Archive for October, 2006

check it

Posted by TJ on October 13, 2006

come one come all, family, friends and those that I do not know – see my bio

http://www.yeticycles.com/Team/TeamMedia/FactoryTeamBio/FTBioTJSharp.cfm

I had quite the unique experience last night in Colorado Springs. I, along with the rest of the employees at Yeti Cycles, got the chance to go down to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and participate in a 2 hour track bike clinic with the US Olympic Track Cycling Coach. For those of you who do not know what track racing is, track racing is comprised of a 400 meter oval track that is banked all the way around. In the corners the pitch can reach upwards of 45 degrees. (the OTC track is 38.5) You ride around the track on bikes that have a fixed single speed, that is, you have one gear that spins while the wheel spins. So if you stop pedaling you will have a surprise coming when the bike wants to pedal back!

We started off getting used to the track, followed by some simple in-line pace training and all the way into some scrimmages. In track cycling there are various types of races. We were able to do three. The first was a standard race, first to do 5 laps. The second was called the “Miss and Out” where every lap, the last person across the finish was pulled out of the race. The third, points race, where it was a 12 lap race, and on certain laps the official would call out a sprint. The 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th positions across the line after the sprint would earn points, 5,3,2,1 respectively. There would be about 4 sprints in the race and the person with the most points at the end wins.