Friday Night Racing at Marymoor (9-12-2008) - the Last Night of the Season

It was a lackluster evening for me. I was fighting off a cold Emy picked up, and while it wasn't hitting me full force, it was taking a bit of wind out of my sails. But, it was a fun last night of the season, with a fine gathering and free beer afterward. There was a memorial in corner 2 for the death of Ryan Triplett, the spouse of one of the regular, high-caliber women racers, Jen Triplett, who often races in my field. It was sobering. Ryan died while rock climbing, which is why the subject and fate are very near and dear to mine and Bree's hearts. Our climbing circles did not include Ryan, but his and ours certainly overlapped as I found out later.

Here's what I sent out to the team:
Tonight was a tough one. There was the memorial to Ryan Triplett in corner 2. There were a million pink tents surrounding the velodrome area, with bouncy 80's music for a cancer awareness festival/walk-a-thon. And there were just five of us Cucina riders between the 1,2's, 3's and women's 1,2,3's. My report will also be a bit short so I can get to bed.

In the 1,2's, Chris and Mark were laying it all down. Chris had a fire under him this evening, and was racing with great intensity all night. Mark nicknamed him the Hulk, and I am thinking it will stick. Don't make Chris angry, folks - oh wait, please do, because then he rides even faster! Chris also provided some quality entertainment by trying to take the 2-lap heat from the front when my enormous push ended up sitting him about 8 bike lengths out. He drove it hard, and was just caught with about 250 to go. But it was fun!

In the final 1,2's scratch race, Chris made the front group of his predicted field split, and Mark bridged, but claimed a mental block such that he retreated back to the second group. Confidence, my friend - you belonged up there! Chris was super-animated, and found Kenny's wheel late in the game, with a nice final placing in 7th.

In the 3's, we had Niels, Jerry and me. Our first race was a 10 lap point a lap, which was gung ho from the get go. I was waiting for the final lap, since the points go three deep, and I was not feeling super spry. Niels took a lap in the middle of the race, and Jerry and I both managed to place in the final sprint, with Jerry scoring 2nd and me in 3rd, which put Jerry in 3rd for the race (money for Jerry!) and me in 5th.

Next race was 2-lap heats, and while the three of us gave it our all, I think it is fair to say it is not our favorite event. Unfortunately, Broadmark got two guys in the final, and we were getting nervous for the team placing.

Final race was a 20 lap scratch race. Niels got in an early break, which was later reeled in by a flying pack. There were several break attempt throughout the race - I tried to be part of a couple, but nothing would stick. I missed out a sprint for a prime, just nipped at the line, and then with three laps to go I found my break. A small group was chasing Craig Etheridge (of single-speed cross fame), and I hopped on. But, for some nutty reason, the group sat up with one to go, which left me, and Niels on my wheel, trapped in the sprinters lane. Luckily Jerry managed to be part of the sprint - he thought maybe he got 6th.

Combine this with Broadmark winning the women's omnium, and I am sad to report that our run at the top is likely over. We'll be a close second, which is still an amazing result for our growing track squad, and one we should all be proud of. Congratulations to all of us - we've made it a wonderful and fun track season. I get comments about how "Those Cucina Fresca riders all look like they're having more fun than the rest", and I think that's true.

That's all for this season. Looking forward to next year!

Turns out we actually ended up in a close third, not second, which is still an awesome result for a team that until this year barely fielded three riders at the track with any regularity. We've got plans to grow the track team even more and put us in the top tier of track clubs in the NW. Now that many of us have upgraded, we need to start building from the base (Cat 4 Men and Women) to keep the pyramid strong.

I am now the Cucina Fresca team's representative to the Marymoor Velodrome Association board, which should be very interesting. I hope I can learn a lot and contribute.