velodrome

yesterday i went down to the hellyer velodrome south of san jose. i went with a few people from a discussion board i frequent, only one of whom i knew.

we left the city at around 7:30, and got to the track about 8:30, and then spent close to an hour getting everybody there (about 25 - 30 people total) signed in, waivered, and biked (there are rental bikes available for those who don't have their own. i brought the fuji ).

hellyer is a - nominally - 333 meter outdoor, concrete track that was built in 1962, and it shows. the signs are faded, and the surface is bumpy, but it's the closet track to the bay area. the next-nearest one is in l.a. at the home depot center. that one is new, indoors, 250 meters (international standard), made of wood, and just hosted the world track championships (there are some pictures here).

we started out with a 40-lap warm-up, then moved to team-pursuit (two teams of 4 start at opposite sides of the track and chase each other for 9 laps. the winner is determined by the space between the two teams after 9 laps, or when one team catches the other. all times/results are measured off of the third teammember to cross the line).

the winning team then had to race again, against a fresh team of four riders. my team won 3 times, and i was pleasantly surprised to find that i was not only able to keep up, but also to take some extra turns at the front when other people got tired.

the rest of the morning we did more pursuit races, as well as a some sprint drills, and by the time it was all over i was cooked, but happy.

it's been over 12 years since i've been on a track, and i'd forgotten how much fun it is; remembering the tactics i learned, the sensation of speed, and the adrenalin rush you get from having your front wheel six inches away from the bike in front of you at 30 miles an hour.

i'm going to go back.