First track experience

Bianchi Boy

Had my first go on the track today.

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bronzie

Where?

Bianchi Boy

Bronzie wrote:

Where?

Calshot. Near Southampton in Hampshire. It's a real hoot!

Bronzie

The World's Largest Salad Bowl!

Not ridden it myself but a mate compared it to riding the Wall of Death at the funfair :P

jimycooper

i have ridden the track a lot it's great but tiny at 170m or close

grahamcp

I had my first time a couple of weeks ago in Manchester.

Top experience. I got quite nervous before the start, but luckily I was the only first-timer on the taster session so got the full attention of the coach. Turned out that wasn't really necessary as there are just a few basics to remember but still calmed me down a bit.

One of my worries was that I had to use their shoes, so knew I would be clipping in/out of strange pedals from the off, and they felt really tight. Again, that didn't matter as you're told not to unclip while you're riding - you have to hold onto the barrier, clip in, then pull away with your arm to start moving. Likewise stopping, you have to pull up at the barriers and grab on before unclipping.

The other things to remember are:-
- Don't stop pedalling!!!!! of course, and that didn't cause any problems for me.
- There are no brakes, so you have to slow down with the pedals - Quite easy to get used to but take it easy to start with.
- Always look around before setting off or shifting line
- Look down the banking from the top AFTER your ride, not before!

As you might imagine you start on the inside and gradually move up the track as confidence builds. By the end of my hour I was confident getting up to the top of the banking, my tactic was to match the pace of other riders on a particular line so I was re-assured about having enough speed to make it around. The coach even said I could join a line if I wanted to but I decided to save that for next time.

Other top tips - it's surprisingly hard work once you start picking up speed and going up the banking, so have a drink before you start - I was getting dry mouth even after 30-40mins riding. Also if you have family/friends watching, get them to time/count a few laps so you know what speed you were doing as it's difficult to judge - just out of curiosity, don't try to go too fast or you'll be risking an accident.

Oh the other thing:- I stayed around to watch the next session after mine - bunch of schoolkids, jeans tucked into socks, no problems, so anyone can do it and I'd recommend it to everyone! I'm just gutted that I live 200 miles away these days :-(

All for < £15 including bike hire, shoes and coach - bargain!

Bronzie

Grahamcp wrote:

you're told not to unclip while you're riding

Very sound advice when riding fixed!

grahamcp

Bronzie wrote:

Grahamcp wrote:

you're told not to unclip while you're riding

Very sound advice when riding fixed!

Yeah yeah I know!!!

Meant when setting off and stopping 8)