Rob's Report #3

Caught out in the Cold!
The action for Saturday’s Giro heated up pretty quickly with several attacks in the first few miles, but all the teams kept things in check. The JW Dundee’s team all took stabs at the front to keep things in check early on. There was a scattering of riders with small gaps on the field trying to get away when the action really heated up on Strong Road. I remember riding off the front & closing up on the middle group of 3 riders. Almost immediately, Craig Mattern attacked hard just past Dryer Road and formed a get away group. They were quickly joined by an aggressive Todd Scheske (Preferred Care) and point leader Jay Joslyn (Shikluna) along with several other riders that formed a group of about 8 riders up the road. They really put some punch on and opened a gap on the peleton. Unfortunately, I missed getting on the get away train, as well as my teammates & we were left to chase. Chase we did, all the way out of Ionia, but the break was rolling away in high gear & we could only see the gap growing. We missed it, it happens. As the race was winding down on the final circuit near Mendon, Taylor & I were soldiering on with the peleton until Taylor got tangled up with another rider climbing the hill near Smith Rd. and gets credit for the first team ‘tip-over’ of the year. A quick wheel/brake adjustment and we were on our way back to the shop with our race over. Scheske won the race with point leader Joslyn coming home 2nd.

Buffalo, 3/26/06
Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight!

The first of four laps in today’s race was fast and decisive. With most of the big guns in the field, the attacks were relentless the first five miles, ultimately blowing a big hole in the field and about 15 riders going up the road. With Kevin Mahoney (JW Dundee’s) in the lead group, I was content to stay put. But that all changed the instant Preferred Care riders started going up the road to join the lead pack. I jumped on to join the chase group of Jason Skalski (Preferred Care) & Mike Mathis (back from his trip to Spain, also PC) and one Handlebars rider. The chase was pretty furious to gain time on the big group out front. I blew up after 6 miles of that effort and returned to what was left of the peleton. Kevin Mahoney stayed in the lead chase group as four riders, including Todd Scheske and Jay Joslyn, went clear of that pack. In a replay of Saturday, Scheske won the sprint, Jay 2nd, Joe Halter (Handlebars) 3rd, Frank Mesi, 4th, and Skalski brought home the field in 5th, John Roden (Shikluna) 6th. Unfortunately, Kevin was isolated in the group sprint for the final 2 places because I didn’t make it across. So, we came away empty handed for a 2nd day in a row.

In the B race, JW Dundee’s Mike Dispenza soldiered to a strong 5th place finish in a small ‘group sprint’ finish.

Rob's Report #2

Halfway done!

Buffalo 3/18/06
Bitter cold and a fierce wind greeted the riders in Buffalo to kick off the 2nd weekend of racing. Several attacks went off the front early on, but nothing stuck until Joe Halter (Handlebars) made his move part way thru the first lap. Rob Dietrick (JW Dundee’s), that’s me, jumped on his wheel and Chris Riley (Preferred Care) soon joined us in our get away. Joe was the hammer pilot of the day as he set a blistering pace that soon got us nearly out of site of the group, but unfortunately popped Chris off. Joe continued to hammer the pace literally towing me around the wind swept course while Kevin Mahoney and Dwight Roth (both JW Dundee’s) worked to keep the field in check while I was up the road. With Riley gone from the break, the Orange Armada poured the coals on the chase along with help from point leader Jay Joslyn and they caught our break at the start of the third & final lap. The hot pursuit dumped a number of riders out the back. All was held in check most of the final lap. Steve Burgett rolled off the front & I decided to give it another stab and rolled up there with him. We were quickly joined by Todd Scheske (Preferred Care) and Gary Egan (Full Moon Vista). Our get away attempt fell apart and another quartet including Kevin Mahoney and Egan made a break in the closing 2k. The pack closed in the final meters with Jason Skalski (Preferred Care) lauching his killer sprint to take the win and Mahoney hanging on for a solid 3rd! I managed my first top 10, 9th.

Rochester 3/19/06
An early morning snow storm didn’t deter the Rochester Giro going off, as the cold blustery winds cleaned the roads off for the start. Some early attacks from the field set a blistering pace in the first few miles. The relentless pace down W. Bloomfield Rd. in a tough cross wind set the stage for Adam Garlapow (Shikluna) and Volodymyr Spantchak (Full MoonVista) to get off the front & they were quickly joined by point leader Jay Joslyn (Shikluna). The chase group cranked up the pace on Taylor Road with a few riders getting spit out the back. The big chase pack never really got their efforts coordinated and let the lead trio stay out front by 40 seconds all the way back to the park. The leaders nearly blew it as they missed the turn onto Pond Rd. in the final circuit. They quickly recovered and maintained an edge with Adam Garlapow coming off the lead group and returning to the peleton after some hard pulls to keep his teammate in the lead. The pack closed to within 8 seconds, but never closed the gap allowing Jay Joslyn to take yet another win with Spantchak a fine 2nd. The field scrambled to the line with Ben Jamesson (Shikluna) jumping out for third, Todd Scheske (Preferred Care) 4th, Rob Dietrick (JW Dundee’s) 5th, and Gary Egan (Full Moon Vista) 6th.

Rob's Report #1

Let the Giros begin!

The long winter is nearly over and the GVCC riders emerged this weekend from their winter hibernation with lots of shiny new bikes and bright team kits to get the season underway The JW Dundee’s team was looking extra sharp, sporting their new team kits. The riders were greeted with a beautiful spring like day to kick off the first Giro of ’06. The warm temps & bright sun brought a big turn out of riders and the rollout from Park Ave. was marked by lots of smiles and a jovial mood as many friends/racers are reunited after the long winter break.

Racing was underway on W. Bloomfield Rd. and the duo of McKnight (R3) and Scott (Handlebars) made a move immediately gapping the field. Soon after, Kevin Mahoney (JW Dundee’s) was chasing the pair solo hoping to bridge up, while the peleton was content to let the early aggressors go. The chase heated up on Strong Rd. after Mahoney rejoined the group. Some hard digs up front by JW Dundee’s, Shikluna, and Preferred Care brought the escapees back. The pace was fast and furious heading back to Mendon Ponds, not allowing any riders to get a gap on the big field even though many tried. Starting the final circuit near the park, the final selection was made as Jay Joslyn (Shikluna) rolled off the front of the peleton and was quickly joined by Kevin Mahoney (JW Dundee’s), Gary Egan (Full Moon), Brian Cardona (R3), Steve Burgett (Verge). The quintet stayed away on the final circuit with Joslyn taking the win, and Kevin Mahoney coming home a fine 4th in his first outing in the JW Dundee’s colors! Taylor Hogan, Mark Dux, and I cruised in with the large field with Dwight right behind us.

What a difference a day makes! The Buffalo Giro Sunday greeted the riders with misty rain, and drizzle. The long/wet ride from Handlebars to the course in Pendleton got everyone in the mood to race I guess, since the race heated up right out of the parking lot! The Shikluna attack machine was firing off riders early. Adam Garlapow (Shikluna) was the first to go & then Preferred Care answered. The soaking wet conditions didn’t dampen the pace as the field was screaming on the first of three, ten-mile loops. Jay Joslyn made the winning move early as he attacked hard half way through the first lap to put a gap on. A chase group quickly developed with Kevin Mahoney ( JW Dundee’s), Rob Dietrick (JW Dundee’s), Jason Skalski (Preferred Care), Chris Riley (Preferred Care), and Scott (Handlebars) with John Roden (Shikluna) getting a free ride from the group as they chased his teammate Jay. The chase group got within 10 seconds, but never closed the deal, as Joslyn continued hammering away to stay out front. Our chase group crumbled on the last lap and was swallowed up by the field with 3 miles to go. Dwight Roth (JW Dundee’s) took some hard stabs at the front to help keep some attacks in check in the closing 3k, but we were unable to come up with a placing as the field was set up by PC for a sprint finish for 2nd taken by Scheske. It was very strong effort by all three of us to end the first weekend of racing.

Rob Dietrick

Opening Day Victories

With weeks of winter preparation under his belt, young gun Alexander Rowley brought home some serious hardware from the Pack 11 Pinewood Derby Championships. He took second place in Wolf Scouts Den 5 , and first place over all Open division, Pack 11. He passed all post race technical evaluations and the cars seem to be UCI legal. Congratulations to the entire Rowley family

Kevin Mahoney Talks About Upcoming Giros

Holy Cow the Giros start in a week! Has anybody seen my racing balaclava and fenders? I know those race wheels are somewhere in the basement…probably still sticky with stuff from last fall’s final race. Sticky with what I’d rather not dwell on. Hmmmm….

So now the real preparations begin as we all run around replacing worn parts, gathering our kits, maybe building up a new team bike (thank you Specialized and Ritchey!) and feeling those old butterflies for the first time in a while. And for me – one final hope – please, PLEASE, can this be the end of those tortuous trainer rides in the basement for a while….pleeeeeeease??

Although this is really too early in the season for most of us to be racing in full form, these Giros have always been fast and are often an indication of who is going to be “going good” this season. Past winners include the legendary strongman Mark Castilloux and sprint ace Jason Skalski and anybody who has raced against those guys in the past know they’ve got their hands full if they are around. In the past this event took place only on what is now known as the Buffalo (Lockport) course which is flat and fast with only the wind offering any features for natural selection within each race; with the addition of the Rochester course featuring some hills (and tricky intersections) things are evened out a little for the non sprinters….maybe.

For myself I think the goal is to “stick in there” and hopefully make the final selection in some of the races and perhaps sneak a place here and there. More than that it is my first chance to race with my JW Dundee teammates and I’m excited about that. With any luck we will all keep the rubber side down, have some fun and kick off the racing season on the right note. See you all out there!

For a complete schedule of events look at the link to the right called Our Calendar