ELDO
WHAT HAS TO BE THE LONGEST STANDING RACE SERIES IN CALIFORNIA IS RIGHT HERE ON THE OC/LA COUNTY LINE. I could be wrong, but I think it's been going uninterrupted for at lest 30 years, maybe 40. I ventured on out there this week, about 28 years after my last run on the classic 4ish turn layout.
Imagine this: a 2 mile loop, through a beautiful park, set aside just for bike racing on Tuesday nights. No cars, no other park goers. No lights. No stop signs. Just you and your bike and other fellow racers.
It was better than I remembered, because I distinctly recall these surly geese all over the place wandering onto the course just as we'd be winding up for the final sprint. They've either moved on or been lassoed and sequestered.
Rebecca and the rest of the crew start things timely and run a proper race. The road is in good enough shape - a few cracks, but swept clean of any glass or debris.
I'd like to say the packs have grown over the years, but they've shrunk. That might be a good thing. I remember 200-300 per week in the early part of the year as racers jockeyed for series honors. The two lane road was wide enough, barely.
No geese + smaller fields = good place to test out racing
Tuesday we had plenty of room to maneuver. I tried out the 40+ - SuperDave recommended that vs 1-2-3s after our unOFFICIAL TMWC that morning. It was great to see a few familiar faces: Mario, Charon and Kenny.
The USAC official that used to help out at the Great Park series was on hand to make sure it was all legit... these guys are so generous with their time.
Someone had given me a heads up that Monster would get a winning break at the end. About 25 minutes in... did I mention you get to race for an entire hour!... AWESOMESAUCE... Mario and another guy got it going. Right up until 2 laps to go they stayed 20-40 seconds ahead of us. It was so fun to measure the distance, make the calculations, and wonder if they'd ever come back.
Afterwards, as the shadows lengthened and the breezed cooled I took a long easy spin around the course. Mainly I thought of Andy and Marty Schmidt and how much fun we had back then as newlywed knuckleheads.
Who knew ELDO would still be going,
and so would we OLDOs?
Bags we are making for the Series winners and anybody who wants to purchase one.
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