Davis Bike Club Junior Race Team

A tick of the watch...

2009-06-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

Seconds, they pass us by almost without notice daily and yet when you're out on the bike they can be your best friend or your worst enemy. June 7 was the Steve Dunlap Memorial ITT. I ride our club puts on and one named for one of our own. It also happen to have hosted the NorCal Nevada Juniors TT Championships for several years running. This year we had large fields in all ages for the boys, a bit more sparse for the girls. The day broke with a clear sky, cool temps and with a noticeable south wind.

First off were the 10-12 boys and girls. The boys race was the closest I have witnessed with the top three riders within four seconds of each other and second and third separated by a mere 4-tenths over 10k, which in a "no chip time" event is a coin flip. Karch Miller had a great ride at 17:49.96 and thought he had done enough but found those four seconds not in his favor and to add insult settled for the bronze by that 4-tenths. Ehtan Hockridge the youngest rider in the field came through in 21:15:04 for eighth and Ryan Gomez at 22:14:63 in ninth.

In the 13-14 Spencer Salk tried his hand in his first race and hung tough finishing in 21:05:12. While Spencer would clearly not see the podium he now has that first race under his belt. Job well done.

In the 15-16 Alexander Freund did a smokin' 27:47:96 for 20k which slotted him in just 7-seconds off the winning time for silver. Torry Philip also had a stellar ride at 28:43:68 just missing the podium for fourth.

In the battle of the big-guns big brother Andreas Freund showed he can TT as well stopping the watch at 27:46:99, good enough for the bronze. Teammate Cody "the tapinator" Tapley rolled through on his "funny bike" in 28:16:61 for a great ride and fourth. Our big man "El Gigante" Wick went for broke early and paid late after blowing-up and riding through in eighth after his District Championship winning performance in the crit the week before.

All in all a great performance by all our DBC juniors. Eleven total seconds separated our riders from two wins, eleven measly seconds. Next time you're out on the bike and think that extra effort doesn't really matter, just think how insignificant eleven seconds of the day usually feel and then again just how big they can be on another.

Spring Hill- Two Days & Two Wins !

2009-05-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

Don't have much scoop but got a text from coach Mike from the roads of Sonoma County earlier tonight. Seems that Alexander had something left in his legs after yesterday's crit effort, as he won the Jr's race at the Spring Hill Road Race. AJ Snovel, back in the saddle and welcomed by his mates seems also to be re-finding his legs as he slotted in for 3rd and finally Cody after yesterday also had something in the tank with a steady ride and 5th.

Congrats to all, great effort, great weekend.

Crowning a champion

2009-05-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day for the DBC Juniors Team at the State Criterium Championships in Livermore. We had riders in the 10-12 male, 15-16 male and 17-18 male groups and all should be proud of how they performed.

In the 10-12 race Karch learned the hard way it is not always the strongest rider, but rather the smartest that wins the race in a crit. He found himself on the front and a marked man throughout. At 12 it is hard to have enough experience to foil the group mentality and so he put his head down and pulled, and pulled. In the end he would chase the last lap flier down and lead out the sprint only to come unwound with 100 meters to go settling for 5th. A strong ride indeed, but a bitter lesson learned as well.

In the 15-16 race I watched the race go up the road with about 9 laps to go when 3 riders jumped clear and opened a gap of about seven seconds. In that group there was no one from DBC and our lone rider, Alexander Freund, found himself with a decision to make. He made it quickly, jumping away from the group and motoring away in pursuit. Many thought his effort futile, but I have watched him enough to know what he is capable of. In a lap and a half he bridged solo to the leaders and thus a quartet now led the way. With one to go everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that James LaBerge would sprint away. In the end he did indeed win, but Alexander made a run at the line and was actually running him down and simply ran out of road. A solid and well deserved silver medal for Alexander.

Finally in the 17-18 race we lined up three riders, Zach the man-child, Cody "the tapinator" Tapley and Andreas the strong. The field was deep and San Jose Bike Club, Swift and Specialized were well represented. On the first lap Cody lit it up and loosened the legs charging away from the field. His effort was short lived however and as the field came together Andreas, who admittedly does not like crits, motored away from the chaos with a SJBC rider in tow. The two were a well oiled machine and soon had 10, then 12, then 16 seconds in hand. Specialized and Swift didn't want to chase looking to the other to work and thus the gap continued to grow to 26 seconds. At that point someone sounded the alarm. After 10+ laps off the front the collective chase brought them back but Zach and Cody had a free ride and the field would soon pay for this mis-step. With 12 to go Cody and Sam Bolster from "Ride for a Reason" jumped clear. It seemed early but again SJBC, Swift ans Specialized let it go. Soon they had 8-10 seconds in hand and were working to hold the gap. With eight to go I saw something I could not believe when Zach jumped clear through the start finish and the group did not react. In one straightaway he was within 20 meters and soon joined the escape. Cody, Zach and Sam then all went into the "pain cave". You could see the effort on their faces and all were committed 100% to the move. The chase ensued and the gap at first held and then began to fall. It was cat and mouse the next three laps and with four to go it was down to three seconds. Then something happened, the chase imploded. The remaining riders simply could no longer respond and at the same time Sam struggled up front dropping off. With two to go it was Zach and Cody TTT-style up front with 8 seconds. With one to go it was 10 seconds. Cody's face was wound up tight and Zach just put his head down and churned the man-child legs. They rode through hand-in-hand for a 1-2 DBC finish, with Zach the new champion and his mate a well-deserved silver. Each rider played a pivotal role in Zach's victory and each is to be commended. Andreas after his monster effort out front, hung in, made all the cuts as the chase disintegrated and finished 10th. There was much ribbing, chatter and smiling after. I big win for a big-guy and the culmination of years of hard work. Congrats Zach; well done!

New Time for Monday Ride at the Bike Barn 5;30pm

2009-05-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

New time for the Monday ride from the Bike Barn on campus at UCDavis: 5:30pm

Wed Night TT

2009-04-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

WED NIGHT INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
All, Wed, May 6th and every other Wed after that there is a free individual time trial starting at 6pm at Putah Creek Rd and Steven's Bridge Rd near Davis. The course is 10 miles total and goes out 5 miles down Putah Creek Rd toward the town of Winters and turns around to finish at the start. The pavement surface is good to excellent. This event usually draws between 30 to 50 riders of all ability. The event can be ridden as a TTT as well, 2,3 or 4 riders (must finish together).
Some good info here: http://www.stuzio.com/StuzioArticle.aspx?articleID=1124
or by contacting Joe Santos at Davis Wheel Works.

Ronde de Copperopolis- Philipp reigns

2009-04-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to be back form the spring break week away to take in the annual slugfest that is our very own Copperopolis Road race, that spring rite of passage that separates those with "the legs" from those pretending in a big hurry. Alas a flight delay killed that goal so I have been getting snippets of information from various sources. All in all it sounds like a pretty good day for all of you.

First and foremost a bow to Torey who clearly outfoxed the boys with the big "S" on their chests who obviously had the numbers but not the legs. When I saw Torey at Land Park I noticed his legs were tan! This should have told us all something as we hadn't had much sun to speak of. Turns out he has indeed been working hard and got his reward with a fine win in the 15-16 race on Saturday. Way to go Torey.

The 17-18 crew also did us proud with a 5th, 6th, 7th finish (Andreas, Cody, AJ). On a course Like Copperopolis it takes fitness and skill just to finish it up and clearly these efforts show that these guys have been "doing their homework".

I also noted that Kayleen toughed it out and finished up second in the women's 15-18 race. For someone as new as Kayleen this is a subperb performance on a truly difficult course, nicely done!

And finally I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that our "oldest" junior, Coach Pugh showed that he practices what he preaches by pulling off a superb 3rd place in the Masters 45+ 1/2/3 race against a stacked field. Nice job coach.

Monday No-Drop Rides Commence 3/16

2009-03-15T12:48:00.001-07:00

Now that we have somewhat better weather Zach Wick will be leading regular weekly "no drop" rides on Mondays at 5:00pm. These are intended to be development level rides with a focus on general skills and pace work. Duration is expected to be approximately 1 hour and pace will be moderate. I would encourage all of our newer/entry level riders to participate as often as possible. In addition to Zach, I would also ask and encourage our other more seasoned riders to show up and lend a hand to mentor our younger and newer raceteam members. Mike Pugh and I will join these rides as time permits. Other adults are welcome. Ride specifics are as follows:

DBC Juniors Weekly Development Rides
Day/Time: Mondays / 5:00pm
Location: Rides depart from the Bike Barn on the UCD Campus. http://bikebarn.ucdavis.edu/contact.cfm
Focus: Skills development, pack riding, pacelines, echelons

Please keep an eye on your e-mail as Zach will assess weather as needed weekly to determine if we have to cancel, but the plan is to go every week through the summer.

Hope to see all of you out there soon!

Shawn

Super Sunday!!!!!

2009-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

Awesome effort by all the DBC Juniors on Sunday, not only did everyone show their mettle in Davis at the criterium but Andrias Freund took 3rd in the elite 3s at Pine Flat Road Race in Fresno. His brother, Alexander did very well in the elite 3s as well. My hat's off to Zach Wick, tremendous effort Sunday for 2nd place in the 17-18 Junior race. For all you first time racer, great effort. Elsewhere I think some pro from Rock Racing won a race that started in Davis and finished in Santa Rosa.....anybody hear anything about that?

A Big Week & The Big Show...

2009-02-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

All week you could feel anticipation within the group for the Amgen ToC and the kids were fired up. We started the week with our "15 minutes of fame" courtesy of KXTV channel 10, who were very interested in our program and our riders given the success this group has had in developing young riders. Thanks must go out to all the kids and the parents for making an effort to get to the shooting on a day off Monday.

Tuesday new kits arrived. Something about a new kit, they just "feel" fast. If a new kit wasn't enough motivation for the weekends crit how about a training ride with a few of your favorite Pro-Tour riders? Seems Astana, Saxo Bank, Garmin and Ouch were taking in the sights along the American River bike-path regularly, just ask Robby or Torey. Cool indeed.

When the fireworks started for real the weather looked ominous. By the end of the AToC prologue rain was falling and the next day's start in Davis would prove interesting, in particular the Juniors crit which was to follow.

First I have to tip my cap to every single rider, male or female, new or experienced that saddled up yesterday. The conditions were very rough and it was clear early they would stay that way.

In the 10-14 race the field shattered on lap one as a rider from Team AC (above category) attacked from the gun. This move and the wind blew the field apart. We had several riders in this group, most new, some riding their first race. Each did a great job. Karch was able to make it into the initial chase group and was riding very well with national champion Dylan Drummond from Tieni Duro and Matthew Valencia from Sugar CRM. They rode with women's' junior national champion Katrina Howard and a rider from SJBC. The SJBC rider and Katrina attacked and left the three to fight it out. The rain and wind was treacherous and with 3 to go Drummond tried to slide under a lapped rider and lost his front wheel. Like dominoes all three hit the deck and slid. Karch was last man in but first man up and remounted to chase, sadly Matthew was not so lucky and we hope his injuries are minor.

In the end Karch motored solo for the last three laps winning the 10-12 division, he was stoked. New rider Charlie Kimball was having a very good first ride until disaster struck in the form of a blown from tire and a resultant crash. I hated to see him hit the deck and suspect we will see more of him in the 13-14 as he looked good. Young Will Kanz also rode well getting some experience and toughness in the difficult conditions. And Cami Rolles and Spencer Salk also gritted it out for the home town crowd. Would be nice to see them out again...

The womens 15-18 was all about tactics. Riders were coy about working and left it to others to work. April gainfully took up the effort and was always at or near the front. At the back end newcomer Kayleen Dobner was learning the ropes in the toughest of conditions. She was gapped off early, but hung in and finished, well done. For April, clearly the fitness is there. In the end however those who had sat-in wicked it up and jumped her so she'll have to wait another day to get that win.

The 15-16 Men's field was large and stacked. Torey and Robby would have to stay near the front and counter Tieni Duro and Specialized. Torey appeared to get a bad start and was fighting from the back, Robby on the other hand did everything right. He covered the early move, was vigilant on the front and looked good. Then it happened, someone moved left and overlapped, in a flash 4-5 riders tumbled, sadly Robby among them. This guy gets my hard-luck award for the last two weeks. The upside, he was scraped but unhurt, the downside, the bike was not. His day was over. We need to pull together behind him to keep his season on-track and offers of a ride were there by the end of the day. Thank you, this is what "team" means.

The 17-18 would be much like Cherry Pie, Specialized on the sharp end. They had Four riders who attacked relentlessly from the gun and yet time after time one ominous force drug them back, El Gigante. I've ridden with Zack Wick since his initial days as a 13-14 and recall working with Steve to get him home from the race ride after a long day doing all he could to hang on. Yesterday I saw a young man who was simply a mental rock. With almost no help early on, young ZW made every right move. Mid-race Tap's was able to help out as two groups came back together. Cody was clearly not on a good day but was giving it his best to help Zach. With one to go it was El Gigante who threw down his own move and it almost worked. Specialized was shocked and Charlie Avis gave chase but couldn't close, this was special. Out of the last corner Zach had the gap but thee finish was just too long, Charlie bridged and then jumped with 50m to go, game over.

Ride of the day? Unquestionably ZW, everybody in the field knew it. Down the road I would be very weary, he is due his payback.

Catching Up & Looking Ahead

2009-02-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

Been a few weeks since I was last able to get time to post, so need to do a bit of catch-up and some acknowledgements.

1-2-3 Go
Cal Aggie Crit allowed a chance to show that while some of our horse-power has moved on, others are quite happy to fill the gap and step it up. While It was Cody, Zach and Torey going 1,2,3 in the junior's race, it wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of AJ and Robby who worked selflessly to keep things together. As has been the hallmark of this group it continues to be teamwork that gets it done.

Pie Anyone?
At Cherry Pie last weekend there were highs and there were clearly lows. The juniors fields were perhaps the largest I have ever seen in NorCal at a "regular" race like this as even the 10-14 race had about 30 riders in it.

In that race the field split early as Swift, Sugar CRM and Tieno Duro all decided to have a go early. It was Swift's Stanley Goto who lit it up on lap two and his move cut the field in half. We had on one rider in the race and he made the move, it was Karch, "killer" as he was known on the BMX track the last few years. I had told him to keep it simple, let the bigger 13-14 riders on the teams slug it out, stay out of trouble and out of the wind. As the field continued to shrink he continued to hang. On the penultimate lap he was top five through he 180 and as they shuffled through the chicane on the last climb to my surprise he tried to jump the field, brave perhaps Wise? well not sure. They came through strong but he faded and I was sure he had slid back off the podium. I was surprised to learn that all of the riders in the group except for him were 13-14's, he had won. Surprise!

In the 15-18 Specialized wanted to make sure everyone knew they intended to dominate. They had 8-9 riders toe the line and from the gun they were all over the front. Sure would've been nice if they were a little more aware as with five to go the Specialized "train" derailed itself with three riders touching wheels and hitting the deck in the chicane, Tap's and Robby were unlucky victims, right place, wrong time.

Zach and Torey escaped and off the back Alex Huettis slipped by continuing to churn along ever steady, as did April another victim of bad luck in the form of a rubbing front brake. In the end the 17-18 came down to numbers and we simply came up short. El Gigante you did us proud with your gutsy shot up the inside from waaaay out, but it wasn't meant to be. Ride of the day? Torey who was always where he needed to be and after some discussion with the officials over errant results slotted 11th overall, 3rd for the 15-16 group. Superb ride.

On to the Amgen...

More Early Bird Smackdown

2009-01-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

In addition to the below post denoting Cody's efforts at Patterson this past Saturday, it appears Alex's big brother Andreas decided to dish out a bit of pain himself in the Elite 3's race. If he was intimidated in any way by the older riders in the 3's field he didn't show it as Andreas powered to second in the Elite three race, a tall order indeed.

While it is only January it appears the big shoes left by TK, AwfoSho and Staz will be amply filled by a new crop of fresh faces who have earned their time in the spotlight.

Well done.

Early Birds & a Tapinator sighting at Patterson...

2009-01-25T14:08:00.001-08:00

Yes it's still only January but many of the boys (and girls) have been busy. Not content to sit back and wait for the warmer drier weather we've had riders new and old out on the road. At the Early Bird Criterium Series in Fremont April has been spotted getting in her licks with the Women and then jumping in with the Juniors field late in the day. I suspect we'll see her at the front at the ToC Crit next month.

Newcomer Alex Huettis got his "feet wet" last weekend in Fremont and was roughly introduced to the pavement with a lap to go, along with April, when a rider apparently overlapped and reacted hard taking folks to the ground. Undaunted young Mr. Huettis promptly went home and rebuilt his "taco'd" wheel on Monday (yes he can turn a wrench all you teammates out there) and was fired up for the next race. Gotta love it.

And yesterday at the Patterson Road Race, the Tapinator played it cool and patient with Alex Freund sitting in early, gutted out the climb, bombed the harrowing descent (rocks, gravel, cattle-guards anyone...) and then jumped away from the lead group in the last K to snag a well deserved second place in the Elite 4's thus earning himself some mighty nice upgrade points in the process. Hmmm, patient, Cody... this could be dangerous.

Yes it's early, but clearly there is success to be savored and I'm sure much success to come.

Now, who likes Cherry Pie?

Livestrong Indeed

2009-01-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

Wanted to make a quick post to the blog with a reference to the Velonews website. Thought you all might find a familiar face among those in the photos that accompany the following story. http://www.velonews.com/article/86531/the-trek-livestrong-u23-team-tunes-up-in-austin

For those new to the team that poised young guy second from the right in the front row was wearing the same kit you'll be in at this time last year. For those who were his mates last year each of you should feel a certain amount of pride in having contributed to his success.

Hat's off to Taylor and best of luck to him as he starts a whole new adventure. I can only imagine how proud his family must be right now, not to mention a certain juniors team director who recently stepped down after much success.

Carpe Diem...

Davis Amgen Toc Crit- Reg Open

2009-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

All, a friendly reminder that the Davis Bike Club sponsored JUNIORS ONLY criterium that will follow the roll-out of the Amgen ToC Stage 1 start in Davis is now open for registration. This should be a very cool event indeed, so please get out to the web and register as soon as you can. It is not often that you will get the chance to be "the show" after the big guns roll out so get out their training, get fired up and plan to "get it on" come Sunday February 15th!

Reg is via sportsbaseonline, easy way to get there is via the NCNCA website road link for the event at www.ncnca.org/road .

Everyone should have a fresh new kit by then for the podium!

2009-01-02T15:14:00.001-08:00

Greetings and Happy New Years one and all. I have been tracking the e-mail and keeping in touch with Mike and it sounds like many of you are already out on the road and well into getting that early season fitness. I have been hunkered down with school-work and holiday commitments but much of that is now behind me and I will start to work with Mike to get things in full-swing. A few quick reminders:

2009 License
Got it? Good. Need one? It's easy.

As a reminder if you have not done so you will need to renew your license (and or if you are new purchase one) before toeing the start line for 2009. It's simple and relatively painless to do this online and I would recommend this over the "day of race" approach which simply adds time and stress to the race day. Just go on-line to www.usacycling.org to get this done. Set up an account if needed and away you go. For juniors the annual license cost is only $15.00. Please remember to register as a rider for Davis Bike Club.

Also, print a copy of the receipt to show you indeed have a paid 2009 license until the real deal shows up via snail-mail.

Need help? Let me know and I can walk you through it.

Sponsors & Clothing
Sponsorship is wrapping up. Info will be forthcoming about the good folks who will support your hard work in 2009. Please remember these businesses and individuals give purely for the love of sport in support of all your hard work. Represent them accordingly on and off the bike.

As to clothing this is in the queue and will deliver the first week of February. Oh and did I mention I believe we are a "GO" for the all-white "check me out" bibs option. This should be a limited item for teams so you will indeed get noticed...

Race Results
Finally I wanted to post race results for those hearty early season warriors that braved the San Bruno Hillclimb on January 1. We snagged our first win, two top three placings and a fine showing by everyone, way to go guys. The honors to the "hard-men" are as follows:

Place: Name: Time:
1 Andreas Freund 16:47.79
3 Cody Tapley 17:09.18
10 Alexander Freund 20:02.80
13 AJ Snovel 20:33.58

See you soon on the road.

Shawn

2008-12-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

Team:

We will be kicking off our 2009 team rides this weekend on Sunday, December 14th. Returning team member Robby Hartman has offered to "host" the ride. This will allow us a place to convene pre and post ride and also is an intermediate point for those in the foothills and Sacramento.

The ride will be on the American River Bike Trail from Rancho Cordova up towards Beales Point in Folsom and is an out and back loop. Given the fog and weather this is a good option for this time of year. Distance will be 40 miles or so with an option for up to 60 for those that wish to extend. Team Coach Mike Pugh will be leading the ride and other adults are welcome.

The ride will roll out around 9:30 from Robby's House in Rancho Cordova. Pertinent address information is as follows. It would be great to get as many riders out as possible to start to build some miles and team chemistry for success in 2009.

Hartman's
2224 El Canto Circle
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Hope you all can join in.

2008-11-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Wanted to send a follow up to my November 1st post regarding the 2009 kick-off meeting. We will be holding this meeting at the Hallmark Inn in downtown Davis (2nd street between F & G) this coming Sunday 11/16/08. The meeting will convene at 5:30 in the Breakfast Room just off the first floor lobby.

Please come prepared to complete paperwork (i.e. bring a pen), order clothing and discuss your 2009 goals (short and long-term) as this will help Mike Pugh and I to start to assess how best to help you reach them.

Finally as a reminder if you know of someone who is not on the blog or the listserv but is interested in joining for 2009 please pass this information along accordingly.

See you all Sunday night.

Shawn

2008-11-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

DBC Juniors- Welcome to November (albeit a soggy one) and the start to a new season. As many of you know Steve Wick has decided, after several incredibly successful years, to step down as the Juniors Race Team Director. Steve, and Joan Anton before him have done an incredible job creating a team of tremendous athletes and class individuals that have flown the flag for the DBC Juniors.

In 2009 Mike Pugh and I will be taking the reins from Steve (don't worry guys he'll still be around) and hope to continue the successful legacy that he has built. To get things started we would like to hold a kick-off meeting on Sunday evening, November 16th. Time and place to follow so keep an eye out on the blog for the details.

Mike and I know many of you well, some not so much so and some not at all, but that will soon change. We're looking forward to helping you work towards your goals for 2009 so take some time to start thinking about what you want from the upcoming season. Also, if there are others that are not currently members of the team, but that you think might have interest in joining us for 2009, please pass along the kick-off meeting information as it firms up over the next few days.

Ciao,

Shawn

Scoop

2008-10-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I'd smashed out my last post on this here blog... Dunnigan Hills RR was supposed to be my coup de grace--seven DBCJRT kidlets in a prosey race at the same time, but after releasing this news, I can officially retire from junior bike racing a fulfilled man...

not to worry, the blog will be left in capable hands and will continue to be your source for up-to-date news concerning DBCJRT

... but I've got the scoop on Cyclingnews, Veloldnews, and Pez. I've even got Hernando beat at Norcalcyclingnews.

For several of you who are close to TK, you already know, but for the rest of you...

Recent DBCJRT alum Taylor Kuphaldt has signed with the new LiveStrong team for 2009. TK will be one of a handful (10 or so) young guns who will be racing for what very well could become an Astana feeder team. Not many other details about the team except that it will be directed by Axel Mercx and Taylor Phinney will be the leader on the road. From what I understand, LiveStrong will be a u23 team, but this is the real deal. TK has signed a contract that will have have him earning a paycheck next season.

I'm stoked for the kidlet because he has worked super hard for this one. I'm also stoked for the DBC junior program because this is a first for it. Finally, I'm just stoked because I got a phone call four years ago from a papa with big expectations, and I told him we'd make a bike racer out of his kidlet.

TK came to us a brand new five who had never raced his bike before. While I don't even pretend to take all or even some of the credit, it has sure been fun watching him develop... first as a big engine, then as teammate, followed by a tactician, and finally as the whole package.

This kid is talented, and now he is rubbing shoulders with guys who can take him to the top of the sport. I'm looking forward to hearing how Bob Rolle pronounces his last name... hey Bob, here's a hint... it isn't Ka Puff Nut.

WTG TK

You've Read About It Already...

2008-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

The kidlets have done a decent job of updating their blogs, so you already know how Junior Nationals went from their perspective. Thought I'd throw in a bit of my own...

For five years I've been taking kids to Nats. Some years as few as two, others as many as eight. Of all those years we've only come short of a podium spot once.

Success? I don't know... three times we've stood on the second step. Twice we've stood on the fourth step, once the fifth step. DBCJRT kidlets have also finished sixth three times and seventh once. Impressive on paper, but some would say we've never worn a jersey.

Success? I've seen the success when the kidlets are laughing together in a hotel room, or sliding down some crazy bobsled track, or besting eachother at putt-putt golf. If getting kids out of Davis, watching them bond together as teammates and friends, seeing them develop as individuals all in the name of bike racing can be called success then we can call it success.

Success? I've seen kidlets collapse in puddles following a road race. I've seen kidlets break down in tears after coming up just short. I've seen kidlets shrug their shoulders at second place and congratulate the winner. I've heard kidlets say that they finished 35th because they raced to win, not for second or third or fourth place. In all cases I've seen kidlets who know they've given their best and couldn't have done anything more. That is success.

AWfoSho said that "Pops still doesn't have a jersey." But I have a lot of memories from Nationals that may just add up to more than a jersey.

Because...

2008-08-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

...if I write it here, I don't have to talk about it to G'ma on the phone, and Thor will have some more summer reading.

It's been awhile, but this is what I remember...

DBCJRT took first and second in the 3's at Springhill... Andreas first, Staz second. And TK gave us our second p/1/2 victory in his version of the same race.

While Staz was playing blue falcon (thanks Jaques) at Springhill, El Gigante was squeaking out a few more upgrade points at Lafeyette thanks to help from EOB and Jaques.

While Andreas, Alex F, and Taps were tearing up the junior track championships, El Gigante was working towards his upgrade at Berkeley and AWfoSho finally got his J back... banging elbows with the big boys.

TK rode to a 6th place overall in Quebec at l'Abitibi version 1.0. Still waiting for results from version 2.0. With nationals coming up, TK will have raced something like 17 races in 20 days... hopefully, we worked the program right so he is peaked for LaLa land and not trashed...

Which brings me up to today... the result sheet at Timpani showed little Alex F atop the 13/14 race and El Gigante cut it as close as he possibly could... he needed third in the 3's for his last 4 upgrade points. He finished 4th. He now sits at 24 of a needed 25 points. Which, more than anything, means we get to keep racing after nationals in August. Heard that Suisun Harbor is pretty this time of year.

BTW, the BAR/BAT junk has been updated again. DBC is second overall, and El Gigante is 5th overall in the 3's. Staz is 9th and Andreas 90th in the same. AWfoSho is 47th in the p/1/2 category and TK is 18th. Speaking of results and rankings, check this one out... or this one...

Be sure to check out the kidlets blogs for all the details... and make sure you read the history of the blog as compiled by Mechanical. He's got things for the most part correct. Oh, and he lived up to his nickname on the d-ride the other day when his crank fell off. I think the kidlet did it on purpose just so I'd have to push him all the way home...

Independence Day...

2008-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

I was hoping, what with all the kidlets blogging now, that I'd be released from my duties on the interwebs... alas, it looks like the kiddos aren't quite ready for independence yet. Maybe a few writing lessons in the near future...

Anyways, let's jump into the way-back machine and dial it up to a week or so ago.

Dateline Burlingame, CA: If you read Staz's blog or El Gigante's, you pro'ly know that Staz wrapped himself around a parking meter while trying to serve up a few points to his teammate. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, but thankfully Staz is none the worse for wear...

Dateline Davis, CA: Got a call from Taps begging his way out of a $20 wager at Wednesday Worlds. See, he was talkin' big in his new blog and needed to be knocked down a notch or two (fact check before publishing, Taps), so I let him off even tho he'd pr'd last time he threw down south of Davis. He may not quite be ready for a new email address yet, but he's definitely getting faster. Keep after it Taps!

If you read Andreas' blog you know that he and his little brother gutted out some serious volunteer hours. While they were keeping their eyes on the prize a bunch of the other kidlets were doing laps around D-town. Staz and Taps piece the story together pretty well... and I'm sure that Torey will fill in some of the holes soon. Mechanical wasn't racing because he's gearing up for swim-bike-run Nationals, but he's promised us a bunch of pics... And if you don't feel like doing the clicky click read read thing... TK, AWfoSho, Staz, PtotheArker, AJ, Torey, Taps, El Gigante, Karcherific, Kelbster, and Ryan all dug deep. In the end, the kidlets weren't quite clicking on the same page and we gave away what should have been a sure W to Lombardi's Huffman. Gotta hand it to the kid. He's going super strong right now, but two months worth of not racing together left TK and AWfoSho a little lacking in the communication department and that, more than anything, cost us in the finale... Ryan, however, did save DBCJRT face, with a convincing victory in the kids race! WTG Ryan...

Speaking of the kids race... Special thanks to Karcherific for loaning his baby-bikes to my nieces and nephews so they could participate.

A few of the boyz raced with the grown-ups... Torey, Taps, AJ, and PtotheArker in the 4's; Staz and El Gigante in the 3's; TK and AWfoSho in the p/1/2 race... pack finishes all, with Staz serving up a third spot in the 3's to El Gigante. Staz and El Gigante are chasing the final few points for the upgrades. 4 or 5 to go...

Mark Adkison has put up lotsa good pics of the festivities on the 4th.

Dateline Williams, CA: Staz wouldn't listen to me about the hill and the gravel and the pavement, but I'm sure he will be back to Leesville again. TK fell even further in love with the epic with a third place finish in the prosey event. Now if we could just get Giant to race positive instead of negative...

Dateline Vacaville, CA: It was hot and the hill was big, but... AJ beat his pops!!! Taps crashed but finished, Staz took a dig but came up short, El Gigante got curbed in the chicane, TK made the break, and AWfoSho finished DFL but over half the field DNF'd. Read all about it in the kidlet's blogs...

After a few writing lessons (class starts soon) the boyz may truly be ready to fly on their own, and I will have my own little independence day!

I've Been Remiss

2008-06-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

What with State Reports, 3rd trimester report cards, CUM folders, and what not I haven't had much of a chance to be creative.

But, to catch you up...

Napa was hot enough to start fires... EL Gigante and Staz raced the threes but succumbed to tunnel vision and head spins. AWfoSho went through three bottles in the hour long p/1/2 crit and was still thirsty. Tapinator busted a shifter cable, but still finished with the group. BTW the parcourse in downtown Napa was way cool... got to see all of the action while sitting under a shady tree on well-manicured lawn.

Diablo was, well, as expected. Andreas won the 15/16's easily. AWfoSho finished third in the 17/18's. Torey found out he can climb... with a solid 5th. And Taps put the hurt on El Gigante and Staz. When the dust settled, AWfoSho and Alex F sealed the deal on second place in their respective categories of the Junior Point Series...

Fires in the Valley are wreaking havoc on the best laid plans... VeloBob had to cancel the Gold Nugget Junior Stage Race. (make lemonade out of those lemons, Andreas.) and AWfoSho and I don't get to crew for Caren at Western States because the trail between Squaw Valley and Auburn is burning... but that means that I will get to see El Gigante and Staz race at Burlingame on Sunday morning. And, I won't have to dog sit on the weekends anymore for that silly little purse pup...

PaulMach.com finished 8th overall at the Tour de Nez which means I get to start sending out letters and emails to domestic pro teams on his behalf...

We're still waiting to hear whether or not TK gets to race his bike in South Africa at Worlds in July. Keep your fingers crossed...

There was a crash on Tuesday's RR. Sending good thoughts to FWS as he recovers from his attempts to mimic AWfoSho's shoulder injuries...

Two more blogologists throw ink into the world's biggest vanity press... El Gigante here and Staz here... Pretty soon I won't have to scribble anymore to let the world know what the kidlets are doing...

Former NorCal junior DHolla won stage 1b at the Tour of Pennsylvania. This kidlet will be getting paid next year... Other former NorCal juniors at the ToP include Tieni Duro's Julian Martinez, Max Jenkins, and Shawn Rosenthal. Good kidlets all...

Speaking of Tieni Duro... Good on Peter Taylor for getting to ride in Europe with USAC. And he doesn't even know anybody in Colorado. Good to see that results still count for something sometimes...

I'm sure there is more, but just can't squeeze it out of recall right now... besides, I'm on vacation for the next 6 weeks.

Pics, Pics, Pics...

2008-06-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

The pics from this weekend are slowly starting to trickle into my inbox... here are a couple of my favs...

Who says cats and dogs don't mix... although in this case I think Pico may be the cat and AWfoSho the dawg. In any case, AWfoSho was out like a light less than an hour before his start thanks to the effects of a grad night lock-in.

And who is this Nevada City Kitty? Staz forgot his kit at home... thankfully Hernandez was in a sharing mood. Thus Staz got to race the 3's as a cross dressing kitty. Imagine if he would have won the field sprint in baggies and a t-shirt. Thanks Mike!

A few more pics of the shindig at Livermore can be found here. And Nevada City pics are here. And pics from Andreas' Saturday sufferfest at Pescadero can be found here. Still nothing from Kentucky yet.

Race Recaps

2008-06-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

The kidlets were all over the place this weekend... TK in Kentucky; AWfoSho, El Gigante, Mechanical, Tapinator, Staz, Alex Freund, and AJ in Livermore; Staz in Nevada City.

TK was looking to seal up a spot on the World's team with a good ride at the Tour of the Red River Gorge. He came up just short of locking up a spot with a 2nd in Saturday's TT. He beat Bax and Brown, but Liebowitz handed it to the field. Phinney, Brown, and now Liebowitz have three of the four spots, so Sunday's RR was a battle between TK and Bax for what is most likely the final spot... Hot Tubes marked TK like a sharpie, but he still managed to beat Bax to the line... problem is that Jacob Rathe won, throwing his hat into the mix. Three guys, one spot. Let's hope that politics don't leave TK on the sideline. The kidlet has earned a trip. One possible savior may be Jerika Hutchinson... she may have done well enough that USAC will only take one girl, opening up a fifth spot for the boys... We'll see...

The rest of the kidlets were vying for a district crit championship in Livermore.

Alex F easily bested the rest of the 13/14 field to earn his third title this year... good on him. With a win at the Diablo Hill Climb he can also lock up the junior point series title.

The best race of the day in Livermore had to be the 15/16 affair. Specialized brought out all of their guns and fired shot after shot. AJ, Mechanical, Tapinator, and El Gigante were on the defensive all day chasing move after move... interesting race strategy by the S boys, refusing to work in any move that El Gigante or Peter Taylor were in, driving it if they missed the selection. Taps gets credit for the ride of the weekend with his dogged efforts to nullify three or four or five moves that the kidlets missed. Seriously, best ride the kid has ever laid down! AJ and Mechanical both gave everything to the cause as well. I'm proud of all of them. In the finale El Gigante bridged up to Specialized's Laberge who had attacked solo. Laberge sat on him for the entire last lap leaving El Gigante between a rock and a hard place... sit up and go back to the field or drag the kidlet to the line. Knowing that he wasn't the fastest finisher in the field, El Gigante chose to go to the line where Laberge out kicked him to take the jersey. It's hard to race against five or six hand picked kids.

The 17/18 race was less tactical, still we came up with the same result. Staz snuck away from the field early with Lombardi's Huffman, but not before dealing out a little pay back to the S boyz... Huffman was up the road solo and Specialized's Levaton was trying to go across to him. Staz rode Levaton halfway then attacked him. Staz made the juncture, Levaton didn't. With Staz up the road, AWfoSho repeatedly frustrated the field's attempts to chase, shutting down everything that tried to go across. Staz and Huffman doggedly clung to a slim lead until the last lap when Huffman escaped Staz's clutches and soloed to victory. Staz crossed second and AWfoSho EASILY mopped up the field sprint for third...

Staz is an enigma. The boy cleans up the 3's, but can't crack the nut that is junior racing. Rumor has it that he finished 2nd at Nevada City in the 3's earlier today... taking the field sprint but with a solo artist up the road. However, in all of his attempts at junior racing he has won but once... a tiny little affair at Berkeley Hills with a field of four a few years back. Staz knows that we really don't count that one... but danged the boy can ride a 3's race. El Gigante better hurry up with those last few points or Staz is gonna get a mandatory and move on without him.

Desparately Seeking Shoes

2008-06-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

El Gigante's shoes were a little on the tired side... the heel cups were pretty much shot, the funky little lace thing had busted and was tied in a knot, and to top it off, I stripped out one of the bolt holes when I was replacing a cleat for him early last week.

Cycling shoes, being pretty personal and all... we thought we had replacements located late last week. Even brought 'em home. A snappy looking pair, all plastic and carbon and pleather.

Since G'ma and G'pa will be arriving soon for AWfoSho's graduation I figured I'd do a little cleaning. Tossed El Gigante's old shoes out with the trash to make room for the new ones... plus, those things stunk!

Problem is, El Gigante was wearing rather thick socks when he tried the new shoes on. Once he put cycling socks on, his feet were swimming in said shoes. Feet swimming in shoes is okay if you are a ten-year-old kidlet with growing feet. It's not okay if you are planning on riding ten to fifteen thousand miles in them, especially if you fashion yourself somewhat of a field sprinter. And more importantly it's not okay when I drop a few c-notes on the darn things. Back to the Wheelworks with the shoes...

Got the new pair on order, but they won't arrive until later this week. Andrew Wike graciously loaned his shoes to El Gigante to race in this weekend... as he handed them to the kidlet I think I heard him mumble something about winning in them. Not sure if he wanted El Gigante to win so he could claim part of the victory, or if he wanted him to win because he felt bad for his shoes because they had never actually been on a podium... ( jk enter Andrew. Thanks for saving the day!) Anyways, El Gigante couldn't scrape together a "W", but he did manage to finish 5th in the 3's and 3rd in the juniors. Me thinks he should donate his winnings to Andrew...

BTW, DBCJRT had a field day in the junior race today... AJ, PtotheArker, El Gigante, and AWfoSho combined to take all of the primes and the overall win.

AND... Tapinator has an extra pair of shoes for El Gigante to train in until his new ones arrive.

It's unscientific and all, but it's still fun...

2008-06-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

The boyz over at NCNCA got the BAR/BAT thing updated through Modesto... DBC currently sits second with 746 points. Coolio... but what is really cool is that the DBCJRT portion of DBC accounts for about 430 of those points. okay, so I just did a quick count... nothing scientific, but still. And that doesn't count all of TK's points that we didn't get credit for because USACycling lists him as USA National Team in their database. Fun stuff when you don't have anything else to do on a Tuesday evening...

Catching up... again

2008-06-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

A few randoms in no particular order...

TK should be home from his European escapade by now. On Saturday the kidlet did well... finishing second on the stage. On Sunday the kidlet touched pavement. Rumor has it that he was one of two boyz from the good old U.S. of A. left in the lead group. Second hand reports put him on the very front with three or four K's to go. Somehow he wrecked... stitches on the lower leg, concussion on the noggin. TK doesn't remember anything immediately preceding the wreck or for an hour afterwards. Taylor Phinney, who was with him in the group, didn't see what happened. Just saw him on the ground. Jimbo called to give me the knews and scared me to death. Concussions are nothing to play around with, but I thought he was gonna tell me that TK had busted something up that would keep him out of Worlds... aaack

While TK was spending Sunday in hospital the rest of the DBCJRT kidlets grabbed a handful of silver medals at Dunlap... Rookie in the 13/14 women, Andreas in the 15/16 boys, AWfoSho in the 17/18 boys. Alex F one-upped his teammates with his second championship this year by winning the 13/14 boys race quite handily... Mark's pics can be found here

Staz and El Gigante raced with the proseys at ICCC's Dash for Cash... 135 riders that kept it strung out for 75 minutes. El Gigante got caught behind a crash with 4 to go ending his ride, but Staz came out of the final turn eighth wheel... problem was that he was already spun out in his 14. lost quite a few spots in the drag race. Time for more of Jesse's 140 rpm drills...

Speaking of Jesse... coach gets to ride with a composite team at Nature Valley in a few weeks. Good on him for earning the spot with his finish at Wente last month.

And while we are on the subject of fast guys... Rookie and PtotheArker joined me for the junior ride this eve. We then joined that local pro Switters kid, TDibble, and their better third, Amy Encalada for a quick twenty mile jaunt. When I first met Rookie she was wearing a Rock Racing hoodie looking more like one of the Rock podium girls than the athlete she is... anyways, it was fun to see her get just a little bit excited about riding with a guy from her favorite team.

Then there is my favorite team... Mechanical's dad sent me a few shots of the kidlets at Dunlap. I'll post 'em as time allows.

From TK across the pond

2008-05-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

TK's email to his pops...

I finally got some internet access here...so the race is over and I'm getting a bit sick, but I'm taking vitamins and cold medicine and I think I'll be okay before PDV starts. The first day of PDV is just a 3k TTT, so I have till friday to really get healthy.The race went pretty well. We won the KOM with Nick and I was his leadout man for the KOM sprints. It was fun working with him, and we won most of the sprints. Nate wore the best young rider jersey but he crashed on a descent on the last day and had a concussion and broke his wrist so he's out for PDV. I guess they're sending over Cody Foster to take his place. I didn't have a great ride in the TT, but the road stages all went well for me. I was in the big break on the first day with Nate. We got about 20 guys and we rolled up to almost a 2 minute lead. I drove it while Nate sat in, because he was the obvious GC guy. That stage finished on some really hilly circuits in the city and after driving the break away for 50k I got dropped with about 10k to go when the #1 guy in the world, Michael Kwiatkowsky of Poland, attacked the break. It worked out good though because Nate still finished in the break with a minute over the field. I finished in the pack.I found it pretty easy to ride at the front, even though it rained at least a bit every day. On the fourth stage I was in a four man break from about 25k out. I dropped the others on a long twisty descent and we never quite worked together real well. We had 35 seconds with about 7k to go, but Kwiatkowsky had his whole team on the front chasing. I went solo at the bottom of the final climb and got swallowed up with 500m to go. overall it was a good race for me in that I could really compete with the A-teams from all the top countries in the world.so I'll try and email again tomorrow.

and a few from Ben Sharp, USACycling's junior director...

Stage 1, moderately hilly terrain with 5 closing circuits that were all up or all down. 104km, Blieskastel-Saarbrucken, 21 teams of 6 riders, all national teams as this is a Nations Cup event.
The goal of the race was for everyone to stay out of trouble and make it to the closing circuits in tact. If a group slipped up the road, our ambition was to be represented. Brown and Phinney were the “protected” riders. The opening 2 circuits (before the point-to-point part of the race to get to the Saarbrucken included 2 trips up a very steep, wet, cobbled climb. Our riders managed to stay in the front and out of trouble, with Bax notching up first place points on the 2nd KOM. After about 60km, a massive group of 25 muscled their way up the road with Kuphaldt and Brown representing the Stars and Stripes. In an effort to help Brown gain time on the chasing peloton, Kuphaldt did his share of work and ended up paying for it as the group went away with about 15km to go, leaving him to finish with the peloton. Brown won a KOM on the finishing circuits and rolled in with the breakaway, in 20th. Phinney, Bax, and Kuphaldt eased across the finish line with the peloton and Leibovitz and Tickemyer lost contact in the finishing laps. The stage was won by Polish superstar Michael Kwiatkowski who bridged across the 40 second gap from the peloton to the breakaway, then won the gallop. Last year he was the World #1 ranked junior in the UCI and two weeks ago repeated his win at Course de la Paix in the Czech Republic.

Stage 2, slightly flatter terrain but with a difficult circuit of 22km to be repeated 3x at the end. 101.0km, Hoburg-Wittersheim.
A little bit of excitement today as Phinney flatted at the most inopportune time, on a narrow climb through a town but, the neutral support got him taken care of and he was able to get back into the bunch with Leibovitz’s help, after a 10km chase through the cars. Meanwhile, Bax was off the front with a German and a Dane, and able to earn points (and the jersey) in two more KOMs. The break came back before the final circuit and the group finished more or less in tact, with Sabastian Lander form Denmark taking the win. Kwiatkowski was second and able to extend his lead thanks to a time bonus. Brown, Kuphaldt and Phinney finished in the bunch while Leibovitz and Bax paid for their early efforts and came in well within the time cut. Tickemyer came off in the final 8km, a definite improvement from where he was a week ago.

Stage 3a, rolling 11.7km Time Trial, Bockweiler-Altheim.
On alternately drizzle-slick and dry roads the boys rode quite well this morning. It was incredible to have the rainbow jersey representing the U.S. in the T.T. final results are below. Kwiatkowski beat 2nd by 14 seconds with Phinney 20 seconds back. Brown is in the hunt for the Young Rider’s Competition after a sterling ride that should put him in the top-6 going into this afternoon’s stage. Adam Leibovitz was the 4th rider off and held the top time for about 45 minutes, eventually finishing in the top-10. Bax and Tickemyer, as per my instruction, took it relatively easy for the TT, with the intention being to have some strength to defend the KOM jesery. Kuphaldt had a solid ride to turn in a 15:05.
Phinney 4th, @ 20” (15th G.C.)
Brown 11th @ 32” (3rd G.C., best young rider)
Leibovitz 15th @ 38”
Kuphaldt 47rh @ 1’12”
Bax 86th @ 1’49” (KOM leader)
Tickemyer @ 1’53”

Stage 3b, hilly circuits on wet roads, 77.7km, Volklingen-Grosrossein
The plan was to defend the two jerseys and stay out of trouble in preparation for tomorrow’s 135km test. The event was relatively uneventful with no mishaps for USA. With some help from Leibovitz and Kuphaldt, Bax was able to take 4th on the sole KOM sprint and keep his lead by a mere one point over his Russian competitor. Kuphaldt found himself in an uncooperative break with 3 others that was caught on the final climb, about 250m from the finish. Because of splits in the peloton on the finishing climb, Brown slipped one spot on G.C. and lost the young rider’s jersey. The team however is in great shape and even after losing Tickemyer today are eager for tomorrow’s test.

and stage 4...

Stage 4, undulating 24km circuit to be completed 5.5 times, with twosignificant climbs per lap. Nothing too steep but quite long. 134 kmtotal.The race today started in Rimling, France and skirted the French/Germanborder. Within a stone's throw, you could hear two distinct languages asthe primary form of communication. The forecast was for high temperatureswhich we figured favored our boys. We had two strategies for the race:1) defend the KOM jersey for Bas, as his lead was narrow and the first threetimes up the first climb on the circuit counted for points.2) advance Brown's position in the G.C. On paper, it looked like he couldclaw his way into the top-3, earning the Young Rider's jersey along the way.Plan # 1 went to perfection. Bax dug deep and with the help of Kuphaldt andLeibovitz was able to match the accelerations of the Austrian, Sokol. Aftertwo ascents, no ground had been made up on Bax's lead and before the 3rdKOM, a group of 16 rode off the front. With no one there to mathematicallythreaten the dotted jersey, all Nick had to do was finish within the timecut to keep the fancy shirt.Plan # 2 didn't go so well. The first time off the descent of the KOM hill,Brown crashed solo into a tree. I estimate he was going close to 60km andinstantely came to a stop. When I got to the scene, the paramedics werealready there but, he had yet to move. My mechanic, Benoit, hopped out ofthe car and as he got to Nathan, they made eye contact. We saw him move hisright arm. Briefly we checked in with the medics and they assured us he wasok. Of course the race progressed and this being the land ofmis-information, we got alternating reports over the radio regarding hishealth. Eventually, it was confirmed that he was ok and had been taken tothe hospital by car (not by medi-vac as initially reported!!!) forobservation, the concern being the concussion he had sustained. It wascomforting to have most of the other team director's in the caravan ask,from time to time, if we had heard anything. Even the chief commissairecalled us to the front to see if we had any news. In the end, he broke hisright Radius and suffered a mild concussion. The trashed helmet (and intact skull) is a testimony to the value of wearing a lid. He's back at thehotel with us now and in moderate spirits. Being the trooper he is, evenafter I offered to arrange to get him home ASAP, he's going to endure theArmy Barracks at Pays de Vaud with his teammates.Back to the racing...The large breakaway dominated the race until the teamof Poland's race leader, Kwiatokowski took over at the front. They broughtall but two of the break back on the last lap and Belgium's Tosh van derSande held off the hard charging pack by 10 seconds to take the win.Phinney came across the line 14th with Kuphaldt easing across the line withthe field. Leibovitz showed even more signs of life today and motored achase group that finished 1:30 down. Finally, Bax came in with his KOMcrown a few minutes later.As a last minute replacement for Nathan Brown, Cody Foster is en route thisafternoon to meet us at Le Tour du Pays de Vaud in Switzerland. In themeantime, we are staying at the Hotel Bliesbruck in Herbitzheim, GER untilwe head to Moudon, SUI on Wednesday. They guys are enjoying some down timeand socializing with the podium girls from the weekend. Ah, to be 18.If last year is any indication, there will be no internet available while weare in Switzerland. I will try to get word out on occasion on theBlackberry.Results for Trofeo Karlsberg can be found at www.romers.nl

pictures can be found at http://eventfotos.net/frames.htm

Racing with the Grown-ups

2008-05-27T23:05:00.001-07:00

A few years back AWfoSho and Thor went thru a period when they dominated the 3's... If memory serves it was 06 when they finished on the podium at Santa Rosa, EMC, and Golden State. The rest of the 3's started marking them... paying attention to what DBCJRT was doing.

I guess it is becoming a kind of tradition...

Rewind for a moment to the 08 EBC crit. Staz manhandled the 3's, taking the field sprint for the top spot. Next up Golden State. I keep waiting for the pics of the 3's finish to come up. Somebody has to have a picture of Staz's victory salute... Arms spread wide, eyes rolled up to the sky. The impression was one of, "come on guys, that was too easy!" And yesterday the kidlets did it again... Staz made a perfect job of showing El Gigante how it is done... delivering him to the last corner first. Where El Gigante could do nothing but cross the line first... three consecutive races, three "W"s... The kidlets are marked again... El Gigante says that the fight for Staz's wheel on the last lap was epic... elbows, shoulders, the whole nine yards. the field sprint was full-blown out-of-the-saddle banging. And the kidlet's big enough that I wouldn't want to be leaning on him when push comes to shove. Staz and El Gigante will try to make it four in a row in Pleasanton this weekend.

AWfoSho spent Monday afternoon prime whoring... with all the big dawgs (DHolla, McCook, Magnall, Vigus, Klein) out to play, he figured the best place to showcase his skills was during prime laps... The kidlet bided his time at the back of the pack while the prime bell rang for coffee and bike shop gift certificates. He waited for the big money primes later in the race... Timing was perfect when, with six laps to go, the boyz chasing the win chose to sit in and save it for the finale... The bell rang for $100 and AWfoSho came out to play... a quick bridge to a solo break, an equally quick attack of the break, and AWfoSho soloed across the line to claim his crisp $100 bill. Funny thing is that he earned as much as DHolla did for the win. Maybe someday he'll be the one foregoing the primes for the victory, but he was more than happy to take the big money prime on this day.

I know that some of the other kidlets raced all grown-up like in the 4's and 5's, but haven't got the reports yet... chime in boyz. As soon as I know more I will pass it along...

And just to whet your appetite, got a few emails from across the pond... TK finally found a moment to update us. I'll do my best to compose those into a little something for you to read tomorrow night.

In the mean time, feast your eyes...

El Gigante and Staz start the 3's at Golden State

Janwich always complains that he can't watch the race and take video or pics at the same time... I say priorities, dude. I'd like to say that he is usually better at it, but I've come to expect this... either way, this is the only finishing shot of Staz at Golden State that I've found.

At least this one isn't blurry...

This finish line shot of El Gigante at Memorial Day Crit belongs to Scott Mosher. Check out the real deal at http://em.scottmosherphotography.com/p/940e3/2008-05-26-5109

Scott also got this shot of AWfoSho on his way to payday at the Memorial Day Crit

GoldenMountHamiltonMemorialStateDayCrit...

2008-05-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

or something like that... it all gets crazy-mixed-up when there is so much racing going on.

Saturday it rains, but the kidlets aren't made out of sugar and spice so they don't melt. AJ, Mechanical, Tapinator, Torey, El Gigante, Staz, AWfoSho, and Rookie (don't know why she didn't melt because she's a princess and must be made of sugar and spice) braved rain slicked roads and a new 180 degree hairpin in the junior showdown at Golden State. Lombardi's Evan Huffman had made a bet with ex-dbcjrt-kidlet-turned-terrorist Thor, saying he'd beat AWfoSho... game on! The race turned into a slugfest between Huffman and AWfoSho... off the front, bring him back, off the front, bring him back... meanwhile, Mechanical was touching pavement in the u-turn, Tapinator was trying to figure out the whole wet pavement thing, Staz was puking, AJ and Torey were gutting it out and Rookie was riding laps around her competition in the ladies version of the same race. In the end, El Gigante threw his chances at a "W" in the 15/16 affair to the wind so that he could lay down a sick lead-out for big bro. And AWfoSho made Thor $10.00 richer... while Rookie took her first "W" in the ladies contest.

Sunday the roads tipped skyward and Andreas was the sole kidlet at Mount Hamilton... learning to suffer like a champ... hat's off for finishing that thing.

Monday the sun finally came out. And Specialized had their act together. AWfoSho felt the frustration of being a marked man in the 17/18 race... anybody else goes up the road and everybody looks to him to bring it back. He goes up the road and, well, you know that saying about stink on... the whole field is all over him. At one point, with Huffman up the road, Mechanical and El Gigante dug deep into the pain cave to bring the race back together for their captain, assuring a field sprint... until Specialized starting playing tricks. With one to go, they started attacking and countering. AWfoSho covered the first two while the rest of the pack sat on him. Then Avis took off and the kidlet hesitated a moment too long... Avis had 15 meters on AWfoSho out of the last corner. AWfoSho had fifteen meters on the pack. And that's the way it ended with Staz best of the rest of the field to take the third spot... Little LaBerge won the 15/16 race for Specialized and an up-and-coming Marcus Smith did the same for the Sboyz by nipping Alex Freund at the line in the 13/14 race... Good on the kidlets wearing red...

That's how the junior versions shook out anyways... but there were big doin's in the elite categories for the kidlets... something about two more "W"s, $100 primes, and up-grade points...

those tales will have to wait for another night because I can see heavy eyelids on all the young'ns 'bout now.

btw, Janwich took the pic at Golden State. I think the kidlets were telling me how it was gonna all go down. Either that or we were looking at the... well, who knows what we were looking at.

Lotsa Action...

2008-05-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

The kidlets were racing all over the place this weekend...

While a bunch of the boys were volunteering at the Davis Double Century on Saturday, El Gigante and AWfoSho made the trek to Modesto for a little crit action (hadn't been to Rick and PJ's race before, but gotta admit, they put on a good show). El Gigante suffered in the heat during the 3's race, finally succumbing when the asthma monster crushed his chest in a vise... didn't stick around for the finish of the 3's, so don't know how it all turned out because in one of those quirks, the proseys raced before the 3's. Two bottles were barely enough to get AWfoSho through the heat blasted, 60-minute fast guys contest, but he was able to squeak out a 4th place... behind Viktor Rapinsky and DHolla no less.

Sunday's racing saw DBCJRT kidlets spinning at Panoche, searching for a district championship... early reports from my not too reliable source have the 15/16 podium as Peter Taylor, Andreas Freund, and Ryan Eastman... in that order. The same source says that Alex Freund took the jersey in the 13/14 race. Wish I had more to report, but I guess we'll have to wait for the tales of guts and glory to surface on the interwebs a little later.

Staz, AWfoSho, and El Gigante chose to hit Rick and PJ up one more time for the world's biggest crit. More formally known as the Modesto RR, the course is a pancake flat, nine mile circuit. Most of the fields stayed together all day because the air was dead still and hot enough to melt butter. DHolla single handedly kept things together in the prosey race then easily dispatch the bunch in the field sprint. AWfoSho eaked out another top ten, finishing ninth. The only race, that I know of, that didn't end in a bunch kick was the 3's. Three riders snuck away early and maintained a slim 45 second advantage til the line. Staz did his best to bring the escapees to bare, but it wasn't his day. El Gigante finished second in the bunch kick behind the break to nab fifth on the day. Good enough for a few more upgrade points, five bucks, and a t-shirt...

those in the know... use a little bandwidth to fill me in on the happenings at Panoche... I'm curious...

It's just that corner...

2008-05-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

There is something about that corner... you know the one. You're just about home, relaxed, spinning easy, goofing off just a bit. The ride is almost over.

In our case, that corner is off of Arlington and onto the Village Homes' bike path. That corner got Kelbster once, Karcherific another time. This evening it got April... The thought crossed my mind shortly before making the left hander that I should warn the kidlets, but I didn't...

April, like Karcherific and Kelbster before her, hit those rolly polly little pine cone thingies and washed the front wheel out. She moves right quick though and got unclipped and caught herself with her hands before knee and hip could hit the ground. Not a mark on her...

Karch and Kelbster are all boy... when they hit the ground they drew blood. April, she's just a princess. Much to regal and demure to bother with any blood.

Thought maybe I could get the nickname, Princess, to stick... but earlier in the ride I'd already settled on Rookie... for the rookie marks that April likes to sport on her right leg. Mechanical is jealous of her new moniker, but I told him, "Too bad!" He earned Mechanical... and Rookie suits April much better anyway...

but what's in a name anyway?

looks like we got it right...

2008-05-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

TK is heading to Europe in a week or so...

which kinda posed a problem. The season plan had him peaked for Sea Otter in search of that elusive win. But, with the Europe trip following so close on the heels of the Otter Jesse kinda had his work cut out for him. The problem was that the time in between was too long to maintain a peak, but not long enough to really take TK all the way down and rebuild him...

Talked to the kidlet this evening. He finished third at Bazerkely Hills today in the proseys. He was second, but Jesse passed him in the finale... TK says he has his race legs back like he did early in the season. Jesse got it just right... shut TK down after the Otter, but kept the engine idling with just enough rpms to allow it to crank back up for the European campaign... BUT not quite enough rpms to beat the old coach at Berkely Hills!!!

TK will have access to the interwebs across the pond so watch for updates in a week or so...

Chris 'I got the W' Stastny

2008-05-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

Staz crept within one point of his 2's upgrade today at the EBC crit. With a short finishing stretch, Staz launched his sprint between the 3rd and 4th corner, took the hole shot into the final straightaway and held off the charging field to earn his second W of the season...

El Gigante finished shortly behind, in 8th...

It's been fun to watch Staz's attitude change from I can barely hang with the 3's to I own the 3's over the last few months. Coolio when a kid figures it out.

You all know already...

2008-05-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

got scooped by Hernando today, but not because he found out before me. Got to read EOB's email in real time. It's just that 31 fifth-graders wouldn't give me a spare moment to post this morning.

But, what Mike doesn't know is that I was instrumental in getting PaulMach.com to shave his legs (no matter what Paul tells you) and Phil 'shoot for the' Mooney still owes me $42 for the helmet he will be wearing when he races tomorrow and Sunday... I even have nicknames for the collegial kidlets. Yes, both those boys race for DBC when they aren't wearing cow kits, I've cooked dinner for them in tiny extended-stay kitchenettes and handed up bottles to them in too many feedzones not to claim them as my own. Tdibble and Shawn R both are DBC products as well...

gotta grab a piece of the stars and bars jersey while I can :)

BTW Tdibble thinks I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread...

Congrats boys. now go get a couple more jerseys!!!

So...

2008-05-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

El Gigante is home sick... and telling me that I need to post something just so he has some verbage to read.

Well, here's what's up...

Kelbster's riding dirt on Wednesday evenings...

Mechanical has been doing that swim, bike, run thing. And doing it quite well...

AWfoSho got beat by Greg Andersen again at Wednesday Worlds...

TK missed his start time again. Thank God that Wednesday Worlds happens again in two weeks...

Tapinator's got a new position on his TT rig...

Davitamon's been racking up huge volunteer hours. Gotta hand it the boy who can't even race this year...

The Aggie boys and girls have run off to CO to win a few stars and bars jerseys. Go PaulMach.com, go TDibble, go Phil 'shoot for the' Mooney...

AWfoSho is not pronounced Aah fo show. It is pronounced A Dub fo Show...

I still have a bunch of Rudy Project glasses that need to get picked up...

Astana's going to the Giro... oh, that is old news. But, Velonews (the paper version) still doesn't know it yet...

Velonews (the cybersmut version) lists Tom Danielson as a contender for the maglia rosa... sphincter sez waa?

Protour cycling loses its luster after the Spring Classics are over... the grand tours are fun and all, but oh so predictable...

Petacchi won't sprint...

Hushovd can't sprint... fast enough...

TK's leavin' on a jet plane in 9 days to race his bike all eurostyle...

Other than that, not much is going on...

Off Days...

2008-05-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Got to spend the day with the carpet cleaner and the mop. Was kinda weird sleeping in on a Saturday morning. With housekeeping on the docket, I figured that the longer I slept in the longer I could put off the chores...

While I was playing happy homemaker Tapinator, Andreas, Alex F and Staz were playing in Los Gatos. Don't know much except that Staz was 8th in the 3's and that we grabbed a couple of third places in the junior races. details anyone?

I guess that Swift's Ryan Eastman tore it up again, winning both the junior 15/16 race and the 3's... that boy's got loads of talent and is hyper-motivated right now. Hope he can stay on top of the form and not ride the J out of his legs before nationals.

Wente Weekend Whatnots

2008-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

so...

the results are here... at least for the crit. But, they are screwed up. They have a bunch of masters guys winning the junior 17/18 race. Good ego boost for the old dudes, I guess. Nothing up from the road race... but that's not really important... what is important is that Kelbster, Torey, Tapinator, and PtotheArker all won battles with the hills, heat, and wind... 3 demons that conspired to dnf over half of the p/1/2 field. The kidlets done good... they all finished. they all can be proud.

Speaking of demons... AWfoSho did battle with his own demons on Sunday.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened... according to one publication in the know, anyway. Even though I teach in a fifth-grade classroom, which is practically a war zone, I've never even come close to seeing PTSD in real life... until Sunday.

The junior race was the first of several races that was halted for emergency vehicles... not sure one was really necessary, but I guess it is a parent's prerogative... and the kidlets got to sit next to flashing lights and sirens for, oh, about twenty minutes or so. Once things got all sorted out and racing resumed El Gigante continued his march to the finish with Specialized's Marcus Smith in tow, and the 17/18 crowd was left to sprint it out for the top spot in their race.

The finishes were kinda anti-climactic. Marcus made a gentleman's deal with El Gigante... "tow me to the line and I won't sprint." The kidlet was true to his word. The 17/18's finished in a lack-luster bunch kick (congrats to Lucas Lebow by the way). AWfoSho crossed the line third and promptly disappeared.

I found him fifteen minutes later in the back seat of the car in a cold sweat and trembling. The ambulance triggered some sort of recall and did a little number on his thinker. Literally took a few good firm slaps to the side of the face to bring him out of it...

Being the suck-it-up kinda guy I am, I forced (not really, because he knew I was right) AWfoSho to race the p/1/2 race later in the afternoon. If he didn't get right back on the horse it probably would never happen. Unfortunately he got to see the p/1/2 women try to decide who could leave the most skin on the pavement not once but twice, listen to everybody talk about crashing, and see ladies and gents walk around all mummified up in gauze and cotton for three hours before his race started. I was pretty close to packing it all in and taking him home. At one point he was fighting off tears... the kidlet loves bike racing, but knows what it takes to be at the sharp end of a crit in the final laps. he was worrying that he didn't have it anymore. Finally settled on putting a radio in his ear so I could talk him thru the prosey event... you know, keep it light, offer encouragement, tell him to nut up... whatever it took.

And then the fun began... we joked our way thru pre-start nerves from 200 meters distant, I asked him to get Roman Kilun's autograph for me, as he was lined u next to him. We made up secret code words, just in case somebody was listening in. My call sign was big daddy, his hemophiliac (just because he didn't know what it meant). We poked an awful lot of fun at BPG just because they had like seventy-five guys in the race all miked-up and spotters stationed every twenty meters along the course. And AWfoSho rolled around at the back of the field. He was racing, but he wasn't really racing.

So, when the prime bell rang and the field was all together I mentioned that he could take his chica out to dinner with the twenty bucks... then, as an afterthought, I told him El Gigante volunteered to double it with his winnings from the junior race and he could take the girlfriend out to a movie as well.

When the field came into sight around the final corner there was AWfoSho in the right hand gutter, out of the saddle, going full-tilt. He'd come from the back to the front in a lap. The cool thing was that in the left hand gutter was DHolla, out of the saddle going full-tilt in his stars and stripes skin suit. Drag race... it's not often that somebody beats DHolla in a drag race, but on this occasion, AWfoSho took the twenty bucks while El Gigante was yelling at me that I had to match the $20... he wasn't paying for it.

Just a small positve... but it was enough. AWfoSho stayed at the front and banged elbows and shoulders with the big dawgs for the final laps of the race before throwing out the anchor and drifting to the back. baby-steps... He'll be back. It's in his blood.

by the way... got a text message this morning. "Transfer the $40 into my bank account, please" I did so with a smile on my face...

What to watch for at Wente

2008-04-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Alex F, Torrey, Tapinator, AJ, and Kelbster will queue up at the start line for the 15/16 fiesta... they'll be racing in a stacked junior field. Gone are the days where 8 or 9 kidlets lined up. The 2008 version of Wente features a field of 36 kidlets in the 15/16 race. Big hitters such as Swift's Eastman, Tieni Duro's Taylor, and Specialized's Shaffer and Bentley all are taking the start. Odds on favorite has to be Eastman with his two wins at Sea Otter, but Taylor or Bentley could steal the show if things break their way. Sukys of Expert Tree Service could throw a monkey wrench into the works if the favorites aren't careful... without any pure climbers in the mix, DBCJRT will probably be fighting for scraps in this one. Sounds like a day for some aggressive riding by the kidlets from Davis. No sense sitting in waiting for the finale when you can't get up that final hill as fast as the big hitters. Who knows... maybe something will slip away with one of my kidlets in it and we'll pull something out of our hat.

The 17/18 race will be a much smaller affair but not much easier to predict... all the top dawgs in the 17/18 grupetto will be racing in the pro/1/2 event which means that a guy like PtotheArker, Bolster, or Christensen could steal the show... Specialized's Levaton has a decent shot, but only if he can fight thru the, err, cramps that he always seems to suffer when it gets hard. Should be fun to watch who comes up the hill first.

Don't think I've ever seen a full p/1/2 field at Wente before, but this year is darn close. If it isn't full now, it will be by the time reg closes in the morning. With a slot at the Nature Valley GP on the line the boys will be firing on all cylinders. Unless a local pro slips into the field at the last minute, I've gotta give the nod to Mattis or DBCJRT coach Jesse Moore of Giant, but Nate English, Z Team's phenom, could slip in with his first p/1/2 victory if he can hang with the seasoned vets on the descent. Nate's been riding a rocketship thru the categories... unfortunately the steep trajectory has left him lacking in the handling department, something that was painfully evident at Martinez. As for the DBCJRT kidlets, AWfoSho is in it for the miles, TK has an outside shot of being there for the finale. Keep the fingers crossed. Swift's Brandt will be riding his first ever p/1/2 race, but the boy has done his work in the 3's. He's definitely ready. I'm looking forward to watching his ride...

The 3's should be a wide open affair. Looks like most of the "just moving thru" guys have moved thru for this year, but you never know. El Gigante, Staz, and Andreas will be toeing the line for DBCJRT... I made Staz a promise regarding his predicted victory, but I'm pretty sure I won't have to follow thru. El Gigante just wants to test himself against a full field on a hilly road course. With 100 riders, he should be able to sag climb for a few laps. Andreas is going to have to overcome demons on the descent, but he should be able to climb with all but the very best mountain goats in the 3's.

For flatlanders, Wente can be painful. But, there is always the crit on Sunday! Yeehaw!!!

And that's all I have to say about that...

Rewind...

2008-04-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I mentioned this cat I met in the feed zone at Madera...

We're sittin' there all chit chattin' and what not when he mentions that his racer is gonna be pissed off because he missed his feed.

So I respond with something along the lines of, "When they start paying you then they can be pissed off."

And my man quips, "They're paying me... quite well."

Now my interest is piqued and my ears perked up... "What's this?" I think to myself.

I guess the perplexed look on my face must have asked the questions for me because this guy who seems to have figured something out hands me his card. The card got lost somewhere in the pile of Gu wrappers and water bottles on the floor of my car, but the gist of it was...

You pay me $200 plus expenses and I will wrench, feed, drive, fill water bottles and do your laundry for you while you race... basically, I will treat you like a pro sans the massage.

The guy was the real deal. He'd previously earned his living wrenching in a bike shop, made a few contacts with Daddy Warbucks and his compatriots and the rest is history. He'd been to Phoenix and Baker City, Bend and all points California with his clients... road trips, he'd drive the car with all the equipment whilst the clients flew.

"here's my bike. pick me up at the airport. oh, and I'd like two scoops of cytomax in my bottle, my eggs over easy, and put a little of that butter in my chamois."

"yes'r" or yes'm"

Can't figure this one out. Part of me is thinking that it is a good gig, if you love bike racing... part of me is thinking that one couldn't pay me enough to do that. But, then again, I do it for free for a bunch of kidlets every weekend...

Anyways, I'm all wonderin' just who would really pay for this stuff... I mean, the 35+ crowd would be the target audience I guess... lots of extra dough laying around for most of those cats. Why do you think bike shops won't give 35+ers sponsorships worth anything more than a minor discount. So I sneak a peak the next time the boy's on the job passing out bottles.

Shor'nuff shoulda guessed it... he was passing up bottles to a team full of guys in red and white with a big S on their chest. Hmm? as if those guys needed anymore of an advantage...

Pics from Sea Otter

2008-04-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

Just got these from JimboH...

AWfoSho finishes solo to win the 17/18 Road Race

The 17/18 Road Race Podium... AWfoSho first, TK second,

Evan Huffman third, Bryan Larson fourth, and Tyler Brandt fifth

TK finishes solo to win the 17/18 Circuit Race

The 17/18 Circuit Race Podium... TK first, Tyler Brandt second,

Bryan Larson third, Conner O'Leary fourth, Scotty Tickmeyer (not pictured) fifth

The 15/16 Road Race Podium... Peter Taylor first, Ryan Eastman second,

Benny Swedberg (not pictured) third, Joel Shaffer fourth, El Gigante fifth

And my favorite... from left to right: El Gigante, Staz, AWfoSho

and TK with the Otter!

Saturday at Sea Otter

2008-04-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Given that Salinas is home to the Steinbeck Center, I'm thinking that Dust Bowl might have been a more appropriate title to this post...

Sounds like the wind was howling today 'round Laguna Seca, stirring up more than a little dust. TK rode about a third of the gutterfest that was the NRC circuit race before succumbing to the hill... except it wasn't the uphill that killed him. It was the descent. Couldn't quite turn the 14 over fast enough and once the gap opened... well, you know how fast the big dawgs ride.

But, the Kuphaldts are bringing home a jersey anyway. TK's pops, Jim, couldn't let his kidlet outdo him, so he went out and won the 35+ 5's circuit race. I've suspected for a long time that TK has some special blood running thru his veins. Jim's victory today confirms it :)

Totals from the Otter... four junior races, two wins, one second place, three total podiums. And, you can add one more jersey to that because dads are honorary DBCJRT athletes!

Sea Otter Day Two

2008-04-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

Don't have many details, but I can tell you this...

TK did his thing today in the 17/18 Circuit Race, winning solo... sounds like he was about 300 meters off the front when he crossed the line, but it didn't come easy. According to Jim he had to beat himself silly over and over again trying to get off the front before he finally escaped. Couldn't be happier for the kidlet. He's worked hard for that jersey... AWfoSho's legs were pretty cooked from yesterday's effort, but he did what he could to help his teammates before popping off the back. He and Staz ended up finishing a couple minutes down.

El Gigante squeaked himself onto the podium in the 15/16 race. Rumor has it he was dropped at one point but chased back on to manage fifth in the finale. Jim has been giving him a bad time... saying that he would never forget the moment. See, podium girls were handing out kisses... what a place for a first kiss!

For four years DBCJRT has been reaching for Sea Otter jerseys... we came within half a wheel two years ago... This year we swept the junior races!!!

BTW, 17/18 road race results can be found here. and 15/16's here.

Early reportage from the Otter...

2008-04-17T17:29:00.001-07:00

When the cell phone started vibrating at 2:15 or so this afternoon I wanted nothing more than to tell my students to put their heads down so I could take the call... but, being all professional like, I figured I'd better wait...

spent the last half hour of the day oscillating between, "somebody wrecked" and "somebody won!" every time the phone would vibrate...

when the bell finally rang and I had a chance to check the voicemail I heard a severely out of breath kidlet say, "Dad, I won the road race... call me back!"

AWfoSho escaped the group early in the first lap and soloed 50 plus miles to win by two minutes... at one point he had nursed his lead to five minutes. A fear of being caught kept the pedals ticking over up the hill to the line, where he collapsed into a pile of delirium, blurred vision, panting lungs, and twitching muscles...

TK mopped up the finishing group with an attack at the base of the final climb and crossed the line 30 seconds ahead of the chasers... Staz finished in the top ten. Still waiting for reports on Brian.

Top two steps on the podium... I couldn't be prouder of the kidlets

In the 15/16 race, El Gigante battled valiantly to a tenth place. He made it to the base of the finishing climb with the lead group, but it sounds like a break of five may have been up the road. Going up the climb El Gigante set tempo on the front to ward off the inevitable attacks. When the attacks came the big guy couldn't match them, but he rode sensibly within himself to make sure he wasn't caught from behind... the kidlet is learning how to race his bike!

Stupid work... first race I've missed in five years and the kidlets go big!!!

The Traveling Circus

2008-04-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

Rushed home from school today to make sure the laundry was done and the kidlets had everything packed up for their little trip to Laguna Seca...

Sorta let AWfoSho and El Gigante do their own thing with the packing... this one is their gig because I gotta be in the classroom Thursday and Friday. I figured I'd let them do all the baggage handling, etc. Looked like they made a decent job of it, so I sent 'em down the road.

And waited for the phone calls from the traveling circus to come in...

first one came from Janwitch. something about tiny hotel rooms or some sort of nonsense...

second one came from AWfoSho. something about forgotten licenses and scanners and faxes...

to tell the truth, I didn't pay much attention to either of them because I was enjoying a few moments with my feet up. And, American Idol was on...

But some new software installation, a few games with the printer, and a trip to the neighbors fax machine later and the licenses were sent off... told Janwitch that he could deal with the small beds...

aah Sea Otter... what a circus.

It's kinda hard to make predictions about what is gonna happen in the junior races because Active.com SUCKS... they don't have any pre-reg lists... all one can do is type in individual names and check to see if they are reg'd. And, I'll be damned if I'm gonna spend time typing in all the west coast kidlet's names.

But, I did type in a few... looks like the usual suspects from Specialized, Tieni Duro, Swift, and Ride for a Reason. A few big names from SoCal are missing... assuming I can spell... As for DBCJRT; TK, Staz, AWfoSho, El Gigante and Brian will be queueing up at the start line tomorrow and Friday...

Road Races... TK has to be one of the favorites in the 17/18 contest... the kidlets will be working for him on Thursday. El Gigante will be all by his lonesome in the 15/16 group. He'll be following wheels all day...

Circuit Races... AWfoSho says his legs feel good, Staz is on top of his game right now, and TK is always a threat. All three are capable of taking the W if things fall their way... AWfoSho will be saving his legs on Thursday for this one. He's kinda got a taste for it on his tongue and would like to win it once as a junior. Once again, El Gigante will be all by his lonesome in the 15/16 category. Prob'ly best to just follow wheels and hope to be there for the finale...

I'd like the kidlets to bring a couple of jerseys back to the greater Davis area with them... but Sea Slaughter is always a circus. One never knows what will happen.

I don't get it...

2008-04-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

So, all I know about Roubaix 2008 comes from reading the CyclingNews live report and all of the follow up articles... and I really don't get it.

I mean, these guys are supposed to be pros, and they race like a bunch of cat-5 amatuers.

Skipping most of the initial selections, lets look at the winning move... Cancellara forces it with 36K remaining and takes Boonen and Ballan with him. Good, solid move with the top favorites in it...

Given the riders varying strengths and weaknesses the race seemed almost predictable at that point. Cancellara would attack on the Carrefour de l'Arbre. Boonen would chase him down with Ballan sitting on. Ballan would counter attack, forcing Boonen to work again... ad infinitum until either Cancellara or Ballan got free. Should Boonen be strong enough he'll chase everything down and win the sprint. Both Ballan and Cancellara should have been forcing the much faster TB to work every chance they got. Boonen should have been the only one confident in taking it to the line in a group of three...

Instead, Cancellara made a couple of half-hearted moves but would ultimately settle on going to the line with TB. Ballan simply followed wheels until he was left on the front to lead the sprint out....

Okay, Boonen is arguably one of the three fastest men on the road right now... Cavendish, McEwen, and maybe Petachi have a square chance of beating him heads up. Cancellara and Ballan have not an ice-cubes chance in hell.

So, with a three minute lead over the chase, what is the worst thing that could happen to Cancellara and Ballan should they choose to flog themselves silly trying to be rid of Tornado Tom? Maybe they end up cracking and finishing second or third... guess what happens if they save it and go to the line with TB. they finish second or third... But if they continually throw body blows at the big sprinter they may just crack him and actually beat him. The choice seems pretty obvious.

I watched Hincapie and Flecha do the same thing with TB in 2005 and Hoste do it at Flanders in 2006. Maybe the prosey boys can be spared my tongue lashing if they let it happen once, but going to the line with Boonen before beating yourself silly first has become a habit. Guys... the results are gonna be the same every time...

Cancellara and Ballan may be hardmen. Anybody that can make the final selection at Roubaix is the hardest of the hard, but both those boys raced like scared gumbies in the finale of Roubaix 2008...

And that's all I have to say about that...

Time Bandits...

2008-04-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

So much to write about, so little time. Wanna blather on about Boonen and Rubaix, wanna talk a little something about this cat I met in the feed zone at Madera and the pert cool gig he's got going, wanna make predictions and prognostications 'bout Sea Slaughter which is coming up fast, wanna say a little somethin' somethin' about lessons learned at Madera...

but, most of those things are gonna have to wait cause tonight was the d-ride and eight kidlets came out to impress in the wind. we ended up spinning for about an hour and a half, got to work on some cornering skills at speed... the speed is easy when the winds blowing a fresh 15 miles per hour at your back. makes you wanna lean that thing over and test the grip-factor in the rubber running around your rims. It's a cool feeling when you realize that the edge of the envelope is farther out there than you thought.

Anyways, felt a little like Shelley's Victor Frankenstein when I had a chance to sit up at the back of the group of kidlets all rolling around in their matching white kits... neurons firing back and forth across the grey matter went a little like this, "It's alive, look at this monster I've created... and this isn't even half of the roster"

see... I've been around long enough to remember when the entire team was two kidlets rolling around in yellow jerseys. Anybody remember those hideous things?

alas, my self indulgent revelry was interrupted by a cell phone call, and I sat up a little farther and put my teacher cap on... one of my little time bandits from the classroom needed homework help, so as I watched my monster echelon into a cross wind I explained to another monster I've been working on since September the intricacies of exponents and powers of numbers. And that got me thinking about multi-tasking.

Normally I can't talk and chew gum at the same time, much less do two useful things at once... but here I was teaching math and passing along cornering skills and cross wind skills all while riding my bicycle somewhere south of town....

Ever heard the the term "Killing two birds with one stone"... What does that mean? Seems like the saying has been around for ever as a metaphor for multi-tasking... Was there ever a time when stones were in such short supply that we had to make sure we were going to kill two birds with it before we threw it? I don't get it...

blah, blah, blah... just one more thing to say before I'm off to lala land in an attempt to rest up before heading back into my classroom full of time bandits in the morning. Imagine all I could get done if I didn't have to work.

gotta let out a big PHEEEWWW... AWfoSho had a follow up scheduled with his doc today to take some more films of his clavicle. Two days in the aerobars on bumpy roads this past weekend left him sore and had me worried. I had visions of lightning bolt cracks coming off each of the six screws. Fortunately the films are clean. There is good bone growth and no risk of non-union. Doc says ninety five percent healed. The difference between his four week films and his 9 week films is pretty amazing. The human body has to be the coolest thing since sliced bread... which is another metaphor that needs some explaining...

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner...

2008-04-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Couple of things on the quick...

First, April was a winner this weekend... from a proud papa's email:

"Just a quick note to update you on how April did yesterday in her duathlon. She won her division [female 19 & U], first female overall, second place overall [one guy beat her]"

Nicley done...

Next, TK wasn't quite a winner in the stage two TT at Madera, but he did finish 4th against all those proseys and that makes him a winner in my book.

Well done, good and faithful servant...

Then, Staz wasn't quite a winner in the three's stage two crit at Madera, but he did finish third and that makes him a winner in my book. Interestingly enough, El Gigante was no more than two bike lengths behind Staz and he finished 21st. Talk about your ten or twelve wide, mass field sprint. Good thing the road is wide. BTW, ex-dbcjrt kidlet Kyle Paterson won the three's crit.

Atta boy, Staz...

After that, Staz came up first in the three's road race at Madera, and that makes him a winner in anybody's book. Staz pipped Swift's Ryan Eastman with a bike throw at the line as thirty or so riders came to together. El Gigante finished safely tucked into the lead group, but didn't have the legs to contest the sprint.

Good on ya, Staz...

And then, AWfoSho showed that he can be a winner too... in the prosey stage three crit at Madera he got his head back where it needs to be and banged elbows at the front in the waining laps. Glad to see the kidlet is getting back on top of his game. In the road race, he popped two thirds of the way through after covering an attack, but proved that he can still be a winner by riding thirty or so miles on his own to finish.

Proud of ya for gutting it out...

And after that, AJ and Brian finished with the lead pack in the five's making them winners in my book...

WTG kidlets...

Then, after that, Georgieboy Hincappie showed us that bad luck once again left him out of the winner's circle in Roubaix... but TB may have been unbeatable today, especially the way Fabulous Fabian and Big Bad Ballan rode in the finale... maybe I'll spin a little opinion on that later in the week.

too bad, George, maybe next year...

Finally, congrats to everybody that raced their bikes this weekend at Madera. You are all winners in my book. It's fun watching y'all come thru the feedzone over and over again... almost made me want to race my bike again... until I watched Hernando collapse following his finish in the 35+ fast guys race. that boy dug deep.

Wow... lots of happenings to talk about this past weekend, but I gots to go back to school with the kidlets in the a.m. and I have a pile of grading to do that I didn't get done in the Motel 6 this weekend. perhaps I'll be able to wax all poetic later in the week

Ben Hur Time Trial

2008-04-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

Charleton Heston may have recently passed, but his legacy lives on in stage one of the Madera Stage Race... the Ben Hur Time Trial.

Don't know what it is about Madera, but it seems like it is always on the first hot weekend of Spring. Weather was beautiful, Spring is doing its thing in the foothills, and AWfoSho and TK tested their mettle against some of NorCals best today... well, kinda...

TK's day went a little like this: my start time was what? a minute and a half ago? uh oh... guess that is part of the reason we come to Madera. Make mistakes, learn the hard way... when it doesn't really matter... Anyways, TK mailed in the rest of the ride and ended up about 5:15 off the pace...

AWfoSho celebrated his 18th birthday a little something like this: ouch, I hate time trials. ouch, I hate hills. ouch, potholes really hurt my collarbone when I'm in the aerobars. AWfoSho didn't mail anything in... he has a friendly little game going with Greg Andersen, his elite team teammate. seems Greg always beats him in TT's by a handful of seconds. So, the only goal for today was to beat Greg. Didn't quite happen...

it is hard to gauge improvement year to year, as conditions vary. last year AWfoSho was 4:43 off the pace with a time of 36:43. this year he was unofficially 3:55 off the pace at 34:17... is that a 2:26 improvement? or is it a 48 second improvement? who knows? who cares?

DBC Eliters Greg Andersen and Steel Joe turned in times of 34:06 and 33:51 respectively.

TK won't be happy with anything short of a stage win in tomorrow's flat TT. Woulda been fun to see how he compared to the big guns today on the hill, but ciest' la vie.

AWfoSho has two goals in the TT tomorrow... first, beat Greg... second, beat Chris Bowlus (it is a long and complicated story). He'll also be looking for a result in the crit...

speaking of the crit... despite its rather mundane four corners, recent prosey editions have ended with riders up the road. the kidlets will have to keep a watchful eye on things to make sure they don't miss out.

this has been a bit of rambly-prambly. the mind must be mush from all of that Spring sun.

BTW... Cal-Giant's James Mattis won today, unofficially, with a time of 30:22. I believe he was the only rider to go under 31 minutes.

Madera Madness

2008-04-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Last year Madera was hellish... temps over 100 degrees, riders collapsing in the shade following tt, crit, and rr. Although, it was tough to find shade on the rr course. This year conditions will be a little more relenting, which may or may not be a good thing for the kidlets. For guys from the greater Davis area riding in the heat is a daily affair, whereas for those from the bay area or the foothills the heat can be a little draining. In 07 AWfoSho rode himself to a decent GC placing by simply making sure he stayed hydrated and fueled during the stage 4 road race. This year things won't be so simple...

DBCJRT kidlets who will be turning the pedals in balmy 80 degree conditions this weekend include TK and AWfoSho in the prosey race, El Gigante and Staz in the threes, and AJ in the fives... incidentally his last fives race.

With two tt's in the pro/1/2 party, TK is a legit' GC threat, while AWfoSho will be hunting stage wins in the crit and road race and hoping that he can crank out a decent enough tt to crack the top 20 on the GC...

With a good ride in Saturday's threes tt, both Staz and El Gigante could sneak into the GC picture. However, with upgrade points only going 15 deep for GC, that might be a tall order. The kidlets should figure prominently in the finales of both the stage two crit and stage three road race...

AJ gets a chance to race with his pops in the fives one last time. memories that last a lifetime... I can still remember sitting up at the end of a fives race to watch AWfoSho sprint to a 3rd place finish when he was just a thirteen year-old ankle biter. Hopefully Jason will get a chance to watch something similar with AJ this weekend... nothing better than racing with your own kidlet.

Wednesday Worlds

2008-04-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

The kidlets and their collegiate compatriots have been toying around with the idea of having the winner of the Wheel Works Wednesday Night TT wear a baggy t-shirt the next week... or I guess it is every other week. Sort of the local version of a leader's jersey...

Anyways, coach Jesse is going to cut the kidlets loose in full aero gear tonight to see what kinda time they can do. The wind is kicking up just to mark the occassion.

Fun Stuff!!!

Martinez... the fun stuff

2008-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

Local photog Mark Adkison has put up photos of the junior race at Martinez. Somehow he always manages to get great shots... be sure to check em out.

So, with the 3's racing immediately before the juniors I didn't have chance to talk tactics with the kidlets before the race. This time I didn't need to. Seems that the kidlets are learning how to read a race all by their lonesome and adjusting tactics to suit the situation...

TK had a little dig on the first lap that didn't really go anywhere, but when the field caught him they sorta sat up. At that point AWfoSho just rolled off the front without much of an effort. Once he realized that the gap was there he hammered it home. TK let the field chase for awhile,and, when the time was right, hit em hard and bridged to AWfoSho. Not sure what the rest of the 17/18 field was thinking at this point, but it seems like they stopped racing. There were a few attempts at bridging by Ride's Bolster and Rocket Sports' Christensen, but the 15/16 kiddos kinda nullified them and nobody was really willing to sell out on the front. So, the lapping happened pretty fast...

Once AWfoSho and TK had put a lap into the field the kidlets didn't ride as I would have expected, but I figured that I'd let 'em race without much direction from the bleachers...

Sound tactics would have been to send Staz or El Gigante up the road and bridge TK or AWfoSho to them once they'd established a gap... the best way to guarantee a 1-2-3 finish... instead the kidlets, under AWfoSho's direction, decided to play for a field sprint.

Gotta admit, it was beautiful seeing TK, AWfoSho, and El Gigante lined up all lead out train like with two to go. It was even more cool that Tieni Duro's Peter Taylor and Joel Shafer of Specialized were the only ones that could stick to the tail end of the train. The kidlets were laying down some serious power.

Alas,El Gigante lost AWfoSho's wheel out of the last corner and the sprint commenced from way out... Both Taylor and Shafer came around El Gigante before the line. Good on 'em. Looks like the kidlets need a little more practice on the lead out thing...

A Treatise on Pulling Riders

2008-04-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

It happens every year at least once... Numerous riders in a junior race are pulled off the course and not placed. Kidlets get upset, parents blow gaskets, officials are blasted, and promoters harassed. This year the unlucky venue was Martinez... in the past the venue has been Land Park, McLane Pacific, and (in a particularly bad year that must have left parents embarrassed by their actions and the actions of their kidlets) Pacific State Bank Grand Prix...

The anatomy of the problem is pretty complex and varies from venue to venue, but there are several commonalities that need to be looked at: promoters combining junior fields, officials striving to keep a race as fair and safe as possible, riders misunderstanding rules and misjudging their ability, and parents that react without thinking...

I'm going to side with the officials and promoters on this one... parents and riders hear me out before you start flaming away...

First off lets look at a race from a promoters point of view. In most cases promoters are dealing with limited resources... limited time, limited money, limited man power... availability of resources has a direct effect on the day's racing. Promoting bicycle races, at least on the NorCal level, is not a golden goose. In most cases a promoter is lucky to finish the day on an even keel, many races are run in the red, those that do make it into the black really end up more in a shade of grey. Let's face it, if bicycle racing were a cash cow for promoters more companies would be lining up to do it. That said, a promoter has to try to maximize profits while still maintaining the spirit of the sport... Putting on a junior race during an already crowded race day does very little to maximize profits. Most promoters do it to support our kidlets knowing full well that they are going to lose money during that particular segment of the day. Currently an additional field of 35+ 4's or 35+ 5's would fill quite easily whereas a junior field may have, say, 30 or 40 riders max... 35 plusers pay top dollar, juniors often times reg at reduced prices. Which one makes more sense to a promoter working with limited time and money, additional juniors fields or additional adult fields?

Officials... This one is a no-brainer. The official's job is to keep the race as safe and fair as possible. If a promoter has combined the juniors into a single field then the official has to work within those confines. Having riders of hugely disparate abilities on the course at the same time makes for less than safe conditions. We've all, well at least most of us that have watched kidlets race for awhile, seen the littlest of the little on a bike that is for all intense and purpose too big to handle safely wobble down the middle of the finishing stretch as the big boys and girls blast past them on both sides at more than twice their speed. scary... Some of us have been unfortunate enough to see the littlest riders panic and move suddenly right or left. The ensuing carnage is not something I'd like to describe, much less think about. Safe... get the little guys off the course before somebody gets hurt. And fair? results are hard enough to get correct when there are not riders that have been lapped multiple times. And that doesn't even count the kidlets who's sprint in the finale is impeded by a slower rider being lapped for the 3rd or 4th time... yes... seen that happen too.

Kidlets... you wouldn't go to a soccer game without knowing that you can't use your hands, you wouldn't play baseball without knowing that you get only three strikes, you wouldn't play basketball without knowing that you have to dribble. Bicycle racing has rules just like any other sport. Granted some of the rules are pretty complex, but it is your job to know the rules... from Casey,

"The rule book basically says that officials can pull a rider when they are deemed to be out of contention or if a rider may pose a danger to himself or to other riders."

Go to a race knowing that you may be pulled... it happens to the best.

Likewise you wouldn't go to a baseball game as a 14 year-old expecting to beat a high-school varsity squad. If a race has a combined field expect to be beaten by the bigger kids... by all means go race. The experience gained racing against older, faster kids is invaluable.

But, go race knowing that it is likely that you may get pulled.

Parents... couple of things. First, you are older and wiser than the little guys who may not realize that they are gonna take a beating in a combined field. Don't drive junior two hours to a race if you feel the need to blast and/or harass promoter and official should junior get pulled before the race is over. Second, think before you react. Ask yourself why a promoter has combined a junior field. Ask yourself why an official pulled your kidlet. After having done so, if you've come up with a legit' argument against the promoter and/or official's actions, voice your opinion to them in a positive manner... thank them for their efforts this year and make a suggestion for improving the race next year. simple... vengeance is not yours and it isn't gonna do anybody any good seeking it. Neither is complaining about the length of the drive to the race, the cost of gas, your "wasted" Saturday, or the bridge toll.

I've been there guys... My own cherubs have been pulled off the course after driving two hours, I've had athletes impeded by slower riders during their sprint, I've been scared to death as a knock-kneed 13 year-old wobbled wide-eyed from side to side as a peloton of testosterone driven boys blasted past on either side, I've wiped away the tears after a rider's been pulled, I've seen my 13 year-old lapped by the cat 1 and 2 18 year-olds, and I've picked up my own kidlet with a broken finger, chipped tooth and black eye off the pavement when he wrecked out as an off-the-backer-who had been lapped multiple times.

I understand the passion a parent feels when the kidlet's been "wronged" and I know the pain a parent feels when a kidlet has been hurt. Let the kidlets learn and grow from the experience and leave it at that... setting a bad example for them does not help them at all.

Go to a race with eyes wide open. It is all laid out for you in the race flier. you know what to expect. Make sure that your kidlet knows what to expect as well.

Am I a fan of combined junior fields? Yes... and No...

Yes, the kidlets get their own race when otherwise they would have to race with adults... Yes, there is no better way to make junior faster than to have him or her race with faster kids... Yes, the fields are deeper and the racing is better... Yes, it is good for a kid to get beat resoundingly sometimes. They need to learn how to lose too...

No, it isn't fair to throw a thirteen year-old into a race with a couple of 1's and 2's... No, it isn't always the safest thing for kidlets to be doing... No, their isn't any glory in beating kids that are five years younger than you...

No, I don't like seeing kids get pulled, but it is a necessary evil.

Observations on a Saturday

2008-04-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Having a junior race that starts after noon can spoil a guy. Bike racing is funny... sometimes one has to get up at 5:30 am for a race that is 30 miles from home, other times the alarm doesn't even need to be set. But, when I sleep in I don't get to see all the happenings of the morning...

I guess the 4/5 race at Martinez was a crash fest... Tapinator claims bad luck for being caught behind the crashes, but isn't luck when preparation meets opportunity? We'll keep working, Taps, and pretty soon that bad luck being behind the crash will be good luck being in front of it...

Having DBCJRT athletes in three races back to back makes a day hectic as all get out. Get Staz and El Gigante reg'd and pinned for the 3's; set AWfoSho, TK, Mechanical, PtotheArker, and Tapinator to warming up for the junior race; make sure the radios are ready to go for the guys in the p/1/2 race; watch El Gigante and Staz race, thinking the whole time that they need to be at the front; change numbers on the kidlets who just finished the 3's; bark some quick orders to the seven DBCJRT young'ns in the junior race and turn 'em loose; watch AWfoSho and TK completely control the race and set up a perfect leadout train for El Gigante after lapping the field; listen to AWfoSho chew on El Gigante after the junior race for not staying glued to his wheel thru the final corner; pick up prizes for first, second, fifth, and most aggressive rider in the junior race; change numbers on the kidlets racing in the pro/1/2 race; pass out radios and fresh bottles; bark a few orders into the radio while watching Rock and Giant trade blows over 75 minutes of crit racing that kept the field strung out along two city blocks; pick up and divide winnings for two top 25 places in the p/1/2 race; realize it has been non-stop for 4.5 hours...

Never did see the final tally in the junior race... just know that AWfoSho and TK went 1-2 in the 17/18 group, El Gigante was third in the 15/16 group. Gotta wait for the results to post to sort out what happened in the field behind the sprint...

Had a chuckle with Rock's Justin Williams after the prosey race when I told him he cost me about $200... he thought I was betting on him or something of the sort, but cracked that bright smile of his after I explained that he sat up too early in the sprint and cost my guys a few places in the money. Good kid that one... it's been fun watching him develop as a rider and a young man.

The Junior Point Series standings have been updated thru Copperopolis... After having run the thing for two years, I feel for Christine. She's got to figure out how to place all the ladies who raced today because they got pulled and not placed. Not only that... she's gotta deal with parents who are forever complaining about why their little cherubs should have a point or two more... that said, she owes Kelbster a point for Snelling and April 8 points for Copper... Maybe I'll muster up the courage to ask her to correct the spots for the kidlets. Then again, maybe not...

What's in a Name?

2008-04-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you that are long time readers you are probably familiar with the nicknames used by this author...

but since complaints are coming in again...

AWfoSho... Alex Wick's nickname is a cheap rip-off of Joe Iannarelli's email address. At one point we called him Pop Rocks for all the fast twitch stuff in his legs, but AWfoSho ended up sticking

El Gigante... The Giant in Espaniol, a fitting nickname for Zach Wick, earned at Valley of the Sun 2006 where he crushed the competition in the U-14 category

TK... doesn't really need an explanation-- Taylor Kuphaldt

Staz... Chris Stastny, I tried to label him KGB for his pention for black hats, dark sunglasses, and Eastern European lineage but he would have none of it

Karcherific... Karch Miller, a cross between terrific and Karch... get it?

Kelbster... AWfoSho christened Kelby Spore with this one

PtotheArker... Parker Childress, taken from some Hip Hop song or something like that, I forget and the best nicknames are the ones that we can't rememberthe origin of

Mechanical... Robby Hartman earned this one after suffer gearing issues in two straight races

Tapinator... Cody Tapley, like TK this one doesn't really need an explanation

Davitamon... David Vuilleumier got stuck with this one because his surname sounds an awful lot like the Euro-Team Silence-Lotto, um I mean Predictor-Lotto, oops I mean Davitamon Lotto

and some of our alumni

Thor... If you've ever seen Blake Anton you will understand this one

Steel Joe... because Joe Iannarelli is tough as nails -or- because when asked about the lack of hair on his chest he may tell you that you can't grow hair on steel

College Boy... Musa Zaid was both a collegiate racer and a junior racer in the same year

Brown Lance... Adeel Ahmad's self annointed nickname, couldn't be more fitting

there may be a few more, but dinner is gonna burn if I don't get it out of the oven... the rest of the kids go by their given name until I can think of something better

On the Docket

2008-04-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

Martinez... who's in?

Sportsbaseonline tells me that Tapinator, Mechanical, and El Gigante will be turning the pedals against the likes of Joel Schafer and his Specialized boys. Peter Taylor is bringing quite a contingent of Tieni Durites, and there is quite a passel from SJBC/Sugar CRM. A dark horse could be Ben Sukys, he's been cranking out some decent wattage of late for Expert Tree Service.

And that's just the 15/16 grupetto...

In the 17/18 show, DBCJRT will be represented by PtotheArker, Staz, TK, and AWfoSho. Danger men that they will have to keep an eye on include Ride's Bolster, Giant's Trafton, and gotta watch out for Nate Christensen of Rocket Sports Racing. That boy has shown some ability as of late. And then there is the question mark surrounding Jonathan Arcellana of Capoforma... if this is the kid I'm thinking of, he's got some serious thigh circumference going. He hasn't had the results yet this year, but I keep waiting for him to explode out of the pack with all the watts he must have stored up in those legs of his.

Cool thing about Martinez is that the 15/16's and 17/18's race together, making it more interesting... more horse power in the field, more teamwork, more tactics, more fun... DBCJRT excels when the kidlets are grouped together, especially El Gigante. That kidlet thrives when it is fast and furious at the end. He has a knack for finding the right spot and holding position. The combined field with its larger team representation tends to nullify the stop and go that is typical of many junior races... that has to be El Gigante's biggest weakness, besides hills maybe... look for him to be banging elbows with Shafer and Taylor for the top spot in the 15/16 group. In the 17/18's, look for TK and AWfoSho to throw their 1/2, long/short punch at the peloton with Staz playing spoiler if the field is all over them like stink on... well you know.

fun, fun...

Wow...

2008-04-02T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's not very often that I post twice in one day, but this is very cool...

El Gigante called my attention to this shot on Velonews... sort of your garden variety finish line shot, but if you look really careful amidst the mass of humanity, testosterone, blood, sweat, and tears you'll see some serious power being laid down...

Now I'm not of the higher level math type (help me out here Paul) but if you check out Cavendish's bike you'll notice some serious deflection. The front wheel is angled at, oh, about 70 or 75 degrees, the rear at, say, 80 to 85 degrees. If I'm doing the math correctly and there is no parallax or some other slight of hand going on then that is around 10 degrees of deflection in Cavendish's frame...

That, boyz, is laying down some serious power... no wonder Robbie Rocket sat up and called it a day without even sprinting!

When the Stars Align

2008-04-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Back in the day druids and clerics and high priestesses would mark the changing of the seasons with Stonehenge or pyramids or human sacrifice or some other sort of nonsense. I have a much more fool proof way to tell that Spring has sprung...

You see, each Spring I get three or four weeks away from the fifth-grade kidlets, El Gigante has grown another two or three feet, and my dining room overflows with bicycles of the two-wheeled, skinny-tired variety...

It has sort of become a Rite of Spring that I spend a day or two cleaning and tuning last seasons bikes in preparation for sale, either because the kidlets have outgrown the previous season's model or the sponsors that be, in this case Cervelo, have provided the latest and greatest... today was just such a day.

So, Today I spent the better part of five hours completely gutting El Gigante's Soloist... solvent tanking greasy grimy parts, new cables and housing, truing wheels, adjusting brakes, wrapping new bar tape, etc, ad infinitum... Anybody want to buy a bike? It is the 58cm variety. The problem is, once the bike has been all spit-polished and shined with its pearly white bar tape and brand new rubber, it becomes kinda hard to let it go. Alas, when bicycles outnumber the bike stands it is time to let one or two go.

And tomorrow I get to repeat the whole process on AWfoSho's Soloist. Anybody want to buy a bike? This one is of the 56cm variety...

April Fools

2008-04-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

So, like any good webslut, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with some sort of tom-foolery to entertain y'all with on this first day of April... alas, not much has percolated to the top of my conscience.

However, Velonews, despite its many shortcomings, does do April Fools quite nicely. So far this morning, I've been contemplating putting the elite team radios on ebay, mulling over trading in AWfoSho and El Gigante for a Carpenter/Phinney model, and rethinking any trip to OBRA to tackle a stage race or two...

Nearly as funny as the jokes themselves are the people who actually get suckered... What? Did you forget to look at your calendar this morning? Remember (and I've said this many times before) the Internet is the world's greatest vanity press... anybody can publish anything at anytime... don't believe everything you read. It sounds like Velonews received numerous angry/befuddled emails, and they have promised to print a selection of them on the morrow. can't wait...

Mixed in with the tom-foolery on the Velonews site is a snippet about Michael Ball buying back the two seconds that Sevilla lost in the final stage at San Dimas. Given the show we witnessed in SloCal over the weekend, one could almost believe this to be true...

Yes, DBCJRT and its Elite Team brethren were fortunate enough to be housed not only in the same hotel as Rock Racing, but on the same floor, in the same hallway. Which means we got to witness, among other things, the entire back parking lot being taken up buy 3 skull embossed Escalades, 1 similarly embossed team car, and a matching trailer with accompanying diesel pusher. Parking spaces that were not immediately occupied by said vehicles were coned of with, yes they matched the kits, neon green cones or numerous bike racks. And, if we were so blind as to not recognize the entourage as Rock, there were battle standards to guides us towards making the discovery... no fooling, it looked like one dude's job was to set up these little flag things wherever team Rock went... sort of a rallying point for all the soldiers, I guess.

We also were the recipients of 'sup nods from the likes of Tyler Hamilton and Michael Creed, and Kayle Leogrande even held the elevator for me at one point during the weekend...

There were girls walking around with legs up to here either wrapped up in Rock-n-Republic jeans or barely wrapped at all, cell phones beeping, bodyguards brandishing... it really was quite a show.

Not to miss out on all the fun, I made sure to embarrass young Mr. Switters by asking for his autograph whilst he was surrounded by former Euro-heroes, team mechanics, and Rock's personal podium girls.

I guess what I'm trying to portray is that the whole thing is like one big travelling circus... It goes from hotel to race venue, to restaurant, etc. Previously on this blog I have professed to an attraction to Ball's style... the sport needs a little topsy-turvy every now and then to keep things fresh, but Rock has gone a little overboard lately... I mean, come on, does Ball really need body guards at a race? He can't honestly fear for his safety amongst a bunch of skinny-assed bike racer types.

So, I've rambled a bit, but I hope you haven't gotten the wrong idea. I still like what Ball is trying to do... he is supporting cycling on numerous levels: pro team, women's team, junior team. He's given young up-n-comers like Switters and Williams a shot, he's given recent-offenders a second chance. For those reasons, I've got to hand it to him. I'm just not so sure he is doing it in the most effective manner. His over-the-top antics could possibly be creating enemies in the wrong places. If the grumblings I heard from the masses in San Dimas are indicative, he may have already gone too far...

The Weekend that Was

2008-03-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

a quick perusal of the interwebs tells me that AJ raced both days at the Ronde. Must be about time for an upgrade for that kidlet... but he's gotta wait until after Madera because he is already reg'd for the 5's...

TK's 6th place on the GC at San Dimas makes him the first ever DBCJRT kidlet to cat-up to 1. The upgrade request is taking up bandwidth and flying through the interwebs as you read this. There is only one step left, TK... who will you be riding for next year???

Check out Paul Mach dot com for a recap of San Dimas. DBC's elite team has been tearing up the west coast stage race scene... 3rd, 7th, 11th at VOS; 1st, 5th, and KOM at San Dimas... next up-- Madera, then maybe Elkhorn. Good times!

Did you see Peter Taylor of Tieni Duro's finish in the 3's at the Ronde? The boyo is riding well and earning points for his two's upgrade. Will he be the first of the next crop of kidlets to make the jump to the big leagues?

Speaking of juniors racing in the p/1/2's... used to be that there were precious few. Now, in NorCal we have DBCJRT's Davitamon, AWfoSho, and TK; Specialized's Avis; Ride for a Reason's Ferguson, and Swift's Brandt has the points but hasn't upgraded yet. If you look down south the juniors from SCNCA have their own crop of 2's... Finneran, Blanco, Cruz, Zupko... . Then you have guys like Peter Taylor, El Gigante, Ian Moir, Ryan Eastman in the 3's all knocking on the door and gathering points like crazy. aahh, the future is so bright I gotta where shades!

Next up... Martinez, but before next weekend look for some commentary about happenings with Rock over the past weekend...

Ups and Downs in LA

2008-03-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Check out the results from today... the course was tough enough to time cut big names, Ivan Dominguez, Adam Switters, Rahsaan Bahatti amongst others. A short punchy hill with KOM points coming fast and furious.

Tough enough that a break of eight hardmen got up the road in the 2's, including Paul Mach. TK made the bridge to make it nine with two to go... After a (well there isn't any other way to describe it) cluster f&$ck of a finish where the 2's break finished in the middle of the 3's field sprint, TK ended up 5th and PM 7th. TK jumped to fifth on the GC and is sitting in second in the U-25 race. Gotta talk to some of the pro DS guys tomorrow regarding those two boys. Toyota's Moninger is already asking...

AWfoSho finished, but was time cut along with 35 or so others... fitness wasn't the problem... his head was, couldn't hold position in the pack for fear of re-injuring the shoulder. Giving up places on a 50 mph descent is not conducive to finishing with the lead group... bummer, but he'll be back next week.

In the 3's, the KOM ripped the field apart and almost half the group was time cut, including El Gigante... Staz finished with the lead group, but a gap in the finale cost him a few seconds. At least he is racing tomorrow.

Got a couple of crits to prepare for tomorrow... would have liked to see all the kidlets racing but TBR.

-------------------------------

Enough news from LA LA Land, what happened at the Ronde today? AJ? Anybody else that raced?

This is LA...

2008-03-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Probably sunburned the crap out of my face today... didn't realize it until AWfoSho mentioned that I look a little pink. Guess that is the price that one pays for standing around watching first the threes, then the twos, then the pro/one guys pedal their bikes all fast and furious like up a 3.7 mile long hill... oh, did I mention that I got to watch the p/1/2 women also. Oh, the price we pay.

for a bunch of flatlanders, the kidlets did well. Tk slotted in at 16th in the 2's. AWfoSho was mid-pack but happy because he bested Rock's Iggy and Finneran. In the 3's, Staz edged El Gigante by a few seconds, but both kidlets ended up far enough down in the pack to be footloose and fancy free over the next two days... don't have to worry about who is going up the road, etc... just pedal their bikes in search of fleeting glory and upgrade points.

TK has his sights set on a few bonus seconds tomorrow, AWfoSho may make a play for the sprinters jersey... we'll see how it shakes out... problem is that they also need to defend Paul Mach's lead. See, PM simply rode the wheels off the rest of the 2's. He was 47 seconds better than the first loser and posted the 8th best time of the day in the p/1 race. Even put some time into Rock's Tyler Hamilton...

Me, I'm headed to bed as soon as I kick the kidlets out of the room. Right now they are watching a dvd beamed up onto a bed sheet hung on the wall... Maybe I can send one of them to the snack bar for some popcorn...

Heading South...

2008-03-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I get the pleasure of that long drive south on I-5... so long that I-5 becomes The 5, where we will take a left turn on The 10 followed by a right on The 57...

Reports from San Dimas to follow...

Because...

2008-03-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

... it was really windy tonight and the boys played rough with the gutter. The second sprint of the race ride was at 35 mph before we even went under 505, and it never really let up. Too wasted to post anything comprehensible, but Robby did send me this from Ohio...

The kidlet's fame must be spreading

Copperopolis Road Race Recap

2008-03-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

What can one say...

DBCJRT took some lumps, especially in the 13/14 and 15/16 races. El Gigante, Mechanical, Zach S, and Torey succumbed to the hill, and we missed the podium in the 15/16 sprint. The 13/14 boyz got blasted on the climb, but April made the second step on the podium for the girlz. Perhaps Kelbster said it best, "That was the hardest thing I've ever done."

The 10-12 race had a little-bit-o-drama... Karcherific went over the top of the final climb with the eventual winner, but got gapped on the descent. He chased in vain, but couldn't make up the ground. Rumor has it that the winner mixed in with some old dudes going downhill and that was just enough to allow him to stay away from Karch... if it tis true, naughty, naughty. Still, second place ain't bad for the littlest kidlet.

Had a front row seat in the follow vehicle for the 17/18's, and it was some of the best racing I've seen in awhile... 3 laps of guts, machismo, and bids for glory. The long and short of it is some great racing by all involved.

First lap... Shenanigans on the hill whittled the lead group to nine, but half-hearted attacks allowed for a small regrouping and there were 14 together at the feed zone on trip number two up the hill... Staz and AWfoSho from DBCJRT, Avis and Levaton from Specialized, Ferguson and Bolster from Ride for a Reason, Rocket Sports Racing's Christensen, and a smattering of others from Tieni Duro, Giant, and Colavita.

Second lap... The dreaded hill did its work, leaving just seven together as they reached the steepest ramps at the top of the climb. Avis and Ferguson snuck away and went over the top with about 20 seconds in hand. The chase consisted of Christensen, AWfoSho, Staz, Levaton, and Bolster. The latter two had teammates up the road so the chase was left to AWfoSho, Staz and Christensen. It took the better part of the top half of the course, but the catch eventually happened. The chase was interesting in its own right...

AWfoSho and Staz guttered it against the centerline to make life uncomfortable for Levaton and Bolster, who were rightfully sitting on.

Now, sitting on is one thing, blocking another... At one point, Levaton refused to relinquish the third wheel in the group to AWfoSho as he drifted back from taking his pull... Blocking is a sound tactic, but if one is going to mess with the rotation of the chase, one better be ready for some aggressive riding... Given that the chase was going full gas and barely making headway into the two leaders, AWfoSho could not afford to let Levaton mess with the rotation. To show his displeasure, AWfoSho used a rather firm elbow to move Edan off the wheel... all is fair in love and war, especially if one is actively blocking. Needless to say, the elbow did the job and next time AWfoSho rotated back, Levaton was more than gracious in giving up the coveted third wheel.

Somewhere during the chase, Staz and Christensen lost contact with the group, leaving AWfoSho to close the gap alone with Bolster and Levaton in tow... Once the gap was closed, Specialized and Ride for a Reason made a tactical error. Levaton and/or Bolster should have immediately counter attacked, putting AWfoSho on the defensive again. Instead, the lead group sat up and allowed Staz to return... he did just that, but didn't pause to chat. He went straight thru them forcing Specialized to chase and giving AWfoSho a much needed break. Staz was caught shortly thereafter, leaving six together to start the final lap...

The make-up of the lead group was interesting... two from Ride for a Reason, two from Specialized, and two from DBCJRT... with DBCJRT having the weakest climbers.

Final lap... AWfoSho didn't wait for the hill to play DBCJRT's cards. He sent Staz up the road shortly before the feed zone. This move served three purposes. First, it would force the other two teams to chase and allow AWfoSho to sit on; second, it would give a nearly cooked Staz a chance to make it over the climb ahead of or with the group; and third, it would force Avis to ride a steady pace up the climb instead of continually attacking... something that most likely would have cracked AWfoSho.

Text book tactics that nearly worked... until the final steep pitches at the top of the climb. Staz was reeled in and spit out the back as Avis and Levaton counter attacked. AWfoSho, Bolster, and Ferguson went over the top about twenty seconds in arrears in a near mirror image of lap number two, except that this time AWfoSho had allies in Bolster and Ferguson...

Ferguson cracked during the ensuing ten mile chase, but AWfoSho and Bolster made contact with the leading Duo a couple of k's before the final climb. Again Specialized made a tactical mistake. They should have sent Levaton up the road again, thus putting Bolster and AWfoSho on the defensive and giving Avis a free ride. Instead the group sat up and rolled to the base of the final climb together.

Levaton cracked as soon as the road pitched up. Avis upped the pace and at one point all three of the leaders were massaging their hamstrings in attempts to ward off cramping. Bolster looked the freshest on the hill and, just as I was thinking that he should take a dig, he attacked. Avis was able to follow, but AWfoSho was forced to remain seated as standing induced cramping.

The lead duo went over the top with about 20 seconds and were in full flight. AWfoSho gritted his teeth and set about chasing for a third time. This time downhill. Bolster absolutely pinned it on the front with Avis in tow. AWfoSho was laid out on the top tube, butt under the saddle and chin on the stem. He was making up time, but not fast enough. Some ballsy riding by all three down that hill. I was pretty sure that I'd be picking at least one of them up off the pavement.

At the bottom of the hill the gap was about 10 seconds, and Avis took the lead in front. AWfoSho was hoping for some cat-n-mouse by the leaders that would allow him to regroup, but Avis put his head down and drilled it. At the 200 meter sign, AWfoSho had nailed the gap back to 10 meters when he finally imploded. There would be no catch. Avis was in a tough spot. He new that if he sat up a faster finisher would have caught them. He also new if he stayed on the front, Bolster would most likely come around him at the line... what to do? In the end, Bolster did come around him, but sprinted over the centerline and received a DQ for his efforts. AWfoSho rolled in third, but was bumped to second because of the centerline violation.

Gotta feel bad for Bolster. the kidlet raced his guts out, but rules is rules...

To all y'all out there reading this here blog... that is how bicycles should be raced. The kidlets raced on savvy and tactics and bravado. And when that was gone, they raced on guts. And when that was gone they raced on whatever they could find. All three were completely blown at the end. All three can be proud of what they left out on the course...

oops...

2008-03-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

just wasted the last several minutes of my life, 45 or so if you really want to know, putting together a blog entry re copperopolis. Pushed publish and it vanished into cyberspace...

I know y'all are itching for verbage because the site hits are way up today, but I'm gonna watch a movie with Caren right now... maybe later tonight I'll get around to all the details. sorry! In the meantime, check out the pics on ncncaracing.com

Comeback?

2008-03-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Dropped by the local Blackburn dealer, Ken's Bike and Ski, today to replace the head on my four year old floor pump. A quick warranty replacement that didn't cost a dime...

Blackburn offers a lifetime warranty on their products, which is kinda cool, but I'm guessing they don't bank on customers like me. With nine bikes currently taking up space in what used to be my dining room, it is a sure bet that the Blackburn floor pump is being used on a near daily basis around these parts. That means that over four years the pump has been attached to a valve around 1400 times. Needless to say it was a bit worn out, and pumping up a tire had become a two man job--one to pump and one to hold the head on the valve stem in such a way that it didn't let out more air than it was letting in.

Anyways, I digress...

While in the shop I ran into an old friend. Those of you that have been around long enough might recall one of DBCJRT's former athletes that lovingly nicknamed himself Brown Lance... If I remember correctly, it was four or five years ago this weekend that Brown Lance made his racing debut at Copperopolis. The result wasn't anything to write home about, but it made a cyclist out of our boy. He's currently a student at UC Davis, and working at Ken's to help pay the bills... a cyclist for life.

Brown Lance was pleased to show me his latest purchase... a Specialized frame carefully outfitted in full Ultegra looking all fast and cool. As I oohed and awed over his machine, he went on to tell me about the twists and turns his life has taken since we last spoke. I'm happy to report that the former kidlet is doing well.

As we parted, Brown Lance firmly shook my hand and bid me adieu, but not before asking me to tell AWfoSho and El Gigante hello for him and that he was planning on making his comeback!!! If you know Brown Lance like I do, it will be a pleasure to see him out on the road again, hear his tips about buying low and selling high, and feel that strong belly laugh that the kidlet was always good for...

A handful of PowerBars to the first person who correctly identifies Brown Lance by his birth name... first and last.

The Pain Cave

2008-03-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Several of the Kidlets saw Coach Jesse this evening for a trip to the Pain Cave.

TK got to learn the ins and outs of a lactate test, Staz and El Gigante completed this season's second round of Conconi's, and AWfoSho simply succumbed to the calipers for a skinfold measurement in an attempt to avoid injury follow the clavicle escapade.

But, before we can discuss the blood, sweat, and tears, an explanation of exactly what the Pain Cave is...

E.O.B. may have encapsulated this best in a recent email:

This "pain cave" is a Midwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference euphemism with which Phil Mooney has infected both the the Aggie and Elite teams. Degrees of hurt are as follows:
"I'm in the pain cave;"
"I'm in the pain cave and I'm bobbling my flashlight;"
"I'm in the pain cave and I dropped my flashlight;"
The inverse is also true--if you're feeling especially strong, you proclaim that you brought extra batteries to the pain cave.

Two bits of humor this vernacular has engendered in the last 7 days:
While attempting ANT2 repeats on Cardiac last week with Phil, Nils, and Paul Mach, I was going as hard as I could up the damn hill when Paul passed me like I was standing still. He offered some quick words of encouragement, but all I could say was "I... uh, dropped... my batteries...down the hole... in the cave."

At the start line of the Men's A Stanford Crit last week, Paul announced, "I brought extra batteries!" Of course none of the Stanford, Cal, SLO, or USC guys had any idea what the hell he was talking about, but Mooney bellowed, "'Cause we're going to the PAIN CAVE!" Current Under-23 national Champion Max Jenkins looked at Mooney in shocked fear, clearly concerned for his safety and Phil's sanity.

Phil also deploys another system of nomenclature built around a mythical town called "Sufferville," but aside from its utter lack of bathrooms, I know nothing of the place.

The kidlets definitely visited the Pain Cave this evening... there was sweat, lots of it, all over Jesse's hard wood floors. There was blood pumping through teenage veins and dripping out of TK's ear each time he was pricked. And, AWfoSho will never admit to this, there were tears as Jesse pinched him with the skinfoldometerthingamabob... those things leave marks.

Gotta wait for Jesse's analysis of all the data, but the initial numbers look good... up from the last trip to Jesse's Cave of Pain. for those of you that are old enough to remember... the Cave of Pain is definitely an E-ticket ride!!!

And Max Said, "Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!"

2008-03-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

On the start list for Copperopolis... California's own Hell of the North...

10-12's

Karcherific... With his pure spin, Karch has got to be the odds on favorite for this one!

13-14's

Alex F, Kelbster, and April... I think you know who the sure money is on!

15-16's

Andreas F, Mechanical, Torey, and El Gigante... depending on how aggressive the boys are we have a few options in this one!

17-18's

Brian, PtotheArker, AWfoSho, and Staz... with some help from his teammates and some luck, AWfoSho has a chance at back to back wins... if he can stick with the pure climbers.

P/1/2

TK... looking for a top 10 finish here... it really will be the first big test for TK against the top climbers, but a little guts and determination can go a long way. It'll be fun to see how it all shakes out.

DBCJRT has a realistic shot at taking home top honors across the board in the junior categories... Rock my world boyz and girl!!!

Bariani and Land Park Results are Up

2008-03-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

Check them out here and here. Record time from SGW... most years it has taken them weeks. Kudos to the boys and girls across the causeway.

The final tallies listed on USA Cycling's website show just where everybody finished, which is interesting in its own right, but they don't tell the real stories...

This much I know:

April's dad writes:

April had a good overall race. She raced with the Woman's 4's She hung with them until there was a prem lap. She was toward the back and the group she was with was dropped, but she hung with that group through the end. She felt that she could have hung with the main group, but she couldn't close the gap by herself once she was behind and she said the others didn't want to push to catch the main group. It's a learning experience and hopefully she will improve with each race.

That's what first races are all about... learning. April is all set to show us how much she learned at Copperopolis!

AJ writes concerning Barini's elite 5 race:

The race starts out nice and mellow but slowly starts to get faster, I look around to try and find at least one teammate but there is no success. We start to go head on in the wind which was brutal, and that is where a bunch of guys started to drop back. By now the pace has quickened as we start to climb the "sissy hill". There was a breakaway of about 5 guys and no one was going so I speed past a bunch of guys and catch up with the breakaway. I am now sitting in the back of the group of 5 guys we make a right hand turn and accelerate to about 29 mph as I am having a hard time hanging on I look up and see a pretty good climb and think to myself sh!t. As we start to climb I see that there was the main group right behind me so I let them swallow me up along with the rest of the breakaway. I make the mistake by getting behind "squirly" so I drop behind one more spot. It is now the 3rd lap and we are on the windy long sraitaway and I see a guy from DBC that was in my race that I didnt see in the beggining but he wasnt a junior. He starts to drop back from the main field so I get up next to him, told him to stay on my wheel and I pull him back up to the group. He says thanks man and we keep going. We are now about 3km from the finish and going up that climd again, right then I WAS IN THE PAIN CAVE with no extra battaries and I had dropped my flashlight. All of a sudden I hear F%$king iddiot look up and see about 4 guys crash I swerve around them and keep going. I now see the 1km sign. So I start to sprint I pass about 3-5 guys and 6 woeman. I look down at my computer and I am going 38mph then a bycicle chief guy passes me. We go down a hill then back up another small one and cross the finish line.

AJ finished ninth!

Concerning the Elite 3's...

At Land Park it was El Gigante's turn to pay back Staz for all his hard work at Merco and Menlo Park. With three to go he did just that, riding hard on the front to bring back a break. Once done, he drifted to the back, picked up Staz, and according to E.O.B., made a move up the gutter that was a thing of beauty--bodies and bikes going thru gaps that were virtually non-existent. El Gigante dropped Staz off near the front and Staz delivered... 4th place in a tailwind sprint with junior gears.

Bariani was a sufferfest... Staz and El Gigante fought thru 4 laps with the lead group that had dwindled to 35 or so before succumbing to the wind. They battled on to finish the last lap on their own.

Of life in the 4's...

PtotheArker and Tapinator turned the pedals in anger at Land Park, fighting the good fight only to get caught behind a last lap crash. Keep fighting boys. The results will come.

And the boyz playing with the big dawgs...

TK was very active in the pro/1/2 event at Land Park... covering moves, attacking, recovering. AWfoSho spent most of the race at the back of the bus getting his head together after 6 weeks out of competition. He did move to the front with three to go, serving as the set-up man for Judd Van Sickle. Once there he launched two attacks of the front that eventually sprung TK who made a bid for late race glory... off the front for two laps, caught only with half a lap to go. Once AWfoSho's job was finished at the front he quickly returned to the back seat to protect his still healing collarbone. Both kidlets finished safely in the group, but their DBC Elite teammates finished 4, 5, 6... job well done boyz.

Oh, did I mention that DBCJRT took home the Perpetual Trophy from the Land Park Junior Race for the third straight year... We also have the only athlete who's name appears on the trophy two times!!!

Photo Courtesy of Rodney Cox

Land Park Photos By Mark Adkison

2008-03-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Local Photog, Mark Adkison, took some rockin'... really rockin'... shots of the junior race at Land Park. Check 'em out at Hors Categorie Photos. All of the shots can be purchased... just contact Mark at HCPhoto@sbcglobal.net.

Land Park Cliff Notes... the junior race

2008-03-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

Cast: 35 or so junior bicycle racers

Setting: Mild breeze out of the north, broken clouds and intermittent sun, cool, dry pavement

Plot: 40 minutes of riding bicycles in circles

Protagonists: AJ, Karch, PtotheArker, Tapinator, Robby (who shall forever after be known as mechanical), Brian, Staz, El Gigante, TK, and AWfoSho

Antagonists: Rio Strada's Bryan and Steven Larson, Ride for a Reason's Cody Kaiser and Brandon Mart among others, Giant's Brandon Trafton, several other bit players from Tieni Duro, Swift, and Rocket Sports Racing

Story Line: After a brief misunderstanding about a neutral lap, DBCJT is off on the offensive... repeated attacks by Staz, TK, and El Gigante finally soften up the field enough to spring AWfoSho. AWfoSho burries himself in the pain cave for five or so laps while Rio Strada mounts the chase with a helping hand from Giant and Ride for a Reason. TK makes the bridge solo to AWfoSho with five to go and the two of them work together to open up an insurmountable gap... meanwhile back in the field El Gigante, Staz, PtotheArker, and Robby throw monkey wrench after monkey wrench into the groups attempts to mount a chase. In the finale AWfoSho and TK cross the line together with TK generously allowing AWfoSho's wheel to slip ahead at the line. AWfoSho's victory salute was simply a dusting off of the collarbone.

Sub Plot Number 1: Tapinator slips out of the lead group with five to go, but rallies a few others to form a chase group that remained slightly behind the field. He crosses the line at the head of his group with a valiant sprint.

Sub Plot Number 2: AJ, Brian, and Karch marshal all of their strength to do battle in separate groups behind the leaders. Karch launches a savage last lap attack, AJ gains considerable experience while rotating with a group mate, Brian is the driving force in his group of six or seven.

Conclusion: Results through eight places... gotta wait for the rest to be posted on the interwebs... AWfoSHo first, TK second, Staz third, El Gigante sixth, PtotheArker eighth.

Overheard in the Aftermath: a last lap crash took down Brandon Trafton and Brian Larson and forced El Gigante to a track stand... Trafton's wheel washed out through the final chicane and the resulting slide took out Bryan Larson who's body and bike forced El Gigante to the curb. Just an unfortunate part of bike racing... papa Larson had some choice words that were overheard as he rushed to BL's aide... something along the lines of, "Some f*&%king DBC racer probably took him out." Hmm... I think somebody owes us an apology!

Editor's Note: Tales from the Women's 4 race, the Elite 4 race, the Elite 3 race, and the Pro/1/2 race to come as soon as they are sorted out.

Dang'd Blasted Mechanicals

2008-03-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

A mechanical left Robby with just two gears from which to choose, but the kidlets were still able to post a second place time... good job, boys!

Photos courtesy of D-Tap

Menlo Park

2008-03-08T21:51:00.001-08:00

Don't really quite have a handle on what my mind conjures up when I think of Menlo Park... maybe some kind of cross between Gorky Park (the movie, not the actual park) and Central Park (the actual park, not some movie). Rumor has it that u-tube was born in Menlo Park. There is also an independent record label that goes by the same name...

I do know that it is a long drive for a 35 minute crit... in all fairness, the crit was supposed to be 45 minutes, but seems that things were running a little late after the women's 4 race was halted for an ambulance. Then, it was running a little more late after the 35+ 3/4 race was halted for an ambulance. After that, it was runing even later after the 5's race was halted, twice, while we all waited for a few would-be bike racers to scrape their skin up off the pavement.

So, El Gigante and Staz got to start a half hour late and race ten minutes less. I figured that, after witnessing all the carnage the morning had to offer, they'd be a little shell-shocked and kinda ride around at the back for the 35 minute duration...

Imagine my surprise when, with one to go, Staz was on the front keeping it all lined out and safe for El Gigante. He did a full 3/4 of a lap before pulling off with two corners to go... El Gigante was 2nd out of the final corner which would have been perfect positioning, but given that the finishing straight was 500 meters into a headwind, he might have been a little too far up...

Anyways, he held on until about 100 meters to go before getting swamped... ended up seventh out of ninety or so-- 2 places out of the prizes, 1 place out of the upgrade points...

Gotta say, the teamwork is starting to gel... the kidlets are working well together to deliver somebody fresh to the line... and I like it!

The Greatest Racket of All Time

2008-03-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

okay... maybe it isn't the greatest, but it is pretty darn close. I should have thought of it. Then I would be laughing all the way to the bank...

I'm about as apolitical as they come. I rarely vote, I have never protested something, mostly I just shrug and say, "That's the way of it all." I have my reasons for being as such, but that is a topic for another day and another blog... anyways, I've never been closer to protesting something as I was tonight. Maybe it is just because I'm on the back side of an 11 parent-teacher conference day (5 1/2 hours straight of talking about other peoples kids), but The Sea Otter Classic promoters and Active.com set me off.

$45.00 for a junior road race? Are you kidding? $40.00 for a junior circuit race? Say whaaa? And then, on top of that, Active hits you for a $7 service fee? Highway robbery...

$97 for two races where you have to park 3 miles from the start, fight your way thru all kinds of crowds and compete in a race on course with about 10 other groups riding at the same time. Then you get to wait hours for results to be posted...

If TK didn't have his heart set on winning this one before he grows up, I'd have not entered the kidlets this year.

When one registers on Active, who's service is sub-par when compared to Bike-Reg or Sportsbase Online, one has to check a box asking if this is your first Sea Otter or not. Each time I checked it I promised myself that it would be my last... next year I'm protesting exorbitant entry fees and absurd service charges with my feet.

$45.00 give me a freakin' break!!!

Just One Bedtime Story...

2008-03-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

I'm draggin' this out from underneath a pile of fifth-grade report cards and eight parent teacher conferences so you'll have to forgive me if it is slightly incoherent... But, since junior refuses to go to sleep without his night night story...

Dateline: Merced, CA, Saturday, pre-dawn darkness

El Gigante, Staz, and TK roll out of the hotel under the glare of streetlights to spin a little blood into their legs on the way to the battlefield...

The usual cast of characters shows for the junior shenanigans and we figure that we've gotta best Bryan Larson if we have a shot at the overall. So, game plan... Staz and El Gigante are free to roam during the first half of the race to soften up the field while TK sits all muzzled up and restin'. If we're lucky El Gigante gets up the road and nobody chases because he's just a youngen' in the 15/16 age group. If we're not lucky and the boys are all over any thing we throw down, then we cut TK loose around the halfway point in a 1-2, left, right flurry dealt in the form of TK and Staz while El Gigante sits on just in case of a field sprint. That's the plan anyway...

Things start out just right... El Gigante is all over the sharp end, Staz gets a prime or two, but nothing is getting up the road for more than a lap or so...

Fast forward to the halfway point... time to change tactics... TK takes the muzzle off and away he goes. The first few attacks are just probes... can he draw BL out and make him chase? BL is having none of it, and the Swift and Lombardi kids are playing right into the sprinter's hand. Everything TK threw down was chased immediately by Swift's Tyler Brandt and Ryan Eastman, Lombardi's Evan Huffman, or Rock's Danny Finneran while BL sat all nice and protected like in the group. Guess the boys haven't been to bike racing's school of hard knocks yet. Lesson number one: Never... Never... Never... drag a sprinter to the line with you. He will beat you every time.

Two laps to go and El Gigante deviates from the plan... He counters one of TK's efforts hoping that nobody will chase, but the field can smell the sprint now and they are having none of it. El Gigante slides back into the group... only problem is he is a little too gassed to fight for BL's wheel.

Last lap and TK launches one final do-or-die dig. He gets the gap and is free, but when he looks back Finneran is in full chase mode with BL sitting on his wheel... I don't know if TK is exaggerating or not, but he swears he saw a smile on BL's face. TK would need to have at least five seconds to hold off a charging Larson, so he lets the catch happen, but stays on the front, keeping the pace high in the hopes that El Gigante has grabbed Larson's wheel and can sneak around him in the finale... (oops, see previous paragraph for add libbing w/out communication... makes teamwork harder).

Anyways, TK led out the sprint and got his doors blown off, but he did exactly what he was supposed to do...

El Gigante had enough gas to squeeze between Swift's Eastman and the barriers to take the 15/16 race by a bike throw.

I love Merco/McLane weekend... it is some of the best bike racing of the year, but it irks me to no end. For the past three years I've had the best team in the junior race and have come up short of the overall. 2006: DBCJRT executes the perfect leadout... Juge, followed by Davitamon, followed, by Thor with Steel Joe as the sprinter and AWfoSho as the sweep. Gawd it was beautiful, except Joe's legs lacked the usual pop and Tyler Gough was able to come around him. 2007: TK, Staz, Davitamon, and AWfoSho give us numerous options in the 17/18 race, but I blew it tactically... used TK up too early and had to count on AWfoSho beating Rock Racing's neo-pro Justin William's in the sprint... tall order. 2008: We lacked the 1-2 of TK and AWfoSho. Imagine how things might have shook out differently if TK was able to go long knowing that AWfoSho was glued to BL's wheel should he be caught. BL is fast, but he isn't gonna beat an on-form AWfoSho in a 150 meter drag race.

Say La Vie... or however they spell it...

Merco Results

2008-03-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

I'm rather uninspired right now... something about a long day in the sun in the feed zone on the heels of two nights in a Motel 6 fifty feet from the freeway with less than sound proof walls (i think i need a comma somewhere in there). But, I will give you this...

Junior 15/16 crit... El Gigante, top step; The Tapinator, loads of experience
Junior 17/18 crit... TK, a job well done; Staz, 1 prime

Elite 3's crit... Staz and El Gigante, pack
Elite 2's crit... TK, another job well done

3's RR... El Gigante, 5th; Staz, excellent teamwork
2's RR... TK still another job well done

Tale's of herosim, bravado, and guts to come

And the Results are In

2008-02-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

If you read the ncnca forum you notice no fewer than three threads complaining about the Snelling results...

Two team mates and I finished 10,11,12 or 11,12,13 in the M35+4/5 A flite after we worked our butts off to stay in group of 15 or so guys that finished together. My two team mates also worked like dogs to stave off DBC attacks - they had 14 guys in a field of 50, which is maybe a topic for another thread. Anyway, the 11th place finisher is listed as "unidentified" but how do you miss three guys from the same team in a strung out finishing group of 15? We all got DNP's. I sent a pic of us finishing to Velo Promo but I am not holding my breath. I really appreciate all the great races Velo Promo puts on but this should not happen. I realize I am talking about a Masters' 4/5 race but we train hard just like everyone else and like to see whatever meager results we achieve

I finished after Chris Phipps in the M35+ race in 8th place. At the results table they had the top 7 and then nothing else. Since places went to 6th we just ignored it and left it to them to sort out while we drove home. Imagine my surprise to see that I was skipped over in the results. The next 6 places 8th to 13th (should have been 9th to 14th) were the guys in the group I had just recently left.

I've got a problem with adult men whining about their placings. The fact of the matter is that whether the results placed you 14th or 35th or not at all doesn't matter... at all! The only time that it might remotely matter is if you are close enough to the front to earn upgrade points or BAR/BAT points... or in some cases, points towards a race series like the 99 Series. Even then, if you really are ready to upgrade you should be able to earn whatever points you lost by being misplaced in the next race or two...

but... before I go on a rant, a little about scoring races...

first, you have nearly amateur officials practically volunteering their time to drive out to nowheresville in the wind and rain or blazing sun to make sure we play fair. They have more to deal with than just you and the immediate group around you... at Snelling they had as many as 500 or more people on a 12 mile section of road at the same time and they weren't all conveniently staying in their neat little groups (something about fitness and wind and racing I guess). And there are no computers and fancy cameras to keep track of it all. The officials are using those little yellow legal pads to scribble down numbers as fast as they can, and if they are lucky, they have a camera that works to capture the finish... except that mixed in with that finishing group might be dropped riders from another field or riders that still have an additional lap remaining (oops, we aren't supposed to mix groups, right? but we do, and then we complain when we don't get finished in the right spot!). Then, after they've scribbled all those pages and pages of numbers, the officials have to try and sort the finishing order out on the spot while still scribling down numbers of other finishing groups, keeping people out of the cameras line of sight, and dealing with Johnny Go-Fast asking where he finished... no wonder they make mistakes.

Second, it is not the promoters fault that the results are screwed up. He/she can only post what the officials give to them. They are spending their time and money every weekend putting on races just so we can have our bit of fun... they are trying to break even or maybe scratch out a few bucks at most so don't give me any business about not having so many groups on the road at the same time... Get off VeloBob and his contemporaries' backs. Without them we don't... let me say that louder... DON'T... race our bikes... at all!

okay. back to my rant...

There is an element of vanity to bitching because you don't see your name next to 14th or 22nd place. I can understand the disappointment, but not the roll-on-the-floor-kicking-and-screaming-like-a-two-year-old fit. Let it go, nobody but you cares... and nobody is going to do anything about it. Just like with a two-year old, the best thing to do is ignore the fit...

Now, with juniors, there is something noble about a parent standing up for their young'n, but think about what you are saying and how it is being said beforehand... A kind word and gentle correction goes a lot further than demands. And, pick your battles... unless it really matters in the big scheme of things, it may not be worth getting the placing adjusted from 17th to 12th. Pat your kid on the back and tell him or her that you are proud of them.

I find it interesting that most of the whining on the forum comes from the 4's and 5's crowd... maybe you have to learn that results will be messed up before you can upgrade. One legitimate complaint that we let lie on Saturday may have really mattered... well, not really, but it cost Judd Van Sickle an upgrade point, a t-shirt, and maybe a $5 bill. There was significant evidence that one of the top 6 finishers in the p/1/2 race skipped a lap... he was placed and bumped Judd to 7th, out of the "money." Kudos to Judd for realizing that it wasn't worth the battle and letting it go. Guess the p/1/2 guys that have been around racing long enough realize that it is just TBR (that's bike racing).

In the end,we race bikes because we love it, because it is fun... not to see our name listed in the results. For most of us results don't matter anymore than the fact that you got out and rode your bike. Tomorrow or next week or next year nobody is even going to remember where you finished... even if you won. You know about where you finished, you know how hard you worked for that spot... that is what matters.

Green Light

2008-02-25T19:31:00.000-08:00

AWfoSho got the green light from his doc to ride on the road at 4:30 today... by 5:00 he was out on the road! No racing yet, but no restrictions on training...

bring it on!

Snelling... The long version

2008-02-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

I said earlier that the boys did well...

We won the 13/14 and the 15/16 races, but I haven't had a chance to chat with the victorious warriors yet. Shouldn't be too long before you can read all about their exploits on 45x12. Check it out...

I do know that Kelbster did battle with the wind in the 13/14 contest and finished strong. I tried to get all of the details out of him in the car on the way home, but he was out like a light before we even made it to highway 99. Guess that's what happens when you are twelve years old and stay up too late playing x-box the night before...

We had four starters in the 15/16 group. Robby, AJ, and the Tapinator succumbed to the wind and the speed of the lead group, but stuck it out to gain valuable experience. Robby did most of the race on a single speed because the mechanical monster jumped up and grabbed his rear derailleur. According to D-Tap our fast finisher rode away from the rest of the lead group in the finale'. Gotta like it.

PtotheArker was the only DBCJRT starter in the 17/18 group. A valiant effort by the kidlet earned him a fifth or sixth place finish (we think) Bummer thing is, PtotheArker couldn't stick around long enough to fetch his t-shirt.

Three of the kidlets raced their adult categories... El Gigante and Staz in the 3's and TK in the p/1/2 race.

The three's saw a break go away early that contained Staz. El Gigante stayed with the peloton letting the break go free... T'was not to be though. Staz ended up blowing chunks on the side of the road and had to withdraw. By that time the break was well clear and El Gigante was left with no choice but to ride out the miles... a dropped chain on the final lap put him in the grupetto which he lead home for 'round about half a lap. A quick note on grupetto etiquette... DON'T SPRINT at the end... especially if you are sprinting around somebody who dragged your sorry butt all the way home. You want to have friends in the peloton, not enemies. (editors note: to be grammatically correct, "one" should be used in place of "you" but in this case, "you" is appropriate because the comment is directed at one or two individuals who know who they are, but shall remain nameless)

The days show case race was a complete six lap sufferfest that included pros from BMC, Rock Racing, VMG Felt, Kelly Benefits, and Symetrics... not to mention 13 riders from Cal-Giant rounding out the 100 rider field... Giant took control of the race and whittled down the field to about 20 or so contenders with two laps to go... TK managed to make the lead group along with his Elite Team compatriot, Judd Van Sickle. The final lap saw attacks go off which formed a group of four up the road... TK made the bridge to make five just as Symetric's Wohlberg attacked out of the break. TK, getting a little more savvy, forced Cal-Giant to chase Wohlberg before he launched his attack that allowed him to solo in for the second step on the podium... not bad for a kidlet.

Brrrrief Snelling Redux

2008-02-23T23:27:00.000-08:00

Brrr... that wind was cold, but the boys did well. Two firsts and a second. More tomorrow... I've been up since 4:00 am

Linkage...

2008-02-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Couple of places to surf to when you have a few minutes to kill...

1) The junior point series standings have been updated on ncnca.org. They left Kelbster out, but I've been assured that that little omission will be corrected after Snelling.

2) Speaking of Snelling, have you seen the weather forecast? It'll be interesting to see just how many hardmen really are all that hard. It's not the rain that will be a problem, although it'll scare away all those made of sugar and spice (they might melt). But those made of slugs and snails and puppy dog tails and aren't afraid of the rain will have to deal with the 10-20 mph wind... on an open course like Snelling it oughta be field shattering. Plan on riding in the gutter, boys!

3) AJ's pops took a few photos of the boys at Cherry Pie. Check 'em out.

4) And AWfoSho took a few more pics...

Thoughts from the Road

2008-02-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

If you descend the north side of the Grapevine after dark you get to see miles and miles of headlights and tail lights streaming away up the central valley. It is pretty amazing to see the line of cars on 99 heading up the east side of the valley and an identical line on 5 heading up the west side... kinda cool, but all I could think was, "Man, that is a long ways to drive..."

between trying to figure out what songs were playing on the kidlets i-pods, I had lotsa time to think...

First thought: that bike change during the crit was pretty slick. TK was the unfortunate beneficiary of somebody's front wheel making contact with his derailler. stayed upright and all, but his chain tied up in a knot better than any kid tying his shoe could do. What I heard over the race radio was the simple mantra, "Steveo, I'm f&%$ed, I'm f%$#ed!" repeated several times as he envisioned his GC placing slipping away. After getting him calmed down, I looked up to see Steel Joe pushing TK around the final corner. Joe pushed him to the pit and took off after the pack. Upon inspecting TK's bike, it became pretty clear that a bike change was needed if he was gonna save his GC spot. A quick shout into the radio brought Steel Joe back to the pit to give TK his bike, but Jan saved the day by charging through the crowd with the Staz's bike... same Dura-Ace pedals, same junior gearing... and TK was off when the pack came back around with Steel Joe baby sitting him, making sure he maintained his composure... how pro was that? Thanks Joe..

Second thought: TK is the real deal... the kid has more untapped talent. It'll be fun to see how far he takes this thing...

Third thought: El Gigante and Staz both raced well, but you could sense a little bit of AWfoSho in their heads during the crit. They've both seen the carnage a pile-up can cause and don't want any part of it. Gotta get out of your head if your gonna race your bike.

Fourth thought: thank God... AWfoSho's been feeling pretty low what with his mates down in AZ racing their bikes and all. Gotta simple text message from him on Friday, "this sucks, I want to quit." I went into damage control mode trying to get his head out of the gutter, but nothing I could do could match what Davitamon did for him on Sunday... Davitamon took him down to the ToC Prologue.

When the call came through that afternoon, AWfoSho sounded like a fifth-grade girl... "Dad, guess what! Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. Guess what! Guess what!"

I thought I had a pretty good guess... "You saw Tom Boonen?" If there is anybody AWfoSho idolizes it is Tornado Tom...

"No, I shook his hand, and he signed my sling!"

Guess who was on the trainer for two hours today? Thank you Davitamon. Thank you Tornado Tom.

Oh, BTW, the VOS GC can be found here. TK-- 3rd out of 100 in the two's. El Gigante-- 39th out of 100 in the three's. Staz-- 43rd out of 100 in the three's.

Randoms from Phoenix

2008-02-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

It truly was the Valley of the Sun today...

TK finished with the lead group to maintain his hold on the third step of the podium in the 2's. His DBC Elite team did a stellar job of making sure he was safe and comfortable for the final climb to the finish... as an added bonus, Paul Mach and Chris Morales both moved up a spot or two on the GC, we think... As it stands, the DBC Elite team has three in the top fifteen--TK in third spot, Paul Mach in 5th? and Chris Morales in 10th? 11th? We'll verify it all when the results are posted later tonight. Kudos to ex-DBCJRT athlete Steel Joe and Judd Van Sickle as they both sold themselves out today to make sure that nothing dangerous went up the road without the DBC anchor hanging on it...

In the 3's, El Gigante and Staz made the final selection and ended up somewhere in the top 25 of the 73 mile RR. El Gigante was 10th wheel with 300 meters to go but had to grab a handful of brakes when a wreck caused guys to swerve in front of him, nearly taking him off the pavement into the gravel. Can't grab brakes with 300 to go and still finish top 5... Angry... sure, but that's bike racing and sometimes top five finishes can be swamped in the blink of an eye. Both El Gigante and Staz moved up on the GC quite a bit today... we are expecting somewhere around 20 places or so, but that remains to be seen...

Bummer for PtotheArker as he felt the 12 hour car trip and the bonk monster today... but he's learning what it takes to be a stage racer!

I'm thoroughly impressed with all the guys... these are kidlets riding with big dawgs and more than holding their own. Gotta love it.. and, gotta love that the DBC Elite team is easily the top team in the 2's race. If there was a team classification we'd be rockin' it.

Also cool that the Sunday Jesse Ride crowd is putting on a show so far away from home. El Gigante and Staz both were feeling low most Sundays in December and January after being dropped as Jesse worked the watt-o-meter on the hills above Folsom, but if you figure that the guys they were riding with are plastered all over the top twenty of the 2's race they aren't feeling so bad now... All that hard work is paying off in a big way.

Shout out to ex-DBC Elite rider, now Cal-Giant, Tyler Dibble... he posted the fastest time of the day in yesterday's TT and easily defended his jersey today with a second place finish in the RR... all without a team. That boy's gonna sign a contract soon. Which is way cool because part of the DBC Elite Team's mission is to develop talent and help guys make that next step!!!

Finally... I've heard rumor that DBCJRT alum, Thor, won the 3's at Cantua today. If what I hear is true, he won out of a break and rode his break mates off his wheel in the finale despite a flat front tire... I think he'll know how to pronounce it when I say, "Power!"

Gawd, bike racing is fun!

Valley of the... Rain

2008-02-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

Big fat rain drops all day long couldn't put a damper on TK... How about third in the 2's TT? Not bad for a kidlet, eh? No pics yet, but I can describe it for you...

Big, black clouds in the background, fat rain drops in the foreground, and the focus is on a great suffer mug... The boy rode well.

El Gigante and Staz finished mid-pack in the three's and are free to surf the peloton tomorrow...

PtotheArker will be following wheels in the junior race, making sure that nothing slips up the road without him after a couragous ride in his TT.

Results are here... I think...

I Know, I know...

2008-02-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

I know this blog is supposed to be about bikes, but I have to give a shout out to my sweetie...

Happy Valentine's Day, Caren with a C!

In My Living Room

2008-02-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

T'was the night before Valley of the Sun and all through the house not an inch of floor space was to be found, not even enough for a mouse...

3 Cervelo Soloists...
3 Cervelo P3s...
2 Fuji Track Pros...
1 Fuji Team Pro...
1 Fuji Aloha CF-1...
1 Fuji SL 1...

1 Renn Disk...
1 Corima Disk...
1 Zipp Disc...
1 Zipp 404...
1 Zipp 909...
2 Flash Point FP 60s...
6 Ksyriums of varying variety...
6 Easton Vistas...
4 Shimano Dura-Aces...

4 Trainers...

4 TT Helmets...

8 Race Radios...

14 brand new kits...
7 brand new skinsuits...

1 pile of PowerBars...
Enough H2O bottles to drown an elephant...

Most of it heading south for Phoenix tomorrow in the early am...

Hopefully I'll find somebody's wireless to poach and can send some updates your way...

Spitting into the Wind

2008-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

Jim sent me these... more photos of Cherry Pie as so on as AWfoSho gets them off his camera...

TK, tired of going in circles with a break of nine up the road, decided to test his fitness. He launched with seven to go and took a Kelly Benefits rider with him.

With two to go TK's break mate flatted and sent him off solo with a, "Good luck, dude!" muttered in a thick French-Canadian accent.

alas, the hungry pack swarmed TK with just meters to go in the race for the tenth spot. I think TK hung on for a top-twenty spot. The DBC Elite guys put four (TK, Judd Van Sickle, Phil Mooney, and Joe Iannarelli) inside the top-twenty of a hundred plus rider field.

Cherry Pie... Making sense of it all

2008-02-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

With ten dbcjrt athletes competing in no fewer than seven races over the course of eight hours Cherry Pie made for a long day... but, I think I've made sense of most of it.

There were four pies and every podium place imagineable... first, second, third, third again. There was deep diggin' and gutsy riding... and it was fun!

I'm impressed with our win in the 13/14's, and with our podiums in the 10-12, 15/16 and 17/18 races, but it is boring to write about things that are expected. If you want the gory details of victory and glory I'm sure that you can read about it here shortly...

what I want to brag about is the unexpected... Kelbster hanging with the lead group of the 13/14's, even while giving up a year and a half to them, all in an effort to serve pie to AWfoSho... -or- Karch turning 150 plus rpm on the downhill while clinging desperately to the hind quarters of the lead group... -or- Robby, in his first-ever junior race, finishing with the lead group of 15/16's... -or- the smile on Torey's face as he recalled moments of joy and ecstasy in the first chase group-- the thrill of the hunt... -or- the grim determination on AJ's mug as he realized that bike racing hurts... -or- the lap that Brian got to race with his pops... -or- the utter disappointment TK must have felt after being gobbled up by the p/1/2 field 20 meters from the line after 5 or 6 laps in the wind... -or- the battle against tears AWfoSho waged as he watched his teammates doing battle without him...

those are moments that make junior bike racing what it is... gotta love winning, but gotta love each kid's personal victories just as much...

This much I know...

2008-02-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

Karch, Kelbster, Alex, Tapinator, Robby, Torey, AJ, El Gigante, Brian, and TK raced their bikes today... got a few pies for their toils.

Tales of bravado and other doings just as soon as I sort it all out...

Looks Familiar

2008-02-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

AWfoSho doesn't have the nappy bald head or the tat on his bicep, but everything else looks pretty much the same... same sling, same bandage, same road rash on the shoulder...

I figure that AWfoSho is about a week behind Maggie, so he should be sitting on the trainer soon. This evening he told me he may be up for the exercise bike in the gym tomorrow afternoon... big fat padded seat that will allow him to sit up without putting any stress on the shoulder.
Photo courtesy of Megan Backstedt via Velonews.com

AWfoSho Update

2008-02-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

Alex is safely out of surgery. It took six screws, but everything is back in place and the doc is happy with the results. Alex is pretty groggy right now and not talking much, but he did say, "Aah, that's nice!" as the nurse injected a syringe full of morphine into the IV line.

He'll be at the hospital overnight, home sometime around noon tomorrow.

While a few of the boys were up in Chico...

2008-02-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

...Robby was riding dirt locally. Doing us proud with a win in the junior class at the MTB Challenge.

WTG, Robby...

Under the Knife

2008-02-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

First off, thanks to all of you that sent kind words. Alex appreciates every one of them.

Saw the orthopedic surgeon today... special thanks to Dr Steve Nowicki of DBC Masters fame for his quick referral. The orthopedist actually called me before I even got my sub plans finished this morning... Took a few more films, including some of AWfoSho's elbow because it was showing symptoms of breakage, but thankfully they turned out negative.

The diagnosis... a displaced clavicular fracture. AWfoSho must be special because they are calling his a butterfly break, which means that the bone actually shattered into four pieces, two of them resembling the wings of a butterfly.

The treatment... permanent hardware--plates and screws, I guess they can't pin a butterfly break. Alex is scheduled for surgery at 1:30 tomorrow which means I have to write sub plans for two more days. I was proud of the kidlet. He asked the doc all the right questions about risks and anesthesia, and post-op treatment, and recovery, and how soon he can be back on his bike, and how many times the doc had done the surgery, etc, etc... I kinda just sat and watched.

And, on a more joyful note... TK put everybody under the knife at Paskenta yesterday. I didn't get a chance to brag about him what with all the hubbub last night. The boy is a beast right now. He and AWfoSho would have been a pretty wicked 1-2 punch in p/1/2 ranks, not to mention the junior 17/18 races... Maybe later in the Spring. You can find pics of TK and the rest of the DBC Elite Team tearing Paskenta apart here.

Tell Me Again Why I Let My Kidlets Race Bikes

2008-02-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

2/3/2008

7/14/2007

6/13/2006

6/12/2004

Bike Racing 101: Knowing Your Place

2008-02-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

So, you wanna be a bike racer?

Let's assume you've been to the Early Birds and ridden in largish packs on group rides. You know how to draft, can pull through even in an echelon, and can hang even when the pace picks up to, say, this-hurts-a-bit on the speed-o-meter. Now you've got to figure out how to win...

The first thing you need to know if you want to win bike races is just where you fit into the group. Are you all choc full of fast twitch fibers that allow you to accelerate like a bat out of hell? Are you a slow twitch type that takes two months to get up to speed but can go like a freight train once you are there? Somewhere in between? Are you willing to sit elbow to elbow with Racer X at thirty miles an hour as things get twitchy towards the end of a race, or are you more likely to back down a bit and slide in behind him?

The answer to all of the above along with many more answers to many more questions will determine just how you race your bike. You don't have to accelerate like a rocket-sled-on-rails to be able to win a crit, nor do you have to be able to sit in the wind for hours to win a road race (although those attributes help, just a little). It is more improtant to know yourself as a rider.

Most beginning racers are scared of the front. I've watched time and again as 30 riders will come to the line together, everyone of them thinking they are gonna win the sprint. Unless you are absolutley sure that you are one of the fastest sprinters in the group (and I mean sure), you have no business coming to the line with 30 other guys. Instead, you need to do all that you can to break up the race into a more manageable group. That means riding aggressively until you are sure that you are the fastest finisher left.

Case in point: TK is by no means a fast twitch guy, especially if he is riding junior gears. But, he manages to win his share of crits in a season (usually the domain of the sprinter) because he doesn't wait until the last two laps to try to win. He is aggressive from the gun, riding to eliminate others chances to win. Each attack and subsequent attack narrows the field more and more until either he knows he can win in the sprint or he is solo off the front and has broken the will of the group to chase. While it is more complicated than this, and teamwork is invloved, TK used this tactic to win in the 2/3 race at Apple Pie, at Cal-Aggie in the juniors, at Land Park again in the juniors, and to take the GC at Valley of the Sun in 2007.

Say you are a sprinter. You still don't have a free ride to the finish. If everybody in the group knows you are the fastest finisher (and they should if they are worth their salt as a bike racer) that means everybody will be working to make sure that you are not in the group that comes to the line together. The sprinter's job is to read the race (more on this in Bike Racing 201) and make sure that he is in every significant move. In a nutshell, make sure that nothing goes up the road without you that has the possibity of staying away.

Case in point: When AWfoSho won his first state championship in the crit he did so because he managed to insert himself in a move with the two strongest riders in the race, Jake Allen and Collin Samaan. AWfoSho was by no means as strong as either rider, but he was faster than both of them in the finish. Jake and Collin repeatedly attacked eachother, dropping AWfoSho each time, but they wouldn't push home the advantage because they couldn't drop eachother. AWfoSho clawed tooth and nail to fight his way back to them each time. He was completely cooked when the three came to the line together, but he had more fast twitch then both of them and used it to his advantage. He had the fastest finish out of all the riders in the race, but he had to give everything he had to be able to use it.

Above are some over simplified examples, but the first rule to bike racing is to know yourself. Race according to your strength and race aggressively and that first win is sure to come.

What's the plan?

2008-02-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday: 3.5 hours with lotsa ME and SFR. It's supposed to rain in the afternoon so I imagine the kidlets will wake me up early.

Sunday: Paskenta... Staz, El Gigante, AWfoSho, and TK are planning on grinding out the 100 miles with most of the DBC Elite Team. We're gonna drag the radios out even if we look like a bunch of Fred's just so TK and AWfoSho can log some air time (read: practice) all mic'd up with the rest of the Elite Team. It's supposed to rain all day in Chico so I'm thankful that I've been requested to drive support. That way I can be yelling into the radio all toasty warm in the car while the kidlets suffer like drowned rats. Hopefully nobody will flat. That way the closest I'll come to getting wet is when I roll the window down to hand up a bottle.

I know what I'm doing all weekend. I'm hoping that many of the other kidlets will be down in Fremont grabbing hold of a last dosing of experience before the real thing kicks off at Cherry Pie next weekend.

Speaking of Cherry Pie... looks like 50 or so ankle biters are reg'd for the 15/16-17/18 race. some familiar names, but lotsa new faces too. I've got an inkling as to how this one is gonna turn out, but I'ma gonna keep me thoughts to meself for the time being. As for the younger young'ns, I see Dishes is all set to do battle, but rumor has it that Karch has plans to turn the cranks in anger as does Kelbster. I've got my pick for this race too, but will withold its secret as well. Gotta say I'm looking forward to seeing how all the DBCJRT kidlets do in the adult races... good test of the early season form.

Speak up... let me know what your plans are. Riding? Racing? Couchin' it watching good commercials on Sunday?

What the heck...

2008-01-29T17:07:00.000-08:00

... happened at the Early Bird Road Race last Saturday? I've been scouring all of cyber space trying to find out who did what, especially in the junior ranks and have come up with very little. Who raced, who placed, blah, blah, blah? If you know, don't keep us all in the dark... speak up!

I did find an interesting little tidbit today, though it has nothing to do with the EB RR except that it seems like Le Tour de Cali will use the same road. That Switters kid has made Rock's long list for a ToC start. I'd love to see the young'n touring Cali. It's fun to watch the used-to-be kidlets growing up.

Did you hear?

2008-01-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

It was windy in Qatar today, and Tornado Tom and his boys ripped some legs off... fun stuff. But, even more fun was reading the riders comments...

Slipstream's Backstedt:

"It was fast out of the block. You couldn't sit back because it was almost harder then because you would get pushed off the road and into echelons."

-or-

"It was almost easier to stay at the front and take your pulls and then float back."

Hmm... this from a former Roubaix winner? Sounds more like a cat-4 after racing Snelling or Merco for the first time and just starting to figure out how to ride in the wind.

BMC's Sayers:

"My God!"

-or-

"The first hour was 57kph and it never came down from that. It was totally frustrating trying to stay with the front group. I was on my limit. I'm a pretty good wind rider in the United States, but this is another level."

I know you've been a pro since the Mesozoic Era, but, welcome to the big leagues, Mike!

Drapac Porsche's Dean Windsor:

"QuickStep went to front... and pushed the speed to 70kph for about five kilometers. That just pushed out everyone except seven riders."

Hey! Do you think they guttered it on purpose? I'm telling!

What a clinic on racing in the wind. Check out the results. As I read thru them I was reminded of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. If you've ever been to the battlefield you know about the grave markers placed where Custer's soldiers fell. You can literally and physically follow the battle up the gullies and draws to the knoll where the 7th Cavalry made its last stand.

Qatar's stage two results read like those markers. Only seven riders come to the line together... and not out of some snuck-away-and-nobody-cared break. A few hangers-on that didn't have quite enough grip to stick with the front group. Then eighteen at 45 seconds that must have been the second echelon. A third echelon at 3:32. A few more hangers on with not enough grip. A fourth echelon at 8:12. And a fifth echelon at 12:42... and this wasn't a bus. This was a flat stage. Are you kidding me? 12:42 on a flat stage?

I've read somewhere that bicycle racing is Chess, Nascar, and Boxing all rolled into one scratching, biting, gnashing, smashing sufferfest. If it indeed is, then Quickstep opened stage 2 of Qatar with the King's Gambit, countered black's defense by putting most of the competition into the wall ala Tony Stewart, and finished with a flurry of body blows followed by the haymaker. My kinda racing... I love it.

I also love that Slipstream put a rider into the select final seven... two from Quickstep, two from Silence Lotto, one from Bouyges Telecom, one from Lampre, and Christopher Sutton from Slipstream. If you look real close, you'll see that all those teams except that of young Mr. Sutton are Pro Tour teams. Maybe Slipstream is gonna be able to play with the big dawgs this year!!!