Fausto goes velodrome racing: wish me luck!(7/17- I'm back! That was fun as hell!!)

[Fausto]

Or ask for "aftermath" pics if I fall on my head.....whatever makes you happy.


Finally got around to signing up for weekly racing at the local velodrome starting tonight after work. Should be interesting as it's a completely different type of racing than I've done over the years and the bikes don't have gears or brakes. w00t!


Those of you reading this and wondering WTF "velodrome racing" is......it's bike racing on a short (usually 1/3 km or less) track with steeply banked ends (36 degrees in my case). You may have seen this racing briefly during the Olympics. The really interesting thing is that there are a bunch of different types of races held on the tracks aside from the usual "go 20 laps and the first guy across the line wins".....there are sprint events, points-based events, time-trial events and odd events like "Miss and Out" where the last guy over the line each lap gets yanked until one person (the winner) is left.

A good overview of what track racing is all about.

Anyway...that's the deal. I'll try to drag my wife along one week to take some pics for you all to giggle at.

7/17/03- Got rained out last week so I'm off now for another go. I'll try to grab some pics while I'm there......maybe I can even grab a few on the track "action shots".

 

[Rent]

Good luck! :beer:

 

[DurocShark]

That's freaky stuff... I've seen it. Good luck! And we want pics from the hospital! Bwahahahahah

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Rent
Good luck! :beer:

Ditto. We are expect Rollerbar-type action pics.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: DurocShark
That's freaky stuff... I've seen it. Good luck! And we want pics from the hospital! Bwahahahahah

Hopefully there won't be any of those. I plan to be pretty careful as track crashes tend to be pretty nasty.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Sounds like the bicycle equivilent of NASCAR at Bristol


...or more appropriately, what F1 at Bristol would be like (massive carnage)

 

[Hoober]

So does this mean you need to wear a little armor over your thong now?

 

[vi edit]

So uhhh....is your life insurance policy up to date?

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Hoober
So does this mean you need to wear a little armor over your thong now?

Heheheh, I can see the horrified faces of the family-van moms in the audience as Fausto whizzes by on his $4K racing bike...with nothing but a thong and a helmet on.

Child: Mommy, why does that man have string in his butt?
Mom 1: Shirley...did you see.......
Mom 2: Yes, Velma, I'm calling the police now *punching keys on cellphone*



Good luck, Fausto.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Sounds like the bicycle equivilent of NASCAR at Bristol


...or more appropriately, what F1 at Bristol would be like (massive carnage)

It's not quite that rough, but the racing is definitely close-quarters as the track just isn't all that big.

The main thing is not to forget to pedal. Since the gear is "fixed" (ie- you can't coast) you'll pretty much go over the bars if you suddenly stop pedaling.

That's not a good thing from what I understand.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Hoober
So does this mean you need to wear a little armor over your thong now?

Heheheh, I can see the horrified faces of the family-van moms in the audience as Fausto whizzes by on his $4K racing bike...with nothing but a thong and a helmet on.

Child: Mommy, why does that man have string in his butt?
Mom 1: Shirley...did you see.......
Mom 2: Yes, Velma, I'm calling the police now *punching keys on cellphone*



Good luck, Fausto.

Gloves, man. He's gonna be wearing those plastic armored gloves. But yeah, a thong, a helmet, and black armored gloves. :evil:

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: Hoober

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Hoober
So does this mean you need to wear a little armor over your thong now?

Heheheh, I can see the horrified faces of the family-van moms in the audience as Fausto whizzes by on his $4K racing bike...with nothing but a thong and a helmet on.

Child: Mommy, why does that man have string in his butt?
Mom 1: Shirley...did you see.......
Mom 2: Yes, Velma, I'm calling the police now *punching keys on cellphone*



Good luck, Fausto.

Gloves, man. He's gonna be wearing those plastic armored gloves. But yeah, a thong, a helmet, and black armored gloves. :evil:

Definitely NO pics then!!!

 

[NTB]

So what are you supposed to do to stop? just coast? Or crash into the wall

Nate

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: NTB
So what are you supposed to do to stop? just coast? Or crash into the wall

Nate

You just pedal a bit slower to put a little backpressure the pedals to slow yourself down.

 

[Hoober]

So all joking aside... are you going to do this more frequently now? I mean, why the move from road cycling?

 

[vi edit]

What kind of sustained speeds can you hit with those banked turns?

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Hoober
So all joking aside... are you going to do this more frequently now? I mean, why the move from road cycling?

Nah. Just a weekly diversion. They have racing there once a week and the entry fee is only five bucks so I thought I'd give it a whirl as it looks like fun. Road racing will always be my main "thing".

What kind of sustained speeds can you hit with those banked turns?

Depends on the gearing you're running. Since you only have one gear, you can only go as fast as you can turn it over (sprinters will hit 160+ rpm on occasion). The thing is you have to balance ability to suddenly accelerate with top speed. Running a big gear that would allow a higher top speed doesn't do you a lot of good if it takes a whole lap to get up to speed. Make sense?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Sounds like the bicycle equivilent of NASCAR at Bristol


...or more appropriately, what F1 at Bristol would be like (massive carnage)

It's not quite that rough, but the racing is definitely close-quarters as the track just isn't all that big.

The main thing is not to forget to pedal. Since the gear is "fixed" (ie- you can't coast) you'll pretty much go over the bars if you suddenly stop pedaling.

That's not a good thing from what I understand.

Basically like sprint cars then. (no clutch/torque converter or transmission)

 

[blackdogdeek]

wow i always found the sprint events at the olympics really interesting and i'm sure there's a lot more depth to the strategy than can be determined from watching it only every 4 years.

good luck and don't forget to reach out with your emotions and let the force flow through you. i hear that helps.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: Fausto1

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Sounds like the bicycle equivilent of NASCAR at Bristol


...or more appropriately, what F1 at Bristol would be like (massive carnage)

It's not quite that rough, but the racing is definitely close-quarters as the track just isn't all that big.

The main thing is not to forget to pedal. Since the gear is "fixed" (ie- you can't coast) you'll pretty much go over the bars if you suddenly stop pedaling.

That's not a good thing from what I understand.

Basically like sprint cars then. (no clutch/torque converter or transmission)

More or less.....except that in the case of the bike your feet are solidly attached to the drive shaft.

Pedal fast....go fast. Pedal slower.....go slower. Pedal backwards....go backwards. The rear hub has no freewheel mechanism.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
wow i always found the sprint events at the olympics really interesting and i'm sure there's a lot more depth to the strategy than can be determined from watching it only every 4 years.

good luck and don't forget to reach out with your emotions and let the force flow through you. i hear that helps.

What if I release my anger and turn to the dark side? Will I win more races that way?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Believe it or not, but they used to race MOTORCYCLES on those tracks. And there was only a railing on the top. Not a wall. It wasn't uncommon for spectators to be critically injured when a bike crashed, because at motorcycle speeds they just slide right up the banking and into the legs of the fans. Makes watching rally races seem safe by comparison.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Believe it or not, but they used to race MOTORCYCLES on those tracks. And there was only a railing on the top. Not a wall. It wasn't uncommon for spectators to be critically injured when a bike crashed, because at motorcycle speeds they just slide right up the banking and into the legs of the fans. Makes watching rally races seem safe by comparison.

Yup....I know about board-track racing. Those guys were nucking futs.

 

[Beau]

hehe... Somewhere on this page, fausto's true identity will be listed :Q

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Beau
hehe... Somewhere on this page, fausto's true identity will be listed :Q

DOH!! :Q

Time to think up an alias for race days.


EDIT- I'll be the guy with the asterix by his name for (*disqualified for improper racing attire)