Save Brighton's Velodrome

[voyager]

Hi Folks

Preston Park here in Brighton Sussex has the oldest outdoor Velodrome in the United Kingdom.
Built around 1887 it has been host to some of the best track racing cyclists, including Reg Harris in the fifties .

Because of a lack of maintenance by Brighton and Hove Council , The British Cycling Federation has deemed it unfit for racing this year due to the track needing some extra safety barriers and so it has been closed.
Today a slow cycle ride was held to show support and a e-petition has been launched to discuss the needed repairs to bring it up to being a safe track please help support the case by signing the e-petition.

By chance we were in Brighton today with the 20/20 e-trike in the boot of the car and Ken and I attended the event and rode 6 laps each of the track. It is the longest velodrome in the UK at 1/3 of a mile and deserves to be kept and not left to rot. With the exception of the war years , it has been home to track racing since it was opened . Please help keep it going for the future
I raced here in the mid sixties long before the fencing was fitted along the top of the final bend .
In the video on the face book page . Ken is seen riding the 20/20 in the short clip . The Trike is seen about 1/2 way through the video

https://www.facebook.com/savepreston...etrack?fref=nf

I have been told that more photos will be posted later on showing the 20/20 and some of the other unusual bikes that were there

regards emma

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

It would be really against the flow of things if a velodrome were to close today. Herne Hill just got itself back to life and if it can be done here, you can do it too! Good luck.

 

[voyager]

Here is one of the photos off the "save preston park cycle track" facebook page with Ken in the driving seat of the trike

 

[oldroadman]

It obviously needs lots of work. That concrete kerb in front of the fence is simply dangerous. You wouldn't want to catch that with a pedal looking for a small gap! So that's a shedload of cash at council rates for a start. Didn't know it was so big, Mountbatten is the same, 3 laps to the mile. Not so much a track as a small airfield, and the same sort of profile, odd corners and almost no banking. Both were built late 19th century according to Google/Wikipedia. So maybe their time is up and they need replacing with a nice short road circuit (with a few loops at least 900 metres must be possible) and/or an outdoor 250 bowl like Bournemouth, which I've seen and looks quite decent. I can't believe BC would put a stop to racing there unless there's safety concerns. Is training still permitted? Which at least would be something.

 

[voyager]

It obviously needs lots of work. That concrete kerb in front of the fence is simply dangerous. You wouldn't want to catch that with a pedal looking for a small gap! So that's a shedload of cash at council rates for a start. Didn't know it was so big, Mountbatten is the same, 3 laps to the mile. Not so much a track as a small airfield, and the same sort of profile, odd corners and almost no banking. Both were built late 19th century according to Google/Wikipedia. So maybe their time is up and they need replacing with a nice short road circuit (with a few loops at least 900 metres must be possible) and/or an outdoor 250 bowl like Bournemouth, which I've seen and looks quite decent. I can't believe BC would put a stop to racing there unless there's safety concerns. Is training still permitted? Which at least would be something.

Inside the Cycle track is a cricket pitch and the Cycle track is dual use so there is no plans to close it completely ,

The track is virtually the same as I remember it in the sixties and there was racing every Wednesday evening and while I accept that the track is dated its a lot safer than time trialling /road racing on open roads , The track was being used for racing last season .

The council is leaving it open at present for people to ride around / train as they do not consider the track to be dangerous ,.
and the discussions with BC are still ongoing .

 

[oldroadman]

Inside the Cycle track is a cricket pitch and the Cycle track is dual use so there is no plans to close it completely ,

The track is virtually the same as I remember it in the sixties and there was racing every Wednesday evening and while I accept that the track is dated its a lot safer than time trialling /road racing on open roads , The track was being used for racing last season .

The council is leaving it open at present for people to ride around / train as they do not consider the track to be dangerous ,.
and the discussions with BC are still ongoing .

Watch B&H council start worrying if there's an off and a claim comes in. Standards were a lot different in the 60's, and dare I say it, rider skill levels were a bit different too. With the welcome increase in participation, there are a lot of inexperienced people "racing" today, and learning by their mistakes. Which is OK when there is no concrete kerb to hit.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I had no idea this even existed! It looks like a really odd track.

 

[rich p]

I had no idea this even existed! It looks like a really odd track.

Oddish but fun and accessible for anyone and everyone

 

[voyager]

Watch B&H council start worrying if there's an off and a claim comes in. Standards were a lot different in the 60's, and dare I say it, rider skill levels were a bit different too. With the welcome increase in participation, there are a lot of inexperienced people "racing" today, and learning by their mistakes. Which is OK when there is no concrete kerb to hit.

So it was Okay for us when we were inexperienced in the sixties to hit the same kerb .

Seriously , Having raced on the track in the mid sixties and ridden the track for a few miles again a few months ago on the slow ride protest , it seems the same as it did almost 50 years ago , I had mates go over the top of the main banking way back then when there were NO SAFETY BARRIER on the final highly banked bend and at 25 mph on roads , or track ,enclosed track racing felt safer than some of the road races I competed in . And yes I was inexperienced back then and everyone will and do learn from their own mistakes .

CYCLE RACING is DANGEROUS and the inexperienced can bring down a bunch in a sprint , but its only practice and local practice that can give the inexperienced the experience they need and closing a local track is shooting cycle sport in the foot .

Personally if I was 40 years younger and in better health I would have given my eye teeth to race on there again with the track , as it is now ,its in better condition to how it was back then . and follow in the tyre tracks of legends like Reg Harris and the likes

Disclaimers are there in all events to stop claims , and we all cycle on pot holey roads with kerbs on one side and fast moving cars on the other side

To Me it seems that British cycling want an international class cycle track ( with an existing cricket pitch in the centre ) funded by Brighton Council and have now shot the local racing bikies in the foot as the funding IS NOT there to fund it so racing that has been there on the same track for over 125 years has stopped

rant over !

regards

 

[Drago]

I agree. If I were 68 years younger, not blind, still had both my legs, and my missing hand was present, I owned a bike, and learned how to ride a bike, id be riding round it in a shot!

 

[oldroadman]

So it was Okay for us when we were inexperienced in the sixties to hit the same kerb .

Seriously , Having raced on the track in the mid sixties and ridden the track for a few miles again a few months ago on the slow ride protest , it seems the same as it did almost 50 years ago , I had mates go over the top of the main banking way back then when there were NO SAFETY BARRIER on the final highly banked bend and at 25 mph on roads , or track ,enclosed track racing felt safer than some of the road races I competed in . And yes I was inexperienced back then and everyone will and do learn from their own mistakes .

CYCLE RACING is DANGEROUS and the inexperienced can bring down a bunch in a sprint , but its only practice and local practice that can give the inexperienced the experience they need and closing a local track is shooting cycle sport in the foot .

Personally if I was 40 years younger and in better health I would have given my eye teeth to race on there again with the track , as it is now ,its in better condition to how it was back then . and follow in the tyre tracks of legends like Reg Harris and the likes

Disclaimers are there in all events to stop claims , and we all cycle on pot holey roads with kerbs on one side and fast moving cars on the other side

To Me it seems that British cycling want an international class cycle track ( with an existing cricket pitch in the centre ) funded by Brighton Council and have now shot the local racing bikies in the foot as the funding IS NOT there to fund it so racing that has been there on the same track for over 125 years has stopped

rant over !

regards

Rant away, insurers just love that sort of thing. Then refuse to insure races. Quite a result for everyone. Reading the BC annual report, their insurance bill to cover cycle sport is huge, and they have to mitigate risk where it's clear that a claim against them for allowing what has been assessed as unsafe to continue to be used for racing, will mean a big payout by the insurer. This is the real world of today, not 50 years ago, when the "blame culture" was not prevalent..

 

[voyager]

Nanny state rules

again

 

[voyager]

This is the real world of today, not 50 years ago, when the "blame culture" was not prevalent..

The real world was back then , the nanny state of sue everyone for what you can get is not real life , look around you , The fun has gone from most things now , before long they will build giant ladders with side rails up the mountains to stop mountain climbers falling down and hurting themselves .
Because of the increase in road traffic , Ban 2 wheel bikes as unsafe unless they have stabilizers , at least we had REAL FUN BACK THEN and no video games .


George Orwell only got the date wrong !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[oldroadman]

The real world was back then , the nanny state of sue everyone for what you can get is not real life , look around you , The fun has gone from most things now , before long they will build giant ladders with side rails up the mountains to stop mountain climbers falling down and hurting themselves .
Because of the increase in road traffic , Ban 2 wheel bikes as unsafe unless they have stabilizers , at least we had REAL FUN BACK THEN and no video games .


George Orwell only got the date wrong !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That may be so, but everything needs to have insurance cover. A series of big claims would make insurance for races unaffordable, so the consequence would be no racing (or worse, uninsured). Some may be willing to take that chance, if so I hope they like their houses, cars, other property, because one claim would neatly write that off. So, no sensible organisers will take that chance. It may have been fun years ago, but then "Sue Grabbit and Run" were not about. It was a simpler, probably easier, world.to just do things. I'm afraid that we have to confront today's situation. Like it or not, that is the reality.

 

[voyager]

The facebook page " save preston park cycle track " organized a support ride through central Brighton on Saturday to raise awareness about the cycle track
BBC news were there and it appeared on BBC local news on Saturday evening

also


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxz-nrdBbPM&feature=share



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikkgy-UojPI&feature=share


regards