Lake Castaic was the 11Th and final stop on the California Mtn Bike State Series. When you think of the Castaic course, you think of "hot, dry and steep climbs". With a beautiful sunny day in the upper 80's by noon, suffering was to be had by all who challenged the course. The course was a 6.7 mile loop with 1600' of climbing per lap.

The climbs were mainly on steep single track which made it especially tough on the single speeders. The Pro/ Semi-pro field hammered out 4 laps, while the expert took on 3 laps. The sport and beginner were challenged with 2 laps.

The Platinum Performance Team won the Co-Ed Title for a second year in a row. Platinum had another strong showing with 1st place finishes from Todd Booth (expert 35-39), Mike Roberts (beg 50+) and Kat Post (sport Wm 40+). Jonathan Luckett (beg 40-44), Terry Dalh (expert 60-64), Melanie Davis (beg 14 under), Steve Bertrand (beg 50-54) and Luke Werkhoven (sport clyd) all placed 2ND. Harrison Davis (beg 18 under) placed 3rd.

California State Champions:
Todd Booth expert 35-39
Nick Davis sport 45-49
Mike Roberts beg 50+
Melanie Davis beg 14 under

Todd

September 24, 2006
CA State Series at Whiskeytown

Whiskeytown, which is a stone through from Redding, Ca was the 9Th stop of the California State Series for mountain biking. The area is beautiful with tall pine trees and numerous large lakes including Lake Shasta.

The course was a 9.7 mile route that took riders winding through lots of tight single track. Climbing was also felt with 1400' per lap. Due to the lack of rain, the dust was thick. The Pro/experts took on three laps, the Sport (intermediate) riders raced two laps and the beginner did one lap.

Team Bigfoot designs these races on a great trail network. I strongly recommend racing one of there Northern California races. These are "Old School" races on Real trails......... lots of tricky single track. Six Santa Barbara riders took on the drive up to Whiskeytown. On the Platinum Team, Todd Booth (expert), Steve Silva (expert), Jonathan Luckett (beginner) and Mark Luke (sport). Team Chicken Ranch had two riders Matt Benko (expert) and Sam Schaefer (beginner).

The season is coming to a near with only two races left (Big Bear and Castaic) many riders are finding themselves in a tight battle for the title. In the expert 35-39 class, the battle is between Matt Benko, James Gunn Wilkerson and Todd Booth with only 30 points dividing them. Sam Schaefer and Jonathan Luckett are back and forth in the beginner 40-44 class.

Todd

September 18, 2006
CA State Series #8 at Big Bear

Big Bear mtn was the host of round # 8 of the California State Series. The course consisted long fireroad climbs, fireroad descents and finishing off with a 3 mile technical descent on Fall Line trail. The Elites raced 29 miles and the Sport/Beginners raced 19 miles. With a 3400' and 2600' of climbing for the Sport/Beginners many woke up this morning with sore backs. Team Big Bear always puts on a tough race. With a two mile fireroad climb right from the start, oxegen debt was felt early on. The Platinum Performance Mtn Bike team had many great performances. Jamie Goldstein (semi-pro) had the fastest Santa Barbara time of the day, which put him in fourth in that tough class. Winners of the day included Todd Booth (Expert 35-39), Jonathan Luckett (Beginner 40-44), Kat Post (Beginner wm 40+) and Luke werkhoven (Sport Clyd). Strong 2nd place finishes were seen by Mike Roberts (Beginner 50-55) and Melanie Davis (14 under wm). Rounding the top three, was Terry Dahl (Epert 60-64), Bob Nisbet (Expert 40-44) and Harrison Davis (15 under).

Todd

September 9, 2006
9/9/2006 CA State Elings Park

The 7th leg of the California State Series came back to Eling's Park in Santa Barbara. This race counted as a point and a half race. For riders going for the overall, this was a crucial race. The course was the same as the prior race held earlier this season. Although, a lot of the downhill sections were very sandy with ruts due to the lack of rain and heavy usage. The weather was pleasant with overcast in the morning for the beginner and sports classes and sunny with a cool breeze for the expert/pro races.

The Platinum Performance Mtn Bike Team had a successful showing by having 14 of their riders place in the top three. I, Todd booth had a bad day with a mechanical in the first lap. I used the race as a training day and raced the rest of the day, but with a DNF under my result. Unfortunately, I felt great, but that's racing! Congrats to James Gunn-Wilkerson 1st, Matt Benko 2nd, and Roger Moore 3rd in the expert 35-39 class.

Todd

September 11th, 2006
Masters World Championships 2006 - A Life Altering Experience

Despite injury layered with depression, I struggled out of bed at 4:30 AM to catch the flight to Vancouver. The morning paper had a huge photo of Todd and Andy anchoring an article about the Masters World Championships. But only one of us would race this weekend. Two weeks after having a femur fracture pinned I would be sidelined with the other spectators. But I refused to let fate strip me of the whole experience of international competition. I would at least attend.

Sixteen hours later we reached the beautiful Delta Hotel in Sun Peaks, British Columbia. This adventure was already very different than every other race weekend. A dingy motel miles from the race site would usually be the best you could find. But this place was a first class accommodation 100 yards from the Start Line. And Platinum Performance had stepped up to pay for the travel expenses. I was almost feeling professional.

The next day Todd was off to study the course and I was relegated to the job of crippled photo journalist. Hobbling around the race venue I began to notice a few USA jerseys. I began taking shots of the USA team and any other racer decked out in his or her country colors. This was a major international event, twenty-six countries were represented. Canada, United States, Germany, France Norway, Italy, Chile, Brazil , Japan. These people had traveled great distances for this chance, this shot at real gold.

However, most of the riders did not have country colors but rather wore their local kits. The USA Cycling Federation seemed to be quite well organized and had produced the most spectacular jerseys. Or maybe that was just my perception tainted by American pride.

Just after breakfast, or was it second breakfast, I turned a corner and ran into three of my USA teammates, all from Big Bear, California. They were decked out from head to toe in the red, white and blue. This was no casual locals ride. All were discussing the course, diet, hydration, and the latest bike gear as they pertained to this race. One rider had even been sleeping in a hypobaric chamber.

Saturday was reserved for the Downhill competition. The Canadians were placing well with the Americans not too far behind. Two adventurers from Japan flew down the hill in the men's 50-54 category. Ida Isao took the gold riding a Honda rigged with a gear box in the middle of the. He looked like the legendary Samurai warrior with his chin up and a proud stern look, and also a stubby Mohawk down the back of the neck. The best performance of the day was turned in at 4 PM on the last run of the day. Shaums Marsh, former UCI World Cup Downhill Champion and former local rider in Santa Barbara, was the only rider to scream down the hill in under 5 minutes. Suddenly I realized how serious was this field of competitors.

After the Downhill Championship medal ceremony a rider's meeting was held at the Delta Sun Peaks Hotel for those competing in the cross country race the next day. The UCI officials, in fairly good English and excellent French, discussed the number of laps for each race and various rules and regulations. Then the anti-doping administrator stood up. The winner of each race and an undisclosed number of "random" individuals would be drug tested immediately after each race. This was no different than any other professional race!

Even the general appearance of the athletes at the meeting displayed the focused intensity of the event. Many were gaunt skeletal structures with shaved heads and grim demeanors. I thought I was the only cancer patient here. But this was not due to chemotherapy but rather the rigors of endless endurance training and religiously strict diets. Very few "expert" level riders were in attendance. This race was the purview of the ex-pro champion. And many were current pro or semi-pro riders. Some had been racing on the UCI circuit just several years before. If you ever wanted to compete in the Olympics but were, of course, simply not good enough, this was your chance to live the dream. Here were the best the world had to offer in your age category, above thirty. After the meeting our subset of the USA team quickly dispersed for some active rest before the toughest race any of us had ever seen. The sun was still up, but I was exhausted.

Sunday morning I ventured out to the race site taking pictures and meeting as many of the riders as possible. Several of the USA girls had come from as far as New York and Virginia. All with a serious race face. Rarely was there a smile. Then I met Stephan Jean-Paul. He was the French elite-pro who had won the XC Men 40-44 category the last two years. This is who I would have been racing, save for a freshly fractured right femur. This man was tall, lean, and "cut," with an angular face, crooked teeth, and an honest smile. Communication was difficult through his broken English. But Todd and I do not speak French. He was a very likeable character. I studied him intently. This was the champion I would have to one day beat to claim the blue jersey. But even at this level of mountain bike racing the competitors are quite congenial, very different compared to other sports. And he in particular was not oppressed by the event. Rather he was glowing confidence. The game face was replaced by a smile. He knew that he would win. He also informed us that next year's Championship race would be held in the French Alps. So next year I would have to defeat the elite French pro on his own trails?...just great. Close to impossible. But I have experienced miracles before. I will be there. I truly regretted my injury now and yearned to race and hunt this man. Instead I wished him luck and we parted ways.

By 11 AM the women's races were finished. Ann Yew had won the youngest women's category (30-39) representing Canada. I had met her before the race and she seemed smaller and somewhat more timid than many of the other women in the race. How deceptive?! Breaking down in tear she finally released her elation standing before her brother at the finish line. I could begin to feel the ache in my chest and tears welling up in my eyes.

After photographing the XC Men 30-34 race (Don McLaughlan and Steve Tam for the USA) and the XC Men 35-39 race (Todd Booth and Derek Hermon from the USA), I crutched over to the feed/mechanic zone to wait for my team members to finish the first lap. Actually I did have something to contribute to the team. I was the only one around to hand off water bottles and give lap times and statistics. There were four laps for these first races. The Delta hotel staff had been kind enough to bring a chair out to the race site so that I could sit in the sun and fine floating dust in relative comfort. Todd Booth turned in an amazing performance, not unexpected for such a warrior. After three of the four laps he was in eighth position out of 25 riders, four minutes behind third position and the podium. By the finish Todd had clawed to within one minute of third place and pulled fourth place Patrick Bush (USA national circuit pro) into view. Unfortunately the fifth and sixth place riders had also fought like demons and still finished between Patrick and Todd (fourth and seventh). They were so close I managed a picture at the finish line with all four of them in view.

The Europeans dominated the cross country races. The best performance was given by an Italian named Stephan Underthurner who was racing the UCI World Cup circuit only the year prior. He crushed the 30-34 field by six minutes. Canada had the most medals in XC at 10 but had a large number of racers competing. France had relatively few racers and manages six medals.

Don and Derek looked strong for the first two laps but struggled for the rest and both finished well back of the pack. Derek recalled, "That was the most technically difficult mountain bike race I have ever done." Later I would come to understand that this course was just a typical UCI World Cup style race, always very technically demanding limiting any advantage a pure road racer may have over a mountain biker.

Later in the afternoon Dean Swank would race the 50-54 category. After one lap Dean was in 6th place. As he passed through the feed zone he said, "This is not my day," as we cheered and shouted for him to keep on hammering. He was tenacious and held on to sixth place until the finish, a fantastic performance. Dean was only a "sport" level rider last year.

The medal ceremonies were first class Olympic style. No fourth or fifth place "podium" spots even in the very large fields. There would be only gold, silver, and bronze medals. But they were beautiful. The bright blue Champion's jersey was exquisite, by far the most desirable winner's jersey I have ever seen. The winner's national anthem was played for each gold medal, just like the Olympics and just as intense for the champion. Ann Yew's tears had dried up by then, replaced with a beautiful proud smile. Robert Anderson (50-54) of Canada was grinning ear to ear and jovially accosting all of the other winners. He was in constant motion and could hardly contain himself. And why should he? This was the World Championships. I wondered what Todd would be like on the podium today. Not really a contender for the days gold, he could have taken bronze if only the race had been a bit longer. Would he have shown any emotion? I don't think even he would have remained outwardly unmoved. The three medalists were also given flowers. And of course each champion showered the crowd with well earned champagne and then shared the bottle with silver and bronze winners.

Most of the non-athletic world may not understand the intensity and complexity of emotion that is unleashed during such an event. So I will try and convey the feeling with an analogy. Remember a particular moment in time during the 1980 Olympics? I hardly knew what hockey was at the time but I could still understand the exhilaration. The USA Men's hockey team had defeated the Goliaths of the Soviet Union military hockey war machine. For an expert level rider to cross the finish line first at the "Worlds" in front of so many pro and semi-pro riders would be just as unlikely a victory. I will now be chasing that ecstasy, that miraculous point in time, for as long as I can pedal. Thank you, Mark and Erika, for supporting us through Platinum Performance. I never expected to be so moved. Next year will be in the French Alps. Look out Stephan Jean-Paul!

Andy Osburn

July16, 2006
2006 National Championships-Sonoma

The 06' National Championships were held in Sonoma,Ca. The Infinion Raceway was the host of all the various disciplines on a bicycle. Road races, Mountain Cross, Downhill, Short Track, Marathon, and Cross Country were the many races competing for various titles. The Cross Country race, which the Platinum Performance team focuses on, was a challenging course. Not for technical skills, but for overall fitness. The course was a 7.3 mile loop with 1400' elevation gain on each lap.

The Experts/Pros raced 4 laps. The Sports (intermediate) took on 3 laps. And the Beginner racers raced two laps. With 2pm start times for the Sport classes in 90 degree heat, that added to their suffering. The course was uneventful, with no tough descending and just a few single track climbs. Many of the climbs were on the road. This put a huge advantage to the racers with a road racing back-round. I myself have limited road strength, so I was already at a disadvantage. The course took the riders over the hills around the back end of the race track.

The venue was very well organized with plenty of room for the expo tents, parking and even an up to date medical facility. There were many exciting races seen on Sunday. My brother, Ryan "Nor Cal" Booth had one of the most exciting finishes to date. On his last lap, about a mile and a half from the finish he suffered a tough crash on a off camber turn. Prior to his fall he had a two minute lead. After picking his bike up and starting to ride, he noticed his right shoulder was unable to move. Plus, he had a slow leak in his front tire. In this course the on tough descent was down a "stair section in the last mile of the race. Ryan dug deep and proceeded to finish. In fact he raced hard to the finish thinking a rider was catching him. He ended up winning the Sport (30-34) National Champion title crossing the finish line with a completely flat front tire and a dislocated right shoulder. He was right, the second place rider was only 10 second behind him. The medical center in the Infinion Raceway did a great job putting his shoulder back in place. He unfortunately, couldn't put on the winner's jersey on the podium.

Our other National Champion was Stacy Roberts who raced in the Sport Women 19-29 class. Harrison Davis (Beginner 16 under) pulled out a 2nd. Nick Davis, Harrison's dad placed 3rd in a tough 40-49 Sport class. Terry Dalh had the best Expert result with a 5th in the 60-64 class. Mike Roberts, Stacy's dad placed 5th in the Beginner 50-54 class.

The Platinum Performance team ended the weekend with 18 riders competing in various categories in the Cross Country events.

Todd

July 11, 2006
NORBA #4 Deer Valley

I went out to Deer Valley as well to race in the Semipro field. If you’ve never ridden at Deer Valley I highly suggest heading out there sometime. There is tons of fun smooth single track. The XC race course is one of those rare races that feels as if it has more descending than climbing.

I flew out to Salt Lake on Thursday after work, and arrived at Dave Phreaner’s killer new cabin around Wolf Creek at about midnight. After going to sleep around 2 AM, Dave and I got up at 7 AM to head out to the venue.

Not surprisingly, my field was huge. 60 guys, and almost all of them were fast. Some of my old rivals like Nigel and David Yakitas (N Cal dude) were there, as well as some new ones like Olivia Bock (N Cal). The start was incredibly fast. With about 8 minutes of climbing straight out of the start, into a long long single track decent,… the start felt like the last 5 minutes of a STX race.

I did my best to take it easy into up that first climb. Last year I gunned it like everyone else into the single track, only to totally blow up 15 minutes into the race (Last year, I remember being totally blown on the second single track climb, looking back and seeing 30 guys stuck behind me….then I remember pulling off the trail and sucking my thumb…). This year I entered the single track in about 30th position. As a result, the first decent was pretty slow, but at least I felt totally recovered going into the second climb, 15 minutes into the race.

From there I picked off a couple riders here and there, and entered the last lap in about 24th place, or so Dave told me as he handed me a bottle, with 7-8 riders agonizingly close up the road. I gave it everything I had on those last lap climbs, getting my HR up to over 180 (which is high for me at that kind of elevation), but only I managed to catch about 3 or 4 guys (Larry Longo, the ‘voice’ of NORBA passed me…. Dang!) and finished in 21st place.

Overall I’m happy with my result, I beat a lot of very strong racers, and finally ended the streak to beat Nigel. The hard tail kicked butt on the smooth Deer Valley single track, and the hand-ups from Dr. Dave were great. Overall it was an excellent little trip.

JG

June 5, 2006
Santa Barbara Bike Festival at Elings Park

Santa Barbara was the next stop of the California Mountain Bike State Series. This was the fifth race and about halfway through the season. Who would have though Santa Barbara would have the highest temperatures so far this season. The temperature was in the upper 90's, with areas on the course well above 100 degrees! The course was a five mile loop. The beginners raced 2 laps, sports completed 3 laps, experts did 4 laps and the semi-pro/pros had to race 5 laps. The course dished out lots of single track, steep climbs, bermed downhills and many great spots for spectators to view the racing. Just under a 1000' elevation gain was seen on each lap. The ocean and mountain views from the trails were one of a kind. The festival included many sponsor and club booths, a Shimano kids race, beer garden, and bands that played all afternoon.

The Platinum Performance Mtn Bike Team continued their winning ways by pulling out eight 1st place wins! The team still hold a first place position in the co-ed division of the team series. Andy Osburn (cancer survivor) pulled out a victory over John Martin (another Platinum rider) in the last couple of miles. Poor John lead the entire race. Stacy Roberts broke her bike minutes before the start, borrowed a bike and pulled out another victory. Nick Davis rode away from his class in the sport 40-44 division. Shawna Martin had to race two laps in 90 degree temperatures and she is only twelve! She toughed it out and pulled out the victory. Mike Roberts continued his winning ways and won the 50-54 beginner class. Ian Mcfarland rode a double header Saturday. He won the 15 under cross country race and placed 7th in the downhill race. Terry Dalh won the expert 60-64 class. I took the expert 35-39 race. Very fast first couple of laps with Matt Benko and James Gunn-Wilkinson putting the hammer down on the climbs. I was glad to finally get a gap on them.

Todd

May 22, 2006
Cal State #4 at Big Bear

Big Bear was the venue of the 4TH race of the California State Series. Although, the course was a little shorter than normal, it packed a punch with all the fire road climbing! Right out of the gate there was a 2 mile fire road climb. This is where the true climbers took control. The had 3,350 ft of climbing on a 21 miles loop for the expert/pros and 16 miles for the beg/sport racers. The downhill single track was where the rider's technical ability shined. With the rain holding off, it made for a great day of racing!

The Platinum Performance team continued it's dominance on the co-ed category. Platinum only had 17 rostered racers at this race. After the dust had cleared, we came away with 6 wins! That is the most 1st place finishes so far in the Series this year! Many other great efforts were seen as well. First place finishes were seen from Todd Booth (expert 35-39), Stacy Roberts (sport Wm 19-29), Mike Roberts (beg 50-54), Ian Mcfarland (sport 16 under), Nick Davis (sport 45-49), and Luke werkhoven (sport clydes). Second place finishes went to Terry Dalh (expert 60-64), Steve Bertrand (beg 50-54), and Melanie Davis (beg Wm 14 under). Shawn Hill (beg 30-34) and Harrison Davis (beg 15 under) both placed third.

Todd

May 1, 2006
Firestone XC and Downhill

The Chamberlain Cattle Ranch in Santa Ynez was the host of the Firestone Walker Mountain Bike Classic. This was the third stop on the California State Series. On Saturday, the AMBC sectioned Downhill races took place. The Downhill race attracted some of the top pros in the country, such as John Kirkcaldie (Maxxis) who won the pro division.

The Cross Country race was held on Sunday with overcast skis turning to warm and sunny by mid day. The venue was held on the Firestone's property with the beautiful winery fields as the backdrop. The beginners raced 12.5 miles, the sport (intermediate) riders rode a 23 miles course, and the expert/pros took on a 31 miles. There was also a marathon race which consisted of 75 miles. Mike Hecker (race organizer) designed the course for everyone. There were steep climbs, long rolling single track, and endless flat fire roads with tough headwinds to deal with.

The Platinum Performance Mtn Bike Team was out in force with 36 riders competing in the DH, XC and the Marathon races. Top performances this week came from Jonathan Luckett (beg 40-44), Stacy Roberts (sport Wm 19-29), Mike Roberts (beg 50-54), Nick Davis (sport 45-49), Melanie Davis (beg Wm 14 under), Peter Park (marathon 40-49), and Dave Phreaner (expert DH) who took home first place finishes. Runners up include Luke werkhoven (sport clyd), John Martin (expert 40-44), Shawna Martin (beg Wm 14 under), Sondra Williamson (expert Wm DH), Ian Mcfarlane (sport 15 under), and Caroline Deloreto (beg Wm 19-29). Third place finishes went to Mark Luke (sport 45-49), and Terry Dalh (expert 60-64).

Todd

April 23, 2006
Bonelli Park XC

It was a beautiful day in San Dimas with a temperature of 70 degrees and partly cloudy Sky's. Bonelli Park was the second spot on the California State Series. The course was a nine mile loop with the beginners riding one, the sports riding two and the experts, semi-pros and pros riding three laps. The course was tough with technical climbs, "hike a bike" sections, single track and fire roads adding up to 1,100 feet of climbing per lap. Also, did I mention the mud with a deep water crossing! Platinum had another strong showing with 20 riders completing the race. Stacy Roberts (sport Wm 19-29) continues her wining streak by pulling away from her competition. Jonathan Luckett (beg 40-44) also took a 1st. Mike Roberts (beg 50-54) and Mark Luke (sport 45-49) placed 2ND. Todd Booth (expert 35-39) and Terry Dahl (expert 60-64) placed 3rd.

"Nor Cal" update: Napa Valley Dirt Classic: Platinum's Ryan Booth placed 1st in the sport 30-34 class. He's also on a winning streak!

Todd

April 3, 2006
Sagebrush Safari

On the heels of the Keyesville Classic was the first race of the California State Series... The Sagebrush Safari at Lake Morena near San Diego. Always popular and a good guage of competition and fitness for the early season, especially the upcoming races at Sea Otter this week. Platinum had a good showing with our new riders and recently turned experts.

The course was the same as always but this year a suprise......no water or mud! In the past the start section, which runs through a water crossing, would inevitably soak you before the initial climb. An easy start this year and really super sunny weather for a change. Not much to contend with except all out assault of the course.

Standout rides for our team were from Ryan Booth with his first place sport finish and Mike Roberts, a new member, really coming on strong along with Steve Bertrand right behind him in second. Ron Takeda, who recently turned expert, grabbed 2nd as did Mark Luke and Stacey Roberts, both in the sport classes. Both Ron and Mark are contenders on the road and with a long road climb at the start they were off fast.

Shawn Hill had to settle for third at Sagebrush, possibly the mexican food the night before held him back. Todd, yup it was the mexican food. Next time just raw broccoli, carrots and beer.

The rest of the team finished well, John Martin and Todd in 4th and Andy, Steve and Bob rounding out top 10. Steiny, Jim, John, Jamie and myself strung it out a bit further down the pack.

A special heads up on our Junior Team with excellent results from Skyler Booth taking second place and Renny Takeda in third.

Thanks as well to the new Platinum Burger Express run by the Takeda family.

2006 is off to a great start for the Platiinum Team. We look forward to an active spring racing, and the fact Santa Barbara, will be hosting 2 great races which are part of the California State Series....Firestone and The Santa Barbara Bike Festival at Elings Park. See you there!

John