Chapter 15 RCC Team Trialsâand After
Author's note: All characters are over 18. All persons, places and events are fictional. Comments are always welcome. Copyright, 2023, All rights reserved
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(Chet's POV, the story now moves to Chet's POV as it goes forward. This chapter follows 14 chronologically.)
Cycle team trials were scheduled for 1 pm at the Rice Stadium. I joined the team members a little before noon, mainly because this was all new to us. We arrived dressed to cycle and with our bikes. We didn't know the rules; hadn't seen any official notices; and, really had no clue how all of this was to go down. It all seemed very informalâand perhaps just window dressing or a deliberate foundation for subsequent litigation.
The stadium was pretty empty when we arrived. Classes didn't begin for a few days and not many students had arrived on campusâexcept athletes and "frosh" for Frosh Week Orientation. (I really disliked that word, but the linguistic police had struck againâ"freshman" was officially banned from college communications. After all, just over half the class was now female.) There were only a few dozen in the seats. We spotted the coaches and the University "observers" and made our way to the far side of the stadium. Our coaches had brought coolers with protein booster drinks and water, set up under our typical meet-day canopies of striped black and gold.
The track was now used for field and track, soccer, lacrosse and intramural footballânot cycling and therefore of course, it was a synthetic material with a rough cinder-like surface, not paved and potentially dangerous to a racing cycle's slicks. The full track was just over 440 meters, about a quarter of a mile surrounding a large Astro-turf green. At one time the stadium had hosted the Rice Owls, serious contenders in intercollegiate football, but the team now practiced and played in a larger domed stadium nearby. This was Texas, after all, where regional high schools have 25,000 seat stadiums! Cycling was going to be a challenge because of the loose "cinders" (not really cinders for yearsâbut synthetic grit) and the tight oval. None of the team members were contenders in stadium cyclingâand Rice did not seriously participate in that sport, taking part in only a few spring meets to keep conditioning up. We were long distance road racers. So we wondered why trials would be held in such a location which did not duplicate competition conditions. It immediately occurred to me that if the trials did not go as the coaches hoped, there would be protests about the unrealistic conditions set for the trials.
All of the club members from the previous year were dressed in the school "colors"âblack and gold "bumblebee" jerseys and compression shorts. All had matching helmets. A few even wore the striped long sox. There were a half dozen "others" dressed in various cycling gear. Three were women; two were Afro men; the sixth was a flamboyantly dressed tall "queen"âat least I think "he" was a queen. (Last year's teamâtotaling 12 including alternates--already had one Latino, a junior, and an Afro-American, another junior, both currently alternates, and both outstanding athletes.)
The coaches and observers asked all of us to gather in one small section. They then proceeded to explain the procedures that would be used. Each cyclist would participate in three "heats." Two were solosâthe cyclist would be alone on the track. The distance would be 5 miles (about 20 circuits). The best time of the two solo heats would become Score A measured in kph for that cyclist. Then, we would be grouped in sets of three for the final heat with simultaneous starts: 40 circuits, about 10 miles. No touching of cycles or riders permitted although lane maintenance was not required after 100 meters. This would be Score B, again in kph, for each cyclist. Final score would be 2A+B with that sum divided by 3. This was totally unprecedented in conference contention and entirely artificial. It must have been designed by a math nerd who had never ridden a bikeâlet alone witnesses a meet. There were 18 contenders in allâ8 were from last year's club team "regulars,", 3 were alternates from last year, 1 (the sophomore) had "graduated" from JV to varsity by performance at the end of the previous season; 6 others were unknowns. The names were all placed in a bowl. The order of individual racers was by lottery and the teams of three were similarly picked by lottery. There would be 18 individual races, then 6 sets of three races, then 18 more individual trials. All times would be kept by University observersâdrawn from the track and field referees. In other words, RCC's coaches were completely cut out of the trial. They were just observers.
We have the names and background on those here who were associated with the club last year. Otherwise, I will need to have your statement of interest and medical qualification forms. The six walked forward and handed a two single sheets each to the official.
"Are there any questions?"
"How large will the team be?" "By conference rules, we can have only 12âwith 4 being alternates." "If someone is permanently disabled (that is for the rest of the season) or injured for at least six weeks, he/she can be replaced. So we also keep a list of sub-alternates who can practice with the team, but cannot attend meets."
As the names were drawn, there was a bit of commotion and several dozen colorfully dressed students, carrying a large rainbow banner, entered and occupied the stands behind the cyclists. The noise level rose accordingly. I could tell that Coach Nelson was becoming irritated. His face color deepened. But, he kept his emotions pent up. It was going to be a spectacle, and it is doubtful that the races and results would be as clean as the university might have hoped. It almost seemed that the school was deliberately snubbing the coaching staff and perhaps even sabotaging the trials. I wondered why. Essentially, university officials would decide who would be on the team--to be coached by the staff.
The races began at precisely 1 p.m. At first the going was slow. Each individual race took about 10 minutesâincluding set up and transition. Someone hadn't done the math. (36 individual races would take 6 hours at that pace and the group races would take another 2-3 hours). We were going to be here well into the nightâand this stadium was not well-lit. Someone pointed this out to the officials. At first they were going to schedule another day, but then someone suggested that a night of rest might skew the results for those who didn't do their third race until the next day. Staggered starts could be used accelerate the process. Within a few minutes this was worked out. Assuming relatively equal riders, a circuit would take 30 seconds plus or minus, so it would be safe to start racers every 15 seconds. This would cut the total time by hours. And so we began again.
After the first set of Score A races, the ranking went up. All of the prior team members and two alternates were in the top 12; one woman and one African American also placed in this select group. Both of the other two team alternates placed 13 and 14 on the ranking. Only one rider had fallenâthe queen, of course, and was disqualified to the loud protests of his (her?) crowd of supporters.
At first the club members were upset that the lottery had spread them over the six contending groups, but things settled down when it was realized that individual times, not group times, would constitute Score B so there was no real handicap to being with unknown ridersâalthough of course it did not reflect the strategy of team cycling at all.
Finally, as it neared 6 p.m., the trials concluded and the scores were posted. My score was considerably higher than any other. All 7 members of the club (including the rising sophomore) came next. Then two club alternates and finally one of the female riders and one of the African American riders placed next. We had a new club and teamâwith two new alternates. I deliberately went up to both the femaleâa junior from Florida who had transferred in from UCF and the African American, a Rice senior and four year varsity cross-country runner. I introduced myself and welcomed them to the team. You are welcome to use the workout room at any time 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. There is only one locker room and a "gang" shower, so we'll have to see how that works out, but we'll make it happen. Everyone is required to commit at least 2 hours per day to riding or working outâbut we use an honor system for much of it. Our first team ride is Thursday in Memorial Park at 2:30. The van will leave the clubhouse at 2 if you need transportation. Perhaps we could meet for lunch that day so I can bring you up to speed.