Category: Masters 30+
Result: Mid-pack

On Sunday I was all on my lonesome, not one other FFBC racer attended, much to my surprise.

The actual location was the sleepy town of Salida on highway 99, unfortunately not in the downtown area but tucked away in an industrial estate. The course is a 1 mile circuit and is very safe, excellent pavement and no bot dots. In fact it was an event without crashes, a rarity these days.

I rode the Masters 30+ all category race, starting at the rear of about 50 riders of various abilities. The field contained 2 postals, 2 Colnago Northwave, Steve Lassen, 2 strong guys from VSRT and a smattering of other good cat 1/2/3 riders. It was soon apparent who the cat 4 and 5 riders where and I moved up to mid pack after a short meeting catching up with news with an English racer friend of mine in the SJBC. With two-thirds of the race done I went into the first 10 to stretch my legs and did a strong pull to bring back a USPS attack. The result of this was that it provided a platform for the other USPS rider to attack and cross to the small breakaway. He dragged Steven Lassen with him, who upon bridging the gap went straight through the small breakaway and powered to a lone victory, no mean feat considering the field. I sprinted in mid pack, pleased with my efforts after my vacation.

The race organizers, the Stanislaus and Merlock provided a nice lunch as well, courtesy of their main sponsor, Save-Mart supermarkets. All in all a very nice day out.

Back to top