Went to the track
Posted on April 29, 2009
I hit the track yesterday and it was OK.
Since I am a novice i got bunched up with the novices and to be honest, half of them are sandbaggers like myself. We have no business being there.
First race was the scratch. I pulled for HALF the race… yes, the WHOLE two laps and then got passed by everyone and their mother. OK I see how it is…
Next race is the unknown distance. Once again, I hit the front, people scramble around me and once again get passed by everyone.
Now I am sitting and thinking what the fuck is wrong… Talk to some guys and I found out what SOME of the problem was. I was riding a 48×16 while everyone else is riding a 50×15. Now I know what was going on. I was racing on junior gears… it really sucked.
The strategy changed. I was going to go all out for the last race, but AT THE RIGHT TIME. Race starts ad we have 8 laps left… its a points race. Some guy takes the first lap, then some other takes the second lap and third I think. I counter and find myself with a gap.. I spin some more… bring those junior gears from 150 to 180rpm… my gap is 1/3 of a lap and I held it there for the last 5 laps.
Without being a complete ass, with a bigger, or lets just say normal gear I would have gotten more out of those guys. I could not push the pedals… it felt like an uncontrollable run… like running downhill…..
I have to think about going again… $30/day is kinda steep…
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4 Responses to “Went to the track”
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Just buy a bike then and become an SDVA member. That way you’ll be able to race at $5 a night plus get all the track time you can handle.
As for the gearing, just suck it up. Once you learn how to spin you can start moving up in gearing. Lots of guys ride 50×15′s in the C’s and B’s. In reality they could get away with a 49×15 and be fine. In the A’s, were speeds are averaging closer to 30mpg for most races, it does make sense to ride a 90″ (50×15), and even them Shaun Wallace was on an 87″ gear.
yeah, I got an earful from Sean today…. gearing talk…. it was funny
And yes, It is way cheaper to buy a bike, BUT it is great to be able to rent one. I will probably keep doing that until I actually buy one… I am having storage issues… as in too much crap everywhere.
Last but not least, you guys need to work on your MPG. 30 is to low.
“Now I am sitting and thinking what the fuck is wrong…”
What is wrong is that first you had AIDs and now you have the Swine Flu. How many ailments one person ride with, Jan?
What is next, tuberculosis? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis
You were showing most of those symptoms last night at Fiesta.
I know… I was trying to sit in as much as I could. I felt like crap after my V02 max and riding did not help the head, but it did wonders to the belly….
I might have had TB in the past. Waiting till i get my next BIG ailment, it will excuse me from ANY below-par performance.
BTW, how do I get a job @ velonews?