Saturday Spin: Olin at Los Portales Whittier Grand Prix

I first posted this photo up at the Claremont Cyclist back in 2010 as, what may have been the first, From the Archives post. This past week, out of the blue, it popped up on my Facebook feed. A "hey, thats my photo" moment. Even though social media makes it more likely to happen, I still am surprised when one of my photos unexpectedly shows up like that. Anyway, this one was always one of my favorites from back in the day and, I guess, the fact that "there it is again" shows that this one, like the lead rider - Olin Bakke - has some legs. There are some fun, additional comments here.

The photo was taken during the Pro/1/2 race at the Los Portales Whittier Grand Prix in 1993. Right behind Olin is a rider for the American Commerce National Bank / Canyon Velo Team, and then Jamie Paolinetti of the Chevrolet / LA Sheriff Team.

There is no question that doing some of those old training rides with Olin raised my game - it is the truth in the old saying that to improve you should train with people better than yourself. But, in some way, I suppose I am glad to have been confined to the lower and middling categories, thus never having to compete against him (or any of the others trailing behind him, for that matter) with money on the line.