gearing down

Last night I finally geared down to a 50x15. I have been pushing a bigger gear and I've really liked it so I was reluctant to try a small gear because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stay with the group. I think I like the smaller gear now though.

Our first race was a win-and-out. These have always been pretty tough for me since the pace goes high and stays there. I finished somewhere near the back and I was thinking the small gear was going to be harder for me.

The next race was a Keirin heat. I drew first position which means I got the motor. It was the first time on the motor for me. I had no problem moving up to it, the only problem was that I felt I was going to run over it. I need to do some motor pacing so I can feel confident getting really close. The motor pulled off with 1-1/2 laps to go. I surged a little and one rider came around but I was able to hold off the next rider to advance to the final heat. There were only 4 of us in the final. I did not get the motor this time and felt that I could just sit on the wheels. The motor pulled off and the two strong riders slowed way down. I knew this was a disadvantage for me because they both have better jumps so I tried to keep rolling down on the inside. They jumped hard and gapped me, but I was able to just barely out-sprint the 4th rider to take third. My best placing in a Keirin.

The last race of the night for me was a points race. After some early "shenanigans" by the women the real race started. There were a lot of primes in the race so it kept the pace up. I got one prime early on but was not close on the others. In the final sprint though I either got 3rd or 4th. I was excited to place well and felt that the smaller gear helped me. Annette watched the race and said she thought it was easier for me to get on top of the gear in the sprint. I think I'll stick with the smaller gear now.

The last race of the night was the Cat 2 men's madison. Mark just got the upgrade to Cat 2 and got to jump right into the premier event, the Madison. He paired up with a guy from the Old Town team and practiced exchanges during warm-up. After the race I asked him how he liked it and he said it was the funnest track race he had ever done.