Sunday: hoping for a long road ride, but instead got rain all day. I was able to get more wire for tying and soldering wheels, though, so at least there's something bicycle related.
Saturday: same deal. not enough sleep, which means no bikes. fortunately, the entire drive home was in a light rain, so that would have been less than fun for riding. Man, this week isn't too good.
Friday: I wanted to ride to work today, which apparently is bike to work day, but I didn't get much sleep last night, so I just drove instead. boooo. I'm really kicking myself for not riding now.
Thursday: no riding.
Wednesday: twilight series. see the race report.
Tuesday: no riding.
Monday: Rest day. rested.
19.5.13
R13.11: Kissena Spring Classic 5/12 - Cat 1/2/3
The Kissena Spring Classic - formerly known as opening weekend - was my first A race of the season. Fellow Broken Robot Jeremy and I spent the night before stalking the competition to see just how badly I would be beaten. The rider list looked manageable, with a few big names to look out for. I was worried about Andy, Keiran and John, and didn't really know much about Eugene and Kurt, but they looked fast.
I can't for the life of me remember what I ate for breakfast. I'm pretty sure it was the usual cheerios with mini chocolate chips. Possibly also a banana. I do seem to remember being tired. I also seem to remember getting there kind of late to warm up. I think I only got one lap in on my race gear.
The weather was warm, but windy. 10-15kt from the west gusting to 30+, I would say.
The first event was a 10 lap scratch. It started out simple enough, just half lap rotating pulls. If I remember correctly, there was an attack about halfway through, then a counter by andy with around 3 to go. I knew I was feeling antsy, so I tried to tell myself to just play it cool and sit in for most of the race. Andy's move got me, though. I jumped to bridge, so did Lucas. I passed Andy, hoping he would catch on, but a gap formed there somewhere. Without teamwork among the three of us, I just tried to keep my head down to finish. I was caught and passed around the back stretch or turn 3 of the final lap, but was able to keep going to roll in 6th place, which sadly meant no omnium points. Apparently there was talk about Keiran blocking in the field for andy. Kurt said it was illegal. I told him as far as I know it's not, but it's frowned upon. Andy agreed with me. Apparently there's some past history between the two of them. Shrug.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972903
Next was the miss and out. I knew I very likely completely screwed myself over in the omnium with that move in the scratch, so I had to ride a smart race here. I just stayed near the front without being right at it, trying to box in riders to stay ahead. The pace stayed pretty consistent until the last rider to get pulled. I know I thought we had pulled everybody, so I slowed up a little bit, and I think the others did, too. The final three riders were Kurt, John, and me. Kurt led the neutral lap, popping out of the sprinter's lane slightly in turn 4, so I took it as an opportunity to cut underneath to catch him and John off guard. I was able to stay away for the full lap to win, with John and Kurt second and third. I don't think Kurt appreciated my move. So much for endearing myself to the visitors to k-town.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972885
After this was the Kilos. I was originally going to gear up to a 90" gear, but the wind was psyching me out, so I stayed at 88". I changed to the zipp disc, though, with my gold medal pro cog that I've been saving for the Swan. I started on the home stretch, got a decent start and really felt on top of my gear, standing until the end of turn 2. I probably could have geared up without trouble. I really didn't notice the wind much at all, with the exception of coming into turns 3 and 4 on the last lap. I just powered through it and finished strong. The official result was a 1:15.42, which is officially my fastest kilo yet. At the end of the day, Kurt and John expressed their disbelief in my time. It's hard to say. I've definitely been training for the kilo, but that wind was strong, though like I say, I hardly noticed it. I talked to Alan about it the following wednesday, and he said they were short handed for officials, so only one time was taken per rider. Kurt said he had timed me at 1:25, which seems way off. Based on my gearing and the garmin data, a 1:15 is believable. It felt like a 1:17 or better. Regardless, officially, I had the best kilo time, so another win to me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972871
The fourth race was a 20 lap points race. Just prior to this it was told to me that I was actually in the lead for the omnium at this point, with John only one point behind. Third place was keiran. Since Andy, Keiran, and I all agreed to do the team sprint together, I figured I just had to try to keep my lead over John. The first sprint saw me beating Keiran for points, then we drifted back into the pack. The rest of the race I tried to mark John, but he always had the upper hand. I tried to outsprint him in each sprint, but I think I went too early, and he was able to beat me in sprints two and three. Kurt was right up with us, too, and tried to get a break going, but I didn't want to spend more energy than I had to, same with John. We basically watched each other slide back through the pack. I put in a little effort for the final sprint, with John beating me again, but didn't think much of it since we were both out of the points. As it turns out, that sprint decided who won the race, since we were both tied for points. Whoops. John won, I came in second. This put him one point ahead of me now.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972858
The omnium now came down to the final race, the team sprint. I knew John was riding with Kurt, but I didn't catch who his third rider was. I won't lie, I was a little worried about my team. It looked like Keiran was fading in the points race, which didn't bode well for him being the second rider in the TS. Andy had told me that he was going to be the first rider because he couldn't start fast enough to stay on Keiran's wheel. Oh well. I debated gearing for a bit, and ended up deciding on the disc with a 14t. Again, due to the shortage of volunteers, we were started from the rail. Fortunately for the women and masters, lucas and I offered to help with held starts on the back stretch. I would have thought they could find other riders to hold the rest of us, but whatever. We started on the back stretch, and had what I would consider a pretty flawless run. The first lap got up to speed quick, and Andy maintained it. Keiran kept on the gas, only fading slightly right at the line. I tried to just power my way through, ending with an official 1:28.02, which beats my previous best TS time with Alan and Colin of 1:28.28. There's an unofficial goal beaten there.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972840
John's team came in with a 1:28.27, which put them in second place, and gave me the points i needed to claw my way back into first overall. I won $90, which is always great, and had a fun day. This also completes one of my season goals of winning either Opening weekend or States.
Thanks to Alan, and all the riders, officials, and volunteers. I also got to see Charlie for the first time this season, which is always fun. I gave Shane that bike rack that I was building and headed home tired, happy, and pretty sunburnt.
Results here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13SpringClassic.pdf
I can't for the life of me remember what I ate for breakfast. I'm pretty sure it was the usual cheerios with mini chocolate chips. Possibly also a banana. I do seem to remember being tired. I also seem to remember getting there kind of late to warm up. I think I only got one lap in on my race gear.
The weather was warm, but windy. 10-15kt from the west gusting to 30+, I would say.
The first event was a 10 lap scratch. It started out simple enough, just half lap rotating pulls. If I remember correctly, there was an attack about halfway through, then a counter by andy with around 3 to go. I knew I was feeling antsy, so I tried to tell myself to just play it cool and sit in for most of the race. Andy's move got me, though. I jumped to bridge, so did Lucas. I passed Andy, hoping he would catch on, but a gap formed there somewhere. Without teamwork among the three of us, I just tried to keep my head down to finish. I was caught and passed around the back stretch or turn 3 of the final lap, but was able to keep going to roll in 6th place, which sadly meant no omnium points. Apparently there was talk about Keiran blocking in the field for andy. Kurt said it was illegal. I told him as far as I know it's not, but it's frowned upon. Andy agreed with me. Apparently there's some past history between the two of them. Shrug.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972903
Next was the miss and out. I knew I very likely completely screwed myself over in the omnium with that move in the scratch, so I had to ride a smart race here. I just stayed near the front without being right at it, trying to box in riders to stay ahead. The pace stayed pretty consistent until the last rider to get pulled. I know I thought we had pulled everybody, so I slowed up a little bit, and I think the others did, too. The final three riders were Kurt, John, and me. Kurt led the neutral lap, popping out of the sprinter's lane slightly in turn 4, so I took it as an opportunity to cut underneath to catch him and John off guard. I was able to stay away for the full lap to win, with John and Kurt second and third. I don't think Kurt appreciated my move. So much for endearing myself to the visitors to k-town.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972885
After this was the Kilos. I was originally going to gear up to a 90" gear, but the wind was psyching me out, so I stayed at 88". I changed to the zipp disc, though, with my gold medal pro cog that I've been saving for the Swan. I started on the home stretch, got a decent start and really felt on top of my gear, standing until the end of turn 2. I probably could have geared up without trouble. I really didn't notice the wind much at all, with the exception of coming into turns 3 and 4 on the last lap. I just powered through it and finished strong. The official result was a 1:15.42, which is officially my fastest kilo yet. At the end of the day, Kurt and John expressed their disbelief in my time. It's hard to say. I've definitely been training for the kilo, but that wind was strong, though like I say, I hardly noticed it. I talked to Alan about it the following wednesday, and he said they were short handed for officials, so only one time was taken per rider. Kurt said he had timed me at 1:25, which seems way off. Based on my gearing and the garmin data, a 1:15 is believable. It felt like a 1:17 or better. Regardless, officially, I had the best kilo time, so another win to me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972871
The fourth race was a 20 lap points race. Just prior to this it was told to me that I was actually in the lead for the omnium at this point, with John only one point behind. Third place was keiran. Since Andy, Keiran, and I all agreed to do the team sprint together, I figured I just had to try to keep my lead over John. The first sprint saw me beating Keiran for points, then we drifted back into the pack. The rest of the race I tried to mark John, but he always had the upper hand. I tried to outsprint him in each sprint, but I think I went too early, and he was able to beat me in sprints two and three. Kurt was right up with us, too, and tried to get a break going, but I didn't want to spend more energy than I had to, same with John. We basically watched each other slide back through the pack. I put in a little effort for the final sprint, with John beating me again, but didn't think much of it since we were both out of the points. As it turns out, that sprint decided who won the race, since we were both tied for points. Whoops. John won, I came in second. This put him one point ahead of me now.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972858
The omnium now came down to the final race, the team sprint. I knew John was riding with Kurt, but I didn't catch who his third rider was. I won't lie, I was a little worried about my team. It looked like Keiran was fading in the points race, which didn't bode well for him being the second rider in the TS. Andy had told me that he was going to be the first rider because he couldn't start fast enough to stay on Keiran's wheel. Oh well. I debated gearing for a bit, and ended up deciding on the disc with a 14t. Again, due to the shortage of volunteers, we were started from the rail. Fortunately for the women and masters, lucas and I offered to help with held starts on the back stretch. I would have thought they could find other riders to hold the rest of us, but whatever. We started on the back stretch, and had what I would consider a pretty flawless run. The first lap got up to speed quick, and Andy maintained it. Keiran kept on the gas, only fading slightly right at the line. I tried to just power my way through, ending with an official 1:28.02, which beats my previous best TS time with Alan and Colin of 1:28.28. There's an unofficial goal beaten there.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311972840
John's team came in with a 1:28.27, which put them in second place, and gave me the points i needed to claw my way back into first overall. I won $90, which is always great, and had a fun day. This also completes one of my season goals of winning either Opening weekend or States.
Thanks to Alan, and all the riders, officials, and volunteers. I also got to see Charlie for the first time this season, which is always fun. I gave Shane that bike rack that I was building and headed home tired, happy, and pretty sunburnt.
Results here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13SpringClassic.pdf
16.5.13
R13.10: Kissena Twilight Series 5/8 - Cat 3/4
This is another late race report, so don't expect much detail. If I remember correctly, it was warm, but windy. Or maybe it wasn't. I really don't remember. There was another decent turn out, with Al showing up again, josh, andy, sean, mike, and some others. Here's the warm-up:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920107
The first race was a miss and out. I tried to stay near the front and box people out if I could. Al had raced FBF the night before, and was complaining about some leg issues, so he came out. Riders kept on getting knocked out until it was just Andy, Andreas, and me. I attacked before the bell lap, and was able to keep a gap through to the finish. why I decided on such a long attack, I have not one clue.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920085
Next was a 9 lap points race. Again, I don't really remember details, but I was able to win the first sprint. I got second on the next, then a group of 3 got away. I tried to close the gap, but I didn't have it. Andreas was with me, but he refused to work, but he did outsprint me on the final sprint. In my mind, this was narrow-sighted of him, as had we bridged up, he could have easily scored more points. As it stood, andy won, I still managed second, but he was way down in 6th. Sometimes the big picture is hard to see.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920060
The final race was an unknown distance scratch. I figured it would be about 7 laps or so. I spent the beginning of the race just sitting in. A few attacks went out. Eventually, the stars aligned enough that I jumped in turn 4 of some such lap. I was able to keep a gap going and heard the bell before turn 3 the next time around. I tried to keep on the gas, but I got caught around turn 3 on the final lap. I dug deep, but only rolled across the line in fifth. Oh well, solo suicide attacks are kind of my thing in unknown distance races.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920043
That concluded racing. Andy won the overall, I got second, Al in third. On a side note, he wore his NY state champion jersey this time. Results are here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek3.pdf
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920107
The first race was a miss and out. I tried to stay near the front and box people out if I could. Al had raced FBF the night before, and was complaining about some leg issues, so he came out. Riders kept on getting knocked out until it was just Andy, Andreas, and me. I attacked before the bell lap, and was able to keep a gap through to the finish. why I decided on such a long attack, I have not one clue.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920085
Next was a 9 lap points race. Again, I don't really remember details, but I was able to win the first sprint. I got second on the next, then a group of 3 got away. I tried to close the gap, but I didn't have it. Andreas was with me, but he refused to work, but he did outsprint me on the final sprint. In my mind, this was narrow-sighted of him, as had we bridged up, he could have easily scored more points. As it stood, andy won, I still managed second, but he was way down in 6th. Sometimes the big picture is hard to see.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920060
The final race was an unknown distance scratch. I figured it would be about 7 laps or so. I spent the beginning of the race just sitting in. A few attacks went out. Eventually, the stars aligned enough that I jumped in turn 4 of some such lap. I was able to keep a gap going and heard the bell before turn 3 the next time around. I tried to keep on the gas, but I got caught around turn 3 on the final lap. I dug deep, but only rolled across the line in fifth. Oh well, solo suicide attacks are kind of my thing in unknown distance races.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309920043
That concluded racing. Andy won the overall, I got second, Al in third. On a side note, he wore his NY state champion jersey this time. Results are here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek3.pdf
13.5.13
2013.24: Race - 5/6 - 5/12
Sunday: Kissena Spring Classic. See the race report. Also, hello Genisis!
Saturday: nada. laced up the rear wheel for the swan. it looks sweeeet.
Friday: Despite my first A race being only two days away, I decided to ride too much today. I rode to work, then afterward I headed to visit Rick Jones at Roadrunners in Glen Cove to pick up some simichrome polish. After that, I went back to Syosset to pick up my bag, and almost made it back home before it got too dark. I ended up calling for a ride as I went past BAE systems and we rendezvoused perfectly at the king's park train station. On a side note, there are a lot of proper nouns in this ride report. Also, the roads between syosset and glen cove are really nice. I'll definitely have to ride that way more often.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/310793307
NP/IF/TSS: 207W/0.970/299(oof!)
Thursday: long work day. no riding.
Wednesday: Twilight at k-town. See the race report.
Tuesday: I spent a good amount of today working on polishing up the spokes and hubs for the swan. Thinking on it now, I really haven't mentioned my Jamie Swan much, have I? That's just not right. It's still at the painter's, so I've been trying to fancy up the wheels that I'll put on it. Anyhow, I also rode today. I figured I would do a short ride up to old field, nice and easy like, but with a few short hard intervals as openers. I picked a few strava KOMs to try for and set out. I was able to get two of them, but that damn old field sprint still eluded me. Coming down from old field I also checked out the private beach. It warrants further bike exploration, but it is way too rocky to walk around on barefoot.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309431004
NP/IF/TSS: 218W/1.023/147
At some point Dan called me, so I met up with him at the fire house. My garmin's battery was mostly dead for some reason, so I decided to split everything into two rides in case it shut off. Surprisingly, it lasted for around 2 hours on roughly 30 minutes' charge. Not bad, garmin. Not bad at all. As for the ride, it was great. Perfect weather, nice easy ride, beautiful beaches. What more could you ask for on your day off?
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309430962
NP/IF/TSS: 163W/0.765/52
Monday: Rest day. Rested.
Saturday: nada. laced up the rear wheel for the swan. it looks sweeeet.
Friday: Despite my first A race being only two days away, I decided to ride too much today. I rode to work, then afterward I headed to visit Rick Jones at Roadrunners in Glen Cove to pick up some simichrome polish. After that, I went back to Syosset to pick up my bag, and almost made it back home before it got too dark. I ended up calling for a ride as I went past BAE systems and we rendezvoused perfectly at the king's park train station. On a side note, there are a lot of proper nouns in this ride report. Also, the roads between syosset and glen cove are really nice. I'll definitely have to ride that way more often.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/310793307
NP/IF/TSS: 207W/0.970/299(oof!)
Thursday: long work day. no riding.
Wednesday: Twilight at k-town. See the race report.
Tuesday: I spent a good amount of today working on polishing up the spokes and hubs for the swan. Thinking on it now, I really haven't mentioned my Jamie Swan much, have I? That's just not right. It's still at the painter's, so I've been trying to fancy up the wheels that I'll put on it. Anyhow, I also rode today. I figured I would do a short ride up to old field, nice and easy like, but with a few short hard intervals as openers. I picked a few strava KOMs to try for and set out. I was able to get two of them, but that damn old field sprint still eluded me. Coming down from old field I also checked out the private beach. It warrants further bike exploration, but it is way too rocky to walk around on barefoot.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309431004
NP/IF/TSS: 218W/1.023/147
At some point Dan called me, so I met up with him at the fire house. My garmin's battery was mostly dead for some reason, so I decided to split everything into two rides in case it shut off. Surprisingly, it lasted for around 2 hours on roughly 30 minutes' charge. Not bad, garmin. Not bad at all. As for the ride, it was great. Perfect weather, nice easy ride, beautiful beaches. What more could you ask for on your day off?
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/309430962
NP/IF/TSS: 163W/0.765/52
Monday: Rest day. Rested.
R13.09: Kissena Twilight Series 5/1 - Cat 3/4
Place holder.
Possibly forever.
yeah, yeah. alright, let's get this done with. Week two of the twilight series. The weather was much nicer. Some might say perfect. I knew Karl wasn't racing, so I thought I would have a chance to win the omnium. Then Al showed up. And so did Jamie Swan, to watch with Taliah. No pressure. Here's my warm-up data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440992
The first race was a win and out. Josh, Al, and I all tried to sprint for first place. Al beat us pretty handily, and Josh dropped back. I swung up right afterward, but I saw I had a good gap, and so I decided to try to just keep on. Andy was able to bridge up to me, at which point I thought "huh. andy wouldn't try to bridge and outsprint me, would he?" and that's exactly what he did at the second place sprint. I cursed under my breath a little and kept going to try to stay away for the final sprint, which I was able to do just barely. The rest of the pack had a real close sprint mere bike lengths behind.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440969
Next was a 3 lap scratch. I can't for the life of me remember any details, but apparently it was Al, then me, then Andy.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440950
The last race of the day was a 6 lap tempo. I can't really fill in the details, but looking at the results, i was second behind josh on the first lap, beat him on the second lap, and then al and andy attacked the field. I tried to respond, but I was always tailing behind them neither bridging or getting any points. I finished with one more point on the final 3 deep sprint.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440941
I felt pretty dumb after the night's racing, and was pretty bummed out. That's basically why I didn't write this report for so long. results are posted here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek2.pdf
Possibly forever.
yeah, yeah. alright, let's get this done with. Week two of the twilight series. The weather was much nicer. Some might say perfect. I knew Karl wasn't racing, so I thought I would have a chance to win the omnium. Then Al showed up. And so did Jamie Swan, to watch with Taliah. No pressure. Here's my warm-up data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440992
The first race was a win and out. Josh, Al, and I all tried to sprint for first place. Al beat us pretty handily, and Josh dropped back. I swung up right afterward, but I saw I had a good gap, and so I decided to try to just keep on. Andy was able to bridge up to me, at which point I thought "huh. andy wouldn't try to bridge and outsprint me, would he?" and that's exactly what he did at the second place sprint. I cursed under my breath a little and kept going to try to stay away for the final sprint, which I was able to do just barely. The rest of the pack had a real close sprint mere bike lengths behind.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440969
Next was a 3 lap scratch. I can't for the life of me remember any details, but apparently it was Al, then me, then Andy.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440950
The last race of the day was a 6 lap tempo. I can't really fill in the details, but looking at the results, i was second behind josh on the first lap, beat him on the second lap, and then al and andy attacked the field. I tried to respond, but I was always tailing behind them neither bridging or getting any points. I finished with one more point on the final 3 deep sprint.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/306440941
I felt pretty dumb after the night's racing, and was pretty bummed out. That's basically why I didn't write this report for so long. results are posted here:
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek2.pdf
2013.23: Peak.3? - 4/29 - 5/5
Sunday: work. I wanted to ride post-wise, but I passed out instead.
Saturday: Dan borrowed my other road bike and we went out for a longer ride. The nice thing about riding with Dan is he's much more lax about waiting for red lights to turn green, which means that based on the timing, we actually can get through the 97 intersection of 347 on a green light. We tried for that KOM and got it. We then dropped down south, and came back up and over by way of whiskey road. Along whiskey road, I saw a few credit cards laying on the ground. Turning around, we found the majority share of a wallet, so plugging the owner's address into my garmin, we stopped by to hand it over. Turns out the wallet was lost a few months ago in one of the big snow storms. Oh well, it was well intended. We then stopped at crazy beans for some bears and hard cider fruit smoothies, then shuffled on home. All in all, I would say it was a great day on a bike.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/307716921
NP/IF/TSS: 176W/0.827/206
Friday: nothing.
Thursday: Nada. Worky.
Wednesday: Track racing. see the race report.
Tuesday: I was a little back logged with repairs at work since I didn't work much yesterday, so I rode in and knocked a few out. I popped over to cordwood beach after I got home.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/305821050
NP/IF/TSS: 203W/0.954/251
Monday: Rest day. Helped get the Christeen back into the water. This involved agitating some muscles in my legs and back while helping to move what I would guess is a 300+lb main boom with only three guys and a cart with flat tires.
Saturday: Dan borrowed my other road bike and we went out for a longer ride. The nice thing about riding with Dan is he's much more lax about waiting for red lights to turn green, which means that based on the timing, we actually can get through the 97 intersection of 347 on a green light. We tried for that KOM and got it. We then dropped down south, and came back up and over by way of whiskey road. Along whiskey road, I saw a few credit cards laying on the ground. Turning around, we found the majority share of a wallet, so plugging the owner's address into my garmin, we stopped by to hand it over. Turns out the wallet was lost a few months ago in one of the big snow storms. Oh well, it was well intended. We then stopped at crazy beans for some bears and hard cider fruit smoothies, then shuffled on home. All in all, I would say it was a great day on a bike.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/307716921
NP/IF/TSS: 176W/0.827/206
Friday: nothing.
Thursday: Nada. Worky.
Wednesday: Track racing. see the race report.
Tuesday: I was a little back logged with repairs at work since I didn't work much yesterday, so I rode in and knocked a few out. I popped over to cordwood beach after I got home.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/305821050
NP/IF/TSS: 203W/0.954/251
Monday: Rest day. Helped get the Christeen back into the water. This involved agitating some muscles in my legs and back while helping to move what I would guess is a 300+lb main boom with only three guys and a cart with flat tires.
29.4.13
R13.08: Kissena Twilight Series 4/24 - Cat 3/4
Well the first track night of the season has come. I tried to make a conscious effort to worry less about how I might compare to everyone else, which I think worked. I still had a lot of jitters and nervousness beforehand. I wonder if that ever goes away.
I snuck out of work early to get to the track on time. The weather during the day could best be described as perfect. Warm, sunny, great. The drive to the track, however, saw a strange fog roll across from the south, which brought with it cold, damp, windy, weird weather. It made for a not-so-comfortable series of races.
The turnout was really good, with some notables being Mattie, JoshS, Aaron, Karl, Andy, Pete Rizzo, Robert, Phil and Chris, and most of the pink rhino ladies. The program was short and sweet due to a lack of light, which was fine by me.
I had enough time to do a decent warm up. Generally I wouldn't even mention it, but for two reasons this time. One, I actually recorded it with my garmin, so I need some kind of preface to the gconnect link. The second reason is that as I was rolling around, I saw some kind on the front of a paceline yell at some other kid to move up track. "UPTRACK! UPTRACK!!" Naturally, the guy who was already in the sprinters lane was completely confused and moved up track eventually, but I'm sorry, that's just not how it's done. If you're leading the pace line, it's your responsibility to move around the other riders on the track. Better luck next time.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870931
Race numero uno was a 3 lap scratch with full neutral lap. I was feeling a bit antsy, so I lined up first on the rail, lead the neutral lap, and then attacked right away. I felt good the first two laps, but I definitely felt like I was going backwards on the last lap. Fortunately, I was able to hold it with the exception of Karl passing me around turn 3 or 4 on the final lap. Still, 2nd place wasn't bad.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870921
Between each race, I would put my pants and hood-sweat back on, and basically cling to the ground for residual warmth. The asphalt felt wonderful.
Race two was a 9 lap points, with three sprints. My legs still felt dead from the first hard effort with the only warmdown being the horrible cold weather. I lined up at the front on the rail again, but then Andy pulled up right in front of me. I was able to win the first sprint, but then on the backstretch of that next lap an attack went, which I just couldn't respond to. I was stuck in no man's land with Adreas, who was completely content with not bridging up. This is kind of funny, because had he helped me bridge, he definitely could have gotten some good points and probably came in second. Instead, he was only able to pick up a handful of fourth place points which put him in fourth overall. My first sprint was good enough for third.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870915
The final race was a Chariot. Since we had about 16 people in our field, we split into two qualifying heats and one final. I switched to my 14t on the disc for the chariots, which I'm still not sure if it was smart or not. I never felt on top of the gear, but I was going fast. Robert was my holder/pusher for both chariots, with a push so good I probably could have gotten by without pedaling at all.
Here's the first heat. I had a little gap the whole way around to win.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870910
The final saw Josh fly past me between turns 1 and 2, which I clawed back slightly, but in the end he got it and I came in second again.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870905
This concluded the racing. Karl won the omnium, and I came in second, with Andy in third. Now those are some good results.
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek1.pdf
I snuck out of work early to get to the track on time. The weather during the day could best be described as perfect. Warm, sunny, great. The drive to the track, however, saw a strange fog roll across from the south, which brought with it cold, damp, windy, weird weather. It made for a not-so-comfortable series of races.
The turnout was really good, with some notables being Mattie, JoshS, Aaron, Karl, Andy, Pete Rizzo, Robert, Phil and Chris, and most of the pink rhino ladies. The program was short and sweet due to a lack of light, which was fine by me.
I had enough time to do a decent warm up. Generally I wouldn't even mention it, but for two reasons this time. One, I actually recorded it with my garmin, so I need some kind of preface to the gconnect link. The second reason is that as I was rolling around, I saw some kind on the front of a paceline yell at some other kid to move up track. "UPTRACK! UPTRACK!!" Naturally, the guy who was already in the sprinters lane was completely confused and moved up track eventually, but I'm sorry, that's just not how it's done. If you're leading the pace line, it's your responsibility to move around the other riders on the track. Better luck next time.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870931
Race numero uno was a 3 lap scratch with full neutral lap. I was feeling a bit antsy, so I lined up first on the rail, lead the neutral lap, and then attacked right away. I felt good the first two laps, but I definitely felt like I was going backwards on the last lap. Fortunately, I was able to hold it with the exception of Karl passing me around turn 3 or 4 on the final lap. Still, 2nd place wasn't bad.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870921
Between each race, I would put my pants and hood-sweat back on, and basically cling to the ground for residual warmth. The asphalt felt wonderful.
Race two was a 9 lap points, with three sprints. My legs still felt dead from the first hard effort with the only warmdown being the horrible cold weather. I lined up at the front on the rail again, but then Andy pulled up right in front of me. I was able to win the first sprint, but then on the backstretch of that next lap an attack went, which I just couldn't respond to. I was stuck in no man's land with Adreas, who was completely content with not bridging up. This is kind of funny, because had he helped me bridge, he definitely could have gotten some good points and probably came in second. Instead, he was only able to pick up a handful of fourth place points which put him in fourth overall. My first sprint was good enough for third.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870915
The final race was a Chariot. Since we had about 16 people in our field, we split into two qualifying heats and one final. I switched to my 14t on the disc for the chariots, which I'm still not sure if it was smart or not. I never felt on top of the gear, but I was going fast. Robert was my holder/pusher for both chariots, with a push so good I probably could have gotten by without pedaling at all.
Here's the first heat. I had a little gap the whole way around to win.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870910
The final saw Josh fly past me between turns 1 and 2, which I clawed back slightly, but in the end he got it and I came in second again.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/302870905
This concluded the racing. Karl won the omnium, and I came in second, with Andy in third. Now those are some good results.
http://kissenavelodrome.info/results/2013/Kissena13TwilightSeriesWeek1.pdf
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)