Boulder Velodrome night

My buddy Brian set up an open ride night at the Boulder Indoor Velodrome for a bunch of Denver messengers to come up and try out riding on the track. I'd only ridden a velodrome once before, back in 2002 at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis when I worked at Jimmy Johns and was still a relative newcomer to riding a fixed gear. Tonight was a ton of fun- this track is wooden, short laps and steep walls. One of the resident track coaches was on hand to show us the ropes, give some pointers and safety protocols, and generally help decrease the likelihood of us killing ourselves or someone else.

my coworker Rob #08 coming through turn 4

 

I was able to ride my own track bike, here outfitted with drop bars once again. It was a great feeling to get this bike on the track finally! The g-forces in the turns get pretty intense once you get up to sprint speeds- it's a little unnerving to rail it into a 45 degree bank at full speed but feels sublime once you settle into the rhythm and are ready for the muscle strain in the arms and neck.