Track debut

Here's a photo of me and my teammate Eve doing a points race. Look how synchronized we are--down to the grimacing!

Thursday was my first night of racing at the Northbrook Velodrome. I didn't have expectations of placing well...and a good thing too, because I didn't! But I had a good time and started getting more comfortable out there, so it was a successful outing. I contested three women's races. There are all sorts of different kinds of track races, so it will take a while to figure them all out. Thursday night began with a one-lap "chariot" race. These go from a held start, which means you clip in and have someone hold your bike until the gun goes off. Then you're supposed to crank it up and sprint around the 330m track. Luke's co-worker held my bike for me. He reported later that I was very nervous and fidgety. My race lasted about three seconds because I pulled my right foot out of my pedal on the second pedal stroke. Happily I didn't crash, but I was a little shaken up. Naturally, I came in last. A brilliant start to my track career!

Race #2 was a 25 lap "scratch" race. This just involves riding around the track and seeing who finishes first--not too complicated. I had five teammates out there (Jane who I always call Janet by accident, Eve, Beth, Cecile, and Imelda). I knew Eve wanted to win this one, so I volunteered to chase down anyone who was threatening to break away from the pack. I was on every wheel that jumped for the first half of the race. Then I saw an open stretch of track and decided to attack myself. I got a little break of three riders going, but it didn't last. After that I was tired and sat on the back of the pack for the rest of the race. I think I came in second to last, which was fine with me.

Race #3 was a 20 lap "points" race. This means that the winner is the one who takes the most points by finishing in the top 5 in various sprints throughout the race. This time we decided that Janet-I mean-Jane was going to be our contender and that I would pull her up to the front so that she could sprint for the points. On lap five they rang the bell for the first sprint. I looked around and saw Jane behind me and proceeded to give her a massive leadout around the pack to the front. Unfortunately she couldn't hang on. Oops. I got a few points myself. Then I had to recover at the back for a while. This was when three women attacked off the front and got away for good. Oops again. I picked up a couple more points, but the race was pretty much over.

So yeah, kind of lackluster, but really not so bad for the first try. The beauty of racing at the track is that you can do three races every Thursday night, so I will have lots more chances!