by David Steffen
The Columbus Day Bicycle Race was held on Columbus Day, October 16, 1966. It was a handicap race, seven laps around Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. Jeff Cowdrey, David Steffen, and Tom Woods represented the Modesto Roadmen. Because it was a handicap race, juniors raced with the seniors. All three Modesto Roadmen were juniors and were in the maximum handicap group.
The Columbus Day Bicycle Race was held on Columbus Day, October 16, 1966. It was a handicap race, seven laps around Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. Jeff Cowdrey, David Steffen, and Tom Woods represented the Modesto Roadmen. Because it was a handicap race, juniors raced with the seniors. All three Modesto Roadmen were juniors and were in the maximum handicap group.
Unbeknownst to us, someone (whose name we never knew) in the maximum handicap group had a plan. He figured that it was just barely possible for the maximum handicap group to complete the first lap within the handicap time, thus allowing this group to draft off the scratch (zero handicap) group, staying one lap ahead of them. He managed to organize the group to implement his plan. All the Roadmen knew was the maximum handicap group was riding insanely fast. Many in the maximum handicap group were dropped during that insane first lap, my memory was that Tom and Jeff were among them. I (David) did manage to stay with the group throughout that first lap and witnessed the organizer of this unprecedented feat admit defeat and drop out at that point, having done most of the work to drive that pace. I managed to hand on to the scratch group, not to the end of the race, but for some time, long enough that they could not regain the lap. Under modern rules, drafting under these circumstances is forbidden, and I would have been disqualified. However, because this had not come up before, the organizers did not have a rule against this drafting and as a result, I won the race.
The maximum handicap group, starting the race. In the center of the picture, wearing a blue T-shirt, is Jeff Cowdrey. Just behind and to the right of Jeff is David Steffen. At the left of the picture, in the yellow Modesto Roadmen T-shirt, is Tom Woods.
Might this be the end of Lap 1? In front, at the right of the picture, is Tom Woods. Two behind him is David Steffen.
David Steffen, timetrialing, after having been dropped by the scratch group.
Left to right, Tom, David, Jeff. David has just won the race and is giving a victory salute. A two-handed salute like this was illegal for safety reasons, and David was reprimanded.
David being kissed by the Columbus Day Queen.
Presentation of the first and second place trophies by the Columbus Day Queen to David and the winner of the scratch group, who had thought he had won the race, and who, under normal circumstances, would have.
The official victory portrait taken by the Columbus Day Committee
The newspaper article about the win that Henry Laws put into the Modesto Bee.
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