Race Team Shaping Up Nicely.

Here's a race report and a congratulations to Joyride Bikes/EK Ekcessories racer Eric Gardiner. We're having a great response to the team so far and look forward to getting out on the roads/trails with you. We're not just about results as much as the experience of having fun but we have some talented riders who are bringing strong finishes to the team. Here's Eric's report on our first 1st place finish of the season:

RMR Crit – March 8, 2008

Awakening to snow on the ground did not help me to prep for the crit race that was planned at the RMR speedway this last Saturday. I had the same feeling that comes on every raced day. You know…. that feeling of the unknown. I wasn't sure how I would do but was excited to see how I could fair against other racers.

Upon arriving to the track I got changed quick and started warming up a bit while I waited for the U-man to finish suiting up. It was fun to be on my bike on the road rather than on a trainer inside. Once U-man was ready we took off to the registration booth. There I registered for the C flite. Coach had told me that I should try for the B's but the race officials said no to that one. I was content to race in whatever category. I just wanted to get back into the adrenaline riding that I hadn't had since the cross season.

After Registration I started to really warm up. The race this Saturday was on the oval at the RMR. I guess they normally race on the outside of the oval on a slightly larger track. I decided to follow a few of the guys that were warming up on that so I could scout the track for the next race there.

After doing a few laps I wanted to see a race so I went to the top of the bowl to watch what the A and B flites were doing in the races. I noticed a few things that I decided I would try during my race.

Finally it was time for me to race. I jumped to the front of the line so I cold get a good start position. The man explained a few things and then let us loose. Being that the racing I had done has only been cyclocross I was use to the fast sprints in the beginning of the race. To my surprise no one thought that a quick early sprint was good so I decided to slow down so I could get into a group.

From there the pace was fast and fun. A group of about 7 or 8 became what I guess was the break away. I tried to stay in the top 5 the entire time. It was fun to experience the teamwork that emerged in the front of the race. Once the official called 3 laps left I was trying to think of what I was going to do to finish this race off. From what I had seen in the others it was obvious to me that who ever had the best sprint would win. So my strategy was to lay down a long hard sprint to surprise everyone. Luckily it worked and I finished ahead of the rest with a bit of room to spare.

The race was a lot of fun. I felt good to win and I am excited to try and see what I can do in the B flite.

Eric R381