(Most of) Week 2 in the UK

It's been almost a week since my last update, so I thought it was about time to revisit my notebook and write up some thoughts on the past few days.

Last week on Thursday I retrieved my bike from the shop, with a new fork installed, and made it over to the track for my 4^th of four sessions in the expedited accreditation process.

On Friday, I picked up an ID photo from a local photo store and took it over to the track and was issued an accreditation card. I found running with a backpack to catch the bus to the velodrome is rather easy compared to running while holding a 20-kg plate. Thanks Crossfit! I also discovered that internet access at the track costs half what it does at the hostel for a pay-as-you-go arrangement.

Then on Friday evening, I met up with some family friends for dinner in Altrincham. We had a nice dinner, grilled sea bass for me, and then went for a couple glasses of wine at a nearby French restaurant. By and large, the food here in England has been much better than England's reputation would suggest. After dinner, on the train back to the city center (or 'city centre' as it's written on the signs in Manchester), I met a couple who were on their way out to meet co-workers for beers. I accepted their invitation when the Irishman asked, “Do you fancy beer?” It was a good night on the town, marred only by a foolish cocaine dealer who wanted me to purchase drugs on my walk home.

Saturday was a pretty low-key day, hanging out in the city center and generally making a nuisance of myself around the hostel. The previous weekend I had signed up for a guided pub crawl (kind of silly, I know, since some would argue I'm an expert already) which I did not attend due to the more appealing option of hanging out with my new German friends, so the organizers credited me for the following weekend. This weekend the event was canceled, so I hung out at the hostel and talked with my roommates that night, two Aussies and a guy from Singapore who was studying in Paris.

On Sunday I spent some time planning a side trip for the upcoming week, three full days plus a bookending afternoon and morning in Swansea, Wales. Then in the evening, I headed over to the velodrome for a structured training session with the A+B (faster and more experienced) group. We had only seven riders (7?!? This was the fewest riders I have seen at one time on the track so far, with the exception of a GB national team training session on Friday) so one of the coaches brought out the derny and we did some motorpacing work. I was rather surprised that most of the other riders in the session had not motorpaced before, but then again, when a typical session has 25+ riders, then a motor is not really necessary for endurance training...

On Monday, it was back to the gym for another crossfit workout, this time hang power cleans and burpees, 15 of each at a time, three rounds for time. I loaded up a 45-kg barbell and finished the work in about five and a half minutes. In the evening, it was back to the velodrome for ACT Track League racing.

This was my first racing here in the UK (or outside of the USA, for that matter), so I was a little bit nervous. I was still riding a small 81” gear, which I normally use for warm-ups in Colorado, but figured that I'd keep the 14-tooth cog on the shelf until next summer, so small gears it was. We raced a 12-lap scratch, 4-km team pursuit, 12-lap Courses Des Primes (essentially a point-a-lap for us Yanks), and a 50-lap scratch race. The scratch race was rather quick, and I ended up in 4^th place after helping to establish the winning break. Then in the team pursuit, we ended up shedding riders (both teams started with 7 or 8) until we had only three left. I was one of those lucky three, along with the winner and 3^rd place from the scratch race, spinning like a mad-man trying to hold out for the remainder of the 4-km. We finished in slightly under 5-minutes to take the win. Not bad for a bunch of guys who never ride team pursuit together...

In the Courses Des Primes, I broke away for a lap or two in the middle of the race, but was caught by a hard-charging chase group. I'm not sure how the points ended up there. The points race played out very similar to the very last points race of the season in Colorado Springs. It was not overly fast, and allowed for attacking the point laps and then recovering to sprint again later. Like the last night in Colorado Springs, that pattern worked ok for me, so I ended up taking the win in the points race as well. All in all, it was a good first night of racing, with a fairly young field (most of the riders in the Senior group were actually juniors).

On Tuesday, there was a race night for the premier devision of the Manchester Regional Track League. There were a whole host of top-notch riders who showed up, including 2008 Olympic gold medal winner, Ed Clancy. The program for the night was quite a bit tougher than the ACT league; we started out with a 40-lap scratch race, followed by a 50-lap points race, then an elimination race, and ended the night with a 64-lap (10-mile) scratch race.

As I approached the velodrome from the bus, I was greeted by a wonderful sight.

Somebody realized it was my birthday.

The 40-lap scratch race had an average pace of a little over 50-kph. To put that in perspective, I think the fastest scratch race heat at US nationals was a hair over 49-kph. Welcome to Tuesday night track league in Manchester. Part way through the race, I was following the esteemed Mr. Clancy's wheel, and successfully followed his surge when it might have been a better idea to sit up and let someone else chase, and then was hanging on for dear life for the remainder of the race. I finished on even laps with the field, but was nowhere near the front at the end.

The 50-lap points race went about the same as the 40-lap scratch. I was keeping plenty busy just holding the pace and didn't have much time to think or worry about going for points. Again, I made it to the end on even laps, but was still nowhere near the front at the finish.

The elimination race was a rude shock to the legs. I made it to the front once, but then was swarmed on the following lap and was eliminated about two laps later. At least it gave me a chance to rest before the 10-mile...

The 10-mile was another exercise in hanging on for dear life. Being pushed by really tough fields of really tough riders is exactly what I came to Manchester for, so that was good. When I started to lose my 2^nd lap, one of the officials waved me down on to the apron as a mercy gesture. It was rough. On the plus side, I came back to the hostel and had about 75 birthday wishes electronically delivered right to my inbox and/or Facebook account, so that was pretty sweet.

Then this morning I got up, had breakfast, showered, packed, and caught the train to Wales. The English country-side is pretty sweet. Not as rugged or breathtaking as the scenery in Colorado or Utah, but it really does look nice. In the late afternoon I arrived in Swansea, and made my way over to the hotel. Here is a view out the window:

After dinner from a nearby Chinese take-out place, I walked down the street to the local pub and had a pint of some delicious cask beer, Brains SA: