TrackFest #2 and Two PBs!

It's the Tour de France, what the heck are you doing reading my blog?! haha..

Anyway, while the real cyclists are duking it out au francais, a few of the speedsters in BC came out last Saturday to tear it up at our oval for Trackfest 2, and the third in the FloraGLO Track BC Cup.

The weather was practically perfect, not too hot, and in the afternoon a slight breeze picked up. Also, a long-time vegan email buddy, Jeremy Moore (aka VeganPotter) came up for the week to visit and race - he's used to be a thrower, training for the Olympics, but switched to bike racing a few years ago, and i've been giving him advice.. He did quite well in the B sprints!

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That's him, as well as Tasha, showing off her new OA gear. =)

I was feeling pretty good when racing began with a 30 Lap (10km) Scratch Madison.

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Teams were all completed, but i managed to talk Bob Cameron into partnering with me - yay! I told him 'make sure you're in an 82 or less' and he responded 'oh, don't worry, i'm in a 79!'. Rocket. (We had gear restrictions, so teams would stick together.)

We started at the back of the pack, testing our exchanges, there were six teams, so there was a fair bit of traffic.

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We'd never done a Madison before, but it worked out perfectly! Soon, we were near the front, and by the end of the race, we'd had a healthy break off the front, and held it - woohoo - victory!! Nice way to start the day. =)

Next up was a 30 Lap Scratch, with mixed A's and B's. I'd say this was one of my best races ever. While i only finished 5th our of seven A racers; i did some remarkable (for me) bridges and efforts, riding stronger than i think i ever have! Unfortunately, i bridged myself to a break with 3 laps left, and the pack soon followed, and i didn't have enough pepper left for the finale...still, everyone was impressed with how i rode, including myself!

Normally not one to sprint, i signed up for the 500m ITT, knowing that there weren't any of the 'big' sprinters, i thought i'd give it a shot. It was also the initial voyage of my new Bell aero helmet.

I was still in my Madison gear (47x15), but managed to fly to a 38'87, which is a new PB(personal best) for me by exactly one second! It also landed me in 2nd place, behind Bob Cameron who nipped me by two tenths of a second.

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A 25 Lap Tempo followed, this was my first time racing this event.. The way the race works is that points are rewarded *every* lap, the first rider over gets 2pts, the second gets 1pt, and whoever has the most points at the end wins!

I stuck to the front to score points on the first lap, then wheeled away from the pack, thanks to a block from my buddy Kevin. =)

I stayed out front and solo'd for about 6 laps, when Glenn joined me, and we pulled a few laps together, but then the pack caught us.. There was another attack, and i was a bit tired from the long solo effort, but Kevin chased down the other solo rider, and stayed away as well. Funny, he finished 2nd in the race he didn't consider one he'd do well in. ;)

For myself, it was my first podium finish at a BC Cup, my 13pts left me in 3rd place!

After the break, the final Endurance event, the 42 Lap Points race, was on. Readers should know that this is my favorite bunch race. =)

It was a smaller field, as Glenn wasn't feeling up to par, but none-the-less, this enduro-focused race was high-paced. Off the top i score 2nd place points in the first sprint, and kept it rolling for the next few sprints.

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Unfortunately, Chris and Jonathan from Masi-Adobe put the hurt on with some team tactics, attacking and counter-attacking, and that left the three of us (Bob, Kevin and myself) hurtin'.

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There we are chasing. =)

Which is pretty much how the race ended...they stayed about a 1/4 lap ahead, and Bob didn't really contribute to the chase much, and broke off for the final sprint, but i had secured all the higher points in the laps leading up to the final sprint, and so finished comfortably in 3rd - yet another podium finish for The Shish!! Yeah!!

On the sprint side, i sat out for the matched sprints, but jumped into the Keirin, and chased Glenn hard, but couldn't get by, finishing 2nd. Still, not bad for this non-sprinter.

There were also two other Madisons, and it turned out that Bob thought i was joking about the gear limitation in the first race! Despite that, we still managed to win the remaining two Madisons, making it a hat trick! Woohoo! That was pretty sweet.

So, all-in-all, an excellent day! If i can keep building on this up to Provincials, i might see some more podium finishes...!!

Speaking of which, despite feeling pretty torched, i decided to have a go at a 4km Pursuit on Monday night. First i drafted Jeremy through his effort, pacing him and cheering him on. His goal was to get under 5'30, and he got a 5'27 with relative ease - great work buddy!! That's the fastest time on the track so far this year!

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There i am cheering him on. He held 44-45kph for the first 10 laps, then i got him up to 47kph with 2 to go, and up to 50kph on the final lap!

After that, i felt inspired myself, and decided to give it a go. I wanted a PB too, and so i figured i'd try and hold 44kph. If it wasn't happening, i'd just quit the effort.

So, i started up...got myself up to 48kph, and floated down to 45 over a couple laps...so far so good. A few laps later, i was starting to feel it, and thinking i should quit, but looking down, i saw i was still holding 44kph, and so went a few more laps....by the time there was 4 to go, i was down to 43kph, and really starting to hurt, but i decided to endure. No point in going that far and quitting now!

I gave it a bit more gas and got it back up to 44kph, and might have touched 45kph in the final lap....hit the line....and i wanted to DIE!! OUCH!!! That was BRUTAL!

It was a very warm, dry night, and my throat was parched!

I wheeled back to the infield, and was amazed with my time: 5'32!!!!! Now, that's not my personal PB (that was a 5'22 in Burnaby) - but it was certainly a PB on my home track - YES!!!

Despite barely being able to talk or walk straight, i was elated!! Getting *so* close to my goal of 5'20 for Provincials...!! So, i've got another six weeks to buckle down, and continue to build on this....

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There i was shadowing Jeremy - my position is looking pretty good i think! I'm also enjoying riding like Superman in my skinsuit. You might also notice that the orange sticker on the helmet is from Mighty O Donuts, an organic vegan donut shop in Seattle - how about a donut sponsorship? =)

That's it for now, i'll sign out with a cute cartoon i found: