Well, after reading the racing experiences of some on this group I was
inspired to join a club and start racing.
I bit of research on the internet and some questions on aus.bicycle I
decided Lidcombe-Auburn was the right fit for me. I was actually
intending to race on the road next weekend with the club, but woke up
this morning and decided to go race at a Bankstown CC sponsered event at
their Lansdowne track.
Turned up and figured they'd probaly be somewhere near the Dunc Gray
velodrome, but no luck so had to drive aroud a little to find the start
area. Still got there with about 20 minutes to spare on a 2pm start.
Talked to the starter about the most suitable grade for me to ride in. A
bit of advice from a fellow rider and I decided to ride in D grade,
which ended up having around 15 starters. Had time to ride a lap of the
track before the race to take a look-see. The track itself is probably a
comfortable 4 meters wide the whole way around, is 2km start to finish
and is quite hilly, with a couple of comfortable climbs and a really
winding downhill section. The surface in parts is quite bumpy which
meant some white knuckles on the downhill part where I found myself
hitting about 55km/h (through the later parts of the race).
The start was pretty cruisy in waves by grade with B grade leading out.
Stayed in about the middle of the bunch for the first half lap and the
pace wasn't anywhere near as fast as I'd feared. Got to the hills in the
back section of the track and took a turn in the lead. I looked back as
I turned into the start/finish straight and had dropped the bunch by
around 50 meters. I wasn't really sure what to do, drop back or just
ride it out as hard as I could. Chose the latter and off I went.
Got picked up by the B grade riders a few laps later and jumped onto the
back as they all rode past. I didn't know this was a no-no until I went
past the start/finish and a very friendly official rode out with me and
explained the rules. He was very cool about me being a novice.
I don't know how far ahead of the D grade pack I was but as I rode onto
the start/finish stretch on about the 5th lap and official pulled me
over and asked for me to wait for the pack. There was another rider out
front as well who they stopped as he went by and as the pack rode past
we moved onto the back. I really tried to stay in the pack but the first
time I hit the front I dropped them off again. Though I honestly thought
they were still with which turned out it was a breakaway for C grade on
my wheel. Which is how I rode the last few laps finishing the 24kms in
around 43 minutes. Clearly not in the right grade but hopefully will get
that right after another outing or two.
Met some of the guys from my new club after the race and am looking
forward to moving up to C grade next weekend. Had a great time, and none
of my earlier fears about riding in a racing pack eventuated. Am glad I
went out today and can't wait for the next ride.
Brett