Sept 17
Hi all
Yesterday I finally made it to the velodrome over in Brixton (South-east London). The track is the only venue from the '48 Olympics that is still in active use, and is in surprisingly good shape. On Saturday mornings they have open time for anyone who wants to take a couple laps. I spent about 3 hours there - it was a blast. My friend Seb (from work) came along to take a few pictures...
You'll notice these bikes have a) one gear and b) no brakes. And let me tell ya you can get some serious speed up around that track. At the end of the session they put on a 10 lap race (~5km) for whoever wanted to, and in my inexperience I led the entire race until the last 1/4 lap when I was overtaken (twice?) in a final sprint to the line. Good fun though.
Yesterday I finally made it to the velodrome over in Brixton (South-east London). The track is the only venue from the '48 Olympics that is still in active use, and is in surprisingly good shape. On Saturday mornings they have open time for anyone who wants to take a couple laps. I spent about 3 hours there - it was a blast. My friend Seb (from work) came along to take a few pictures...
You'll notice these bikes have a) one gear and b) no brakes. And let me tell ya you can get some serious speed up around that track. At the end of the session they put on a 10 lap race (~5km) for whoever wanted to, and in my inexperience I led the entire race until the last 1/4 lap when I was overtaken (twice?) in a final sprint to the line. Good fun though.
posted by Dan at 9:36 AM
7 Comments:
What a neat thing to do on a Saturday am! You sure look great and it was so nice to actually see some photos of you. It must have been fun to try to get up speed by banking (is that the right term?) up the sides and then dipping down.
Keep up the updates...we sure emjoy them.
Love Mom
I wanted to ask if that's your bike (suspect not 'cause it has no brakes)so you must rent a bike there?
Good job pacing the field!!
Dad
yeah, they have shipping containers full of bikes. bike hire is free with the £3 entry fee. quite a good deal if you ask me.
bri, I was wondering if you recognized that shirt... Officially sponsored by Novelis Softball 2005!
good fun...do you just coast to a stop, or drag your toes like roller skating...lol! I expect the rest of us would just tip over.
good to see some more pictures from across the way. (at least what you are doing is safer than what your aunt and uncle on the west coast are doing in their spare time).
Racing in a sailboat sounds safer that getting on a bike with no brakes,and racing around a banked track at high speed.But hey, we Hamiltons are fearless, right Dan?
Way to go Dan!
After all my years of cycling, I've never been on a velodrome track...looks like a blast!. Kinda makes you appreciate the bike couriers who choose full-on track bikes to make their deliveries...in traffic! There's a few here in Calgary.
Enjoy the bike commuting - it's the only thing I really miss about not working downtown.
d
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