There’s something truly brilliant about spending a day in the office in front of a computer, and then nipping up to the velodrome for a spot of motorpaced training. Within 45 minutes you’ve gone from ordinary life to bursting a lung trying to stay behind the motorbike as the driver increases the pace towards 70km/h. The contrast is exhilarating, your only focus is the back of the motorbike (I’ve read its number plate a few hundred times: 53ZUR), and sticking close to a little roller that protudes from its rear wheel.
Virtually all my training these days is done on my own as circumstances mean I need to be at home during ordinary training times. I squeeze in efforts as part of commuting to work, or duck into the garage at night to lift weights. So going to senior track training for the first time this season was a real treat. With almost 20 riders there, the sessions have really grown compared to a couple of years ago, and having a motorbike regularly on hand is a huge bonus.
I’m heading to the National Championships in March, so getting some speed work done behind the motorbike is the best way to replicate conditions of Cambridge’s wooden velodrome on Wellington’s concrete oval. Repeated tempo and sprints sets, followed by a couple of sprint wind outs, where the bike basically ramps up the speed over three or four laps until you can no longer hang on, finished my legs off.
More than anything though, working out with other people, riding behind that motorbike and reading 53ZUR again and again was truly good for the soul.
Senior track training takes place on the Wellington Velodrome every Wednesday evening, starting at 6.30pm sharp. Check facebook.com/wellington.velodrome for the session details and weather updates.
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