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Let the races begin…Platinum style!!!

  

Poor College Kids Road Race   Los Olivos   2/30/10

Platinum had eight riders in the 40-man field and our competitors included some top US professionals in addition to the usual SoCal road racers. We had the largest team and so we went on the attack immediately from the gun, with Ben Haldeman quickly gaining a couple-minute lead. The rest of the team marked every single attempt to bridge up to Ben, and generally disrupted any cohesive chase. On the return leg of the first lap, newly-minted Cat 2 Chester Gillmore marked an attack by long-time strongman Chris Walker and soon the two of them bridged up to Ben, making the lead break two Platinum riders out of three. Soon after, Matt Dubberley successfully separated himself from the field and was joined by several other riders attempting to get up to Ben. Unfortunately, Chester crashed at the beginning of the second lap which left a fatigued Ben alone with the fresher Walker. After 60 miles in the lead, Ben finally succumbed and had to let Walker go. He was soon joined by Matt and two others, and they came into the finish with a good lead over the field, rolling in for a solid 4th and 5th place. Meanwhile, Gary Douville went with a strong move from the remaining pack and sprinted to 9th place against some very fast professionals. The rest of the team (Takeda, Cook, Gerrits, and Fennell) rolled in with the surviving field, having put in a solid day’s work.

 

         Brandon Droese and Steve weixel

First off I have to give it up to the UCSB kids for stepping up to the plate and putting on such a great event right in our own back yards. The course has been used off and on over the years (previously known as good ol days) and with the new pavement on the back side this course kicked but. Hopefully the UCSB racing organization will continue to provide great bike racing in California for many years to come.

It was an out and back course in Santa Ynez right in the heart of wine country; home to such famous brands as Brander and Firestone. There is a little hill, but nothing too bad. We had numbers on our side and fielded an 8 man squad of seasoned (albeit somewhat out of practiced) Cat 1’s. I think Ron and I were the only cat 2’s on our team.

So how did it go down? Well I’m glad you asked. Like any good well organized team we met about 30 minutes before the race to go over the ‘plan’. The idea was pretty simple: we had enough guys to try to go with everything and with the center line rule in effect we wanted to try to stay towards the front. The roll out was slow. Very slow… Slow enough to allow the Hammer to roll off the front at a cool 16 mph. Before the hill he was out of site. After that there were several attacks which the team covered very nicely.
On the back side Walker rolled off and I was in good position and it was my turn so I rolled with him. The back side of the course saw a tail wind that did not provide much draft… especially behind Walker. With a team mate up the road I was sitting on, which C-walk was not too happy about (and oh man did he let me know it), but I felt as though I was tactically in the right. We caught The Hammer on the hill going into the end of the first lap and opened up a Gap of around 3 minutes. Once we caught The Hammer I started pulling and also started to get very excited that I was off the front with a sizable gap in my first ever p12 road race with team advantage. Ben (The Hammer for those not in the know) was pretty tired from a hard 30 miles already but seemed to be finding incredible bursts of speed. Apparently that went on for the rest of the race where he would almost throw in the towel but then find some energy down deep. I was taking it easy when I was pulling through on the downhill stretch because I knew that Chris was not going to make it easy on the hill. Other then that I was pretty excited to be in a break with riders who typically win from break aways… Then came the turn around and the end of my race. I don’t want to get into to what happened or how it went down but I hit the pavement, broke my seat and tweaked the handlebars and shifters…
As quickly as it started it ended. The moto ref came rolling up and said “You have over three minutes on the main field if you want to get on rolling”. I looked at my bike and decided nahhh… this race was over for me.
Shortly after Mdub came rolling up in a chase group that eventually shattered to only 4 riders who ran into the Hammer. But Cwalk had dropped Ben on the hill and rolled into a solo victory. Good win for Coastal Tree Care who are local to Solvang.
Right behind him nipping at his heels was the chase group that had absorbed Ben right after the climb. Mdub rolled in for a 4th place with Ben right behind him at place 5. Three more riders who had been shelled from the chase rolled in next and Gary Won the field sprint (I think) for a 9th place finishing… So that was that: The first road race of the season with 3 top tens in the race.

 

Eighty masters riders from all over California started this race, and Platinum Performance fielded a strong eight-man team, including Chris Brown, Bill Lupo, Kim Bleth, Mark Fennell, Mark Luke, Tom Anhalt, Peter Boberg, and Ron Takeda. Among our competitors was a current World Champion from the velodrome, the current national criterium champion, and a former Olympian. All the Platinum riders rode near the front of the pack, contributing cohesively to our goals and animating the race. We made many attempts to establish a successful breakaway, including a multi-lap escape by Tom Anhalt, but the fast field wasn’t allowing us any leash. Despite our best efforts, the race came down to a field sprint against the aforementioned speedsters. Ron and Chris fought for position and stayed up front, and successfully sprinted to top-10 places. Ron got 5th and Chris got 8th, capping off a great team performance. Average speed of the race was 27 mph.

 

Gary Douville attacks the Nationals!

                           Gary was all smiles!!!

                            Gary in the mix!

              Respectable finish with two flats!!!

               Photos taken by Dorothy Wong

‘Cross Nationals, 50-54 Masters

December 12, 2009

Bend, Oregon

I thought it would be dry, dusty and hot...

Oh yea, let’s do the cross nationals; it’ll be fun (note the tone of sarcasm in the statement). Being a guy who grew up here in Southern California, riding in the mud and snow is really not my “cup of tea” but one of Platinum Performance’s newest members, Jon “Coach” Miller made it sound like so much fun. That darn guy (Coach) talked me into going a couple years back in Kansas; I did indeed get on the plane to Kansas but ended up in Negative Town instead. That year I learned, however, that if one is to have a good experience, one needs to have a good attitude so in the following two years I’ve done my best to work that angle. Regardless of conditions I was bent on smiling a lot and then working as hard as possible to appropriately represent our so cal cyclists demographic.

I was happy to learn while checking in that, due to Ned Overend moving up to the 55-59 class and Henry Kramer’s retirement, that I’d be getting the first call up. Having some trouble with health this year along with 103 folks pre-registered, I was thinking this may be the highlight of my weekend. I called out to my lovely wife, “Linda, make sure to get a picture ‘cause it could go downhill quickly from there”.

Later that day (Friday) Gary Douville and I went out for a few practice laps to check conditions, find the good lines, and make sure we could hit the tough sections without incident; unfortunately about a thousand of our friends had the same idea so plans of doing any hot laps were soon quelled. Nonetheless were able to identify problem areas and get a good idea of what we needed to do on Saturday.

The next morning my class, 50-54 Masters was the first group to go (race at 8:30 AM) so I showed up at 7:45 to get in a couple laps to re-check lines. This is where things got dicey as I experienced a dang heart arrhythmia during the second lap and knew my day was over. “Linda, really make sure to get that shot of that start.” In spite of my adolescent, party-monster behavior, I’m also a devote Christian so there was not shortage of praying for a good event without heart trouble; I was blessed with just that.

The gun went off promptly at 8:30 AM leading us down a long, asphalt straight into a left turn that took the group up and into what used to be grass (now frozen dirt and snow). I figured I’d go as hard as I could until the ol’ ticker did its thing and then do my best to finish. Coming out of the first turn I was riding around 4^th or 5^th and then made a couple of moves putting myself into 2^nd going into the “forest” section. The leader had trouble in a tight right hander sliding out on some ice—and nearly taking me with him. However, I was able to get around and then heard some trouble behind me (wheels sliding, bikes a crashin’). Not one to be very patient I decided to attack and [at least] not to let anyone suck wheel. “Holy smokes, I’m in front at a cross national!” I figured it would be fun just to see how long I could make it last and nearly made it to the end of the first lap when we entered a run/ride up section and I faltered on some ice and was forced to dismount which allowed a motorcycle hero of mine from way back; multi-time National Enduro Champion, Kevin Hines, to pass.

I did my best not to be too star-struck and keep Kevin in sight and actually made up some ground on lap 3 (“hey, my heart’s okay!”) but he saw me coming back and then threw down some great laps and got his sizable lead back. I fell down a couple times (everyone fell a couple times), but was able to get through the event without any heart trouble and finish in second about 45 seconds behind Mr. Hines and about the same in front of third place Rich Cramer. Whew, that was a sort of miracle.

The ride of the day, however, was the man who finished 4^th, Thomas Price. This guy crashed on the start straight and broke his chain forcing him to run with his bike to the pit area to get his backup machine. Fortunately the pit wasn’t too far into the lap but it put him at the back of the huge field. Passing on this course was no easy task so finishing fourth was darn super-human. He made a lot of fans that day.

At the end of the day, regardless of finishing position, the event turned out to be more about the experience. It was like falling in love with cycling all over again and getting to enjoy the sights and sounds of a complete spectacle. It really is a spectacle; in fact my voice is still crackly from all the screaming for my pal Gary and the others from down south. Speaking of which, you should have seen what Gary did in the Elite class; an unbelievable performance coming from WAAAAAY back (started 92^nd) to finish 36^th among a field of more fast people than I’ve even seen in my life. Bravo Gary! So, “come on, let’s all do the cross nationals next year, it’ll be fun!” Thanks COACH!!!!

Platinum comes up big in Oregon!!

USA National Cyclocross Championships, Bend Oregon 2009

Bobby Langin Sr had the race of his life to finish 2nd in a huge field in the Master 50-55 division. The conditions were extreme for the California boys. Freezing temps, snow, ice and mud….everything you expect from a cyclocross race! I attached a photo of Bobby doing his thing! Platinum’s newest rider Jon Miller rode to a solid 6th place finish in the Master 55-59 class. Gary Douville had his hands full with a stacked Master 35-39 division that had more than 150 riders competing for the stars and stripes. Gary started strong, but flatted twice to put him in a respectable 36th place. Gary took on the big boys the next day in the Elite class. He performed well and placed 36th out of 135 starters. I can’t wait for the write ups! Team Platinum was well represented in Oregon.

The mtn bike race schedule for 2010

SCPS Turkey Trot Cross

Glendale, CA November 29, 2009

Multitudes of Platinum Performance competitors showed up at the SCPS “Turkey Trot-Cross” event on Sunday, November 29. Maybe “multitudes” was a little strong; let’s adjust that to “a gaggle”…well okay, four of us showed but nonetheless we had “the man on fire” Gary Douville who’s been tearing it up lately and is the Cat 1/Elite District Champion crowned just last weekend.

Our first event, 45+ and 55+ Masters sported the majority of our contestants consisting of Mark “Godfather of cycling” Luke; Mike “elbows” Weber (more on that nickname later); and Bobby Langin Sr. (the author of write up has full discretion on not using any silly nicknames when referring to himself—OH SNAP!)

The promoters ran both 45+ and 55+ together so in the mass start Sr’s lack of experience this year showed as the whistle blew and he promptly fell out of his pedals causing quite the traffic jamb (sorry fellas). Mark (AKA the Godfather) settled in choosing to avoid early race mischief using his litany of experience to allow the race to develop.

In the 55+ group who had lined up just behind the 45+-ers, Mike (AKA Elbows) decided early it was time to make a move and ram our Specialized rep, Bob Meeker, to gain position in an effort to not let Jon Miller and John Rubiac get too far away. We may need to discuss the finer points of being nice to our bicycle reps with Elbows in the near future. Miller did eventually gap John and Elbows but Elbows held on for a strong third at the finish.

Meanwhile the 45+ guys hit it hard in the beginning making for a difficult first lap. Charley Morris and Langin Sr followed a group of five for the first lap and then Sr attacked on the start/finish straight starting lap 2 gaining a small gap on the six man string. The move worked and aside from a small mishap and fall with 3 laps to go, the race was fairly uneventful with Langin winning and Charley crossing the line a half a minute back and the Godfather finishing in a respectable 17^th (in a field of nearly 50 riders).

Next we waited anxiously for the start of the premier event of the day where our own Gary Douville lined up (and currently 2^nd in the SCPS series) for the start of the Cat 1, 2, 3/Elites. The anxiety was palpable among the competitors after last week’s ridiculously rapid pace; Brent Preslow was visibly nervous as well as the majority of the other front runners. Gary looked composed however and seemed ready for the hour long adventure on a very technical course. As the race began, sure enough the pace was obscene as the top 10-12 men were slamming the pedals. The air quality was atrocious as ash from the fires that occurred earlier in the year were stirred up by the Santa Anna winds combined with the dust from the course made for difficult breathing. After a few laps of ingesting the ash and dust we saw something rarely seen (I’ve never seen it) and that was Gary Douville pulling out of a race. I was with Gary at the MTB Nationals when he was coming down with pneumonia and the sound coming from the man was unfortunately very similar. Sid Taberlay went on to win by a big margin. Let’s hope Gary’s episode was caused by the ash and dust and not a respiratory infection of some sort so close to the ‘cross nationals in a couple of weeks.

Big wins at the State Champs!!!!!

Gary wins the jersy!!!

SCPS #12 – District Championships

SoCal Prestige Series #10

SCPS #10 Race Report-

Booth on the run….

The Big Sur Half marathon 2009

by Platinum rider Todd Booth

Off the subject of cycling….many of you know my other big passion off the bike is running. I’ve been competing in the running scene from 5K to Half Marathons for some time now. Last June I turned forty, which qualifies you into the Master’s Open division. This division is very competitive in the large foot races with cash payouts. In mtn biking that’s rarely heard of in the amateur races. For a long time now, I’ve been on the older end of the spectrum. I’ve been taking my licks from the “young whipper snappers”. The beauty of turning forty is now I’m the “young whipper snapper” for the Masters. The window is small for excelling in this division. Age is not kind on run times. It is rare to see a runner in his upper forties be competitive in this division.

My objective is to compete at some of the larger half marathons, meaning with 5,000 runners or more. It’s a rush having that many people at one event with everyone participating. My first target was the Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey. This race is large (5,000 runners) and well organized. My main goal is to win the Master’s Open division. This year was sold out and had a very competitive elite and master’s field. Coming off a diaphragm tear injury two weeks prior put me into a state of panic for preparation. After missing a valuable week of training and the need for a quick recovery, my training was condensed to a final weekend. Like cramming for a test the night before. In my mind, it was not possible to miss this race. This has been a focus of mine for three months now. I knew going into this weekend it was going to be a rush job. My son had a soccer game down in Simi Valley on Sat until 12pm. We drove straight up to Monterey nonstop. I did have Jim Adams pick up my race packet…which notched my stress level down a point. Thanks Jim..I would never have made the time frame for pick up. I drove part of the course in the dark and hid a few wattle bottles in the bushes. 7am was the starting time…painful! That meant waking up at 5am. The temperature was a bone chilling 42 degrees. In running, you tend on wearing the bare minimum. Shorts and a thin shirt. Not knowing the course or the competition meant only one game plan. Run as hard as possible and try to stay with the elite runners as long as I could. On the first mile that’s what I did….unfortunitly…these guys (top ten) are fast! We clocked a 4:50min/mile time on the first mile! The 1st place guy went on to win the race running that time the entire 13.2 miles!! Holy sh***!!! After mile one I found myself running alone, in no man’s land. I was in 12th position and had a gap in front and behind me. This is never good in a long race. Just like cycling, running is easier with drafting and someone to work with. I knew the next 12 miles were going to hurt. The course turned out tough. I have run the SB Half many times and that course is supposed to be hilly, but the Big Sur hurt me more. Tons of rolly hills with a tough climb out of Cannery Row, plus a nice little head wind on the way back. Don’t get me wrong, this course had stunning ocean views, but my vision was skewed from the lack of O2 to my brain. In the end, I held my 12th position overall out of 5,000 runners which put my time 2nd in the Master’s open division. The Master’s course record was shattered by Idaho “stud” Kevin Sheehy who ran a 1:10:29. My 1:14:22 time broke the prior M40-44 course record but was no match to Sheehy’s time. I can’t wait until next year!

Results:

Todd Booth 12th overall 2nd Master’s Open

Steve Bertrand 449 overall 27th M50-54

Full results:

https://www.runraceresults.com/secure/raceresults.cfm?ID=RCHV2009

“Mr Consistent”, Gary Douville!!!!

Amanda getting the hang of Cross!

SCPS#9A/9B, Hart Park, Bakersfield CA

Written by Platinum rider, Amanda Schaper

I took my second venture into cross racing this past weekend in the only California town that rivals Santa Barbara in both its beauty and class: Bakersfield. Races were held in Hart Park on both Saturday and Sunday, using the same course each day, only run in the opposite direction on the second day. I opted to do the Sunday race. The course was conducive to mountain bikers as it had steep descents, loose and twisty turns through trees, and some tricky climbs. I took a practice lap right before my race started and despite taking a good spill trying to remount the bike, I felt pretty good about everything. To me, nothing seemed too technical, and I’ve come to accept the fact that I simply won’t look graceful as I launch myself on and off the bike. Grace will come, but it hasn’t yet.

We Cat 3/4 girls get fairly chatty on the start line. Since we’re all new at this cross thing, I think we’re all equally terrified and looking for some moral support. I’ve seen the Elite guys start, and they aren’t complimenting their competitor’s pink knee-high socks or talking about how scared they are for the sandy sections or steep descents. This chatter always makes me feel a little bit more confident because it makes me realize that while I might not have the cross technique figured out yet, I at least have the bike handling skills from mountain biking….and the fashion sense to not rock pink knee-highs. Anyway, the race started and we were off. I stumbled a little bit on the start and entered the first singletrack section with only one or two other people behind me. Because of this, I got stuck behind some slower riders as the lead group rode away. I hoped that this time I could stick with the faster group as long as I could, but it looks like I need to add starting to my list of things to work on. I focused on riding my race and passed a few girls in the process. Despite a humbling crash as I dismounted the bike on one of my last laps, I managed to finish in 5th (admittedly, this also qualified as mid-pack).

As I crossed the finish line, I actually had no idea that I was, in fact, finished (apparently “2 laps remaining” becomes “1 lap remaining” after a guy from another class laps you…who knew?). So while I could have waved to the crowd as I finished in my 5th place glory, I instead charged out for another lap. Talk about dedication. Thanks to Coach Douville for chasing me down and letting me know that I could get off the bike. Without him, I might still be riding in circles up in beautiful Bakersfield.

Gary on the gas!!!!

Gary putting the hurt on the Australian Champ!

Speaking of Gary, that guy had two very studly Elite 2nd place finishes over the weekend. On Saturday, Brent Prenzlow took off pretty quickly looking for his 101st Elite win, but Gary worked with the chase group to reel him in. Gary’s group bridged the gap after Brent flatted and needed a bike change. Brent attacked towards the end of the last lap and finished in 1st, but Gary was very close behind in 2nd. Sunday’s race was even more impressive. The field was stacked with the likes of Brent, Sid Taberlay (5 time Australian National MTB Champ), and Mark and Chance Noble. It definitely was going to make for an interesting race. As soon as the race started, Sid and Gary were off the front like it was their mission, and they never relented. Thanks to their smooth technical riding and their ability to bunny hop a massive curb, the gap they formed on the chase group grew by almost 10 seconds each lap, reaching as much as a minute at one point. They were neck in neck until the last straightaway, when Sid unleashed about a 300-yard sprint. Gary hung on the best he could, but couldn’t quite match Sid’s sprint. He ended up finishing about 10 feet behind this world class racer. Not bad. Watching these two races was exciting to say the least. From the looks of it, Gary’s about the only guy capable of stopping Brent and Sid. It must be all of those Organic Living lunches he’s been eating…

Showing his skills….

Results:

SCPS #9A

Gary Douville 2nd Elite

Jon Miller 1st Mens 55+

SCPS #9B

Gary Douville 2nd Elite

Amanda Schaper 5th Womens 3/4

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  • Gary Douville attacks the Nationals!
  • ‘Cross Nationals, 50-54 Masters
  • Platinum comes up big in Oregon!!
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