I'm Back on Track
As I've said before, my spring racing season didn't really turn out the way I wanted. Sickness and family commitments meant that by mid June, I had raced Ken Woods and 2 Opuses (Opi?). The good news was I won Ken Woods. The bad news was I really didn't feel like I had the stuff going.
So I headed into the memorial day weekend and the first part of June committed to turning up the training a couple of notches. I after a couple of painful weeks, I was starting to feel like the high end was coming back. I could repeat high speed efforts without feeling like I was going to hurl. Now I just needed a chance to try it out. One someone else.
Welcome to the track season! Last Thursday, I finally made it to the track. Despite having only ridden once, I got comfortable pretty fast. And scored 2nd over all in the Omnium for Cat 4. This week, I was really back in form. I managed to win the first two events, so I had the Omnium already, since no one else had enough points to catch me in the last event. I thought maybe I'd take it easy and see what developed in the last race and try to place, but not work to hard at it. That's when the dynamics of a race at the NSC Velodrome kicked in.
If you haven't come up to race, you should at least come to watch. There were probably 80 or 90 people in the stands last night. One of the things they've started to do is have the audience pick the winner of a race. They write the number on a slip of paper with their name, drop it in a bucket and at the end of the race they draw names. If you are drawn and you picked the winner, you get a gift certificate to one of the local restaurants.
So, I roll up to the rail, which is where you start the races. I’m sitting on the rail when someone comes over to me. “What’s your number?” Then another person. And another. Ok, fine, now I at least have to try to win. Fortunately for me and one of the people who put my name in the bucket, I did pull off the win. But that tells you what’s so cool about the track: what was the last time a spectator you didn’t even know was rooting for you to win? As a Cat 4? If you like to race crits, you’ll love the track. Come on up and enjoy it while we still have it.
Next stop, Northfield, Hopkins, St. Cloud and a whole bunch of times around the track.
1 comment:
Ox, gonna miss you tomorrow. I like the challenge and that my friend, you do present.
Ran into Tim F. and gang on Wed and asked about you. Also saw the Eagle last week at Stillwater.
Glad to see the form is coming back.
See you at Northfield ready to roll. Later Ox.
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