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Wow - fun hard work that track cycling 😉
Amazing to think that you just cycle in a straight line and the banks do the rest. Only took three laps to get that - and no lean!!!
Takes a few minutes to build up to going above the blue line 😉
Thrill to ride where so many greats achieved so many amazing things.
Jealous!
Xmas pressie from mini THM
Took a bit longer to stop standing out of the saddle and get a kick from the fixed wheel
Had some GB athletes there today which meant some v fit buggers on bikes !!! Excluding one obviously 😉
Which one? Lea Valley or Herne Hill? I love them both!
LV
Much smaller than I imagined, especially the straights. It's all about the banking 😉
At least you didn't call it the 'Olympic Velodrome' friend of mine is lead coach there and hates it when people call it that.
What mist it have been like during Olympics though!
An awesome cauldron.
What mist it have been like during Olympics though!An awesome cauldron.
Spectacular. Hair on the back of your neck, goosebumps, tears. It was incredible.
I've never actually ridden London! Hundreds of miles/thousands of laps at Manchester. Loads at various outdoor velodromes including Herne Hill and Mainly. But never ridden London.
Yes it's a great buzz and addictive.
My first experience was Calshot which is a tad shorter, smaller and steeper than an Olympic length track.
I'm lucky that Bournemouth outdoor velodrome is close and my club has weekly training sessions in the summer.
Do outdoor tracks get very slippy?
I used to track there with my club, found it hilarious and hard work. Can become addictive if not careful.
Outside does become slippy, Watch the sharp corner going down over the bridge.. normally a pile up there.
This is on my to do list. I live in London so it's pretty easy to get to
How knackered were you afterwards? I'm thinking that it might not be one I want to cycle home from...
It’s only an hour taster - which means in practice 45-50m riding and you can take a break at any point
So it’s as tiring as you want to make it. For the three of us, we are pretty tired but could have ridden home if required after a cool down
Easy to get to from Stratford - 10 mins walk
Good facilities (although forgot towel for showers !!)
I did this a couple of years ago, It's awesome fun!
Quite tricky getting used to the fixed gear and not leaning like you would a mountain bike.
Once you get on the bank its super addictive and you'll be flying about above the logo's in no time.
Don't take a go pro they won't let you use it.
If you intend to use your own shoes take your own pedals too.
Do outdoor tracks get very slippy?
If it gets wet enough to be dangerous they stop the session. It's fine with a bit of damp tho
I visited the LV velodrome 2 years after the olympics and stood watching for 25 mins, a completely empty place apart from me and a dozen riders, once they started rolling around the place came alive with the movement of air they created in the bowl as they raced around. Heading to Manchester this weekend to see the revolution series with my old man.
*I cycled to the velodrome from Barking on the mountain bike to have ago on the olympic MTB course, sadly a full 2 years after the event it still wasn't open to the public?? Still the velodrome was worth the visit.
(although forgot towel for showers !!)
CASPER!!!!
If you get the chance, it's definitely worth a go on the Calshot velodrome too!
It's much shorter, tighter, steeper, creakier, and therefore feels super fast! I think it's actually more fun than the smoother Olympic one.
It is awesome yes. I went to the beginners and improvers crash course at Newport just before Christmas. must've had 3.5 hours on the track. On the waiting list for accreditation now so I can race.
Do outdoor tracks get very slippy?
There's an outdoor one in Cardiff (Maindy). It's 1/4 mile so nearly twice as long, and much bigger, so it's much shallower banking. It was tarred and gritted, until that broke up so some years ago they tarmacked it with silky smooth tarmac which is lovely to ride on and unaffected by rain. Bit of a PITA in wind though as when training you get alternating head/tail winds, but racing with a breeze would be even more strange I'd imagine. Also because it's outside and 70 ish years old the ground has settled slightly which means the back straight is slightly uphill and there's a bit of a dip in the last corner 🙂
Did you beat the magic 15 seconds?
Isn't the stat that Wiggins was doing 16.5 second laps for an hour 😯
I did a taster session at newport around 7 years ago. I was the only mountain biker out of a group of new roadies and had a fair bit of ribbing until the end when the coach made us do the rolling 250 sprint challenge where i rinsed the lot of them 🙂
Went on to to the accreditation a few years later.. massive buzz from riding fast in the corners
Just to add to the answers above outdoor velodromes will only run if it's dry...
@Freester that's not the case anymore with the latest surfaces. Herne Hill is fine unless its absolutely tipping it down (ie water flowing down the banking) or icy. Sessions run all year and I've only ever known a handful to be cancelled.
Fair 'nuff Bournemouth it's dry only.
I also did the taster session at LV Velodrome last summer.. and loved it, despite being a fat 44 year old.
It is pretty scary once you get up the banking, but really good fun.
It is exhausting partly because it is really warm in there, and it feels like there is no air (I guess because you are not flying along outside with the wind in your face)
Re - shoes - I bought a pair of Lifeline branded Time compatible cleats from wiggle for about £5 and fitted them to my old cycling shoes.
I really enjoyed it and plan to do more in the future when I get more free time (I'm fairly local to LV)
Yp, Its ace . Roady club booked it for 3hrs so we had exclusive use.
2 groups of 12 , 20 mins on / off . Did some sessions at Calshot first to get used to fixed wheels and banked corners. Being a div I had to chant a mantra to myself constantly ' Just keep peddaling' as we were told what would happen in the event of rear wheel lock up
Did some pursuit work and sprints, 4 abreast round the banking then kick when the coach blew a whistle. 3 for 3.- go me!
6 man Italian pursuit the end which was ace as I got 7 laps and lead out a fast guy for the final lap.
You can see where the investment went and its a top facility. Would like to go back.