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.

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?

Novice Track Racing, Cat 3/4/5, 3/3/2012

By Dennis Pedersen

This year the NCVA is offering a new series of weekend "novice races" that cater mostly to juniors and beginners... but also with races for old guys like me. The first one was last Saturday. I hadn't raced on the oval track since last Fall, so I was looking forward to racing at Hellyer Park's velodrome again.

First up were our timed flying-200-meter individual time trials. I was one of the last up and managed a 13.08-second run. Not my best (which is 12.48). I sometimes have a wobble in the steering during these maximum efforts, and that happened this time. But it seemed everybody else was a bit slow too, perhaps because of the wind, so I ended up well placed; I think 3rd or 4th.

This was followed by a 12-lap "scratch race." They ended up shifting us Masters away from the planned race, with juniors and women, and into the open-age Category 3/4/5 race. That ended up being fine with me, since I was able to jump with 1.5 laps remaining and solo to 1st place. Woo-hoo! As a sprinter it's usually better for me to wait until we have maybe a half-lap remaining... but I knew guys like Andreas Vogel could probably out-sprint me at that distance, hence my decision to jump much sooner. (Video on FaceBook.)

Then we did some cool standing-start-500-meter individual time trials. I'd never done one of these before, though it's the same concept as the 1-kilometer I did back in 2007. Michael Wesley was our "holder" and did a great job of holding me while I was clipped into both pedals, on my bike, at the ready on the track. They even had a very Pro-sounding starting audio signal. I actually had the best start of the day, but faded a bit toward the end. Anthony Borba consoled me by saying the wind picked up during my run. Even so, I think I got 3rd fastest time.

Last up was our Cat 3/4/5 15-lap "points race." I won the first sprint, on lap 5, giving me 5 points. But I got boxed in on the second sprint, on lap 10, for zero points. For the final sprint I again managed to take the win, giving me a total of 10 points. But "Scott," from Chico Corsa, had managed two 2nds, plus a 1st, giving him 11 points. So, I got 2nd place. (Video on YouTube.)

As always, I had a great time and was really happy I made it to this race. I'm looking forward to the rest of the track-racing season!

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!

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.

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...

Tuesday Night Racing, Hellyer Park, 9/21

By Dennis Pedersen

The slightly chilly air and gorgeous sunset at the velodrome were apropos for the last Hellyer track race of 2010. I signed up for the "B" (Cat 3/4) races.

Scratch Race (25 laps)

This crit-style race was somewhat uneventful and slow, though a Tieni Duro junior did attack a little while I mostly sat in. I was bummed at the finish though, as the lap card still read "1" as we rounded turn 4. I'd heard the bell but wasn't sure which one to believe. Still, three guys had jumped around me while I was at the front in turn 1 on the last lap, but I was able to at least follow them for 4th place. "Garret," (UC Davis) won.

Points Race (54 laps)

These are my favorite, as the many scored sprints are perfect training and invite constant, exciting attacks. Points were awarded every six laps, with 5, 3, 2, 1 points for 1st through 4th place; highest points total is the winner. The high lap-count brought out a few groans, including from me. 18 kilometers is practically a marathon for a sprinter! At first I sat in for the long haul but picked up a few points in the first two sprints as I found myself well-positioned. In the third sprint I was 1st with a big, 50-meter gap. Yippee! Even though I slowed afterward nobody closed in. So, I figured they were tired and... attacked! I soloed for 1st in the fourth and fifth sprints for max points. But finally they caught me and I sat in to rest.

The pace slowed way down after that, with me soft-pedaling at the front. Then Garret attacked around me... I waited but nobody followed. Soon he was a half lap ahead. Garret took the 1st-place points in the sixth sprint, with me in 2nd, and I again opened a big gap ahead of the pack. It was time for me to leave them again as we were in danger of being lapped by Garret, which would net him 20 bonus points. I maintained my place ahead of the pack, except for the Tieni Duro junior's dad who bridged up to me. We pacelined a bit but got caught.

After the seventh sprint (I took 2nd place points) I took off yet again. I was still leading in points, but each sprint gave Garret more points. Soon he lapped the field behind me and started gaining on me, though the slightly dim light fooled me at first and I thought it was somebody else. With 3 laps to go he caught me (darn, it was Garret) and I dropped in behind him. He stopped pulling and soon we were jockeying for position. With 1/2 lap to go I was just behind him and slightly up the banking. He crowded me a little toward the rail, I half-jumped wobbily, he dropped down fast into turn 3 and I followed him furiously out of turn 4 to win the last sprint, our ninth, by just inches. I got 2nd place overall, in my most fun track race so far.

What a great way to finish the race season! The 2011 track races start in March, but there will be various training sessions, including Beginner Sessions on Saturdays, throughout the winter (check their calendar). See you there, I hope!

San Ardo Road Race, 45+ 1/2/3

By Dennis Pedersen

Russ and I raced at San Ardo last year and took 2nd and 3rd, so we were hoping to do well again. He drove Miles and I down to the poor, tiny town of San Ardo, south of King City near Highway 101 for our 8:50am race start (thanks Russ!). We also had Matt Wocasek so team tactics became possible.

My ideas for this 68-mile bike race did not involve initiating any early breakaways. The beautiful, gently-rolling hills of this rural course, and just 5- to 6-mph winds, discouraged such attacks. I did think that a late break, maybe at the end of the 2nd of our 3 laps, might work for my teammates, but not for a sprinter like me.

After we started our race I thought we were still being held back by the motorcycle referee, but we were just riding really slowly! The prospect of 3 hours of that was intolerable (even though the weather was perfect). We can either accept things as they are, or work to change them. I opted for the latter and moved to the front looking for breaks. At worst I'd allow my teammates to rest up for attacks late in the race, while ensuring that one of us was always present in any early breaks so that we wouldn't get shut out if the break maintained its lead to the finish. At best my chosen break would stay away and I could use my sprint to get Team Bicycle Trip a decent placement in the race.

After one moderate effort, about 1/4 lap into our race, I rolled slowly off the front. I looked to my left and saw Hunter Ziesing (Zteam) doing likewise while everybody else sat up. We looked at each other and soon we'd both taken off and gained a nice lead on the pack. I didn't even realize that at first and thought we were just pushing the pace a bit higher. Soon a few other guys decided we meant business and bridged up to us. The next few minutes we really started working hard, with a few of us taking turns pulling at the front while others just drafted behind us. But when I looked back I couldn't even see the peloton. Yikes, I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of a break with 2.5 laps to go!

There were now about 12 guys in the break (out of a total field of 50), but still only a few of us who were contributing to the high pace. I started doubting our chances against the other 35+ guys but then Cale Reeder (Zteam) made a conspicuous entry into our group wearing his US Championship jersey... that was both good and bad news! I knew he'd work hard for our break, but I also knew he'd do well in the final climb to the finish line. Well, I decided to keep working while also looking to see if we would have a good chance against the peloton behind us. The motorcycle ref told us our lead had dropped to 30, down from 55 seconds earlier. Clearly we had stopped cooperating after Cale joined us!

Cale and Hunter solved our dilemma by using the short climb just after the start/finish area at the beginning of lap 2 to attack our break... first Cale took off while we were panting, then Hunter joined him with an impressive effort! We could see them crest the rolling hills as we sped northward, but soon they had a gap of 20 to 30 seconds! And after a half lap of chasing hard I again sensed a lack of motivation in our break as the two off the front disappeared into the distance. But I was still worried the peloton would catch us since:

1. Cale and Hunter would cooperate well and were likely to get 1st and 2nd even if the peloton caught my break.
2. I was now the best-placed Bicycle Trip racer and I didn't think that a mass field-sprint would improve our odds at the finish since I would have to sprint against 47 guys instead of just 13 or so.

The next 2 laps were spent trying to get everybody to take turns pulling while looking behind us for the peloton. I never did see them (thanks in part to my teammates who rode at the front of the peloton, discouraging attempts!), but a few guys caught us on the last lap so clearly we couldn't afford to relax. Jess Raphael (Safeway) and Steve Gregorios (Edge), who had been working hard all along, finally got tired of us and each soloed off the front with about 1/4 lap to go. Whenever I tried this I just dragged everybody with me so I held back instead, leading us for long sections into the headwind toward town and the finish because nobody wanted to pull.

As we rode through town I somehow managed to position myself behind Dirk Himley (Zteam)... in second position for a change! We slowly rode over the bridge, then up the hill and under Highway 101. I kept expecting early attacks from behind me, but instead I was the first one to jump, about 30 meters before the left turn onto the finishing straight. I stayed seated but went as hard as I could sustain for the 300-meter sprint, railed the turn, rode my heart out and crossed the line in 5th with a big gap! Woo-hoo! Miles and Matt rode really smart at the finish and attacked the peloton for 16th and 18th.

So, 5th place wasn't what I had hoped for us, after 2 hours and 56 minutes of suffering, but I felt I rode with panache and that is so cool!

Racing at Hellyer Park Velodrome

By Dennis Pedersen

Track races in the U.S. are traditionally weekday evening events for some reason, except Championships and such. Since I'm a sprinter body-type and also work in The Valley, it sort of "makes sense" for me to swing by Hellyer Park in south San Jose on Tuesday evenings and race on the banked oval track there, instead of going home and watching TV. On Tuesdays I usually train my sprint anyway, so this way I get to combine my usual sprints workout with training in the tactics of sprinting.

I have been entering the regular Tuesday night race sessions for the last three weeks and will probably continue doing that for a while longer this season. Cost of entry is $10. I've been riding their rental bikes (just $5!) but am really missing having my own track bike that fits me correctly (road bikes are not allowed). Someday.

The only requirement is that you first attend three Beginner Training Sessions with mentors which I have done over the last few years. They are also offered on Mondays at present. We self-select our race category at the track, since they aren't usually held under USA Cycling permits (again, except Championships and such) so we don't need to worry about our official race categories. I started racing in the "C" races, but after one night of cleaning up I knew I needed to move into the "B" races. The B races are actually pretty intense, like a typical criterium, so I get a fantastic workout. I do well, but by no means dominate since I'm up against a lot of very good sprinters (for some reason climbers don't show up often).

The races have lots of breakaways, attacks, and sprints. And because we get so many races in we can really fine-tune our tactical sense which helps in other racing, even road-racing. The B and C racers usually do a 25-lap "Scratch" race first, which is just like a regular criterium, but on the track (each lap is 1/3 kilometer). That is followed by a 40-lap "Points" race in which we sprint periodically (usually every 5 laps) for points. The winner is the one with most points at the end, not the first guy over the finish line necessarily. They sometimes shorten the race lengths or combine categories if turnout is low. The "A" races are longer.

Surprisingly, perhaps, even a fast track session isn't the same workout as my previous sprints workouts. It is said that "cycling is an aerobic sport, dammit" and so it is, even on the track. We usually push the pace to force a selection so we end up sprinting while we're already nearly hypoxic, with tunnel vision, burning legs and all. When I do sprints on my own I do each sprint separated by 5 minutes of easy riding so I'm fresh enough to do them all at maximum power. Hence my sprinting power on the track is a lot lower, but for a longer duration; more like our team's Wednesday 5-minute "L5" intervals at UCSC, plus some higher "L6" efforts... and a lot of "intermissions" where we try to catch our breath!

The Hellyer Park Velodrome sessions are mostly all put on by The Northern California Velodrome Association. They have a busy schedule, including Beginner Training Sessions with mentors (Saturdays and Monday evenings), various Intermediate/Advanced Open Training sessions, the weekday races and more. Check their calendar.

A very good document to read, if you're curious about track cycling, is available online:
TRACK CYCLING – AN INTRODUCTION. What a roadie needs to know to start racing on the velodrome. Dan Currell.

I hope some of you will join me there!

American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure, 2010

By Dennis Pedersen

The American Diabetes Association organizes this bicycle ride every year, in 80 cities, as a way to raise funds to fight diabetes. This disease is exploding across the country and many of us have been touched by it: Friends, family, co-workers, so many are fighting the battle. This ride event gives me a way to use my love of cycling to give back to the community by fighting against diabetes.

This year's ride marked my fourth, and my third term as captain of the Hewlett-Packard corporate team. Last year the team declined in spite of my best efforts. Perhaps the recession was to blame but I took it hard. Fortunately our individual fund-raising went well, as did the ride.

But this year restored my optimism as we set new records in both team size and in fund-raising: 27 members raised almost $20,000, putting us in fifth place overall in corporate teams! I am so proud of what we accomplished! My own contribution was $2,101.06... plus Margaret who worked the event as a volunteer! Thanks to you all! (p.s. You can still donate!)

Oh yeah, the ride... First we had to get up at 4:45AM to get to the ride headquarters at HP in Palo Alto. Margaret checked in for her volunteer duties while I checked in for my ride and got my rider number. The weather was perfect, and, after some coffee and cake from event-sponsor Hobee's, I was ready to attack the first leg of our 75-mile ride.

There were five of us who met up at the start line at 6:30AM for the 120k route: Michael Gaballah, Mark Uram, Andy Clipsham, Nate Binkert and l'il ol' me. We used our fancy custom HP cycling jerseys to spot each other! These jerseys, with the HP "Let's do Amazing" campaign design, were a fun way to raise HP's visibility and our team spirit. We rode off at a nice pace up to Alpine Road and through Portola Valley. Volunteers with flags stationed at intersections, plus adhesive arrows on the pavement, made sure we didn't get lost on the confusing country roads.

I was also using this ride for training, so when we reached King's Mountain Road I hammered up to Skyline Blvd. at the top as hard as I could, passing lots of riders... I'm much more used to being passed, trust me! At the top was our first rest station where I continued my breakfast and texted my progress to Margaret. There was no sign of coastal fog: Perfect weather!

Mark and Michael had to stop for bike repairs, so Andy, Nathan and I were soon dropping down Highway 84 at 40 MPH! Then left on Pescadero Road and up Haskins Hill before descending through the gorgeous redwoods and past small farms and into historic Pescadero town... and another rest station.

After snacking some more we rode out of town on Stage Road in the best of weather, just a bit of wind as we rode over the rolling hills lined with huge eucalyptus trees and pastures. Then through San Gregorio before we turned onto Highway 1 on the coast for about 3/4 mile where we turned inland on beautiful Tunitas Creek Road. We stopped briefly at The Bike Hut for snacks in preparation for the last big climb; about 7 miles of steep road. I used Tunitas Creek for my second training interval. It's amazing how easy these hills are when we ride them to help other people; my legs and soul felt truly awesome!

We were then back at King's Mountain rest station (more food, burp). Margaret texted me that she was serving hot dogs back at HP; I doubted I'd have room for them! We rode back downhill and into Woodside where it was getting over 90 degrees. What a contrast to the pleasant coastal weather: We were glad we did our big climbs in the cooler temperatures, unlike many of the riders on the shorter routes. We rode onto Alameda de las Pulgas and back on Junipero Serra to Page Mill Road; we could almost smell the Wahoo's fish tacos awaiting us!

It's always special to ride under that balloon arch at the end of the ride to the cheers of the waiting volunteers, and teammate Erika Wilhelm took my picture! Time to party! I found Margaret busy in the lunch line so I grabbed some food and listened to teammate Tony Prophet (our own HP SVP!) address the crowd. Then some socializing at our HP awning followed by our team photo. (My photos here.)

Riding to help others. What a neat way to spend the day!

Butterfly Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3

By Dennis Pedersen

I heard that this revival of a classic criterium, from the 70s, was on an exciting, technical course with a small hill too. My favorite kind! So Russ, Joe, Eddy, John Schaupp and I took the line on a gorgeous, 66-degree, sunny day in downtown Pacific Grove (after Margaret and I took a quick visit to the nearby aquarium!).

The 7/10ths-mile course (for 40 minutes) was west on Lighthouse Avenue, two fast rights down Caledonia and onto Central Avenue, up the hill on Fountain Avenue and back on Lighhouse. Wind was forecast at 10 to 15 MPH.

The pace was pretty fast right from the start, in part because there were 10 prime sprints! At about 20 minutes in a breakaway group formed, but Russ was probably too tired to cover it, and I was too far back to react quickly enough in any case. Just as we got to the start/finish I saw them dropping down toward turn 1.

I was working hard... and noticed a weird sight: One of the awnings next to the course was tilting over toward us, lifted by the rising wind. I barely got by it! I looked back and saw it lying on the course! I didn't see anybody down, but the next few laps were under a yellow flag which confused us chasers.

Soon we got down to the task of chasing and I took several big pulls at the front, though blockers (from Safeway and VOS I think) disrupted our efforts some. Still, we seemed to be making progress and when our pace slowed I moved to the front to look ahead; maybe we'd caught them? But when Eric Saltzman (of Morgan Stanley) launched around me while I was on the front I inferred that somebody was still up ahead.

We started to wind it up and soon I was nearing my limit. Don Langley (Morgan Stanley) suddenly jumped up Fountain and soon even the downhill was hard with the headwind and gaps in our pack. Guys started squeezing in, jumping ahead, etc. Crazy like usual! But we stayed clean and I was happy to just be up there at all.

The last lap I was on Russ's wheel for a bit, which helped as the pack was strung out pretty well. So the final sprint up the hill cemented our positions pretty much; I maintained my 10th place around the last turn and across the finish line. Russ took 8th. VOS's Rich Juarez won solo for the second time in a week. Ed and John were DNF but John had been cheering us on from turn 4.

But where was Joe? Bad news: The ambulance I saw at start/finish was for him. The awning that had flipped onto the course behind me had hit him, taking him down with a broken collarbone.

After cleaning up, getting ice cream at Lappert's on Lighthouse Drive (an amazing collection of 60s albums and posters cover the walls), we swung by CHOMP to visit Joe. The orthopedic surgeon said he recommended surgery to fix the break, but Joe could probably go home that night. We had dinner with Larry & Priscilla and Nils at Sea Harvest in Moss Landing, then dropped off Joe's Jeep at The Buttery. I hope he's doing well soon.

KSBW photos
Monterey Herald story.

Memorial Day Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3

By Dennis Pedersen

Do my 10×1-minute intervals and get heartburn, or enter a short, hard bike race. Choices, choices. I decided to race instead, in Morgan Hill on this gorgeous holiday, with Vlada and John for company.

The first few laps on this flat criterium course were pretty fast, but we did get... well, no slow laps, but a few that were less fast. Even though we averaged about 26 MPH I stayed pretty well positioned the first 30 minutes.

With about 10 minutes remaining a break of about 10 guys formed. I'm tired of sitting in and watching others make bold moves, so I decided to join them. I eluded some guys blocking (their presence was a good sign the break might stay away) and quickly started bridging up. One guy followed my wheel but then drifted back, so I put my head down and went alone.

I was pretty blown out when I reached the break, maybe half a lap later, but soon managed to take my turns in the paceline rotation, such as it was. Problem was, only three of us (me, a Morgan Stanley and a Whole Foods rider) really pitched in while the rest hung back to stay fresh for the sprint... but first we had to stay away for that to even matter. Come on guys, work!

Our pace slowed with just three pulling, and as you might imagine, we got caught by others bridging up. More joined us, with guys like Larry Nolan moving around me with 1.5 laps to go. We were mostly all together again. Darn. You have to make breaks work, not hope others will do it for you, but at least we strung the pack out a little.

As we wound up for the final sprint I was still blown out from my pulls, so I just held my speed and watched the pack go. Not surprisingly, guys who weren't visible in the break did best. My friend Chris took 9th after sitting in. I was 25th, Vlada took 27th, John 33rd.

Anyway, it was much more fun to go for it than just watch and wait. Good, clean racing!

Panoche Valley Road Race, 45+ 1/2/3/4

By Dennis Pedersen

I have definitely had some ups and downs this racing season... but that's pretty typical for most of us. After some decent results earlier, I DNF'd both of my last races (Santa Cruz and Cat's Hill), so anything would be an improvement!

At Panoche, now in its fifth year, I have either crashed, been dropped, or won. Nothing in-between. This year I got dropped again, which is tough as it feels like I'm sliding backwards, even though I am not.

Geoff Drake and John Marshall made sure the pace was super-hard on the ride out on this gorgeous, 27.5-mile section of rural road through the Panoche Valley south of Hollister. It was hard enough that on the last steep pitch I was gapped by about 10 feet from the leaders, but managed to catch back on the descent. But the very short break wasn't enough for me to get my hyperventilating lungs under control, so the following longish climb forced me to let the lead pack disappear around the turns ahead.

I was surprised how close I was behind them as they returned back toward the finish, John in the lead, after the U-turn at the 27.5-mile point. And I managed to find an Alto Velo rider to paceline with. Together we limited our losses for a while, but soon we had to acknowledge that the gap was increasing. We picked up one of his teammates who talked about how hard Geoff and John's attacks had been, which made me happy, sort of. We also passed John who had broken a spoke. But were we ever happy to see the "10K" sign! My left hip was really hurting, and I started to worry it was some nasty repetitive-stress injury.

Then, with about 4K to go, we saw the entire pack halted behind a pickup; it turned out they had to stop the race to allow a helicopter to evacuate a guy who'd broken his leg in a previous group. Bummer. And that made for a weird restart. The USAC officials did an amazing job of keeping us separated so the restart was as fair as possible. Two guys, one was Rick Martyn, got a 15-second lead, then the main leaders, then we chasers 3 minutes back. I could barely pedal at that point so I just rolled in.

But was I impressed to hear that Russ took 3rd, behind winner Larry Nolan (for whom a 4K restart is perfect, seeing as how he is a current Masters World Champion in pursuit!!!) and Eric Saltzman. Wow, way to go Russ! And Geoff managed 8th in spite of the many hard attacks he made.

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

By Dennis Pedersen

I really enjoyed racing my bike in CCCX #2 last month since I love the green, rolling hills of Fort Ord and its closed, paved roads. This time our team in 45+ was Mark, Geoff and me. We were outnumbered by other teams in the 36-rider combined 45+/55+ field. VOS had 9, SJBC 4, Webcor/Alto Velo 7. Eddy was our teammate in 55+. This race ended up like "deja vu" for me, but with some key differences.

We had feared it would rain, but even though a few showers hit town in the morning while I was eating biscuits and gravy at Harbor Cafe it stayed dry, but rather windy, at the race. We discussed tactics en-route and during our warmup lap. We thought we rode smart last time, mostly, and decided to try similar tactics. But we also had some other options we'd throw down if the race demanded it. For me, I didn't plan on trying another solo flyer, but still thought stringing out the field in the flatter sections would serve us well.

When the race started (using the start/finish that CCCX #1 had used) I was a bit back but quickly moved ahead on Parker Flats Road with the tailwind helping me along. Last time I pulled the peloton along here, but this time, on lap 1 even, a break had already formed... yikes! I wasted no time in trying to pull the rest of the pack behind me to close the gap... I wasn't trying to bridge, per se, but apparently only Larry Hampson (VOS) followed me and sat on my wheel a bit before dropping back into the main group. Nobody else came, so I... pedaled hard and suddenly I was in another breakaway like last time.

This break had Brain House (BikePalace) who was one of the stronger 45+ riders in the break at CCCX #2, plus two 55+ guys: George Smith (Webcor/Alto Velo) and a Joselyn's rider. I didn't think we'd last, but like last time thought that I could help my team by forcing unrepresented teams like VOS to chase us down while Mark, Geoff and Eddy could draft them in the strong wind. It gets weird when you mix the age groups like this, because teams have to choose between helping 45+ vs. 55+ teammates. It looked like Webcor decided to help George in 55+ by blocking the pack, as Mark and Geoff did so selflessly for me in 45+. But VOS took no action that I know of; I think they gambled we'd come back together for another sprint finish.

Anyway, we pacelined fairly well for a few laps, George and I taking by far the most pulls (he later told me he thought we should just have gone by ourselves). But on lap 3 or 4 a ZteaM rider in his white kit bridged up to us; a considerable feat given the huge gap we now had! I wasn't sure who he was, but I was pretty sure it wasn't Hunter Zeising... perhaps his teammate Cale Reeder? Oof, he's very strong and proved that every time he took a monster pull at the front! The Joselyn's rider gave up, but the rest of us rode in a fast, rotating echcelon through the crosswinds. I had to skip a few of my rotations to avoid blowing up!

I neglected to wear my watch so I kept looking for lap cards. I thought we might be on the last lap, but when I looked at the cards they were partly blocked by the guy changing them and all I saw was a "2." OK, two laps to go... or was he tardy in getting the "1" card out? I didn't want to ask my break-mates if they knew, for some reason. I must remember to always wear my watch! Cale continued his hard pulls and I saw him scrutinize us all carefully for signs of weakness (there were plenty!). My legs were constantly burning, lungs at their limit too. So when we hit the "stair-step" section on Eucalyptus Road into the headwind the rest of us just watched him rapidly gobble up a couple hundred meters in no time!

And as we approached the finish I just kept riding like we were taking pulls so Brian sprinted off before I had a chance to react. Duh! Well, I still got 3rd which is pretty cool (and $25!), and Geoff came in 4th even after working hard with Mark to block! Great results for Team Bicycle Trip!

Salinas Criterium, 45+ 1/2/3/4

By Dennis Pedersen

Talk about low expectations: I rode 75 miles in our Swanton Road intervals the day before, and surfed at Pleasure Point and did electrical work on our house that Sunday morning. And Salinas is a new race, so who knew whether it would be well-run... though the thought of driving to Sacramento to race at "Land Park" instead was less appealing.

Originally I wanted to help Nils in the Elite 3 race, but he was tired from taking 8th at Bariani Road Race on Saturday... cry me a river (just kidding!). Only 7 guys had pre-registered for 45+, so I visualized a tiny field of riders chasing each other around the smooth, flat, 5-corner course by Salinas Airport. The steady wind would split things up too, no doubt, so it could be interesting. But when I lined up I saw I was alone against 7 guys from San Jose Bike Club, 5 from VOS, 3 from IC3 and a variety of others: about 25 total. Well, interesting is what we want, right? I was a bachelor that day and "fun" was my goal.

Right from the start SJBC launched hard attacks and IC3 did a good job of going with them a few times. I was up front the whole race and had to chase down a lot of these attacks, though I noticed VOS contributed too. But I also noticed that VOS never went on any hard attacks... perhaps they wanted a field sprint? And Morgan Stanley only had Eric Saltzman, who mostly sat in smartly while watching me pull the pack up to various breaks.

Some of the breaks looked like danger, especially the solo breaks by one of the SJBC guys (Andrew Nevitt?). Some others I didn't bother to follow. Only a few times did two guys break away for a couple of laps at most. I tried to get a bigger break going but each time it fell apart. They almost all attacked solo on the other side of the course from me so I had to work hard just to go with them, then they'd sit up. Darn! I think we could have done it, but most of the guys seemed to want to try solo flyers, while VOS wanted to keep the field together.

After a last attack by the fast SJBC rider with 2 laps to go, that I chased down, I was leading the pack for the last lap... sigh, how did I get suckered into that? I thought I was soft-pedaling but the vicious whoosh of the pack swallowing me up on the last straight confirmed that my form wasn't good enough for a strong sprint. My legs could have kept on racing at threshold for a while longer, but my top-end was shot.

A guy from VOS won the sprint finish so I can see why they waited. SJBC and IC3 didn't get anything though.

Well, I did have tons o' fun with my chosen activities on my bachelor day, and that's what counts!

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

By Dennis Pedersen

This new road-race series, held on Fort Ord's paved military roads, is put on by Kieth DeFiebre, the same guy who puts on the CCCX mountain-bike and cyclocross races there. Amazing energy; we owe him a big thank you. These races are a great way to practice team tactics too, and that's what we really need to improve on. Mark, Jim, Russ and I came up with a number of neat tactics to try, and I think we did a good job of executing them in the end.

The 4.3-mile course was mostly gently rolling through the old fort's hilly back country, but with a nasty "stair-step" section on Eucalyptus Road into the headwind from the northwest that had several steep, short climbs of maybe 30 to 60 seconds in duration each. That was followed by a hard right turn onto a very fast 1/2-mile descent leading down to a flat, straight, 250-meter finish. We thought it was a bit scary to contemplate a pack sprinting down that hill.

The weather was gorgeous, though rather windy. Our field of 27 old guys started out pretty mellow, but we'd all agreed that we'd want to keep the pace high so I started some long pulls at the front on laps 1 and 2. But I did so on the aptly-named Parker Flats Road with a tailwind so as to avoid working too hard. I also ended up sharing some pulls on the long, gradual climb after that (where the feedzone is during the District Championships) and a few other places. This forced riders from other teams to chase me down, which they did.

On lap 3 I took another pull on Parker Flats, bumping it up just a notch. Soon I was off the front with three other guys and we soon started a ragged paceline up its long, gradual climb. We didn't really work together all that well, but our gap increased, thanks to my teammates in the pack who started blocking for me. That was pretty amazing, and a total blast! I made sure my break-mates knew I had teammates blocking so they'd contribute to our paceline.

But... as so often happens breaks don't always cooperate, and some of them were apparently pretty tired. So I noticed that a number of riders gradually bridged up to us and soon our break was 7 guys. One of them, from VOS, just sat in, and so did others. More guys bridged up later, which bummed me, but all of this had the benefit of tiring them out in the process since they had to pass my teammates, then ride through the wind up to us. But soon the pack was almost all together.

On lap 4 I pulled again, and on that long, gradual climb some gaps opened up, almost everybody in the "break" sat up, and I was off the front. I held back a bit to see if anybody would go with me and one guy did (I think it was one of the guys who'd been pulling with me). But he dropped his chain—what rotten timing! So I quickly thought through some options:

1. Sit up and let the pack catch us: They were already just seconds behind, and as a sprinter I could have sat in and rested for a likely sprint finish.
2. Try to reorganize the break: I hadn't seen much evidence of cooperation so that seemed low-odds.
3. Solo off the front by myself for the remaining 1.5 laps. Hmmmm... like I said, I'm a sprinter so that seemed low-odds too.

In the end I decided our team's chances were better if I chose #3 because:

• Even if I got caught my teammates would all be excellent candidates for this course's stair-steps finish approach (assuming they hadn't worked too hard blocking).
  
• If my teammates didn't block they could rest while others were forced to chase me, improving our odds even more.
• My break-mates weren't pulling hard enough for #2 to work.
• I was a bit worried I'd blow up on Eucalyptus Road climbing those stair-steps on the last lap as the pace would go up.

Well, off I went, by myself, trying to maintain an even pace. I'd been timing my laps and each one was right around 12.5 minutes so I knew I could just hold that. Soon I couldn't even seen the pack, how cool! My teammates were still blocking and nobody else took up the chase. I couldn't believe it as the miles flew by!

On the last lap I swear the wind picked up a lot (it did; see the wind chart to the right here), and climbing those stair-steps into the headwind took some hard effort. I could also see the pack behind me now as they started to slowly reel me back in. But I still thought my lead was big enough and I tried to get my breath back so I could attack the last step; I treated it almost as the finish line because it would be very hard to catch me on the fast descent after it.

Well, as I flew down the hill, gasping, I looked over my shoulder as I reached the flat finishing section: Oh no, they were rapidly gaining on me! I put my head down and tried to sprint, but my legs were already at their limit and several guys passed me (including that VOS guy who sat in on the break). I still managed 4th in 45+, so I was pretty happy, but disappointed at the same time. Just after the finish line my watch beeped: 1 hour and 15 minutes, exactly as planned. Talk about consistence!

So, what could we have done better? I think we did really well, but:

• Perhaps blocking for me was our main error, as much fun as it was. If my teammates had sat in instead of blocking I would have been caught sooner, but we'd have been better in the sprint finish. But then we'd be sprinting down that screaming hill; scary.
• Ideally Mark, Russ or Jim would have soloed, not me. But they would have been chased down by those who know their strengths.
• We could all have stayed with the pack, then we could have attacked on Eucalyptus Road's stair-steps. That was a plan we considered, but in the end several really strong riders matched our pace there and might have been able to beat us anyway (Russ told me he had to pause for air on the downhill, it was so hard!).

So, no major regrets, and man, that was super fun!

Retül fitment at Bicycle Trip

Most of us know how important it is to have our bicycles fit our bodies as closely as possible. Poor bike fit is not only slower, but can lead to repetitive stress injuries over time... especially for old guys who are trying to "get back in shape" after years of couch-potato drills. I've been professionally fitted to my bikes three times over the years, and also done it myself using various established methods (Colorado Cyclist has a nice online fitment tool). But when Bicycle Trip bought a full-on Retül Fit Studio I knew it was time to reevaluate my bike's adjustments.

Retül uses sophisticated motion capture to dynamically analyze the motion of your body's joints in 3D, using a special sensor and adhesive markers attached at key body joints (feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists). You then pedal your own bike at power on a trainer placed in front of the sensor which records the position of each marker in 3D space over time. From this any wobbles and inefficient joint angles can be precisely defined and eliminated through the usual bike adjustments. I'd seen similar technology covered on TV before... but only for pro golfers and baseball players.

After I was all plugged in and on my bike in front of the sensor, Aaron had me pedal at my "7 out of 10" power for 15 seconds. My motion was played back as a moving stick figure on the PC's screen. Everything was defined numerically too. We could instantly see how my position on my bike compared with typical ranges. Awesome!

From the graphical display we could see that my knees wobbled a bit laterally, but not enough to require adjustment.

But my back angle and arm reach were rather aggressive and probably hampered my power a bit. That might suit time-trialing, due to better aerodynamics, but that's not my goal. So we installed a shorter bar stem (80mm vs. 100mm) to reduce my hip angle while raising my back a bit.

I was fairly sure we'd raise my saddle too, for better use of my leg muscles, and we did. But my reach was still far so we shifted the saddle forward some. This effectively lowers the saddle in the process, so Aaron ended up raising the saddle even more, by a full inch from its original height. I couldn't believe it! Moving the saddle forward minimized the effect, but that was still a huge change.

When everything was done Aaron saved the results in PDF files saved out of Retül. He e-mailed them to me and now I have them available for future reference.

So, what's the net effect?

I've been riding on the adjusted bike for several weeks now, and so far it seems good. My bike now feels faster on climbs, thanks to better use of the leg muscles no doubt (I'd always felt it was too low while climbing but just figured it was my imagination). Sometimes I become very aware of the higher saddle, mostly on level roads. My hips stay level while pedaling though, so it's still within traditional parameters. And my power seems higher for the perceived exertion. I'd say thumbs up for sure!

Interesting, and very cool! Let's hope this keeps my aging body healthy... and faster!

Giro di San Francisco, 45+

By Dennis Pedersen

Last year I not only missed the start of my 45+ race, but also flatted near the end of the Category 3 race I did instead. This year things went more smoothly. Margaret and I drove up and I had plenty of time to get ready (she is getting good at pinning numbers even on my snug team skinsuit) and warm up a little.

I really like this race, partly because of the technical 6-turn course with a 10-second climb, about the same size as Watsonville's, to tire out the big guys a bit. And also because it's on San Francisco's waterfront with September's perfect weather. Even Margaret enjoys going to this race!

Our field of about 50 Masters included some big names, but I am used to that. I was a bit tense, but in a good way and my legs felt good even though the race started fast. We hit the small hill hard every lap, always in the big ring, but I was doing OK since the back straight allows me enough time to recover. There are a number of small potholes though, so we always had to stay very focused.

Margaret walked all over the course and cheered me on from a different spot every lap; that made me smile through my pain. What a great girl!

Our pace increased even more on the prime sprint laps... and went sky-high when Kevin Metcalfe (Specialized) and Rich Juarez (VOS) snapped the cord as they worked their way off the front. Dang!

Morgan Stanley and VOS had the numbers to mount a chase, but VOS wasn't about to chase their own guy down. So Morgan Stanley, a few other guys and even I had to take a pull. But I could tell I'd be too tired if I stayed in the wind so I drifted back to rest. Morgan Stanley wasn't able to catch the escapees either, even with Eric Saltzman pulling, though we did get close a few times. With just a couple of laps to go I was forced to accept that my race was now a fight for 3rd.

On the last lap I actually led the pack a while when guys started holding back. Then I pulled off to the right, before the hill, to see who would go first. Two guys attacked past us and I powered up the small hill after them. I managed to catch them and now held 3rd wheel (not counting the two breakaways); I think it was Jeff Poulsen and his lead-out, but my memory may be faulty from lack of oxygen.

We flew down the long back straight. But the lead-out guy faded at turn 5, they hesitated, and that allowed several guys to swarm us. I got blocked in the turns, but I did get the chance to sprint up the wide-open final straight... only to get passed by a couple more. Man, my legs were done!

Still, 7th overall (5th in the field sprint) wasn't too bad in this group and a nice finish to my 2009 regular season. I think only one guy crashed in our race; not too badly. More proof these technical courses are safer.

And it turned out my LGBRC friend Erik Ostly had been out there without me noticing; I guess I was really focused. But he flatted out like I did last year. Afterward we had lunch at Waterfront Bar and Grill, just across the Embarcadero, in their covered outdoor seating. An Anchor Steam from the tap, nice seafood, a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge and my wife for company; a nearly-perfect close to my regular 2009 season!

San Ardo Road Race, 45+

By Dennis Pedersen

San Ardo is not a wealthy town. It's only 575 people, many living in beat-up mobile homes with dusty dirt yards, eeking out a living in south Salinas Valley's fields. Last year I double-flatted just a couple of miles into this 63-mile road race. But I did ride the entire course anyway to see if it would suit me, which it mostly does.

The race course starts in town, goes over the Salinas River, then up on Cattleman Road past HWY101 to the west, climbing the gently-rolling "big-ring" hills northward on Paris Valley before re-crossing the river on San Lucas and HWY198, then returning south on Cattleman which is a nearly-flat, wide-open road back into town. The finish, after three 21-mile laps, is a gentle climb (about 1 minute and 20 seconds long, right past the feedzone) back up Cattleman, just past HWY101 and on a side-road to the left.

I feel the final climb is a bit much for me. However, all those "L5" team workouts convinced me that Russ could do really well at San Ardo, and I decided it would be cool to lead him out for the finish. Another advantage to training with your teammates is this knowledge of our relative strengths and weaknesses.

I surprised Russ by taking Nils along for our carpool, so he ended up having to install his bike rack at 5:30AM under our flashlights! Sorry Russ; you were a good sport. At least the drive was only 1:45 long. We had lots of teammates racing but only Russ and I were in the 45+ race.

Our race went off nearly at the scheduled 8:50 which shows Velo Promo is working hard to improve the organization of their races. It was cool and a bit cloudy; nicer than the heat typical there. The pace was fairly easy on the rolling hills and even easier on the return south on Cattleman. I was intent solely on keeping the pack together so Russ could unleash his powerful long sprint at the end. Every time anybody went off the front while I was there I smoothly closed the gap. It actually became boring after a while; everybody just gave up trying. The only excitement was that I lost one of my bottles of sports drink in the bumpy section, but I had a gel for backup. Whew!

On the second lap I grabbed two bottles in the feedzone. All set! And Morgan Stanley started using their large team to force a harder tempo by pulling at the front. It still wasn't nearly as hard as the attacks VOS laid down at Dunnigan Hills. One of them complained that I wasn't pulling; I had been reconsidering my extreme defense anyway and decided the pace was too slow to favor us. There were several powerful sprinters who would be happy with an easy ride to the finish, including a current National Champion! I started taking some pulls.

Lap 3 got more lively, with Cale Reeder, Darryl Smith (both ICCC), Jeff Poulsen (Safeway) and others attacking on Paris Valley's rollers; two guys broke free. They were helped by an 18-wheeler that pulled onto the road between us for about a mile. Weird. Then the Pro/1/2 field passed us, just past the bridge on HWY198, so we were neutralized behind them on Cattleman. Argh. But Russ noticed that our break was drafting the Pros and had their motorcycle referee move them back; after a few minutes we caught them. But then an old truck with what is best described as a gypsy wagon passed us before getting stuck behind the Pros too. Funny.

The wind-up down Cattleman picked up when we passed the Pros (who just sat up "en bloc"), the gypsy wagon and also some women who had been dropped from their race. It got fun again! But a bit confusing.

The obstacles were not gone; as we flew through San Ardo we got stuck behind a van following the lead women's group. But just before we hit the base of the final climb the van pulled off and we had to swarm past the small group of women (excuse us!) and sprint under HWY101 and turn left for the finish. Not ideal!

I had worked really hard to stay up front the whole race and I wasn't going to give up my spot at the very end! I moved forward and was in a perfect position to spot a group that had decided to use the right shoulder, next to the feedzone, to pass the women. Crazy!

I jumped up to the leaders and we flew up the hill. I was third just behind Eric Saltzman (Morgan Stanley) as we approached the last turn. Shin Umeda (Alto Velo), our unintentional lead-out, faded, both of us hit the turn... and Eric just inched ahead of me as my legs started dying from the long sprint. Then I sensed somebody on my right; Russ! Awesome! I didn't even mind that he pipped me; that was my original plan! But 2nd and 3rd place was way more than I expected, especially after I spent so much time up front. Woo-hoo Team Bicycle Trip!

What a race. These last two races have really made my season. And all those workouts will be easier to suffer through!