DMC707

Just curious , -- for those that don't have a track locally or within 50 miles or so,

How far and to what troubles have you gone to get in training time? Long ago before the Superdrome was complete, I remember guys' driving from Dallas to jump the fence at Alkek and train (250 miles)

I have known people to do some big distances to train in COS as well (450-500 miles ) - no they couldn't make it there every week and would be sleeping in their trucks at night while in Colorado, but they got there


--thread is just for fun -- Just wondering if you guys' had any stories about the hardships endured to get your time in .

I've had to sleep in my truck a handful of times myself due to financial constraints --- always saying "never again!" - until the next time . But that was long ago in my relative youth , if I had to repeat that stunt now in my 40's, I probably wouldn't even feel like hopping on the bike without some chiropractic work

andr0id

I used to drive to both Frisco and Alkek from Austin, but don't race track much anymore.
I really love riding at Frisco and I wish we had and official 250m track in Austin.

Dalai

You guys are dedicated! I have 6 concrete outdoor and 2 timber indoor velodromes within 50km...

queerpunk

that's just ridiculous and everybody is jealous.

the usa is like 33% bigger than australia, and we only have ~26 velodromes in the whole dang country.

i've been lucky. i lived in nyc and had the Kissena Velodrome 12 miles away (400m outdoor concrete), and then I moved to Minneapolis and had the NSC ~20 miles away (250 outdoor wood), and then to Philadelphia - with the T-Town velodrome (and the best pro racing in North America) about 60 miles away.

DMC707

Your making me want to expat to Australia now ------- If I had that, I could sell all my road bikes

queerpunk

do it. they need track racers now that perko's gone rusky.

Dalai

You are most welcome. Biggest downside is wanting to travel to the US or Europe is sitting on a plane for 24 hours!

PS. Forgot about another bitumen track so that makes 7 outdoor tracks.

700wheel

250m track 4-miles/5-minutes
333-1/3 track 90-miles/120-minutes.

I used to live in Los Angeles area:
Carson 30-minutes
Encino 60 to 90 minutes
San Diego 120 to 180 minutes.

Godsight

Bromont is 230km
Milton is 850km

Divebrian

My closest velodrome is Brian Picollo in Ft Lauderdale ( about 4 1/2 hrs), Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta (7 1/2-8 hrs) or Rockville in SC (7 1/2 - 8 hrs). Never been on a wood track, but it's on my list to make it to one.

queerpunk

make a pilgrimage to the NSC in Minnesota. It's an amazing track. Outdoor wood Schurrman 250. In the middle of the summer, when the lights are on, the crowd is huge, and the sun sets behind turn 3, there's nothing like it. Oh and it's the best-riding track in the country too.

Spoonrobot 

The Dick Lane Velodrome is only 20 miles away but some days it can take upwards of an hour to drive down there due to traffic. Can't beat the 20 minute drive back tho.

Voodoo76

Alkek is about 2 1/2hrs. Only made it once last year. Tough to shake off the rust w/o consistent track time & don't have any local connections for training.

Used to drive 5hrs from SE MI to Major Taylor a few times a season. Leave work early, do some mid week racing and get back home by 2am. At that time you could still train more or less on Dorais. Play dodge the cracks motor pacing. Rochester Hills wasn't built yet.

dunderhi

I drive about 150 miles to Ttown almost every weekend in the Summer. My track training time is limited to Friday afternoon before the pros show up, racing on Saturday, and some more training on Sunday if I choose to stay an extra night. In the spring I may catch a race or two at Kissena which is about 250 miles. When I retire in few years, I plan to move to Ttown. Hopefully, I'll still be riding.

Jared.

85 miles to Ttown for Saturday racing, roughly 1.5 hour travel time, then almost immediately drive back to get to work.

47 miles to Wall Stadium Speedway (quarter mile banked auto racing track) for Wednesday "training races", 50 min travel time.

Kissena is only 41 miles away, but regularly takes 2 hours or more to get to. I hate the drive to Kissena.

taras0000

When I first started riding in my teens, the closest "track" (250m asphalt, bumpy, 22 degree banks, 5 degree straights, no rail, just grass and field) was 1.5 hour drive away. Bromont was 8 hours away, then came Rochester Hills at 4 hours away. T-Town was 9 hours away. Moved away to Edmonton before the Milton velodrome was finished, which would've been a 45 minute drive or 35km ride. Lived 2km from the Edmonton track before moving across town, so it's now a 20 minute drive. Haven't ridden the track since I moved here tho.

Muddlfuc

Dalai, you must be from my home town...
I'm 1 to 1.1km if i take the long root from my local indoor timber Velodrome

Dalai

We are. I just haven't raced at DISC for a few years!

theblackbullet

I rarely drive to Dick Lane Velodrome. It's usually easier for me to throw a front brake on and pedal the 3.3 miles there.

this^^^

NSC is truly a special place, and our time to ride on it is dwindling...

carleton

I recall Earl Henry telling me that his first time on the track for that year was at Masters Nationals.

That guy has more miles (and jerseys) than most of us. But, it's testament to the fact that most (if not all) of one's training can happen away from a velodrome.

There are other stories of successful racers who have no access to tracks and their only time on the track is at Masters Nationals or Masters Worlds.

It's not ideal, but it's possible.

Most of the success for intermediate to advanced racers comes as a result physical training and diet.

I believe that beginners* should spend as much time on the track as possible, to become familiar with etiquette and to not freakout when unexpected things happen like a puncture, rubbing shoulders, or a wreck in front or behind you. You can only get that with time in the saddle on the track. I consider a "beginner" not just a person who has yet to take a beginner's course to get certified. If I were to put a number on it, I'd guess maybe 30-50 race days (including training days between). I figure within that range, one would encounter just about every situation a few times. Depending on how often one races, that could be accomplished in 1 or 2 seasons.

The scariest thing I've ever seen was at US Collegiate Track Nationals. A collegiate coach had his team on the track, while riding around, I overheard him explaining what "Stick", "Stay", "Boards" and "Rails" means to his athletes. They had never been on the track before...and were racing for national championships at full speed the next day.

EDIT: FYI, the next year, a communique was issued stating that all Collegiate Nationals participants must be certified at a velodrome before coming to Nationals.

queerpunk

Collegiate Track Nats is a unique cluster****. There is no prior collegiate competition, it comes at the start of the semester, so basically you have racers taking to the track with no recent track experience - or maybe even none whatsoever.

sarals 

Hellyer is 62 miles one way. I'm there usually once a week. Right now it's closed due to flooding!

I'm a newbie. I might race a LAVRA event next month for the first time.

seau grateau

I have Encino and Carson in the area, but haven't ridden Carson yet (it's on the to-do list). Encino isn't too far away, about 25 miles I think, but living car free at the moment makes it about two hours as a public trans/riding commute. It's basically the only reason I want to own a car again.

Jared.

A lot of Kissena guys are always carpooling both to Kissena as well as Ttown. Maybe that is a possibility? Meeting up and tossing around gas money is soooo much better than relying on transit (with track gear).

chas58

I like to ride my track bike to the boards. Of course I have to change gears when I get to the track...