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:

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!

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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... ;)

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