TejanoTrackie 

I am now a former track racer, who might still be racing had my local track (Frisco Superdrome) not been closed two years ago. It was about 60 miles from my house, and I was willing to drive that distance twice a week to train and race. Now the nearest track (Alkek Velodrome) is over 200 miles away, and at my age I am just not sufficiently motivated to drive that distance in order to continue riding and racing. I would estimate that participation in track racing in Texas has declined at least 80% since the Superdrome closure, and this year they didn’t even bother to hold an Elite state championship. They did hold a combined Junior and Masters state championship, but only got about 30 total participants, and just about all of the Juniors were children of the Masters participants. If I were a multi-millionaire I might move to Carson, Ca close to the Olympic Velodrome, but until then I have to be content to ride my track bike on local roads with a front brake for safety, and make believe I’m still a track racer.