Monterey Bay Racing Team is the premier cycling team on the peninsula. I love being on this team. The guys are great and the camaraderie is awesome. It feels good to hang out before and after races, to train, to celebrate wins and commiserate losses. It feels good to be a part of something.
And it feels particularly good when they reimburse my race fees.
To get race fees reimbursed we must write race reports. The reports are a description of the race, what the plan was, what went down, and what we take away from it. They get forwarded to everyone on the team.
I've taken a penchant to the reports, reading everything written by my teammates. I write mine early and I write them often. I write reports on training rides and pump out emails on the week to come. In my mind it's beating the war drum; I'm rallying the troops.
How's it been going lately?
I raced in the NCNCA Elite State Championship at the velodrome last Friday night. But wait! Didn't I already race at the state championship? Yes, I raced in the Masters State Championship in early July, winning the Scratch, Points, Sprint, and pursuit races.
Last Friday was the Elites, the real deal with the pros.
Last Friday was the Elites, the real deal with the pros.
And seeing how it's the real deal with the pros and I haven't been back to the track in five weeks, I only entered one championship event, the Keirin. In the Keirin, six to nine racers line up side by side on the track, with holders. A motorcycle swings around to "pace" the pack, and as the motor passes the group, the whistle blows and the riders fall in behind it. They motorpace at just over 30mph for three and a half laps, then the motor drops off and the real race begins.
Here's my video of the Keirin semi-finals. Note the early argy bargy around :12. I yield to the guy leaning on me between the :40 and :50 mark:
The top three advanced to the finals...I placed fourth :(
After the Keirin I sandbagged the Cat 3/4 fields for two races, scratch and points. First was the 25 lap scratch race (scratch races are closest to crits; the rider who crosses the line first wins) and the 20-lap points race (in the points race there are sprints for points every five laps).
Cat 3/4 Scratch Race
There were eight riders in the 3/4 scratch race. After an early prime, I counterattacked and broke away with three other riders, one of whom is a notorious wheelsucking junior. I kept trying to attack and break the wheelsucker off but probably just worked to wear myself out. Ultimately, I placed third (the wheelsucker second), which was a little frustrating.
Cat 3/4 Points Race (click here for video)
I dominated the Cat 3/4 points race by taking the first three sprints. With two laps to go, another rider attacked hard and I went with him. We traded pulls and created a significant gap. I could have come around him on the last turn but I let him have the final sprint, which was a mistake on my part. Although I had already secured the victory, "going easy" on another rider is frowned upon. By getting those points he displaced another rider from the podium. In the end I still won, but I wont let that happen again, unless it is a teammate or friend.
Pro1/2/3 Points Race
Two minutes after the 3/4 points race ended, we had a quick podium and the promoters told me to jump in the 60 lap, P1/2/3 points race. With a group of about 30 riders, the attacks were hard and fast -- I was ready to go home and dropped out pretty early.
Teammates Needed
On the drive home I decided that I'm going to do the Elite Championship for real next year -- no more of this Cat 3/4 lunacy. Also, if I can get some teammates up there, we can win the team events. With two other guys I'm confident that we can take the team sprint or team pursuit. On that note, I keep telling MBRT members to get up to the track. Several have shown interest and a few have completed beginner sessions. The future looks good.
IN OTHER NEWS...
SMR- We had a wet and foggy ride in Monterey last Saturday. I attacked right after the nature break. My early attempt to solo into the mist lasted until the peloton stopped fooling around and caught me somewhere near Ghost Tree. Dean kicked tail on the climb again (I've seen him do this two of the last three weeks) and worked with Charles to gap everyone else. Charles also had a great showing on his Aluminum Salsa with $2000 Enve wheels -- if not for Charles, the pack exiting the forest would have consisted solely of MBRT riders
THE BISON, Andrew, Dean, and myself. Good times. Oh, and if you sprint for the stop sign at Spanish Bay Rd & 17mi drive, either hide in the bushes or be prepared for THE BISON to put you in the hurt locker with a vicious counter-attack.
B-Team- Andrew and I did the ol double back for round two of the Asilomar sprint against the B group. We saw some like-minded A riders (Stacy(?) and a nondescript VOS rider) also doing the same. The composition of the B group was off today, with a few older guys and a few juniors. Andrew and I went to the front, drilled it, and nobody aside from Stacy(?) took the bait, then he disappeared. Andrew and I rode through the nearly invisible cross-walk at Siren together. "So that's the sprint point!?"
Size Eleventynine- THE BISON got new shoes. DMT, with vents and carbon fiber soles. He has pictures of them on his smart phone.
Tightness- Andrew has a new San Remo onesy and he's not afraid to wear it. D3 isn't afraid to wear his either.
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