Top of Mount Diablo at the Tour of California.

Ben Lund, Joe Sulse,  and Dave Jabo had an epic day in the saddle – 95 miles, 10,500ft of climbing.

From Mt. Diablo California - Epic Ride

(From the Visit California Website)

At the eastern fringe of the San Francisco Bay Region, Mount Diablo, elevation 3,849 feet, stands alone on the edge of California’s great Central Valley. At this point, the Coast Range consists only of low hills, none high enough to block the view from the upper slopes of the mountain. As a result, the view is spectacular.

The View From the Top — Many visitors to Mount Diablo head straight for the summit to enjoy the famous view. Summer days are sometimes hazy, and the best viewing is often on the day after a winter storm. Then, you can look to the west, beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Farallon Islands; southeast to the James Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton at 4,213 feet elevation; south to Mount Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 3,791 feet elevation; north to Mount Saint Helena in the Coast Range at 4,344 feet, and still farther north to Mount Lassen in the Cascades at 10,466 feet. North and east of Mount Diablo, the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers meet to form the twisting waterways of the Delta. To the east beyond California’s great Central Valley, the crest of the Sierra Nevada seems to float in space. With binoculars, you may even be able to pick out Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

The last two Masters 123 races in Southeastern Wisconsin have seen Mike McKenna on the podium, today his first victory of 2013. Conditions on the 1 mile circuit in Muskego saw big changes in the weather, with a strong north-east wind and an uphill finish to amplify the effort of the fast course.  McKenna won on his Trek Madonne team issued Hollander Benelux racing machine. Shout out to the Hampshire Cycle Club for running a great race in memory of Matt Wittig.

Hollander Benelux Rider/Runner Ali competed in the Fiesta Atlanta 2013 5k. Making his way through the field in a blistering pace of 21:34. Seen here with his championship medal Ali immediately laid in the shade and longed for a Tandem Dubbel from the Lowlands Brewery.

Adam Hansen of Lotto Belisol won the seventh stage of the Giro d’Italia with a fine solo effort, having been the final survivor of the day’s breakaway. He crossed the finish line in Pescara over a minute ahead of Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole) and Danilo Di Luca (Vini Fantini).

The new pink jersey is Benat Intxausti (Movistar), five seconds ahead of Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and eight seconds over Ryder Hesjedal. All three finished more than a minute after Hansen after a downpour caused havoc in the peloton.

Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky crashed on the dangerous wet roads with about five km to go, losing time not only from the crash but from his slow and cautious descent afterwards. The small group of favourites crossed the finish line 1:15 after Hansen, but both Wiggins and maglia rosa Luca Paolini lost time. Paolini fell to 15th, and Wiggins disappeared out of the top 20.

Happy Cinco de Mayo from Atlanta!  What a weird weekend for weather.  Cold and rainy from Friday night and on into Sunday morning.  I had inadvertently signed up for a 5k race at Fiesta Atlanta, forgetting that there was a bike race no more than 20 minutes from my house.  So it was a double dip Sunday.  The misty morning run in 50 degree temps shouldn’t have been that bad, but I knew right from the start that I didn’t feel that great.  Once my heart rate got up it was coming down.  I ended up 5^th overall and won my age group with a 21:08, or 6:49 per mile.  Not bad.

It was still cold by the time I got home and the car loaded for the bike race and I am thinking maybe today would be a good day to skip it and enjoy a Cinco fiesta.  I didn’t.  I got to the race and the sun came out.  The race was in Sandy Springs, GA, the final stop for speedweek.  The .8k L shaped course has an uphill finishing straight and slight downhill throughout the rest of the course.

I knew that my legs didn’t feel that great during warm-up, so I was hoping they would be better as the race wore on.  On the 2^nd lap 3 riders got away and after 4 or 5 laps of chasing to no avail, they stuck the break.  A few more laps and another group got up, but were caught within a couple of laps.  The counter attack to this move, however, saw 2 more riders get away.  So 5 up the road, sprinting for 6^th for the field in a race that pays 7.  Oh boy.  Single file for the last few laps, all I could muster was 6^th in the field for an 11^th place finish.  Legs hurt still.  Note to self: stop doing running races and bike races in the same day.

See you guys soon!

Ride Report by: Mike Buechel

That annual rite of spring for racing cyclists in the southeast occurred last Saturday night.  For years top level professional and amateur cyclists from around the country decend upon Athens, GA for one of the top criteriums in the country.  With over 40,000 spectators lining the .6 kilometer course, a good result at the Twilight Criterium can make a riders career.  Twilight, as it is affectionately known, also hosts a pro/am women’s event as well as an amateur final race and a unique mountain bike criterium.  The amatuers race qualifying races in the morning in order to earn their spot in front of the enormous crowd that is waiting for them in the evening.  The Twilight Criterium also marks the beginning of Speedweek, a 8 event in 9 day series of races on the national calendar, held at various locations throughout Georgia and South Carolina.

Bike racing in the rain - Mike Buechel making it happen during speed week

While my Twilight didn’t go as well as I had hoped, I got 37^th in the 1,2 qualifier on Saturday morning (the event qualified 35), the following race in Roswell on Sunday did turn out a bit better, if not considerably wetter.  The sky had been threatening rain all day on Sunday and as luck would have it, the rain started heavily as the gun went off for the masters event.  After slipping badly on the first corner, I decided to bide my time near the back, hoping not to take anyone or myself out by crashing on the wet pavement.  Slowly, lap after lap, one rider after another would either join me at the back, but soon fall off the pace.  I, however, was managing this position quite well and as I watched the field size dwindle, it felt that I was getting a better handle on the handling of the bike in the wet.  With two laps remaining I pushed the envelope ever so slightly in the corners and on the last lap blew past riders on the back stretch as they died on the 3% ramp.  I found myself 6^th out of the last corner and that’s where I stayed to the line.  Not bad considering the weather and the temps in the low 50’s.

Tuesday I decided that racing is still a lot of fun and decided to head to Tybee Island, GA for its inaugural event in Speedweek.  Suprisingly or not I actually felt pretty good after the 4 hour drive.  That was until I saw former Olympian Jamie Carney warming up for the Masters race.  Since I actually know Jamie, but haven’t seen him for a few years, I was a bit surprised at his appearance; long blond curly hair circa 1985.  “Jaime?” I pried.  Yes it was him.  Damn, I thought a Tuesday race wasn’t going to be that bad.  Not to worry though, the course was flat, although quite narrow and rough and there was a strong wind blowing off the ocean right in your face coming out of turn 3 and into turn 4.  Two riders I know from Atlanta were also in the event, one of which happens to be my attorney.  We would watch out for each other during the race.  Within 3 laps there was one rider off, and Jamie bridged shortly after that and they were gone, leaving the rest of the field to duke it out for 3^rd.  A couple attempts at breaks were reeled back, but the efforts shattered the field on the narrow course and we were constantly passing lapped riders.  Riding into the last lap, I decided to take over and lead out for the field sprint for my friends from Atlanta.  I ended up holding on for 5^th while they got 3^rd and 4^th.  Not so bad.

One more race this weekend in Sandy Springs for me.   Will update you after that, looks like rain again.  Should be fun.

Ride report by: Mike Buechel

KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin Cycling put on a great day of racing in Whitnall Park. The weather was picture perfect. The field sizes were the biggest of the season. The course is a 1.1-mile loop with four hills and 1 tight turn. There were a couple patches on the road that were sketchy through the down hills and up the first right hand hill, it gave more character to a challenging course.

The highlight of the day came when Mike McKenna finished 3rd in the Masters 1-2-3 race.

The masters 3-4 race had about 65 starters and the pace was consistent and fast. Jim Broennimann and Steve Smith rode near the front and at the end came up short in finding the right position and ended up in the top 25.
In addition to racing in Wisconsin, Mike Buechel placed 6th in the Roswell Criterium in Roswell, GA.

With an elevation change of 20 ft per lap, wide-open and agreeable road, the Menomonee Falls circuit race offered the perfect canvas to dab the first brush strokes of a race season. With temps in the low 40s, complimented by 20 mph winds, the artists of the Café Hollander race team faced a wind-chilled day in front of the easel.

Field sizes indicate many are eager to forget the endless spring. In the Masters 3-4 group, more than 50 toed the line, including Butter and Smithers. After the parade lap, the action took form.

Smithers launched an early attack that drew two other aspirants from the peleton. The effort held for more than a lap, with Butter actively “looking big” to slow a the pack, stretching 10 riders across the road. As the laps ticked down, Café Hollander adroitly followed the promising pulsations and let the obviously failed efforts chill in the wind. Two additional digs at the front by Smithers, including a solo effort, indicated that at least one Hollanderian had eyes bigger than his stomach.

Fighting the lethargic pack, with less than five to go, Butter skillfully moved to and off the front, in an attack reminiscent of basically any scene from the Fight Club. A stunned peleton recoiled as the orange shorts disappeared up the road. However, the blocking techniques of one versus many, left Smithers with no option but to “throw his voice” across the front of the pack in an anonymous plea to “let him go!” Alas the “Mortimer Snerd Gambit,” as this ruse was named, only angered the blood of the rest, many galloping across the chasm to neutralize the “sure thing” inside of a lap. Smithers pulled through for a top 10 finish.

Next race Whitnall Park Spring Classic Saturday April 27 – Hosted by Team Wisconsin.

Spring riding in Wisconsin is cold this year. This morning I waited for the twilight and left the house at 6:15am. The temperature was 24 degrees. If I were cross-country skiing I would be using a nice blue Toko wax, the snow would be perfect.

On this morning I am riding my bike. Instead of wax I pull on a pair of thermal bibs. You see I don’t like riding when it’s less than 40 degrees. This spring however has forced the issue and I bought my first pair of thermal bibs in 25 years of riding. So with my different top layers, base, mid, and external, I only used one layer on the bottom. The Bontrager RXL Softshell Bib Tight, the marketing copy on the site is quoted as “ a worthy weapon in your fight against the cold and windy weather” to I say, “right on Bontrager!”

The tights kept me warm for my hour and ten minute ride in lower twenty-degree weather; I wish my hands felt the same.  I got the tights at North Shore Wheel and Sprocket.