Winter (Shart Tarck) is Calming

Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I raced Winter Short Track for the first time back when it started over fifteen years ago.  My memories are limited to certain events in particular.

2003, racing on my first single speed, a dirt jumper from Planet X.

This behk is where it all started.  Hard to believe I still loved SS after riding this for more than a month.

Three was the year they had a one lap Misfit Class.  Any bike that's not a mountain bike could take part.  I did one on my fixed gear work bike and another on adult tricycle.  I can also remember Kevin and Tommawicki pushing a little red wagon with a blow-up alien in it.  Bring back the Misfit Class BTW.

I raced the 35+ class when I was eligible (the classes in Sport were only under/over 35 not the current classes).  I went off the front and started catching the all the Sport under 35 riders who had a one minute head start.  It got to the point that Neal (the promoter) offered me a prime if I could catch them all.  I did not.  What I did do was figure out that while I was not an expert XC kinda guy, I could never race Sport again either.


But then...

The SS Class was added, but there was only one time when I had a shot at first overall.  Second place in the first race, and first in the second.  Then I went home and actually managed to break a rib while washing my bike.  Seriously.  The next week, I fell back to dead last at the start and only managed a lackluster mid-pack finish when it was over.  The last two weeks I struggled and just managed to get third overall in the series.

2010 Team Dopers Suck

2011 Team FS SS

2014 was the last time I took a run at the whole series.

I had no chance of holding on to Chase's wheel, and I mighta got top three a few times, just enough to snag second overall.

Dahn Pahrs, forgive the shorts.  It was a different time then.

Since 2014, I've only dabbled here and there.  I'm just not in the podium hunt anymore in SS, and after all these years, spending five weekends in a row struggling in the mid-pack zone just wasn't something I wanted to do.  Still a fan of short track racing tho, I did continue to spectate and occasionally take part... because it's still fun to mix it up with friends.

Although I've got no real idea how I'll do in the 50+ class, I at least welcome the new challenge.  I can't compare the lap times from the one race I did last year because I was taking hand ups on the last four or five laps.  I don't think the top three in the 50+ were doing the same thing.

This will be my first foray into the final frontier (assuming there's no 60+ class in 2028).  My freshman year of post graduate work.  I guess that's a more pleasant way of looking at it.  I'm under-prepared, but what's new?  The shame or success ahead (either/or) should serve as the impetus to get me stoked on the rest of the '19 "season."

In theory.