General Cycling Discussion - Bicycles at Lowes Motor Speedway ???

Anyone done this - I would LOVE to hear how it was.

From the latest Bicycling Mag in a section on top rides in 100 cities:

Charlotte, NC:



Sure, there's the famous assault Assault on Mt. Mitchell. But be there or be square when Lowe's Motor Speedway opens to bikes several nights each summer. Go 18-wide at 30 mph ! INFO: www.tarheel-cylist.org



I took a beating over my support of NASCAR here, but even the purists' heart must beat a *little* faster at the thought of taking a bicycle around the 24 degree banked turns at a 1.5 mile track ?

I would love to see cycles race it - it would be an all out hammer fest :)

Originally posted by RollingGeek
Go 18-wide at 30 mph !

:D :D

FYI - I can't get your link to work??

I can't even get the one right that they had listed in the article (without my mispellings)

www.tarheel-cyclists.org

Oh well......

Originally posted by RollingGeek
I took a beating over my support of NASCAR here, but even the purists' heart must beat a *little* faster at the thought of taking a bicycle around the 24 degree banked turns at a 1.5 mile track ?
Never done anything like it, but it seems like the banked turns would be working against you and not for you at bicycle speeds. For a given turn radius and degree of banking it will take a certain speed to keep a vehicle 'planted' on the banked turn -- any slower and the vehicle will want to go downhill towards the track apron, any faster and the vehicle will be pushed towards the outside wall. I think on a bicycle you would have a better ride on a relatively flat track like Indy. Sure would love to try it, though -- a few laps on the bike and a few laps in a WC car just to compare! :D

they probably ride around on the apron? since it's much flatter?

oh and the link actually is... http://www.tarheelcyclists.org/

Originally posted by RollingGeek
I took a beating over my support of NASCAR here, but even the purists' heart must beat a *little* faster at the thought of taking a bicycle around the 24 degree banked turns at a 1.5 mile track ?



My affinity for NASCAR has drawn some comment here too. So I changed my avatar.

I'd love to do anything in Charlotte NC. I have a son and daughter there who I do not see often enough.

Here in Montreal, we have the GP (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve) circuit to go round (open all year I think) it is still open to cars, and you still get stupid drivers (though much less so). Still lots of good fun. (not 18 wide though)

Originally posted by Grendel
but it seems like the banked turns would be working against you and not for you at bicycle speeds.

the banking in a velodrome is sometimes almost twice as steep as that of a motor speedway.

Originally posted by fore


the banking in a velodrome is sometimes almost twice as steep as that of a motor speedway.

I'm pretty sure that the turns have shorter radii though on a velodrome...

Originally posted by Ritalin


I'm pretty sure that the turns have shorter radii though on a velodrome...

Probably. Huh? :p

the velodromes are only a few hundred meters long? and the lowes motorspeedway is 1.5 miles in length...

One of my buddies rode a time trial there in September. He had a blast. He was amazed at the assortment of cyclists and cycles that were there. We live in the Chicago area but my buddy is a regional sales manager and will be planning his trips to the Carolinas so they coincide with the TT! Scott (my buddy) also did Mt Mitchell this year.