
America’s Short, Violent Love Affair with Indoor Track Cycling - samclemens
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/americas-short-violent-love-affair-with-indoor-track-cycling
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jpatokal
Calling Japanese indoor track cycling "wildly popular" is a bit of a stretch:
it's one of only four sports in Japan that allow legal gambling, and it's
generally considered the second least respectable, losing out only to
powerboats ( _kyoutei_ ). Not to put it too bluntly, but if you admit to being
a _keirin_ buff in Japan, you're likely to be taken to be either a compulsive
gambler or a yakuza (who are widely rumored to control the business).

The business is also in tough times, since the combination of Japan's aging
population and tough economic times have slashed the sport's total take to 42%
of what it was in 1992. (And that figure is from 2008, I have no doubt it's
collapsed further since.)

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bbarn
They missed something in this article. There is actually only 1 indoor
velodrome in the US. The rest are outdoor.

What's important about that, is, given any locale's elite cycling community,
there's little reason to race on the track during summer when it's nice enough
outside to square off against national level competition on the road on any
given weekend if you're willing to drive a few hours.

Move to the winter, and Cyclocross takes the rest of the would be indoor track
racers. Track is great, and a ton of fun, but it is largely out of reach for
most of us that compete because of lack of well, tracks.

Another thing - no one starts racing at the paid professional level. Without
amateur/junior racing, those people can't move up, because they can't start.
This is a big factor in why the sport's declined so much... No more amateurs.

~~~
_9MOTHER9HORSE
By contrast, the UK now has six indoor velodromes, half of which were opened
in the last five years.

Guess who cleaned up [0] at the Olympics this year?

[0]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2016_Summer_O...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics#Medalists)

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Y201K
My dad rides a lot now and has always loved cycling. We've watched the Tour de
France each summer for as long as I can remember.

So, the point: Jens Voigt, an announcer for the Tour, broke the hour record,
how far you can ride in an hour on an indoor track, at the age of 43(!).
Here's the frame of the bike he rode for the attempt that says "I am
motherfucking Jens Voigt":
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Je...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Jens_Voigt_-
_Hour_Record_-_bike_%28details%29.jpg/800px-Jens_Voigt_-_Hour_Record_-
_bike_%28details%29.jpg). Pretty hilarious.

Also, if you've never seen them, check out the quads on German cyclist Robert
Forstemann:
[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BnhuFN8CcAAAklD.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BnhuFN8CcAAAklD.jpg).
Apparently he trains for hypertrophy as an intimidation factor.

~~~
jackmott
It should be noted he was the first person to break the record after they
reset how the rules work for the record. So it was a fun stunt but the fact
that he did at 43 is near meaningless. It was broken again like 5 times in the
next year. Properly hard record to break now that Wiggins has it.

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okey
> Gripping the bike’s front wheel was the only way for riders to brake

This is not actually true - track bicycles, then and now, do not have a
freewheel/freehub mechanism and the rider cannot coast. As a consequence you
can use the drivetrain as a braking mechanism by applying back pressure on the
pedals.

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davidw
A discussion of track cycling in the US isn't complete without Major Taylor:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Taylor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Taylor)

~~~
mksndz
"I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring
with a knife in his hand."

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sndean
I've only ever been to Trexlertown
([https://thevelodrome.com](https://thevelodrome.com)) and the DC velodrome.
Didn't realize there were so many velodromes in all over
([http://www.usacycling.org/velodromes-in-the-
us.htm](http://www.usacycling.org/velodromes-in-the-us.htm)).

If you're ever bored on a Saturday and you live close to one of them, they're
normally free/cheap to go watch races, or participate. And a decent track
bike, in my experience, is a lot more affordable than a decent road bike.

~~~
83457
There is a DC velodrome?

~~~
mesofile
There is not. Trexlertown is actually the closest velodrome to DC. Oddly they
list it on that linked page as if it were an operating venue, but the track
only exists as a proposal.

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jkot
6-day race does not scale. 2-hour events can be covered by television and can
be hosted in expensive stadium. Madison Square Garden has one event every day.

~~~
mcguire
Marathon track cycling went out of favor before television became an issue.
Other marathon events, like the Tour de France mentioned in the article, or
golf, are televised in some way. Presumably, those countries where the sport
is popular manage to cover it as well.

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Chinjut
The multiple mentions in the article of Madison Square Garden surprised me
till I looked it up. In case anyone else is as confused as I was, it turns out
the Madison Square Garden that existed then is not the same as the MSG that
exists now (which was constructed in the 60s). In fact, there have been four
different venues named "Madison Square Garden" at different times over the
years!

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Animats
Next to be phased out, baseball. Average age of US baseball fans: 53.
(Football, 47; Basketball, 37).

~~~
jessaustin
Life expectancy at 53 in USA is 27 and 30.5 years for men and women,
respectively. Especially given that older people are wealthier than others,
MLB won't be in trouble for a long time.

~~~
coldtea
And yet, the older demographic is not as desirable for ad agencies.

Besides, it's not only whether they are wealthier but whether they'll do
watch/attend baseball games after a certain age.

