Junior Track Cycling

[Kim Geist was too busy at worlds to send diary entries in real time, but they still make good reading. I’ll post one or two per day so each one can be enjoyed separately. This first entry was written August 4, 3 days before the competition. - Ed.]

8/4

After a little while here in Vienna, Austria for the Junior World Championships, I finally have a little free time to myself. So, I’ll take it from the beginning. Every trip starts with a little travel. In the USA team’s case, the travel consisted of three flights and a couple thousand miles covered in the air.

My first flight took me from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. It was a disappointing start in that my plane had mechanical difficulties that prevented its takeoff from happening for nearly two hours. When I finally did board the plane, Kay greeted me. Kay, our flight attendant, was only taking part in her second flight. I think that it might have been Kay’s second flight, period, not just her second as a stewardess. I’m conjecturing this because I knew the safety procedures better than she did, even though she was reading straight off of a cheat-sheet. Yes, she had a cheat-sheet. I believe it would be beneficial for a flight attendant to be required to know the safety procedures prior to manning a plane by herself. I should have really caught on to Kay’s insufficient knowledge, before, when she had to call out the pilot to close the cabin door for her prior to takeoff. Somehow, through a mechanically challenged plane and a mentally challenged flight attendant, I managed to land safely at my next destination, although at a time a little too close for comfort to make my next connection.

After quite a bit of a hustle across the airport and a quick conversation on the shuttle with a woman about my totally awesome tan lines, I found a nice surprise. Because of some slight trouble with the shipment of our bikes, four of us were upgraded to the business class, with me being one! This long flight to Zurich, Switzerland went all too quickly in the comfort of a recliner-type airplane seat and in the presence of numerous friendly flight attendants (who were also very knowledgeable of the safety regulations). Having never ridden in business class before, I was in absolute heaven there, taking advantage of all the amenities. On the third flight, with a destination of Vienna, I felt like I was in steerage compared to the extensive comforts of the business class. Finally though, a whole day after we departed, I, along with the rest of the team, arrived at our final destination.

I, and most of the rest of the team, have never been in Europe before. So, immediately some things were a bit of a shock to us. For one thing, the German menus in restaurants make meals quite a bit interesting to order. Closing your eyes and letting a finger drop has proven to be quite effective. Then, when the waiter or waitress comes, just keep your finger there to let him or her know what you want. Another thing we have found out is how strict the Austrian police are. Pedestrians and cyclists, on the Austrian roads, must obey the same rules as cars. Although this is the case in the United States, as well, the Austrians really enforce them.

Our second day here, we were leaving our hotel on our bikes to ride to the track for training. We had in our presence Jiri, our team manager, to show us the most efficient ride to the track. Although Jiri made a point of telling us to obey the rules of the road just that morning in the team meeting, he decided to take us rolling, just a few hours later, through a red light when no traffic was coming. And, with true luck, we were caught. Right on the corner, where we had run the light, stood two Austrian police. After Jiri’s lengthy and heated negotiations with the police failed and all of our mug shots were taken on the street, we were escorted, walking in our cleats with our bikes, back to the hotel to pick up our passports and pay the 35 euros fine per rider. We’re such silly Americans.

Beyond everything else, though, we really are here to race our bikes. Everyone seems to be in agreeance that the track is very fast. With the exception of a bump due to a trap door in the backstraight, it is smooth and pretty. Personally, I was surprised how quickly I have adapted to the wooden, indoor 250-meter track after over a year of only riding a concrete, outdoor 333-meter. The hardest thing is probably remembering to keep going after six laps of the pursuit are over. I have to remember that two kilometers is eight laps on a 250-meter track.

Overall, everyone is healthy and looking fast. Hopefully everything will remain this way throughout the competition.