Day 6 The Final Showdown

Got to the track at 1:30. Racing didn't start until 3:00, but some folks were doing work outs and I just went early to hang out. Today, open categories were racing as well and the 6-Day riders.

An unknown distance opened the racing. It went like this.... Neutral Lap... Meg attacked on lap 1... DING DING DING! Everyone reacted with at "What the f'..?", jumped on the gas and did the best we could. There was no strategies, no attacks, no time. It was a 2 lap unknown distance race and Meg won. Turns out it was a smart move for her to attack early. Emily and I finished 6th and 7th.

Next we did 2 heats of keirens. Well, eventually we did, after waiting for the rain. I was in the first heat with one member of each team, including Mike, Brian, Jeanie, and Meg. I sat 3rd behind the motor behind Brian. He kept sweeping, hoping that I'd take the bait and roll underneath him. But I was content where I was. When the motor pulled off, Mike led us. In the last lap, Brian and I came around him. I got 2nd. Then other heat was more competitive. Andrea attacked into the last lap, eventually winning. Between the 2 of us, Emily and I got 3rd overall.

Because of the weather, we had a big break in the day. This was the most irritating rain. It would stop NO other activity except track racing. There were no umbrellas, no tents, no protecting the bikes. It was sprinkling just enough to keep the track slick. The officials decided to run the "A"s madison first, since they were racing for a FIAC national championship (more important.) They raced for an hour. So there were about 2 hours between my keiren and the madison.

YEY we raced. Although rumored that we'd do 45 minutes, the clock read 30:00 at roll out. Emily and I did our best to stay with the boys'(and Darien and Amelia) teams. About 10 minutes in, one of the guys surged just enough to open a gap together. And since the two teams had each other to share the work, they were able to open up a quarter and eventually a half lap. within the next 10 minutes. Emily and I fought the wind alone, but successful on staying on even laps. Once gaining that half lap, the other teams didn't close much more until the last few laps. The hardest I worked was to be sure that I crossed the line going into the lap last before Mike caught me. Then I caught Jeanie at the line. Track time was about 7:00 by then.

In the end, my fellow cupcake and I finished on even laps and lapped the other 2 teams twice. I was pretty happy with that.

After racing we passed out mini cupcakes to all 6 Day racers, collected our gift certificates and jersey prizes, and went out for dinner. Fun times. Here are some pictures from the day. The cloudy skies provided poor lighting, so some are blurry. Enjoy and thanks for reading. Next up will be the FSA Grand Prix at Marymoore next Friday and Saturday.


Darien, Emily, and Jeanie discussing brownie recipes.


The fans are "patiently" waiting for the rain to pass.



This is my game face. Actually Per is testing out his camera skills.



Riders get ready to start the madison.



Emily gets ready to throw me into the race.



Mike and I wait to relieve our partners.



And the gap opens



Rolling in to relieve.


Podium shot. Per took about 5 shots here. Brian wasn't looking in any of them. This was the best shot of everyone.


Cupcakes #3