Herne Hill Track Training 2009

[Mark Leedham]

VC Londres Open Track Training

Every Saturday Morning

7 March 2009 to 31 October 2009 (track unavailable over winter).

No membership fees apply & you do not have to be a member of VC Londres to participate.

Experienced riders generally take part in stage 3 only. However, ALL riders who have never attended Herne Hill training sessions MUST do the Stage 1 Induction before progressing to stage 3. For most experienced riders this should be an easy reminder of track etiquette, along with other aspects that can differ between tracks.

Stage 1 Induction 09:00-10:30 Adults £4 U18 £2 Free bike hire.
All abilities catered for as long as you can ride a bike!
Please arrive by 8:45 to be ready to start at 9.00.
Please note that once the induction session has commenced,
it is not possible for latecomers to join in.

Stage 2 Novice & Youth 09:00-10.30 Adults £4 U18 £2 Free bike hire.
Gentle riding & skills for the young & the less fit.

Stage 3 Skills & Fitness 10:30-13:00 Adults £6 U18 £2 Free bike hire.
Learn how to ride safely in a group, skills training & exercises
to improve speed & fitness.

Details on:

http://www.vcl.org.uk/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=58

[higg]

It's definitely started and popular too. I arrived at 8.50 on Saturday for the induction and found a queue of about 40 people in front of me. Luckily I got to the front before they closed sign-in. Apparently they turned away about 20 people.

As it turned out the track took some time to dry out so the session was delayed while 3 dernies did laps to speed up the drying process. In the end, we got a 20min taster rather than the proper induction so were told to come back next week for a proper inducton. So if you do plan to go next week, arrive early I would say around 8.30am to get in before the rush, that will also give you a few minutes to get your bike etc. before the session starts at 9.

Because everything ran late the the actual training session took the format of seperate 12 lap races for easy, medium and fast levels, (ie) do your race then sit out the next two, to recover in time to do it all again. This doesn't seem like a lot of cycling but when you're on the track it's fairly intense especially in the last few laps, it was a bit of a shock to my legs which are more used to easy paced rides recently. Once the season gets into full swing the exercises have a bit more variety but for now it's just about getting used to riding on the track again.

If you are thinking of doing track regularly VCL do a season-long lease on bikes for £35. These are very popular and most medium size bikes are already taken. If you are quick (ie. email someone at VCL before Saturday) you might be able to reserve a very small or large bike.