Tour De Francis Winter Edition PostRide Comments

Click here to see PHOTOS

From Rino Crisostomo (Adobovelo):
again, you did an awesome well organized ride....splendid job down to the last detail!
to sir francis and his family...without them this ride won't materialize. ...Thank you so much!
to all sags and supports...without them the strugglers won't make it...Thanks a lot guys!
special thanks to pres arden who stick with me all the way...for sir louie n and sir ricky who waited for me...for sir louie for the cokes and encouragements. ..for sir victor for bringing up my bike..for sir francis' daughter for an extraordinary service for all the riders(the chicken adobo is the best).
for the Adobovelo family...more power to you guys!!!
on behalf of the cycloneteam. com...Thank you very much!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, RINO !!!
pls check, http://www.cycloneteam.com/ and http://www.cookielee.com/!
From Reggie Ignacio (MMCC):
Francis and Adobo's again in behalf of MMCC family we thank you very much. Another epic ride!! Salamat po!
From Thomas Barron (Santa Clarita Velo):
I would like to thank you for such a well organized, friendly and memorable event.On the ride and at the BBQ I met Francis and thanked him personally, but I would also like to extend my congratulations to you and the ride committee and volunteers for your terrific success.The food was fantastic (as advertised) and very welcome on the hard and cold course.As the former president of the Santa Clarita Velo, and Race Director at the Devil's Punchbowl RR, I have had direct experience with the challenges you faced in putting this event together - and doing it with style.

Cheers,
--TMB-- Thomas Barron
Member Santa Clarita Velo Club

USCF 2702 http://www.santaclaritavelo.com/
From Michael Goodman:
Hi,
I rode the Three Lakes Tour Yesterday. Great ride. Great support. Really fun, enthusiastic club and ride support. In short I had a great time. I'm wiped out, but it was loads of fun. I'm very impressed by your club. You all seem like a fun-loving group of hard-core riders. It was lots of fun to join you all on the ride yesterday...Thaks for putting on the event.

-Michael Goodman
megmtb@gmail.com
From William "Legstrong" Aligue (Adobovelo):
Thank you to Francis and family and all the volunteers that make this Tour de Francis to be a succesful one. We had a lot of fun, food , climb, pain, cramps, you name it TdF have them all.
Congratulations to all the finisher!!! The training ride that we did paid off, the Adobo's finish the whole ride very strong.
Congratulations!!!
From TJ:
Thanks for all your work on today's awesome Tdf! I loved it!
From Obie:

What a rocking group...super ride & support! Big Thanks!

From Gil:

I second that sentiment William!... Francis you and your kids are the 'BOMB' - Thanx for making this event possible and to the great collection of volunteers - you guys "ROCK!".Also, I'd like to shoot special thanx to Louie R. for the personal support.

-CHEERS!!! gil

From Tim Claudio (Adobovelo):

I want to extend my Thanks to Francis and family and to all the support volunteers that made for another epic event.
I am privileged and honored to be a part of the Adobo family.
also,I will be out town during the Christmas party so,
I also want to extend my best wishes to everyone for this holiday season.
I will see you all after the first of the year.
All the best,

timCLAUDIO

From Ryan Roldan (Adobovelo):

To Francis and Company who make this annual event another bragging rights. Kodus...

From Vertical Bob:

I had a great time yesterday as always with the fun bunch from Adobo Velo Thanks for a great ride. See ya on the next one.

From Manny (MMCC):

On behalf of the mmcc, we thank everyone for another epic wonderful ride. Adobovelo and company always offer xclnt hospitality. special mention to Francis, Rosalie, the kids and the rest of the Adobo family, another job well done!! we salute you all!!

From Roland Sunga:

First and foremost - I would like to thank, you, Francis, and all of the volunteers for a great event. I've been a long time cyclist and a triathlete , it's been my dream to ride with a bunch of Filipinos, that was fulfilled yesterday. Again, my gratitude.

From Dana (Incycle-Cowrider):

Thank you for putting on such a well organized event. The ride will go down as a must ride for me every year. By the way, my buddies that do countless events said that your after meal spread was 2nd to none. Yes, Shouts out to Rosalie & Francis and the support crew!!!

TdF Castaic Lake Winter Edition Pre-Ride/Worker's Ride 11-21-2009

The weather during the ride was very cold, lowest 38degrees to as high as 44degrees. Postride temperature was 55 degrees. It was mostly sunny and clear with clouds and thick fog along the horizon. Strong cross and head wind around 10-20mph with some wind gust during the first climb on Lake Hughes Rd.

Pocket of chilly air and no wind in the canyons. Very strong wind with wind chill factor along Pine Canyon going towards Three Points. Riders who completed 90miles up to Ridge Point avoiding the descend to Quail Lake were Francis Ignacio (TdF Organizer), Pete Primavera, Ed Morente, Manny Amit, Tim Claudio, Joseph Casino and JJ Lopez. Riders who turned around at Three Points completed around 75 miles were Mandy Genato, Imre Udvardy, Pid and Jun Grape.

Kuya Ricky DNF'd at Three Points for medical reasons. He started coughing and felt very congested. Roving Sag Support by Rosalie. Thanks Francis for the PostRide Subway Sandwiches and Sodas. Some who road acclamated to the weather and some could not get warmed up during the ride along HeadWind Pine Canyon.

Rider's Lesson Learned
Imre.."Must wear Shoe Covers or Feet Warmers" His feet were freezing cold through out the whole ride.

Tim Claudio.."I couldn't get warm during the ride going towards Three Points" Need to wear face mask or Turtle Fleece, Cover all exposed skin, wear Leg warmer instead of knee warmer.
JJ Lopez.."I was tired and was not feeling the ride(not giving it all) even though it was a painful ride" He did a training long ride with team LaGrange a week before for 2 days.
Joseph Casino on his compact with 25t...He can handle this Cassette..But for most..highly recommend compact cranks 27t or 29t or triple.
Manny Amit..Broke his chain and got his windjacket caught around his cassette. Must bring extra links and try not to remove windjacket while riding and having one hand on handlebar.. Stop your bike and remove jacket.
Mandy Genato.. "Rosalie saw me not drinking much".. Must drink even if you're not thirsty and load up on food during the stops since COLD weather burn more calories. Eating and hydrating will keep you going.
Pid Grape.."I haven't ridden in 2 months" Need to train for this ride. This ride is very mentally and physically challenging.
Jun Grape "I'm going to turn back to the Park". This was his comment after Lake Elizabeth reststop. I told Jun, "You're strong, you've been riding alot. What's the point of turning back early when this is a training ride with sag to reload?".. Like I said before, you have to be Mentally prepared for this ride. Jun was so greatful that I talked him into going all the way to Three Points. He finished strong.
Ed Morente "Since I'm a runner, this ride was easy on the Lungs and Legs" Cross training besides riding a bike makes you stronger in all ways.
Pete Primavera "Had so much layers during the climb, it was too hot" Know how much to layer, and when to take off and put back on.
Rosalie "I didn't have any extra chain links for Manny" If you are sagging, make sure you have extra chain links in the car, tools for the chain link, and other bike tools that may be needed during mechanical problems..tubes, pumps, tire boot always a must.
Francis..Speechless! ! I guess that's a good thing..

PICS says it all
http://picasaweb.google.com/adobovelo/TdFCastaicWinterEditionPreRideWorkerSRide


SEE YA all at TdF...Keep on climbing
-ROSALIE

3rd Giro 'd Barkada in Stockton hosted by Luzvimin Racing Team

What an adventure that was! One hundred kilometers of pancake flat back roads, 3rd Giro ‘d Barkada hosted by the cast Luzvimin Racing Team of Stockton CA. The cast of ADOBO Velo were Deo Asuncion, El Lardizabal, Rosalie Kneebone, Francis Ignacio, Jonas Mas, and myself. We were surprised when Francis showed up and was confirmed that he participated in the previous day’s Bass Lake Double Century from Fresno. Early that Sunday morning, Mr. Picachu still looked fresh and the first one from us to be ready for the festivities. Here’s a pic of the ADOBO Velo contingent before the start.

Frank Gatdula and the staff of GdB got us started with excitement with Pinoy Pride Maui Reynante policing us off Micke Grove Park. My reality set in about NorCal’s Fil-Am clubs that morning and amazed by the numbers once they are all gathered. Off to the start, we were escorted and led by their assigned riders. El unfortunately had a flat in the first mile of the ride but was immediately helped by the support and was able to catch up with the group with no problem.



The picture above shows the large number of participants. The pace was at a constant 20mph throughout the ride except for the last 20 miles after the 2nd SAG stop for the first group. The last few miles to the 2nd SAG stop quickly picked up even if the side wind was breaking the peloton into pieces.
Overall, besides the pic above, it was a talking pace and everyone was having fun. Smiles were everywhere befriending was a free for all. There were rolling SAGs and photographers as you have probably seen by the sheer numbers of photos posted on-line. Here’s a cool pic of Rosalie.
When the first group went, Rosalie and El also went and mentioned that it was a fast paced. Here’s El’s post: Those guys were pushing to 33-34mph... With just 7 of us in the front but in one corner we made a right turn & I happened to be in the back & they started jumping & I got dropped... he heeh can't make it, was a head wind... kasalanan ‘yan ni Rozel at Ron, walang patawad! Anyway, I enjoyed the ride. We'll do it again next year.

Deo and Jonas were ready to go with this group but they waited for Francis and me as we were the last ones from the only restroom of the gas station SAG stop. We rolled with the next group and it was at a constant 21 mph.

When we returned to the park, tons of delicious Pinoy food and dessert were ready to be devoured. The place was set up already and thank to the wives, the staff and volunteers for their work. Time of salu-salo was not wasted by the calorie-burnt riders, giveaways raffled off afterwards.
We also had the chance to officially announce our Tour de Francis in Castaic. Frank even saved Vellum water bottles for us. Everything seemed to be seamless throughout the day. It was a great weekend overall! Here’s what I was able to post at Luzvimin’s Yahoo Group:

Frank and all the cast who made the event fun, organized, and like a fiesta! When I heard that it was 97 registrants total, my first thought was how can Tour de Francis this coming December beat that. But it was quickly forgotten with all the smiling faces and people that's there to be befriended. From registration time to the post meal, time flew pretty fast and this meant we were having too much fun. I can see why the peloton was controlled and timed to finish for a great party. I was impressed when El had a flat right after the start and that there's a replacement wheel ready for him. Deo and I dropped off to escort him back after the repair, but we were told by the SAG support to continue on with the ride and not to worry about it. El will make it back to the group. Rest assured he was! Even if the ride was strictly controlled, you can hear almost all of the participants chatting around; I guess part of that is making new friends. It was a fun ride anyway and not a competitive race. My itchy legs was wanting some fast pace riding later that morning but it didn't matter, we were all enjoying the moment. Too many Pinoys taking the whole lane was just amazing! Great route! I wish we have something like that in Los Angeles! Its just what I need. Great rolling SAGS and stops. Maybe the complaint you had was just because the rider came in to the SAG stops very late and had nothing left for him. Maybe he didn't know what to expect or maybe was just didn't had breakfast. Well, hopefully he can get stronger and faster next time where he can enjoy peloton bennies to enjoy some food and drinks. But maybe I'm wrong and just don't know all the facts.Back at the park, it was just great food, a lot, but just enough to please everyone! The giveaways and donations hit the spot. It was hard to leave even if we had about 350 miles to tackle to get home. It was fun trekking back south; it was fun driving up north too! It seemed like a weekend escapade with friends.Anyway, thank you for the great dinner that Saturday night! Thank you to Maui, Sally, and to you for the wonderful food and entertaining stories. We knew you all were busy preparing for the event that night but you all were still very welcoming and so hospitable to us. Thanks!Hopefully we can see you all, the cast of Luzvimin and all other cycling clubs of NorCal this December. Now it’s time for us to create the fun and hope we can beat 97 registrants. Let's target 100 riders!

And here’s Mang El’s feedback:

To Frank & wife Sally, Maui, Rozel, Ron, George & the whole Luzvimin racing team & also to the rest of people who help the ride to be a successful one. Your Giro de Barkada "09 was one of the best organized ride I've been for the past few years.
1. No riders got dropped far enough due to the constant pace that was set by the leaders for the first two sags stop. The pace was set to 18-21mph I believed.
2. Good sag support... got spare wheels from the rolling SAG when I got my flat tire (saved my time).
3. The sag stops were nice & big enough to accommodate the group.
4. Enough food for the riders on sag stops even you didn't expect that many riders to join the ride.
5. The last 20 miles was where the fun started for the fast riders (front group), going 23-25mph against the wind & top speed to 33-34mph with the tail wind.
6. Give-away gifts, water bottles, inner tubes & the donated mountain bike as the main price.
7. The lunch....... super good for the hungry stomach and lastly the friendship that you all showed to us.
Thanks a million Frank for the job well done & extend this to your crew. For sure I'll try to be with you guys next year, hopefully you'll make it on Sunday again. See you on Tour de Francis?

To close, this ride was also organized to collect donations for those affected by Typhoon Ondoy.

Here’s Frank’s posts: I am happy to inform you that the relief goods we received at the Giro d' Barkada was sent to the Philippines handled by the Filipino-American Catholic Charities of Stockton who have made arrangements with Star Cargo. Bike related donations will be personally ship to Cebu Recycle Bicycle Club. In behalf of LUZVIMIN RACING and from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for all your generosity. Frank Gatdula.

And here’s his reply to our posts: Thanks for the nice and kind words. Yes we tried our best to make everyone happy. We will be discussing about your ride this coming October 24 and try to send a contingent to represent LUZVIMIN. Rest assured we will be flying our colors once again since we missed last year's. Since it's all climb, we will be sending our best climbers only, hahahaha! Rozel, Rick, Rannie, Ron, Winston, Mike M., Maui, Jonas, Justin, Romeo, Roberto Sto. Domingo, Tom Alves, Jim Elam, Billy Huyn, Jeff Lancero... And maybe we can import Leian once again. Leian sound off ka diyan! Wala ka bang seminar dito sa California next month? The Adobo Velo ride is a true epic ride guys, it's 100 miles wth 75% climb and about 15,000 ft of climbing. Frank Gatdula. Let’s all go on the next GdB ride!

And for the departing pic:
Thanks to Jeremiah Nueve: http://www.pbase.com/nueve009/giro_d_barkada_09 and
Mike Mercado: http://picasaweb.google.com/lcplwan/GiroDBarkada3?authkey=Gv1sRgCMv_g5i_7aTtdg&feat=email# for a job well done on the photography department!

Arden Arindaeng

An ADOBO Velo Labor Day Weekend with Pinoy Pro Tri-Athlete Arland Macasieb

September 6-7, 2009. After racing Ironman 70.3 Philippines, the first ever in the country, he took some time to spend with the ADOBO Velos on his stopover in California. His first morning in Los Angeles, he witnessed our Pinoy Prides Deo Asuncion and Wilson Blas race at California Bicycle Racing State Criterium Championships. We saw Wilson cross the finish line on one of the two - second place finishes he had. And Deo on his very strong ride and finish. Here’s Deo being watched by Arland.
Wilson, after his first race, getting Arland familiar of CBR racing.

An old friend of his, Bobbit Attendido from Phoenix AZ, in WM Skinsuit was also in town attending Olympian Adam Duvendeck’s weekend Sprint Camp at ADT Event Center.

Here’s the Ironman posing with the Philippine Flag in the background.

He also met his hometown friend Tim Claudio later in the afternoon. Evening came and we watched the beginning and final minutes of a 100-mile record breaking attempt by DanMcGee back at ADT Velodrome. Since Arland tinkering on a Philippine record 1-hour attempt, we didn’t want to miss this moment as this is a big learning experience for us.

The next day, Labor Day Monday, he finally had a chance to ride since his travel and was very excited about riding with the ADOBO Velos! Thanks to William for arranging this ride. Arland is 7th from the left in this before-ride group pic.

We all rode around scenic Palos Verdes and enjoyed the hills.

Rosalie, Tim, Arland and I had some time for some tapsilog at Manila’s Lechon Restaurant in Carson Street. What a post-ride meal! Here’s a pic before moving on to beer time!

We then continued on with Oscar for a few pints of draft beer at BJ’s Restaurant near Del Amo Mall. We all had pretty good and non-stop conversations that included text messages to Christine. If you remember, she was with us during the San Pedro Grand Prix a couple of months ago, she’s a friend of his in New Jersey. He also shared his Ironman experience, some if his training knowledge, and the Fil-Am Tri-Athlete Club. We also made ride arrangements with Steve Pelaez when he returns to San Fran before traveling back home.

Arland, thanks for taking some time with the ADOBO Velo Gang!

Arden

Big GMR to Crystal Lake Post Ride Report by VPDocDennis.

The ride from Encanto Park to Crystal Lake was one of the best rides I've ever done. The view, friends, food, what else can you ask for? Thanks for sharing this route to our new initiates (me included). JJ, Tim Claudio, Julius and I endured our first GMR ride. It was certainly grueling, a true test of cycling. I can see why the Duarte Chapter likes to go this playground so much. The Giro d'Italia, Tour de France were rolled into this one ride. We felt like pros as the peloton zoomed downhill through the zig-zag roads at 35+ mph.
Kudos to Francis for the pre-ride sag by bringing sandwiches, Cliff Bar, Power Bar gels, fizzy pop. Kuya Ricky gave out some Cliff Bars. Jess and Juliet gave support with water, bananas, cookies along the route. The food and drinks kept as topped and kept us from bonking.
As Francis suggested, we should make this a monthly ride with Adobovelo. I most certainly agree. We need more Liberty Boys on this climb.
I had to cut my ride 5 miles short of Crystal Lake to make it to my son's recital in Whittier. I made it just in time. He just started his music as I entered with my camera in hand, whew! Took a couple of quick photos for proof. Louie N. accompanied me on the way back to Encanto Park to keep me from getting lost.
Can't wait to ride GMR again!
Thanks,
Dennis

Breathless Agony 2009 KOM Stage #2

May 2, 2009 114miles 12,000ft of climbing

http://www.cyclingpros.com/Onyx0904.htm

The weatherman was wrong once again..It didn't rain at all. It was dry, cloudy in the basin and blue sky at Onyx summit. Riders were me, Manny, Mandy, Victor, El Prez, Jun Usi, Jesse A., Richard, Francis,and Reggie Ferraz. Luis Pita signed up but decided to sit this one out. He thought the weather was gonna get ugly plus he was under the weather himself. Next year Luis, rain or shine you better do it.
There were alot of familiar riders. I knew them by their faces, their bikes or Jerseys. Like Steve Gilmore, AGAIN.. On his bike he had a heavy big saddle bag (storage pod) like my lunch box (high tail ulp) that everyone makes fun of, big bento box on his top tube like I have that everyone makes fun of, and a mud guard fender, he thought it was going to rain. He looked like he was doing a double century. Wait, as a matter of fact, that was exactly what he had on his bike during the El Camino Real Double Century. He still passed me like I was standing still. Travis, everyone knows Travis. He was escorting, coaching a rider all the way up to the summit. JJ Lopez from TdFrancis BigBear and Joseph from TdFrancis Frazier Park were there too. Bong from RiverVelo passed by me soo fast on the last 5 miles climb to Onyx as if he was on GMR doing a time trial.
Our Adobo plans were to ride our own pace, eat, load up, stretch and to stay less than 10mins. at each sag stop. Mandy and I started before sunrise. Manny and Victor rode together until Manny warmed up and decided to do his pace and caught up with Mandy and I at mile 15. The rest of the guys started around and after 6:30am. Thank goodness we had gusty 10-30mph tailwind at every climb. That wind felt soo good, I kept praying for more just to get through the climbs.. Wishes came through. It got windier as we climbed higher.
I found myself riding along with the same people the last 20 miles of the climb to onyx. We did the YOYO back and forth riding. "Hey we meet again", "Hey it's you again", " Hi, it's me again", "Oh it's you again." on and on and on. Finally 7000ft elevation. You know what that means, less than 3-4 more miles until the summit but one of the most mentally and physically painful miles to ride. You want to go faster but yet you don't want to cramp up. If you think about cramping, it will happen. If you go any faster, you will cramp before the summit. So what do you do?.. YOYO with other riders and pray you don't cramp up. Thank goodness that didn't happen to me because I was too busy thinking about how great the tailwind was, how beautiful the weather was and how my ass was so sore from sitting on my saddle. The end was not near. There were so many last turns. You think you're there but you're not. When you don't think about it anymore, The last and 4th pass is right in front of you. Alright, time to look strong for the camera. The Grim Reaper awaits and one solo ADOBOvelo Manny at the summit cheering on. Yeah I made it up!! 1:58pm (8hrs10mins) . What an exilerating feeling to finish Breathless Agony. This was one great Century. Last year's breathless agony seemed hard, but this year seems to be a breeze, Ya a strong tailwind breeze.. Great food, great volunteers, great riders sharing their experience of the climb. We waited for the rest of the Adobos. Unfortunately Victor turned around after the 3rd pass. At least he got to taste the ride. Pictures and more pictures at Onyx Summit. The descend was fast and furious even though we had strong head wind. Mandy was stoked he shaved off 40 mins of his time this year from last year. For the rest of the ADOBO guys, great job sub 8 hours total riding time. For your information, the first rider to hit onyx summit in 4hours 43mins is my friend Gina Kelly's husband, Phil Kelly. Gina owns a bike shop in Simi Valley. Both are Ultra distance Cyclists on both road/mountain tandem bikes and solo road/mountain bikes.

Until the next and last KOM, Heartbreak Hundred.. KEEP ON CLIMBING.

-ROSALIE

ADOBO Velos swarming and snaking up Fargo Hill Climb!

Last March 15, a few of our ADOBO Velos participated in this extreme event. Few members showed up to witness the event and cheered our fellow riders snake up this steep climb. Oh, that pic above, that was Manny Amit doing a STRAIGHT climb... IMPOSSIBLE! To add to the craziness, Astig Elardi up’ed the pressure with some cash bonuses. Here's Willliam mixing it up with the other participants...

Here’s El's post at the Yahoo Group... To all members of the ADOBO Velo gang that will make to the top of Fargo Hill Street today will WIN $5 from me. And to those that may climb more than 5 times may have a bonus of a dollar per climb. This is just for fun and to challenge our riders. Wish you all the luck!!! Be cautious!!
Naturally, my sprinting fingers started typing to clear up what he just posted: Wow, El! You are giving good incentives for our aspirants! Thank you! When you say win, is it as winning with the most number of climbs of an ADOBO Velo in the event, or the most number of climb between a participating ADOBO Velos only. Good luck to all FHC participants!!!!
So that morning came. Cyclists of all kinds climbing the steepest street of LA. Above is Jesse Agrezor snaking up the steep street with his full ADOBOkit, as a first timer and eventually the 2nd place finisher! Spectators where cheering, more ADOBO Velo jersey’s snaking up the road, and Time Warner reporters interviewing and creating a story of the event. You will see this pic in action from their video.

It seemed like the cheers from the spectators were loud enough to irritate the neighborhood, so the cops where called in and they eventually stopped the event at around noon. Where's the noisy crowd you might ask? Well, more likely at the top and at the bottom of the street. Rude crowd I tell you! As you can see Francis, his kids, and Rosalie trying hard to look innocent! And the cops looking serious and thinking of what they should do. And still in disbelief like this doesn't happen every year!

If the event wasn’t stopped by the LA's Finest , the number of climbs could have been higher!

Here’s the results:

Rosalie Kneebone- 16 climbs (1st place, New Women’s Record)
Doug Kubler 30 climbs - 1st place
Jesse Agrezor- 26 climbs (2nd place, ADOBO Velo, ASTIG Ride)
William Aligue- 23 climbs (3rd place, ADOBO Velo, 2008 CoTY)
Pete Primavera- 19 climbs (4th place, ADOBO Velo)
Steve Gilmore 11 climbs (record holder of 101 crazy climbs). Looks like he was conserving for the afternoon but cut short!
Alain Giaimo (Santa Clarita Velo) - 7 climbs on his road bike
Gerard Gabrang- 3 climbs
Manny Amit- 2 climbs
Mandy Genato- 1 climb (3rd place but in a different category!)
Lito Aralar - Climbed 3/4 of the distance and attempted many times.

And our spectators: Dennis Evangelista, Mary Raffety and friends, Jun Usi and family, Jun Grape, Juliet Agrezor, Cookie, Manolito, Wilson Blas, Elardi, Santa Clarita Velo riders and family, San Fernando Valley Bike Club, Dock Riders Bike Club, LA Wheelmen and much more.

As expected, Mang El’s post days before triggered some replies and here’s one from Rosalie who mentally prepared for this event… “Mang El... I think you will go broke...but you’re lucky because the cops came and stopped the Fargo Hill Climb Challenge, boohooo!"

Naturally, thanks to our spotters. Dennis, Manolito and Pete for helping our mountain goats!

Here’s a post event report copied from LA Wheelmen’s Fargo Hill webpage…

It's only one block long, but Fargo Street, with its 32% grade, equals the steepest street incline in Los Angeles. Our annual event challenges all comers to see if they can make it up on a bike, and if so, how many times in one day. Here are the 2009 results:

60 riders signed up, 46 riders completed the climb.
Oldest Rider: Doug Kubler at 64 climbs. (Is that a typo?)
Youngest Rider: Andrew Karnes at 12 climbs.
New woman's record: Rosalie Kneebone at 16 climbs.
Most climbs: Doug Kubler at 30 climbs.

ALL-TIME RECORDS:
In 2008, Steve Gilmore set the men's record of 101 ascents, which took him 9 hours.
Rosalie Kneebone's 16 this year is the women's record, surpassing her 12 in 2008.

Could have been a goal of 22 climbs if the event wasn’t stopped!

Here's some nostalgia and great mechanical engineering!As part of the plan and since this event was also tagged as Tour De Francis VI Stage 1 by our TdF Director Francis Ignacio, the opportunity was made to have a fundraising event for Dennis Evangelista as he will be participating at the Aids/Lifecycle 7-day 545-mile ride from SF to LA this coming May 31 to June 6. We hope for the best, Dennis! There will be plans to escort him on his last day of the ride. Website: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/

So to add insult to injury since the event was stopped, El Prez was asking who called the cops! As far as everyone knows, we think El did.... so he can lessen the give-away cash!

So with the event done, the praises followed immediately. I tell you, if not for the power of the internet, we won’t be able to gather up a story like this!

Henry posted this as a FARSTOP! (Changed “Far-go” to “Far-stop”) and was also encouraging everyone to Turnbull for a different version of FHC. Yup, we’ve been there and that’s a tough one! You can actually flip backwards too if you pull on your handlebar too much.

From Ryan... I prepared my mtb, even changed it with sleek tires for Fargo Hill Climb but woke up at 3 in the morning with terrible knee pains. I wanted to go but I knew I won’t be able to ride. I can’t even walk up that hill so I decided to stay home. Anyway, congrats to those who tackled this grueling height.

From Fixie Gil… 16X!!! AWESOME!!! Congratulations 'Adobo Chick' and all the Adobo Velos!!!

From Dong…Congrats to each participating Adobo Velos! For future reference, what gears did you use? “Granniest gears you have... MTB with 22x34t is what I used”, said Darna. I think she meant chainring at 22t and 34t for the cog!!

Fargo Hill Webpage:
http://www.lawheelmen.org/fargo.htm

Photo and videos by Mary Raffety:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/merider/sets/72157615324509486/
http://www.mydogparty.blogspot.com/

Pics from Dan Wyman:
http://www.pbase.com/coaster/fargo_street_hill_climb__2009

Dan, I used some of your photos. I hope you don't mind. Thanks.

And the video from Time Warner. You'll see the ADOBO Velos snake up this %$#@^p road!

http://www.lawheelmen.org/fargo09_timewarner.mov

You can also check our Picasaweb album for photos and Jesse’s you tube for videos. There’s probably more posted in the web somewhere so just keep checking.

Now I wonder about El's payout. So there's a win from Rosalie (ca-ching) and a little less than hundred total climbs from all ... so that totals to... (ca-ching, ca-ching... ca-ching) Hey, that's some money! Balato naman d'yan!

Thanks and happy climbing!

- Arden (The no- show!)