T’was with much anticipation that I left Ottawa 2 weeks ago, on my way to sunny Los Angeles to meet up with my new Jet Fuel Coffee/Norco Bicycles teammates! Accompanying me was the espresso bean himself: Alex Sanna from SRS (Soigner Race Services). We were picked up by Bryan Bowers at LAX, and quickly expulsed into the traffic jam called “South California”. My new teammates were waiting for us in Oxnard, and I had 2 days to spin the legs pre-San Dimas.
The team was set to race 2 stage races: San Dimas and Redlands, and if the dudes’ Tucson tan lines hinted anything, the team was race ready.

San Dimas:
Stage 1: 7km uphill TT
Being psyched to get the road season underway, I was able to set some new peak power records, but still finished 111th… Damn, this race is no joke!

Stage 2:
Sketchy circuit around Fontana park with hay bales, parked cars, cones, and a “recommended” yellow line rule. Robert was taken down in a crash, Ryan flatted with 25km to go while in the top 10 on GC, so I gave him my wheel and waited for neutral support. There was chance to catch the group, so rode in with a small grupetto of a dozen riders. Anton won the stage by out-sprinting the break (huge hi-five!) and somehow during his victory battle cry: swallowed the finish line photographer whole, veered off-course, and put a nice dent in a truck parked nearby! Found out later I was time cut! The cut-off was only 5% of winner’s time aaarghhhhh…

Stage 3:
The dudebros raced the crit, Robert and I went Strava KOM hunting on Mt Baldy, a 2000m peak. Ryan finished 14th in GC, so we got some Benjamins baby!

For me, Redlands followed the same sort of formula as San Dimas: tough road race, TT at altitude on the shores of Big Bear Lake, then stage 3. I made it through the first half of the incredibly fast circuit race, and as the pace was just settling down, some rider cut across me in the feed zone and I hit the deck. My bike was fine, but after licking my wounds I decided to call it a race. I was in pain, and it was a fair while before I was able to get up… Back in the first aid tent, Robert joined me, also having had a spill: flat tire coming into a corner. It looked like we were going to end up Strava hunting again as the rest of the boys continued on.

I finished off the camp with an epic ride up the backside of Big Bear on some nameless 49km climb. Robert and I were a little asphyxiated at the summit, but the equally long descent was well worth it! We came in screaming to Highlands, and could feel the mercury rising as we descended (the temperature drops 1⁰C each 98 meters gained) – Science says so.

I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to race at such a high level early in the season. All in all, the trip was fantastic! Getting to know the boys, team staff, and hosts (Joe and Joni at San Dimas and Craig and Laura in Redlands) was lots of fun, and shows that the people you travel with are responsible for the majority of the satisfaction derived!

Travel tip:
El Super is the best grocery store to shop at; they have the best and least expensive produce around!

Kevin Massicotte