I started working with Matt Wocasek from Team Bicycle Trip and Richard Coyle from Rio Strada, and our break reached about 30 seconds when Richard flatted coming out of the gravel and about a dozen or so riders in the chase group caught us. Doug was in it, and we were the only ones with a teammate in the front group. At that point, I looked around and saw some good sprinters, like Eric LaFranchi of Z-team, "Uncle Russell" Voss of Now Direct, and Randy Volkmar from Garrison Institutional, and started wondering what I should do. My dilemma was that I'm not a sprinter like Fred or John, a climber like Will, or a soloist TT guy like Chris or Jason G. My strength is endurance, and I decided that my best bet was to drive a hard pace and keep those guys from sitting in and all blowing past me at the finish. Doug and I drove a hard pace at the front all around the back side and kept along the gutter to make them work to keep up. As we turned onto the final stretch, the wind was gusting to 20+mph, and I didn't see Doug, so I set a solid tempo at the front as far to the left as I could get with a single file line stretched behind me. About the time I was feeling pretty tired, Doug pulled in just ahead and to the right to protect me. I told him to pull ahead and cross over to get in behind me when he needed a break so we wouldn't lose our position, and traded pulls toward the finish. Doug pulled through at one point on my downwind side and I had to scuffle a bit with the following racer to keep him from taking Doug's wheel from me. I looked back and some guys were already getting dropped. I assumed Doug was the better sprinter and I told him I was going to lead him out. As we approached a short kicker about 300 yards from the finish I hit it hard and we attacked. The grade then softened a bit before the final climb to the finish, and I looked back and saw I had gapped Doug and I slowed a bit. Suddenly a few riders hit it hard and went up on the right side of the road past me. I tried to cross over and catch their wheels but missed. A couple other riders passed us just before the finish, and we finished 6th/7th. Later I found out this was only the 2nd race Doug had been in! Rod took 21st, with later finishes not available. Nelson

Bariani 09 (Zamora)

2009-03-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

From Carol...

I was signed up for the Land Park crit., but my life and job got in the way of the double-header weekend. I am bummed that it didn't happen for me on Saturday, but the up-side is that my son got 2nd place in the 6-8 yr. old race, and Mark rode a tough race and pulled off another strong showing! Bariani was a good race for me. I was ultra nervous before the race, especially after finding out that Anna F. had already moved up to a 3 and raced in the 1,2,3 cat. I talked with my coach in the morning, and having done the course before, his advice was dead-on. I felt strong but still nervous in the first lap; I was getting settled in on the 2nd lap when the hail came.... I was out in front at that point (well, 200 yards or so behind Heather....!), and another gal from Dolce Vita pulled up next to me and said, "let's make the best of it"! It was quite a ride there for about 3-4 miles! I could barely see through my glasses, and lost sight of Heather altogether.... The 3rd lap picked up pace, and felt really good. Lots of manuevering going on, and aggressive riding. I like it!! Marianne offered a lead-out at the base of the KOM, and I said let's do it. I felt strong on the climb, and then Marianne punched it a little and I thought 'don't know if I'm gonna recover enough for the sprint'... that's when I half-jokingly yelled out "GAP"! Ruth slowed it just a little and I was fine. Riders started coming up on both sides before the final turn, and I started getting fired up. I came around the turn and gunned it. I felt good, so kept going faster, and when I figured I was going to get 3rd, I was happy. Then I saw I was gaining on the gal in front of me, and felt that adrenaline kick in... I can get 2nd!! OMG! so I gave it all I had. Squeeked it out at the finish for 2nd place. Only 7 secs behind Heather at that point! :-) My first thought was "Now I know why people get addicted to racing. That felt awesome!" I want to keep improving my skills and strength, and riding with the DBC team (guys and gals) has been truly amazing. Thanks to everyone on this team. I am with Freddy; I am proud to be DBC!

2009-03-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

From Ruth...

Land Park Criterium and Bariani Road Race Highlights: - First top-10 finishes in mass-start races (6th Land Park, 10th Bariani) - Compliment in the final laps of the crit: "Davis, I like your style!" - DBC got 3 in the top 10 at Bariani - Hail during the road race I tried to be in a break for both races, and it didn't work out, but I stillhad a good race and a top-10 finish each time, my first in mass-start bikeraces. I also got 4th on the weekend competition combining both races. Land Park Crit I'd done the Cal Aggie Criterium on the same course several weeks before,and felt much more comfortable on the course this time. I made sure to be in the front through the 'chicane' (sharp S-curve), which was great; I gotto choose my own line, and didn't get slowed by the accordion effect. I actually cornered better than the majority of the field, and gapped them abit without even trying. One of those times I ended up breaking with someone - I can't remember who started it. I was with her for something like two glorious and painful laps. She was much stronger than I was, and when she came around after my one comparatively pitiful pull, she dropped me. It turned out from talking to her after the race that she wanted to work with me, but thought maybe I wanted to work with the woman behind us trying to bridge, and didn't realize that she'd actually dropped me. Well, live and learn. The one trying to bridge and I ended up back in the pack,and the one in the break soloed for a win. Back in the pack, I tried to stay in other people's slip-streams. At one point a woman named Carla in ablue Honda team skinsuit said to me, "Davis, I like your style! You're agood rider!" That was definitely nice to hear. Navigating a pack sprint isstill kind of a mystery to me, but this time not quite so many peoples warmed by me and I got 6th in the field, 7th behind the solo winner. I'm happy to realize in retrospect that the feeling of terror that I used to feel before crits has largely subsided. Leslie, Marianne, and Michele all stayed upright and finished 1st or 2nd 'real' crits. The fact that there were 27 people in Land Park and 50 in Bariani shows that a lot of women aregun-shy about crits, so great job getting out there and getting through it! Bariani Road Race When I arrived at the race, I saw Heather, a triathlete I know who went to Kona this fall (which means she's *really* good). She and I have tried tobreak together in the past, and made an ambitious plan to attack at the beginning and try to hold it all day. I'm confident in my time-trialingability and know she's even stronger, and we race for different teams, whichis a strategic advantage. Oh yeah, and I saw Anna getting bandaged up from a crash in the 1-2-3 racecaused by a random mechanical...she'd told me that she won Orosi, her firstrace after her 3 upgrade, but it wasn't until someone else told me that I found out that she SOLOED FOR 50 MILES for the win. !?!?! She told me she wasn't attacking, just trying to climb hard, and realized she'd dropped everyone but a couple of 2s, and then they were gone too. (IronwomanHeather said she was cursing Anna at Orosi). And she was in a break at Bariani with Kelly McDonald and Trudy B, among others, before crashing out.Watch out for this one, she is destined for greatness. It felt warm before the race, and I gave my warmers to Anna...then I saw what looked like rain falling on another part of the loop, and on second thought asked for them back. When it starting hailing later, I was glad to have them. During the race, Heather and I had trouble coordinating. It turns out that she can't match my explosive power, and by the time she bridged after I wentfor a break, she'd brought some people with her, and they ended up slowingus down (don't know if it as on purpose of if they just didn't have it) andthe pack caught us. I thought of counter-attacking the break...might be a good idea next time if I'm with Heather or a team mate and a bunch of others who aren't helping much. At the KOM, Heather went to get the points,realized she'd left everyone behind, and kept going. I tried to bridge, butshe looked back and saw the pack close behind me and didn't want to risk losing her gap by waiting for me. And she ended up holding the gap the whole entire race. I wasn't sure whether to try to rally the pack to reelher in, or rest up and try to bridge later. It seemed like no one wanted towork - I later commented that she had 50 Cat 4 Women blocking for her. Iguess they didn't think she'd hold it the whole way. I rested as much as I could, and watched the gap grow, thanks to the updates from the motos. Oh yeah, and then it started hailing. People were whining and complaining as they often do on rough roads and head winds and such, but I figure, why complain, it doesn't make it any better. I always try to be upbeat. I commented, "it's a one-day classic, except 1/3 the distance!" After seeingsome of the pro suffer-fests, it made me feel like a real cyclist and Iactually kind of enjoyed it. I pulled up my arm warmers, very happy to have them. I think my little cap might have kept the hail off my face. (Giventhat some people had welts through their armwarmers, I think we didn't get it as bad as others). Going into the last hill, I realized that the front selection had become arelatively small group, and there were four DBC women in it (Niki, Carol,Marianne, and I). The break was narrowing, but I didn't think I had it inme to bridge during and after that last hill - have to improve on my climbing and ability to suffer, and confidence in my climbing. So I decidedto try to get the team together and get our sprinter Carol to the line. I rallied the troops and tried to keep everyone together. I'm not an experton race strategy, but in the absence of others taking the lead, I start barking out orders on the fly, and it seems to work. We stayed in formation through most of the short climb. Niki got boxed in somewhere, but Marianne,Carol and I grouped up on the last flat, with Marianne leading the train, hammering so hard she even dropped Carol a bit. It turned out she didn'thear me saying that Carol was back, just heard me talking and figured wewere together. Luckily the gap was small and I just eased up a tiny bit,got Carol with me and got back on Marianne's wheel. In the very end we got split up in all of the jockeying for position, but it worked well enough. The finish was like what you see in so many pro races, the pack chasing behind, wondering if the break is going to get swallowed up in the final meters of the race. And she held by about 10 seconds! It would have made an exciting movie. It was amazing. I was again sorry I couldn't be in the break, but happy for Heather for her amazing race. Carol narrowly got the sprint to get second behind Heather's break. Marianne and I both eeked out top 10s. I was really happy to successfully work together with team mates I've scarcely ridden with, and that we got 3in the top 10. Go DBC women!

2009-03-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

From John...

Fred did a great job of covering the 45+ Bariani road race on his blog http://mylifeisjustapedal.blogspot.com/ so I'll just give a quick recount of my experience in the break.

Last year, I ended up in a break on the first lap but our group found out later that 2 guys had slipped out of sight on the frontage road and stayed away for the rest of the race. It's easy to miss such things when you're stuck in the middle of a group of 100, seven or eight guys shoulder to shoulder, from the center line to the edge of the pavement.

So this year, we lined up close to the front and could monitor the attacks. As Fred mentioned, the attacks began soon after we turned up the I-505 frontage road. Soon, Nelson came motoring by, practically in the grass, and I jumped on his wheel. We quickly went off the front and dug deep to bridge up to three guys who were up the road. Turning onto County Rd 14, it looked like the pack was letting us go. After swapping pulls a few times with Nelson, I realized I had gapped him by 10 meters. With the break still a ways up the road, I made a split second decision to press on. A bit later, I realized a Garrison rider (Kevin) had caught onto my wheel. We powered on and caught Jess (Safeway) who had been dropped by the two up the road.

For awhile, I tried motivating my two break companions to catch the pair in front of us. My efforts were not being matched though and we soon settled into a sustainable pace. We realized that all the major teams had someone in the breaks except Morgan Stanley.

The moto' ref' stopped by occasionally and the gaps between the 3 groups steadily increased to 3.5 minutes apiece halfway through the last lap. Freddy, Nelson, Todd and the other teams were blocking Morgan Stanley quite effectively, taking the pressure off.

Going down County Road 14/13 the last time, I decided there were two main options -- attack my breakmates going up the KOM hill or wait until the vicious headwind section and launch with about 1 Km to go. While I felt good and it seemed that Kevin & Jess were running out of gas , it was clear they knew each other. I was worried they'd work together and bring me back since the uphill had a substantial headwind component (making a solo effort more difficult). I decided to surprise them in the last 1 Km.

The other two slowed the pace substantially going up the hill and I obliged. I ended up in front as we turned into the headwind -- a major mistake. They sat on my wheel and refused to pull through despite my efforts and ridiculously slow pace. After passing the 1 K mark, I dropped the hammer hard. Of course (in retrospect), they were waiting for this and managed to catch my wheel, then sit tight. After turning left onto the last 500 meter stretch, I jumped again with the same result. Jess countered hard to the left with Kevin on his wheel and me unable to catch them. Arghhh! They got a gap which I couldn't close. Kevin came around Jess at the line and took the win.

Thus, despite what seemed an apparent advantage in strength, I managed to get 5th instead of 3rd. Being the first one into the wind made it difficult to surprise them. Short of coming to a complete stop, it's not clear how I could have forced them to come around in the headwind section. If we could replay the race, I might have attacked back on the hill, multiple times if necessary. At least, this would have kept the pace high, not allowing them to recover for the sprint. If anyone has any suggestions on tactics, I'd like to hear them.

A very successful day for DBC! Thanks again to Fred, Nelson (who turned around and did the 35+ race!) and Todd for making the break stick. Wish I could have done a bit better but we'll take it...

-js

2009-03-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

From Marianne...

Team, Just wanted to forward the compliment we got from our moto officials at the end of our Women's Cat 4 race. They said we were the cleanest, best organized race of the day - a "beautiful sight," I believe one said : ). Four of us stayed with the main group throughout. I led out at about 1 KM with Ruth, Carol, and Niki and the others : / in tow. We ended up with Carol 2nd (we ALMOST caught the gal who broke away on the first lap(!!)), me 9th, Ruth 10 and Niki 12th. Here's a quote Niki sent us you might enjoy: "One of my favorite things about cycling is that it can reward suffering with joy. Another thing I love about it is that it often rejects those who don't understand this. Cycling teaches you that there's such a thing as necessary suffering and such a thing as unnecessary suffering, and that sometimes a short cut is a dead end." - Bike Snob NYC Thanks for your mentoring and encouragement. Marianne

2009-03-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

From Bob...The Winner!

I need to really thank all the 35+ 5 guys for all their hard work yesterday. I showed up at Bariani late which is kind of crazy for a race that is 20 minutes away and didn't start until 2:00. But that's the way it was and this meant that I didn't get to warm up but I figured that I would be able to do this on the first lap. I met Doug, Joaquin, Tom and the others at the start line and was happy to see that there was sunshine instead of rain and it seemed like the wind was dieing down. We rolled out at a fairly slow pace and I parked myself at the back of the pack to try to get a feel for the group. There were a few really sketchy riders who seemed really nervous, weaving, braking, and generally making me want to keep my distance. We made our way around the course and I started to move up as we were coming to the KOM climb. The field really stretched out at that point and I was able to move close to the front. No one really seemed to be working very hard so after we came over the top I thought I would get on the front and see if we could lose some of the weaker riders by keeping the pace up through the cross wind area. By the time we came through the start/finish line and thanks to Joaquin there was no one seemed all that willing to challenge me and my legs felt good. The moto guy looked a little bored so I decided picked up the pace a little more and soon found that I had a pretty decent gap. My goal then was to make sure that I didn't over extend myself see what happens. So, I find myself with a sizable gap with 20 miles left to go in the race and I am thinking to myself can I do a 20 mile TT and keep everyone back? I get through the windy section on the frontage road and am smoothly spinning over the rollers when I see that there is someone bridging just as I make the hard 90 degree turn to head towards the KOM. I slow slightly to let him get on since a little help would certainly improve my chances of having this break stick. He gets on my wheel and I get back up to speed. After a bit of time and a few obvious looks I tell him that if he wants this break to work he is going to have to get up here and do some work. He says something about how hard it was to bridge but I have given him time to recover so if he doesn't get up front my plan was to try to drop him on the KOM but he came around and started to cooperate. I told him that we were going to have to keep ourselves on the edge if we were going to stay out front and I let him take the KOM points. It was right after that that the wind and hail hit us. In the crosswind I thought it was going to take my wheels and blow right off the pavement. After having the right side of my body shot with a thousand little BB's we turned towards the start finish and as quickly as it started the onslaught ended. We continued to work well together and as we were heading to the turn onto the frontage road there were two other riders working to bridge. They caught up and again the three of them are hanging out on my back wheel. I swung over to gutter them and they rolled up along side. I organized us into an rotating echelon and one guy popped off immediately. We pushed hard, all working well together. After the final KOM the first guy who had joined me and who I had told I wasn't going to contest the KOM points said that he would lead me out for the final sprint as thanks. He didn't really get a chance though since once we made the final turn the other guy and I took off. We flew down that final stretch and I was able to get a decent advantage and held it through the line. This would not have been possible without all the help from my teammates in the pack. We had a plan and we worked it perfectly. So as my last race as Cat 5 I am glad that I could complete it with a win. The only down side is that they ran out of Olive Oil so they gave the KOM winner $40 instead. If I had known that maybe I wouldn't have given it up. It all good in the end. I owe all you guys a beer.

2009-03-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

From Joaquin...

According to my friends at Wikipedia, there are about 250,000 words in theEnglish language. I think the most appropriate one to describe DBC’sperformance in the Men’s 35+ 5s race is: just about F-ing perfect. It was Bob Blyth, Charly Magnuson, Mike Broz, Tom Clementi, Doug Rowland (norelation), and me lined up to race. I’m guessing that before yesterday the 6 of us had fewer than 20 road races between us. However, we were all committed to working together as a team and not just 6 guys who all happened to wear matching kits that morning. Due to our inexperience, we decided tokeep the strategy simple – 1) stay as close to the front as possible, 2) tryto get some DBC in every break, 3) work together to chase down any DBC-lessbreaks, 4) sit on the pack and any bridge attempts if a good DBC breakdevelops, 5) line it up for the sprint in the last 1.5 miles. And that’s pretty much how it happened. The 9-person InfoVista team controlled the pace of the pack for most of the first lap, setting up a good rotation and reeling in the first few half-hearted attacks. DBC was rightbehind them and started surging past them as we went up and over the KOM thefirst time, with Charly M taking 2nd, bracketed on either side by one of the9 Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada guys out there. And then Bob Blyth showed upat the front and DBC took control for the remaining 22 miles of the race. Bob just started hammering - like that feeling in your head after a night ofway too many Jaeger shots and not enough Endurolytes – into a stiff headwindwith the pack strung out behind. I was right on his wheel and it took meall of 2.81 seconds to realize that Bob was cycling on a whole differentplane of existence and that this could be DBC's chance to break apart therace. I knew I couldn’t hang with him for long so I did the next best thing- got into my drops, put on my best haka face, and started soft pedaling tohelp Bob slip away. He had a gap of almost 100m before anyone else realizedwhat was happening and came around me to try to chase. I managed to keepmyself right up at the front to keep things from getting organized and Bobcontinued to get further and further away. Once we hit the frontage road I got stuck way to the inside and the pack finally started gaining ground on Bob. Desperate, I faded all the way tothe back of the pack to attack up the windward side, calling out to the restof the DBC group to come along. We charged to the front with most of thepack on our tails and then sat up to slow the pace down. One guy crossedthe centerline to try to bridge up to Bob, Doug and I jumped on his wheel,and we got almost halfway to Bob before the moto ref rolled up and sent him all the way to the back of the pack. Luckily, nobody else attacked justthen and Bob was able to gain more ground on the pack as we headed into the downwind section. It went on like that for the next lap and a half - a solid wall of orangeand blue controlling the pack trying to give Bob plenty of room off thefront and sitting on any breakaways before they could get established. Special props to Charly, who gave up his shot at the KOM title to anchor our rolling road block in lap 2 and to Doug who blocked and chased like a champion inhis very first race. For that whole 22 miles, only three riders got awayfrom us and managed to catch and start working with Bob – one BP/SN rider who launched at Warp Factor 3 and two unattached dudes who sprinted through the gravel to get around us going up the KOM on lap 2 in the confusioncreated by the brief hail and windstorm we rode through. How bad was the hail? Really bad. I ended the race covered by so many red, angry weltsthat it looked like I had just spent the last 90 minutes making love to an octopus. One guy from another team got hailed in the mouth so hard hechipped a tooth. By the time we crested the KOM for the last time, it looked certain that the breakaway was going to stay away for good, so all that was in question waswho would finish where in the race for the best of the rest. Unfortunately,while we were all there with the lead chase group, we were too spread outand too spent from controlling the race to get ourselves organized. But weall managed to finish strong with everyone in the top 20 with 3 top tens. Theicing on the cake was rolling up to Bob to learn that he had taken first place! And the chocolate Jimmies on the icing on the cake was hearing allthe compliments from the rest of the field as they rolled by: “Way to control the race, DBC,” “Awesome teamwork, DBC,” “You guys were tough outthere, DBC,” “Great race, DBC.” Yeah, it was a great race. The finish: Bob B. 1st, Mike B. 7th, Joaquin 9th, Tom C. 11th, Doug Rowland12th (his first race!) and Charly M. also somewhere in the top 20. -j

2009-03-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

From Lee...

Fun racing yesterday with some surprising and encouraging developments in the 35+ 4. We had a general plan to spring Jason Grefrath on a well represented break (conspired with with Taleo and others). That move went right off the bat! Right from the start Taleo took to the front and set it up. Five guys took off, two up front and another 3 that contained Jason closing in. As expected the pack just sat there and let them go -- way too early, right? It seems like a bona fide break never ever sticks in this category. We went into block mode along with Taleo. Unfortunately several strong teams were not represented and the 5 up front never consolidated. Taleo and IC3 were the two up front with DBC, another IC3 and Team City right behind. Jason was prepared to put in a hard day's ride but in retrospect maybe having another IC3 in the second group was counter productive to their effort to bridge to the 2 guys up front. NorCal, Squadra Abruzzo and Wells Fargo eventually mounted a successful chase eventually catching Jason's group of 3 while the 2 guys up front managed to increase their gap! Over a lap to go. I tried to create some moves but at that point the group seemed content to race for 3rd spot. On the last lap Jason tore off again before the KOM and got a huge gap. A Team City guy was the only one able and willing to follow. The pack led by Wells and Squadra ramped it hard up that hill. From the back I can see that Jason and Team City guy started to work together. I was sitting right behind the chasers when all of the sudden I see a bike go airborne! Jason got tangled up crashed out! Wells Fargo and others charged to the front and I went into panic mode! As I pass the scene I see Jason get up and looking OK. I chased hard and managed to reconnect with about 1 k to go! One of the guys I had marked to do well, Bill Beers (Wells Fargo), took to the front at 700 meters. I picked up his wheel. We are 1 - 2 going into the corner! At about 500 meters he looks at me, I waited for him to make his jump. I had 2nd wheel going into the finish and focused on Bill's Wheel. 400 meters -- I'm waiting, waiting for the explosion when third wheel jumps hard and goes around us bringing a gaggle with him and boxed me in! Dang! In a matter of seconds I went from setting up my jump for the podium to about 20th place! I managed to claw out to 16 or 17th -- OUCH! Great to see Jason's dings were minor. Several of us along with Wells, Squadra, NorCal, Bicyle Trip all had a great post race chat about how it all went down. Bill told me he cramped right at the end. I got the right wheel but at the wrong time! Lots of shoulda coulda, woulda but it's in the books now. Please post your reports. I would love to hear/read how it went from your perspective. Oh yeah, I stayed a bit to yell for the women and men's 5s but had to go before their grand finale. As I was preparing to leave the sky opened up to dump ice water! I mean rain plus solid quarter inch marbles that hurt! I can only imagine what it must have been like for the riders. It hailed for several minutes! I can't wait to hear the epic stories from the poor women and Cat 5s. As you can imagine the road got slick in a hurry and as I was pulling out of the gate I saw 2 pile ups in the corner after the finish. All seemed ok as they peeled themselves off that fence and got back into the race. I hope all are safe. Wow! A masters cat 4 road race decided within the first 2 miles! Maybe Hell did freeze over yesterday. Lee

2009-03-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

From Michele...

Another great weekend of racing! Both DBC men and women put many in thetop 10 in their respective races. I had a blast, but I am definitelylooking forward to no more racing until Wente! Time to rest, heal up,and get my voice back. Michele Land Park CritSaturday I got spat out the back after 4 laps or so. Leslie was there with me so I got in front of her and tried to pull us back in. No such luck on theS/F stretch with the head wind. Made up some real estate on the back stretch with the tail wind and we could carry our speed through theS-curve with just the 2 of us. Thought we might make it after one more lap but no such luck. Some "great moments" of the crit came in the last2 laps as Leslie and I passed up one lady who got spat out the back, and then later, three more women. Also it's easy to see Mark and make sureyou've got good positioning for a great photo when you're not in thepack! Bariani RR Sunday I knew there was a reason why I decided to wear my shatter proof safetysunglasses from work on this race... First LapAs soon as we turned on the frontage road along I-505, the field startedto split into two groups. I could see this because I was in the rear ofthe pack. (Doh!) It looked like there were a couple of riders attacking right away, and the front half of the pack wanted to chase and the back half of the pack decided to let them go. I didn't want to be left behind in the back half so I moved out to the side and bridged up to thefirst half. After the turn onto CR 14 I was off the back (again) andcaught up to Carolyn. The two of us were fighting to get back onto thepack but never made it. We pick up Dawn along CR 92B. We had arotating paceline of three for a while. We passed two VG, but theydidn't hop on the DBC paceline (I wonder if they couldn't keep up or ifthey though they weren't welcome with us??). Smile for Mark at the KOM!After the KOM, there were more riders who had been spat out that were insight. I asked Carolyn if she wanted to chase and she said, "Well this is a race, let's chase them down." I said, "Hang on my wheel and let'sgo get 'em." Second LapWe passed one lady just before turning onto the frontage road. When we made that turn, I could see what was ahead of us... hmm, maybe I should have left the leg warmers and arms warmers on... Okay, three more VG upahead... time to get 'em. I look back and still have Carolyn, but thatother lady didn't want to hang. Carolyn and I close in on the three VGsand is starts to rain... but that rain hurts... dang does that rainhurt... no, wait it's HAIL.. and BIG HAIL! I get pissed. I pulled up along side the VGs and I yell, "Okay ladies, let's get out of this $HIT!"I pull in front of them (expecting them to get on my wheel) and startgoing hard into the pelting hail. The VGs didn't stay on so Carolyn and I kept going. It just kept getting harder and harder. The hail wasbouncing off my helmet, off my sunglasses, off my bike (that was pissing me off the most), off me! I huddled into the smallest ball on my bike and kept pushing hard. It finally got to the point where I just started yelling F@#*! over and over because it was either that or cry, and Iwasn't about to start crying. I was looking for blood, because I was sosure the hail was cutting me. It finally let up when we turned onto CR14. I liked this part of the course. The pavement was so smooth andwith the slight downhill and tail wind I was able to fly along thatstretch at 29mph. (Gotta get my glory somewhere right!) Over the KOM and the thought of only one more lap to go... Third LapCarolyn and I could see another black cloud with a curtain of streaming uncertainty pouring from it. After turning onto the frontage road, I looked back and could see those three VGs were picking up their paceline and they were hot on our tail. "Just one more lap," I tellCarolyn, "We've got three VGs out to get us and we're not going to letthem pass us." They made a lot of ground on us on the frontage road. Ipicked up the pace but was losing Carolyn. I sat up on the first roller of CR 14 to pick up Carolyn and then tried to pull us away from the VGs.When I looked back Carolyn was behind the three VGs and they were coming up on me fast. I could see the look of the VGs faces and Carolyn lookedlike she wanted me to just go. So I decided to lay it all out on the road and not let the VGs suck my wheel the rest of the way in. I love that stretch of road and I knew I could fly solo on it really fats so Ilit the astroburners and gunned it. I looked back just before the turn onto CR 92B and I had put quite a bit of distance between me and the three VGs (at that point in the race it didn't take much to give an egoboost). Along CR 92B, I passed a Z-team lady and she sucked my wheel until the KOM where I dropped her (Wow, imagine that, Michele dropped someone on the KOM! And she was a skinny little thing!). Okay, getting deliriously happy now to see the barn and the tent and the crowd at the finish line. Marianne had started riding back on the course and she wascheering me on as I was going through the little rollers to the finish.I remember smiling when I crossed the line, not because I was glad itwas over, but because there were so many people there. The welts on my arms and legs have smoothed out back to flat, but I looklike I've been tagged by a Metromint rider. I am covered in red, blueand purple dots all over my body. The thought of claiming chicken pox or something like that to get the week off work was very tempting this morning... Lessons Learned:I know I am a strong rider. I know if I was more comfy in the pack and could learn how to race smart, that I will not be dropped time and time again.

2009-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

From Doug...

I will second that. I am now showered and my welts are fading. I will keep this report short. First race ever...in off the wait list...feltgood on the first two laps...except during the second lap when the rain started and then the hail, I think going straight into our faces and it wasn't very nice...the finish was great...coming out of the last turn I feltlike my bike was hoping underneath me...then coming up to the finish Joaquin following and passing me, but I did find the energy and I finished 12 in myfirst race. It was a great race to start off my racing. Thanks Jim for the ride and advice. Thanks Kevin for the advice and some extra water. Joaquin you were great out on the road giving me direction and focus making theother teams work instead of me. Ok, out for a Sushi dinner now. See you all out on the race ride and at Warnerville for those of you going. Doug

2009-03-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

From... Cary

Madera Stage Race Report: Getting Back on the Horse
I entered this race very early with the idea that it would be the culmination of my first foray into bike racing before switching gears and giving triathlon (my primary sport) my undivided attention for the rest of the spring/summer. Thanks to the peleton pileup and shoulder injury sustained at Snelling , Madera turned instead into an opportunity to “get back on the horse”.
Criterium: 3 weeks after busting my shoulder in a pack incident, my wheel is on the start line for a criterium, of all things, with 49 other cat 4 women. Meanwhile, right next to me, a crash victim from the previous race is being loaded onto an ambulance. I was more than nervous, I was sick to my stomach scared and a pale, bleeding guy on a gurney wasn’t helping to calm my anxiety. I had a very specific plan for the crit…to stay near the front and attack every time the pace got slow. Keeping it fast would keep it from bunching up and feels much safer. I wasn’t worried about saving myself. I had no interest in my position in the GC. My goal was to make it to, and through each stage and help my team if I could. The crit was fast for the first 50 meters then slowed immediately at turn 1 so I got to put my plan into action almost immediately. I rocketed from mid pack out to a huge lead then settled into a fast pace until the pack caught up. If it was fast I stayed in the front half to the outside, if it got slow I attacked again. Our team was awesome. I was able to get behind a teammate’s wheel and catch my breath after each attack. Everyone was right there positioned well to react to whatever happened. Ruth was constantly talking to me from behind. It was reassuring to know it was her behind me. Carol took over attacking when I was recovering, especially late in the race. I only had one missed heartbeat when I heard a lot of gasping and expletives to my right as a rider went down on the inside of a turn. I just looked ahead and forced it out of my head. Starting the final lap I saw almost all of our team right there. I took the last turn on the outside and was positioned with a great line for the final sprint, I just can’t sprint. I finished with the pack in the middle of the pack but I was ecstatic to have ridden strongly and finished whole and healthy in a criterium with 50 racers.
TT: A few hours later. I knew I had burned some matches attacking repeatedly in the crit. It’s also very early in the season and I have not done any LT, VO2 max or power oriented training, just base building aerobic stuff. My adrenaline level was so high during the crit I hadn’t noticed my injured shoulder but when that subsided I realized it was hurting. Luckily the TT position is easier on it.
I didn’t know what to expect, only that I would ride as hard as I could from start to finish…no computer, no heart rate monitor. The road is kind of rough and there was a brisk headwind on the back half of the course. I knew it would be a tough ride but a hard, solo effort is right up my alley.
My turn to go, the first time I’ve ever been held for a start. I’m not sure what will happen when the guy lets go. Fortunately I go forward ;-). Clean getaway, out of the saddle to get some speed then it’s time to drop into the aerobars and drop the hammer. First half rides fast despite the tooth jarring road surface thanks to the wind direction. Bees bouncing off of helmet and glasses. The rider behind me goes past in the first straight. She opens a big gap quickly. Grrrr! Turn one…perfect. The rider who passed me is no longer pulling away. I pass one rider, my first “roadkill” (mwahaha!). The rider who passed me is beginning to come back to me. Turn two, I have so much speed going into it I have to swing much wider than I want, struggle to stay inside yellow line coming off the turn. I recover and focus ahead. The gal who had passed me is gone =:-O! (turns out she crashed on turn 2). Now going into the wind, working hard, not going as fast but feeling good about the effort. Get 2 more scalps. Turn 3, perfect, now into the teeth of the wind. A 4th victim is in my sights. The gap is closing fast but I’m running out of real estate. I’m giving my all, breath coming in ragged gasps. Sounding like a freight train there will be no sneaking up on the rider I’m catching. The white tent, the white line, I just miss the final pass…darn!
I was very happy with my effort. I know I gave it everything. 28:05-Good early season time for me in those conditions. Good enough to put me in 10th place, only 13 seconds back from our fastest rider.
Road Race: I knew going in that my fear about mixing it with the pack would prevent me from being a factor in the road race. My goal was simply to cross the finish line and, hopefully, make at least a small contribution to the team effort. After chatting with Kelly M. and my teammates I came up with a plan to attack early. It would give our other riders a chance to see how the pack would react, I’m strong enough that if the right people came with me it could potentially stick and, at the very least, someone(s) would have to work to chase me. I chose the “roubaix” section as the place I would attack from.
I felt pretty ok about being in the group during the neutral promenade. Unlike Snelling, the group was riding smoothly. Rolling onto the race course I was just where I wanted to be, on the outside and near the front. Then women began to pass me on the left even though I was just inside the yellow line. They would cross the yellow line, get half a bike length ahead then start to cut in on me. I don’t know if they were testing my resolve to hold the wheel ahead of me or just unaware that they had not cleared my wheel…but I was not about to find out, the hard way, which. Before I knew it I was in the middle, near the back having flashbacks of the peleton collapsing under my front wheel under Snelling.
When the woman next to me touched the wheel in front of her and almost went down I bailed and dropped to the very rear giving the peleton a good 10-20 feet of space ahead of me. Fortunately, the pace was mellow and it was effortless to hang back there. When we turned on the Roubaix section and had the whole road, with my heart in my throat with all the wobbly bikes around me, I began to work my way forward to about midpack. I nearly got guttered by swerving riders a few times but hung in there until a window of opportunity opened up. Enough space to rocket to the front and away from the field.
I put my head down and hammered as hard as I could for about 90 seconds then went to hard, sustainable effort. I finally dared to look back and saw a rider behind me and a huge gap back to the pack. She said it was just her and me. I thought if we worked together the break might last a while but she just sat on my wheel. When it was clear she wasn’t going to help I should have shut it down but I wasn’t to keen on the idea of being back in the pack. So I held it as long as I could.
It lasted to around the S/F line. Then the wave caught me. I could have jumped back onto the back of the train but I realized that in my gut I didn’t want to. I was afraid of it. I let them by and spun easily to the junction of the main road to let them get far ahead. Then I settled in for a hard solo effort so I could at least get a good workout. I reeled in a few solo riders who stuck so we became a rotating paceline of 4 and began to work in harmony. That was great fun. Our small group began to reel the pack back in. We got to within about 100 meters at the start of the Roubaix section on lap 2 then my paceline mates began to fall apart. They stuck with me but could not pull so I pulled the entire remainder of lap 2. The pack pulled away in the hills. I got a little help at the beginning of lap 3 but again became the sole puller after only a few miles. We started to reel the pack in again. I was actually having more fun chasing the pack than I would have had riding in it!
Midway through the final time through the Roubaix stretch it became clear that I would not be able to pull my little group to the pack so I shut it down. We introduced ourselves, than ked one another and enjoyed the scenery up to the base of the rollers. Then the race was back on ;-). I was able to outclimb them and won our little minirace.
I was thrilled to learn that Anna had won the race and that our novice team had worked together so well. I was also thrilled to have made through all 3 stages of the event and despite my “issues” with pack riding I finished solidly in the middle of the field in the GC. I was disappointed that I was so fearful of riding in the group during the road race. I had hoped that the positive experience in the crit would have bolstered my confidence more. I wished I could have played a bigger role in the team effort. But I found the nugget of fear that the Snelling incident planted was still very much alive and I was still very twitchy about the riders around me. It might be partly because I am riding with a still resolving injury that I’m protecting and maybe I’ll be less fearful when I’m fully healed. The psychological damage is going to take much longer to heal than the physical damage.
Maybe trying to take up bike racing as a new sport at 52 is nuts but I look forward to having a go at more road racing after my triathlon season is over. Meanwhile I’ll be sticking to the TT’s.

2009-03-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

From... Mike

I was kind of jealous this last weekend, after all I would be missing Madera for the second year in a row due to the family schedule. Knowing my Saturday was booked well in advance a buddy of mine suggested we do the Cool MTB race up near Auburn on Sunday. This would be my first MTB race in about 10 years or so and his first ever. I signed up for the expert 40 and over class. Knowing that Rob Anderson from Specialized wouldn't be there I thought I might have a chance against all those retired locals who spend every weekend in Auburn riding their off road selves into the ground on this same course. Lucky me they would change the course completely the night prior so no one would have an advantage. We arrived an there was a light mist but no rain (yet). I warmed up and tried to milk the locals for as much course intel as possible, nobody had ridden the course in this direction but a few commented that there would be lots of climbing, some of it steep. I smiled. They grouped and started all the pros and experts regardless of age together so there was I'm guessing about 40 of us total to include all the expert girls. We were off and after a short sprint through a gravel parking lot and down a paved road onto the trail. Typical MTB race sprint to get position before the trail narrows. Luckily it would not go completely single track for a good 5 or 6 miles. I was instantly at AT trying to stay with the lead group. I realized I would not last the 3 lap, 33 mile race at that pace. Telling my self these were all younger guys I settled into a more tolerable 155 bpm pace. On the first downhill section about a mile into the race some guy on a fully suspended bike went by me like I was standing still. Lucky for me I saw him on the up hill after a stream crossing looking like he was pulling a plow up hill. I would eventually catch two more guys who I thought were certainly in my age group and we battled through the first lap. Near the end of the first lap while climbing up a particularly muddy climb after a small stream crossing I started getting the dreaded "chain suck" on my small chain ring from all the mud on the drive train. After muttering a couple of words only sailors usually say I resigned my self to using the big chain ring only (44 teeth). Determined not to let this mechanical disadvantage get the best of me I eventually rode away from my partners on the second of three laps. The remainder of that lap was spent just trying to maintain a pace and turning over the big gear out of the saddle on the climbs. On thethird and final lap it was starting to rain pretty good and the course was getting slicker. A single speed rider passed me on this lap. That group started behind the expert group and this was a psychological blow as I thought for sure I must be slowing down and the big gear on the hills was getting to me. I tried to keep with him but to no avail. This guy was flying and would certainly win his class. Licking my wounds I continued on and in many places just tried to stay up right through the standing water and mud. The wet course was taking it's toll. I watched one guy stop dead in a huge mud puddle and just fall over sideways. He disappeared in the brown goo. I was starting to catch some of the pros from the lead group who had fallen or were just succumbing to the weather. One was a Cal Giant kid. He gave me a look like "Where did you come from" as I was able to stand on this gear for one last climb on the steep section. Knowing the coursepretty well by now I just pushed through the last 4 miles and last climb determined not to let anyone catch me. Glad the Cytomax aid stations had plenty of that stuff, I would have bonked for sure with only one scoop of Gu2O in my camel back. The race was much longer than I had planned. After I finished I had no idea how I did and neither did anyone else. My friend Scott Wienker had finished his intermediate race and had to laugh when I rolled up to the car completely covered in mud. My back was so out I could barely get my shoes off and cleaning the mud off my legs below the knees was out of the question. I just couldn't bend down that far. Come to find out I had won the 40+ Expert class by about 17 seconds. Great race, good people, pretty cool raffle at the end that seemed to go on forever (they give away two bikes at the end). The free beer to all and a pint glass to everyone on the podium was a nice touch. What's not to like? I'd do this again, it was like half a dozen Mix Canyon repeats with a raffle and beer at the end. Check out the attached picture of my bike after the race. Mike Pugh

2009-03-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

From... Kelly

My report is simple... Started with the crit which for me was really tt#1. I was so dropped,but finished (thank you to the cheering section, Robin, Rod and Mark) Did my tt#2, which was the official tt, and felt good, loved the tt. Kept with the gals for the 1st lap of the road race, worked with a group of about five to complete laps 2 & 3. Had there only been a few more of those 17 mile laps I think I would have caught the peloton J. You all are a wonderful group of people, strong riders, you all carry yourselves so well, you were always encouraging and helped me keep confident. Thanks especially to my den mother Michele. I learned many valuable lessons and need some big time work on corners & hills. My greatest joy of the weekend came upon my arrival home when my children treated me as if I had just won the Tour de France, that made the monumental efforts of the weekend so worth it. Kelly

2009-03-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

From Anna...

Madera was my first ever stage race, and it was a great experience.Travelling and riding with the DBC team was great fun !! I felt like I had a tough day on Saturday, I wasn't very effective inthe crit (sprinted for both primes, but only came 2nd twice!), and the TT was pretty hard with all that wind and those annoying flat roads:-) The Womens team did amazing though, we had a great team train going in the crit, and Cary was attacking endlessly! Carol was flying at the end of the crit, leading the pack at super high pace with just2 laps to go. I think next time we need to save her for the bunch sprint finish, she would so easily make it to the top 5 or higher! Carol, I hope you are doing Land Park next week? Ruth and Cary both did amazing ITTs, as expected. Look at this:http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7612247_dLRuU#492638581_H9Ls4 ! I personally was struggling a lot in the TT. On the last miles with all that headwind, I felt as if I was going at about 5 mph. It waspainful! TTs on the flat are just not my thing! The road race on Sunday was amazing for me! It was my first ever win:-) The finish was made for me, the hilly last section and then a topof the hill finish. I attacked at the end of the 2nd lap over the hills section and stayed away on my own for about half a lap. When Iwas caught I tried to recover as much as possible to try it again onthe 3rd lap, and it just worked. No one could catch me up the hills :)The team support during the RR was superb! Especially Carol and TrudiH. (my real heroes of the day!!) worked fantastic, moving Ruth and mearound the bunch, chasing breaks, and doing the pace making at thefront when the race slowed down. They were so good, I think I wasfollowing DBC wheels all day long during the race, feeling safe andrelaxed! Great job! A good team makes such a difference, for sure! Iam also impressed by Michele chasing and catching the (cat 3 and 4!)field multiple times (!!!), Cary's attacks on the Roubaix section and Kelly's first ever race performance! Great team :) Greetings and thanks a lot also to Robin and Rod for organizing the team dinner on Saturday and everything else :) Looking forward to the next race with DBC now! Cheers,Anna

2009-03-26T09:05:00.001-07:00

From Ruth...

Madera Stage Race There was a great group of Cat 4 women, with a clean crit (only one randomone-person crash), fast ITT times, and a lead road race pack that passed theCat 3 women! Women's cycling is really starting to take off this year, andit's exciting for me to be a part of it. This was my first time really working together with team mates, and it was a blast, especially in the road race. So much more enjoyable than racing by myself. Trudi was our the prime organizing force among the group that stayed in the lead pack throughout the road race (herself, Anna, Carol and I). Since Iwas 8th in the General Classification after the Crit and the Time Trial,Trudi always told me not to pull and worked all day to keep me and the others protected. When we were back in the pack, we would line up behind her and she would lead us up to a better position in the front. She alsorallied the whole pack quite effectively for chasing in attacks. Carol turned in a pretty impressive ITT, and along with Trudi did a great job working for the team in the road race. She took a lot of pulls(sometimes when no one else in the pack wanted to pull), and tried to take me with her on a break. She's a steady wheel and up for trying anything.She was also the only one in the pack in the road race with deep rims, so you could always tell she was close by when you heard the sound of the carbon rolling up. :) Anna is one of those people I kind of envy who thrives in the hills. She was not so happy on Saturday after the flat crit and the flat, windy ITT(the worst thing she's ever done in her life, she said). She showed up on Sunday morning with a huge smile on her face and practically jumping up and down after seeing the hills at the end of the loop. She got in a great solo breakaway on those hills at the end of the 2nd-to-last (2nd) lap, and afterrejoining the pack she regained the energy for a dominating 1st place at theline. Way to pick up a stage win for the team! Cary stayed true to her two priorities, protecting herself and trying to help the team. She attacked the pack relentlessly in the crit, and also putin a good effort at the ITT, placing 10th even after all of the solo attacking in the crit. In the road race she attacked on the "Roubaix"section, I believe on the second lap, with a huge solo flier. She is nowgoing into full-time triathlon focus, and Madera was her last racing withus, other than TTs. After her bad experience with the crash at Snelling, it was great to see her smiling on Sunday after the road race, saying she endedthe season of bike racing on a good note. Michele put in an impressive effort to bridge to the front group afterlosing contact in the rollers at the end of the first loop of the roadrace. After the second time through the rollers, she again put in aprolonged effort to bridge, reached a group of women...but unfortunately, itwas the Cat 3 women that we had passed. If not for that, I'm sure she wouldhave made it back again to work with us at the very end. Bridging gaps is ahuge mental challenge, and I was very impressed with her accomplishment.Great job, Michele! Kelly Calhoun impressed us all by doing a stage race as her first everrace. She literally did not know what she was signing up for - she sawthere was a race on a weekend she didn't have her kids and that there was aspot in the hotel room, so she signed up and then looked up the info on therace. She didn't seem at all intimidated, and raced the whole weekend witha great attitude. She got dropped in the road race, and said she found agreat group to ride with and got some lessons on group riding in theprocess. I had a pack finish in the crit, wished I'd put in an attack or two, but Idid manage to keep myself protected the whole time anyway (rather thantaking wind for no reason). Then was the ITT. Well, when you don't rideyour time trial bike from November to March, it feels a little differentthan it used to. My one practice on the TT bike pre-race was painful andslow, but it turned out that one ride brought back my TT ability somewhat.My ITT at Madera was faster and the pain was more what I was used to. I managed an 8th place finish. The road race was by far the most fun of the few road races I've done.Working with my team was great, and as I said earlier Trudi and Carol did agreat job protecting Anna and me (despite her lack of aero equipment andcomplete detest for time trialing, Anna is good at it and was 13th in the GCgoing into the road race). I made an attempt at a break during the lasttime through the Roubaix section. Anna tried to go with me and for a couple of reasons did not get on my wheel. I looked back and saw that I was aloneand the pack was not too far and chasing hard, so I decided to shut itdown. Anna pointed out later that the hard chase was really splitting apartthe pack, and it would have been down to about 10 in the lead group, butwhen I shut down my break the pack slowed and regrouped. She pointed outthat it would have been great if I hammered a little longer, shedding abunch of riders, and then when I inevitably got swallowed up, someone elsecould have gone. It's so hard to work out the right strategy in the moment,but by talking afterward about what worked and what didn't, hopefully we can pull off something really cool at some point. It was amazing to have people work for me at Madera, and I'm ready to work for the team at Bariani. I'll keep in mind what I learned, and commit to my breaks. From what I could tell, after the road race everyone was really happy withthe way things turned out. I was happy to keep my 8th place in the GC. Lastly, a big thanks to Robin for protesting as team director when VeloPromo listed me as DNP for the road race. Happy cycling,Ruth

2009-03-26T09:04:00.001-07:00

From Carol...

So, my brakes were working fine :-) Crit: The race started with Cary going off the front as predicted (and promised); she set the pace, and I and another gal from another team were out in front. we traded off pulling for a little bit, and then things would bunch up around turn 2, which about half way through the race a rider went down right in front of me. I narrowly missed going right over her bike, and tried to settle back into the race. Anna was going for the time-bonus primes, and we would re-group on the next lap. We had a nice DBC train going for about a lap, and it was great! I was out in front alone for a couple laps, working too much, but feeling safe. I was still out in front on the 2nd to last lap, and held on for 1/2 the lap. I tried to time it to sprint out of the last turn, but missed it by THAT much. Ended up with 10 or so place. lesson: time the sprint better, and use other riders more efficiently. Get organized quicker and set the pace of the race. TT: I just went out and played it smart, but ended up missing the last turn..... arrgh!! I had a great ride, though. sprinted at the end, so I know to push the pace and HR harder next time! RR: At the very start of the race I was out in front with another gal from Dolce Vita (dbl pace line). I was not comfortable, but figured what the heck after awhile. The plan was to protect Anna and Ruth who were the highest placed after the Crit and TT. This was Anna's type of course (hills at the finish), so she was pretty amped and ready to go. I joined up with Trudi H. to protect those 2, and it was working perfectly. A couple of attacks were going off by Velo Bella, and Dolce Vita, but they all got diffused pretty quickly. Trudi and I were determined to stay up at the front top 8 at all cost. On lap 2 Anna pulled a "flyer" and solo-ed it off the front at the start of the rollers. It was awesome to hear the rest of the field yell "what the hell??!" We re-grouped at the start of lap 3, and that's when Trudi and I and Dolce Vita took control. we had plans to attack, but the field didn't want to do anything but sit back. I found myself out front again, and figured I may as well push the pace a little bit to avoid a bunch sprint at the end. I paid dearly in the legs; by the time the hills came and the sprint was on, so was the burn. Big burn! Anna did the exact same launch at the base of the rollers and rolled through with a 1st place finish!! I felt great about being a worker. It paid off big time, although I am paying today.... Lots of lessons learned this weekend, but the biggest one is learning when to push and when to rest. I need to use my teammates and other gals more, and work the pace more. Otherwise, a great experience, and an awesome weekend of racing!! DBC women made a showing, for sure.

2009-03-26T09:01:00.002-07:00

From Bob...

The Rio guy did what he could during our break, I just made some missteps. I felt alright going into the road race. I did not have Madera listed as an A race and am still in the process of building some fitness from a decidedly low intensity winter. My week prior to this weekend was pretty intense and I could feel the miles in my legs during the TT. For the RR I stayed at the back most of the time with Bowlus just staying safe and conserving as much energy as I could. By the time we were coming around for the last lap I figured that half way through the rough section would be a good time to attack since it would be really hard for a large group to come out of the middle to respond. I saw that Rio had set up well at the front and I saw Robin and Jason ahead of me. We were moving along at relatively slow pace so I jumped up the left side. I knew that Rio would be able to respond and actually heard one of their guys say "there it is" as I went past. I was hoping one of our guys could react too since I figured Rio. with their numbers, would be able to block at the front. Here is where I lost the advantage. I launched from about half way back and ramped it up to 30+ which in and of itself would take a lot of effort. I failed to properly gauge how much more energy I would be using going over the rough stuff and I stayed out front way too long. I was so intent on getting a good gap that I ended up gassing myself to a point that even after Rio took a turn up front I couldn't recover quickly enough. So my take away from this is two fold, one is to understand that the amount work needed to propel yourself over a rough surface goes up much more quickly as you accelerate than it does on smoother roads and two, if someone is coming with you and you have created a gap, force them to start helping sooner rather than later. It was a good learning experience for me and I am feeling like I am stronger than last year. Bariani should be fun.

2009-03-26T09:01:00.001-07:00

From Michele...

An entire weekend of racing in Madera makes for a long report! Have a good laugh reading or just hit the delete key... Michele CritMy rear brakes were suddenly giving me grief just before the Crit. They were clamping down on the wheel and not releasing. I opened them up all the way and that gave me room. It would have to do for the duration of the Crit. As if that wasn't enough, the Crit started off with an ominous feel to it as we watched a guy being secured on the board and being transferred into the ambulance and whisked away. VP ended up splitting the W 35+ and the cat 4 groups because there were so many of us. The first two laps were hectic as everyone blew off the built up adrenaline. Then we settled in and held steady. I took the outside line in the turns for the first 2-3 laps before deciding that I HATED being there in the turns. So I moved over to the inside and tried taking the turns on the inside line. LOVE the gutter, it felt so much better taking on the gutter than having other cyclists to my inside. Other cyclists move their position and may not hold their line through a turn... that gutter is not moving. I never yelled at anyone, no one ever yelled at me, so I figure I was holding pretty steady. There was one crash. It was a couple people ahead of me in turn #2. The lady rubbed wheels in the turn and she went down, but did not take anyone else out around her. I had to maneuver around her rear wheel as it tossed up in the air, but I was remembering Snelling and thinking, "Oh no, I'm not going down in someone else's crash this time." It was also easier to avoid her because the momentum makes you slide out of the turn, and since I was taking the inside line, she was sliding away from me.I never saw the lap cards. I looked at the stage a couple of times to try to find them, but never did. I could hear the bell though and I knew there were two prime laps. So the third time I heard the bell, I knew it was final lap. My position in the final lap was in the rear ½ of the pack, so my thought was to just stay alive and get a pack finish because we all get the same time. I completed goal #1 for 2009... I finished with the pack! TTMore grief with the rear brakes... Now, even all the way open they were just barley touching the wheel. The wheel could still spin freely, but there was very little room for error. The rest of the ladies in line said... "It's a TT, you don't need brakes. Just leave them alone for now and hopefully they don't start to rub." As we're looking at my rear brakes and chatting (because by my clock I still had 3 minutes before my start time) I suddenly hear someone yelling out my number. I looked up and yelled back "Ya!" The guy yells, "You're on the line now!" Oh $HIT! I run my bike up to the line as the guy is counting down 5, 4, 3, swing my leg over the bike, 2, 1, clip in, GO! I was so frantic about nearly missing my start time that the rear brakes were no longer an issue and the severe shot of adrenaline just shot me out there. Unfortunately it didn't last nearly as long as I would have liked and in my opinion, my TT time sucked. RRI felt like dung when I woke up. I couldn't tell if I was hungry or nauseous. It was 6:30am, so I decided to go down for breakfast and see if I was just hungry. I tried to get down an English muffin with PB and jelly, but that wasn't working to well. I got down milk just fine. Yogurt was pushing the limit, but I got that down too. Over the next hour of lounging in the breakfast area, staring out the window, I had 4 EMERGENCY trips (runs) to the lobby bathroom. I was thinking, "Dude, this $hit better stop before race time." No pun intended... By 8:30am I was confident that I could be a distance away from a bathroom and not have a disaster. We left the hotel at 9am and drove WAY OUT to the parking area for the RR. The fields of wild flowers and the snow capped mountains in the distance were absolutely GORGEOUS! Had some pretzels on the drive out and was slowly losing the nauseous feeling. The way I was feeling, and how my bike was behaving, I was thinking that this was going to be a short RR for me. Robin inspected my rear brakes, lubed them up a bit and tried cleaning them. I gasped and had to turn away as it looked like he was performing open heart surgery on my bike as he suddenly removed cable housing and cables were freely dangling from the top tube and... oh my god! Rod assured me that Robin knew what he was doing and that my bike was going to be okay. THANK YOU Robin!After warming up for a while my stomach settled and I went back to car to eat something or else I would be dead on the RR. I got a bar, a banana, and some more pretzels down. I rode some more and got liquid down... no emergency blue room visits. Okay, now I can see myself finishing all 51 miles of this race. As we were waiting in the staging area for our turn to go, all the ladies were chatty and talking to us DBC women. They liked our kits- the colors and the big DAVIS across the front. They liked our matching arm warmers and the booties. I then unzip my jersey to show them all our new lovely sport bras that say DAVIS across the front of them in BOLD ORANGE letters. They were jealous! First lapI hung out in the back and did no work at all the first lap. I was evaluating my physical condition, which seemed like it was going to be okay. And I was evaluating my mental condition, which was mostly stable but still slightly gun shy after Snelling's pile up. Something shifted mentally when we got to the cobble section. Oh my GOD! It was complete chaos- water bottles flying out of cages and exploding, rocks being spit out all over the place, everything rattling so hard I thought my sunglasses were going to come off and the people in front of you turn into fuzzy dots because your vision is so jumbled. Then the whole pack played pinball with a water bottle cap that got bounced from wheel to wheel for about 10 seconds before getting shot out to the side of the road. Most people went silent, but I started laughing and talking up a storm. All of sudden, it was completely hilarious to me to realize what I did yesterday, what I was currently doing, and that I had to go to work the next day. I think my brain checked out from being jumbled in my head so hard over the 2.5 mile stretch of mosaic asphalt and potholes. I was laughing hysterically for about 5 seconds and then stopped because I think I was scaring people. At least the road was back to solid when we got to the "rollers". Okay, the first and last "roller" along that stretch of the race were a bit more than I was expecting. The length was "roller length", but the grade was steep! A whole bunch of people got dropped on the rollers, including me. My thought was, "Do your best on these rollers and hammer like hell to catch the pack on the flats." I saw Rod in the feed zone and he was holding out a bottle for me. I shook my head no and he looked at my bottles as I went by. He yelled at me that I wasn't drinking enough, he said to drink more. Okay, yes Rod. Second lapIt took me 3 miles to catch the pack, but I did it. I also picked up a Metromint lady who I thought would work with me, but she said that she couldn't go as fast as me. So she went as fast as she could and I sat on her wheel for about 10 seconds to get a small rest before red lining it again. She at least thanked me for pulling her back in. I got up to my teammates to let them know I was back. We then formed a DBC train and went to the front of the pack. It was beautiful! The pace was picking up and the front of the pack was strung out single file. The lead DBC lady found a gap in the line and squeezed her way in. She slowed enough to open a gap and let the next DBC lady in, and so on until we were all in. That was fun, amazing and organized! God I love this stuff! That pace only held until the right hand turn off the main road. Then we really slowed through the cobble section this time and everyone was sitting up and eating. Heck I was actually in the very front for a while. It was the weirdest feeling to be in front and just see road, grass, flowers, cows... and two Vella Bella ladies scream up the left hand side with DBC hot on their tail. Engage with that crank, shift and bam we were attacking just before the rollers. I stayed up in the front this time hoping to buy myself some time to not get dropped by the pack again. I stayed on the first slight pitch and the right hand sweep into the first huge "roller". They were standing, and I shifted to an easier gear that would allow me to stay with them while still seated. When I started falling back, I stood and tried to go hard for as long as I could. But god that first "roller" was long and pitched at the top. I was off again and found myself with the same Metromint rider (Lisa). I went as fast as I could through the rollers and was going to attempt to get back to the pack on the flats again. Lisa did not stay with me through the rest of the rollers or the climb at the feed zone (What was the grade of that feed zone anyway? Geez!) . Third lapI could see the pack but they were so much further ahead this time. I hunkered down and dug deep again for another surge to catch the pack. I was gaining on them and I knew I had to catch them before the cobble section. I was going 25mph... where the hell was that when I needed it for the TT. It took 6.5 miles to catch the pack. I swear the hardest part is the last 20-30 yards, just to make contact and get on the last wheel, and then still have to keep pedaling to stay with the pack. I started looking for the other DBC women... where are they? Then I'm looking at the women in the pack and I don't recognize any of them. "What group is this?" I ask. "We're the 3s.""Where are the 4s?""They just passed us.""WHAT!?"So I totally break centerline rule, but figured it was okay because they weren't my group and I couldn't be drafting them anyway. I surged up the left hand side of the entire women's 3 field, saying, "Never mind me, I'm just a 4. Ignore me, I'm just a 4." I did get quite the look from the two pulling the front of the 3s as I went by and I assured them that I was no threat, I was just a 4. I could see the rest of the 4s just up the road. Okay, one more time, dig again and suffer one more time. But when I got to the cobble section, I tried so hard, but could tell that the 4s were pulling away as they were making a push for the final stretch of rollers and the finish line. Once I knew I couldn't catch them, I gave up on my hard effort and just rode. The 3s passed me and said to keep going hard I was almost done, but I was already done. I was toast and used up all my matches. I got to the rollers and finished the race ~ 7 minutes behind the pack. Final results were still being adjusted with some women protesting DNPs in the RR. I was listed at 21 out of 43. But after two protests of pack finishers in the RR, that would push me down to 23. Still waiting for final results to be posted online. After a weekend of spending almost all day in the sun in my kit... I have pretty much seared the tan lines on myself- lines of love. Lessons learned1) I like the inside line for turns in a crit2) Even if I get dropped on the hills, I can make it up on the flats3) Eat better to refuel after crit prior to TT4) Eat more after racing so that my internal organs are not flipping out the next morning

2009-03-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

From Jason...

For me, a surprising 6th place in the GC . . . my first BAR/BAT points for DBC this season. I had hoped to do better, though. More below: Madera was an A race for me and I knew the race rested on the time trial. I've been ramping up my time trial through the Winter and got a 22:39 on the Folsom South Canal (also 10 miles) about 3 weeks before the race. I felt I was going to be faster and stronger by Madera. Crit was uneventful and came and went . . . pack finish, I stayed safe, and didn't burn any real matches to stay with the field. As a group, we tried to set up Mark H for the sprint and Bowlus and Mark got pinched on the inside of the last turn. Note for future Madera runs, the outside line was faster, exposed to the wind in the finishing stretch, but faster. The time trial for me didn't go as planned. I came across at 24:10 and I discovered a front brake rub at the finish. I have no idea where it happened, but trying to recreate jostling or turning of the cables, it appeared that it was probably jostling in the first 3 mile section. Anyway, I was pretty bummed and moved on the next day to the road race. Not having a comfortable time in the TT changed my road race strategy however. Bowlus was 2nd DBC'er in the TT, ~1 second behind me. Road Race -- I kept off the front for the first of three laps, measuring the course. Second lap, I moved towards the front. From there, I did medium work, helping to keep the tempo high and also motivating other riders to help too. I also reeled in or helped to reel in breaks that looked like they were starting to stick. Third lap -- I do end up on the front, but the pace ends up painfully slow. I am soft pedaling at 155 bpm, on or near the front . . . no matches burned. The moto comes up and tells us that we're going to be neutralized to let the womans field go through. I take this as an opportunity to drop the hammer and start my push a little early. I didn't want to end up in a cluster eff at the finish or on the cobbles/rough. We get to the rough with me towards the front and I try to play it a little safe, back off a little and I get stuck on the right with nowhere to go. DBC and Rio organize on the left and launch Bob and a Rio guy off the front. Both teams go to the front and slow the pace. I'm still stuck in noman's land. Bob gets caught but the Rio guy is still going strong. I work to get to the front on the rollers and actually get pushed off the road by the guy who I've been trying to get past for the previous 4 miles. We are within 1k of the finish. I go hard early . .. I get nipped by a bunch of riders just before the finish. The Rio guy outlasts the field by maybe 100m. Rio was the best team today. They kept the tempo high and launched 2 man breaks off the front all day. They won the race EXACTLY how we had discussed as a team (but DBC) the night prior. Their guy (Rio) had the legs and outlasted the field to the finish . . . I did my best not to let him get away, once I had runway, but didn't have enough room. Lessons Learned: -- Go to the ouside of the final turn at the Madera crit and DRILL IT off the turn for the win. Generally, the ouside of turn 1 and 4 are faster on the outside. Others were fine/mellow. -- Check your freakin' brakes on your TT bike, twice . . . the fixing bolt, not just the alignment :) -- Good section to launch on the RR is mid-way through the cobbles. Hats off to Robin who rallied with Rio to get 2 guys out front and then DBC and Rio slowed the field down. It was the only organized break of the day. Other fliers were single riders, two unorganized riders, but also 2 regular Rio guys -- What worked for Rio -- keep the tempo high and send 2 man breaks off regularly. Organize with another team and get the other team's horse (Bob) to do a lot of work (Bob . . . was that Rio guy doing his share on the break?? . . . just curious, because he's the same guy who rallied me to pull the field ahead of the woman . . . good team stuff, for Rio anyway). -- For me -- make sure I have the right position in the final 5-10 miles. Measure the field (look back left, back right) when I go early and back off and take advantage of riders countering . . . get on their wheel and come back around in 200m. -(lesson) Give Rio more credit. I was surprised & didn't think they had it in them. I should have taken more note based on the strong fliers they kept sending off. They deserved and earned the road race win. I'm not sure if organizing with us (DBC) was part of their plan after their breaks didn't stick, but that is EXACTLY how you win races . . . organize with another team, send your horses off the front, and slow the field . . . expecially when the field is field is HATING the rough road and isn't really paying attention.

2009-03-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

From Nelson...

I had a great weekend in Madera again this year and some fun and challenging racing. I love getting away for stage races and wish we had more. It seemed like the town of Madera was half bike racers, with racers all around you at every motel, restaurant, store or street corner and bikes on most of the cars. If you eavesdropped a bit while eating out, you mostly heard race talk coming from the tables around you. I traveled down with Jason B. from Yuba City, spent some time with his Rocknasium team and had a fantastic dinner at The Vineyard Restaurant with our team Saturday night.I joined Fred and John in the 45+ as I couldn't get into the 35+4/5, and was challenged from the start in the crit when NCNCA TT Champion Bubba Melcher attacked early on with another rider and kept the pace of the peloton high the rest of the race trying to catch them. The breakaway finished about 20 seconds ahead of the pack, and I finished mid-pack. My avg watts of 259, normalized power of 277, and avg HR of 154 were higher than crits I've done in the past (my threshold power is 280 watts and threshold HR 150).The TT got off to a bit of a disappointing start when the start official was so busy explaining the course turns to me he missed my start. Instead of a countdown, all I got was Oops! Go! Go! Sorry! Fortunately my official time of 26:03 was only 5 seconds slower than what my computer showed. My avg watts were 292, avg speed 24.0 mph, and avg HR 157. I felt good about beating my time from last year by over 40 seconds, but disappointed that my finish put me in the bottom fourth as compared to the top half last year.The road race went off briskly the first lap, and when we reached the rollers at the end of the first lap, a four to five rider breakaway went off and I was in position to jump onto it and almost did. I decided it was too early to do so. Fred launched a bridge attempt after we turned the corner onto the 2nd lap, and it looked like he was going to make it when the moto ref pulled him back. I guess he went over the center line briefly to get around to the front. Suddenly the tempo of the peloton slowed, and I realized something was going on that I didn't fully understand, but it wasn't good. The pack rumor I got later was that none of the riders out front were in the top 20 for the GC, but there were riders from all the big teams in it. Fred moved to the front and started chasing as did John and I, but after a few 450 watt pulls with noone pulling through after, I got discouraged. With Fred doing most of the pulling, the gap came down from over a minute to about 40 seconds, but never got closed. We finished in the top 20 in the main pack sprint. Nelson _______________________________________________

2009-03-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

From Michele...

A bit long, but enjoy the read if you have the time! I had nerves on Friday morning because this was the first race I was going into thinking, "I am going to stick. I feel good and have been riding well. I am not going to get dropped on this race." There were also so many DBC women going to this race. This was our highest turnout so far, and I'm sure more to come! The roll out to the race course was sketchy! I kept saying, "Easy, calmdown..." to the women around me. It felt so weird. I'm used to riding in a pack of guys and this was a bunch of women. The energy of the pack was so different. When the moto dude got out of the way and gave us thego ahead, we took off. We were gaining ground on the group that wasahead of us and I made the comment, "What happens if we catch up to the group ahead of us?" The moto dude went in front of us again and thepack slowed. My concern was the rollers. This is where I usually get dropped. See a hill and kiss Michele goodbye. I was hell bent on not getting dropped.We started climbing and I was okay. I actually had to stop pedaling tonot run into the back of the rider in front of me. After that I chilled a little bit more on the climbs to avoid unnecessary over excursion.All 7 of us DBC riders (in group A) were staying up near the front and looking good! I completely forgot that we were a field of 50, becausethere were never more than ~15 riders in front of us. We would come upon the outside and slide back in the middle, just to wash rinse andrepeat. And it was SOOO nice to see other DBC jerseys. About 2/3 of the way through the first lap, coming out of turn, thefront of the field accelerated. We all ramped up and stuck with it...but then bikes were suddenly perpendicular to my forward motion.Someone crossed wheels in the middle of the road, freaked out, grabbed acouple of fist fulls of brake and the chain effect started. Leslie wason my right and Cary in front of Leslie. The initial rider went down...I saw Cary go down and Leslie pile on top of Cary. I saw it happeningand my brain said, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..." over and over,that's all I could think/hear. My front wheel T-boned the bike that"jumped right out in front of me". I remember seeing the ground getting closer and closer. I felt impact on my body and remember whip lashing and hitting my head. When the pile stopped moving, I opened my eyes andpicked a water bottle off of my chest. It was mine... I shoved it back into the empty water cage, got up and started looking around. All thatwas left was one SugarCRM and three DBC- Me, Leslie, and Cary. The motodude was there helping get us out of the road. He said we had to check our helmets, and if they were cracked, we would not be allowed to ride.I knew I hit my head, so I did not check my helmet (Okay, BAD Michele!But I didn't want to risk not being able to finish.... I did check my helmet at the chip removal station and it was not cracked.) Moto dude was too busy helping Cary to notice that I hadn't checked my helmet. I picked Leslie's bike off of her and moto dude helped Leslie up. Carywas staying on the ground. Leslie and I inspected our bikes while motodude tended to Cary. Cary's bike was not rideable as she said to go.Leslie and I tried to 3-person pace line with the one SugarCRM lady. (Ithink that was her kit, but not 100% sure.) I think we were all in shock and pedaling with just adrenaline. I kept thinking, "Breath, staycalm," while trying to figure out how much time had passed and would the three of us be able to catch back on to the pack. I was pulling andthen motioned for the next person to come up. The other lady came by meand said that it was just the two of us. I slowed and looked back forLeslie, but could not see her at all. What do I do? I know the race ismost likely over for me, so do I wait for Leslie? The other lady yelledat me to follow and keep going. We went for a bit longer and then Icould start to feel my leg and arm. I glanced at my leg and saw the blood and thought, "Oh, just great!" I let her go and decided to justpedal slow on the bike for a bit and evaluate how I was really feeling.I decided I was okay and accepted my fate of finishing a lonely ride bymyself. The SugarCRM lady was never out of sight. Starting the second lap I was trying to catch back up to her. I was gaining on her slowly. Justbefore the first series of climbs, she looked back and then turned around. As I passed her, she said, "Have fun!" My thought was, "That'sone down." I went through the rollers and got around to the "oh sosmoothest" stretch of pavement that I have ever ridden on in my entirelife! I was thinking, "I hurt and there's no way I can do a third lapon my own. I'm bleeding, that's a good excuse. I can stop after 2laps." I got to the finish line and there was Robin, Brian, and I think Rod yelling at me to keep going. And then I could hear a lady cheering my name from the other side of the road (Thanks Carolyn!). That's all I needed to keep pedaling. On the third lap, Leslie caught up to me and it was so nice to ride with her for a while. She was stronger and pulled away. I had been passed by several small groups and two different large men's fields. Thanks for all the shout outs of encouragement from my fellow DBC teammates! I was so happy to see the 1km sign for the third time!! I had enoughsense in me at the de-chipping station to watch the guy with theclippers. "Scratch my bike a die," was all I could think. Oh, someoneis just a wee bit irritable... Lessons learned: 1) You can survive a crash and finish the race. I'm okay and so is my bike. (My bike is being inspected and checked over though. 2) Crashes happen. And when they happen right in front of you,there really isn't anything you can do but stay loose and don't put your arm out. 3) Don't be a goof like Michele and check your helmet when the motodude tells you to. 4) I can stay with the pack on rollers and small hills!!!

2009-03-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

From Darin...

I owe a race report for the 35+ 4/5 "A" race and planned to send tonight, but I'm already getting pinged by Rod. So, while I planned a more in depth report, this will have to suffice. We had a good DBC turnout, rode hard,didn't crash (I love that part) and represented well, but we weren't able tocome together as a team towards the end and hit our goal of getting Brian Halkett his upgrade point. That said, for most it was the first Road Race of the season and our team strategy and tactics, comfort level racing withone another and team "trust" will only get better and better. Throughout the 4 laps, we did cover all break attempts effectively (not that many), and we did our best to attack and string out the field, butsustainable breaks proved to be impossible. Nelson Frink tried, Tim Roberts tried, Rod Fernandez tried, Brian H tried, Tom Clementi tried, and Robin tried.hey he was successful, but then our DBC Race Director got "DQ'd" by the fussy moto ref since it was during a confused neutral section. Our attempts were probably too often solo instead of with multiple DBC mates. Brian worked off or near the front a bit too much on the chip-seal back stretch and came out of the last turn in 1st or 2nd. He tried to hop on wheels to follow for the final sprint, but he didn't have many options asriders started popping right and left. We did however pick up some BATpoints with a 7-8-9 finish (dsalk-7th and 1st BAT points..weehoo.ok, I hit my season goal, am I done now??, rfernandez-8th, bhalkett-9th). I think TomC was 14th and Tim R was there as well but didn't see his place. We missedJason E who was ill and Hal S. Take aways for future races: 1) need to work on better team coordination towards the end of a race if it's going to come down to a large group sprint.how the heck do the pro's always seem to get their designated mates to the front near the end of a road race?; 2) natural tendency for designated rider (in this case Brian) to stay too close to the frontcan/will backfire if designated rider isn't effectively protected,particularly when it counts; Brian said afterward he might not have been patient enough. I can totally relate to that and often have to fight my old triathlete mentality to try to go off the front, typically way too early when it serves no purpose - I suppose all of this comes from experience andthat's what we're all out getting. All-in-all, a pretty good day for DBC.Congrats to all who raced. Nice win Andreas! Best wishes to your dad(Roland) for a quick recovery. Thanks Big CB for driving!

2009-03-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

From Niki...

Hi All, Snelling was my first road race, and I enjoyed myself in so many ways, including bonding with fabulous teammates and feeling the adrenaline rush of the race before, during and for hours afterwards. Overall, Ifelt comfortable in the pack and appreciated the warnings for turns, sand, water. Cool to be called "Davis." Our group seemed relatively mellow and safe. Second time through, I ramped it up to stick close to Anna on the hills.We were out in front with a gap until the 1.5 mile rough road where Iwelcomed the return of the pack. I was feeling good until about 3-4miles from the finish. I realized later I failed to eat and drink properly throughout the ride - anxious about reaching back for food andpulling the water bottle out/putting it back in the cage, and I didn't gear down enough on the hills. I need to really listen to those whotell me to spin faster! Thanks much to Ruth for keeping me going at the end. I did not realizethe pack would break away on that final climb and I wasn't ready, mentally or physically to ramp it up another notch to stay with it. And thanks to Kevin and Carolyn (I think that was you Carolyn) for the cheering at the end. I needed that!!! Brief summary of the things I have learned: (1) sleep more before arace, (2) eat more than 100 kcals while racing, (3) drink more than 1/2a bottle of water while racing, (4) spin faster, (5) slather on thechapstick, and (6) pay closer attention to the final strategies/attack! Looking forward to the next one!! Niki

2009-03-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

From Joaquin...

Hey folks- Here 'tis. Enjoy. -J With six racers at the starting line (moi; James R-P; Dave Carlson; JuanLang; Huy Tran; and Michael Spady), DBC had the largest faction in the Elite5 A group. Unfortunately, none of us took the time before hand to strategerize how to take advantage of our superior numbers during the race itself. I had given most of the guys their kits just a few days earlier, soI did know what type of chamois they preferred and which one of them has a Care Bears motif on his personal checks, but that was about it. In fact, we were still shouting introductions to each other during the roll out. The benign weather conditions plus lack of experience and organization amongst the cyclists kept most of the pack pretty much together for a majority of the race. DBC maintained a very strong presence at the front of the pack, with one of us either setting the pace or jumping onto anyhalfway-serious-looking moves for the entire race. Coming into the final 4km, we were all in great position, at or near the front, lined up on theleft most margin of the road and enjoying the shelter of the rest of the packon our right. I was in 2nd position, sucking wind and feeling bad for myself, just behind Dave C. at the 1km To Go sign. Just as I realized that Dave C was kicking my butt AND still had the hitch to a BOB trailer attached to his rear derailleur hanger (that guy is an ANIMAL!!!), he made the jump to warp speed and I wasn't able to respond quickly enough. The gap that formed was instantaneously filled with a bunch of non-DBC riders charging infrom the right and it was just mayhem through the last turn to thefinish. Daveheld on for 3rd place and James R-P and I managed to finish somewhere in the early teens or there abouts. Juan was taken out by another rider in the finishing sprint but was able to finish with only minor cosmetic damage to his bike and himself. I'm not exactly sure what happened to Mike but I'm pretty sure he was in the final sprint as well. Somewhere between his 2nd and third post-race beer, James R-P said he'dtaken the time to Google "Elite 5" and he discovered that the term isactually derived from an Olde English term that translates roughly as,"scared poopless, totally clueless, and riding sketchy while traveling at high speeds surrounded by 49 other cyclists in a similar state." And that couldn't have been more true on Saturday. Throughout the race I witnessed anumber of near misses, panic maneuvers, and wandering lines. And I'm sure Ihad my own sketchtastic moments as well. But whatever. Working hard to getsafer, fitter, smarter, and un-sketchy is what Cat 5 is for, isn't it? What I do know is that we were a very strong DBC group out there on Saturday andwith a little more experience and organization we'll be ready to contribute in any category we find for ourselves in the future.

2009-03-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

From Aparna

Aaah Snelling…It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.Or something like that. Here’s my attempt at a race report. I’ll have the first word, but not the last I hope. It all started that morning with the endless line of racers in front of the test “microchip” tent. There were some chuckles. There was a lot more swearing. The short of it is that people didn’t get to warm up as much as they would have liked because they spent half an hour in line. Good think Jamie and I were on "Joaquin time" and showed up 1/2 hour earlier than we planned.Other than the microchip debacle, the event was amazingly organized. Multiple fields of 50 to 100+ riders departing 5 minutes apart for half a day is no simple task. As I was trembling at the startling line with Cary, Michelle, Ann, Leslie, and Carolyn, all I remember is that everyone else was as frightened as I was. Some women were rambling on and on about completely irrelevant stuff (like one lady who decided to tell me about the Indian wedding she had been to). Others (like me) were just fidgeting and moving further up in the line just to stay in front. We got a nice lecture from the race official lady, who informed us that this was the first year that there were two full fields of CAT 4 women (go ladies!). And then we were off on a “2 mile” neutral warmup that felt like 10 miles of pedaling and breaking, with women constantly yelling “SLOWING!” Finally, we started the race. I tried to stay towards the front as much as possible, rotating on and off with Ann and Trudi. But the most demoralizing event happened in the first lap, when someone caused an accident that took out what looked to be a third of the field, including fellow teammates Michele, Cary, and Leslie. Michele finished the race. We found out later that Cary suffered a shoulder injury. More news, Cary? How are you? I don’t know what happened to Leslie. Leslie, are you ok? I just remember hearing a big crash after a sharp right turn and looked back to see our DBC colors fall. I told Trudi “it was one of us!” and kept pedaling after someone yelled “be cool ladies! Don’t look back!”For the rest of the race, Ann, Trudi, and I were trying to stay together in the front. And we did, for the most part. I felt great on the hills, and the group kept me well-protected on the flats. I was constantly yelled at, something I’m not used to, like “Hey Davis, keep your line!” I just ignored them and kept going. There was no love lost out there. No niceties. No small talk. No singing (apparently the men’s CAT 5 DBCers were singing “99 bottles of beer on the wall??). At the beginning of the last lap, we all turned the heat on. I stayed in front until about half way through, when I started losing some steam. Now I realize it was due to my lack of caloric intake. I only had 2 bottles of water, and ate 2 individual blocks of “shock blox.” No other electrolytes. No food. And I only had drunk about half of one bottle of water. So there I was, trying to stick to Ann’s wheel, when these women in yellow kept trying to push me off her wheel. I’m sure it was “Team Roaring Mouse.” Then I heard “block DBC!” and then one yellow jersey after another pushed me out of the way and I very kindly complied. And then I heard one yellow jersey tell the other “good job!” and a mass of yellow jerseys zipped off into the sunset. It was then that I finally realized . . . the “threat” (ha ha) that was Aparna had successfully been neutralized! I had gotten dropped.A few other women got dropped, and I heard one say “let’s work together to bridge the gap.” But apparently, the “together” did not include me. I tried to work with them, but I was clearly unwanted (they were all from the same team). So I didn’t stick to them either.So I time trialed for half a lap, all the while thinking “what the @#)(*$# happened there?” and at the same time hoping and praying my husband wouldn’t lap me on his fourth lap with men’s CAT 5. It would suck to get lapped on an 11 mile lap! The highlight of my solo trip was when a farmer on an old beat-up mountain bike who was moseying through his orchards looked at me with his big toothless grin and yelled “how fast ya’ goin’?” I responded “not fast enough!” and ducked down to continue my solo voyage home. I finished. Not sure how far behind the lead pack. Maybe a few minutes? Maybe more? On the one hand, I am stoked I hung with the pack for as long as I did. On the other hand, I am PISSED OFF I didn’t strategize wisely and stay with my teammates. I think DBC did very well generally. Trudi got 8th in Womens 4A. David Huang, Joaquin, Jamie, and another DBCer also did well (David placed third in his category). Anna – our new teammate who arrived from the UK a week ago – placed 4th in Womens 4B! We’re lucky to have her on our team! This was also Ann K's first race ever and she rocked it! She stayed with the pack until near the end, and we think she made it in 14th. Results are yet to come. Go Ann! And I think Niki and Ruth did well too! So what good would a race report be without lessons learned? Here ya go.(1) It pays to have numbers out there. By lap 2 there were only three DBCers but several Roaring Mouse and Velo Girls. (2) Watch out for the ladies in pink! They are scary! I think one of them caused the accident.(3) Don’t look intimidating, even if you don’t intend to look intimidating (according to Kevin, who saw me pass the finish line on all the laps, I was “checking out the field” in a way that would have looked intimidating to my competitors and that’s why they decided to “neutralize” me. Ha ha. Very flattering, if true.)(4) STICK TO A WHEEL AND DON’T LET GO! NOT EVEN IF SOMEONE TRIES TO PUSH YOU OFF! I should have held the line, and I didn’t.(5) Don’t just take water and a few shock blox. You’ll bonk. Take Hammer Gel. Take Shock Blox. Take goo. Take clif bars. Take speed. Take something!(6) Make nice nice with the ladies out there so that they will work with you if you get dropped. I think I must have given off the “bitch from hell” vibe, unintentionally. Little did the other ladies know it was the “scared shitless” vibe.(7) Relax and stick to a wheel!!!! Yes, I’m saying this for the second time, but I now realize I was so busy strategizing the entire time that for the most part, I was attacking and slowing and attacking and slowing and tiring myself out silly, while the rest of the pack was just chilling on wheels. (8) Don't do Snelling if you have a baby at home. It is an f-in LONG drive! Hope this helps. Many thanks to my fellow DBC women and to the lovely DBC fans who cheered us on at the finish line! Fellow racers, fill us in!

2009-03-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

From Cary...

Hi Gang, As you all know by now I seem to have fared the worst in the pile up that took down almost half of our women's cat 4A team. There had been some sketchy riding from the start but I think we, as a team, had been riding well up to the "incident". From what I could see all of us were up near the front, sticking pretty close together. I didn't see what happened. Ironically, we were on one of the most benign stretches of the road, a couple hundred meters beyond a very sandy 90degree turn that somehow the group successfully negotiated despite some horrific failures to hold lines by some of the (non DBC,of course) riders.The pack had straightened itself out and seemed to be rolling smoothly when suddenly the riders directly in front of me went down. With riders oneither side of me and less than a millisecond of time I had nowhere to go but into the pileup. I saw a flash of DBC orange in the pile as I did my best to avert my front wheel from impacting a downed body while trying toposition mine in best way to take the worst. I got my arms, head and neckout of the way but came down on my left shoulder. I'm not sure what I landed on, perhaps a bike, because there is no road rash. We quickly untangled ourselves and our bikes. Initial bodycheck...shoulder was aching but with endorphins coursing through my bloodstream didn't seem too bad. I was thinking, "get back on and get back init", then I looked down at my bike and saw my race was done. The seat bracket had broken and my seat was dangling from the seat post. In hindsight I think the broken seat was the great spirit protecting me from my own foolishness, making sure I could not get back on and try to continue. As the adrenalin and endorphins subsided it became increasingly clear I had sustained some significant damage to my shoulder. There is for sure a lowgrade AC separation. I can't tell yet if there is also a fracture. Yesterday I would have said yes, today I'm guardedly optimistic that it is all soft tissue trauma. I'll get it x-rayed tomorrow. Since triathlon is still my primary sport, I started the season with thepromise to myself: First crash and I'm out. But now I feel like I have unfinished business and I want to get back out and try again. When I broke my scapula and separated my AC joint last summer I was back on my bike onthe road in less than 10 days. This injury does not feel as extensive soI'm hoping to bounce back quickly...I'm a fast healer :-). Congrats to the rest of the team. From my perspective on the side of theroad I was able to observe that the front group had already popped asurprising number of riders a mere 8-ish miles into the race. It sounds like those who avoided the crash continued on for a great first race of theseason and those involved in the crash showed a lot of mettle and determination in their efforts to get back in the race. I'm honored to bepart of the group! Cheers, Cary

2009-03-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

From Ruth...

Hello DBCers: My first road race on the DBC team. I raced in the women's 4B group with Anna and Nicky, while another group of DBC women rode in 4A. I was excited to hear that this is the first year they've had a full women's 4 field.It's great that women's cycling is growing. I was happy to feel well enough to race after being sick all week. I had a higher-than-normal heartrate, but otherwise felt fine. The pack seemed to handle just fine - no crashes. Anna had a little solo flier early on and looked pretty strong. At first I hung in the pack, trying to maintain a good position. Nicky and Anna were very good at staying near the front. I later attempted some attacks with Heather Pryor, triathlete and timetrialist extraordinaire (we need to recruit her to DBC) who was looking really strong and smooth in her first road race. She and I both managed to make a proper launch of an attack, getting some early separation (a first for both of us), but didn't manage to go together. Toward the end of the final loop, I made the mistake of trying to hang with Anna while she (asusual) hammered out of the saddle to lead the pack up one of the rollers. I stayed with her most of the way up, blew up, sat down to recover, and before I knew it they were all gone. By the time I tried to bridge it was too lateand I had too little to hammer down. Nicky and I ended up joining up and cruising to the finish. My first few crits this year, I often got frustrated with my performance, thinking about how I could have done better. After a few years of triathlon, where (barring bad luck) the strongest person finishes first, I'm not used to getting beat by people I know are weaker than I am. But with this race, I learned to look at it as a learning experience as I know I should. It also helped to hear that the collegiate coach Judd says it's better to attack the heck out of the pack and get dropped than to hang in all day and not try anything. I'm looking forward to learning more about actually working with people - is anyone on the women's team riding on Sunday morning? I'm tentatively planning on doing the Wheelworks ride on Saturday morning, which is a great experience but more hang-on-for-dear-lifethan a chance to practice launching attacks. Great to see everyone there, and I wish a speedy recovery to those who crashed. Happy cycling, Ruth

2009-03-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

From Lee...

Just got back home from doing the Snelling/family visit weekend. Glad to hear about all the upcoming BAT points from masters and other DBCers. I personally rode horribly! Decent early season fitness but the stupid counter I did with over a lap to go was not only poorly timed but foolish in that Ikept going even after I discovered it wasn;t the move I thought it was going to be. I got a large enough gap that the moto official actually followed meI thought for sure other teams would bridge but not one came. To make matters worse I caught my own teammates by surprise. At that point in the race a few attacks had managed to stay away so I figured the next one may be THE move and I wanted to part of it. NOT! Aaaargh! As usual, on a course like Snelling with no wind the 4/5s did our usual whole pack sit in and total pack sprint finish. Bob did a nice job keeping the pace up near the end and Chris cleared a path for me as he traded elbows with some poor fellow who tried to move him off a wheel. Can anyone imagine trying to move Big?!?!? Anyway, I never recovered from my bonehead maneuver and only managed a pack finish sucking Big's wheel. Lee

2009-03-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

From... Juan

Really, this is more of a thank you, since I crashed out of the race. When we made the final turn, people turned on the gas. It was probably a bit early, as it's a long way from the turn to the finish.At 200m to go, it kicks up a little ramp just before the finish, and I was looking forward to gaining a few positions if I could. And then, someone moved right a bit hard, and clipped the guy in front of me. He went down, perpendicular to my line and directly in my path, and I had riders right and left. I went over him at 30 mph. Fortunately, I didn't hit my head hard enough to go loopy, so I knew I wasn't going to need an ambulance ride (phew!) So, thanks to: Byan Pro for the pre-race tips, Joaquin Feliciano for lending a hand with the pacesetting and organizing, and to Ruth Anderson, Dave Carlson, Brian Halkett and Michael Spady for coming to check on me I while recovered my wits. My bike and I both have cosmetic damage, but nothing lasting.--Juan

2009-01-28T14:09:00.001-08:00

Hey DBC Masters...

What can you say? .... Nuff said!

Way to go Lee.

Results from Patterson Pass Road Race...

Masters 45+ 4/5, Field 36...

This is just the top Ten...

1 747 Lee Millon 254073 Davis Bike Club
2 791 Richard Gelsi-Medeot 225191 Unattached
3 773 Randy Floyd 90079 Unattached
4 787 John Wagnon 266614 Liquid Fitness/Adageo Energy Reno
5 783 Russell Voss 258026 Now Direct
6 777 Scott Martin 22722 Team Bicycle Trip
7 781 Jerome Heiberger 15679 SERT/Sho-Air
8 776 Doug Houston 269927 Victory Velo/ProActive Personal Training
9 770 marc hamlin 275127 Pacific State Bank Cycling Team
10 780 James Torrence 55200 Unattached

(Lee's Race Report below)

Pretty big turnout; I think close to 50! Wet roads, loaded with gravel and some mud. Sun came out but rain threatened for most of the day. Rollers and false flats with uphill trend for the first 20 miles then it ramps into a fairly steep climb. I got dropped from front group during the climb. got passed by several racers on the descent. I tried to latch on but got dropped there too. Finally back on the false flats and collected 8 or so guys to chase. It took a while for the group to work smoothly but eventually reeled in a rider here and a rider there who were dropped by the strong break of 6 or 7 riders. Kept an eye on the computer and noted to our chase group that we still have over 10 miles to go. Plenty of room to chase. About 7 miles to go we caught a glimpse of the front group. A couple of guys got excited and started hammering but eventually our chase group resumed working together. I think the break saw us too. We seem to stop gaining. Our chase ramps up and after a few rollers we were clearly gaining ground. Funny because once it became clear that we had a strong potential to catch them, our chase group stopped working together! A few shouts and yells from several motivated chasers did no good. Finally 3 or 4 of us put our heads down and committed to bridge.Within a few minutes we caught them. There are now about a dozen of us. The original break was visibly deflated at having been caught. Everyone relaxes for a moment start to drink, eat and even chat with each other. I look at my computer and I calculate less than a mile to the finish! At about the same time someone yells "There's Highway 5!" I look up and ahead I see a roller with a bunch of people at the top -- THE FINISH! We caught the break with less than a mile to go! Everyone started jockeying for position with people seemingly refusing to take a pull and content to set up some sort of sprint. I finished off my 2nd bottle and was feeling good so I decide to go early. Quick look and no one latched on! I see the Velo Promo 200 meter sign and I see a bunch of people standing around yelling but all I hear is my labored gasps for air then a white line on the road. While checking results on our way out several guys came up to congratulate me and one of them said "Ballsy move dude, you went way early!"
.
Hmmm, I'll have to remember not to do that again... ;-D
.
Lee

Jason Snovel, 35+ 4, Winters RR

2008-09-08T20:21:00.001-07:00

It's a beautiful thing to witness a well thought plan unfold just as we
thought it would. Even more beautiful to be a part of it, not only a
part of it, but the focal point.
I gotta say that after following Mike Puge, David Huang, and Karen up
Cantelow for the past three Tuesdays before the race rides and trying
to stay on their wheel made todays effort seem almost easy! (almost)

After all the traffic on the list serve yesterday and seeing my name
bounce around, I was more than a little taken aback to be honest. I
just couldn't believe every one chiming in, offering to support me and
do whatever they could to get me a shot at a win. Something I never
expected being a newbie. A true display of selflessness. Then, as I sat
there reading all of the emails and being overcome with a feeling of
brotherhood and companionship...it hit me. I felt the blood rush from
my face. I saw that candid camera that everyone has on their entire
life zoom in for a close up of the look on my face. Then, at the speed
of life, zoom away. First to me siting at the table staring into my lap
top, then to the house, then to the city, then the state, then the
country, and finally stop at the moons eye view of the entire
planet...and the weight of it sitting squarely on my shoulders. "OH
SHITE! WHAT IF I CAN'T DELIVER...WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE IT!?! That
overwhelming feeling of brotherhood and companionship was quickly
covered by that ever daunting cloak of self doubt and fear. Thanks
Justin! :0)

The phone rings and I dare not answer it. I let it go to voice mail.
It's Karl..."Dude, you'd better have your race legs on tomorrow, 'cause
if you're with me at the top of Cantelow for the second lap, you're
getting on my wheel and I'm protecting you the whooole way man!"
"Alright brutha, see you tomorrow...lets do it...Rock N Roll!" Or
something to that effect. The pressure cooker just jumped up about 200
degrees. I start hydrating immediately. So much so that I must have
woken up a dozen times during the night to pee. Needless to say...not a
very restful night.

Race day ~ I pull into Steady Eddy's around 7:30 (late again) to Justin
saying, "Dude I'm glad you finally got here, everyone was driving
through the parking lot giving me the "Stink Eye" for saving you a
spot!" Get registered, get AJ reg'd, pin #'s on, get a quick warm up
and hit the staging area. Guess the stress must have been written all
over my face because everyone kept telling me to relax. Chad walks up,
puts his arm around me and in that calm "Uncle Chad" voice tells me,
"Dude, just breathe...relax and let your team do their job...it's gonna
be just fine!" That's something I have yet to master...the ability to
just relax before a race. I really never do until about 5 min. into it.

We're off, and for me, "Class Is Now In Session!" Nice easy pace for
the first few miles. Then Nelson launches along 505. Lee and 2 others
bridge up and manage to stay off the front until about half way up
Cantelow. I'm on Fred's wheel for the majority of the first lap...then
Darin's, then Justin's, then Rod's, then Hal's, then, right before the
base of Cantelow I hear Chad yell, "Snovel, move up!" Just then, Karl
makes his move. I jump on his wheel and proceed to ride it right to the
front as he sets the pace up Cantelow. We're 1-2 as we crest and begin
to rail down the back side. Justin manages to catch back on along
Pleasant Vly along with about 10 others and tries to ramp it up and
make the break we have on the rest of the field stick, but no one seems
dedicated to the effort and the main field catches on. Justin stays on
front and drills it down PVR. I'm toward the back at this point and
hear a familiar voice from my left say, "Lets go!" as Fred and Rod
hammer to the front and manage to string things out. As we approach the
turn off for Putah Creek Karl begins his mentoring. Instructing me to
check the mileage as we make the turn and start to pick out a few land
marks in prep for the finish.

2nd lap pretty much follows suit. Then Tim launches along 505 to
relieve pressure. I hear Fred talking to Justin and Rod up ahead of me
giving them their assignments. Karl continues to tell me that we need
to be up towards the front as we approach the rollers right before
Cantelow to be able to cover any attacks. We make the left to stay on
Timm Rd. at Peaceful Glen, make to right hander and start to climb up
the roller before it drops down to Cantelow. I look up from the back of
the pack as it begins to rise and see patches of bright orange and blue
as my teammates rise out of their saddles in unison. That strong
feeling of brotherhood overtakes me once again. I breathe my next
breath and begin to feel every cell in my body charge in preparation
for what's to come. I begin my self assessment and find that I'm
feeling GREAT! For the first time I start to believe that I can
actually win this. With the speed at which Karl and I floated up
Cantelow, I figure whoever is there this time around, will be there for
the end game.

Just as we approach the feed zone, Karl and I have been able to make
our way to the front of the pack and sit 4th and 5th comfortably. Just
as we round the bend after descending the rollers Fred makes his move.
He drills it on the front pulling Karl and I along and lays the lumber
on the rest of the field. The break begins to form. He's looking super
strong and all of a sudden, he raises his right hand..."Flat!" Crap! As
Karl and I roll past he yells out, "Karl...Jason...DO IT!" Karl must
have felt the same thing I did as he surges and sets the pace up
Cantelow. About half way up, the guy from Touchstone kept trying to
bull me off of Karl's wheel. "Yeah right!" I continue to deny him all
the way up. I give him one last "nudge" letting him know that his
effort is futile. He finally gets the hint and offers up a whimpy
comment like, "Dude, you've been bumping me the whole way up the
climb!" and pushes my back in submission. I reply, "Well then drop the
F*#% back!" I hear nothing from him for the rest of the race, aside
from an apology afterwards...accepted.

We crest the climb and once again are 1-2 heading down the descent.
Hitting 42 mph we roll onto PVR with a huge gap and 6 other riders, two
of which are Rio Astrada guys. The selection has been made. Karl and I
don't even have to pull through for the first 2 or 3 rotations, I think
out of respect for pulling everyone up Cantelow. Karl instructs me to
conserve my energy and stay on the back, but I just cant. It's just not
in my DNA. We hammer down PVR at about 32 mph and I begin to feel it.
"Careful" Karl says, making sure I don't ever do it. Making the right
on Putah Creek we continue to paceline. Karl and I pretty much control
the break and offer up words of encouragement and instruction. Luckily
our pace slows to about 26 or so. I tell Karl to ease up as I pull
through and he does. I slowly begin to recover a bit and prep for the
sprint.

With about 500m to go Karl looks back and tells me to sit on his wheel.
We round the corner at the 200m marker in 3rd and 4th. I watch the body
language of Karl as he begins to twitch in anticipation. I match his
cadence, and wait for what seems an eternity. Finally a rider launches
up the right side. I can almost read Karl's mind..."Not yet, wait...too
soon...#$%@ IT!" And in what looks to be a full body conniption, he
attacks up the left side with me 2cm from his wheel. We're absolutely
on fire as we drive it toward the finish. Karl's laying down a text
book lead out and with about 20m to go I move left and make my way
around him pumping my fist as I cross the finish line for the win. Karl
takes second. Perfect!

Justin ended up 9th overall taking the field sprint. 1-2-9!?! A GREAT
DAY FOR DBC! One after another guys from the other teams were coming up
to me saying that DBC totally controlled the whole race from start to
finish. What a display fellas...what a display.

You guys...there isn't an adjective out there that could adequately
describe the heartfelt emotions that I have for this team. Seriously.
You guys ROCK!

Next stop...Dunnigan! :0)

~ J

Karl Wurzbach, Carerra San Rafael

2008-09-08T20:20:00.003-07:00

Team,
Love the morning races because I can spend time with the kids and relax before going to the races. Met up with Jason Snovel , Cody Tapley and another Junior whose name escapes me right now. Course was changed from last year but pretty much the same just seemed less bumpy. Pack was strung out 250-300 meters the first few laps and I was bridging gaps the first half of the race as several riders were dropped. Did I mention it was windy today? Moved into the top 10 with 5 laps to go and was 3rd with 3 laps to go. A short lived break of 3 happened but I didn't want to contribute due to wind and did not think we could stay away. I was 3rd off the last turn but 2nd let a 2 bike length gap develop out of the last turn. It was a tricky turn and too fast can take you down like in the open 3 race a solo guy with a 20 meter lead on the last lap went down ....... who'd a figgered. I went around 2nd and was gaining on 1st but he won by a bike length. Lost to 2nd by inches at the line and took third but happy with the results. Jason held on for 13th against a strong field of 100 and look for him to be a big monster next season if he Looking forward to racing with the team at Winters. Good luck to all doing the TT tomorrow.

Karl

Jason Snovel, Albany Crit

2008-09-08T20:00:00.001-07:00

Lets see...AJ's got a water polo tournament in Moraga and his games are
at 1:15, 3:30, and 5:25...I can catch his 1st game and make it over to
Albany for the crit and be back to catch most of is last game no
problem!
After his game I stayed for a bit talking it over with AJ, got him a
bite to eat, then motored over to the race. Got there with plenty of
time. Was able to watch the 3's while I got in a brief warm up. Took a
quick run around the course before lining up with the guys and was glad
I did. I didn't realize that it was such a quick course.
I've got an announcement to make..."My name is Jason Snovel, and I'm a
premature pedaler!" I must have left about 20-30 grams of carbon from
my right pedal out there in turns 1 and 4...and maybe a little in turns
2 and 3 as well...after scraping about a half a dozen times, if not
more, I finally came to realize this fact about myself and thought I'd
share it with the rest of you so there'd be no guessing, no whispering
behind closed doors, no rumors. I've no history of prematurity in any
"other" aspect of my life, so this is a new experience that I'm doing
my best to deal with...I'll need as much support as you all can give to
help me through this trying time in my life... :0P
We all lined up and were wondering where Karl was when he pulled up. I
too wish we would have had more of a plan, but the simple truth is is
that we're all so gracious that I think it hinders us when the time
comes to pick "The One," we're so ready and willing to work for each
other that we don't speak up.
So, as Karl said, it was "Whoever feels good at the end, say so!" and
off we went. I remember receiving an email from Karl in the weeks prior
to the race stating that we, as a team, were going to find out when the
last prime was and attack right after with about 4 of us and try to
make it stick. The first 5 laps were nothing special. Just getting to
know the course. It was good to see Mark (The Matador) H. out there. He
looked strong and was right with John and I about 10 - 15 spots back
just hovering, but holding strong. The bell rings for I think the 2nd
Prime and there goes John off the front for the easy win. He got such a
huge gap on the field that I decided to bridge up to him hitting it
hard to the inside after turn 3 from about 10 spots back making sure no
one was with me to see if he was up for a break. Having raced earlier
in the day, I didn't think he would, but, then again, he is
Staggell...This is where we missed Fred or Jason or Robin or Chad or
Allan or EOB or...I could go on, to yell at our teammates to get to
the front and block for us. They reeled us back in and after a few more
laps the bell rings for the final Prime.
I've already told you about the email...with that in the back of my
mind, John rides up on my left side and says, "Get on my wheel" and off
we go. We hit the hill and hammer to the front. Into turn 3 we go and
have already gapped the field by about 30 meters or so. John drops the
hammer hard...I see his cinder block calves flex as he cranks the
pedals and sails into turn 4 with the fluidity and grace of
Barishnikov and the ferocity of a young Mike Tyson with me glued to
his wheel. I pull through after the start/finish and continue all the
way through to turn 3 when John says, much to my surprise, "Lets let
'em catch us, I don't have it"...he is human after all. What I didn't
know, and what he later told me is that he wanted me to pull around him
for the prime...something that's easier said than done.
Some time during the latter part of the race Rod (The Cuban Missle)
jumped to the front for a few laps and reeled in a solo break...looking
strong and preping for Folsom.
5 laps to go and, of course, there comes Karl right to 3rd wheel and
ready to pounce. 2 laps to go and John jumps to the front like we've
all seen him do so many times before. So hard that I begin to question
riders I'm passing how many laps are left..."2" they say. I'm about 5th
wheel going into turn 3 and see John telling Karl to go! We all sit up
momentarily when another rider cranks up the hill and Karl jumps on his
wheel with me 2 wheels back. We're looking pretty good going into turn
1. I notice a guy to my right trying to shoot the gap and cut the
corner. I crank hard and shut the door hard. He almost takes out half
the field behind me..."Idiot!" We crank out of turn 1, were nails
through turn 2 and crank it up the hill one last time. I'm right on
Karl's wheel as he enters turn 3. He takes it a little tight and has a
moment of prematurity of his own. He scrapes hard and pops his rear
about 2 feet to the left and into my wheel. I thought we were done for
sure...I've no idea how we didn't go down, nice recovery Karl. I
seriously thought I was having a acute myocardial infarction right then
and there. I don't know how accurate my Polar HR monitor is, but my
average for the race was 160 with a spike at 219! WTF!?! I lose Karl's
wheel as about 4 riders scream by me.
I take the outside line coming out of turn 4 and give it everything
I've got. A Synergy rider pops about 20 meters from the line and I've
got the maneuver around him just missing his wheel for a 5th place
finish to Karl's 4th. I was wondering how the rest of the team did and
thanks to the awesome pics from Janice, who was there the whole time
cheering us on, it looks as though we were all in the top 20! Awesome
job fellas, and thanks Janice...you rock! There's a great one showing
Rod and "Newbie" Big Brian H along with Mark in the pack laying it down
for the sprint.
Talking to Fred and the guys this evening at Jamba after the RR, I was
explaining to him that it's awesome seeing all of us improve our
fitness and getting stronger as a team. We'll get the tactics figured
out soon enough...in the mean time...I swear I'm having a "KICK A$$
TIME MAN!"
AJ's team won the last 2 games in their final tune up before heading to
Irvine this weekend for the Junior Olympics...That's my boy!
~ J

Janice Pfeiff, Albany Crit

2008-09-08T19:54:00.001-07:00

For my first crit, I learned A LOT. First lesson: Don't be so nervous that
you are late to the lineup because you are talking to yourself in the porta
potty and cursing the three cups of coffee you had in the morning. OK, not a
good start. I never heard the "directions" from the guy that talks to you at
the beginning of the race..uhhh..I hope there was nothing important. As soon
as I lined up in the BACK, the whistle blew and we were off, or more
appropriately, the other women were off, and I was still trying to get
clipped in. The first turn scared the crap out of me, and next thing I know,
I have been spit off the back of the pack. Lovely. Second lesson: Ask
someone how to warm up, because it was obvious my 20 minutes spinning on the
rollers was not enough. Now I am cursing myself, my lungs are spasoming, and
my ego is really hurting since I am now looking at riding around a square
for 40 minutes by myself. As I finish the first lap, hit the now not so
scary first turn, I hear my name being yelled. Now a big thank you to E'O.B.
and Chad. Those boys have some pipes on them! Those guys yelled at me on
every lap. Chad has a way of yelling my name that makes it into 3 syllables,
not just two. How can I quit now? Thankfully, I saw another rider ahead of
me that got shelled off the pack as well. O.K. now my world became
manageable since there was a goal in sight. My mantra became "GET THAT
WHEEL!" After a few laps, I finally got her, and then we worked together. At
least now I wasn't alone. That was at 17 minutes. The two of us held off
the pack for awhile, but eventually we did get lapped with around 6 laps to
go (I suppose it could have been 5 or 7, but I was hypoxic and can't quite
remember). Third lesson: JMP is stronger than she thinks. Now that I am back
in the pack, suddenly I can breathe again, and I can hold my own just fine
and stay with them, even on the fastest couple of laps. Weird! Now, I
realize most of my problems are the start of races and warming up, because
it just wasn't that hard with a bunch of people around me. As we cross the
finish line, I am still going hard trying to get ahead of the two other
women that were shelled off in the beginning like me. "I can do this" I tell
myself, and at least take those two on the last lap. After I hit the first
corner again, I hear from behind me, "Hey Davis, the race is over."
Uhhhh..OK, I wish I knew a crit worked like that, I thought I still had
another lap. I feel like the dumb kid now! Fourth lesson: Don't get dropped!
It is a lot easier in the pack. Hopefully I can remember the lessons learned
at Albany in Santa Clara in a couple of weeks.

Jeff Needham, Albany Crit

2008-09-08T19:21:00.001-07:00

Just a quick report on the Crit today. The 45 race was quite fast. JS and I rode a strong race, but in the end.....no bananas. Way to hang John. The 35+ race was FAST! Most trips up the "hill" were 28mph. So, unless you could ramp it up to 30+ up that hill, it was next to impossible to move up. All the DBC guys rode a competitive race. Stefan kept himself close to the front and out of trouble for most of the race. With 3 or 4 to go, there was a crash that help up Chad and Eric. With one to go, I had intentions of getting Stefan up the hill and toward the front for the sprint. The wind was a crossing headwind from the right, so I was sure the leadout would gutter the field on the left side of the rode. We made the second turn and stated jamming up the right side...only to have the field move completely right and shut us down. With only two turns to go and too far back now to really matter, I eased up (and almost stacked
Stefan) . Sorry about that one bud. All in all, the day was a success. Everyone (at least to my knowledge) went home with all their skin and their bones...and bikes intact. Strong racing masters.
jn

Jason Snovel, 35+ 4/5 Spring Hill RR

2008-09-08T19:14:00.013-07:00

I think the "Strongest Rider" award would have to go to Steggall!
Being that this is still my 1st year with the team, I wasn't sure how
to react when JS suggested that I be "The One" which is why I never
responded. Yes I have been getting stronger, but I figure I've still
got a ways to go before I'm at JS's level...if ever and I figured I'd
chalk up my first year to "helping the team" so I was both surprised
and elated by his suggestion. I just hoped that I'd be able to
deliver.
Thanks to Janice, and her mom, it only took us about an hour or so to
get there. I was able to get in a pretty decent warm up but the first
time up the hill was seemingly the hardest. JS pretty much covered the
details of the race as a whole. He, Jim, and Will were all strong
throughout and Lee showed up right at the very end to offer what he had
left in the tank. I think my favorite part of the whole race was taking
JS's wheel as he ramped it up on the descent on the final lap. The man
is absolutely fearless! It felt solid riding off the front with he and
Will as well. Robin was cool enough to sacrifice his race and forgo the
final lap to make sure that he was there to feed the rest of the team.
Darin is getting stronger every time I ride with him and Todd, it was
good to meet you brutha! We may not have had the results that we were
hoping for, but we sure looked good doing it! :0) And I had and
absolute "Kick A$" time racing with you guys. Can't wait to do it
again...just do me a favor and remind me to drink more!
~ J

John Steggall, 35+ 4/5, Spring HIll RR

2008-09-08T19:14:00.011-07:00

A brief race report from the Spring "Powerhill" RR, 35+
4/5:

We were surprised to find so many DBC guys on the line
-- 7. A couple of us had been discussing strategy via
email but we hastily reaccessed this while waiting for
the race to start.

The plan, at least as I understood it, was to sit in
for the 1st lap, try to get one or two away during the
2nd lap, and if that didn't work, get everyone to the
front near the end, getting Jason S. or Will to the
line. This is pretty much what we did.

Three of us got dropped sometime in the first 1.5 laps
(Robin, Todd, and Darin). That left Jim, Jason, Lee,
Will, and me. We tried sending Jason off with one of
the Synergy guys but this guy's teammates chased this
down when it looked like a Berkeley BC guy might bridge
up (life in the 4/5s, I'm afraid). Soon after, we tried
a couple of surges to force a break but these were also
unsuccessful.

This left us with the end game. There were about 25
guys left out of the original 75. We all moved up close
to the front and drove things home in the last few km.
The last 500 meters or so feature a relatively easy
climb and then a steeper section, flattening near the
end. After the first riser, our positioning seemed like
it was going to pay off -- we had 4 or 5 guys in the
top 10, with a couple of us sitting around position 4
and 5.

Unfortunately, we all ran out of gas on the steeper
section and about 10 guys went cruising around us in
the final 200 m. Our best finisher was Jason S. at
around 12th.

Lessons learned?

If possible, at least one or two guys need to stay
protected in the last 5K or so. We all got caught up in
the excitement in the last half lap. Everyone did some
big pulls and burnt too many matches. The guys who were
sitting in behind us, ended up eating our lunch. On the
positive side, we're starting do get more sophisticated
in our strategy and more confident in our ability to
pull things off.

The sad thing is that the best strategy in many of the
4/5s races is to simply survive to the end doing as
little work as possible, saving everything for the
final few hundred meters. Breaks rarely work so it's
better not to waste any energy trying to create them or
chase them down.

-js

Janice Pfeiff, Spring Hill

2008-09-08T19:14:00.009-07:00

Two months off the bike

Reg'd for race Friday night

Dropped IMMEDIATELY

Wanted to quit-didn't

Rode as hard as I could

Dropped a chain (not used to compact cranks)

Put chain back on

Still wanted to quit-didn't

Almost puked on last climb to the finish

Placed 2nd to last

Totally happy

Didn't quit

Read an article tonight on "How Not To Get Dropped"

Who wants to carpool to Albany Crit ( :

Mike Pugh, Spring Hill, 35+ 1/2/3

2008-09-08T19:14:00.005-07:00

Spring Hill Road Race – Petaluma Ca 35+123

Took us about 1:15 to get here from Davis, however parking is a walk from registration so allow plenty of time and pay attention to the E. Washington st exit off of 101.

A feed is required especially for the 66 or 88 mile races. The hills are rolling but they will zap your strength, more on this later. Robin Rolle’s son Robin was a welcome sight the first couple of laps as he had a bottle for me every time at the feed zone. Nice job Robin and "Thank You" just doesn’t say enough.

The first lap of our race was fairly benign. Most attacks were half hearted and at one point I thought maybe the group behind us (elite 3) would catch us. With about 5 miles to go of the 22 mile first lap a pair shot off on the smooth tailwind section heading back to the start. With in 5 miles they had about 1 min on the main group. On the next lap another 2 managed to sneak off and eventually joined the other two. These four maintained a gap of appx 1 to 1 ½ minutes for the remainder of the second lap.

With two laps (44miles) to go we rolled through the feed zone. Chad D gave me a hand up at this point from a broken musset bag, an almost disastrous feed as Rob Anderson (World Champion Mountain Biker) attacked through the feed zone. Chad handed me the bag reminiscent of a football hand off behind the line of scrimmage in order to keep all its contents together. The jolt nearly knocked me off my bike and I was fortunate enough to see the strap of the bag raping around the speed sensor on my fork, while one of the bottles from the bag cascaded down the road. I managed to untangle the strap, stow the other bottle, and get what amounted to a wet cotton mess and some energy bars into my jersey.

Rob Anderson was long gone as I made my way up the climb and through an obliterated field, this took a lot of effort. At the crest there were 5 of us. With Rob Anderson about 250 yards ahead and the lead 4 not too far in front of him. Within 3 miles he had bridged the gap, and we were 5 chasing 5 with a shattered field in our wake. We spent the next 22 miles slowly trying to real in the 5 in front of us without shattering our own group. At about 10 miles after the chaotic feed I decided to extract the energy bars from what was left of the musset bag at the base of a shallow climb-big mistake. As I pulled out the bag it once again came apart and became a two handed operation as the strap dangled dangerously close to my front wheel. At that moment for what ever reason the rider on the end of our chase group decided he either couldn’t climb anymore or needed to slow and my safe 10 yard gap for food management quickly closed to one yard, you get the picture. I swerved and pulled my left foot out to brace for the worst. Luckily I missed him with about 10 mph of over take but swerved at such an angle that I dabbed my left foot and ran my knee into my bar end. I stayed up right to my amazement and continued on, that would be the last time I dealt with the musset bag that day. I wiped my bloody knee with what was left of my knee and dropped it for the corner guards.

Before the end of lap three of four, we lost two more riders in our chase group. The three of us continued on and caught the lead five shortly after the last feed (Thank you Chad and Stephen J). On the next major climb we were together. Rob Anderson attacked again and I was the only one to respond. I could feel my right leg starting to cramp as I stayed with him, tired from what was just the beginning of a long day I focused on my left leg to give my right a rest. We separated from the other 3 and maintained a gentlemanly pace on the back side of the course. We were eventually caught by one strong chaser who was nearly spent when he caught us. We continued on trading pace for the next 13 or so miles.

Turning onto the road with about 3K to go it was obvious to me that the chaser who caught us would be no threat to me or Rob in the sprint, in fact with 1K to go he said ”you guys got it”. I had considered attacking before then but it was a slow, down hill into the finishing climb and what if I cramped again! Rob and I made our way up the hill eyeing each other. 1K to go-no attack, 500 meters to go, still eyeing with a descent pace up the hill but nothing to tough. 300 meters to go-nothing from Rob. Just inside 300 meters I went hard and inside around the final bend and pulled about a bike length ahead, where is that finish line? At the crest of the hill I maintained a lead but I could feel the cramps coming with 175 meters to go, he drew even and both my legs were done, and locking up. It was all I could do to cross the line up right, with the winner about 20 meters ahead.

Lessons learned: Feeds are critical, all said and done I think I went through 7 bottles for 4hrs 7mins of racing. 8 would have been better, cytomax in all of them ( I had one bottle of water) this may have helped the cramps. The jump required after the musset bag incident to catch the front of the shattering field may have cost me in the end, it was a long hard effort.Preparation: Get in at least one long HARD ride every other week to simulate the race conditions and the onset of cramping legs. Use thermolite, pedalite or whatever to fight the cramps My avg heart rate for 4 hours was 138, my Max was 199. I spent 3 min total above 180bpm.

Other races with DBC racers: Elite 3, Andreas Freund - 1st, Pro,1,2, Tyler Kuphaldt - 1^st

Either I need to learn to sprint with cramps or get a german last name!

Mike Pugh

Will Brieger, Leesville Gap RR

2008-09-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

Despite losing Nelson and Fred to the DL, we had three starters: Steggall, Kuphalt, Brieger. My goals were simple: stay hydrated, stay upright, get Steggall to the sprint, or win in his absence. I changed shorts behind the car, got to the critical stage when the sprinkler swung over and washed my ass and wet my socks. Hydrated.

Went to front for first bumpy section at mile 10, and again at 16, and again for bumpiest parts of descents. Chose a decent line. Watched for craters. Upright.

Climbed near front, 8 of us got a gap, including Steggall and Brieger. We crested with the lone escapee [I thought] and JS and I drove the descent to preserve the gap, shaking out one more guy. I feel fine. Steggall feels great.

Right turn onto the dirt, and soon after that Steggall flats on the washboard. Back to "pavement." 10,000 bumps later, good pavement. Group is rotating. Turns out that there is another guy away, supposedly wearing red. 6 guys left in chase. We rotate, but it would be hard to call it a chase. I take my turns, not long, not hard, hoping Kuphalt will catch. No sign.

Two guys are doing the extended aaaarrrruughhhh @#$% after their pulls - cramping. No one pulling hard, but some long pulls. Not by me. One more aaaarrrruughhhh and we are down to 5. South through the rice paddies, hit the gravel and one guy jumps lanes to get away. "Aaaarrrruughhhh," he cannot do it.

I am doing no work. Nelson Frink drives up and tells us we have 5'. I am really psyched, more to see Nelson, but 5' is also welcome news. Now I do even less work. Final left turn, it is slowing. Mild acceleration and the gravel-attack guy cramps and drops. 4 left. Waiting. Wheat gives way to rice.

I know who is strong, I am going to take his wheel no matter what. No foolish attacks this race. Rolling, slowing, rolling. I am sheltered, and watching the others. Finally with 150m the jump from 17 mph to 27. "Aaaarrrruughhhh." It's me this time, as soon as I stand. 4th place. No win today.

WB

Justin Hall, Davis July 4 Crit, Cat 5

2008-07-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Category: Elite 5

Justin Hall

Finishing position: 1/50

Teammates: Rod Fernandez, Mark Hockridge, Bob Blythe, Darin Salk, Scott
Wong

Course description: We all know it J

About two weeks ago Rod sent out a note to our teammates listed above nominating me to be “the guy” the team works for to get a win in today’s race. Scott and Bob, two guys I had never met (or if I had, as the newbie, didn’t remember being overwhelmed with new faces) enthusiastically agreed. Mark and Darin, guys I had already had the privilege of getting to know, were equally enthusiastic – as obviously my friend Rod was as well. I have no idea how many pro starts I have racing cars – far and away enough that I am no longer nervous, but for some reason I had pre race jitters – everything to do with pressure to perform for guys willing to sacrifice their own race to help their teammate win. Teammates who are willing to do that are special, and there is absolutely pressure to reward them for their sacrifice…..

With that said, I responded with a framework of how I thought we should approach the race based upon the learnings from Land Park and Folsom Crits. Here’s a huge upside for racing with DBC. I met a couple of my new teammates for the first time at Cherry Pie Crit, we lined up and said we would race as a team, but ultimately we raced as individuals, because we didn’t know what we were doing. At Land Park and Folsom, I got a taste of how things should be done and also how they can fall apart based upon mentoring from our more senior guys – huge DBC upside.

Basically, the plan was for me to ride at the front so as not to suffer from the accordion effect through the turns, and if I saw a break with legs I would hang with it, but mostly just stay up front but do no work. For some reason at the start I couldn’t clip in, I think it had to do with the shoe cover, but I found myself DFL almost out of the gate. I spent the first three laps dive bombing corners to make up positions and work my way up front. There were no primes, no organized attacks, frankly it was pretty easy to hold station anywhere from p3-p10. Throughout this time my teammates would rotate up to make sure I was covered and ok, it seemed like Mark and Darin were literally ALWAYS around.

With maybe 7 to go the pace picked up a bit. By design, at this point Scott came up and started drilling the front. Given the nature of this course we wanted the pack strung out so ultimately I would only have to sprint against 2-3 others vs. 10 others. This was probably Scott’s third long pull at the front, and as he rotated off Bob came up with his huge motor and pulled hard for a couple more laps. As perfectly as you could plan as we passed s/f I found myself on Rod’s wheel. Rod pulled huge through both left handers, an incredible effort, leaving me right where I wanted to be on the backside of the course.

Just as Rod started fading a rider in neutral gear started his sprint at BASKIN ROBBINS (!!!???) in an all or nothing play – I left Rod’s wheel and jumped on this guy and was 5-10m off rounding the last left hander when his tire blew at the apex!!! This rider did an awesome job of maintaining control of his bike slowing to the curb near Starbucks. Unfortunately I had to slightly check up slightly because I wasn’t sure if I was going to hit him or not, then regain my momentum for the sprint to s/f. I was able to hang on with ½ a bike length over p2 and secure the victory for DBC. It happens to be my name on the result, but Rod, Bob, Mark, Scott, Darin, and Justin won the race. Truly a team effort!!!!

In addition to the teammates listed above I’d also like to give a shout out to Fred Schnaars and Alan Rowland for their coaching and support. I guess I am going to upgrade now.

Justin

SRM Race Data:

Duration: 30:18

Work: 491 kJ

TSS: 53.1 (intensity factor 1.025)

Norm Power: 287

Distance: 12.799 mi

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 1051 270 watts

Heart Rate: 140 201 181 bpm

Cadence: 29 155 97 rpm

Speed: 16.4 34.3 25.3 mph

Will Brieger, Elkhorn Classic

2008-07-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

This year they opened a masters 40+ 4/5 race for the first time [30 guys], which was raced with the Masters 40+ 1/2/3 [50 guys], but picked separately. It was great to race with the experienced guys, and interesting trying to read both races simultaneously to figure out what would happen next. Here's what happened:

Stage 1, 75 mile RR with two significant climbs. MY FIRST WIN EVER!!
Good advice from Bruce Hendler had me near the front, and not chasing a 1/2/3 breakaway on the flats. After the first break was caught, we shed most of the peleton on the first climb, leaving about 20 guys, including only me and one other Cat 4 from Seattle, and Roy, the violin bow maker from Calgary, who bridged up.

On the second climb, which had 4 or 5 false summits, 10 of the 1/2/3 guys got away. I bridged up and the other Cat 4s did not, at which point I drove the pace to increase the gap. Then someone attacked at the real summit, gapping me and a few others with 5K to go. I chased back on during the descent, reintegrated, sprinted with the front group to claim the 4/5 Leader Jersey and more than a one minute lead in the masters 4/5s.

Stage 2, [morning] 10 mile TT, 3rd place. Unfortunately, the winner was
the guy from Seattle, who took almost all of my lead back except six seconds.

Stage 3 [afternoon] L-shaped crit in historic Baker City. I finished
with the bunch, but toward the back. The 1/2/3s kept it safe and fast.
What I did not know was that the officials used a camera to actually time everyone, so everyone in the elongated pack got different times. Seattle got seven seconds on me to take the GC. I am down 00:00:01. Boy did I feel stupid!

No worries, to win the GC all I have to do is win Stage 4, 100 mile RR through the stunning Whitman-Wallowa National Forest. Up the Powder river, three climbs through the Blue Mountains at miles 28, 42, and 58, 25 miles down the Burnt River, then a 7-mile switchback climb up 2000' to the line. No road closure needed: No one there but the race and some bike tourists.

After the first two climbs, the 1/2/3 race had a 2-man breakaway [with former DBCer Clint Chase] and an 8-man chase. By now I know that the Seattle guy is Martin, originally from Czechoslovakia, who trains with Yuri, his pro/1/2 son. After the race I learned that he rides 4 hours a day.

Neither Martin or I was going to let the other join the chase alone, so
we stayed in the third group on the road, mostly 1/2/3s and five of us
4s. The chase caught the break and apparently slowed [we got time
checks from the cars]; then the 1/2/3s in my group got interested and
semi lined it out on the 25-mile flats leading to the final climb. I
did zero work, sat on Martin's wheel, with a vague plan to destroy him
somewhere near the top of the climb.

Base of the climb: Martin loses his chain, which messed me up more than him. I figured too early for a full out attack [??], but i accelerated just to make him work. He had a 1/2/3 teammate who towed him back. I sat on a wheel for 1/3 of the climb, then got impatient and took over the front. Definitely a mistake, but Martin was marking me no matter what. I should've been on his wheel or at least out of the wind [cuz we are climbing fast]. Some stupid primitive instinct told me to climb hard and hope we separated.

Pedal. Breathe. Pedal harder. Breathe harder. I am not looking back, but I am shredding the group, all of the 4s are gone, most of the 1/2/3s, everyone except Martin and a few others. Passing the women, try not to pant so loud. In my haze, I forgot I did not need to race anyone but Martin, and instead I am basically leading him out. Finally the 5K sign. The next switchback is disconcertingly far up to the right. What was that plan? Relax, look fluid, look strong [for Martin, not the women's race, Alan.] This must be hurting him. Is there going to be a 4k sign?? When to attack? How the hell am I going to attack? I am pretty maxxed. Standing on every right hander, clicking one cog harder, accelerating, but not launching. As if.

3K sign. By now the finish line officials can hear me breathing. Martin is right there. I felt his wheel touch once. And so on. What was the plan, again? I am dopily hypoxic, but I hope still looking strong. 70m to go a tall kid in same kit as Seattle [First Rate Mortgage] is riding down the other lane. "Geretjxchen wutevver, big diff, big diff," he says. [czech for "way to go dad, attack, attack"]. then the worst part, Martin answers: HE CAN STILL TALK!!! Words that still haunt me, he calmly replies: "Ja, ickcjh dkerectskcjehn wutevver."

AND HE CAN SPRINT. In the last 50m he opens up approximately a 49m lead for a well deserved stage and GC win. So I was 2d on stage, 2d in GC. Very happy with it, despite my stupid finish strategy or lack thereof.

And in Oregon they have free food, drink, and beer at the finish area.

Will

Jason Snovel, Napa Grand Prix 3/4

2008-07-02T10:44:00.001-07:00

If it wasn't for Chad, I'd be sitting here telling you
about I was almost able to stay with the BIG
DOGS...I'd be sitting here, sore, oozing, resentful,
and not at all looking forward to my next crit....

When I first saw the requests over the list serve from
Chad and Alan...I sat there, staring at the screen,
knowing that I was already registered for the Diablo
Hill Climb the day after, I couldn't resist. Finally,
a chance to play with the BIG DOGS, especially after
missing the fireworks in Folsom last weekend...without
hesitation I reached for my wallet.

Then came all the other emails from the likes of BIG,
Tim R, John L, Steggall. Those guys, combined with
Mike P, Chad, Alan, Nowicki, and Jeff N!?! What'd I
get myself into. Being the "Rookie", did I bite off
more than I could chew? Did my a$$ write a check that
my legs couldn't cash?

After a decent warm up, I arrive at the start line and
park it right behind Alan and already my heart is
ready to jump right out of my chest. I take a look
around. "Will I have it today?" The race official's
doing his thing as I look up to see Jeff at the front
and watch as he fidgets and squirms, impatiently
twitching his leg. It does nothing to calm my rattled
nerves which are already precariously perched at the
edge of the deep, dark abyss of Panic!
("Relax...breathe." "You're here, just give it all ya
got...till you drop!") I look to Alan and say, "Jeff's
gonna gun it right from the start." And sure enough,
that's just what he does. He and Mike Ramp it up and
keep it there. Somehow I found myself toward the back
of the pack and knew that Jeff and Mike's relentless
surge wasn't going to stop any time soon. They seemed
hellbent on dropping half the field in the first 10
laps and I wasn't going to be one of them. Watching as
gap after gap formed I look up ahead to see Chad and
John hammering. I hone in and give chase. I leapfrog
from wheel to wheel, closing gap after gap and
suddenly I'm seemingly stuck in a vacuum. An area void
of wind and resistance of any kind. I can hear me
breathing, the clicking of gears, the hum of my drive
train. The air around me seems suspended. Where am I?
This is cool! I look up to find that I'm on Chad's
wheel.

Chad told me after the race that he and I were talking
to each other, and that he'd told me to get around him
and move up, and that I did, but I've no recollection
of it at all. Was it due to the heat, or to the fact
that by then, I'd already gone to that place in
between, where there are no sounds, no voices, only
silence...and the deep, flub-dub...flub-dub...in
perfect rhythm with each strained breath. I'm parched,
I can hardly breathe, I must drink, but there's no
opportunity. If I take a drink, I loose the wheel. If
I loose the wheel, I'm forced into the wind...I drink.

10 laps to go, more than half the field obliterated, I
take a quick glance to the front to see Jeff and Mike
still driving hard pushing the pace.
Heartless...inhumane...inconsi

derate...where's the
love man!?! They're killing me! I despise them...I
hate them...I'm stoked and I hope they don't stop!
They drive me to the very edge...they extract every
ounce of effort from my unworthy body. I love them for
it! I'm on Steggall's wheel as we head into turn 1.
Eyes blurred by the speed and the vibrations of the
road, legs burning, lungs seared, as we sail into turn
2. In front of me I notice a wheel get squirly two
riders up. He's flatted and instead of pulling off, he
tries to take turn 3. He cuts it to the inside so I go
wide trying to avoid him and he washes out and right
into my line. I try to bunny hop him and his bike. I
clear his legs and get twisted up in his bike and a$$
over tea kettle I go. I come to a sliding halt on my
right elbow and shoulder. I instinctually bounce to my
feet, blurting out a few expletives, grabbing my bike
and try to get back on. For the first time my bike is
in serious disagreement with me. I look down with my
tunnel vision to notice 2 flats, chain's dropped,
right shifter bent, and my handlebars are crooked. I'm
done, I'm hurting, and turn to abandon when the race
official comes up screaming at me, jolting me back
into reality. "ARE-YOU-O-K?" I just look at him and
repeat the question to myself, "Am-I-o-k?" and I begin
my quick self assessment. "ARE-YOU-O-K!?!" He asks
once again as the previous two questions still echo in
my head..."I-DON'T-F___ING KNOW, GIVE ME A SECOND!" I
say. Right then Chad jumps in, puts his hand up and
says to the official, "I got him, don't worry!" turns
to me and yells, "WALK...C'MON, FOLLOW ME...WALK!!" He
grabs my broken bike and thunders towards the pit
area. I was in no position to argue and for those of
you who know Chad, he can be quite persuasive. All of
a sudden I'm that 8 year old kid following Dad into
the garage after wrecking my blue banana seat bike and
twisting the handle bars. We get to the pit area, I'm
still in a daze and Chad takes control. The female
race official is yelling at us asking where our wheels
are. Chad calmly says, as he's taking my rear wheel
off, "They said there'd be neutral wheel support so we
didn't bring any." For some reason she keeps yelling,
ordering us to hurry. I grow even more pissed and
start to cool down and feel the burn of my abrasions
as the pulses of pain begin. Chad tells her for the
second time to stop yelling at us. "YOU'VE GOT 10
SECONDS!" she yells. Chad's calm, cool demeanor amazes
me, I feed off of it, as he looks at her and calmly
says, "Well I can't change 2 wheels in 10 seconds so
forget it, he's done!" I was fine with that. All I
wanted to do was quit, but on reflex alone I walk, or
rather stumble, over and start to take the rear wheel
off and Chad orders me to sit down. I turn without
saying a word and plant my butt in the chair. The
wheel support guy jumps up and helps Chad and before I
know it, I'm being pushed with surprising force back
into the race and am immediately 20 yds off the back.
I'm all over the road. Either the wheels that they
just threw on have about 80 lbs. of pressure in them,
or I'm still freaked out, but I feel terribly unstable
as I give everything I've got just to grab a wheel. My
legs are lead weights and filled with lactic acid.
Five laps to go and the pace picks up. I have no idea
where I am in the order as we head into the dreaded
"P" turn. There'd already been about a dozen crashes
there as we head into it about 5 mph faster than
before. Riders are tired, and out of control as John
and I pick our way through the slide outs and
endover's. Again, for the thousandth time we stand up
and sprint out of the corner. I struggle to stay on
John's wheel.
The final bell mercifully rings and as expected Jeff
and Mike ramp it up again. I'm done. Nothings
left...burned all my matches...used up all my
batteries...exhausted...spent. I roll across the
finish line, look over to my teammates who'd staked
claim on the corner right across from the line and
were cheering us on and ask, "Is that it?" in hopes
that I hadn't imagined hearing the bell. It was over.
I slowly roll around to the corner where I'd crashed,
slow to a stop, reach down to pick up my computer that
popped off, and rolled over to the guys. I would have
loved to kick back and talk about the race, and was
bummed that I'd missed that opportunity, but I needed
to return the wheels and head to the med tent for
clean up.
So, I'm sitting in the med area, two guys were in
front of me. Both are in a bit worse shape that I. One
guys in need of stitches. I grab some ice and sit,
waiting for my turn. They finish with them and start
to work on me. Another guy comes up and parks right
next to me. "You went down too huh? He says and I
start to explain what happened. "Yeah, some idiot
flatted in front of me coming out of turn 2 and
instead of pulling off, the A-hole tried to take turn
3 to the inside, I darted to the outside and he washed
out right in front of me." "I should have rolled right
over the guy, but I bunny hopped right over him and
onto his bike and over I went." "Really!?!" he says,
"Where was that?" "Right there" I said, pointing over
to the corner. "Dude, that was me." he said. "I'm
sorry about that man." By this time, I'm feeling every
little bump, bruise, scrape, and gash, I'm thirsty,
starving, and am in a fairly bad mood. All i could
offer up was, "Oh, really! Oh." And I turn to grab
another bag of ice to soothe the swelling and pain
from my elbow, side, and shoulder.
Chad was the epitome of a perfect teammate. He
completely looked after me in every way. From loading
my bike to giving up his recovery drink...he was as
cool as glacial runoff man.
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with my performance.
I now know what I'll need to do to actually be a
factor in the next race. "Get stronger!"

p.s. No-show on the Hill Climb today...relaxing in the
shade at AJ's water polo tournament... See y'all on
Tuesday to ramp it up from the git-go! :0)

~ J

Michael Matiasek, Pescadero RR Cat 4

2008-07-02T10:43:00.002-07:00

Wow, it was great to read everyone race reports from the weekend. Congrats to everyone! Sounds like DBC was out in full force! You guys inspired me to share my race experience from the weekend. As Will mentioned, Pescadero is a truly awesome course... with a great variety of terrain... including the hilltop finish on Haskins grade. The Hill finish was much like a cardiac only much prettier with sweeping turns and switchbacks underneath big redwood trees! The rest of the course was somewhat more open with lots of fast turns on small quiet roads. Definitely check it out next year if you have not done it before! Also, as Will mentioned, it is true, I have got a new black and white stallion (or goat?) who I just finished building last week and I am pleased to share it was a complete pleasure to ride in style and with about 3-4 pounds less bike! Anyway, to summarize my race, I have been trying to race smarter these days, so I did my best to stay off the front for most of the race, but often climbed in positions 1-3 throughout the three climbs on the course. On the first of two times over the Haskins grade (the big and third climb of each lap), we managed to loose at least half of the field going over the top, and then on the descent we lost another half of that field... leaving us with around 15 or so riders. We did our best to work together and get a paceline going but within a few miles a large group caught us bringing our numbers up to over 30. So at that point I decided I definitely needed to stay as rested as possible for the final climb. Most of the flatter sections of the course were uneventful except for the flat sprint prime which occurs within the first couple miles of each lap. One rider managed to break off a mile before the prime and stay away. he ended up stringing us out and perhaps shedding a few riders but it largely regrouped before the two smaller climbs on the first half of the course. So I stayed hidden in the top 10 or so of the pack... feeding as much as possible after learning my lesson on Hamilton I managed to drink 2 bottles of energy drink (higher concentration than in the past for me) and 4 gu's. I am pleased to report no cramping in this race. Anyway, the moment we were all waiting for came as expected... it all came down to the final climb. Coming into the sharp right hander which was the start of the climb one rider mounted a substantial attack which many of us covered... but cut the contenders down in half almost immediately. It hurt bad to match the attack but within a minute the pace laxed just enough to bring me to the mouth of "the cave". For about the first third I managed to stay in position 2-3, but I was slowly progressing deeper and deeper into the cave, at about 2/3 of the way up the climb I started to run out of batteries and we started to string out and open gaps up. There was a group of 4 or so trying like hell to keep a webcore guy from getting away who went on to win it and I was about 20 feet back with a collection of 4-5 riders. When the 200m sign came I was pleased to find just enough batteries to get one rider off my wheel and almost overtake the one in front of me for 8th place finish. I can't help but laugh at my third 8th place finish and right behind the same guy who just beat me at Berkeley... it is as if this were all predictable. The webcore guy who won was one of the strongest climbers on Hamilton from a couple weeks ago. All in all I am generally pleased but really hoping to break into the top 5 one of these races! Next up... Leesville Road Race!

Happy Riding,

Mike

Chris Bowlus, Sattley TT

2008-07-02T10:42:00.001-07:00

There¹s usually not much to report on for a TT. You warm up, get to the
start, put your head down and enter the cave hopefully with plenty of
extra batteries. At Dunlap I felt like I had the halogen headlight on
highbeam with a couple of car batteries in my back pocket (maybe that¹s why
my butt looked so big?). At Sattley I only had the 60W incandescent bulb and
a couple of ³D² batteries to power it no spares.

I hadn¹t felt recovered all week and Thursday¹s race ride didn¹t help the
ego when I got dropped by Mike Pugh, Fred ³I can¹t TT² Schnaars and
Triathalon Steve on the 3rd sprint. I still had a couple more days of
recovery so I hoped the legs would be back. Sunday morning I¹m up at 5:15AM
and on the road at 5:30AM. Coffee will have to wait. 120 miles and 1
Starbucks stop later I¹m at Sattley by 8:00 for my 9:24 start. Use the john,
pick up my number and note that their clock is 3 minutes faster than my
watch. Set up the trainer, glue/pin the number, change into the skinsuit
(more on this later) and start my warm up it¹ll have to be a quick one so
I have time to get to the start.

9:10 I¹m off the trainer, put on Jason¹s disc wheel (thanks, mon) and head
down to the start line about 1/4 mile down the road. I see their clock and
it reads 9:22! Crap, I¹ve gotta pee like a race horse. I run for the john
and as I close the door hear ³Last call for 131 (my number)². There¹s no way
I¹m going without my pee. Finish up, zip up and run to the bike. I get to
the line just as 130 is leaving.

³10 seconds........5..4..3..2..1².

......I¹m off. In the confusion I didn¹t
think to reset my odometer and on this course with out markings it would be
nice to know where you are. Steady headwind on the way out with a few little
inclines. I¹m moving well catching a few guys but I know the big guns
Melcher, Metcalf and company are behind me and I¹m just hoping not to get
passed. At the turn around I can see that my gap on some of these guys is
getting closed.

A few miles into the return trip I get this feeling like a razor blade
cutting my perineum (you know, the undercarriage area). I¹m not sure
why..I¹ve ridden further with this set up without this problem. I try to
adjust my position but nothing seems to help. I¹ve gotta stand up...NO, stay
aero...I¹m gonna scream...²UUUUGGHHH²...I get up just for a second and
there¹s instant relief. I get back in the aero position and the pain is
gone! Later I find a couple of stick the size of large sewing needles in my
shorts that I must have picked up while getting into the skinsuit OUCH!

Not sure how much farther to go. There¹s a faint ³1m² painted on the
pavement. 1 mile? Already? That looks like the barn at the start.
GO..GO...GO!

8th place finish for 45-49 old dudes; 56:19 for 40km; 3 minutes behind 1st
place Melcher. Had hoped for better but I¹ll take it.

Bummed that there weren¹t any other DBC Masters to share a cold, frosty one
with I get in the car for the long ride home. TT¹ing is a lonely sport.

Chris

Nelson Frink, Oregon Racing

2008-07-02T10:38:00.002-07:00

Hey Guys,
I'm back from a windsurfing vacation in Oregon with Jan and my sons, and pleased to read about the successful racing by team members at various races. I was sorry to miss the action at the Specialized/Sierra Nevada crit.
If any of you are traveling to Oregon this summer, there are some great race opportunities you should consider, with some type of regularly scheduled race almost every weeknight (http://app.obra.org/schedule ). My son Brian and I had a blast at the Alpenrose Velodrome, which is free and open to the public when not being used for races. Track bikes aren't required. With it's 43 degree banked turns, 16.6 meter radius, and 268 meter length it's one of the shortest and steepest tracks in the country. I was hoping to get back for Thursday or Friday night races, but couldn't make it. Monday and Tuesday night races at Portland International Raceway are available, and I missed the Monday night masters races but got in on the Tuesday night elite races on the 1.9 mile flat course. I placed 11th in the Cat4/5 race, and then immediately joined in the ongoing Cat3/4 race which was started during the final lap of the 4/5 race. I placed 18th in the Cat3/4 race. Wednesday night I raced in
the Mt Tabor Series, which are weekly circuit races around a park on an extinct volcano in Portland. The 1.1 mile loop winds gradually around the park, with a 180 degree turn at the top of a 130 ft climb. I raced the masters 40+ open, and found it challenging to hold on through the climbs. The pack slowed to a near standstill at the top, and it was like waiting in line to get around the corner and then chasing hard to get back on. I decided to try swinging around wide to keep my speed up and clipped my pedal and went down as I accelerated out of the corner. My saddle got twisted out and tipped down and I dropped out. On Saturday we went to the Cirque du Cycling festival in Portland, and I was hoping to race the crit in the Cat3/4's, but the race filled before I could sign up. It was nice to see a crit lined with spectators the whole way around.

Nelson

Jason Snovel, CycleSports Crit M 3/4's

2008-07-02T10:38:00.001-07:00

Today I witnessed and was the victim of a perfectly
executed race by Wells Fargo. They had about 20 guys
in the race today and controlled from the whistle to
the bell lap (more on the latter...later) and went
1-2-3. It was a fast course and I was feeling pretty
good right off. First prime - ramped up and stayed
within a stones throw of the lead guys. Breathe...
Speed hovered around 27 or so for a few laps, sat in,
stayed within the top 10. 2nd prime - dropped back a
bit after turn 1, a bit more after turn 2, then along
the back straight away I launch. Took the inside from
about 15 back and was able to get a pretty good gap on
the field. Hit turn 3 hard...almost too hard.
Cranking into turn 4, hurling myself so hard into it
that my head felt like it weight 20 pounds. It took my
eyes a second to adjust coming out of it as I glance
back to see two guys chasing. No way am I letting them
catch me. I grit my teeth
and..."Hello"..."hello"...

"hello"..."Any body
home"..."any body home"...my echo mocks me as I take
my first step into the pain cave. Good thing is...I've
got plenty of batteries...for now.
I hold on for the 2nd prime of my DBC racing career.
The strangest thing happened after that...well, at
least it seemed strange at the time. I was greeted by
about seven Wells Fargo guys and 4 or so Synergy guys
who were full of smiles and compliments, a few of them
patting me on the back as they passed right before
turn 1. By the time we hit turn 2 I realized what was
happening and it was already too late. 3 Wells Fargo
guys broke with 1 Synergy guy on their wheel. The rest
spread across the road from curb to cone blocking and
neutralizing any and all attempts to bridge all along
the back stretch. I tried to solo up but my effort was
futile having just burned a few matches for the prime.

Throughout the rest of the race I spent most of the
time at or around the front of the pack trying to
convince those who, like myself, didn't have
teammates, to help chase and was able, on two separate
occasions to attempt a bridge with two different guys.
Both times they just weren't able to take pulls after
only a few minutes leaving me to do all the work.
Wells Fargo stayed on my wheel throughout. Every time
it was a different guy who would pseudo pull through
then proceed to sit up. I sparked up a conversation
with a few of them in between my efforts, aggravated,
but knowing that they were just doing their job.
Having raced with almost all of them now, they all
seemed to recognize me and most had a sort of
apologetic disposition when acknowledging me as I
drifted back to recover. They did their job to
perfection. I even tried to convince a few of the
synergy guys to help bridge up telling them that their
teammate would need help at the front against the
three Wells Fargo guys...but to no avail. They would
just give me that, "Yeah, ok" nod and a blank stare. I
got so frustrated that I perpetrated what is surely my
biggest "DUMAS'" maneuver to date.
Now I wish I could say that I bonked, or that I
cramped up, or flatted, or even that I'd "missed a
turn"...but...I DIDN'T NOTICE OR PAY ATTENTION TO
THOSE BIG 12" X 8" NUMBERS THAT TELL YOU HOW MANY LAPS
ARE LEFT!!! After the race, I was talking to AJ and he
said, "Yeah, I was wondering why you were sitting up
taking a swig form your water bottle coming out of the
last turn." "I was going to yell at you to get up and
go, but it was too late by then."
You see...in my frustration, I thought, as we passed
by the start finish line for the "FINAL" lap, that it
was just another Field Prime so I figured I let
everyone sprint and take a breather and save a little
for the sprint...what a "DUMAS!" So...there I
was...with one last sprint in my legs and nowhere to
spend it...
"31st" overall...damn...
Guess that's what happens when you come from such a
strong team...other teams jump at the opportunity to
open a can of WHOOP-ASS on you when you've no
reinforcements.

DBC, Specialized Sierra Nevada Crit 35+ 4/5

2008-07-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.hcphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/5170693_v3MgJ

Will Brieger, Pescadero RR Cat 4

2008-07-02T10:28:00.002-07:00

If you were going to invent a beautiful 30-mile loop with smooth roads, sweet redwood-shaded climbs, and a fast, banked, technical descent, you could not do any better than the Pescadero Coastal Classic. I know how nice it was from pre-riding the course friday - too busy during the race to notice even the 20' tall machine-gun-toting skeleton sculpture at mile 4.
Mike Matiasek will need to report on the Category 4 "A group" race. He took 8th place. My guess is that the 7 guys ahead of him were the only guys out there who could take their eyes off Matiasek's beautiful white & black machine for a few minutes on the final climb, and the other 60 guys were wishing they could keep up so they could continue ogling that gleaming new bike.

In the Cat 4 B group Brian Krall and I lined up for DBC. The first time over the big climb [1.6 miles] spread things out, but after the descent most of the race came back together for the second loop. The race was surprisingly mellow when we were not climbing or descending. On the smooth open road that lead away from the coast [and toward the base of the final climb] Brian K got to the front and lifted the pace while I ate and stretched out cramps at the back. By the turn into the hills I made sure I was back up with Brian and ready to go. All hell broke predictably loose at that point for the 8-minute climb to the line. Coulda Shoulda Woulda gone with the leader, but the cautious angel on my shoulder convinced me not to start a 1.6 mile climb with an all-out sprint. I "paced myself," then gradually accelerated for 11th place, with Brian not far behind. I'll try the kamikaze klimb technique next year . . .

Will
___________

Jason Snovel, 2 wheel Crit 35+ 4/5

2008-07-02T10:23:00.004-07:00

I found myself about 10-12 guys back as we roll past
the start/finish to the bell ringing for the 3rd
prime. The legs are starting to open up and I’m just
starting to relax into myself, so I start
thinking…“I’ve never won a prime before and I’m
feeling pretty good.” We hit turn one and the pace
picks up. At the front there’s a few of the stronger
guys sitting in, looking around seeing if any one’s
going to jump. Up to this point I've spent the first 7
or 8 laps familiarizing myself with the course. We hit
turn 2 and I start to plan my attack. I still don’t
know what type of sprinter I am but I know I can
sustain an effort, at least for a little while.
There’s a sweeping left hander after turn 2 which sets
you up for turn 3. After turn 3 there’s cones set up
on the outside which give it a bottle neck effect
setting you up for turn 4. I figure that’s my best
chance, catch them off guard, after the sweeping left
hander, looking to the right setting up for turn 3, so
I launch. I hit the drops and throttle it to the
outside hitting the front right before turn 3 throwing
my bike into the turn feeling the full force of that
ceaseless argument between gravity and centrifugal
force, both salivating over the very real possibility
of claiming yet another victim. In that all too
familiar silent scream and momentary fit of rage, I
fight. I float out of the corner in harmony with my
would-be assailants. Looking back I see that I've
gapped the field by about 50 yards. I tuck and
continue to hammer. Hitting turn 4 faster than I'd
expected, hearing my tires strain as they refuse to
release I look back to see...nothing. Coming out of
turn 4 there's about a 250 yd. sprint to the line and
I open up. I hit the line with about 60 yds. on the
rest of the field to the bell ringing. Is it a back to
back prime? Did I really hear the bell the last lap?
Is that why I was able to gap the field so fast? CRAP!
I burned a few matches on that one and I look back to
see 2 guys bridging up. Do I have it in me to do it
again? Who knows! I hit the drops and press on. I hit
turn 3 and still have about 20 yds. on them. They
catch me just as we hit turn 4 and I stand on the
pedals giving everything I've got. I miss the back to
back prime by about a bike length.
I was spent and just after we round the corner on turn
1 I'm consumed by the pack. I receive several pats on
the back and compliments on my move and am able to
rest assured that I did in fact win my first ever
prime. I start to drift to the back and look up to
find a familiar wheel. Derek looks over and says "Hey
J, c'mon!" I fall in and try to regain my ability to
think clearly as I wipe the effort from my face. Derek
pulls me around the course for the next 4 laps and
continues to coach the rest of the field in and out of
turns maintaining order. 6 laps to go and taking a
page out of Karl's play book I start to make my way
through the field and make sure that I'm at least in
the top 10 as we round turn 2. That's the thing about
crit's that I've noticed. People love to just sit in
the whole race, saving it for the finish...where's the
fun in that!?! I mean, at least mix it up a bit.
Especially if there's no break. At least try for a
prime or something just to make it interesting. But,
then again, I've never won one either, so maybe
there's something to it. It's just not in me yet. I
just gotta mix it up a little...for now..
We hit turn 3 and the bangin' starts. I stick my
elbows out going into it (picture Jim K's sprint) and
battle my way out. A huge hole opens up big enough to
drive an SUV through and I jump. I'm forced to the
outside of turn 4 and lay it all out. I manage to hold
on for an 8th place finish, a bag of coffee, a
t-shirt, some gels, and a flaming toilet seat!

Watching the Juniors race was something. I already
sent a brief summary so I won't go into it...except to
say that it was awesome seeing and hearing AJ be a
factor for the first time. What I mean by that is that
up until then Steve always just gave him words of
encouragement and just hoped that he'd finish without
going down. This time he actually had to tell him to
sit down because every time Zack tried to bridge up to
help out Alex, (not that he needed it) AJ would stand
up and match the effort pulling the rest of the pack
with him. We both went to the Wick school of racing on
this one. It was awesome...truly!
~ J

Michael Matiasek, Mt Hamilton RR Cat 4

2008-07-02T10:19:00.003-07:00

Executive summary: I am pleased to report that we all survived Mt Hamilton this year. We being, myself, Will, Lee, Lorne and Bruno. Now, if you do not get a kick out a long detailed race reports, hit delete now!

For those who have not looked at this course... it is a BEAST! It far exceeds any other cat 4 course I have seen or done yet on the calender. 63 miles with 6,000 feet of climbing! It is also one of the few point to point races, so the race started in San Jose, climbs immediately over the 4,200 foot Mt hamilton, descends the backside of hamilton, then rolls along to the finish for 40 miles near livermore. The main climb is broken into 3 stages which have short breaks in between each one.
The race started at a moderate pace up the gentle grades of hamilton with Will controlling the pace for about half of the first stage of the climb. At the start of the second stage there was some confusion in the pack about who was going to set the pace, and to prevent the pace from slowing too much I moved to the front and brought the pace up several miles an hour... another rider interpreted this as an attack and exploded up to and around me. Albeit so early in the race I was game for a little action, so I matched his effort and away we went. I thought we would start the selection into a core group of climbers but when I looked back it was only us! We maybe got as much as a 20 to 30 second gap from the next riders. I rode with him for about 1-2 miles and could see right away he was going to be a stronger climber than I, and we were not gapping the field enough... and we would need more help later in the race to make it stick... so decided I was working a little harder than I wanted to for such a long race, so I dropped back to the chase group. Once in the chase group I tried looking back for teammates but I could not see any orange and blue. In the chase group it was much easy to recover a little bit... even at 11 mph the draft was noticable! The leader was still off the front but falling back from time to time, and I made an effort to try to take more people off the front of the chase group, but no one really wanted to push the pace since they knew he would be caught later in the race. So up, up we went... a 20 mile climb! in the final 1 mile of the climb a few webcore guys pushed the pace and added one final selection to the group which cut us from about 25-30 to around 15-20 riders.
Next the course descends rapidly 2,000 feet in about 5 miles down some fast and exciting terrain, with great views... if you can take your eyes off the road! We managed to get down with no one crashing in my group, although we passed at least one crash from another race that officials were already attending to. At the bottom of the main decent there was neutral water and then our group of 15-20 made an effort to organize and paceline which worked reasonable well... at one point someone was all upset that there were people in the back that were not pulling through but after a few miles they were dropped anyway. At this point in the race, I should say I am already very concerned about the state of my legs... they were already subtle cramps in my calfs since the top of the main climb and from this neutral feed there is around 35 miles to go still! Still no sign of our race leader! So on we went rotating pretty well. There were some short climbs but most of them were just short enough to keep the legs from completely giving in! Then with about 20 miles to go there is the feed station and we were lucky to have Lauren out there, to hand us bottles! When I came into view of the feed station I could see Lauren on the other side of the road and there was oncoming traffic coming! I started waving so she could see me coming... once she saw me she started running, burst in front of the oncoming cars, then right in front of our pack of riders, and in one continuous motion grabbed my bottle which was waiting on our side of the road, spun around and hit my open hand only just as I came by... with not even a moment to spare!!! It was great! I can only imagine how bonked I would have been without that bottle! So, from that feed station there is actually a substantial climb in its own right and had it been on any other course would look big enough... but since it was on a profile with hamilton it looked like a bump in the road! I think it is like cardiac only a little longer... maybe 2 miles long, and with it came the final selection... our group of 15 or so strung out on the climb into maybe three groups. My legs were really giving up now... no matter how hard I tried they had very little left to give! So this is where the final selection occurred for me and I was dropped from the lead group. Although I forgot to tell you that the lone dude who had broken away on the main climb was still off the front, although with about 2-3 miles before this climb, we were reeling him in and he was in sight... and panicked! We could see him looking over his shoulder every thirty seconds... and then getting out of the saddle! So to wrap this up, I rode in the last 20 downhill miles with a group of 5 in a reasonably good paceline... and settled for last place in my group which was good for 14th overall. The race leader was caught in the last 20 miles and got 6th... a heart breaking solo effort! Even more so after talking with him... turns out he needed to get 5th place or better to get his upgrade to cat 3... so he missed it by one place or one point! Bummer! Just goes to show you that the strongest rider often does not win! As for me, my condition rapidly deteriorated as I got off the bike and dizzily wobbled over to the drinks and food. I pounded 2 bottles and still was not feeling any better... so I sat down and continued to drink and eat, but still was feeling light headed and cold. I had given everything on the course and could barely hold together upright at the finish. The worst thing was I was starting to get very cold. I had enough sense left to realize this happening and I got some blankets from the support staff who were slowly getting more and more concerned about me. It was at this stage that Will arrived and almost did not even see me wrapped up in 2 blankets and a sleeping bag! Finally they put me in a car to accelerate the warming process which helped immensely... and after about 45 min since the finish I finally felt able to walk around without collapsing! Thanks to Lauren again for being at the finish and driving my sorry butt back to pleasanton! The other guys, Lee, Will and Lorne rode the casual 12 miles back to the house... with Lorne winning the final sprint at the house! We all agreed that if we had had to ride back to San Jose it would have been a total Death March... especially for me! We still have not seen the result for the other guys but I think we all should be proud for racing such a burely course!
Lessons learned:
1. I do not have enough miles to race that long of a course and profile! So I am looking forward to getting some more long rides in, in the future! 2. I needed to feed more, I consumed 3.5 bottles (mostly cytomax), 3 GUs and one cheer pack over the 3.5 hours but after doing some research since the event, I think I could have used more "sugar" to keep the legs from cramping. I just read something about 240-300 calories per hour... this corresponds to about 60 to 70 grams of carbs. I think I averaged about 150 calories per hour. Be great to hear all your thoughts on effective nutrition strategies for these longer events.

Jason Snovel, Golden State Crit Cat 4

2008-07-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

I’ve been contemplating whether or not to write a race
report being that I spent the entire race off the
back, but, I figured I at least owed you guys an
explanation as to why I didn’t even bother to show up
for the Masters race…
I woke up early enough, got to the race with plenty of
time, felt, for the most part, pretty good…but, there
was one BIG problem…I just didn’t feel like racing, in
the rain…or…for that much…at all. The heart just
wasn’t in it at the beginning, but about 3/4 of a lap
into it… “Well hello Mr. Cardio Pulmonary system, nice
to see you…glad you could join us today.” “Please
allow me to bring you up to speed on this morning’s
events thus far!”

The D200 is the better of the 2 cameras that we own
and I rarely get the opportunity to use it. It takes
excellent photos and I’m totally jazzed that I’m going
to be able to get some great shots of AJ and the rest
of the Jr. squad. Get the EZ-UP up, set the bike on
the trainer, and off to shoot AJ’s race. I’m snapping
away, getting some great shots of them at the start
line, at the first turn, at the hairpin, and a few
other choice spots along the course. I run over to the
finish and get the perfect “Hero” shot of AJ and the
rest of the team…including Alex’s friggin’ awesome win
with Zack right behind him…and, as I’m trying to pull
up the images to show the boys, I think I must have
gotten some water in the card somehow, or I
accidentally reformatted it as I kept it under my
jacket and out of the rain or something…because I lost
everything…absolutely broke my heart man. What I
should have done was call Dawn and told her, but
because I felt like such a DUMAS, I just couldn’t.
She’s got this recovery software that allows you to
recover deleted or reformatted cards and I’d
completely forgotten this so, I ask Derek if he could
take some shots of AJ and I in the E4 race and, of
course, without hesitation, being one of the coolest
dudes I know, he says, “Sure man!” I let him shoot
over everything I just reformatted, rendering them non
retrievable…did I mention the fact that I felt like a
complete DUMAS?

“Thus far, because of your lackadaisical effort at the
start, you got stuck right behind the first accident
of the race and instead of watching where you were
going, you were so concerned about AJ, who was about
30 yds. in front of you, making it through without
incident that you completely forgot about your own
welfare and by the time you realized it and turned
your attention back toward your own race, you had to
slam on your brakes, got sideways trying to avoid it
causing you to drop so far off the lead pack that you
almost dropped out. Something you thought seriously
about until you looked up ahead to see your son
pulling the group of 5 or 6 guys in his group, and
this was his 2nd race of the day!” This time the 'ole
internal monologue sounds a lot like Micheal Cain.
Sometimes that smug British accent is soo aggravating!
“Alright already…SHUT UP!” I say to myself. Must have
said it out loud, because the guy next to me just
looked at me as if to say, “Dude, I didn’t say
anything!” but I think in that same instant, he
realized that I was talking to myself and just smiled
and faded back. Every time I look up, I see AJ on the
front if his group hammering away. Trying to get the 5
or 6 guys I was with to pick it up and understand the
finer details of a nice tight “rotating” echelon was
proving to be utterly impossible. The guy that was on
my wheel, after my effort would pull through so fast
that he would drop everyone else and leave me to pull
them back up to his wheel then I'd watch him drift
back thinking his pull was done, leaving me once again
on the front with no one wanting to pull through.
Well, after about the 3rd time that happened, I’d had
enough and had just enough lung capacity to let him
have it as I pulled up to, and around him. He got it
after that. I think everyone else did too, because
they joined in as well. We finally reel in the group
that AJ’d been yanking around the course and he’s
happy to see me. It took us about 4-5 laps to do it
though, which either speaks volumes about his fitness,
or…volumes about mine. By the way, he’s in amazing
shape! :0) We’re within reach of the main field, but
I’m spent. I didn’t eat breakfast, save a piece of
toast with jam and butter and a cup of coffee. And,
just before the start, I slam a cheer pack on an empty
stomach so by this time, my stomachs in knots, my
hearts about to jump out of my chest, and I’ve no
powa! I feel like I’m on the verge of bonking and just
then, AJ pulls up and around me and slows just enough
for me to get on, looks back, shoots me a big smile, I
can see the dirt and grime from the tire spray all
over his face, glasses, and kit and reminds me of why
I do this…for the love of it man. He puts his head
down, and we press on, pulling the pack with us.
We pass by the start finish line and I hear Cody’s dad
say that Cody was out there in no mans land up ahead.
We pull up, AJ’s on the front, and I say, “Get on
bud!” and Cody falls in. Once again, I find myself in
good company. My placing may not reflect it, but I had
a great race! The rain was brutal. It made for a slick
course and some scary moments. I just couldn’t
convince the body to make it to the 2nd race. I think
I knew all too well that if I’d bothered to show up
and cheer you guys, I’d have jumped in and possibly
hurt myself.
Glad to hear of all the success out there…promise to
put in my time in the near future.
Huge thanks to Rod and Derek for making it out to AJ’s
pizza party, you guys made his day. And Joe and
Robbie, ditto.
Thanks guys,
~ J

Mike Pugh, Golden State Crit 35+3/4

2008-07-02T10:07:00.003-07:00

We got lucky and the rain of Saturday am was long gone by 4:30pm. It was cool with a slight breeze out of the North when Fred, Chris B, Brian K and I got together to talk about the course and some strategy. The promoter had taken the 180 degree turn out of our race after some accidents in previous races resulting from the pavement on the left hander going into the 180. Our course was simple 4 corners, wide open with some broken pavement. The finish straight had a slight curve to the left out of the right hand corner. Relatively short sprint from the corner about 250 meters. Another DBC rider showed right before the start and introduced himself, really nice guy, but I forgot his name when to gun went off.

Prerace: I told the other 3 that I planned to sit the first half of the race whether a break went or not, however if any of them found them selves in a break I would go to the front and do what was needed to keep them off the front. Chris, Fred and I agreed that it was a sprint to the last corner with a relatively short run to the finish from the corner. We had an end game plan to be a train of 3 getting to that corner.

Team work: I could not have raced if Jason E had not showed up and graciously offered to hang with my nine year old daughter, Nicole-thanks again Jason.

Should I stay or should I go: About half way through the timed race (imagine looking at your watch to see how far along you are, first time I've done that) a small group of mixed riders was off the front about 4-5 seconds as a result of a couple of back to back primes. Prior to this I sat and worked very little watching attack after short lived attack reeled in by the pack. I decided to bridge as they looked as though they were working together. One lap later I was with 5 others. I won't go into details of the group but we in my opinion were crawling along with just enough smash to stay away from the field. I think at one point someone said we had a 14 second lead. That lead would dwindle to 8 seconds a short time later.

The kid: With 3 or 4 laps to go going into the first corner after the finish line a small (3-4 year old) boy ran in front of the break. He luckily was not hit and no one went down but the continuity of the six man break was shattered into two groups of 3. the first and fortunate 3 stayed off the front for the rest of the race. The later did not. Very unfortunate incident for those later three. More on this incident on the NCNCA blog.

Last couple of laps: After the initial shock of the incident, the lead group of 3 (myself, Mike from Auburn, and another guy who I can't remember) put our heads down. I told these two that we could do this and to not worry about the sprint. I figured that Fred, Chris and Brian were still working at the front of the pack even though the group was starting to posture on the last lap. I knew we had to work hard to pull this off.

The sprint: I timed my pulls and was second going into the final turn, I came off the lead riders wheel right after the corner as he jumped, normally in a longer sprint I would have sat on his wheel for a couple of seconds while he wound it up, not on this short finishing straight. I got about half a bike length ahead and held it to the line. Second place (Mike from Auburn) gave a good effort the last 50 meters so I had to throw my bike. I was very lucky that neither of my two partners were strong sprinters.

Teamwork-the break would not have stayed away without Fred, Brian, and Chris slowing down the pack. We were just "maintaining" off the front without very little real urgency as was evident by the fact that the lead went from 14 seconds to 8.

It was good to race with the guys and it was a fun race. I would recommend doing it again next year and hope for better course marshals. : )

Mike

Darin Salk, Golden State Crit Cat 5

2008-07-02T10:07:00.001-07:00

Ambulance delay to start race. Crash on 1st turn of 1st lap, crash on 1st turn of 2nd lap, 2 crashes in last lap (all in less than 40 minutes). All 6 DBC riders came through safely (Rod F, Mark H, Jason H, sorry I forgot your name again, and a younger DBC racer, I think. We all finished well :) although we didn't place :( Pre-race advice from fellow teammates was invaluable & Race Ride practices helped quite a bit for my first and only Crit since 1981. Among other things, I wish I could sprint-practice...practice! Overall it was a total high octane blast , and I loved it - I don't know if that's a good thing - Jason S must be rubbing off on me!

Darin

Chris Bowlus, Modesto RR, 35+4/5

2008-05-21T09:07:00.002-07:00

I was feeling pretty good going into this race. Had several good weeks of
training and during the last week the legs were feeling great in the race
ride sprints. A flat 55ish mile course suited me fine.

Didn't get out the door as quickly as I had hoped - no time for coffee -
UGH! Got my number and found that they only had 3 porta-potties for
everyone. After a long wait and taking care of business I had the number
pinned and was on the bike with a few minutes to spare. No problem
missing a good warm up since I figured there would be plenty of time for
it during the race.

It was a typical 35+ Cat4/5 road race on the flats - EXTREMELY BORING!!
Fred and I hung out in the back biding our time. On the second of the 6 9-
mile laps some guy in the middle flatted or something but never raised a
hand. I managed to avoid him but someone else veered and almost took Fred
out. I only noticed several miles later when Fred was no where to be
found. I looked back and saw him TTing with another guy. The pack was
moving slow so I waited and we worked together to get back on.

Like all of these races no one was willing to work together to sustain an
attack and every attack was immediately chased down. A few guys launched
solo but they never had a chance. I had 2 chances with a group of 3 and 4
but no one else wanted to work. I don't understand it. If you initiate an
attack and others go with you, don't you want to try and make it work?
Then after the ride all these guys complain about how slow it is, how
nobody works, etc. Well, what were you doing? STUPID!

Rod and Robin had a nice 2 man game going to the front and Robin
attacking with Rod blocking effectively. Unfortunately this left Robin
out solo on his break. Bob Blythe and Brian were also at the front at
various times pushing the pace. DBC represented well.

With 2 laps to go Fred, Robin and I decided that we'd go to the front and
try to get Robin to the finish. At the start of the last lap the pace
slowed and I made my way to the front. I looked around but didn't see any
DBCers (I guess this was a little early). I decided to go ahead and mix
things up so I picked it up to 25-26 mph and held it there. Still no
DBCers around when "melon calves" (you may recall him from last year's
Dunnigan Hills race)pulled through but he was the only one willing to
work. The pace quickly slowed again and I drifted to the back.

With about 2 miles to go I move toward the front again. There was a right
hander before the final left hander about 400 m from the finish. I still
wasn't sure where the other DBCers were but I started hammering anyways.
Pushing it up to 27-28 mph the field went single file. Just as my legs
were going Rod comes pulling through to save me. I grab his wheel long
enough to recover and take another pull. The legs are burning and guys
are coming around on the left - I try to grab a wheel to stay in the
front group but think I'm toast when I see the 1km sign. As a wise man
once said "The sprint comes from somewhere else." I hang on until we hit
the last left hander - a scary turn from good pavement to nasty, skin-
grating chipseal and gravel. I manage to get out of my saddle but there's
not anything left in the tank to really launch a sprint. Brian goes by me
on the left - nice to see - and a Synergy guys nips me at the line - not
so nice to see.

2 Top 10 finishers is nothing to complain about but I think we could do
better on this type of race and with the riders we have. Next time with a
better defined strategy and a little better luck we'll nail it.

Next up Golden State Crit 35+ 3/4 and 45+ 3/4/5 - see ya out there.

Chris

Nelson Frink, Panoche Valley RR, 45+ 4/5

2008-05-21T09:05:00.002-07:00

Hey Guys,
Will and I had a great race and a fun time today down by Hollister. After getting humbled last weekend at Berkeley Hills, it was reassuring to see we could still be competitive and significant players in the action. I hope things went well for the team members at the Modesto Road Race today.
The field was full for our race, and the course was a 40 mile out-and-back which gained 2000 ft vertical going out and was mostly downhill to flat coming back. The pace was moderate until we hit the low rollers, and then went full tilt on the first major climb. Will was driving hard at the front for much of the way up and stayed at or near the front coming back down as well. After each climb the front group got smaller, and by the last significant climb I realized I better hold on at all costs as I was at the back. Fifteen of us turned around the marker at Panoche Pass, and some of us were trading pulls to gap the scattered chasing racers. There were a number of breakaway attempts on the way back, but a 6-8 mph headwind made it hard for them to stay away. There were two racers in the lead group from each of the major teams: Zteam, Six-Fifty, Synergy-Taleo, Team Bicycle Trip, SJBC and Eastside Velo. Will had offered to lead me out in the sprint as we were discussing strateg
y on the drive down, but I told him to go for the win himself if the opportunity developed. He went on a flyer at 1K, and for the first time the whole pack responded furiously with a full-adrenaline chase. I sat in the middle as the pack caught and passed Will with 200 with yards to go. His move took the sprint out of a few racers and helped soften things up for my sprint for 6th or so. The race atmosphere was friendly at the end, and we hung out and shot the breeze with the other teams while enjoying food and beverages provided by the organizers. It was one of my favorite races so far, and I had a great time carpooling down and racing with Will.

Nelson
_______

Marianne Hernandez, Berkeley Hills RR, Cat 4

2008-05-21T08:51:00.002-07:00

Race Report: Berkeley Hill Road Race-Women's Cat 4 The race was progressing nicely when at mile 12 someone in the front pack unexpectedly swerved and before me was a pile of downed bikes and riders which I unavoidably hit. I quickly got up, untangled my bike then realized my chain was off and my handlebars were turned 30 degrees to the left. After some effort, I was able to force it to 5 degrees from center and headed off knowing I'd be riding alone the rest of the way. Soon I noticed my front brake had come loose and even after disabling it, it continued to hit my rim unless I pulled the right brake pad off with my hand. I realized I could pull up on the cable near the handlebar stem and keep it off the rim. Then at mile 20 I thought of putting my bike glove under the cable to keep it taut so I could grip the handlebar comfortably. Before you go thinking "Lady MacGyver," that didn't work so well. I spent the rest of the race (only 33 miles--thank goodness!) with my index finger pulling up on the front brake cable. Needless to say climbing is not very effective with your hand near the stem of the handlebar. I didn't worry about the brake rubbing too much on the descents. I had the thought, "If only I had a zip tie." I guess an allen wrench would have been even better. : ). I ended up finishing the race with a few scrapes and bruises and the bike is already fixed!!

I'm pretty sore today though-ugh. I heard later that the reason for the crash was a squirrel . . .A SQUIRREL!! Aargh!! Oh well onward and upward.

Marianne

Jason Snovel, Berkeley Hills RR, 35+ 4

2008-05-21T08:26:00.002-07:00

That’s the last carbon bar I’ll ever put on my
ride…maybe!
My warm up consisted of sprinting back and forth
between the car and the registration table. Being that
I was at the top of the waitlist I was pretty sure I’d
get in so long as I was there when they opened it.
After being told twice to check back later by the
registrar, I headed back to the car once again to make
sure AJ was ready. Got him set up on his
trainer…pinned his #’s on (stabbing him pretty good
for the 1st time…he handled it like a champ) glance at
the watch, 7:40! Crap! Sprint back to the registration
table where there’s 2 guys in front of me. “Have they
opened up the waitlist yet?” “Yup!” They’d already
signed 7 guys. I look to the registrar and he gives me
a reassuring look. "I was wondering where you were
dude" says as he waves me to the table…I’m the 10th
one in…registration closes. WHEW! I sprint back to the
car. “What time is it?” I yell out to AJ. “7:50! Did
you get in?” “YUP!” 8 minutes to take off my jersey,
pin both #’s on, grab water bottles, nutrition, and
get back to the start where they’d already started
lining up.
I roll up just in time. I see Fred, Jim, Lorne,
Nelson, and Lee all talking, was just about to chime
in when I noticed my tires felt a little squishy. I
frantically search for anything that remotely
resembles a pump. The registrar notices and asks if I
need anything. “A PUMP!” He sees one across the
parking lot and we make a mad dash for it. It’s one of
those all plastic ones from the 1980’s or something,
but we finally get it to work…good thing, my tires
were about 20lbs. low. Not sure what the registrar’s
name was, but I owe him one big time!
We’re off. During roll out, we’re leisurely making our
way around the lake and out to San Pablo Dam Rd. when
Lorne unknowingly clips what must have been a broken
bot dot and it ricochet’s up and smacks the side of
some dudes helmet. He must have been in a zone or
something because the dude didn’t even flinch and
those things are heavy little buggers. An opportune
time for the ole internal monologue to blow up…
“That’s a strange way to start a race!” he says. Just
then I do that thing we all do when encountered by
these types of odd situations. You know, that
“Wait-a-minute” thing. I sit up frozen in my saddle
only moving my eyes left, then right, then slowly move
my head, looking from side to side, making sure I’m
actually racing and not dreaming…
I ride up next to Lorne and say, “If you want a chance
at it, stay on Jim’s wheel!” I zero in. I see Nelson,
looking strong, then Lee looking none the worse for
wear after the EBC crit the day before. Lorne makes a
move to the front and pulls for a bit looking as
strong as ever. As for me, my legs were already
feeling a bit tired. Jim’s a slippery fella, squirting
in and out of holes as he makes his way to the front.
I’m catching glimpses of him as I try to follow.
“There he is…go!” I squirt through and he’s
immediately enveloped and out of site again. It was a
pretty big group of about 70 riders or so…then, about
¾ through the first lap, we hit the hills and the pack
begins to split…by the time we hit Pappa Bear I’ve
managed to stay with the lead group of about 35 guys
or so, but begin to fall off. As I roll over the
summit, I’m about 50m back. Just then I see Shawn,
“Keep it up, there’s a long decent, you can recover
then, keep going!” he yells as I pass. I ramp it up a
bit and just as I’m about to give up and fall back, I
look up to see a few riders on the opposite side
saying that the main group had slowed way down and
that I could catch on if I hammered. I puckered my ars
and hammered a bit longer and was able to catch on,
only to get shelled again on Baby Bear. I continue
playing leap frog with the moto official until we hit
San Pablo Dam Rd. where I TT'd my way back to the
pack. He sat right behind me the whole way almost
pushing me. Not sure if it helped or not...every time
we hit anything resembling a hill, he'd down shift,
confirming what my legs and lungs were already well
aware of. I’m on again, whew! Breath, grab a drink,
slam the Enervitene cheer pack that I was saving for
the last lap, and hold on.
The second lap pretty much follows suit and, as I
summit Pappa Bear, there’s Shawn offering words of
encouragement and again. Just like the 1st lap, I use
the decent to catch back on. As we make the right
hander onto San Pable Dam Rd. to start our 3rd and
final lap I’m about 100m off the back. A bit further
than last time and I’m faced with the same
decision...visit the cave, or drop off? In chimes the
internal monologue again, only this time, it’s not
Liggett’s voice I hear, it’s mine. “If I can catch
back on, I’ll have plenty of time to recover and maybe
I’ll have enough in my legs to offer Jim a half way
decent lead out. I hit the drops time to HTFU man!
(I’ve gotta get me one of those wrist bands…anyone
have an extra?) After my TT back to the group, “I’m a
complete wreck, flashlight, batteries,
matches…everythings gone, dumped overboard to save
weight…including the spare tank…finished…spent…out of
air…out of…” just then I hear something. It sounds
familiar. I just can’t make it out. I look over to my
left and… “Hhhheeeeyyy,,,iiiitttttsssss
Ssssshhhhaaaawwwwnnnn aaaaggggaaaaaiiiiinnn,,,
aaaannnddd llllooookkkk,,, iiitttttsss
Kkkkkaaaarrrrrcccchhhh…Heeeyyy

y ggguuuuuyyyyysss!
Hhhhoooowws iiiitttt gggooooiiiinnngg?” “Llloookkk
aaattt mmmmeeeeeee,, Immmm sssstttuuuucckk iinn
mmooolllaaasssseesss!” "Hhhaaaahhaaa!" His lips are
moving, but I can’t hear a thing. Then, like water
draining from my ears after an open water swim I snap
out of my momentary stress induced narrative and hear,
“rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrab a drink! Keep going, keep going!”
as he leans over Karch and hollers at me. Like a
programmed cyborg I reach for my water bottle as the
humming in my ears subsides and I latch on to the
wheel in front of me.
I manage to recover fairly well and begin to weave my
way up to Jim who’s managed to stay in the top 10
riders throughout the race. “There he is!” I blink and
he’s gone. We hit the first climb and low and behold,
there’s Jim. Funny thing…you could ask me what color
Jim’s hair is…I wouldn’t know. You could ask me what
color his bike is…I couldn’t tell ya. You could ask me
how tall, or what type of cycling shoes he wears and
I’d have no clue. But you ask me what color his rear
tire is…Yellow! And his front…Red! I manage to stay
with him for a bit, but loose him and fall to the back
again. I figured the moto ref needed a little
company...ya know? After the long decent down Castro
to Alhambra Vly. I start to recover and begin to
"strategerize" my next move.
I make my way through about half the pack and figured
after the bridge at Happy Valley I’d make my way back
up to Jim and offer to lead him out…if I could. We fly
down the hill to the Bridge at Happy Valley road, I
say to the group, “C-mon guys, just roll over it!” The
prior two laps, everyone was slamming on their brakes
just before hitting the bump and causing all kinds of
near misses. I figure this time I’ll take the inside
and try and sprint my way up to Jim. Big mistake!
We’re doing about 35 and two guys decide to sandwich
me right before the bridge causing me to hit the
brakes just as I hit the bump. I try to shift my
weight back before hitting it and “SNAP!” “WTF!?!” “Oh
SH!T!” my brand new carbon bar had snapped about 2 ½
inches to the right of the clamp and I hear the guy
next to me say "OH SHIT DUDE...YOU JUST SNAPPED YOUR
BAR!" Don't ask me how, but somehow during that split
second I managed to look up as he's looking down at my
bar. The snap shot of the look on his face is burned
into my memory. Luckily I use electrical tape instead
of that crap that comes with the bar tape because that
was the only thing holding it together. How I didn’t
go down, I don’t know. Now I’m not a very religious
man, and I’m not arrogant enough to say that it was
all skill, but man...I should have been toast! I hit
my chest on my stem and immediately grabbed a hold of
the clamp with my right hand pushing myself back up,
bounced off two guys and regained control. If I had to
go to the bathroom, I would have crapped my pants
right there! I was torn between "Totally Pissed" and
"Scared Sh!tless" as I started to slow to the right
side of the road…1- 2 -8 – 10 guys go by me and I’m
off the back again…”I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS SH!T!” “I’m
so close!” “F-THIS man, if it breaks, it breaks!” The
adrenaline rush must have kicked me into a gear that I
never even knew I had. Luckily it was mostly climbing
from that point on. In order to shift my rear derailer
I had to shift all my weight to my left side and
gently use my thumb as a counter weight on the hood to
shift. I couldn’t get out of the saddle and hammer so
I was relegated to staying in the saddle for the
remainder of the race. So I saddle sprint my way up
the last climb with both hands clenching the center of
the bar, thumbs crossed over the top of the clamp,
chin almost touching them, drooling, spitting
scratching, clawing, fighting for every breath,
chest’s burning, whole body feeling like I’m stuck in
a freakin meat grinder and manage to pass over half
the pack to finish 20th.
It was a very strong field. A feeling that was
validated when I rode up to Jason B. Expecting him to
have won because he seems to win every race he’s in.
He came in 5th or 6th. Very strong indeed. AJ rode up
shortly after congratulating me. He ended up coming in
13th in his race.
I learned that positioning is everything this weekend.
In the EBC crit, the first guy was only 2 seconds
faster than the 30th. And in yesterdays race…it would
have been a lot easier not having to weave my way up
the hill to the finish. I’ve got to work on my
positioning…
As far as carbon bars are concerned…I’ll be shopping
for an aluminum one this time thank you very much!
Great job to everyone out there this weekend...it was
an incredible day...
~ J
p.s. I'll send a few pics of my bar in a bit...

Karl Wurzbach, EBC Crit, Cat 4 and 35+ 4

2008-05-21T08:19:00.002-07:00

Lee,Thanks for the encouraging words. After a horrible 1st race (cat 4) I ended up 21st after being 4th at the turn with 150m to go. Halfway through the first race I moved to the front and chased every break (there were 4-5 attempted breakaways) I had nothing to respond with at the finish. In the 35+ 4 race I decided to sit in the back most of the race and move up at the end with about 6 laps to go. A lot of moving around and it was very difficult to stay on a wheel in the front. People were constantly coming from the outside to move up in position. It was all I could do to get in the top 10 pack going into the last turn spotting the lead rider a good 6-7 yards. I moved well to the finish and #1-8 was separated by a bike length. #5-8 positions were about a foot apart. The good news for the first time in a while is that I closed on the leaders and gained ground instead of losing ground in the sprint. Good lesson learned on the first crit is I can't try to cover every b
reakaway and I have to trust the field to some extent. Oh, they held me at the line b/c my number was upside down. What a dumas!! Hope to see you guys at the Tues RR this week.Karl

Jim Kuphaldt, Wente, 45+ 4/5

2008-05-21T07:56:00.002-07:00

Wente Vinyards Road Race 45+ cat 4,5

Warmed up and went to the line with Nelson F. and Darin S. One other
DBC rider was at the line who I had not met that I'm told was Hal Slone.
Went out with my usual plan, ride towards the front to get in any break
that develops. I might rethink that strategy after this race. This
turned out to be the toughest ride I have ever been on. Did not realize
I could get my heart rate so close to my maximum for that long and still
keep going.

We rolled out easy as expected before the climb with Hal Setting much of
the early tempo. I was not expecting the first trip up the climb to be
very hard, but I went above threshold the first time up the steep part
for a bit then settled back in towards the top.

I was just following wheels at the front letting others set the pace.
Ended up being 4-5 of us off the front at the top but we were caught
somewhere on the flats by a large group of riders including Nelson and
Darin.

We set a pretty good tempo with some guy who wasn't even in our race
driving the group on the whole flat stretch. The second time up the
steep section I was within 8 beats of my max and was still loosing
ground to the leaders. We were all strung out up that part of the climb
and I continued well above threshold the rest of the way up the climb as
I got back in with a group of 9 or so riders with two still up the road.
Nearly crashed on the long descent at the hairpin left when I was
rotating past the rider in front and he cut me off on the apex forcing
me onto the bot dots at 40+ mph. the bike jumped about 3ft outside and I
barely saved it almost going off the road. As I accelerated back onto
his wheel I had a few choice words for him, but as I look back on it,
probably was not the best time to rotate through.

As we rolled through the flats we got a pretty good pace line going
finally after many failed attempts on the gradual decent. We caught the
other two riders just before the start line area, now there were 11 of
us as we headed into the 3rd climb. I knew we had some serious climbers
in our group when a 4 man break from the Pro race came by right after
the underpass at the base of the gradual climb, and they only put about
150m on us by the finish line with one to go. By the feed zone we were
all strung out again with 8 in front and 2 behind. Once again I was
redlining as I did on the steep stuff every lap. I began picking off
guys one by one on the more gradual climb after the line. At the top
there was a group of 4 still ahead about 70 m as the main group of the
pros went by. My son Taylor asked me if I was leading and I pointed to
the group ahead as they breezed by me. The last of the string of about
35 Pros went by me right at the top and I stayed about 20m behind all
the way to the bottom, where I caught the 4 leaders of my race. I
struggled to hang on in the small climbs but figured at this point I was
going for top 5 because I could not see anyone behind us.

I burned so much energy to get back on that I was just sitting on the
back on the descent. We didn't form a pace line until just before that
first right turn, and I had recovered enough to help out by that time.
The pace line was pretty erratic which made it difficult to find my
rhythm. These guys kicked my a@# up the climb every lap so I figured I
was riding for 5th when much to my surprise a group of 4 riders caught
us right after the underpass. Now there was 9 and I was starting to
cramp bonk and otherwise feel like s#@%. Once we hit that dreaded steep
section three guys attacked and I was determined to go with them, which
I did for about 150m, until I ceased up and began dropping back like a
rock. The whole group passed me before the feed zone and I made a feeble
attempt to catch the last couple in the group but had to settle for a
distant 9th. No a painful cramping, wheezing, most I have ever hurt on a
bike, 9th. Nelson F. rolled in a very respectable 19th and Darin was
about 40th. I didn't see Hal come in so I'm not sure what happened to
him.

Lessons learned. Eat right before the race and bring gels food or at
least sport drink for a road race. Water alone does not cut it. Don't
pass on a descending corner. Be patient, don't chase all the early
breaks down. Work with the big group for a while on a tough course like
Wente. I can't climb with the big dogs on the steep sections. Maybe that
guy at Sea Otter wasn't superman on the steep section last week. Or did
I just race against 8 more supermen.

Still it was rewarding to push my body to the limit time and time again.
Was a very satisfying to know I could not have pushed myself any harder.
I sure can learn to ride a lot smarter though. Next up for me is
Berkeley Hills. Sounds like more of the same. See you there!

Jim Kuphaldt

Derek Byrne, Wente 35+ 4

2008-05-21T07:54:00.004-07:00

Hey guys,

Lee and Tom and a couple of guys asked how I am doing, so here is my "fall" report. To call it a crash would be far too grandiose. Basically got dropped on the first climb of the first lap. On the descent I hooked up with Lee and a few other guys. Our numbers fluctuated until we were down to 4 of us on the last lap. Shortly before the uphill, 90 degree, right hander before the descent, Lee kindly held up for me with the other 2 guys. I repayed that kindness by catching up with them, but finding myself quickly coming up on the rear wheel of an Infovista rider. I guess I was more mentally fatigued than I thought, cuz while I could see what was happening my brain couldnt get my hands to hit the brakes. So I promptly rammed into the back of this guys wheel and fell over like a turtle at a whopping 15 mph or so.
Lee and the other riders were nice about offering to wait for me. I got back up and on the bike, but something was rubbing. Made it couple hundred yards or so around the right turn, and there was Mark Adkinson. He offered me a ride, and I took it, and told Lee and those guys to go on without me. I had a possible appointment for an audition in SF, and didnt want to be late, and was just pissed at myself for being so stupid. Got a ride back to the finish, and rolled down to my car, tail between my legs. Oh, I never told you guys about my tail. Some other time.
If anyone knows of a lamer crash, my ego would love to hear about it some time. Big thanks to Lee for trying to keep us all together. We had a nice little pack going for a while. Special thans to Mark A. for the ride, cold water, and paper towels for my wounds. I picked a great month to start shaving!

take care guys, derek

Nelson Frink, Wente RR, 45+ 4/5

2008-04-28T14:36:00.003-07:00

"Thirty seconds to the whistle", the ref announced right after Darin Salk, Jim Kuphaldt and I pulled in from our warm-up ride into the 45+4/5 group of 75 racers. Whoa! That was close! We rolled out casually at first, and soon I see orange and blue move to the front and pick the tempo up to racing speed. I assumed it was Jim, but then saw him further back, and asked Darin who our teammate was on the front. It was Hal Sloane, and he led for at least a mile.

I was dropped on the first lap on the second portion of the climb on the more gradual stretch after the Freeway Overpass. When the other scattered riders around me on the descent weren't trying to catch the 15 or so riders 100 yards ahead, I burned a couple of matches to catch back on in the descent and on the more gradual 2nd climb. When we looped back around to the starting point, I looked back and there were at least 40 racers, and I realized I could have sat in and caught back on without working so hard. On the 2nd lap climb, I decided I needn't try to hold the front group but rather keep close enough to get back in on the downhill and flats. About 20 racers in two groups were ahead of me going over the top, but when I looked back there were just a few scattered racers for a long way back, and I realized the reinforcements weren't going to come through this time. I chased hard on the downhill and back onto the 2nd gradual uphill, but couldn't close the 50 yard gap to the 10 rider chase group. I soloed quite awhile until I was picked up by five guys as I looped past the race start. We caught some dropped riders on the third lap, and I came in third of the ten or so of us on the finishing climb for 19th place overall.

On the drive home I was talking with Jim who said it was the most difficult course he'd raced by far, and I was arguing that the course wasn't so tough as the competition. However, as we talked about it more, I realized he was right. The mountain goats would push mere mesomorphs like us over the red line and get a little gap on the steep section before the freeway, and then try hard to extend it on the section after the freeway. The Sea Otter road race had more total vertical over the same distance, but the toughest climb was only about as long as the first stretch before the freeway, and the fast climbers couldn't get a big enough gap to hold off the pack on the long gradual downhill into the wind, so they quit trying after the first couple of laps. The short, fast downhill at Wente was hard to bridge on, and was followed by another gradual climb where they could bury the hatchet. At Copper the climb was followed by a long, flatter section where you could always see the front group and thus be encouraged to work with other riders to get back on. I'm told that the Berkeley road race has more overall climbing than Wente, but they're shorter climbs. Hopefully I'll have a better chance of holding/rejoining onto the front group there. For anyone who's interested, here's my garmin file for the race. I had 53 minutes of 93% or greater of max heart rate, which beat my prior high of 49 minutes at Copper. http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5514115

Lessons learned: 1. Just because the first race is delayed 15 minutes doesn't mean the following ones will. 2. Don't assume you'll be able to get help from others to get back on if you're dropped. It's better to burn extra energy closing a gap than soloing for miles. 3. Frozen water bottles may be nice for long rides, but they're just extra weight in a shorter race. I suppose I shouldn't complain about getting one from Jim's brother Joe who ran a fast forty yards uphill to pass it to me on the 3rd lap. The cool sips I did get from it occasionally were so nice, and I was lucky to get anything at all at the no-neutral-support feed zone.

Nelson

Leon Basdekas, Wente RR, 35+ 5

2008-04-28T14:35:00.001-07:00

My goals were just as Stan described-- stay upright and have fun. Mission accomplished! My strategy was to hang with the lead group and then try to hang in the pack and recover, I started calling it "hang and hide". Justin did a great job of describing our race so I'll just add a few notes from my perspective. The first climb was very tough and I was thinking I couldn't hold the pace long but was able to hang and make it over the major climb. I was glad to see Justin made it over and from there the rest of the first lap was mostly uneventful. The second time through the climb was tough again and I saw Justin fading and was thinking that would be it for him. I was able to hang through the climb and then at the bottom imagine my surprise when Justin came up beside me panting like a dog on a hot summer day. Awesome effort to catch back on! Justin didn't give himself enough credit, that guy is a fast descender and has a never give up attitude. So as the race progressed down to the highway that runs north there is a short hill. Well the group slowed way down so I figured that I would go up front for a token pull and speed things up a bit as my legs had recovered pretty well and hoped to maybe take a bit out a few others that were hurting. Well nobody would pull through after that I eased up and everybody stayed behind me. So I just settled in and rode tempo for a bit. It was actually kind of fun being on front for a bit. After passing through the start area I slowed to stretch my calves and finally people started to come around and I settled back in the pack. The pace really slowed after a bit and just by the group morphing I found myself on front again at and easy pace so I figured I would take it up again. We went through a few areas with slight inclines and I could hear the guys behind me saying things like "oh no here come the hills again" That was my cue to lift the pace a tad. After we made the right turn to "the climb" I started increasing the pace and shortly after that the guys started to come around me. I was trying to hold the pace while looking for Sandrine with my bottle (I carried two and got a new one on the last lap) I spotted her and waved and it was a perfect handoff (Thanks again Sandrine and Lauren, you rock!, It would not have been the same race without that bottle). After we got dropped Justin was hanging tough but cramped briefly I think it was just before a right hander and a small climb, I asked him what I should do he said go, so I did. Well not too long after that I thought I heard something, looked back and saw Justin chasing me so I eased up, the two man TT formed and we were off. Apparently he had to yell four times before I heard him. Did I say this guy won't quit!! He had his head about him keeping us on orderly pulls as we TT'd. We worked very well together. I was fighting cramps at one point and needed a quick stretch, and was really thankful for that extra bottle! Coming through somewhere near the start area we caught what we thought was our race pack but it turned out to be a pack of juniors soft pedaling and strategizing, that was a bit demoralizing but we pressed on. I was hoping we had a shot at top ten as long as we didn't get caught. Then we saw the Synergy guy and thought that passing one rider may make a difference if we were close to a top ten position. When we stared the the last climb I rode determined that I could catch him and closed on him as his teammates on the side of the rode were yelling at him that I was closing on him. I stayed about 20m behind for a few seconds to size things up when I caught a glimpse of the finish. I tried to shift quietly dropping a gear or two and gave it my all in a sneak attack. I went around him with enough speed where he couldn't jump my wheel, he would have to work to get it. I didn't know if he was there or not so I just kept my head down all the way through the finish line going across with a heart rate of 188 (1 below my max).

Lesson learned:

When people are hurting you on the climbs do not pull on the flats (even if you feel good)
Teammates can make all the difference: TT partner, lets you back into pace line, encouragement etc.

Thanks Justin for making it a great race experience.

Leon

p.s. Getting 9th was just icing on the cake...

Darin Salk, Wente RR, 45+ 4/5

2008-04-28T14:30:00.001-07:00

Hot, hilly and fun. Very happy with the 8:35 am start - it must have been brutal at Noon. Another personal victory: not last, no crash. Jim K and Nelson F we're the stallions again, with Jim finishing 9th and Nelson somewhere close by. I got popped off the lead group before the 1st of 3.5 laps was over. Still need to drop lbs!!! I TT'd for a while until thankfully Hal came along with about 8 riders. With some "subtle" screaming from Hal and yours truly we got a pace line together and rotated whenever possible. When it works, a smoothly rotating pace line has to be one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done in cycling!

Most of our group hung together until the final uphill climb to the finish. The race rides, Wheelworks ride (with a little Master's swimming too) and mentoring from our leaders and other experienced racers is starting to pay off. I was hurting pretty bad but was able to put the DBC hammer down and drop all the guys in the group before crossing the line with what I can only describe as a classic Fast Freddie description of HTFU - let's just say I wasn't looking or feeling my best! But I was happy and satisfied.

After recovering, Jan (3rd place in Master's 1-2-3!), Hal and I rolled back, and I just missed the start of the Masters 35+ Cat-5 race - sorry I missed you guys - please get older soon!

Justin Hall 35+ 5

2008-04-28T14:15:00.003-07:00

Wente Vinyards RR
Category 5 Masters 35+
Justin Hall
Finishing position: 11/50
Teammates: Leon Baskekas, Joe Kovacs, Joaquin Feliciano, and one other who I don't recall (sorry)
Course description: As most of you know the race starts with an approximately 4 mile roll out till the first climb which is about 4 miles long but the first pitch of about 1 mile is pretty steep...really fun downhill section for a couple of miles with gentle rollers and flats turning into the wind back toward the staging area and back around to the climb. We did 3 laps.

The weather forecasts said it was going to be a warm day - but it ended up being downright hot. When Leon got to my at ~8:45a house it was actually rather windy and I found myself happy I wasn't on the wheelworks ride but concerned that if it was this windy in Davis how bad would it be in areas where they actually build windmills??? Fortunately the wind ended up being light but that also served to make a warm day actually a hot day!!! Because I cramped at Copperopolis, I started hydrating on Friday and really focused on staying hydrated throughout the day. As Karl mentioned in his report, we were surprised to find there would be no neutral water so we planned to have Mike and Lee's SO's give us bottles every lap - huge thanks go out to those two gals for their help!!!!

The first lap our group of 50 frag'ed to about 30 or so on the first climb, Leon and I stayed with the main pack but we lost the balance of our DBC team - I was climbing at or beyond threshold so I knew the climbs on the next couple laps it would be hard to stay with the group. I started the descent toward the back but worked my way up through the field just using my momentum and rode the balance of that lap at the front but not doing a bit of work. Nobody really wanted to lead and we basically softpedaled the lap allowing 4 other riders dropped on the climb to TT back on. Consumed one bottle and one gel.

The second lap our group shelled even more. Leon put forth a hell of an effort to stay on the back of the main group of about 15-20 riders but I couldn't hang on. I lost probably about 30 yards between the bottom of the hill and start finish and on the balance of the climb from the overpass to the top I lost another 50 or so yards as I was trying to tt back on to the group who was working together. I figured I could catch back on the decent, so I really pressed hard not resting at all and caught back on at the bottom left hander. At this point I was fried and needed to recover, whereas the rest of the group was strong having rested on the descent, so at a couple points on the rollers and the short stinger hill I fell a few yards off but was able to stay with the group. After a couple miles I got my legs back but started cramping again in my right calf. Consumed one bottle, one gel, and dropped my granola bar while opening it L .

The climb on the third lap was very painful. I was determined to not get dropped as I noticed the wind was picking up on the backside and I didn't want to solo TT in. It took everything I had to stay with Leon, and he was giving it everything he had to stay with the group, but we couldn't hang with them and the main group was down to 10, with the balance of the group really spread out. We were at the front of the remaining very fragmented group and worked together to stay ahead of the rest of the field trying to catch back on to the main group. We TT'ed together the rest of the way in never giving up hoping to catch anyone who fell off the back. At the start of the final pitch we saw a Synergy rider who we recognized - I had nothing left but Leon pressed and got the guy at the sprint to finish 9th!! I basically paced at 300w up the hill to finish 11th.

Key learnings: At Copperopolis I made the conscious decision to stay at threshold (300w) on the climb, let the group go, and try to catch back on rather than risk blowing up. At Wente I decided to go well into the red zone (400-450w) given the climbs were shorter in an effort to stay with the group - this seemed to work better although on races with longer sustained climbs such as Patterson Pass I will probably still get dropped till I shed more weight. I am still around 180lbs which seems too heavy to be any sort of a decent climber but I am having difficulty getting below this weight. Here is my power data, anyone with any insights or suggestions please let me know:

Duration: 2:28:57 (2:31:29)
Work: 1816 kJ
TSS: 218.6 (intensity factor 0.938)
Norm Power: 263
VI: 1.29
Distance: 47.736 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 882 203 watts
Heart rate: 0 203 181 bpm
Cadence: 29 178 89 rpm
Speed: 0 45.8 19.2 mph
Pace 1:22 0:00 3:07 min/mi
Overall I am very happy with this result as the course doesn't really favor my strengths (if I have any), and work/family limited my training since Copperopolis. Thanks for being a great teammate Leon, it was a lot of fun. Good job seeing all the other DBC'ers out there, I think we had some good team results.
Justin