Tonight marked another chapter in my never-ending addiction to cycling.  A few years ago I went to see the world championships live in Sydney at the Dunc Gray Velodrome (DGV).  It was a great afternoons entertainment and you get a much greater feel for the sport actually being at the track compared to watching it on TV.

For a while I’ve wanted to give track racing a go and a few months ago I decided to have a bash at the winter racing series out at DGV.  I know a few guys who have raced out there in the past, and a couple of guys from a triathlon board I participate in - Transitions.

Like a kid going to a birthday party I loaded up the car this evening and headed out for the first night of the “Race All Winter” Friday night series - website is awaiting update, but detail available HERE.  I was feeling a little nervous - the DGV is a baltic pine track with banking of 42 degrees which is about as steep as a track gets.  The picture below is of the steepest part of the banking but doesn’t really give you a feel for how steep it actually is:

Warming Up and Getting a Feel for the Track

The facility is simply awesome - apparently it cost something like $40m to build, so I’m glad to get some use out of my tax dollars that went towards building it.  I jumped on my bike, pretty much the first time ever riding a fixed gear, and rolled up onto the track.  There are three lines painted on the track - a black lower line, a red upper line and a blue top line.  The general rule during warmup is that slower riders ride below the blue line, faster riders above.

I was warned that if you ride up the bank a bit - i.e. around the blue line or above, you’d better be clocking in excess of 25km/h or you’ll just slide down the track.  If there was one thing I was feeling nervous about it was the banking of the track.

As it turned out, the banking was not a problem at all.  Whilst you certainly have to be careful, it’s not hard to build a bit of speed on a velodrome and so if you’re a decent bike handler then riding a velodrome doesn’t really pose any issues.

I rode quite a few laps, gradually getting a feel for spinning through on the fixed gear.  It’s a little weird that you can’t stop pedalling, but you get used to it very quickly and somehow it just feels right.  I was starting to get excited and for my last few laps I put a bit of speed on and rode up a little higher on the track.  Then I rode a lap fast and tucked in low in the banking - it’s an exhilirating feeling sweeping through the bend and it’s hard to describe other than to say it almost feels like you could be flying.  I’ve ridden lots of kms on all sorts of different bikes, but this is about as close I’ve come to what I would consider a pure bike experience.

Getting Out and Racing

As a brand new rider to the track, I was entered into division 5 - a real melting pot of riders with some who are very strong road riders who have never done track through to those who have done not too much of any type of cycling.

Whilst there are a myriad of cool events for the track, division 5 races were all pretty simple - basically either scratch races (everyone rolls out and then it’s a (for example) 8 lap race and the first over the line wins) or handicap races which are basically the same thing but the field is broken into handicap groups with the stronger riders starting about 100m behind and having to chase down the front pack before being in contention to win.

The first race was a basic scratch race.  After rolling through for a few laps and getting a feel I moved to the front of the group.  WIth about 3 laps to go I was second wheel and the guy in front wasn’t pushing much pace so I came around and put the hammer down.  I blasted through the next two laps off the front but being new to the track I had no real feel for what was going on behind me and was hurting enough just trying to keep cranking that I got caught at the line.  I think I got passed by the wheels of one or maybe two riders.  Have to say, I didn’t care - it was an absolute blast to get out and race at full speed.

The second race was a handicap and I was put at the back.  It was only a 5 lap race and I didn’t dig deep enough early enough and only made it halfway through the field.

The last race was another scratch race - this time the 15 riders were split into two bunches - stronger and weaker riders.  We set off on the 8 laps and about halfway through the stronger bunch that I was in caught the weaker bunch.  The field was pretty messy and as we moved through the weaker bunch one of the guys from our bunch blasted off the front.  I was distracted and realised a little late.  With four laps to go I jumped off the front and started chasing like mad.  I couldn’t chase him down - he was just too fast and too far ahead and so he rolled in first (by a good 75m), me second and the bunch a little after that.

Other Racers

There were a few other Northern Sydney boys there who I met and got tuition from a range of people.  Brock Roberts from NSCC raced well and came an impressive second in the Division 1 & 2 combined Time Blaster which is basically a race against the clock for 30 laps.  Here’s Brock, delighted to have his photo taken:

Tony Unicombe (mate from Transitions -  pleasure to meet you mate!) is a seriously big unit.  He’ll quickly tell you he needs to shed a few kgs, but I reckon even if he did he would still have one of the most tanklike upper torso’s you’re likely to see.  He had a few good races and in tough competition could be seen up the front putting the hurts on at times.  I like Tony’s style - he races for the love of it and seems more concerned with having a bash than winning every race. 

Tony also gave me a quick lesson in riding rollers and had me cruising on a set within about 3 mins - top work mate, will have to get a set to train on.

The Atmosphere

It’s a great atmosphere for the racing and everyone is set up in the centre of the track.  This is where you rack your bike, warm up, warm down and sit and chat with fellow riders.  It’s a really friendly scene and pretty much completely devoid of the tossers you get at races that I spoke about in an earlier post.

I got given lots of good advice and a solid induction into the world of track racing.  There were some really impressive riders out there, but from the amateurs like me to the pro end of the field everyone is there to just have a good time.

Paul Craft, who runs the series is largely responsible for the atmosphere - he provides running commentary throughout each race and brings the velodrome alive.  He’s funny, entertaining and for a newbie like me gives some good insights.

I’m Addicted!

It’s just a pity I won’t be able to make it out every Friday night - I can say that I’m already addicted and it’s like being a kid again.  The burn in the legs and the lungs is unlike anything I can describe - you go hard on the track in a way you just don’t tend to on the road.

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