i'm coming down with something, so i may only be there to get a start. don't be surprised if i'm not very productive...

i'm coming down with something, so i may only be there to get a start. don't be surprised if i'm not very productive...

That's what I've been feeling like since Sunday.

That's what I've been feeling like since Sunday.

Hey...me too. I'm exhausted right now and apparently it's showing. The smallest kid told me to take a nap. :o

Hey...me too. I'm exhausted right now and apparently it's showing. The smallest kid told me to take a nap. :o

Maybe smallest kid just wants to steal the car.

Eldo Results, Garden Grove crit on April 20th!

Two things, both relate to the Masters 40+ category:
1) crashes happen because racers stop racing and start looking at each other. The group bunches up, people touch or wheels get chopped. I "heard" that one of the sprinters chopped wheels and that's what happened. While there may be 5-10 guys wanting to sprint for the line, there should be 50-60 racers racing so hard that the sprinters never get to set up...deny them the opportunity to set up for their sprint and it will make for safer racing. If racers shut down and start looking around for the sled dogs, then the chances of crashing skyrocket.
2) I know that it sucks when mechanicals happen, but the rule is that you must complete all of the laps of your peers, and you cannot take pace with any other groups. I wouldn't feel right pulling racers out of contention, which is why it's so important that we police ourselves. That means respecting the rules. If you've been popped or dropped, then you chase or stay down a lap and not contest anything.

Currently, the Garden Grove flyer shows active.com as the online race registration. It is now SoCalReg, as most of you have asked us to switch. Please register by using the link below if you want to race a figure-8, 1.1 mile course! We hope to see you there.

Enclosed are the results, I hope you enjoy!





Bluelinks

* 1st Annual Garden Grove Criterium race flyer
http://www.californiabicycleracing.org/04.20.08.bike.race.pdf
* 1st Annual Garden Grove Criterium race registration
http://www.socalreg.com/schedule.asp?race=Garden+Grove+Criterium



If you read this far, then I just wanted all of you to know that we had 232 racers at the 03/18/08 Eldo! This is the HIGHEST attended event in the 8 years that I've been promoting it! Thank you so much for your support, and I was totally stoked to see Max Cash Agro come out to play. Oh yeah, John "The Gap" Geyer is gonna be suspended for 1-week for his unsportsman-like comment ("Shut Up") made to the El Dorado official. This is the 1st time anyone's been suspended for this kind of behavior, so please leave any unsportsman-like behavior elsewhere. It won't be tolerated at my races!

FUN!

went off the front with about 1/4 lap to go and got caught just before the line. what a blast!

After Saturdays effort, Ontario crit 40 plus and 35 plus .. Eldo tonight was a little wierd. Didn't feel very fast and I was surprised that we caught any of the groups out there tonight. There was some definte "unsportman like activities" going on but for the most part everyone policed themselves. I did hear someone refer to a particular part of their anatomy just past the S/F. I am sure next week, we will get Chris rolling in our group.

It was good to see some of the guys on LVelo and Allegro that I used to roll with back in the day

After Saturdays effort, Ontario crit 40 plus and 35 plus .. Eldo tonight was a little wierd. Didn't feel very fast and I was surprised that we caught any of the groups out there tonight. There was some definte "unsportman like activities" going on but for the most part everyone policed themselves. I did hear someone refer to a particular part of their anatomy just past the S/F. I am sure next week, we will get Chris rolling in our group.

It was good to see some of the guys on LVelo and Allegro that I used to roll with back in the day

Hi Groupetto,

Didn't see you last night. :( Saw Chucklehead ride past me after the race. Saw Vireo and Brandy during the race.

It was pretty interesting with Chris in our pack, but he didn't seem to help that much. I was pretty disappointed that your group caught us so quickly and then the 4/5 pack caught us before the end. I don't think that th 4/5 pack caught us more than twice last year so we're not going very fast. :mad:

I felt OK for having ridden about 35 miles last week and having gotten home from San Francisco about 1-1/2 hours before the start. My teammates and I tried attacking and counter-attacking but no one was going with us and the pack was content with chasing us down and then sitting up. :mad:

However, my teammates (Greg and Greg) won one of the prime sprints and the final sprint. :)

It was pretty interesting with Chris in our pack, but he didn't seem to help that much.

What was he saying the whole time? All I could hear was "wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah" like the teacher from the Peanuts cartoon. :p I couldn't understand a word he was saying...all I know is that it was consistent...for an hour. Non-stop. Quite impressive if you think about it. :p

I felt *just okay* out there. I've been fighting a cold for a week and it's settled in, just in time for San Dimas SR. :(

anyone know if the guys who crashed in the 4/5's were ok? i heard one went over the bars in the sprint.

Apparently it was more than "wah wah wah wah"...

El Dorado's 03/25/08 race re-cap
I officiated and tried to "motivate" the Masters 40+, who did a good job of staying safe and competitive. Here are some of the helpful tidbits I tried to pass along at the race:

Winners attack, losers chase
Instead of chasing attacks, try attacking
You don't get stronger by sitting in
Winners play offense, losers play defense
Break time is over, so start racing
Where in the eff is the counter-attack?
Will someone please show me what a fast race looks like
The Masters held off the Cat. IV/V racers until 2 laps to go, so they almost raced the entire race without getting caught by the IV/Vs. It was like someone pulled a train brake every time that bell rang. That bell means to pick up the pace and deny the sprinters their chance to just sit there until show time.
Mark Scott lodged a complaint against a racer who used his hand in an other than "I'm right here" manner. Three racers corroborated Scott's complaint, and as I pointed out to the guy that couldn't keep his hands on his bars, these 3 guys have:
1) no motivation to get involved by lying to me
and
2) do not want to suffer a lifetime ban by lying to me
What was classic was his pal was trying to tell me what happened, but this guy was leading the field so he couldn't observe squat. At the end of the day, I don't want racers screwing around and taking their hands off the bars (unless they truly are about to get crashed). Furthermore, the racer subsequently showed discourtesy to Dan Nicolette by offending him while I was trying to sort this all out. This guy also felt that my problem resolution skills should be in private and not where everyone can watch, but I'd rather not deal with this drama in the first place, so I fix it where I fix and if he doesn't like my organizational skills, then he can keep his hands on his bars and avoid it alltogether.


Labels: Hands on Bars, Idiot, Suspension

so the guy was grabbing other guys? like...in an other than "heterosexual" way?

lol. I don't know. On a related note, I smacked George on the ass during the cool-down and some guy in the masters complained that he didn't get a smack. I told him to come on over and I laid one on him too. :p At least I waited until the race was over to take my hands off the bars. :D

Am I the only one who finds Chris Lotts very annoying? I know that he tries to support the local racers and yada yada, but this guy's personality is lacking.

And his race advice during the race is very, very annoying. "Attack!! Attack!!" Then see how fast you blow up!

Am I the only one who finds Chris Lotts very annoying? I know that he tries to support the local racers and yada yada, but this guy's personality is lacking.

And his race advice during the race is very, very annoying. "Attack!! Attack!!" Then see how fast you blow up!


I like Chris alot, but I will agree that he is an acquired taste. Remember that his heart is in the right place and he likes to see people race or train hard, not sit in and get a free ride. He was actually pretty strong when he trained regularly and he did attack alot.

Am I the only one who finds Chris Lotts very annoying? I know that he tries to support the local racers and yada yada, but this guy's personality is lacking.

And his race advice during the race is very, very annoying. "Attack!! Attack!!" Then see how fast you blow up!

i dunno. i thought it was fun. i didn't want there to be a big bunch sprint at the end, so i attacked, per his advice/instruction and because of what you had said when we started. actually, i didn't want to be part of a big buch sprint, but i wouldn't have done what i did in a normal race. as long as i was able to have an effect on the outcome, ie., giving the sprinters a hard time, i'm happy. next time i'll try something different. maybe someone will even go with me!

Am I the only one who finds Chris Lotts very annoying? I know that he tries to support the local racers and yada yada, but this guy's personality is lacking.

And his race advice during the race is very, very annoying. "Attack!! Attack!!" Then see how fast you blow up!

Hi oc_rider,

You don't talk to many people do you? ;) :rolleyes:

A LOT of people find Chris annoying and he knows that. However, unless you or someone you know is willing to put up with all of the BS associated with organizing many races each year and keeping Eldo alive, I don't think that annoying is too much to endure on our part as racers. :)

Like I said in my prior post, not too many of the Masters listened to his anyway. And the end result was that we got passed by the 1/2/3 and 4/5 packs. Personally, it's getting kind of old with very few people in the Masters willing to go out on a limb and try something. No one seems to remember that it's JUST Eldo.

No one will remember next year who won Eldo races this year. If this doesn't get better, I may have to ride the 1/2/3 race instead. However, I may not get as good of a workout sucking wheels as I do attacking a few times each race. :(

You guys are right. He does put up with alot of BS. I just try not to listen to him rant. After all, Eldo is a "practice" race. That's the reason why I don't get any placings at these races.

Just like you Cleave, I try and stir something up by going off the front, but I always get caught. This past Tuesday, I was actually proud of the 4/5 group! We had averaged 25mph this past Tuesday! Usually we just avg about 23mph. Those are the slow days and no one wants to work!! :mad:

We were actually strung out a little and didn't look like a bunch of Sunday riders!! ( no offense to the Sunday riders out there :D )

Hi Groupetto,

Didn't see you last night. :( Saw Chucklehead ride past me after the race. Saw Vireo and Brandy during the race.

It was pretty interesting with Chris in our pack, but he didn't seem to help that much. I was pretty disappointed that your group caught us so quickly and then the 4/5 pack caught us before the end. I don't think that th 4/5 pack caught us more than twice last year so we're not going very fast. :mad:

I felt OK for having ridden about 35 miles last week and having gotten home from San Francisco about 1-1/2 hours before the start. My teammates and I tried attacking and counter-attacking but no one was going with us and the pack was content with chasing us down and then sitting up. :mad:

However, my teammates (Greg and Greg) won one of the prime sprints and the final sprint. :)

You may have not have noticed me I was wearing last years kit (laundry issue) and there were alot of people out there. I did see Greg Page .briefly.

I thought all groups rode a bit slower and it wasnt as strung out as usual. Since the hand swiping incident was at the front , I was only able to hear the post race banter. I am hoping that Chris does not decide to police our group next. That may send the pace up a few clicks higher trying to drop him.

I am glad he is there to promote bike racing ..

No one will remember next year who won Eldo races this year.

didnt you win at Eldo last year ?

Who's in tonight? I'll be there if I can't find some excuse not to make it ;)

i'll be there. hopefully the rain doesn't come early...

I'm thinking about it, but I probably won't be there until the start of the next series.

Tonight will be my first night out there.. Hopefully I won't be OTB. Is the pace slower than the usual weekend crits? Figured it'll be pretty pointless to ride aggressive for a training crit.

Tonight will be my first night out there.. Hopefully I won't be OTB. Is the pace slower than the usual weekend crits? Figured it'll be pretty pointless to ride aggressive for a training crit.

If I can hang, I'm pretty sure most people can.

I don't think I'm racing tonight...still sick. :( Might come to watch though.

it can be fast, but the course is so far from technical that it's really easy to hang on. there's only one turn that even resembles anything close to an actual "corner" and the accelerations coming out of it aren't that strong.

Enjoyed myself today!!! Felt like an hour long spin class minus the flashing lights and the hot women... Well, I did notice Brandy on the side...

Well, that started off terribly slow, got better for about 20 minutes, and the finale was a cluster. Oh well, I kept the rubber up, put in some time at the front, and got to see Chuckles, Brandy, Vireo and Chimivee. Next week....

There was a crash in the final turn of the Senior/V. It happend right next to me but I avoided the temptation to look and just started the sprint. Did anyone see it?

Well, that started off terribly slow, got better for about 20 minutes, and the finale was a cluster. Oh well, I kept the rubber up, put in some time at the front, and got to see Chuckles, Brandy, Vireo and Chimivee. Next week....

James did it?!

James did it?!

Yep, on a CX bike :D
Actually he was taking photos.

Yep, on a CX bike :D
Actually he was taking photos.

:lol: Actually, I could totally imagine him snapping away from the side of the peloton.

I'll be there next week.

I'll be there next week.

you stay out of this! :mad:



kidding. that should be fun! maybe we can get george to come over from the masters group and put together a BF coalition.


my evening pretty much mirrored OC Roadie's, except i never really got close to the front, then when it came time to move up, there was a wall of slowness preventing any of the faster guys from coming up from the rear. the lanes that are typically open in other races just weren't there tonight or they were clogged with slow.
there was a crash right near the end, but it doesn't appear to have been serious.

Vireo and Chucklehead pre-race:
http://three91.com/bike/2008/04/ElDo_040108/P4016646r.JPG

Vireo (far left):
http://three91.com/bike/2008/04/ElDo_040108/P4016665r.JPG

OCRoadie (black/white Motortabs):
http://three91.com/bike/2008/04/ElDo_040108/P4016691r.JPG

Chuck Le Head:
http://three91.com/bike/2008/04/ElDo_040108/P4016726r.JPG

i think i need a longer stem.

Your arm is raised more than 90deg (needs a shorter reach) but you're hunching your back (makes it look like too much reach).

As you know, I'm not a bike fitter... but this is what I was told of my riding position as well. :p

i'm very comfortable on the bike, though. maybe i need a smaller bike.

George is a better person to answer these questions. You should have asked him after the race. :D

i don't think george likes me very much.

Your bike dosnt look too big almost the reverse !

i don't think george likes me very much.

No problem. Just ask him his opinion of what you should do, then do the opposite.

i think i need a longer stem.

Quit making fun of me.

There are photographers taking pictures at Eldo. Does anyone know where those pictures eventually end up?

Quit making fun of me.

but it's so easy.

There are photographers taking pictures at Eldo. Does anyone know where those pictures eventually end up?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=6329102&postcount=72

Vireo and Chucklehead pre-race:

Vireo (far left):

OCRoadie (black/white Motortabs):

Chuck Le Head:


James, cool pictures. I'll have to head out to Eldo one of these days.

Thanks

I'll be there next week.

Why would you go all the way down there when you got the bowl in your backyard ?
I have done Eldo and prefer the Bowl..

Hi,

I'm in town so I'll be there tonight. Won't be able to make it for the next two weeks though. :(

Let's see if we can get the Masters to pass the 4/5 pack again this week. (Sorry I missed it last week.) Oh, and I may not be in pink and blue. :eek: