Cycle clubs in Nottingham?

[DCLane]

Never done track cycling- how do I get into that? How is it different to just road cycling except for fixed gear bikes, not on the road and you have to follow the line- is it just about speed? Would I have to buy my own track bike?

Track cycling's a bit different. It's fixed gear with no brakes, which is why the bikes aren't road legal. Everyone goes the same way round the track and there's black/red/blue lines denoting levels.

Derby will be running taster days once they're fully re-opened: https://www.derbyarena.co.uk/cycling/new-riders/ and they provide the hire bike.

My advice is: 1. Keep pedalling, or the bike will go up in the air/you go down, 2. To go higher up the track you generally have to pedal harder, and 3. Always look before you move.

My son's ridden and raced at Derby a bit although we tend to ride at Manchester instead.

 

[oreo_muncher]

Track cycling's a bit different. It's fixed gear with no brakes, which is why the bikes aren't road legal. Everyone goes the same way round the track and there's black/red/blue lines denoting levels.

Derby will be running taster days once they're fully re-opened: https://www.derbyarena.co.uk/cycling/new-riders/ and they provide the hire bike.

My advice is: 1. Keep pedalling, or the bike will go up in the air/you go down, 2. To go higher up the track you generally have to pedal harder, and 3. Always look before you move.

My son's ridden and raced at Derby a bit although we tend to ride at Manchester instead.

I just looked through the website but can't seem to find the date when you're allowed to go to a taster session, so far it seems like it's only open for people who are advanced and can bring their own bike- if I read correctly?

 

[13 rider]

I just looked through the website but can't seem to find the date when you're allowed to go to a taster session, so far it seems like it's only open for people who are advanced and can bring their own bike- if I read correctly?

That might be down to covid rules . When I did a starter session there was a dozen of us .

 

[DCLane]

@oreo_muncher - it isn't open at the moment for taster days. I'd suggest bookmark it and keep an eye on their page.

You'll either like track or you won't, as it's personal. Many go for a taster experience once and never return. Others stay and get accredited to ride frequently and/or race - only once you're wanting to race do you actually need your own track bike.

 

[oreo_muncher]

@oreo_muncher - it isn't open at the moment for taster days. I'd suggest bookmark it and keep an eye on their page.

You'll either like track or you won't, as it's personal. Many go for a taster experience once and never return. Others stay and get accredited to ride frequently and/or race - only once you're wanting to race do you actually need your own track bike.

How long does it usually take to get the accreditation? Why do some people like it and some hate it? What are the chances of me liking it?

 

[oreo_muncher]

That might be down to covid rules . When I did a starter session there was a dozen of us .

What are the chances of me liking track cycling?

 

[DCLane]

How long does it usually take to get the accreditation? Why do some people like it and some hate it? What are the chances of me liking it?

Accreditation can take between a month and 6 months usually - I started mine and took a break to prepare for the All Points North audax but took about 5 months in total. I'd had a taster session in 2014 and then not ridden track again until 2018 when I got frustrated by standing and watching my son race but being unable to take part.

Personally I like it in terms of no lap being the same. Whilst it's 200-480 metres in an oval depending upon track venue length the lines you take, navigation, speed is different. Manchester's tight and fast, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Derby are a bit bumpy, Knowsley is grippy, Scunthorpe's long with a frequent crosswind. Last Saturday at Knowsley in the wind I needed to take wider lines as I'd got a 60mm deep front wheel - the wind was catching me in in turn 4, but it meant a cross/tailwind in turn 2 and along the straight.

Some don't like the feel of the track. It's intimidating at first; remember you're riding up steep banking which differs between tracks. Portsmouth/Dublin's is almost flat, Scunthorpe/Newcastle-under-Lyme are about 15° as they're outdoors, Derby and Manchester are 42° but Glasgow is the steepest at 45°. The idea that you're going round a 'wooden wall of death' as my 16 year-old describes them can be off-putting. Your brain's screaming at you "don't do that, it's dangerous". And if you don't show the track respect it can be.

Once you're started though confidence builds. And you always start riding at the bottom - only going higher when you're confident to and going fast enough.

This is worth a read: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/1026/in-praise-of-velodromes And this is him at Manchester earlier this year leading a points race; he rides a Langdale Lightweights bike who are in Nottingham:

 

[oreo_muncher]

Accreditation can take between a month and 6 months usually - I started mine and took a break to prepare for the All Points North audax but took about 5 months in total. I'd had a taster session in 2014 and then not ridden track again until 2018 when I got frustrated by standing and watching my son race but being unable to take part.

Personally I like it in terms of no lap being the same. Whilst it's 200-480 metres in an oval depending upon track venue length the lines you take, navigation, speed is different. Manchester's tight and fast, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Derby are a bit bumpy, Knowsley is grippy, Scunthorpe's long with a frequent crosswind. Last Saturday at Knowsley in the wind I needed to take wider lines as I'd got a 60mm deep front wheel - the wind was catching me in in turn 4, but it meant a cross/tailwind in turn 2 and along the straight.

Some don't like the feel of the track. It's intimidating at first; remember you're riding up steep banking which differs between tracks; Portsmouth's is almost flat, Scunthorpe/Newcastle-under-Lyme are about 15° as they're outdoors, Derby and Manchester are 42° but Glasgow is the steepest at 45°. The idea that you're going round a 'wooden wall of death' as my 16 year-old describes them can be off-putting. Your brain's screaming at you "don't do that, it's dangerous". And if you don't show the track respect it can be.

Once you're started though confidence builds. And you always start riding at the bottom - only going higher when you're confident to and going fast enough.

This is worth a read: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/1026/in-praise-of-velodromes And this is him at Manchester earlier this year leading a points race; he rides a Langdale Lightweights bike who are in Nottingham:

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Haha why is the track described as a 'wooden wall of death'?

 

[DCLane]

Haha why is the track described as a 'wooden wall of death'?

It's his description from when he first started as a 'novice' rider aged 12 in 2016. Standing at the bottom of the banking as a child it looks almost vertical. And very intimidating, even to an adult. Yet after his first session his request was for a track bike for Christmas so he could go racing once accredited.

He's not the fastest or strongest, partly due to being on restricted youth gears, but in track racing tactics matter a lot more.

The majority of track riders don't race though, they just enjoy riding it.

 

[13 rider]

What are the chances of me liking track cycling?

Impossible for me to say . I did a starter session which someone bought for my birthday which was fun but a lot of stop starting as it's getting used to fixed gear . I then did the second level which was more riding but a bit more serious as your riding in formation and I didn't enjoy as much and that was the end of my track riding . The thought of being in a bunch on a track scares me but wouldn't mind doing timed laps and other solo events .

 

[DCLane]

The thought of being in a bunch on a track scares me but wouldn't mind doing timed laps and other solo events .

I struggled with this all the way through accreditation. It's got better with experience although when things get rough in a race I'll often back out.

 

[oreo_muncher]

I struggled with this all the way through accreditation. It's got better with experience although when things get rough in a race I'll often back out.

What do you mean by it gets rough in a race?

 

[DCLane]

What do you mean by it gets rough in a race?

Racing's not just all nicey-nicey. At the lower levels of track racing it is, mainly because the riders are new / older and don't take the risks. At my son's level there's elbows / barging / cutting up although most are experienced enough to handle it when this occurs.

In a velodrome taster session you're all far apart from each other. In the accreditation process it's closer but still non-contact. Only occasionally has someone at my level been physical and a word from the commissaires tends to stop it.

 

[oreo_muncher]

Racing's not just all nicey-nicey. At the lower levels of track racing it is, mainly because the riders are new / older and don't take the risks. At my son's level there's elbows / barging / cutting up although most are experienced enough to handle it when this occurs.

In a velodrome taster session you're all far apart from each other. In the accreditation process it's closer but still non-contact. Only occasionally has someone at my level been physical and a word from the commissaires tends to stop it.

😅Ha, thanks for the warning. I'm quite small and a light weight, so I think I would tip over if someone tried barging me or elbowed me. Any predictions when the track will allow the taster sessions to go ahead- do you think I'll have to wait till 2021?

 

[cougie uk]

Some light viewing...

View: https://youtu.be/XFmBETH5uVU