Bianchi-Grand Performance/SPBRC track racers do nearly all of their racing at the National Sports Center Velodrome: http://www.nscsports.org/sports/cycling/index.htm It is one of the nation’s finest facilities, and one of the best outdoor tracks in the world.
If you haven’t seen racing up at the track, take a minute to check out the track video channel: http://nscvelodrome.blip.tv/
If that piqued your interest – think about getting up on the track. The track keeps a stock of track bikes that can be used by new riders until they decide whether they want a bike of their own, and we run introductory classes to get new riders comfortable with the track: http://www.nscsports.org/sports/cycling/ride/intro_class.htm.
And if you want more information about track racing, we’ve created a guide for learning to race on the track, written from the perspective of a roadie. You can email currelld-at-gmail.com (replace with @) to get a pretty PDF copy of it, or you can get it in html here: http://www.startbikeracing.com/index.php/track
THE VERY BASICS OF RIDING THE TRACK
There are a handful of key things to remember on the track. Here they are.
1. Your Legs Are Your Brakes. Use your legs to increase AND decrease your speed. That's a major difference from a road bike: using your legs to slow you down.
2. Think 50 Meters Ahead. You can't "jam on" your brakes, so you need to think 50 meters ahead. If you are riding up behind someone, coming into their slipstream, you had better start slowing down well before you get there. You can't freewheel and hit the brakes once you arrive.
3. Never Drop Below 17mph. The banking is so steep that if you go too slow, you will come off it like you've just dropped through a trap door: one moment you're riding along, the next you're in free-fall. There is no need for this to be scary: If you are 17mph or above, you are definitely safe. If you are below 15mph, you are in deep danger. Never drop below 17mph.
4. Stay To The Right. Pass on the right. If you overlap wheels, overlap to the right. If a crash happens in front of you - no matter what - go to the right. The right side of the track ("uptrack") is your friend; there is open space and room to move there. The left side ("downtrack") is always a danger zone: if you get caught on the left, you have nowhere to go, crashes will follow the force of gravity down towards you, and you will have no options to avoid. When in doubt - and even when you're NOT in doubt - stay to the right.