Sierra Point BASP race

 While running around keeping my SH&() together I was unable to shoot photos except for the two here. Take my word for it-this was an exciting day/night of racing at arguably the biggest Nor-Cal CX race of the season. The team showed up in a big way and the tent had constant activity from the early afternoon until well after the last race. Tim and Frank provided the main buffet courses but lots of other folks contributed.

Two dominant rides were executed by Ellen Sherrill in the women's A race and Scott Chapin in the men's A race. Both riders won their respective races with dominant and tactically flawless riding. Ellen battled her way to the front with Katie Jay Melina in the first couple of laps with Mary Ellen Ash leading it out at a fast pace to string out the peloton and create some passing room. It worked and Ellen took over at the front and with some savage attacks got a gap that stayed for the duration. Katie Jay got 4th and a podium spot while Mary Ellen would finish 11th and Sarah Jordan 13th.
In the men's A race , Scott Chapin rode third wheel until an opportunity to attack developed and then rode away from the strong field-winning by a full minute from the second place rider. Alex Work overcame a crash and a broken handlebar to finish 5th-his best of the season. Aaron Bradford riding with a bad cold finished a strong 12th-all three of these riders were on single speeds. Ben Dodge rode a consistant and strong race to finish 22nd.
In the 35 A masters race Brian Staby rode well in the second group to finish 8th while Matt Jordan came in at 28th. In the 45 A race Tim Watson, also riding with a cold finished a strong 8th place with Frank Kalcic coming in at 24th.
In the masters 45 B race , Craig Ball on his single speed came in 10th , Allan Bennett 11th and Benoit Dubuisson 16th with Michael Schaller coming in at 37th in the huge group.
In the womens B race Ariel Raymon came in 18th with Alexis De Zubria coming in at 21st.
In the single speed B race Allan Bennett came in at 27th and in the open B race Benoit Dubuisson finshed 59th. I managed a 14th in the mens 55+ race.

Stafford Lake wildcat race

This was race #3 in the Nor-Cal CX series and it would be a windy fast and dry course. The promoter threw in some gimmicks like a hay-bale maze and a 'Belgian wall" which was more hay bales with a 3' wall in the middle. I'm not a fan of this stuff but these items were probably the most interesting ( and irritating) features on the course. Traditional CX racing this is not, but it is racing-and hard racing at that.

The womens fields were pretty big, especially the B race where we had two entrants. Unfortunately the results were a bit of  a mess so I don't have all of the placings but I'll be able to confirm some:Ariel Raymon was top-10 in the womens B field with Lexi following. Katie Jay Melina got 4th in the womens A race-it was her birthday . Ellen Sherrill fresh off a win the previous day in Sacramento got 2nd in the same race. Scott Chapin also got 2nd in the mens A race with Ben Dodge following in mid-pack. 

 Tim Watson and Allan Bennett both got 4th places in their respective 45A and 45B races. I'm pretty sure I was 7th in the 55+ race but the officials actually asked me the names of the riders who came in ahead of me. Fortunately I knew  all their names as they always come in ahead of me. Check the Nor-Cal results when they come up .

 Here's Ellen after a hard day in the saddle.

Here's Scott on the mens A podium after a long, dusty race.