By Daniel Holloway

It had been some time since I last raced Berkeley Hills. I don’t recall much about my last experience, but I’m sure I didn’t finish. Our team tactic was simple and one we have been using as of late. For now I will keep it a secret as it seems to be working. The race started at and nice early 7:30 AM and the weather was surprisingly warm. It was clear hydration was going to be key – the more Osmo we could get, the better.

Photo Credit Tim Westmore.

Once we made the turn on to San Pablo Dam (SPD) road we started to launch our attacks, and then covering anything that went across. Nothing really got established on the first lap.

The second time down SPD Switters launched and got a solid gap with another rider. Third time around the race got aggressive again and Shawn and I found ourselves in a group of ten or so. As we get to the bottom of the climbs Shawn says he isn’t feeling great, I asked for some food and he filled my pockets. Rather than destroying himself to stay in the break he went back to the field to tell the rest of the guys we needed to reset the break away.

A half lap later Roman and Steve made it up to the group, savior arrives. I had a quick chat with Roman about how we should ride, I was feeling really good and felt I could get the job done in the right circumstances. Roman and Steve rolled through with the rest of the breakaway while I sat at the back playing poker, only pulling through when I had to, not to disrupt the rhythm.

Read more

Pop into your local Mike’s Bikes store for some great deals on much of the equipment used by Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase.

20-40% off helmets, 20-50% off clothes and some fantastic deals on bikes.

Check out the sale catalog here – then head into your local store before the sale ends Sunday.

TMB Rider Nick Newcomb is profiled in today’s Marin Independent Journal

Nick Newcomb makes smooth transition to road racing with Mike’s Bikes team – read it here.

By Daniel Holloway

It had been four years since I last raced Merco, then it was a RR and a Crit. Like many of us from Nor Cal it is another week in the pocket of California that most people try to avoid, but the race organization has done an incredible job to make it a must attend race for anyone wanting to start their season off with a bang.

Having never done Merco as a stage race, the “new” road race was a first for me. I asked teammates who had done the race before what the major climb most resembled of other Nor Cal classics. I got an idea of what it was like – I needed to be at the front when it got narrow at the bottom of the climb, and then close my eyes until it was over.

The race started off rather mellow, not sure why, but I was happy none the less. My job of the day was to make around the front group, not put in too many efforts and just follow the group. In previous years, the race has blown apart or stayed mostly intact for a field sprint. A break went away before the second time up the climb that more or less stayed away the whole day, things got shuffled around a few laps later and four guys ended up off the front at the end. Going over the climb the last time I had incredible help from my teammate Switters to reattach me to the group on the decent. As I was collecting my thoughts Roman came back to see how I was feeling, a gaze of silence and then a grunt he just said “it may all come back, let’s win a bike race today”.

Read more