And your state keirin champ is....not me.

I'll start at the beginning, but this night was all about the keirin for me. It was the State Championship, a national qualifier, and my first chance to test myself against the Cat 1/2's.

First up was a 15-lap scratch race. My plan was to just sit in and use it as a warm-up, but with 3 to go the pace was still slow enough that I knew I'd have a chance to sprint. Coming into the last lap, I was way the hell at the back and came around like 8 people for the win. That's always fun!

I'd been fretting all day about the keirin. What gear to ride, what tactics to use. Ugh. I drove myself crazy. I ended up in the first heat with Skibby, Tainter, and Hanna. Shit. Skibby drew the first spot, and I drew #2. He kept the pace high enough that no one went early. Perfect lead-out. I jumped with just over 1 lap to go and won!

Coming into the finals, I had two conflicting thoughts going through my head. Firstly, I was intimidated as hell. Tainter, Ferris, Currel, Dubay, Hagerty, and little ol' me. Secondly, I was feeling confident after winning my heat, and decided not to move up a gear. Bad call. I drew the 6th spot, and we all lined up. I had a good start, and was coming down into 3rd wheel, and I just got nudged out of my spot. It's my own damn fault for not riding aggressively enough. Anyway, I ended up at the back of the pack. Ferris was leading out, and he sat up as soon as the motor pulled off. From there is was kind of a cluster-fuck, with Tainter taking over the lead and everyone scrambling for position. Again, I didn't ride aggressively enough and had nowhere to go. I ended up getting 5th. I know I had the speed to do better, but alas, I am a mental midget.

It's too bad that my first keirin ever had to be an important one. It was hella fun, but I'm a bit disappointed in my results. Overall, I still got 5th in the state. Not bad for a Cat 3. I just gotta keep telling myself that I learned a lot from this race. It will motivate me to get even faster.

Last race: 50-lap points race. Dropped out after 5 laps.

Other Happenings:

• Little D brought some beer for Ted, who didn't show up because he was protesting the fact that there were no sprint races for the 3's. It was sure nice of him to bring that 7-pack of Blue Moon. (He claims it was a 12-pack, but that's not how I remember it).
  
• LSC's Largest Cyclist (Would he be LSCsLC?) Mark Carey is coming into good form. He was present at the front of all the race and even got 2nd in the 4/5 State Championship scratch race. Nice job! Plus, he gave me a hell of a good push at the start of the keirin.
  
• Donimator continued his reign of terror when Fred Stevens collided with his back wheel. Don, stop picking on everyone.