Caracas is an interesting city. Five million or so people living in a valley, many incredibly poor, some incredibly rich. You don't really know what a neighbourhood is going to be like till you visit it, because depending on who you talk to it could be either heaven or hell. We took the Metro from our place all the way west to La Paz, and walked from there. The neighbourhood seemed fine. We walked along between bootleg dvd stalls and pineapple vendors. We could see Barrio La Vega on the hills in front of us.
After a fifteen minute walk we came to the Instituto Nacional de Deportes. The campus looked like it had been built in the 1970's, after the oil boom. It was open to the public, so we just walked in. People were milling around. We saw men from the national Taekwondo squad, and women from the national volleyball team. Eventually we found it...
Three hundred and thirty three metres of perfect concrete velodrome, with banking that looks close to 40 degrees, in the middle of a stadium, surrounded by barrios. Crazy. We found our way under the stands and out onto the track. It was an amazing feeling, standing on the start line, looking at the stadium and imagining what it must be like to line up for a race with thousands of people cheering.
It's definitely the most impressive velodrome I've ever been too. It looks like it's fast as hell, and I basically walked around the track in a daze, imagining diving down the banks into a sprint, or hammering out a flying 200. I'm now totally desperate to find a track bike down here. I don't know what my chances of actually riding this thing are, but I'm going to try to figure something out.
We wandered around for a little while longer, taking pictures and sitting in the stands. We found the Venezuelan Cycling Federation office, and got the phone number for the guy who runs the track side of things. Maybe he'll know where I can get a bike from. But whether I get to ride this beautiful velodrome or not, it's nice to know that it exists...
Why didn't I bring my track bike? WHY??!?!
9 comments:
Simon, that looks beautiful, have you considered risking shipping? If I make it down to see you, I'll bring you a bike.
yup...listen to andrew. let us know if we can take your bike out and send it to you. also, if none of the options work for you have you considered finding the nearest bridge and jumping...peace.
Thanks Andrew. I'm toying with the idea of bringing the track bike back with me after I visit Chicago in a couple of months. I dunno though, that means eventually shipping three bikes back from here... I might just try to borrow or buy a bike down here, then return it or sell it when we leave.
Julio, that was cold.
hot damn, that looks amazing. now put one of those burger vendors in there, and i'm buying a ticket plus a bike box for the tarck pro.
Well, if you do end up getting a track bike, at least you won't have to worry about those pesky other riders that ruin your victory pose by beating you to the finish line. Every lap will be a victory lap and you'll never lose!
yes, why?
nice update
Of man that's sweet, in the middle of the city too, looks so cool, especially to be a spectator.
When i was living in Spain, there was an amazing Velodrome 3 blocks from my apartment. Three fucking block, and i didn't have my bike, and the chance of finding a big enough bike was zero.
You should definitely find a bike.
Wow! Cool :)
convert your road bike :)
--kevin c
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