Bike MS: Waves to Wine Ride

By Dennis Pedersen

I love doing fund-raising rides, since it allows me to use my love of cycling to give back to the community. But I usually only do the ADA's Tour de Cure ride every year, since I don't want to ask too much of my family, friends, co-workers and teammates. This year my wife was out of town the weekend of the National MS Society's Bike MS: Waves to Wine Ride though, so that persuaded me to add it to my schedule... am I glad I did!

Me by the Golden Gate.

Like the Tour de Cure, we can raise money by e-mail, cash, online and through a Facebook app. On this ride the money goes toward fighting multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system. I deliberately kept my goal low and just wanted to meet the $350 minimum... thanks to you generous folks I had no problem with that and ended up raising $490! And I joined as a member of the HP team, named "HP Tackles MS." The HP team was huge: 56 people! I must admit my competitive nature is challenged by this and I intend to learn how to make the 2012 HP Tour de Cure team bigger than ever (please sign up here!)!

Unlike the Tour de Cure, the Bike MS ride is held over two days: 100 miles on Saturday (see map), 75 miles on Sunday (see map) for the longest route. The Saturday ride started in San Francisco, ending in Rohnert Park. On Sunday we rode a huge loop that ended back in Rohnert Park. I found it very complicated to pack everything I'd need and plan out the many tiny details that would ensure my bike, changes of clothes, gear etc. all ended up where I needed it at the various stops. The organizers picked up our overnight luggage in San Francisco and shipped it to Rohnert Park where we could pick it up that evening, then also shuttled us to various local motels for our well-earned sleep after the Saturday ride. Meanwhile they stored our bikes overnight. Then they shipped it all back to San Francisco Sunday evening for us to collect after we were all done with the ride.

John and Kiersten at the Laguna stop.

We were spectacularly lucky with the gorgeous weather. Just a few clouds along the coast with mild temperatures. The HP team met before the 7:00AM start for a quick photo and we rode along the Embarcadero and over the Golden gate Bridge. I rode a lot with Bill Rainey and Hans Zeller through San Francisco and north on HWY 1. But at Stinson Beach I connected with my friend Rai and teammate Alida, both doing the long route. I am amazed at how they stepped up to such a major challenge! I'm used to long rides, but even I was a bit hesitant at riding so much on consecutive days.

I was mostly riding a moderate pace, but also wanted to get in a few long intervals, so after Stinson Beach I hammered pretty hard to the next stop, at Point Reyes Station (partly motivated by a fast guy from Nevada who flew by us!). Then the three of us rode together toward the rest stop at Laguna District School, built in 1906. Did I mention I ate a lot of food at every stop? I always do, and that really helps keep my energy up.

After we looped around on some inland roads (Marshall-Petaluma Road was great) we eventually ended up on Tomales Bay where we had a sumptuous lunch by Nick's Cove. And then the last stretch took us through tiny Valley Ford, Bloomfield and across the finishing line in Rohnert Park, to thunderous applause from the many volunteers.

The Saturday party, with our huge HP presence.

It so happened that our dinner and party was at the former HP "Santa Rosa" site in Rohnert Park. It was a ton of fun hangin' with the HP homies, and the food was quite good. I skipped the beer and wine though, to be safe. I also tried to pick up some pointers on how to run a big team like this so I could apply it to the Tour de Cure team in 2012. Afterward the shuttle bus took me to Day's Inn where I took a nice shower and collapsed into bed (it was nice enough for me, but I am not picky). And the next morning, at 5:45, they picked me up again for the drive back to the event site for a nice burrito breakfast (with good coffee!) in the pre-dawn darkness and another 7:00AM start. By complete chance I met up with my friend Craig and his wife, so we had a chance to catch up on news over tasty food.

The Sunday ride started out cold, but as the sun rose we warmed up nicely. Once again I was able to ride with other HP teammates including our Captain, Kiersten Regelin, and Michael Randazzo, who rides in spite of having MS and inspires a bunch of great guys to ride with him as a true team. He also blew us all away by raising $9,979.96! How cool. It was also cool seeing how so many HP employees were willing to push themselves so hard for such a great cause. Rai ended up with tendonitis after the ride, and had to ice his knee. Josh Jensen, one of our four captains, rode super well and was great company too; his wife Bethany has MS so it's very personal for him.

We arrived again in Rohnert Park, spent but in great spirits. I was ready for the massage I signed up for and the next party! This time I used my drink tickets to enjoy wine and beer, with my steak dinner. I was kind of sad that it all had to end, but I sure loved doing it. Thanks again everybody!

[Track] Friday Night Racing 2011/9/9

9/9 was the last Friday night of track racing in 2011, and it was a blast. Between the PG-13 commentary by Michael Hernandez and the free food and beer, Friday nights always draw out a big crowd on beautiful summer evenings in Hellyer Park. Here's how it went down:

Fact 1: When Anthony Borba tells you to not initiate a break in the scratch race, you initiate a break in the scratch race. With a few laps to go, it was just me and Mario Hernandez from Audi. On the final lap, Mario started pulling up in Turn 1 and I went for it hard down the sprinters lane and caught him off guard. Win 1.

Fact 2: Points races are hard, but with careful attention, they are winnable. Unless you're superhuman, trying to win every points lap (every five or ten laps, with points going 5-3-2-1 to the first four riders across the line) is going to result in dead legs. I was careful to keep track of my points vs. Mario's, and while Mario won the final lap, I ended the race with the most points. Win 2.

Fact 3: Whoever made the Win and Out is a sadist. It's 15 laps, followed by a bell on each successive lap for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on. The nasty part is that if you commit your effort for first place and it doesn't work out, then you're unlikely to have the legs for any decent place. Our 3/4s race was very slow for the first 12 laps, with nobody wanting to take a premature risk. Mario went with 3 laps before the first bell. I had him marked and quickly made the bridge (I think the sudden surge from slow to very fast caught many legs off guard.) On the final bell lap, I came around uptrack hard and hoped to god that I would have the legs to hold everyone off. Thankfully, I did, and the (very tense) race was over. Win 3.

Fact 4: Track makes me make crazy faces.

Fact 5:Track is crack.

Match Sprints at Hellyer Park Velodrome, 8/27/11

By Dennis Pedersen

This year the NCVA has held several Sprint For A Wish Series match sprint events. I raced my first event earlier this year and had a blast. I am getting to love the mix of brute power and tactics so typical of match sprints!

Nils and I carpooled to San Jose on a gorgeous, warm afternoon with highs in the mid-80s. A nice relief from Santa Cruz's drizzly mornings. Like usual, we first signed up, then warmed up for the timed 200-meter runs they use to "seed" us into groups, by speed. Last time I used 48x14 gears (also known as 90.1 gear-inches per the gearing calculator here) for this and liked it. I later tried that gearing for some mass-start races, and decided it was a better choice than the lower 48x15 (84.4 gear-inches) for them too.

The 200m runs sound easy, just cover 200m as fast as possible, but they are actually pretty tricky, and it's hard to time our efforts just right. It seems it's best to ride high along the outer railing of the track, accelerate exiting turn 4 into turn 1, and increase to 100% power just before we hit the start of the timed section in the exit from turn 2. Then angle down the banking into the inside edge of the track at the entrance to turn 3 and just try to maintain as much of that speed as possible out of turn 4 and across the finish line. It's hard to get the timing just right, and we try to study the approach that experienced racers take. It seems like there is more than one right way.

There was a light wind, so I didn't think any of us would set any new records for our 200m times... was I wrong! Nils improved to 12.48 seconds, and I improved to 12.66 seconds (from 13.08)! Even that put us both in the "B" group this time (the "A" riders were in the low 12s, with one guy even breaking into the 11s!).

Match sprints are usually just two guys on the track, the first one to cross the finish line wins. You might think we'd just sprint from the very start of each match. But... because of the tactical nature of racing, it usually ends up with a cat-and-mouse game between the two guys as each tries to time his attack for the maximum benefit and to avoid giving the other guy the advantage of a draft to follow. Each match would be just two 335m-laps, 670m total. I switched back to my 84.4-inch gearing for these, because the lower gearing really helps me "jump" from the low speeds we start at.

My first sprint was against Stefan Eberle, who I know well from the Tuesday night track races. I decided I preferred to let him take the lead and we slowly rode off after the whistle blew. We mostly just rode along, slowly, while watching each other. That's harder for the guy in the front though, which is one reason I wanted to follow him. On the second (last) lap he occasionally swooped down the banking a bit, as if to attack, only to swoop back up. That's done to make predicting his moves harder, but I maintained my position well. With about 250m to go I jumped 100% down from turn 2's banking and opened up a big gap ahead of him, watching him carefully to ensure he didn't pass me. He did approach me, but I beat him to the finish line. It's best to not go faster than you need to, so as to conserve energy for the following matches.

Next up was Alex (Alto Velo). I started ahead of him, but by forcing the pace a bit high, riding ahead of him and then up to the rail and backpedaling, I was able to get behind him. He then tried really hard to force me to lose my position behind him. Several times we almost did "track stands" (the Hellyer rules don't allow that; these races are slow enough already!). I then jumped from turn 2 as before, and took another win.

I was then matched against Tim Lydon (San Jose Bike Club), who I remember took 3rd at the State Criterium Championships the Sunday before. He also proved to be very crafty, swooping and sometimes almost stopping in order to get me out front. But I stayed firmly behind him, until turn 2 on the last lap when he slowed abruptly and started to bump into my right side from the banking above me. I held firm even though my handlebars vibrated from the impact, then jumped 100% for my sprint. But... I barely held him off for the win. My 84.4-inch gearing is woefully low against fast finishers like him. This may all sound scary, but we both agreed it was great fun!

Next was Judd. After simply leading me along for the first lap he then accelerated to a very high constant speed that I couldn't match... my cadence was so high I couldn't possibly spin the pedals any faster! I thought I might have been able to hold his wheel if I had used taller gearing, but I'm still not sure I could have ever passed him. He's fast, and a former State Champion. Oh well, can't win them all.

My last sprint was against Nils. He thought it would be really fun while I was a bit nervous at trying to beat such a fast, young guy. I finally decided to switch to my 90.1-inch gearing as a test... am I glad I did! He led the way, swooping and slowing at times, but I maintained my place behind him. And, once again in turn 2, I was able to time my jump perfectly: Just as he swooped up and looked over his right shoulder, I jumped down to his left and opened a big gap that he couldn't close. That taller gearing is really useful!

Man, I sure had fun. I haven't seen official results yet, but I know I did well. And I learned some more about tactics and gear choices to use in match sprints. One thing I did after these matches (in addition to retiring my 15-tooth sprocket!) was to buy new carbon handlebars, because the front-end of my bike shimmied frighteningly in hard sprints. I look forward to the next sprint event, on September 10th. I hope to see you there!

NCNCA Masters State Criterium Championships, 50-54

By Dennis Pedersen

I've never raced the State Criterium Championships before, or been to Clovis, just north of Fresno, or been to a race with "Medical Control." I was able to check all of those things off my "bucket list" this weekend. While I was not excited about the 3-hour-long drive alone, I was happy to escape the chilly drizzle in Santa Cruz for a bit. This was my first year in the 50-54 age group, so I figured it was as good a year as any to try to win a coveted California State Championship jersey.

When I arrived in quaint Old Town Clovis I got to see John Schaupp race in the 55-59 field, and former teammate Amy Russo stand on the top of the podium for the Women's 45-49 race! Congratulations!

The flat course had 8 turns through a nice older downtown neighborhood, with clean, smooth pavement. A slight wind kept temperatures comfortable in the mid-70s. The announcer was none other than Bruce Hildenbrand. I warmed up a bit and ate a gel, feeling very relaxed and strong (thanks in part to advice from our team coaches!).

At the start line we counted just 17 riders in our field. I figured that would make for a safer, more fun race. On the other hand, most of them were guys with a legitimate chance of doing well, not just novices. Our race started a few minutes late, about 11:15, and was to go for 45 minutes.

When they blew the whistle we all clipped in and I was third wheel, right on World Champion Larry Nolan's wheel (Team Specialized Racing Masters). That's always a nice start! But he soon tired of being followed around and pulled out of the line and dropped back. The guy in front of me (I think from Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada) pulled for a couple of laps. Nobody came around, but he seemed happy to pull.

Then came our first attack: A rider in a black/red/yellow kit I didn't recognize jumped hard into turn 3 and soon had a nice gap on us, maybe 15 seconds, that he held for a few laps. Pretty impressive actually. But we soon caught him, thanks in part to me taking a hard 1-lap pull. I always debate whether I should pull, but I almost always end up deciding I should, in the interest of keeping the pace high and the race safe (worked; no crashes, in any of the races all day!).

After we caught that guy Larry jumped in the same place, into turn 3. Everybody reacted instantly and it started to feel like a real race! He didn't pull for too long though, and I really think it was just his idea of a hard tempo pace to string the pack out, not an attempt to escape us. Because after a few turns he looked back to see if anybody would pull through; they didn't. So, the pace relaxed again.

A few guys took pulls, as did I again, but it was clear most guys just wanted to conserve energy for the last lap. Smart, but boring. I think others started to feel the same way because then a guy from Safeway, I think Jonathan Laine, jumped ahead and gapped us for a little but was caught after a hard effort. Same went for the black/red/yellow jersey guy when he again attacked. Larry tried to speed things up again and when he was done pulling he even made an exaggerated sweeping gesture to get others to pull through. He said to me, "Dennis, nobody else wants to pull," which I took as a compliment to my humble efforts. Neither of us had teammates so it was incumbent on us to shape the race as best we could, though it is always frustrating when team riders don't appear to be making the same effort as we solo riders. That's just the way things are, it seems.

I was gasping a bit at times, but still felt good. I was really hoping the 8-turn course and small field would equalize things a bit for the guys just trying to rest at the back, since our pace would be smoother at the front and our draft would be weaker than in a big field, but I know I burned more energy than most of them did. Even so, with just a handful of laps remaining I was able to repsond to the increasing pace and even dared to hope I could be fresh enough for a strong sprint.

We were now hyper-alert, and a very hard attack from a Davis Bike Club rider was caught, barely. I was happy I could breathe for a bit at that point! Then Jess Raphael (VOS) really jumped with 1/2 lap to go... yikes! I'm not sure it helped his teammate, but I saw an opportunity to execute my own plan: I had decided early on that I wanted to start my sprint rather early, maybe 300m from the finish line, so I could avoid being squeezed against the curbs in the last turns and pushed back. And that's where Jess ran out of steam. As I flew through turn 7 I went hard around him and did a seated sprint into turn 8. I remained seated and spun fast toward the finish line ahead, with maybe a 20- to 30-foot gap, keeping close to the left barriers to deny any draft from the headwind slightly from the right. I really thought I might soon own a California Champion's jersey!

But early sprints are always risky and with just 50m to go several guys flew by me on my right side, while my lungs heaved for oxygen. Darn. I was hoping for a podium finish at least; while I think I counted 5 guys ahead of me I actually took 5th, per the official results. Sadly, while the podium had 5 steps on it, they only gave awards to the top 3: Steven Giles (VOS), Larry Nolan and Tim Lydon (San Jose Bike Club). I applauded them anyway, while hoping for a better result next time.

It took a long time before my breathing returned to normal; I really did give it all I had. I tried my best and finished honorably, proud that I had animated the race as best I could while still finishing well. And the 3-hour drive home was nice and relaxing, with beautiful views.

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium XLIII, 4/17/2011

By Dennis Pedersen

The ghost of races past haunted me, with my DNF at last year's Santa Cruz Classic Criterium. But this technical course, with 9 swooping turns up and down Beach Hill, right above The Boardwalk, just minutes from home, is too cool too miss and this was my seventh attempt. So, I signed up for this race in spite of my misgivings and self-doubt.

This year I thought I might be more fit, thanks to reduced "junk miles" and more trainer workouts. Plus the more race-specific benefits from my track-racing sessions. And I was focused on not repeating the mistake that probably cost me the most last year; not staying near the front. Oh, and not having spare wheels ready in case of flat tires. Lessons I keep relearning.

My warmup was to ride with my spare wheels to the startline. Thankfully, Ken Sato was also racing so I wouldn't have to try to go with every break. With family and friends cheering me on I immediately started to move to the front of the pack and stayed there almost the entire race. One trick I use is to watch the guys I know who can win. If they are nearby then I'm good. They were, and some even appeared to be marking me!

At about 10 laps into our 20-lap race (about 18 miles total) Ken bridged up to a solo break and eventually this turned into a 4-man break after some back-and-forth. Our new kit is harder to spot, so I wasn't entirely sure he was up there the whole time. But I never took any pulls that would have endangered Ken's chances out there. He has been riding stronger than I've ever seen and I was confident he could do well.

While other guys worked to catch the breaks I still had to keep moving forward just to maintain my place. Funny how that works. We were strung out in single file at times as they struggled to catch Ken's break, which they did. We averaged about 27 MPH overall, so it was hard, but not as hard as it seemed in past years. I'm still not sure if that is because I'm more fit or because we were in a 45+ age-group race, not a 35+ as before.

With 2 laps remaining moving forward was getting harder but I was still near the front. As we started the last lap one guy was about 30 meters off the front just as I drifted around the pack; I could tell everybody knew we'd catch him and were waiting to see who'd take the first shot at the finishing sprint. I was now leading everybody out which I knew was a mistake. So I rode smoothly down to the hairpin and sat up on the right gutter to await the inevitable attack. It came in the form of a huge red streak, named Larry Nolan, who shot down the hill with guys trying hard to catch his wheel, to no avail. I latched on and managed to maintain my position well. But I was so afraid of blowing up (thanks to that darn ghost of races past!) that I probably held back too much after the last turn, so I was able to pass a few guys on Main Street, pipping one at the finish line. Woo-hoo! I finished about 12th place.

I felt I rode very smart and benefitted from Ken's efforts in the breaks. But on that last lap I probably could have either launched an attack before Larry's, though I'm not convinced it would have worked well, or maybe just worked a little harder to move up even before the last climb up Main Street. It's hard to say how different my results would have been.

Afterward some of us were interviewed by a Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter and they printed a neat story. Thanks go to Margaret, for her awesome photography, and all the teammates, friends and family who cheered us on!

NorCal High School Cycling League, Fort Ord, 3/27/2011

By Kevin Giberson

Wow, what a weekend of exciting NorCal High School Cycling League cross-country mountain-bike racing. Several racers moved up in the standings, the team moved up to 3rd overall (out of 28 teams in our division), and the racers learned that a team effort can result in success even after the top rider is out with a mechanical issue.

The race was originally scheduled for Laguna Seca which our team prefers due to the larger hills, but due to the huge amount of mud and water on the course from the week of rain the race was moved to East Garrison at Fort Ord. Luckily that course dried out wonderfully and was in great condition for the sunny race on Sunday.

In the Varsity Boys race, the team’s top racer, Jacob Albrecht, had a mechanical on the first lap as his chain broke and that essentially took him out of the race, though he did finish after repairing his bike. Jacob will be back strong at the next race.

In the JV Boys race Curren Giberson came in second place even with a crash and closed the gap on the lead rider to a mere ten seconds in this race, keeping him in second place overall in the standings. Chase Cummings also had a nice race finishing in sixth place.

In the JV Girls race Dominique van den Dries had the most movement in the standings from the prior week by finishing in third place and moving up seven spots with a strong effort.

In the Sophomore Boys race Josh Krisman also moved up in the standings and came in third place after a sprint to the finish with the top two racers. Leon Markarian moved up to 8th place this week.

In the Freshman Boys race Chance Tiner moved up to 8th place also.

The great side of so many racers moving up in the standings was the team captured third place at this race, and moved into third overall in the standings. All this was possible because teammates stepped up their game this week, even though our top point scorer was unable to contribute due to his mechanical. So a great effort by all, and next week we head to Laguna Seca… should be fun!

As always, thanks to our sponsors for helping to make this all possible.

Kevin Giberson, Program Director
Santa Cruz Junior Cycling Composite

Match Sprints at Hellyer Park Velodrome, 4/9/11

By Dennis Pedersen

I barely knew what a "match sprint" was when I signed up for this afternoon of track racing. But I vaguely recall watching match sprints on the wooden, indoor velodrome they built for the '76 Olympics in Montreal (I guess that dates me)... I thought it looked bizarre then and I still do! Here's a brief description from the NCVA FAQ:

Match Sprint:
A short event with 2 to 4 riders competing at a time in a tournament format. The final 200m of each race is sometimes timed, however, the racers are competing against each other, not the clock. Each race is either 2 or 3 laps long. It's in the Match Sprint that you may witness a "trackstand," wherein a rider will bring his/her bike to a complete stop and remain upright, balancing precariously. The reason for this peculiar behavior is that the rider in front is trying to control the race and wants to force the rider in the rear to come around, so that they can "draft" off of the front rider, following their rear wheel very closely, to decrease wind resistance and therefore conserve energy. By following in the slipstream of the other rider, a rider can not only keep a watchful eye on their opponent, but can also save enough energy to put on an extra burst of speed at the finish. When the tournament has whittled the field down to just 2 riders, the final contest is often best 2 out of 3. A Match Sprint tournament may also contain a second change bracket for riders who have lost their heats. This second chance bracket is called a "repechage". Before a tournament begins riders are often asked to do a timed flying 200m test. This is used to seed the tournament, but does not directly affect the race results.

Ergo, I had a rough idea what to expect. Our match sprints are 3 laps (1km total) at Hellyer.

Vlada and I carpooled to Hellyer Park in San Jose on a gorgeous, cool day. I had just installed a new 14-tooth sprocket on my rear track wheel that morning. My wheel has threads for a sprocket (cog) on both sides so now I can just flip the wheel to chose between my 14t and 15t depending on the type of race.

We started by "seeding" all the riders into three groups, within which we'd each pair off against one other rider in a "round robin" elimination. Our seeding was based on our flying-200m "sprint" times. My friends Rob and Chris recommended the 14t for the 200m sprints so I flipped the wheel to use the 14t with my 48t chain-ring. Then we all went out one at a time to set a nice, fast time in the 200m.

But I had my doubts about whether I wanted to be fast in my 200m sprint, since then I'd be matched against some impossibly fast, experienced "trackies." So... there may have been some sandbagging, though I also wanted to set a respectable time for my own reference. They aren't really sprints, because you actually take 2.3 laps to get up to speed, then just get timed for the last 200m. Ideally you hit the 200m-to-go line at 100% top speed and try to hold that as long as possible to the finish line. I was almost the last to sprint, and set a nice 13.11-second flying 200m time. But, as luck would have it, that time made me one of the slower guys in the fastest "A" group. Darn. Slow fast-guy vs. fast fast-guys. Vlada was a tad slower and was seeded with the "B" group.

My first match sprint was against a young rider, Ryan Gadow (SJBC), who I have seen out there in the "A" races before and knew to be fast... in case his 11.7-second 200m seeding time, aero helmet with full-face visor, disc wheels etc. didn't alert me! He won the coin-toss and chose to lead. We started off nice and slow. He kept pressing me against the upper "rail" edge, while I nudged him a bit with my left elbow to let him know I wasn't too nervous. But I had a lot to learn; after 2 laps of this he jumped at 100% down turn 1's banking and set a ferocious pace through turns 2, 3 and 4 with me trying to match him... not a chance! His initial gap was way too big for me to close. It was funny, and I learned a lot. I was ready for the next round... after switching back to my 15t cog since I felt the 14t was too sluggish from a slow speed.

Wouldn't you know, my second match sprint was against Mark Rodamaker, with his World Champion's striped jersey. He won the coin toss and chose to follow me; I thought that was nice of him and it would allow me to see how that works in comparison with leading. Well, I was schooled again! Mark followed me cautiously, and I kept him just even with my rear wheel so he couldn't jump around me from behind, on the left side (smart, eh?). Well, I suspect he's seen that before and had a trick: As we finished lap 2 he started pushing around my right but I held him steady just behind me by pushing a bit harder to match his pace. Then... he launched his attack by first backpedaling so hard he dropped behind me and then jumped 100% down turn 1. I was again forced to chase, but unlike with Ryan I was able to catch Mark and set myself up to draft him. Just as I started to move down the bank to his rear wheel he slowed down a tad, keeping me outside to his right. I had to either sprint hard for the last half lap, taking the longer route around him in the wind, or slow down even more to get behind him. Well, I didn't recognize the problem for me in time and he kept adjusting his pace to hold me in that poor position for the rest of the sprint, which he won by a bike length or two. Oh well, another schooling I can learn from.

After that I was paired against Jacob, who had a similar 200m time to mine. I won the coin-toss and followed him. I was determined to apply some of the lessons I'd learned, and I did, beating him rather comfortably without the need to overdo it. I basically did what Mark had done, but without the need for the subtleties since Jacob wasn't as vigilant and jumping around him from behind turned out to be easy. Out of turn 4 I was able to just hold him steady behind my right elbow without hurting myself. That was fun!

Next up was Andreas Vogel, in his California State Champion's skinsuit. He led me out and did a sort of swooping left-right ahead of me, on the "stayer's line," to keep me from jumping. But I think it ended up just being his super-strong jump that allowed him to win by a bike length. Oh well, I don't feel too bad about losing to guys like him.

The last sprint, just for fun since the official racing was done, was against Jim Purcell. He was actually from the slower-seeded "B" group. He won the coin-toss and chose to follow me. I decided to try Ryan's tactic against him, on the premise that Jim was less experienced, as I had been earlier that day (now that I'm a seasoned veteran... kidding!). Worked like a charm! It's really nice when lessons can be learned and applied in such a short time!

So I have no idea where we ended up in the results, and it really doesn't matter. I had a blast and learned a lot and I think Vlada did too. Looking forward to the next tournament!

NorCal High School Cycling League, Granite Bay Challenge, 3/13/2011

By Kevin Giberson

This past weekend was the first NorCal High School Cycling League cross country mountain biking race with all teams and riders in the same race. There are 750+ registered racers, with 27 teams in our division which usually has the faster riders since we have all the independent racers and composite teams too. We traveled to Granite Bay which is just east of Sacramento for this race, attended the pre-race ride on Saturday afternoon and then had the races on Sunday.

The conditions were very sloppy, with water on the course in many areas, slippery granite slabs, and mud several inches deep across the trail in many areas. The course was fairly flat overall which is not typical of a true cross country course, with some short quick hills, quite a bit of singletrack that made passing difficult, and some very technical areas where riders got backed up and had to slow or even wait when someone ahead of them had trouble. The advantage was to those riders who do not do well on hills and for those with less endurance who could catch up when the trail got backed up by a slower racer.

Despite this unusual course and set of conditions, our team still had very good results for our first full race. The team finished 4th in points out of the 27 teams in our division, and just a few points behind the third place team.

In the Varsity Boys race (combining both Division 1 and 2 for 40 racers) our sophomore racer Jacob Albrecht took 3rd place behind two senior racers. In the JV Boys race Curren Giberson took 2nd place (with the second fastest time of the 107 racers in both Division 1 and 2), and Chase Cummings took 5th place. In the JV Girls race our top female Dominique van den Dries, a sophomore, took 10th place despite a hard crash in the middle of her race in a thick area of sand where she had handlebars into her ribs and broke a wood post into which she fell... ouch. In the Sophomore Boys race Josh Krisman took 4th place, one second behind the finisher ahead of him. New racer Jose Reynado finished 13th in JV Boys in his first ever NorCal race. The team had four podiums out of 11 racers, on a course that was not our favorite and knowing all the remaining courses have plenty of hills on which we excel as a team.

Next up will be the NorCal race at Laguna Seca on March 27, with one very long uphill that our riders are already smiling about. Hopefully we can get out to the course this coming weekend despite all the rain, and worst case we just come back with lots of mud on our bodies and kits. Thanks again to our sponsors, as none of this would be possible without your generosity and support.



You can view more pictures on the Home page of our team website at www.santacruzjcc.com, and better pictures will be posted soon once received from our photographers with higher quality cameras.

Thanks,
Kevin Giberson, Team Director
Santa Cruz Junior Cycling Composite

Almond Blossoms Road Race, 45+ 1/2/3

By Dennis Pedersen

I've done this race (also called Foothills Road Race, and part of Merco Cycling Classic stage race) two times before. It's always in the same area as Snelling Road Race held the previous weekend. The course is therefore pretty similar: two 24-mile laps through rolling Sierra foothills. In past years Merco always ended with a big sprint, while Snelling Road race, in contrast always finished with a breakaway group winning... would 2011 fit that pattern?

This year the wind at Snelling was just 6-12 mph, and it ended in a field sprint. But Merco had winds of 12-15 mph and it was also a bit damp. Russ, Miles and I carpooled that morning through intermittent showers and drizzle, but I was hopeful it would dry out by our 12:00PM race start.

I presented a plan to them that I came up with. My idea was to assign perhaps two competitors to each of us to follow if they went with a break. I had circled some names on the list of entrants that I felt represented a threat. Seemed a sensible precaution to me in case a strong break got away. But Russ pointed out that we were a small team, while other teams had far more riders entered. Ergo, it made sense for us to sit in, rest and force the larger teams to chase down any breaks.

When we arrived the roads were damp and it was still drizzling a bit. We got our numbers and suited up after much debate about how to dress, as it was damp but not cold. I added knee- and arm-warmers only, and waited in the truck while Russ and Miles rode around a little. I discovered I'd somehow left my sports drink at home. Unlucky! But when we lined up for the start the drizzle pretty much stopped for the remainder of the day. Lucky!

While 100 guys had signed up, only about 56 showed up, because of the weather no doubt. But it really wasn't bad. The roads were starting to dry, though we had to be cautious in the turns. The race started with a few guys attacking from the very beginning, but while some of them held us off for a while none stayed away for long.

At the end of the first lap, I think on the longest climb of the course (about 90 seconds long) on Cox Ferry Road, a few guys attacked hard and opened up a big gap on the rest of us. I didn't get a good look at them and thought it was just two guys. But it turned out it was three, including Cale Reeder (Echelon/Zteam) and Don Langley (Morgan Stanley); both names I'd circled on my list! Cale's teammate even said to Russ "there goes the race," but Russ didn't believe him.

I should have asked who was in the break but still clung to the hope we'd catch them. By not knowing who was in the break I was hamstrung into making poor decisions. I sat in and looked for the unrepresented teams to chase. That turned out to be mostly Davis Bike Club, VOS, Team Bicycles Plus and Wells Fargo. But it took an embarrassingly long time for me to figure out Morgan Stanley was blocking; maybe half a lap! So I started taking a few short pulls to hopefully close in on them. We didn't seem to be making much progress, with the motorcycle ref calling out over a 1-minute gap at times. Later on we closed to within about 25 seconds, but it was clearly too late when we hit Cox Ferry Road again and prepared for the finish without the break even in our view.

I managed to move forward and was behind Russ as we crested the last rise and approached the finish line, but when I tried to come around him the wind held me back... and Stanley Terusaki (Morgan Stanley) even managed to pip me at the line. Russ was strong, and took 5th! I still got 7th place, same as 2010, though perhaps my 4th in the field sprint allows me to believe I did better this year. I even got $15 prize money, which beats winning some T-shirt.

So, in retrospect, I wish we'd used my original plan, but it's always easy to say that with 20-20 hindsight. But I'm proud that the top two finishers were also guys I'd predicted could win. Live and learn. Ciao!

Snelling Road Race, 45+ 1/2/3

By Dennis Pedersen

I love this course, 4 laps on 11.7 miles of small country roads in the rolling Sierra foothills north of Merced, and signed up for my third time. But, February weather can be messy and, as in past years, I kept checking the miserable-looking forecasts up until Friday afternoon. At that point the forecast changed from "Rain and snow showers. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the low 30s" to "Mostly Sunny, 50° high, Chance of Precip: 10%, Wind: NNW at 11 mph." That forecast, and carpooling with Bob (racing 45+ 4/5), was enough to get me to commit to race.

I picked up Bob in Watsonville, after scraping ice off my windshield, but there was no sign of rain so we were optimisitic that we weren't driving 3 hours just to get hypothermia. We even stopped for breakfast in Merced. It was a bit cool, but with gorgeous sunshine.

Neither of us had teammates to race with so we both knew we had to race conservatively to do well. The race always starts with a 1.5-mile neutral roll-out which is all the warmup I need. So we both suited up in our new team kits and lined up for our 12:40 and 12:50 start times. New for 2011, we have timing chips mounted on our bikes (see photo).

I knew from my past races that I needed to be near the front to watch for attacks. The other times I raced here the win went to breakaways and I was determined not to miss any. But this year the wind was a little less strong and from the west... that would change my tactics a bit. I won the field sprint in 2008 by sprinting early and the tailwind this year would make that more important.

As soon as the motorcycle referee signalled our race start two guys, one from Team Bicycles Plus (I think Lance Newey), attacked hard into the wind. In seconds they were 200m ahead of us. But they never gained more than maybe 20 seconds on us and were caught a mile or two later. A few others wisely tried attacks on the back section of the course where we had a tailwind, but they also were caught.

Just after we started the second lap, Bill Dunham (Alto Velo) attacked solo and opened up a nice gap. He held it for a while and a few other guys took turns bridging up to him. Some dropped back, only to be replaced by others, and it turned out this break stayed ahead of us for the next 2.5 laps. I never joined it because I had reason to believe they wouldn't last.

• The lack of strong winds encouraged us to work together and prevented cross-wind sections from giving the small groups an advantage.


• Their lead never grew beyond about 20 seconds.


• The large teams were not generally represented in the break, so I thought they would chase them down later.

I was right: On our last lap we were just behind the break and toyed with the catch. But we were also staying as fresh as possible for the finish, so we'd get close then back off. I kept riding conservatively while also working to stay near the front, only once or twice taking a short pull at the front. On the back section Jess Raphael and John Laine (both Safeway) took several strong pulls at the front reducing the gap to maybe 100m. But we couldn't rest yet, and others started to lend a hand in the effort.

I knew I needed to be near the front. I was doing well, but after we caught the break, maybe 1km from the finish, we slowed and soon the pack jammed across the whole road making it hard to advance. Then a surge started as we approached the last turn of the race; a hard right turn leading onto the 300m, slight uphill to the finish line. I was in the wind a bit, and somewhat blocked, so it took a few seconds before I could respond. Then Michael O'Rourke (Safeway) jumped all-out before the turn, just as I had planned to do but couldn't because of my poor positioning.

By the time I got around that last turn I was already well behind the leaders. But I also knew the sprint was 40 seconds long, so I just set a hard, steady pace up the slight hill, passing guys along the way who went too hard, too soon. I was actually able to gain on the three guys behind O'Rourke, but ran out of room and finished 5th, so I was still pretty jazzed! And now I have another masterpiece T-shirt.

Bob and I were both pretty happy about our races and very happy we got to enjoy such unexpectedly pretty weather. Next weekend we'll be back in that area for the Merco Foothills Road Race. I am looking forward to it!

Cantua Creek Road Race, 45+ 4

By Eddy Price

Sixth place last Saturday at the Cantua Creek Road race in the 45+ Cat 4 race was a real surprise, as I was hoping for a top 15 or 20 at best.

I haven't formally trained on my road bike more than four or five times in the past six weeks because of moving (Jan 1st) and then putting in 70+ hour work weeks to get caught up on all the work I neglected during the move.

I thought about not racing at Cantua Creek, that maybe I should hold off on racing until I have put in some long training rides, solo intervals, roller intervals and some Sunday group rides but I decided the best thing to do would be to race. So instead of training hard, I took two days completely off the bike right before the race, Wednesday and Thursday and rode the rollers for 45 minutes Friday. My legs felt fresh for the first time in months.

My only goal was to make it to the final finishing hill with the main group but beyond that, I had no aspirations of anything special. To be honest, I have been commuting everywhere on my mountain bike, road bike and electric bike, sometimes up to 20 hours in a week. In addition, because I am always cutting it close for my appointments, I usually have to hammer pretty hard to get there on time.

I wanted to help Bob and Joe podium, but I wasn't sure if that was even possible. To that end, I took a flyer just past the first turn-around and stayed away for about a couple of miles, hoping to force the other teams to chase me and give Joe and Bob a free ride. I could see them blocking at the front of the race for a while, but I didn't press on the pedals too hard because it was a long way to the finish.

At the end of the first lap, on the three mile stair-step climb to the finish, I noticed the headwind was pretty strong. We lost about ten riders on the climb.

On the second "out" section, I bridged up to a serious-looking four man break but we couldn't get organized and nothing became of it.

With about four miles to go, an accident occurred in the middle of the middle of the pack, causing 7 or 8 riders to hit the road pretty hard. Bob and Joe were near the front and avoided it completely. I was dead last and weaved my way through it pretty easily, then quickly bridged back up to the lead group who were quickly pressing the advantage they received from the accident. I would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed, so no hard feelings whatsoever on my part.

On the final three mile headwind climb to the finish, I started dead last, following the rider in front of me until they cracked, quickly going around him and waiting until this scene repeated itself, which it did over and over until I was in the top ten with one kilometer to go.

I could see Joe hitting the front of the race with about 500 meters to go, then falling back a bit. I could see I was in the 6th and final place for an award when two riders went past me like I was standing still. Still, I thought 8th place was pretty good until I found out the two riders who went past me (and Joe as well) were from the Cat 1/2 race. Joe 3rd, me 6th and Bob 8th.

My hats off to Joe for trying to win and still finishing 3rd. My hats off to Bob for being dropped early on the climb and not giving up, passing rider after rider until he was in a fine 8th place at the finish. I don't know if I could recovered like that. Great piece of riding Bob.

Ed Price

The Cherry Pie Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3, 2/6/2011

By Dennis Pedersen

What better way to celebrate one's 50th birthday than by going to Napa for a bike race! I always wanted to try this technical crit, with its varied turns and a small hill. But in past years I've always been out of town... celebrating my birthday one place or another. This year I put my foot down and made this race the centerpiece of a long weekend of partying!

Margaret and I, plus her sister and five of our friends, made the trek to Napa and really lived it up. On Saturday we had lunch at Brix, wine-tasting at Opus One and Turnbull, and a 7-course "omakase" dinner at famed Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant. On Sunday I had Nutella and banana crepes at Curbside Cafe before setting off for the race, just south of Napa in a business park.

I assembled my bike and warmed up a little while my cheering section watched the previous race. Then I lined up with my competitors (54 signed up) for our 12:25 start and my first view of the course. We were told we'd race for 45 minutes on the 1-mile course so I set my timer accordingly. My goal was simply to have fun, and basically put on a good show.

The first lap or two weren't too bad, but a few guys did try breaks. I had already moved to the front so I was able to go with them, but nothing came of these breaks. Then Kevin Metcalfe (Team Specialized) did succeed for a while, with me and a guy from ZTeam I think. My awesome cheering section made the race so fun too! We pacelined well for a while but were soon caught when Kevin looked back and saw our lead was too small.

Later on Larry Nolan (also from Team Specialized) took a turn attacking us and once again I was able to follow. We were pacelining along nicely but he also sat up as his teammate Kevin had done.

Kevin went off the front again later and I went after him, again causing him to sit up. I went off the front after we caught Kevin, hoping we could initiate another break, but nobody came with me and I had to sit up and drop back to rest.

At about 10 minutes to go in the race, Larry, and Gregg Betonte (Safeway), went off the front while I was resting from my last effort. Darn. I started moving up though the pace was furious. As we rounded the U-turn at the top of the hill, low on oxygen to the brain, and flew down the hill, a guy in white kit to my right slid out in the hard right turn near the bottom of the hill, taking out at least one other guy (I think from Morgan Stanley) in the process. The Morgan Stanley racer (maybe Stanley Terusaki?) flew over his bars, still clipped into his pedals, and slammed his rear wheel into my back knocking the wind out of me. Then somebody, maybe the same Morgan Stanley racer, landed right in front of me. I had to either hit him, his bike, or the guy to my left. I ran over his carbon-fiber bike, I swear I heard crunching sounds. Yikes, I felt so bad for him, but I had to continue on.

Now our main pack was split in two, with Larry and Gregg still off the front and flying... and me in the second half of the pack. Darn again. I quickly tried to organize a chase but it wasn't gaining very fast so I ended up having to bridge up to the leading group. Whew, made it, but heard that Larry and Greg still had about a 27-second lead. No way could I bridge that, so I again took a few pulls at the front until the gap shrank a bit.

But something else was going on. I heard the announcer say that Larry wasn't cooperating with Gregg, and then Kevin once again attacked out of the pack. Hmmm, I thought Larry could beat almost anybody in a two-up contest like that, but Larry's teammate Kevin's actions made me think they were not so confident against Gregg. I took advantage of that by jumping up to Kevin and soon he and I were pacelining after the two breakaway riders ahead.

Larry and Gregg were slowing down, I could tell, but so was I. Pacelining with a National Champion like Kevin ain't easy and with half a lap to go I told him to go for it while I tried to maintain my pace. My watch said we had time for one more lap, which would have been nice for me, but it was now clear to me that this was actually the last lap. With about 300 meters to go a couple guys bridged up even as I slowed and soon the main pack caught me. But Kevin barely held on and finished third, behind Gregg and Larry (in the photo below you can see how close we were to Gregg and Larry).

When I saw Gregg had won I understood their tactics, and was happy I'd done what I did, even though my 21st place finish doesn't sound impressive. Riding conservatively would probably have netted me a mediocre finish in any case, certainly no win, as the teams wouldn't have let it come down to a mass field sprint. And I certainly accomplished my goal of having fun and putting on a good show! Next year...