March 2009

Redlands Classic Road Race

The Redlands Classic is one of the biggest events in the Redlands area. The city is very much behind this historical race and is probably one of the reasons there is such a large cycling community here. My new office is located downtown right on the biggest corner of the crit course. We erected our EZ up and a bunch of lawn chairs in front of the office to catch all of the action. We also had a table set up offering free water and lemonade for the spectators and encouraged them to take some of our office literature. The first picture shows the mens pro race spread out along an entire block as they picked up the pace accelerating out of the sharp turn in front of the office. The second is Gracie with a new found friend ;-) This little boys dad was watching the race and stopped for some lemonade so his boy decided to lay down against Gracie to play with her.
Xantusia

The following week we headed up the mountain to Xantusia - the home of Dan Empfield and his neighbor Mark Montgomery, two legends in the sport of triathlon. There was a BBQ, numerous bike fittings by Dan, Jordan Rapp and John Cobb, and a group bike ride up to the local ski resort. The first pic shows some of the group just pre ride.
Down in the valley floor where Dan and Monty live it was a beautiful day for a ride and actually quite warm. After a short loop on the desert floor we began the climb towards Highway 2.
As we climbed higher the flora changed from desert vegetation to mountain pines. Along the way the temperatures also dropped. By the time we reached Highway 2 across from the ski resort there was a fair bit of snow on the ground but we were working hard enough to stay warm. After a short chat at the top we bundled up for a fun descent back down to Xantusia.

Here's Kylie approaching the top with snow visible through the trees.

Desert Triathlon

Kylie and I traveled to La Quinta with the kids from Exceeding Expectations for the Desert Triathlon, which is a 1km swim, 40km bike and a 10km run. Between the triathlon and duathlon we had a number of kids at this race. After helping the kids get registered and helping to make sure their bikes were ready to race we got our own transition area ready and then headed to the start.
I sighted well and stayed right on the buoy line but had a very lackluster swim. I tried to make up some time in transition and got quickly onto the bike. The bike takes you out from the lake area to a loop which you do twice. The loop is very flat and did get a little crowded on the second loop as we started to lap those on their first loop. I started out near a small group of guys on the first lap and dropped them on the second lap. Just before turning back to the lake I was passed by a guy in my age group. Onto the run I passed a number of people and got to within 10 seconds of the guy who passed me on the bike before he extended his lead back to about 20 seconds by the finish to win our age group. So 2nd in Men 35-39 and 8th overall. Swim and run are not yet where they need to be but I was quite pleased with my bike ride.