All About The Velodrome part.2

caela-whall (35)in #sports • 6 years ago (edited)

Greetings Steemians!

So this is the second part to my velodrome post from last week. I hope you like the new style because it makes it easier with all the headings and points and stuff😄😋

Let's start off with a quote that will come in very handy for this blog😁...

Life is a lot like riding a bicycle, in order to stay balanced you must keep moving.

SO basically what we'll be covering today is:

Tips and instructions on how to ride a track bike
A helpful guide to track cycling

Ready to get started!? Alright!

Step 1: The anatomy of the bike

So two things you need to know. A track bike has no gears and no brakes. Yup, you heard right.
Ok I lie, it Does have gears and it Does have brakes, but not like you may imagine😏
The bike has two brakes; your left leg and your right leg. Just remember, you can't slam on the brakes at the last second...you need to plan ahead for where you want to stop. It's a fixed hub you see, so by applying pressure in the opposite direction you will begin to slow down. Don't ever, EVER stand up to apply that pressure because you Will go flying over your bars🙈 Another important thing to remember is don't ever stop pedaling. Because it's a fixed hub if you stop pedaling the force will throw you forward over your bars.
Its nearly happened to me before😄 You stop pedaling for a fraction of a second, you have a mini heart attack but hey, you do learn your lesson pretty quick😆😅
What exactly is a "fixed hub" you may ask? Think of it this way; If your wheels are turning your pedals will also be turning. If your pedals are turning your wheels will also be turning. So basically you can't ever freewheel.

About the gears

When I say the bike has no gears I mean you can't shift gears while riding... you can only ever have one gear in the front and one gear at the back at all times.
However, you Can change your gear ratio while you're off the bike😜
For track bikes, each separate gear is a thing you have to change. See? It's a fixie!😄

For these gears you'll match up different ratios for higher or lower cadences.

At the moment I use a 49x15 on my bike, it's a good "go-to" gear to use. Obviously you'll need to carefully choose each gear for the specific races you're doing. Sometimes you'll want to change a gear if your next race is a short sprint compared to an enduro. You'll need a bigger gear to break away fast in, but not too big so that you're just spinning when you've hit your max speed.
Here's a good chart you can use if you need to figure out what your gear inches are:

So you see mine are 88.2".

A helpful guide

The track "has no corners"
Now you may be thinking that's a dumb thing to say, the track is literally an oval😄
But honestly, the way the track is made, the shape of the corners, it really doesn't feel like you're riding a corner at all.
The slope of the track and the slight inside bend of your body turns the bike for you, you literally don't turn your handlebars.
So a track has "no corners” in the sense that the banking allows the whole field to ride the corner at full speed without riding in smaller file or slowing down once they hit the corner, and having to accelerate coming out again.
Yes the outside line is longer, so in a sprint you will be quicker lower down, but it really isn't that much longer in comparison. Besides, being on the outside you won't get boxed in... infact you stand a good chance getting boxed in if you're at the bottom, unless you're holding it out in front.
Get used to checking over your right shoulder
Since you're traveling anti-clockwise, if you're looking to go uptrack you need to check over your right shoulder so as you don't collide with anyone coming up behind you.
Think ahead
Acceleration on a track bike.... 😄 It's a bit frightening the first time if you're used to a free-hub.
So here you are, you're chasing down the guy infront of you, he's three meters ahead, you're giving it All you've got.
You're motoring it down that straight-way. Suddenly, you've caught up to him. You realize... you're still catching up😄 Now you're right on his tail, what do you dooo😆 Your acceleration power is still....accelerating. You move out to let the wind slow you down, but you soon realize there really isn't that much wind in an indoor velodrome....
Now you have to apply a bit of backward pressure... it takes effort to slow down people😄 Now this guy infront of you begins to slowly but surely pull away again😄
Sound familiar? Don't lie this has happened to everybody😂
So what do you do to avoid this situation? It's simple really, you've probably already figured it out😋
What you want to do is, instead of powering it all the way up to the guys tail, apply power, yes, but start slacking a bit with the power output a bit before reaching the guy. Ease your way into his slipstream. You'll save so much energy that way.
The problems that will arise if you're going too slow
First up, if you're casually rolling around the middle there is no "too slow" you can be going if you know how to keep your balance😉
If you're riding on the track, approaching the corner and you're going too slow, one of two things is going to happen.
Either your bike is going to be too upright, causing your outside pedal to clip the surface... and this could lift one of your wheels up and you could fall. Or
You're riding around that corner and suddenly, your bike is going to drop out from under you and you're going to go sliding down the bank, wiping out any other potential riders on your way, and landing up in a pile at the bottom with bunch of roasties covering your body😆
So how do you avoid this.... you're approaching the corner now... either, speed up, fast, or if you can, drop down to the apron or just a line below you and try to pick up speed again. Or just don't ride slower than 25kph!😄
The upside about track cycling
I really don't want to be putting you off here😄 Track cycling is an amazing sport. Unlike let's say, mountain biking, you don't have to ride for as long to put in as much effort on the track. You can do a really intense workout in just an hour on the track.
It's easier for spectators to come and watch you! Spectators can come sit on the bleachers and watch the whole race unfold before them; whereas with mtb and road they only get to see portions of the race.
You have no traffic to worry about! Track cycling is absolutely traffic, pavement, and tree free.
At some velodromes you can "rent a bike" which is also cool if you haven't yet got your own. (Or you just want to try out track cycling for the first time)
It's an excellent cross trainer! Track cycling benefits you sooo much; especially if you're not doing road and only doing mountain biking.
It's really not as difficult or as dangerous as you might think🙃
Thanks for taking the time to read! Any thoughts or questions? Leave them down below!