Chapter 2. Race 1: 30-lap Scratch Race. Olympian Deogracias Asuncion at UCI's 2014 Masters Track Cycling World Championships

Race Day # 1. October 4, 2014 Saturday, 2 days after arriving. 30-lap Scratch Race.

We arrived at the Velodrome at 6:00 am but the doors didn't open till 7:30! Deo had an 8-9 am training session and this is the reason we arrived early... to get ready, warm-up easy on rollers before getting started with the session! That's only 30 minutes to get ready! I should have asked the receptionist what time this place opens! I'll take that for the team! So what did we do? We were stuck in the car freezing our arshes off but we exchanged so much stories, it was still well-worth the time! Time had passed and the doors were finally opened, he was able to ride easy at the track as planned and relax before the event began at 2 pm. Registration and credentials were taken care of also.

It was surprising that 3 out of 27 registered racers did not sign in.... at this highest level of Masters racing! This meant not having more than 25 racers to create 2 separate Heat races. This resulted to going straight to Finals later that evening. This also meant that we can't gamble warming up for the Heats because of the short time of that decision.

I was somewhat worried because we woke up at 4:00 am, had a couple of scones and coffee before heading out, too many times riding the rollers until the right time to warm-up (Deo mentioned that he wanted to ride on rollers long enough anyway), some porridge at 10 am for a mid morning meal (it was really nothing), and no lunch at all. At least we brought the extra scones, some fruits, a few bottles of water and energy drinks bought from the grocery store.

The time got close, bike was checked at 1 gram over the weight limit. Side note: What is a gram?! Grime on the chain or extra long bar tape?! We passed the first assignment with flying colors!

All competitors started rolling at the middle of the infield prior to getting briefed and rolling out for the neutral lap.

Deo did rock the house that night! I think I've finally seen the craziest Points Race ever with endless attacks at high speeds from start to finish! Even at the neutral lap, there was too much testosterone going on! Deo did his fare share in the house of pain, watching everyone from the back to going to the front involving himself in the attacks at the first half of the race. He even took turns leading the peloton on an attack to get back to the 2 breakaway groups.

Eventually with the others doing their fare share like "it's now or never" kind'a move, they eventually pulled everyone back to one group just like how they started but with about 8 laps left in the race, and still strung out! Deo made a valiant effort to move up in position with 5 laps to go. He officially finished 12th place with all 24 racers sprinting to the finish line. That was very respectable especially with technical race like that! How many people do you know who can still do this kind of thing at this level! 

To end that day, most of our California friends won medals from Team sprints and Scratch Race with Larry Nolan of Specialized USA and Michael Birditt winning their respective Scratch Races with domination and strength.

Oh, one last note, did you notice his wheelset? Those were the ones he used during his 2007 UCI Track World Cup that was held in Los Angeles. Finally, redemption was real with the same race but with super heavy gear for our standards, if you know what I mean! Our homework scored an "A"! It was a good night of World Track Championship racing!

Coach/Manager Arden Arindaeng

Chapter 1. The journey had started. Olympian Deogracias Asuncion at UCI's 2014 Masters Track Cycling World Championships

Sometime last year after assisting 7-Eleven Cycling Team at Philippines' biggest Tour event: Ronda Pilipinas. Deo mentioned to me about his decision to race at World level once again. He was convinced by his long time friend Manny Ibay who is the President of the National Masters and Seniors Athletic Association of the Philippines. Many months had passed, he finally got his track bike assembled but it still took us a while making sure his bike is UCI legal. His track training at VSC had started and winning local Criterium races in the process and later earning his first State Masters Championship jersey. We seriously looked into his track riding earlier this year experimenting on different gears and wheels. Friday nights training at the track with Shon Halasi, very promising Jordan Ellison, and at times with Masters Sprint World Champion and Coach Gibby Hatton and Louie Rivera was very helpful. Not to mention Coach Roger Young's Tuesday and Thursday night sessions and is usual Criterium training nights and weekend racing.

The final months came, PhilCycling and her daughter Diana was getting involved with the logistics. Our travel arrangements were taking place. Thank you once again to all who helped with the expenses, borrowed bike cases, and airport transportation. Finally, we were at the point of no return.

It's amazing how expensive it is to check in extra luggage during air travel. It was a long flight indeed but it felt very different because of what Deo and I were set to do. It's not like travelling for a vacation. Many hours had passed and we were finally in front of the Immigration Officer at Manchester Airport. With his Brit accent, asking us the purpose of our visit. It was actually pretty neat to say that we are going to compete at UCI's Masters Track Cycling Championships at National Cycling Centre. Just like that, our passports were stamped and off we went to get our luggages.

It was cold and drizzly wet that morning getting out of the airport dragging both bike cases and luggages out to catch the shuttle bus. We were fortunate that the auto hire we requested was changed from a midsize stationwagon to a minivan. Everything we brought fitted in nicely with some room to spare. Driving off to the hotel was not an easy thing to do… the long flight, right-side steering wheel, had to drive on the wrong side of the road, and my first time driving for real in UK! To make the "2-mile drive through the motorway and runabouts" story short, we arrived at the hotel alive! It was still early but we were able to get our room and rest.  This day was basically to relax, assemble his road bike, and find dinner!

The following morning, our Olympian went out for a spin…. it was cold, roads were narrow and wet, the morning traffic was in full swing and had to figure his way back because he got lost! But no worries, he was able to get back alive! Cleaned the dirt off his road bike and we later drove north to National Cycling Centre  where the event venue will be. Setting up the GPS was different. Needless to say, we got lost around downtown and I now consider that as a tour of Manchester! All the excitement was so strong as we arrived. Seeing Henry Shibata of Encino Velodrome and Gerry Agnew was a welcome surprise! That also meant that Arizona's Miss Gia and her Mom arrived also. Deo unpacked his track bike and got it assembled in record time. We also got the rollers we hired and there goes Deo again for a spin! This first full day was very important to get settled in.

Jim and Carol Kloss, Robert and Rebecca Pelegrin, Mike Birditt, and Kurt Sato, also arrived that afternoon straight from the airport. Jay Wolkoff, Coach Travis Smith, and Coach Andy Lakatosh arrived the next day as with other folks from Texas, Colorado, and NorCal. We were also the first ones to stake our temporary home in the infield.

We finished up later that afternoon and drove back to the hotel... we were alive once again! We had a "smiley face" night of sleep as we knew that this was the first biggest hurdle we had to cross! We should be cruising till the day we return home.... knock on wood!

Coach/Manager Arden Arindaeng

Prelude. Our 1984 Olympian Deogracias Asuncion is definitely not done yet!

Our 2014 State Champ, World Cup Veteran and 1984 Olympian in the sport of Cycling, Deogracias Asuncion is definitely not done yet! He's coming back for more with a vengeance from his 2007 UCI Track World Cup that was held in Los Angeles' Velodrome. Formerly ADT Event Center during that time and now called Velo Sports Center which is the closest spec's as Manchester's Velodrome. And after earning his Southern California Nevada Cycling Association (SCNCA) State Championships three months ago. Now he is once again prepared and peaking to race his hardest at the upcoming UCI Masters Track Championships that will be held in Manchester, England this coming October 4-11, 2014. Please wish him luck for another great experience. Here's the man just arriving at Velo Sports Center for his last Friday night of hard training.

First of all, we also would like to thank Manny Ibay, President of the National Masters and Seniors Athletic Association (NMSAA) of the Philippines for serving as his inspiration. I'm about 110% sure that Deo's efforts are dedicated to you and to serve as an inspiration to the others.

We would like to thank all friends and families who contributed and sponsored to make his quest for another World level competition possible and for supporting us in our efforts. To start, we would love to thank Deo's daughter Diana Frey for her efforts in acquiring financial help and setting an online fund raiser at www.gofundme.com.Thank you to those who submitted their donations already. For those who are planning to, please continue your support as you wish as I'm not doubting that he has paid a good portion for the expense from his own savings. I'm sure that he will appreciate all the help he can receive. Can you believe Diana and Deo were able the get Manny Pacquiao's approval for financial help from his visit a few weeks ago! But unfortunately, his staff was not able to work Manny's approval. Just to let you in, that was the last deciding factor if Deo was going to represent the Philippines.

Special thanks as always to my mentor, 2012 Olympic Coach/Manager of Trinidad Tobago Peter Maharaj for giving those important tips for this whole travel. Thank you to our many friends who helped out. We also appreciate the fund raising effort made by Integrity Riderz Cycling Club during their recent club race. Roger Young's sessions added strength, stamina, and confidence. Thank you to all our peers on and off the track who's been encouraging Deo during these months of training nights. Very special thanks to Maggie Ethridge-Unero, Ron and Ada Garland, Chris Cruz, Tammy Aquino, Ryan and Brendon Dalrymple, Ashley Long, Christene Le, Kevin Cho, Jennifer Velasquez, Debbie Carroll, Army Luong, Joyce Guzman, Pat and Gloria Frey, Madonna Sikat, 4 anonymous donators, and most of all Deo's family Diana, Eugene, and Alvin.

Thank you also to Louie Rivera (left) and Former Philippine National Cycling Team Al Villamil (right) for their tremendous assistance during this preparation.

We also would like to thank PhilCycling President Abraham Tolentino and Executive Director Jojo Villa for accommodating our request. PhilCycling Coach Christopher Allison is also aware of this endeavor. All of these help was to race for the Philippines as we already registered for the event. Unfortunately and to make it very brief, we had to change his registration using his USA Cycling International License and race for his local cycling club: South Bay Wheelmen. Fortunately, their elite and masters are experienced and competes at UCI level races including World Cups.

Here's his tentative race schedule:

Day 1: October 4, 2014 Saturday - afternoon session only 2:00 pm - 7:45 pm

• 30-lap Scratch Race
• Event 2 - Heats
• Event 13 - Finals

Day 2: October 5, 2014 Sunday

• 500 meter Individual Time Trial
• morning session 9:40 am - 2:45 pm
• Event 17 - Heats and Event 32 - Finals - evening Session 4:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Day 5: October 8, 2014 Wednesday

• 60-lap Points Race (points every 10 laps)
• Event 8 or Event 10 - Heats - morning session 9:00 am - 1:15 pm
• Event 46 - Finals - evening Session 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm

Day 7: October 10, 2014 Friday

• Team Sprints (45-54 age group) with Robert Cormin of NorCal, Alphonso Whaley of Texas. Team Texie Cali USA
• Event 15 - Heats - morning session 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
• Event 23 - Finals - evening session 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Let's make sure that he qualifies for the Finals first, then let's go for the GOLD! That's 6 or more races to plan ahead!

Lastly, I am very thankful that Deo trusted me to train, mentor, and manage during this preparation and will continue with my responsibilities throughout the travel, throughout the duration of the event, and hopefully in future races. He basically entrusted his quest on my expertise! I'll be definitely be there for him 110% to include barking from the apron during his races. I myself is going for the win!

So this is it! It's very official, Pinoy Fixie is going to Manchester, England for the Masters Track World Championships! Let's put that in our cycling resume! What I've been learning in this cycling world is to keep working that love of the sport while helping alike conquer that same dream. I tell you, it's difficult and arduous but it's very much doable and it's rewarding afterwards.

Next on the agenda, I'm already thinking of the upcoming UCI/USAC Masters National Record Breaking event this coming 30th of October at Velo Sports Center. Let's get the Champ in the record books!

Coach/Manager Arden Arindaeng