Merco GP weekend report: Masters 35+ 1/2/3

Crit: Dean, Craig, Jeff
RR: Dean, Craig, Wyatt, Jeff
Full fields of 120 both days

Kevin, we missed ya and hope your knee heals quickly!!

We like March, his shoes are purple,
He is new and high;
Makes he mud for dog and peddler,
Makes he forest dry;
Knows the adder's tongue his coming,
And begets her spot.
Stands the sun so close and mighty
That our minds are hot.
News is he of all the others; Bold it were to die
With the blue-birds buccaneering
On his British sky.

Emily Dickinson, We Like March

The splendor of March has special significance for AMD-Disco's East-side contingent. An affirmation of the cold Winter toil (those from the Midwest, Northeast, and colder climes... go ahead, roll your eyes, you've earned it), March racing beckons us to forget about the likelihood of yet more snow, and we jump at the opportunity to briefly revel in the warmth and green of the Sierra foothills.

Micah and Fabien arrived at the house as Carlo Luri of Bently Biofuels was topping off my B100 drum in the garage. How I love those biodiesel housecalls! What could be better than keeping fuel at your house and filling up whenever you like? We set off at 4pm for Merced, and after recognizing that we needed to get out on the bike for a bit, stopped in Folsom to get on the American River BP at Auburn-Folsom and Greenback. We rode toward Sac and were struck by the beauty of the American River Corridor. There were fly-fishers pursuing shad in the twilight below Nimbus Dam and a coyote ambling across the path in front of us, and the whole scene was so peaceful that you could easily forget the setting of this slice of splendor- smack between highways 50 and 80, and all the attitudes of subwoofered Escalades and obnoxious Harleys.

After a quick bite at Dos Coyotes (oooohhh how I want one in Reno!) we got back on the road, arriving at the Mo6 in Merced at around 9:45pm. Better late than never! Micah and Fabien suited up at 6am Sat for their 7:30am race, and rolled out to registration where they found Joel with their much-anticipated new clothing. They were giddy. You'll be hearing soon about their 17-18 and Cat. 3 exploits.

The 35+ 1/2/3 crit went off under beautiful, warm conditions at 11am. Dean went head to head with Kenny Williams for one of the first 3 lap $$ primes (can't remember which) and came up barely short. The GIB (grocers in black) were numerous and very active, contesting all primes and frequently attacking. We covered the most promising moves, and when it was clear that efforts would not get more than a few seconds up the road, we focused on optimizing position for the sprint. With 8 to go, a mid-pack crash put a rider down hard, and two laps later the race was stopped in order to immobilize and transport the injured rider. Never heard how he's doing, but we hope it's not serious.

After 15 minutes of sitting idle, Tom Simonson added four laps to the count and restarted us. The pace was manageable and allowed us to set up well within the top 20. With about 8 to go Craig and I started to advance Dean into the top 10, working into fifth wheel by 1.5 to go. On the back straight I moved into third, then second position behind Mike Hernandez, and Dean was right on my wheel. Mike peeled with about 225m to go and I opened it up as best I could... Dean took care of the rest, and I hung on for third behind Brian Bosch, who true to his name did a fine job of drilling it himself.

After a quick breakfast downtown at Cafe Cinema, we were off again toward Snelling Sunday morning. I found myself in the seemingly ungrateful midset of wishing for poor weather... to no avail, as it turned out to be another beautiful Spring day. And a beautiful Spring day of competition on an unselective road course means either unexciting racing, or danger, or frustration- or possibly all three.

Attacks came and went mile after mile, but none of them got far up the road. Without wind, rain, or sufficient distance (three laps for ~75mi), everyone was simply too fresh and eager to chase. About halfway down Cox Ferry road on the last lap, a moto official seemed to briefly neutralize our field, yet there was no explicit announcement nor communication as to the rationale for doing so. A little later we became aware of the reason- we were gaining fast on the womens 3/4 field; with 10k to go we could see them at the top of the rollers and suspected that there might be a finishing conflict. With 5k to go, the 35+ field was wall to wall across the road and it was nearly impossible to advance. At the top of the last roller with 300m to the line, the main group of women was at the 75-100m mark and the speed differential was sizeable.... I had poor positioning and sat up, while Dean somehow made it through the entanglement and won the race! The scene was mayhem, and the situation could have been managed more wisely by both the riders and the officials. This certainly begets serious discussion at another time and place.

Dean's view of the finish:

"We went past a group of girl at about 2-3k to go, I thought that was "the group". My attention was on Williams wheel as we went through the last 2 turns, up the hill and I saw the 300m sign on the right, at this point I am 5 guys back and starting my jump hoping Jeff is still on my wheel. When I came around Kenny I see all the women and stop pedalling. My momentum rolled me past the bunchup and we know how much worse it would be if the riders in the front just slammed on the brakes. Being in a group with so many guys and it is curb to curb, I was not even looking up the road. All the focus was on the wheels around me. The official should have handled it another way and hopefully next time that person will have learned from their mistakes!"

In spite of the sketchy RR finish, it was a fantastic weekend for the 35+ squad. Back at the car, I was preparing to top off the tank with the 6 gallons of biodiesel I had brought from home. I often get inquiries about the toxicity, economy, and environmental benefits of biodiesel, and so when Craig made these inquiries after the road race, I took a sip and offered same to the team. I smell a tradition in the making. Next time I'll bring the champagne flutes!

Jeff Angermann