We both win.

That's right. We both won our categories at the Swan Island Crit on Sunday. Conditions were perfect for us as track riders: Flat as a pancake with a very short circuit (1 km). Amelia rode with the cat 4 women, and put several bike lengths between herself and everyone else in the field sprint after narrowly escaping a bad early race pileup (skulls were cracked, arms and collarbones broken). I rode the fixed gear, and went for a solo win with three laps to go (Zac Copeland, who is a wicked fast sprinter was in the field, so a sprint finish had to be avoided at all costs). This was Amelia's first win, so pat her on the back when you see her!

Happy mother's day, Zac's mom!

Hi Zac's mom. This is a picture of your son on the cat 4/5 podium at Eric Kautzky's memorial track race. Not too shabby! (Happy mother's day, Per and Amelia's moms too!) 

Our first kilos, 500s and pursuits

Track racing season is offically upon us. I and Amelia are now spending a miniumum of four evenings a week at the velodrome. The first events of the year are always timed events. Last week we did the kilo and the 500. These races are about as uncomplicated events as they come: Go like a maniac from the start and try to hang on for dear life as your body shuts down. Surprisingly, I came in fourth out of seventy people even though I am not a sprinter, and Amelia beat out a bunch of men. This week we did the 3k and 2k pursuit, where you chase a rider for 8 or 11 laps and try to get the best time. These events are way trickier than the kilo, as they are all about pacing: If you overdo the first laps, you will pay dearly at the end. However, if you don't go hard enough, you won't be able to recover later either. I put in a time that put in me in third position overall, which means that I actually won some money! Sweet! Our bikes are finally paying for themselves. I am very happy with my time, as I have never done a pursuit before. 

It is on! 11 1/6 laps of hard going ensued. Brian waved his arms and directed from the sidelines, but once the gun has fired, you are really alone out there. I was teamed up against Garcia. As can be seen, I was could have ridden a better path through the corners. Next time.

Here Amelia lays down some heat. Due to repainting of the velodrome and bad weather we had not had time to work on our pacing at all, so we did not know what speeds we could sustain. Now that we have some data to start from we will be even faster next time!