Alpenrose Velodrome
My dad, Eric and I went to the Alpenrose Velodrome in Portland yesterday for a track racing class. It was my first time riding a fixed gear bike; it felt weird at first to have no brakes or gears, but I got used to it.
But then I had to get used to riding on what felt like a wall: the bank on the turns is 43°, and the minimum speed to stay on it is 12mph. It literally felt like being on a rollercoaster.
Amazingly, the only time I crashed was when I was going 1mph in the grass (it’s hard to get used to a fixed gear).
We saw a real live bike messenger while we were there. He did a track stand with no hands and one foot!
I wish I had some pictures, but since I don’t, just pretend I took this.