Lexus Indoor Velodrome, Detroit
We traded furniture assembly labor for track time. Thank Dale Hughes for the great work he's done to make this a reality. Open for practice in a couple of weeks, once they have insurance and occupancy permit. Racing scheduled to begin in January.
I'll post photos as soon as I figure out how to post them. --Rick |
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I see now. You were linking to the image library as though it were a hotlink directly to an image.
In this situation, you want to post a URL link. Lexus Indoor Velodrome - Detroit by rickbuddy_72 | Photobucket Great photos! |
Originally Posted by carleton
(Post 19988050)
I see now. You were linking to the image library as though it were a hotlink directly to an image.
In this situation, you want to post a URL link. Lexus Indoor Velodrome - Detroit by rickbuddy_72 | Photobucket Great photos! I appreciate the help. Great day, great people, great vibe. Rick |
I posted information and photos on several Facebook pages devoted to track and racing out here where I live. The word is out, and there is excitement!
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Yep, I've posted photos to the other thread about this velodrome, that has been tracking its development (for about 3 years now I guess...)
https://www.bikeforums.net/track-cyc...year-next.html |
Any idea when the Detroit Velodrome will be open? All reports I can find date from November and state 'Jan18'. I've tried to email the contacts on the (very basic) webpage that is setup for the complex but either get ignored or bounced back as undeliverable. Not exactly a stellar effort in customer service for a new facility trying to attract new riders....
Jon. |
Originally Posted by andrewsjr
(Post 20089752)
Any idea when the Detroit Velodrome will be open? All reports I can find date from November and state 'Jan18'. I've tried to email the contacts on the (very basic) webpage that is setup for the complex but either get ignored or bounced back as undeliverable. Not exactly a stellar effort in customer service for a new facility trying to attract new riders....
Jon. But I can't find their web site either. |
their facebook has mentioned race dates, but with no mention of what the races are:
LEXUS VELODROME GRAND OPENING 2 DAY - JANUARY 26 & 27th, 2018!!!!! part of the RUMBLE & ROAR TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. Four 2 Days - 1/26&27, 2/16&17, 3/16&17 and 4/13&14th! These races will be "Live Streamed" and on four 1/2hr shows on PBS/DPTV. Thousands in prizes. Facebook Post
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Something to keep in mind: If you don't have "steep track" experience, you'll have to go through the track 101, 201 and 301 classes.
No group riding until 201 is complete, no racing until 301 is complete. I was planning on heading up for the 101 class this weekend, but with the weather we're having, I'm not sure. I have a bunch of years of track racing experience, but it's all at T-Town, which is not a steep track. BTW, there's more detailed info about upcoming sessions on their facebook page. PI |
If anyone involved with the new velodrome is watching this thread. What you are doing is awesome and can be overwhelming. Timely communication is key to getting and keeping participation high.
DLV is a great example: Dick Lane Velodrome | A volunteer-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation, care and growth of the Dick Lane Velodrome, located in East Point, Georgia https://twitter.com/dicklanevelo Look at how much and how often they communicate. Everything from daily training/track updates to weekly race results and big race series. Early and Often Communication is key...even if things are subject to change. One has to keep in mind that you'll have racers taking off of work and driving several hours just to ride a few laps. But, it's hard to commit to such if they aren't sure that the track will be available, races will happen, or whatever. Rock Hill went through this just a few years ago. Pick one or two communication channels that are dedicated to being up to date and timely. Enable the decision-makers to post to those channels. Facebook is common for brochure type stuff. But understand that everyone doesn't use FB. Twitter is more common and one can easily bookmark a twitter feed on their browser and get the latest post and people don't have to register or surrender their email addresses to keep up. FB is more cumbersome. |
Thanks Carleton.
At this point things are handled through the web site and a mailing list (yahoo): Web site: Lexus Velodrome Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LexusVelodrome/ Yahoo mailing list (sign up on web site above). Its the same crew that has been running/volunteering with our outdoor velodrome (IVBP) for about 15 years; this is taking it to the next level (with more events, sponsorship, and prize money). Example of this week's communication: This week at the LEXUS VELODROME (1/2 - 1/7): TUESDAY 10am - 6pm Open Riding 6pm - 8pm Structured for A & AA Led by Dave H WEDNESDAY 10am - 7pm Open Riding 7pm - 9pm Structured for A & AA Led by Mike D (pursuit training) THURSDAY 10am - 6pm Open Riding 6pm - 8pm Structured for A & AA Led by Luke C FRIDAY 10am - 5pm Open Riding SATURDAY 7am - 9am Structured for A & AA Led by Chris H 9am - 12noon Class 101 led by Bruce C 12 - 2pm Open Riding 2pm - 4pm Sprint Training led by Joaquin K SUNDAY closed. |
That's awesome.
My long-term suggestion: Don't use FB as your primary method of communication. FB cares more about getting people to sign up to FB than they do about your organization. Also, people who use FB may not realize what the experience is like for people who do not use FB. Here is what I get every 30s on the track's FB page as I navigate around. Yes, I keep clicking "not now", and it keeps appearing. https://i.imgur.com/QbwYegg.png Maybe install a WordPress module on your site and publish directly there. That way you can avoid FB. Without getting on a soapbox, FB isn't a very good or nice company. DLV got volunteer IT help from the local racers. Maybe you can get help that way. Also, DLV has a volunteer hours system whereby a participant can get a discount on their annual track pass by volunteering. It's an effective way to incentivize helping. |
I'm excited to give the velodrome a try, as I've never done it. I emailed through the website, got a reply the same day, and communicated with Dale directly the next day. He said they're opening the week of the 16th, but did not mention that cert classes ($30/person for 101 + $10 for bike rental) are underway already, probably because I was inquiring specifically about a group event for one of my road clubs.
Anyway, I'm excited to try the sport out; I never bothered to go to Bloomer Park because it's 1hr 20min away from me, but DFF Lexus is exactly half the time at 40mins, so that's pretty sweet. Dunno if I'll catch the track bug or not, but I'll be hanging around in this forum a bit, hoping to learn some stuff from you folks! |
Above I outlined what it will take for me to race in Detroit.
I'm wondering if this is standard for most tracks. Do other tracks give consideration to previous race experience? I'd hate to drive 9 hours for the 101 class to be taught what the lines on the track mean, and basic etiquette. I realize it's all about rider safety, and I'm willing to play by the rules, but the idea of 3 separate 9 hour (1 way) trips so I can race makes me a bit hesitant. Thanks, PI |
I'm looking forwards to riding at the Lexus Velodrome soon. Driving from the Cleveland area is doabale for a day on the track, for years senior citizens would make the commute to Detroit just to gamble. I contacted Dale regarding steep banked riding and classes and since our Cleveland Velodrome is steep tracked all I will need to do is get an orientation of site protocal/proceedures prior to getting on the track!
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Originally Posted by 1incpa
(Post 20090001)
Something to keep in mind: If you don't have "steep track" experience, you'll have to go through the track 101, 201 and 301 classes.
No group riding until 201 is complete, no racing until 301 is complete. I was planning on heading up for the 101 class this weekend, but with the weather we're having, I'm not sure. I have a bunch of years of track racing experience, but it's all at T-Town, which is not a steep track. BTW, there's more detailed info about upcoming sessions on their facebook page. PI |
Originally Posted by 1incpa
(Post 20093648)
Above I outlined what it will take for me to race in Detroit.
I'm wondering if this is standard for most tracks. Do other tracks give consideration to previous race experience? I'd hate to drive 9 hours for the 101 class to be taught what the lines on the track mean, and basic etiquette. I realize it's all about rider safety, and I'm willing to play by the rules, but the idea of 3 separate 9 hour (1 way) trips so I can race makes me a bit hesitant. Thanks, PI
Originally Posted by chaadster
(Post 20093074)
I'm excited to give the velodrome a try, as I've never done it. I emailed through the website, got a reply the same day, and communicated with Dale directly the next day. He said they're opening the week of the 16th, but did not mention that cert classes ($30/person for 101 + $10 for bike rental) are underway already, probably because I was inquiring specifically about a group event for one of my road clubs.
Anyway, I'm excited to try the sport out; I never bothered to go to Bloomer Park because it's 1hr 20min away from me, but DFF Lexus is exactly half the time at 40mins, so that's pretty sweet. Dunno if I'll catch the track bug or not, but I'll be hanging around in this forum a bit, hoping to learn some stuff from you folks! He probably didn't mention it because the track is closed this week, so in effect it is open the 16th (although the first 101 class was yesterday). Still setting things up. |
Originally Posted by carleton
(Post 20090361)
That's awesome.
My long-term suggestion: Don't use FB as your primary method of communication. FB cares more about getting people to sign up to FB than they do about your organization. Also, people who use FB may not realize what the experience is like for people who do not use FB. Here is what I get every 30s on the track's FB page as I navigate around. Yes, I keep clicking "not now", and it keeps appearing. Maybe install a WordPress module on your site and publish directly there. That way you can avoid FB. Without getting on a soapbox, FB isn't a very good or nice company. DLV got volunteer IT help from the local racers. Maybe you can get help that way. When I was doing the page for Carson, we had two of us maintaining it just using some web page editor and templates (I don't remember which) and it was easy to maintain. Worst case we could always hand edit the html. I hacked in some php based calendar program that I still like better than the google calendar that they use now because it didn't hide most of the text for each item in month view.To make it so that the track director could send out up-to-the-minute information (e.g. about parking problems, facility closures, etc) we put in a little box with his twitter feed so that a) it would show up right on the web page and b) people could subscribe separately. Wordpress is also very easy and can be even better if you spend some time of money on a nice template for it. I run a couple wordpress based sites and it's a nice and well-behaved platform. Also, make sure someone responsible owns the domain name and server access. I think Encino had problems for a while where they could make only very limited updates because someone who was non-responsive and also unwilling to give it up controlled the server access. It's also easy to lose a domain if it's not owned by someone who will make sure it gets renewed regularly. |
Originally Posted by 1incpa
(Post 20093648)
Above I outlined what it will take for me to race in Detroit.
I'm wondering if this is standard for most tracks. Do other tracks give consideration to previous race experience? I'd hate to drive 9 hours for the 101 class to be taught what the lines on the track mean, and basic etiquette. I realize it's all about rider safety, and I'm willing to play by the rules, but the idea of 3 separate 9 hour (1 way) trips so I can race makes me a bit hesitant. (edit: the "accelerated class" was something that already existed for people with prior track or extensive prior racing experience, so adding a free one on race days was only a small jump) (another edit: the other advantage of the accelerated class on race days is that it encouraged people to come from up and down the coast to race without having to make advance trips. We would get groups from SD or SJC who would carpool, and groups from Seattle and Portland who would do road trips together and race multiple tracks down the coast in a long trip). |
Originally Posted by bitingduck
(Post 20100657)
I'll second the "don't use FB". The other things about FB are that everything you post is effectively ephemeral because it will eventually slip off what gets loaded when people click your page, and because of the way the database works it neither guarantees that your followers will all see your posts nor does it even make it possible to reliably even return to a post that you overlook.
It's true you have very little control over how many people see posts on your page. But if you create FB Events, these propagate fairly well and are extremely useful because FB users can view upcoming events they're interested in, get notifications about posts made to the Event page, etc. |
Originally Posted by jsk
(Post 20100914)
While I agree Facebook shouldn't be your only means of communicating with people, I think "don't use Facebook" is bad advice. I get lots of info about races and related events through FB that I might not otherwise use.
It's true you have very little control over how many people see posts on your page. But if you create FB Events, these propagate fairly well and are extremely useful because FB users can view upcoming events they're interested in, get notifications about posts made to the Event page, etc. |
Originally Posted by jsk
(Post 20100914)
While I agree Facebook shouldn't be your only means of communicating with people, I think "don't use Facebook" is bad advice. I get lots of info about races and related events through FB that I might not otherwise use.
It's true you have very little control over how many people see posts on your page. But if you create FB Events, these propagate fairly well and are extremely useful because FB users can view upcoming events they're interested in, get notifications about posts made to the Event page, etc. But, as a 20+ year IT professional, I can tell you that FB does more harm than good. At the individual level and up from there. The lure if FB is enticing. It's free, easy, fast, ubiquitous, and entertaining. But, as the saying goes, "If you ain't paying, you aren't the customer. You are the product being sold." But, FB does much, much more than that. I guess what we are trying to say is that there are much better options out there for minimal fees. I would be remiss if I recommended its use just like I would if I recommended eating off of the McDonalds $1 menu as one's main source of nutrition. Even though it's nearly free (in terms of $/calorie*), easy, fast, ubiquitous, and is tasty. FB is the McDonalds of technology. It may have been good back in the "good old days", but it's far from that now. It's a machine that very, very few understand...but very, very many use several times daily. *Which is why it's popular in poor neighborhoods. Many know it's bad for them. But, where can you take $3 and get 1,500 calories immediately? |
Originally Posted by bitingduck
(Post 20100668)
Carson was similar when I was part of LAVRA, but we worked it out with...
This is what I'm looking for, first hand experiences of how other tracks handle new riders. PI |
Originally Posted by 1incpa
(Post 20101095)
Thank you BitingDuck!
This is what I'm looking for, first hand experiences of how other tracks handle new riders. PI You guys might even want to join ATRA :D Member Velodromes ? ATRA: American Track Racing Association |
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