Turk and Will on the track warming up before the race.
Turk found it "shocking" that I wore my favorite crit gloves as an out of towner...
"Low tech" registration. No networked computers or scanners. Points for the Driveway on this one!
-
Decent sized fields - 55 for A race, 40 for B race, 20 for C race. Again, points for driveway which offers more races and larger fields.
These races are "Points" races, with sprint points every 3rd lap. Small group tended to jump of the front up the 2nd climb with riders vying for points, then fall back into the bunch after the sprint.
Windy night which helped keep the race together. Notice the Canadian flag on the left, we are about an hour from Canada here.
Jim and Will relaxing after the race. Pretty much glad the racing is done!
Turk and Jim recovering at Newicks Lobster House, 10 minutes from the venue. Points for this race!
Will ready to "dive" into twins, last meal with family before college life begins!
Lobster Roll is a suitable alternative
Thursday night crit series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, north of Concord. Most of these races use this longer "road" course. A few use just the oval. The climbing is "outside" the oval.
A race scheduled for 18 laps. I did 16, had to "sit out" a couple of laps.
The topography of a lap. The 1st bump is shorter, out of the saddle. The 2nd bump is longer and put me into debt after a bit...
Laps were a little over 1.5 miles. Speed averaged 23-27mph. Around 100 feet of climbing each lap. My power and heart rate capability (ie my fitness) are a little diminished currently.
Well, we are getting No. 1 son, Will, off to college. We certainly can’t go somewhere without finding a bike race. I had seen this series, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a few years ago but hadn’t raced it. Night falls earlier here than in TX – due to NH’s more northerly latitude and location on the eastern side of its time zone. This series ends in mid September whereas we get 2 more months of decent evening riding and racing in TX.
We generally go to The Driveway (an auto race and testing track) in Austin for The Driveway Series on Thursday nights from April thru October. The New Hampshire Motor Speedway Series coincidentally is run at an auto race track, on Thursday nights. The similarities kind of end there.
Our Driveway series is at smaller venue, with more local feel and character and a narrower, smoother surface. The NHMS is a true racing oval with an infield area, and a huge grandstand. There are some grooves in the pavement and it is nowhere near as smooth the Driveway.
The NHMS series consists of 22 nights of 3 to 5 races, held simultaneously. The Driveway runs 35 nights with 4 or 5 races, held sequentially. The NHMS advertises A, B, C, D and juniors races. Last night when we raced there were A, B, and C races. These are not USACycling races. The A race is suggested for Cat 3 and above. B race for those who want to go a bit slower and the C and D races for entry level and first timers. I think this year they have not been running D races.
Anyways, I did the A race, Will and Terri did the C race. All 3 races are on the track at the same time. The A and B race were scheduled for 18 laps, the C race for 15 laps. Technically the recommendation is that if you get dropped from your race, you fall back to a following race.
The A race was smoking fast and I felt terrible (nothing like a 36 hour car ride from TX is your legs.) My legs were aching from the very start. I stayed in about 9 laps, then had to sit up on the climb. We had lapped the B race by this point and Terri and Will’s C race had splintered into groups of 2-3, 2-3 laps in. I soft pedaled and rode about 1/2 a lap with Will and Terri then jumped back in with my group. Lasted a few more laps, then had to again “sit out” a lap. In retrospect I should have done the B race, which was my intention, but when I was signing up the guys there encouraged me to do the A race and what the hey, I’m only up here for 1 night!
The races were over in a little over an hour, earlier in the summer with longer daylight, they run for about an hour and a half. The “points” style of the race (sprint for points each 3rd lap) lends itself to the group staying together, the strong guys racing for the points sit up and wait for the bunch after they duke it out. We started with over 50 guys and lost about 15 during the race. I think a couple of those dropped got back in after a lap or two as I did.
Very cool venue, very fun race . Definitely does not have the polish or variety of our Driveway series, but a wonderful alternative for this week. Again we remind ourselves how lucky we have with the riding and racing in Texas. Hopefully Will will get up here a couple more times before series ends for the summer!
Will,
Make sure that you take advantage of all the joys that your college years have to offer. This is supposed to be the best time of your life… and before you know it you are looking back and remembering your glory years. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Terri and Jim,
Don’t worry too much, you raised him well.
Best of luck.