Roll Through Wine Country Calistoga, CA - June 15, 2003

New last year was the complete closure of the first 12.5 miles of the course. This year the course was extended to a full 25 miles with open, but controlled, traffic on the second half of the route. The first seven miles of the course, with two moderate hills, had recently been repaved. The rest of the route was mostly smooth and relatively flat.

This event has been through a lot over the years. D. Miles, the event organizer, and the CHP have battled over different interpretations of the California state law that determine which side of the road skaters must proceed on the open portion of the course. In 1997 the CHP insisted that skaters must proceed on the left side of the road, facing traffic. That decision sent participation plummeting from a high of over 300 to just 39 that year.

Unfortunately, the CHP asserted their decision once again, forcing us to skate on the left side of the road for the second half of the course. Disappointed, the skaters accepted the decision, and simply factored it into their strategic plans.

The race started safely at a moderate pace. As a result, a large paceline formed. The first uphill about a mile or two into the race separated the lead pack from the rest of the skaters. On the second hill a weak break-away was attempted, but was quickly squelched by the pack.

The lead pack stuck together for most of the race. A few skaters dropped off in the latter miles. The seven of us in the pack were Dan Christman, Jean Fullum, Kim Perkins, Kimon Papahadjopoulos, Steven Outen, Uel Arhuletta, and me.

For the most part, the race was relatively uneventful. Each skater in the lead pack were on their own without a teammate. Therefore, no significant break-aways were attempted. Skating on the left shoulder of the road on the second half of the course could have yielded some strategic tactics, but none were attempted. The skaters simply rotated off taking turns pulling at the front.

Around mile 21 the pace slowed down somewhat as each skater conserved their energy in anticipation of the final sprint. D. Miles was following us with his video camera in his van. At mile 24, he announced, "One mile to go!" At that point everybody woke up and took off. It was not a full-on sprint, but was the fastest rate we had held the entire race, downhills excepted.

The final sprint didn't occur until the finish line was in sight. That point was around the last gradual curve with only about 300 feet to go. It was an all-out power sprint for the win. Steven Outen came out victorious, with Uel Arhuletta second, and Dan Christman, third. I finished fifth in the sprint. Final time was 1:17.

Female participation at this year's race was unusually low. Kim Perkins was the winner among the females, finishing sixth in that pack sprint. She hung out with the men the entire race. In later packs, Patricia Rayburn came in second, and D.'s daughter, Tiffany, third.

From SDSE, Gordon Pfeifer finished first in his age group. Gerhard Japp finished second in his. Also participating was Brandon Thorsten. And thanks to Carole Christianson for support.

In my opinion, the Roll Through Wine Country is CORA's signature event. It definitely has a lot of potential, but is hampered by the CHP. As D. garners support from local residents, we hope for a full closure of the complete 25-mile route some day. This looks promising, as the event was covered positively on the front page of the Napa Valley Register paper the next day. We look forward to seeing this event grow.

Howard
SDSE-IR