Rumor Has It...

Rumor has it that, while Davitamon was leading El Gigante, AWfoSho, and little old me on a five hour, 90 mile death march, some of the DBCJRT contingent was racing. Seems that there was a little bit of a race in the hills outside of Patterson, a nasty one with a bugger of a climb and a slick, sloppy descent.

Saturday was bright and warm in El Dorado Hills, but way down south Patterson way the skies were doing their best to make life miserable for Laundry, Chris Stastny, Ian McPherson, Todd Stone, and The Garden of Edan. About the time Davitamon's slave train was heading out of Mather, Laundry and Chris were toiling up the monster of a climb called Patterson Road Race in the elite four category. Shortly behind them, or maybe, at least part of the time, in front of them were Todd and Ian in the category five race. The Garden of Edan, fresh off his crash fest of a River Ride, brought up the rear in the junior open race.

Later, as Davitamon dragged us passed the stately mansions atop those hills north of Highway 50, all four DBCJRT racers slip-slid their way back down towards the finish line above Patterson. As the rumor goes, Laundry bested his pops in a six-up sprint, finishing fourth. The Garden of Edan held off all but three of a charging junior field. And there is where the rumor gets cloudy... Either the hills up near Shingle Springs weren't high enough to see all the way to Patterson or my vision was fogged by the lack of blood in my head (my legs were taking all they could get ahold of). Either way, I wasn't, and still haven't been, able to discern just where Todd, Ian, and Chris finished.

Finished... the racers found there ways to a comfy car ride home. Davitamon's little ride wasn't but half way over. El Gigante, AWfoSho, and I weren't quite sure where we were, but Davitamon assured us we were no more than 20 or so minutes away from home. As our legs burned and churned their way through Latrobe 20 minutes later Davitamon assured us again that we weren't more than 20 minutes from home. As Latrobe Road spit us out onto Highway 16, 20 minutess later, I'm pretty sure Davitamon said we were only 20 minutes from home. An hour or so later, comfortably at home eating Team Mom Spaghetti, Davitamon was still telling us we were only 20 minutes from home. No real complaints from the crew though because those new Cervelo bikes are so fast that 20 minutes goes by like no time at all... each time it goes by!

Cal Aggie Crit in Pictures

This dial-up stuff is killing me. When will far West Davis get out of the stone age and offer something more than the infinitely unaffordable Comcast!? Anyways, I have this whole cd of pics that I should really take into school and upload from there. But my principal probably wouldn't be too chummy with me if she found out I was... well, you know, I really should be teaching those 5th-Graders when I'm being paid too.

Credit for all these shots go to Jim Childress, Jan Stastny, and Jim Kuphaldt. I have way too much fun watching the DBCJRT boys riding in circles to be bothered by a silly thing like a camera. My pictures are all in my head! That way I can photoshop them anyway I want to...

PtotheArker and College Boy warm up pre-junior Race

Orange and White all over the front early in the junior race

TK and El Gigante drive the initial break...

While AWfoSho covers anything that moves in the chasing field. Rumor has it that some of the kiddos don't like his aggressive style of "passive blocking." To which he will always respond... If you don't want me there, move me out of the way!

Laundry covers the now docile peloton while AWfoSho sheads the long-fingered gloves in preparation for the field sprint.

Meanwhile... up the road, TK and El Gigante drive the final nail into Disco's coffin!

And it is all over 'cept for the pie... wait, that weekend is coming up shortly. In this case it is all over 'cept for the 4/5, 3/4 and fast guys race!

Captions, Captions, Captions?

I've been trying to think of a good caption for this shot. I have a few in mind, but thought y'all might come up with something better.

El Gigante checks his watch while patiently waiting for AWfoSho to take care of business, and El Gigante checks his heart rate after witnessing a steamy love scene are already taken.

If you can come up with something better I have a handful (meaning more than one and less than ten) of Banana Power Bars for you. All current DBCJRT athletes are eligible, as are current DBCJRT sponsors. Contest ends Wednesday 1/31/2007 and I, yes me, retain all rights to any captions you choose to submit!

Photo: Jim Childress
Riders: Alex Wick, Zachary Wick
Girl: Not sure which girlfriend this one is

Of Firsts and Circles

Two firsts and hundreds of circles:

The first DBCJRT win of 2007 was earned by TK and El Gigante. They were able to separate themselves, with one other in tow, from the junior field at the Cal Aggie Crit on Saturday. As the race wore on TK and El Gigante used their numerical advantage to drop their breakaway mate, and the two of them crossed the finish line together with raised arms. AWfoSho won the field sprint to take fourth, thanks to a perfect leadout from Laundry.

Kelby Spore completed the other first... his first bicycle race. Kelby hung with the big boys for the first lap before succumbing to a series of attacks, but fought on to finish with a small group of racers just behind the main field.

Many DBCJRT athletes competed in multiple races throughout the day. AWfoSho completed nearly 70 laps of the circular course while racing in the juniors, the elite 3/4, and pro/1/2/3 races; nearly 70 miles of his favorite kind of training! El Gigante, PtotheArker, the Tapinator, TK, and Davidamon each competed in at least two races. Laundry, Dishes, and Chris Stastny each did their turns during the junior race. Good, solid miles in the bank for April, May and June!

And, a special shout out to honorary junior, Big Jim, who finished in the top ten of his first ever crit!

Notes from the Development Ride

Couple of things I noticed on the development ride today...

1) Remember to protect your front wheel. Make sure that you don't overlap the rider's wheel that is in front of you. If he or she makes a sudden sideways movement you are bound to touch the pavement... and you usually don't just touch it with your hands and feet. We'd prefer you to leave your skin on your hips and elbows.

2) Make smooth transitions when changing your line. Quick jerky motions in a group cause the riders around you to panic. They don't know where you are going to go or what you are going to do. And, if somebody happens to be overlapping your wheel, you won't feel very good about yourself when you are helping them scrape their skin off the pavement. Once skin is on the pavement, it is very hard to get it back on the hip or elbow where it is supposed to be. Be smooth and predictable.

3) Make sure everybody knows what you are planning on doing. If you are going to make a right hand turn onto, say, the airport road, make sure everybody in the group knows. If you suddenly turn right (or left for that matter) without telling the people around you, you may end up trying to put your teammate's skin back on his or her hip. Even if you are successful in putting the once-removed skin back on, your teammate probably won't be very happy with you.

4) Ride a steady pace. Drastic changes in speed may cause somebody behind you to overlap wheels and/or grab huge hunks of brake. This may, in turn, cause somebody to attempt to replace skin onto a hip or elbow that has had it freshly removed. In either case, your teammates probably won't be very happy with you.

Your first priority when riding in a group is to protect yourself... your second is to protect those around you. Concentrate on being smooth and predicatable. Remember to communicate.

The ride leaders are out there to help you. If you have a question, ask. If they give you a pointer, listen. Pretty soon we won't have to worry about finding ways to get that skin back onto hips and elbows!

January 8th Sponsorship Update

Much of the Davis Bike Club Junior Race Team spent the first week of 2007 in action.

New Years Day saw Cody Tapley, Chris Stastny, Alexander Freund, and Andreas Freund testing their early season form at the San Bruno Hill Climb. All four riders posted reputable times for so early in the season.

Sunday, the seventh, kicked off the season for several other DBCJRT athletes. Kieran Noble-Goodman, Zachary Long, Tyler Cheseboro, and Glen Wilcox all competed in and completed their first bike races, enduring the 'squirrelly' pack of new category five racers at the Earlybird Criterium in Fremont, CA. All four of them came away from the race with a new understanding of what bike racing is all about. DBCJRT veterans David Vuilleumier, Alex Wick, and Zachary Wick competed in the Earlybird Criterium Pro/1/2/3 race. With the help of his team, Alex Wick was able to work himself into a late break that was not caught until there was only one lap remaining. With Alex back in the group, Zachary Wick then went to work to set Vuilleumier up for the sprint finish. Unfortunately, after being delivered to a sprint position, Vuilleumier was caught behind a crash and ended up 'touching pavement' himself. Fortunately, he was able to walk away with only minor injuries and does not expect to miss any training time.

DBCJRT athletes are using these early season races as training tools to help them reach their goals later in the season. The kids have targetted races such as Valley of the Sun in Phoenix, AZ, Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA, Fitchburg-Longsjo in Fitchburg, MA, and Junior Nationals in Seven Springs, PA along with the many Northern California races they will compete in. When the kids are not racing they are often seen training on the local roads of Yolo, Solano, and Napa counties as well as Sacramento and Yuba Counties. Some of them spending as much as 18-20 hours a week on their bicycles.

2007 DBCJRT Team Members

10-12 Age Group
Takumi Kawaguchi , Karch Miller,
Kelby Spore

13-14 Age Group
Alexis Braun (Female), Alexander Freund

15-16 Age Group
Tyler Cheseboro, Andreas Freund,
Edan Levaton, Zachary Long,
Kieran Noble-Goodman, Cody Tapley,
Zachary Wick

17-18 Age Group
Parker Childress, Taylor Kuphaldt,
Ian McPherson, Chris Stastny,
Riley Stille, Todd Stone,
David Vuilleumier, Alex Wick,
Glen Wilcox, Julian Wyss,
Musa Zaid

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Team Coordinator: Steve Wick

Volunteer Coordinator: Dennis Wyss

Ride Coordinator: Jim Childress