Originally Posted by
kings run east
I just saw this and know nothing about the owners or community- but as someone who just got certified there I'm very much not surprised. There are two critical design flaws to the track that I feel are absolutely impeding the culture and stunting the community around it.
While visiting the track is promoted / welcomed, the wayfinding is very odd and visitors arrive in a space where they mix with riders. Riders are tired, focused on bikes, and, sometimes, are annoyed with answering the same questions over and over again between efforts. What I observed was the riders having to act as ambassadors to the track contributed to several visitors feeling unwelcome- right after they saw a massive sign inviting them in. Some sort of info desk / greeter is probably necessary to orient visitors, it would also be beneficial if they circulated to the party deck instead of the infield.
The other issue is that the way the track is used is, in my opinion, completely unsafe. The combination of entering on the backfield and the steep, wooden banking means you have to merge on to the track with a good amount of speed- but the party deck at turns 1 & 2 gives little passage. Riders are encouraged to accelerate past this at a fairly quick speed, and then return to the infield on the back stretch immediately after a finish. As the BVV director told my cert class, "People don't want to watch cool down laps." This led to one of the people in my class deciding she never wanted to ride a track again- she told me that she felt mtbing by herself in the Rockies was safer.
It's tragic- it's a great resource, and a super fun and beautiful track to ride, but I think that it's under-utilized because of several fairly critical design flaws. And I'm not even mentioning the splintered wood on turns 3 & 4 that scares the ***** out of me when I ride over it...
For what it's worth, entering the track on the back straight (the side without the finish line) and exiting the track on the home straight (the side with the finish line) is common etiquette at tracks around the world.
It's also common to ride relief (rest) laps just above the blue stayer's line. That way faster riders can go under you in the sprinter's lane or wind up above you along the rails.
Safely entering and exiting a track, especially a short one with lots of activity, can seem treacherous. But, it's possible. Everyone will appreciate if you err on the side of safety. A good track director will appreciate that.
The "People don't want to watch cool down laps." comment may have been harsh and taken too literally. One is commonly expected to exit the track after they reasonably slow down to a safe exit speed. So, if you are a riding doing a flying 200m at 40mph/65kph, then it might take 1.5 or 2 laps to safely slow the bike down. But, if you are going much slower, then that deceleration can happen faster.
Also, there are periods on the track when "loligaging" and having a chat with your buddy as you circle above the stayer's line is totally acceptable. You simply have to feel it out.
Don't be discouraged. Maybe the track director would rather come off too strict and hard than the opposite. Trust me, you don't want the opposite. I've seen:
- Water bottles jump out of people's jersey pockets and roll down a busy track during warmups.
- Road bikes on the track during warmups.
- People riding 2-wide in the sprinter's lane at just over a walking pace chatting while others are zooming around them (at Masters Nationals no less)
- People passing under the sprinter's lane and on the flat and then struggle to pass and get back on the track before entering turn 1.
So, it's probably better to instill a bit of fear and firmness into new riders who may be skilled (and bold) from riding other disciplines than it is to hope they know better.
EDIT:
Also, new tracks simply don't have local etiquette ingrained in everyone yet. They are still all figuring it out. I realized this as I was a regular at DLV (which has been active since the 1970s) and visited Rock Hill during it's inaugural season. Things were very awkward, disjointed, and not as "together" and it was a bit unnerving even to me being an experienced racer. Rock Hill got better very quickly. I imagine something like that may be happening at Boulder, too, as the locals and staff simply get more experience every week.