Dave wasn’t scared, oh no.

Dave ‘I’m a trackie now’ Arthur

No gears. No brakes. No freewheel. An indoor oval track. Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to somebody who considers himself a mountain biker first and foremost. But after a few hesitant laps, I was well and truly hooked.

It’s the speed and closeness of the racing that is so thrilling. The banking seems so daunting the first time you ride up the boards, but as the confidence grows the speed increases, and the adrenalin glands are put into overtime. The banking is pretty steep, and advice from Guy to not look down was the best tip of the day for me (especially riding around the very top of the banking – it’s a long way down from up there).

Before you even hit the banking though there’s the small problem of getting used to a bike without gears, brakes or a freewheel. And to be honest, it didn’t take all that long – a couple of hours and I almost felt at home. It’s the slowing, stopping and making minute adjustments to your speed that take some getting used to – pedalling backwards just doesn’t feel right at all – but you do get the hang of it and before you realise you have visions of being the next Chris Hoy… or perhaps not.

For a complete track novice it’s surprisingly easy to get up onto the track proper, but being a regular cyclist with a good level of skills makes the transition to a wannabe trackie even quicker. All cyclists should give the track a go, but be warned, you’ll quickly become addicted.

Veena’s confidence grew as the day went on

Veena Mistry (Magicalia ad girl and complete novice)

What were your preconceptions of riding the track? Did you know what to expect/what you were letting yourself in for?
I had visions of a really big track and lots of people riding around not just our Bike team. But didn’t know what to expect really…went in completely blind. Some might say I rode like that too!

Honestly, what went through your mind when you walked into the velodrome?
I expected the track to be a lot bigger than it was so that was a nice surprise, but everyone seemed to be riding really fast and it didn’t look so safe.

Did you feel differently at the end of the session?
It was both enjoyable and scary at the same time but the first time I did the lap it was mainly scary!

Describe your experience of riding a fixed wheel.
The fixed wheel was daunting to ride as I wasn’t sure how safe it was to stop. Felt like I had no control over the bike and the lack of brakes didn’t fill me with any confidence that I was already lacking.

Do you think it’s easy for beginners to give it a go?
I wouldn’t say it’s easy, just a case of nerves and confidence. If you’re confident then you’re already 80% there.

Was it easier to ride track or mountain bike?
Initially it was easier to ride a mountain bike but I had trouble remembering which brakes to use and what gear I should be in. I preferred to ride track as it was just straight and not hurtling up hills and downhill which I found the most frightening.

Would you do it again?
Yes I would

What did you think when three experienced riders crashed!?
Well, I was on the other side of the track fortunately and only heard it. Very glad I didn’t see it, because I doubt I would have got back on the bike!

Mike, on the left, like a duck to water

Bikemagic’s Mike Davis gives us his thoughts

I don’t really consider myself a cyclist – I think of myself as a mountain biker because, well, that’s pretty much all I ride. Which made riding the track very much a new experience. For a start, the bikes are about as far from my usual mount as you can get. About the only thing a contemporary mountain bike and a track bike have in common are that both have two wheels and a saddle.

Actually, that’s about all a track bike has. Two wheels, a saddle, some bars, a fixed-gear transmission and a few tubes to join it all together. No gears, no freewheel, no brakes. Riding one for the first time is faintly disorientating. For a start, your hands are down near the front axle somewhere. And then there’s the whole fixed-gear thing – you can’t stop pedalling without things turning ugly. But at the same time you can slow down just by pedalling less fast, which is rather agreeable.

Once you’re used to it you can hit the track. Again, this is initially disconcerting. I’ve ridden round plenty of bermed corners, but the Newport banking makes even the biggest berm look like a dropped kerb. It’s high, it’s steep and when you’re riding behind someone else it doesn’t look possible. Once you get your eye in, though, it’s great. It only gets scary when you feel like you want to go faster to stay stuck to the track but you need to slow down to avoid riding into the bike in front…

All in all, it’s superb fun and hard work, but in a good way – you really could get extraordinarily fast doing this. Even better, it’s indoors – no mud, no rain, no bike cleaning, no unpleasant laundry. Looking for something new to try this winter? Look no further.

Wales National Velodrome
Newport International Sport Village
Velodrome Way
Newport
South Wales
NP19 4PT
Telephone: (01633) 656 757
Email: newportinternational.sportsvillage@newport.gov.uk
Website: www.cyclewales.org.uk

If you fancy a go, please e-mail us and we’ll put you down for the RCUK day trip to Newport, hopefully for early next year.

Courtney Rowe explains how it works

Our monthly meetings are taking us out of the office to meet up and talk shop. But we’re throwing in a cycling trip too so it’s becoming the monthly Busman’s day out, a chance to try a new riding experience. Last month it was mountain biking but this month we booked Newport Velodrome and it turned into a grand day out. The good pictures are by Mike Davis.

Courtney Rowe
Courtney works full time at the track. He’s a fully qualified coach, although he’s certainly not the shouty old skool type. He’s very friendly and keen to get everyone having a go as soon as possible. First up he explains clearly and simply what’s required to get onto the track. Safety is paramount. The two non-trackies were quickly riding around the ‘Cote d’Azur’ (the blue non-banked bit at the base of the track) and after a few laps they made it onto the boards proper. They are both Mountain Bikers which usually means fear is well down the list of emotions and before too long they’re up onto the banking and lapping pretty fast.

Simplicity is beautiful

No brakes!
A track bike is the simplest, purest form of transport. A fixed wheel and no brakes. The bikes have changed very little for decades and there is something very pleasing about the whole thing. It’s an almost spiritual cycling experience when you master the art for the first time and before too long you learn how to ease up and brake with your legs and pedalling. It sounds crude but it really is the perfect machine/man interface.

Drills
Most of my track riding has been ridden at Herne Hill, which is a great track but nothing like an indoor velodrome. At Herne Hill the emphasis can be on group riding, massive groups of riders can comfortably cruise around the oval and you can get 4 or 5 dernys motor pacing 20 odd riders. There’s loads of space. Newport is slightly different, Courtney sets up a few cones for us to weave around and we all have a go, it’s all about control easing back on the pedals and trying to predict when the pedals are going to allow you to turn. It’s actually pulling on muscles in a way I’m not used to – a bit like riding backwards would I suppose. I, for one, was glad of this type of drill and it certainly makes sense when coming to match sprinting and positioning when riding in a bunch.

The RCUK team ‘hit’ the boards

We also learn weaving through the group, where the last rider rides through a line of riders two bike lengths apart, under and over until they reach the front. It’s good for trusting your riding chums and adds more skill to turning and judging gaps.

Experience counts – sort of
Riding the track is great fun but it’s not as easy as it looks. Three of us had ridden the track before and therefore we knew the ropes… or that’s what we thought. I was the first to deck it. First corner on the first lap my tyres gave out, I hadn’t realised in the rush to get on the boards that the tyres I’ve had on my track bike were shiny and grip-less after spending the majority of the summer un ridden. Much laughter as I picked myself off the floor. How stupid does that feel?

Team Sprint
OK so you’ve seen Chris Hoy, Jason Queally and Craig Maclean. They’re really fast riding a fag paper’s distance apart and at speeds that would make Mario Cippolini wince. The Olympic or Team Sprint is one of the fastest and breathtaking events in cycling. The rules are straight forward, the first rider leads off and the others tuck neatly into his slipstream the lead rider pulling away after the end of each lap until the last rider rides alone to the tape.

Dave starting to look the part

Nervously we lined up on the straights holding the grab rail Mike Davis (Bikemagic.com’s editor) Dave Arthur (editorial assistant) and yours truely lined up against Rebecca Charlton (editorial assistant) Mike (new ad man) and Simon Whiten (publisher). It was a matter of honour and who bought the coffees. OK so our teams weren’t quite drilled and ready, Dave didn’t even understand the rules and Mike was looking worried.

So this was hardly going to be Germany v GB. My team went for the slow and steady build up with leading off Mike saving his dig for the second half of the first lap. We were down as Rebecca had put the others into an early lead. Dave took over a bit too keenly and (nearly dropping me in the process) but his leg speed was a great match for Mike H (who’d only just arrived) then it was up to me to bring home the Gold against Simon who just had too much to do. Well anything to avoid having to pay for the bevvys. Cheers all round as the Mountain bikers are starting to impress. Even Courtney raised an eyebrow.

Meet Michael our new ad man

Match Sprinting
First up Rebecca showed her sprinting credentials by holding off a ‘just about warming up’ Mike H. Then Mike D showed me a clean (but somewhat hairy) pair of mountain biker’s heels. He swooped down the banking with 250 to go and although I got on level terms by the home straight there was no way past the super spinning single speeder. Damn these dirt riding boys are getting the hang of it. Then normal service was resumed as Dave Arthur was given a lesson in sprint postitioning by Simon, who slowed Dave down to a worrying speed at the top of the final banking, forcing him into a lead and coming around him “like taking sweeties from a baby”.

Laps to destruction
Now we’re getting down to business. Courtney wanted us to build the pace and ride half a lap each until there was one rider left. Using my hard earned roadie fitness and not having to rely on my powder puff sprint, I had the chance to get my own back on the Mountain bikers who had started to get way too confident for my liking. Rebecca and Mike H threw the towel in early, and after 6 or so laps Mike D started to flag. By now Dave was going “Lickety-Split” as Duffers would say. Each time he hit the front the pace increased but his shoulders started to roll and he was looking toasted. Too bad he couldn’t shake Simon and I, who know too well there’s no point driving that hard if you can’t save a sprint for the line.

A great day, smiles all round and plenty to talk about – Courtney showed us a few tricks and managed to make the racing feel real, which is saying something seeing as there was only six of us on the track. But he also made sure that our novice Veena had a chance to get onto the boards too, so we all went home feeling we’d learnt something. Now I just have to get that splinter out of my backside.

Veena smiles

More tracks please!
What is remarkable is how a facility like this can create a production line of champions, very quickly. Manchester has created a stream of talented riders and Newport has also contributed it’s fair share. When they can ride the boards so regularly and with coaches as encouraging as Courtney Rowe, that looks set to continue. There needs to be more velodromes in Britain, London needs at least two and the midlands could do with a covered facility, in the mean time there will be more trips from this office to Newport, it’s well worth the trip.

Details
Newport is in Wales, just the other side of the Severn Bridge approximately 3 hours from London and easy to find from Junction 24 of the M4.
There are drop-in sessions throughout the week at Newport and, unlike Manchester, plenty of opportunity to hire out the track for a morning. It’s basically the same track as Manchester but a lot less busy, so getting onto the track isn’t as much of a problem. You could always have a great couple of days riding locally, with perhaps some Mountain Biking at Cwm Carn which is literally minutes away. The road riding is good too so why not make a week of it!

We hired the Track from 9am til 1pm which is plenty of time to get up and running, Veena (who by her own admission is no cyclist) managed to exceed her expectations and everyone who tried it out for the first time has vowed to return. Mike even metioned buying a fixie. We’ll bring you the thoughts of the track ‘virgins’ later.

Wales National Velodrome
Newport International Sport Village
Velodrome Way
Newport
South Wales
NP19 4PT
Telephone: (01633) 656 757
Email: newportinternational.sportsvillage@newport.gov.uk
Website: www.cyclewales.org.uk

The editor stacked it	one gear, nowhere to hide	Simon our publisher, an old hand