Welcome to the forum
CCA Youth go to Manchester Velodrome
Report by Josh Maynard
If you were stood on Ashwell rec at 8:00am on Saturday morning you would have seen a group of 13 CCA Youth memebers plus parents huddled round a solitary map. .
The new 12 bike trailer beat all but one of the other cars to the velodrome car park where we got out and started to unstrap the bikes. Eventually everyone got there and with bikes food and mechanical supplies ready we enter the velodrome went down the steps and emerged out of the tunnel, our jaws slack and our knees weak.
Looking up from the floor even those of us that had previously cycled at Welwyn were overawed at the shear steepness of the polished wooden surface. It was more of a wall than a ramp!
After this we all registered and then we got going. The first of us to take to the track were the smaller and younger among us and then would be the turn of the bigger and older youths. The first exercise was to see how far up the banking you could get as you went round. First was the green floor and then as you picked up speed you proceeded onto the blue band just below the track proper. This was where we had our first casualty in the form of Andrew Leveton who as he then tried to get up on the black line on the track proper was not carrying enough speed to stay on and so slid down rather suddenly.
However if you did not do this then you would continue further up the red line and then finally the blue line as I did. The next exercise was 1-lap time trials and then for a final event we did team sprints. Altogether the whole experience was amazing and I am sure that everyone who cycled will have enjoyed it as much as I have. But as I have already mentioned we did have an expert team of mechanics and bike carriers that we all are very grateful to.
The one thing that I will always remember from Manchester will be the first thing the coach said to me as I nearly slipped of on a corner.
Its speed that keeps you on this track not magic
A lesson that we all had to learn very quickly.
If you were stood on Ashwell rec at 8:00am on Saturday morning you would have seen a group of 13 CCA Youth memebers plus parents huddled round a solitary map. .
The new 12 bike trailer beat all but one of the other cars to the velodrome car park where we got out and started to unstrap the bikes. Eventually everyone got there and with bikes food and mechanical supplies ready we enter the velodrome went down the steps and emerged out of the tunnel, our jaws slack and our knees weak.
Looking up from the floor even those of us that had previously cycled at Welwyn were overawed at the shear steepness of the polished wooden surface. It was more of a wall than a ramp!
After this we all registered and then we got going. The first of us to take to the track were the smaller and younger among us and then would be the turn of the bigger and older youths. The first exercise was to see how far up the banking you could get as you went round. First was the green floor and then as you picked up speed you proceeded onto the blue band just below the track proper. This was where we had our first casualty in the form of Andrew Leveton who as he then tried to get up on the black line on the track proper was not carrying enough speed to stay on and so slid down rather suddenly.
However if you did not do this then you would continue further up the red line and then finally the blue line as I did. The next exercise was 1-lap time trials and then for a final event we did team sprints. Altogether the whole experience was amazing and I am sure that everyone who cycled will have enjoyed it as much as I have. But as I have already mentioned we did have an expert team of mechanics and bike carriers that we all are very grateful to.
The one thing that I will always remember from Manchester will be the first thing the coach said to me as I nearly slipped of on a corner.
Its speed that keeps you on this track not magic
A lesson that we all had to learn very quickly.