Firsts! - Part II: Manchester Velodrome

Working in a bike shop, I feel it behoves me to at least have a go at all forms of cycling. That's the main reason why I've taken up 'cross this year, and last weekend, since I wasn't working and the National Track Champs were on, I went up to Manchester to watch the racing on Saturday and then do a taster session on the track on Sunday. This was my first time ever riding a fixed gear bike, let alone on a track, let alone on as renowned a track as the Manchester Velodrome! It was awesome.

I've often thought that the track would suit me - no hills, no corners: it's essentially an endless flat road! I even had a track frame built last year intending to ride at Herne Hill this past summer, but I haven't quite gotten 'round yet to getting all the bits together (the chainset I have my heart set on has been on back order since April). So one day I logged on to buy tickets for Saturday's racing, booked the train, reserved a couple of nights at the Sports City Travelodge and called the Velodrome to book a place on Sunday's taster session and was all good to go within an hour.

The National Championship action on Saturday was good, with the Cyclists With a Disability events especially inspiring, but there was only just enough of a crowd to provide some atmosphere (about 200 people by my reckoning), and a paucity of participants in the women's events. There weren't even enough entrants in the women's keirin to justify rounds; there was just the one medal-deciding race. And even in the men's races the entry lists were less than stellar. I guess it's not a priority for many of our track riders.


Watching Saturday's racing was just a bit of a bonus; what I was really interested in doing was riding the track myself.

I was quite nervous before the session. Being in club kit, I didn't want to totally embarass myself, and I am nearly 10kg over a decent racing weight these days and not at all fit. But I was sure I wasn't the slowest or least capable rider ever to hit the boards at Manchester and I was just so excited and I knew I was going to enjoy it.

There were only 2 other people on the session - both of whom were even less experienced cyclists - and 2 others on the track rolling around the blue line as part of their training towards gaining accreditation. So there were only 5 of us on the whole track, with 2 coaches to guide us from the centre - lots of room to stay out of one another's way!

When I'd booked the session, I had to tell them how tall I was in order for them to determine what size hire bike to give me. When I collected it, armed with the measurements for my proper saddle height and setback, I was a bit disappointed to find that the coaches weren't at all bothered with that. "If it's obviously too low or too high," one of them said, "we'll adjust it." And that was it. Riding around, it was obvious that the saddle was a bit too low, but not stupidly so, so I just got on with riding. This was completely anathema to the way I set my own bikes up - as my weight, fitness, and flexibility change I get one of my colleagues to check out my saddle position. I can definitely feel that the extra half-centimetre of fat on my ass means I need to lower the saddle!

The novelty and excitement of the experience meant that I rode harder than I had for a very long time and, at the end of the session, I found myself with that rasping-lungs feeling that I only too-infrequently push myself to. Brilliant training!