Seattle’s weekly Seward Park Thursday Night Race Series is underway. Although not sanctioned by USAC or WSBA, this race along with the weekly Pacific Raceways Tuesday night race are at least as important as the “real” races for many local speedsters.
Conditions were amazing last night with warm dry air, blue skies, and blossoms everywhere. Since this race is in the park, it is as much a family social scene as bike race, with picnic blankets and kids cheering their dads (and sometimes moms) as the racers whizz past. And, if you hang around you might just get to watch a current pro in action: Rhae Shaw, Tom Peterson, and Tyler Farrar periodically make appearances.
The race is held on the upper loop road in Seward Park and alternates between being run in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction each week. Each lap is about 0.8 mile, and speeds on the back stretch can get up to over 40mph.
The races are organized by skill level with a 30-minute beginner race (category 4 and 5) starting at 5:30, a category 3 and 4 race at 6PM, and a 60-minute race for the fastest racers at 7PM. For folks new to racing there is usually a pre-race clinic at 5PM that covers cornering technique and guidance about how to ride this particular course.
I like this event because of the setting, but also because it makes for a great training ride: Ride to the race. Race. Ride home. Since the course has a small hill, the race itself is (for the likes of me) a very high-intensity interval workout. There is no better way to get a HIT workout than with a crowd of riders pedaling their legs off.
If you are trying this race for the first time, I’d recommend arriving early to allow enough time to deal with logistics and confusions. If you don’t have a WSBA number you’ll need to rent one for the race at the check-in desk, allow a few minutes to pin it to your jersey, and a couple minutes to slow pedal the course so you know what you are getting yourself into.
More pics from the 5:30 and 6:00 races.
For more info: Series flyer
