News Team Boulder

Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Sports

Steep walls and high speeds are attracting many Boulder cyclists to a wooden paradise.

A new velodrome, located on Frontier and Pearl Ave., is providing a unique experience for recreational cyclists.

The United States is home to 27 tracks, most of which are outdoors. But now, Boulder Indoor Cycling (BIC) has opened its doors.

"It's been amazing, the people of Boulder have been out to support us fully," said BIC Director of Cycling, Paul Wells.

The velodrome is one of only two in the country that are indoors.

The Boulder track is also one of the smallest, allowing riders to reach higher speeds around tighter corners.

"It's an experience they won't be able to get anywhere else," said BIC employee Steven Herzfeld. "We're hoping that the recreational cyclist who never would have considered track cycling as an outlet for exercise, or fun, now has an opportunity to try it."

The track, which opened this past January, offers instruction every day of the week to beginner and intermediate riders.

Track riding is very different from riding on the road or in the mountains, primarily because of the fixed gear bike. A fixed gear is equipped with one gear that is fixed to the cranks, so when you stop pedaling, the wheel stops as well. Also, brakes are not included.

"That almost makes it safer that no one has brakes on their bikes," Herzfeld said. "That way, the person in front of you isn't going to be slowing down incredibly quickly as well. So you use the banking of the track and the fixed gear to speed up and slow down the track bike."

But riding on the track is nothing to be intimidated of, said Wells, once a rider gets used to the curves, it's just like a big, flat road.

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