That was just a small oval of dirt in a playground next to the cabin we were renting. I have no idea what it was intended for. It was small but there was just enough of a straight to sprint up to speed where you couldn't hold the corner without perfect form. Since it would really take no more than a lawnmower to build I'd like to have a few different length tracks. A longer multi lane track with nice berms would be cool but it would be more of just a cardio challenge. Around here that would be of interest only to a small audience.
What deterred me, was commuting to Portland after work to race. That and the fact that Alpenrose is concrete(ouch) instead of wood
I talked to the guy writing the proposal and apparently its "portable", so they would put it in during the fall and winter when one of the buildings isn't being used. He said they may pull it out for the state fair and have a competition (assuming we get it). Sounds cool, would be nice to be permanent but I'll take what we can get
Which proves my point:
"Track racing is aggressive and crashes are common, but rarely serious. One of the worst in recent Australian racing was Craig Milton's now legendary spill in Launceston in 1985. Milton went down when a tyre blew out on him, and as he landed his pedal dug up a splinter of the then-new track surface. A 33cm long, 1cm wide spike entered his torso just under the armpit, puncturing his lung and stopping 1cm from his heart. The spike had to be broken off the track surface so Milton could be removed and he spent 8 hours under the knife as surgeons pulled bits of wood out of the wound. Milton got back on the bike a week later to win the Australian 10 mile and team pursuit championships. His effort in the team pursuit tore open the stitches and he finished the event with his blue NSW track squad strip dyed red, and had to immediately return to hospital. The spike is on display in his bike shop in Cronulla."
http://www.cyclingnews.net/track/?id=trackoverview00
"Track racing is aggressive and crashes are common, but rarely serious. One of the worst in recent Australian racing was Craig Milton's now legendary spill in Launceston in 1985. Milton went down when a tyre blew out on him, and as he landed his pedal dug up a splinter of the then-new track surface. A 33cm long, 1cm wide spike entered his torso just under the armpit, puncturing his lung and stopping 1cm from his heart. The spike had to be broken off the track surface so Milton could be removed and he spent 8 hours under the knife as surgeons pulled bits of wood out of the wound. Milton got back on the bike a week later to win the Australian 10 mile and team pursuit championships. His effort in the team pursuit tore open the stitches and he finished the event with his blue NSW track squad strip dyed red, and had to immediately return to hospital. The spike is on display in his bike shop in Cronulla."
http://www.cyclingnews.net/track/?id=trackoverview00
and the fact who know how much beer was in us at the time !!!
Yeah, I remember that incident when he died. Below is a link. I know a bunch of the guys that race track up here (I race other disciplines with them) and they are really cool. We have a pretty laid back racing scene though; even when I have a hard fought battle at a race we all still shake hands afterwards and give congratulations to the winner.
Wow, sportsmanship at its best there in the second clip, Hey you beat me, let me yank your bar
I think I gave you rep approval now, not to derail the thread, but what is this whole rep thing?? Rep, Credits...I'm so confused. I thought we just punch in text like we were the women talking on The View.Where's my rep, damnit?
:biggrin:
LOL...thanks. It looks like fun, and I'm hoping they pull it off. They have lofty goals of having it built soon. I guess they want the 2008 national championships, I originally thought it was the 2009
