Originally Posted by [165]
Okay - I missed the Madisons...but the Keirin! Some relly great fields out there and finesse to boot! I was most impressed with the women's and juniors' fields. Great groups, awesome people. Fun times for sure. I hope MARCUS fills us in on the stats. I will try and get a few pics up!
Count on the mods to screw with my post.
It was good to see you at the track J. I hope you got some good shots... And I hope we can see some on the web soon.
Lot's of fun in Northbrook last night... The Keirin was a tough one. Only the second Keirin for me. The Madison is always tough when you're in "my kind of shape"... But it's always an enjoyable game. I can't stop! We'll have another Madison next week, a Keirin the following week and a Madison clinic coming in about a month (Keirin clinic after that).
But back to the posts... I've been neglecting BikeForums.net lately (too much work?) and didn't make the big announcement when I realized that we had a Madison/Keirin double plate of excitement coming our way. I logged on right before heading to the track and noticed that [165] already mentioned the Keirin, but not the Madison in the thread title. I tried to start a new post with the same content but a different title (to attract the Madison lovers out there). Then I realized that practically no one reads the track threads (compared to the SS/Fixed threads), and decided to start a new post in the more common area. Title: Chicago, KEIRIN, MADISON, You *or something like that. I was hoping to attract some locals who might not have had anything better to do last night. Since the link I posted had been deleted,... well I guess that's the end of that story...
But anyway- Racing was good. Large fields- over 20 cat4s, 9 women, 8 or so juniors, over 80 racers total, I believe. Alan went down during the cat4 Miss & Out, hit his head and got skuffed a bit... Cat scan, "minor" concussion... But I just talked to him on the phone and he's doing fine. He has a headache now and he'll be stiff tomorrow, but he's hoping to race the Proctor Classic this weekend. He's a tough, young guy. It was great- when they were carrying him off on the stretcher, I was on the mic and "introduced" him to the crowd of spectators as he was carried past. The audience cheered for him and he waved back at everyone- kind of humorous looking since the rest of his body, legs, head, etc were strapped down to the stretcher, his arms flailing... Definately live and kicking.
Good times.
It's always fun to get out of towners in to race... Since this was a qualifier for Elite Nationals (for the Keirin), we attracted this hulk of a rider from Missouri. He was in town to race the Keirin and take one step toward Nationals. He meant business. As I worked the registration table- he stood in front of me, flexing his pectorals. I wasn't sure if he thought he was signing up for a wrestling match or what... But this type of power racing (Keirin, Match Sprint, Kilo) sometimes attracts athletes from other sports. I've seen quite a few people make the transition from wrestling, football, rugby and weight lifting to track cycling and many times they perform wonderfully. But anyway- big guy qualified for Elite Nationals. Look for him in LA later in the Summer.
Me? I didn't make it past the preliminary rounds. Look for me to still be in Northbrook. Well, there's another Keirin qualifier in Kenosha on the 25th. he he. Paul Swift will be trying to qualify at that time. It'll be a good show.