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What Brad saw:
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I lack the qualifications to write about track, but since no one else stepped up to the plate, and Mike z. asked for a team report a few days ago.... here goes nothing... :-)
So in pumping up my $70 Clement Seta Servizio Pista silk sew-ups (no doubt hand-made by beautiful Italian virgins), I promptly blew out a dime-sized hole through a weakened side-wall. The other tire also had a delaminating sidewall. It seems these #%$*#& things have a limited shelf-life. Maybe the Italian girl wasn't a virgin after all. No problem-o, I have a set of Vittoria Pro-team Corsa sew-up road spares, i'll glue those on, i thought. So, off to store to buy difficult to find glue, then off to the track as it was now getting late. So, while everyone else was warming up, I was gluing on new sew-ups. What fun! Alas, my freshly glued tires were not allowed, so sayeth track supervisor L.N. I certainly understood. I borrowed rental wheels. Now onto the cycling part of this story --
In attendance were Santiago, Richard, Tim, Pritpal, Gaelen, his dad, and I think the new guy named Bob (the one that met us on the road when we did a team training ride down to the velodrome). Also Charlie was there taking photos and lending support. Did I miss anyone? (We need an updated team roster list!) Leading the day as track supervisors were Larry Nolan, George Miranda, and someone else named brian.
We worked on skills and drills. We started with the ribbon drill, a drill for beginners and guys like that haven't been at the track for a year, to get the feel of the track, the banking, the curves etc. It's like follow the leader, and actually damn tricky if you don't yet have proper feel for the track and bike. I felt squirrelly at first, but got the feel for it. I had not ridden at the track since 1991.
We warmed-up in one big paceline, 20 laps, each one getting a bit faster. This can really burn! Each front rider does a 1/2 lap pull before pulling off.
We worked on skills like looking backward without doing that in a set pattern, keeping an eye out for those that might be trying to pass you, track position.
We did a handicapped pursuit, and put the fast guys in front in one group, and the B group behind them. So, effectively, the fast guys would have to go an entire lap to catch us. I was the front rider of the B group (not my choice) and immediately got on the wheel of the A team but didn't feel that was quite fair, so slowed down to allow a gap to develop, and to collect our group together since we had scattered. As Larry predicted, the A team being smaller, was more organized and caught us after 12 laps or whatever it was. But I enjoyed being a pest for a few laps hanging on to their wheel, and next time I'll hang on the whole way if I can!
We did some drills involving having big-brutish blockers at the front, and then sprinting around them, using the banking. This was damn hard work, and it would involve a 200 meter sprint, rest for 1-2 laps, then the process would repeat. I took the first sprint, but Richard kept an eye on me after that, and very effectively blocked me from dropping down-track from the high bank. This was a new skill for me, seeing how a blocker can be slightly ahead of the rider and with the proper angle can totally close them out. Good team tactics stuff to know. Richard did this well, but later, when he wasn't looking, I snuck by him and sprinted toward the finish line. Great fun! It was also fun watching Pritpal and Larry attack each other a few times.
I know we did several other things, but I can't remember them all, as my brain was in serious oxygen deprivation.....track racing is mostly about going at high-speed and sprinting, and it takes a lot out of you!
All-in-all, we had a lot of fun, even tho i started off stressed-out. We have some guys on the team, like Richard and Pritpal, that do a lot of track racing and can really help the rest of us out. It looks like Santiago caught on quickly, and our youngest member, Gaelen (sorry if i'm not spelling this right), looked very comfortable in the group. I hope we can put together another track day soon. I'm looking forward to racing at the track next season!!
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