blogging from the plane flight out east - awesome.

 

so anyway, aside from all the road racing i've been doing, the track has started back up in san diego as well.  tuesday nights is our race night, and it began with daylight saving time.  how has it gone?  pretty well - nothing out of this world, but definitely some positive results:

 

 

4 apr

 

it actually rained in SD.  unbelievable!  actually, this was a whole rainy week - we missed our sunny 70 degrees...

 

 

11 apr

 

20-lap scratch : 3rd

15-lap tempo : nothing

40-lap points : nothing

 

opening night (2nd try).  just tried to find my track legs, or that's what i'll say.  scratch is the most basic race of all - no internediate sprints - no funny games - just the first person across the line at the finish wins.  scratch races are just like a crit (or any road race for that matter) - just on the track - so i tend to be fairly decent at these since i get so much practice...  tempo is a race where 2 points are awarded to the top lead rider each lap and 1 point to the second rider.  highest total points wins.  point race has a sprint each 5 laps with points going 5-3-2-1 down to the 4th rider.

 

 

18 apr

 

motorpace : 4th

unknown distance : nothing

miss-n-out : 3rd

10-mile scratch : 3rd

 

a pretty decent night.  motorpace is more of a warmup than a race.  all riders line up behind the moto and the moto gradually picks up speed.  after 40 laps the guys left hanging on get 2 laps off the motor and then sprint.  unknown distance is a race where - guess what - you don't know the # of laps.  it's a total gambler's race.  miss-n-out has the last person across the finish line each lap eliminated.  this goes down to 3 people, then they get 2 laps to jockey for the win.

 

 

25 apr

 

motorpace : 2nd

miss-n-out : nothing

20-lap tempo : 4th

40-lap points : 5th

 

okay night, but had some drama in the miss-n-out.  i was in the pole lane in 2nd position just behind wallace.  whitehead is hovering just off wallace and wants my spot.  i don't want to give it to him, but i'm in a fairly weak spot - he can basically come down on me at will and push me on to the apron.  well, i'm just holding my spot trying to not be intimidated - trying to ride as straight a line as possible since whitehead is coming in close.  i'm surcicing, but then he gets out of the saddle and gives some hard pedal strokes, which swings his rear wheel right and left.  left right into my front wheel ripping out 2 spokes of a low spoke count wheel.  seriously, i'm lucky the wheel didn't just crumple from underneath me.  i gracefully pull off the track and safely come to a stop.  the race goes on of course.  anyway, there's not really too much more to say about that one - whitehead always rides extra aggressive, and that's all there is to it.  i didn't want to back down.  guess i should have eased off and then come around him to push him onto the apron.  gotta choose the right position for sure.