Monica and Gabe have a week off from school, so we’re heading south in search of dry, warm weather for hiking and cycling. First stop is the mighty Mojave. Last time we came through here was two years ago in an RV for one night, and some hiking in the dunes the next day. It’s been a long drive, so Gabe and I get changed and ready to roll. ...
We’re in the Sacramento area for another day of racing at the Bariani road race. The weather is still threatening, but I think the rain is finally over. Of course the roads are still pretty wet and the pavement is pretty chewed up. Ethan gets a nice break early in the Cat 5 race of three laps with a ton of wind on the course. Charlotte is enjoying the fields and olive trees on our walk along the course. ...
We’re up in Sacramento for a weekend of racing, and today is the Land Park Criterium. We left a gigantic storm back in Santa Cruz, and the raining starting coming down pretty hard once the race started here also. Today’s race is an open junior’s field, so there are quite a few very fast guys out there. Dylan takes an early break, but is later joined by Alex. Gabe hangs in there for most of the race, but the accelerations take their toll towards the end. Tim did a nice job hanging in there especially considering that he raced Cat 5 first thing in the morning. ...
Gabe raced at the Central Coast Circuit race again yesterday, and we lucked out with a break in the weather. It looks like the luck continues today at the Salinas Criterium. Gabe is very excited about today’s race as he’s finally wearing his super cool SJBC kit. Gabe leads everyone around on the way out, but Dylan and the Tieni Duro guys quickly blow things wide open. It’s great to see Gabe working his butt off to catch the break. A few guys try to hang on his wheel, but they fall off pretty quickly. ...
This weekend we’re off to Fort Ord for the Central Coast Circuit race. There’s no junior category, but Gabe is hopeful that this will be a good race to try out riding with the Elite 5 men. Simon, Joe, and a turkey are there to welcome Gabe to the race. There are a few fellow SJBC riders joining Gabe, though unfortunately his new kit didn’t make it in time for the race. Here are a few shots from around the course. Gabe is doing very well staying at the front along with Tim. ...
Charlotte and Gabe headed out to the central valley for the Snelling road race, while Monica and I were in Yellowstone. Sounds like it was a cold, but dry day to ride some beautiful roads with the other juniors. They started hammering right away, and Gabe was happy with his 9th place finish.
This year Monica and I are headed back to [Yellowstone] (https://www.nps.gov/yell) to enjoy the awesome wildlife and scenery again. I didn’t collect a lot of photos this year, as Monica and I shared the large lenses and she posted a lot of her work on her blog. You can read her entries for day 1, 2, 3456. I’ve put a few of my favorite photos here for you to enjoy. Unfortunately the wildlife was very sparse this year, but we did manage to get some great fox photos. We did have a load of fun, right up to the point I got a bad fever and cough for the last few days. It was a treat to meet Chris Miller and his wife for dinner and talk about genealogy and life in Montana. ...
Yesterday Gabe did the Pine Flat road race, and this afternoon it’s the Dinuba Criterium. He’ll be riding a small loop thirty times around very quiet Dinuba. This huskie anxiously awaits the start with the rest of us. Right away Jack from Specialized powers off the front as if today was a time trial. One guy manages to hang on for a couple of laps before running out of steam. Gabe is staying right on Aidan’s wheel, and the small group is working well together. ...
It’s a holiday weekend and we’re off to the central valley for some quality bike racing. First stop is the Pine Flat road race. It was pouring rain on the way out, but this morning it’s a fine day for racing. It’s going to be a long course with quite a bit of climbing, but fortunately Gabe’s junior field is pretty small. And the four of them are off up the steep short hill at the start. ...
Last week was the last training race, and today is the real thing. Fortunately the field isn’t packed with the usual ringers from SJBC or Specialized, so Gabe is hoping for a good finish. It’s a slower pace than previous races, and I’m happy to see Gabe hanging right at the front of the pack the whole race. He holds a pretty decent position on the last turn and pulls off a sixth with Ryan from Steven’s Bicycles taking first. ...