Sprinters Depart

Saturday October 18

What a difference a year makes. Last years trip to Sydney was a huge disappointment. Just about everything that could have gone wrong did. We made it back safely and that's about the only good thing I can remember from last year.

This year was about as opposite of a trip as it could have been. Yes, we had some bumps and the problems with the break-in of our rental car was pretty bad, but other than that it has been smooth sailing. Our bikes arrived with us, our rooming was great, the food has been pretty good and the racing has been a success. The best part of this trip over past World Championships has been the way all the USA riders have trained and raced as “Team USA”. We have all hung out together, supported and helped each other and even raced for each other. What great memories I will take home from this years trip. Thanks to all of Team USA for this.

Now for the days race report. Mike ended up racing Michael Aisbitt who was the top qualifier. So Mike (being a team player) raced him with the goal of taking something out of his legs so that if and when Anton Quist met him in a later round it might help. So Mike is out after the quarterfinals but considers this year a huge success as his riding has improved dramatically from last year and he had fun getting through the rounds he did. If his foot hadn't come out of the pedal on his second round heat, we are pretty sure he would have won that and then he would have had a better shot at his quarterfinal. So who knows, but the point is he is competitive and is "a player" at World Masters. That's a good place to build from for next year.

My quarterfinal race was very close. I lost the first ride as I made a mistake in the last turn and went far too high. I should have rode just above the red sprinter line and that possibly would have made the difference. I had second position and tried to find a place to go under and grab the front but my opponent wouldn't allow it. So with one lap to go I rolled up track a bit to get some altitude and made a run. I got past him much faster than I expected but couldn't quite get all the way by before turn so it was a drag race to the finish. He pulled up even with about 10meters to go and got me at the line. On my second ride against him (it's best of 3 in this round) I timed my run better and almost got around him but came up a bit short. So I too am out, but I rode much better than last year and had a lot more fun being able to actually sprint in the rounds and making the quarterfinals. It was a blast!

Now we will stay the rest of the day to help Annette Williams,Larry Nolan, Anton Quist, Mark Rodamaker and Andy LaCourt to hopefully win their age groups for Team USA!

Tomorrow Randy has his points race while Mike and I head home. We are looking forward to getting back. I hope I can recognize Janet as it feels like I have been gone forever. So much has happened that it feels like weeks instead of the 9 days I have been gone. Thanks for sharing this years trip. It has been a good one.

Hope to see you all soon.

Randy McLain Wins Silver in Scratch Race

Friday October 17

Randy had a great scratch race last night and came ever so close to winning his first World title. He ended up with the Silver medal finishing a half bike length from the winner. Randy was the workhorse in his scratch race and still had the strength to sprint for almost the win. Congratulations to Randy on his World Silver medal!!

Today was sprint day for Mike and I. My 200 was early in the morning and it didn't go well. I had hoped for an 11.7 and did a 12.06. I sure felt beat from the team sprint yesterday and it showed. I qualified 6th and have a 1/8th final tonight.

Mike had his 200 and a round of sprint in the afternoon. His 200 was great going 11.74 knocking of a half second over last year. Last year Mike qualifieed 18th and this year moved up to 9th. In his first round he met the 10th place qualifier. They were very close on time so it came down to the best sprinter. Mike rode a great race by taking the front and razoring his opponent and beating him to the line. Tonight he has his 1/8th final too. I am not positive but I think he will meet Anton Quist in this heat. Anton was the Masters National sprint champion this year.

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OK, we are now back at the room and the day's sprints are over. Mike did not have to ride Anton in his heat. In this second round Mike's foot came loose from his pedal and he couldn't stand up to sprint, so he lost a close race sending him to the repechage round. In a 3-up repechage ride Mike again raced a perfect race to win and is in the quarterfinals tomorrow and likely will ride Anton then.

I had only a first round ride tonight against a rider who qualified with virtually the same time I did. I had a good ride and beat him which sends me into the quarterfinals tomorrow too. I will ride Steven Cronshaw. Steven is a good friend that I have raced for years in Manchester. He is on very good form and qualified a half second ahead of me, so I have my work cut out for me.

The quarterfinals will be a best of 3 so Mike and I both will get at least 2 rides tomorrow. Now it's off to bed as we are both exhausted.

Team Sprint

Thursday October 16

Today was Team Sprint for Mike and I. We were feeling good and had high hopes. On paper our odds looked pretty good. Mike and I had been talking for a few days about changing around our team and having me start and Mike go second man. After looking over our SRM power files on our time trials from Tuesday it looked like my start was good enough and Mikes staying power at 500meters looked better. Plus Mike is a big guy and would give Dave Klipper (our third rider) a better draft to ride in than little ‘ol me. It turned out to be a good change as I turned in a 20.2 first lap and left Mike off at almost 39mph. Mike took it up one notch to 40mph and a 14.8 second lap. Our third lap was a pretty good one too but we came up just a bit short with a 50.6 . This finished us in 8th spot but we were only .6 of a second out of the medal round. All the best teams were bunched up pretty tight with us near the end of that bunch. We lost to the Brits by a measly .05 of a second. Overall except for the placing I was very pleased with our performance. It sure was a blast! Team Sprint is my favorite event and I had a start pretty close to what I used to do. I can't help but be happy with that.

Tonight is Randys scratch race, but it's going to be late again so I am in my room writing this report and planning to get to sleep early. I have to be up at 6:30 in the morning to go to the Track for my 200 meter sprint qualifier. Mikes qualifier is in the afternoon and Randy is foregoing the sprints this year. He is leaving it up to the Men this year. :-)

I'll let you know how the scratch race goes. We have high hopes for a Gold for Randy in this race. Go Randy!!

Randy's Pursuit

Wednesday October 15 (later)

Yesterday was Pursuit day, so Mike and I took our car in and exchanged it for one that had all it's windows. That was a lot of fun.

When we got back we headed over to the Track for Randy's 3000meter Pursuit. If he did well he would qualify for either the final for Gold/Silver or for 3rd/4th. His plan was to do a 23 second start lap and then hold 17.7 second laps finishing with a 3:38. His start lap was a 23.8 and he did hold 17.7's for the rest of his ride and finished with a 3:39. That .8 seconds off his start meant the difference between 2nd and 4th. His final for 3rd/4th wasn't until 10pm. Randy decided he would try to sprint up to his opponent as in the final of a pursuit if you "catch" your opponent then the ride is over and you win. The race starts with a rider on opposite ends of the track, so you either finish with a faster time over 3000meters, or if you catch your opponent you win. Randy went after his opponent, but he must have had the same plan as Randy made very little gains on him and gave up after 4 laps and finished in 4th place. It was exciting, but unfortunately didn't work.

We got back very late so I didn't get the report out until now.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is Team Sprint day for Mike and I, and a scratch race for Randy. Until then....

The Other Shoe Drops

Wednesday October 15

I am not worried or concerned about how smoothly the trip has been going anymore.

Yesterday was not what I would define as smooth. It started with a mild problem of locked bikes and no way to access them to warmup for my 500 time trial. But that was remedied fairly quickly and in plenty of time. Not really anything to be a problem. In fact I got my bike set up and started warming up. I had timed my warmup to finish with a hard leg burning effort with 10 minutes to go in warmup and give myself plenty of time before they closed the Track to begin racing. Unfortunately they closed the track 15 minutes before racing so I never got my good warmup effort or my standing start effort. So there I was 20minutes into the session sitting at the line ready to do my 500 with virtually no warmup. Really, this is not an excuse, I should have checked to see when they were going to close the Track. Rule number one is never assume. I did assume and you know what happens when you assume. So although my time was decent and my start was very good, I don't feel I rodeas fast a race as I was capable. I ended up in 7th place just a few tenths behind Larry Nolan. I would call that respectable.

After a good cooldown "the fun" began. I went to go back to the room and found our rental car in the parking lot had been broken into. Someone smashed the window and stole the GPS unit we had rented. 3 other vehicles were found with the windows broken along with ours. So I had to do a police report and car rental report. You all don't need to hear (or read)my whining on this but it turned into a major pain in the butt and very expensive problem.I will spare you the details but the bottom line is it wasn't a very smooth day and I am not worried or concerned about it anymore.

In the evening it was Mike Paulin's time to race. His age group does a 750 TT. He learned from my earlier mistake and timed his warmup accordingly. Using my air density calculator I found the air tonight to be very thick, much thicker/heavier than last year for the timetrials. Mike was able to knock off a second over last year with much slower conditions. Hemoved up from 18th place last year to finish 11th. So Mike had a very good ride and almostcracked the top 10 in the World.

Afterwards we went to Adams Ka-bobs for pizza and to rehash the days events. The racing was good but the events outside of racing were not. Hopefully this was the only "non-smooth" day we will encounter.

Tomorrow we take the rental car in to exchange it and then to the Track for Randy's pursuit. He should go at about 3pm for his qualifier and then if all goes well he will be racing the final around 9-10pm tonight. Randy took Silver in this event last year so we have high hopes for a good ride today. I'll report on his pursuit tomorrow.

Stretching The Legs

Monday October 13

Today is Monday October 13th in sunny, warm Sydney Australia. Randy had his bike and bike gear delivered this morning. His Mom and Dad arrived too. So all of Randy's potential woes are gone. Before everything and everybody arrived Randy stayed at the Hotel to wait while Mike and I went over to the Track to do our openers as tomorrow racing finally begins.

Our openers went famously. We did a couple team sprint starts to see if I could keep up with Mike and things look real good. My legs were putting out power that I haven't seen all year. I am now really worried! Everything is just going far too smoothly.

Currently Randy is at the track doing a workout as he still has another day before his first event. He will pursuit on Wednesday and if it goes well he will do two pursuits. One qualifier and one final.

After our workout we went for lunch at the YNot Café. A good lunch of pasta for me and lasagna for Mike and we finished it with some good vitamin A (carrot cake) and now we are back at the room looking to take a nap. Fortunately it is day 5 of the same cricket match and so drifting off to sleep looks inevitable.

Nothing too fancy or strenuous is planned for tonight outside of maybe lifting one 12 ounce curl of brew in the lounge. Then it's my 500 tomorrow afternoon and Mikes 750 in the evening. Wish us luck! We're going to need it as things are going far too smoothly........

Randy Arrives: The Party Begins

Sunday October 12

It's Sunday here down under. Mike and I slept in pretty late and I woke up quite groggy. We went to get breakfast and some coffee to clear the haze. Afterwards it was off to the Track to get a short easy ride in. We were expecting Randy to show up shortly so we left a note and headed over to the Velodrome. Mike and I got in a good short workout and went next door to the Handle Bar Tavern which is connected to the Velodrome. I had grilled Barramundi which is a pretty tasty fish. I need to google it to find out more about it. While we were eating Randy showed up. Turns out his bike and gear was left in Los Angeles so he was bikeless and gearless. So we took care of him and got him set up on Mike's bike for his workout. That went well. So a minor bump in the road but overall still a pretty smooth trip so far......that concerns me.

Tonight pizza or pide at Adams Ka-bob is planned. Pide is similar to pizza but spelled differently :-) Actually it is a little different but I don't really know what that difference is. I do know it's good stuff and we're going to go get some as soon as Randy showers and smell good enough to take out in public.

I found out that the races will be shown over the internet. I don't know the details, but evidently it's free and will be shown live. So if you are having a bad case of insomnia at 2am and there are no cricket matches to watch and put you to sleep, check it out- www.cyclingmaster.tv

Tomorrow we will go to the track in the morning to do our openers as our racing starts Tuesday at 1:30pm Sydney time (that will be 8:30 Monday eve in Colorado) with my 500TT and Mikes 750TT will go around 7:30pm (2:30am Tuesday in Colorado) for you cricket watchers.

Sleep. Eat. Ride. Eat. Repeat.

Saturday October 11

Today is Saturday in Australia. It is now 7pm here (2am in Colorado) and Mike and I are relaxing in the lounge at our Hotel. We had a very good day. In fact we had an excellent day! It started with a call home and finally a chance to talk for a bit with Janet. That was nice. The entire was was quite nice too.

Starting where I left off last night:

Last night we were ready to get some sleep and had the TV on. Mike being a sprinter does everything fast. He was watching a movie on the TV and made a comment about it and without even a pause started snoring. That was a new world record for falling asleep. If he races that fast he'll win easily :-)

After almost 12 hours of catch up sleep we got up and went for breakfast. Then over to the Track for a workout. We both had a very good productive training session. Mike showed some very good speed and I didn't do too badly either. We did a good paceline warmup followed by some flying 1 lap efforts and finished with a one lap standing start. We both felt very good on the track and are pleased with our speed.

After our workout we went in search of a new place to eat. It sure is nice having our own car here as we can come and go as we please. Mike is getting the hang of driving on the left side of the road very well. Only two near head on collisions is all (just kidding). We found a Sizzler steak house and hit the jackpot! I got a steak and baked potato with the salad buffet. That included all we could drink and all the desert we could put down. I was in dessert heaven. I actually was full when we left. Afterwards we walked over to a park near the restaurant and watched an exciting game of cricket. Let me tell you, a full stomach and cricket is the sure fire answer to insomnia. If you've ever watched cricket match before you know exactly what I am talking about...right Butch?

Mike had a tire issue at the track today, so we spent the late afternoon sitting out by the pool gluing on some new tires. Mike is now good to go. Now the only question is where do we go for dinner....

First Ride

Friday October 10

Mike and I went to the Track and got in 20 minutes on the Track and 10 minutes on the rollers. There were maybe 3 riders on the Track so we pretty much had it to ourselves. We said hello to Steven Cronshaw from the UK and Bernard and Petra Klulander from Germany. We said hello to Annette Hansen and Kenny Williams as well as Reid Schwartz, Jim Host and Mark Rodamaker from the US, who came by as we were leaving. The legs felt pretty good for the short ride, but afterwards both Mike and I felt quite worn out, mostly from the jet lag and the long travel day yesterday.

After the workout Mike and I went to Adams' Kabobs for dinner. Randy turned us on to this place last year. It was awesome. The owner remembered us from last year and made us some turkish tea. It was very tasty!

Tonight we had a beer in the hotel lounge and hung out with some old friends and met a nice couple from New Zealand. Now that it's 4am in Denver (9am here) my eyes are starting to cross, so it's time to "hit the hay".

Tomorrow morning we have a good workout planned and will actually do some speed work on the Track.

Things continue to move along very smoothly.... this concerns me.

Never Let Mike Paulin Drive

Thursday October 9

It's noon on Friday in Sydney (7pm Thursday in Colorado) and we just checked into our room.

Our flight went well and Mike and I both slept about 8 hours. There was a screaming baby that even earplugs couldn't totally cover, but they did a good enough job. Mike and I both had an empty seat next to us so it was pretty comfortable for the long flight.

We are staying at the Rydges- Bankstown and it's pretty nice. It's much better than where we stayed last year and only slightly more expensive. With the current exchange rate it's actually cheaper than last year. We arrived on time and with all our bikes and gear. I can't tell you what a relief it was to see them roll out our stuff.

Things are going far too smoothly....that worries me.

Then we rented a car and drove to our accommodations. Mike drove and I navigated with our rented GPS. I don't know why Mike wanted to drive, something about, red...red...RED LIGHT Rich.... Shannon and Marsha will get this one.

Mike and I are going to clean up and head over to the Track for a short workout and then to get ka-bobs at the place Randy found last year. Randy, we'll check it out for you to make sure it's still as good as last year (We expect Randy to arrive on Sunday morning).

Well, so far so good.... That concerns me. I'll let you know how the track is next report.

Travel Day

Wednesday October 8 (or Tuesday October 7?)

This is not a real race report as the beginning of the World Championships is still 5 days away. This is more of a trip report. I am traveling with Mike Paulin and we are on the layover between flights in San Francisco International Airport. It's 11pm Denver time but 3pm tomorrow afternoon in Sydney. Trying to grasp the time change is still difficult. We still have an hour until our Flight leaves on its 14 and a half hour flight to Australia, so I thought I would start with a short "report".

The plan is to stay up a few more hours after the flight takes off and then settle in and try to get a solid 8 hours of sleep. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully we'll get a good nights sleep and then arrive "bright eyed and bushy tailed", what ever that means. The next big step will be collecting our bicycle gear. After last years fiasco, to say I am concerned is an understatement. I'll let you know how that goes too.

So far the trip has been extremely smooth. No real hang-ups or surprises. That worries me :-) Hopefully that will continue.

We ran into Joe Fineman as we went through security here in San Francisco. Many of you know him from Masters Nationals. I was surprised to see a familiar face this early.