Henleyville RR-Sept. 2012-Cat 45+ 1/2/3

Henleyville Road Race
73 miles
Andrew, Daryoush, JP (report written by Andrew)
Cat 45+ 1/2/3 Report:

My hamstrings were starting to cramp, my knees hurt, and my butt was sore. I am not sure I am going to make it. This was hard! I am three hours in and still have another hour or more to go. Crap. No turning back now. I put my head down and concentrate. It’s no good, I can’t do it. I turn to Daryoush and ask him to pull off at the next exit. I have to take a leak.

This is a crazy commute. Daryoush and I were on our way to the Henleyville Road Race. A 73 mile slightly rolling but mostly flat race consisting of four laps over chip sealed, vibration inducing roads. The drive there took us slightly over four hours. This is a commitment to crazy, not just a deviation into it. I have raced 26 times this year, not counting the two tri’s I also jumped in. I understand that there is some issue here. I am sure if you dig (some may say you don’t need to dig that far) you will find some major personality flaw that drives this sort of behavior. I have enough self-awareness to know this, but not enough to do anything about it. So there it is; 28 races for the 2012 season and I am still bummed out that there is no more racing to do.

I think we have found the real reason I started this team. It was to find other crazies like me. The big benefit is that it normalizes my behavior. When I talk to non-cyclists, they seem to view my stories with a strange look of confusion, pity and disgust. I am asked why I do this, why I want to drive four plus hours one way to flog myself in some backwoods location. It is a hard question to answer. I tend to smile, nod and look for someone else to talk too. So now you know why I started this team and why you are on it. I don’t get asked this question and even more, I get guys who volunteer to drive with me. Now this is why I love this group.

Daryoush, John Pauley and myself lined up for the 45+ 1/2/3 race. Mike McLaughlin and Mark Dames were racing a bit later in a different category. We had a great time Friday night talking biking over some beers and margaritas. We figured that made the most sense for pre race hydration. Next morning we met up at the Best Western's complimentary food bar to carbo load for our race. Take note new racers, this is how you fuel up to road race.

Regarding the race, well, to sum it up, race started, some guys tried to break (including Daryoush in a two man break) but none were getting anywhere. Then Dirk (one of the five or six mutants I have mentioned in previous reports) had enough of the chit chat and road away from us. Sure, there were still 50 miles to race, but Dirk wanted some alone time. Who were we to question what a mutant wants? So, we acquiesced and watched him seek solitude up the road. He quickly vanished and from what I was later told, crossed the line in first place. Nice racing with you Dirk, certainly enjoyed those deep conversations we were able to have in the first 15 minutes.

Now that he was gone, the rest of us could play bike racers. We did our best at pretending to break away from the group and then being pulled back. We did some mock chasing and had brilliant conversations. Then at the start/finish line with one lap to go, Daryoush had had enough of this silly game playing and decided to flat. He soon regretted his decision though, tried to fix his flat and chase back on. He never did make it all the way, but he did enjoyed his time alone and was able to take in the magnificent scenery.

Coming into the final three miles we were jockeying for position. With two miles left a kindly motorcycle ref stood in the middle of the road and held up a hand and the race. Yep, 71 miles done with two to go and we all took a 10 minute time out. Guess some poor soul in a race in front of us took too close a look at the pavement while finishing and was now getting a very expensive ride to the local Corning hospital. After the time out, the ref lined us up. He reminded us that we had two miles left and then said, "go". One Davis rider took off. Amazingly he thought he could sprint for two miles. He must have still been in game play mode. Another rider chased and I chased him. Davis rider, surprise, blew up with about a mile left. Then the rider in front of me tried to go and I went with him. Anyway, we got to 500 meters to go and we all sprinted and eventually crossed the finish line. I took second in the sprint and third place in the race and thus earned another coveted poorly designed Velo Promo t-shirt.

It was a fun day in the sun and a great way to end the road season.

Thanks for participating and being part of this team. It has been a blast this year to ride with you guys.

Ken's Mt. Tam Race Report-Cat 3

Mt Tam (starting in Stinson Beach)


12 miles, 2000 feet

Cat 3: 1st out of 16

Course: 4 miles of flat on Hwy 1, 4 miles of up, then 4 miles of up/rollers



I pre-rode the course on Wednesday which was pivotal. The rollers at the end were brutal and that's where I knew the race would be won or lost (and it was).

I also warmed up for about 30 min and put in a long, 5 min, hard effort. I think this also helped.



Flat 4 - the group went at an honest pace so i knew our total time wouldn't be hampered (like it was last week at fremont)



Up 4 - We go over a cattle grate and everyone is going crazy to get a front position as it turns up (think small narrow roads like stage). One guy sprints and everyone stays together. Then it slows down. We're 4-wide in about 4 lines. I'm in line 2 and I say "excuse me" to the 2 guys in front of me. They converge and pinch me. Then I say it again, "excuse me" (i figure they can't ignore kindness). We're going at an medium pace as everyone is trying to figure out what's going to happen. We're only 0.5 miles in if even that. Not far. So, on the 2nd ask they let me through. I stand up and push the pace hard (but not so hard that i can't react if someone jumps me). Before I know it I have 10 meters, then 20 meters. So I push it much harder (like an OLH PR ride). 50 meters. Then a Taleo guy catches me (Hanns Detlefsen). I ask him if he wants to work together, he says yes, so we do. Another guy catches (Bill Laddish) but only for 30 seconds until we drop him again. Then we're on our own - can't see any chasers - so I know we have it in the bag.



4 miles rollers (the "Seven Sisters") - after 0.5 miles of flat/descent through redwoods, we open up to an exposed and long climb. The first 'sister'. Hanns accelerates and I can not hang. Rather than burn myself, I let him go. Through the next 4 sisters I just keep him in my sights, around 50-60 meters out. On every sister I gain some distance. On the 6 or 7th sister I give everything I have and before I know it I'm going like 2x his speed up the sister and just fly by him. I'm so surprised at this point that I don't know what to do. I just put my head down and hammer. The rest is flat/rolling and I just hammer. We only had ~1k to go. But before I know it I'm gone and beat him by 16 seconds.



one final note: Peter Stetina (garmin, did well at rode giro this year) rode with the p1/2. He won. :) (but it wasn't 'official' bc he's not 'allowed' to race since he's a UCI rider)

CCCX Sept 16th 45 1/2/3 & 35+ Open-Andrew's report

CCCX Circuit Race Sept 16th.


Sometimes, the clouds part and a ray of sunshine can peak through. Sunday at the final CCCX crit/circuit race, that ray touched the CoreTechs team.

We had a great crew come out. Steve Stewart returned from an almost year long sabbatical with his Bundyesc van full of libations. John Pauley, Tom Rice, Mark Foster, Mark Dames, Scott Fairman (Bear Valley Scott), Dave Puglia, Daryoush and myself also saddled up to race. I will leave both Mark's to impart their race stories (they were both good!). My story was one with no drama and no miscues. This made for a fantastic day but is sure crappy for story telling. In trying to think about how to tell this story in a semi-entertaining way I have struggled. Adversity certainly makes for better entertainment. So, to end my struggle, get something out and bore the hell out of you, I will wrap this up quickly.

The 45+ Cat 1/2/3 race had a few good riders but none better than Kevin Klein. I have noticed this year that there is a group of seven or so riders in Northern California that are just mutants. They are at a racing level that I am not able to attain. They can solo off the front, early in the race and stay away. You can't go with them, you can't do anything but watch them go. I attempted to go with one of these mutants at Dunnigan, and if you have read that race story (scroll through our blog or FB page for that if you have not read), it turned out ugly for me. I am slow to learn lessons, but not a total nitwit. So, when Kevin attacked with six laps remaining (about 5:30 6 min per lap) in this race, I let instinct take over and I jumped with him. After he yelled at me a few times to pull through, which I did, it occurred to me that I was in over my head. Like I said, slow to learn, but eventually, I get the fact that someone is beating me over the head with a 2x4 and I adjust. We still had 5 laps to go, and I pulled the plug. I knew if I kept letting Kevin hit me in the head, I would be dead before the race ended. So, I drifted off the back and let Kevin ride away solo.

Back in the pack, we were now all racing for second. Kevin soloed off the front for his five laps and put time on the bunch each lap. Yep, a mutant that way. Coming into the sprint, which was a 300 meter slight uphill into a head wind, a rider (Dean Knudsen from Don Chapin Team) broke early (about 800 meters from the line). He had Robert Pasco (Safeway) on his wheel and I jumped to catch them. He road so hard that we got a gap on the field. Coming into that final 300 meters he started to sputter and Robert jumped. I was on his wheel. I came out of Robert's draft with 50 meters to go and made it to his front wheel when we crossed the finish line. He got second and I took third. Still, I was pretty happy being on the podium with Klein and Pasco.

An hour later and I am at the start line of the 35+ open (all categories) race. Kevin did not enter this race, but he was replaced by a younger more mutant version named Matt Carino. In case you are not familiar with him, he is 39 and won the National Championships for the 35-39 age group at Bend, Oregon last week. A month before he won the California State championships. He is a top Master's mutant.

Race starts with an attack from Dean (Don Chapin) and the pace is very high from the gun. Sheesh, not sure I am ready for this. I hang on but about half the field is off the back already. Carino bridges up to Dean. I turn to Duane Coughlin (Irondata) and comment, "well, there goes the race." Sure enough, Carino drops Dean and solos the entire race. Final lap is similar to the first race with a rider taking off early. This time though there is no gap and the eight or so of us left all are in a line. We come into the final hill and with 200 meters to go I sprint up the right. I have enough speed to hold it to the line and take first of the mere mortals and second in the race.

Honorable mentions: Mark Foster was in my group at the 35+ race and did a great job of leading the pack for a few laps at the end to keep attacks at bay. He helped me set up my sprint and CoreTechs was the only team with more than one rider in the final group. Very fun! Also have to give Rick Morgan from SJBC some credit. He was in the Kevin Klein break with me and also had the good sense to drift back to the pack. He then led the 45+ race a few laps and kept the pace high and safe. Good riding by both

We finished off the day at the Bundy van with Steve providing some stiff cocktails, which led to massive over estimations of all our cycling abilities and some good laughs. A great way to finish off the CCCX series and for some, the road season.

Andrew

Winters RR story from August 25th, 2012

"There is something wrong with you."

I have heard this most my life, but it has taken me almost 46 years to actually agree. Not sure why, but I love this stuff. What is wrong with me you ask?


• I love being up when it is still dark at 4:20am getting ready for a race

• I love the drive out with the fellas and talking about the race and life.

• I love the drive back and doing as Tom calls it "bench racing". A whole lot of "I could haves and should haves"

• I love the feeling after a super hard ride. Kind of like you just finished finals and now you can party.

• I love writing this immensely self serving and dorky race reports

• And most of all, I love the feeling of the screaming leg pain while riding hard and every now and then causing pain while drilling it.

I suspect the majority of you reading this have similar feelings as I do (though probably not the bullet about writing such silly race reports). So, I would say there is something wrong with all of us. And so, at Winters this past Saturday, a bunch of people with something wrong with them all showed up to race together. Like a Star Trek convention, complete with silly costumes, mythical battle plans and secret handshakes we took the start line. Battleship CoreTechs brought along a Platoon of Tom, Mark, Ricky Lucero, John Pauley, Dave Puglia, Christian, Alan Takahashi, and myself-Andrew.

As battle commenced, we were attacked within the first five miles. This battle was due to last 72. Luckily for starship CoreTechs, our early break designate, Tom Rice, covered and joined the attack. There were four away. We were then allowed to sit in and marshal are troops. Soon we were upon the first outside threat (a hill the size of Hudard park climb-5 minutes in length). The pace to this point was high and climb fairly hard. A few were hit with leg meltdown and were heard yelling: "Scotty, I need more power". Unfortunately, the response of "Captain, this is all the power she's got" came from the leg room and thus their ships were out of the fight.

As we crested the first threat, Tom came back to us. This left three up the road with no member of our ship present. We were thus obligated to add our fuel to the other federation members not up the road. We sent two to the front to help with the chase. We did not expect this chase to last long, but the front three were surprisingly strong and put up a good fight. Finally, as we returned to our main obstacle, we were able to subdue the front three. About 15 minutes later, another attack occurred. We had our shields ready though, and were able to place a CoreTechs member in that attack, thus changing it to a offensive mission. This group had eight present (1 CoreTechs, 1 Third Pillar, 1 Make a Wish, 1 Davis, 2 Taleo, 2 Wells Fargo) and all Federation members had a representative. This was the final attack mission of the day.


The Fed members worked very well together with everyone taking strong pulls at the front in a nice, even rotation. In no time, the peloton was out of site. As we approached the nemesis obstacle for the last time, an attack within the group occurred on the bottom slope. The pace went ballistic and gap between Make a Wish, Davis and Wells Fargo took place. Slowly, CoreTechs reeled them back. As we hit the final switchback, the group was down to five. Both Taleo and Third Pillar blew. We started again working together to make sure that the missing three did not make it back.

With 2.5 miles to go, cramps started to set in. Left leg started to perform independently of body. Arch, calf, and groin all rejected doing anything more. A call went out for help but it went unanswered. As CoreTechs rolled through the rotation, Wells Fargo attacked. Two went with him. CoreTechs was not able to respond. Left leg had seized. Second Wells Fargo just sat on CoreTechs and would not help. Internal conversation: "Noooo". Then cramps eased, power returned. Thoughts changed to, "is it possible to catch front three or should CoreTechs concentrate on getting 4th place and beating Wells guy on his wheel". Chips all in, power down.

Full power and the front three returned to view. We were closing but Wells was getting a free ride. As we got a bit closer, Wells jumped to bridge. CoreTechs jumped to catch his wheel but it turns out only 3/4 of him made the move. Left leg decided to remain seated and for good measure punish the other three quarters for trying to go without him. Wells made the bridge and CoreTechs got a good view of it. Sigh.

Battle was done. Place was confirmed as 5th. A fitting for the convention, mustard yellow t-shirt with poor graphics was won by the team.

After the convention we gathered for lunch and a fun time of "bench racing". Great time, lots of fun. Battleship will be in shop for fine tuning and repairs. Expect to see its return at CCCX on Sept 16th. Could use a full Company, so those held in reserve, give it some serious thought. Season is over in September….for now…beam me up Scotty.

John T races Foothill E4 & 35+ 4

Foothill College Crit


Elite Cat 4 & 35+ Cat 4

Raced with Chris Rippey

The Pace was pretty fast. It felt crowded, I think about 60 racers. Chris and I wanted to see how we felt and then try and get near the front toward the final laps. I basically sat in but tried to be in the front 3rd most of the race, which I did. I heard Chris telling me he was behind me, but wasn't really sure what to do until the final laps. I found an opening with 2 to go and jumped on the wheels of 2 Webcor riders near the top of the back climb. I don't think Chris was behind me anymore. I yelled to ask and there was no response. I was 3rd wheel with 1 1/2 to go, then 2 more guys got ahead of me and I was 5th wheel with 1 to go. The pace really picked up on the climb and I dropped some spots and 3 riders got away in a break. I red lined on the false flat and gave everything I had to stay with group. There was no chance I was getting back to the front at this point. I finished in the pack 28th. Pretty lame

Cat 4 35+

IDIOT: I think the definition should read like this (Repeating the same tasks over and over expecting a different result each time)

This race was not as fast as the E4. I led the first lap, until somebody finally wanted to help. I settled in mid pack and even toward the back for the rest of the race. 2 guys got away with 3 to go when there was a Prime announced. With 2 to go I got near the front and with 1 to go I hammered up the final hill to try and bridge. A 3rd racer, Pen Velo rider, got away as well, which I didn't understand because I think he had a teammate in the break, but I wasn't certain. I was successful in getting a small gap, bridging to the PV rider and then the 2 man break and at the same time brought the whole pack with me and.... burned myself up! Idiot! I had nothing left with a 1/2 lap to go and watched everyone pass me on the back climb and was reminded of my tactical prowess as a rider rode by me telling me nice job! I almost got last finishing at the back of the pack. I did the same thing I always complain about. In this category nobody ever lets a break go. I thought maybe these 2 guys might stay away since there was only 1 lap left. But in hindsight, I should have conserved, we would have caught them anyway and I could have had enough energy to be closer to the front to at least give myself a chance at the finish. The PV guys were parked right next to me. I talked to them and the guy who tried to bridge his own teammate told me he was covering?? Him and his teammate were caught and the highest finish for PV was 8th

Miles gets 2nd in the CCCX Mnt Bike Cat 3 race

Where- Fort Ord, Monterey CA


When- June 24th 9am

Race- 45-55 CAT3 mens

Stats- 3 laps, 5 miles each, 15 total

Fire roads, double and single track.

Team mate- Dave T in the race after me. (Nice 3rd place finish!)

My race was at 9am, so I left MP early to make sure I had time to sign up and warm up. I had time to pre ride about half a lap and felt pretty good at the start.



The race starts on pavement and funnels into single track pretty quickly. Starts are key, being in the back of the pack when you funnel onto the single track makes for a tough time passing.

As we sprint down the road to the dirt section I make sure I am in a good spot. I end up 3 wheel and follow my competition. I visually mark the two in front of me and don't let them out of sight.

There is a bit more climbing than usual, and I think to myself that this will be to my advantage. Towards the end of the first lap we come up on slower racers from the race in front of us.

I bobble a bit and have trouble getting around a few of these guys since I came up on them in tight single track with not much room to pass. I start to loose track of 1st and 2nd place ahead of me.

Finally I get by the slower riders and look up the trail now and then to see if I can see my competitors. I've lost them for now. When we come around the finish line area for the first time

the timer shouts 3rd place. I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to advance. I wasn't sure how far ahead they were but I decided to hammer the middle lap and then hopefully back it off a bit at the end.

Within the blur of the next lap, passing slower riders, and concentrating on not going down in the deep sand sections, I guess I passed 2nd place and didn't even notice. The next thing I know,

I'm going through the finish area and they shout 2nd place! What? are you sure? I think to myself. OK, I'll take it, but I needed a rest so I backed it off for just a few minutes to recover, being careful not to

let 3rd get close. Into the last lap, things were clicking for me and I felt good, so brought it back up to normal race pace. At about that point I caught a glimpse of 3rd place coming up behind me.

If I wanted to keep my well earned 2nd place spot I would need to wick it up to max for the rest of the race. Great, not what I had planed, and not what my body wanted to hear, but it was do or die.

I thought to myself, I didn't skip golf today with my buddies to get caught and passed on my last lap! OK, off we went. I had him on the climbs and he would catch me on the descends, the flowing flat stuff was

pretty even. I decided on the last climb that I would give it all I had and with my weakness ahead of me, then try and hang on to the finish. Once I got to the top of the climb I had pulled a bit of a gap

on him, so I really concentrated on going as smooth and as fast as I could the rest of the way. I definitely pushed it the last few miles. I had a few close calls and just tried to keep it fast and on two wheels.

On the last descend into the finish area, I could hear his bike chattering behind me, maybe 5-6 bike lengths behind. The next thing I heard was Dave T screaming at me at the top of his lungs (thanks Dave!).

In fact it scarred me, because i was in concentration mode at the time. That gave me the extra umph to give it one last hard effort to the finish line, although I had to be careful because there was a sketchy

off camber turn just before the last straight a way. I made it cleanly through everything and got across the line 30s behind 1st place and 6s in front of 3rd.



I felt good about holding on to my position, and pushing it through the end, and I have the poison oak to prove it!



Thanks for reading

-Miles

Andrew has a one night stand in Burlingame

A crit is to biking as a one night stand is to a 22 year old. It all sounds so fun as you are gearing up for the event. Then you focus on the task at hand and enjoy the fast pace and scary moments. You just hope you don’t catch anything that will take too long to heal. Afterwards you are left with hazy recollections of the event and slight feeling of regret. Of course, this all fades with time and you soon find yourself entering the next event with the same anticipation.

As I write this a day after the event, things are indeed hazy and I am left with a mild bit of regret. The party was being held at downtown Burlingame. The crowd at this party was my age when I first walked in. I would say at least 45+. The party picked up quick though and things did get hazy. A few highlights of what I can recall:

• Lots of curves and turns, some oohhing and aahhing and a bit of moaning

• I gave a very hard effort towards the end that left me gasping for breath. I had two others with me. I thought this was my fantasy, but in the end, one jumped away and stayed away and my other partner gave up on me. The lights came up and they played last call. The two of us knew this was going nowhere so we went back to the party.

• With the lights up and the music off, I tried to find my friends to take me home. Could not find them so decided to leave the party with everyone else.

I decided to hang around and see what else this place had to offer. Turns out that when the old dudes left another party was just getting started, a much younger one! I thought I would try hanging with this bunch. Figured they would be lively and who knows, I may have a shot of getting something really pretty. I went to the front and asked for a dance, but a few songs later realized my dance partners were a bit too sketchy for me. I was starting to feel like "that guy". You know, the one the kids point too at the club and ask, "why is the old dude here? Kind of creepy." So, realizing I was a bit creepy, and happy not to catch anything, I just hung near the back till the lights came up and I could see my way out.

And so it was, my biking one night stand ends. Might go back to the party at some point in the future, but for now, I am looking to get more serious. Looking for a long term relationship.

See you soon!

AA