Masters Track Worlds

Quoted message said:

Is there anyone out there who has been to Master Track Worlds in Manchester England?

Yes, a couple of years ago.

Quoted message said:

What's the best airport?

Manchester ;-)

Quoted message said:

Shuttle or car rental?

Car rental/taxi cab etc. If you drive over here, remember we drive on the left-hand side of the
road. Just in case you happen to be coming from a country where you drive on the right ;-)

Quoted message said:

Hotels close?

Loads from budget priced upwards.

Quoted message said:

How's the food?

Same as any other city in the world there's excellent, good, indifferent & bad. Food at the
Velodrome is *basic*.

Quoted message said:

Thanks

Most welcome. The Manchester Velodrome website is a useful source of information. It's

manchestervelodrome.commanchestervelodrome.comOpen ↗

I'm off there again at the end of this month to watch David Millar & Bradley Wiggins in a
track event.

Cheers, helen s

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"Roger Bowersock" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Is there anyone out there who has been to Master Track Worlds in Manchester England? What's the
best airport? Shuttle or car rental? Hotels close? How's the food? Thanks

Manchester if you can fly direct. If you go through London Heathrow, you risk losing your bike in
the transfer to a shuttle. This happened to more than one person in 2000. I flew in to HR and
rented a car because I wanted to drive aound the country afterwards. Most of the US participants
reside at the Comfort Friendly about a mile away. The food is sort of OK with plenty of choice at
breakfast and there are plenty of restaurants not too far away. Some good, some bad. I don't like
the cigarette smoke. (a No Smoking section in a restaurant is like a No Peeing section in a
swimming pool).

Phil Holman

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (Roger

Bowersock) said:

Is there anyone out there who has been to Master Track Worlds in Manchester England?

Almost every year since it started...

Quoted message said:

What's the best airport?

Manchester is great. Get a direct flight if you can. Most from the States arrive there at 7-8am,
leaving a full day ahead of you. Going through Paris, Amsterdam, London Heathrow or London Gatwick
can take an extra half to a full day.

Quoted message said:

Shuttle or car rental?

Shuttle is fine if you have no desire to be independent, go early/stay late at the track or freely
go afield during competition breaks.

Cars run on the small side, no a/c, right hand drive and manual tranny. Make sure you are getting a
car that will handle your load, and that you can drive.

There is ample bike storage at the track, so you might catch the shuttle to the track at first and
get a cheaper car in town if you decide you need
it. With the bike stored at the track, you wont need much car space and daily shuttle rides are a
lot more efficient.

Thrifty had the best weekly rate I've ever seen - $75 all-inclusive for a Nissan Micra "E"
four-seater (very cool car). Their "off-airport" service is odd, but quite convenient - they send an
agent to meet you at the airport information booth and do the paperwork between there and the car in
the short-term lot. Very happy with it.

Quoted message said:

Hotels close?

Two of note. We used to stay at the Quality Inn "Comfort Frendly" - the closest to the track at
about 2 km. It went through a major renovation last year, but few folks stayed there in 2003. There
is a "Diamond Lodge" about another km from the track that is very convenient, cheap (£39.50), and
has continental breakfast a much better restaurant for full meals that the "Friendly". Ask for a
room away from the street or the dog track (speedway motorcycling on Wednesday) if you're an early
to bed type. Rooms in these two hotels will have no a/c, bath in each room, phone, TV, small beds.

The official race hotel this year was out in Smokies Park about 12km from the track, and I didn't
get to see it due to the time involved in getting back and forth from there.

Quoted message said:

How's the food?

By American standards, fare at the track is similar to most commercial cafeteria offerings (base
on UK favorites - not USA). A few entertaining local storefront options (pizza, kabob, oriental)
and American chains (Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC) are within a walk of both hotels, and there is
a bright shiny ASDA Supercenter (it's a WalMart!) with grocery and hot food bar, and a McDonalds
a stones throw from the velodrome car park. More fun places in town and afield if you're willing
to travel.

Evening dining at nicer restaurants means no blujeans, so pack accordingly. Don't wait until after
that last evening race to eat, or you'll experience the local 'sidewalks rolling up' syndrome.

Have fun.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gladu - Cycling Photojournalist & webmaster of "the 'drome" Email: mikeatvelodromedotcom
Online: velodrome.comvelodrome.comOpen ↗
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