[Closed] Off to the velodrome tonight…

I went in february and loved it. When i first got there the banking scared the livnig bejesus out of me. Once I was going round the coach there told me which lines to ride.. i soon got very high and at one point i was right at the top.

great experience.. just remember to keep on pedalling 🙂

Oh and if you're going to newport you'll need delta cleats to use their pedals

We went on a taster day and after a few laps we were right at the top no problem. Enjoy ,its great fun but hard work too!

don't forget to bring a bottle of water (I always forget this for some reason).

see you in a bit

You'll love it & will be up on the boards in no time.

There's nothing like the feeling of overtaking someone on the banking for the first time and realising you really are OVER taking them 🙂

Take some milkshake or similar, as the dry air in there can knacker your throat...

Top Tip: DON'T STOP PEDALLING...........FOR ANYTHING..........EVER

You will crash and burn and I will be there with my camera. 🙂

I'm there too, and getting more nervous by the minute...

Rich

It's great fun, been to Newport a few times and you'll soon get up to the top of the banking. As mentioned keep pedaling and you have to pedal a little harder in the bends - but you'll soon notice that. Listen to the instructors and it'll all be fine. A long sleeved top and track mitts are handy. As mentioned velodromes are very dry and you'll get thirsty quickly so lots of water

Dont turn right.

That's quite a picture! Worth linking.

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Well if you want spooking!! The only time I've seen a person killed in front of me was a velodrome crash (Ghent 6, 2006).

Honestly though it's a very safe activity and you'll love it.

You will crash and burn and I will be there with my camera

I'll put a team jersey on then 😉

do you mind if I ask what is it that you are doing there? I used to race bmx years ago and went to the velodrome to train it was well good fun would love to go there and train again

18 bikes have booked a session and are taking mountain bikers to be abused by the coaches.

Sadly, this winter, my newborn means the track bike is hanging in my cellar and not being tooled round the track.

Have fun kids.

You will be allowed up the banking, once you are off the cote d'azure the banking has the same gradient all the way to the top. So if you can ride between the black and red lines you can ride at the top. It looks scary at first but once you have been round a few times it's fine. A little tip a mate told me was to concentrate after doing a race or being on the track at speed for a while as you are more likely to fall off through going too slowly when cooling down after as you will be so confidant on the track.

Pic of me on my second outing on a Velodrome, taken at Manchester mid way through an IP.
[img] [/img]

Iain

Wow! That's impressive. Second outing on a track sporting aero lid and disk wheels. Was your third time part of Team GB. 🙂

All nicked from a mate! Including the bike. I borrowed another bike for practice and a team sprint but it was suggested I might as well not bother with the Individual Pursuit if I didn't use the aerobars as my time would be rubbish. I wasn't going to complain... On a slightly unrelated note the difference between a normal bike with spokies and a normal helmet to that were massive felt like a fighter pilot with the visor on the helmet!

Iain

Coleman - Member

Wow! That's impressive. Second outing on a track sporting aero lid and disk wheels. Was your third time part of Team GB.

Iain Gillam - Member

All nicked from a mate! Including the bike.

Crazy legs rides a bike with world champ rings on it, doesn't mean he can do anything except bag the odd third cat points race!

Anyway the velodrome rocks. I went over summer when that nice man Jon from [url= http://bicyclesmithy.co.uk/ ]Bicycle Smithy[/url] invited me (as a valued customer, having bought two bikes) to the launch of their race team. I was really looking forward to the night, I was really into my cycling having just lashed out on a tandem so I could continue to ride with Mrs NBT when she's unable to get out on her own.

than Crazy Legs sent me this

Bastard. I almost cancelled the velodrome. Glad I didn't though.

Harry - are you going to Newport velodrome? If so can you link me to how to go as a turn-up novice? I can't seem to find anything on web if your not a Child!

My mate bought me a session (he can't remember how he organised it) a few years ago and it was great fun so I'd like to take the local MTB riding pals in the new year.

Don't remember the banking being a problem to ride but it's dauntingly steep when you first see it! Only issue was I went to stop pedalling as I swooped down the banking (as you do on an MTB) but luckily felt the resistance from the fixed wheel in time...could have been spectacular otherwise.

i pulled a hamstring at veledrome once, it hurts lots and lots and lots and i aint going back!

some impressive crashes on nbt link

I've been a few times with weaver valley (my brother who frequents here as thew is a member and they let me in very kindly as a guest) and it's full on ACE

keep your hands in the drops, keep looking forward where you want to go, not inwards as you can drift inwards if you do this

as terra says, take a bidon

pedlad - Member

Harry - are you going to Newport velodrome? If so can you link me to how to go as a turn-up novice? I can't seem to find anything on web if your not a Child!

They're off to manchester with the 18 bikes crew

Just back now. Good fun but I thought I was going to barf!

are you going to Newport velodrome? If so can you link me to how to go as a turn-up novice? I can't seem to find anything on web if your not a Child!

They do like to make it difficult there. There are beginners courses run over 4 weeks - 6 til 8 on a Monday night. I called yesterday and was told 'they are in the middle of changes / manning moves so nothing is sorted for 2011' and 'call back in the new year'. FFS - council-run facility in poor service provider shocker.

nbt - that must hardly ever happen though, did well to hold on to it! comments on youtube, as usual are hilarious:

wow? thats gay ride a real bike that wont break next time

[i]Crazy legs rides a bike with world champ rings on it, doesn't mean he can do anything except bag the odd third cat points race![/i]

My bike is AWESOME. 🙂

[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=124ymf&outx=800&quality=70 [/img]

Sadly, as NBT points out, I am a bit less awesome but hey, it's all good fun. Getting in 2hrs of racing, in shorts and short sleeved top, mixing it with dozens of other riders at 35mph in the bankings while outside it's cold and raining. Great fun.

Derny session tonight, 2hrs chasing a motorbike round and round. Even I've had speeds of over 60kph behind the Derny, the good riders on higher gears can get up to 80kph. 😯

Oh my... That is a nice bike! I'm looking at getting a track bike and the Dolans in particular. What are the wheels like? It was suggested to me that tubs would be the wheels to go for so my original thoughts were either a precursa or a track champion with a set of tubular wheels. However, the Moda track bike has the AM classics like yours and it's tempting me as they just look so good!

Iain

[i]What are the wheels like?[/i]

American Classic 420 track wheels are suddenly really popular at Manchester. Great wheels, cheaper and lighter than Mavic Ellipses. TBH you don't need tubs unless you're racing, the majority of people on the training sessions just use clinchers cos they're so much easier to deal with.

Moda are nice bikes too, just make sure that you get a proper track bike, not some fixie fashionista thing that doesn't have the right geometry. It's worth going to the track on one of the training nights and just seeing what's available and what people are using.

Fuji, Felt, Moda, Dolan, Argon18 and Planet X are the common ones (with Dolan probably making up 50% of the bikes there).

Harry_the_Spider - Member

Just back now. Good fun but I thought I was going to barf!

So come on Harry, tell us more, what did you do?

25 minutes tooling around.

2 lap pursuit.

Flying lap. [edit]250m timed (1 lap) rolling sprint[/edit]

I won my 2 lap pursuit but set a pretty poor time for the rolling start flying lap 22.06 s but we only had about 15m to get up to speed before the line. I was close to barfing after the pursuit though. I heard the other guy's lap bell way before mine so went for it. Unfortunately I forgot to breath... which was bad.

Richpips took some pictures. There should be a link to them later.

Did you do a 250m timed (1 lap) rolling sprint?

Ive been off the bike for 3 months now due to injury after an accident at the bellahouston velodrome - not a high speed blow out or something spectacular but a football hitting me (for those that know it calling it a velodrome is a bit of a joke, it is more like a jogging track).

Looking forward to the Chris Hoy one opening

Pictures of the fast and the furious from last night are [url= http://qwertyphoto.com/2010/manchester-velodrome-taster-session-pictures ]here[/url].

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I'm desperate to get more velodrome stuff in and I only live about 8 miles from the Newport one! Problem is I am not there on the open racing night 🙁

They do like to make it difficult there. There are beginners courses run over 4 weeks - 6 til 8 on a Monday night. I called yesterday and was told 'they are in the middle of changes / manning moves so nothing is sorted for 2011' and 'call back in the new year'. FFS - council-run facility in poor service provider shocker

I've had the same experience. Went on a taster course in february so i could just turn up and no one seemed to know anything. They just said check the website.

maybe a STW beginners day? I paid £7 for the day which i thought was very cheap

I had another great night and think I enjoyed last night even more than last time we were there. Can't believe how hard I found the racing though. It was REALLY dry in there so that won't have helped.

It's re-awakened my track bike lust though which is not a good thing.

There are a couple of places left for the January date that we're running and I am sure we'll organise more if we can get the slots.

the MTB'ers are easy to spot in the pics.
riding on the tops
they look knackered
inappropriate clothing
🙂

Its bloody great fun. Even if you go with Hora.

The first couple of laps saw a kind of homage to the Brian Glover seen out of Kes. The Enigma, being the over-eager simpleton that he is, made straight for the top of the banking, wobbling like a cat on a skateboard. Cue; brusque Brian Glover type shouting "OI!!! GET DOWN OFF THAT BLOODY BANKING!!!!!"

He's a frightful embarrassment to take anywhere, quite frankly

the MTB'ers are easy to spot in the pics.
riding on the tops
they look knackered
inappropriate clothing

😀

You're not wrong.

http://qwertyphoto.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=34&pos=8