Mile High Club

Hwrya?

I have just arrived back to St.Charlies from Collegiate Track Nationals which was held at Colorado Springs. I was pretty excited to get there for two reasons; firstly my mum was coming over to help celebrate my birthday and watch the racing, and secondly, because Nationals have been my and the teams goal for this season. The last two weeks have been the best preparation I have ever had for any race, we had some excellent sessions on the track, we were getting a rub every day to keep fresh, we had the best equipment and most importantly were focused 100% for the competition. So with that I had no excuse not to perform.

I have to mention the trip out and back, it was the most enjoyable trip I have had away on the bike. Tim Norris earned himself a new nick name in the shape of 'Custard Arm' after some target practice at highway signs and overpasses with any form of ammunition we could find in the 15 seater van.

Colorado Springs sits at about 2500m above sea level and I really noticed the altitude after the first warm up session. First event was the 3km pursuit which I was in the very first heat, I ran a bit slower than what I hoped but It gives me a benchmark for next year I guess. The evening session was rained out by the ever changing Colorado weather and lost a whole day as a result. Friday night saw the sprinters in action. Unfortunately Paddy had a hairbrain decision by the so called officials go against him which saw him finish 7th instead of 5th robbing him of valuable points for the overall point score and a medal. The bad luck extended for Paddy into the Kilo where he pulled his foot automatically putting him out of the race. Everyone knows that the Kilo was Paddy's event and was destined for the podium so this was a crushing time. I was suppose to ride the Kilo but we made the decision that a couple of us would miss the event to save ourselves for the Team Pursuit (4 man team 3km time trial), the decision proved to pay dividends as we finished 4th overall after sitting in 2nd until the final heat. It was pleasing to hear everyone commenting on how smooth and mechanical we looked and only after one weekend practicing for the event I think we will have it dialed for next year.

The last event was the Points Race Heat which was 30 guys and 45 laps of pain. I missed making the final by one spot but achieved the primary goal of getting Paddy through. Lindenwood University had a very successful first Nationals showing as we finished the three days of racing in 5th overall in the Division II competition. With only 5 men this was a solid result and with some females on board next year I reckon we will be giving some of the bigger colleges a run for their money.
My hopes and dreams don't lie on the track but after these past couple of days I have been well and truly been bitten by the the fixed wheel bug and will be making Track Nationals a major goal for next season.

For the next couple of weeks I'm going to give the bike a rest and the local night spots a workout until I start preparing for Bay Crits and trying to get some road base in for next year.

Ciao, Chev.