Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

First up: a poll! (A poll!)



Overall, it's been a good post-Trackfest week!

Cruising around in a Madison. From 07-06-07 - Track

Monday, went out to the track to help organize the sprints..rain.

Tuesday, considered the TT, but the weather was crap, so didn't ride.

Took an extra rest-day on Wednesday. I also considered the VCL Crit, but had a GVVA meeting in the evening.

Thursday, was back at the track. First event was a Chariot, as there were only three A's (two others came out, but had a tumble in the initial Madison. They're healing up and fine!) As could be predicted, Simon and Cooper stomped me in the 1-lap sprint. I managed to stay on their wheels tho, not bad considering i was in an 82" gear. ;)

Next up was a Miss'n'Out, combined A's, B's and C's. I stuck to the 82" gear, knowing my strategy off the top.. The race started, and a sprint goes by, and i slide up at the front, and i get up there and pin it at 40kph, and hold it. For about 15 laps. =)

Malcolm and i exchange a sling. From 07-06-07 - Track

There was one odd attack from Simon, who sprinted by me, but i got up on his wheel in a few moments, and let him draft me for a lap, then he fell back, and i just carried the speed through. Cooper was still on my wheel (i think he was the whole time) - and so we traded pulls for a couple laps, and to my surprise Roland (track photographer extraordinare!) guns past Simon, to join us in the Final Three (in a Miss'n'Out, once there's three riders left, an extra lap is added, and it's basically a Matched Sprint between the finalists.)

Crap -- Cooper pretty much has this in the bag...ahh well, i've got to try something! We're going into corner 3, and the bell will be rung as we come out of corner 4.... We're not moving very fast, but i see he's slowing down, and is a good 10m behind me....so i drop the hammer! I dash away as fast as my little legs can carry me, the bell's ringing, and i'm flying by! I glance back, and i've got some decent distance! I keep spinning away, but sadly, but the time we hit the line again, he's caught me and edged ahead...ahh well. I couldn't have played my cards much better...will have to keep trying strategies on that guy. ;)

Friday i chilled. Saturday was the Oak Bay group ride, and due to MORE RAIN, only about 10 peeps turned out (as opposed to ~50 that we've been seeing!) We got a decent ride in, despite the foul weather.

Sunday was more of the same, tho lighter rain. I couldn't bear to ride in it, so i decided to spend an hour on the trainer instead, which was actually a really good idea. I've got to start logging tons of miles in the aero bars, and so hooked 'em up, and did a few long intervals in them, to start acclimatizing myself to them again.

I look so alone! From 07-06-07 - Track

Monday was an awesome day for me - Pursuits at the track. My goal for the night was to get ~5:40, and hold ~43kph. I was a bit nervous, as it was getting cooler (which means everything slows down! You can go 10-30 seconds faster depending on the weather..!)

I went out fairly hard, got myself up to 49kph, then spent a couple laps coasting down..and accidently went too low - i got down to 41kph - oops! I was feeling really good, and picked it up to 43-44kph, and basically held that. I got a bunch of the other guys to start on the other side, so i wasn't riding all by myself...and i was getting pretty close. I was happy with how i was riding, so i eased up a bit with a few laps to go, and then gunned it for the last lap. Before i was even finished, i knew it was a success! I was holding 43-44kph, and it was relatively effortless!! Not only could i have easily smashed my own PB on the track that night, but i would have done it on a cool night. That felt really good. This means that i might be on track for hitting my goal of getting under 5:20 at the Provincials in August...fingers crossed!

Anyway, here are the splits, there's one lap 'missing', and we actually finished one lap short (i inserted the 11th lap with 28", that would have been a fair guess.)

29.94, 26.98, 28.85, 28.59, 27.64, 27.40, (27.60), 27.76, 28.01, 28.08, (28.00), 26.91 = 5'35"76

There i am, holding the front of the Miss and Out. From 07-06-07 - Track

Sweet!! That's my fastest time in Victoria. (Or it would have been, again, this is a lap short, i'm just filling in the blank, but it's unlikely i would have lost 2 seconds, which was needed to get a new PB, the old being 5'37 here in Victoria.)

That feels really awesome. To think, a year ago i got a 5'48, and i actually remember the night, with my buddy Kevin on my wheel! Funny, i got the exact time he got during that effort! (This blogging thing is way too cool to track past events!)

In other news, i've decided on my next bike! The good men over at OBB helped me pick out my future Cyclocross / winter bike! I'll be picking up a Salsa Chili Con Cross, a scandium race frame, that, of all things, comes in GREEN! It'll be light and comfortable - music to my ears.

Woohoo - i'm so excited! From 07-04-15 - Bu...

Also, by the luck of the universe, i'll be scoring an orange fork from Scott, that comes from a Salsa Las Cruces. It's gonna be one SWEET looking bike!!! I'll be building it up with Campy Centaur, and my Powertap and Kysiruim Elite will get moved over as well, and should come in under 20lbs - the frame is 2.94lbs, and the fork is 1.6lbs. A winter bike i'll be excited to ride - how do you like them apples? There won't be much of a rush to build this up tho, i'll keep the Norco as my wet ride bike for now, and race this through the 'Cross season here, and then put on fenders, and retired the Norco to permanent commuter duty. =)

Before i start dumping cash into this, i still need to get an aero helmet.. Any suggestions on where to find a good price on the Bell models?

And that orange fork... From 07-04-15 - Bu...

TrackFest '07 #1 / Track BC Cup #2

We should have jersey's that say 'I SURVIVED TRACKFEST!'

From 2007-06-02 - ...

Did i mention that i was organizing this thing, as well as trying to race in it? I really don't recommend doing this sorta thing..save yourself a lot of stress and either race or organize..don't do both! Somehow, i think i pulled it off tho, and all the riders had fun. I wrote an overall report, it's posted here. Next time hopefully i'll have someone working the computer and doing announcements..those seemed like the biggest drains..

Anyway, i managed to race quite well! Thanks to Roland for the pics too. =)

30 Lap Scratch (10km)

This could have more accurately been called a 30 lap keirin. It was NUTS! By about lap 4 we were up to 50kph, and basically pinned that the rest of the race. There weren't really any attacks, and instead, riders were simply shelled off the back. A race of attrition one might say... It was also a combined race, with the A's & B's, and many of the B's were dropped pretty quick..

Nothing much to report here, i hung in there, and finished 7th, with 9 A's starting. My stomach was bothering me a bit in the race as well...too many carbs and juice...not quite enough solid food!

Oh, we had a Madison before this, as the opening event of Trackfest - it was a good warm-up!

From 2007-06-02 - ...

42 Lap Points Race (14km)

Ahh..my favorite race.. I rode a bit more aggressively, staying up near the front 5 riders. There was a little break for the first points grab, and i was in for it. A few laps after that i saw a break happening off the front, and jumped in on it, and before we knew it we were away!! There were four of us - perfect! My buddy Glenn Barr, strongman Mike McCorkell, Mike Cooper (my nemesis from Thursday's, but not a concern since he was racing B) and myself.

We held off the pack for most of the race, just cruising through collecting points. Well, more accurately, they did, as i tended to avoid pulls, but in hindsight i should have helped -- we likely would have stayed away longer with me pulling half-a-lap rather than making them work harder..but hey! I was close to the rivet, and a bit more concerned about hanging in...

Eventually we started collecting lapped riders, and Matt Chater was the only person really chasing, and was bridged up to us, and basically collected the rest of the top points..he was on fire and outclassed pretty much everyone. Happily, i finished 4th in that event, behind Matt, Glenn and Mike McC. I was pretty happy with my riding. Roland, who took these pics, rode amazingly well - getting lapped, but then hanging in with us the rest of the race. I doubt i could have done that a year ago!!

Miss & Out

About 13 riders started (still mixed A&B's), and i rode well and still had some legs left, but stayed low when i should have went high, and was eliminated, giving me 5th. I'm not that crazy about these races, but i think i know how to race these, for the future...

There was another Madison somewhere in there as well, Chad made a great teammate.

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From 2007-06-02 - ...

So, that's my Trackfest race experience! I think i actually managed to peak pretty well for the day...i think i'm starting to figure this part of it out.

I also managed to pick the right gear for the day (46x14 - my smallest rings! ~88") I raced pretty smart as well, and i'm really looking forward to Provincials (Aug17-19) - i hope to get in a nice build for that. Before that is another Trackfest, on July 7th..

It was cool to see and race with the Vancouver peeps - i'm a bit envious, because by looking at the results, it's clear they've got a leg up on us, speed-wise.. If we hit 50kph here, it's a sprint, not a sustained effort.. Definitely need more of that here to ensure we're competitive. If you read that race report, you'll see that the Vancouver folks dominated both in the sprints and endurance events..and their B & C categories are significantly faster than here...and it's scary to see that *i'm* the top endurance guy from Vic..!! What happened to all the other A's..?!

Anyway, i ended the day 6th in the A Enduro Omnium, with 11pts (two other guys 12pts!), which will count towards the BC Cup title...a top three finish in the final is looking pretty grim at this point, but i'm gonna keep on given'er... ;)

From 2007-06-02 - ...

Day of the Race

From 07-04-15 - Bu...

Got a couple hours before i head off to the Trackfest / BC Cup, so i figured i'd catch up a little!

Nothing too exciting has happened the last week, i've been tapering, in anticipation of today..

Monday of this week i did an easy Team Pursuit, Tuesday i went to the track in the afternoon where the La-Z-Boyz were out motorpacing. I jumped in a few laps, but mainly my focus was to do a couple short sets of 30s max intervals. They're feeling a lot 'better' to do now..haha..

Wednesday was a rest day, and Thursday was back out at the track, where we did another Madison and Keirin.

The pic on the right (thanks Don! Cool shoes, huh?) was on the final lap sprint, and i managed to hold Simon off for a lap and a half - woot!! Malcolm was my partner this time, and we worked well together, with some really solid tosses. The main skill i gotta work on is the 'drop', where i come into relieve my partner -- i tend to drop a bit early, and with a bit too much velocity. Should be able to perfect that soon enough tho!

Below is a vid (thanks Roland!) of the Maddie:


It starts with Malcolm (my partner)..watch for him..

0:35 is our first exchange, and got tossed on Simon's wheel pretty solidly.

1:03 - i see the next exchange about to happen, so i try to get away a bit..Cooper chases hard, you miss the exchange with Malcolm...off camera

2:09 - final exchange, i attack, bell goes, final lap! I don't really make much ground on Simon, but i held him off! I figured my 200m time there was 13.5 seconds, which after half a lap of riding already is pretty good for me!! Malcolm got the first sprint, and the second was mine, so we won the race. =)

Next vid is the Keirins, i don't really do so much:


0:05 - in the first one, i get on Simon's wheel...

1:00 - Matt and Wayne get away fairly easily, but i manage to keep the gap to a minimum! 3rd place finish.

1:27 - 2nd Keirin, i let Matt squeeze in front of me, he's a fine wheel to be on

1:40 - for some reason i'm boxed in! Kinda limits where i can move..then Chandler attacks, Cooper, Wayne and Matt are all quick to respond..

2:02 - i chase hard to catch up, and remarkably, close the gap a wee bit, finish 4th behind the sprinters. ;)

That's is for now, i'll report back tonite or tomorrow on Trackfest, wish me luck!