This last weekend will go down as one of my most favorite race weekends
because SOLANO Ave Cyclery Racing Team went down to our chief rivals kitchen
and stole their pot roast! It was a team wide kick_ss.
First Stop: Santa Nella, Velo Promo's Flattest Race
Rich describes road racing as playing right field. Now that I know that he
played the hot corner of third base, the right field description is really
insulting. This race was hot, flat, and boring. Some team had to mix things
up and it was Solano to do it. Rich merely rolls off the front for our first
break away. As he is reeled in, I counter. A McGuire rider, someone else who
smelled kinda funky, and the pipehitter from CVC-Fresno's cycling team--who
soloed at Sea Otter to win the road race from a billion miles out, join me.
25 odd miles later we were caught due to the inability of McGuire and the other guy to
carry their own weight. The lesson I learned was: Follow that dude from CVC.
Several miles after I came in, Allan opened a can o'pain and attempted an
18-mile solo-to-win effort. Unfortunately, Dr Farrow's PhD was in
Mathematics, not arithmetic! He needed 22 miles to win. Allan would have
picked up the most aggressive rider award. That was truly a painful effort.
Dylan countered with a kilo to the line and started to hallucinate about
winning. Had there been a moto with camera, Solano would have had an
abundance airtime due to the percentage of the race with one of us off in
breakaway land. So coming into the line Eric and Rich were looking good for
the finish.
I swore to Rich that my previous effort tapped me. As the sprint
developed, Rich leads out for Eric but gets pinched right, I dive left into
the clear left lane for the sprint. Eric follows a wheel or two behind me.
As riders faded in the long sprint, the group seemed to come to a stop and
even though I started the sprint way too late and nearly in the back of the
pelaton. I shot up the left side for third. Or so I thought. Despite the
fact that there was no previous discussion about the centerline rule, no
previous enforcement of the centerline rule, and in years past no centerline
rule, I was relegated to 7th (first out of the money placing) for the
centerline violation. Eric who was right behind me suffers the same fate
taking 9th. Rich "benefited" from the disaster and was promoted to 5th. In
summary, 3 top tens and lots o' imaginary airtime.
Next Stop: My Old Man's Place
My dad lives in Fresno and hosted the Solano bunch. We arrive just in time
watch the derby. A game of whiffleball proved that Eric, Rich and I played
ball in school and Allan & Dylan didn't. Allan comes through with the hit of
the day. Eric exchanges a lemon from my dad's tree with yellow ball and
Allan smoked it splatting citrus bits for miles. The VCR played Mario's 2002
World's multiple times after a huge pasta feast. Life was good in the
central valley.
Next Stop: The Tower District Criterium M123
Eric, Rich, and Dylan successfully talked Allan into doing the Masters' 123
race. Good thing, Allan made a break stick that includes 3 Morgan Stanley
racers and some other dead wood. Dylan had lectured us on why it was
important to have two Solano guys in any threatening group. Dylan looks and
sees that Allan's group IS threatening. Dylan grasping his leadership duties
in the moment of truth drops the BFH and closes a decent gap in one strong
effort. Meanwhile Rich and Eric save themselves for the E3 race by hanging
in the back of the main field watching the Morgan Stanley guys shut down the
chase by blocking through the 180. I had my work cut out for me. I am
hanging in street clothes on the coffee shop patio sip'n an ice-cold
beverage.
I'd yelled every time I saw Allan take a big old
pull for the break. Dylan rests comfortably in tow. Rich and Eric just
hanging one group back. When the bell finally sounded, Dylan attacks on the
backstretch. The group shatters. Dylan holds onto fourth! In a 1,2 RACE!!!!
Eric steps up to the plate a wins the field sprint! Solano shows up and
makes their presence felt.
And they felt it good, next stop: The Tower District Criterium E3
We had some goals going into the weekend: Have fun. Score lots of BAT and
BAR points. Laugh at Allan. Come up with some race purse for beer money on
the drive home. And Win. And frankly, after the m123 race, 4 out of 5
normally would have been okay and most everyone could have been happy for
the drive home. But why not sweep it and take everything we came for?!?!
During the open course warm-up I chatted with the CVC pipehitter who won the
Sea Otter RR. I learned his name, Jon, and I apologized for not being able
to carry more weight in the day before's break. I told him to watch for
Allan. He was the one who could make a break stick. This course was destined
for a break away. The 180 shut everyone except the lead riders down to a
stand still forcing a sprint out of the turn every lap.
Hmmm Beeeeeer [Rich and Dylan]
Rich, who has been suffering from "the runs" and had more than his fair
share of 107 degree port-o-potty turned port-o-sauna, went from pale blue
green to burning red when the $75 prime lap bell rung. Then Dylan snaked two
$20 primes. Money was rolling! When all the primes were taken, 4 of 6 were
in the Clif Bar Truck rolling home in the Bay Area. Tires, Wine, Cash,
Helmets.
The Attack Machine [Allan]
With 45 minutes to go, Allan opens up a gap and takes the Webcor with him.
Jon, of CVC, THE man that I want to watch, heeds my earlier
advice and jumps to bridge. That was my clue, and I bolted in chase. Allan
pulls off and Webcor sits up. I yell to Allan to go again because this group
has the quality to make it stick. HWG still doesn't pull through. I do. Then
a few other CVC guys who made it too do some work. I see that after the 180
we only had a 2 second gap. [Is that a gap?] I want this thing to work so I
put my head down and force the issue. Only Jon from CVC can answer and thus
the selection.
The Old Lady in the Fast Lane [Eric]
As I flew through the 180 I'd look to oncoming pelaton and exchange smiles
with Eric as he basically put his foot down, came to a complete stop, and
looked both ways as he lead the group though the field. CVC pitched in too.
As Jon notes in his race report. Even better? There were a couple of crashes in the 180. Hey, it wasn't Solano so anything to slow down the field. Right?
Yelling for the Lap Counter [Me]
So after 30 minutes of equally trading pulls, CVC starts to cry uncle. I
plead with him to stay on and plead with the ref to show me that magical 5
laps to go. Every time I'd see a blank lap counter I'd say, "Okay, I'll see
5 next time." Now I am taking 3/4 lap pulls and Jon is still slowing. He
pulls 3 more times in the last 5 laps. I ditch him on the section before the
backstretch and really pour on the speed so I'll be perfectly free and
clear. Arms up with an excited yell, I take my hometown crit! YAHOO.
Next Stop: The Mammoth Orange [The BFO]
An icon on Hwy 99. Double Bacon Cheese Burger never tasted so good.
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