Ugh....

Paceline burnouts...paceline burnouts and more paceline
nice picture of a paceline taken from Wikipedia.

burnouts...ugh...Track class on Wed proved to be some good paceline work. Problem is by the end of it, i was SICK of hearing my name yelled at by one of the teachers to: CLOSE THE GAP! I am not such a fan of sitting close enough on someone else's wheel. I mean the whole lack of brakes thing really gets me sometimes. Granted I am one of the first ones off the paceline which I was told because I end up working too hard because I am not drafting and if I did...i would be strong enough to stay on there much longer. sigh

Also the SD velodrome is sorta 'square-ish' and has 4 corners and inevitably in corner 1 (where typically you switch who is pulling the pace line) the next person jumps and the paceline stretches out (or more typically this is where I lose the paceline) and then in corner 3 people aren't powering through it for some reason and we all end up squished up on one another. Never makes me very comfortable. So it is this weird accordion and I just don't like being that close to the rider ahead of me.

So...here is the advice that I was given...go practice what I call: "bike wrestling". (No he did not call it that...but that is what I call it). Put on tennis shoes, find a buddy, find some grass and practice bumping into one another...front wheel to back wheel, side to side. Now here is the thing... i've done the whole side to side bumping thing, but not with anyone who was really all that intent on actually bumping me like I would be bumped in real life so it kinda doesn't count.

I haven't tried the tire bumping thing, but I think what I actually need to do this properly is a "roadie mentor" who is used to racing in tight groups and is actually intent on actually hitting my tires or bumping into a shoulder. Whenever I go to a bike clinic and practice this it is always: ooops...bump....ooh sorry...i barely hit you or a VERY light tap on the shoulder done by other people who are not used to the claustrophobic nature of pack riding. While useful in a clinic to understand you won't fall on your butt if someone does tap you on the shoulder, generally I don't get the feeling of if someone were to actually bump me while we both were going at speed. I'm going to work on paceline work with a road bike this weekend and see how it goes.

Nuances of trackbikes

And I was TOTALLY bummed on Wed too. My new pretty cog...the one I was soooooooo excited about putting on...my new 15 where I would have graduated to an 86 gear inch because I would then have a 48x15...sadly...sadly sadly...I could not ride on it on Wed. The thing that sucks about learning a new sport is there are all these little nuances that you are unaware of until you screw up. So...got the new gear put it on. Put my chain on...and hmmm...my chain won't STAY on the gear! What? Apparently I have what is called: a road chain. On cheaper track bikes/fixies (like mine...just entry level)...they are sold with road chains and road cogs. NOW here is the crazy thing. ROAD cogs will take a TRACK chain, but a TRACK cog will not take a ROAD CHAIN!! I bought a 15 track cog so the reason the chain won't stay on is because it is a road chain on my bike. But if I go and buy a track chain, it will go with my 15 track cog AND it will still go with my 16 road cog. Confused yet? I am. Only thing I understand is if I want to use my shiny new cog I need a new chain. Lame. So that is the plan for the weekend...get a new track chain so I can try out the new gear and see if I can keep up with those silly boys on Wed.


Update: New chain put on!! Can't wait to try out the new cog on the TRACK!