2013 Race Schedule Annouced - NorCal

Early Season Racing for 2013?

So far this off-season, the weather has been amazing in allowing me to put in a lot of miles for training (a lot of miles is relative of course).  As I type this, the rain has started to pour and it looks like winter is setting in and my indoor trainer will be getting some serious use.  However, the good weather has got me excited for racing and yesterday the NCNCA (Northern California Nevada Cycling Association) released their 2013 racing schedule.


The 2013 racing schedule is packed with some quality racing from the first of January straight through mid-September.  January has just three (3) races scheduled, but considering how early in the season this is, three is still a good number.  February picks up with twelve (12) races, then eighteen (18) for March, twenty (20) for April and the most races of the year for one month are in May at twenty-two (22).  Following is the complete breakdown of each month and the available races on the calendar:


Races offered per Month in Northern California / Nevada
January - 3
February - 12
March - 18
April - 20
May - 22
June - 17
July - 14
August - 18
September - 11

Its good to see a lull in June and July after such a strong hit of races early in the year and the star factor for the June races deserves more attention anyway.  Plus, mid July is also when the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend Oregon takes place and this race is definitely on the Data Driven Athlete Racing schedule.

The early season racing is the typical mix of hard road races, criteriums and a few time-trials.  The early season road races are usually brutal due to a wider range of fitness for the riders as the off season means different things to each person, and the possibility of bad weather also plays its part (who wants to hammer in the rain or freezing cold wind?)  It appears that June will be a stellar month for the power climbing circuit/crit guys with Montserrat (Loomis) and Old Auburn back-to-back on the 8th and 9th, followed by Nevada City the following weekend.  What I like about the racing schedule for this year is after the July slowdown, August and September come back with some really fun and demanding racing in Winters and ending the season at Folsom Cyclebration in September rather than having that three-day race in mid season, like 2012.  The whole season full of races allows for each cyclist to take a deserved break when their body and goals dictate rather than when the cycling schedule dictates.  Nothing is worse than being super fit and not a race in sight to actually test it out.

For me, the highlights of the early racing calendar (pending cancellations and changes) are as follows.  I will be looking to get around 20-30 days of racing in 2013:

Jan
1/26 - Cal Aggie Crit

Feb
2/9 - Folsom Winter Criterium
2/10 - Cherry Pie Criterium (Napa)
2/23 - Snelling Road Race
2/24 - Merced Crit

Mar
3/1 - 3/3 - Merco Classic
3/16 - Land Park Crit
3/17 - Bariani Road Race

April
4/7 - Auburn Old Town Crit
4/13 - 4/15 - Chico Stage Race
4/27 - Wente Vineyard Road Race
4/28 - Wente Crit
4/28 - Clone Town Center Crit (This was a great race last year, but rumor has it that it's cancelled for 2013 so I was surprised to see it on the calendar.  Maybe "clone" means it's tentative.  Stay tuned)

May
5/4 - 5/5 - Golden State Series

Rocky Fletcher - 2012 Nevada City

5/11 - Historic Folsom Crit
5/18 - Modesto Crit
5/19 - Modesto Road Race
5/25 - Folsom Classic Crit
5/27 - Memorial Day Crit (Morgan Hill)

June
6/2 - Pescadero Road Race
6/8 - Montserrat Circuit Race (Loomis)
6/9 - Auburn Downtown Crit
6/16 - Nevada City
6/23 - Burlingame Crit
6/30 - Lodi Crit

July
7/4 - Fourth of July Crit (Davis)
Mid July - Cascade Cycling Classic, Bend Or.

Aug
8/4 - Patterson Road Race
8/4 - Fast and Furious Crit
8/10 - 8/11 - Little City Stage Race
8/24 - Winters Road Race
8/25 - Vacaville Grand Prix

Sept 
9/2 - Giro di San Francisco
9/6 - 9/8 - Folsom Cyclebration
9/15 - Milpitas Grand Prix
9/16 - Oakland Grand Prix

Of course these races and my schedule are subject to change depending on fitness, goals and family time.  But I am looking forward to a good season and smashing several of these races with my team, Data Driven Athlete Racing.  Good luck in 2013!

Stolen Valor - The Legacy of Lance Armstrong

Sport is rife with comments and comparisons to battle and war.  Brave heroes lining up to go into battle on the field in horrendous weather, injured bodies and the carnage afterwards often appears like a war scene as well.  Cycling is no different.  In fact most team sports lend themselves to the comparisons.  You have strategy, hours of training and practice and the eventual "battle" where you go to your physical limits in an effort to defeat the competition.  Cycling is brutal.  As I've written before here (Tough Man Competition), racing your bike isn't for the feint of heart and on the professional level the dedication and toughness is severe.  While no sport is anything like true war, it's always a glamorous way to envision and romanticize the sport.  Pro Cycling's early season racing takes part in the northern sections of France and Belgium while crossing former World War I and II battlefields such as the Forest of Arenberg.  The battles continue all year with the lieutenants sacrificing themselves for the generals in hopes of glory, maybe a medal for the battle in hopes of winning the war. Like in war, some take sport with the mindset of "winning at all costs."

Winning the war at all costs is no longer acceptable even in actual war.  What's known as the rules of war - The Geneva Convention - are signed treaties whereby countries will be judged post-war on how they treated civilians and acts during war.  Cycling's doping issues during the 1990's through today and the recent unearthing of the Lance Armstrong conspiracy shows the sport had its own "win at all costs" attitude for which it is now experiencing the United States Anti Doping Association's (USADA) version of the Nuremberg Trials.

STOLEN VALOR

For years, true heroes of war have been looked up to, memorialized and honored for often doing the unspeakable.  Being considered a hero is very alluring and to some cowards the twinkle of being thought of in such high regard is too hard to pass up.

The Day after Tomorrow

I would love to write about the 2012 Presidential election and how I'm sick of the looters, moochers and those that simply want other people's money and are getting it by legal plunder.... but I'll digress.  Instead, I'll focus on cycling and my own upcoming racing season with the hope that I'll have money left over after taxes to afford it.

The 2013 cycling season will feature a new team in the Northern California area.  Data Driven Athlete is a new sponsor on the block and has formed a team of about 10-12 riders focusing on mid-level amateur racing.  Data Driven Athlete is the coaching service company formed by Nathanael Dunn that focuses on coaching with a power meter to get the most out of training, racing and your busy life.

Folsom Bike has also joined our team and I'm sure I'll be visiting the shop in the near future for all my cycling needs.

I am looking forward to racing with a group of guys this year that are excited and ready to give each race their best and hopefully get some results.  I'm hoping to do at least 20 races this year.  The season will be upon us soon, and the off-season has already begun.  I hope to see you on the road.  If you see a rider in the flashy new kits shown here, waive and say hi.