Crown Valley Senior Olympics Phelan, CA - June 10, 2000

The Time Trials (.6 and 1.6 miles) had single skaters taking off at 1 minute intervals. It was "all out" on a very fast criterium type course with 15 turns. We all felt the 4000+ ft. of elevation. A new record was set in the 1.6mi TT by SoCal skater Curtis Stanton.

In the 2 Road Races that followed (3.2 and 6.4 miles) Bill Noyes, Larry Quimby, Bob Mirabal, Curtis Stanton and myself formed the main pack that came down to a final sprint. We really had to dig down deep at the finish because the wind had shifted and was in our faces heading to the line. Having taken my turn pulling thru the slightly uphill section of the course I had little left for the sprint at the end of the 3.2 miler and settled in for 2nd age group, 4th overall.

One of the real highpoints this year was watching Allen McDonald (91 yo.) compete in all 4 events! We have video of his finish in one of the TT's: long leg strokes, knees bent and arms swinging!

Thanks and much praise goes to track owner Gordon Hall. He did a great job getting the track cleaned and ready. Timing and results were computerized. No glitches and printouts were almost instantaneous. I would also like to thank Brandon and Jim for letting me train in their draft. And especially Dana Eads for showing me where the speed is. I bettered my times in the 1.6 and 3.2 by almost 30 seconds each.

Bob Hirsch
SDSE-IR