Biriani CX , Zamora

Out in the middle of the central valley it is usually very hot and dry this time of year but this day the conditions were much nicer for this flat and ver fast course. The team showed up in most of the categories with some very good results. 

Kai Yee got the win in the junior 10-14 race with Noah Hekkert getting second.

In the masters A races the team was well represented starting with Eric Brown getting 4th in the 35 A race, Carl Hekkert getting 4th in the 45 A race and I got 4th in the 60 A race followed by Rick Ortenblad in 5th.

Kai Yee returned to race in the open B category and finished 12th. 

A big result for the day was Matt Miller finishing on the podium in 3rd in the single speed A race. Another standout ride was junioe Enzo Berghout finishing 2nd in the men's A race after leading it for at least 4 laps. Nathan Delaney also rode the men's A race and finished 5th. 

I really wish that I had gotten more photos but I'm sure that some will show up on the event website as there were at least three photographers track side that were very active during the event. The course was a lot of fun with some very fast sections, some whoops and a little pump track , even a flyover. I would encourage all to check out this course next year-I have to say that it was one of my favorites.

 

RIP, the Wolf- Dave Wyandt

 A mythical racer on the team- really much more than just a bike racer- has passed. Dave Wyandt was only on the team for a few seasons and newer racers might not know his name but anyone who raced CX in the years from 1998-2010 would know his name. Dave started racing young and was a top junior MTB racer at 16. He went into cyclocross not long after and was on the legendary Clif Bar team in the early '2000's. He was good enough to podium at a UCI race and race pro on the road.

Starting a family meant that Dave had to give up his cycling career and work closer to home. It was around 2007 that I invited him into the team and immediately he changed the dynamic of the elite team adding his experience and wisdom. Other racers on the team really appreciated his low key take on CX and his sense of humor. He seemed to be the smartest person in the room without any arrogance. He mostly worked to help his team mates win, even in races where he was clearly the strongest. 

Dave was usually holding court at team parties and led animated discussions about much more than racing. He had depth as a person and was an original thinker , seeing things that most others overlooked. 

On our team socks there's always some sort of ironic saying and it changes every year. This year's saying is "It's never too late to be late " . A favorite from 2008 was "We're not happy until you're not happy" . Dave came up with one that summed up CX racing with just three words. The team was at the Sierra Point night race, an event that can draw 800 racers. The sad truth is that 95% of these racers have no chance at a win and little chance of getting anywhere the podium. Several of us were at the course and as usual, music was blaring loudly and not the kind of music that Dave appreciated.A Journey song came on :" Don't stop believing" . Upon hearing this dave uttered :" Don't start believing " . The irony of this illustrated the futility of most people's racing experience while at the same time was a hilarious parody of the song. I had to put this gem from Dave on the team socks and the next order I did. 

Dave will be missed by many, even those that didn't know him that well. He did not live long but seemed to have been on the CX scene forever. Even people older than Dave referred to him as the "Old Man". In the ultimate irony, he didn't live to be old and died way too young. Rest in peace Dave and shred the great beyond. I sure hope the music is better wherever you are now.......

Some like it hot, some not- Surf City UCSC

102 degrees greeted the 200+ brave riders at the Surf City UCSC CX race, pretty much a re-creation of a nationals course from several decades ago. Courses then were quite different so the addition of some really sketchy parts made for interesting racing. The amazing thing was that the red cross tent was not busy at all.....seems that people paid attention and managed tp keep the rubber side down- no small feat on this course. the absence of rain and the hot air made for a dusty and dry day with never enough water handups. That said, people did appreciate the uniqueness of the event and of course the view of the bay.

Early races started with the juniors. Noah Hekkert got 3rd in the 9-14 age group.

In the masters 35 C race Patrick Lewis got 10th. In the masters 35 A race Eric Brown got 3rd.

In the masters 45 A race Carl Hekkert got 7th. In the masters 60+ A race Greg Foy came out of retirement to get on the podium in 5th , followed by Rick Ortenblad in 6th and Paul Sadoff a distant 7th.

The women of the team showed up in record numbers and if it weren't for them, it would have been a pretty low turnout. The women's A podium was nearly a sweep for the team with Dani Moreshead winning , Mara Valcarcel 2nd, Hannah Solberg 3rd and our Pennsylvania team mate Clem Nixon in 5th.

In the womens single speed Maddie Ortenblad got the win with newcomer Keelen Senkier getting second in her first race. Chloe Ortiz got the win in womens tracklocross. In the womens masters 45+ Sarah Jordan got 2nd with Kathleen Bortolussi getting second in the womens 55+. 

Men's A field had Max Judelson traveling up from So-Cal to take 4th with Anthony Griffin Yeh coming in 8th , Nathan Delaney in 11th, Enzo Sapojnikoff in 12th and Kailin Waterman in 14th. 

In the single speed mens A race Dylan Gong got 4th, Gene Selcov 6th, Matt Miller 7th and Kyle Taylor 11th. In Tracklocross , fixed gear specialist Isaac Estrada got the win with Gene Park coming in 2nd. 

The team raced well but also did the heavy lifting along with other volunteers to create a course where one had never been-back in the '70's and 80's other parts of the campus were used for the CX races so this was a real challenge to find a long enough lap to really have a proper race. At one mile, this course was short but with all the obstacles and the searing heat it was a very long mile. Will it happen again next year ? Time will tell. 

 

Big race weekend at UCSC- Surf City CX # 1 , Oct. 6th

 Sunday will see the first CX race on the UCSC campus in nearly 30 years. The team and other locals are pitching in to put on an old school CX event of the most primitive style. There's going to be some really rough ground to negotiate on the course but since everyone has to ride on the same track it is an even playing field-if a rough one. 

We will have out of town guests in the form of Max Judelson and Clementine Nixon- both of them CX nationals stars with Clem being the current women's 35-39 national champion. This might be the most complete gathering of the team this season so show up and be part of a historic day.