calshot novice session

[Alan M]

I took the opportunity of a wet and windy weekend to do a double novice session at Calshot. It was excellent. For those that didn?t know, Calshot is an activities centre in Hampshire. http://www.hants.gov.uk/calshot/cycle.html

As well as windsurfing canoeing power boating, rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, archery, multi-activity holidays and corporate events, it has a track cycling velodrome. Calshot has the only indoor banked velodrome in the South of England. This national standard track was built in 1997 and can be used by a wide range of cyclists from novices to international standard. As long as you can ride. It is quite small and steep.

I had 2 sessions with Scott, a qualified coach who soon had us whizzing round at a very fast speed. The track looks scary but it feels fairly safe: everything happens very quickly and you can lap it in less than 11 seconds (well under 13 in my case). We did various exercises including through and off, 1s and 2s off the front to catch up the main group and something call the Hunter?s variation whereby the first 2 go off the front and the first of the pair tucks in behind the last rider and the second goes to the front of the line and tows the next person round. We ended with a 2 lap and 1 lap time trial and the art of this was to go incredibly fast and stay low, resisting the gravitational forces to spin you to the top of the wall.

All in all it was an excellent session and if only it was a bit closer. But Herne Hill will seem easier as soon as we have both warm and dry on the same day!