I am at the beginning of my fourth year of racing Track. As I look back at my track racing career, I see some of the best moments that I have spent on a bicycle, and my most defeated moments. Three years ago when I was 14, I did my first track races. My breakout year on the bike was when I was 15. I won all of the local category 3 races, and ended up surprising myself at track nationals. With 3 laps to go in the scratch race I attacked hard. The field didn’t react fast enough. I rode away to victory. The rush of excitement I felt when I crossed that line is unexplainable. The crowd was going wild the last two laps, as I was flying through the hot, humid air. The next day I was to get 2nd in the points race. I lost by one point. Had I gotten 4th in the last sprint, instead of 5th, I would have been the Omnium National Champion.

The next year was a repeat, after doing horribly in the 500m TT, I win the scratch race, and come short in the points race. Coming into the last sprint, I was tied for 2nd, with the one person that I needed to beat to take home the title. I was off the front in a group of three, for last three laps, my opponent close behind in the chase group. We were caught in turn two, of the last lap. I gave it everything I had, only to see him fly past me 100m before the line. I was 2nd place…again. I was biggest loser. I have one more beautiful gold medal, but no stars and stripes jersey to go along with it.

You can say that equipment isn’t what makes the racer, but when the difference between victory and failure is as close as it has been for me, it can all but make the difference. A nicer track frame can do one thing for me, bring me one step closer to the top spot on the podium, and that’s all that I need.