Like Mitch said, the height/view thing is really weird when you get higher up on the track. The strongest thing you feel is when you're lower down - that's when the centrifugal force really sucks you down into the saddle. I found that as the day went on I started to just trust what was happening and pedal a bit harder/lean away from the track more. Things feel more stable once you get comfortable riding at a higher speed.

I am without a doubt jonsing for my next FCV fix.

For photos, I can't wait to take the camera back there again and get some really nice shots of people. I consider our last trip the test run ... now I know how bad the lighting is there but how much potential we have for some awesome photos. If people are cool with a flash going off I think that'll definitely help open things up a bit (the lighting's so top-heavy and far away that it's tough to even get a decent exposure of someone's face and still have it balanced w/ the track surface). Imagine the last photo I posted ... except with a huge pace line up near the top of the track and someone standing down near the apron for perspective to show off the insane banking. Oooh, and eventually there will be full-on race photos with lots of "must destroy" facial expressions and crazy bike angles. :)

Also, I hope Mr. Crabbypants isn't around next time ... hopefully we can bust out the handlebar cam.

Finaly I got some spd clipless shoes for the Elvish, I've never really felt secure enough to pull up alot with the clips and straps. I can pull skids and stop so much more easily now.

Steeker, I do plan on racing this summer, now that I'm fast enough.

Racing ... road/mountain/track/?

Road racing this summer, Track when I get more comfortable, and when I get an actual track bike.

I would hazard a guess and say he would do great in road and track but he has what it takes already for track P.S. Eyefloater or anyone what is your idea;s on the new narrow seats with the split gap in the middle?

Which SPD's did you get? I'm thinking of switching from SPD to Egg Beaters.

What do you guys think Crank Brothers?

i got egg beater candies.
Nothing wrong w/ them yet. but my cleat is starting to showing wear.
Many people say they've have bad experiences with em' regarding the cleats wearing out and bushing crapping on them, but I got nothing to complain about.

They're just an old pair of Sidi dominators that my brother used to use, and I just had a couple of shimano spd pedals lying around that I used.

That's what I've been hearing about Crank Brother pedals.

Hmm... What to get now...

Yeah those are Shiznaz's.

You're probably looking at ^'s Olympic om1 (I think). You saw me but for a brief second with my Pentax asahi.

I vote for 9 Tuesday.

Look Ke0 or SPD-SL. $40 For pedals + cleats you can't go wrong.

Yeah, being up top was cool just for the height, but I like the crazy compression from centripital forces down near the bottom where the corner radius is tighter. The term "human powered rollercoaster" now holds a LOT more meaning. :)

I love my eggbeaters. The cleats do wear out pretty quickly, but I kind of believe in their reasoning: it's better for the cleat to wear than the pedal. I'll be shopping for a new set of pedals soon and I'll likely go for another set of crank bros (not sure which model yet). But, there are too many positives for the pedal design to not go with them again as far as I'm concerned.. 4-sided entry. good amount of float. small cleats. no upward release at all.

i think the bushing wear out way too fast and are expensive to replace. the cleats also wear fast which makes it too easy to disengage from the pedal. it's too bad because they are functionally a good design. why don't they use real bearings like everyone else.

why not stick with the spds if you have them?

Time atac alum mtb ones are working well for me.

So I just got a chance to take a look at the photos/video of your field trip... a few comments:

1) WOW You guys are crazy
2) I don't understand why you haven't attracted more female riders ;)
3) Incredibly crazy
4) Incredibly cool

btw. according to the Forest City website they only do the track 2 + 3 combo on the 4th Saturday of every month. So that means the following dates:

June 24
July 22
August 26

That's assuming that we can't arrange for something at a different time. I definitely want to do this fairly soon, but is June 24 TOO soon? I'd prefer to avoid July 22nd because that's the day before the bike rally to Montreal starts. I don't really want to wait until the end of August though. What does everyone think?

edit: I just emailed Mike @ Forest City and asked whether it was possible to do the track combo another day. I'll let y'all know when I hear back.

I left just after 10, I thought maybe the ride had been cancelled. Probably for the best, I was pretty tired from riding on Saturday. How far did you guys end up going? After I left Balzaacs, I went and rode the leslie street spit, and then out to the beaches. Nice day.

Hey, did I see a picture of Operator in spandex-or did I inhale too many fumes the last time I patched a tube???

we went up leslie to about stoufville sdrd, about 100km for me from door to door. i was planning on doing more but after lounging around drinking coffee and riding kind of slow i had to call it a day to make it home by 3pm.

Wes, those beat to hell MEC espressos are mine... I knew I left them somewhere... Also if you find an olympus lens cap its mine, but I have a feeling I left it at the velodrome (yet another reason to get out there again!) The old SLR camera by the way is an Olympus OM-2n. I have an OM-1n that I liked so much that I decided to buy an OM-2n. The motor drives are detachable and they are super sweet. The only SLRs I like more are Leicas but the cost of those is crazy. Great time on saturday by the way, extra thanks go to our most gracious drivers, Wes and Keith. I'll try to process and scan the roll I shot ASAP and get them up here for you guys to check out. If we all start selling crack, I predict that we could raise the money to build a velodrome in under 3 years.

Cuz I want more clearance when cornering. I've come close a few times when cornering. Plus I don't feel like getting shorter cranks. I have these ones:

http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycl...=1150126117031

They're multi-purpose, but mad heavy and I've sparked a few times cornering.

:eek:

Maybe I'll look up some pedals on the interweb...

Where did u get them? How much? How far out does the cleat come out of the shoe?

I have Adidas SPD compatible shoes. Will the Time cleats fit those?

Cheers.

Zero chance of me making it out until August.

No, that was my identical twin. I don't think we'll be seeing him again.

Zero chance of me making it out until August. July very iffy.