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.
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
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
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
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!
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Niki
Wente Crit 09 from Carol
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!
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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Ciao... Carol H.
Napa Crit 09 from Karl W.
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