Masters District Track Championship, Hellyer Park Velodrome, 7/11-7/12/2015

By Dennis Pedersen

Last year was a bit of a breakout season for me, as it was the first one in which I focused completely on track sprints. This year I fully expected that my continuing specific training would result in further improvement, though not likely as dramatic as last year's improvements.

My main focus for 2015 was this race weekend in which our NCNCA district Master (State) track champions would be crowned, and I also wanted to compete at the Elite States three weeks before it. So my coach, Jeff Solt, made sure that I did a proper "peak" and "taper" for this. That is, I trained increasingly harder for a time, then backed off in the weeks before this.

Elite Districts, 6/20-6/21

The Elite races were mostly just training for me, but I truly wanted to podium, at least, as I did last year... this was not to be.

Match sprints: I was seeded (qualified) at seventh out of 11 riders with my flying-200 m time of 12.1 seconds (37.8 mph max). My first round was against Victor Tort, who I dispatched by half-wheeling him around the track. My second round was against Lee Povey... given that he teaches our sprint clinics, I knew beating him would be tough. I rode pretty well nonetheless, but made the mistake of going too slow out of turn 2 in the last of our 2 laps, and he was able to pass above me and take the lead even though I really tried to get him (we hit 38.1 mph!). Finally, I was in a four-up match (my first such) to determine 5th through 8th place. I took second to Stelios McDonald and thus ended up 6th.

Keirin: I was able to grab sixth place behind the motorcycle, did OK, but when the motor pulled off, Bill Nighan, two riders ahead of me, kept looking back and a gap formed ahead of him. That left me stranded because I wasn't able to pass, close the gap, and then still outsprint the fast guys ahead of me. I think I finished 6th out of 7, hitting 37.1 mph.

Team sprints: My team dissolved so I didn't even get a chance to try to improve on my bronze from last year.

Masters Districts, 7/11-7/12

Match sprints: 

This was my only event on Saturday. I was seeded tied-for-first (out of just 3 riders) with my flying-200 m time of 12.2 seconds (37.7 mph max). I had tied with Bill Nighan, but lost the coin toss, so I had to race while he rested. Even though I was now at a disadvantage I felt pretty good and confident and had trained a lot for this. Jeff, my coach, was kind enough to attend and be my holder for the starts. Each race would be just two laps (770 m total).

I won my first round (semifinals), against Mark Gomes, starting from second position. Swooping up and down right from the start to avoid being pinned against the rail, I dropped below him and seized the lead. He had no gap to run, and when I jumped out of turn 2, he tried to pass in 3 but I held him off, hitting 36.1 mph max.

Since I was now in the finals, against Bill, it was to be best two out of three races. In my first finals round I started from second. I stayed up by the rail, while he rode slowly in the sprinter's lane below me. I rode even with him out out of turn 2. This allowed me to jump past above him and keep the lead for over a lap, even as he tried to pass, until he gave up out of turn 4 (36.7 mph max).

In my second finals round against Bill, I started second again. We went rather slow, almost stopping, then I seized the lead out of 1 by dropping below him. He tried to pass on the back straight, but I half-wheeled him into turn 3, then stayed fast throughout the last lap-and-a-quarter... I really thought I had him in this long sprint, I even had visions of my States jersey, but in the last few seconds he got next to me and won by about 8 inches (36.9 mph max).

Now we were tied (again) and had to race a tie-breaker, yet I was still confident as Jeff gave me some tips (avoid long sprints!). We were both tired, but I had one more race in my legs than Bill did. At the start Lee Povey, who was holding Bill, held him back as I rolled ahead. Very slow start! I tried to pin him against the rail but he held back. Rather than engage in track stands I simply went a bit faster into turn 3, then backed off a bit for the last lap unlike the previous round, I thought. Then, I went hard out of turn 2 into 3and 4 (36.0 mph max), but he pipped me by 2 inches... argh!

So close, but my States hopes faded away... I had started my sprint too early again, in spite of Jeff's advice, and my attempt to heed it. I was done for the day, and really bummed as I drove home. I tried hard to focus instead on my next events, on Sunday, but I was depressed. 

500 m time trial (sprints): 

This is a standing-start individual time-trial, for 500 m, just over 1.5 laps.There were six riders entered, so I warmed up well. Yet when I lined up for my start I felt a bit out-of-body. But I pushed hard from the start and focused ahead of me, rather than looking down (a tip from Jeff), and I think I had good power though the turns, even some oomph left for the finish. That made me worry I hadn't given it 100%; I cruised around, totally unsure, but I'd soon know. When I read the official results I was stoked: 36.2 seconds, a new personal best, by a full second! I reached 37.1 mph max, nearly as high as my flying-200 m! Yet Martin Harris was just behind, at 36.3... also a personal best for him! Just the previous weekend, he'd surpassed my best time, so I'd been skeptical I could do it. But now I was 1st out of 6, barely, but the many people congratulating me confirmed I finally got a States jersey I could be proud of! 

Team sprint: 

This is the three-man sprint, where only the third rider's time counts; the first and second riders are merely lead-outs. Tim Montagne was our #1, me #2, Bill Nighan #3. Tim's lap #1was 29.02 seconds, my lap #2 was 22.75 seconds (51.77 ET, at 34.0 mph max), and Bill's 22.75-seconds lap #3 stopped the timer at 1:14.47 (ignoring some minor discrepancy in the splits). We took 1st in 45-54, but unopposed, so not much glory. But Tim and I are joining Bobby Walthour, the builder of my Dixie Flyer, at Elite Nationals for team sprints, so we used this for training. 

So my States this year were a mixed bag, as sports always seem to be, but I really feel my 500 m ride was a new high, for sure, maybe even competitive at Nationals. A real State Champion, at last!

On the top step of the podium! With Martin Harris and Ross Tinline.

LAVRA Sprint Open Powered by Momentum, 9/14/2014

By Dennis Pedersen

Gorgeous bikes, down HWY 5.

This was my second visit to Carson, near Los Angeles, to race on the intimidating 250-meter wooden velodrome at the StubHub Center. I had a blast on my previous visit, but wanted to improve on my performance there.

My friend Rich Rozzi invited me to carpool with him, so that made the decision easier, and we drove down Saturday morning. That afternoon we got to ride in their open-track training session. I rode my new Dixie Flyer BTB that I had built up just after Track States (it arrived too late for that). It handled superbly, and it allowed me to focus on my form instead of worrying about the bike.

On Sunday morning we got up at 5:30 a.m. so we could have plenty of time to eat breakfast and schlep all of our gear to the velodrome for the LAVRA races. The track opened up for warmup at 9:00 and we were soon prepping our bikes and doing some efforts on the track; I started in a low gear for warmup (49x16; 82.7"), then switched to my race gears (49x14; 94.5") and Zipp wheels.

The Velo Sports Center lobby.

At 10:00 they announced our start order for the flying 200-meter time trials, used to "seed" us for the actual sprints tournament where we usually race two-man races of three laps. Only the top-18 riders (out of about 35) would get into the tournament, so I felt some pressure to go fast, and my 200-meter time of 12.312 seconds was just enough for 17th! Rich also qualified, but had some speed wobble... something I've often had too, but not this time thanks in part to my new bike.

So the standard tournament format matched me, the second-slowest seed, against second-fastest seed Ethan Boyes (who qualified with 10.99), and Rich against the first-seed rider, Nate Koch, a candidate for the Olympic 2016 games (who qualified in 10.92 seconds).

Rich tried his best against Nate, but not too surprisingly couldn't beat him; it's very hard to overcome a speed differential of 1.5 seconds!

I didn't feel too much pressure racing against Ethan; I just wanted to do my best and learn the differences of riding on such a track; the biggest one being that we can't just roll through the steeply-banked turns without slipping down! I wanted to make Ethan earn his win too, even though I drew the second spot, giving him the 'pole' (lead) from the start. But I feel I did well, as I seized the lead from him immediately, and ramped up the speed to make passing harder. But while I still had some reserve he passed out of turn 4 just before the last lap and held me off.

Rich, Ethan and Dana (on rollers).

I was still in the competition, but only in the "repechage;" it's a sort of 'second-chance' round. I was up against Aron Seiken who had lost to a faster qualifier just as I had done. But Aron qualified with 11.86 so it wouldn't be easy for me. I drew the pole and led from the start and held him off with varied pacing and swinging. I attacked in turn 4 just before the last lap and held him on my hip (just to my right, slightly behind me), but he passed at the end, beating me by about 4 inches. Oh well. I feel that the steeper banking and the extra height of the outside rider make it easier for them to pass there than at Hellyer. I'm learning.

Lunch , complements of Ethan! 

Ethan ended up in the final rounds, and got to contest for the overall win ... against favorite Nate Koch. It was fun to watch, but while Ethan settled for second he still took home $500! And bought us lunch!

So in the end I had a blast, and was so happy with how my bike handled and my own riding that I drove home in a great mood. I'll definitely be going down there again!

Masters District Track Championships, Hellyer Park Velodrome, 8/9-10/2014

By Dennis Pedersen

This season has been all about track sprinting for me. The only priority cycling races I had were the California state Masters championship track races (NCNCA District) at Hellyer Park's banked velodrome. I wanted to improve on my results from last year's state championships, hopefully with a gold, for that elusive state champion's jersey.

Dreams are nice, but to make them real requires action. I hired Jeff Solt (a nationally-known sprinter and record-holder) as my coach, and completely restructured my training to mostly include only short rides with all-out efforts, and heavier weight lifting at the gym (Capitola Fitness, owned by our teammate Mike Bodge). It also affected the races I have entered, so I skipped many races that I would have done in the past.

During the run-up to States I had the misfortune of losing my Serenity Marvel track bike from my car's roof rack; it was totally destroyed. While I was able to get AAA insurance to compensate me, the replacement bike I ordered didn't arrive in time for States. Fortunately teammate Nils loaned me his Giant Omnium to use... now that's what I call a teammate!

Lap split times from the Elite team sprints.

Since the Elite Track States were the weekend before Masters Track States, I entered the match sprints, team sprints and keirin race for practice and fun (read descriptions of the race types here). While I did fine, it's hard to compete against guys 20 years younger than me. Still, I ended up with a bronze in team sprints, racing with Tim Montagne and David Broekma. Since there were only three teams that wasn't very awesome, and I was riding as the third guy and thus had to ride the full three laps (1 km)... not my forte! But my lap-3 time was faster than fast-guy Larry Nolan's... a nice indicator of my fitness and something that makes me think I should try the individual "kilo" too, next time.

For the Masters States I entered the match sprints, 500-meter individual time-trial, and team sprints.

Match sprints: 
This is the Olympic one-on-one race, for two laps. We first "seed" the riders with a flying-200 m time trial (see race descriptions above, or extremely detailed info here), and I could only manage a 12.3-second run; 0.21 slower than my best. My first match was against Bill Nighan, who tied my 200 m time, while defending champion Rich Rozzi (12.0 seconds) raced against slowest-seed Martin Harris (12.6 seconds). I had the "pole" position at the start (we drew lots) and my coach, Jeff, was my holder. I was able to keep Bill behind me while I watched carefully for any attacks. Bill tried to pass me a couple of times, but I was able to fend him off while keeping a gap behind me that was hopefully the right size. On the last of our two laps I was able to move him up-track a bit in turn 1 and then attack down into turn 2. I held him off in turns 3 and 4 and won. This moved me up to the final against Rich. I drew "2" so he started in the pole. I tried to get past Rich at the start, but he was alert and accelerated to keep me behind him. I rode up-track to gain the advantage of height, and made a few feints to keep him down-track so I'd have more room, but he did ride smart. Even so I caught him off-guard in turn 4 and was able to quickly drop down from the banking and pass him before turn 1. That was cool, but since we'd been going fairly fast I was worried I'd be too tired to hold him off at the finish, so I backed off a bit. Exiting turn 2 I knew I had to be careful, because that would be the perfect place for Rich to attack, and so he did; he blew by me and into the lead; darn, I must have slowed too much! I couldn't pass him again and he won. Usually we'd compete for the best two out of three matches, but this year it was just that one match so he got gold and I got silver.

Masters match sprints podium.

500 m individual time trial: 
This is one racer at a time against the clock, from a standing start as we are held up, fully clipped into the pedals. I took a few deep breaths and focused on my form. I channeled my inner Incredible Hulk and pulled off a personal best of 37.2 seconds! Cool! And something I credit to the training Jeff has prescribed. But that only gave me silver as Rich beat me by 0.4 seconds.

Team sprints: 

Masters team sprint splits.

We have the track to ourselves and only the last rider's time after three laps is counted; the other two riders merely help him get up to speed. For the Masters States my team was with Rich Rozzi as the second and Martin Harris as the third rider (funny how we're suddenly friends again!). We were the only team in the 45+ age group; even less compelling than Elites, but there was still some coolness to be had from it as we of course compared ourselves against the other age-groups' teams. I led our team for the first lap, and my lap-1 time was the second-fastest of the teams. Only the youngest team beat my #1 lap (by 0.37). So while I finally earned gold, and a California State Champion's jersey, it's not one I can brag about... except that my lap was pretty fast and one I'm proud of.

USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships are at Marymoor velodrome, just south of Seattle, starting next week. And while I did consider going I think that will have to wait until I can justify the expense. Maybe next year!

A humble Masters gold medal.

LAVRA South Bay Wheelmen TT Cup, 6/1/2014

By Dennis Pedersen

I have long wanted to ride on a steeply-banked, wooden cycling track, as used for most Olympic and World Cup track races. I was told these tracks are an amazing adrenaline rush to ride on, especially after you've circled a relatively moderate concrete track like our local Hellyer Park velodrome a few thousand times. I finally had my wish granted this weekend when my friend and competitor Rich Rozzi invited me!

45-degree banking;
it's impossible to walk on it!

Wooden cycling tracks are usually 250m ovals with banking up to 45 degrees, vs. the 335m oval with 23-degree banking at Hellyer. The nearest one is in the Los Angeles area, on the California State University, Dominguez Hills campus in Carson, and is part of a huge sporting complex called the StubHub Center; pretty impressive and very nicely appointed with vast numbers of tennis courts, soccer fields, etc. It was built as an upscale replacement for the 333m outdoor concrete track used in the 1984 Olympic Games (that was similar to Hellyer's velodrome) that had become somewhat rundown. Rich and I drove down there on Friday as did several other "Hellyerites," which added to the fun as they are a fun-loving bunch who aren't afraid of a beer the night before a race! Oh, and Rich, like most sprinters, shares a passion of mine: eating!

The indoor velodrome is called VELO Sports Center and is run by former pro and Olympian Adam Duvendeck, a really nice guy who has made big improvements to the track. The VELO Sports Center is also an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site and is the home track to USA Cycling's national track cycling program, and we got to meet several women who are candidates for our 2016 Olympic team. The infield of the VELO Sports Center velodrome is used for basketball and volleyball, but there's enough room there for a changing room and bike racks, plus a very nice weights area that's used by Olympic team candidates. They have a full electronic timing system unlike Hellyer (where we rely on handheld stopwatches). One glaring omission is a convenient restroom, as you have to take a bit of a hike to get to the nearest one.

Following Alissa for a "ribbon ride."

To ride this track you must first attend a certification class, with the option of either a four-session class for those with no track experience, or a one-session accelerated class for those with sufficient prior experience in track racing. I was able to complete a Saturday-morning accelerated class, with Andrew Mirzaoff as the instructor (with help from Allissa Maglaty, an Olympic team hopeful), and then hop on the track that afternoon for an open training session. By the end of the day I had 1:25 hours and 27 miles of experience there. That track is a blast to ride! The feel of riding along the top rail then dropping down what looks like a vertical two-story drop to the sprinter's lane takes a bit of guts... but what a rush! But the very different nature of this track also requires a very different approach to riding it.

One thing I was told is that I should maintain at least 17 mph to avoid slipping down the banking. That also affects everything from your warmup (it's best to warm up on rollers first) to race tactics (you can't do a track stand or even ride slow in the turns during match sprints, e.g.). They also recommend using soft-compound tires and wiping them down with isopropyl alcohol beforehand. Another thing to do is make sure printed-on tire labels are either removed or facing downtrack as they can be a bit slippery.

The track also requires a very different and more critical approach to riding flying 200m time trials. They have marked the optimum line for the flying-200m with small orange "X" markings on the track, as it's just too easy for people to get in trouble if they don't follow this. I didn't know about them at first and tried my usual line around the track, at max speed dropping down from the top rail out of turn 4; it was rather scary as my bike was pushed uptrack in turn 2 by the G-forces! After Rich explained the orange Xs to me I tried again; what a vast improvement! Rich has front and rear disk wheels, which is great for indoors, but I only have a rear disk wheel so would want a front disk too if I ride here regularly.

Winding up for my flying 200m.

On Sunday Rich and I were registered to race in a LAVRA Track Racing event, the South Bay Wheelmen TT Cup. We were just entered in the individual flying 200m and standing-start 500m races, but they also had other timed events and a Madison race. I was trying to learn how to ride flying 200m from watching local racers, but I must admit I still messed up badly; I spent too much energy getting up to the rail during the windup laps, then dropped down too soon into turn 1, and then stopped pushing at the home-straight's mid-point line rather than the actual finish line. Argh! My 12.972-second time was much slower than my best at Hellyer (12.09). And Rich also was disappointed with his 12.334. Yet surprisingly nobody else even broke into the 11s... something we usually see at Hellyer's races.

For the standing-start 500m races they have sweet starting stands with a pneumatic clamp connected to the timers, just like at World-class races (at Hellyer we have human holders). So we just clamp the bike in, hop on, and wait for the timer's countdown to release the bike. I managed a nice 37.802-second run, almost equal to my personal best 37.74 (hand-timed at Hellyer), while Rich ran a nice 36.809. This made me feel much better about my weekend's racing.

So I have a lot to work on if I want to do well at 250m tracks, but man, I sure had fun!

World Championship Prep Races, Hellyer Park Velodrome, 2/16/2014

By Dennis Pedersen

Nils and I went to these low-key timed events for practice and fun. I won the standing-start 500m time trial in 38.3 seconds, Nils won the standing-start 1k time trial in 1:16.5 (known as "killers" because they are very painful!).

It's always an open question what equipment to use, and Nils swapped his bars and stem between some of the events to test his setup. I mostly used my training equipment, including my heavy "faux" disk rear wheel with a PowerTap hub (reads my power output in Watts), so I can provide data to my coach, Jeff Solt ( track sprinter extraordinaire). I used a 48x14 (also known as a 92.6-inch gear) for my flying 200m, but a lower 50x15 (90-inch gear) for my standing-starts. In retrospect, after Jeff checked my data, it seems I should be using taller gears. I may go with a 94.5-inch gear for all events next time.

Here are a few photos:

Dennis in his flying 200m time trial (12.4 seconds, 37.27 MPH, 2nd place). Notice the tongue.

Nils in his flying 200m time trial (12.5 seconds, 3rd place). The guy is super-aero!

Dennis as #2 in a team sprint (1:17.1, first place)

Nils during his 1k time trial (1:16.5, 1st place). These are aptly-named "killers" ...I don't think he's smiling!

CCCX Circuit Race #10, 35+ 3/4, Fort Ord, 8/25/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

Bob Montague, George Janour and I decided to join forces in a race we could all enter. In my case that meant racing with the younger group rather than my preferred 45+ group... but racing with teammates ended up being more fun.

The race course is the usual 4.3-mile loop on the closed roads of this former Army base, and we were to do five laps. We were determined to make this a fast and fun race. So right at the start, on Parker Flats Cut-Off Road, Bob took a nice hard pull at the front of the small group of 18 racers, and I pulled through right after him. I probably shouldn't have been surprised, but some guys from Leopard-Sapporo then pulled through even harder than we had... game on!

The race was full of attacks which we had agreed we'd take turns marking. I was impressed at the number of attacks and how well-timed they were, but also with our ability to mark them. If I'd had to mark them all I would have been exhausted very quickly; that's a major plus to having teammates. Bob showed tremendous spirit when he lost his chain on Eucalyptus Road's climbs but managed to rejoin us and continue his hard work. Wow!

The 35+ group definitely races harder than the 45+ group (we had several laps under 11 minutes!). The attacks really tired us out and a few times I was worried about my ability to continue... but I didn't want to let Bob and George down and I always managed to dig a little deeper to stay in contact with the main group.

We ended up having a few breakaway groups form, always with one of us in it, but they were all reeled back in like fish. Until we started our fourth lap; that's when a guy (I think from Dolce Vita Cycling) soloed off the front on the climb up Parker Flats. Nobody followed him and soon he was well out front.

The rest of us took a few pulls and eventually the breakaway guy was brought a bit closer. On the last lap Dave Porter (Bicycle Blue Book Racing) bridged up to him on Parker Flats and the pace picked up. I looked back and saw we'd dropped five or six guys in the process. I was nervous the duo would stay away, as they still had a nice gap on the final climbs up Eucalyptus. By then I was so exhausted from trying to maintain contact that all I could do was gasp for breath as I followed at the very back of this chase group as we descended from the top of Eucalyptus for the last time. But I was relieved to spot the duo about 100 meters ahead as we hit the bottom of the descent, on the long, fast straight leading up to the last two right-hand turns on Parker Flats.

Somehow I managed to make the strong draft of the riders ahead of me work to my advantage and I flew around them all on the right, past the duo and into the lead. It was a long sprint, but I figured it was my best chance vs. trying to fight them all in a bigger field sprint. Well, it almost worked, but four guys managed to counter-attack me at the finish line, with Erik taking a well-deserved win.

So, finishing 5th in a tough race like this was still an accomplishment for me and I was very grateful to Bob and George for the work they had put into this cool team effort. Thanks guys!

CCCX Circuit Race #9, 45+ 3/4, Fort Ord, 8/3/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

I really like these road races; partly because they're just a 45-minute drive from Santa Cruz, and partly because the race categories are so friendly to a Cat 3 Master like me with several options of when to race. So this is the fifth time I have raced there this year.

I picked up Nils so he could race the Elite 2/3 race at 12:30, and the gray weather started to clear up after we arrived. I got ready and warmed up, chatted with friends, and took a few photos of Nils while I waited for my 2:00 race start. I think there were barely ten racers, which is fun, because there are fewer variables which allows me to focus on my tactics to a very specific degree.

Our first lap (of 6 total) on this smooth, 4.3-mile rolling course (all on closed roads) was really just a warmup. But on the second lap the chatting riders behind us persuaded Scott Calley (VOS) and I to take some pulls at the front to liven things up, or perhaps initiate a breakaway. I felt it was in my interest to keep the pace higher, and also hoped I could spring a breakaway that would force others to chase into the wind. So on the Parker Flat climb we opened up a gap and, sure enough, some of the fast guys chased us down. I doubted they'd let me ride away in a break, ever, so I couldn't waste too much energy doing this.

So on the third lap Scott went on the attack again and got away solo, while I watched on to encourage others to either go with him or pull me up to him. In this case nobody went and so he started to disappear up ahead. After working too hard in some of the previous races here I stuck to my plan and just waited. Only occasionally did I push the pace, and never too hard. I wanted the gap to be manageable, and also to keep my competitors breathing instead of chatting. Eventually Rob White (Bicycle Blue Book) bridged up to Scott, really digging deep; he's a strong sprinter which made me think some of the others would chase, but still nobody did. Maybe they doubted he and Scott could maintain their pace.

I was able to stay really focused in this race and did a good job of carefully considering when I should force the pace and when to just hold back. I would carefully consider the wind force and direction, where key riders were positioned at any given time, and  how I felt before choosing my place to attack. In this way I was able to put some of the other riders in trouble without putting myself in any trouble. It truly is easier to accept pain when you are the one dishing it out!

On the fifth lap, on the stair-step climbs on Eucalyptus, I opened up another gap so there were only four of us chasing just as we caught Robert, who was gasping for breath. I could see Scott ahead, but closer, so I felt everything was exactly as I wanted it. I was mostly just worried the others in our chase group weren't tired out and could beat me in a sprint; at least John Cheetham (Metromint) was forced to take some big pulls too, though not as many as I wanted, of course. Scott's teammate Courtney Grossman (VOS) hadn't had to pull at all since his teammate Scott was in the lead so long, nor had Mark Bailey (Alto Velo) so both were a potential threat. I guess I still have a few things to learn that would have helped me.

On the last lap I took a pull past exhausted Scott and now it was between the four of us to determine the winner. I was trying to string out our small group just enough to make it harder for guys like Courtney to beat me in a sprint, but mostly I was worried that John would be able to use my energy to his advantage. So I rested a bit on the final descent, watched, waited, and started my sprint at maybe 90% a bit early. I skittered through the last two turns, and prepared to use my last jump to meet whoever tried to come around me. It turned out that John was that person, and my last jump was too little to beat him, but at least I finished 2nd place after a very entertaining and empowering race!

I think we all had fun!

Masters State Track District Championships, Hellyer Park Velodrome, 7/13-14/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

Some of you know that I have changed my training regimen quite a bit this year. This move was based on my performance at the State Track Championships last year, and was designed mostly to help me win mass-start races at the velodrome, with very hard efforts separated by limited recovery. And perhaps even to win myself a California State Champion's jersey, with luck. My new training has definitely helped me in many ways, but not always in the ways I had anticipated.

Last year I only took 6th in the State "scratch race" but truly felt I could have done better. Last Saturday morning I felt confident in my fitness and looked forward to the scratch race (a simple 21-lap race). But this year was very different from last year. The 2013 State scratch race had a formidable field, with proven champions like Andrew Nevitt, Dan Smith and Larry Nolan... we even had an Olympic medalist and track legend; Leonard Nitz! The race was very fast at times, with just a few laps allowing us a bit of recovery. I tried to go with attacks a few times and stayed near the front, but I found myself gapped (and gassed!) as we entered the last lap and had to settle for 4th.

I had also registered for the "match sprints" (two-man races, for just two 335m-laps) on Saturday afternoon, but without as much confidence because my training, while also including sprints, didn't really target this type of specialized race. Even so I wanted to be as prepared as I could and was lucky enough to be able to borrow my teammate Nils' Giant Omnium to ride in the flying 200m time trials we use to "seed" the riders first. My Felt TK2, while an awesome bike, isn't actually designed for the high speeds of these short, violent time trials, and usually allows my front wheel to wobble at times, forcing me to back off my power to stop it. The Giant has a longer frame and is more stable which turned out to be perfect for me as I was second-fastest seed and set a new personal record of 12.26 seconds, averaging almost 37 MPH!

This also helped me by matching me against the slowest-seeded rider for my first two-lap match, against André Jackson (14 seconds). I drew the #1 poker chip from the bag that USAC Official Peter Bohl held out, allowing me to take the "pole" position at the start of our race. I lead André at a moderate tempo for a while before upping the pace and dropping him on the last lap for 1st.

Next I was matched against the next-slowest seed, Bill Nighan (12.5 seconds). I again drew #1 and was able to hold Bill against the rail, riding veeerryyy slowly at the top of the track (almost completely stopped at times so I could prevent him from dropping down behind me and seizing the lead), before executing a basic sprint out of turn 1 on the last lap to beat him too.

One better than last year!

Now I was in it for the finals against Rich Rozzi, who was fastest-seeded at 12.1 seconds (he trains specifically for match sprints and it shows!). I knew it would be tough to beat Rich, especially since he hadn't even had to race yet, while I had already done the fast scratch race plus two matches. This was partly because we were an odd number of entrants, and also because Dan Smith dropped out rather than try a hopeless race against him (I don't blame him, but it hurt my chances). I somehow drew #1 again and lead the start. Rich tried to come around me to seize the spinter's lane at the bottom, and up-track a few times, but I held him off until the back-straight where he sprinted down the track's banking out of turn 2 to come around me. I was prepared for this, but even so I wasn't able to match his speed and he passed me in turn 3 which he held onto for the win. Darn! But this was to be best 2 out of 3, so I still had a chance.

For the second match against Rich I drew #2 and had to take the top of the track for the start. But I was able to sprint past him right away to seize the lead (the thinking being that the slower seed shouldn't accept being behind as they then have to make up the extra distance later in the match). That surprised him and I held the speed higher to try to tire him a bit... but I was probably the one tiring more because of the extra races I'd had to do! This time I also started my sprint very early, from high in turn 4 on the first lap, again surprising him. But the result was distressingly similar as he passed me into turn 3 again for his second win. My day was over, but I was still proud (and surprised) of my silver medal!

Good times!

I hadn't signed up for any of the Sunday races but I decided to go to Hellyer the next morning anyway, partly because Nils had volunteered to help work the event, partly because I got drunk (just kidding) at a party the night before and met Tim Montagne there, by complete chance, who talked me into entering the "team sprints" with him and Allen Vugrincic. These guys are both very experienced track racers and have multiple Championships in their palmarés. I couldn't pass up the chance to race with them, and I had fun racing team sprints before so I looked forward to it.

The two other times I did team sprints (three-man races, for three laps, 1 km, for only the third rider's time) I've been the starter, which is easier as you just ride all-out for one lap and then pull off the course (your time doesn't count). This time I was second rider so I had to match my speed to Tim's as he started and then draft him for one lap until he pulled off. That worked well and I was even able to accelerate at the front for the second lap as I lead Allen out for his solo lap (my time still wouldn't count; the first and second riders really just serve as a "lead-out" for the third rider, though my tiny size doesn't help much at speed!). We ended up with a personal best for me of 1 minute and 11.5 seconds. I know we could have gone faster if we'd ever practiced together, and Allen had some tips for how I could have used my extra energy to set a faster lap 2 (he figured we should have been able to be 1 second faster), but both had high praise for me and I was very relieved not to have let them down. That was fun, and good enough for another silver medal!

Le Petit Sprinter.

So what did I gain from my weekend? Two silver medals ain't bad, but more importantly I had a blast and learned once again that I really am a pure sprinter (my tininess notwithstanding!) with little hope of ever competing against top racers in mass-start races, my mass-start wins being atypical. More than ever I am seriously considering actually following a pure track-sprinter's training program for 2014. In the past I haven't been able to convince myself I'd enjoy that, but now I am slowly changing my mind; the numbers argue in favor of that, for sure. We'll see how it goes next year!

ADA Tour de Cure, 6/9/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

Whew... that's all I can say! After all of the groundwork laying the foundation for the HP Tour de Cure team, making sure HP would host the event at our Palo Alto campus again; helping spread the word in various ways; recruiting key people to help; trying to get HP team jerseys; helping new teammates get up to speed; and much more, the day of the ride itself is a big relief. But I love using cycling as a way to help people, and fighting diabetes with the American Diabetes Association is so rewarding.

Me and Fast Freddie on the Champions Celebration ride.

This year was my 6th as the Captain of the HP team (my 7th tour),  and it was one of the most fun. One thing that made this year so fun was that we were joined by "Fast Freddie" Rodriguez, the current USA Cycling Pro Road Race National Champion! He's a class act who's giving back to the community through his professional cycling career. His mom has type 2 diabetes and that inspired him to sign up.

Fortunately my fund-raising went well and I improved by 40% over last year for $1,499 total -- thanks, donors! Since HP teammate Bill Kacmarsky (our top fund-raiser this year at $2,537.00!) and I had raised over $1000, as we did last year, we could attend the ADA's "Champions Celebration" on May 30th, at beautiful Silver Creek Country Club in San Jose. (Steve Andrews, Jeff Baltazar and Terri Carter also qualified but didn't attend.) The event included a ride with Fast Freddie who had won Nationals just days earlier; that was pretty cool! We rode out at a moderate pace from the Club, and along San Felipe Road, east of San Jose, through some gorgeous scenery. Check out some video I took with my cell phone during the ride (being careful not to crash him out!). Afterward we had good food and drink, raffles, door-prizes and Freddie and others gave nice speeches.

This year I had more support from HP's upper management than ever, with Executive VP Dave Donatelli, Senior VP Stephen DeWitt and others helping to spread the word, and even join the ride! I wish I could say the HP team set new fund-raising records, but it seems we will be a bit short of last year's amazing total: $21,389.76 so far in 2013 vs. $32,626.74 in 2012. But last year's total was a major record; we still did great and the important thing to remember is that we raised thousands of dollars that will help real people living with diabetes. Next year we hope to get HP's CEO Meg Whitman on board!

HP's Meg Whitman and
ADA's Allyson Schloming...
both hard at work!

And there's still time to donate: Click here to help!

While we weren't able to obtain free HP Cycling jerseys for the team, we did offer the option for people to buy their own jerseys at a good price. Still, because the production date was scheduled very close to the date of our ride it was very nerve-wracking and some people didn't get their jerseys until after the ride. The process is complicated and I was forced to balance between available production dates, getting the order placed in time, and not placing it too early so people signing up later wouldn't get a chance to order. All I can say is I'm very sorry about how it worked out.

The Tour de Cure ride was on June 9th and I chose the longest route option: 120k (74.5 miles). That route took me from HP's Palo Alto campus over the Santa Cruz Mountains to the foggy, drizzly Pacific Ocean coast and back. Because of my "Champion" status I had a special gold bib number (they have red ones for riders with diabetes too).

The morning of the ride I left Santa Cruz at 5:00 AM in foggy darkness. I was worried the weather would be the same in Pescadero during our ride. At HP's Palo Alto campus I got ready, had a bite to eat, some coffee, and handed out jerseys to Executive VP George Kadifa and a few other teammates. I had to leave the rest of the jerseys in a box under our HP awning and hoped the others would be able to collect their jerseys themselves. I left a clipboard with their names and jersey sizes, and that sort of worked.

I joined teammates Steve Andrews, Bill Rainey, Paul Roeder and others at the start line for the 6:30 AM opening of the 120k route. We had a few short speeches, from the ADA's Richard Alejandro; Allyson Schloming; and Fast Freddie. And off we rode to the cheers of the volunteers. Paul and I ended up riding with Freddie and the lead pack all the way to the base of Kings Mountain Road. The group was surprisingly well behaved, all things considered, though I joked to him that he really needed to protect his front wheel in this crowd. We laughed.

I usually ride the steep climb up Kings Mountain as an interval, but not this year. Still, I went up fairly fast. But Paul is a fast rider and got to the top of Kings Mountain ahead of me, and while I was pigging out at the first 120k rest station there he took off and I rode mostly alone for the rest of the day. Food really does slow you down!

Riding south on Skyline Boulevard (HWY 35) I was passed by a Sheriff with his siren on... that's never good. It turned out one of the Tour cyclists got hit by a car at the junction with La Honda Road (HWY 84). I heard that the motorist was confused by the various islands and ramps of the junction. That was scary, and it turned out the rider was badly banged up, possibly with broken ribs. That's the worst I've ever seen on this ride, or maybe any ride ever. I hope he is recovering well... and glad it wasn't Paul.

I descended down HWY 84 through what proved to be very nice weather down to the junction with Pescadero Road. The climb up Haskins Hill was also nice, and I had another long descent to Pescadero. I briefly joined a paceline of riders who however scared me enough that I dropped back and let them power on. Just as we neared Pescadero the fog greeted us and was so heavy my lenses needed wiper blades. Oh well. I skipped the rest station there, partly because they'd chosen a new location and I kind of missed it, partly because I was trying to avoid pigging out too much.

Stage Road, leading north out of Pescadero, is gorgeous, even in the fog. And I rode at a nice mellow pace up and over to San Gregorio (on HWY 84). Another pretty valley with another climb, up to HWY 1, awaited me. The weather was much better just in that short distance, and I dropped down HWY 1 to the junction with Tunitas Creek Road. Up the road a mile or so I stopped at The Bike Hut for another rest station break. Perfect timing for the start up the really long climb up Tunitas Creek Road in perfect weather with light cloud cover keeping the heat away. I went pretty fast, but again not all-out, and even managed to take some photos and videos of the amazingly beautiful redwood-lined creek and canyon.

At the top of Tunitas Creek Road we joined Skyline right by the first rest station again. I had a bit more food, I think in uncharacteristically moderate quantities for me, and took off down Kings Mountain Road at a rapid pace. There I ended up riding with John from Yahoo, whom I had met at the Champions Celebration, and on the ride with Fast Freddie. Nice guy. We ended up riding together a lot of the way from Woodside back to HP, passing tons of other riders along Alameda de Las Pulgas and Junipero Serra.

The turnout for the HP lunch and team photo was lower than usual, even though we had an HP awning this year and the weather was perfect. Not sure why, but I do know some HP'ers had to leave and go to HP Discover in Las Vegas. Senior VP Sue Barsamian even delayed her departure so she could join the ride! Wow! So while our team photo may not look impressive, keep in mind that our HP team had 54 riders, which is still a huge contribution to the Tour de Cure!

ADA's Richard Alejandro, Fast Freddie Rodriguez, and me.

I can honestly say this was the hard-partying HP'ers!

• Bill Kacmarsky: Thanks for doing double duty as HP's representative on the ADA's Tour de Cure Committee, plus raising the most funds of any HP team rider; $2,511.00 to date! 
• Senior VP Sue Barsamian, Senior VP Stephen DeWitt, Executive VP Dave Donatelli, Executive VP George Kadifa, Executive VP Bill Veghte: Thanks so much for your efforts to promote the Tour de Cure. Executive support is vital to HP's ability to give back to the community. 
• John Laforga, Kathleen Lindenmuth, Anita Reid, Glen Elliott, Chris Beauchesne: Thanks for reaching out to offer me a helping hand; I sure needed it! 
• Fast Freddie Rodriguez: Thanks for giving back in this way and keeping it real! 

Thanks again; I am already looking forward to next year's ride!

Wednesday Night Racing, Bs, Hellyer Park Velodrome, 4/24/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

The last few years most racing at our closest velodrome, the banked concrete oval in San Jose, has been on Tuesday nights. This year they have shifted it to Wednesdays, while other events, like team pursuit and training sessions, occupy the other days. Nils, Vlada, Ken and I have already been getting in some good track racing this season. Last Wednesday night we had Larry Nolan promoting, and we had enough entrants that I could race in the combined Category 3 and 4 "B" race.

He started us with a 10-lap "scratch" race; a regular mass-start race like any criterium. I like short races like this, about 5 minutes of fury! Our field of about 15 riders set the pace really high, something I've noticed that has improved this year; we don't have any riders just sitting in and resting. Well, I got caught out by the speed and while I was able to move up from the back with about 2 laps to go, I was too tired to fend off the guys who came around me in the last lap and I took 5th.

Next we had a "win-and-out" race, a rather calculating race like so many at the track. It's like a scratch race, but only for 1st place, the winner then pulling off the track while the others keep racing. Then the winner of the next lap takes 2nd and pulls off, then it's another lap to determine the remaining places. It's tricky, because if you try for 1st and don't take it, you may be so tired you finish last. I installed my new 50-tooth chain ring, but didn't have time to swap to a 15-tooth sprocket, so my gearing was quite tall. I was able to draft near the front for a while, then marked Stefan Eberle, who I know is fast, 'allowing' him to lead me out for the final sprint. I'm happy to say I didn't have to race any extra laps at all (meaning I took 1st)!

Between races I got to swap to my 15-tooth gear. Then we had a "miss-and-out" race, which is also known as "Devil take the hindmost" because the last person on each lap has to pull out in ignominy. I think I have finally figured out the best tactic for this one, at least for who I am: I ride slightly up-track, near the back of the pack. I am in the wind a bit, and ride a longer line than those down-track (in the sprinter's lane) get a slight draft at times, but I'm able to always ensure there's somebody behind me, usually down-track, who I can block at start/finish so they get pulled. But once we were down to three riders and they started the final sprint, I had nothing left. I was still really happy with 3rd!

For those still standing we had a 15-lap "points" race, in which 5, 3, 2 or 1 point is awarded to 1st through 4th place every 5 laps, and I took a 2nd and a 3rd... but only after totally getting caught out by the speed set in the first few laps and getting zero in the first sprint.

For the night I finished 3rd in the overall "omnium," which tallies our points from all our races.

If you're interested in track racing, including very low-key beginner sessions with rental bikes for just $5, visit ridethetrack.com. Ciao!

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium XLV, 45+ 1/2/3, 4/14/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

I never feel too optimistic about this technical race in my home town, but I do enjoy it anyway! Now in its 45th year, and my 9th try, I know the 9-turn course on Santa Cruz's historic Beach Hill like no other; it is not a sprinter's course at all with its hairpin, many turns, hills and wind.

I always try to get my wife, family and friends to come out to spectate and this year I succeeded again. It is truly cool to have people yell your name from the side of the course as you suffer through yet another attack from those crazies up ahead!

I just knew I had to stay near the front and never, ever get stuck behind somebody who would allow a gap to open ahead of him. On the very first lap I executed to that plan and moved all the way to the front of the pack. Then as they ramped up the speed I ducked in behind the leaders to start my survival game.

It sure felt fast, as always; our average speed was over 26 MPH (assuming 20 laps, each 9/10ths of a mile, in 40 minutes). Several times I was close to giving up but then I'd get a few short breaths to recover and feel like I could eke out another lap. A few laps I had to let the leaders pull away so I could recover, but every time I managed to find the strength, and openings in the pack, to move back to the front.

Unbeknownst to me Larry Nolan and a guy from PrimeTime somehow managed to pull away from everybody for several laps.  Mind-boggling. Anyway, their teammates blocked for a while (one of them aggressively, I'm told) but Larry dropped him later on and was holding a nice lead over us, barely.

Well, I was getting a bit weak, and on the last lap I tried unsuccessfully to move ahead... it's hard to steer safely when you're cross-eyed from effort. Max Mack nearly came to an unpleasant end in the gutter just before the hairpin, but I don't think anybody ever crashed in our race. One side of me kept trying to advance while the other side of me kept advising to keep 1% in reserve for the sprint. It never seems to work here and I was still a ways back, maybe 20th as we rounded the final turn.

But I did see Larry win up ahead, just ahead of Patrick Briggs and Steve Heaton, just as I finished, feeling surprisingly strong, in 16th place, so for me it was a personal success! Even better was cheering on Nils and others in the Pro/1/2 race, and getting together with friends afterward and celebrating another gorgeous day of racing.

A journalist wrote a nice race article in the Sentinel too (I'm in photo #2). And Margaret took a bunch of photos that I have saved to a Snapfish album.

I guess I'll be back next year!

CCCX Circuit Race #3, 45+ 3/4, 3/9/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

I knew I was running a tight schedule, but I was still shocked when I checked my watch, just seconds after jumping on my stationary trainer to warm up for this race in the rolling hills of Fort Ord; only two minutes before the 9:40 AM start time! Instead, my warmup consisted of me sprinting into the headwind to the start line!

Fortunately the previous race was running a bit late and I had time to settle in for the start. This was on the new "Seaside" course, a single section of road with a U-turn at either end on gently rolling hills (3 miles per lap). The weather was a bit gray and mid-50s, with a fairly strong wind out of the Monterey Bay just to the southwest. The field was only 15 riders, which I like.

The race unfolded somewhat like CCCX #2 did for me, with the riders being strong enough to catch guys, like me, who tried to break away from the pack, but unwilling to try it themselves with just a few exceptions. And with the strong wind it was impossible to break away on the southwest-bound half of the course.

I tried to form a plan with a rider from Peninsula Velo, but he didn't understand that I wanted to attack with him with the tailwind on a climb because of the advantage that would give us... actually it's more that there's no draft for others to latch onto with a tailwind on a climb, thus we'd be making it harder for them to follow us. Anyway, it didn't work, though several of us did keep trying to bring the pace up at times. The guys from Cushman & Wakefield (formerly Taleo) made some nice attempts too. At other times I was at the front riding into the headwind as slowly as I could, with nobody willing to go around... a lot like a match sprint at the velodrome!

For the finish I tried to learn from CCCX #2, where Keith outsprinted me. This time I just stayed about fifth place through the last U-turn (barely avoiding a guy who slid out just behind me), held back a bit up the last climb while others jumped, and then launched my own attack on the 'step' just before the climb steepens up to the finish line... it worked beautifully and I was even able to look back a couple of times and raise up my hands in victory!

CCCX Circuit Race #2, 45+, 3/2/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

Part Deux of the CCCX series was in Fort Ord again, but on a new course on a rolling stretch of super-smooth pavement connected by a very tight U-turn at either end. It starts just south of the Eucalyptus Road summit and was 50 minutes long. I wanted to race in the 45+ 3/4 category again, that morning, but because I had to work that morning (starting 4:00 AM no less), I was forced to enter the faster open-category afternoon race at 3:10. Oh well, hard training was my goal.

It was a nice day until about 5 minutes after I arrived when the fog started blowing in. After trying to warm up I added a warm base layer and arm-warmers. A crosswind also added some technical challenges. When I lined up at the start line I found there were only seven of us, the smallest field I've ever seen in a road race. One was Keith DeFiebre, who is the race promoter and a fast Cat 2.

As we started I didn't hesitate to go right to the front and set tempo as I knew a couple guys had raced that morning as well. I didn't feel strong, but even so I was able to control the pace with some help from a guy from Thirsty Bear. I wanted to wear people down a bit by opening gaps on the many short climbs, thus forcing them into the wind to chase me. Otherwise they'd just draft and conserve energy; I needed them to burn energy.

One guy was always at the back of our small peloton: Keith. He spent no time at all in the wind. I started wondering if he was that tired, or if he was merely trying to fill out this tiny race for appearances. Well, neither, it turned out.

After five laps of jumping up the small hills and then resting downhill, I went hard off the front with 1/2 lap to go. I wanted to force a chase they'd be unable to recover from before the final sprint, and also to be first around the last U-turn, at the bottom of a hill leading up about 400 meters to the finish. This worked well as I was able to coast easily into the U-turn before I opened up yet another gap on the last climb. I then stood up to look back and saw I had a small gap. I jumped again but soon heard Keith come up behind me. By then I was gasping from the effort and he was able to beat me easily to the line.

Oh well, 2nd place ain't too bad and I won a T-shirt and a $35 awards certificate. Maybe I can apply my vast winnings to a high-end road bike. ;-)

CCCX Circuit Race #1, 45+ 3/4, 2/2/2013

By Dennis Pedersen

I signed up for this race on Monday morning... and promptly came down with a cold Tuesday night. So I wasn't sure I'd be up for road-racing at CCCX on Saturday. But it was just a head cold, and a short ride on Friday reassured me, so I hit the road to Fort Ord after my usual race-day breakfast. Bob Montague lined up too; I was very happy to have a teammate with me.

It was cold with dense fog so we wore warm base layers, plus arm- and knee-warmers. I opted for no lenses too as they'd just fog up anyway. I now road-race on my 2007 Giant since I sold my 2009; I would rather invest in track gear at this point.

Right from the start I was at the very front, pulling the small pack of a couple dozen guys. A few from SJBC and from Bicyclebluebook.com took pulls too, but most seemed content to follow wheels. I didn't mind because I was just training anyway and I could justify my extra  work as helping Bob to sit in.

Each of the 5 laps over the rolling hills was about 12 minutes; 1 minute slower than I'm used to. That really made my legs happy! Even though I spent the whole race at or near the front I still felt I'd be able to contest the increasingly-likely sprint finish. This course finishes on a slight climb which helps small sprinters like me.

I'd marked a few guys to watch, but in the end they were not contenders. Instead a few sprinters who had sat in moved up on the last lap. I probably could have tried a breakaway on the last trip up the "stair-step" climb on Eucalyptus Road, as Bob later told me he'd considered, but I felt confident enough in my sprint to rest a bit instead.

Even so I was again at the front as we descended toward the last two turns. That enabled me to watch for guys who started their sprint early... as one guy did. I watched him on my right when he dramatically unclipped from his pedal, almost crashing. I followed another guy until he faded, then moved behind the guy who'd unclipped; he'd recovered enough to be first with two turns to go. Out of the last turn I jumped past him with a healthy gap up to the finish line for the win. Got $30 cash too.

I'm under no illusions; this race would be much harder with my usual 45+ 1/2/3 crowd. But I'll take this rare road-race win as the accomplishment it is for a slow old guy like me.

NCNCA Master Men Criterium State Championships, 50-54

By Dennis Pedersen

Last year I managed to get 5th in this State Championship, and this year I was hoping to improve on that with a podium finish. For that reason I accepted the offer of Jeff Solt to coach me for the month prior to the race. The workouts were a painfully 'fun' change from my standard weekly program and consisted of very short intervals with limited recovery; no long intervals at all.

I drove up with John Schaupp and we warmed up a bit and chacked out the course. It was a neat undulating course with some slight hills too, though it was a bit windy. All of that made me think a breakaway group could form and win. Since I was alone in my race (John started with me but was in the 55-59 group) I felt that I needed to go with as many attacks as I could or risk missing out. So I was determined not to sit in but to stay near the front and try to go with any attacks. Maybe I could even stay with a successful one and try out my sprint at the finish.

The main instigators turned out to be Team Echelon including Hunter Ziesing and Dirk Himley, plus the super-strong Specialized Masters with Larry Nolan, Bubba Melcher and Don Langley. So when I saw Don take off after a few fast laps, with an Echelon rider in hot pursuit, I went 100% to grab their draft and go with them. I was pretty blown out, but I was hoping we would start a paceline that would keep us ahead of the main pack. Instead Don looked over his shoulder a few times before he decided he didn't like what he saw and sat up. Was I bummed as we drifted back to the pack..


Then Bubba attacked while I was recovering so I couldn't go with him... classic team tactics. Dirk Himley and a couple others went with Bubba while their teammates blocked and thus was born the winning break. I was now in the situation I didn't want to be in: Trying to get the others in the pack motivated and organized so we could chase down the 4-man break. Only 5 or so guys ended up contributing much to the chase, so we weren't really at an advantage at all given the break was 4 highly-motivated and strong riders.

Even so we almost caught the break on the last lap. But so many guys didn't help that they were still ahead as we started the sprint. By then I was so tired from all of that pulling that I couldn't follow when a dozen guys flew by me on the right, heading up to the last 90-degree right turn.

As we went through the last zig-zag two exhausted guys from the break got caught, but Bubba and Dirk took 1st and 2nd. Don Langley managed to pass the two dropped guys from the break and take 3rd. He'd been sitting in and blocking a bit so he was fresh. I flew up that last little hill and passed a few guys but that was still too far back. I ended up in 16th.

So I was disappointed that I wasn't able to translate my improved fitness into any sort of result. And there were some harsh words thrown out by others even more disappointed. Oh well, there's always next year, right?

Menlo Park Grand Prix, 35+ 1/2/3, 7/22/2012

By Dennis Pedersen 

Executive summary: I raced in the 35+ 1/2/3 race. It was too fast for me.

This was their 7th annual race, and I have been to five of them. But the race was always early in the season and prone to nasty crashes because people are testing out their winter training or something, plus the course is often 6 or 8 turns. So I have skipped the last couple of years. I recently hired a coach, though, and he recommended I race more, so racing I went.

I watched Vlada in the 45+ 1/2/3 race earlier, and that race had a successful break with several chase groups. The moderate wind and 6-turn course can encourage guys to break away, and I thought that might happen in my race too so I was determined to follow any breaks. I also watched Michele Heaton win the women's District Championship for her age group, so don't be surprised to see her in a California jersey soon!

Speaking of women racers: Alison Tetrick, who you may have seen in those TV ads with Bob Roll, was in our race, along with over 50 dudes. The race started quite fast after a lap or two. When I heard a bell announcing our the first prime sprint, I considered trying for it. A SJBC rider went off the front, then a few others chased. I drafted them for a while, then sat up when I considered how hard I'd have to work to grab the win. It was hard enough already!

I did a good job of staying near the front for almost the entire race, and a couple of times I did a short bridge up to small breaks. I thought one with about six of us would stay away, but it didn't for long. I was told our race averaged 30 MPH, which I doubt; still it was quite fast.

Near the end I was still forward, but the pace was so high I was nervous I'd blow up completely. I felt really good, but even when drafting was at my limit on the last lap or two. Then the SJBC guys who were pulling at the front slowed down and we all got swarmed. So I ended up getting squeezed back. But going around seemed impossible, so I stayed tucked into the pack.

I did get to practice my sprint anyway as the pack disintegrated on the last lap, giving me lots of room to take 27th. Oh well, at least nobody crashed. The winner was Dean Laberge, wearing his National Championship jersey. He is also the California Champion... it must be rough having to decide which Championship jersey to wear.

What did I learn? While my fitness is good, I have noticed that I have a tendency to drop back a hair when I have guys on both sides of me, almost knocking bars together. Especially when we have a turn coming up. I really need to learn to hold my place in the pack; it's actually more dangerous to drop back than to maintain my place, bars-to-bars with the other riders. Let's see if I can apply what I learned next time!

More stories and photos.

State Track Masters, Hellyer Park Velodrome, 6/30-7/1/2012

By Dennis Pedersen

Looking for attacks from the front, in the scratch race.

State Championships are intimidating, but I decided to enter the scratch race and match sprints, on Saturday, and the 500m time trial and points race on Sunday. My main goal was to evaluate how the different races suited my physiology and temperament. This race weekend was really more a scouting trip for my 2013 season.

The scratch race field was about 20 guys, but from three age groups; 45-49, 50-54 and 55-59. The results would be separated by age group. Very early on, a rider from San Jose Bike Club attacked and gained a half lap pretty quickly while three teammates blocked subtly for him. I took several pulls to gain some ground back, but nobody else pulled through as I always had a SJBC guy behind me. Finally, with me watching from the front, Clark Natwick (Peninsula Velo) went hard and bridged up to him. Maybe I should have tried too, but instead I had to rest a bit. We ended up catching the SJBC rider, but not the other guy. I sort of forgot about the separate age groups so I neglected to sprint hard at the finish; you never know who is ahead of you and they could be from the other age groups. So I only finished 6th.

Holding Bill against the rail in the match sprints. 

I got a break while waiting for my favorite race; match sprints. For the sprints we first did the usual flying-200m seeding runs to determine who we'd be matched against. I wore a new aero helmet, and perhaps it helped as I managed a nice 12.6 seconds. My first round was against Bill Nicely. I won the coin toss and chose to start down track. My 200m time was a hair faster than his, so leading would allow me to control the pace better. Still, I knew he was about as fast as me and I'd have to ride really well. I held him against the rail for the first 1.5 laps, then jumped hard down turn 1's banking and into turn 2. I saw I had a nice gap and held back just a hair (you should never, ever go faster than you have to as otherwise you'll have no energy for the next round). Unfortunately I backed off too much and Bill came around me in turn 3. Darn, he's fast; he got me by a few inches. I should have been able to beat him, but I still have lots to learn about the subtle tactics. And this also meant that I was not going to be able to challenge Don Langley for the gold as the first round was one match only. But Don's 11.77 200m time likely meant I'd be very hard pressed to beat him. I ended up easily winning my next two rounds for 3rd. Still, bronze was pretty cool.

Bronze, NCNCA 2012 Masters Match Sprints.

On Sunday I used my aero helmet again, setting a decent 39.20-second 500m standing start. I probably could've gone a bit harder, but Don's 36.44 was world-class. The trick seems to be to go out as hard as you can, and then hold on to as much momentum as possible even if you slow down at the end. I watched Bobby Walthour almost faint as he finished his run, which tells you something. I felt like I should have gone out harder, and my power meter agreed as I didn't hit my usual peak power even at the start. I tied for 4th.

Later on Sunday afternoon I was joined by teammate Ken Sato in the points race. Nice to have company! I was leary of the points race as guys like Don and Stanley Terusaki are super fast. I used to think this was a good event for me, but I've discovered that it's more suited to guys with high aerobic power, not to pure sprinters at all. Sure enough, Don, Stanley and a SJBC rider went off the front and hammered away at the rest of us, grabbing almost all of the points. I decided to try to help Ken, but I'm not sure how much I contributed. It was hard! I grabbed point(s) in one sprint, just to deny them to a SJBC rider. Guys I think of as fast dropped out, and eventually I did too after the lead trio lapped us. Argh! Like I say, it's an endurance race.

So, I managed to learn a lot more about these races at the top level and how I fit in. That's valuable information. The downside is that I now know that my strength is so heavily skewed toward sprinting that even most track races don't suit me. Plus, if I want to really maximize my potential I will need to radically restructure my training and general lifestyle in a way I may not yet be ready to accept. We'll see how my journey goes.

Photos on Snapfish.