Track

After only racing on the track, twice the last few summers, this year I managed three...and was promptly upgraded, to a cat 3. So last Friday Kele and I both showed up to race.
There where enough riders there for two heats, and they split us up, so we wouldn't cooperate... and I who needed some help……..
Track you would think would be simple, since there is only one gear... but not quite so... now you have to spend all this time deciding what gear to run, depending on the race, other riders tactics, and ones own strengths. No matter what you do, you are invariably going to have the wrong gear, for at least part of the race.
First race I picked a slightly bigger gear then I was used to… turned out it was ok at speed, but accelerating was a bit harder, and my legs were just about shoot after that. Second race I went smaller to a 49x15… pretty small, but now I was better of with the small accelerations… but just could not go fast enough during the sprint for the line. (All in all though, I think a better gear for me)..

For the third race I should have gone up again. The race would be a lot more consistent in speed, no intermediate sprints or funny stuff…I ended up of the front a few times… and the high cadence I had to keep with that gear just wore me down… and I was caught. During the final sprint to the line I was feeling good, on a great wheel and between corner 3 and 4 I was flying over the top of the pack to the front. As we are about to exit the corner a rider pulls up, the rider on my inside who I’m passing reacts my going up, then the rookie as I am, I over react even more and even “stop” pedaling for a split second… I promptly settle down, but have now lost my wheel and inertia, so I back of and pull out of the sprint… what a rookie mistake… The riders wheel I was on ends up winning the sprint, I would like to think I would have been right up there, and not back practically coasting across the line.
Well I’m a rookie on the track, I didn’t go down… I will learn..
and I did win $10 in my second race… more then enough for a Blizzard, so really not a bad night after all.