Ken Is The Champ!

Wow, I didn’t know people cared so much. OK, I will respond to the pressure to improve my race report. I just feared boring people with details. How about bullet points!

• Missed 2 weeks of decent training leading up to race due to illness. Post-antibiotic funk and jacked up back left me questioning my abilities.
• Flew over to Vegas with Mitch and Bill McBride in Bill’s jet (45 minute trip). That’s how we roll.
• Kicked it with houseboatmates Paul Wren, Mitch, Avalon and her daughter Summersby.
• Waited til 4:30 to race the uphill time trial.
• Raced well, matched last year’s time, should have pushed harder.
• Time that was good for 2nd last year was only good enough for 7th this year. Deeper talent pool damn it.
• 7:00am road race start time under threatening skies. 44 mile course with 3500 ft. of climbing.
• Top GC guy is on the local Vegas team and has the most teammates – great!
• Gene, Paul, Bill, Mitch and I make it through the course in the lead group and head towards home.
• Gene jams up his drivetrain shifting gears and is off the back.
• Bill moves up towards the front to stay out of trouble.
• Paul launches and attack about 3 miles out and gets everyone out of the saddle.
• Race settles in as everyone smells the finish line in a couple of miles.
• With my crampy legs I move onto the front anticipating the local team driving it in to the finish.
• I guessed right, and jumped into the 4th position of their train, riding it to the turn 1/4 mile from the finish.
• Random guy behind me jumps around me and I get on him to get past the leaders.
• Thanks for the leadout Beotch! I jumped him 100 meters out and got a road race victory.
• Moved up to 5th in the GC.
• Bill gets a top ten finish in the hilly road race!
• Rain comes down within minutes of our finish. Later groups get hailed on out there.
• Had to explain a dozen times that we are not sponsored by the Nevada version of a Chicken Ranch.
• 30 minute parking lot crit, no chance of getting away, try for another win.
• Gene breaks away on 5th lap for a prime win of a Road ID.
• Mitch drives a fruitless attack with 5 to go. Local team is marking everything closely.
• Gene rolls up with 3 to go and tells me to get on his wheel – yes!
• Could not advance in heavy traffic and settle for something around 10th (thanks for trying Gene).
• Managed to move up to 4th in GC.

Overall a great time. Definitely an event to plan on next year. 45 houseboats full of racers (only 20 boats last year). Super cool having all races start right there in the marina. Stage races are the best team events – good times!

Cheers,
Ken

Barry Wolf Crit

Chicken Ranchers,

just a quick note about my 30+ 3/4 race at the Barry Wolfe crit in
Canoga Park on sunday.

This turned out to be quite a fun and really fast crit and it would be cool to do this as a team race in the future.

The Fast Friday team was in full force with at least 8 riders in the field (out of about 50). I figured the winner would come out of their group and made it my strategy to get into every break I could that had Fast Friday riders in it.

About 20 minutes into the race I thought I had made it into “the break” because it had FOUR Fast Friday riders plus me and 1 other rider, and we got a pretty good gap on the field.

But those 4 Fast Friday riders just couldn’t get it going fast enough (and so much for the rest of their team blocking) ‘cause the field caught us after a few minutes. Seemed like a golden opportunity squandered. But oh well.

The race ended with a field sprint and I got 12th...I obviously still have to work on staying near the front of the field in the furious run up to the sprint. And funny enough it turns out Fast Friday did not win the race.

See ya soon,
Mitch

Modesto Race Report!

MODESTO Race Report - 5/17 & 5/18

Because we too felt the need to race in ridiculously hot weather, Ken and I headed up to Modesto early Saturday morning for the Modesto Crit that day and for the Modesto Road Race the next morning. I followed Ken and his girlfriend Brooke in my car since we couldn’t all fit in either Ken’s truck or my car. We made good time getting to Paso Robles, and then stopped to pick up some breakfast of champions at McDonalds, the ideal place for all of your pre-race nutritional needs.

Soon after, as we’re driving, I see Ken’s driver’s side door crack open and what’s left of a jumbo-sized cup of iced coffee is poured out onto the ground. A short while later the door cracks open again and another beverage gets poured out. I’m thinking that Ken and Brooke did not much care for their McDonalds beverages. A short while later the door cracks open again and another beverage gets poured out.

At this point I start to wonder just how many drinks they had gotten from McDonalds. And then it dawns on me that these aren’t beverages at all. After a quick cell phone call to Ken I get confirmation that Ken’s truck had been converted into mobile porta-a-potty. So you can imagine my irritation because I had to pee quite bad by this point and here’s Ken voiding his bladder all over the central valley with the help of his girlfriend to steer the truck. It was clearly an unfair advantage that he seized on, and I viewed it as a personal attack on my own right to pee at some point during the almost 4-hour stretch from Paso to Modesto. But Ken was kind enough to stop in Fresno with me, and for that I’m appreciative.

We arrived in plenty of time for the crit in Modesto to get “warmed up”, which is a funny term when it’s over 100 degrees out. The course was fast and flat and wound through downtown Modesto with two 90-degree rights, then a left, then 3 more rights. It was actually a fun course with the only notable detraction being all of the traffic dots on the road. Guys started attacking from the gun, and soon into the race you could just feel the heat beating down on you. Ken and I both felt light-headed once or twice during the race. None of the attacks stayed away. Ken did a nice job holding position toward the front and I was in conservation mode until moving up toward the front with about 5 laps to go. The usual swarming happened on the final lap and I couldn’t quite hold my position in the front group of riders.

As we sprinted toward the finish line Ken was 3 riders ahead of me, and we finished in 12th and 15th. Not a great result, but glad to have survived it. All I could do right after the race was just sit in the car with the A/C on for about 5 minutes. By then my heart rate had come down to below 120.

We had a delightful time in Salida (town just north of Modesto) on Satuday night where our hotel was. Dinner at Tahoe Joe’s was good (packed with lots of Salida locals), though Ken said that his salmon had an unpleasant plastic flavor. I’m not sure how Ken knows what plastic tastes like, but I took his word for it and figure that if we ever go to Tahoe Joe’s again I’ll avoid ordering the salmon.

After a good night’s rest and some time at the hotel’s complimentary breakfast (complete with waffle iron and waffle batter which we partook of), we headed out to the road race.

Starting the race on Sunday morning before the heat had arrived was such a relief. The road race was a 54-mile course comprised of 6, 9-mile laps. The course was, in a word, flat. I think the grade jumped to 1 degree one time as we went over a creek bed. So this is what it feels like to race a crit for over 2 hours.

Lots of attacks, but nothing stayed away. It was all pointing to a field sprint at the end. Ken held great position during the race, doing very little work but staying in the top 10 riders. With under 2k to go I was in 3rd or 4th wheel and Ken was on my wheel.

As guys pulled off I realized I was going to get to the front too soon and I knew Ken was pretty much right behind me. So I drove it as hard as I could for as long as I could and then came the swarm of guys. With about 500 meters to go Ken gets bumped off of the road into the gravel section on the shoulder but manages to stay upright and keep in the sprint.

With 200 meters to go he was in 4th and accelerated past a couple guys to finish in 2nd place….he missed first by half a wheel. He probably would have won if not for going into the gravel. But it was an amazing save by him and a great recovery. For Ken’s hard fought 2nd place, he won a t-shirt and 5 crumpled-up one dollar bills that the local country-yocal organizer fished out of the depths of his overalls that probably hadn’t been washed in weeks (if ever). Way to go, Ken. You might want to send your cash prize through the washing machine with some Lysol. (As for me I finished back a ways.)

After getting cleaned up at the hotel and getting a bite to eat at Burger King (the ideal place for all of your post-race nutritional needs), we headed home. Evidently the mobile porta-a-potty was closed on the way home, so thankfully we were all ready to stop at Starbucks in Kettlemen City. As always, race weekends are a blast. Looking
forward to the next adventure.

Mitch

Gabe, throwin down at Sea Otter

35+ Cat 4 Road Race
The road race started bright and early at 8am on Friday morning. It was foggy, a bit chilly, and there was a constant breeze. The race got underway w/ the neutral start down into the valley where we were scheduled to run 6 laps and end w/ the final climb out of the valley to the uphill finish. There were 3 CR’s in the race w/ Pete Sproul, Mitch Karno, and myself. The game plan from the beginning was simple…. survive until the final climb and grind it out to the finish.

The race started off on the .5 mile climb at a hard tempo. The climbers were off the front and determined to split the group. Once at the top of the climb, it was carnage behind and the group was divided in half. We were down to about 25 riders in the lead group w/ all the CR’ers still present. The pace was a constant hard tempo around the course w/ the pace picking up every time up the .5 mile climb.

At the halfway point, we were down to 17 riders and going into the final 2 laps, it became evident that no one else was going to be getting dropped. The group appeared to take it a little easier on the final lap, saving their legs for the final push up the 2k finishing climb. Once we started climbing out of the valley, the pace picked up and riders started to drop off the back. Pete and I managed to stay w/ the lead group up until the final 1k where the hill kicked up and got steeper. Both Pete and I got unhitched and began to lose ground on the leaders. The race ended w/ Pete coming in 8th place and me right behind in 9th. Mitch gave it all he had and came in just outside the top 20.

Once I came across the finish line, I rode up to Pete to give him a pat on the back for a job well done. But before I could say “good job Pete,” his first words out of his mouth were, “Gabe, I finally beat you!” Apparently Pete wasn’t racing against the other 50 riders, his goal was to come in before me. What Pete didn’t realize was that once he attacked for his 8th place finish, I was playing the team role and blocking for him, guaranteeing his top 10 finish. Although Pete doesn’t believe my “blocking for him” excuse, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! As far as I was concerned, there wasn’t an inner squad rivalry between Pete and myself, but after Pete’s untimely comment, there is now!!! :o)

35+ Cat 4 Circuit Race
After Friday's road race, which was suited for the climbers, I was looking forward to Saturday's Circuit Race which was more suited to my strengths. The course is fast w/ one steep, but short climb.

The race started w/ a hard tempo leading into the first climb. I was surprised that the pace started so hard, so early. At the start of the race we had over 40 riders, but going into the final 6 circuits, we were down to only 8 of us. Of those 8, there were 2 teams represented w/ 2 riders each. And from the way all four of them were chatting, it appeared they all knew each other. With the 6 circuits remaining, one of the riders from the represented teams went off the front. I sat in waiting for someone to chase and see how the other team would react. It became obvious that there were 3 riders of the remaining 7 blocking and neutralizing any organized chase for the rider off the front. I glanced around and the remaining solo riders were looking gassed, including me. It was now a race for 2nd. On the final circuit and coming into the final corner, I positioned myself perfectly on 3rd wheel. I tried to catch everyone off guard and lead it out early, but I made the mistake of shifting down and sprinting at the same time. My chain didn’t like the torque w/ the shift, and the chain skipped. My plan of catching everyone off guard failed once my chain skipped and I had a hesitated pedal stroke. I did manage to wind up the sprint and hold on for a 4th place finish and a spot on the podium.

I left Sea Otter satisfied w/ my efforts and results. My goals coming into the races were top 10 finishes. I successfully accomplished my goals and exceeded them w/ a podium finish in the Circuit Race. With the season halfway over, it’s time to take a few weeks off from racing and start to recover physically and mentally.

See you on the road,
Gabriel

Matt's Sea Otter Wrap Up

Hello,

Great race reports everyone! I always enjoy reading those. I have to say that this years Sea Otter will go down on record as the funnest one yet. I think we had over 50 people from Santa Barbara either camping with us, or stopping by to say hi, or warm-up on trainers, or just hang out. The only problem is that there are so many different races and events happening at the same time it's hard to pick one to watch. I got to watch Susie and Kimberly's Circuit race and I also saw Gabe and Mitch's Circuit race. My kids had a blast and are already talking about next year! How many bike races can you say that about? They have pump tracks and obstacle courses and jumps set up for kids of all ages and they're all free. Plus the kids love just cruisin' around and getting free stickers and swag from all the vendors. Actually, so do some of the adults! Congrats to all the people who performed well. I know we had a few Chickens on the podium. I know Susie got a 4th in the Cat 3 Road Race and Gabe got a 4th in the Cat 4 Circuit Race and I managed a 2nd in the Cat 3 Circuit race. If I'm forgetting anyone I apologize.



I'll give a quick run down of the two Cat 3 races I did. It's funny, last weekend in I.V. and Ojai I felt like I had great legs and yet I made poor tactical decisions and never gave myself a shot at winning. At Sea Otter I felt like I had crappy legs but I rode smart and gave myself a chance at the end. In the Circuit race I had a really good chance, but I didn't have the legs to close the deal and got pimped at the line and ended up 2nd........again! I feel like I have a 400lb. 2nd place gorilla on my back! I've tried asking him to leave politely but it's not working. I think I'm gonna have to try drastic measures.......like training smarter! In the Road Race I was with the lead group to the base of the final climb but quickly realized you can't hide bad form on an uphill finish. I got spit out the back and ended up 29th. But then I rode back to our campsite and saw my kids all sweaty and tired with big smiles on their faces and lots of stickers on their bikes and life was good! We all sat around camp exchanging stories of how hard it was with the wind, or how cold it was and how we would do things differently next time. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that just getting out there and doing it is the important part. How we finish just changes the story we tell our family and friends. The important thing is having a story to tell, and people to share it with.

I'll try to plan a Team dinner in the near future so we can all exchange stories in person for a change. Thanks to everyone for representing Team Chicken Ranch with gritty determination and positive attitudes. Hopefully, we all inspire other people to get out there and do the same. Keep training hard, and having fun and I'll see you all out on the road.

Sincerely,

Matt