Dick Lane Velodrome

I have been wanting to check out the track for a long time now...and then Eddie won those super sweet track bars at the FM.24.08 race. At that race I met Brian Sullivan, one of the guys that does a lot for the velodrome, teaches clinics, races, etc..and he invited Eddie and me out to come down out today. Brian is actually one of Eddie's fitting clients, so it would be cool to see his skillz on the track, too.

We rode from the house, had a nice tailwind going out there. As soon as we arrived I immediately felt sick to my stomach. The banked turns, especially turn one looked really steep and I have never even ridden a fixie before. Brian assured us that it would be nothing for experienced riders such as ourselves. OK, fine. We picked out some rental bikes, Fuji, I think and threw our pedals on and adjusted the saddle. Being that both of us are extremely anal about our bike fit this was far from ideal but today was going to be a short day just to learn the ropes anyway. Brian gave us a 5 minute class and took us on the warm-up track. Honestly, the hardest thing for me was to get going. The bars were really narrow and I wasn't used to clipping in on my Speedplays (which are kind of hard to step into even on a road bike) with the cranks moving. Once I got the hang of this I was good. Riding the track was waaaaaaaaay way more fun than road riding. I will definitely be doing my intensity/interval work on the track (as soon as I get a bike). I might as well take advantage of one of the few cycling-related advantages there is of living in the city of Atlanta. The fixie thing is cool but I would never ride one in the city...especially without brakes, ugh.

So..you can expect to see pics here as soon as I get the new bike. My birthday IS coming up soon..hint hint (Eddie).