at formally organized racing before the Velo Clinic. Emmett Wilson has a similar experience to many of the riders that were a part of the Velo Clinic “After riding my fixed gear for several months with Wolfpack HuSTLe I started noticing myself becoming stronger... I found myself wanting to give the velodrome a try and really enjoyed it when I did.”

This new group of racers arrived with a lot of bike experience. Toph Perron thinks that his time on the streets helps him on the track, “Riding in traffic you have to be aware at all times. It’s something that can be directly applied to mass start races.” There are some major differences between dodging cars on your way to work and racing shoulder to shoulder on the track, but an urban fixed gear rider can come in with skills that translate well. The biggest factor is that most riders who came out to the Velo Clinic already have the stamina to hold up for a night of hard racing. After the eight weeks of training and instruction the group is ready to take on the field for the Mr. Bumpyface Track Series.

SpokedSTL’s Velo Clinic is just one piece in the growing work from many sources at the Penrose Park Velodrome. This off season a new website for the track was launched to centralize the needs of the velodrome community. There have also been several fundraisers organized. And there has been a large media push to get the word out about the track’s current usage and our fundraising goals. In the meantime masters world champion Jim Host helped a group of riders with some major concrete patching on the track. Mr. Bumpyface is a little less bumpy, but it is not there yet. To go along with SpokedSTL teaching skills to new riders, national champion Zak Kovalcik is going to be hosting a training to teach more experienced racers how to run madison races. The SpokedSTL Velo Clinic is just one part of the track community. Community is the best way to describe track racing in St. Louis. It is by the hard work of so many people that track racing is growing in St. Louis.

Please join us to watch racing every Thursday starting at 6 pm. Check out www.spokedstl.com & www.penroseparkvelo.com