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Evan Evans's Journal
Another mother country
veröffentlicht von: El Presidente at 01:09 on Mai 25, 2009
As I've said before, track racing is like NASCAR on two wheels, like a crit on steroids without brakes and a freewheel. After attending the "Get Ready for Summer III" day of racing at Hellyer Velodrome last Sunday, I'm here to confirm all that and more is true. It was definitely my "welcome to track racing" moment.
Now I've been religious about attending the Tuesday Night Points Race Series twice a month. I've found it challenging and fun, but I really didn't know what I was truly getting into until I showed up for Sunday's events. Three words: O. My. God.
On paper, the day looked totally reasonable. Four Women's cat 3/4 events in around 3 hours: Win and Out, Scratch, Miss and Out and Points races. I knew the day was gonna be hot, so Les and I came prepared with the team tent, lots of water, ice, food, replacement drinks and Bonkbreaker bars. We got there good and early, set up the tent and invited a few un-tented racers to share the shade. After chatting with a number of the participants, I quickly found out that track racing is like going to a foreign country: the language and customs are strange, but the people are soo nice and they try to help you understand how to immerse yourself in their culture. So at least I had donned the customary dress of this new country by wearing my skinsuit for the first time this year. OK, I now look like y'all, but will I be able to dance these four traditional folk dances I've signed up for?
All four of the races were mass starts, which means you all line up on the rail circling the track, clip in both pedals, roll out, group up, accelerate to about 20mph and the racing starts when the ref blows the whistle. First up: the Win and Out. First lesson: I was woefully undergeared and watched the field accelerate away from me while I spun like a hamster. Finished DFL.
When I got back to the infield, I was swarmed by my new country folks who looked at my bike, offered advice on strategy and gave me the go-ahead to keep dancing. Next up: the Scratch. I followed all the advice I was given and was perfectly positioned in second place going into the final two laps. I felt like I was truly participating and had at least followed all the dance steps. With a lap and a half to go, I hear that terrible sound uptrack to my right: SOMEONE JUST WENT DOWN HARD! We continue racing towards the bell lap and we're told to get the hell off the track. I tried to catch my breath quickly and rode directly over to where I see Mary-Ellen/Webcor facedown and not moving on the track. At least 5-7 of us swarmed her to assist: a few doctors, EMTs and me the former cop. (Talk about the perfect on-scene support crew!) She had crushed the right side of her helmet and had what appeared to be serious head trauma judging by the amount of blood on the track. The rangers and an ambulance arrived a short time later and whisked her away (she's recovering well thank God). Then we're told they're gonna restart the race with 3 to go (!). I'll be honest here, the crash rattled me good. And I'd pushed really hard previously in the race, so I was definitely not feelin' it. But on the final lap, I did outsprint two other gals and avoided another DFL.
Next up: the Miss and Out. This is a much more tactical kind of race where positioning until the final laps is really critical. I thought I was doing great until I misjudged the speed of the wheel ahead of me and had nowhere to accelerate to avoid getting pulled. My shortest dance of the day.
Finally: the Points. Finally, something I'm familiar with! I stayed in step for a few laps, but went into my hamster imitation again and timetrialed my way to the finish.
What I learned: I like this new country. And if you're gonna take part in the folk dancing, you'll dance like a native once you've embraced the language of gear inches, split-second decision-making, excellent positioning, superior bike handling skills, and total comfort in riding at crazy speeds with no brakes.
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