Velodrome_May22_2014

Members at the Manchester velodrome for Track Night 22nd May 2014

There was a great deal of excitement amongst the Southport CC members who had signed up for the opportunity to ride at the Manchester velodrome on the evening of Thursday 22nd May. This track is one of the busiest in the world and availability is difficult to come by but Ken Beck had managed to secure a two hour session for the club to share with another group of local riders from High on Bikes.

Twelve members, including guests, arrived at around 7.30pm and, after collecting shoes and bikes, gathered in the centre of the track. The novice riders stared up at the banking sections with nervous anticipation.

Ken had arranged the services of Tim Matthews a British Cycling qualified coach. Tim immediately started to put the group at ease and organised us into experienced and novice track riders. There were enough of us to make two groups of novice riders and one group of experienced riders. The experienced group had a range of ages with Maddy Scott at 17 perhaps being the youngest and Eddie O’Brien perhaps being the most ‘seasoned’ of the experienced riders.

Within 20 minutes or so everyone had taken a turn on track. Novice riders at first stayed on the flatter sections getting used to the fixed wheel bikes and the experienced riders warmed up on the top line. Despite the unusual feel to the bike and the eerie creaking sounds that comes from the boards’ under-wheel the nervous anticipation amongst the novice group had quickly become an eagerness to get back out there and try going a bit higher and a bit faster.

Towards the end of the session there was time for the Southport club members to take part in a 10 lap race for the Centenary Shield. This silver shield was first presented to a winning rider in 1892 by the then Lord Mayor of Southport Sir George Pilkington. Since then it has traditionally been presented for annual competition between riders who live in the Southport area.

Tonight’s race was a rolling start and was led out by Pete Scott, who soon fell back, then picked up by Chris “if I’d have time trialled it all the way round I’d have won” Stone, who stayed on the pace for the whole race, as did John Woolham, but both were eventually just beaten by Maddy Scott and by the outright winner Eddie O’Brien. And it’s not the first time Eddie has held this Shield as he has won it several times in the past - perhaps when he was less seasoned.

On the night Tim our coach did a great job ensuring everyone had plenty of time on track and graduating each session so that all the riders, irrespective of ability and experience, got something out of the evening. Everyone seemed to agree it had been a fantastic experience and great fun. Thanks to Ken Beck for organising the event and thanks to Tim Matthews for organising the activities on the night. And well done Eddie.

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Report by Peter Scott, pictures John Woolham

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