Masters State Track Championships

I made my annual trip to the track Saturday to race the Masters Districts. Jordan joined me, hoping to get on the track for his first time. I did the Kilo and the 3000m on my road bike (sorry, no track bike).

There has been some discussion about the fairness of using a road bike vs. a fixed gear. My opinion is that a track bike has a slight advantage, due to the direct connection and momentum of the fixed gear. I only shift once, just after the start, to get into my chosen gear (53x17=93.3in), and then resist the temptation to grab the next bigger gear(53x16=101in), which is too big, and will hurt me at the end of the pursuit. I've ridden both fixed, and road bike, and my best times are on the fixed gear, but not by much.

Tainter and Currell were the fastest of the evening. Tainter killed everybody in both TT's. Currell was best of the rest. I squeezed out a win in the 40-49 Kilo, and rode a respectable time to score a second win in the 40-49 3000m. A barely 30 year old Tone Coughlin came up and showed us he is quickly recovering from his shoulder injury. Skibby scored a bronze in the 3000m, silver in the points race, and gold in the team pursuit, albeit there was only one team.


Jordan spent the evening riding his circus bike around the infield. He was doing hot laps, timing himself how long it took to do the infield oval. He went over the bars once when he went off road. What a laugh. He even ventured out onto the track.


After all the racing was over, Jordan took to the track on his road bike. I asked him to keep his speed up, and start on the blue apron, then move up to the sprinters lane, then above the red line, then above the blue. He didn't even hesitate, he was totally comfortable riding high on the banking. After several laps, I could tell he was a little tired, but I thought he'd have fun doing a Kilo. He threw down a respectable 1:40. Not bad buddy.

Results Posted