Zen On Wheels......and the simplicity of the track bicycle

If you've read my blog thus far (unless you're a bike geek like me,) you're probably wondering what the heck track cycling is and why am I interested in it. Well if you've ever watched spandex clad people wearing what look like Darth Vader's helmet perched upon carbon fiber rolling contraptions go round and round a wooden, convex, oval track, you've witnessed track cycling. It's actually a very old sport that originated soon after the invention of the conventional (Starley) diamond-framed bicycle. The name of the game is pure speed and pure strength of the riders.

There are a number of events. The most popular is the pursuit. This is where two riders start out slowly trying to fake their oponent into getting in front of them. Once one rider jumps the lead, the pursuit is on. The lead rider must not allow the rider in trail to overtake or they lose the event. The rider in trail is going to try very hard to catch up and overtake. The lead rider has to ride as fast as humanly possible (sometimes in excess of 40mph) to keep the rider in trail behind or catch up to overlap. The race is over when one rider passe the other. It's very exciting to watch. Track cycling is perhaps one of the fastest sports that don't use the assistance of gravity or a motor.

The track bikes differ from the bikes you and I encounter that they are as mechanically simple as possible. The first thing you'll notice is that they have no brake levers and thus are brake-less. How do you stop? You might ask. Well the idea is not to. Or at least not until the race is over. Actually there's another reason why they don't have brakes. You simply don't need them. They operate on a direct drive mechanism. The rear wheel has but a single gear or cog which is connected to the cranks which are connected to the pedals which are connected to your feet. There is no freewheel so you can't stop pedaling to coast, well you could but you'd probably not like the outcome of flipping over the bars and into the ground. So a rider must always keep their legs moving. You can slow down in the exact same way you might have slowed a big wheel or tricycle when you were a child. It's just that your speed and momentum are much higher. The track bike is in fact what the earliest bicycles were like. Simple machines with few moving parts.

So here's the zen aspect. You're connected to a machine which there is no freewheeling. The wheels turn, your legs turn, you move the bike and it moves you. Imagine being on a bike, wind in your hair, legs pumping till you feel the lactic acid burn, and you're flying at 40mph. Seems slow until you actually do it. No brakes or anything peripheral to add weight and complexity. The fact that stopping is more difficult makes you look for "holes" to go through when faced with an obstruction. If you have no fear (mostly stupidity) try riding a brakeless track bike in downtown traffic. Hills become a chalenge going up and down as you hammer hard and slow to climb and then your legs go jello as the bike accelerates down the other side. Once you've ridden a track bike for a while, say a week, your legs will feel like you've been running several miles a day. Get back on a multi speed bike and you'll be amazed at how easy it is. Not to mention it's suprisingly healthy for your knees.