CD Track Championships 12 Feb

[Gai M]

Are there any women who are thinking of  racing CD Track Champs this coming Saturday at Adcock Park.

I was the only female over 16 at Broadmeadow last night, a common occurrence.

Unless advised otherwise, it would not be worth me driving all the way down there if I have no
competition.
Especially as the "women" category is the only category that seems to always require a minimum number of entries.

[GrantF]

Gai - do you have any alternate personal goals that might make you equally happy?
eg. Beating your own PB in a TT, following through with your race plan (whatever it may be at the time) and being satisfied that you "had a go" / achieved the best result possible (even if it wasn;t first), ...
How you approach & feel about these things YOU can control, rather than basing your happiness on the actions of others.

[Matt]

I think this is good advice, although I know nothing about track.  When I first started on the road (not that long ago) I would get dropped after 10m!  So I had to set personal goals.  After a while 10m became 100m, then a kilometer, then the bottom of Blood, then the top of Blood - "this week I will hang on to the pack in the climb up Blood", and although I eventually won a race I still reckon the first day I got up Blood, hanging on to the wheel of Rubicon and the Rev, as my best achievment so far. I still came a long and lonely last but I had a smile for a week.  And all the while I was getting fitter and losing weight.

Stick at it Gai - I think you'll find road season a lot more satisfying.

[Ciaran]

I think this is good advice, although I know nothing about track.  When I first started on the road (not that long ago) I would get dropped after 10m!  So I had to set personal goals.  After a while 10m became 100m, then a kilometer, then the bottom of Blood, then the top of Blood - "this week I will hang on to the pack in the climb up Blood", and although I eventually won a race I still reckon the first day I got up Blood, hanging on to the wheel of Rubicon and the Rev, as my best achievment so far. I still came a long and lonely last but I had a smile for a week.  And all the while I was getting fitter and losing weight.

Stick at it Gai - I think you'll find road season a lot more satisfying.

That seems to be a safe attitude to take in Cycling no matter what grade you are in Matt.

Bike Snob NYC once wrote a cool article (albeit comical) that talked about the idea of a pass/fail approach to bike racing.  The idea was that in any race there can be only one winner, so you should aim to "pass" at some aspect of the race, like finishing with the bunch, or making it to a certain point of the race with the bunch.

heres a link if you want to read it...

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/04/sitting-in-and-bowing-out-art-of.html

EDIT - of course I am not taking my own advice and running to the hills like a wuss from the CD track open.  I'm in nowhere near good enough form to compete against other guys in my age category.  Maybe next time....

[Yoni C]

Are there any women who are thinking of  racing CD Track Champs this coming Saturday at Adcock Park.

Gai I will be at Adcock on Saturday. I was really only thinking of doing the endurance events but am happy to take the start line with you to make up numbers if you need in other events.  I have to agree with Grant and his post.... whether it be timed track events or a road ITT you can compete against the only person that should matter to you.... yourself.   Sure being a female makes it hard - but if you want to see someone really cut it in a hard field watch Guy Page each week in B Grade.... that is what is great about this sport in my book.  See you Saturday.... may I let you know in advance I have a standing start that resembles a beginners roll out at Crits.

[Darryl]

I have a standing start that resembles a beginners roll out at Crits.

you need longer cranks

[Gai M]

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments.

I do love riding my bike(s) but rarely being in the winners circle for almost any event does wear me down
after something like six years of trying.  If I was younger, I could look forward to the future, but by the time
we hopefully sell this 7 day-a-week merry-go-round (newsagency) I will be just about guaranteed to be 60+.

It was a thrill in the Sydney Christmas Carnival to lead almost all the way in the wheelrace at Lidcombe, and I even won the
first D grade race at Lidcombe a couple of weeks ago.   However, I do most of my track training/racing on 200m/250m tracks and being lapped by faster riders is a constant threat - even Wednesday night D grade.  (not for my pride, but because it usually means I have to pull out, which I struggle with as I want to finish).

The lapping rule can also apply in crits which I love doing, and thankfully, it doesn't apply at Lucca Rd.

If only I could progress like Matt did on the road.  However since the evening when I managed 2.5 laps with D grade, I have
not managed to improve on this- haven't even equalled it, and the last Friday I raced, I only managed half a lap before I was dropped.  If I can stay with the group, my average speed is much better, and I enjoy this much more than fighting the wind resistance alone, as I am more a speed rider than a strong one. Besides the loneliness of riding solo.

It is refreshing to participate in the CCCC forum where people can have different points of view, but still have an ongoing discussion on cycling issues.

I am considering winter training at Adcock Park this year.  Maybe training on a longer track allows more flexibility in the training groups.  But it will be a longer trip from here than going to Broadmeadow. 

Yoni, see you tomorrow, but although your standing start may be wobbly/slow, your flying 200m in the open air is faster
than my best indoors, even with a borrowed disc on the back.

[Matt]

Gai my progression was no means linear as my earlier post implied.  There were plenty of long plateaux, mystifying going-backwards-on-last-week's-efforts and a couple of DNF's.  Then suddenly, just when you thought you'd reach your peak as a rider, you pleasantly surprise yourself.  I've learned enough now to know that most riders have similar peaks, plateaus and troughs.

[matty brown]

gai gai gai