(Please refer to the attached images by name in the text)

Climb to Kaiser is one of Bicycling magazine’s “Top 10 Toughest Rides”
(#3, I believe); it starts in the central valley just outside Fresno at an
elevation of 365ft and climbs 83 miles into the Sierras up to Kaiser Pass at
9200ft, with sustained grades of up to 15%. Then you have to turn around and
ride 70 miles back. On a summer day in Fresno. The ride logo is very
appropriate:

<kaiser_corner.jpg>

The goal for this ride is to finish in under 12 hours; sounds easy, huh?  Swami
Tim Duncan & I rode this for the first time last year and it nearly killed us!
12 hours, 27 minutes. We trained hard this spring and had a good Breathless
Agony ride in May so we felt well prepared for a better performance this year
and made the trip up hwy 99 on Friday, ready for an early start on Saturday
morning.

Before dawn, 265 riders assembled outside Alta Sierra Middle School in Clovis,
ready for a long, long, day. I had my camera with me and took some shots along
the way.

Clovis, 365ft ASL, 5:30am, 65f:

<startLine.jpg>


One thing I noticed was that all the riders looked skinny and fit; Kaiser is not
a novice’s ride! At the front of the pack was a CHP motorcycle to run the
lights and help us get out of town, together with the Sierra Pacific race team
who would set a punishing 28 mph pace for the first few miles for those who
wanted to hang and draft them.

At 5:30am a horn sounded and the race was on! Last year we chose not to stay
with the front pack, but a year of riding with Swamis gave us the confidence to
sit in the front and roll along at race pace, with the miles spinning by
impressively fast!

Tim (#252) sitting in the Peloton at 28 MPH

<peloton.jpg>

The flat roads lasted for about 20 miles before we hit Wildcat Canyon and the
grade started to kick up; it was a four mile climb at a steady 5% with a few
short 12% pitches thrown in just for fun. At the top of the climb, after 28
miles and 1 hour 20 minutes of riding we reached the first rest stop which we
rode through and headed down into Burrough Valley, with a tricky descent and
fast climb which took us to the base of Tollhouse Grade.

We reached the second rest stop at mile 43 in two hours, with 2600ft climbed.
After taking care of fuelling and shrinkage we rolled out onto the first big
climb of the day, Tollhouse grade. This is equivalent to South Grade at Palomar;
2700ft of ascent in 7 miles. It’s a steady climb at 8%, with no steep pitches
and wonderful mountain views all around. The scenery was one of the highlights
of this ride; it’s a particularly beautiful part of the state. We hooked up
with other riders on the hill and chatted our way to the top.

Spinning up the Tollhouse Grade:

<tollhouse.jpg>

We rolled into the 55 mile rest stop at Shaver Lake in a little under 4 hours,
with 6300ft climbed. We were feeling good and we were on target for a 12 hour
finish time. There were a few miles of rolling roads to follow before we reached
the major challenge of the day: Big Creek Grade! This climb is A Big Deal with
1800ft of ascent in 3.6 miles and has a fearsome reputation; the ride organizers
know this and do what they can to let you know what’s coming when you reach
the little town of Big Creek.

Here’s your sign… Big Creek, 4300ft ASL, 7500ft climbed, 10:30am, 85f:

<colDeBigCreek.jpg>


As you begin the climb the magnitude of what’s ahead becomes painfully
obvious.

Big Creek Grade:

<bigCreekGrade.jpg>


Yes it really is that steep, constantly, for almost four miles! The grade is a
minimum 10%, with one half-mile stretch at 15%. It didn’t help that the road
was on an exposed mountainside with the late morning sun beating down; it took
us 45 minutes to grind up the hill at a pathetic 5mph. This is where I realized
that a full size crank was a big mistake on this ride; Tim had wisely fitted a
compact and was able to easily spin away from me. We were both very relieved to
reach the top and also quite happy to have defeated this infamous climb once
again!

The summit opens up onto a scenic plateau at Huntingdon Lake; we rolled into the
rest stop at 11:40am after six hours, 75 miles and 9750ft of ascent.

Andy & Tim at Huntingdon Lake, 7000ft ASL, 11:30am, 75f:

<Huntington.jpg>


After a quick stop there was only one major climb left, 2000ft in 8.8 miles to
the summit of Kaiser Pass. It was a quiet road, well maintained and not too much
of a grade, maybe 4% for about six miles, then the grade started to ease off.
First timers think that they are in for an easy run to the summit, but it’s a
trap for the unwary; with two miles left to ride we passed a rusty snow gate and
the road narrowed to an unmaintained single lane, with gravel, pot holes and
ruts. There was even a little stream of water that had been running across the
road long enough for slimy algae to grow… we took note of this for the descent
to follow! The grade kicked back up to 12%, which at >9000ft altitude makes you
wonder what happened to your other lung… and I was cursing my gearing once
again!

Hey, I look just like Lance on Alp D’Huez! Almost there…

<kaiserSummitUp.jpg>

Finally, waving flags and clanging cowbells heralded the summit! 83 miles
ridden, 11,800ft climbed.

Kaiser summit, 9200ft ASL, 1:00pm, 65f:

<summit.jpg>


Wow, what a relief!

After hanging out at the rest stop for a few minutes relaxing and refueling it
occurred to us that we had only done half the ride distance and we had better
get moving if we were to reach the finish line in 12 hours. The first two miles
of descent were carefully slow, with brakes squealing in protest as we kept our
speed under close control on the crappy road surface. Once we passed the snow
gate we got back up to proper descending speed and had some fun drafting each
other on the way down 


Unfortunately it wasn’t downhill all the way; we still had 2300ft of climbing
to do! In order to get back to the Shaver Lake rest stop we had to ride Tamarack
Ridge; “3 little climbs, then you’re done” it said on the route sheet…
only none of the climbs were little, and there were four of them! We grumbled
and griped our way back to Shaver Lake at mile 112, with 13,400ft climbed, where
the very cool volunteer crew soon had us smiling again.

The temperature had risen really fast as we descended from Kaiser Pass; we were
told that the temperature in Fresno was 106f and wasn’t expected to drop any
time soon so we drank lots of ice water and swallowed fistfuls of Endurolites;
those pills are lifesavers on hot days!

The final 43 miles was mostly downhill, only 700ft of climbing. One of the
descents was an awesome ten miles, 2500ft down good quality pavement from Bald
Mountain to Prather; the downside was a very rapid rise in temperature; the
roadside thermometer in Prather said 110f and dehydration was now a serious
danger, but we were racing the clock and so we put our heads down and hammered
along as fast as we could, covering 12 miles from the base of the mountain to
the last rest stop in 30 minutes!

Many riders DNF’d at the final rest stop at mile 142 because they just
couldn’t face the final 13 miles in the unforgiving heat. Cold towels,
popsicles, Mountain Dew, more Endurolites, more ice water; we loaded up as much
as we could and at 4:30pm we headed out for the final time, looking forward to
the finish line back in Clovis. We hooked up with Kevin, a lone rider who was
grateful for the opportunity to sit in a pace line and we swapped short pulls
all the way back.

At 5:10pm we rolled across the finish line (45 minutes faster than last year :-)
and checked in to complete this epic ride once again. There was a BBQ dinner at
the finish line where we hung out with other riders and swapped tall tales of
our mutual suffering!

I have to say that this is unquestionably the hardest road ride I have ever
done; the Death Ride pales by comparison, mainly due to the outrageous grades
and crippling heat. However, it’s a very satisfying feeling to complete the
ride and achieve a good result.

The Stats:
Distance: 155 miles
Ascent: 14,200ft
Time: 11 hours, 41 minutes
Calories burned: 8000

The official results won’t be posted until after the 4th, but based on last
year’s times we should be in the top 20 finishers.

Ride on!

- Andy

Hello Gurus -

are there any vets in the group?

please respond to gardenfit@...

Thanks all.

Connie

Alex - 3rd
Zack - 4th

Manhattan Beach Grand Prix is one of the last Cat 2 races of the season and Rob,
Jason, Pascal, Zack and I were there representing Swamis DET. At a quick team
meeting in the staging area, we hashed out our plan: be attentive and work
together as a unit. The chances of a sprint finish were high, so Jason, Pascal
and Rob were to keep Zack and myself as rested and sheltered as possible. It
would then be our job to stay out of harms way, jockey for good position into
the decisive last turn before the finish, and then sprint our trusty steeds with
all our hearts (and legs) to the finish line.

Ralph Elliot rightfully labelled the course banana-shaped, and with a slight
rise leading into each of the two 180 degree turns on opposite ends, it was
definitely not a crit for the faint-hearted. Upon the official's whistle it was
go time and all us DET riders quickly took charge.

Pascal, Rob and Jason covered breaks and kept tabs on Zack and I, and the two of
us were able to stay out of harms way and float around the top 20. The pressure
mounted as our stellar team effort came to fruition but, we all fed off that
pressure; this was true racing at it's core: crashes ensued, the impressive
crowd cheering as we passed by, the glory of an NRC podium was on the line! The
field was lined out through the start/finish when, before I knew it, I saw 2
laps to go. Great carnage was likely on this technical course during the final
laps, and a peloton of 100 or so over-eager and reckless Cat 2s increased the
danger exponentially: it was important to stay close to the front. The team
dropped us off perfectly for the final lap and with 1 to go I was somewhere
around 10th wheel. On the back stretch I did my best to not get boxed in and
anticipated surges on the wide course. I hopped onto a mini train and was about
five riders back with Zack right behind me. Two riders jumped into the turn and
I followed. TRhge sprint was on! I got edged out for second by about half of a
wheel and took 3rd place on the day. Zack was close behind finishing in 4th with
a well timed surge and bike throw. A podium finish and another teammate in the
top five � a very respectable day in the office to say the least.

It is evident that all of our hard work and experience together as a team is
paying off. We set out with specific objectives for this race and we executed
them in textbook fashion. I look forward to building on this performance in the
weeks to come. It was great motivation for us all as July is a month packed with
some big races. SLO, Super Week, Cascade and Nationals in Bend, OR are just some
of the races our DET riders will be heading to.

Until next time,
Alex

Check out the blog: swamisracing.blogspot.com for a podium photo!

gurus, im selling some stuff, might be persuaded to give a swamis discount if
you grab more than one item or can pay quickly
an elite patao
cagehttp://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/1246390024.html%20(bicycles)

Richey tt bars and base bars (i have a stem as well (90mm wcs sharp angle)
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/1246404930.html (bicycles)
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/1246401622.html%20(bicycles)

race face chainrings http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/1246386133.html
(bicycles)

and a rudy project helmet
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/1246379667.html%20(bicycles)
james

Gurus,
Anyone riding or knows anything about Reynold's Assault wheelset? Are they OK
for longer climbs( >4 miles) too?
Or any other suggestions on wheelsets ranging $1400-$1800??

That is a tough and dangerous course, extremely good job!!!

On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:34 AM, chrisdaggs<chrisdaggs@...> wrote:
>
>
> Congratulations to Alex Jarman and Zack Simkover for placing 3rd and 4th in
> the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix Cat 2 Criterium. The team for the day was
> Pascal, Rob, Jason, Alex, and Zack. Alex and Zack came storming thru in the
> sprint. This makes 2 NRC Cat 2 races and 2 podiums!
>
> We'll have afull race report and podium pics soon!
>
> Chris Daggs
> DET Team Capt
>
>



--
Rick Schulze
rick.g.schulze@...

Congratulations to Alex Jarman and Zack Simkover for placing 3rd and 4th in the
Manhattan Beach Grand Prix Cat 2 Criterium. The team for the day was Pascal,
Rob, Jason, Alex, and Zack. Alex and Zack came storming thru in the sprint. This
makes 2 NRC Cat 2 races and 2 podiums!

We'll have afull race report and podium pics soon!

Chris Daggs
DET Team Capt

Anyone planning a Vista Twist or Palomar ride for tomorrow?

Stan

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sorry to re-post, but here is an update on that link to email Cox SAN
DIEGO:
http://ww2.cox.com/aboutus/sandiego/contact-us/residential-local.cox

Brent


--- In swamis@yahoogroups.com, "B Smith" <bsmith@...> wrote:
>
> Yes, Versus TV will be showing unprecedented Tour de France coverage starting
on July 4th, including broadcasting in HD!  Check out some details here:|
> http://www.versus.com/tdf
>
> But, this requires your cable company to offer the channel in HD, too.  And
inside info suggests Cox may not launch a Versus HD channel.  Cox customers,
please take a minute to email them as a concerned subscriber and request that
they provide Versus in HD for Le Tour!  Here's the link to email them:
>
http://ww2.cox.com/aboutus/lasvegas/contact-us/residential-local.cox?conversatio\
nId=288582
> On the right hand side you should see an E-Mail Us Now button.
>
> If you get Versus from another provider, you should contact them to ensure
your voice is heard as well.
>
> Cheers,
> Brent
>

Yes, Versus TV will be showing unprecedented Tour de France coverage starting on
July 4th, including broadcasting in HD!  Check out some details here:|
http://www.versus.com/tdf

But, this requires your cable company to offer the channel in HD, too.  And
inside info suggests Cox may not launch a Versus HD channel.  Cox customers,
please take a minute to email them as a concerned subscriber and request that
they provide Versus in HD for Le Tour!  Here's the link to email them:
http://ww2.cox.com/aboutus/lasvegas/contact-us/residential-local.cox?conversatio\
nId=288582
On the right hand side you should see an E-Mail Us Now button.

If you get Versus from another provider, you should contact them to ensure your
voice is heard as well.

Cheers,
Brent

Hello Trackies

 
I will be leading a special workout at the Velodrome this Monday night, June 29 from 7-9pm. There is no regular class this Monday since Pam is touring Vermont (lucky girl..)  

Come on down and join the fun!!!  We'll do some new proximity drills, speed work and races.  Guaranteed to be a great time!

Cost is 20$ and 10$ more if you need to use one of our bikes. If you need a bike, please arrive by 6:40 so I can fit you. 

Tell your friends!!! Everybody is welcome.

RSVP or just show up.

See you soon,
Lisa Jennings
lisa@...
619-318-2995

As always we are on the road and racing everywhere. Wow time flies - it seems
like just a few weeks ago we were chomping at the bit to do race number one in
January!

When we last left off it was State RR time and the squad of Alex, Rob, newly
minted Cat 1 Corey, Jason, Orion, and I travelled to Bakersfield for the 93 mile
State Road Race. We were accompanied by super sognieur/domestique Kevin
Davenport. Kev was there to help feed us. He raced the Cat 5 Sunday morning
before our race and finished in 34th place. He's a real trooper for helping us
post race. I think many of us were still in bed while he was going up the climb
the first time! The race started with the usual early attack which we let go
without much fight. LaGrange rode on the front and kept the gap around 3
minutes. With 1 feeder and 6 guys requiring 2 bottle and food on 2 separate laps
feeding was tricky. corey and I were designated team leaders for the day and
Alex, Rob, Jason, and Orion had domestique duty. they grabbed mussettes from
Kevin and fed the team at each feed zone. This was huge. On the 2nd lap corey
attacked the climb but the field chased him down. The break had dwindled to a
solo rider and his gap was dropping. At the start of the 3rd lap we got our
final feed and we lost Alex and Rob after they slayed themselves for the squad.
a pair of riders snuck off and caught the solo man and the break surged ahead as
we hit the final climb. Jason also snuck off the front to keep Swamis in the
game! We rode up the final climb slow but we still lost riders; we were 80 miles
into a 93 mile race! On the descent LaGrange chased furiously and they were down
to 1 man, Adam Livingston in the final miles (Adam was defending champ and like
the champion he is he chased solo on the front to stay in the race). SC Velo and
Jason and Orion hit the front and pulled back the break with 1 mile to go! Orion
put in a few digs to keep it fast and Jason moved me up to the top 5. I yelled
at Jason to go and make it fast and with 600m to go he jumped. After he faded
Thurlow rogers took over and the sprint was on! A few guys came around my right
and a few on the left and I passed a few and we hit the line. I crossed in 6th!
Sweet! It was a great team result! Everyone rode awesome and we got lots of
props for our efforts! Post race we snagged burritos at Chipotle- my favorite
post race treat!

Next up: San Pedro GP and the return of the Cuban Missle!

Chris Daggs

Hopefully the image comes through

Here's a pic of the bike on that van in RAAM I mentioned.



--
Rick Schulze
rick.g.schulze@...

All,

The Ordu is picking up interest on Craigs list so if a Swami wants it,
please act fast.

I have a full Tacx iMagic Fortius virtual reality trainer with the
steering option

Here's a link
http://www.glorycycles.com/taifotr.html

I have several other courses AND a computer to run it on (already
loaded) stick your bike on it and go.

This is about $2500 worth of trainer / computer (easy)......

The first $800 gets it before I put it on Craigs list.

--
Rick Schulze
rick.g.schulze@...

I only got a chance to take shots and video for the 3's and the Master's 35+
after my race.

Pics and two videos (Flickr has a 2 video upload limit) are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27680280@N07/sets/72157620178653168/

The rest of the videos(4) are here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FC4BDAEE291BAB62

Flickr/Youtube compresses and resizes the uploads, let me know which pics/video
you would like the original high quality versions of and I'll email them to you.


Kevin Davenport

Since this would be too long for the RAAM blog and it really is about
a spectator (me) not a rider, it really didn't make sense to put it
there although I did want to share the story.

I finally decided to go watch the racers take off for RAAM this year.
It is pretty painful for me because I really want to do this again but
life, money, job, broken bones seem to have foiled those plans. I went
to the start line in 2008 and dropped off some supplies that had been
sponsored to me for my failed attempt. It was pretty hard to be there
and not go on the ride so I took off.

This year I decided to go but not to the start line, to a magical
place for me; the Salton Sea. Something about where the 78 dead ends
into the 86 has always seemed pretty cool. You ride straight over the
mountains and take off directly east. You hit this intersection and
it's like you make a choice, turn around and go home or turn to the
right and get on with it.

So I decided to go there, camp out under a pop up awning I brought,
one of those tents without walls. I figured I would bake out there in
the quiet and wait the four or so hours for the riders and cheer them
on when they came by. When I arrived the wind was blowing at about
30mph. The riders would love it because it was a tail wind for them.
After trying for about fifteen minutes to get the awning up, I figured
out I needed to help support it with some bungee cord and some extra
stakes. I turned to get the tools I needed and heard some cracking and
off I went, chasing through the desert after my completely trashed
awning trying it's best to stay up with the wind.

I pulled all the awning off and walked back to my car only to notice
the border patrol guys across the highway laughing at me - glad I
could entertain them. So I camped a while next to my car, getting
blasted by sand. I was getting absolutely covered in dirt and sand
sticking to my sunscreen. Since I need a haircut pretty bad I had way
to much gel in my hair and the desert heat, the wind, the
perspiration, my dirt encrusted hair was standing straight up. I
looked like a filthy Don King waving at the occasional motorhome after
it went by, one motor home that had nothing to do with RAAM - very
interesting look I received back.

I finally became bored and went down to Christmas circle taking a few
off road adventures in my Outback; I figured it was a four wheeler so
why not try it out. I arrived at Christmas circle to see the place
loaded with teams waiting for riders. I walked around and chatted with
a few. Since you could still make out "Race Across America" on my
T-shirt through the dirt and I was carrying a camera, people talked to
me. I actually had my picture snapped a few times. Since I had the
sunscreen get into my eyes (that should have a warning to rinse your
eyes out with gasoline if it ever gets in your eyes, the burn would be
less) I had rinsed my eyes out. So now I had a big, fairly clean and
sunburned spot around my eyes, my entire body was crusted with sand,
my bare legs a joke, you could have planted something on them..... I
no doubt was quite the sight.

So I hung out and snapped some pictures of the riders coming through,
made my way back to the Salton sea racing in front of the riders to
take more pictures which was quite the feat considering they were
going 45-50 with such a tail wind. I made it back to my favorite
corner, joked with a few folks, cheered on some riders, whatched an
Italian team get two penalties within five minutes all at the same
corner.... - it was great.

I finally decided to head down to where the 78 and 86 re-split. The
riders heading east, me heading back to my home. I pulled out my chair
(which also made a few high speed trips across the desert in the wind)
and made camp right on a street corner and talked to a few riders that
went by. I saw more than a few strange looks from the folks driving
through El Centro at 10pm. One guy actually asking what I was doing. I
just smiled a big toothy, filthy grin at him and said I was watching
the bike race ....... of course there wasn't a bike around so he gave
me the you're-crazy "OK then" and rolled up his window and prayed for
a green light.

All and all, not the outing I was hoping for but I had a blast anyway.

--
Rick Schulze
rick.g.schulze@...