Vallejo Velocity

 

This course had not been used in at least a decade so only a few people on the team had experienced riding there. Memories were fuzzy and the photos on the race website didn't really show how brutal of a course it would turn out to be. Steep hills. two long flights of stairs and deep turf greeted the racers- some suffered mightily while others shined on the challenging track. 

The team didn't have quite the numbers present compared to the first race but all who showed up made it a race in most cases. Kathleen Bortolussi got 3rd in the women's 55+ race. Noah Hekkert took a commanding win in the junior 15-18 race. His father Carl got 4th in the men's 55+A race. New team member Justin Robinson doubled up , racing the men's 45+A race and getting second. Later in the open A race, Justin finished 8th. Also doubling up was Max Judelson with a win in the men's 35A race and a 6th place in the open A race. Also racing in the open A race was Dean Poshard who finished 15th. Eric Brown was also in the men's 35A race and finished 5th. Jim English finished 4th in the men's 55B race. 

Diana Drew took the lead in the women's A race and never looked back, getting the win. Not to be outdone, Hannah Solberg took the win in the women's single speed with Maddie Ortenblad finishing 3rd. Also in the single speeds, Patrick Lewis got 3rd in the men's single speed B race. In the men's single speed A race we had a mob with Matt Miller battling for the win followed by Kyle Taylor in 6th and Connor Hormel in 7th. 

In the men's open B race Finn Cunningham came in 6th with Nathan Delaney coming in at 11th. In the men's 60+ A race we had three racers- Paul Sadoff finishing 8th, Rick Ortenblad 10th and Manny Affonso 11th. 

All in all, this was a good day for the team with five wins and many podiums. I think our team was the largest group at the race , even with lots of team mates not able to make the trip. Lets hope that this race will continue next year as it might be the most challenging course of the season and it offers a uniquely painful experience - might just make the other races seem tame !

Shoreline shredder CX, BASP race # 1.

The season opened with a cloudy windy day on a pretty barren hillside on the SF bay. This was the first race of the season and the debut of the 2026 pink team kits with two new sponsors : Tom's Well service and Sweetgum Environmental. The team showing was pretty good for the first race and hopefully the promoter was happy with the turnout. I know that our team was probably the largest group at the race .
 

The morning started with the juniors and we had two but only one was racing in the junior category. That was Noah Hekkert and he rode to 4th in the 15-18 year old race.

Masters men raced next with Eric Brown getting 5th in the 35+A race, Karl Hekkert getting 4th in the 55+A race . In the 60+A race Paul Sadoff got 8th, Rick Ortenblad 10th and Mark Hubbell 12th.

Men's single speed B race had Patrick Lewis who rode to 2nd and the first podium of the day.In the women's B race Heather Bybee came in 5th.

In the women's 55+ race Kathleen Bortolussi came in 2nd and got the second podium of the day.

The men's B field was very large and we had four riders. In 6th was Jeremy Schloss , Kai Yee ( RL Juniors) rode to 7th, Nathan Delaney 10th. Finn Cunningham was there but did not appear in the results. This happened in a couple of races -not sure what happened but hopefully the results will get amended soon.

In Women's single speed Hannah Dillard got the first win of the day with Maddie Ortenblad coming in 2nd.

In the men's single speed A race Matt Miller got an emphatic win , his first SS-A win . Kailin Waterman came in 5th. Shyam Salem raced but did not appear in the reuslts along with a few others. I did witness his finish and he rode a strong race so hope the results get completed to show the full field.

Last races of the day were the elites and Diana Drew rode to 2nd.

In the men's race and early flat derailed Brendan Lehman -he got credit for 14th. Dean Poshard finshed 12th. 

All in all, I would say that this race would have been a pretty small event without the presence of the team . I know I'm not alone in saying that this course might be the harderst track of the season so getting this first race done is a very good thing. If the team continues showing up in good numbers this will speak well for the health of the sport -a sport that is coming off of a number of difficult years. I hope that we all can continue to do our part-of course, as long as everyone is having a good experience. 

Next stop- Vallejo. 

Welcome a new sponsor to the team: Sweetgum Environmental

 Yes- there will be a couple of new names on the team kit. This company is based in Plant City, Florida. The head of the company is a customer who has a few of my bikes out there and reached out to be part of the team family. I'm really happy to have a new name on the kit and hope that the exposure helps with this and all the team sponsors. 2026 is looking to be a busy year for the team as there's a bigger BASP race calendar and we are looking to have a larger presence at the Pan Am games . The nationals are coming back to Fayetteville and I hope that we have as much success and fun as we had last year .

Last nationals post- the culture of Arkansas , at least as we saw it

Yes, there was racing - going to the course and back to the house took up the bulk of the trip and sadly, this trip was lacking in time to really check out the local flavor as in past nationals . That said, we did get to a few key locations in Fayetteville and sample the local landmarks .

 Long before this trip I had made a point to direct the team to the phenomenon known as the Waffle House. Notorious for its iconic yellow sign and 24 hour availability, the Waffle House has been the choice of truck drivers, the highway patrol and most of all, drunk people. I was determined to make a visit and sample the wares , just like Anthony Bourdain did years ago but without all the alcohol. Four of us went and were astonished at how clean the place was and that the food was tasty , proving that one needn't be totally drunk to appreciate the Waffle House.

On the last night we went out for pizza as to not make a mess in the house that we were leaving early the next morning. This place was very good- Fayetteville has a pretty happening downtown with a lot of good eateries.

Not far from the team house was Rymolenes- a place that is all about pies. The pie selection is not equalled anywhere I have been in my 70+ years on this earth. It was such a hit that a few of us made three trips over the 6-7 days we were in Fayetteville. A very disturbing robotic Santa Clause was there and it would fire up and sing a Christmas song when anyone walked in front of it. I did take a video but I did not post it here as I was worried about the trauma it might cause viewers.

No trip to Fayetteville is complete without a trip to Walmart. I needed a pair of roomier shoes and some hand and toe warmers for the next morning when it would be sub-20 degrees. The giant store had everything we needed. 

Waffle House must have known we were coming as they put out the black and yellow tile that matched the sleeves on our kits. Maybe I should contact them about a sponsorship for next year......

Here's the five-star fare at Waffle House- pecan waffle and hashbrowns with ham and onions. There was a variety of add-ons available , all with special nomenclature.

Mexican food in Arkansas ? Actually, quite a bit of it, although we only sampled one spot-chosen by new national champ Caroline Dezendorf. This place was top-drawer and very affordable. The food and service were both excellent and it was a great place to celebrate Caroline's first national title and the fourth one in the history of the team. 

I got and email from USA cycling yesterday saying that nationals will return to Fayetteville in 2026. Are we coming back ? That will be up to the sponsors and most of all to the riders. As for me, I think I need more pie, more waffles and another crack at that course when there's maybe some mud or better yet, some fresh snow. Big thanks go out to Sightline Construction, Voler, Easton and all the other sponsors that made this trip happen. A big thanks goes out to folks on the team who might have not made the trip but contributed their energy to keeping the team rolling. This whole nationals excursion does not happen without a bunch of support from a bunch of people willing to do the work. A big thanks from me personally as it keeps the lore of the Santa Cruz contingent of CX alive along with my life's work- this Rock Lobster thing.  Cheers until 2026 !

 

Last day- UCI races

The last day came and with it morning temperatures below 20 degrees. We had been hearing about how cold it was going to be and the challenge of racing or doing support in that kind of weather is daunting. That said, Steve and I got up early and pitted for a local Nor-Cal rider and as cold as it was, it was doable. Enzo was to race at 1:30 so we figured that the temperature would rise. It did, but only to 28 degrees but with the clear skies and sun it really was not that bad. Enzo had a 3rd row start in the UIC juniors 17-18 field and had a first lap spill. In spite of this he still finished 24th with some strong riding.

The last race would be both Andy and Max's 3rd race of the week so fatigue was setting in. The weather had warmed up into the 30's and there was not much wind so conditions were greatly improved from the morning. What was going to make this race really hard was the fact that the field was very small and had some of the best racers in the country. Both riders started near the back and had to deal with fatigue and a super strong field. Max was able to stay on the lead lap and finish 14th. Andy had a flat tire far from the pit and a long run as a result was not able to do all the laps but he got credit for 25th. All in all , I would say that this small team is leaving here with some solid results and a great experience. 

 

Day 5 - Caroline double up

Today Caroline raced in her  35-39 age group for a second podium in so many days. So far, all of our elite riders have medaled in this nationals , possibly a first in the 21 year history of the team. Our numbers are not large but the impact of this small team on the big stage of the nationals is considerable.

Later in the day the temperatures dropped and we crewed for former team member Dan English in the UCI U-23 class. Dan has not done much CX this year but his third row start and bike change early in the race didn't keep him back as he rode to 6th place just seconds off of 5th place. It was a very impressive ride-if he had another lap he would have made it to the medals . Tomorrow Enzo races in the 17-18 UCI juniors and Max and Andy race in the UCI Elite race in 32 degree weather- stay tuned.

 

Day 5, pre-race cultural expidition

We finally made it to Waffle House and it did not disappoint , although most of us did not get the full breakfast gut bomb. I opted for the pecan waffle and hashbrowns. Steve got a full breakfast with a waffle on the side. Andy and Max went light as they are gluten free- you can't please everybody. Now its out to the course for Caroline's age group race. Dan English will be racing later in the afternoon. 

 

Day 4- the dinner

Mexican food in Arkansas ? Yes- and it was excellent. This was Caroline's choice for the post win dinner in downtown Fayetteville. The whole team dined for about the same money as two people would have spent back in Santa Cruz. Maybe this was not totally local Arkansas flavor but it was just right for the occasion. 

 

Day four - a day to remember

Team history was made today. Caroline Dezendorf in her first nationals since 2019 has won the single speed race . This makes the fourth national title for the team in its history. She went from the gun and had a battle with two other riders that lasted until the last lap when she attacked and held her lead until the end-no need to unleash her considerable sprint. After years of racing , this is Caroline's first national jersey.

Max and Andy were next in the men's single speed with Andy starting on the second row and Max on the third. The fast start saw both riders in decent position but a rolled tire and a crash put Max back close to the rear of the field. Andy continued to work his way up to the top-10 with Max chasing for a lot of the race , having even more crashes. This did not deter him from keeping the power down and eventually he caught the top-10 and Andy. The two of them rode together for the better part of two laps with Max being able to pick up a couple places to finish 8th with Andy coming in at 10th. Nobody has been out of the top-10 at the nationals this time so far. There's just two more days of racing but still podium possibilites remain.