Howdy, spent two hours at the the manchester velodrome with a group of mates yesterday and had a cracking time. Only down point was the coach we had was a bit grumpy, the other coaches that were there were really good and helpful. Just wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences or did we just catch him on a bad day?

I think I know who you mean. I have been on 3 taster sessions but never got the blue slip, (didnt realise it existed tbh). Explained this to him and that I’d like to go onto the improver course but he said I’d have to go back and do the taster again…….next sesh available is in May. FFS.

It was the comment of 12year olds could do better that really got my goat, a bit more audible communication and explanation of arm signals etc. would have helped loads. You couldn’t hear what he was saying, whispering Bob Harris would’ve been easier to ubderstand 🙂

I think we had the same fella. Did he remind you of the PE teacher off Kes?

My favourite quote, directed at Hora:

“OI!!!!! YOU!!!! GET DOWN OFF THAT BLOODY BANKING!!!!

I’m trying to sort out how to actually race – want more than a taster session. And I know about the accreditation.

It was my first revolution and I decided to ‘go for it’- he was talking to binners (binners being sensible asking for tips etc) and as I passed them my rear wheel was squeeking downwards and he turned and shouted ‘for f*cksake keep f*cking pedalling or you will fall’.

🙄

They’re all a bit grumpy in their own way.

Last night both coaches were too busy chatting up the two fit ladies. The oh-so-fine Spanish girl was cool with it, the other (English) looked a little less pleased.

Still, having something like that to focus on helps concentrate the mind when following a wheel in the line….

Any job where you are responsible for the safety of 15 random members of the public in an environment where if they do do things wrong they hurt themselves or others is a bit testing

especially when dealing with mtbers who think that because they can do drops and tabletops the skills directly transfer to the track and the coaches advice/instruction are not required.

the velodrome website tells you how to get accreditted and that you should inform the coach at the beginning of the session that you want assessing for the slip

some of the coaches can appear a bit “off” but they are generally good and if you talk to them and do what you are told they are enthusiastic teachers

first lap heros don’t tend to get them off to a good start 😉

I can see why instructors need to be assertive, and authoritative, but swearing at someone is not the way to do it. Sounds like the bloke needs lessons in how to mange groups, and deal with other people.

It’s a ‘fun’ sport, ffs, not the Army.

I had a similar experience with some ****t canoeing instructor, on a Youth group trip to Wales. I was one of the Youth Workers. Bloke was shouting at the kids, really destroying their confidence. Me and the other workers had to step in, and tell him to change his attitude. Bloke was just not suitable for leading groups, regardless of his ability and knowledge of the sport.

I can see why instructors need to be assertive, and dominant, but swearing at someone is not the way to do it. Sounds like the bloke needs lessons in how to mange groups, and deal with other people.

Come and ride at the track with a bunch of novices, Fred, and then perhaps you will change your mind about the need for the coaches to be assertive, and sometimes rather direct.

If you ride too slowly on the banking, you will slip off. I’ve been taken off by someone who did that – she slid down and knocked me onto the concrete at the bottom. It’s a 42 degree angle, and so requires some effort to move around, especially at the top, where the “hill” into it is steep.

can do drops and tabletops

You’ve not seen how badly I ride have you? 😆

Thing is, I want to ride the Velodrome not to be part of a club. Just for fitness, routine and solo enjoyment. I dont want to be part of a regimented ‘club’/discipline. Smacks like too much roadying for me.

No, I appreciate the need to be firm, but there’s being ‘direct’, and there’s being abusive.

Resorting to abuse is a failure, by the individual, to assert their authority effectively.

In my experience, a good coach doesn’t need to swear at people.

the swearing isn’t “approved” language and isn’t encouraged

it probably came from surprise after spotting the idiot who didnt ask about to fall over and take other riders with him, as he assumed all the first timers were on the fence getting some instruction before going on the track

the velodrome is a difficult venue to coach/ be coached at due to the acoustics and background noise from the centre, there is a need to shout instructions, preferably without expletives

I want to ride the Velodrome not to be part of a club. Just for fitness, routine and solo enjoyment.

so thats why you assumed that you didn’t need any instruction for your or others safety?

track safety depends on learning “track discipline”, without it you will have/ cause accidents. Its not a trail centre, you can’t just do whatever you want, you need to ride in a way that others can anticipate. Most “track discipline” is around riding in groups and the way to do it safely, if you want to do your own thing buy a turbo trainer or book your own track time.

I’m with Big’n’daft on this.

You can’t just arse about there and hope to be safe. There is only so much room, and so riding tends to be run in disciplined ways, largely in the form of training sessions. During these, you get to do more than just ride around on your own, so it tends to make it more interesting. And when you’re belting roaund doing 45+ mph it’s pretty cool.

Fred – you are right in the broad context, although you’d be driven to swearing if you had to deal with hora and his deathwish….

45+ mph !!!!

recalibarte your speedo, thats top speed for the dernies

I’ve ridden Manchester track quite a few times – mostly with people who are quite good (unlike me), there’s a few guys who used to be in my club that take track riding really seriously because of the injuries that happen – they don’t make any bones about the fact that track riding can cause serious injuries and that they’d refer that no one riding with them got injured and that one of the ways to make sure is to do what they tell you to and to “follow the rules”.

the main problem was the lack of audible instruction, I’d have preferred it if the guy was more vocal and told when we were going wrong, going to fast or not fast enough.

Er, you’re right, big_n_daft! 😀

I mis-calculated what an 18.09 second lap (from a slow rolling start) was…. It’s a rather more pedestrian 31-ish mph.

(Thank goodness I’m not an accountant!)

I hear you guys and agree. You dont want someone gungho taking off someone lower down the track through no fault of their own. Im talking about riding solo and enjoying yourself without having to be part of a club-meet. It all seems to be club meets.

That’s just down to there only being 3 roofed velodromes in the UK, most of the old open tracks have been demolished or not been maintained

We should have a Singletrack session there.

Anyone up for it?

hora – go through the accreditaiton process. Then you have the right to ride at the SQT (Structured Quality Training, donchaknow) sessions. These are for any accredited rider, whether in a club or not.

It is also hired out to clubs for their own track nights (my club had its annual night there on Saturday), and these are popular enough to mean clubs need to book a year in advance. However, they are essentially the exception, with the SQTs (and taster, etc.) sessions being the dominant activity.

So, get into the accreditation programme, and then you get to ride properly, get fit and enjoy it without having to wear club kit and shave your legs (mind you, you probably shave your legs anyway…).

all the SQT’s I’ve been have been full of people riding on an individual basis even if they are club members

the point is that on the track you need to ride a a “team” to safely get 40 people on it and get some decent training, that training can include race simulations

40 people doing their own thing would be chaos

I’d have to go back and do the taster again…….next sesh available is in May. FFS.

really? I phoned not 5 minutes ago and booked 4 tasters through February and March. .

AndyP, weekend/evenings?

ourmaninthenorth- I have hairless legs. Your right, I should stop being abitter c*nt sometimes and just do it.

mornings/lunchtimes. You didn’t specify what time you wanted them, just that there weren’t any available sessions till May.

hora – your depilatory issues aside…, I dithered about doing it for ages and left it too long (now the world and his wife wants to have a go after the Olympics), and so it’s taking a while. Just the final accreditation session to do in a couple of weeks and (assuming I pass) and I’m good to start up on the SQTs.

Anyway, you need to be safe to avoid this sort of thing:

That looks like a gayvideolovein 8)

Ooooooowwwww, russian rider looks as though he is about to get a rear wheel right across the knackers.

I don’t know that there has ever been a velodrome in devon or cornwall: perhaps we are just too undisciplined and unruly to be safe?

Nah, your just all inbred(riders) JW.

Was it this Guy?

I had a trip down there with Keswick Mountain bikes last year,It was pretty diceplined kind of atmosphere but very enjoyable.I think saftey was uppermost in the coaches mind, and he only allowed the session to progress at the weakest riders ability.Luckly we all seemed to pick things up fairly quickly and all the riders took something away from it.

We were let loose like a pack of hounds!and it was a laugh watching everyone holding the bars as if they were on there mountain bikes!

very enjoyable and i would recommend it to anyone.

where are the other 2 Velodromes?

Newport and Calshot.

Got to stay, can’t wait until the new Lympic Velodrome opens. I currently live only 2 miles or so from where it will be.

You can stuff the rest of the Olympic cr4p though (prt from the swim pool), speshly the baseball pitch. Baseball, ffs? Only the Yanks play it! WTF should money be wasted on that?

Er, baseball is pretty popular in Cuba and Japan as well, Fred.

And while you’re waiting for a track in your part of London, how about taking a day trip to Southampton to ride at Calshot (indoor track – c160m, like a Six Day track), or get yourself down to the old Olympic track at Herne Hill when it opens (springtime, I think).

singletrackmind – there are plenty of outdoor tracks still operating in the UK (I’ve just listed Herne Hill in Dulwich, London). More info here: [/url]

I’m designing an outdoor track at the moment.

Er, baseball is pretty popular in Cuba and Japan as well, Fred.

Sooooo? Pelota is far more popular, and is played throughout South America, and enjoyed by far more people. Why not have that?

Lot of Lympic stuff is driven by what sells merchandising, anyway; Snowboarding, BMX, 100m Junkie Dash, etc…

I’ve been to Herne Hill, but only to take photos, never ridden on it.

Hoping to go this Good Friday, again.

I suppose I’ll have to look at building up my track tandem then 😉

aP – where? Surface? Length?

Fred – I shan’t rise to your contradictory silliness. 🙂

Nice photo, though. And make sure you organise yourself to ride there – I’ve only ever ridden at Manchester, but would love to ride at Herne Hill.