The Joy of Recreational Track Cycling

In the depths of winter, options for cycling become less appealing… Do I ride outdoors in the cold, wet, and wind? Or sweat it out indoors on a trainer, listening to music or a video to combat boredom?

There’s another option - Indoor velodromes! Living in Ottawa, there are now three excellent velodromes I can frequent:

• Mattamy National Cycling Centre built in Milton, northwest of Toronto for the Pan-Am Games in 2015.
• Sylvian Adams Multisport Velodrome at the Centre National de Cyclisme de Bromont. In Bromont southeast of Montreal. This is a brand new facility, built around the core frame of the velodrome used for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
• Forest City Velodrome the world’s smallest permanent indoor velodrome built by a group of passionate volunteers in London Ontario

Many people associate “velodrome” with competitive cycling - that it’s just for the racers, the “really fast dudes”. Nothing could be further from the truth! I’m now a senior citizen, basic touring kind of rider and I still fit in to the velodrome culture. The vast majority of the track use is recreational, and the programs are primarily designed with the recreational rider in mind. Everyone rides - riders range in age from 10 to 80+. The most common velodrome users are middle-aged recreational cyclists. About 30% are women, and there are women’s-specific programs. Heck there, are whole families that ride together.

And here’s the thing. Its always warm, dry, and calm – you are guaranteed a pleasant, fun ride. People are open, friendly and helpful. The infield is a social place. It’s interesting and engaging. You can ride on your own, but its much more fun to ride in a pace line with other riders. It’s a great way to keep fit and keep your cycling skills up over the winter months. You don’t even need your own track bike… all the velodromes offer bike rentals for a modest fee.

Although velodromes are not difficult to ride, they do require training to get started. Each velodrome has it’s own process for “certifying” new riders before they can participate in the regular riding sessions. If you are brand new to track cycling, it’s a 2-step process:

• The “A-certification teaches you to ride a fixed gear bike, and gets you up and riding on the velodrome. Nothing is assumed about your prior experience.
• In the “B-certification you learn to paceline ride and do exchanges, as well as track “etiquette and expectations”. Individual tracks have slightly different procedures, so even experienced trackies are expected to take the B-Certification at each velodrome they ride.

Once you are certified, you can attend the Cycling Centre’s “Drop-In Sessions”. There are multiple 1 hour or 90-minute sessions every day of the week. These are the equivalent of a “club ride” – oriented to group fun riding for exercise and fitness. There’s a maximum of 30 riders per session, so you have to sign up in advance. A certified facilitator monitors them; people ride in a controlled, steady state, pace line style riding in multiple groups (although you can ride alone). Of course, people vary in fitness level; you can always find some folks at your level of fitness to ride with.

Once you have some experience track riding, you can register for the coached training courses. I’ve taken the “Structured Endurance Training”, “Structured Track Training”, “Structured Sprint Training” and “Structured Motorpace Training” courses, which develop fitness though a “sportif” style, using race-training techniques. There’s a “Track Cycle Fit” program for recreational fitness. You can also take the “Track Cycling Skills Development” course to develop riding skills and technique. And there are many other courses available.

Riding the track is actually very safe… because everyone is certified everyone has been trained and follows a consistent set of basic rules. I’ve never seen a “close call”, let alone an accident. All riders at the drop-ins and recreational programs look out for others and ride prudently.

I love just being at the track… it’s an active and open place dripping with cycling culture. Sitting on the infield before or after your own session is an experience in itself. Watch the pre-teens developing their cycling skills, see the national team riders training, chat about cycling with your fellow cyclists. It’s just a fun place to be.