2004 Ride For The Roses

October 18th - Craig Zimmerman:

Thursday night at about 8 pm I'm sitting in the parking lot at La Cumbre mall realizing that my pedals were still at Dave's shop. When Luke packed my bike in the bag for the flight, Dave wisely advised me to keep my pedals and shoes in my carry on. That way if the bike got lost, I would have my own pedals and shoes and I could always borrow a bike to ride. Great plan. Great strategy. What Dave forgot to tell Luke and me was not to leave the pedals on the counter. This actually turned out to be a good gaff as I'll explain later.

Got a call Thursday night at 11 pm to tell me my flight scheduled for Friday morning to LAX was canceled. I immediately thought this was a bad omen for the weekend. As it turned out, the weekend was great but it was a bad omen about LAX. More on that subject to follow.

Caught the early flight Friday morning to Dallas with Dave. At the Santa Barbara airport he gave me my pedals that he had grabbed from his shop the night before and then proceeded to tell me that he grabbed an extra pair of pedals because, "...you never know..."

Made it to Dallas no problem and then made the connection to Austin. It was in the Austin airport that I truly learned the meaning, "...going to the front..." from Dave. From that moment forward everything was about going to the front! We grabbed our car and we were in our hotel room before I even knew it. Next thing I know the bikes are built. And then the pedal gremlin reared its ugly head. Dave had packed his bike in a box and shipped it to the hotel a couple of days in advance. In shipment it appears one of his pedals fell out of the small hand grab holes in the box. The lesson here is if you ship your bike you should use Look pedals as Speedplay pedals are just too small to keep in a box.

No problem as Dave had the spare set of pedals and everyone was good. To the front!

Friday night we went to a LAF dinner that was fun and Robin Williams did some R rated stand-up comedy to the family audience which raised a few eyebrows. Sheryl played a couple of songs and Lance got up and sang one of them. I have him singing on video and I must say, good thing he can ride a bike. Luis' flights were even more screwed up than ours and he didn't get in until that evening but he still made it to dinner. It was the beginning of Luis' efforts to win the "best perseverance" award for the weekend.

Afterwards Dave went into the back area to hang out with Lance and Barney was following him. Lance's football lineman...woops, I mean security guard, stopped Barney in his tracks. Little did the security guard know he was stopping the strongest man in Texas.

Saturday morning I woofed down some pancakes and we all met for an easy ride that turned into a 60 mile drill. It wasn't too fast but it was steady and the heat definitely made it hard. Highlight for me was going 56 mph down a hill. Fastest I've ever ridden my bike! We rolled back into town with Alan missing a stem bolt and Luis needing some truing on the rear wheel. We pull into this huge bike shop that has at least 8 people working there and Dave asks for a Kysrium wrench. The guy looks at him like Dave is speaking a foreign language. Then it takes them 20 minutes to get Alan an extra stem bolt. 6 riders pull into a bike shop and get a stem bolt and a wrench - cost is $0. Experience seeing how a Texas bike shop works - priceless.

Saturday night we met up with a friend of Barney's who he used to work with and his wife. We went out for Tex Mex which Barney treated (thanks again Barney!). Margaritas, beer, and carbos. It was a blast and I was glad to hear even Alan, being a pilot, doesn't like to fly in turbulence. I thought it was just me. Afterwards Dave and I cruised 6th street which is similar to our State Street but more happening. Most bars have a live band that you can see and hear from the street. Dave and I had to head home though as not more than 40% of our body is covered in tattoos so there is a curfew in Austin.

Woke up Sunday morning in the dark (3:30 am California time) and went to IHOP. Now remember, it's 5:45 am in Texas and the ride doesn't start for another 2+ hours. At IHOP almost everyone in there except for Dave and me was wearing their full kit. Unbelievable. We were exposed to a side of the bike culture that's even weirder than our own. I was surprised people weren't wearing their helmets. Woofed down more pancakes knowing it would be a long day ahead. By the way, at 7 am it was a balmy 77 degrees out and the wind had already started to swirl.

We were sitting in traffic waiting to get into the parking lot for the ride when a cab pulled up and out pops Luis and Barney in full kit with their bikes. Once again, Luis shows up right on time. Another point towards the perseverance award.

We all met "at the front" of the line up. It was crazy seeing 6,000 cyclists. Dave and Scott's connections got us into a holding pen right "at the front" and after Sheryl sand the national anthem, we were off. The first 20 miles or so of the ride was the highlight for me. I got to ride next to and behind Lance. I rode with Davis Phinney (coolest guy out there), Nelson Vails, Robin Williams, and Jim Och. After a pretty steady tempo with Team Red "at the front" we headed into a small town with several 90 degree turns. I saw Jim Och slip up the side so I followed him and then mayhem struck. After some fast turns we look around and the group is thinned out and all of the celebs (including Lance) are gone. All of Team Red (sans Scott) were "at the front" and sure enough Barney snuck up and started driving the pace. Slowly but surely we kept dropping people and then Bobbi got cut off at a feed station so Alan dropped back to ride with her. That left Barney, Dave, Luis, and me "at the front".

We pulled into the 60 mile rest stop and Dave had already warned us about the need to do a Nascar stop. I barely was there long enough to fill up 2 bottles. As I'm running for my bike the blue water (whatever the hell that was) was splashing out of my bottles just like when the gas is splashing out of the tank in a race car as it leaves the pits.

After the fast stop and more Barney hammering, we noticed the group now was down to about 14 or so and all 4 Team Red members were still accounted for. Then the cramp goblin struck Luis and we lost him and after a brutal hill, it was now Barney up the road with 2 guys and Dave and I chasing with 3 other guys. Barney was charitable enough to stop and wait for us so after 90 miles and one stop, there were 8 guys left in the front of the ride and 3 were from Team Red.

Barney was relentless to the point where other guys in our group were asking if he ever slows down or gets tired. At one point with about 5 miles to go, I started cramping and fell off the back screaming for Barney to slow down. I don't think I've ever screamed that loud in my life. You would have thought I either just won the lottery I was yelling so loud or I just lost it by one number. Either way Barney eased back a bit and I rejoined with my muscles flinching so badly I must have looked like one of those female dancers in the rap videos. Anyhow, we were the first finishers of the century with Barney leading Dave and me home with 5 other followers.

After a quick shower and a dash to the airport, Dave and I are walking into the terminal and Luis pulls right in. After the century Luis had to ride his bike back to the hotel, shower, pack his bike (which Barney did), and catch a cab. Another point towards the best perseverance award. Everything was still going great until our flight was late leaving Austin. This put us into LAX late and the bad omen popped up. Long story short, after Dave and I avoided being arrested by the airport police, we made it back to Santa Barbara in a van last night. More details to follow on a ride sometime in the future.

Thanks to Team Red Luis, Barney, Alan, Bobbi, Scott and especially Dave. It was once in a lifetime. See you all there next year.

Semana Nautica 2004 Criterium

July 11 - Staff Report:

Cat 3 racers Gregor Brown, Luis Cubilla and John Roque led the pack through turn one of this season's Semana Nautica event........

Aaron Transky and Tom Anhalt raced Cat 5 with Tom taking 2nd place after an agressive move during the last lap. Full results to be posted soon.

Goodman Finishes Third at Big Bear

June 28 - Report by John Goodman:

With 80 degree temps and clear skies I had no excuses not to place this weekend. After a major setback in the heat at Bonelli Park I didn't want the elevation and my aching muscles to hinder my race so after a pre-ride on Satuday assessed my strengths and weaknesses and raced accordingly.

Was winded and had to pick a pace I could survive the rolling and never ending climb. Though I was in third after about the 6 mile mark a few guys snuck by about a mile before the last steep pitch and looking back I noticed a jersey or two I really didn't want to see. Funny how certain images will give you that needed energy to get away. Near the top I was feeling just about cooked but was able to keep the pedals turning to crest the hill with my competition. As we headed down I picked the 3 guys off who were not able to handle the speed and portions of the dusty, rubbly singletrack. The two leaders I knew were strong and had a good lead. Once on the flats towards the finish didn't see a competitor in sight behind but kept the power on to the finish. All in all a good diverse course and felt good with a third place on the podium.

2004 Sisquoc RR
Report by Tom Anhalt:

Team Fastrack/BDC had 6 entrants in the Cat 5 race. Myself, Nikola, Aaron, Butch, Ken Doss, and Jeff "BDC" Bermant. The race was pretty mellow since the wind was "the great equalizer". With the wind in your face on the uphills, the light climbers couldn't get away, they just didn't have the horsepower. The key to the race seemed to be to always position yourself downwind of someone else ;-).

On the first lap, there weren't very many attacks except for Nikola "testing the waters" going up the hill to the feed zone into the wind. He quickly realized that was not a good idea. We had one guy go off the front on the second lap, but no one chased and he eventually fell back to us at the start of the third lap. For most of the third lap, 2 guys from Veloworx were doing most of the work at the front so I just tucked in behind them. The last time up the climb to the feed zone, I was in second behind one of the Veloworx guys and just keeping an eye on anyone trying to jump...but I didn't think anyone could stay off anyway.

Just after the feed zone, where it still was slightly uphill, an Amgen and a PAA guy attacked and went off the front. I still didn't think they could stay off...but nobody wanted to go to the front and pull the pack into the wind. In hindsight, I should've tried to go with them. I hadn't felt "redlined" on the hill and still felt pretty fresh. Once we started going downhill towards the finish, we started reeling the two leaders in, but pretty slowly...they had gotten a pretty good gap. As we came closer to the finish we started down a little dip that I mistakenly took as the last dip to the uphill finish...so I jumped and immediately realized my mistake. I was a little too far to the left (on the upwind side of the crosswind) and tried to get back to the right to draft a little before the real finish. Finally, at the correct spot, we went again and I just nailed it and we were closing fast on the 2 leaders...luckily (for Aaron and Nikola) I was about in the middle of the road and created a nice leadout for my two teammates (that's right...I meant to do that, uh huh) and Aaron launched around my right side and actually caught the second of the 2 leaders. Nikola came by as well and ended up in 4th, while I just pipped another guy at the finish for 5th. If the finish had been another 10 to 20 yards further, I think Aaron and Nikola might've gone 1 and 2.

Butch had a good race as well as he was playing at the front for most of the race. "BDC" Bermant hung tough and finished with the pack...he was right next to me at one point in the final climb to the feedzone. Ken Doss had an "off" day....'nuff said (I feel your pain, brother).

Pretty good Cat 5 showing for the Fastrack/BDC boys. Although we didn't get the win, we did have 3 of the top 5 finishes with the 2, 4, and 5 spots.

Eric Forte Takes 2nd at The Sand Dunes To Sierra

Day before. Feel good. Gila got me back in shape, and a good Gibraltar hill climb helped me clear out the last of the bad morale. Confident. Whining time over, winning time here.

Day one. 57 miles. 3000 ft climb, 5000 ft descent, turn around, 5000 ft climb, 3000 descent. Finally, a high mountain climber's race. Even Gila had no climb longer than 2100 ft. I'm in the Cat 3s. Strategy? Hurt them climb one, get rid of some guys, then attack on return climb with goal of winning and getting defendable margin for short day two.

Kinda fun aspect is that although we're scored separately, the 1/2/3s all race together. First time I've lined up alongside Chris Walker, not to mention Drew Miller. Not that I'll be seeing them for long...

When the studs begin to surge, I let them go, settle into my pace, and count: 16 guys up the road, half Cat 3s. A third of the way up I catch and leave behind all of the cat 3s. Shortly thereafter, three of the cat 1/2s. Surprisingly, no one comes with me, even though I'm just riding tempo. I absolutely do NOT want to do the 16 mile descent alone, but I gamble: there's still five up the road. Included are Walker, Miller, and Seasilver's Livingston. I know they're not coming back, but I hope that the other two will, and we'll form a group for the long descent. Near the top I close in on one guy. That'll have to do. Wow, I'm closing fast. Get there to find a chubby, middle aged lady on her touring bike. Damn. Guess she couldn't hold Miller's wheel.

So at the top I'm in no man's land, 3-5 minutes behind the five big boys and 2-3 minutes ahead of the next group of three 1/2s, with the whole field of Cat 3s out of sight further behind. Decision time: wait for the three 1/2s, or go it alone? I decide that 2-3 minutes is too long to wait.

I am now officially in the middle of what I hope will become a 54 mile solo breakaway. Old strategy: Win Smart. New strategy: Win Spectacularly. A good time to turn a thought to Lindsay: he could pull off a move like this in his sleep.

First nine miles of descent is terrible for me, 4-5%. A guy needs power here. I ain't got it, but I'm trying. My ass has never hurt like this before. Last seven miles much steeper and I can just tuck, but in the last mile, those three 1/2s catch me. All that effort wasted, might as well have sat up and waited at the top.

Return climb. One of the guys says "you got the 3s locked up." I reply "I dunno, it's a long climb." But I still think I'm gone, I'm gonna win. I see the 3s come down, bolstered by some Masters riders from the next group. Lucky dogs got to roll down in a 15-20 strong group. But I estimate that I've still got three and a half minutes. I leave the three 1/2s again and set off.

Then, disaster. When out of the saddle, I can feel the front tire softening. NO! I bounce the wheel a few times. Soft. GODDAMMIT! I take a look. Looks soft. GODDAMMIT, GODDAMMIT, GODDAMMIT! Then, all too human, I turn from the goddammits to prayer: "Please God, let this be my imagination. Let that tire not be flat." Not sure how a God would take this request. I've just broken the commandment that must piss the Big Guy off more than the others, being kinda personal and all.

I keep going, trying not to think about it, trying to keep the pressure off the front wheel. After the tough first seven miles of this climb, no one is in sight behind. I'm gone, baby. Now nine gentler miles, then 12 mile descent. I'm gonna win.

But there are cracks in the armor. Cracking. Cramping. Crap.

One mile from the top one of the 1/2 guys gets me back. Then two Master's riders, and then: GODDAMMIT! A Cat 3.

I finish 59 seconds behind him, with the 3rd place guy another three minutes back. Put the bike in the trunk, then remember to check the front tire. Firm as can be. Hmmm. I like the miracle explanantion: God, winking as always, saying to me, "yeah, I'll fix that flat for you... but you know, you're still not going to win." Actually, the hallucination of the softening tire probably kept my mind off the hurting legs for awhile.

Try to recover well. Eat right. Some self-massage. I'm the guy walking around Lone Pine grabbing his own ass. Man, it hurts.

Day two. 12 miles up, 5200 ft climb to 9200 ft. I recover well, physically, at least. Ride well enough, but the same guy distances me and I just go through the motions, hard as I can without it hurting. For the last two miles a 1/2 guy sits on my wheel. At 100 meters, he says "good work", then jumps me and I let him. And that, actually, may be my biggest regret about the weekend. Not the somewhat impetuous breakaway, but my not trashing this one guy in a completely meaningless sprint.

Anyway. Counting the overall, that's three more second places for me. Always the bridesmaid. Now that Rebellin's winning, I'll be the Fastrack Casagrande. Thankfully, not as ugly.

-Eric

Roque And Takeda In Solvang And Ojai

Takeda finishing at Ojai

Team Fastrack/BDC Sweeps Sea Otter Classic 2004

Bob Roll and Ron Takeda

April 19- Reports from Monterey......
John R. Goodman:
With weather staying clear and sunny for this years event Ron Takeda took the win in saturdays Circuit Race which followed an excellent Road Race for the team on friday. With many top 10 finishes in both events everyone took notice of the team in red. Racers were working hard thursday, friday, saturday and sunday excelling on pavement and in the dirt.

Team Members L to R - Steve Boelter, Alan Gould, Ken Doyle, Lee Carter, Ron Takeda,
Tom Anhalt, John Goodman, Dan Onorato and Barney Berglund.......click to enlarge

more photos from sea otter

Tour of Temecula

Tom Anhalt during Stage 2 of the Tour
photo courtesy PRISMPHOTOS.COM

March 1- Reports from the Tour......
Steve Swartzendruber:
Spent a long weekend in the beautiful and over built berg of Temecula. Hosting my brother from Illinois, we "trained thru" the races, putting in a lot of miles and not tapering whatsoever for the weekend. Fastrack-BDC had a good presence in Temecula, albeit it spread over 17 different categories, but omygawd there were Labor and Amgem jerseys everywhere you looked; Like Chinese in Bejing. One of the teams were a presence (Labor) and the other seemed to be along for the ride, presenting nothing to the races other than bodies. Well, my red jersey fit in with the Amgem strategy...I was pack filler all weekend.

De Portolo TT
After buying a great TT specific aero Giant frame from David 2 weeks ago, on Friday I had no aero bars or wheels to hang on the frame so I left it home (my fault). I rode the Hampsten in straight RR set up, pretending I was Merckx, circa 1972 before anyone understood aerodynamics. The TT course was out and back, 6 miles up hill with a STRONG wind at our backs and then downhill into the wind. The rain and sleet came down while warming up, nicely turning the dirt into the parking lot into a fine clay. Walking around the parking lot in my Sidi's served to clog my cleats to the point where I couldn't click into my left pedal. Minutes before my start time I had to beg a screwdriver off someone nearby to clean the clay out of my cleat. Finally at the start line, finally clicked into both pedals I look down to realize I'm still in the small chainring. Doh! OK, the starter sends me off, supposedly 30 seconds behind my brother (6 time Illinois TT champion, never worse than 10th in Master's Nationals TT) and I take 3 strokes, shift into the big chainring and drop my chain. Sadly, unlike David Millar, I didn't recover to nearly win the day. I never saw my brother until he was headed back at me after his turn around. I rode faster up the hill than downhill. I hoped not to over extend myself on the first day of three days of racing, so didn't push too hard, recognizing my lack of aero accouterments wouldn't be working in my favor vs. the competition. I finished with a 26 mph average in 39th place (best stock bike? Shouldn't there be a bonus for that?). Brother Mark won the day, besting the category, but due to questionable time keeping besting EVERYONE on the day including Chris Horner and Gordon McCaulely! While dubious, he did ride a great TT on a road bike with clip ons.

Wine Country Road Race
Flail: v 1: give a thrashing to; beat hard. Usage: Steven was flailed in Saturday's road race. Nothing clicked. I felt horrible from the start, was the last man up every climb, never caught my breath, never felt the least bit comfortable. My efforts on Saturday barely justify typing this many words. I finished within the back third of the pack. More than 'nuff said. I did get to see a 2 car head on accident that happened within minutes of us arriving at the corner, got to see a victims still in their smashed cars, deflated airbags in their laps, huffing oxygen amazed to still be alive. Whew, glad we weren't any closer to the corner when it happened.

Temecula Grand Prix
After the flailing I took yesterday I only hoped to finish the race Sunday. I felt a good 75% better than Saturday, moved within the pack easily, climbed with the pack, broke away for a good 3/4 of a lap with 2 to go and sprinted in the middle of the pack. Not sure why my legs/lungs/body came back to me, but having entered the weekend tired, feeling horrific Friday and Saturday, I was able to leave Temecula without being utterly depressed. Hopefully this suffering pays dividends later in the season.

Otherwise: Team morale was most excellent. We dined together Friday and Saturday night at a wonderful Italian place misplaced within a strip mall, shared many a laugh, and encouraging words. Kenny and Danny shared more, as exhibited by their "Do not disturb" door sign and shared skip to the hot tub. Not that there is anything wrong with that...

Looking forward to April-

Druber