Lazyass

I live 1.5 hours away from Giordana Velodrome. The first Saturday of the month they have a track certification course that you're required to go through before riding on the track. The next date in June is already filled but I think I'll sign up for the next one when it opens. I don't have a full on track bike but they have loaners. Anyone ever done this? Just wondering what kind of topics they cover and how the whole thing is run. If I get hooked then I will get a real track bike and start racing just for fun. It would be cool for my grandkids to watch the old man ripping it up and my daughter doesn't remember watching me race MTB's in the 90's haha

1incpa

You may get more responses if you post this in the Track Cycling subforum.
The certification course I've been to was run in a group setting, riding in a group to make sure everyone was comfortable on the banking.
That along with a few skill drills to make sure you can handle your bike and some paceline drills.
I haven't done the certification course at Giordana, so I can't say what exactly they'll do, but the goal is for everyone to race safely.
Have fun with it!
Hope this helps,
Paul

Lazyass

I've been on this forum since '08 and I just noticed there was a track section lol

seau grateau

Yeah, I did the cert class at Encino before I started riding there. It's mostly getting to know the track, learning how to ride on it, safety and etiquette, etc. Great experience, very beginner friendly (since that's the whole point), fun and informative. Highly recommend.

TMonk

I highly recommend track cycling and most (if not all) velodromes will require this cert. I'm fortunate enough to live a couple miles from the San Diego Velodrome and am a regular presence in the Men's A's field. While there are some racers here, I also recommend posting further threads seeking racing info in the Track Cycling subforum. It's decently trafficked and you will get responses.

I'm happy to offer advice and answer questions as it pertains to endurance racing. Sprinting, not so much.

TejanoTrackie 

Count your blessings. My track (Frisco Superdrome) closed at the end of 2017, and the closest track (Alkek) is over 200 miles away. That pretty much killed track riding and racing for me, although I still enjoy recreational fixed gear road riding. I never rode the San Diego Velodrome; what's it like ?

TMonk

It's slow, 333m outdoor concrete. I think asphalt technically after the last resurfacing, 3 years ago I think. I ride a 52/15t for mass start endurance events and that works fine for me. It's a little low for pursuit work out there but I haven't gotten seriously into that yet. I have been doing TT/TTT at a high level on the road (SCNCA state champs) and would love to get into some IP/TP on the track. I'm better at burning hot for a few minutes anyway, relative to my threshold.

I've also never ridden on an indoor wooden velodrome either. They have the Carson Sports Center in LA which frequently hosts Nats and sometimes Worlds that I'd like to get into sometime as well.

Lazyass

Giordana is 250 meters. I was always under the impression all tracks were the same length.

TMonk

Yeah, I think they get even shorter (steeper) and longer than that, but 250m and 333m seems to be pretty common. 250 is short for an outdoor track too! Sounds fun.

TejanoTrackie 

Outdoor is typically 333m and indoor is typically 250m. So, a kilo TT is 3 laps on an outdoor track and 4 laps on an indoor track. 250m is the Olympic standard, so Olympics are always held on indoor tracks. Same goes for Worlds. I once raced on a 125m meter indoor portable track with 55 degree banking and would pull 3 lateral g’s in the turns at speed. We were limited for safety to 50 X 16 gearing, and needed to maintain 20 mph minimum to avoid sliding down the track when riding at the top of the turns. Needless to say, there were no track stands during match sprints.

seau grateau

On the contrary, there's a lot of variation. 250 is the standard for most high level competition these days, but there are many velodromes from under 200m up to 400m scattered around.

Russ Roth

Kissena is 400m, I honestly don't know anything about certification or even if the local track requires it. I've thought of track racing but honestly the people who show up locally seem like monsters. Last year a local club did individual trials, where you went and warmed up and rode with someone timing you, I was the slowest person every single week without fail. My flying 200m was 16.23 sec and the next slowest person would be .5 sec faster. Even in the 4000m I would average over 22mph and still dead last. So I'll just root for the kids from the sidelines, my oldest will make it your way this winter I'm sure but will be doing nationals in TTown this year.

TejanoTrackie 

You don't necessarily need to race in order to ride on the track. Many people do it for fun and a way to safely get a workout without the dangers of riding on the street. Personally, I wouldn't want to race without being competitive, and it takes a lot of time and effort to get good at it. You need to do specific training to develop power and lactic threshold in order to succeed on the track. It's not easy.

seau grateau

I did 99% of my track riding at structured training sessions. We would do group riding activities, drills, mock races, individual efforts, all kinds of stuff. Great way to really learn the track. All fun and laid back. As low or high pressure as you want it to be.

EnzoRWD

I did our local track 101 clinic before I started. Super fun, very much necessary for me, and I made some initial contacts I still talk to. Our track is 333m outdoor concrete. It's a public park so anyone can ride when there aren't organized events happening. You really need to do the clinic before you race, though.

Danger Diaz

i grew up in the Valley but only earlier this year did I find out about the Encino Velodrome. I’ve been wanting to get certified there hopefully soon.

seau grateau

Go for it! I had so many good times there when I lived in LA. Stefan's Monday night structured training sessions are highly educational, fun, and inclusive.