Re: Indoor Velodrome??

jakebigham

2006-01-30



 The great attraction of an indoor track is on the days when it's

too rainy, cold, snowy, icy or dark to have much fun outside



That might be regarded as a positive point for looking at the

(relatively) low cost solution to a tensile structure for seasonal

use only. This would be a project that would involve the seasonal

"tenting" of the Alpenrose track that might include the resurfacing

of the existing track as another phase of the project. perhaps I

shouldn't have been so quick to discount that idea - because it does

respond to the seasonal nature of the appetite for sheltered track

riding without fundamentally changing the regular track season at

Alpenrose (except perhaps to extend it and make it less vulnerable to

rain cancellation in season). The idea is to have a "convertible"

outdoor track, unconditioned space, retractable "tent" without walls.

You could still operate the track as an outdoor venue when conditions

are right.

None of this does anything to discount the points made by many that

there isn't enough support of track racing to inspire additional

outlay of cash. What does change with this scheme is the initial cost

and cost of upkeep (reckon on a tenfold reduction more or less).

On Jan 30, 2006, at 9:30 AM, RCJoh-@attglobal.net wrote:



 Sounds to me like a "which came first / chicken or egg" situation.

Until there's an indoor option there's a whole lot of people that

will be riding somewhere else (or not at all). I live in Bend and

therefore don't see myself driving 6 hours to ride a track anytime

soon. But, if it were in my town the only time I'd be interested in

track riding is indoors in the winter. I think it's a pretty near

universal thing that most of us ride in great part for the pleasure

of being outdoors, and never more so than when the weather is nice.

The great attraction of an indoor track is on the days when it's

too rainy, cold, snowy, icy or dark to have much fun outside. Then

a track becomes the preferred option over the mind numbing bore of

trainer pedaling.

So, I think it's safe to say that with an indoor track you could

expect to see a lot more interest through the winter. Enough to

meet the financial needs? Still doubtful, an important piece of the

puzzle none the less.



Rick



martin cohen wrote:



 I agree. Let's see current usage/spectatorship increase before

going further. I raced there 2 years ago, Fast Twitch Fridays, and

in the beginner field there were at most 8-10 racers. Considering

that could have included on-the-road cat 3-5, that's not alot. I

drove 1.5 hours from Hood River, and I knew of at least 1 other

guy who came up from Corvallis. Where the homies at?!!



I'd rather see the resources go into re-paving the current track.

Then again, if an indoor track would market/allow contests such as

rollerblading,skateboarding, or roller derby, it might have a chance.



Marty



mike.m-@obra.org wrote:



Most of the posts to this list on this subject have come from

people that don't use the velodrome that we are already lucky

enough to have. The first step in supporting the idea of an indoor

velodrome would be to come to events at the current outdoor

velodrome. Even better would be to support it by helping with

organizing programs or finding sponsorship. As use of the current

velodrome grows the possibility of supporting an indoor velodrome

becomes much more likely.



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