One Lap

As the paceline groups enters turn 3, riding at or slightly above the blue line on the velodrome track, the rider at the front shoulder checks over their right shoulder, flicks their elbow, and pulls off the front of the group by climbing higher (to the right) on the steep banking, which is steeper in the turns, while the rest of the group continues.

We're going at over 30 mph.

Riding in second position, I have been expecting this. The lead rider typically pulls for one lap of the 250 meter track, starting their pull at turn 3 when the previous rider pulls off, and ending their pull by pulling off one lap later, in the same turn.

I have been preparing for my one lap pull for several laps:
While carefully following the lead rider closely to stay in their draft I have tried to relax and take large deep breaths of air.
I have checked cadence by counting up to 8 each time my right pedal is down. Cadence and speed are directly linked on a fixed gear bike, and I want to start my one lap pull at the same speed/cadence as I had before the rider in front of me pulled off, and hold that steady speed/cadence or increase it a bit, smoothly, while taking my pull.
The last time I pulled off the front and slid back into the paceline at the back of the group, I noted who was on the front and based on who it was, decided if the group would be accelerating, slowing, or going the same speed. I regulated my effort and speed to prepare for these expected changes in the group's speed. I counted how many riders were left in the group and noted that the group was smaller than the last time I pulled in at the back.

Now that I am the lead rider I immediately increase the force I am placing on my pedals, as I am facing greater wind resistance now that I am not riding in the draft of another rider or riders.

I do a quick cadence 8 count to check that I am at the same speed/cadence or slightly higher.
I try to relax my hands arms and shoulders and wiggle my fingers to ensure I am not gripping the drops of the handlebars too hard. I try to take deep even breaths.
With no wheel in front of me I am able around more and as we exit turn 4 I look over my left shoulder to see where other riders and pacelines are on the track.
I do another cadence 8 count to check I am still going the same speed or slightly faster than I was.

We are over twenty minutes into this paceline. I have been working hard for much of it, and the average pace of the group has increased as riders warm up and go faster when on the front. My HR is high and I am breathing hard. I am desperately thirsty.
Each rider pulls as hard and fast as they want or can. The group has had slightly faster laps with strong riders on the front, and gone slightly slower, and even bunched up slightly, with slower riders on the front. Each time a rider pulls off the front I regulate my speed based on what pace I expect the next rider to go at.
The paceline group has gotten smaller as some riders drop off to get off the track for water and a break. Other riders are unable to hold the pace and drop off after their pull, are unable to accelerate enough to catch on at the back after their pull, or are simply gapped from the shrinking group.

My effort is quite a bit higher now that I am on the front and not drafting;; drafting can save 30% or more of the effort the lead rider is making, when at speed. The effort is taking its toll, my breathing and heart rate are increasing, and I feel the increased effort in my legs. I have to keep going hard.

I try to ride steady and straight just above the blue line after we exit the turn and we are on the straight, riding past the Drop In session facilitator who watches all riders on the track.

As we enter turns 1 and 2 I put more pressure on the inside (left) of the handlebar to get the bike to start the turn, and try to ride a consistent distance of just a few inches above the blue line.

The exception is when the group is catching and passing another rider or paceline group, also riding at the blue line. If that is happening the lead rider shoulder checks and leads the group higher up the banking, further away from the blue line, so the entire group can pass safely. Higher up on the banking increases distance, so most paceline leaders will accelerate so that their group continues to go around the track quicker than the group being passed, which is now riding a shorter distance on each lap.

After I exit turn 2 we are on the straight. I see turn 3 where I will pull off coming up. I don't want to slow down at the end of my pull, so pedal even harder for the last bit.

I do an initial shoulder check over my right shoulder on the straight and confirm no one is trying to pass me. As I enter turn 3 I do a second shoulder check to confirm, flick my elbow, and ride straight instead of turning the bike to follow the blue line.

My bike is immediately climbing up the steep banking and slowing down.
I glance over my left shoulder to check on the next rider now leading the group, and the riders following him. I quickly note where the back of the group is and notice that we are down another rider.
I continue to ride high on the banking, and slower than the group, as the group slides by to my left. I check there are no other riders riding into the space I want to be in.
As the last rider in line slides by, I dive down the banking, back to the line the group is on, trying to accelerate to the same speed as the group and end up just behind the back rider, not overlapping wheels but close enough to be in their draft.
As I line up on his back wheel I make the final adjustments in speed by pedaling harder or soft pedaling, to match their speed.

About twenty three seconds have passed since the previous rider pulled off. My one lap pull was 18 seconds, and it took about 5 seconds to pull off and dive back in at the back. The effort drains me, and I barely make it on at the back, and try to recover in the draft, before my next turn at the front.

The Wheelsucker Wants to be a Track Cyclist!

The Wheelsucker is in Guelph Ontario for Christmas. Despite it being unseasonably warm in Guelph, the Wheelsucker has not been cycling outside, but has been riding indoors at two local velodromes.

Riding on a velodrome track is a rare treat for the Wheelsucker. The nearest velodrome to Annapolis is at Trexlertown, PA (Valley Preferred Cycling Center, in Breinigsville, PA), over three hours drive away. The Wheelsucker completed the introductory course there, and has raced there 3-4 times, including two MABRA Track Championships. T'town is an outdoor concrete velodrome, and is closed for the winter.

But there are two indoor velodromes close to Guelph. The Forest City velodrome – a tight 138 meter steeply banked track built inside an old hockey rink building – is about one hour and twenty minutes drive from Guelph, while the new UCI standard 250 meter velodrome built for the Toronto Pan Am Games, the Mattamy National Cycling Centre, is just 40 minutes drive away in Milton, Ontario.

The Wheelsucker had completed "track 1" certification at Forest City 1-2 years ago, and in November had completed "track B" certification at Mattamy. On this trip, the Wheelsucker first completed his "track 2" certification course at Forest City, so he can do any open cycling sessions (but not yet racing), but then bought a ten visit membership pass for the Mattamy velodrome, as members can schedule themselves in for sessions (pacelines), two weeks in advance, while non-members can only schedule themselves within one week. All sessions at Mattamy fill up within a few minutes -- or seconds -- of them being available on line, so a non-member would be looking for days and days before finding a session they can get in to.

The Wheelsucker prefers the Mattamy velodrome to the Forest City velodrome.

The Wheelsucker has been lucky as people have been cancelling out of sessions at Mattamy, probably because they have a Christmas activity to do. Each of the sessions he has booked has had space become available within the last 24 hours. The Wheelsucker expects frequent riders at Mattamy all know when the sessions will go online, and reserve themselves a spot as they come online, then cancel shortly before the day if they cannot make it.

So far the Wheelsucker has ridden five "drop in" Paceline sessions at Mattamy in the last five days, including taking Monday off for a recovery day! However, he flatted out of the one fast Paceline session about 13 minutes in, so it is more like four sessions.

The drop in sessions are either 1 hour or 1.5 hours. This is not 1 or 1.5 hours of continuous riding. The Wheelsucker needs to take breaks, as he gets very thirsty, very quickly, with a very dry mouth. Other riders take breaks as well, and some of the older guys seem to be spending more time standing around chatting than they are riding, but everyone gets on the track, burns some calories, and has fun, riding at their pace.

So the Wheelsucker hammers around the track in a slowly shrinking Paceline for 15-25 minutes, then drops off the back, gets off the track, drinks some water, catches his breath, heads back out, looks for a chance to join in at the back of the Paceline, and repeats. The Pacelines shrink as riders come off the back – or a strong rider splits the group during their pull -- then reform as riders finish their short breaks and get back onto the track.

All riding on the track is counter clockwise, turning left at the curves in the oval. The track has two “lanes” for Pacelines”, the first is at the inner edge of the track, between the black line that marks the actual inner edge and a red line about 1.5 feet to the left of it. The second is at a blue line perhaps 5 to 6 feet further to the left. Normally the faster Pacelines ride at the blue line, using that second lane, while slightly slower riders and Pacelines ride between the black and red lines. The spacing of the two lanes provides just enough room for the lead rider in the Paceline to pull off to the left and slide back and rejoin their Paceline at the back. Sometimes there are two Pacelines on opposite sides of the track, in each lane.

Being quite new to the track and unsure of his optimum crank arm length and gearing, the Wheelsucker is experimenting with these. So far the 167.5mm crank arms may be a little short, so next up is trying the 170mm crank arms. While experienced track riders quote gearing in "gear inches", the Wheelsucker is still counting teeth on his chain ring and cog. The standard sessions are easy with a 48x14 gear and more of a workout with a 48x15, as this increases the cadence required to stay in the Paceline. Speeds are higher at the "fast Paceline" sessions and some riders are using 50x14 gears.

Even though these are not races, the Wheelsucker wants to be riding with the fastest group, and does not want to be dropped or gapped! So far he has been wheelsucking well and hanging on until it is down to the last 2-4 riders.

Not everyone is a track racer. There are smooth riders, there are strong riders, and there are a few smooth and strong riders. But after a few minutes in a Paceline the Wheelsucker has his theories about who is a track racer and who isn't. In the most recent session, early on, the Paceline shrunk to one strong rider and the Wheelsucker. After dropping off for water the Wheelsucker learned that the other rider had 30 years of track experience and was a past national champion. That helped to explain why he was always the last rider left as the Paceline shrank.

Weeks ago when planning his trip to Guelph, the Wheelsucker was hoping to race. But both tracks prefer that he take separate race certification classes, and they also offer race training classes. While the Wheelsucker’s UCI license from US Cycling, and his cat 4 on the track, might get him into some races, it occurs to the Wheelsucker that he doesn't have much form and more time in Pacelines on the velodrome is going to make him faster and safer. Also, the Wheelsucker learned that if he were to race in his Masters age category, he would be up against a past Olympic medalist, Tour de France Maillot Jaune wearer, and World Championship podium rider, and other past and current Canadian track national champions.

The Wheelsucker now thinks he will stick to the Paceline sessions a little longer.

The Wheelsucker’s mother and sister probably think he is in Guelph to see them for Christmas ...

Riding the New Toronto Area Velodrome

One of the new sports facilities built for the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games was a velodrome, located near Toronto in the town of Milton. This velodrome, called the Mattamy National Cycling Centre, had to meet Olympic and Pan Am Games standards (which are set by the Union Cyclist Internationale - UCI). This is the first-ever UCI-regulated, class 1 indoor velodrome in Canada, and only the second in North America along with the VELO Sports Center in Los Angeles. It features a 250-metre timber track with two 42-degree angle banks. It is tighter and rather more steeply banked than the Trexlertown velodrome many MABRA cyclists are familiar with.

This is the second indoor velodrome in the area (west of Toronto in the GTA). The Forest City Velodrome, a much tighter and more steeply banked 138 meter track opened in April of 2005, is less than an hour and a half drive to the southwest from the Milton velodrome.

The Wheelsucker was fortunate to have completed the Trexlertown PA velodrome (officially called Valley Preferred Cycling Center) "Introduction to the track" class a few years ago, and then raced at Trexlertown a few times; he was very much looking forward to riding a UCI/Olympic/Pan Am Games standard track.

Both the Forest City and Mattamy facilities were built with local support, and to broaden their utility and appeal, have been made available for recreational riding in addition to racing and race training. The Mattamy facility's vision statement is:

"As the home of Canadian Cycling, the Mattamy National Cycling Centre is an extraordinary facility that will cultivate world-class Canadian cyclists while engaging the local community with a wide range of recreational and sport opportunities for all ages and abilities."

This seems an excellent approach; it makes it easier to garner support and funding from local government, and the local community. Those seeking to build a velodrome in the Washington DC area would do well to consider this. The Mattamy velodrome is owned by the town of Milton. The track is open from 6:00am through 10:00pm daily (and sessions go later in the evening), and it appears most of that time is blocked out for scheduled activities, which include training, drop in riding, and racing.

But if you are catering to a non-racing group, you need to work on pack skills, passing skills, and rider safety, so that riders and groups can share the track while riding fixed gear bicycles without brakes at different speeds. This can require several track training sessions.

These velodromes are very safety conscious, and the multiple introduction and track certification sessions are to prepare non racers, and even newcomers to cycling, to ride safely in close proximity on the track. Actually racing requires further certification and proof of insurance coverage. Even a national team track racer who wanted to ride at Mattamy would have to complete the Track Certification B program. Canada seems to be more safety and insurance coverage conscious that the USA. The Wheelsucker's experience in Ontario is that one cannot do a club or team ride without being a member of an Ontario-based club or team, which ensures that one has Ontario Cycling Association insurance coverage. This is quite different from most of the MABRA training rides that the Wheelsucker is familiar with.

Perhaps to better serve the local community, this velodrome has facilities that may not be seen at other velodromes. The infield area includes two gymnasium courts, which were configured as basketball courts when he was there. This space can be reconfigured when necessary, so would look more like a typical velodrome infield during major track cycling events. There is a spin bike room, fitness centre, weight room, and excellent shower/change rooms. The cycling track is inside a walking and running track. There are meeting rooms, and several local, provincial and national cycling organizations have offices there. There are supposed to be a bike shop and a cafe soon. One really nice feature is bike storage lockers, so those riding at the velodrome frequently can leave their bike there, stored vertically in a single bike locker space.

The Wheelsucker has family living in Guelph Ontario. Guelph is conveniently located in between the two velodromes. He was visiting family and brought his track bike with him.

The Mattamy velodrome has Argon track bikes as rental bikes.

The Wheelsucker rides an aluminum Cervelo T1 but it was the only Cervelo being ridden during this Track Certification B session.

Since he had completed the "Introduction to the track" session and raced at Trexlertown (and he had also completed a "track 1" session at Forest City), the Wheelsucker was considered "track certified" at another velodrome, and could skip the Mattamy "Introduction to the track session and the "Track Certification A", and go directly into "Track Certification B".

Track Certification B is held every Friday evening from 8:30-10:30pm. The Wheelsucker arrived early so he could put his bike together and check out the facility. A "drop in" session was going on when he arrived (this video was taken near the end, when the fastest riders had already left), with several pacelines circling the track at different speeds, as well as a few lone riders on the apron, or staying high on the track. The fastest group was hammering!!

The Track Certification B Session
"Track Certification B" sessions are limited to 18 riders; it appears that every Track Certification B session held so far has filled; the Wheelsucker had to register several weeks in advance to get a spot in one. This group appeared to have some track racers, possibly some road racers, and non-racers who wanted to be track certified. But almost everyone had team or club kit on, and several looked like they could be experienced track racers. Three or four other riders in the group of 18 were similarly taking Track Certification B without having done Track Certification A at Mattamy, so were "track certified" elsewhere.

At 42 degrees, this track is rather more banked than Trexlertown, which is 30 degrees, but a little less banked than Forest City, which is the shortest and probably most banked track in North America at 50 degrees. The Wheelsucker has only ridden Trexlertown a few times and Forest City once. Privately, the Wheelsucker may confess to feeling a little intimidated before he rolls out on any of these tracks, but one starts on the apron, picks up speed, shoulder checks to make certain there is room to get on the track safely, and rolls off the apron onto the lower lane of the track. Then one picks up more speed and soon the bike feels good on the banks. Then all it takes is someone else to pick up the pace and the Wheelsucker ignores his earlier concerns and trepidation and glues himself to a good wheel and pedals for all he is worth. The timber track feels different from the concrete Trexlertown track, but is quieter than Forest City's timber track.

The first drill had the 18 riders split into two groups, each group just following the first rider in the group, with no passing. The 18 riders were split based on where their bikes were leaning against the infield wall, so the bikes in front of the ramp were in the first group, while those behind were in the second. The Wheelsucker was accidentally positioned to be the leader of the second group, but recognizing this, asked one of the two session instructors if the groups were split evenly. The instructor agreed that the front group was smaller, so the Wheelsucker left the lead position in the second group, for the last position in the first group, EXACTLY where he wanted to be as he told the instructor. The lady riding one position in front of him suggested that the Wheelsucker had made the change as he wanted to check out her behind, but the Wheelsucker told her he would be watching her back wheel the entire time. This was mostly true, both groups were going easy, and riding at the back the Wheelsucker was having to accelerate and decelerate frequently trying to hold a constant gap to her rear wheel. The Wheelsucker was looking ahead to see what other riders ahead of him were doing. He did notice that the lady in front of him had a pair of glasses only partly tucked into a jersey pocket, and was wondering if these could fall out. The instructors must have been paying very close attention because once this first drill had ended they asked her to get rid of them.

After reminding everyone that the focus of the Track Certification B session was track safety for recreational riding NOT RACING, and telling all riders that how fast their best flying lap was not relevant and demonstrating it was not good for track safety, the group was split into three, a slow, a medium and a fast group, for several iterations of the next drill. Not wanting to be over-matched the Wheelsucker -- who has not raced this year and is not training seriously -- was thinking he would jump into the medium group. However the instructor suggested that the Wheelsucker had "looked comfortable" sitting on the back, and should try the fast group. The Wheelsucker waited for the fast group to roll round and joined at the back.

This drill was working pacelines, and practice having pacelines passing each other, even passing while riders were rotating off the front. This could briefly put riders five or six deep if the three pacelines all had riders pulling off at the same time, in the same turn. Riders in the overtaking paceline were to yell "stick" to warn the riders in the back of the other paceline that they were being overtaken and should hold their line. The "stick" request should be repeated as one passed riders in a large group. The overtaking paceline should be led far enough above or below the other paceline that there is still room for the lead rider in the overtaken paceline to pull off. Riders were to shoulder check anytime they moved off their line, up or down. Pulls were one lap long, with the lead rider coming off in the same turn each time. The rider pulling off always pulls off to the right, higher on the banking.

Groups try to ride either the lower lane between the red and black lines or just above the mid track blue line. One does not have to pass on the right, a group can pass low if the other group is on the blue line.

The faster pace and smaller number in the fast group made the pace smoother and steadier. The track rental bikes were geared low, and would have required a very high cadence to hold the pace of the fast group. While registering for the Track Certification B session the Wheelsucker had noted some gearing/gear inches guidelines for the session. To partly conform the Wheelsucker had reluctantly taken off his 50x14 and put on a 48x15, this was still rather higher than what was on the rental bikes.

In the smaller, faster and smoother group the Wheelsucker was more comfortable riding closer to the wheel in front of him. Several in the group appeared to the Wheelsucker to be quite comfortable riding on the track; probably experienced track racers who were just being certified for riding at Mattamy. Later the Wheelsucker confirmed this with one rider, who told him he had been track racing for six to seven years. The fast group practiced safely passing the other two groups while riding the blue line and when riding the lower lane between the red and black lines. The fast group would start with five to seven riders, but the pace was generally high, and some riders would drop off part way through a 20 minute ride. As his confidence grew, the Wheelsucker started increasing the pace when he was on the front. Gaps were opening and the Wheelsucker would swing high after his lap, shoulder check, and if there was a gap would dive back in, into the gap, not to the back of the group.

Coming off the front of the group is a skill and an art. The key points are to shoulder check to the right to ensure no one is there as one approaches the turn. You can wiggle a right elbow to remind the riders behind you will be pulling off and up to the right. As you enter the turn and the steeper banking you keep pedaling, maybe even pedal harder for two pedal strokes and turn right to climb the banking. You trade kinetic energy for potential energy, then swap back as you dive back down. Provided there was no one there you can go all the way from near the blue line to the upper edge of the track. Since you are climbing you are slowing down. You shoulder check to the left to check that the next rider is pulling the group past, check for gaps, and check for the back of the group. While you expect to drop back inline at the back of the group you have to notice gaps and consider filling them. As you turn left and start descending back to the blue line you accelerate and catch on at the back, ideally without having to accelerate or decelerate. But the art is doing this so smoothly and quickly that you are back in the draft in your chosen spot, without making any additional effort. The perfect "pull off" may be a big swoop to the top of the banking, a quick decision on how far back you will rejoin the group and then a quick dive into position, all without changing level of effort or having to adjust spacing to the rear wheel ahead of you as you rejoin the group. You should come off the front as you enter the turn, and be back on at the back well before the straight, all done smoothly without altering cadence, increasing effort or over steering. Try watching a pursuit team doing this, and they are going flat out while in aero bars!

All 18 riders passed Track Certification B. While the Wheelsucker has been mostly focused on the wheel in front of him and passing safely, he did note that despite the three groups riding at different speeds, everything had gone smoothly with no crashes or close calls. He had not seen any riders who were not able to ride safely.

After everyone had been declared passed there was still 30 minutes left. The instructor sent the three groups back out on the track for more. Strong pulls by two other riders and the Wheelsucker soon blew up the fast group, which was down to one strong experienced track rider with just the Wheelsucker glued to his back wheel, at the end. With time up at 10:30pm, the Track Certification B riders rolled off the track, freeing it up for another waiting track training session group to start their session.

What a BLAST!!!

Now that he is track certified for recreational riding at Mattamy the Wheelsucker is looking forward to some "drop in sessions", seeing if he can hang with the fast group (he may consider cheating and going with the 50x14 again), and perhaps taking the track racing certification sessions.