Let's see, that's him I think, mid pack.
Fast race through turn 4
Friday, September 17, 2010
Andy K.
Andy warming up prior to his points race with Linsey watching the races on the turn 3 "deck"
Saturday of USA Masters, 9/4/10
So I continue to try and recollect what happened the last 2-3 days of our Texas adventure for anyone that really is still interested.
Saturday morning was nasty early and after the short night and not very energetic. This was Chris' day to sprint and he wasn't really feeling fresh after being with me all day and night on Friday.
I was hoping he could rely on his past late night experience and gather up the power for the day. Unfortunately at this level you need more than the will to do things, you need to be rested and fresh because your competitors will be at the top of their game.
Not wanting to put words in Chris' mouth, the end result wasn't what we wanted and after qualifying very high he didn't make it to the finals.
I feel responsible to a certain extent because as my coach, team mate and friend Chris wanted me to have the best Sprint round experience possible and sacrificed himself to help me get my bronze.
I can't say how generous that was on his part, Thanks Chris.
The day dragged on, we got back to the hotel for a short time after stopping for lunch. I needed to try and rest a bit because my points race was scheduled for Sat. night. This was to be my fun race and I felt good that I could do well after all the Peace Coffee Grind race night experience from a few weeks back in MN.
Back to the track and warm up time. I felt somewhat off my game from lack of sleep too but still had high hopes.
As I warmed up, I kept checking the sign in sheet only to find 6-8 entries. What the ?? One of my sprint competitors summed it up for me. Not a lot of my age group wanted to race with a big field. I can't answer why, steep banking, past experiences, I don't know.
We got close to the race and just before the sign in closed with 8 racers, a bunch stepped up and signed in filling the field to about 15?
Roll off the rail and I was near the front thinking about last years race that was hot for the few laps around the sprints but not so much in between. I stayed near the front when a few guys went off and thought I should get up with them, which I did but I brought the whole field with me. From then on the race pace picked up speed and didn't surge like last year. So much for consistency with last year. I struggled during the race ending up in the middle of the pack doing way too much on my own but never getting close enough to gain any points. A few laps to go and I thought I finally would score at least a 4th place on the last lap only to realize some one was off the front I didn't see so, 5th place on the last lap.
I think Dave G. said it best, I was the hardest working racer to not gain any points.
Finishing position I think was 8th overall.
I think I gained some pack respect and leaned some lessons to race another day.
The rest of the night was spent relaxing on the deck watching the other points races for Dan S, Mark S and Andy K. I really should have gone back to the hotel to bed but I really wanted to see how the NSC group would fair in their points races.
I know I should have their results here but I just can't recall them right now. I know they all had very competitive, big fields that were very tough.
I am always impressed by Mark S. strategy and knowledge. Mid race, I think 4 were off the front and about to gain and then did gain a lap. He went off with front with two others, stayed off the front long enough to collect some sprint points before drifting back into the pack, great track sense Mark.
Saturday morning was nasty early and after the short night and not very energetic. This was Chris' day to sprint and he wasn't really feeling fresh after being with me all day and night on Friday.
I was hoping he could rely on his past late night experience and gather up the power for the day. Unfortunately at this level you need more than the will to do things, you need to be rested and fresh because your competitors will be at the top of their game.
Not wanting to put words in Chris' mouth, the end result wasn't what we wanted and after qualifying very high he didn't make it to the finals.
I feel responsible to a certain extent because as my coach, team mate and friend Chris wanted me to have the best Sprint round experience possible and sacrificed himself to help me get my bronze.
I can't say how generous that was on his part, Thanks Chris.
The day dragged on, we got back to the hotel for a short time after stopping for lunch. I needed to try and rest a bit because my points race was scheduled for Sat. night. This was to be my fun race and I felt good that I could do well after all the Peace Coffee Grind race night experience from a few weeks back in MN.
Back to the track and warm up time. I felt somewhat off my game from lack of sleep too but still had high hopes.
As I warmed up, I kept checking the sign in sheet only to find 6-8 entries. What the ?? One of my sprint competitors summed it up for me. Not a lot of my age group wanted to race with a big field. I can't answer why, steep banking, past experiences, I don't know.
We got close to the race and just before the sign in closed with 8 racers, a bunch stepped up and signed in filling the field to about 15?
Roll off the rail and I was near the front thinking about last years race that was hot for the few laps around the sprints but not so much in between. I stayed near the front when a few guys went off and thought I should get up with them, which I did but I brought the whole field with me. From then on the race pace picked up speed and didn't surge like last year. So much for consistency with last year. I struggled during the race ending up in the middle of the pack doing way too much on my own but never getting close enough to gain any points. A few laps to go and I thought I finally would score at least a 4th place on the last lap only to realize some one was off the front I didn't see so, 5th place on the last lap.
I think Dave G. said it best, I was the hardest working racer to not gain any points.
Finishing position I think was 8th overall.
I think I gained some pack respect and leaned some lessons to race another day.
The rest of the night was spent relaxing on the deck watching the other points races for Dan S, Mark S and Andy K. I really should have gone back to the hotel to bed but I really wanted to see how the NSC group would fair in their points races.
I know I should have their results here but I just can't recall them right now. I know they all had very competitive, big fields that were very tough.
I am always impressed by Mark S. strategy and knowledge. Mid race, I think 4 were off the front and about to gain and then did gain a lap. He went off with front with two others, stayed off the front long enough to collect some sprint points before drifting back into the pack, great track sense Mark.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Trying to keep up, fail
Back home again and have been for a while. Actually can't believe it's been a week since my first real race day.
So much for keeping an up to date blog of all the Masters track Championships last week. The drive down was a bit hectic and long, the first days were easy but still packed with activity like settling in to the hotel, getting food supplies and other things we were missing or forgot to bring, discovering the best and fastest ways to get to the track. Adapting to every ones own schedules and time tables and life patterns was another challenge for the first part of the week and continued through out the week.
Then of course we needed to fit in race times and make allowances for when there was open track time to warm up prior to races. Lastly, we had other racers and friends that were doing events before or after our own and we all wanted to support each other as much as possible and still save time for ourselves.
This was a lot different than last years USA Masters, where I drove to CO alone and stayed alone in a hotel for the week. I still was interested in the other racers last year but had more flexibility. I can't say either one was bad, both good experiences, just very different.
Here's what I can remember from last week after Thursday night. I wasn't at the track for the Thursday night events because I needed to be up early on Friday for warm ups for my Sprint day. Chris and I got to the track early on Friday and I got my warm ups in. I felt good after an easy rest day on Thursday and based on my warm up 200 speeds, I felt confident that I could do a very good qualifying time. I was sent out about mid way through the group of 12 racers with the 13th a no show. The effort felt strong but the time was somewhat slower than I hoped, 13.355. Not as good as Blaine but good enough for the 4th fastest time in my age group. It was .004 slower than 3rd qualifier but .842 slower than the fastest qualifier at 12. 513. Only 8 qualified for continuing on. Most everyone felt the track was slower that day, the wind was up and the track surface is a lot more aggressive than the beautiful, smooth Blaine track.
All the time Chris Ferris was with me advising and helping me plan my strategy for the up coming sprint rounds. This was super helpful. It seems like most of my competitors have been racing for decades while I have about 4 years of race experience. (Why didn't I ever find this adventure earlier?) They have all this experience in these conditions that was neutralized to some extent by Chris' advice.
Next up, 1/8th finals. I was matched with the 5th place guy who wasn't much slower than me. First round he got a gap on me and bested me by about 6 inches at the line. Next round was one of my favorites and best. I was in position 1 and kept him on my hip for 2 laps riding him up to the rail most of the time. When I finally jumped coming out of 4 with 1 to go I gapped him and won by a good margin. The third race wasn't quite as exciting but I gapped him again and won 2 out of 3. On to 1/4 finals. My next competitor was the 3rd fastest qualifier. Another exciting race with me starting from position one, lowest on the track. Chris gave me a monster push to get me out front and I kept my competitor up high again trying to fake him out a bit on the main straight with 2 to go and then with some shoulder contact with one to go. (the handler for the other guy was complaining that he couldn't match Chris' push to get me started) I did get a jump and beat him to the line. One more race to get to the semi's. We were off again with another massive push from Chris (my competitor had another handler try and over do Chris without success) figuring that it was best for me to be ahead and control from the front again. It's a bit of a blur but I think with 1 to go coming out of 2, he dropped and tried to go under me. I was slow to react and he did go under and gap me and I couldn't catch him. Dam, another race coming up. As we rolled to slow off the track I heard the officials announce he was relegated for passing under me on the apron. It happened so fast I didn't realize how low he got. By a tires width I must have beat him down to shut the door and he went around me lower than he legally could. Anti climatic end with 2 back to back wins.
Time to leave the track for a short time to get a very late lunch, go back to the hotel and catch a very short rest/nap and then start all over. Back to the track, warm up session and get ready for some even harder rides. My next up was the top qualifier for the semi final. The top qualifier was faster and more experienced but I gave it 2 good shots, first round a shorter sprint, second round I tried to jump in turn two on 2 to go, got a gap but he closed it and passed me leaving me with a bronze medal. No National Champ jersey but a very satisfying result for me, on the podium for the second year in a row out of 2 attempts and especially good because the sprints are my main focus for the last 2 years.
We stayed for the podium ceremony and then got out as soon as possible to get Chris some food and back to the hotel, his sprint rounds were happening the next day, Saturday, and it would be another long day. Plus I had a Points race scheduled for Saturday evening as my second event.
This is where controlling the schedule and rest time is critical. Chris sacrificed himself all day Friday to help make my prime event a success and with his support, it was a success. It was now my turn to do any thing I could to help make his sprint day go well. Friday was a hot day so we both were pretty well wasted by the time we got to bed which wasn't until after midnight for the 2 or 3rd time during the week. We set our alarms and hoped the short rest would be sufficient. As happens sometimes, fate controls events and at about 3 A.M. the smoke alarm went off in our hotel room. CRAPPP!!! I jumped out of bed and went straight for the detector, knowing how inconsistent they can be. I just about destroyed it by the time I realized the noise was from a siren mounted in the ceiling away from the detector. By now Dan was up, Chris had his head buried under pillows and we were beginning to wonder what caused the alarm. No smoke in our room or the hall. Eventually, the alarm stopped and we could try to get back to bed but sleep was not easy to find again. Not knowing what set it off, I wondered as I tried to sleep, should I really go to sleep and if I did, what would I grab and run with should the place break out in a fire.
Overcome eventually with sleep, the next thing I heard was our alarms announcing a very short end to a restless night.
We did hear later that some of the bike racers smoked up some food they were cooking and instead of opening a window, they opened the hall door, filled the hall with smoke and set off the alarm. Dam bike racers!
So much for keeping an up to date blog of all the Masters track Championships last week. The drive down was a bit hectic and long, the first days were easy but still packed with activity like settling in to the hotel, getting food supplies and other things we were missing or forgot to bring, discovering the best and fastest ways to get to the track. Adapting to every ones own schedules and time tables and life patterns was another challenge for the first part of the week and continued through out the week.
Then of course we needed to fit in race times and make allowances for when there was open track time to warm up prior to races. Lastly, we had other racers and friends that were doing events before or after our own and we all wanted to support each other as much as possible and still save time for ourselves.
This was a lot different than last years USA Masters, where I drove to CO alone and stayed alone in a hotel for the week. I still was interested in the other racers last year but had more flexibility. I can't say either one was bad, both good experiences, just very different.
Here's what I can remember from last week after Thursday night. I wasn't at the track for the Thursday night events because I needed to be up early on Friday for warm ups for my Sprint day. Chris and I got to the track early on Friday and I got my warm ups in. I felt good after an easy rest day on Thursday and based on my warm up 200 speeds, I felt confident that I could do a very good qualifying time. I was sent out about mid way through the group of 12 racers with the 13th a no show. The effort felt strong but the time was somewhat slower than I hoped, 13.355. Not as good as Blaine but good enough for the 4th fastest time in my age group. It was .004 slower than 3rd qualifier but .842 slower than the fastest qualifier at 12. 513. Only 8 qualified for continuing on. Most everyone felt the track was slower that day, the wind was up and the track surface is a lot more aggressive than the beautiful, smooth Blaine track.
All the time Chris Ferris was with me advising and helping me plan my strategy for the up coming sprint rounds. This was super helpful. It seems like most of my competitors have been racing for decades while I have about 4 years of race experience. (Why didn't I ever find this adventure earlier?) They have all this experience in these conditions that was neutralized to some extent by Chris' advice.
Next up, 1/8th finals. I was matched with the 5th place guy who wasn't much slower than me. First round he got a gap on me and bested me by about 6 inches at the line. Next round was one of my favorites and best. I was in position 1 and kept him on my hip for 2 laps riding him up to the rail most of the time. When I finally jumped coming out of 4 with 1 to go I gapped him and won by a good margin. The third race wasn't quite as exciting but I gapped him again and won 2 out of 3. On to 1/4 finals. My next competitor was the 3rd fastest qualifier. Another exciting race with me starting from position one, lowest on the track. Chris gave me a monster push to get me out front and I kept my competitor up high again trying to fake him out a bit on the main straight with 2 to go and then with some shoulder contact with one to go. (the handler for the other guy was complaining that he couldn't match Chris' push to get me started) I did get a jump and beat him to the line. One more race to get to the semi's. We were off again with another massive push from Chris (my competitor had another handler try and over do Chris without success) figuring that it was best for me to be ahead and control from the front again. It's a bit of a blur but I think with 1 to go coming out of 2, he dropped and tried to go under me. I was slow to react and he did go under and gap me and I couldn't catch him. Dam, another race coming up. As we rolled to slow off the track I heard the officials announce he was relegated for passing under me on the apron. It happened so fast I didn't realize how low he got. By a tires width I must have beat him down to shut the door and he went around me lower than he legally could. Anti climatic end with 2 back to back wins.
Time to leave the track for a short time to get a very late lunch, go back to the hotel and catch a very short rest/nap and then start all over. Back to the track, warm up session and get ready for some even harder rides. My next up was the top qualifier for the semi final. The top qualifier was faster and more experienced but I gave it 2 good shots, first round a shorter sprint, second round I tried to jump in turn two on 2 to go, got a gap but he closed it and passed me leaving me with a bronze medal. No National Champ jersey but a very satisfying result for me, on the podium for the second year in a row out of 2 attempts and especially good because the sprints are my main focus for the last 2 years.
We stayed for the podium ceremony and then got out as soon as possible to get Chris some food and back to the hotel, his sprint rounds were happening the next day, Saturday, and it would be another long day. Plus I had a Points race scheduled for Saturday evening as my second event.
This is where controlling the schedule and rest time is critical. Chris sacrificed himself all day Friday to help make my prime event a success and with his support, it was a success. It was now my turn to do any thing I could to help make his sprint day go well. Friday was a hot day so we both were pretty well wasted by the time we got to bed which wasn't until after midnight for the 2 or 3rd time during the week. We set our alarms and hoped the short rest would be sufficient. As happens sometimes, fate controls events and at about 3 A.M. the smoke alarm went off in our hotel room. CRAPPP!!! I jumped out of bed and went straight for the detector, knowing how inconsistent they can be. I just about destroyed it by the time I realized the noise was from a siren mounted in the ceiling away from the detector. By now Dan was up, Chris had his head buried under pillows and we were beginning to wonder what caused the alarm. No smoke in our room or the hall. Eventually, the alarm stopped and we could try to get back to bed but sleep was not easy to find again. Not knowing what set it off, I wondered as I tried to sleep, should I really go to sleep and if I did, what would I grab and run with should the place break out in a fire.
Overcome eventually with sleep, the next thing I heard was our alarms announcing a very short end to a restless night.
We did hear later that some of the bike racers smoked up some food they were cooking and instead of opening a window, they opened the hall door, filled the hall with smoke and set off the alarm. Dam bike racers!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Some of the infield cover
This is the turn 3/4 end of the track with some permanent and temporary cover to help with sun and, today, rain protection.
Tuesday night and Wednesday
Not too much to update about right now. Tuesday morning was an easy half hour early training ride to to continue to feel comfortable on the track and keep the legs fresh. As the day progressed the weather got worse with rain showing up.
Tuesday evening was a wash out so neither Dan Schueller or Dan Casper got to race. They were there and about ready but no go.
We all ended up back at the hotel with me getting an early to bed night because the open training session on Thursday got shifted to 6 to 8 A.M. I got up a bit late but still made it to the track at 6, first one there, including officials. It was dark, with all the track lights still on and lightening in the sky. Not good.
Rain started about 6:15 and basically has continued all day long. A drying period, almost ready to open the track and then more rain over and over again. I spent a half an hour on the rollers under a tent, sat around a lot, read a book for a while, wandered around some and eventually gave up and went back to the hotel about 2:30 or so.
The track did re open about 6 and some of last nights schedule was run. The latest word is Dan S. got his race in and may have finished provisionally, 8th or 9th as per Andy Kruse.
Dan Casper is racing as we speak with results in soon unless there is more rain.
Tomorrow, up early to see what adjustments have been made to the schedule because tomorrow is my full day of Sprints, 200 qualifier with matched sprint heats to follow. I'm a little disappointed about not getting any activation in today but it was a relaxing day and not any heat stress.
More as the week progresses.
Tuesday evening was a wash out so neither Dan Schueller or Dan Casper got to race. They were there and about ready but no go.
We all ended up back at the hotel with me getting an early to bed night because the open training session on Thursday got shifted to 6 to 8 A.M. I got up a bit late but still made it to the track at 6, first one there, including officials. It was dark, with all the track lights still on and lightening in the sky. Not good.
Rain started about 6:15 and basically has continued all day long. A drying period, almost ready to open the track and then more rain over and over again. I spent a half an hour on the rollers under a tent, sat around a lot, read a book for a while, wandered around some and eventually gave up and went back to the hotel about 2:30 or so.
The track did re open about 6 and some of last nights schedule was run. The latest word is Dan S. got his race in and may have finished provisionally, 8th or 9th as per Andy Kruse.
Dan Casper is racing as we speak with results in soon unless there is more rain.
Tomorrow, up early to see what adjustments have been made to the schedule because tomorrow is my full day of Sprints, 200 qualifier with matched sprint heats to follow. I'm a little disappointed about not getting any activation in today but it was a relaxing day and not any heat stress.
More as the week progresses.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
She's a winner
Check out that smile on the cool down lap after coming back from being off the pace to win the 2K by .122 and become a National Champ, well deserved
We are here and the races are on
Finally a bit of down time to update the TX adventure. It's Wed and we have been here since Monday after noon. Uneventful trip down, easy drive when sharing the load with 2 other drivers. As Chris said, we had the Team sprint rotation on. Pat, does 4 hours, Dan does 4 hours and Chris leads us home with another 4 hours. We drove to Wichita on Sunday and spent the night. Linsey and Andy got there before us because they got out of town a few hours earlier. Chris, Dan and I spent 2 hours with the final "bike coffin" arrangements and packing. I don't think either Andy's car or mine could have fit anything else in with 9 bikes, 5 track and 4 road bikes, all the spare wheels and tires and then of course all the gear required to spend a week away. Every one said basically the same thing; I think I brought to much stuff!
One of my worries was how the little Caliber would tow a packed trailer and haul three guys. Other then the mileage dropping from the usual 30 MPG on trips to 18 to 20 MPG, it wasn't too bad. 18 was still a bunch better than the 4-6 the motor home option would have got us.
Monday was a short drive day, we found the hotel early enough to unpack the coffin, settle in a bit, put the track bikes back together and eventually go to the track for some laps to stretch out the stiff travel legs. The weather was hot, mid to high 90's but not too bad for early evening recovery laps. Andy and Linsey seem to be always ahead of the three of us, left Sunday before us, got to the final hotel before us, got to the track before us, etc, etc. Dan did a road ride instead of a track session so Chris and I were the last 2 on the track. The officials actually asked us if we were ready to leave rather than kick us out. Maybe that's the reason Chris got the nick name Captain Midnight, for late night training. It was a fun night, marred only by me a little when, on my first lap I got dropped off turn 4 right in line with a sponge that was set up to keep riders away from the gate practice. I thumped over it and then got yelled at by the flag man. Oh well, get the stupid stuff out of the way when the track is empty and not too many around to see it. W e eventually made it back to the hotel after a grocery stop. Made dinner around midnight and got to bed late.
The track is the same but a lot different than Blaine. Plywood surface with an epoxy coating that is like a textured surface. Not as abrasive as I expected. You can ride slower in the corners but not too slow as can be attested by a few who slid down trying to push the limit. No major accidents just some bruise egos and some track rash, no slivers though! The transitions into and out of turn 1/2 and 3/4 are more aggressive than Blaine. Tiny infield ride ring, very wide cement apron on the inside of the track to progress onto the track. The blue apron is strange, half is flat and half is banked like the lane. The rest of the facility seems good, I'll have some pics up soon.
Tuesday was a real training day for Chris and me. We slept in longer than we wanted but everyone seemed to need it. The only problem was getting to the track for the hottest part of the day. Back to the regular warm up schedule with some slight adjustments to try and cope with the heat. I finally started to adjust and go faster, pretty close the same times and speeds in my Flying 100 efforts as in Blaine. Chris got cooking right away and did some comparable times which made him feel good too. Dan was out and got laps in to try and get used to the new feel. Of course, Linsey and Andy were there in the morning and were leaving about the time we arrived.
All in all, a good day. Not too hectic on the track so we could actually do Flying efforts without a lot of traffic. Finally out of the track, a stop for dinner and then back to the hotel to try and get to bed a little earlier than the night before, but not by much.
Wed. morning, I wanted to get to and be on the track by 8 for the open session that closed at 9 to do some recovery laps with some traffic to get more familiar with the track. Chris and I were out on the track not much after 8 and each got our half hour in.
Linsey and Andy were there ahead of us but this time had some real reason for being there. Andy was the first racer up of the NSC group, doing a 3K TT, Linsey later was up for a 2K effort.
No suspense, Andy did great and got a bronze medal and then about 4 hours later Linsey went out and did a GREAT race holding off her competitor by .122 of a second to take first overall and be our first National Champion. Her competitor was up almost half a lap half way through the race but Linzilla just kept riding the black line and clawed her way back to the gold.
Congratulations both Linsey and Andy.
Next up is tonight's points race for Dan, 80 laps?
More reports and pictures soon.
One of my worries was how the little Caliber would tow a packed trailer and haul three guys. Other then the mileage dropping from the usual 30 MPG on trips to 18 to 20 MPG, it wasn't too bad. 18 was still a bunch better than the 4-6 the motor home option would have got us.
Monday was a short drive day, we found the hotel early enough to unpack the coffin, settle in a bit, put the track bikes back together and eventually go to the track for some laps to stretch out the stiff travel legs. The weather was hot, mid to high 90's but not too bad for early evening recovery laps. Andy and Linsey seem to be always ahead of the three of us, left Sunday before us, got to the final hotel before us, got to the track before us, etc, etc. Dan did a road ride instead of a track session so Chris and I were the last 2 on the track. The officials actually asked us if we were ready to leave rather than kick us out. Maybe that's the reason Chris got the nick name Captain Midnight, for late night training. It was a fun night, marred only by me a little when, on my first lap I got dropped off turn 4 right in line with a sponge that was set up to keep riders away from the gate practice. I thumped over it and then got yelled at by the flag man. Oh well, get the stupid stuff out of the way when the track is empty and not too many around to see it. W e eventually made it back to the hotel after a grocery stop. Made dinner around midnight and got to bed late.
The track is the same but a lot different than Blaine. Plywood surface with an epoxy coating that is like a textured surface. Not as abrasive as I expected. You can ride slower in the corners but not too slow as can be attested by a few who slid down trying to push the limit. No major accidents just some bruise egos and some track rash, no slivers though! The transitions into and out of turn 1/2 and 3/4 are more aggressive than Blaine. Tiny infield ride ring, very wide cement apron on the inside of the track to progress onto the track. The blue apron is strange, half is flat and half is banked like the lane. The rest of the facility seems good, I'll have some pics up soon.
Tuesday was a real training day for Chris and me. We slept in longer than we wanted but everyone seemed to need it. The only problem was getting to the track for the hottest part of the day. Back to the regular warm up schedule with some slight adjustments to try and cope with the heat. I finally started to adjust and go faster, pretty close the same times and speeds in my Flying 100 efforts as in Blaine. Chris got cooking right away and did some comparable times which made him feel good too. Dan was out and got laps in to try and get used to the new feel. Of course, Linsey and Andy were there in the morning and were leaving about the time we arrived.
All in all, a good day. Not too hectic on the track so we could actually do Flying efforts without a lot of traffic. Finally out of the track, a stop for dinner and then back to the hotel to try and get to bed a little earlier than the night before, but not by much.
Wed. morning, I wanted to get to and be on the track by 8 for the open session that closed at 9 to do some recovery laps with some traffic to get more familiar with the track. Chris and I were out on the track not much after 8 and each got our half hour in.
Linsey and Andy were there ahead of us but this time had some real reason for being there. Andy was the first racer up of the NSC group, doing a 3K TT, Linsey later was up for a 2K effort.
No suspense, Andy did great and got a bronze medal and then about 4 hours later Linsey went out and did a GREAT race holding off her competitor by .122 of a second to take first overall and be our first National Champion. Her competitor was up almost half a lap half way through the race but Linzilla just kept riding the black line and clawed her way back to the gold.
Congratulations both Linsey and Andy.
Next up is tonight's points race for Dan, 80 laps?
More reports and pictures soon.
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