A ride in the Sag Van

At the last minute I decided I was going to ride the Cantua Creek road race instead of the Grasshopper. The thinking was that if was going to drive 3 hours and put out a race effort, it might as well be for USAC points.
I got up at 4:00 AM and jumped into my truck for the 3 hour drive to Coalinga arriving with plenty of time to reg and warm up. I rolled to the line just before the 8:00 AM start, and was wondering why there were only 10 other guys lined up. After asking around it turned out that only 11 people had entered for the Pro/1/2 race. I asked about the mass of guys behind us and was told that was the masters field.

I was laughing and wondering how a race of 11 guys would play out. It was a small group ride. We rolled along for about 30 minutes in a pace line taking turns at the front with the only goal of not getting caught by the juniors. At one point the guys from Clif Bar wanted to stop for a pee, we all pulled over to the side of the road and took a leak. The people in the follow van were laughing. Such a civilized race.

We got back on the bikes and made the turn back to the start/finish. As I started drifting back from the front after taking my turn, one of the other guys asked if I worked at DODOcase as I was wearing my DODOcase kit. Turns out he had just bought a DODOcase the week before. I thanked him for supporting us and the next thing I hear is a loud clang and a hiss as I hit a sharp rock with my front tire and it started to go flat. I was running brand new tubulars and they're not supposed to get pinch flats, but just my luck it was going down.

I stuck my arm up and rolled off the back to get a wheel from the wheel van. The wheel van pulled along side me and the driver jumped out. I said I needed a front wheel and he asked if I'd put wheels in the van. Normally I do but this time I thought I'd rely on the neutral support, but no. With only 11 guys the wheel van was wheels in, wheels out. I said I didn't have wheels in the van and the driver said, sorry, put your bike in the back, your race is over. He wouldn't give me a wheel!

I'd got up at 4 AM, drove 3 hours and raced 20 miles in an 11 man field and now my race was over. This really sucked. I was given a ride back to the finish and then had to hitch a ride to my car as that was 2 miles further down the road.

I got back in the truck and drove the 3 hours home, stuck a new wheel on the bike and went back out riding.

I guess i've saved some energy for Snelling next week but that's not what I'd planned.

There were points to be had at Cantua Creek and with only 11 guys it would have been a good opportunity.

I'll go back to that race next year as there is unfinished business. Let's see how Snelling goes next week.

Location:Coalinga, CA