CYCLING : Teens Find New Direction With Race Class
They don’t appear much different from other beginning cyclists at the Encino Velodrome.
They struggle to get their feet in and out of toe clips, struggle to ride along the 27-degree banked surface and struggle to stop on the brakeless track bikes.
But the 16 boys participating on Monday and Wednesday afternoons in a four-week beginners class are very different.
The students, ranging in age from 13 to 17, are residents of the Pacific Lodge Boy’s Home in Woodland Hills, a private nonprofit organization funded by social services departments in several counties, the United Way and private donations.
The boys have been placed in the lodge by various Southern California probation departments for any of a number of reasons: run-ins with the law, a history of substance abuse and problems often associated with broken homes.
“(The Pacific Lodge students) actually have been more cooperative than a normal class,” said Ray Joiner, who teaches the class with Sue Skarin. “We haven’t had any problems and the counselors haven’t needed to intervene. . . . They’re well-behaved and eager to learn.”
Mike Lendzion, a counselor at Pacific Lodge, had recognized Skarin’s husband Ron, a two-time Olympic team member and 10-time national cycling champion, when Skarin sang at the boys’ home last September as part of her church’s outreach program.
Lendzion, a recreational cyclist, discussed the possibility of setting up a class for the boys taught by Skarin, a former national-level cyclist and a regular instructor at the velodrome.
The details were finalized in July and the wheels were put into motion two weeks ago. The response to the program has been overwhelming, Lendzion said.
“They’re enthusiastic and can’t wait to leave in the afternoon,” he said. “It just worked out real well. It channels their energies into something constructive and maybe it will find a talent that was there and never hooked into.”
The only setback that the program has encountered so far is the inability because of class-size limitations to accommodate all of the boys who originally signed up.
“I was the first one to sign up for it in my cottage,” Alan, 16, said. “Only those with the most seniority get to do it. It’s a privilege because the thing is full.”
An exhibition race for the boys has been added to the regular racing program at the velodrome on Aug. 25, and Skarin said that she is optimistic about continuing the program when classes at the velodrome resume in March.
“It helps keep you out of trouble and keeps me off the street,” Daniel, 15, said. “It’s something that I never did before. It’s a lot of fun and even when I get out of (Pacific Lodge), I want to keep coming back.”
Health monitor: Bob Fourney of Denver on Monday won the ninth Race Across America--a 2,922-mile journey that began Aug. 5 in Irvine and ended in Savannah, Ga.--in 8 days 11 hours 26 minutes.
It was his first RAAM win in four attempts after dropping out of the race in 1986 and ’88 and finishing fourth in ’87.
Mike Villano, a chiropractor in Camarillo, served as Fourney’s crew chief for the first three days of this year’s RAAM and stayed on as part of the support crew for the remainder of the race.
Villano’s responsibilities included overseeing Fourney’s diet and health, planning rest breaks and coordinating pace vehicles.
“Basically, my job was to take care of everything so all Bob had to worry about was riding,” said Villano, who lives in Ventura and also served as a crew member two years ago for Rod Templin of San Diego, the 1988 RAAM runner-up.
“(Fourney) has a tendency to go out a little strong and we had to be careful about monitoring his pace so he would finish.”
Less filling, tastes . . .: RAAM riders consumed between 12,000 and 16,000 calories a day during the race.
To replace 12,000 calories, a rider would have to eat the equivalent of 80 Twinkies.
Many of the RAAM cyclists, who covered more than 300 miles a day while sleeping only two to three hours a night, discovered a more digestible alternative--a high-calorie drink called Ultra Energy, which some riders have described as tasting like “chocolate-flavored chalk.”
Although perhaps not as refreshing as a cold beer, the drink provides nearly 4,000 calories per 12 ounces.
New kid on the block: In only his second month of track riding, Dick Wager-Smith, 61, of Simi Valley recently placed second in the match sprints in the age 60-and-over division at the Masters national cycling championships in San Diego.
Wager-Smith, who also placed eighth in the 40-kilometer criterium in San Diego, abandoned running in 1982 after a bone chip eroded the cartilage in his right hip and forced the implementation of a prosthetic ball-and-socket joint.
“I was devastated at the time that I couldn’t run,” said Wager-Smith, who previously had competed as a sprinter on the Masters track and field circuit. “I was always into fitness and that’s why I took up cycling.”
At first, Wager-Smith took to the roads. But on several occasions it seemed even more hazardous than running.
Wager-Smith reinjured his hip four times, including once when he was placed in a full-body cast.
But while honing his skills on the roads, he noticed a trend.
“When I was in a road ride with the younger guys, I would get dropped in the hills,” Wager-Smith said.
“But in a sprint session, I began beating all the kids and that’s why I thought I should look into track (racing).”
It is a decision that many of his opponents are beginning to regret.
“He pulled off a silver medal on natural speed and talent,” said Rick Denman, program director of the Encino Velodrome, who trains Wager-Smith.
“He was probably the least experienced rider in his category (at nationals).
“His future is looking good.”
Fast fact: John Howard of Encinitas, a former Olympic cyclist, reached 152.284 m.p.h. on a bicycle at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in 1985.
Howard, riding a 46-pound bike with hydraulic forks and motorcycle wheels, rode behind a pace car with a large tail section that was designed to reduce air resistance.