Red Kite TT (E3)(E4)

Congrats to Eric Edem, Travis Mceuen, and Jacob Jordan for crushing it! 

Practicing Placement at Cal Aggie Criterium

Cal Aggie Criterium, held on the same course as the Land Park Criterium, is a flat, 1 mile closed loop, that includes a hairpin turn and a couple of chicanes. Earlier on in my racing career, I was nervous about criteriums--especially the technical ones like Cal Aggie. Over time, I learned that technical courses can actually be safer--and certainly more interesting--than 4-corner races. With this being my first criterium of the year, my goal was to focus on skills and placement. I also wanted to launch a couple of attacks to test my early season fitness. I had W3 teammate Trish Pablo with me in the Category 3/4/5 field of 19 racers, and Makenzie Delaugher on the sidelines for pre- and during-race support.

I was successful in my goals of racing actively and staying towards the front of the pack, especially heading into the hairpin turn--the spot on the course where riders in the back have to work extra each lap to make up time lost to the accordion effect. Trish and I took turns attacking, and she was even able to stay away for a bit while I covered from within the peloton. Halfway through the race, we were starting to get tired and agreed to race a bit more defensively in order to recover before the finish.

I knew that placement heading into the technical side of the course would be critical on the last lap. I made efforts to move up, but was still a bit further back in the pack than I wanted to be as we headed through the chicanes and out of the last turn. Nevertheless, I managed to dig deep and move up through the final stretch for a 3rd place finish!

1st and 2nd at San Bruno Hill Climb

I’ve heard of a superstition that what you do on New Year’s Day sets the tone for what you’ll be doing all year. If that’s the case, what better way to start 2017 than with a bike race? San Bruno Mountain Hill Climb, a mass start race for 3.6 miles and around 1,160 feet up San Bruno Mountain, kicks off the NCNCA racing calendar each January 1st. Top contenders in a hill climb race need the right mix of watts per kilogram, aerodynamics, and raw power, so I was super happy to have teammate and accomplished time trialist, Trish Pablo with me in the 3/4/5 field.

image: Alex Chiu

The race started in a combined group of 17 Category 3/4/5 women and 4 Category 1/2 women. The pace was pretty high right from the whistle, and Trish and I made sure to get towards the front. We settled into 4th and 5th wheel, and kept track of who was around and in front of us. We rode with the Category 1/2 women for a while, but with only a couple of them up front in competition with each other, we soon let them have their own race (since they’d be scored separately from us and in order to preserve our own energy).

That left Trish, me, and a W3 competitor from Team Swift climbing together. Midway through the ascent there is a quick loop-de-loop descent through a parking lot and under a bridge. Racers sometimes lose time here by making the mistake of easing up for relief. Since I had pre-ridden the course and knew what lines to take to keep pace through this section, I got on the front with Trish following on my wheel. We made it through the section, but hadn’t managed to drop Team Swift just yet.

We returned to climbing, and started preparing ourselves to duke this out. But then, as the grade got steeper, we heard our competitor starting to breathe just a bit heavier than we were. This was a good sign! Trish and I continued on and she started to fade. The gap between us and Team Swift grew, and we got more and more excited--now Trish and I just had to finish this thing off!

We kept our effort up the last of the climb and finished 1st and 2nd! Looks like 2017 is going to be a good year.

A Stinging 60km Solo Ride Gets the Win for Amatelli: 2017 Snelling Road Race

by Rob Amatelli

As I walked to registration at the 2017 Snelling Road Race, 5 laps of a 12mile course through rolling terrain, rough roads, gusty winds, rabid dogs, and swarming bees, there was a buzz in the air; coming not from the bees, but from the 1000 or so enthusiastic amateur bike racers of varying age, gender, and capability, all excited at the prospect of winning a Northern California Classic, a priceless Velo Promo T-Shirt, and all the prestige that comes with.   

After picking up my number at registration and getting back to my mother-in-law's shitty hand-me-down car that I lovingly refer to as 'The Hooptie', I got pinned and kitted up for a spin.  All went well except for peeing on myself a little bit during a nature break, but hey, pros pee on themselves too, right?

Fast forward to the start of the race and I plopped myself right up front with my Mike's Bikes teammates, Oli, Cox, Sparkelz, Beardo, BBQ, Apple, and the Magpie.  Behind us were 70 other racers from more than nine different teams all with at least five teammates.  We had a few laughs at the start line before following the moto referee through town on a quick promenade to the course.

Five minutes on we arrived at our destiny, er destination, which could easily be mistaken through the eyes of 40 something year old men as a Northern European Classic.  No longer were we mortal men, we were now gladiators of sport, athletes of superior quality and form, easily mistaken for the heroes of the pave and the hellingen of Flanders on a quest to make their mark and earn their spot in eternity at the top of the results page on the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 list on USA Cycling's website.  Yes, this was the stuff of legend.  

The racing began immediately with attacks flying off the front of the race as every racer tried to separate from the field.  Counter-attacks rang out like machine gun fire.  There were screams coming from the captains ordering their troops into battle.  "Hold that wheel!" they'd cry.  "Left, on the left!" the panic in their voices palpable.  Every breakaway attempt seemed to be the one that was going to stick, and those who missed out would have their dreams of triumph struck down and crushed.  

Our Mike's Bikes squad was strong and disciplined, making every group attempting to breakaway as well as instigating moves of our own.  Unfortunately with bike racing and war, there are casualties, and we lost valuable men that day.  One of our strongest lieutenants, Todd Markelz, was struck by shrapnel, a nail piercing his tire and impaling his $2k carbon rim.  David Allen, aka Beardo, selflessly sacrificed his race by giving Todd his own wheel in an attempt to get him back in the race.  Sadly Todd never made it back but he did soldier on and finish the race, as would be expected by any hard man of sport; you simply don't quit.  We also lost Apple and the Magpie to the treachery of the race.  We were down to four men against seventy.  

As the peloton smashed over the broken roads towards the end of the first lap two rabid, barking dogs appeared form nowhere, threatening to strike, seemingly unafraid of a herd of eighty cycling brutes traveling thirty miles per hour.  After the dogs we came to an orchard where swarming bees circled the roads and pelted the cyclists.  This.  Was.  Biblical.

Approaching the bridge towards the end of the 2nd lap, Chris Coble, quite possibly the single strongest man in the entire field, made a forcible move over the short rollers.  I was in position to follow along with a few others.  The group behind scrambled to get on terms with the pace he was setting.  As he eased up and turned around to admire the wreckage he had caused I sensed the opportunity to take an advantage for our team.  I kept pushing and leapt away from the group, forcing the other teams to carry our men if they wanted to rejoin the front of the race.  I glanced back and saw no one was coming.  I pushed on alone.  The mission was to stay out front for as long as possible to give our men more rest and the best chance of winning.  

With more than 2 laps and 55k of racing left, I knew the group was going to eventually bring me back and that the energy I was using to stay away would ruin my own chances of winning, but this is a team sport and to ride as a team you must be willing to sacrifice yourself for the success of the team.  

Before long I finished another lap.  One to go.  

Rob riding solo on his way to the win.

I dared not believe for a moment I would make it.  Through the headwinds I approached the feed zone and saw Beardo cheering me on.  Belief started creeping in.  Just then, as I crested the roller and began the charge into the crosswinds, near disaster struck as a bee somehow flew inside my protective eyewear and lodged itself between the lens and my eyeball.  I panicked and ripped off the shades.  The pivlock arm released and my eye shield tumbled to the ground.  Disgusted, I spiked the remaining pivlock arm in my hand to the ground and swiped away the bee that had stung my eyelid twice and nearly ended my race.  Stung and without eye protection, I had 20 minutes of racing left.  I had to make them count.

What happens when you are allergic to a bee sting, and you get stung. Hope you feel better soon Rob.

I told myself if I made it to the bridge and over the little bump and could still not see the field, then I would allow myself to believe.  After riding through the orchard and the swarming bees, this time with no protective eyewear, I make it to the bridge.  I make it over the rollers and through the penultimate turn onto the gnarled pavement of Figmond.  The wind is blowing cross-tail.  This is good for me.  I am catching the field in front of me.  Two miles to go I look over my shoulder and see a little black dot.  One mile to go I peek over my shoulder again.  The black dot is bigger.  Coble.  He is coming.  I do the math and know I have to ride it to the end.  I make the last turn and see the finish.  The race is mine.  I finish anonymously with the stragglers from the field in front of me, my victory salute pointing to head and heart unseen and un-captured by film to show my grandchildren as I spin my tales of lore and legend from when I was not young but not old.

No one strikes out alone with nearly 60k to go and makes it on their own strength.  Behind me our diligent and disciplined men, Oli, Cox, and BBQ, thwarted all attempts from the other teams trying to bridge.  None of us were the strongest in the field, but together our collective strength as a team was enough to win the day.  

Chapeau Team Mike's Bikes.

Epic Solo Road Race Victory by Ryan is Enough for the Win: 2017 Chico Stage Race

by Oliver Ryan

The Chico Stage Race is usually the highlight of the season for me, and TMBM has a pretty solid track record over the last few years, the racing is fun and hard, but the camaraderie of hanging out with my friends and teammates is what makes the weekend, and this year was no exception.

We showed up with a full squad of 8, focused primarily on trying to win stages, but also hoping to keep Matt Adams in a position to contend for the GC. It was a smaller field than in the past, but deep nonetheless with TT powerhouses Dan Bryant, Chris Phipps, Scott Giles, uber-strong men Chris Coble, Jan Weissenberger, Mike Sayers, and speedy finishers like Josh Carling, Chris Baker and Chris Espy.

Stage 1: Circuit Race

This was a new course at Thunderhill raceway, flatter and shorter than in previous years. Racing was fast and aggressive, with TMB riders getting into moves that looked threatening, and reeling in anything that got away without a TMB rider in it. Throughout the race, riders including Sayers, Giles and Coble all put in efforts to get away, but the team made sure we were either represented in those moves, or that they came back. With 1.5 laps to go I followed an attack by Chris Coble, barely hanging on, and with about 1/2 a lap to go Scott Giles bridged up with Rob Amatelli and Matt Adams in tow and the group came back together. Somehow Coble still had it in him to attack again before the final sprint, but Josh Carling came roaring up the middle to take the win by several bike lengths, with our own Scott Cox mixing it up in the sprint for 7th. Same time for our GC rider Matt so we were sitting fine going into the Road Race.

Stage 2: Road Race

I look forward to this race every year, a 90 mile flat-to-rolling Road Race with a 4 mile stretch of gravel (to be traversed twice), and the finish had been moved back close to where it used to be, a few KMs after the gravel exit, making that section of the race critical. Our plan was to be opportunistic, if early moves that looked good went, we would go with, and if it was together going into the gravel on lap 2 we would try to make it hard enough that a small group would go to the finish with at least 1 TMB rider. We marked early moves, and at around the 15-20 mile mark I followed Jason Boynton from Peet’s as he bridged up to a move that Scott Cox had gotten into with Scott Giles, we ended up going through that move and got a decent gap pretty fast. I knew Jason would work hard, and felt confident about my chances out of that break, so pushed the pace pretty hard. The next 60 miles was the two of us working really well together, Jason is a super-experienced rider and neither of us played any games, taking even, smooth pulls and extending our gap out to several minutes. We had no idea what the conditions of the gravel would be, and when we entered it, it was like riding on asphalt, crazy fast, and we ended up taking another couple of minutes out of the field in that section. As we exited, Jason said ‘now we just survive’ and we continued to work together through the windy, flat section after the finish. As we got close to the gravel on lap 2, the moto gave us a time check, 5 minutes with about 8-10 miles to go, pending some kind of disaster we were going to stay away. As fatigue started to set in, I could see that Jason was struggling a little, and as we entered the rough road before the gravel I put in a short effort to see what would happen, and got a gap fast. I put my head down and dug in for a 5 minute effort, looked back again and nobody was in sight, all I had to do now was get to the finish. Despite it being fast, the second half of the gravel was brutal as I felt the effects of being in a break for 3 hours, I made it off the gravel safely and kept pushing it all the way to the finish, taking the win and over 3 minutes on the next closest GC rider. Seeing the smiling faces of my teammates as they crossed the line knowing I had stayed away made it a race I’ll never forget.

Victory salute by Oliver Ryan, winning the road race of the 2017 Chico Stage M35+ 123 Road Race

Stage 3: Time Trial.

After some back and forth with Matt on Saturday night about whether or not I should use his Time Trial bike (I didn’t have one), and hearing that the course had been shortened to 8 miles, I decided to ride my Venge Vias with clip-ons, I had almost 3.5 minutes on 2nd place in the GC and figured playing it safe by riding the bike I knew was the smart decision. I warmed up for almost an hour and the legs were hurting a lot, rolled over to the start and I put my head down and gave it what I had, knowing that a steady effort should keep me well in the lead going into the final stage. Despite some bad suffering, I took 7th in the TT and gave up a little over a minute to the winner, giving me more than a 2 minute lead going into the final stage.

Stage 4: Crit

All we needed to do to keep the GC was not give up 2:13, which was well over a lap at the speeds we would ride, and our plan was to do just that, keep it fast, watch for riders in good GC position trying to get away and protect the leaders jersey. It was fast from the gun as it always is, with TMB keeping a few riders close to the front at all times. A move with Giles/Coble went up the road (along with Jan Weissenberger, Matt Adams and I think one other), but 3 of the 5 riders came back to the group, leaving GIles/Coble off the front. Peet’s and Thirsty Bear had the most to lose with those GC contenders (who went into the stage 3rd and 5th respectively) and Dan Bryant (who went into the stage in 2nd) went to the front to try to bring it back, but ended up in no mans land and ultimately came back. With a few laps to go, TMB put 6-7 riders on the front to manage the gap which was holding around 30 seconds, with a lap to go attacks started to fly as riders moved up to contest the field sprint, I surfed wheels confident that we had the GC locked up and cruised over the line ecstatic that we had taken the win.

Thanks, as always to my amazing TMB teammates and friends for an awesome weekend of racing.

Early Season Aggressive Racing Nets Amatelli 2nd: 2017 Red Kite Circuit (the Bumpe) Race

by Rob Amatelli

Race: Red Kite 'The Bump' Premier Series Race #1

Course: 3 laps of rolling terrain with a few bumps.  25miles/2k' 

Gear and race prep: Specialized Tarmac Pro Udi2 sans water bottles/cages, rolling on S-Works 24mm Turbo tires, S-Works Evade helmet, S-Works 6 Road Shoe, Capo cycling apparel, Smith Optics.  Gu nutrition pre/post race. 

Summary:  Team Mike's Bikes lined up for the first race of the BikeReg Premier Series in Livermore, CA with a strong squad of racers.  David Allen, Oli Ryan, Matt Adams, Josh Pizzica, Scott Cox, Matthew Sloan, Todd Markelz, and myself.  Team Captain David Allen laid out a solid plan with detailed roles for each rider.  

As the riders gathered at the starting line there was definitely a low-key feeling, mostly due to powerhouse teams Specialized, Peet's Coffee, and Thirsty Bear not being represented.  As I looked through the field I saw KaiVelo and Squadra had numbers.  I also recognized Will Riffelmacher from Olympic Club and saw he had a teammate but did not know who he was.  That would change very soon.  

When the racing got underway David and Matthew just kinda rolled off the front and it took a few minutes for the other teams to get their brains and legs working and chase them down.  They were brought back just before the group went through the finish for the first time.  

After the descent there were some breakaway attempts and Mike's Bikes managed to instigate or infiltrate each of them.  I saw each of our men queuing off of teammates and taking turns covering moves and making attacks of their own.  From my point of view the team looked like a well-oiled machine.

Nearing the end of the first lap Chris Evans from Thirsty Bear used the little hill before the finish to make a move and stretch the field.  We had guys on his wheel so I just sat back and looked for a ride across, which I would eventually get.  Just when I reached the front five riders Chris, let off the gas and looked back.  When he did that I upped the power and did a 3min interval through the finish into the decent.  When I looked back to see if I made a dent I saw three other riders were coming across and there was a little gap back to the field.  I sat up and waited for the other three to see who they were.  The first to reach me was Lucas Paz from KaiVelo and behind him Chris Evans was dragging someone up with him.  That someone turned out to be Riffelmacher's Olympic Club teammate, Chris Coble (awesome name for a bike racer).  

It didn't take me long to see that Coble was the strongest.  He wasn't showing off but his pedaling action was impressive.  Chris Evans looked good too. 

Reaching the final stretch of road before the finish we had 40sec on the field and Coble was starting to get frustrated with me for not pulling harder.  He kept barking at me so I went slower. 'Just wait' I thought.  I decided to sell out on the last little bumps before the finish to see if I could get away solo for the win.  It actually worked out well because as we hit the hill I was rolling to the front.  I spun up the cranks the best I could and pulled away.  I looked over my shoulder and had a good gap.  I kept going for another 10 sec and looked back again to see Coble coming across.  He caught me at the top of the second little bump just before the right-hand turn to the finishing hill.  The other two were dropped so I slowed up just enough to keep our gap over them but trying to hit the hill at a slow of a speed as possible to make it a pure sprint and not give Coble any more draft than I already was. Coble easily won the sprint.

The team rode perfect and I'm so thankful for being given the opportunity to ride the break and go for the win.  

Team Work and Strong Legs Kicks Off the 2017 Season with Victory: San Bruno Hill Climb

Date: 1/1/2017

Teammates: Marcel Appelman (Appel)

Conditions: Mid-40s with a 10mph headwind for the first half of the climb and tail/cross for the final mile.

The Plan: Have Appel cover any early moves keeping me out of the wind and in contact for the final five minutes where the race is typically decided.

Summary

With only one other team (Thirsty Bear) showing up with a squad that included a really strong climber (Hanns Detlefsen) strategically the race was set up to be pretty straightforward. Because the last several minutes of the climb suit me better than the earlier shallow gradients and rolling middle portion I was content to save my legs for a single attack where it would matter the most. This meant Appel was on duty for covering all the early moves. And Thirsty Bear put him to work fast.

Moments after the group settled into the climb Chris Evans shot up the road on the left and immediately got away. Appel slipped up to the front and started to apply pressure to limit his gap. After navigating through the pack I got on Appel’s wheel and locked into a comfortable pace. After a couple of minutes Chris started looking back and it was clear he was no longer gaining. Appel did an excellent job of taking his time in reeling him in to avoid additional attacks. By the time we hit the first flatter portion of the climb we were all back together and Hanns briefly went to the front while the overall pace slowed.

Jacob (another Thirsty Bear) took over next and led the group through the underpass and onto Radio Road where the real climbing begins. As soon as it got steep Hanns put in an acceleration which Appel jumped to cover. I got back on Appel’s wheel and the three of us separated from the rest of the field. Hanns we pushing hard now and Appel was on the limit. With a flick of his hand he signaled he was done and the rest was up to me.

Todd Markelz climbing away to a win at San Bruno. Photo credit: Alex Chiu

I got on Hanns’ wheel as he tapped out a steady rhythm. I continued to bide my time for the final few hundred meters. Nearing the top his pace slowed and I looked back to see that Chris Evans was working his way up to us. Not wanting Chris to rejoin and be outnumbered going into the finale now was the time to attack. Coming out of a corner I stood up and and kicked for about 15 seconds then looked back to see the damage. I’d opened up a significant gap and felt confident in the last 200m that nobody was going to catch back up. On I rode to the first win of 2017!

A huge thanks to Appel for doing the lionshare of the work on the climb! I was just happy that I could honor that work with TMB’s first win of the new year.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/817938345/analysis/1558/2614