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Published: January 29th 2011
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Had a bit of a lay in this morning, I ended up on the leaky air bed so was pretty much on the floor when I woke around 6am, and couldn’t get back to sleep. Helen went to pay the woman at the office for another night’s camping, think League of Gentlemen and you’ll have an idea of what she was like, very friendly though. Site itself is not too bad at all, excellent shower this morning, although to get hot water, or into the kitchen, you have to enter a 4 digit code! The weather has been pretty much non stop rain since we headed out this morning, we, of course, had our track day session, so we stopped at the hospice shop (which was open!) and got a spatula, the only thing we seem to be missing when we’re trying to cook is a spatula, so that was a dollar well spent. Back to the cake shop next door again, more chatting with the chap who worked there, turns out he’d moved over here from Dorset around 25 years ago! We then headed to the velodrome and wandered upstairs and found the chap who was in charge, who was
really friendly, and told us where the changing rooms were, and also how best to get out to the middle of the track, so we got changed and then headed out. Was cool to wander up the ramp in the middle as there were just track bikes all over the place and, when we were arrived, there was a team of 4 cyclists doing track drills, two would set the pace for a lap, and then spin off to the back and the next two would do the same, the speeds they were going and the closeness of them was quite amazing. We were issued with our track bike and crash helmet, didn’t bother with cleats as the pedals had toe clips which they suggested were the easiest thing to have a first go on a track bike. There are two major differences between a road bike and a track bike. Firstly, a track bike has what’s called a fixed gear. That is, there is no gears to change, you have just the one and, more importantly, the whole time the back wheel is spinning, so are the pedals, so you have to keep pedaling all the time! To slow
down, you just pedal more slowly, to speed up you pedal faster, simple as that. Second big difference is noticeable when you look at the handle bars. No brakes!! So, you’re basically strapped into the pedals whilst leaning against a railing and told that, to stop, you’re going to need to pedal slowly enough to be able to grab the railing again and not be going so fast you fall off trying to grip it. Helen was the first one out and was soon going around quite nicely on the flat grey inner track. For those who’ve not seen a velodrome before, the track is on an angle, not sure exactly what it is, but maybe 35 degrees, , the idea being that when you corner, at speed, you remain upright. Its quite an odd concept, and looks really scary when you first go inside the circuit, but, with the grey being flat, there is a small light blue ring around the very inside of the track itself, which is at an angle and, before long, our chap has us going around on that, before he took his life in his hands and, on one of the straits, stood on
the track itself and motioned us to cycle up the slope and around him before heading back down. The next time, he was further up, and the final time we were pretty much ¾ of the way up, and, finally, he was happy and we were able to start taking the racing line, which is between the black and red lines. This is the optimum track position. We were fortunate enough to be joined for extra instruction by Matt Archibald, who was one of the 4 chaps we had seen practicing earlier on. He’s also one of the people who was racing last night, and, I suspect, is someone who is hoping to be representing NZ in the Olympics next year! So, with his expert help, we were soon getting some pointers on how to cycle correctly, and, with that, he decided to lead out Helen on the track so I could take some photos of her, which was amazing! Then I went out for a few more laps. Its actually really hard work as you’re having to pedal the whole time, there was one occasion I forgot and tried to coast and was soon reminded that wasn’t an option
as my legs were jerked around for me by the pedals. I was also surprised just how breezy it was out on the track, but, of course, you’re generating a decent wind resistant surface when you cycle, and it makes sense that you’d feel the wind against you. My heart rate got higher and higher the faster I went. I didn’t dare risk flat out, but, at one point, two others were out on the track and I chased after them for a bit, which was exhilarating but, before long, I was feeling it and decided to slow down and head in. We finished with a quick chat about everything and then we were on our way. Our 30 minute session had gone on for 45 minutes, and, to cap it all, nobody had bothered to take payment from us, we had to go and find them to pay the princely sum of $10 each. Absolute bargain, and definitely one of the most interesting sporting experiences I’ve ever had. I had renewed respect for the pros who will train several times a day, for months and years on end to try and be the best. It was also a reminder
of how amazing it is for the general public to be able to access this sort of facility, bet you can’t just rock up at the velodrome in Manchester and pay a fiver to have a go!
After that, we headed back to the iSite to have a look at the brochures and work out our plans for the next few days. A quick chat to the woman on the counter there today revealed two pieces of information. Firstly, the water tower isn’t open tonight, as we were told yesterday, and secondly, the glow in the dark crazy golf WAS open, so clearly there was no option but to head there and give it a go. It was hilarious, we were able to have 2 rounds on the 9 hole course. The holes were, of course, very short, but with the fluorescent surrounds and rocks, it was a real giggle. I managed to get three holes in one, including one hole I did it on both times I played it, and we whiled away half hour or so in there. From there, we went for a bit of a wander around the shops, before back to the Isite which
is actually located within a museum and gallery, so we wandered around that and it was fascinating, loads to see and do, including a room designed for kids where you walk around and some of the exhibits have sound with them, some you can touch, and some that came with a drawer to open to smell! There was a bit about the roaring 40’s, all the islands that are on this level of latitude, a bit more about Stewart Island, whaling, sealing and examples of rare and extinct birds, which was a bit sad as there are so many which you just can’t see live any more. Before long, we were being gently guided to the exit as the museum had closed, and then we headed to the supermarket to get some food, before coming back and cooking a feast while the rain poured down outside. Will be mighty interesting tomorrow if its still raining trying to get the tent down without the inside compartment getting soaked. We are, however, booked in for the next 3 nights camping, first night is in the Catlins, which look to be quite interesting but with a lot of the activities outside we really
could do with a bit of a change in weather. After that, 2 days in Dunedin, and we’ll then work out the plan from there. Headed to bed and the wind was blowing and the rain was lashing down…not sure I’m going to get a lot of sleep
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