April 4th or 5th at Newport Velodrome

gtvlusso

Hi All,

I am looking to book a session Velo'ing it up at Newport Velodrome (Wales!). Very close to Bristol for a few drinks post squeeling up the pine.

Bikes (Fuji) can be hired at the venue for a small fee, wear trainers unless you have Look Delta cleats on your cycling shoes.

Register on here if interested in having a thrash and I will book something next week.

G

bigmat

Its an awesome experience - pity they don't still have the Pinarellos though! Careful you don't get cocky after a few laps, those banks are steep and accidents can easily happen...

downfader

Theres a velodrome near me. Calshot I think. Costs a fortune to hire apparently, and you're not allowed to use geared bikes iirc.

I'd love to have a go myself oneday, would love a fixie just for it too :P

Feltup

I visited the Clashot one a while ago to pick up a kite (they were being stored in the velodrome). I stood at the top of the banking and was amazed at how steep it was. I would love to have a go some time.

iain_j

Have fun! Newport's a bit far for me but I'd love a go at the Manchester track sometime. First time I went there I was amazed how high and steep the banking is, then equally suprised when a rider zoomed past at the very top of it

downfader

The decking is like sandpaper too, so that will hurt when you come off. :shock:

simon_e

I went with my local club in December - they had lots of red bikes (I'm sure they were Pinarellos) in a range of sizes. I don't have shoes with Look cleats so rode in trainers with the toe straps pulled tight.

It was good fun, but harder work than I thought. The slope is intimidating at first, but once you've been round a few times you get the hang of it. We found it handy to have 2 or 3 groups so there's recovery/reflection time before you go out once again but not so long you got bored.

Catering is non-existent, the sweet machine was nearly empty the day we were there so BYO grub, snacks and drinks. If you get there early/stay on you can watch others from the upstairs seating.

lost_in_thought

I would love to go to a velodrome... however, the weekend after I get back from Australia might not be the ideal time...

iain_j

As I read in Heroes Villains & Velodromes - the banking's as steep at the bottom as it is at the top, so once you've realised you can get round the bottom of the banking OK there's no problem moving up.

(suppose it's easy for a triple Olympic champion to say so though!)

craker

yeah I'll probably be up for that, it's soooo close and I've never been.

What does a newbie track rider do exactly?

knight2k

I was at the Velodrome in Newport with the club back in Jan. It was fabulous.

As it was my first time I was in a novice group of around 10 people. Through the course of the morning we learnt to ride around the track at different heights, then ride around in a line about a foot apart and then do the one off the front at the bend a la team sprint style.

That was the best bit. Going straight up the banking at the bend, watching your team mates go under you as you round the corner and then re-joining the back of the line as you come back into the straight.

barrybaines

Doubt you'll be able to just phone up and book a session! I have had my name on the list for the beginners sessions (Monday evenings) for some time now and they are block booking 4 weeks in groups of 15! Last time I checked what the deal was I was 54th on the list meaning unless a load drop out I won't be in there untill around June!

gtvlusso

barrybaines wrote:

Doubt you'll be able to just phone up and book a session! I have had my name on the list for the beginners sessions (Monday evenings) for some time now and they are block booking 4 weeks in groups of 15! Last time I checked what the deal was I was 54th on the list meaning unless a load drop out I won't be in there untill around June!

Do it for my rowing club every couple of months - won't be an issue as they know me well.

simon_e

iain_j wrote:

As I read in Heroes Villains & Velodromes - the banking's as steep at the bottom as it is at the top, so once you've realised you can get round the bottom of the banking OK there's no problem moving up.

I didn't find it quite that simple.

The blue lip at the bottom is essentially a demarcation between apron (infield) and track and is more or less flat. Once you've ridden on that for a bit they get you to move onto the boards, riding in between the black and red lines. This is fine. The blue line is about half way up. Riding here feels a little precarious at first, but momentum is the key. I told myself that the guy in front hasn't slipped off so I won't either. I also found that speeding up slightly into the corners and backing off as you exit helped (the corners are steeper than the straights). It's good fun, I hope to go again sometime.

Background info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velodrome