Hello. My name is Glen and I think I’m a hoarder

When you registered with USCF and NCNCA, you received a subscription to the monthly newsletter

This season I’m noticing a few familiar names in my M55+123 field. This got me to dig through my stack of tattered, yellowed 1986, 1987 NCNCA newsletters. Sure enough in the same issues where my insignificant senior 4 top-six results are published...

Fair Oaks Criterium results for my 4B group. With only four categories, cat 4 was crowded... usually requiring A and B fields

... are Pro,1,2 results for guys like Mark Caldwell & Kevin Metcalfe. Once in a while I even find Eric Heiden, Rishi Grewal, Frankie Andreu, Bob Roll and others.

Melody Wong rode for Davis Bike Club. They had the best kit... bold white/black checkers with PEUGEOT in big letters

Before stuffing these publications back in the box, it occurred to me that maybe some of you who started racing after the internet was spawned, might be interested to see how we used to find races, register, see official results, and get licenses.

There are those on my team who have had much more experience, over greater spans of time, but I thought I'd just share what I have.

When you got your United States Cycling Federation (USCF) license, you also registered with the local district. At some point the local was the Northern California Cycling Association (NCCA), and at other times is was NCNCA (including Nevada).

I ruined this borrowed wool jersey in my first road race... crashing in a big bunch sprint pileup. Idiot.

We had to buy these gigantic vinyl bib numbers, readable from space. They came with a plastic frame number you could attach with zip-ties or the cool people casually ran their seat post binder bolt through one of the holes. The frame number, visible from the side, helped ensure that you were picked accurately at the finish. The large numbers had to be pinned over the lower rear jersey pockets, visible from the rear. On tiny guys like me, it looked ridiculous. Each category had a different color stripe on the numbers (red for cat 4, which was the entry-level cat then). It was definitely easier to identify other groups from the rear when you were overtaking, and there was no arguing about who could work with who.

If you wanted to pursue category upgrades, it was important to chase down a race official to sign the back of your license, documenting your result. I had a few good results in category 4 (the old entry-level cat) but never got the full six top-six or three top-three results needed to upgrade during my brief 2-1/2 seasons.

In the NCNCA newsletter there was a schedule of upcoming races for planning your season.

 Find a race, and save the info so you can drive there on race day.

Clip out the race entry form and mail it in to pre-register. Then hope your envelope arrived.

On race day, drive there, wondering what the course is like because there’s no internet. Pin on your gigantic bib numbers and race as usual.

April 20, 1986, I'm about to attack during the bell lap of the Tracey Hite Criterium, through the arches at the Marin County Civic Center. One of the best crit courses ever. Everyone was racing for 2nd, as one guy lapped the field. I took 5th and won a Vittoria sew-up, a sixpack of Acme Beer and a T-shirt. They had good prizes in this two-day series.
photo: Tim Kinion (my dear dad)

No digital photography back then meant good old analog, visual picking at the line. I remember being asked more than once to help be a “picker” for race finishes at criteriums. The official would ask several people to pick for a small range of positions. They would say, “you pick out 1st through 3rd” and “you pick 2nd through 5th”, and onward, where several pickers had overlapping ranges of spots to pick. From that a fairly accurate order of finishers could be reconstructed. My best recollection is that only the top six finishers were documented, so there was no hanging around bothering officials to see if you were ninth or sixteenth!

At first these brittle pages make participation in the sport back then look so klugey, but the more I read through, it’s really impressive how developed the system was back then. Participation was really high too.

Saturday, March 26, 2016, Copperopolis Road Race, Master 55+ cat 123

Result

16 of 25 

Weather

70°, sunny, light 7mph WNW breeze


Course

2 laps for a total of 44 miles. Fair to terrible pavement with many small exposed potholes. A 2.2 mile, average 5.5% climb with 13% pitches, early in each lap, ascending a lumpy ridge to a high, relatively flat, exposed valley. At the east end of the valley, the course turns roughly west, into the wind, then back over a shorter climb, followed by a 2.5-mile descent, then 2.5 miles to the beginning of the next lap. On this bumpy course I use much lower tire pressure in my clinchers (yes tubeless or sew-ups would be ideal, but I ride on what I can afford), 73 psi front, 87 psi rear gave my 135-pound carcasss the comfort and traction needed to negotiate the rough road.


My Race

Of my seven races this season, this was only my third road race (the others were 3 cat 3/4 criteriums and one masters 55+123 hill-climb time trial). On the eve of the race, knowing I would be the lone rider from my team, Hans Gouwens (cat 2, Thirsty Bear p/b Akamai) called to fill me in on his team’s plan for this race. They were going to work over Jon Ornstil (cat 3, Hammer Nutrition), who was expected to drive the pace on all climbs. Hans tipped me off to be ready to go along with him as he marks Jon’s move(s) if I wanted to have a chance of not missing the selection for the front group.

On the first ascent of the long climb that begins early in each lap, I moved up onto Hans’ wheel. Jon was setting the sub-ten-minute pace for the 2.2 mile climb. I was third wheel. As usual, Calvin Edman (cat 3, Team City) moved up to spark up the pace, next to Jon. This caused Jon to push the pace into my red zone. My strong climbing in cat 4 races was proving to be less than adequate for this group. About 500 meters from the crest, I had to slide back several positions. Immediately the group split in two, with seven or eight in the lead (Jon & Hans). I was cracking. a few more of the remaining riders passed, then I heard the moto better:-/, which means I was at the back. The chase group, about 9 or ten riders was strung out, but would crest together. from just behind on my left I could also hear Larry Nolan’s (cat 1, Specialized Masters Racing) loud gasping getting louder as used decades of determination to turn himself inside out to latch on before the group topped out.

I knew also that as painful as it is to find power to stay connected here on the climb, it will be much worse chasing alone, exposed on the valley’s flat roads, but I was unable to hitch onto Larry. I crested twenty seconds late (my Strava data estimates that I was chasing in zone 4 for 66 minutes of this 2-plus hour race).

For the rest of this lap I could see the chase group 20, 30, then 55 seconds ahead of me, in the wide flat valley. By the start of the long descent that leads back to the start/finish, they were out of sight. I rode the remaining lap alone, always staying ahead of three others from our race who were shed much earlier on that first climb. Six more did not place. Hans, with his ability to lash out with multiple, fierce attacks, soloed late in lap 2 for the win.

By the race end, I was a good eight minutes behind the leaders, and six minutes behind the strung out chase. I hope soon to share reports from races at this level that are more than descriptions of hard, solo “training rides.”

Observations and Hopes

As I expected, the transition from masters category 4 to 3, is shocking. No surprise either that It’s eye-opening, physically demanding, and (I’m afraid at this point) discouraging. I’m once again racing with guys I remember from my 1985-1987 seasons, but recognizing the difference between their experience that came with developing through the elite field, compared to my development only through the masters field (after a 27-year break). But I’m still excited about each race.

In 2015 I loved racing with this large, organized team (in fact I delayed my option to upgrade in order to gain a full season of experience fulfilling different roles in races with a team), but by summer, podiums for me felt like experiences denied to others in my team and in the rest of the cat 4 field.

Understandably, the number of actively racing masters cat 3 and higher members on my team is low, and by having my helmet handed to me so far when competing against the 55+123 field, I’m not a stellar inspiration… yet. I’m excited to keep hammering on my one set of alloy clinchers (though I’m attempting to resurrect a pair of old US Postal Team Bontrager race x-lite alloy tubulars that a friend donated to my efforts), getting to know the who’s who in the 123 field, and work connections in the peloton, begin finishing with the pack and then be joined by more of my teammates later this season.

Bariani Road Race - M55 cat 1,2,3

March 13, 2016

Conditions

50°F; 80% chance precipitation; 20+mph SSE wind with 40mph gusts

Result

13th of 19 riders

The Course

A 14.9 mile loop, mostly flat but with some fairly tough rollers along the northern, eastbound leg along County Road 14. The southbound starting/finishing stretch is a frontage road along highway 505. The headwind makes this four miles feel endless. My best pass at it in four laps was 14mph. The 1.5-mile northwestbound leg is on good road, very fast with today’s tailwind. A quick turn north onto narrow, potholed farm equipment roads, cutting at right angles around crop fields for 4.5 miles. The tailwind made this leg feel almost too brief. Especially once turning right (east) onto the fourth leg for 3.5 miles of brutal right-cross headwind. For good measure, the road cuts over some rolling hills. A right turn onto the southbound frontage road is the start of the grueling 1.7-mile finishing section into the headwind.

The race

This is a short story. I missed the start of my race by about a minute and a half. I chased mostly solo for 4 laps (except for brief company on lap 2, below). I had my group in sight for the entire first lap but was never able to latch on. My distraction turned this event into nothing more than an expensive solo endurance ride.

After finishing, I learned from Erik Salander (Pen Velo), who also missed the start, that the starting official allowed our group to vote to cut the race to THREE laps! I rode a miserable, slow, unnecessary 4th lap.

Lessons Learned

Being late wasn’t a problem related to daylight savings time. It was completely a case of distraction. If like me, you’ve become distracted and been late to the start of a race once, you’re positive you’ll never let it happen again. Well this was #2 for me. I’m going to buy a clock and clip it to my kit bag. You’d think that with the car clock, the Garmin clock and the clock on the phone, that would be enough. Well I don’t carry my phone in races, the car keys are stowed away, so the car clock isn’t visible, and the Garmin shuts down when there’s no activity.

A brief encounter with humanity

After 3/4 of lap 1 I passed about 3 shelled riders from my shattered group. I caught a fourth along county road 14. He sat on my wheel for about 1.5 miles presumably recovering. Turning south onto the frontage road, I felt like I’d been working a long time chasing to catch him, now towing him, so I flicked my arm. He wouldn’t come around. I flicked again. Nothing. I dropped back and asked him if he would do some work. I heard whining and something like “recover.” He demonstrated unwillingness to work with me, so I wasn’t going to continue giving him a tow. I guttered him. He really started wailing now. I asked him again, “Are you going to do some work?” At this point he started yelling at me very angrily. So I attacked out of the saddle, quickly darting out to the middle of the lane, then back to the weeds, hammering as fast as I could into the headwind. I couldn’t shake him, but his tenacity showed he had something left in the tank. So I soft-pedaled through the start/finish line, beginning our second lap. He chose to mimic the slow pace. Trying another tack, I asked calmly “Are you interested in catching our group?” He barked back that he would help if I would stop attacking him. I turned away to silently roll my eyes and thought “ok, the guy had plenty of time to show willingness before, but let’s try again” and curtly replied to him “Sixty second pulls!” On faith, I took the first one, and was relieved when he came through for the second. We finally began working together. We picked up another straggler just before the overpass turn west. The three of us kept a good rotation going until along county road 14, actually clawing back to our group by the time we hit county rd. 17. But while chugging through the rollers, I ran out of gas. I couldn’t hold their wheel, skipped a turn at the front and knew I had to let them go. Within a minute, the guy who’d given me all the grief earlier, shed the other guy and the three of us went on alone. I have to hand it to the reluctant (first guy) because within 20 more minutes, he was out of sight. If only he could have begun cooperating from the get go, we could have avoided the stress early on and maybe saved some juice to catch our group.

March 6, 2016 RKO2, Red Kite Criterium

This is the second event in this year's Red Kite Omnium Series

There are two races today for me:

M45/55 cat 3/4

50 riders (twenty nine 45+ and eleven 55+)

teammates
45+ Jeff Kato, Yann Bertaud, Craig Auzenne, Mark Cook
55+ Matt Tretheric, Dan Tkach, Jim Forester

M35 cat 3/4 

50 riders

teammates
Jeff Kato, Long Nguyen, Jim Forester, Jeff Bilodeau, Ernie Riley, Jaime Madrigal, Yann Bertaud, Kurt Kuckein, Mark Cook, Phillip Barros, Craig Auzenne, Dan Rugani

Race #1 - M45/55 cat 3/4

result: a lowly 8th among the 55s (likely way back at 32nd overall)

Still behind fitness-wise, I lost another week after my minor crash at the Snelling RR. I was feeling good enough for some tougher workouts this past week, but not sure enough whether my upper ribcage could take the torque of racing yet, so I left registration to day-of. Oh man… fifty bucks!!! and twenty more for each additional heat?! Visions of wet pavement, squirrelly riders, and a reunion with the hard ground at speed weighed heavily on my mind and still slightly achy body.

By Saturday evening, the precipitation forecast for Livermore valley looked better than that for Marin, so I was going. I planned only to do the 55+3/4 race (raced with the 45+3/4s, picked separately). But then I thought with so many of our guys present, it’d be a chance for us to get used to racing together, so I signed up for the 35+3/4 heat too.

The 0.9 mile course is probably the least technical, best-paved, suburban industrial-park criterium course with the widest streets I’ve seen. There are only three true 90-degree turns, but at over 30mph you can still pedal through.

This was to be 40 minutes, but actual time was 36:48, for sixteen laps. Before the start they announced how many primes there would be (five, mostly bottles of wine). I was excited by the first one as it was only open to the 55+ guys.

The whistle blows and we’re off. The 55+ prime was a sprint to the line at the end of lap two. With only a handful of 55s in the race, I set up to get into the last turn on the wheel of anyone handy. It did take some work to get the right wheel, but luckily the San Jose BC guy must not have known I was there because he led me out perfectly, and I came around him just before the line. That $20 bottle of Longevity Tempranillo will just cover my second reg. fee. And something to remember: primes get you three omnium points each. I don’t have plans to focus on the entire RK series, but if you’re racing in a category that’s in competition, denying a competitor those points can be a thing to think about.

The remaining 14 laps I raced like a beginner–no goals, no plan, no communication. It was finally clear that all of my hesitation about the weather and my recent crash got in the way of my commitment to the race. I knew that positioning into the final turn was key to the finish, but I just sat and let the swarm begin on the bell lap and stayed out of the scrum, coming over the line about 32nd. A fifty dollar Sunday group training ride.

At least I collected a bottle of wine that would cover the cost of my next race.

Race #2 - M35 cat 3/4

result: 34th

Already a bit embarrassed by my riding in the first race, I failed to muster the smarts to take a role in Jeff’s broad plan for our 12-man team, which was for sprinters Jeff and Kurt stay fresh. Long keeps sheltered as leadout man, hoping to be joined by one more of us. The rest of us stage repeated attacks in twos and threes, causing the rest of the field to chase.

Our team failed to create any significant attacks, and those that were attempted weren’t joined by any teammates. With about five laps to go, 3 or 4 riders broke away, very quickly gaining a ten-second gap. I saw Jeff “prairie-dogging” and knew we were blowing the defense. While Ernie moved to the front to chase, I spent one more lap, very “late to the party”, moving forward, looking to grab two teammates to start a sacrificial chase, but also taking verbal flak from other racers that CBRE had better shut this down (one of the obligations of having such a large team presence).

I tapped Jaime on the butt approaching turn 4 and he and (forgive me but I couldn’t see who else) picked up the pace. I fried quickly, flicked my arm and peeled off the recover, and put in another dig with 2 laps to go. We still hadn’t closed that gap enough, but thankfully the swarming on the bell lap brought everything back together for the bunch sprint.

There was a crash mid-bunch, which luckily didn’t involve any CBRE riders. With no help, Jeff got boxed-in, but still managed 8th over the line.

Lessons learned

I’m embarrassed that I performed as I did in both of these races. The wide range in ages, the blend of cat 3 and 4, provided the first opportunity for many of us teammates to actually race together. Our large team presence contained a wide range of experience too. Jeff has done his best to lead, and while I’m not as skilled, I should have stepped up and taken a more commanding role organizing the other guys to execute the attacks and better police the front of the peloton so that breakaways are either joined by CBRE, or shut down faster.

Amid my disappointment, an unexpected surprise: CBRE Racing is really doing well in certain categories of the Red Kite Omnium Series.

2016 Red Kite Omnium Team Standings
First place in 55+ Cat 3/4

Second place in 35+ Cat 3/4

Fourth place in 45+ Cat 3/4

Third Place in Overall Team Competition

Among note individually, in the 55+ Cat 3/4 competition, four of us are in the top ten:

2016 Red Kite Omnium Individual Standings

(55+ Cat 3/4)

1st place Matt Tretheric - 27 points

tied for 5th - Jim Forester - 13 points

tied for 7th - Dan Tkach - 12 points

tied for 7th - Myself - 12 points