Looking at a blue sky while I sit on my front porch in jeans and a t-shirt I wonder to myself when winter will come. I thought it would be soon but now I have my doubts. The Paskenta Century has come and that tells me the fields will soon be covered with yellow flowers, marking the beginning of Spring. How blessed we are to live in Chico where we can ride year around. This year is extra special, but I think we may suffer this summer from a lack of water due to the meager snow pack. But I must not worry about that, for racing season is here and I need to get ready.

Hi All, Coach Mike here... With the racing season upon us it's time to start cranking the intensity up. Intervals (along with races) will become a bigger part of your weekly riding. One of the key ways, and maybe the easiest way, to improve your performance now, is to master the art of recovery. The harder you train, the more you'll benefit from smart recovery. So read on and incorporate some of these tips into your daily routine.

Recovery and the Recovery Process Recovery is generally poorly understood, but is a crucial aspect to improved performance.

Newsletter: We need your stories, anecdotes, ride reports, race reports, special events, race results (including mountain bike, cyclocross, road and track), tours, cycling trips, photos and anything else cycling related that might benefit our readers. We are a diverse group that covers the full range of area cyclists from novice to advanced and from casual to competitive. It would be nice if that diversity was represented in the newsletter.

You can e-mail your submissions to David Albrecht with the following subject line: "ATTN: newsletter".

Meetings: The next Corsa Club Meeting will be at Woodstocks Pizza on Friday Februaury 6th at 6PM. (Any pro-deal orders must be paid at this time)

Events: North Rim Adventure Sports Is having a Winter Apparel SALE 25% winter apparel for both Corsa and non Corsa members.

Classified: Jeff Ochs is selling a 2.4 wired PowerTap wheel on a 32 hole Mavic rim. It takes a Shimano cassette. It has two wiring harnesses for two bikes and two computer heads. One of the heads works fine and the other has display problems but records data fine. Comes with all the literature, HR strap, and download dock. $600 for everything. Let him know if you are interested by email jnkochs@yahoo.com

February Cycling Calendar:
NCNCA Road Calendar

• 02/08 Cherry Pie Criterium
• 02/14 Cantua Creek RR
• 02/14 King of the Mountain
• 02/14 San Jose Classic Criterium
• 02/14-22 Amgen Tour of California
• 02/15 Davis Junior Criterium
• 02/15 Pine Flat Road Race
• 02/16 Dinuba Road Race
• 02/21 Snelling Road Race
• 02/22 Merced Criterium
• 02/28 Merco Credit Union Grand Prix

NORBA Calendar

• 02/09 Buck Ridge Race #1
• 02/10 CCCX XC #1
• 02/17 CCCX XC #2
• 02/24 Mountain Bike Challenge #2

TBF Challenge MTB Races

• 02/08 Folsom
• 02/22 Folsom

• 02/21 Oroville Hills

Chico Velo

• 02/07 7-Mile Lane Bird Observatory Ride
• 02/08 Rice Valley Tandem Rally
• 02/14 Valentines Day Tandem Ride
• 02/15 The Y ride
• 02/21 Cohasset to the Narrows
• 02/22 Table Mountain
• 02/28 Keefer Loop

Results: (Those I know about anyway)

Cal Aggie

• 2nd Maggie Jones (Junior Women)
• 2nd Jeff Galland (Masters 1-2-3)
• 3rd David Kyle (Cat 4)
• 13th Mike Cordova (1-2 Pro)

Paskenta

Men

• 1. Jesse Moore
• 2. Brad Ober
• 3. Taylor Kuphaldt
• 4. Aren Timmel
• 5. Adam Switters

• 1. Michelle Beltan
• 2. Janeen Thorpe and Kerry Kelly (unsure what order)

Rising stars:

Lindsay Myers got the nod for a trip to France with Team USA from mid April through mid May of this year. The six women, selected by their results and future potential, will be contesting five major international road events during their trip. The team will also work with the National Team coaches on specialized disciplines such as time trial training and racing on the track.

Let's wish her the best!

Another Nor-Cal rider who made the team is Jerika Hutchinson (Mt. Shasta) who is a former Junior National Champion. Jerika also medaled at last year's Junior World Championships in Mexico and has been dominant in Time Trials for the past three years. Jerika is coached by Terry Tupper, a former elite cyclist and manager of several domestic Pro teams. Terry now works as a Police Officer with Chico P.D. but he is still involved with the sport as a coach to several National Champions.

I am delighted to announce a new collaborative project - the Steve Harrison Memorial Bike Loan Program, funded by the Steve Harrison and Linda Zorn Foundation and sponsored by North Rim Adventure Sports and Chico Corsa Cycling Club.

The purpose of this project is to fund at least one bicycle each year to a rider needing a bike, but not able to afford a good one. It will be considered a loan for as long as the individual needs and rides the bike. If the person receiving the bicycle decides to upgrade or no longer rides the bike, it will be returned and re- distributed to another deserving rider.

Reaching 40 may not be too traumatic from a performance standpoint, but 50 is a different matter. You're long past the age when even the oldest pros compete, and you start taking a keen interest in Viagra and Cialis ads. At 50 it's time to face up to the fact that you need to figure out ways to keep from getting dropped by riders half your age.

What are the changes that occur in our bodies as we age? The average body is at its peak in the late 20s when we are at a phase known as homeostasis, the point where the number of cells dying and the number of cells being produced are roughly equal. After this time the number of dying cells surpasses the body's ability to produce new ones. Let's look at how this change affects various aspects of overall health and athletic performance.

Cal Aggie by Mike Cordova;
A sizable contingent of Corsa riders made it down to Sac for the Cal aggie crit. The course is about one mile in length with a sweeping S turn on the backside of the course and a soft right hand turn into the finishing straight about 300 meters from the line.

David Kyle took 3rd in the CAT4 race and Josh B. took a prime with five laps to go. Jeff Galland got into a breakaway in the Masters 123 race and sprinted for second. Dave A. did a great job covering breaks and was active the whole race. In the P12 Dave and I moved up with a few laps to go and Dave drug me up to the front of the pack on the last lap but I was unable to hold position going into the S turns and got muscled off line and finished in 13th.

I have had several requests to write articles on tactics and shaping a race and though it sounds easy in principal, it is nearly impossible in practice. It is never as easy as saying if "A" happens you do "B", and I suppose if it were everyone would have found the secret formula long ago.

For me, race tactics are by far the most interesting aspect of racing a bike but they are nearly impossible to teach. The right answer to a given situation can change hundreds of times based on the information that HASN'T been provided, especially in relation to the athlete's own individual strengths and weaknesses. You can't 'teach' race tactics because good tactical racing is part psychology, part human nature, part memory and mostly intuition from previous experience.