I can see the finish-line at all times

Well, first of all most of you know that last fall I joined a local cycling team here in Portland, Bridgetown Velo. And, while I had one novice race under my belt (that I won at the Raceway) I didn't have a clue about what type of races I liked doing or what type of rider I was until I got myself into a few various races and quickly figured things out. I learned that I do not really like racing for a few hours at a time. I'm a busy person, I've got things to do and I like to schedule. I like knowing that a race will take 5 minutes or 50 minutes, five laps or 15, and the start is in the same place as the finish and i can see it if i turn my head the right way. Yeah, and hills. I am not a fan hills either (please see what i said about being able to see the finish). What I do enjoy is going fast, going flat, and knowing exactly what is ahead of me and how long it should take so that i can adequately gauge my athletic efforts and energy. So, it was suggested to me, that along with the raceway and crits, I try my hand at track racing, aka: the velodrome.

So, for the past two Wednesday nights, that is exactly what I have done.

First of all, many things about the velodrome are scary. The main one is the steeply sloped bank. The track we race at in Portland is called the Alpenrose Velodrome and it's home to one of the steepest banks in the country. Laying at a sharp 43 degree angle, cyclist have to maintain a 12mph speed in order for their bike to "stick" to the track.

 

cleaning the 43 degree sloped banks

The other scary thing is learning to ride a fixed gear bike. For those not in the know (or not a hipster and or bike messenger), a fixed gear bike (aka: fixie, track bike) has only one gear and no breaks. There is no freewheel action on a fixed gear, meaning.... when ever you pedal, the back wheel moves. Whenever you stop pedaling, the back wheel stops. There is no coasting. Because of this, the timing of when you stop and slow down is very important to sync up. The great thing about fixed gear bikes is that it is a bike at it's upmost simplicity. There is no fluff over components, brakes, derailers, compact doubles or triples. It is a bike, it moves when you do, it stops when you do. There is no way to cheat it, to shave it down to anything more really than it already is or to cheat yourself when riding it. You do the work, not the bike, not the gears. In fact, the simplicity of a fixed gear bike has earned it a rather cult like status off it's usage on tracks and is the center of many debates of bike snobbery and bike hate, but... that's another topic for another day. 

Also, another scary thing about the velodrome and fixed gear bikes is crashes, like this one at our local velodrome.

So, the first track racing clinic I went to, honestly, I was scared shitless. Here I was, riding a type of bike I'd never ridden before (that has no breaks) racing on a very steep, very hard, concrete track. So, i took the fixed gear bike for a spin. At first learning to ride the fixed gear was a little tricky, but once I figured it out I couldn't keep myself from pedaling and going fast. I liked it. Everyone who was there at the clinic (about 20) divided up into groups. The instructors took us aside and pretty much described bike handling skills and the "do's and don'ts" of the track. Then, we hoped on the bikes and went for a couple of spins around the apron of the track. Before you knew it, just like playing follow the leader, we were up on the sloped bank, following the person ahead of us and matching their speed. On the track, one of the most important lessons to learn and remember is faster is safer. While this counterintuitive to initial thoughts on anything remotely dangerous, whereas you generally want to approach things hesitantly... the opposite is true in track racing. Slowing down will make you fall, speeding up will keep you safe. 

After going taking several laps and going up and down sections of the steeped bank and getting comfortable on the bikes, the slopes, and with our handling, we started doing pace line drills. Towards the end of the clinic, they divided the remaining folks into two groups and had us race. I was in the second group and we had about four of five folks (two were instructors). We did a three lap race with the instructors leading the pack until the final lap when they dropped back and then it was a sprint to the finish. A young man from one of the local cycling teams sprint out ahead and took the win, but I wasn't too far back coming in for second place. Overall, it was a really fun and enjoyable clinic and I was amazed at how quickly my fear of not only the fixed gear bike, but also riding the bike on the track, vanished and was replaced with a smile.

The following week I went back to the clinic and drug a friend who had expressed interest in the velodrome. Once again, we divided into groups and I rode with the same instructor as the following week, Meg. There were more people at this clinic, so i got to work a little bit more on pacing myself behind the people ahead of me and not just passing them like I had done prior. As well, I also tried to work hard at keeping a steady line while going around the track. Just as in the week prior, we ended the session with a race and this one had a few more people in my group. Right off the start, I jumped up front and then settled in behind an instructor who was leading the pack. A fellow with long hair and no shirt tried to jump ahead and ride parallel to us, but quickly tired in lap two-three and dropped back. I kept right on the instructors wheel and going into the final lap out of five, went for it. i had no idea who or how many people were behind me, but that's all the better reason to go and go hard all the way to the finish. In the final stretch, I could feel someone gaining on my side and closing in on the finish line, so with a final burst of energy I pushed for it and finished half a wheel in front of the other rider (who also happened to be the instructor). Afterwards, it was hard to wipe the smile off my face. I did it, I won! And now I feel really quite confident about entering in my first novice race sometime soon.

True, just as in the Raceway (where I have yet to race this year) novice races are one thing and jumping in the pack with the big girls is another thing, I'm pretty excited to try out this bike racing discipline a bit more. As well, no one on my team races at the velodrome I think, so perhaps myself (and the one other Bridgetown Velo rider female who showed up last Wednesday) will be the sole participants and representatives for our team? I don't mind, I went to my first bike race solo, I went to my first velo clinic solo and I can race solo too. So, stayed tuned, we'll see how it goes. Regardless, I like that I can see the finish-line at all times.