Masters Track Cycling World Championships

Yesterday marked the end of the 17th masters track cycling world championships here in Manchester.  Being several years shy of the minimum age required to compete, I accompanied the Hammer Racing Team to the event as mechanic and general-purpose infield helper.

Over the course of the week, I met many new people and every day heard old stories retold and new ones unfolding.  Here is a brief overview of how the week went.

A week ago Saturday, I linked up with the team and checked into the hotel.  We ate dinner in the hotel bar/restaurant area that evening.

Riding kilometer time trials very rapidly requires lots of energy.  The first night, we made sure to feed the sprinters.  Later in the week, Sky won medals in the kilo and team sprint.  Maybe there is something to be said for eating with two forks?

On Sunday, the riders had some training sessions at the velodrome, but there was nothing for me to do at the track, so I joined several spouses of riders and took the train to Liverpool.

The city still stands as the metal lookout birds on top of the Liver Building have not flown away.  Yet.

On Monday, racing started, so my duties at the track began.  The Hammer team made quite a respectable showing, with four of the five riders contesting sprint distance events in several different age groups and "Count" riding endurance events in his category.  I also looked after wheels for one of the local British riders who contested the mass start endurance events (scratch and points race) in his category.  He came away with a silver medal in the scratch race and making several crafty moves in the closing laps of the race.  It was very exciting to watch, and a very good result too.

The track surface was improved since I raced here last year, and the lobby/reception area was substantially renovated.  If these improvements continue, maybe in another year or two they will have consistently sunny days in Manchester?

After the racing concluded Saturday evening, the group went for dinner at Bella Italia, an Italian restaurant chain here in the UK.  We sat near the door, and in the middle of dinner, saw another group of American riders enter the restaurant.  Members of each group had long-running friendships and rivalries, so it was very interesting to hear some of their stories.

Count messed with Gibby.

After dinner, I parted ways with the Hammer group, but will certainly see them after my ongoing adventures in the UK and Europe.