What a fantastic weekend for bike racing! The 12 Hours Of Temecula had the largest number of participants to date With over 150 teams signed up ready for battle. The new venue change was welcomed with open arms. We had 3 pools to cool off in and 100-year-old oak trees surrounding the venue to help with shade. The green grass around the Huck Finn Pond especially made the pit area nice.
A mix of swooping singletrack ridgelines and short steep hills made for a fun and exciting circuit. Of course, if there is a 12 hour event at Temecula the course is going to include the Dam Climb! It is a longish fire road climb in the beginning of the lap and helps to separate the racers for all the fun on the backside. The terrain is mostly rocky and open with a lot of scrub brush and even a few cactus thrown in for good measure. Some of the upper ridgelines show you great views of the Temecula Valley and the surrounding Agua Tibia Wilderness. Often times if you look hard enough you can even see the Palomar Observatory.
The laps were 11 miles with over 1350 feet of elevation change. The day started with an awesome 60 degrees start at 9 a.m. The field was super strong with a block long group of racers lined up ready for the parade lap around the campground. The buzz was in the air over the beautiful new venue change and racers coming from all over the U.S. and overseas. It was great to see the excitement and passion coming out to support a longtime grassroots event. By the time the siren sounded the racers were off and thundering around the campground with the streets lined with support crews, families, and cheering crowds. The first racer around the parade lap was KHS-Cytomax pro Chuck Jenkins. For his efforts Chuck won a cool $25. Chuck also took the King of The Hill competition and nabbed another $25. The Queen of the mountain competition crowned Erika Tieszen, and awarded her with $25. The Dam Climb is a signature section of the course and everyone looked great coming up the first lap.
As the day progressed the temps shot up to the mid 90’s and the SoCal sunshine was taking its toll on a few racers. Suddenly one more "opponent" was added--the heat! The determination and motivation from the riders was awesome. They kept rolling along and persevered through the heat. The solo competitors were out in force with over 75 racers signed up. It is hard to comprehend how many miles and hours these folks put in by the end of the day. They rock!
Later in the day the temps started cooling off while the racing was still hot. The solos were plugging away on laps 6-8 while the teams were already doing battle for laps 9-10. By 4:30 p.m. the temps had dropped down to the low 80’s and some fast laps were being thrown down. The fastest male lap of the day and $50 went to another KHS-Cytomax rider, Sean Donovan. The fastest female lap and $50 went to Heidi Volpe.
The day ended up being one of the longest of the year. Mandatory lights were to be put on for any laps after 7:30pm. It didn’t really get dark until after 8:00pm. So this was a great day for non-night riders to get a taste of ultra-endurance competition.
A great time was had by all. We had more swag to give away than ever before: Ay-Up light sets, Spinergy wheels, THE backpack and kits, Sockguy socks, Nirve (cheetah) Cruiser bike from Cycopath bike shop, Intense tires, Cytomax nutrition, Vigor helmets, and so much more! That is one of my favorite parts of the race. The swag raffle is a great way for us to give a little back. Also a big congrats to racers who received a Promoter ticket on the course. These tickets were raffle tickets I gave away while on the course. I know there were tons of folks who I didn’t see doing great things. But for the ones I did see I said congrats for a job well done and gave them a $10 ticket. By the end of the day I gave out $400 worth of these tickets
While the results were being finished and the raffles sorted the racers were treated to free beer. Which was gone quick! I can’t believe how fast these racers can throw down some drinks. By the time I was done with the raffles there were no more hops left for a dry raspy race promoter. But fair is fair; I didn’t race!
I look forward to seeing you all again on September 6 & 7 for the Southern California Bike Fest and again on November 15 for the 12 Hours of Temecula race #3 Championship Round.
Thanks for making this race such a great success!
Jason Ranoa
jr@12hrsoftemecula.com
For info on upcoming events go to go to www.12hrsoftemecula.com
TOP TEN 12 HOURS OF TEMECULA RACE #2 RESULTS
1. KHS-CYTOMAX...3 Man...14 laps...11:47 total time
2. DON'S BIKES-INTENSE...2 Man...12...11:00
3. D-FARM...5 Man...12...11:06
4. DON'S BIKES...3 Man...12...11:18
5. SHO-AIR/SONANCE 12...2 Coed...11:22
6. DODGY WANKA'S...3 Man...12...11:30
7. ALBIUN BREWING...4 Man...12...11:43
8. TREK VW-WEST COAST...2 Man...12...11:44
9. AY-UP BIKE LIGHTS...4 Man...12...11:50
10. BVB-ROARING MOUSE...2 Coed...12...11:58
Top Jr: Ay-Up...10...11:45
Top Sng Spd: SIERRA CLUB...9...10:18
TOP 10 SOLO'S
1. DEZ WILDER...Open...12...11:24
2. TOM AMENT...Sng Spd...9...10:14
3. BRIAN BENNETT...Open...9...10:20
4. UNDERCOVER SIMI CYCLING CENTER...Open...9...11:42
5. STEALTH DAVID M...Open...8...10:30
6. MARK MUNEA...Sng Spd...8...10:32
7. UNKNOWN JENSON USA...Open...8...10:47
8. SECRETIVE LIQUID FITNESS...Open...8...10:47
9. TEAM WIENS...Open...8...10:52
10. CHRISTPHER HOLMES...50+...8...10:57
Top 40+: PATRICK GUNNARSON...8...10:59
Top Clyd: MARK DELANEY...8...11:36
Top 60+: WENDY SKEEN...5...9:33
Top Jr: WILLIE MCCLURE...Jr...4...7:15
WOMEN
1. ALLISON MANN...Spt...8 laps...10:54
2. ERIKA TIESZEN...Pro/Exp...8...11:11
3. CAROLINE GOULARD...Pro/Exp...6...9:34
4. SHALYN GATES...Spt...6...11:02
5. TIMARI PRUIS...Pro/Esp...5...11:07
6. JENNA LEATTY...Spt...2...3:55