Southern California - Tues Night Race Training at Encino Velodrome

http://www.fixedgearfever.com/modules/Forums/files/400pixelracetraining_206.jpg

Can I come watch?

of course you can and bring something warm. hopefully we can get a good turnout and get better training in. we used to do this back in the 80s and 90s and is a lot of fun. also with the rose bowl ride in question later this season it's a great way to get some speed work in for those of us that live in the valley.

By the way, Will, I'm serious (i.e. that wasn't a "lusting" type joke). BitingDuck tried to get me interesrted in the Velodrome last year and I never even visited one. I'm seriously curious.


Well, that AND the men are hot I'm sure. :p

I'll try to come by tonight or next Tuesday. Should be fun.

He's right about the "bring something warm" part-- Encino can get *really* cold as soon as the sun goes down. I nearly froze to death at some early season races before I learned that-- it would be nice and warm with the sun out, and then the sun would set with a couple races left to ride and I'd freeze solid.

You going to be there, Chris? :)

even in the summer it can be cold in the evenings as you get the cold air off the river behind the track. i only somewhat jokingly refer to it as 'the arctic circle' yes i know it's an oval

you coming chris? or are you going to the adt? i would love to train there and get some real organized training in but there is no way i'm going to drive down there. it was bad enough trying to get to the old dominguez olympic track when i lived on that side of the hill near beverly hills.

I haven't ridden the track in a long while... what kind of experience is nessecary? I used to go on Monday nights w/ Stephen.

I'm certainly interested. Don't know if I can do now, but come March/April...better schedule. Will this still be happening then?

Are they still doing the Wed night rides, as well? That was more of an open practice, I think. I just stopped by one night last year, didn't ride.


http://www.smugmug.com/photos/126804891-L-1.jpg

You going to be there, Chris? :)

I usually train at ADT during the week-- it's farther but the intervals work better for me.

you coming chris? or are you going to the adt? i would love to train there and get some real organized training in but there is no way i'm going to drive down there. it was bad enough trying to get to the old dominguez olympic track when i lived on that side of the hill near beverly hills.

A couple of us carpool tues and/or thursdays, so it's not too bad. It made a huge difference in my racing, so it's been worth it. I'm just starting to go back after not riding down there since mid december (due to the holidays and world cup), and taking it easy since October.

enzo, you'll be fine if you come out. the rust comes off pretty quick. they start with a paceline maybe 50 or 75 laps. slow at first and just building speed until the end. then every one does a flying 200m and group you by times so you race with riders of similar speed to your own. i don't know what the current plan is but in the old days groups would be 4 riders each. three riders would race at a time and one rider would sit out each time for all the groups. the first race for the groups would be riders ABC, the next ride ABD, then ACD and finally BCD. after that a point race so it's definitely better with more riders. with the paceline and the sprints you won't have too much trouble getting reacquainted with the track.

mark, i hope it will be going strong as the season progresses. that's why i advertised it here. if we get a good start and enough riders come out it will be better. it's a lot better with 30 or 40 riders than 10 or 15.

vance, not sure about wed nites. the website has a calendar that's not loading right now but i don't remember seeing anything for weds. they did have some beginner classes lined up for the next couple of months on sat, i think

By the way, Will, I'm serious (i.e. that wasn't a "lusting" type joke). BitingDuck tried to get me interesrted in the Velodrome last year and I never even visited one. I'm seriously curious.


Well, that AND the men are hot I'm sure. :p

I'll try to come by tonight or next Tuesday. Should be fun.

Hi ME,

You should head south to the ADT Event Center and grab Joy on your way down. ;) :eek:

I'm probably going tonight to train but I usually on go on Thursdays. Roger Young has excellent, structured workouts on Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00p-9:00p.

You should head south to the ADT Event Center and grab Joy on your way down.

ADT Center is comfortable and warm. :)

ADT Center is comfortable and warm. :)

It can be chilly on the infield, but the concourse is warmer. And if you're riding you warm up fast.

Life was much simpler back in the motherland (Taiwan). My brother and I would ride our bikes to the local velodrome, and sometimes we'd ride for 6-8 hours at a time. It was abandoned back then, so anybody was free to use it. I never did see anyone besides us using it though. Now I have to get a dedicated track bike, plus I'd have to load the damn thing and drive out to LA. :p Since I'm in the b*tching mode already, why are all the pistas on craigslist all size 54 and up? :p

Here is a picture of the velodrome back in the homeland. Found it on google earth a few days ago.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q228/twowheeltom/velodrome1.jpg

My brother and I would ride our bikes to the local velodrome, and sometimes we'd ride for 6-8 hours at a time.

8 hours going around in a little circle?!?

http://qster.com/archives/uploaded/2005-07-31/SleepingInJapan-thumb.jpg

Hi ME,

You should head south to the ADT Event Center and grab Joy on your way down. ;) :eek:

I'm probably going tonight to train but I usually on go on Thursdays. Roger Young has excellent, structured workouts on Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00p-9:00p.

I'd love nothing more than to grab Joy and go down south. :D (you made that one way too easy!)

But as for the ADT, I think with traffic, it would very difficult for me. Encino is in my neck of the woods. Well, I'm gonig to try and make it tonight, but I still have to get a workout in, so that may not work out. There is always next Tuesday and now that I know, I can plan.

8 hours going around in a little circle?!?

http://qster.com/archives/uploaded/2005-07-31/SleepingInJapan-thumb.jpg

Try it before you knock it.

There's a nice PA for music, and if you're doing something crazy like a madison then the simplicity of the oval makes it a little less hairy.

Try it before you knock it.

I'm not so much knocking it, as saying my severe attention span deficiency would yield utter failure.

I'm not so much knocking it, as saying my severe attention span deficiency would yield utter failure.

There's enough scary stuff going on all the time in a madison to keep anyone's attention.

I love madison races.

There's enough scary stuff going on all the time in a madison to keep anyone's attention.


After watching the UCI madison race at the Velodrome a couple of weeks ago, I'll agree with that.

After watching the UCI madison race at the Velodrome a couple of weeks ago, I'll agree with that.

That korean dude had some seriously good handling skills to stay upright when he rode over that other bike.

I think one of the quietly scarier moments was when one of the fast teams (I think it was the dutch) threaded the needle right through a german exchange that was about to happen just above the blue line. It blew the german exchange, but nobody went down.

...we used to do this back in the 80s and 90s...
My brother and I used to ride there almost every Tue from 1994 to 1996. I was a lot smaller (thinner and younger) back then.


8 hours going around in a little circle?!?
Yep. Just imagine how "boring" a Six Day race would be :D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-day_racing

Hey Will :) Thanks for being such a sport last night. I know I'm a bit much, but I really was checking out the Velodrome and not just the riders. :D I posted the below pics in my other thread, but I thought they could go here too. By the way, you men are fast, fast! I was shocked and impressed. Oh, and was that young guy in the stands really Bjorn? He and his friend were very entertaining.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/IMG_0109.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/IMG_0108.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/IMG_0095.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/IMG_0090.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/IMG_0083.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/IMG_0080.jpg

So, were there just 5 riders yesterday?

So, were there just 5 riders yesterday?

Just five? Trust me, they were plenty. I thought I had hit gold, sir. :p

I didn't mean it THAT way, yes of course the 5 there are the best.

I just meant from a participation point of view. Perhaps it is the weather, perhaps too early in the year.

I didn't mean it THAT way, yes of course the 5 there are the best.

I just meant from a participation point of view. Perhaps it is the weather, perhaps too early in the year.

I knew what you meant. ;) I'm just easy to please.

there were 8 or 9 of us. in the photos we were doing flying 200s so the riders who had done their 200 had pulled off. hopefully we can gat some more riders out there, otherwise it's a waste of time. the poor guy that rides for the national team drove out from ojai and was disappointed and i don't blame him

Hi,

bitingduck can probably estimate better than me, but I believe that there was 40 or so at ADT last night. There were so many that Roger Young had to run 2 heats of the motor game. :eek:

Hi,

bitingduck can probably estimate better than me, but I believe that there was 40 or so at ADT last night. There were so many that Roger Young had to run 2 heats of the motor game. :eek:

40? That makes me dizzy just thinking about it. :D

there were 8 or 9 of us. in the photos we were doing flying 200s so the riders who had done their 200 had pulled off. hopefully we can gat some more riders out there, otherwise it's a waste of time. the poor guy that rides for the national team drove out from ojai and was disappointed and i don't blame him

I hope more show up, Will. Is it the time of the season? I realize I'm a goofy amateur, but from what I can tell, that's a great space to train.

I think closer to 60.

At one point I looked down and saw Christen and Neva each pulling *long* lines side by side at the blue line, plus there were people in Roger's group on the black and about 10 up at the balustrade.

for all that, it was still pretty safe and everyone was pretty well behaved.

ME: I recall the ADT Velodrome hosting free women's classes. You might want to look into that, as it's a great program. Less men to look at, but you can come early or stay late and watch the men then.

I think closer to 60.

At one point I looked down and saw Christen and Neva each pulling *long* lines side by side at the blue line, plus there were people in Roger's group on the black and about 10 up at the balustrade.

for all that, it was still pretty safe and everyone was pretty well behaved.

I have absolutely NO idea what any of that means, but I imagined hot men, anyway.

ME: I recall the ADT Velodrome hosting free women's classes. You might want to look into that, as it's a great program. Less men to look at, but you can come early or stay late and watch the men then.

The problem with ADT is distance. I have a hard time making it to the night ride. Only reason I got out of here last night in time to make it to the velodrome is that my boss is out this week.

I think it is neat we have a host of experienced track riders, some that are interested in starting, and some that are interested in spectating (me). The last two categories can learn from the first.

I think it is neat we have a host of experienced track riders, some that are interested in starting, and some that are interested in spectating (me). The last two categories can learn from the first.

+1 I see an organized BF outing in the future. Happy tried that and invited folks to the ADT, and I'm so blonde, I didn't get what she meant. I'm bummed now. I would have loved to have gone with you two (of course, that was the night of my bike accident and I wouldn't have been able to anyway). Now, ding, ding, ding...I get it.

I'm a little slow and like a horse...you got to lead me to water with a few sugar cubes. :p

I think it is neat we have a host of experienced track riders, some that are interested in starting, and some that are interested in spectating (me). The last two categories can learn from the first.
Best advice for spectators: Whatch any madison you can. Points races and miss 'n outs are fun, too. Match sprints are interesting if you know what's going on and don't have ADD. Pursuits are boring.

The problem with ADT is distance.the problem not so much the distance but the traffic. i could ride there in the same amount of time it takes to drive. i've considered taking the blue line down there and riding over from the station. i mentioned that to someone and they said 'it makes so many stops' and my reply was 'and the 110 doesn't?'

Best advice for spectators: Whatch any madison you can. Points races and miss 'n outs are fun, too. Match sprints are interesting if you know what's going on and don't have ADD. Pursuits are boring.

That is good advice. When we went, Will happened to be there and explained some of the nuances to us. Without knowing the real objectives of the race, a lot of it just looks like guys riding around in circles.

Of what we saw, I liked the points race best because of the constant action. There wasn't Madison that night.

Hi,

My 2 cents, I like team pursuit the best. I watched the team pursuit on TV during the 1972 Summer Olympics and I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen in bike racing. (At that time I already had an Eddy Merckx poster in my bedroom.)

I also like the individual pursuit but my second favorite is the points race. All kinds of riders can do well in a points race using a lot of different strategies.

The Madison is very exciting visually but I have too much trouble keeping track of who is leading, lapped, etc. :o

Madison is a tag team points race, with up to 16 teams of two (32 riders) doing handslings to come in and out of the race every 3 laps or so. Riders alternate between full on and rolling rest, so they can go *really* fast. Toward the end of the madison at world cup a friend of mine timed them at about 13.5 second laps-- that's a little over 40 mph.

ME there will be a Bicycle John's women team training lesson sometime in the near future. That's a good starter , because I will be there and I'm horrible at the track. I have only tried it once and I had some serious
fear issues to get over. Especially getting on and off the darn bike, but now I want to try again just because I was such a ninny. Any way when I see the date I'll tell you .

ME there will be a Bicycle John's women team training lesson sometime in the near future. That's a good starter , because I will be there and I'm horrible at the track. I have only tried it once and I had some serious
fear issues to get over. Especially getting on and off the darn bike, but now I want to try again just because I was such a ninny. Any way when I see the date I'll tell you .

Please, do and thank you, VG!!!! If you're there, I'll go for sure. :) To be truthful, I'm glad you said it as I didn't want to...but I'm actually scared of the mounting/dismounting more than anything. :o And, since my recent spill, I'm scared of falling. But I hopefully will be back on my road bike by this Sunday, and that means I'll be able to join for this in the next few weeks.

But I hopefully will be back on my road bike by this Sunday, and that means I'll be able to join for this in the next few weeks.

Isn't that going to be tough without picking Patsy up?:eek::rolleyes::p

Isn't that going to be tough without picking Patsy up?:eek::rolleyes::p

Well, I was hoping to get her tomorrow when I meet you for lunch. Really, my shoulder is really improving now, day by day (something turned on Monday!). I'm also going to buy a new helmet. :)