Connections with the Past

The 50th annual Berkeley Hills Road Race is this Saturday and sadly I won't be making the trek up north to participate. Berkeley Hills has a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. It's one of a handful of races that I've done as a Junior, Senior (or now it's called "Elite"), and as a Masters racer. That realization really hammers home how long I've been in this silly sport, and how old I am!

I first did it in 1978 when it was a crucial qualifier race for any juniors who wanted to try out for the World Championship team. Many of the top kids from all over the west were there and I snagged a 4th place, which combined with my earlier results, qualified me for the try-outs. I recall that Marc Brandt won that year, and Sterling McBride got 2nd. I also remember being called a "F'ing Wheelsucker" by Alexi Grewal after we finished. Pretty cool in retrospect, seeing as he went on to win a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics! (The issue was that Brandt and Sterling were OTF and I was none too willing to help chase... for me it wasn't about winning the race, but rather getting the points I needed.)

But perhaps the coolest thing of all about the race that year is that it was covered by the SF Chronicle, and I made the cover picture of the sports section. OMG that was great for a highschool junior who participated in a fringe sport!! I took everyone I knew into the school library to show them the paper that day. Obviously it meant something to me since I still have a copy today!

I would race Berkeley Hills only a handful more times, but spread out over three decades.

Here are my Berkeley Hills results:
1978: 4th, juniors
1979: 8th, juniors (Gavin Chilcott won)
1981: DNF, p/1/2 (broken chain)
1989: 9th, p/1/2
1997: 3rd, 35+

Other races I have done as junior, senior, and masters are:

Acton RR:
1978: 14th, juniors (LeMond won)
1991: 1st, p/1/2
2004: 3rd, 35+
2006: 1st, 45+

Mt. Hamilton:
1978: 6th, juniors
1997: 1st, 35+
2005: 3rd, 40+ (D'Alusio won)
2006: 15th, p/1/2 (BJM won)

Nevada City:
1977: DNF, junior
1978: 5th, junior
1979: DNF, junior
1981: 30th-40th? lapped twice by LeMond, p/1/2
1996: 2nd, 35+ (Winkel won)
1997: 3rd, 35+ (Matt Sarna won)
2002: 7th, 35+ (C-Walk won)

Wow... writing all that down has brought on a flood of nostalgic memories...

...I'm getting old!!!