Herne Hill Saturday Training

It was VERY hot on Saturday.

It was VERY hot on Saturday.

Understatement of the year.

Drunk 2x 600ml bottles over 2h30...

Might sound like a daft/rookie question, but given I didn't see anyone else stopping...

What's the deal with stopping for a drink during the training session? Is there a best time to do it, and do you just drop off the bottom of the track on the home straight, and re-join when you spot a gap?

The Intermediate sessions are broken down into roughly 50-55 minute periods with a drink break. Novice training is also around this time, so riders can normally cope without the need to stop. When it's very hot, additional breaks are often added.

If you do need to stop during a session, just do so safely by pulling onto the safety zone at the bottom of the track and joining in again when it is safe to do so (normally at the back, rather than by spotting a gap).

Hope that helps.

Understatement of the year.

Drunk 2x 600ml bottles over 2h30...

Vince you need to drink more!

Cheers CH!

Yeah, it was just incredibly hot on Saturday, and there were no breaks in the session, hence the question. You could have made tea with the water in my bottle by the time I took a swig... and it'd been sitting in the shade.

Thanks for the info.

In an hour training session you normally do not need a break.

Yeah, I get that normally you wouldn't, but not drinking anything for an hour in the kind of heat that we had on Saturday isn't really a great idea...

Yeah, I get that normally you wouldn't, but not drinking anything for an hour in the kind of heat that we had on Saturday isn't really a great idea...

the cold drinking water tap at the back of the old stands is the best thing

Most track training is broken down into 15-20 min blocks so there's ample time for breaks. You need to drink 500ml of fluid per hour at least (more on hot days).
You don't have to keep riding round the track for an hour! That's daft.
Use your heads and safely get off for a break if you're thirsty during an exercise.

the cold drinking water tap at the back of the old stands is the best thing

This resource I wasn't aware of. Ta!

You don't have to keep riding round the track for an hour! That's daft.

...certainly for a sprinter!

How many people does an intro session take?

Mentioned it to a few peeps at work and now 10 want to come with! Bloomin Olympics..

Up to 50, it's been full and people have been turned away every week since the olympics. This might be a better idea http://www.hernehillvelodrome.com/sessions_and_training/private_hire/

Coaches (rightly) gave everyone a bit of a wake up call at the end of the 1pm on Saturday, as it was all getting a bit messy... including one guy who didn't seem to speak English, which meant every time he got to the front on half lap changes, he just sat on the front and wouldn't move up, despite the five guys behind him telling him what to do.

Thanks to the chap who lent me his folding pump at the 10am session, I managed 115psi out of it!

I'd like to know the brand & model of it so I can buy one for myself.

Cheers

Vince

this'd be the one:
http://www.parker-international.co.uk/17243/MPart-Evolution--Mini-Floor---Frame-Pump.html?referrer=froogle&utm_source=google&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=pid17243

Nice talking to you....you shoulda come to the keirin. Was a great laugh.

I guess it's just down to number of volunteers etc but it would be great to have another novice session held during the week. I'm going to try and go this saturday just so I can have been enough times not to go on saturday again for a while, it's so busy.

Yeah, if there's any time I'd be keen on that too, but I don't know if there is... looking at the schedule for the week, the only gap seems to be during the day on Sundays, but there's usually events on then from what I can see.

My first post.

Thanks all for putting so much info into this thread. I'm hoping to get down for an induction session on Saturday 8th but I'm tempted to nip in one evening as a spectator before then. I wish I'd made more effort last year, because it sounds like the Olympics has made it very popular!

My advice - get there EARLY - like 10am. Then you'll be able to watch some of the faster guys training, and you'll be sure of getting in on the induction, as it's been selling out really quickly since the Olympics.

I've only been going a few weeks, but it's bloody good fun. Can't wait for the weekend!

2 Hours Ago 17:26
mrjp My advice - get there EARLY - like 10am. Then you'll be able to watch some of the faster guys training, and you'll be sure of getting in on the induction, as it's been selling out really quickly since the Olympics.

I've only been going a few weeks, but it's bloody good fun. Can't wait for the weekend!

And after the induction and the beginners sessions, you could stick around and watch the Yoofs and the Grown Ups racing in the East London Velo's Open Season event featuring Madison racing. Racing is the ultimate in bloody good fun.

http://www.hernehillvelodrome.com/racing_events/track_racing/open_season/

Stuck around for a bit of the racing after today's session, was great!

Basic session felt a lot more calm today. Tried to remember the things that got brought up in the bollocking last week, and it felt like everyone was cycling together a lot better.

Oooh, a bollocking? What happened?

When I arrived at 1.45 yesterday, it looked like there were once again at least 60 riders on the beginners session.

As great as it is to see so many people participating, this is ALOT of riders to manage in a beginners session with such a wide range of fitness and ability of riders.

This year I managed to entice just one rider from my club to participate in a couple of beginner's sessions. (Epic fail on my part). His feedback to me on the club run today was: * I might like to ride the TL next year, but wanted to at least be able to ride with the intermediates before the end of this season, but found the sheer number of riders on the beginner's sessions hampering my ability to progress.' *

I think what he meant was, that as a MORE experienced road rider, the sheer number of people taking part in the sessions meant he wasn't learning fast enough to be able to progress to the intermediates and found it a. frustrating and b. off-putting.

So I suppose it comes down to what the priorities and objectives are, for the beginner's sessions. To find more Bradley's and Laura's? Or, to give as many people as possible an experience of riding a track. A bit of both I suspect.

The solution might be for VCL to run more, one hour beginner's sessions next year if demand was to stay so high. The Saturday coaches already do a fantastic job and in my opinion, to impose more demands on their time would be unfair.

One idea might be to ask the more experienced riders from the TL and Open Series to help out? For example, if 15 TL riders all volunteered to help at two sessions that'd be a start. The TL prize presentation at the Autumn Omnium being the ideal forum to raise this.

Plus this hurdle possibly?

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/coaching/article/coast_awards_overview_page