San Ardo Road Race Report

From last years start.
Photo Credit: www.procyclingphotos.com/san_ardo/2008/men/

Saturday, August 22 found me punching holes in my jersey while sitting on my truck's tail gate in the small Salinas Valley town of San Ardo. I've always had a fondness for this race, maybe because it was the last race I raced back in the 80's when I gave up bicycle racing the first time. In the last 4 years I've been back a few times with this being my first race as a NorCal racer. The irony here is that I figured the drive to San Ardo would be quicker and closer, as it is a NorCal race, and I now live in the NorCal. What a surprise to find out that San Ardo is almost exactly the same distance from our home in the Napa Valley as it was to our previous home in the Antelope Valley of SoCal - around 230 miles away.

I decided to race the Masters' Cat 4/5 race and it was set to go off at 9:05. By 8:00 I was on my bike warming up by riding a part of the race course backwards. I like to get about an hour in for a warm-up and I prefer to ride my bike around the course whenever possible as opposed to attaching my bike to a static trainer. I ended up getting close to 12 miles in before the start of the 47 mile race. As usual, I've got a MapMyRide link and map at the end of this post.

San Ardo's course is a 23.5 mile loop around the farm land of the Salinas Valley. The race organizers always list the race as loops of 21 miles, but my Garmin has always shown each loop to be closer to 24 miles. The race is advertised as flat but it does have a couple of sprinter's hills embedded in the course, and it seemed that most of us dropped to our smaller chain ring on one of the first hills. My Garmin says we climbed a total of 1585 feet in the two laps of 47 miles that made up our race. MapMyRide shows a climb of 912 feet so I'm guessing the real climb data is somewhere between the two - my legs sure felt like the Garmin was the more correct of the two; started feeling some slight cramping in the finishing sprint.

After the usual words about the course from the race official, we were off. You start almost immediately going uphill but it is very gradual. The race starts in town right in front of the high school and heads across a bridge over the Salinas River. It gradually climbs past the feed stop and up the overpass for the crossing of the 101 freeway. 50 guys were listed as starting the race but the final results show several no shows. I looked around the peloton and it seemed like we had close to 50 guys. The pace at this point was pretty easy. I did my usual routine of staying near the front but not trying to stay so close that I had to do any work at the front. In any case, the speed was relaxing as all knew that we would have two laps for this race.

Just before 3 miles the first hill crests out and you level for just a short time and then start a 2nd hill. This one is steeper than the first and it is here that I saw and heard others dropping to their small chain ring, including myself. Compared to a true hill course, these two initial hills are no big deal but by the time you come around them a second time, the hill climbers are attacking and you're driving your bike over them in the big ring - it's good for getting your heart rate up and mine topped out at 175 bpm, which is pretty good as my max is right around 180-181 bpm. After mile 5 you hit the top and start a long decent of about 6 miles, with just a couple of rollers to add excitement as someone will always attack on them. With a course so devoid of hills, sorting can only happen on the big ring rollers and pretty much only on the 2nd lap. At around mile 11.5 you cross a bridge over the Salinas River again and start a gradual ascent that will last all the way to the starting or finishing area. Mile 13 brings another sprinter's hill and is a good spot for someone to make an attack. Lap one though, we went neutral as the Cat 3 leaders started passing our peloton, followed a couple of minutes later by their peloton. I was riding near the front so I missed the crash that occurred during the fracas of the two groups meeting each other. I heard it took several of our guys down but that all got back in the race - thankfully no one hurt. Staying near the front has its advantages in avoiding crashes. It is also helpful because in a flat race like this one, I can respond to any attack that takes place. The downside of staying near the front is that I tend to get over excited and end up pulling the peloton around which I did, way too much, in lap 2.

Lap 1 ends uneventfully, if you don't count the crash, and lap 2 starts with a bang. Immediately the climbers attack on the first 2 hills of the course. I'm still 180lbs+ so I really feel the exertion that's needed to stay with the leaders. As we crest the 2nd hill I'm still there, about 15th from the front. I take a quick look back and think I see most of the group, I couldn't tell if we shelled anybody off the back or not. At this point I rotated on to the front and nobody came around me so it would appear that I would be pulling the peloton for a bit. Actually, rather than work hard, I took this opportunity to just ride at my pace and recover from the hard exertion we had just put in cresting the first hills. After crossing the bridge a second time, guys had finally gotten tired of my 20mph cruise and came around me on the left. The pace immediately went up as we headed for the sprinters hill at mile 13. Boom - off they went and I stayed in my big ring as I jumped out of the saddle and started up the hill. We came over the top and I'm still sitting pretty at around 10th place or so. Somebody next to me asks if we dropped anybody on that surge - I take a quick look back but answer, "dunno." I still couldn't tell if we dropped anybody as the peloton seemed unchanged. This was a strong group of guys for a 4/5 race. We averaged over 22 mph with a top speed of 37 mph so we weren't lolly gagging on this course. Quite the contrary, there were a large number of surges to see if we could break the peloton into manageable groups - very tiring.

Somewhere around mile 40 or so, I stayed with a couple of flyer attempts but nothing too tough, just enough to wear you down a little. At about mile 42 the guys were content to just sit in at around 22 mph and it looked like it was going to be a mass sprint at the finish. Guys began to cheat up and around and crowd the front of the peloton but no one wanted to attack. I had felt a little cramping on the last sprinter's hill so I knew I wasn't in any condition to attack myself and was now a little concerned about my ability to sprint up the small hill, created by the freeway overpass, that marks the finish area. I tried to maintain my position at the front but I kept slipping gradually back to around 15th place as we moved through the town with only 1k to go or so to the finish. It was here something strange happened. We overtook the rear guard of the Cat 3s. Our peloton swallowed them up but rather than move over as the Cat 3s should have done, they increased speed and stayed in the front group of 15. If anything they started blocking our sprint group. I'm still not sure what exactly was going on but I did see one of the young Cat 3s turn completely around on his seat and scream at our guys. He started yelling, our guys started yelling back and it looked like we were in for a nasty crash as we were now only 500m from the finish. I took stock of this and said to myself, I'm not going to make the podium and a crash looks imminent, in point of fact, the cocky Cat 3 guy turned around again just as he hit a bump and almost went down - that was it for me, I backed off the speed and allowed myself to drift to the back of our group. I traded a top 10 or 15th placing for a 22nd place but in any case, it wouldn't be worth the crash if it occurred. Turns out it didn't so I dropped back for nothing. I did throw in the fastest sprint I still had left and made it pass a few guys. I was happy with the place as I felt I worked real hard in this race; staying at the front 90% of the time. Better yet, I had fun and that's pretty much what road racing is all about for me - and I stayed on the bike and off the ground. Check out the results at Velo Promo.

Final data: 46.73 miles in 2hr 06'47" for an average speed of 22.1 mph. Click on the map below for a MapMyRide view of the course.

I'm Ready

Bouquet Canyon Reservoir
Photo Credit: http://image14.webshots.com/14/5/67/57/159356757VieLLu_fs.jpg

(see other pics below)

I just finished punching the right buttons on my computer and paying for my entry into the Bakersfield Masters' Championships held in Bakersfield, California on Saturday, June 6th. Am I ever ready for this race. I've entered the Masters 50+ category in keeping with my blog's name. My race will be held 7:30 am and will be 31 miles long - check out my previous post for a map of the course.

How do I know I'm ready? I've been tearing up the club scene for a couple of weeks now. Granted, most of the club riders are not racers but you don't have to have a racing license to be a hammerhead on a bike. Last week I was riding with my Cyclo-Vets group on our usual Torry Pines ride and I was easily first to the park, the first race simulation. I was third going up Torry Pines where I'm usually around 7th to 10th, and I was first up the sprinter hill of Carroll Canyon (if you don't count Arnie and Janette on a racing tandem - I still find it hard to beat a 5 time National Champion in the captain's spot on the tandem, with a current pro-racer as his stoker.) I took 4th on the flat sprint at the end of the ride on Kearny Villa road but was actually first in the sprint with my chase group. A group of 3 guys, got off the front and I let them go as I felt they left too early - big mistake, they extended their gap and fought for the "podium" among themselves (and the damn tandem that I think won.) I fought it out with a large chase group, pulled away from the group with two other guys, and out sprinted them at the end.

Yesterday, with my Antelope Valley group, I found myself head to head with Eric, a usually unbeatable climber by me and the rest of our L & 20th group. Follow along with the map at the end of this post. Our first challenge is the small rise at mile 11 or so. This steady 2 mile, 3-5% climb starting at 70th street and topping out at 90th has always been treated by the L & 20th group as our first race simulation. Yesterday's ride was no exception. I easily powered away from Eric and took this first "preme". Not a real challenge, as Eric is not a sprinter and the 70th street hill is very much a sprinter's hill. Roger and Randy, both excellent sprinters, were not on this ride and either one would have given me a tough run. Eric and Roger are both ex-racers but don't let their lack of a current racing license fool anyone - both can dish out the pain in a ride.

The next race simulator starts at mile 19 and finishes at around mile 23. This is Munz Ranch Road and it's steady 6-8% grade is right up Eric's alley. Usually he reaches the top with me a hundred meters back but today (and for the last month actually) he fell behind me quickly and was never a challenge. He made one run at me at around mile 20 or so but I turned up the speed and drove hard up the hill. My current philosophy on hill climbing is that you are better to be the one leading the hill climb and dishing out the hurt rather than just sitting at the receiving end of someone else putting out the pain.

The next challenge came with the 3 Canyon's ride. Look at the map and you'll see 3 spikes right after mile 24 - those are the spikes of the 3 Canyons - San Francisquito Canyon, Spunky Canyon, and Bouquet Canyon. Francisquito, in this direction, is almost all downhill. You do have to crest a short 10-12% section before you crest and Eric is usually all business here. Again, I cranked hard and crested the hill in front and by myself - no challenge detected. We regrouped at the stop sign where we go left and head for Spunky Canyon. As we approached the climb up Spunky, at mile 28, Eric jumped into the lead and began to beat out a high tempo pace. I jumped on his wheel and then I dropped back 5 meters or so and matched his climb rate. He was pushing out the watts and I felt it was all I could do to stay on his tail but I wasn't going to let him get away. I didn't feel I had the power to pass him at this point so I stayed 5 meters back so nobody could say I was wheel sucking and allowing him to pull me up the hill. I have never beaten Eric up this hill in the several years we've been riding Spunky and it was clear from his cadence that he was not going to let me easily have this one. Somewhere around mile 30, with the crest of Spunky at mile 31, Eric increased his tempo in another bid to gap me. My heart rate was now above lactate threshold and was in the high 160's. I know from racing that I can go into the 170's for a short time so I said to myself that it was now my turn to dish out the pain. I accelerated on a steep part of the hill and passed Eric on his left side. I moved my hands as close to my stem as possible and began to drive hard with my legs using as full extension as possible. Eric tried to match my acceleration but with my heart rate passing 172 (my maximum rate is around 180) I began to lengthen my gap over him. With one last bump coming up, I stood on the petals and began to drive at maximum power - I felt great. My heart rate was in the mid 170s but I felt like I could continue this forever. What a strange sensation it is to be operating at near maximum heart rate and feeling good about it - in a few words; I'm ready to race again!

Spunky Canyon
Photo Credit: http://www.ridesaroundla.com/Rides/Spunky.jpg

As we neared the finish of the ride, Eric came up to me and said that he was sorry he didn't offer more competition on this ride. Of course, it was quite the opposite. Without him in the group I would never have pushed myself like I did. Had I been riding alone, I would have pushed hard up the canyons, I always do, but I would have stopped far short of blasting into the 170's as far as heart rate is concerned. In short, I would have worked hard but just put out enough power to feel good about my climbing workout. With Eric present, he turned an average workout into an exceptional one.

Spunky Canyon, South End
Photo Credit: http://www.pashnit.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=78062&d=1219024031


View of Bouquet Canyon Reservoir from looking South on Spunky
Photo Credit: http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dqiper7Fm7g/SDOy8YuVRUI/AAAAAAAAAyY/hvmQeahBLWI/highres_3588590.jpg

3 Canyons is going to be one of the courses I'm going to miss in the Antelope Valley. It has everything you can ask for in a training ride. In two months time I'll have moved on to the Napa Valley and the excellent rides provided by that area. The Antelope Valley is also an excellent place to train though. The draw backs are the extreme temperature in the summer and winter, and the ever present 20 - 40 mph winds in the afternoon (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.) But in minutes you can be away from the city and riding hard over country roads with only a few cars to cause you any problems. If you get a chance to ride in the Antelope Valley, use my map below and ride the canyons.

Back in the Saddle Again

With my Colnago C40 still in the bicycle shop waiting for my new fork to arrive, I finally felt good enough to go for a short ride on my Felt time trial bike. The Colnago is sitting in the Trek Bicycle Superstore in San Diego after my crash in the Tour de Murrieta circuit race, in Murrieta, California (see previous post.) It seemed to come off the 30 mph end over end accident fairly well, if you can call having to drop over 6 bills "coming off fairly well." The carbon fiber, aero handlebars are toast, the stem had the mounting screws that hold the handlebars sheared off, and the fork is suspect, though we haven't looked for steerer tube damage yet - just seems the sensible thing to do, as the fork is completely carbon fiber. It was a Look fork that I'm replacing with a slightly heavier Colnago fork that is also carbon fiber but has an alloy steerer tube and should be stronger for when I repeat the accident in the future. The left shifter is suspect but seems okay right now, will know more when I get the bike put back together.

The big story here is my Giro Monza helmet. Without question it saved my life. When the numnut sprinted up on my left and hooked my handlebars with his, he was driving at full speed. My handlebars were immediately pushed hard to the right causing my front wheel to follow and the bike literally tipped straight over and drove me into the pavement head first. I took the impact on the left side of my helmet and was immediately knocked out for several minutes by the impact. The helmet sustained fatal injuries, cracked in more than 3 places - see pics below.

I now have a lot of faith in Giro and have replaced my dead Monza with a new Giro, Ionos model.

Left Side of Helmet

Note double crack on either side of helmet front

Note crack through yellow safety decal

Tour de Murrieta - Crashed Out Bigtime

Masters 45/55+ Crit Field, photo by Maya Grove

Well the Tour de Murrieta should be one forgettable race weekend. And would be too, if I didn't have a face that looks like hamburger and a bike with a broken handlebar and stem. I should have known that my DNF in Saturday's crit was my omen to leave this race alone. One ambulance ride later (my first) where I heard the EMT radioing ahead the following: "we've got a 52 year old male with multiple lacs, abrasions, possible head and lower back trauma..." I've included a picture below, look at your own risk.

First the crit. I awoke Saturday morning with bad lower back spasms. The bed in our San Diego apartment is definitely 2nd string and has been known to cause this problem before. I usually sleep on a single mattress on the floor as the floor keeps the mattress firm. In any case, I didn't use the single bed and woke up with my lower back feeling very unstable, no pain yet, it just didn't feel right. Any of you that get lower back problems would know what I'm talking about. Your back just feels funny and that it could go at anytime. My race wasn't till 12:20 or so, the Masters 45+ so I tried light stretching and other lower back exercises but it just got worse during the morning.

Photo by Maya Grove

By 12:20 it was pretty sore and only sitting on my bike (go figure) or laying flat on my back helps. Strange how sitting on my bike generates no pain what so ever, but sitting on a chair causes me all kinds of problems. Well, sitting on a bike is one thing, generating a lot of speed and power while on the bike is another. The combined Masters 45/55+ race with a full field took off like they really had a fire to get to. Lap after lap my computer was showing 25-26 mph and faster. I just didn't have the speed or snap to stay with the group so at time 22' of this 45' crit I started to drift to the back and then I pulled out. I was pretty upset with myself, as I've never pulled out of a race before. I would like to give my lower back the complete blame but I think the real truth is I just haven't trained right for a crit. I'm in very good shape riding longer road race distances and have been tearing up my club rides but crits require a lot of power and are very much anaerobic events - looking at my training journal from two years ago, when I competed successfully in many crits, shows a lot of anaerobic training; which is something I haven't been doing too much of at late.

The next day, the Tour de Murrieta circuit race; I was looking forward to this race, really a giant crit competed on a 3.5 mile section of road. The Masters 45/55+ were combined again making it a very large group, especially with the center line rule in affect. It seemed like more than 100 riders lined up for this event and I heard grumblings on how they should have divided the field for this race - I couldn't agree more, there just wasn't a lot of room on the course for a field this large. This age group usually provides much experience to road racing but the field was so big that moving up and through the peloton was almost impossible and I personally witnessed one crash and personally avoided several other "crash possibilities." I was riding well but was finding it hard to get out of the middle of the peloton. I stayed usually on the center line area which allowed me to jump left if the group got a little too frisky. Each time we would come out of a turn on the back of the course, an area where there was no center line on the street, we would use this area to gain position - I used this strategy too. The motor behind us, would roar up and motion us to get back to the right side of the road but another right hand turn was ahead and most of us stayed left to navigate this tough turn.

My accident occurred at the back of lap 8 of this 11 lap course. I have very little recollection of what happened. I remember seeing the Pro women ahead again, as we had passed them on turn 3 earlier in the race. I knew that the women would have to go neutral as our large field started passing them on the left. Our race had been very fast with lap times around 8'30" and the race announcer yelling how fast our group was to the crowd. I guess having Thurlow Rodgers out front of our peloton was really helping to drive the group. I made a mental note that we might slow down as we passed the women - poor note. I should have remembered that the first time we went by them many guys took off like scalded cats to use the confusion of the two groups to their advantage. I can't say that's what happened as we were getting set up to pass the women, I just don't remember much. I do remember some guy coming out of nowhere and slamming into my front wheel and the left side of my handlebars. He came in so fast that I didn't even have much time to register what was going on. I do remember a shocked look on his face and someone yelling out a warning but it was too late for me. The impact ripped the handle bars right out of my hands and pitched me into the street. I do remember the bike computer showing between 27-30 mph at impact but I remember little else. The EMT said I was out for a couple of minutes and that when I came around I kept asking the same question over and over. I do remember waking up on my back and seeing 3 or 4 faces hovering over me. One was a woman that was mopping my face with a towel and I heard her say that she was slowing the blood flow - slowing the blood flow??? I remember thinking, "I'm not sure where I'm at but slowing the blood flow does not sound so good." I may have said what I was thinking because someone said, "you really rung your bell, the ambulance is on the way." I tried to raise my head and that resulted in a lot of hands pushing me back down and I also realized they had put on a C-collar. They placed me on a board and lifted me into the ambulance. I was still pretty confused and it took me several minutes to figure out where I was at and what was going on.

I arrived at the hospital where they cut a lot of my clothes off and got me ready for the CAT scanner. Well the cat scan was negative for skull fractures, neck and lower back fractures. They cleaned up my abrasions and actually found a pinto bean size rock stuck inside one of my left knee abrasions. My helmet is cracked in several places and my bike has a broken stem. The bike seems to have taken the least amount of damage - thank god. I do remember asking about my bike as they were loading me into the ambulance. I also remember saying something like, "take care of my bike as it is worth more than I am."

I do want to thank the EMT, Ethan. Seemed like a great guy. Also the staff at Inland Valley Medical Center in the town of Wildomar. They all treated me well for the full day I spent in their trauma center. My wife is saying the usual things wife say after one of these - "can't you just ride your bike for fun?" Don't know about that, just know I've got three weeks to get ready for the San Diego Omnium.

Photo by Maya Grove

Upcoming Races - Tour de Murrieta/San Diego Omnium

Time to get a March post in and I've got 2nd period prep at Littlerock High School and nothing to do - so let's get the post in. Hope my Principal and School Superintendent aren't reading my blog...but why would they?

This week has been a tough training week. Monday was my usual core work via crunches and lower back work coupled with weight lifting but Tuesday was 40mph winds and sub 50 temps. The sub-50 temps are not a problem but the sustained 40mph with gusts to 60mph were a bit problamatic. To hide from the wind, I decided to climb over Godde hill hoping it would block the wind. Note - if the wind is out of the SW (which it was) Godde hill does not block the wind. Instead, you're climbing an 8% grade with 40-60mph winds blowing right in your face. At one time, my bike computer showed a speed of 2.8mph! I was barely making headway up the hill. The friggen wind even started blowing small rocks at me. I put my head down to protect my face and heard/felt the rocks bouncing off my helmet. Not sand mind you but gravel sized stones. The Antelope Valley is a unique place to train. Wednesday I rushed home from work only to find sustained winds at 40mph with gusts to 60mph and a driving rain tossed into the mix. That's it. I'm a fanatic but I've got my limits. I put my truck in the garage and finally did my overdue oil change. Thursday (yesterday) the winds were only 30mph with gusts to 40mph - I was able to put in 24 miles - yea. Today is Friday and I'm hoping to get a quick hour ride in. The wind was only 15mph at 0630 when I left for work. Should only be about 20-30mph this afternoon. Looking forward to a 4 hour ride on Saturday with the L & 20th boys. But what does this have to do with the upcoming races - nothing.

My next race is next week and it is a two day affair, March 14 and 15th. It is the Tour de Murrieta in the town of Murrieta, California. It's about 60 minutes north of our San Diego apartment and is a two day stage race. Go to Socalcycling and click the link for the Tour and you'll get all the entry info you need to register for the race. I entered the Masters 45+ race and am looking forward to Saturday's criterium. This will be my first crit of the year and I'm anxious to see how I do. In the past I was more of a crit racer. My larger build and power were perfect for this type of race. But now I'm down to 177 lbs (friends are worried that I'm taking diet lessons from Lindsey Lohan)and actually leading attacks up hills instead of hanging on. In any case, I don't think my power has diminished with my lost body fat so we'll see how I do. The crit is 45 minutes and it is just a 4 corner course around down town Murrieta. Crits are dangerous so I've entered the masters race instead of the elite 4 race. I'll be up against Cat 1 to 4s but their superior road handling skills over the young cat 4s makes it a necessity. The road race should be interesting as it really is a circuit race of 3.5 mile laps around the city - kind of a giant crit. Here's the course as estimated by my MapMyRide link.



Now here's to hoping it does not rain next weekend.

My next race falls in April and it is the San Diego Omnium which is put on by my racing club, the San Diego Cyclo-Vets. Click the link for the San Diego Omnium and you'll get to the Cyclo-Vets website and info for both the race and registration.

This is another stage race carried over 3 days, March 3 - 5. A time trial on Friday, a road race on Saturday, followed by a crit on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to this race because I will actually have team mates in the Masters 35+, Cat 4/5 race. Both Jon and Vince for sure and probably Chad and Dave - Team tactics! I haven't decided if I'll do the full omnium as I would have to do the time trial on Friday. this would require a day off from work (back to the Principal and Superintendent again)and getting on my time trial bike that has hung neglected on my garage wall all winter. In fact my wife actually suggested I sell my felt - gasp! So I really do need to do this time trial and put my butt back on the felt's saddle.

The only fly in the ointment is the road race. It is conducted back at the Boulevard Road Race course and what fun that is. The course is modified somewhat from Boulevard's course but here's my MapMyRide on Boulevard from when I raced there in February.



This course is so brutal. Vince is a true climber but from what he's told me, he never does well here and I'm sure it's mental for him. I find I just try not to think too much about this course and the suffering that is about to come. Heck, I'm 3 lbs lighter than in February so maybe I'll stay with the front pack of climbers - here's hoping - it would be a first for me on this course. Look at my Boulevard posting and you'll see I got dropped twice on this course. The downhill part is perfect for my sprinting and bike handling skills, which is only good enough to get me back to the front climbers so they can drop me again. Note - goal for this race; stay with the climbers (try not to think that they only weight 155 lbs soaking wet).

Here's to a good bunch of races. Better get back to work before 3rd period shows up. I can never get over how peaceful it is in my classroom when there are no kids - the amount of work you can get done...

UCLA Road Race - Hill of Suffering

2-14-09

28th out of 75, my best showing on this hill of suffering and my 2nd race as a San Diego Cyclo-Vet racer. I believe I was the only San Diego Cyclo-Vet that ventured this far North but this race is right in my backyard as I live only 30 minutes away in the city of Lancaster. This course is tough. There are not a lot of courses where you can be waiting at the starting line with a heart rate in the 90s and a minute later, right after the start of the race, your heart rate is at 155.

As I said in an earlier posting, I entered the UCLA road race as a Cat 4, where they had a Cat 4/5 group in this race. This allowed me to only do two laps of 12.5 miles each instead of 3 or 4 laps. Look at the profile below and you'll see what I mean about this course - it immediately goes vertical.

The morning started very cool, with temperatures in the high 20s F. The Cat 4/5 race was at 9:15 and the temps had warmed up to a balmy 36F, and at least most of the ice on the road was gone. I got signed in, race number pinned on at around 8:30 and I started riding up and down Pallet Creek road to get my heart rate up and blood flowing. I always enjoy reading the sign posted on both both sides of Pallet Creek road - San Andreas Fault - a reminder that we are riding on the junction of the Pacific and North American Plate.

I finished my warm-up and headed for the starting line which was forming at the junction of Pallet Creek Road and Longview Road. I showed up at 9:10 and already 50 guys or more were lined up. The race field ended up full, as all 75 riders showed up for the race. We listened to the usual pre-race stuff and at about 9:25 or so, the whistled was blown and we were off. We made the immediate left turn onto Longview Road and within 200m we were heading up a 3% grade. I was sitting back in 50th plus place wondering how I was going to move up with the field stretched from center line on the left to the curb on the right. As I was pondering this thought, several riders, in front of me, nearly collided and shouts were exchanged. One guy behind me yelled, "F...ing settle down, this is a long F...ing climb." I couldn't agree more; we're heading up this hill at 12mph and guys almost go down fighting for position - not an unusual problem in a combined Cat 4/5 field.

The problem of moving up was solved about a half mile later. At around mile 1.5 my Garmin started showing 10 to 13% grade - ouch. I've never checked the percent error of my device but my legs, heart and lungs were telling me the Garmin wasn't far off on the grade. Other evidence was that riders all around me started going "backward" with the result that I found myself in the top half of this race. I'm still big for a cyclist at 180lbs but what a difference 15lbs makes as the last time I did this course I was at 195lbs and one of the guys going backwards. Just past mile 2 the grade eased up to only 7-9% and I could look ahead and see the sign pointing right for the right turn onto Juniper Hills Road. You always think the climb is going to end at Juniper Hills Road but the right turn gives you only a slight reprieve from the climb as you enter a false flat. After the tough climb on Longview, Juniper appears flat but you are actually climbing a 2-4% grade until you reach mile 4. Now the field began to stretch out with all 75 racers seeming to suffer alone - no main peloton in evidence and no chase group working together. Finally at mile 4 I crested the course and started down. There are a couple of big-ring rollers before you hit the true descent but you are so happy to be off the main grade that you just plow through the rollers. My heart rate at the top of the grade was hitting 173bmp so I was looking forward to the down grade to recover. I started working with a group of about 10 or so racers on the down side. We were hitting speeds in the mid 40s and my Garmin shows that I hit a top speed of 47mph. A bit of a head wind was slowing the descent and this group of 10 was not working very well together so I often found myself on my own bombing down the grade.

The 5 mile descent ends at mile 9 and the hard right turn onto Fort Tejon Road and back into climbing. This climb is not too tough as it is about 3 miles of 3-4% grade as you head back to another right turn which will place you once again on Longview Road and the eventual start/finish point. A few of us, tried to get the group to cooperate and make the 3 miles a little easier but only a couple of us would pull and we ended up leaving the wheel suckers behind as we started up Longview Road and the main climb again. Shortly after passing Pallet Creek Road, I ran into rider 157 (I was rider 106). Rider 157 (I'll get his name after I see the posted results) was a newly minted Cat 5 on his first ever race. As we were suffering once again on the main climb we had time to talk a bit and I remarked how he picked one of the toughest courses in SoCal for his first race. We actually worked well together, the 20 something "newbie" and the 52 year old "old timer". Drafting is pretty pointless on the 7-10% grades we were dealing with but just having someone else right in front of you struggling up the hill really helps focus your concentration. We crested the course, once again on Juniper Hills Road, and started working together down the grade. We passed several riders and within a couple of miles of the end of the grade passed rider 104 who immediately jumped on board for the rest of the descent. As we made the right turn onto Fort Tejon Road I set up a 3 man pace line, but only two of us were working it. I could not get 104 to help out and do his share of the pulling. He looked to be in his 30s and no stranger to racing. After a couple of miles of just me and the young Cat 5 doing all the work I turned around and said to 104, "pull through." He kept saying that we caught up with him and he didn't see any reason to pull through and help. This continued for another couple of miles and I could see the writing on the wall - this wheel sucker was going to let us do all the work and then come around us and take 20 something place. Normally, this wouldn't bother me as 20th something place is not exactly the top 10. But it was the kids first race and I wanted to see him finish ahead of both of us old timers. The kid already figured this out too and asked me to work together and drop the wheel sucker. So the kid and me attacked, jumping out of the saddle and going hell bent up the 4% grade - damn if the wheel sucker was able to stick with us, though I probably shouldn't have been surprised with all the recovery time we gave him. So okay, that strategy didn't work. With only 2 miles to go I tried another one - I told the kid to attack and I would block. So off the kid went and 104 tried to go with him but he had my 180lb butt in his way. This annoyed him and he went on a long diatribe of how he had been in many races and never won any of them and we were not competing for the top spot in this race. I told him I agreed with him but I wanted to see the kid beat both of us because he had worked so hard up to this point. Number 104 was not impressed and went wide around me in hot pursuit of 157, who had made a 30m gap on 104 and myself. I wish I could tell you that 157 made it to the line before 104 but alas, 104 caught and went around him with just meters to spare - hey, that's bicycle racing and good lesson learned by the new Cat 5.

The final numbers: 28th place out of 75 (73 finished), the race was 24.95 miles long, 2,897' of climbing, and I burned 1827 calories. It took me about 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish the course. In two months or so I'm back for the Devil's Punch Bowl Road Race held on this very same course. The Punch Bowl variant is a little longer and slightly easier, with the extra length giving you a little more recovery time. Two months to drop down to 175lbs and about 60 more seconds off my climb - it's the little things in racing that excite me!

Boulevard Road Race – Rain, Hail, Snow…Snow?

(photo from velonews)

Saturday, Feb 7, 2009
One of Southern California's most demanding amateur road race courses is behind me, and what a race it was. A powerful storm system entered California on Friday and stayed around on Saturday to make this a truly epic race. The Cat 4 race went off at 9:31 am, and before it was over we battled standing water, rain, hail and within 15 minutes of our finish – snow. Temperatures were hovering around 36 degrees as we started the 44 mile race (my Garmin says it was 42.11 miles). As I sat eating my after race cheese burger in one of the cafés close to the start, I felt nothing but pity for the groups lining up to start their race in a driving snow storm. For sure, the Pro 1/2 race, Masters 30, and 45 were on the course during the falling snow.

I rolled up to the starting line at 9:25 wearing my San Diego Cyclo-Vets Kit for the first time. As all 61 riders arrived at the starting line, one of them moved over to me and said hi. He noticed my racing kit as he was wearing the same thing. Chad Holcomb had also entered the Cat 4 race, so the Cyclo-Vets had a team of two in the race. I never did see another Cyclo-Vet rider but missed the start of the Masters 45 race so I don’t know if we were the only club members or not. We exchanged the usual pre-race conversation and talked about how challenging the course was going to be – was it. I’ve included the course (see at end of this post)and profile downloaded from my Garmin to mapmyride.com.

The race started with a rolling neutral start for about 100m and off we went to the short climb over Live Oak Springs Road. This leads to a bombing descent down HWY 94. The water covered street tended to focus all of our attention on the descent. This descent covered about 7 miles, starting from mile 2 to mile 9. I certainly did not have any problems staying with the Peloton on the descent. There were no attacks at all, as all riders knew what was coming up in miles 10 through 21.

The race really took off at mile 10 at the right turn onto La Posta Road and an immediate 3 – 6% climb. At around mile 12, and just before a slight reprieve in the climb, the 61 member peloton split and at least 20 riders dropped off the back. I was definitely working hard and glanced at my heart rate monitor and saw 173 bpm! My maximum heart rate is only around 181 bpm and my lactate threshold is 161 bpm, so I knew I was operating at close to red line. The climb continued with a 4% climb up to mile 14 and I was still hanging on by the skin of my teeth as we crested a small hill and had a short descent. I tried to relax as much as possible and saw that my heart rate had dropped back into the high 150s. But this short descent was long on short. As we got to the right turn at the junction with I-80 we were at the bottom of the real climb. My heart rate was soaring again as I struggled to stay at the back of the peloton. To add to my problems, my new chain started skipping badly on my year old cassette. I kept searching for a gear to stop the skipping as it was throwing off my concentration needed for the climb. At mile 16 I cracked…I just couldn’t maintain the pace and began to drop off with about 10 other racers. It’s always a lonely feeling to go OTB, especially when the following motorcycle speeds up and goes around the newly formed chase group. Now it was every man for himself as we struggled up the remaining 5 miles of climbing. Some where around mile 21, I passed the Pro Women 1-3 racers, who had started 10 minutes ahead of our race. At this point, I caught up with racer 210 (I was 231) and racer 245 caught up with both of us.

After the short pitch climb over Live Oak Springs Road we had the bombing descent again down HWY 94. At 180lbs, I’m definitely in my element when descending. I put everything I had into the descent and rider 210 and 245 joined in for a fast 40 mph, 3 man rotating pace line. We kept this up for mile after mile, until I noticed that 245 didn’t come up during his turn in the pace line. I asked if he was okay and he said he was feeling the strain of the high intensity riding we were doing. I said let’s slow down the rotation, so we took turns pulling for 20 seconds allowing the rear riders a little more rest. It worked, at around mile 28 we turned a corner and saw a large group of riders 200 meters ahead…it was our peloton! The three of us felt renewed and within minutes we were back into the race, members of the peloton again. At about mile 30, while I was marveling at how we had rejoined the peloton and thinking how strange it was going to be to go OTB twice in a race, Chad Holcomb showed up beside me. He was back too. He had dropped off before me at mile 12 and said he worked hard with a 6 man group to also regain the peloton. Unfortunately for Chad though, the climbing had started all over again and once again another group went off the back, Chad included. It was at about the exact point that they went off in the first lap. I gritted my teeth and said I’m going to try to stay with the group as we made the turn at the I-80 junction - mile 16 all over again. And the same thing happened; another group of 10 or so, me included went OTB (I love being consistent). And once again, I got to watch the motorcycle go around me. This time, number 245 stayed ahead of me but number 210 dropped quickly behind me. Every man for himself again as I time trialed up the remaining 5 miles of the course. At around mile 39 the rain turned into hail, bouncing off my arms and bike. I thought at least I only had a few more miles to go in the hail before the end of the race, little did I know how lucky I was as the snow would follow the hail minutes after I finished the race.

I crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 6 mins, and 37 seconds. My Garmin showed the race was 42.11 miles long (67.8 km) and that I had climbed 3,928 feet (1197 m), burning 2,982 calories in the process. I had taken 34th place, and later found that Chad Holcomb was not too far behind me, taking 41st place. Rider number 245, who finished ahead of me, thanked me profusely for pulling him back into the race. I congratulated him on his finish and rolled on through the rain to the staging point and warm clothes. All in all I was pleased with my performance. Three years ago and 10 lbs heavier, I completed the same course in 2:25; so I definitely improved – thank you Cyclo-Vets Saturday training riders and the L & 20th group in the Antelope Valley for all the rides that make tough races like this possible for me.

See complete results at Socalcycling.com.

West Coast Racing

While the Mid-West and East Coast is probably still in a deep freeze, California is already starting their racing season. I've got two races coming up, Boulevard Road Race about an hour East of San Diego on Saturday, Febuary 7, and UCLA Road Race held on the Devil's Punch Bowl course, right in my Antelope Valley back yard.

Neither race is my kind of course being a hill climbers delight. At a 180lbs, I don't actually "Dance on my Pedals" when climbing out of the saddle. I set up both races as level C and B respectively (following Joe Friel's method for catogorizing races based on importance, with A races the important ones) and use them for fun and training purposes. Though I'm a Masters 50+, I've elected to enter the Boulevard RR as an Elite 4. Now why would I do this? The elite IV's will be predominately younger guys but age is really not a factor in this 2 lap, 44 mile race. There is no category for Masters 50 just Masters 35+ or 45+. If I put myself in either one of these cats, I would have to complete 3 laps on this hill course or 67 miles, and I'm just not ready for this length at this time of the year. Also, I put myself in with 45+ guys that are Cat 1, 2, and 3s. I'm a lowly Cat 4 and my ego just doesn't need the hurt this time of year. One can argue that the Elite 4s are not as skilled and there is more of a chance for accidents - true. And if this was a crit I would avoid them and do Masters. The road race gives me a bit more room to stay out of harm's way. What I really need to worry about is the climbing. The last 11 miles of the 22 mile lap is all uphill with at least two 4-4.5% climbs. I did this course years ago when I raced in the San Diego Omnium. I weighed around a 195lbs at the time and was OTB by the end of the first lap. I'm looking forward to seeing how the lighter, new me will do. Below is a graphic showing the profile of the course.


The UCLA Road Race on Feb. 14 is also problamatic for non-climbers. I've also raced this course years ago and got to go OTB in this one too. Heck, take a little time reading other racer blogs and you'll find comments like, "this is my least favorite course of the season" without looking too hard. It's a pretty course, nestled up against the San Gabriel Mountains at the Northern edge of the Mojave Desert, like it is - it is just hard. But it is 20 miles from my home in Lancaster, and I've actually trained on this course. The course is 12.4 miles per lap, with 1500' of elevation gained in each lap.

Which category did I enter for this race? I'm pretty sure I entered the Mens' 4/5 race. Again, I had the option to enter Masters 45+ but they've got 4 laps or 49.6 miles to race. More importantly, they've got 6000' to climb. I've got only 2 laps or 24.8 miles and 3000' of elevation to worry about - only 3000'! It's not hard to see by my comments that I'm still a sprinter at heart. Hell, the leg speed is not what it used to be but it still sounds good to say, "I'm a sprinter not a climber" when I'm having those interesting conversations with other racers that have become vertically challenged.

Here's the profile for the course: Note the 5% to 7% parts of the course.