Kissena Twilight Series: week 2

Yesterday marked the second week of the Kissena Twilight Series. Since I upgraded to Cat 4 last week I had to ride with the B group (Cat 4/5) this time (although even if I hadn't upgraded I probably would have ridden with the B group). It was yet another gorgeous evening of mild temeratures and clear skies - perfect for racing.

I showed up, signed in and picked up my new number. Went infield, changed my clothes and hopped on the track for a warm-up. There was a nice long paceline going when I got there so I waited until they passed me and then hopped on the back. After a easy laps at a steady pace the official rang the bell. The racing was about to start.

The first race for the B group that night was a scratch race. It was pretty uneventful and I ended up around 7th place. Not too bad for my first race in the B group. The next race was a Miss-and-Out. The first few laps were fine, but then I made a fatal error - I sprinted to cross the finish line and ended up getting carried into the second position by turn 1. By turn 2 I decided to get on the wheel of the guy in front of me, who was in the sprinters lane. Big mistake. As soon as I got on his wheel the pack caught up to us and started passing us. Not only were they passing us, they were passing us really close, almost pushing us into the grass. By turn 3 I was near the back of the pack, and started trying to get into a better position. I was pulling up behind Pablo when a rider swerved up track a bit and actually bumped into Pablo. No one crashed but I did slow down enough that I ended up at the rear of the pack, completely boxed in. I got eliminated.

After my disappointing performance in the Miss-and-Out I was determined to do well in the Men's B feature. The feature race was a 12 lap "Devil's scratch" - a combination of a Miss-and-Out and a scratch race. For the first 6 laps the last rider is eliminated each lap. The final 6 laps are carried out like a normal scratch race. I made it passed the first 6 laps. On the final lap of the scratch, a group of 5 or 6 riders made a break on turn 3. Unfortunately there were two riders inbetween me and the break who weren't responding. I had to try and bridge a two rider gap, which I failed to do. In the process of trying to bridge the gap I also ended up pulling another rider behind me, who then sprinted past me to the finish line. Once again I ended up around 7th (or 8th).

Overall it was a very satisfying night of racing. I'm enjoying the faster pace of the B group and feel a little bit safer in the pack (aside from that one rider who bumped Pablo).