Have you visited the Lexus Velodrome in Detroit?

On Saturday we decided to head toward Detroit to see what the Lexus Velodrome was all about. What a delightful surprise!

The Velodrome is 64,000 Sq. Ft. of fun! It’s a multi-sport facility showcasing a 1/10th Mile/166 Meter cycling oval with a 50% incline banking in the turns and a 15% incline in the straight-a-ways. A steel undercarriage helps shape the racing surface, which is made of custom-made 20-foot wood panels. In addition to the Cycling Track, the facility is also home to Detroit Fit ( a 1200 SF group fitness studio) a walk, run and skate track, and a bar offering good craft beer and other libations.

What drew us to the Velodrome on Saturday was the bike show. Occasionally, the Lexus Velodrome will showcase different bike shops from around the area. We wanted to test a few electric bikes from American Cycle that we are considering purchasing. We had lots of fun riding the electric bikes on the indoor track, not the Velodrome.

To actually ride the Velodrome- one has to take a class that prepares them for the quickness and angles of the Velodrome. We talked about maybe one day taking the class and trying it out- we will see. It looks hard and if you fell you could really hurt yourself or someone else.

Every other Saturday night is race night at the Velodrome. We are planning on going back with friends to see an actual race. The riders are very serious and many of them are professional racers sponsored by Lexus. The speeds of the racers can get as high as 50 mph, crazy fast. What is so scary is there are no brakes on the bikes. You just have to slow down. I linked a good article describing the Velodrome track in layman terms.