I went up to Forest City Velodrome to get a feel for the track and try some racing as I was hoping to race in the CanAmQue challenge right after thanksgiving. We drove up friday, got an early start on Saturday with an open training session that I was able to get in on from nine to noon. Right after that was my Track 1 session, where I went through the whole "learn to ride the track" process, which was honestly pretty cool. I know some guys complain about having to do intro classes, but I find them fun to see how other tracks run their clinics. After this, we grabbed some lunch, and then I came back to do some training with the juniors. I was able to do some 1 lap standing starts, and then flying 1 laps. These definitely were smart to do, as going around those tight turns at high speed is something I've never experienced before. The G forces really slam you into the track.
For racing, I was placed in the B field, which seemed appropriate. Turns out I was a fair bit stronger than them, but that didn't really matter since I was told to just sit on the back and get comfortable. This was actually more annoying than I figured, since everybody was expecting to slot in behind me, so I had to tell them to come on in. Once I got on the front of the race, my big strategy was to go really hard so I could get more fast track time, since this is frowned on during those open training sessions. And that's basically how the races went.
The first race was a win and out, which didn't mesh well with the whole 'sit on the back' strategy, so I didn't really place at all.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/403236158
Next was a miss and out. Also not won from the back. I had a bad starting position, and floated up and down the track at the back looking for a hole, but I didn't find one I felt comfortable with, so I was the first one out. I think they pulled riders every three? laps.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/403236152
After this, I decided to try to mix it up a bit more. The third race was a 50 lap scratch, so it was a good test of what to expect for the CanAmQue. The start was much slower than the first two races, and I found myself too high up on the banking (I was on the pole line) going into turn one off the rail, which I tried to adjust for, but gravity took care of that for me, and I slid down and crashed out myself and a junior rider. They let me get back into the race, where I employed the go hard off the front strategy, which let me win the mid-race prime, after which I re-integrated, sat in and went off the front again with maybe 5 to go, which gave me the win.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/403236147
The final race for those not doing the feature Madison was called "last man standing", which is basically an australian pursuit. I started right on the banking going into turn three, which I figured would put me at a distinct disadvantage, but I put in a hard start and found myself not passed immediately. I think I only passed one rider when I heard that there were only three riders left. Soon we were down to two, with us basically on opposite ends of the track. The other rider ended up giving up and I came around to pass them for the win. Hooray!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/403236145
By this time my neck was killing me from looking through the turns. And my sit bones were hurting from being slammed into my saddle so much.
For those interested, I raced with an 86" gear, aka 50x16. Warming up and early training I did in a 48x17, which is a 76" gear.
I did another training session the next day and then headed home, with some mountain biking added in for good measure.
http://www.forestcityvelodrome.ca/results/132/results_-nov_9__2013.pdf
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