Track Racing

So I was finally able to get down to the park to check out some racing tonight. That had been one of the great things about living here that I hadn't taken advantage of, the velodrome is less than a mile from my place. So after riding home from work, getting cleaned up and eating Deirdre and I went down to the park.

I have to admit that I was very surprised at the crowd that was on hand to watch the racing. The place was rather packed, there seems to only be a few small bleachers, but they were packed with lots of people walking around and near the guardrail of the track. Of course the turnout may have had something to do with the free beer but hey, a crowd is a crowd. I can't say that the crowd was super into the racing, but then again it was the first race of the year and what I saw wasn't too exciting, but I'm sure the latter in the season (or the more beer is drunk) the louder the crowd will get. I was also surprised at how many fixed gear/hipsters there were at the event. Of course the free beer and admission may have had something to do with it, but they also seemed to have an interest in the racing. I guess a lot of them may work at local shops, either way it was certainly a diverse crowd on hand.

Of course this has me thinking about getting out to race on the track once again. Though I have to admit, I'm certainly missing the track in Minneapolis (Blaine). It's a gorgeous wood track, very short and very steep; whereas the track here in San Diego is concrete and much flatter (see photos), basically the same as the track in Edmonton. But that's still good enough for racing, and there were a lot of riders out there, so the action should be good. So who knows, if I can rent/borrow a bike I may have to get down for some races this season.