In an exciting development in UAE Cycling last month I found myself doing laps of the Zayed Velodrome in Sharjah. An open invitation from the UAE Cycle Federation to all local cyclists was issued via the various cycling Facebook groups and with much excitement it was an enthusiastic group that gathered. It turned out that several folks had got little done at work that day due to the anticipation and unbelievably some folks already had their track bikes in country. The facility has been on the expat cycling community’s radar but has only been available to nationals recently.
This initial open evening at the Velodrome, the home of the UAE Cycling Federation, signals another change of gear within the governing body and appears to be a continuation in the recent drive of support for the sport here in the region with word of further developments to come. The evening at the Zayed Velodrome came hard on the heels of my recent ecstasy sitting in front of the telly watching Team GB’s cycling hero’s storm to gold after gold in the London ‘Volume-o-drome’ which just added to my anticipation of doing laps again myself.
For those of you who haven’t experienced track cycling I’ll try and explain what it is I find so enjoyable about going round and round in circles. For me I find track cycling to be competitive cycling boiled down
to its essential essence. Cosmetically the bikes look like conventional road bikes with drop handle bars but a track bike differs from a normal bike in a number of key ways. Most notable is that there is no freewheel, if the back wheel goes round then the pedals go round. If the pedals stop, the back wheel has to stop, no sitting there spinning along with the freewheel clicking away, feet still. It’s a direct connection that saves weight, increases simplicity and reliability. However forget this direct connection at your peril, to stop pedalling while you’re going like the clappers can at best feel distinctly uncomfortable or at worst can fling you mercilessly down the track. Along with the fixed hub is the lack of brakes. Speed is controlled only with your legs. Again unneeded mechanics have been removed for the sake of reduced weight plus increased simplicity and reliability.
The Zayed Velodrome has about 30 track bikes available for use on the track. I took my own pedals and shoes plus of course helmet, gloves, shorts and jersey. The track in Sharjah is a 250m lap with steep banking at either end. The banking takes a bit of getting used to and feels very steep when you haven’t been on a track for a while. Once you have got your eye in though and are up to speed steep banking quickly translates to fast banking. There is no slowing down for the corners at the track, power through them and feel the G’s.
Once everyone had started to get settled on their bikes lines quickly started to form. I doubt there is much in the world as efficient as a group of cyclists powering round a track, wheel to wheel, in a line, taking turns at the front. The person at the front punches a hole through the air and everyone else slips through with massively reduced effort then at regular intervals (1 lap or less) the front cyclist peels off up the track letting the line pass under them before accelerating back down the banking to join the back of the group and rest before their turn comes up at the front again.
It’s beautifully simple but requires practice and trust amongst the group. It requires close cycling and an even speed. If wheels overlap a sudden swerve can easily clip a wheel which causes riders to go clattering down like a very fast moving row of dominos. Part of the excitement of riding at the track is this heady mix of speed, efficiency, teamwork, skill and trust. Oh yeah, and of course it just feels FAST!!
Interestingly it’s not just the Velodrome the UAE Cycling Federation has opened the doors to; its’ membership is now available to UAE residents regardless of nationality. The UCI recognized 250 AED membership brings a number of very useful benefits including injury insurance no matter what form of cycling you are participating in, “even Unicycling” according to Stewart Howison of the Cycle Safe Dubai project and who now sits on the federation’s board.
So this winter is setting up to be another fantastic year for UAE cycling. With support from the UAE Cycling Federation there are a growing number of facilities and groups for cyclists of all abilities. The new Al Quadra bike lane is used a lot by Cycle Safe Dubai on Fridays and Saturdays with groups going out to suit any level of cyclist, the Spinneys Cycle Challenge in December has build up rides going on once a month at the new Meydan Nad Al Sheeba cycle park which is open for all cyclists every day and is floodlit. There is also the Dubai Roadsters rides famously held on a Friday morning starting from the Lime Tree Café in Jumeirah and now starting to get back into the hills too as the weather cools.
With the Velodrome becoming available and the Cycle Federation races due to start it’s all starting to spin along quite nicely indeed. If you’re not already, then now is surely the time to get involved!
Ian Ganderton
Published in October 2012
