ACJR-- The Boulder Chapter

Hey AC athletes & supporters,

Just like the AC Elite Team has Chris Johnson as its sole east coast representative, the AC Junior squad has Michael Dessau, who is battling it out and doing well in the Boulder-area 'cross circuit. Michael is what anyone would call a pretty well-rounded and -accomplished bike racer. Among his recent palmares:

• 2009 US National 13-14 Road Champion
  
• 2009 US National 13-14 TT Champion
• 2009 US National 500M TT Champion (velodrome)
• 4 top-5 finishes in CX this season
• And a bunch of others...

Outside of the CX season, he sports the kit of Team Felt 5280. Here he is racing in Boulder recently (wearing a better looking kit!). Looks like good form to me!



Say hello to Michael and we look forward to racing with him at the CX Nats in Bend next week!

Good Riding,
Blair

BASP #4 - Golden Gate Park Cyclocross - Spence Wins It!

Warm weather in November (almost December)? Once again, it was an unseasonably warm and sunny day for Cyclocross, but the boys (and men) persevered through the heat and dust, to put down some pretty remarkable results:

Blair Peterson did another “double header” – racing in Men’s A’s first, then coming back for more fun with the Men’s B Singlespeed race.

Blair's first race - the Men's A's (a very tough crowd)

Blair on his second race of the day - Singlespeed B Men

He did well in both, and may be close to keeping his 6th place hold on the series. Not sure how he finds the energy, as I could barely drag myself to the race in the first place!

While they were getting ready to race, the Juniors did a PROPER warmup, following Craig Upton's guidelines - the boys all reported feeling a lot better at the beginning of the race.

Alex and Jack, on the trainers, warming up for their race

Then the Main Event – Men’s B race.

Spence and Alex charge up the front straight at the start of Men's B race

This one was packed with excitement over the full 45 minutes – starting with a strong hole shot with Isaiah and Spence getting to the corner with the first 2 or 3 other guys, then Bob, Alex, Skyler and Jack threading their way through the course (and other racers).

Over the 6 laps they raced, Spence, Isaiah and a Taleo racer all battled it out for 1st place, trading the lead, and overtaking each other at key points in the race. With lots of technical challenges, including roots, a ride-down + run-up, and plenty of tricky places to pass, the battle waged on for lap after lap.

Spence has overtaken Isaiah and is hammering up the front straight

Finally, in the last lap, Spence blasted by both Isaiah and the Taleo guy, and never looked back – he put down his First Place over a field of 82 racers – and with a strong finish to stamp it all his.

Bob heading up the front straight ready for his next pass

Bob produced his strongest result to date – a 7th place, after having pushed hard past a number of other fast riders. He showed great determination and looked as strong as in any race this year.


Just behind Bob was Scott Harrington, who overcame a couple of incidents in the race to claw his way back into the top 10 at 9th place.

Scott Harrington looked super strong today - solid Top 10 finish

Skyler Taylor started strong, and really held onto his position throughout the race, despite a potentially nasty crash on the ride-down. He kept his cool, and pushed his way into a 20th place finish.

Skyler is heads down, and digging hard to keep them behind him

Alex Howard showed his drive and concentration after he flatted with a HUGE staple through his tire.

The staple that probably cost Alex a Top 10 finish

After getting a new wheel, he powered through the field, chewing up and spitting out riders 3 and 4 at a time. He passed his way from near the back of the field to a finish in 26th place - certainly one of the strongest rides of the day!

Alex reeling in more riders on his move back up through the field

Jack Keane did a great job of cutting through the middle of the field, and continued to show great promise with a 46th place finish – solid mid-pack finish!

Blair hammered the course on his single-speed, trying to keep up with the higher-geared racers, and rode home with a strong finish – he has a solid lock on a Top 10 series finish at this point!

The Payoff - Spence Peterson - First Place - Men's B

The afternoon was dominated by the announcer constantly referring to the battle between Spence and Isaiah, and then the mention of the other AC riders, one after the other – we clearly had the biggest team out there, and everywhere you looked was black and white AC kit.

Team AC - Alex, Blair, Scott, Jack, Bob, Spence and Skyler

Special thanks also to Jack French for his photography – can’t wait to see the next round of pictures. Thanks also go out to Above Category and Chad Nordwall for the great Edge wheels and Focus race bikes - a resounding success according to the boys. And also to Meg, Julia, Nicole and Hillary for the great food to keep everyone up and at it.

My Photos are HERE, but there are MANY others to come from the other photographers.

Next Race: The FINALE – BASP #5 – Sunday, December 6th at Coyote Point – See HERE

And REMEMBER – this one will PAY OUT – there is $750 in prizes, 8 deep, in the Men’s B Series

Pound for Pound - AC Juniors Rule Cyclocross! BASP #3 - Sierra Point

Team AC - Alex, Skyler, Jack, Chad, Bob, Spence, and Scott

Sunday was another big success story for the ACJR and Master racers - three First Place finishes and strong performances by all the riders. More AC uniforms out there than almost any other team, major attention over the PA system, and two dozen family and friends out there supporting the team big time.

Sierra Point is the third in the BASP series, and more importantly, the night race - fantastic spectator event with great visibility of the entire course, all under the lights.

The afternoon started off well - Skyler Taylor and Jack Keane raced the Junior 15-18 race, with Skyler taking a strong First Place and Jack coming in a solid Fourth Place. Skyler put on a really strong performance, holding the lead the whole way, and taking the win after a long hard battle with Cody (?) from the Davis team. Jack continues to hone his 'cross skills, over a tough, bumpy and technical course, and it was just the first of two races for him!

Matthew Valencia was the picture of grit and determination - he took the Under 14 race from the start, but in the first lap managed to cut his knee on the stairs - very badly, as it turned out. But he stayed on his race the whole, way, won the race decisively, and then his parents took him first to the medic, and then to the ER to stitch up a giant hole in his knee. When asked how many stitches he got, Matt could only answer "I stopped counting" - he came back to watch and root for the rest of the team and stayed till very late. I'm sure he felt it the next day, and will be off the bike for awhile, but he definitely has the spirit of cyclocross - press on, regardless!

Matthew returned from the ER to get his podium picture

Next up was the big race of the day - about 150 Men B racers, including the ACJR's - Spence, Bob, Alex, and Jack, plus Scott Harrington, fresh off his recent victory in Santa Rosa, threw down against the men, and against Isaiah Rapko, who was gunning for his third victory in the series.

After a huge start, a number of crashes on the course, and lots of moving up through the pack, the race settled down for 45 minutes of excitement - Isaiah and Spence took control from the first turn, and held the race the whole time.

From the start, the lead was all about Spence and Isaiah

Alex and Bob were running strong, passing people right and left, with bike handling skills fine tuned over the past years of mountain biking. Spence and Bob were really enjoying the great Edge wheels provided by Chad at Above Category, and Alex was on the deluxe Focus Mares Expert - so equipment was not holding them back!

Alex chasing down another "old guy" in the Men's B's

Bob pushing hard - passing throughout the race

Jack held his own in his second race of the day - in the big field of B's

Blair mixing it up with the other Singlespeed B's

Scott continued to build his cyclocross record - really strong performance!

Lap after lap, the announcer was describing the ongoing progress of the two racers whose age didn't exceed 30 years old - he was as excited as the rest of us, I think! Finally, on the last lap, Isaiah and Spence hammered down the back straight, through the U-turn and up the finish straight. Just a couple of feet separated them, but Isaiah managed to pull away and take the win with Spence right behind - one of the most exciting finishes of the entire day (maybe the season) of racing.

Isaiah (1st), Spence (2nd) after a grueling 45 minutes of dicing with Spence

Spence and Isaiah on the hardest fought podium of the night

Alex, Scott, Bob and Jack all kept the pressure on and took a good chunk out of the top third of the finish roster. Final results were a bit muddled, so we're not sure of exact finish standings yet.

Blair did a double-header, with back-to-back races first in the Men's B singlespeed race, then in the Men's 45+ A race, and did amazingly well given the high level of competition. Some great passes and charging through the pass gave him solid finishes in both races, and he seemed as strong in the second race as during the first. Amazing endurance in these intense full-bore sprint races!

Blair continuing on his second race of the day - in Men's A's no less!

Meanwhile, Alex, Spence and Bob raced in the Singlespeed A's race

All in all, it was a super solid day of racing, spectating, eating and drinking - thanks to Meg and Julia for the great sausages, desserts, and drinks (regular and with alcohol), to our great friend Jack French for his incredible photography - these are truly pro-level shots, to Chad for the loan of the top-tier wheels and bikes, which clearly made a difference, and to all the parents, friends and other AC supporters who came out to cheer the team - we probably had one of the largest and loudest groups of supporters of any team!



Photos of the race are here but the best ones are Jack French's photos on Facebook - better make him your friend soon!

Next Races:
Saturday, November 21 - Cross Palace - indoor cyclocross at the Cow Palace!

Sunday, November 22 - Discovery Park - Sacramento CX #3

Sunday, November 29 - Golden Gate Park NCNCA Finals - BASP #4

Good day of racing with a small group today (Bob, Alex, Matt Valencia) – but some good results.

First up, Matt raced Under 13 and won the group decisively – great job Matt!

Then he got right back into line, with Bob and Alex, and Isaiah, and they all blasted out with the Men’s B group. Probably about 60 racers total, and the boys got an awesome start – 1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th right out of the start into the first turn.

Some great action throughout, with Isaiah taking and holding the lead – looking super strong today, even when challenged by some strong B’s.

He won the race (second win in two weeks), with Alex coming in about a minute behind at 10^th, and Bob just behind at 11^th. Matt did a great job, beating about 20 of the B’s to come in 40^th in his second race of the day!

The boys are really working well together, and looking strong in a very competitive field – great job!

Pictures are up at http://picasaweb.google.com/glocalize/200910SurfCItyCX1?feat=directlink

Next Week:

Saturday, October 17 – Men’s B’s at 3:00 PM

Lion of Fairfax is coming back – great LOCAL race, so think about coming out with the family.

Register NOW – it looks to be a fun race https://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9254

ALSO: Don’t forget to register for Nationals (if you haven’t already, the site may be DOWN):

You can TRY to register at www.sportsbaseonline.com (search for “cyclocross nationals”) but the site crashed hard on Friday under the weight of the cyclocrossers jockeying for starting position. We’ve confirmed that Bob, Spence, and Isaiah have registered, but not sure about anyone else.

October Cyclocross Race Schedule

Team van with new 4-bike rack upgrade - thanks to AC dads!

Sunday, Oct 11th - Surf City #1 in Soquel (near Santa Cruz)
This is a really fun group and the course is interesting and challenging, but not as tough as McLaren.
For more info, see SURF CITY SCHEDULE
Here is what the course will look like: COURSE MAP

Saturday, Oct 17th - Lion of Fairfax
Great local race – up just West of Fairfax, so NO LONG driving to get there!
Even if you have a morning event, the Men’s B’s don’t race till 3 PM so this one can work with an otherwise busy Saturday. PREREGISTER NOW at LION OF FAIRFAX REGISTRATION

Sunday, Oct 25th - BASP #2 at Coyote Point (just south of San Francisco)
For more info, see BASP #2 COYOTE POINT

Saturday, Oct 31st - Surf City #2 Santa Cruz – The Halloween Race
We did this last year, and it was one of the most entertaining races all year – try to make it to this one!

It is likely I’ll drive the van to all of these, with the possible exception of Lion of Fairfax, since that would be a good one for families to attend.

Team AC in Sweden - Bjorn wins it all!

This report in from Katie Fox on Bjorn's successful overthrow of Sweden's junior racing scene:

What an eventful summer vacation we had this year. Björn brought his road bike along so he could race at the Swedish National Championships. It was a four-lap, 80 km race in warm weather.

Waiting among the "locals" - some US attitude...gloves by AC

Tight corners, open roads

Björn was in a eight-man break during the first lap which eventually dissolved, but Björn and another rider decided to keep pushing the pace and stayed away for another two laps.

Heading out in the break...

The peloton upped the pace on the last lap and five strong riders got away, joining Björn and Viktor. Björn used that opportunity to rest up. After attacks that didn't stick, Björn was able to sprint past the group with one kilometer to go, and drilled it all the way to the line, 3 seconds ahead of second place. A Swedish National Champion!

The thrill of victory!

During our vacation, we found out more about the Swedish Cykelgymasium, a school that combines academics and cycling for 16-20 year olds. Within the week, Björn was offered a spot at the school. They only accept six riders per year (three boys, three girls). The school is located in Skara, Sweden, and has 1200 students. There are 26 bikers at the school this year, and they all live in apartments by themselves. We found Björn a furnished room about 1 km from school and left him in Sweden.

I had a great time visiting Björn last week. I spent 5 days in Sweden, delivering two bicycles, winter clothes and motherly advice. I watched Björn at two races, Sista Chansen in Ramnäs and Anundsloppet near Västerås. Björn was on fire that weekend and won both races.

The first race was a 15-lap crit, with a sprint finish between Björn and Axel. The finish line video had to be watched to determine the winner (Björn's first sprint win).

The Sunday race was 10-laps on a 3.8 km course. Björn was tucked in the peloton for the first 5 laps, but then took off because he had too much energy. He was able to stay away for the rest of the race and only had one rider try to chase him down.

Traffic was allowed on the course, going the same direction as the racers and on the final lap Björn caught up to a tractor which slowed him down. He was behind a lead car which tried to clear things up for him and luckily he managed to keep far enough away from the second place chaser to take the win.

Podium at the Swedish Nationals

These were the last two road races of the season in Sweden. What a way to wrap up a great road season.

Bjorn Fox - National Champion

Björn will be coming home Dec 2 for one month. We will be heading to Portland USGP and Bend for cyclocross races.

Katie

Team AC getting ready to 'cross!

Hey AC athletes & supporters,

What is arguably our must fun (and intense) racing season is nearly upon us-- CYCLOCROSS!! Prior to our first major race on 9/27, we have our cyclocross season kick-off next Sunday (9/20):

• 1pm: AC team advanced CX skills clinic taught by Clark Natwick (Mill Valley location TBA)
• 4:30-6:30: Taco truck dinner for athletes, our families, AC shop crew & elite team (in the AC piazza).

Please email me so we can get a headcount for the clinic and the dinner, thanks much.

Details will follow next week by email and on the blog.

Good riding,

Blair

New Team Van - get ready for 'cross season!

Team Van awaiting the first race

Here is our ride for the upcoming race season - our new (used) 2004 Ford Econoline E350 van.

It's a 12- passenger body, with three-row seating for eight, and can hold 4-6 bikes inside, and another couple on the rear hitch. 8 riders, 8 bikes - we can get to most races in ONE vehicle now!

It has a 6.0 liter PowerStroke diesel, so a great combination of power and fuel economy for those long drives.

Think about how to personalize it with AC-related graphics. Ideas (and Photoshopping) welcome!

No, we are NOT racing for the KTM team!

2009 Road Nats recap

[late post due to technical difficulties] Spence & I are in Bend for the Elite and Junior Road Nats. We're missing the rest of the AC JT and hey, where are the AC Elites? Bend is an amazing town-- cyclists' heaven. Bike lanes and single track everywhere.

To the racing.. 13-14 field was stacked. Lots of big name teams (Garmin Chipotle Juniors among them). UCI commissaires checking bikes in a jig and roll-out in a precise aluminum tray-- gearing needed to be spot on.

The course was an out-back gradual climb-descent. Full power both directions-- if your gearing was at the max, no coasting. Spence's 52x14 prevented him from spinning out. And he passed rollout with about 2" to spare.

As the race progressed (~55 starters) the time to beat continued to drop-- 20min, 19, 18, 17... Spence came across at 18:12 for 12th place, which I think is an awesome result. Last year's champ started last and finished with an absolutely scorching 16:10 to win again. Spence was the highest placing Californian.

Tomorrow's crit will be very cross-like. Super technical and whoever is in the lead group to get the hole-shot will prolly win it. Spence prepped for the crit by resting and tubing the Deschutes River with some of the other 13-14 racers-- the girls from Proman Hit Squad!

Good riding.

Passion Performance & Professionalism

I had the pleasure of accompanying members of the AC junior team for a couple days at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nats in Sol Vista, Colorado. The experience provided a brief opportunity to see how we are doing as a Team and as individuals in a potentially high stress--and high visibility--race situation.

My first observation was that everyone was having a lot of fun. So we can put a big check-mark next to that item on the Team objectives list! It was clear everyone was there by choice, and had exhibited a considerable amount of dedication to get there and be competitive. The parents, coaches and sponsors all did their bit to help AC athletes achieve their goals too. So check, check and check.

Everyone raced fairly, looked sharp in their kits, and showed up on race day with clean, tuned and lubed machines. With our results ranging from victory to a bad day’s bonk, the AC Team showed support and respect for each other and their competitors. No doubt the AC athletes (and parents) set an example for others, win or otherwise. Check the Professionalism box big time!

So what’s the take-away? There were hiccups here and there, but the AC Team rocked and should be proud. What do the riders think? What can we do better as athletes and an organization to prepare for the next major event?

Good riding.

Death Ride 2009 - not as bad as you'd think

Well, we did it - Blair, Bill and I finished the Death Ride today (well, I made it through 4 of the 5 passes, but they did all 5 passes).

Think about these totals for a minute (for the three of us):

342 miles ridden
42,000 feet of climbing
28.5 hours of riding

It might have been, to use the oft-overused word "epic" - though I'd say that it wasn't nearly as hard as I would have expected (I did 94 miles of riding, and 12,000 feet of climbing - and was still feeling pretty good at the end). Blair and Bill took an extra three hours and finished the fifth pass, Carson Pass, which included a bracing downhill ride in the rain - they covered about 124 miles, with 15,000 feet of climbing in roughly 10.5 hours.

The day started early, with a 4 AM wakeup call, and a 5:30 start time. Although we had about 12 or 13 riders in the extended group, four of us (Blair, Bill, Greg and I) started together, and headed up Monitor Pass.

Rich, Bill and Blair at the start

Bill, Greg and Blair - about to head out

We stayed together for awhile, but first Greg took off ahead, then Blair and Bill headed out at a brisk clip.

My back side view of Bill, Greg and Blair

I stayed with my plan for the ride, and held to 160-180 Watts the entire day (a slower pace than the others)), so I solo'd the entire day.

We were fortunate to have perfect weather for (almost) the entire day - it started out at about 60 degrees, then warmed up by the time the sun came up as we ascended Monitor Pass.

View from Monitor Pass as the sun comes up

The weather stayed nice for the whole ride, until late afternoon (around 3 PM) when clouds came in and started raining on the riders who were ascending or descending Carson Pass.

The rest stops were uniformly very well-equipped, but very crowded. I found it was best to run in, get refills on water and/or Cytomax, grab a PBJ bagel, and then get going again. It would be easy with 8-10 stops to add 1-2 hours if you spent 10-15 minutes at each rest stop.

At the top of Monitor - first time

The Monitor Pass "tombstone" at the summit
(photo courtesy of Ed Schuller)

The scenery as we climbed and descended Monitor was really spectacular - the sun was coming up across incredible views of the valley, and the contours of the land were shadowed - it looked almost like CGI in some places (or maybe that was just the riding ;-)

At the bottom of Monitor Pass

This guy apparently finished the WHOLE ride
on this "elliptical bike"

After ascending Monitor from the back side, it was time to head back down towards Markleeville and head up Ebbett's pass. The descent was nice - really smooth and well-paved road, but there were the inevitable yahoos who were going WAY too fast, and would pass you without announcing "on your left" - I kept my speed below 40 MPH so it was pretty mellow descending (relatively speaking). Monitor Pass really wasn't all that hard - it felt a bit like doing Mt. Diablo, though there were definite effects to be felt when you got up around 8000 feet.

Heading up Ebbett's Pass, we were first treated to a nice gently rolling ascent (maybe 1-3%) along a beautiful river, which took your mind off the riding a bit.

Long, slow climb up Ebbett's Pass - this is a discouraging view!

Nice, shady climb up Ebbett's - before it got REALLY hard

Then the road kicked up, and by the end of the ascent, it REALLY kicked up - there was wave after wave of what felt like 10-12% grades. It took real concentration to keep the pedals going after you thought you were "almost done" but came around a corner to find ANOTHER steep 300 yard ascent staring you in the face. This pass topped out above 8700 feet, so it was a long haul to the top.

The rest stop at Ebbett's Pass

Proof that I made it to Ebbett's (first time)

At the top, I refilled the bottles, grabbed some snacks, and debated whether to head down the back side to then do my fourth ascent. After talking with people, I convinced myself that it "wouldn't be that hard" so headed down to the bottom. It really turned out to be not that bad - about 1700 feet of climbing, and no really nasty climbs. People were clearly starting to get tired, so I found myself saying "on your left" as I passed person after person - just held it at 160 Watts and spun the pedals till I got to the top (again).

The descent was a bit sketchy - the road had no center line, and there were often three or four riders abreast going up, and then others were descending really fast, kind of threading around the climbing riders. I took it easy, then headed down to the lunch spot. It was really crowded, so I passed on it, grabbed more water and Cytomax at the next stop, and then rode the remaining 14 miles back to the car. It seemed MUCH longer than when we rode it in the morning, but it was the end of the day after all.

When riders went through Markleeville, which was halfway between the lunch spot and the car, there were hundreds of people lined up on the main street, with cowbells and lots of cheering and hooting. It was really nice to hear the encouragement, and helped make the last 6 miles to the car.

Once at the car, I found that I was the first one back. A few minutes later, Greg rolled in (he'd done the 4 passes then stopped for lunch).

At the car after my 94 miles

We compared notes, then Blair rolled in - he had stopped for lunch and met up with a bunch of the other guys. Blair decided to go for Carson Pass, so we waited a few minutes to see if Bill would stop by the car, then Blair just headed up himself.

Blair deciding to take on Carson Pass - he left
quickly before he could change his mind!

He ended up taking about 3 hours from that point, and only hit rain on his descent. Bill was ahead of Blair and managed to avoid all the rain.

All in all, everyone really enjoyed the ride (as much as you can enjoy something like this) but it's not clear that we really need to do this again. It would be nice to do a ride up and down Monitor on our own, so perhaps we'll come back some time and do that pass again.

It's also important to note that this was Bill's birthday weekend (this was his birthday) and he and his wife Joey shared their gorgeous house with a huge crowd of guys, with wonderful food and conversation - quite a treat compared to our usual crappy motels at the races!

Everyone at dinner on Friday - discussing strategy for the Death Ride

Here is a link to the ride today.

Here are more pictures.