By Lia Leonard, Under 12 Slipstreamer
Lia in action leading the way…
On the 10th of May, I went to Welwyn to ride on the outdoor velodrome. We hired a track bike, a ‘fixie’, and I went to the centre of the track and waited to be given instructions. As I had never ridden in a velodrome before, I was taught how to ride the track bike and how to ride on the banks safely.
Riding a track bike is very different to riding a road bike. Firstly, there are no brakes. Secondly, there are no gears. If you want to stop, you have to slow your pedalling down, and then put your foot down. It is very difficult to stop as the pedals keep moving around, even if you want to slow down!
I was put in a group with two other people who hadn’t ridden a track bike or in a velodrome before. We practised on some flat ground first; changing from the drops to the hoods, slowing down and speeding up. Then we rode as a group, practising changing at the front and going through the middle.
Eventually, we had our turn on the actual banks of the velodrome. We cycled around, getting to grips with the feel of tipping to one side. After several laps, we cycled in a group, changing at the front by cycling above the group, then joining on at the back. We did this for several laps, before being told to stop while the other groups had their turn.
Next, we had a series of short sprints. When a whistle was blown, we sprinted and tried to beat the rest of the group. That was fun because we got to test the new skills we had learnt in the previous tasks. Finally, at the end of the session, we had a race. Luckily, the newer people didn’t have to race the more experienced riders. We had our own race which was very fun!
I would definitely recommend Welwyn to anyone interested in trying out a velodrome. You can rent a bike there so you don’t need to have your own track bike. There are also activities available for cyclists of all abilities so anyone can go!
Thank you Lia – sounds like you had a fab time! If anyone wants to join the next Welwyn track session, spaces are still availalbe so do talk to sign-on.