This was a really fun race that took place after the racing season had ended, but before one's residual fitness had faded away. I am told that it's first edition was in the 1950's, and I remember its 1982 edition as being the last. It was a true handicap race with riders being started in waves with one minute intervals seperating the participants according to their abilities. In 1980, I had the honor of being seeded with the top fifteen or so riders in the last (scratch) group. We had to catch all of the other riders (a total of 275), some of whom started six minutes ahead of us. The race was short; eight laps around Oakland's Lake Merritt for a total of 25 miles.
It seemed like an eternity that we waited before starting. We knew that we had to catch all of those other riders, and even though those of us in the scratch group were normally competitors, we were well acquainted with one another, and in less than a mile we found our rythm with everybody including the two sprinter types working hard. In what seemed like no time, we were blowing past those who were spit out by the other groups which were also moving along quiet well. It appeared that those of us in the scratch group were not the only ones with some residual fitness.
When the two, three, and four minute handicap groups coallesced, they formed a super pack that really steamed along. Our scratch group really dug deep, fearing that we might not catch. And finally, it happened. With just two miles to go, all seven of the groups came together to form a maze of 275 riders. Just as I was thinking about how to thread my way through the mess, a large crash occured near the back of the huge pack. Not only did I have to come to a full stop, I had to ride backwards a bit in order to get around the pile of bikes and bodies.
It took me nearly a mile to catch up to the back of the pack, still over two hundred in size. With one mile to the finish and a terrible bottleneck turn approaching, I kept moving and managed to pass nearly a hundred riders before the scary turn. On the straightaway near the Oakland Auditorium, I passed about fifty more as the sprint began in earnest. Coming out of the last turn, I just kept passing riders, and the finish line came just a little too soon, yet there were only seven riders in front of me; I had taken eighth place!