Black Canon Collective

Category: Velodrome Trip

  • Newport Newbies

    I had been looking forward to more velodrome action since my first taster back in December. To get the authentic experience however, we travelled to Newport, as they have an Olympic sized track (They even dry the air for extra speed)!

    We made the 58 mile journey from Westbury to the Newport International Sports Village and loytered in reception for the rest of the posse to arrive. Neil and Simon soon rolled up, smiling from their early morning blast around Ashton Court. The rest of the group were just crossing the bridge so we decided to see what we had let ourselves in for. The first thing we noticed is what a vast room it is. The track commands most of the space, with smaller courts inside the track where a local martial arts class was taking place.

    Rich and Lee arrived not long after, so we piled into the changing room and embraced the lycra! There was all sorts of excited chatter and in next to no time everyone was in the hall queuing for bikes. A track bike is a very basic machine, so the only adjustments needed is saddle height.

    Our coach for the session was Brian, who had been recommended to me by several others. He was relieved to hear we all had previous track experince and wasted no time with introductions, it was straight on to the track. It was great to be back on the boards (if a little unnatural to begin with) and i was interested in what the next few hours would entail.

    We did a lot of riding in a relatively short period of time, because it is a full size track (250m), you can have a lot more riders out at one time. We completed several drills to test our spacial awareness and to prepare us for riding in larger groups, so that we were as safe and competent as possible.

    Brian suggested doing a flying lap- you get a lap to set yourself up and then pedal your legs off for the following lap. This was great fun and introduced a bit of light hearted competition amongst the group. Everyone gave it their all which was brilliant to see, the results were as follows:

    1. Rich: 16.60
    2. Neil: 17.66
    3. Ryan: 17.94
    4. Ben: 18.06
    5. Simon: 18.41
    6. Mark: 18.66
    7. Chris: 18.85
    8. Rupert: 19.00
    9. Lee: 19.69
    10. Al: 19.75
    11. Kev: 19.84
    12. Juliet: 20.85
    13. Marjory: 20.91
    As you can see, the times were all pretty close and i am sure if we had another opportunity we could have all bettered our times. We had a warm down spin, when the whole group were on track and it was great, although i think some were beginning to struggle after a few intense hours of riding a bike with no gears or freewheel!

    Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, to complete the day we headed to the Bay Leaf in Frome for a curry, whilst Neil and Simon completed their marathon day with a lap of Cwmcarn. I am already getting the next session booked up and can’t wait to get back in the ‘Drome.

  • Stage 2 Velodrome Trip – Newport

     

    Recently several club members completed a Stage 1 session at Calshot Velodrome, and we are keen to keep up the momentum. We are going to organise a Stage 2 session, but this time at Newport Velodrome as it is an olympic sized track and can accommodate bigger groups. If you have completed a track taster session before and are interested in joining us, just express your interest on the forum or send an email to- ryan.mckee@blackcanoncollective.co.uk .

    Thank you and we hope to see you on the boards.

  • Calshot Velodrome Session

    Visiting Calshot for a track taster session had been mentioned several times in the pub after the Tuesday Night Ride. I was very keen to ride at a velodrome, after seeing so much of the track cycling on the TV, so took it upon myself to organise a session. It turns out there were many others who were just as interested as i was, and 9 of us (Rich, Lee, Chas, Al, Mark, Juliet, Marjory, Kev and I) made our way to Calshot on Wednesday Evening. Chris Noble was supposed to join us but managed to get the date wrong (?!) and couldn’t make it in time.

    There were heavy snow showers in the morning, which began to worry me as it doesn’t take much to throw our roads into Chaos, which would have made our journey to Southampton near impossible. Luckily the weather had cleared up by the afternoon and we had a faultless drive to the activity centre.

    Our excited chatter echoed through-out the converted air hanger that plays host to an expansive climbing wall, ski slope and the pièce de résistance- The Velodrome. Many of the group had never ridden a fixed wheel bike before, those of us that had repeated the one simple rule- “Don’t stop pedalling!”. We quickly changed into more appropriate attire, i opted for my Trek Leopard kit for the Track Veteran look.

    We then bustled along a small corridor which led to the track, where we got our first glimpse of the boards we would soon be entrusting with our dignity. The instructor, Adam, gave us a brief safety speech and was keen for us to get kitted with bikes, helmets and shoes. The equipment had recently been upgraded, and we were treated to Dolan Pre- Cursa track bikes.

    The session started with a few simple drills to ensure we were competent enough, then jumped straight into the action. Riding the walls is quite imposing to begin with, but in no time at all we were pedaling as hard as we could, begging for more speed each time we emerged from the corners. Juliet was enjoying herself, but found riding in circles caused severe dizziness, so she decided to become resident photographer instead.

    We advanced a lot faster than the instructor was expecting, eager not to hold us back he moved us onto a Level 2 drill to finish the taster off. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, already talking about the next session!

    Sadly Marjory had to leave fairly promptly due to baby-sitting contraints, but the rest of us stopped off at the Royal Jaipur curry house for post- track fuel. Good food topped off a perfect evening, thanks all for coming along. See you all for level 2.

  • May Velodrome Trip

    Check out the Forum to get involved in our next Velodrome Trip…

    Black Canon Collective – June ’09 Calshot Velodrome from ndrwdnhm on Vimeo.