Instead of waiting until the end of the year and writing a single recap, I’m going to split this year up into three separate posts, the first of the year being this one.

My plan for this year is to again focus on track racing by taking what I’ve learned and built up last year and improve, to be one of the more competitive amateur racers at Dick Lane Velodrome. To help with this, and to make the racing more enjoyable, I’ve teamed up with Chris Kelly and Faster Mustache: Race. I’ve been friends with most of the team for many years, but finally decided to join the race team this year. The team attitude has kept me motivated to ride more and added a new level of tactics to racing.

My goals this year are to place consistently in the Pro Race Series events at Dick Lane and do exceptionally well in the Working Man’s Madison<. New this year to Dick Lane’s results are a separate team competition which combines team members’ points on Wednesday races throughout the year.

This last weekend was the first Pro Race Event and I rode fairly well. I recently upgraded to lighter, more aerodynamic wheels and I’m still adjusting to them. On the Friday night sprints, I matched my best 200 m time of 13.44 seconds, despite feeling slow. Additionally, well-played team tactics put my teammates Chris and Justin into 1st and 2nd positions in our 10 lap scratch race.

On Saturday’s omnium, I placed 8th overall and scored my first points in this event (I rode two such events last year). I can feel that I have a lot of improvements yet to make. With most of the season ahead of me, I’m excited about preparing for the rest of the year.

Continue reading “2010 Cycling Season, Getting Started” →

Now that its October and I’m on to my post-season beer and laziness celebration, I should recap this year’s cycling adventures. After a successful year of track racing last year and taking a cue from my friend Chris Kelly, I made a list of goals for this year:

• Compete in Wednesday night racing at Dick Lane Velodrome, not missing more than three nights.
• Compete in all three Pro Race Series events at Dick Lane Velodrome and win points in one event.
• Mountain bike as often as possible.
• Use road riding as a training tool; don’t get frustrated about performance.
• Win the Faster Mustache 24 Hour Race, with team Dreadnok.
• Compete in the cyclocross season, for fun.
• Don’t get out of shape in the winter.

Second Pro Race Series. Photo by Chris Kelly
Continue reading “2009 Cycling Season” →

This year’s race was an interesting one. As always, I was worried in the days leading up to the race that something would go wrong or no one will donate any toys. Despite some setbacks, this year was perhaps a bigger success than previous years, but it took a lot of self-convincing before I was able to admit it.

Race Flyer. Photography copyright Michael Lemberger.
Continue reading “3rd Annual Santa’s Little Messenger Race” →

This year, I began cycling at the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point. It has been some of the most intense and exciting racing ever. I have been participating in the Monday nights “Advanced Training” and then the weekly training races. All competitors are split into 4 groups: A, B, C, and D, each decreasing in average rider skill and experience. Each rider starts his/her career in the D group and moves up by scoring points in the weekly training races. The points do not hold any real value and are mostly in place to encourage people to participate regularly. A new racer needs to earn 50 points to advance to the C group, an additional 84 points to advance to the B group, and an additional 105 points to advance to the A group.

The D group has its training races on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, while the A, B, and C groups compete weekly on Wednesdays. The remaining 2nd and 4th Tuesdays host a Pursuit night where any rider can participate in individual pursuit, team pursuit, and team sprint events. The points earned during pursuit nights count toward a rider’s total when upgrading to a higher group.

Additionally, each rider is responsible for keeping an accurate resume of his/her points despite a master list compiled by the East Point Velodrome Association. My resume will be updated throughout the summer leading up to the 3rd Festival of Speed, a heavily spectated, tri-summer racing event boasting cash payouts!

My cycling resume at DLV for 2008:

Point Totals: 129 points
B-Group: 5 points
C-Group: 47 points
D-Group: 55 points
Pursuit Nights: 19 points
Friday Night Sprints: 3 points
Continue reading “2008 Track Cycling Season” →

This year, like last, I decided to hold the Santa’s Little Messenger Bicycle Race benefiting Atlanta’s Toys For Tots program. The concept behind the race is that individuals and businesses around town, who were going to donate a toy to Toys For Tots, register the toy with me via a web form instead of finding a local drop off point. Then, on the day of the race, riders picked up the toys and returned them to the “base”. Two categories of racers (solo and two-person teams) competed to earn the most “toy miles”.

The race began almost immediately with a terrible rain storm but all the riders really toughed it out and did a great job. This year, seventeen racers (six teams and five solo racers) collected 96 toys. The complete results are available on Faster Mustache.org.

Continue reading “2007 Santa’s Little Messenger Race” →