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he velodrome is great for
fitness training and is a lot more fun than a turbo trainer.
We organise handicap chases or sprints to add some interest.
The velodrome is more popular than road riding but less
popular than mountain biking – 3 to 7 riders typically.
The local cycling club generously
let us use the track for free in the summer. We pay $100/month
for the six winter months to pay for the lights. BBC Velodrome
regulars each pay $10/month in return for a key to turn
the lights on. 'Guests' pay $2/ride; any excess goes to
a general fund the Club is collecting for charity. Sheila
Spence spences2@bp.com
is the treasurer and Gordon Phillips gphillips@mcdermott.com
holds the keys.
When do we
Ride ?
Velodrome rides tend to be Wednesday evenings but it is
a small group and we do vary the day depending on weather
and people's availability. We tend to start at 6 –
6:30 PM and finish by 7:30 PM. E-mails tend to go out Monday
or Tuesday.
There is nothing to stop
you cycling on other evenings or after 7:30 PM, but you
may be on your own so may be in trouble if you crash. You
can also ride at weekends but the local club use it for
training and racing so if they are on the track, ask the
coach if you can join in. They will normally let you join
a casual training session but may not want you joining a
more organised session and certainly not a race.
Where is it
?
In the Baku Street Directory (2nd Edition), the velodrome
is on Map 41, ref M8. It is on Rovshan Jafarov, next to
the main bus station, just off Tbilisi Avenue/Prospecti.
This is the main road out of town towards Sumgayit and Guba
that runs past the Natavan Building and Europa Hotel.
It is 5-10 minutes from Hyatt.
Turn right out of the Hyatt then left at the traffic lights
by the Europa Hotel. Head up Tbilisi Avenue (with Europa
hotel on your right) over a few major junctions until you
come to a big roundabout. Turn right, past a market/shops
and after ~ 200 yards there are some blue metal gates set
back from the road with a sign ‘Velotreki Republica’.
The track is in there and access is through a tunnel under
the track.
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