Olympic Training Center Velodrome opens Saturday, April 16.

Sunday April 17, 2005
Velodrome Cleanup Day : CVA Board Meeting

* Coed Beginner's Clinic - 9:00 am
* Track Cleanup and BBQ - 12:00 pm
* CVA Board Meeting - 3:00 pm

All riders are welcome to join in the annual Velodrome Cleanup Day. Riders assisting with the cleanup will earn a free night of racing! The CVA board meeting will follow the cleanup and BBQ.

Women's Clinic starts April 24th.

More info: http://coloradovelodrome.org/

There are a few of us from the forums that will be there Sunday--me, isotopesope, maybe freigh. I'm sure there will be more. You going, lala? Give a wave if you're there.

laura, you should definitely come out!

Maybe I will. I'll definately will be there for the women's clinics! Do I really want to clean and bbq though?

you know you do...

So, how'd it go? Any tales to regale?

So, how'd it go? Any tales to regale?

What follows is the recounting of a wide-eyed novice.

No tales per se. Sunday was terrifically fun, but too short. Isotopesope and I went to the track clinic with a couple friends. The clinic started over an hour late because they had a surprisingly large turnout--over 40 people of all ages and riding backgrounds. There was a lot of talk about the history of the velodrome and track safety and terminology and the differences between different kinds of races. Then they took us out in groups to practice riding drills.

That first experience of getting out and riding up off the (flat) apron and onto the track was thrilling, just being on it. I had the misconception that you had to be moving at a substantial pace to avoid sliding off the banked ends of the track, but in fact you can ride it upright going pretty slow. Silly, but that 35 degree slope is formidable-looking when you're standing down below it. That thrill was followed by another about 5 minutes later and several laps around when I was feeling confident enough to pick up some speed and ride higher up on the bank and then use that height to accelerate down into the flat--a sudden giddy sense of "holy crap, I'm actually doing this!"

During the clinic there were other riders out on the track, and it was cool to watch them move. As much fun as it is to ride a track bike on the street, seeing them being handled well in their native environment is impressive--really fluid.

We did a few more drills, and Isotopesope did some faster laps with his housemate Eric, who is a more experienced rider. Eric is also a framebuilder, and there were a number of his GroundUp bikes at the track--beautiful. I felt like I was on a new bike myself, having ditched the clip-n-flips for pista bars (Chris, thanks again for the sweet stem) and a 49x14 gear ratio. The De Bernardi handled well, and it got at least one compliment from a guy who told me he used to ride a DeBer on the track in the 90s and liked them a lot.

We left the track a little early 'cause none of us had eaten breakfast and went to a Jamaican restaurant (in Colo. Springs? WTF?) and had a feast of fish and greens, fried plantains and Red Stripes.

The end of the story is that we were all hooked. This experience was just a tease, and I am planning to make the trip down from Denver many times this summer. I would recommend to anyone who rides a fixed gear and lives near a velodrome to give it a try.

ben,
too bad you all had to go back up to denver so soon. eric and i had the whole track to ourselves after lunch. it was windy as crap towards the end of the day though, which sucked. i cried for at least an hour, clutching a barbie and a my little pony to my sad face.

i'm so happy that stem worked for you. your bike is pretty much 100% italian now eh? what a bunch of crap. what do they know about bikes anyways? sheesh. i hate italian bikes. i don't ever want to own one myself.

Damn - that Colorado roadtrip needs to happen. Josh?

Shiftless - nice recap.

Damn - that Colorado roadtrip needs to happen. Josh?
duh.

Damn - that Colorado roadtrip needs to happen. Josh?

Didn't Josh used to live in the Springs? You guys should definitely come out here. Too bad you'd have to drive through Nebraska, otherwise the trip probably wouldn't seem like that big a deal.

Maybe they need to have more clinics. Was the 40 odd group also a mix of genders?
I'm checking out the women's clinic next week. Hopefully it will be a small group.

there's going to be beginner's clinics every sunday for a few weeks it sounds like. there were a bit too many people out yesterday. we split up into three separate groups, but it was still crowded. there were only maybe six or so women there, so i imagine the clinic won't be too big. on race nights the women's races never had too many participants either. it would be great to get more females out there.

laura, when did you become a mod?

there's going to be beginner's clinics every sunday for a few weeks it sounds like. there were a bit too many people out yesterday. we split up into three separate groups, but it was still crowded. there were only maybe six or so women there, so i imagine the clinic won't be too big. on race nights the women's races never had too many participants either. it would be great to get more females out there.

laura, when did you become a mod?


I agree. Obviously with the trendiness of fixies, there will be a great deal of beginners' interest in the track. I'm excited about sunday. The pista is all track legal now, and I'm debating whether to put my orange cinelli wrap on it, as I will probably wipe out. ;)

When you weren't looking.