After a brief remodeling detour to Marina del Rey, I got back to San Diego in time for a remarkably unprofitable poker game last night. Penniless but free, I've finally posted photos I took of last weekend's SoCal bike racing scene. The weather was perfect. The photos are not, as I explain below.
San Diego Bicycle Club "SDBC" was well-represented at SDBC's Barrio Logan Grand Prix "BLGP" on Saturday. I was happy to donate $500 in cash prizes c/o CyclingSalvation.com to all the Junior race winners. Saturday was my first day using a new camera I bought a couple days prior. I stupidly assumed it could take good sports photos on the "auto" setting thanks to new, high-ISO sensor technology. That was a BAD NERD assumption. Lesson learned. I still need to use high shutter speeds (≤ 0.002 seconds) in the shutter-priority "Tv" mode. I was in the Barrio all day and missed only one podium. It wasn't until I got home and saw the pictures on the computer that I learned the ugly camera mode lesson. I did my best to sharpen and enhance the photos, and I hope some of the racers will enjoy viewing and saving their favorites.
Here (▼below▼) is the link to the 2018 Barrio Logan Grand Prix photos on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmaSzJpm
San Diego Bicycle Club "SDBC" was well-represented at SDBC's Barrio Logan Grand Prix "BLGP" on Saturday. I was happy to donate $500 in cash prizes c/o CyclingSalvation.com to all the Junior race winners. Saturday was my first day using a new camera I bought a couple days prior. I stupidly assumed it could take good sports photos on the "auto" setting thanks to new, high-ISO sensor technology. That was a BAD NERD assumption. Lesson learned. I still need to use high shutter speeds (≤ 0.002 seconds) in the shutter-priority "Tv" mode. I was in the Barrio all day and missed only one podium. It wasn't until I got home and saw the pictures on the computer that I learned the ugly camera mode lesson. I did my best to sharpen and enhance the photos, and I hope some of the racers will enjoy viewing and saving their favorites.
Here (▼below▼) is the link to the 2018 Barrio Logan Grand Prix photos on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmaSzJpm
SDBC racers prepare for the pro/1/2 race. Notice one of the Jelly Belly pros in attendance behind them.
Both the Barrio Logan and Dana Point races included a 60+ category, which means "I couldah been a contendah." But I know better. I'm old, and fortunately I'm slow for my age (palmarès: 0). Also, I've never had any interest in experiencing a fifth concussion. Even as a spectator without a speck of riding all day, I was tired after a long day of fresh air and cold beer down in the Barrio. (Uh, did I mention how old I am?) So I slept in on Sunday then drove up to Dana Point after breakfast to find a cappuccino and watch some bike racing.
I was excited to see the Dana Point Grand Prix "DPGP" because I had never been to it before. I obviously arrived long after the racing had started. It wasn't my intention to be there the whole day like I do for SDBC's criterium in San Diego. I just wanted to see some of the racing and test my new camera (the amazing Canon EOS 80D) using a more appropriate setting.
Sunday's photos did come out better than Saturday's did, but I'll never be good enough to take photography on as a "day job." The bright sun allowed me to use shutter speeds shorter than a thousandth of a second, which resulted in many "less blurry pictures" compared to those I took all day on Saturday. But—being the senile old fart I am—I screwed up all the finish line photos of the women's pro/1/2 race because I had temporarily set the shutter speed much slower (for lower ISO, greater depth of field on some comparatively "still" shots) and forgot to dial up the shutter speed again for the final lap. Argh! Sorry, ladies!
SDBC once again had great representation in the races at Dana Point, with our Dutch club member, 747 pilot, and YouTube Star Jasper Verkuijl taking 2nd place in his Cat-2 heat (just ahead of former SDBC racer Juan Cisneros). When SDBC's race team manager Wells Wang encouraged Jasper to try his legs in the pro/1/2 race before flying back to Europe, Jasper registered and took 9th place in that race! (Congrats, Jasper & team!)
Here (▼below▼) is the link to my Dana Point Grand Prix "limited set" of photos on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhkSkJZ
Here's a link to more DPGP race photos and podium results.
I was excited to see the Dana Point Grand Prix "DPGP" because I had never been to it before. I obviously arrived long after the racing had started. It wasn't my intention to be there the whole day like I do for SDBC's criterium in San Diego. I just wanted to see some of the racing and test my new camera (the amazing Canon EOS 80D) using a more appropriate setting.
Sunday's photos did come out better than Saturday's did, but I'll never be good enough to take photography on as a "day job." The bright sun allowed me to use shutter speeds shorter than a thousandth of a second, which resulted in many "less blurry pictures" compared to those I took all day on Saturday. But—being the senile old fart I am—I screwed up all the finish line photos of the women's pro/1/2 race because I had temporarily set the shutter speed much slower (for lower ISO, greater depth of field on some comparatively "still" shots) and forgot to dial up the shutter speed again for the final lap. Argh! Sorry, ladies!
SDBC once again had great representation in the races at Dana Point, with our Dutch club member, 747 pilot, and YouTube Star Jasper Verkuijl taking 2nd place in his Cat-2 heat (just ahead of former SDBC racer Juan Cisneros). When SDBC's race team manager Wells Wang encouraged Jasper to try his legs in the pro/1/2 race before flying back to Europe, Jasper registered and took 9th place in that race! (Congrats, Jasper & team!)
Here (▼below▼) is the link to my Dana Point Grand Prix "limited set" of photos on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhkSkJZ
Here's a link to more DPGP race photos and podium results.
The women's pro race featured an all-star cast, including Coryn Rivera (center).
The field for the women's race was amazing. SDBC's women's team had the privilege of racing with Coryn Rivera, a local (but world-famous!) pro racer from Team Sunweb. The surprise victory went to 16-year-old Megan Jastrab, pulling off an upset on Junior gearing! (Ah, youth!)
You're welcomed to use and share any of my photos linked above. If you'd like a photo without the watermark to use in your own publication, contact me (Dan) here and I'll email it to you after doing a little "post-production" enhancement, which is hard to take time to do on all of these.
There's always good fun, food & drink...and plenty of spectator room at these races, so if you haven't been to one already, look them up and mark your calendar for next year. In the meantime, happy riding! I hope to see you out on the road.
You're welcomed to use and share any of my photos linked above. If you'd like a photo without the watermark to use in your own publication, contact me (Dan) here and I'll email it to you after doing a little "post-production" enhancement, which is hard to take time to do on all of these.
There's always good fun, food & drink...and plenty of spectator room at these races, so if you haven't been to one already, look them up and mark your calendar for next year. In the meantime, happy riding! I hope to see you out on the road.
I'm NOT stoned, but looking the part...hanging with "old" pros Dave Zabriskie & Floyd Landis
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