Last Saturday a group of downhill mountain bikers ventured down to Sundrive Road to have a go at what most felt was probably the potentially most dangerous bit of biking we had engaged in quite a while. Hugh and Steve, the men in charge, met us down there and kitted us out with Track Bikes. The idea of strapping your feet into a fixie with no breaks and trying to pedal real fast seamed a bit mad at first. At least there weren’t any trees. But after a couple of near death experiences most managed to get the hang of riding them.  Stopping was a different story altogether, but luckily there was a fence to could use as a break.

Unaccustomed to going in straight lines it took a while to get used to the rules but the once we figured it out things started to fall into place.  The guys down at the track gave us a number of drills to get the hang of the bikes and how to ride them around the fairly busy track without ending up in a pileup. Soon we had the hang of it and people started to get ideas about going fast.

Then they brought out the motor bike.  Its some machine, straight out of world war two movie.  We all started getting a bit excited when we where told we could have a go, we thought they meant on the motor bike, they meant a go trying to keep up with the yoke.  Which is not easy at all.  Its starts of slow and just gets quicker, you hang on as long as you can. For most of us the was a few laps the Wolfeingtons though showed us how it should be done and stuck with it for a load of laps, the Gurney, as its called eventually pulled away from them, but we reckon they definitely had the moral victory.

When we had don’t about as much pedalling as we where able for, Hugh suggested a test of the old bike handling skills.  We where well up for that.  It involved all of us going around and around on the grass inside a pretty small circle that had been market out with cones. On the track bikes of course, the object of the exercise was to knock the rest of the lads out of the circle.  It had been sold to us on the old ‘no rules’ basis, and we liked the sound of it. Bedlam ensued, but once Hugh had introduced the ‘keeping you hands on the bars’ rule and the ‘no kicking people off the bike’ rule and the ‘no going anti clockwise, and trying to hit people head on’ rule, all that remained was the old fair shoulder, which still got the job done.

Lessons learned where:

• Track bikes are pretty cool, once you get used to them.
• They are no use for jumping.
• The Track is Sundrive road is a great facility.
• It could do with a pump track.
• Ger Wolfe in a full lyrca skin suit, its like he’s wearing nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all…..
• Its pretty good training for DH.
• We are all going back.

A big thanks to Hugh, Steve and all the lads at the Track for looking after us and making us feel welcome.  

If you are interested in having a go send a quick e-mail to either myself: seanherlihy38@googlemail.com or Hugh trackcyclingireland@gmail.com

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