Northern California - Leesville Gap RR

anyone doing it? 60 miles on fair to poor roads in the middle of nowhere.

http://www.velopromo.com/lees-ent.htm

Isn't that the short description of all velopromo road races?

Meh. Last year I got a pinch flat on the "road" leading up to the first climb. I should have turned around after fixing the flat. Instead I rode the whole thing, mostly by myself.

This year, if I do it, I'm riding 25mm tires and bringing my iPod in case I get OTB again.

I'm racing in the 5's. Plan on using my 25mm GP4000's inflated to max pressure. This will be fun.

Check out google's street view for an up-close look at the course. Looks like the dirt/gravel portions of Leesville road are the smoothest :lol:

Any idea what finishing times would be for cat 5's?

I was thinking Ipod too. Could be a long day.

Easily before noon. I'm guessing closer to 11, which is nice since it won't be blazing hot yet. 5's start at 8:15.

Yep, I'll be there in the 5's also. Yeah, we should beat the heat.

I'm racing in the 5's. Plan on using my 25mm GP4000's inflated to max pressure. This will be fun.

Check out google's street view for an up-close look at the course. Looks like the dirt/gravel portions of Leesville road are the smoothest :lol:

No joke. They actually are much smoother than the moonscape pavement leading up to the hills.

fair to poor is pretty generous of VP. The roads are horrible. I've flatted the last two years in a row at the base of the first climb and chased for 50+ miles. every year i swear I'm not going back but keep going.

So tubular or clincher? Would one be more likely to pinchflat or puncture on these roads?

Carbon or aluminum?

carbon. I'm light, never pinch flat..sometimes the odd puncture (but that's just dumb luck)

I was wondering about the abuse to my carbon wheels vs. older, heavier aluminum

fair to poor is pretty generous of VP. The roads are horrible. I've flatted the last two years in a row at the base of the first climb and chased for 50+ miles. every year i swear I'm not going back but keep going.

I just realized this is the day before Davis. I'm not doing Leesville. I want to keep my legs fresh for Davis. Might do Oakland, though.

Whatever happened to the Marysville race? Did they not get a permit?

Yeah, I'm doing Davis too. I raced Land Park Crit and Bariani RR back-to-back with no problems... but with the RR first I won't have the luxury of sitting in the pack and saving energy. Oh well, the 5's only go for 30 minutes :rolleyes:

As for Leesville, are any of the roads closed to traffic? I'm wondering mostly about Leesville Road. There's no yellow line, so how does it work?