I'd assume the outside environmental factors would be an issue with testing, etc. right? IE- being able to control the controllable.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Agreed.

I'd either pony up and buy the sensor and the bare bones Garmin to use it or I'd buy a weather sensor that could log a csv file to a USB card.

It's not just a "perfect data" thing so much also as the fun of the process and learning about it. So, I'm not totally dissuaded by "you won't get perfect data, so forget it". As I won't be showing up online afterwards with any kind of dubious claims. I'd just share the fun had, share the data, and it is what it is. No claims.

I'd also consider buying the sensor/Garmin combo and splitting it among some friends to make it more worth the time.

Rock Hill is hours away, as is the "mellowdrome" in Asheville.

Wake County Speedway? Not sure of the surface, but the Sir Walter running group was able to talk them into letting them do a mile race on it once. That would be cool to see cycling on it. I think its a quarter mile, but not positive?

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I casually and briefly considered this a couple years ago. At the time, the Indianapolis Speedrome (1/5 mile, shallow-banked, paved oval) was something like $175 for a 2 hour session. There was something about needing to provide emergency personnel, but I never got to the point of asking if they'd waive that for bicycling. I don't see anything on their website about track rentals anymore, though.

There's an old ~1/3 mile NASCAR track in Asheville, NC, that's been repurposed as a velodrome. It's been dubbed the "Mellodrome" due to its large radius curves and gentle banking. It's part of a public park and, except at times when there's sanctioned racing, is open to the public. Multi-geared bikes are welcome. The city recently completed a comprehensive $1.3-million refresh of the track surface and surrounding infrastructure.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

There's a slightly longer one and smoother one about 15min past Clayton. Southern National.

They said "sure, come out, just let us know when you want to come".

Waiting on Wake County one now.

I'd be most interested in it being at the very beginning or the very tail end of an already "open" tuning date for the cars. That way, maybe just pay a minimal fee if already open and do your thing right before they start or at the end of the day.

Or, buddy up with someone doing car testing and slip them some money and then when they're working on the car off-track jump on for a few laps at a time.

My home "track". It's pretty much a 500m track. The measurement line is a few meters short. We race geared bikes there 13 weeks out the year on Wednesday night. For the most part when I ride on the track bike I have the place more or less to myself. On a 500m track if there is a half dozen people on it, there's a lot of room to spread out.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

Somebody used to do a TT series at Lowes Motor Speedway on a weekly basis.
I don't know if they still do, but that could be a fun way to test new set ups.
There was also a group that did races at Orange County and Ace Speedway for a while, but I think that series died out.

It'd be awesome if you could talk Wake County into letting you use it. I live about 2 miles from there and it's a cool little place. Not some place I would imagine hosting skinny dudes in spandex, but hey, never hurts to ask, right?

Kind of related, there is a weekly crit series in Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak International Raceway

Cheap races, plus you could probably use the track for testing during that time too

Link: https://socovelo.wildapricot.org/Crits/

Tuesday nights, from mid-September thru early June, the Harpeth Bike Club (Nashville, TN) members use the Nashville Speedway oval under the lights (6-8pm). Separate infield track for beginners and segregated lanes on the big track for various speeds / TT / pacelines.

And it's FREE for HBC members.