TCR

Anyone on here doing this one? Have you ridden the course before? I'm already signed up so there's no backin out now!

my58vw

Great course, saw it last year. Unfortunitly I can not do Saturday races and I have ontario on Sunday which is a B+ priority race for me. It is long though, more like a circuit race. Stay with the pack like you did at the last CBR crit and you will do well...

bigdraft

I'm doing the Masters 40+ and 50+ races. Should be fun

EventServices

Depends on what the waves are doing at Trestles that weekend.

bigdraft

Eventservices, there looked to be a nice swell breaking as I drove by on my way to do Barrio Logan this past weekend.

The race is pretty close to Trestles, so you can do a warm down after the race by catching a few nice waves.

and 58vw, this is the first year for the San Clemente race. How were you lucky enough to view the course when there was no info on it last year?? Here's the link for last season's S. Cal race results. Let me know if you find San Clemente on there.

https://socalcycling.com/Results/2004/results04.asp

my58vw

I must be thinking of a different race then. I did go see a crit out that way last year, must have been another one that way. I will look on their schedule and see if I remember which one it was.

Sorry

1955

I used to live on Marble Head twenty years ago before there was anything past Calle Frontera except weapons testing. I might go and watch, looks like fun. TCR what do you ride, I might just root for you if I show up. Heck, maybe I'll ride there from Santa Ana to watch.

TCR

I'll be riding a yellow TCR and probably all black shorts n jersey with white helmet. A cheering crowd would be nice but what I really need is a lead out man or a bungee cord. A new lower back would be good too, preferably a good strong 18 year olds, because mine has been killing me the past couple weeks.

1955

"I'll be riding a yellow TCR and probably all black shorts n jersey with white helmet. A cheering crowd would be nice but what I really need is a lead out man or a bungee cord. A new lower back would be good too, preferably a good strong 18 year olds, because mine has been killing me the past couple weeks."


What time will you be riding? A lead out man I’m not, sorry. My lower back sucks and I’ve had surgery on my upper back, and at 49 years old I’m probably not what you’re looking to for help. If I ride to the race I’ll be wearing blue shoes, black bibs, some kind of red, black and white jersey and a white Bell helmet on a Specialized Roubaix Pro. See you there.

TCR

I'll be in with the CAT5's scheduled to roll at 7:00am. Apparently the best get to go first!

1955

7:OO AM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow!!!

You know all that stuff I said...well I lied. No really though, I get to sleep in about once every two week and that's "the day". I will probably ride down later in the day, you know...sleep in, laze around...put on stuff and then ride down or drive and ride from there (it's about 35 miles one way from my house so I'm not sure just yet). Will you be there all day?

1955

Well...how did it go???

my58vw

Ya how did it go?

Many guys from our team also raced... said it was a challenging course...

bigdraft

The course is very similar to the La Mirada GP course and with the same type of hill action on three out of the four sides to the circuit. About the same length, about the same pain threshold too. It's a great course if you're strong enough to match the bigger accellerations on the main hill. I finish back in the bunch, which for me was good considering I'm not much of a climber.

The next day's short course Ontario crit was fun by comparison.

my58vw

Oh ya... Ontario fun! (Being sarcastic)

See my race report

redal

Ontario was awesome today! Too bad for all the negative racing in the Pro/1-2 race. I still had fun and made a little bit of pocket change. I had a much better day than I did at San Clemente where I just didn't have legs and missed the break. The course at San Clemente was challenging. I don't think it was as hard as La Mirada, the conditions were just different. It was nice and warm by the time I raced. It is nice to have new courses though, especially when we get to venture out of the industrial parks. I didn't really care for the straight between turns 1 and 2. I don't like careening down onto a busy street in a 100 man field and only being seperated from traffic by cones. I do know the promoter though and I am appreciative that he tries to put on good races.

my58vw

Which cat did you race in ontario today? (car 1 possibly), what do you mean by negative racing?

I agree, the course was very nice in Ontario... dispite the very hot conditions... and my "mechanical trouble". It sounds like you placed well, congradulations.

I feel like I was one of the fre people in so cal that could not race both races this weekend I really wish I could have fit it time and budget wise to both races. Next weekend will be interesting because I will be doing a 4 mile itt on Saturday and a 30 minute crit on Sunday... oh ya I am making it a specific goal to place in the top half of the crit on Sunday... wish me luck.

redal

I did the Pro/1-2 race. 58vw, I said hello to you before the race. By negative racing, I am talking about when guys don't want to race. I guess they show up to ride around in circles in the heat. I could give you many examples but I don't have time right now or enough space on this message board to explain tactics.

TCR

Here's my .02 cents:

I took 20th in the CAT5 (first group)!! Yea, I know, nothing spectacular but I'm pretty happy with it and I got 1 point for 20th. I was right up front the first lap and even led the pack all the way up the hill. Second lap I dropped back a few places and was starting to hurt. Third lap I dropped a few more places and was really starting to hurt. Last lap I was barely hanging on to the back as we went up the hill with my HR spiking. I think there was a pack of about 10 who got a gap off the front going up the hill, then the pack strung out, guys were falling off the back, and I managed to hang on till the last turn and sprinted by a couple guys at the line. Looking forward to next weekend's Crit in Rancho Dominguez!

I gotta say one thing though. There are some bad-azz masters out there!! Saw this one guy who had biceps the size of my legs and legs the size of my waist. He raced the 50+, took second, and then immediately raced the 40+. Last I saw he was leading a chase pack back up to a break away. Amazingly fit guys out there!! I wish I could have stayed around to watch the Pros race.

Also, the course was awesome. Tough little climb but not too bad. I also didn't care for turn 2 too much - too much speed with too many people with cones and cars. I actually got pushed to the outside of one of the cones on the last lap. Almost nailed the damn thing! All in all, though, San Clemente is a very nice city and that was a great neighborhood and roads for a crit.

my58vw

Ok that was you, that is what I thought. I understand what you mean now, I just did not know the term you were using...

Sounds alot like my last criterium where I was the only one willing to pull when the pack got split. I guess tactics is something you learn with experience... BTW how long have you been racing if you do not mind me asking? You looked real good out there... expecially in all that heat!

Glad you had a good race... hope to see you next time...

(And I guess there are some awsome racers on out forum!)

bigdraft

I think you're referring to Kal Skalak, he's on the team (Excel) I ride for and is a great guy and good rider. The big bicepts you noted are a lot smaller then when I first saw him racing back in 1988 or so. He was a professional bodybuilder and Mr. Universe. His physical transformation over the years has been nothing short of remarkable. What you saw is only a shadow of what he used to look like in a skinsuit.

As far as the 50+ race my team managed to grab all three podium spots. We had one guy (Paul Rodriguez) go on a solo attack from the opening lap who managed to stay away. His lead over the bunch never got larger then 20 or 30 seconds, but anytime some kind of chase got going, Kal and the guys (John Rubic, Mark Helve with a couple of other guys) effectively managed to shut it down. On the last lap they were beginning to reel Paul in. That's when Mark Helve bridged up to Paul and helped him the last part of the lap and take the win. Mark came in 2nd with Kal taking the field sprint to round out the top three spots. WOOT. A good day for the team.

That 40+ 1/2/3 race was impressive. Mark Scott (winner) looked very strong in the finish.

1955

I don't know any racers names so excuse me...was the winner, Mark Scott, over 40 (1K bonus)? I got to the races at the start of the Masters 30+ but left before the end of the Pro I/II/III race ended.

redal

Mark Scott won the 40+ race but did not do the Pro/1-2 race. The winner of our race was not over 40 so he did not get a $1,000 bonus. 58vw, I have been racing since 1989. There were three years that I did not race (2000, 2001, and 2002) because I was in Law School. I began racing again in 2003 because I would be able to do masters races. The funny thing is I only did a few masters races that year and only one last year. I haven't done any this year but I am going to masters nationals. I remember Kal's huge biceps also. The guy is very intimidating but one of the nicest guys. I was sort of his teammate in 1992. I was on the Category 1 team for Cycles Veloce and he was on the masters team.

TCR

Yea, he was wearing Team Excel so must have been Kal. Sitting at the line before the start he reminded me of a bull getting ready to charge with his bulging biceps and nose breathing (snorting). Didn't realize it was a 1-2-3 for Team Excel - way to go!

my58vw

I figured you guys must have been racing for sometime, you looked very strong out there. The whole deal with law school encourages me because I am in a simular circumstance finishing college and I am trying to relize that school will be over soon as I will eventually have more time to cycle...