VeloVeritas

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Five(0)

It’s another big madison tonight; 75 kilometres/300 laps, but with a ‘twist’-it’s a handicap. Bartko/Lampater, Stam/Stroetinga and Alex/Michael give away six laps to Jackie/Schröder-with the rest of the field somewhere in between.

The final laps count for the overall so there’s no messing; if a big team doesn’t pull the laps back then they’re lost. Really, all that goes before the handicap is just to whet the appetite-there are a lot of nervous cyclists in the cabins.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Four(0)

Sprints to start and Hazel Dean thumps out, quality high energy from the 80′s ‘Searchin’-quality. Followed by ‘Livin in America’ from the late, great James Brown-we’re in luck, tonight. And then ‘Cara Mia’ to start the 75 lap chase-I never get tired of that tune.

The two chases weren’t bad at all-for a Sunday, that is.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Three(1)

Danny Clark; in a world where the word ‘legend’ is used too often, it’s wholly appropriate in the case of the Australian.

He holds the record for the number of six day starts at 236 and he’s second in the all time winner ranks with 74-unsurprisingly he’s ‘double Recordman’ here at Copenhagen with eight wins off 21 starts. He’s here driving the Derny (and singing!) but clocks up an hour plus on the track every day-he looks better now than he did 20 years ago.

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day Two(0)

‘Rivers of Babylon’ by the Melodians, now there’s a tune to fold jerseys by-until the guy in the cabin next door hops on his rollers, that is. And there was me looking for some peace on a Saturday morning-a split day today with afternoon and evening sessions.

We don’t like double sessions, neither do the riders, but like the song says; ‘That’s just the way it is.’ Last night wasn’t a bad one . . .

Copenhagen Six Day 2012 – Day One(0)

The gun fires, the bongos rattle, ‘Cara Mia’ blasts, the rattle of chains and rumble of rubber on wood builds and the chase which kicks off the 50th Six Days of Copenhagen is up and running. But it’s not any old chase, since I first walked up the steps from the tunnel when we arrived here on Wednesday afternoon the lap board has been displaying a short but grim message-400.

That’s 400 laps at 250 metres for each lap; I’ll help with the arithmetic-100 kilometres.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Six(0)

The line of taxi lights stretches back into the darkness like a string of pearls, it’s beautiful in an a big city kind of a way – it could be a scene from a Woody Allen film; but it’s not Manhattan, it’s Berlin at 01:40 am.

The beige Merc cabs get to drive down to the underground Velodrom entrance to pick up ViPs, meanwhile the support staff – that’s us – have to hi-jack a supermarket trolley and use the lift to take our stuff up to the camper.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Five, we go Bike Geek(1)

It’s gone 1:00 am, the Dernys buzz their ‘Ipcress’ noise, Brad eases down off the fence, he takes the sling off Jackie, tucks in behind the little monster and Mr. Simes is done for the night. Brad has 25 laps to go with just a few knots of hardcore fans in the stands to watch him-and the drinkers in the track centre, naturally.

‘That’s the first time this week the driver hasn’t ripped the legs off me!’ says Jackie as he gets ready for the dash to the cabin, a shower and then the peace of the hotel room.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Four(1)

Jackie summed it up best when I asked if he’d slept well; ‘yeah, but just not long enough!’ But Dirk had a take on it too; ‘why can’t we just go straight from Saturday to Monday?’ There’s always a down beat Johnny Cash kind of vibe to Sunday afternoons sessions; ‘the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert.’

But once the shower blasts and the coffee blends, it’s not so bad.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Three(0)

‘Just Another Tequila Sunrise,’ it’s ironic that the covers band who kick off as soon as the racing finishes at gone 01:00AM aren’t half bad – but it’s time for me to disappear down the tunnel to hang up the washing etc. etc.

The track centre party goes on ’til 02:30 am but I hope to be in a coma by then.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Two(0)

I’d forgotten the raw horror of a Frank Zander gig; ‘If I Had a Hammer’ was blasting out at around 11:00 pm and it occurred to me that if you’re a bad musician then Germany is the place to be.

Frank sounds like a guy with a really bad throat infection singing the ‘Worst Europop Album in the World, Ever’ on a karaoke night at the Lochore Miners Welfare-but the crowd love the man, so who am I to criticise?

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day One(0)

I’m standing on the chair so as I can see over the cabin, Leif Lampater and Roger Kluge are the only pair left to ride in the 1,000 metres time trial.

Roger is smooth, fast, the sling to Leif isn’t perfect but it’s not too bad.

Leif drives but he’s not at his best – it seems like no one is on this first night in Berlin – the digits whirl on the lap board, he sprints up the home straight, 58 seconds.

Bremen Six Day 2012 – Day Six(0)

I’m tidying this piece up on Thursday, we got back at the crack of dawn on Wednesday and I launched straight back into the ‘real world.’

I didn’t have much time to think about anything other than getting round my calls.

But tonight I’ve been taking stock of the Sixes – or in the case of Zurich and Grenoble make that ‘fours.’

Bremen Six Day 2012 – Day Five(2)

We had Frank Sinatra for the sprint series last night, never a bad thing. Bed was just before midnight and I didn’t get up until 09:00 – just braw. I just about got all of the words and pictures up to date.

It was the usual 20:00-ish kick off; rolling presentation, minor race then into the first chase – it wasn’t a ‘mega.’

Bremen Six Day 2012 – Day Four(0)

Sunday afternoon at the Bremen Six Day, but no Sunday Post or relaxed breakfast on this watch.

The Dernys drone, the speaker bellows himself hoarse, there’s a wiff of vomit in the air – one of those wasted guys I saw last night must have been creative with where they threw up so the cleaners couldn’t get to it – but there’s a Kool And The Gang medley flowing from the PA – ‘Let’s go Dancin’ and ‘Celebration’ – good sounds, so mustn’t grumble.