Day 3 started with our usual morning routine. Up and dressed, stretch the dog, breakfast and prepare for our morning ride. I met with the staff at 8:15 to make some adjustments to my cleats and bike after they observed some alignment issues the day before. At 8:45 we were ready to roll out.
Today’s morning session involved our typical route down Boulder Road and across to the Velodrome Park. We commented as we rode together how much better the ride went than the day before. Much more fluid starting and stopping - only one small hiccup taking the turn into the parking lot and we were able to keep pace with the group and arrive at the same time! https://www.relive.cc/view/1565321483
When we arrived at the Velodrome, we lined up outside the garage door. We pulled about 6 bikes, crews and staff into the “garage” and closed the door. This is the pressure chamber. Once door one is closed, door two opens. The pressure change definitely causes the ears to pop! The next step was to get our bikes to the track. Down 15 concrete steps that had a steep ramp next to them that we rolled the bike down while we stepped. My stoker did a great job navigating the stairs and helping keep the weight of the bike in control. We then walked through a tunnel which has many Team USA track cycling photos on the walls. At the other end of the tunnel, back up a steep flight of stairs pushing the bike up the ramp along side. At the top, we arrived in the pit of the velodrome. There is a front desk and shop bikes and to the right rows of benches and bike racks. We pushed down to one of the benches, parked our bike and walked out on the track with the group.
The track introduction involved learning the lingo - warm-up oval, apron, blue line, sprinter, etc. We learned landmarks in the oval, locations in the turns, areas where you are allowed to enter and exit the track, safety requirements, rules on passing and more. It was a lot to take in and a bit overwhelming for most of us who have never experienced the track. We then walked a quarter of the way around the track to feel the banking. You reach a point where it is no longer walkable. I kept thinking of a penny in a funnel. That it keeps momentum to keep spinning…
The biggest takeaway - “don’t ever stop pedaling!”
We returned to the pit. Prepped ourselves to ride. In this case it means nothing at all in pockets, water bottle cages etc. They said the slightest debris, obstacle etc can cause a big mess on the track! We started our ride in the warm-up oval. We learned about communicating and both settled in to know the positioning of the turns and the rhythm of our foot speed. I did feather the brakes (we were on our road tandems) a bit in the beginning but found that we were not using brakes at all after a little bit. We were able to increase our speed and successfully link together a series of laps.
Our next progression was onto the apron. We did a series of laps there and moved with one of our coaches into the sprinter lane. We completed a few laps before pulling off. We took a break, navigated the stairs and tunnel without our bike this time to get to and from the restroom and back for another session. This time, I was partnered with one of the staff as my stoker. She is an extremely experienced track athlete and provided amazing insight from the stoker position. Her feel of the track was impeccable. She was able to make some small tweaks to our pedaling speed and we were able to hold the track into the first two lanes. My heart was racing during this process but with coaching and direction we fell into a good rhythm.
The group then moved onto track starts. I learned that the start requires a quicker power effort than a road time trial start as you have to reach speed to hold the bank of turn one by the time you arrive there. It is not very far. Our track start went very well for the first time! Grateful for the awesome direction and insight I was receiving as we were going through the process from my stoker. It was cool!! Trying the track has been a bucket list item for a while, fear and schedule conflicts have kept me away from the clinics offered in the past. Leaving there, I was chomping at the bit to get down to the next available session!
We headed back to home base, bikes down the ramps, us down the steps, through the tunnel and back up the other side. Through the vacuum chamber and onto the roads returning to the OTC. It was amazing how quickly the handling had improved on the tandem on the road returning after the track skills session. Riding with my stoker again, we both commented on that. Nice, relaxed rides!
Our down time involved lunch, restocking of supplies and for me a session with the athletic trainer. We were then ready to head out.
My position was adjusted slightly for the afternoon ride. I was sent out solo on my road bike and in riding nice and tight in a pack - two by two - I was sent to the front to ride with our coach also on a solo bike. We worked to set the pace for the tandem lines, judging light changes and getting the group rolling again. We had some pretty tough wind and a bit of climbing on the outbound. I had the opportunity to fall in behind our coach when the wall of wind nearly stopped my bike! It was a big thrill for me to be able to keep the pace and execute without getting dropped although when the wall of wind hit me I did feel myself get sucked in by the peleton! I am grateful for all of the direction and coaching that I have received and helped to coach with the FRCC as the banana peel, riding two by two sessions and importance of holding line through turn sessions all came in extremely handy!
Once we reached the outbound point, we had a nice, non-busy road with a perfect grade to work on hill climbing. Many skills learned in working together on a tandem climbing and although I did the climbing drills on a solo bike, observing the tandem groups and listening to feedback provided great insight for me. After 5 hills, we quickly refueled and prepared to head out.
One of the stokers needed to take a break in the van heading back and the coaches moved me into that stoker’s position for the ride home. My bike got a ride in the van. I had a great pilot and we quickly learned the feel of each other’s pedal strokes, start and stop routine etc. I also learned how important the body movement piece is. I kept trying to look around him to see where we were going, but learned quickly that I was better off looking right at his back or down (although the spinning pedals and ground passing by was not the best thing ;) ) It was odd to hold onto bars with no breaks and to not have control of the gears when I felt I needed to shift. We worked together pretty well, executed our starts and stops with very little fumbling (all of the fumbling was me as I unclipped at times and put a foot down when he said I didn’t need to) and even hit a tuck position heading downhill - it was fun to see that we reached 39 mph on that downhill tuck and it felt very controlled! https://www.relive.cc/view/1565807751
Arriving back at home base, it was time for a shower, some time in the Recovery Center, a quick dinner and our evening meeting. Tonight’s meeting included a recap of the day - takeaways, skills gained and questions. It was fun to hear and to see how much the track skills improved the road riding. We also talked about the importance of a race day routine, the importance of a checklist and being prepared for an event.
The end of day 3. A mentally and physically challenging day! On tap for Day 4 - a.m. skills session followed by another session in the track - this time with some racing involved - the pucker factor is still there and hopefully will calm some as the session progresses! We have a short break between sessions in the morning followed by a longer afternoon break before evening dinner and meetings.
Day 4 begins!
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