Davis Bike Club Junior Race Team

A tick of the watch...

2009-06-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

Seconds, they pass us by almost without notice daily and yet when you're out on the bike they can be your best friend or your worst enemy. June 7 was the Steve Dunlap Memorial ITT. I ride our club puts on and one named for one of our own. It also happen to have hosted the NorCal Nevada Juniors TT Championships for several years running. This year we had large fields in all ages for the boys, a bit more sparse for the girls. The day broke with a clear sky, cool temps and with a noticeable south wind.

First off were the 10-12 boys and girls. The boys race was the closest I have witnessed with the top three riders within four seconds of each other and second and third separated by a mere 4-tenths over 10k, which in a "no chip time" event is a coin flip. Karch Miller had a great ride at 17:49.96 and thought he had done enough but found those four seconds not in his favor and to add insult settled for the bronze by that 4-tenths. Ehtan Hockridge the youngest rider in the field came through in 21:15:04 for eighth and Ryan Gomez at 22:14:63 in ninth.

In the 13-14 Spencer Salk tried his hand in his first race and hung tough finishing in 21:05:12. While Spencer would clearly not see the podium he now has that first race under his belt. Job well done.

In the 15-16 Alexander Freund did a smokin' 27:47:96 for 20k which slotted him in just 7-seconds off the winning time for silver. Torry Philip also had a stellar ride at 28:43:68 just missing the podium for fourth.

In the battle of the big-guns big brother Andreas Freund showed he can TT as well stopping the watch at 27:46:99, good enough for the bronze. Teammate Cody "the tapinator" Tapley rolled through on his "funny bike" in 28:16:61 for a great ride and fourth. Our big man "El Gigante" Wick went for broke early and paid late after blowing-up and riding through in eighth after his District Championship winning performance in the crit the week before.

All in all a great performance by all our DBC juniors. Eleven total seconds separated our riders from two wins, eleven measly seconds. Next time you're out on the bike and think that extra effort doesn't really matter, just think how insignificant eleven seconds of the day usually feel and then again just how big they can be on another.

Crowning a champion

2009-05-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day for the DBC Juniors Team at the State Criterium Championships in Livermore. We had riders in the 10-12 male, 15-16 male and 17-18 male groups and all should be proud of how they performed.

In the 10-12 race Karch learned the hard way it is not always the strongest rider, but rather the smartest that wins the race in a crit. He found himself on the front and a marked man throughout. At 12 it is hard to have enough experience to foil the group mentality and so he put his head down and pulled, and pulled. In the end he would chase the last lap flier down and lead out the sprint only to come unwound with 100 meters to go settling for 5th. A strong ride indeed, but a bitter lesson learned as well.

In the 15-16 race I watched the race go up the road with about 9 laps to go when 3 riders jumped clear and opened a gap of about seven seconds. In that group there was no one from DBC and our lone rider, Alexander Freund, found himself with a decision to make. He made it quickly, jumping away from the group and motoring away in pursuit. Many thought his effort futile, but I have watched him enough to know what he is capable of. In a lap and a half he bridged solo to the leaders and thus a quartet now led the way. With one to go everyone thought it was a foregone conclusion that James LaBerge would sprint away. In the end he did indeed win, but Alexander made a run at the line and was actually running him down and simply ran out of road. A solid and well deserved silver medal for Alexander.

Finally in the 17-18 race we lined up three riders, Zach the man-child, Cody "the tapinator" Tapley and Andreas the strong. The field was deep and San Jose Bike Club, Swift and Specialized were well represented. On the first lap Cody lit it up and loosened the legs charging away from the field. His effort was short lived however and as the field came together Andreas, who admittedly does not like crits, motored away from the chaos with a SJBC rider in tow. The two were a well oiled machine and soon had 10, then 12, then 16 seconds in hand. Specialized and Swift didn't want to chase looking to the other to work and thus the gap continued to grow to 26 seconds. At that point someone sounded the alarm. After 10+ laps off the front the collective chase brought them back but Zach and Cody had a free ride and the field would soon pay for this mis-step. With 12 to go Cody and Sam Bolster from "Ride for a Reason" jumped clear. It seemed early but again SJBC, Swift ans Specialized let it go. Soon they had 8-10 seconds in hand and were working to hold the gap. With eight to go I saw something I could not believe when Zach jumped clear through the start finish and the group did not react. In one straightaway he was within 20 meters and soon joined the escape. Cody, Zach and Sam then all went into the "pain cave". You could see the effort on their faces and all were committed 100% to the move. The chase ensued and the gap at first held and then began to fall. It was cat and mouse the next three laps and with four to go it was down to three seconds. Then something happened, the chase imploded. The remaining riders simply could no longer respond and at the same time Sam struggled up front dropping off. With two to go it was Zach and Cody TTT-style up front with 8 seconds. With one to go it was 10 seconds. Cody's face was wound up tight and Zach just put his head down and churned the man-child legs. They rode through hand-in-hand for a 1-2 DBC finish, with Zach the new champion and his mate a well-deserved silver. Each rider played a pivotal role in Zach's victory and each is to be commended. Andreas after his monster effort out front, hung in, made all the cuts as the chase disintegrated and finished 10th. There was much ribbing, chatter and smiling after. I big win for a big-guy and the culmination of years of hard work. Congrats Zach; well done!

Spring Hill- Two Days & Two Wins !

2009-05-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

Don't have much scoop but got a text from coach Mike from the roads of Sonoma County earlier tonight. Seems that Alexander had something left in his legs after yesterday's crit effort, as he won the Jr's race at the Spring Hill Road Race. AJ Snovel, back in the saddle and welcomed by his mates seems also to be re-finding his legs as he slotted in for 3rd and finally Cody after yesterday also had something in the tank with a steady ride and 5th.

Congrats to all, great effort, great weekend.

New Time for Monday Ride at the Bike Barn 5;30pm

2009-05-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

New time for the Monday ride from the Bike Barn on campus at UCDavis: 5:30pm

Wed Night TT

2009-04-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

WED NIGHT INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
All, Wed, May 6th and every other Wed after that there is a free individual time trial starting at 6pm at Putah Creek Rd and Steven's Bridge Rd near Davis. The course is 10 miles total and goes out 5 miles down Putah Creek Rd toward the town of Winters and turns around to finish at the start. The pavement surface is good to excellent. This event usually draws between 30 to 50 riders of all ability. The event can be ridden as a TTT as well, 2,3 or 4 riders (must finish together).
Some good info here: http://www.stuzio.com/StuzioArticle.aspx?articleID=1124
or by contacting Joe Santos at Davis Wheel Works.

Ronde de Copperopolis- Philipp reigns

2009-04-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to be back form the spring break week away to take in the annual slugfest that is our very own Copperopolis Road race, that spring rite of passage that separates those with "the legs" from those pretending in a big hurry. Alas a flight delay killed that goal so I have been getting snippets of information from various sources. All in all it sounds like a pretty good day for all of you.

First and foremost a bow to Torey who clearly outfoxed the boys with the big "S" on their chests who obviously had the numbers but not the legs. When I saw Torey at Land Park I noticed his legs were tan! This should have told us all something as we hadn't had much sun to speak of. Turns out he has indeed been working hard and got his reward with a fine win in the 15-16 race on Saturday. Way to go Torey.

The 17-18 crew also did us proud with a 5th, 6th, 7th finish (Andreas, Cody, AJ). On a course Like Copperopolis it takes fitness and skill just to finish it up and clearly these efforts show that these guys have been "doing their homework".

I also noted that Kayleen toughed it out and finished up second in the women's 15-18 race. For someone as new as Kayleen this is a subperb performance on a truly difficult course, nicely done!

And finally I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that our "oldest" junior, Coach Pugh showed that he practices what he preaches by pulling off a superb 3rd place in the Masters 45+ 1/2/3 race against a stacked field. Nice job coach.

Monday No-Drop Rides Commence 3/16

2009-03-15T12:48:00.001-07:00

Now that we have somewhat better weather Zach Wick will be leading regular weekly "no drop" rides on Mondays at 5:00pm. These are intended to be development level rides with a focus on general skills and pace work. Duration is expected to be approximately 1 hour and pace will be moderate. I would encourage all of our newer/entry level riders to participate as often as possible. In addition to Zach, I would also ask and encourage our other more seasoned riders to show up and lend a hand to mentor our younger and newer raceteam members. Mike Pugh and I will join these rides as time permits. Other adults are welcome. Ride specifics are as follows:

DBC Juniors Weekly Development Rides
Day/Time: Mondays / 5:00pm
Location: Rides depart from the Bike Barn on the UCD Campus. http://bikebarn.ucdavis.edu/contact.cfm
Focus: Skills development, pack riding, pacelines, echelons

Please keep an eye on your e-mail as Zach will assess weather as needed weekly to determine if we have to cancel, but the plan is to go every week through the summer.

Hope to see all of you out there soon!

Shawn

Super Sunday!!!!!

2009-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

Awesome effort by all the DBC Juniors on Sunday, not only did everyone show their mettle in Davis at the criterium but Andrias Freund took 3rd in the elite 3s at Pine Flat Road Race in Fresno. His brother, Alexander did very well in the elite 3s as well. My hat's off to Zach Wick, tremendous effort Sunday for 2nd place in the 17-18 Junior race. For all you first time racer, great effort. Elsewhere I think some pro from Rock Racing won a race that started in Davis and finished in Santa Rosa.....anybody hear anything about that?

A Big Week & The Big Show...

2009-02-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

All week you could feel anticipation within the group for the Amgen ToC and the kids were fired up. We started the week with our "15 minutes of fame" courtesy of KXTV channel 10, who were very interested in our program and our riders given the success this group has had in developing young riders. Thanks must go out to all the kids and the parents for making an effort to get to the shooting on a day off Monday.

Tuesday new kits arrived. Something about a new kit, they just "feel" fast. If a new kit wasn't enough motivation for the weekends crit how about a training ride with a few of your favorite Pro-Tour riders? Seems Astana, Saxo Bank, Garmin and Ouch were taking in the sights along the American River bike-path regularly, just ask Robby or Torey. Cool indeed.

When the fireworks started for real the weather looked ominous. By the end of the AToC prologue rain was falling and the next day's start in Davis would prove interesting, in particular the Juniors crit which was to follow.

First I have to tip my cap to every single rider, male or female, new or experienced that saddled up yesterday. The conditions were very rough and it was clear early they would stay that way.

In the 10-14 race the field shattered on lap one as a rider from Team AC (above category) attacked from the gun. This move and the wind blew the field apart. We had several riders in this group, most new, some riding their first race. Each did a great job. Karch was able to make it into the initial chase group and was riding very well with national champion Dylan Drummond from Tieni Duro and Matthew Valencia from Sugar CRM. They rode with women's' junior national champion Katrina Howard and a rider from SJBC. The SJBC rider and Katrina attacked and left the three to fight it out. The rain and wind was treacherous and with 3 to go Drummond tried to slide under a lapped rider and lost his front wheel. Like dominoes all three hit the deck and slid. Karch was last man in but first man up and remounted to chase, sadly Matthew was not so lucky and we hope his injuries are minor.

In the end Karch motored solo for the last three laps winning the 10-12 division, he was stoked. New rider Charlie Kimball was having a very good first ride until disaster struck in the form of a blown from tire and a resultant crash. I hated to see him hit the deck and suspect we will see more of him in the 13-14 as he looked good. Young Will Kanz also rode well getting some experience and toughness in the difficult conditions. And Cami Rolles and Spencer Salk also gritted it out for the home town crowd. Would be nice to see them out again...

The womens 15-18 was all about tactics. Riders were coy about working and left it to others to work. April gainfully took up the effort and was always at or near the front. At the back end newcomer Kayleen Dobner was learning the ropes in the toughest of conditions. She was gapped off early, but hung in and finished, well done. For April, clearly the fitness is there. In the end however those who had sat-in wicked it up and jumped her so she'll have to wait another day to get that win.

The 15-16 Men's field was large and stacked. Torey and Robby would have to stay near the front and counter Tieni Duro and Specialized. Torey appeared to get a bad start and was fighting from the back, Robby on the other hand did everything right. He covered the early move, was vigilant on the front and looked good. Then it happened, someone moved left and overlapped, in a flash 4-5 riders tumbled, sadly Robby among them. This guy gets my hard-luck award for the last two weeks. The upside, he was scraped but unhurt, the downside, the bike was not. His day was over. We need to pull together behind him to keep his season on-track and offers of a ride were there by the end of the day. Thank you, this is what "team" means.

The 17-18 would be much like Cherry Pie, Specialized on the sharp end. They had Four riders who attacked relentlessly from the gun and yet time after time one ominous force drug them back, El Gigante. I've ridden with Zack Wick since his initial days as a 13-14 and recall working with Steve to get him home from the race ride after a long day doing all he could to hang on. Yesterday I saw a young man who was simply a mental rock. With almost no help early on, young ZW made every right move. Mid-race Tap's was able to help out as two groups came back together. Cody was clearly not on a good day but was giving it his best to help Zach. With one to go it was El Gigante who threw down his own move and it almost worked. Specialized was shocked and Charlie Avis gave chase but couldn't close, this was special. Out of the last corner Zach had the gap but thee finish was just too long, Charlie bridged and then jumped with 50m to go, game over.

Ride of the day? Unquestionably ZW, everybody in the field knew it. Down the road I would be very weary, he is due his payback.

Catching Up & Looking Ahead

2009-02-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

Been a few weeks since I was last able to get time to post, so need to do a bit of catch-up and some acknowledgements.

1-2-3 Go
Cal Aggie Crit allowed a chance to show that while some of our horse-power has moved on, others are quite happy to fill the gap and step it up. While It was Cody, Zach and Torey going 1,2,3 in the junior's race, it wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of AJ and Robby who worked selflessly to keep things together. As has been the hallmark of this group it continues to be teamwork that gets it done.

Pie Anyone?
At Cherry Pie last weekend there were highs and there were clearly lows. The juniors fields were perhaps the largest I have ever seen in NorCal at a "regular" race like this as even the 10-14 race had about 30 riders in it.

In that race the field split early as Swift, Sugar CRM and Tieno Duro all decided to have a go early. It was Swift's Stanley Goto who lit it up on lap two and his move cut the field in half. We had on one rider in the race and he made the move, it was Karch, "killer" as he was known on the BMX track the last few years. I had told him to keep it simple, let the bigger 13-14 riders on the teams slug it out, stay out of trouble and out of the wind. As the field continued to shrink he continued to hang. On the penultimate lap he was top five through he 180 and as they shuffled through the chicane on the last climb to my surprise he tried to jump the field, brave perhaps Wise? well not sure. They came through strong but he faded and I was sure he had slid back off the podium. I was surprised to learn that all of the riders in the group except for him were 13-14's, he had won. Surprise!

In the 15-18 Specialized wanted to make sure everyone knew they intended to dominate. They had 8-9 riders toe the line and from the gun they were all over the front. Sure would've been nice if they were a little more aware as with five to go the Specialized "train" derailed itself with three riders touching wheels and hitting the deck in the chicane, Tap's and Robby were unlucky victims, right place, wrong time.

Zach and Torey escaped and off the back Alex Huettis slipped by continuing to churn along ever steady, as did April another victim of bad luck in the form of a rubbing front brake. In the end the 17-18 came down to numbers and we simply came up short. El Gigante you did us proud with your gutsy shot up the inside from waaaay out, but it wasn't meant to be. Ride of the day? Torey who was always where he needed to be and after some discussion with the officials over errant results slotted 11th overall, 3rd for the 15-16 group. Superb ride.

On to the Amgen...

More Early Bird Smackdown

2009-01-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

In addition to the below post denoting Cody's efforts at Patterson this past Saturday, it appears Alex's big brother Andreas decided to dish out a bit of pain himself in the Elite 3's race. If he was intimidated in any way by the older riders in the 3's field he didn't show it as Andreas powered to second in the Elite three race, a tall order indeed.

While it is only January it appears the big shoes left by TK, AwfoSho and Staz will be amply filled by a new crop of fresh faces who have earned their time in the spotlight.

Well done.

Early Birds & a Tapinator sighting at Patterson...

2009-01-25T14:08:00.001-08:00

Yes it's still only January but many of the boys (and girls) have been busy. Not content to sit back and wait for the warmer drier weather we've had riders new and old out on the road. At the Early Bird Criterium Series in Fremont April has been spotted getting in her licks with the Women and then jumping in with the Juniors field late in the day. I suspect we'll see her at the front at the ToC Crit next month.

Newcomer Alex Huettis got his "feet wet" last weekend in Fremont and was roughly introduced to the pavement with a lap to go, along with April, when a rider apparently overlapped and reacted hard taking folks to the ground. Undaunted young Mr. Huettis promptly went home and rebuilt his "taco'd" wheel on Monday (yes he can turn a wrench all you teammates out there) and was fired up for the next race. Gotta love it.

And yesterday at the Patterson Road Race, the Tapinator played it cool and patient with Alex Freund sitting in early, gutted out the climb, bombed the harrowing descent (rocks, gravel, cattle-guards anyone...) and then jumped away from the lead group in the last K to snag a well deserved second place in the Elite 4's thus earning himself some mighty nice upgrade points in the process. Hmmm, patient, Cody... this could be dangerous.

Yes it's early, but clearly there is success to be savored and I'm sure much success to come.

Now, who likes Cherry Pie?

Livestrong Indeed

2009-01-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

Wanted to make a quick post to the blog with a reference to the Velonews website. Thought you all might find a familiar face among those in the photos that accompany the following story. http://www.velonews.com/article/86531/the-trek-livestrong-u23-team-tunes-up-in-austin

For those new to the team that poised young guy second from the right in the front row was wearing the same kit you'll be in at this time last year. For those who were his mates last year each of you should feel a certain amount of pride in having contributed to his success.

Hat's off to Taylor and best of luck to him as he starts a whole new adventure. I can only imagine how proud his family must be right now, not to mention a certain juniors team director who recently stepped down after much success.

Carpe Diem...

Davis Amgen Toc Crit- Reg Open

2009-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

All, a friendly reminder that the Davis Bike Club sponsored JUNIORS ONLY criterium that will follow the roll-out of the Amgen ToC Stage 1 start in Davis is now open for registration. This should be a very cool event indeed, so please get out to the web and register as soon as you can. It is not often that you will get the chance to be "the show" after the big guns roll out so get out their training, get fired up and plan to "get it on" come Sunday February 15th!

Reg is via sportsbaseonline, easy way to get there is via the NCNCA website road link for the event at www.ncnca.org/road .

Everyone should have a fresh new kit by then for the podium!

2009-01-02T15:14:00.001-08:00

Greetings and Happy New Years one and all. I have been tracking the e-mail and keeping in touch with Mike and it sounds like many of you are already out on the road and well into getting that early season fitness. I have been hunkered down with school-work and holiday commitments but much of that is now behind me and I will start to work with Mike to get things in full-swing. A few quick reminders:

2009 License
Got it? Good. Need one? It's easy.

As a reminder if you have not done so you will need to renew your license (and or if you are new purchase one) before toeing the start line for 2009. It's simple and relatively painless to do this online and I would recommend this over the "day of race" approach which simply adds time and stress to the race day. Just go on-line to www.usacycling.org to get this done. Set up an account if needed and away you go. For juniors the annual license cost is only $15.00. Please remember to register as a rider for Davis Bike Club.

Also, print a copy of the receipt to show you indeed have a paid 2009 license until the real deal shows up via snail-mail.

Need help? Let me know and I can walk you through it.

Sponsors & Clothing
Sponsorship is wrapping up. Info will be forthcoming about the good folks who will support your hard work in 2009. Please remember these businesses and individuals give purely for the love of sport in support of all your hard work. Represent them accordingly on and off the bike.

As to clothing this is in the queue and will deliver the first week of February. Oh and did I mention I believe we are a "GO" for the all-white "check me out" bibs option. This should be a limited item for teams so you will indeed get noticed...

Race Results
Finally I wanted to post race results for those hearty early season warriors that braved the San Bruno Hillclimb on January 1. We snagged our first win, two top three placings and a fine showing by everyone, way to go guys. The honors to the "hard-men" are as follows:

Place: Name: Time:
1 Andreas Freund 16:47.79
3 Cody Tapley 17:09.18
10 Alexander Freund 20:02.80
13 AJ Snovel 20:33.58

See you soon on the road.

Shawn

2008-12-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

Team:

We will be kicking off our 2009 team rides this weekend on Sunday, December 14th. Returning team member Robby Hartman has offered to "host" the ride. This will allow us a place to convene pre and post ride and also is an intermediate point for those in the foothills and Sacramento.

The ride will be on the American River Bike Trail from Rancho Cordova up towards Beales Point in Folsom and is an out and back loop. Given the fog and weather this is a good option for this time of year. Distance will be 40 miles or so with an option for up to 60 for those that wish to extend. Team Coach Mike Pugh will be leading the ride and other adults are welcome.

The ride will roll out around 9:30 from Robby's House in Rancho Cordova. Pertinent address information is as follows. It would be great to get as many riders out as possible to start to build some miles and team chemistry for success in 2009.

Hartman's
2224 El Canto Circle
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Hope you all can join in.

2008-11-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Wanted to send a follow up to my November 1st post regarding the 2009 kick-off meeting. We will be holding this meeting at the Hallmark Inn in downtown Davis (2nd street between F & G) this coming Sunday 11/16/08. The meeting will convene at 5:30 in the Breakfast Room just off the first floor lobby.

Please come prepared to complete paperwork (i.e. bring a pen), order clothing and discuss your 2009 goals (short and long-term) as this will help Mike Pugh and I to start to assess how best to help you reach them.

Finally as a reminder if you know of someone who is not on the blog or the listserv but is interested in joining for 2009 please pass this information along accordingly.

See you all Sunday night.

Shawn

2008-11-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

DBC Juniors- Welcome to November (albeit a soggy one) and the start to a new season. As many of you know Steve Wick has decided, after several incredibly successful years, to step down as the Juniors Race Team Director. Steve, and Joan Anton before him have done an incredible job creating a team of tremendous athletes and class individuals that have flown the flag for the DBC Juniors.

In 2009 Mike Pugh and I will be taking the reins from Steve (don't worry guys he'll still be around) and hope to continue the successful legacy that he has built. To get things started we would like to hold a kick-off meeting on Sunday evening, November 16th. Time and place to follow so keep an eye out on the blog for the details.

Mike and I know many of you well, some not so much so and some not at all, but that will soon change. We're looking forward to helping you work towards your goals for 2009 so take some time to start thinking about what you want from the upcoming season. Also, if there are others that are not currently members of the team, but that you think might have interest in joining us for 2009, please pass along the kick-off meeting information as it firms up over the next few days.

Ciao,

Shawn

Scoop

2008-10-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I'd smashed out my last post on this here blog... Dunnigan Hills RR was supposed to be my coup de grace--seven DBCJRT kidlets in a prosey race at the same time, but after releasing this news, I can officially retire from junior bike racing a fulfilled man...

not to worry, the blog will be left in capable hands and will continue to be your source for up-to-date news concerning DBCJRT

... but I've got the scoop on Cyclingnews, Veloldnews, and Pez. I've even got Hernando beat at Norcalcyclingnews.

For several of you who are close to TK, you already know, but for the rest of you...

Recent DBCJRT alum Taylor Kuphaldt has signed with the new LiveStrong team for 2009. TK will be one of a handful (10 or so) young guns who will be racing for what very well could become an Astana feeder team. Not many other details about the team except that it will be directed by Axel Mercx and Taylor Phinney will be the leader on the road. From what I understand, LiveStrong will be a u23 team, but this is the real deal. TK has signed a contract that will have have him earning a paycheck next season.

I'm stoked for the kidlet because he has worked super hard for this one. I'm also stoked for the DBC junior program because this is a first for it. Finally, I'm just stoked because I got a phone call four years ago from a papa with big expectations, and I told him we'd make a bike racer out of his kidlet.

TK came to us a brand new five who had never raced his bike before. While I don't even pretend to take all or even some of the credit, it has sure been fun watching him develop... first as a big engine, then as teammate, followed by a tactician, and finally as the whole package.

This kid is talented, and now he is rubbing shoulders with guys who can take him to the top of the sport. I'm looking forward to hearing how Bob Rolle pronounces his last name... hey Bob, here's a hint... it isn't Ka Puff Nut.

WTG TK

You've Read About It Already...

2008-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

The kidlets have done a decent job of updating their blogs, so you already know how Junior Nationals went from their perspective. Thought I'd throw in a bit of my own...

For five years I've been taking kids to Nats. Some years as few as two, others as many as eight. Of all those years we've only come short of a podium spot once.

Success? I don't know... three times we've stood on the second step. Twice we've stood on the fourth step, once the fifth step. DBCJRT kidlets have also finished sixth three times and seventh once. Impressive on paper, but some would say we've never worn a jersey.

Success? I've seen the success when the kidlets are laughing together in a hotel room, or sliding down some crazy bobsled track, or besting eachother at putt-putt golf. If getting kids out of Davis, watching them bond together as teammates and friends, seeing them develop as individuals all in the name of bike racing can be called success then we can call it success.

Success? I've seen kidlets collapse in puddles following a road race. I've seen kidlets break down in tears after coming up just short. I've seen kidlets shrug their shoulders at second place and congratulate the winner. I've heard kidlets say that they finished 35th because they raced to win, not for second or third or fourth place. In all cases I've seen kidlets who know they've given their best and couldn't have done anything more. That is success.

AWfoSho said that "Pops still doesn't have a jersey." But I have a lot of memories from Nationals that may just add up to more than a jersey.

Because...

2008-08-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

...if I write it here, I don't have to talk about it to G'ma on the phone, and Thor will have some more summer reading.

It's been awhile, but this is what I remember...

DBCJRT took first and second in the 3's at Springhill... Andreas first, Staz second. And TK gave us our second p/1/2 victory in his version of the same race.

While Staz was playing blue falcon (thanks Jaques) at Springhill, El Gigante was squeaking out a few more upgrade points at Lafeyette thanks to help from EOB and Jaques.

While Andreas, Alex F, and Taps were tearing up the junior track championships, El Gigante was working towards his upgrade at Berkeley and AWfoSho finally got his J back... banging elbows with the big boys.

TK rode to a 6th place overall in Quebec at l'Abitibi version 1.0. Still waiting for results from version 2.0. With nationals coming up, TK will have raced something like 17 races in 20 days... hopefully, we worked the program right so he is peaked for LaLa land and not trashed...

Which brings me up to today... the result sheet at Timpani showed little Alex F atop the 13/14 race and El Gigante cut it as close as he possibly could... he needed third in the 3's for his last 4 upgrade points. He finished 4th. He now sits at 24 of a needed 25 points. Which, more than anything, means we get to keep racing after nationals in August. Heard that Suisun Harbor is pretty this time of year.

BTW, the BAR/BAT junk has been updated again. DBC is second overall, and El Gigante is 5th overall in the 3's. Staz is 9th and Andreas 90th in the same. AWfoSho is 47th in the p/1/2 category and TK is 18th. Speaking of results and rankings, check this one out... or this one...

Be sure to check out the kidlets blogs for all the details... and make sure you read the history of the blog as compiled by Mechanical. He's got things for the most part correct. Oh, and he lived up to his nickname on the d-ride the other day when his crank fell off. I think the kidlet did it on purpose just so I'd have to push him all the way home...

Independence Day...

2008-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

I was hoping, what with all the kidlets blogging now, that I'd be released from my duties on the interwebs... alas, it looks like the kiddos aren't quite ready for independence yet. Maybe a few writing lessons in the near future...

Anyways, let's jump into the way-back machine and dial it up to a week or so ago.

Dateline Burlingame, CA: If you read Staz's blog or El Gigante's, you pro'ly know that Staz wrapped himself around a parking meter while trying to serve up a few points to his teammate. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, but thankfully Staz is none the worse for wear...

Dateline Davis, CA: Got a call from Taps begging his way out of a $20 wager at Wednesday Worlds. See, he was talkin' big in his new blog and needed to be knocked down a notch or two (fact check before publishing, Taps), so I let him off even tho he'd pr'd last time he threw down south of Davis. He may not quite be ready for a new email address yet, but he's definitely getting faster. Keep after it Taps!

If you read Andreas' blog you know that he and his little brother gutted out some serious volunteer hours. While they were keeping their eyes on the prize a bunch of the other kidlets were doing laps around D-town. Staz and Taps piece the story together pretty well... and I'm sure that Torey will fill in some of the holes soon. Mechanical wasn't racing because he's gearing up for swim-bike-run Nationals, but he's promised us a bunch of pics... And if you don't feel like doing the clicky click read read thing... TK, AWfoSho, Staz, PtotheArker, AJ, Torey, Taps, El Gigante, Karcherific, Kelbster, and Ryan all dug deep. In the end, the kidlets weren't quite clicking on the same page and we gave away what should have been a sure W to Lombardi's Huffman. Gotta hand it to the kid. He's going super strong right now, but two months worth of not racing together left TK and AWfoSho a little lacking in the communication department and that, more than anything, cost us in the finale... Ryan, however, did save DBCJRT face, with a convincing victory in the kids race! WTG Ryan...

Speaking of the kids race... Special thanks to Karcherific for loaning his baby-bikes to my nieces and nephews so they could participate.

A few of the boyz raced with the grown-ups... Torey, Taps, AJ, and PtotheArker in the 4's; Staz and El Gigante in the 3's; TK and AWfoSho in the p/1/2 race... pack finishes all, with Staz serving up a third spot in the 3's to El Gigante. Staz and El Gigante are chasing the final few points for the upgrades. 4 or 5 to go...

Mark Adkison has put up lotsa good pics of the festivities on the 4th.

Dateline Williams, CA: Staz wouldn't listen to me about the hill and the gravel and the pavement, but I'm sure he will be back to Leesville again. TK fell even further in love with the epic with a third place finish in the prosey event. Now if we could just get Giant to race positive instead of negative...

Dateline Vacaville, CA: It was hot and the hill was big, but... AJ beat his pops!!! Taps crashed but finished, Staz took a dig but came up short, El Gigante got curbed in the chicane, TK made the break, and AWfoSho finished DFL but over half the field DNF'd. Read all about it in the kidlet's blogs...

After a few writing lessons (class starts soon) the boyz may truly be ready to fly on their own, and I will have my own little independence day!

I've Been Remiss

2008-06-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

What with State Reports, 3rd trimester report cards, CUM folders, and what not I haven't had much of a chance to be creative.

But, to catch you up...

Napa was hot enough to start fires... EL Gigante and Staz raced the threes but succumbed to tunnel vision and head spins. AWfoSho went through three bottles in the hour long p/1/2 crit and was still thirsty. Tapinator busted a shifter cable, but still finished with the group. BTW the parcourse in downtown Napa was way cool... got to see all of the action while sitting under a shady tree on well-manicured lawn.

Diablo was, well, as expected. Andreas won the 15/16's easily. AWfoSho finished third in the 17/18's. Torey found out he can climb... with a solid 5th. And Taps put the hurt on El Gigante and Staz. When the dust settled, AWfoSho and Alex F sealed the deal on second place in their respective categories of the Junior Point Series...

Fires in the Valley are wreaking havoc on the best laid plans... VeloBob had to cancel the Gold Nugget Junior Stage Race. (make lemonade out of those lemons, Andreas.) and AWfoSho and I don't get to crew for Caren at Western States because the trail between Squaw Valley and Auburn is burning... but that means that I will get to see El Gigante and Staz race at Burlingame on Sunday morning. And, I won't have to dog sit on the weekends anymore for that silly little purse pup...

PaulMach.com finished 8th overall at the Tour de Nez which means I get to start sending out letters and emails to domestic pro teams on his behalf...

We're still waiting to hear whether or not TK gets to race his bike in South Africa at Worlds in July. Keep your fingers crossed...

There was a crash on Tuesday's RR. Sending good thoughts to FWS as he recovers from his attempts to mimic AWfoSho's shoulder injuries...

Two more blogologists throw ink into the world's biggest vanity press... El Gigante here and Staz here... Pretty soon I won't have to scribble anymore to let the world know what the kidlets are doing...

Former NorCal junior DHolla won stage 1b at the Tour of Pennsylvania. This kidlet will be getting paid next year... Other former NorCal juniors at the ToP include Tieni Duro's Julian Martinez, Max Jenkins, and Shawn Rosenthal. Good kidlets all...

Speaking of Tieni Duro... Good on Peter Taylor for getting to ride in Europe with USAC. And he doesn't even know anybody in Colorado. Good to see that results still count for something sometimes...

I'm sure there is more, but just can't squeeze it out of recall right now... besides, I'm on vacation for the next 6 weeks.

Pics, Pics, Pics...

2008-06-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

The pics from this weekend are slowly starting to trickle into my inbox... here are a couple of my favs...

Who says cats and dogs don't mix... although in this case I think Pico may be the cat and AWfoSho the dawg. In any case, AWfoSho was out like a light less than an hour before his start thanks to the effects of a grad night lock-in.

And who is this Nevada City Kitty? Staz forgot his kit at home... thankfully Hernandez was in a sharing mood. Thus Staz got to race the 3's as a cross dressing kitty. Imagine if he would have won the field sprint in baggies and a t-shirt. Thanks Mike!

A few more pics of the shindig at Livermore can be found here. And Nevada City pics are here. And pics from Andreas' Saturday sufferfest at Pescadero can be found here. Still nothing from Kentucky yet.

Race Recaps

2008-06-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

The kidlets were all over the place this weekend... TK in Kentucky; AWfoSho, El Gigante, Mechanical, Tapinator, Staz, Alex Freund, and AJ in Livermore; Staz in Nevada City.

TK was looking to seal up a spot on the World's team with a good ride at the Tour of the Red River Gorge. He came up just short of locking up a spot with a 2nd in Saturday's TT. He beat Bax and Brown, but Liebowitz handed it to the field. Phinney, Brown, and now Liebowitz have three of the four spots, so Sunday's RR was a battle between TK and Bax for what is most likely the final spot... Hot Tubes marked TK like a sharpie, but he still managed to beat Bax to the line... problem is that Jacob Rathe won, throwing his hat into the mix. Three guys, one spot. Let's hope that politics don't leave TK on the sideline. The kidlet has earned a trip. One possible savior may be Jerika Hutchinson... she may have done well enough that USAC will only take one girl, opening up a fifth spot for the boys... We'll see...

The rest of the kidlets were vying for a district crit championship in Livermore.

Alex F easily bested the rest of the 13/14 field to earn his third title this year... good on him. With a win at the Diablo Hill Climb he can also lock up the junior point series title.

The best race of the day in Livermore had to be the 15/16 affair. Specialized brought out all of their guns and fired shot after shot. AJ, Mechanical, Tapinator, and El Gigante were on the defensive all day chasing move after move... interesting race strategy by the S boys, refusing to work in any move that El Gigante or Peter Taylor were in, driving it if they missed the selection. Taps gets credit for the ride of the weekend with his dogged efforts to nullify three or four or five moves that the kidlets missed. Seriously, best ride the kid has ever laid down! AJ and Mechanical both gave everything to the cause as well. I'm proud of all of them. In the finale El Gigante bridged up to Specialized's Laberge who had attacked solo. Laberge sat on him for the entire last lap leaving El Gigante between a rock and a hard place... sit up and go back to the field or drag the kidlet to the line. Knowing that he wasn't the fastest finisher in the field, El Gigante chose to go to the line where Laberge out kicked him to take the jersey. It's hard to race against five or six hand picked kids.

The 17/18 race was less tactical, still we came up with the same result. Staz snuck away from the field early with Lombardi's Huffman, but not before dealing out a little pay back to the S boyz... Huffman was up the road solo and Specialized's Levaton was trying to go across to him. Staz rode Levaton halfway then attacked him. Staz made the juncture, Levaton didn't. With Staz up the road, AWfoSho repeatedly frustrated the field's attempts to chase, shutting down everything that tried to go across. Staz and Huffman doggedly clung to a slim lead until the last lap when Huffman escaped Staz's clutches and soloed to victory. Staz crossed second and AWfoSho EASILY mopped up the field sprint for third...

Staz is an enigma. The boy cleans up the 3's, but can't crack the nut that is junior racing. Rumor has it that he finished 2nd at Nevada City in the 3's earlier today... taking the field sprint but with a solo artist up the road. However, in all of his attempts at junior racing he has won but once... a tiny little affair at Berkeley Hills with a field of four a few years back. Staz knows that we really don't count that one... but danged the boy can ride a 3's race. El Gigante better hurry up with those last few points or Staz is gonna get a mandatory and move on without him.