Back to the Track!

Big up to ya, loyal sports fan!

First night back on the track tonite! Felt awesome to be back... I'm back at 'home'. =)

Tonite we kept it fairly easy, starting with easier stick-together-for-most-of-the-race type - 30 lap scratch, everyone started, basically neutralized 25 laps..tho after 10 or so the pace picked up and we shelled most of the C's and B's..hehe.. Thanks Jim and David Mercer! I wanted to keep it more tame. ;)

The first 25 laps went by, cruising at 40kph and over, i felt fantastic, so nice to be back on the track....2 laps left, no one's making any moves so as we're approaching the bell lap -- i gun it!!!

I'm off the front, no idea what's going on behind me.. Matt Barlee, nationally ranked sprinter rides up besides me and asks 'so what does 'veganism is direct action mean?' as we're approaching the line. (I have this sticker on my seat tube.)



I'm DYING holding 50kph for a lap and a half (over 500m) at the front (i've done ZERO anaerobic work this season so far!) and he's asking me this casually as i'm in my death throes trying to get myself to that white finish line...hilarious!! Of course he was ahead of me, and i dragged another guy (Chad) behind who came around for 1st..hilarious. =)

Second race was a Keirin, Matty McMuscles was our Derny, so didn't have to worry about him at least.. I played it smart, got 2nd position behind Mike Cooper, who's a large guy who's also a sprinter... a nice big draft for me...

After five laps, Matt the derny pulls off after getting us up around 50kph, and Cooper picks up the speed...good...i'm just sitting in his draft...2 laps left... He's starting to fade, but Chad (who won the last race) comes around and i pick up a little speed and sit on his wheel....1 lap to go, i see he's fading, and launch!!

As i'm nearing the finish line, still at the front, i see a glint of yellow from the corner of my eye off to my right - David Mercer, 60+yr old cycling phenomenon here in Victoria, is chasing madly!! I keep the pressure on, and hold him off at the line.

VICTORY!!! Score one for the vegan!! No doubt this will be my first, and last Keirin victory of the season. ;)





A couple shots, thanks to Tanya who's back for another month-long vegan biking trip! I'll be getting her out to the track to race on a regular basis. =)

Tell us what you thought of your first viewing of a track event in person!

In first shot that's me near the end of the paceline, and in the second you can see my rear wheel and PowerTap..hehe.. I wish i had it for the track - i put out some serious watts tonite!

This reminds me of how different track racing is to the road... On the road, typically, as the speed picks up, so does your torque (ie, how hard you have to push the pedals). And, of course, there are hills, which require a lot of torque.

Thanks to my PT, i've discovered i'm really a low-torque guy... I can pump out a decent number of watts, but if it's at 50-90rpm, it'll suck the life outta me..

On the track, however, as the speed picks up, i believe the torque actually decreases, since your cadence increases....so as my cadence increases, *overall* torque decreases, but wattage continues to increase of course with resistance.

And, of course, i've seen this on my PowerTap as well...i'm much more likely to get over 1000 watts spinning above 100rpm than at anything down below 80rpm.

Pretty neat, huh? I'm wired for the track. ;)

Of course, that limits what i'm capable of, on the bike... Hilly crits, and even crits in general are not my cup of tea...tho i'm going to try and change that a bit, and try to keep my cadence up in the 'grind' sections, and see what happens.

Wed i might head out for the weekly road race/crit and try this out, tho i also have a very different focus if i do go.

Thursday am back on the track - yay!!!

Tues i'm going to the track in the afternoon to do my Field Test - first time since i got the PT...time to confirm that i'm training in the right zone...tho i'm pretty sure i am based on HR and my PT peak efforts by time.

Last Sat did the OB group ride as usual, it was quite a bit faster, which was great (Karl keeps the whip on, which is great!) It's such a great ride. Instead of constant attacks and trying to blow people off, as might occur in other rides, we all work together, maintaining a nice, fast paceline. For the riders who aren't as strong, or just want to chill a bit more, they can hang out in a single paceline behind us and draft. How cool is that? Trying to make it work for everyone. What a great group. =)

If anyone reading this wishes to join us, it's 9am behind the Oak Bay Bikes shop - we basically do the 'reverse' Wheelers loop, starting at the water, and coming in off Interurban, plus the water.. Maybe 90km with the current loop...it'll get mixed up a bit more in the summer, extending it, and having a specific 'fast/race' section, along with the rest of the steady stuff.

Hopefully see ya out there!