This week’s theme turned out to be how bicycle racers will ride in circles just to inflict pain and suffering on one another. First stop, the Seward Park Series on Thursday evening.
I arrived when the 5:30 event was in the final laps, just in time to see the peloton organizing for the finish sprint.
Bennett White (HSP), part of the 3-man final sprint, thought the Apex team members delivered James a wee bit too early–at the top of the hill–where the 3 main contenders made a clean break for the finish line. Bennett won the race, and James finished third.
Flickr gallery of the 5:30 race.
Race venues can feel intimidating at first, but the Seward Series is set up with new racers in mind. If you are new to racing, the 5:30 event is the one for you and the race registrars will answer any questions you may have.
Flickr gallery of the Seward social scene.
At the front of the pack at the start of the 6:00 event was the striking quartet of SCCA/Starbucks Cycling teammates Laura Dodd, Megan Gray, Sarah Carroll, and Cynthia Maree.
Sometimes pros show up to the Seward Series and do both the 6PM and 7PM races as a training workout. This evening’s special guest was Jelly Belly pro Steve Fisher.
The race is run in alternating directions every week, and this week it was rolling counter-clockwise. The trickiest part of this direction may be a left turn into a short hill at the end of the backstretch.
Flickr gallery of the 6:00 race.
As for the 7PM race, it’s all fun and games until the wheels start rolling.
Galen’s expression after ~15 minutes of racing says it all:
As the race progressed I felt brave enough to position myself in the hairpin at the NW corner of the course and got some very nice captures including this one of David “Rocket” Richter (HSP):
I tweeted the above image and the HSP crew responded “Cornering clinic!,” which turned out to be prophetic.
Flickr gallery of the 7:00 race.
The 2014 Seward Park Series runs through August 28th.
Saturday was the classic Second Ascent Ballard Criterium. I arrived after the final race had begun and although photographing the action at this kind of event is at the limits of what my little Sony RX 100 camera can capture, I did get a few interesting perspectives, like these from corner 4:
As the racers flew into the final straightaway I wasn’t all that surprised to see David Richter out in front by a long margin, but was surprised to see him throwing up his hands in victory well before the finish line. Fortunately we didn’t witness what could have been an embarrassing premature victory salute.
As for the “cornering clinic” comment on Twitter, it turned out that taking a risk on turn three was what sealed the Ballard win for David this year.
Flickr gallery of the Pro 1-2 race at the Second Ascent Ballard Criterium.
