WILLIARD IS CLAMTERIUM II CHAMPION
By Vicky Sama
Greg Willard put the hammer down on the second of three laps passing Paul Tolme and Justin Graves to win Clamterium II on Wednesday. Tolme took the initial lead, attacking from the starting gun. Matt Drange followed in pursuit, and it seemed like the two singlespeed demons were going to hold off the rest of the field. But Graves went into the red zone, and by the time he hit the highway underpass, he cruised past Drange and caught Tolme. Now, Graves and Tolme worked together–blazing through the trees like Japan’s latest supertrain.
In the meantime, super chicken Evan Gibbs flapped his wings to try and catch Drange. But apparently, Gibbs’ goose was cooked. Hayley Umayam, who arrived late, started at the back with technical difficulties (foggy eyeglasses), then distracted the other riders in her out-of-focus floral organza and moved up to mid-field.
Back at the front, Willard got serious. He may have held off early in the race, but by lap two, he was hungry for victory. (Tasting the grit from the wet road may have had something to do with his appetite.) Willard successfully attacked Tolme and Graves on Clam Beach Road. The spitting rain off Willard’s rear wheel was too much to handle for Tolme and Graves. Tolme’s yellow tinted sunglasses blew off his head. Graves was gasping for air and grabbing for a tow. He latched onto Willard’s rear book rack, but Willard shooed him off. The wheel grit was heavier now, and Graves and Tolme couldn’t see where they were going and may have made a wrong turn onto the beach. Whatever the reason, they lost time. Williard disappeared into the jungle. Tolme gained a little time on Graves for second place. Graves crossed the finish line in a respectable third while pulling one impressive cruiser wheelie. And for winning, Williard went home with a can of clam chowder.
Despite the drizzle, slippery singletrack covered in slug slime, foggy glasses and a chicken head too big to clear low-lying branches, there were no flats or crashes in the second running of the Clamterium.
Clamterium 2 Results (June 9, 2010)
1. Greg Willard (on heavy hauler)
2. Paul Tolme (euro style on a carbon drive singlespeed)
3. Justin Graves (blasting on his wide-wheel cruiser)
4. Matt Drange (singlespeed-by-night, journalist-by-day)
5. Evan Gibbs (loaded up with extra pounds of cluck and feathers)
6. Hayley Umayam (hippy chick road wheenie)
7. Kira Descheaux (cruisin’ with a brusin’)
8. Melanie Barnett (one-handed with brewskies on lil’ sis’s mt. bike)
Oddball Prime Prizes
Fastest Flower Child: Hayley Umayam
Best Rider Kit: Evan “the chicken” Gibbs
Singlespeed: Paul Tolme
Cruiser: Justin Graves
Singlespeed Cruiser: Kira Descheaux
MTB: Melanie Barnett
[...] Clam Beach Clamterium is an unsanctioned, unofficial clunker crit held on random Wednesday evenings on California’s [...]