Burlingame Criterium

Downtown Burlingame was the stage for this fun, fast, and technical crit race. Saskia and I had never been to Burlingame so we were pleasantly surprised to arrive to a nice downtown neighborhood. After the race we walked around, stayed for a couple of the races, and enjoyed the day. The weather was great and everyone seemed to be in a good mood and ready to race. Early on, there were some nervous racers out there, as you could hear a bunch of people yelling "hold your line", "come on!!!", and "what the fuuuck?!?" Pretty common I would say. Then the race picked up a little bit after about 15 minutes or so (I don't really know when exactly, but that's what it felt like), and as we come through the sweeping back stretch to cross the start line, I drive it up the left side only to slow down a little bit due to the feeling of a crash occurring somewhere to my right. Before I know it, there are a slew of bikes and racers going down and all seem to be coming towards me. Luckily I was somewhat "alert" and paying attention, and thankfully busted the emergency stop and eventually got up onto the curb. Hoping the guys who crashed were okay, I start up again and begin the chase(?) I think I was a nOOb for not realizing they were going to neutralize the race after that crash, but oh well, I used up a bunch of energy because I still felt I had a chance to end up with a decent result. Anyway, they re-started the race after they took someone off in an ambulance (bummer), and decided on a neutral lap and then 4 laps to go. Looking back on it, it was actually nice to have a little breather after I gave some effort in trying to chase back on, and finally on the final lap I think I did an okay job of positioning myself for the sprint finish. 3 guys were faster than me in the end and I finished in 4th, thinking I finished 6th or 7th, so I was stoked when I found out I did better than I thought I did. I think maybe I could have started my sprint earlier to try and have a chance at top 3, but who knows.... I gave it my all and rode strong. At the 4th of July crit in Davis this weekend we will try once again.


photo: www.veronikalenzi.com

Blurrr


Sprinting for 4th (in the middle)

(found these photos by Erika Kali - http://picasaweb.google.com/erika.cunliffe/BurlingameCrit62710# - via SFFIXED)

-Joe

LOOK 695

This is what Cofidis will ride at the Le Tour starting this weekend. LOOKin thick.








-Joe

This Guy....

Stoked that you're killing it out there Rainier!


(photo: www.flickr.com/photos/jn56 - from the Nevada City Classic)

-Joe

Burke Swindlehurst of Team Give p/b Blackbottoms

On EDGE and Delta 7. Bam!



(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jn56/4726688810/in/set-72157624212752191/)
Sorry I forgot to give the link for photo credit! Woops! Yes, definitely an awesome picture but it's not mine Burke, hehe.

-Joe

Local Hellyer racer turned Bissell professional takes a shortcut over a curb at the Air Force Classic!

Proto One

Here are the first actual shots of our buddy Kris Miller's BLANK Proto One framesets.... look fresh? I think sooo. Custom colors available... would be nice as a team bike, no? Stoked for these Kris!









blankcarbon.com

-Joe

Memorial Day Crit

Memorial day was pretty nice. Nice weather that is.... perfect for a race even as early as 7:40am, which was when my race started. Bigger field than what I was used to (72 racers) compared to before, but made sure to stay within the first 10-15 people or so, to avoid the messy-ness and figidy people in the back. Was also stoked that my parents made it out and it was the first time they saw me race which was cool. Finished in 6th which I was somewhat content with, earning some points towards the cat3 upgrade (which is my next goal). However, looking back and thinking about coming out of the final turn into the straight away for the sprint, I made the mistake of not having a wheel to follow. From what I remember we came out of the last turn and I think I came around someone right away, or I was alone for the sprint. What I should have done was set myself up a little better before that last turn and position myself so that I had a wheel to follow until 100m or so to go. Legs are feeling good. I'm having lots of fun racing and riding in general. Looking forward to summer rides!






photo: Davis

Can't wait for Chcuk to come up here to SF and show him some beautiful rides around the bay. Maybe we'll go to a race or two.... Might also head down to southern california to race with Ryan....we will see.

-Joe

hmmmmm......

-Joe