Claremont Racing, Part 1: Stan Schwarz, 1978...

Shown above is the Claremont Colleges cycling team in 1978. Pictured left to right are Ken Westbrook, Stan Schwarz, Fred Matthews, Kel Yamada, Neil Brock, Chip Svoboda (standing behind Westbrook is Mike Riley). The photo was taken at the 1978 Southern California Intercollegiate Championships, held on 6 May at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Stan, in his only season with the team, rode the Expert race (USCF categories 1-3), jumped away at the start and, with the rest of the team controlling things in the field, stayed away for the duration to finish in 1st with a 40 second gap. The photo is courtesy of Stan Schwarz and the recap, paraphrased from his own story, can be read here. Incidentally, if you click around his blog you can find some pretty cool stories of racing back in the 70s, both in So Cal and on the East Coast, in races such as the Acton Road Race, and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic.


Early in 2012 (February) I did a short post on Claremont as a hotbed of cycling. From infrastructure for everyday commuting by bike to collegiate and professional racing, cycling has long been prominent in the city. Lately I have become increasingly interested in researching the history of racing within the city, from the racers, teams, organizers, and the races; there will be short posts like this one, and then at the end (however far ahead that may be) I will put it all together.