Email Your Congress Person!

Hey Cyclists- I urge you to get hold of your Congressman/woman in support of the Resolution on Cycling described below. Let's get some recognition that bikes belong on the road as a safe, healthy and environmental transportation choice!

Cheers-

Druber

From: "Walter Finch" <bikeleague@bikeleague.org>
Date: April 29, 2008 11:25:14 AM PDT

National Bicycling Strategy

National Bike Month

Take Action!
Support House Congressional Resolution

The House Congressional Resolution on Bicycling (H.Con.Res. 305), introduced in February, calls on the United States Congress to adopt a national bicycling strategy to fully realize the incredible benefits of getting more people bicycling, more safely, more often.

There is a "sense of Congress" that complete streets policies are essential to ensure wise use of considerable Federal investment in transportation infrastructure, and that expanded funding for bicycling and walking programs is desirable and appropriate.

As we celebrate National Bike Month in May, cities and organizations throughout the country will be hosting events promoting bicycling as a healthy, fun, and viable form of transportation. This is also a perfect opportunity to contact your Congressional Representatives to thank those that have signed onto the Resolution and urge those that have not to so.

A good showing for the Resolution is essential as this would serve as the first ever comprehensive bicycling policy statement and would serve as an important policy statement guide for the next transportation reauthorization which begins next year (2009).
As part of National Bike Month please take a moment to Contact your Congressional Member to urge them to support HCONRES305.

Thank you.

From 47 to 97 Degrees in 107 Miles!

Greg Hanson, a friend and local cyclist sent me this. So I thought I would post it. Sounds like fun Greg, keep on ridin!

The San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club Wildflower Century 26.April.2008

Started at 7:15am with temp near 47, was pretty cold the first 45 minutes. But then some sun started to warm me up. Within the first hour and a half at the first downhill twisties – here was a rider sitting in the middle of the road obviously in pain. Guess he got over excited to be on his bicycle going with too much speed and fell breaking his collar bone and a couple ribs. Looked back as I passed to see the pain on his face and soon a fire truck passed me heading up to assist him.

Hooked up with 2 new friends: Michael & Ken from Monterey and rode much of the day with them – when I could keep up on my 25 lbs. 30 yr. old bicycle and they on those new 15 lb. models. But I don’t ride to be the first to the top of the climb or the finish – for me it is exercise and therapy.

Overall the ride was excellent with good fruit, food & water, power lemonade & gatorade at the rest stops. Good meat cuts, fresh strawberries, cookies at lunch.
The roads overall I thought were bumpy and rutted in places but that is what age, time, and weather will do. The wildflowers were abundant and beautiful. One stretch came upon about 5-7 bicycles lying down on the side of the road with the riders off in the flower fields taking photos. The poppies and lupines were everywhere.

One stretch rode with a mother of 2 daughter’s ages 18 and 15 from Porterville. Sam’s 15 year old was going to the Prom that night. She wanted to complete her 1st long ride (she was doing the 75 mile route) and drive back with her friend she came with – a female retired police officer, so she could help her daughter get ready for the prom. Later in the ride after lunch – passed her and said: “hi Sam – a Mom who is going to make the prom.” Her reply: “I am so excited.”

My understanding is the heat of the day reached 97 degrees on one of the climbs. Don’t know if it was that heat, or the fact that I ate a full sandwich at lunch - mile 72, or waiting for Michael & Ken to finish talking with another rider on an Orbea frame ($9,500 – he stated he had invested in his new bike) spending 50 minutes at lunch. I usually only lunch stop for about 30 minutes, but after warming my legs up for a bit back on the bike, then for about 45 minutes I felt miserable. Drank my water, ate a few hard candies from my jersey pouch – trying to recover. Made it to the next water stop – drank up, filled the water bottles and back on the bike felt good again and finished strong. OK.

The century route was 107 miles with 6,500 feet of climbing and finished at 3:30pm.. Have done this century 2 times before and remember I had the patches from previous rides. With time on Sunday – looked and found my last patch of this century dated 1982. Wow – returned 26 yrs. later to enjoy the wild flowers once again.
Looking forward to the next one…….


Greg Hanson
Coldwell Banker
3902 State St.

The Whiskey, Pete Style!

After reading about this race in Bike magazine my brother and I decided a few months back to give this race a try. The Whiskey goes down in Prescott, AZ and having ridden there before I knew there was an abundant of epic single track to be had. This race is put on by Epic Rides out of Tucson, AZ and I’d heard that their races are indeed epic.

The Whiskey was said to be an old-school style MTB race with a festival like atmosphere. There are three version of the course; the 50 proof (44 miles, 6,800’ of vert), the 25 proof (28 miles, 4,800’ of vert) and the 15 proof (19 miles). My brother and I opted for the 25 proof. I was looking at times from years past and out of about 250 riders doing the 25 proof, the winning times were around 2:40. This wasn’t shaping up to be your standard socal series lap race with 25 miles being done in 2 hours and my brother and I were a little apprehensive. One thing I was really looking forward to after weeks of 8 am start times was the 10 am start and a hotel a block away. Prescott is at 5,000’ so temps weren’t forecasted to get any higher than 75 which would be nice. With a mandatory meeting on Friday afternoon the town was crawling with bikers when we arrived around 4 pm to grab our packets and get in a little ride to loosen the legs up after 8 hrs in the car.

Saturday dawned sunny and mild, perfect for racing. The 50 proofers went off at 9 am and we rolled out with a neutral start at 10 am sharp. I kept telling myself to heed Matt’s advice on pacing as the race started with a 9 mile climb and another 6 mile climb awaited near the end of the race. Blow up early and an already long day could turn epic. The pace was manageable on the first climb and I managed to stay in the top five. This wasn’t a NORBA race there were not the usual categories just junior, open (19-44) and master (45+) categories so I tried to keep my eyes on guys who looked over 19 and under 45. Maintained about 4th overall to the top of the climb, passed on the Whiskey shots being handed out at the top and hit the downhill which turned out to be pretty gnarly. Similar to something like San Ysidro or Romero singletrack but with cactus. Had to stop once due to my stem faceplate coming loose and my handlebars twisting but a quick bolt tightening did the trick. Suffered like a dog up the final climb and bombed the single track and pavement to the finish. I was thinking I would be happy with a top five in the open men since it got hard to tell who you were racing against as we came onto the 15 proof course and there were some 50 proofers scattered in as well. I ended up getting 2nd in open men and 5th overall on the 25 proof course. Floyd Landis was there racing the 50 proofer and finished third.

All in all an epic race that reminded me of races in the late 80’s-early 90’s like the Revenge of the Siskiyous, The Lemeurian and the Humbug Hurry-up. If you want to experience what mountain bike racing was really like back then with huge fields, epic courses, tons of free schwag and just a really fun time I would definitely suggest you check this race out. I’ll be back for sure.

Oh yeah, Gabe, since they don’t break it up by category, just by age, we can move our rivalry over to the dirt. Put it on your calendar next year! J

More info on the race is here. Check out the video from 2006, it’s pretty sweet;
http://www.epicrides.com/wor/wor.htm


Pete

Devils Punchbowl Part Trois

Namaste, wow bike racing is pretty f*&%^% k-gnarly! ... Really enjoyed my day Saturday at 666 Puke Bowl, raced 40+ Cat 4/5 with Eric and Gene.

Gotta say pinning on my number was one of my challenges for the day. But Diane and Elda got the flap out and dialed me in. It wasn't that hot boyz (drama), or that windy ... maybe hotter and windier in SY valley Sat. All things went smooth in the lead -up to ...

#941
So, off we went and over the top I labored but was in lead group (@13) where we lost Eric , then Gene ...I was ready to turn back to the truck. Full lactic sizzle-lean, I was gapped on the first downhill by the group since I was spent from the effort of climb and was checking the Lakers score on my BlackJack .. and actually enjoyed the ride down but worked some, too much actually!

Into the wind on the next leg and sucked up by group two and the next thirteen or so riders where EB but no Gene was clocking and I had a chance to nod to my teammate, he said later I looked pretty red-faced :) , well, Eric looked good really ... I rode and hung for a couple miles with them but they dropped me as well AND with four to five other riders we re-grouped and we kept them in site. After a completely smoking quick down hill to the bottom of the climb, I dropped all the riders with me ( .. only one dry heave that was spectator viewable if launched , ego said look good thru the S/F line area :) and I did, I was surprised how much I made back ... but no contact with group 2 and the tank was well into it's burn now, and then another downhill of gyping and tacking, the 5/6 guys I dropped well, they reeled me back ... and we split again and ..

Then somewhere down toward the end of our second back stretch into the wind leg, came a train with a Team Chicken Ranch rider, Gene, and a few other riders came storming up on me, I was riding solo, ... and I hung on to their wheels to the finish (Gene, who I did not know, the two of us introduced and met on the final climb home with Gene sporting me a FasTrack Bicycle water bottle (thanks for the bottle) with some backwash to wet my whistle and lighten his load for the checkered!) .... two riders were from another team and one of them went early and then Gene jumped up and hammered them pretty nicely then the unattached rider and I went and the final rider was from the other team ...we all finished together .. 34th to 38th and I was 37th I SWEAR :) ... great fun! wooo, glad it was OVA!

Here's are après race picture ... we are basking in Brett's FIFTH-place finish (NICE!), I felt allot of support from the other Chicken Ranchers and mates on race day, Brett and Dan and I warmed up together and chilled and last minute wheel change for Brett and good teamwork (a day's highlight!) ... HOWEVER, the race itself was absent of CR teamwork, I believe if Gene and Eric and I rode together we would have all placed higher!!! Hummm.

I'll be registering for race #2 soon, in June. Since only deciding to race the first of March, with no speed training or real endurance training, I accomplished the goals and could not have a better team or done it without, Eric, Dave, Matt and the B Team blog ... sweet, thanks.

PEACE.

Rick Martz
Department of Earth Science
University of California, Santa Barbara

Punchbowl Part Deux

Hi Everyone

I was told I need to write a race report so here goes. This is my first one so bear with me.

Saturday
Devil's Punch Bowl is a very hard race! It was hot, windy, hot, with lots of climbing and very hot. Brian Hershkowitz, Dan Rudd and I rode the cat 5 race. This is my story, I will let Brian and Dan tell theirs.

On the first lap the field got blown apart on the back stretch, with a lead group of about twelve guys. Going into the second climb one guy got off the front. I pulled most of the way trying to bridge and also break up the pack. It worked on the back stretch there were only four of us left still chasing the leader. At this point I was freezing cold and could barely hang on. Two guys broke off and I was left with one guy to work with. We raced to the finish together, and he got the best of me. I finish 5th, Dan 11th, and Brian 32nd respectively. Many thanks to Elda (Dan's wife) who was there instantly at the finish line with cold water. Which I'm pretty sure saved my life.


Rick Martz ,Eric Knight and Gene Raphaelian also raced in the 40+ 4/5. Eric 25th, Rick 38th and Gene ?.

Sunday
Chuck Pontius Crit. Ok I will try not to be as long winded on this one. I showed up for the early morning cat 5 start of 7:30, which turned out to be a good thing.(hot and windy) We had full field, the pace was fast with lots of attacks that didn't pan out. On the last lap at turn 3 I attacked on the slight uphill, knowing this was my only chance on a good sprint position (I'm not a sprinter). It worked, I came into the last turn in 1st and almost made it until this big diesel engine passed me just before the line. 2nd place, and now a cat 4... I'm stoked!

Cheers,

Brett Harrison
Surf 'n Wears Beach House
10 state st. SB, CA 93101

Chickens In The Punchbowl

Yes, there were several Chickens cookin' in the Devil's Punchbowl on Saturday. And by "cooking" I mean roasting in the 95 plus degree heat and not necessarily kickin' ass. But, as everyone who's participated in this event knows, surviving and finishing the Punchbowl is by itself an accomplishment. All Chicken Ranchers who made the drive out to the high desert above the not-so-thriving metropolis of Pearblossom did in fact finish, get a great workout, dehydrate, suffer, have a blast and in the end place very respectably. With a full field of 50 in the Open 5's , Brett Harrison led the way with a 5th place finish, followed by Dan Rudd in 11th, and Brian Hershkowitz in 32nd.

With a field of seventy in the 45+4/5's, Eric Knight posted a 25th place finish, followed by Gene Raphaelian in 34th and Rick Martz in 38th in his first ever RR (you know how to pick 'em, Rick!). We didn't notice any others Chicken Ranchers so if I missed someone I apologize.

In the first race, things got started before the race even began. On the drive out in the morning we watched the temperature climb from 68 degrees in SB to the 85 at Fillmore. At this point we stopped looking. When we arrived and went for our not very necessary "warm up ride" we noticed that Brian was spinin' & sweatin' it out on his trainer which was strategically positioned straddling the San Andreas fault (really). On the way back in from our warm up ride Brian was still rollin' & shakin' on his trainer. I don't know about you Brett, but there's a chance that Brian may have over-done his warm up. The race itself got off to an interesting start in that the threats of the Starter to DQ anyone who even as much as looked at the center-line were well heeded. Read this to mean that at the beginning of the first 4 mile climb several riders were literally pushin' there way to the right shoulder. The sounds of of wheels touching was enough motivation to slip out of the pack and move up front which turned out to be a well timed move as three riders jumped on the last step before the road turned right for the last mile of the climb breaking the group up in two. While I certainly was under some stress, Brett and I made it over the top as part of the lead pack which hit the rollers hard before reaching the long descent. I moved up to third wheel and kept having to tap my brakes and decided to instead move outside and see how it felt in the wind. Next thing I knew I was in front, feeling fast and comfortable. I was having a great time and approached the right turn onto Tejon Road, but much to my surprise the CHP manning the intersection started waving me/us through as though not to take the right. I hesitated a second and a guy blew by me and through the intersection and I followed. Of course, the rest of the pack swept right through the turn in the correct direction. It was at this very moment that I heard Brett's fading voice yelling "DAAANNNN" and the CHP swear "Oh Sh-t!". After a quick brake, U-turn and what was now a left onto Tejon Road I was in full-on chase mode. I think I may have panicked a little and over-extended catching back up to the group. Once I re-connected Brett was kind enough to say "hey, don't worry about it. You're back". But all I could think about at the time was "please, no one attack on the step up ahead. I need just a few seconds to recover". No sooner did the guys at the front stand up and accelerate. I told Brett to "go" and I faded away from the lead group. I did recover and felt that I finished strong picking off close to another dozen riders over the second half. In the end the, blowing through the turn wasn't the difference for me as I could tell on the first climb that I didn't feel light and have the legs on Saturday. All in all it was a great time and experience that offered many valuable lessons and many fond memories. Looking forward to the next one, but in the meantime I need some water...

Dan Rudd

Robert Ramirez Gives Us His Perspective Of Sea Otter

Note From The Editor; This is not your standard G rated race report, so read at your own risk!

Cat 5 35+ Road Race: This race is really fun. There were like 40 guys all like me racing it. Brett Harrison was there to, we made quite the pair. We all had to wait 2 hours to start however, so I was able to go to the bathroom a couple more times, what a relief. My goal was to not get dropped.

On the first hill, I got dropped. Then on the 2nd hill (there are 2 hills in the race) I got dropped again. But then I was able to stick with the group for 2 straight laps and was feeling good, until my chain popped off at the bottom of the hill. I said my final good by’s to the group and rode 2 laps solo. Gabe and Mitch were passing out water bottles, but messed it up and gave my bottle of EPO to someone else and I had to drink water. On the final long climb home, as I was passing the spot where Matt Benko was rescued last year, and out of sympathy I think, I cramped. I got back to the trailer at about 8 PM and ate pasta. I had a beer (actually 2) and put on the streatchy pants.

Sport MTB Race: At 6 AM the next morning, I got up to get ready for the MTB race. It was cold. I made Kim coffee. The Race was more fun than the road race. There were about 100 guys just like me, except about 55 were faster than me. I started strong, ripping it up! I then cramped. Then I crashed. After a few minutes, I cramped again! I rode home happy but blowing sand out of my nose for quite some time. When I got back to the trailer, I ate pasta again, had a few more beers and hung out with the kids. It was way fun with all the families there and the 17 kids who were camping with us. I was able to sneak down to the podium and take a picture of Matt’s podium where he got 2nd in the circuit race, see below.



Way to Go Matt!