Track and Road Racing
Track riding is utterly different. For a start the bikes have no gears. Or brakes!! This can make things interesting. Track riding can be indoors or out. And track riding is fun. By comparison, road racing is on conventional style bikes, but they tend to be aggressively styled for speed and acceleration, as should the riders be. The buzz of riding in a 50-strong peloton of riders at over 60kph is strangely intoxicating!
In the Velodrome
Riding a velodrome track is exciting. And daunting. The first time can be a little frightening as you get used to the speed of the track and the steep banking at each end of the circuit.
The track is usually wooden and tends to be pretty quick. At Manchester's world-class facility even relatively novice riders like me can get tuition and become accredited riders in a fairly short session. Definitely not for the faint-hearted though.
Grasstrack
Grasstrack racing is certainly different. It is tough, it is hard on the legs. And it certainly helps build the stamina. The bikes are similar to track bikes in the velodrome, but have specialist tyres for the grass. The action tends to be non-stop, with plenty of spills and colour. And anything above 2 laps tends to leave you gasping!
Road Racing
As well as track riding there is plenty of road racing going on throughout the UK. Since the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the rise to prominence of British Cycling on the world stage, not to mention the evolution of role models such as Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish, there is huge and growing interest
At club level there are races that anyone can enter, all you need is a bike and a British Cycling licence. The races are normally not too long, but can be fast and furious. Your local club will almost certainly host a handful of events every season. Alternatively, try out organisations such as TLI (The League International) or even veterans racing. Give it a try.