New to all this pine and banked corners lark..........

Kaise

Just looking for a bit of advice really;

I have been cycling for a fair few years and done sportives, duathlons and TT's before but i thought i would give the track a go!

I am doing a beginners course at the Newport Velo in a few weeks and wondered if anyone had any advice??

Cheers

mrushton

Don't stop pedalling (seriously) and as long as you are moving you won't fall off. Also, don't change direction suddenly, signal to riders behind, CHECK over your shoulder and move out smoothly

Eddy S

kaiser83 wrote:

I am doing a beginners course at the Newport Velo in a few weeks and wondered if anyone had any advice??

On a beginners course the most important thing to do is to listen to the coach 8)

The coaches are there for your safety and the safety of the others on track with you. He/she will guide and instruct you through the session.

Along with the stuff that mrushton said and depending on how long the session is, make sure you are properly hydrated and have some energy bars/snacks/food on hand.

Kaise

cheers guys, i'll definately keep all that stuff in mind - escpecially the listening to the coach side of things! tres tres important!

always good to get advice from people who have done it!

acidstrato

its easy and nothing too fast in the beginners,

after 4 weeks if you intend to progress, book your sunday improver sessions ASAP. It will get quieter over spring and summer but throughout winter its been full of riders just trying to get track time and dont really need the basic tuition.

Pross

The beginners course is really good and there will be far less experienced riders than you. Listen to what the coach tells you has Eddy says (I think Bryan is running the beginners sessions). I turned up worried I'd stop pedalling without thinking about it but it is harder to do than you would expect (you soon get woken up if you do it though!). I thought they would spend half an hour talking to you but it is straight onto the track (get there at least 15 minutes early to get the bike set up at the proper height). You''l probably do a few laps on the flat section below the track before gradually moving higher - the higher you go the faster you have to ride. As you come out of the tunnel from the changing rooms and glimpse the banking for the first time it is daunting but once you start riding you realise it is no real issue as long as you don't go too slow as I did on my last session down there. You'll do a few laps in a pace line with changes every lap and then move onto things such a weaving (through cones at first and then between the other riders), some stacking which can be fun if the riders at the bottom don't want to go quickly! and maybe some taking laps and "spatial awareness" i.e. simulating a race labeit at lower speeds so going inside or outside to pass the others. As well as listening to the coach the main things to remember are to check your shoulderand flick your elbow before moving and to communicate with others when passing them.

SteveR_100Milers

Eddy S wrote:

kaiser83 wrote:

I am doing a beginners course at the Newport Velo in a few weeks and wondered if anyone had any advice??

On a beginners course the most important thing to do is to listen to the coach 8)

The coaches are there for your safety and the safety of the others on track with you. He/she will guide and instruct you through the session.

Along with the stuff that mrushton said and depending on how long the session is, make sure you are properly hydrated and have some energy bars/snacks/food on hand.

+100 for Eddy's comment: a lot of experienced riders still haven't mastered that yet......

paddlemyowncanoe

It's hot, thirsty work and it's easy to lose concerntration when you get tired towards the end. Do get there early and fresh and drink when you get the chance. Take gloves too and don't forget they have Look Delta pedals on the hire bikes - no you can't swap.

Benjamin Hall

After last nights first session on the Newport beginners course, what can i say...other than I want more! It is a lot of fun!

The instruction is good and simple, along the lines of pedal, look around you and hold consistent speed. With those intstructions in mind, it was a few laps on the flat then pretty much straight up onto the track.

Something that i struggled with was the pace... It wasnt a strength or fitness issue (I hope) Im just not used to peddaling such a fast cadence. I like a big gear and steady cadence on the road bike (especially when down on the drops). Some turbo sessions at a fast cadence should solve that problem though.

Cannot wait for next monday.

Try track!

Kaise

good to meet you last night ben, it was a good session i enjoyed it!

i would have liked it to be a smaller group though but thats my only critique of the night.

The instructions were clear and i think fulfilled everything everyone wanted and needed to know, next week will be better as there will be more riding and it will be good to get the speed up.

Pross

You'll find the group is much smaller by the end of the course. We started with about 13 and ended up with 5 or 6 when I did it.

SteveR_100Milers

what time was it on?

I was there from 08:30 and left at 16:30....I need to get a life!

Benjamin Hall

I felt a million times better and more confident tonight. Moved from a size 54 to 55 which was a good switch, the gear seemed bigger as well....no silly high cadence.

Benjamin Hall

I felt a million times better and more confident tonight. Moved from a size 54 to 55 which was a good switch, the gear seemed bigger as well....no silly high cadence.

SimonAH

Hi Benjamin,

Glad you're enjoying it! I've been in the group ahead of you (we shared the track Monday before last - I was the one who left half a buttock on the track when the stack crashed).

My group is back on the Monday after your course finishes (juggling around 'cos it got all confused with the bank holidays) so if you're going on to the improvers course I guess we'll be in the same group.

Take care
Simon

oldwelshman

Hi Pros.
Why do you have to ride faster the higher you are on the track? The grad is the same from the black line to the top of track so you need same speed anywhere for me about 16mph minimum but for skinng guys and kids probably much less , for Steve probabl;y 22mph

maximgold

The higher you are on the track the wider is the radius of your line. At the same speed you would be more upright --- and risk to lever you out with the pedal. At least in theory. Most people I have seen leaving the track involuntarily have done this cause of a crash or a puncture.

oldwelshman

maximgold wrote:

The higher you are on the track the wider is the radius of your line. At the same speed you would be more upright --- and risk to lever you out with the pedal. At least in theory. Most people I have seen leaving the track involuntarily have done this cause of a crash or a puncture.

You have seen this on a proper track bike with high bottom bracket? Ypou would falldown the track due to low speed before the pedal hitting the track.
I have seen some as low as 12mph to 14mph and not fall off or bottom out the pedals.
Onlyones I saw falloff so far are ones who have riddenoutside trackand think they can go same speed on steep indoor track I saw 4 come of in the first LVRC champs, sprint event. Though the others would have learnt after watching first ones fall off

e999sam

oldwelshman wrote:

maximgold wrote:

The higher you are on the track the wider is the radius of your line. At the same speed you would be more upright --- and risk to lever you out with the pedal. At least in theory. Most people I have seen leaving the track involuntarily have done this cause of a crash or a puncture.

You have seen this on a proper track bike with high bottom bracket? Ypou would falldown the track due to low speed before the pedal hitting the track.
I have seen some as low as 12mph to 14mph and not fall off or bottom out the pedals.
Onlyones I saw falloff so far are ones who have riddenoutside trackand think they can go same speed on steep indoor track I saw 4 come of in the first LVRC champs, sprint event. Though the others would have learnt after watching first ones fall off

Not to sure about the differance in banking but I have ridden round the banking on the old Saffron lane track with my pedal hitting the boards on every revelution during a sprint match. Saffron lane was 333m but I don't know what the angle of the baking was.

oldwelshman

e999sam wrote:

oldwelshman wrote:

maximgold wrote:

The higher you are on the track the wider is the radius of your line. At the same speed you would be more upright --- and risk to lever you out with the pedal. At least in theory. Most people I have seen leaving the track involuntarily have done this cause of a crash or a puncture.

You have seen this on a proper track bike with high bottom bracket? Ypou would falldown the track due to low speed before the pedal hitting the track.
I have seen some as low as 12mph to 14mph and not fall off or bottom out the pedals.
Onlyones I saw falloff so far are ones who have riddenoutside trackand think they can go same speed on steep indoor track I saw 4 come of in the first LVRC champs, sprint event. Though the others would have learnt after watching first ones fall off

Not to sure about the differance in banking but I have ridden round the banking on the old Saffron lane track with my pedal hitting the boards on every revelution during a sprint match. Saffron lane was 333m but I don't know what the angle of the baking was.

The banking there was 37 degrees which is less than the 47 degrees at Newport and Manchester.
I guess your bike either had long cranks or more probable a lower bottom bracket height.
Last week I went as low as 14mph high on the bank and pedals were no where near track.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26695

SteveR_100Milers

Pedals have never come close to contacting te track at Newport, even at 16mph Dai

oldwelshman

I hit a new low of 14mph friday behind some one going stupidly slow with us screaming for him to pick up speed

colinsmith123

Reading through old posts...

I remember riding at Leicester as a schoolboy, one of the 'games' to play there was 'how slow can you go and not fall off'. Or, 'who can stop and grab the rail at the top of the banking'. I was always so much better at doing the slow events.

My endearing memory though, was being yelled at by Eddie Soens for not trying hard enough in a 20km scratch. I finished, stopped, fell off and woke up to smelling salts.