Bicycle racing

Dunno about websites, but the best way to learn is to try it
out. Over on this side of the pond I've been to the
velodrome at Manchester a few times, as you can book taster
sessions where you get to try out the track under the
supervision of a coach. It's *excellent fun*. The only
problem I have is that it's four hours car journey from me
on the other side of the country :-( In school holidays I've
taken my son there, for sessions with the local club,
Eastlands Velo, who are extremely welcoming and supportive
of kids from outside the locality, as they know velodromes
in the UK are few & far between. he's learnt a lot from his
time on the track.

Why not look up the phone number of the velodrome you refer
to and see if they do similar sessions there?

Track is great fun.

Cheers, helen s

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correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

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is switched off--

Dunno about websites, but the best way to learn is to try it
out. Over on this side of the pond I've been to the
velodrome at Manchester a few times, as you can book taster
sessions where you get to try out the track under the
supervision of a coach. It's *excellent fun*. The only
problem I have is that it's four hours car journey from me
on the other side of the country :-( In school holidays I've
taken my son there, for sessions with the local club,
Eastlands Velo, who are extremely welcoming and supportive
of kids from outside the locality, as they know velodromes
in the UK are few & far between. he's learnt a lot from his
time on the track.

Why not look up the phone number of the velodrome you refer
to and see if they do similar sessions there?

Track is great fun.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get
correct one remove fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$

--Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel
is switched off--

Quoted message said:

Why not look up the phone number of the velodrome you
refer to and see if

they

Quoted message said:

do similar sessions there?

Track is great fun.

Cheers, helen s

The velodrome here is a pubic one that is only closed when
there is a race. I have ridden on it and thought it was
pretty cool with the banked bends and all. There is no
number for it, being a public place.

I did a search on it and really came up with nothing. Next
time I see them race I may just stop by and talk to them.
I am lucky. It is only a few miles away and I can just
ride there.

Curt

You could start at www.usacycling.org.

Which velodrome is in question?

Chris Neary [email hidden]

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could you
ask of life? Bicycling combined all the elements I loved" -
Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh

curt said:

I have never raced yet and I was driving down the road the
other day and saw a bicycle race in progress at the local
velodrome. I was wondering if there is a web site to learn
more about races?

The web's great for lots of things, but to me, it sounds
like you need a book.

You might start with a general book on bicycling, reading
the chapters that discuss racing. One I liked is _Bike Cult_
by David Perry (ISBN 1-56858-027-4). It's got some
information on almost every aspect of cycling, and most of
it is in an easy-to-read magazine format. Sort of fits my
short attention span!

Anyway, starting there, you can dig into its extensive
bibliography to locate other, more specialized books on
training & technique, or on racing on road & track (which
are two sections of the bibliograpy).

Books are cool. Libraries are even cooler. Check it out.

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com, replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

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curt said:

I have never raced yet and I was driving down the road the
other day and saw a bicycle race in progress at the local
velodrome. I was wondering if there is a web site to learn
more about races? I guess these people are rated from 1-5,
5 being a beginner. Can someone supply me with a site or
some information on racing, if I wanted to try it?

Information like your location helps. Curt, you're in
Pittsburgh, right? That's not an actual velodrome, but the
"Pittsburgh Cycling Oval." (On the site of the old driver
testing facility I think, but I don't live there anymore.)
The best way to start is to hook up with some people with
experience, i.e. a local club. A couple of places to start:

pacycling.orgpacycling.orgOpen ↗ acaracing.comacaracing.comOpen ↗

Thanks for the links and information. I do have a stupid
question though. Why is it called an oval and not a
velodrome? Please be gentle.

Curt

"Benjamin Weiner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:40ac08b4$1@darkstar...

Quoted message said:

curt said:

I have never raced yet and I was driving down the road
the other day and

saw

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a bicycle race in progress at the local velodrome. I was
wondering if

there

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is a web site to learn more about races? I guess these
people are rated from 1-5, 5 being a beginner. Can
someone supply me with a site or some information on
racing, if I wanted to try it?

Information like your location helps. Curt, you're in
Pittsburgh, right? That's not an actual velodrome, but
the "Pittsburgh Cycling Oval." (On the site of the old
driver testing facility I think, but I don't live there
anymore.) The best way to start is to hook up with some
people with experience, i.e. a local club. A couple of
places to start:

pacycling.orgpacycling.orgOpen ↗ acaracing.comacaracing.comOpen ↗

Thanks for the links and information. I do have a stupid
question though. Why is it called an oval and not a
velodrome? Please be gentle.

Curt

"Benjamin Weiner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:40ac08b4$1@darkstar...

Quoted message said:

curt said:

I have never raced yet and I was driving down the road
the other day and

saw

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a bicycle race in progress at the local velodrome. I was
wondering if

there

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is a web site to learn more about races? I guess these
people are rated from 1-5, 5 being a beginner. Can
someone supply me with a site or some information on
racing, if I wanted to try it?

Information like your location helps. Curt, you're in
Pittsburgh, right? That's not an actual velodrome, but
the "Pittsburgh Cycling Oval." (On the site of the old
driver testing facility I think, but I don't live there
anymore.) The best way to start is to hook up with some
people with experience, i.e. a local club. A couple of
places to start:

pacycling.orgpacycling.orgOpen ↗ acaracing.comacaracing.comOpen ↗

curt said:

The velodrome here is a pubic one that is only closed when
there is a race. I have ridden on it and thought it was
pretty cool with the banked bends and all. There is no
number for it, being a public place.

I did a search on it and really came up with nothing. Next
time I see them race I may just stop by and talk to them.
I am lucky. It is only a few miles away and I can just
ride there.

Pass on the 'pubic' as it has to be one of the most common
fun misspellings on the net, but I assume that you are
talking about the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, formerly the
Trexeltown Velodrome AKA T-Town Velo. They have a site
www.lvvelo.org .

Bicycle racing in the U.S. is run by the USCF for amateurs.
Their web site is www.usacycling.org .

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

No, it is in Pittsburgh, but I was told it is an oval. Not
sure of the difference between a velodrome and oval?

Thanks for the link.

Curt

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

curt said:

The velodrome here is a pubic one that is only closed
when there is a

race.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have ridden on it and thought it was pretty cool with
the banked bends

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

all. There is no number for it, being a public place.

I did a search on it and really came up with nothing.
Next time I see

them

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

race I may just stop by and talk to them. I am lucky. It
is only a few miles away and I can just ride there.

Pass on the 'pubic' as it has to be one of the most common
fun misspellings on the net, but I assume that you are
talking about the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, formerly the
Trexeltown Velodrome AKA T-Town Velo. They have a site
www.lvvelo.org .

Bicycle racing in the U.S. is run by the USCF for
amateurs. Their web site is www.usacycling.org .

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two
wheels...

curt said:

Thanks for the links and information. I do have a stupid
question though. Why is it called an oval and not a
velodrome? Please be gentle.

I haven't seen the actual thing as-built, but my
understanding is that it's 1/2mile (~800 meters) long and
not very steeply banked, and that people race road bikes on
it. A true velodrome for track racing is usually 250 or 333m
long (there are even shorter ones), banked more steeply, and
people race track bikes on it (fixed gear, no brakes).
Velodromes are relatively rare in the US. Web pages of a
couple are: lvvelo.orglvvelo.orgOpen ↗
stanford.eduNCVAOpen ↗

On 20 May 2004 15:31:56 -0800, Benjamin Weiner <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I haven't seen the actual thing as-built, but my
understanding is that it's 1/2mile (~800 meters) long
and not very steeply banked, and that people race road
bikes on it.

Didn't realize that it was that big. Yep, that would be
a problem.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

curt said:

No, it is in Pittsburgh, but I was told it is an oval. Not
sure of the difference between a velodrome and oval?

Thanks for the link.

Curt

Haven't seen the oval. A velodrome certainly can be built
around a concrete oval. Most velodromes range from 250
meters to 400 meters in length and have seating for the vast
audiences we know show up for cycling events (generally
meaning that you can get by with five or six folding
chairs). I know of velodromes from 175 meters to 500 meters,
so size wouldn't be the issue. Maybe a lack of seating or
proper markings and official posts for USCF racing?
Generally the full range of velodrome events require a
sprinter's lane, markings on the interior 'perimeter',
various line markings on the track and two official posts on
the inside. Doubt if missing any one of those would make it
a non-velodrome.

Someone can apply the demerits for misuse of 'perimeter' and
making up 'non-velodrome'.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on
two wheels...

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have never raced yet and I was driving down the road the
other day and saw a bicycle race in progress at the local
velodrome. I was wondering if there is a web site to learn
more about races? I guess these people are rated from 1-5,
5 being a beginner. Can someone supply me with a site or
some information on racing, if I wanted to try it?

usacycling.orgusacycling.orgOpen ↗
------------
Alex

It is a velodrome, with seating that would be typical in
the US. lol

Thanks Curtis.

Nice first name by the way. I will keep mine Curt as not to
confuse, but it is Curtis.

Curt

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

curt said:

No, it is in Pittsburgh, but I was told it is an oval.
Not sure of the difference between a velodrome and oval?

Thanks for the link.

Curt

Haven't seen the oval. A velodrome certainly can be built
around a concrete oval. Most velodromes range from 250
meters to 400 meters in length and have seating for the
vast audiences we know show up for cycling events
(generally meaning that you can get by with five or six
folding chairs). I know of velodromes from 175 meters to
500 meters, so size wouldn't be the issue. Maybe a lack of
seating or proper markings and official posts for USCF
racing? Generally the full range of velodrome events
require a sprinter's lane, markings on the interior
'perimeter', various line markings on the track and two
official posts on the inside. Doubt if missing any one of
those would make it a non-velodrome.

Someone can apply the demerits for misuse of 'perimeter'
and making up 'non-velodrome'.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two
wheels...