joakley

With track season fast approaching this forum sure is quiet. Come on let's think of something to discuss. I defend myself, all the training I have been doing has left me totally zonked. The sad part is I have never even rode on a track , and I have no idea what I am actually training for. So come on and help a rookie out. LoL

Kayce

Where are you racing at in a few months?

BrainInAJar

My track season's just about over ( 2 more weeks or so ) and then road season begins

Baby Puke

Try an omnium and see what you like.

joakley

I plan to race on the newly built giordana velodrome just outside of Charlotte. Opening day is March 19th. Since this is my first season on the track I am not really sure how long the season will be down here but I am stoked to say the least. I plan on being there on opening day and taking it from there. Hopefully the last couple months of training will pay off. I was just kidding about this post , I really enjoy reading this forum and have learned a lot of helpful info here. I would like to thank all of you for helping me on my journey, especially Carleton , Chad , and baby puke. Hopefully it will be a great experience and a life time sport. Later

carleton

Have there been any announcements about events (besides the opening next month), local racing, training classes?

I would imagine that there would be a big emphasis on getting people certified before they open it for training. The certification class teaches very important rules that keep the organized chaos of an open track session...well...organized.

joakley

Same thing I am thinking. I have been inquiring but all I have been able to come up is---- opening ceremonies on Saturday with some demo races-- then open Monday for public use-- to me this sounds like a crashfest. I would think the first priority would be certification classes to ensure safe riding. But it all sounds to me that the learning curve is going to be long and painful. Hopefully they will work it out before opening day.

carleton

I wholeheartedly agree.

Kayce

In order to be an official US Cycling certified track, meaning have USC races there, you are required to hold a training session before any races happen.

bitingduck

I've never seen anything like that listed anywhere, and I've pulled a lot of track race permits. Considering that almost any track is going to be safer than a typical crit course held on a road course (that's likely used once a year, or is a one off), I don't see that there's any reason for it. When you fill out the race permit paperwork it's hard enough to indicate that it's a track race-- you have to supply all sorts of irrelevant information: e.g. course marked with signs and corner marshalls. But very little that's track related. It's all up to the local association and whether they'll give you the permit.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't get a permit for an opening day race, particularly if you keep it to the more experienced categories. Cat 5's on a new track in an area that doesn't have another track within an hour or 2? Probably not a good idea. Cat 2 and above? Probably not a big deal. Cat 3? Maybe, but if there's not a nearby track there probably won't be any, anyway. We have 3 tracks and sometimes have fewer than a dozen 3's show up.

bitingduck

The HDC track was long awaited in an area that already had 2 active tracks (and where it was replacing an existing track) and for the first year or so it was *extremely* undersubscribed. I was too tied up with work when it opened to get certified right away, but when I went later that summer, there was me and one other guy getting certified. Open sessions were pretty much 10 people or less, and Roger's interval sessions had the best turnout and a *really* good turnout was 40. 20 was more typical. Winter turnout now is close to 100. During the first couple years it was open I could show up on a saturday or sunday and it might be me and 2 other guys, which was a blast, but doesn't keep the lights on.

It's really important that people see it as a relatively easy thing to get into or they won't show up. It really is still just riding a bike, and if you take a road three and tell them how track works, things will generally work out ok. Once things picked up we could sell out 24 places in a Cat 5 field and not have any disasters, other than one group slide per race day (generally either Cat 5 or Juniors). The more complicated it seems to get involved, the fewer people will show up. A lot of trackies act like learning to ride track is rocket science, but it's not, and that attitude can keep people away. We were initially a little squeamish about certifying people and letting them race Cat 5 the same day, but tried it and it worked out generally pretty well. It ended up being a combination teaser to get people in-- if you sign up to race you get a free certification class the same day before the race, and it cost about $20-$30 less to race than it did to take the regular class. For TT's you don't even need to be certified, but you can't warm up on the track unless you are-- that works as another teaser.

So if they're planning to have it open for "public" use right away, that's a good thing. They'll probably have a lot of learning opportunities at first (or not, depending on available people to teach), and open or structured riding for more experienced riders, and there are probably more experienced riders lurking around than you'd guess. The overall turnout after the first day is likely to be underwhelming, but with good programs it will grow.

carleton

That's some great insight.

I was talking with some DLV folks and we were wondering how to get the roadies to the track. One guy that I train with is an ex road/crit racer. He was really active in the region. He discovered track racing and loves it. Some quotes from him (I'm paraphrasing):
- "Man, this is awesome. I can come out here and within 3 hours I get in 4 races. I kicked some butt, I got my butt kicked, and now I'm having pizza and beer with you guys 3 hours later and I'm exhausted. I didn't have to drive to another state, get a hotel, load up 2 bikes and wheels in the car, etc... Why haven't I done this before?"
- "The bikes are SO CHEAP! $1,500 gets you all the bike you'll ever need. That's not even a nice wheelset for a road bike."

carleton

UPDATE:

I've exchanged emails with some guys on the Giordana Velodrome board. The track will open for training on March 19th for approved riders. There will be some sort of list I would imagine. This will certainly eliminate the potential chaos of a completely open track.

DLV has a similar process where, in order to train on the track, you have to either have completed the DLV beginners class, completed a similar class at another track, or have an appropriate track certification. When I went to the Superdrome, I was a CAT3 and still had to be taken up on the 250 by an instructor for my 250M initiation. I appreciated having that as a 250M/45 deg is different than 333M/36 deg. Also, looking over turns 3/4 at the Superdrome still gives me the willies. (FYI, the Superdrome is above-ground, so looking over turns 3/4 all you see is a huge drop to the tunnel walkway.)

joakley

Hate to bother you, but was there any mention of scheduling certification or beginner courses? Thanks

carleton

I didn't ask about that. They did mention the need for it, so they are aware that they'll have to get their rider base up to speed in order to get local participation going. I'm sure that's a priority.

bitingduck

That's one of the huge benefits of track- in a road race you get one chance to sprint for the finish, if that. In a crit there might be a prime, as well. In a points race you get to practice winning a race every 2.5 km or so. And over the course of an omnium get to practice a lot of tactics without the boring parts in between.

Haha. Little does he know...

bitingduck

If you end up developing any influence, a track really needs at least 3 levels of class. The typical 4-6 session intro for people with little or no experience, a 1 session intro for people with a lot of experience (preferably some of it racing), and an intermediate one that isn't a certification but is intended to improve skills for intermediate riders who aren't out racing enough to develop them the more typical way (which also takes longer). HDC had the first 2 from the start, but never really has had the intermediate one.

carleton

Hahaha

Dalai

True, but for that amount it won't be the bike holding you back...

In regards to the OP - you will have a blast! Is the track outdoor? I ask due to the comment about seasons.

For us here in Melbourne, we still have the track racing divided into seasons. Where summer is still the main season culminating in the State Masters a couple of weekends ago and National Masters next weekend. But due to having two world class indoor velodromes in town we can race Tuesday and Thursday nights year round!

Actually due to our mild winters, it is actually hard to find time to slow down and start a new training cycle. As the winter road season kicks off before the end of the summer track and crit season and same at the end of winter. I had my first road ITT for the year last Sunday and have still a few months of the summer track season to go!

Minion1

Hey Dalai, quick question, I'm moving to Canberra soon from NZ and wanted to ask if you knew anything about the track scene over there. I know it's close to Sydney, and there seems to be a strong roadie scene there, but tracks a bit of a blind spot.
I know, I should just move to Melbourne instead, yada yada...

Anyways, Cheers.

Dalai

Canberra has one outdoor track - 333m. Details of racing and training https://www.canberracyclingclub.org.a...&IntContId=971 Season looks like it is just through the summer unfortunately, given the track is outdoors and Canberra is cold and wet in winter... There is (was?) another outdoor velodrome just over the border in Queanbeyan too.

Sydney is a fair drive - ~250km each way to Dunc Gray!

Canberra has a good road racing and MTB scene with the Stromlo Forest Park MTB trails and Crit track and really good riding in the surrounding area.

brawlo

Canberra is conc outdoor. Very cold in winter and apparently good for snakes in summer. Racing scene is apparently fairly good. As mentioned, Queanbeyan is close but only the vets race there. A little further is Goulburn where I'm from and we occasionally get Canberra riders there for our Friday night club racing. Coming into the end of the season now though. I'm hoping I can muster up some support for motor pacing through the winter. Mighty cold, but still great to keep the legs ticking over.

There's 3 months (I think) of racing over the winter down at Dunc Gray in Sydney on Friday nights. I've got high hopes of getting there every second week.

There's no open carnivals in Canberra, but through the summer there's some within a few hours drive.