Well, I've been busy. Organizing the toughest, most innovative race series of the year is hard work. Getting sponsors, on the other hand, is lots of fun. You just send emails telling companies how rad your event is going to be, and then a week or two later, you get a UPS slip on the door telling you that they tried to deliver something, but that you weren't home (you were), and that they'll try again tomorrow between 9 AM and 7 PM!
Sludgement Day kicked the racers' asses - being longer and harder than elite cyclocross races. Tracklocross, or busted version of grasstrack racing, was a hell of a lot of fun. We had a great field with cones already there waiting for us to use it! We set up an oval and started running the races. Riding an all-purpose track bike around turns on wet grass is very difficult; it was easy to have your rear wheel slide out and go down. It was very hard to accelerate without slipping - thoughtful weight distribution was key. And it was hard - fast, sprintey, sketchy, and fun.
Leaving the "illegal, underground, and intense" realm, I bought my USCF license a month or so ago, and this past weekend I got a chance to use it during the Prospect Park Spring Series. I had heard enough about Cat 5 fields to be flat-out afraid of getting caught up in a wreck on this race, so solicited some solid advice - stay near the front or on the shoulder of the pack. If you're caught in the middle, let yourself out the back and work your way up the side. I raced a strong race, staying near the front, and being a part of the notoriously difficult to organize strong-but-inexperienced racers that Cat 5 fields are known for. Tried a couple interesting moves, almost held a break near the end, got swallowed up, didn't have much left for the final sprint, and finished toward the front of the midpack. Not bad!
Kissena Velodrome's opening weekend is this weekend, though, so my second road race will have to wait. And I've got to pick up my track bike from Taliah Lempert's studio.
In other bike world news, a notable local advocate for sensible/alternative transportation has offered me a job. So it looks like my months or bike delivery work are drawing to a close right when the nice weather kicks in.
It's all for the best.
Sludgement Day kicked the racers' asses - being longer and harder than elite cyclocross races. Tracklocross, or busted version of grasstrack racing, was a hell of a lot of fun. We had a great field with cones already there waiting for us to use it! We set up an oval and started running the races. Riding an all-purpose track bike around turns on wet grass is very difficult; it was easy to have your rear wheel slide out and go down. It was very hard to accelerate without slipping - thoughtful weight distribution was key. And it was hard - fast, sprintey, sketchy, and fun.
Leaving the "illegal, underground, and intense" realm, I bought my USCF license a month or so ago, and this past weekend I got a chance to use it during the Prospect Park Spring Series. I had heard enough about Cat 5 fields to be flat-out afraid of getting caught up in a wreck on this race, so solicited some solid advice - stay near the front or on the shoulder of the pack. If you're caught in the middle, let yourself out the back and work your way up the side. I raced a strong race, staying near the front, and being a part of the notoriously difficult to organize strong-but-inexperienced racers that Cat 5 fields are known for. Tried a couple interesting moves, almost held a break near the end, got swallowed up, didn't have much left for the final sprint, and finished toward the front of the midpack. Not bad!
Kissena Velodrome's opening weekend is this weekend, though, so my second road race will have to wait. And I've got to pick up my track bike from Taliah Lempert's studio.
In other bike world news, a notable local advocate for sensible/alternative transportation has offered me a job. So it looks like my months or bike delivery work are drawing to a close right when the nice weather kicks in.
It's all for the best.
posted by mattio at
10:48 AM
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