I’ve been following the construction of Boulder Indoor Cycling for a couple months on Road Bike Review’s forums. This weekend I finally bit the bullet and went up to check it out. Fortunately for me, my lovely wife agreed to come along and take some pictures.
I called ahead of time and they said I would belong in the Intermediate class. This being Boulder, after all, the rest of my class consisted of a under-23 development team rider, a 40+ Cat 3 and three other local hammers to drag me around the track. The “classes” are focused on getting acquainted with the track, as it’s like very little else.
The first thing you notice when you walk up to the track is that it is tiny! I believe Paul said the track is 142 meters around. To put that in perspective, a hockey rink is 170 meters. The next thing you notice is the banking of the corners. I don’t want to know the banking, and I don’t think I want to know.
They will happily tell you the minimum speed is 18 mile per hour. Any slower and you will slide down the track. So there’s that to look forward to, especially for someone who has never ridden a fixed gear before, let alone on a track. That’s me, figuring out how to clip in and out without falling over (which I did successfully).
Our instructor didn’t show up, so Paul Wells (one of the owners) showed up and gave us our instruction. That’s Paul bravely telling us not to hit him. Actually, it was a drill to show how to use the banking to slow down or speed up.
The objectives of the classes are safety and getting comfortable on the track. Paul explained basic commands, what the lines on the track mean, and how to get on and off safely. Each session had a short time on the track, followed by a quick discussion in the infield to discuss the next session. Total class time is six hours, in one hour sessions once per week. For the final session, we worked on pacelines, with everyone taking a turn on their own to go for it.
Gear was outstanding. Fuji Track Comp
bikes are provided, and worked very well. They all seemed to have some
scuffed bar tape, just to remind you to pay attention. Sliding on
plywood at 25 miles per hour would not be fun. But you can’t think
about that, it will take all the fun out of it. And it is a ton of fun.
I’m looking forward to the next class on Saturday, it sure beats riding
on the trainer in the basement!