After listening to the World Track Champion Reid Schwartz at the EBC monthly meeting last night I decided to educate myself about track cycling. I came across an interesting web site that has a good overview.
http://www.chicagovelocampus.com/programs/dancurrel
I hope the nest comes from the new Chicago Velocampus. Hopefully it turns into a full blown Olympic Standard track. Riding the high-banked Velodrome is a great way to learn bicycle handling skills. Everything moves very quickly. I was mainly a trackie myself even though my sprinting skills have someone deteriorated, my home track Major Taylor in Indianapolis. I would recommend renting a track bike at either Kenosha or Chicago and give it a whirl. Northbrook isn't really representative of true Velodrome riding. Chicago will be more representative of true velodrome banking and the skill it takes to transition form the banked curve to a near flat straightaway at breakneck speed. Competing on track is a load of fun, mainly because there are typically three or four mass start events an evening. Three or four chances to place in the money! My favorite is miss-n-out (or Devil Take the Hindmost)I last bike across the line each lap is out of the race. A complete riot. Then there are the points races.....very painful. The article says to bring your own shoes and pedals. The only thing that I would caution is using pedals with any float. The pedals I used had toeclips with double bindings so you had little chance of pulling out of a pedal. Believe me, pulling out of a pedal on a fixed gear bike during a full only sprint is not a good thing. Pedals with float allow you to twist your shoe leading to the possibility of a bad situation, especially on a high banked tack. But if you are going to just tool around the track they will probably work just fine. Anyone that goes report back!
ReplyDelete