I have done this race plenty of times. I love to do this race, it’s always over Memorial day weekend and its in honor of Barry Wolfe.That day I was suppose to have 4-5 teammates but none of them showed so I was left to do the dirty work and attempt to win the race by myself. The race got pretty aggressive with two large breaks that didn’t contain Tony Cruz or myself. The last break being more serious had every team represented, again but us two. I figured Tony wanted to wait and see what I would do and I was thinking the same thing. So after the break got out of sight, I got on the front and did a two lap pull to bring the break within striking distance to the field. As I started to pull off I just knew Tony would jump me and maybe I would miss out. However Tony was to far back as I chased and by the time he got to the front to make his move, I had already recovered.

The field is all back together and now it’s a fight to hold position for the sprint. With 1 to go, I make the right hand turn on the outside and from the right I was hit pretty hard by someone who, I’m assuming forgot to turn. This guy knocked me off both pedals, knocked my chain off and twisted my shifter. I fell on my top tube and banged my knee into the stem while slamming my shoes onto the concrete. There was about 2-3 seconds where I thought I was hitting the ground. But I saved it. Got back on the saddle, clipped back into my pedals and rolled the chain on. At this point it’s a split of about 8-10 guys just about 300 meters in front of me.

Sterling was also involved in the crash and as he got back going, I hopped on his wheel and with 500 meters to go, we caught the group.I didn’t hesitate; I jumped the group right as they looked left with Sterling on my wheel. I’m not even sure if they knew I went right. I came out the last corner first, pulled up on my left leg to sprint and my cleat came out of my pedals and my knee hurt like hell. I later looked and my cleat and it was absolutely shattered when I had the mishap. I cross the line first and with so much pain. My knee immediately swelled up and gave me a scare.  

It’s been a few weeks since I last post on the blog, so this one may be a bit long. Ill do my best to bring you up to speed on what’s going on and ill keep it 100% as much as possible. The last couple of weeks have been really stressful not only to me but my family. It seems the relationship I had with the owner of my team has slowly went down hill and the respect I thought he had for me has unraveled. Without going into detail, lets just say we had a huge misunderstanding that led to more misunderstanding and disrespect.

My father all was said, “only females get emotional” so I always keep that in the back of my mind and think before I speak however when someone calls you a asshole and a liar, I think you have the right to defend yourself. So moving forward, I mentioned my situations to a few people I respect to get some balance from the negative vibe I’ve been getting from my team and I got some really good feed back that allowed me to be the bigger man. I’m not happy with my current situation but I also know that everything is temporary except my life expression. Not being able to race back east in the big races this week really hurts not only me, but also my career. As my career has shown, the bigger the race, the better I perform.

I had set goals at the beginning of the season to race in Europe this year. My team, family and friends were aware of this but it was all negated with no explanation. I went to camp with the attitude that maybe I would get bumped up and do TOC team. I road my ass off at camp, I never quite on the climbs, I did every ride and tried my best to climb with the main guys. Some days I hung on and some days the legs didn’t go. Some days I out climbed guys that should out climb me and I never gave into the fact that they were better than me. Still I have managed to win 6 races thus far this year trying my best to stay motivated.

 

 

 

My 1st year racing CSC. I have finished 6th or better in every year I races CSC

                                                                     

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                     

 Contacts:

Rahsaan Bahati Pro Cycling Training Camp, produced by Bahati Racing www.bahatiracing.com <http://www.bahatiracing.com>    Email –rahsaan@bahatiracing.com   323-228-5784 Direct

George Turner, Jr. Marketing & Media Relations Email- George@get-entertainment.com 310-341-3214 Office 310-628-5471 Cell

 

 

The Ultimate Pro-Tour Cycling Experience

Presented by Cannondale

 Bahati Racing Pro-Training Camp Gears Up in Aliso Viejo

 Carson, CA. May 18, 2009 — On Thursday, July 16, 2009, Bahati Racing and Cannondale will host its first Ultimate Pro-Tour Cycling Experience camp.  This four-day training camp led by the 2008 National Criterium Pro Cyclist, Rahsaan Bahati, provides professional riding instruction, as well as guidance for strength training, racing tactics and skills, sports nutrition, recovery, and time and energy management. 

The Pro Cycling Experience will include: fully supported rides with support bicycles provided by Cannondale, support vehicles to keep cyclists safe; on-staff mechanics to keep bikes cleaned and tuned; on-staff masseurs to provide daily massages for peak performance and optimal recovery; a professional bike fit to ensure bicycles are custom fit to individual riders; chiropractic adjustments to keep everyone fine-tuned physically; daily lectures and skills clinics to educate participates on best practices; and, ride appropriate nutrition lessons to inform athletes of how to get the most out of their daily food and beverage intake.

The most diversified cycling camp offered in the United States, Bahati’s Pro Cycling Experience is expected to reach world-class and upcoming athletes from a pool of more than 70 million cyclists nationwide. 

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Bahati Racing Camp                                                                                                                                   

Participants will enjoy first-class accommodations at the Renaissance Club Sport Resort in Aliso Viejo, CA.  Designed for the fitness-minded individual, this resort offers an impressive array of amenities structured to cater to an event such as the Pro Cycling Experience training camp.  The extensive full-service workout facility, rejuvenating day spa, and top-rated restaurants and guest rooms provide a one-of-a-kind experience for club members and visiting travelers.

The four-day Bahati Pro-Training Cycling Experience presented by Cannondale includes all activities and accommodations mentioned above for $1,400.  Food and beverages are also included, with the exception of alcohol.  Camp begins on Thursday, July 16^th at 1:30 pm with hotel check-in and bike set-up.  Once acclimated, the intense weekend of lectures, rides, and activities begins.  Saturday’s scheduled activities include a fundraiser charity ride with celebrities from 8:30am to 1:30pm.  Camp concludes on Sunday, July 19^th with a dinner and awards ceremony at 6:00 pm.

“We anticipate a tremendous turn-out,” commented Rahsaan Bahati.  “Although this is my first self-directed camp, I have participated in cycling camps all over the United States.  I am excited about the opportunity to fine tune and enhance the skills of the riding community, which is very close to my heart.  I look forward to the success of this camp and the ongoing efforts of Bahati Racing in developing highly skilled and knowledgeable cycling athletes.”

Rahsaan Bahati was introduced to cycling at the age of 12 years old. His 7th grade teacher Reggie Gorman convinced Bahati’s parents to allow him to take a cycling class to help him expend his exorbitant energy.  The cycling class was held at the Olympic Veldrome in Carson, California, where the 1984 track Olympics were held. Soon, Bahati was racing at the National Junior level.

In 1996, just six months after being enrolled in the after school program, Bahati advanced to the Jr. Track Nationals in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  He brought home four medals, three silver and one bronze.  Bahati was also named a National team member for five consecutive years.  He won more than 80 races from 1998-2000, including Elite Crit championships; Junior Road and Crit championships; and, two National track championships. After a successful 2000 season, Bahati decided to further his education, enrolling in Indiana University where he studied Telecommunications and African-American Literacy. 

 

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Bahati Racing Camp                                                                                                                                 

After college, Bahati returned to the professional cycling circuit, winning 13 additional races, including the CSC Innovational in 2007, the Manhattan Beach GP and 2008 winning the USPro Criterium National Championships.

For more information about the Bahati Pro-Training Cycling Experience, and how to register, please visit the Bahati Racing website at www.bahatiracing.com.

 

 

 The race was pretty straight forward. 4 corner industrial park crit. This time of the year its very hot in the Riverside area so I was a bit concerned about how my body would feel in the heat. 

SCVelo (Jeremiah Wiscovitch's) team had about 7-8 guys and I knew a group would lap the field.
Since I was alone I had to ride smart and spare my time to make the winning break. I actually couldn't have done it any better way.

I let a break get established with about a whole straight away and soon I jumped across. Of course me jumping caused for a huge reaction from the field. I got things close enough for another team to close the deal on the break. As the break started to come back together I pulled a counter move to catch the 4 leaders taking 2 more guys with me.

Six of us got pretty organized and soon had a half a lap lead. I did my fair share of work and soon we can see the back of the main field. As we got closer, I noticed two of the SCVelo guys soft pedaling so we would not catch. (which i though was very smart because I was pretty isolated by myself).

So I had to think fast. I thought about it and I was in the best position ever. So I told Josh if they start to soft pedal I would sit on. So he attacked me. I played possum as Josh attacked and he eventually just took me to the field. in the string of small attacks, we lost some guys and only 4 guys lapped the field.

the group came all together for the field kick where I took another win.

Big thanks to my wife and kids for hanging out with papi in the hot sun as I raced.
Thanks a bunch. Next is Tulsa, Ok.

dont forget to sign up for the Bahati Racing Training camp. More info at www.bahatiracing.com

I'm packing for Joe Martin right now but wanted to let you know I went to Alabama and did the Sunny King NRC crit Saturday night and I had a great race. A group got away and with a slow chase from other teams as it got a little closer I jumped across but soon after was countered by the eventual winner Karl Menzies.

In the end for the field sprint it got really hairy and I only managed 5th after coming from 12 back. I felt great which was the up side and the sprint was really powerful.

More to come.