ENCINO VELODROME BRINGS BIKE RACING TO VALLEY.Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer Many local residents may not know that bicycle racing bicycle racing or cycling, an internationally popular sport conducted on closed courses or the open road. Track racing takes place at a velodrome, usually a banked 1,093.6 ft (.333 km) oval. takes place every weekend right here in the Valley. But Alfred Nash wants to get the word out. The Encino Velodrome ve·lo·drome n. A sports arena with a banked oval track for bicycle and motorcycle racing. [French vélodrome, blend of vélocipède, velocipede; see velocipede, and is gearing up for many races this summer and Nash, a race promoter, is working to fill the stands, which have become increasingly barren over the years, he said. Admission for spectators is free. Each bicyclist pays $15 to race. The next event will be the Barry Wolfe Memorial Track Races on Saturday. Approximately 36 cyclists are expected to participate, vying for $500 in prizes. Competitors will be divided into five categories based on age, skill level and gender. There will be three or four races in each category, Nash said. Wolfe, who passed away in July 2005, was a legend in bike racing in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . He won several road and track bicycle A track bicycle is a type of fixed-gear bicycle specially designed for track cycling in a velodrome. Unlike road bicycles, used for road cycling, they lack multiple gears and brakes, having a single fixed gear ratio and no freewheeling mechanism. races during his career, including the National Track Championships in 1987. He founded the popular Simi Ride and also started a weekday ride known as The Barry Ride, which was popular with Olympic and Tour de France Tour de France World's most prestigious and difficult bicycle race. Staged for three weeks each July—usually in some 20 daylong stages—the Tour typically comprises 20 professional teams of nine riders each and covers some 3,600 km (2,235 miles) of flat and riders, as well as actors such as James Cromwell and musicians such as Mike Ward, Matt Fenders and John Rubano, Nash said. Wolfe was also one of the founding members of the famous North Hollywood Wheelman wheel·man n. 1. Nautical One who steers a ship; a helmsman. 2. The driver of an automobile, especially of a getaway car. 3. A bicyclist. Club, which nurtured such legendary U.S. cyclists as Ron Skarin, Wayne Stetina, Thurlow Rogers and Roy Knickman. In addition, Wolfe was instrumental in opening the Velodrome in Encino in the early 1960s, bringing the track nationals there in 1968. This Sunday, there will be another race that Wolfe helped start -- the Warner Center Grand Prix Grand Prix n. pl. Grand Prix Any of several competitive international road races for sports cars of specific engine size over an exacting, usually risky course. . Sections of Warner Center are closed off for the annual race, which is always held the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. The Encino Velodrome is located at 17301 Oxnard St. For a complete race schedule, visit www.encinovelodrome.org. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Anthony Galvan and Gil Hatton race at the Encino Velodrome in the Bob Hansing Memorial Cup Track Series on May 13. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion