Zoom!
June 7th, 2008Tonight, we saw some of the first session of the Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic at the NSC Velodrome. What a blast! Kids permitting (it was a late night for all) we may catch some of tomorrow’s races, too, or maybe a Thursday night one sometime this summer. I could definitely see going to these semi-regularly, now that I know how darn cool it is we have a Velodrome 
It was also a chance to see Roberto Chiappa in action. 42 mph, yikes!
These races were intended to re-invigorate track cycling in Minnesota. They definitely have a good start at doing that. A lot of the people I talked to or overheard in the audience were, like us, first-time attendees and enjoying what they see. It was even exciting enough to hold the kids’ interest for a few events, although they quickly decided to run their own running and “roll down the hill” races behind the bleachers.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
If you haven’t been, the entire Nature Valley Grand Prix/Great River Energy Bike Festival is a lot of fun. I was at the St. Paul Crit on Wed. and the Cannon Falls road race yesterday. Lots of fun. Plus there’s a kids fun race at 4 of the 5 races to keep the rugrats happy.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
We went to the Sunday races. Chiappa was pretty hard core. Wow. We’ve been to the ‘drome once before and I too want to make it a regular thing this summer. I understand that there are times when they’ll let the public ride the track as long as you bring your own pedals and shoes and they’ll put them on a track bike for you. I’d love to give it a try, though I’ve heard (and seen) that the splinters that a person can get from falling can be rather painful.
I’d echo what Ryan says and say go to some of the Grand Prix events, though at this time, only the Stillwater crit is left. That is a pretty exciting race though with the big hill and a pretty fast descent. It’s a great time.