Another week of track racing in the books. Five weeks since the bigcrashand still not 100%. But, things are improving—it was my best night so far this season.
The schedule tonight:
15 lap tempo (these and points races—I hate ‘em)
Miss ‘n out
5 lap scratch
5 mile final
My legs felt pretty heavy during warm-up, the 48×16 (81″) felt like a 50×14 (96″). So, I raced the warm-up gear in the first race, afraid a bigger gear would bury me. My goal was not to score points, it was just to survive. I managed to sit in and stay out of trouble, but felt totally spun out. Looks like a bigger gear for the miss ‘n out.
I went up to 50×15(90″), it felt really big so I tried to spin it up and keep a steady tempo close to the front. I managed to float on top, following the surges for a good chunk of the race. I made it down to the last 10 or so, but popped… it was an improvement over the last miss ‘n out where I was the first one pulled.
For the five lap scratch I stuck with the same gear, which worked out ok. I managed to sit in the back of the front group, but with 2 to go got pushed down on the inside. The only way out was to drop back and go around the outside. I kicked it in and pulled through about half the group, so I was maybe 8th? I don’t know, but I was feeling a little better.
The five miler was hell. Just as the race was starting they annouced a $35 prize to the first rider to lap the field. Yahoo. I was counting on sitting in the first ten laps—so much for that plan. I spent the first five laps, hopping from group to group in an effort to get to the front. By the time I got there five guys were already off the front. I think it was Munas, I was with at that point. We spent about 20 laps in no-mans’ land between the break and the pack. With just a couple laps to go, 2 guys lapped us—crap, I hate it when that happens. Still, Munas and I were 6th and 7th, just outside the points.
I’m getting closer to where I should have been 5 weeks ago. Upgrading to CAT 2 this year is looking like a tall order at this point. Two months of racing left, no points so far.
For the past couple of months I’ve been fooling with video—trying to learn about the production process, shooting, editing, sound—the whole thing. I’ve been especially interested in capturing the cycling experience, from the cyclist’s point of view. I have 3 cameras I can mount on bikes or helmets now. The newest is a GoPro Hero Wide, 170° wide angle, which I’ve coupled with my latest saddle mount. It seems to work pretty well. This mount does a pretty good job of isolating the vibration.
With Tuesday, passed the four week mark in recovery from my worst crash ever—in the first race of the first night of track season. I wasn’t hurt too bad, all things considered. One pour guy was in the hospital for three days with a separated shoulder, fractured vertebrae and three broken ribs. I took the bulk of the 33 mph impact (exact speed courtesy of my Garmin) with my forearm and hip, with a liberal dose of “track” rash on my knees and shins. The right side of my ribcage got a serious tweaking as well, and I still feel it in the ribs if I move just right.
The thing that has bothered me most, though, is the sense of absolute exhaustion I’ve felt in the past weeks. The long recovery has been tough and completely caught me off guard. Guys crash all the time, right? You see it in the tour, bang! They’re down. They’re up and riding again… for days. I’ve learned the track is a bit different, there is little opportunity to scrub off speed before impact so you hit the deck with a truckload of momentum. I didn’t simply go down either. I hit someone laying/sliding on the track in the back, more or less going over the bars—and seemingly flung onto the concrete.
That’s blunt force trauma, something I’ve never experienced before. Apparently it takes a toll on the body. I could still ride, just not at any kind of intensity. For the first week and a half any time I laid into the pedals my heart rate shot straight up. Four weeks later, I’m starting to feel a little better, starting to be able to push it. I went to the Tuesday night Pro-Am series at the track and was able to hang with the front guys most of the night, but a month with no intensity takes it’s toll. With no real kick in my legs it was left to everyone else in the sprints. Still, it’s good to be able to work hard and get the burn back in the muscles… and there’s always next week.
So, I set this up a few days ago and still can’t decide what it should look like. Trying to find a block of time to fool with the template has been difficult too—I’m involved in too many things. Every night this week there has been something going on and I haven’t gotten in before 9:30.
Last night was the velodrome Community Advisory Board (CAB) meeting. I got home and just wanted to get to bed early, but I needed to finish up editing video from last Saturday night’s racing at the VPCC. Rather than let it hang over my head for another day I stayed up and got it done.
I really didn’t need to start this. I spent four hours fooling with this last night and finally got to bed at 2am. I managed to get WordPress installed and working on my own server, which should enable me to have more flexibility with customizing the templates—or just creating my own.
Fast Brad. The name was not my choice. It was laid upon me by Bill Strickland, in his blog “Sitting In”. People have given me various nick-names over the years—Beardy, Hell Boy, Mad Scientist, Baron Von Ford—but none have stuck. I haven’t resisted, or encouraged this, perhaps that’s why, I don’t know. Fast Brad is as good as any.
I’m involved in way too many pursuits, or at least too involved in a few. You might say I have creative ADD. At any given time I’m a graphic artist, designer, videographer, welder, painter, carpenter or craftsmen. Currently, I’m attempting to build bicycle frames. Which brings me to another outlet for my engery—I’m a cyclist.
“Hello, my name is Brad and I’m a cyclist…” I can admit it. I ride my bike just about every day, rain or shine, cold or hot. It’s a need, a requirement, an addiction. There is a certain completeness to the day if you’ve managed to do the thing you enjoy most. I also compete, racing road, mountain, track and cyclo-cross. For this reason I have about a dozen bikes.
It has been suggested that I might have something amusing to say. When the Fit Chick insisted that I must have a blog, “Are you sure? I thought you had one.”—I decided, that maybe I should. Most of my friends have blogs. But then, I’m situated in the middle of a creative social circle, full of designers, writers, artists, editors and photographers. I guess it’s time to join the club.
