Wednesday Night Track Racing #1

It just seems to be a week of unplanned firsts, well that is not entirely true, riding on the track yesterday was planned.  What was not planned was racing tonight.  It just so happened that tonight was the first official Wednesday night race of the season and I just so happened to be at the track yesterday to learn of said event.  That would have been the end of it had I not then texted my coach only to receive a reply this morning of "let's race tonight". 

Yes if you have to ask my first response was butterflies in the tummy, quickly followed by the thought maybe I should not have gone so hard yesterday, finishing with resignation and excitement at the thought of actually racing for the first time this year.

Checking out the schedule I was licensed to race both the Master B and Cat 4 Men.  Combining the two would give me six races, three in each group.  As the intention was training, we rocked up to the track with that in mind.

Oh, I have to sidebar for a second.  Last night I messaged the Friends of Herne Hill with yesterdays blog and was shocked to find that they posted it on their facebook page.  The upshot was reconnecting with a friend I have not had contact with for probably 25-30 years.  He was the one that sold me my track bike, yup the very same one I am racing on now.  How cool is that?

Back to the racing.  It was a balmy temperature with the threat of rain and a few laps around the track confirmed that the wind had switch 180 degrees from yesterday hitting us as we turned into the home straight.  At the end of the 45 minute warmup one of the riders rolled up and I am ashamed to say I did not recognize him and therefore very grateful that he said hi.  We had raced together during the cross season and had a mutual friend in common.  It was his first official track race which was awesome.

The first race of the evening was a Master B, 10 lap scratch race.  My plan was to use it as a race warmup with the knowledge that I had a Cat, 8 lap scratch to follow.  I hung with the pack and sat up in the home straight not wanting to blow all my energy in the first race, on hindsight that was a mistake but then that is the wonderful thing about hindsight.

For Cat 4 races gearing is restricted so at the start of the first race there was a roll out to check gearing.  I confidently joined the line only to find that I was long, my gearing was too big.  No idea what happened, ok I do I had the wrong gear setup - DOH!!  My new friend offered me a wheel but I decided to pass on the race.  The offer was very much appreciated but would have been a pain for both of us since it was the wheel on his bike not a spare.  Reluctantly I resigned myself to just the Master B series.  To be honest it was probably a good thing as the races came round unusually quickly.

Next up was an Unkown Tempo, not a race I was familiar with.  It is a points race with 2 points and 1 point given to the 1st and 2nd riders across the line each lap.  I chatted with my new friend in the warmup/cool down circle.  I suggested if we got the chance to work together we might get away.  We had an agreement and rolled up to the rail.  The race started hard with two fast laps, I was 5th or 6th wheel when my friend took off like his ass was on fire.  I had to make a snap decision and got out the saddle to chase him down, it took me almost half a lap to catch him and when I did he pulled up.  We were committed and we had a great gap on the field.  I put my head down and took my turn like a man, yes it hurt.  We then worked together sharing the points until the bell rang.  We were still clear of the field but he was fading in the back straight, not wanting to lose the ground we had made I accelerated past him in the back straight to take the win.  He followed me in to take 2nd.  It was a texted book 1/2 escape and he did awesome.  Next time they might not let us go but it is sometimes worth the gamble.

The last race of the evening was supposed to be a 4x5 20 lap points race but each race our numbers had dwindled so a snap decision was made by the officials to reduce it to a 4x4 16 lap points race.  We rolled out and got started straight away but no one was really willing to work.  At the first sprint I was in the top 5 and with the lead out 4 of us had a small gap for a bit but then one of the riders pulled up unwilling to work which shut it down.  That was frustrating as it was effectively a waste of energy.  The second sprint was launched and again I mixed it up in the top 5 only this time I did not waste any energy trying to create a break but sat back in to watch the riders around me.  For the 3rd sprint I was ideally placed and took 1st leaving us with 4 laps to go.  It was cat and mouse with one rider high on the banking,  I watched him literally roll away, I was sure they would not let him go but sure enough with 2 laps to go he had a good lead on us and he did exactly what he should he used it to launch and attack.  At the bell he had almost a free half lap and went on to win the race.  Me on the other hand thought what the hell it is the last race of the evening and went for a flying lap.  It very nearly worked but they caught me just before the line although I did salvage 5th.

Ok I am going to admit I was a little frustrated with myself in the home straight as I gave up and did not embrace the pain cave, it might not have made any difference but still there it is I admitted it.

All told I finished out the evening 3rd overall which for my first race night of the season was not too shabby even if I do say so myself. 

Hope you are getting out there and ripping it up. 

 

 

 

 Remember to keep it Rubber Side Down and MaxLifeOut.