On this clear, sunny day, the MIT team traveled to Londonderry, New Hampshire, to explore the North-East Velodrome to learn what it’s like to ride on a track. When we arrived, Mark and his volunteers, Wolf and Jed quickly got us on the bikes. We were all able to match black and red bikes that matched our MIT kits (how cute), except Tatem who is a traitor and wore a Minnesota kit for some reason?? His excuse was that “his MIT kits were dirty” but that’s lame, tell him to do the laundry.
As we settled in, Mason and Tatem heard Michael exclaim, “Those handlebars are so narrow! How wide are they? and the next thing you know, Mark pulled out the measuring tape while Michael was still in disbelief. Rumor has it that Michael is still learning what it means to be “aero.”
After getting settled on the bikes, we all sat down and received a pre-talk from Wolf to learn about the mechanics of a track bike as well as track etiquette and the meaning of the lines on the track.
There weren’t enough places for the conference but that didn’t matter because Mason and Felix obviously weren’t paying attention.
After the lecture, we were able to get on the bikes and learn about the fixed equipment. To be honest, it was quite scary at first to ride a bike without brakes and get used to the fact that the legs have to move at all times and there is no freewheel, but we managed to master the slope quite quickly. We even did some fun exercises, including passing a friend and hugging them.
Once we got comfortable with the bike and the exercises, we got into the fun action of running. We split into two groups and went through a full omnium of scratch, tempo, elimination and points. We think Berk might have had the most fun and maybe he has a calling for dirt track racing? To be determined.
Overall we had a very fun day on the trail and hope to return. We would also like to challenge other ECCC teams to try the track and have an ECCC omnium day??? That would be great, you better get on with it!
And sure enough the day ends with a gatorade stop on the way home and sure enough Hannah and Mason pair off excitedly, well maybe just Hannah but I think Mason just needs more electrolytes .
This article would not be complete without another big THANK YOU to Mark and everyone who has supported our clinic. We learned so much and couldn’t have had a better group of instructors. Your attentiveness and enthusiasm was evident and we loved being prompted to go fast and turn left. I can’t wait to come back!