Cost to build a Velodrome

OK if I win the lotto. I will help to build a Velodrome in Barrington area. It would have to be an indoor one. Make it public, of course. It really doesn't have to be heated though. Just out of the elements is good enough.

This is the one in Australia.



I am daydreaming here. Maybe off Sutton somewhere, near the highway. Wouldnt that be sweet?
We need this. Wow. It would get us nasty cyclists off the road. (haha) well...a few at least. I know I"d workout there a LOT. Look at that. wow.
It has to be open to the public though.
I read that the cost to build this is about 5 million. I thought it would cost a lot more. But then again just raising 300 grand is a challenge. Still . 5 is not bad. I"d give to the cause.

Ok it is ''cheaper'' to bild an outdoor one like at Northbrook. 3 million to build an outdoor one, 5 million to build an indoor one. My figures are according to this article which discusses the costs and is being built presently in Colorado.

http://www.fcvelodrome.org/news/24april06.html
http://fcvelodrome.org/info/index.html
Hmmmm.

oh yeah?

I was cleaning up my old ancient bin of races past, all kept neatly in a Fizik saddle box.

I found this.... from 2000....

Hank nearly fell over laughing.

yeah ...hmmm...well.....(he is just jealous he do'nt have one 'cause it is harder for men to get a medal in DORC since there is more of them to race against..... )

Famous Woman Tribute

OK its raining out and super cold..threatens to snow ! I am not riding with the Harper this morning. Its actually April 12th but I started this blog post a couple weeks ago so it posted that date.
My trainer is fine with me but I wish we could ride outside again soon . Heck last week, Just to keep up on the hills, I had to remove the power tap wheel last week to give me back the 5 pounds I gained over the winter. .... ...eh, it's probably muscle, right? haha.
I was looking for some motivation and I found it. I hope this does the same for you. Hank gave me a list of 'Best Women Cyclists in the World" which he rattled off the top of his head like it was common knowledge. If I want to say I am a fan of women's racing, I better know all these top athletes!!! Here is just one of many. I"ll try to do more sometime.

If anyone ever asked me who the greatest cyclist is in the world. I would not hesitate the answer.
This name would definitely be acceptable as a response: Jeannie Longo. She has won more races than any other cyclist in the world. More than Lance, more than Merckx..... yup.

Jeannie Longo: The Greatest Cyclist In History
Best hour performance women
48.159 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA) Oct 1996
47.411 km/h Yvonne McGregor (GBR) Jun 1995
47.112 km/h Cathérine Marsal (FRA)Apr 1995
46.352 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA) Oct 1989
44.933 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA) Sep 1987
44.770 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA) Sep 1986
43.082 km/h Keetie Van Oosten-Hage (NED)Sep 1978
41.471 km/h Maria Cressari (ITA) Nov 1972
41.347 km/h Elsy Jacobs (LUX) Nov 1958



Jeannie Longo has more than 900 career victories, the most of any cyclist in history.
I hijacked the pic from Cervelo's site...that is one mighty fine machine!!http://www.cervelo.com/content.aspx?m=Athletes&i=Road
This picture was taken just last year.




Her list of titles include: an Olympic gold medal, three Tour de France titles, 38 world records, 52 national titles and 13 world titles.
Longo was born Oct. 31, 1958 in Annecy, France. She's competed throughout the world in her more than two-decade career, including many victories in the United States. I read that Longo often trains during off-season months near a home she and her husband own in New Mexico. She also has distinguished herself academically. She has degrees in Mathematics (B.S.), an MBA, and a doctorate in Sports Management.
She's competed in every Olympics since 1984 .
......and by the way...that was the FIRST time ANY woman competed in a raod racing event in the Olympics. Bike racing was one of the original events in the first Olympics, but up until 1984 there were no women cycle racing events allowed. (Hank said 'who cares') Smack Hank in the head when you see him . ha! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Well... OK he is just being cranky at me because I need to get off the computer and on my bike. He does too care.
Kinda.
I think.

OK ..hurry hurry ....let me finish my tribute...
Will we see her again in 2008 for a seventh appearance? Here she is highlighted on the 2008 Beijing website! http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/pastgames/halloffame/l/n214046069.shtml

However as I investigated more articles about her past, I discovered that she has a reputation of being a bit of a snot. In her past she has been labled as being haughty and arrogant, rude to the reporters even after winning a gold medal...Generally her attitude has given her a reputation of being a poor sport.
I think she is just being French. :)

An article written by Dana Thomas about her in Outdoor magazine in 1997 highlights her and we discover she has a unique and ultra-infamous temperment that goes along with her ultra -incredible palmeras. This article is very interesting and well written about Jeannie. http://outside.away.com/outside/magazine/0597/9705longo.html

here is an excerpt:
Running parallel to Longo's string of successes is a string of prima donna antics, tantrums, and scandals that have alienated most of her cycling peers. Even Samuel Abt, the International Herald Tribune's venerated cycling correspondent, abandons objectivity when it comes to Longo. "She's selfish and arrogant," he recently told me. "She has antagonized officials and cost some of them their jobs. She has said nasty things about coaches and teammates. When she competed for the French team at the world championships in 1989, the other women on the team were so fed up with her behavior that they came up with a rule: Anytime someone mentioned her name, that person had to pay a fine. Jeannie Longo is an extremely turbulent person who happens to be a very good cyclist."

But I pressed her once again: "Why do people say you're difficult?"
Glaring, she said curtly, "Because I don't like hypocrisy and I don't like superficiality. To me it makes no sense to say 'Hi!' and be friendly to everyone when there are some you don't like. It doesn't interest me at all."

JEANNIE LONGO'S RECENT HIGHLIGHTS (wikipedia)

2007
World Time Trial Championship - 7th

2006
* French Road Race Championships - 1st place
* French Time Trial Championships - 1st place

2005
* Chrono Champenois - 2nd place

2004
* Olympic Games Road Race - 10th place
* French Road Race Championships - 1st place

2003
* World Time Trial Championships - 6th place
* World Road Race Championships - 6th place

2002
* World Time Trial Championships - 7th place
* Chrono Champenois-Trophee European (cat. 2) - 3rd place

2001
* UCI Points List - 11th place
* World Championships
* Time Trial - 1st place
* Road Race - 3rd place
* Grande Boucle Féminine (cat. 1) - 9th place GC
* Women's Challenge - 5th place GC, Mtn. jersey, stage victory
* Montréal (Can) World Cup - 6th place
* Grand prix de Haute-Garonne - 6th place

1998
* UCI Points list - 10th place
* World Championships
* Time Trial - 5th place
* Road Race - 9th place
* French Road CCT - 3rd Place
* Trophee d'Or - 3rd place GC, stage victory
* French Track Pursuit Championships - 1st place
* French Road Race Championship - 1st place
* Women's Challenge (cat. 1) - 4th place GC
* Montreal (Can) World Cup - 2nd place
* Trois Jours de Vendee - stage victory
* Canberra Classic (Tour de Snowy) - 3rd place GC, stage victory
* Tour of Aquitaine - 3rd place GC, stage victory

1997
* UCI Points list - 7th place
* World Time Trial Championships - 1st place
* GP des Nations Time Trial - 1st place
* Trophee d'Or - 1st place GC, 2 stage victories
* Interreg-Dreilaender Damen Tour - 3rd place GC
* Tour du Canton de Conques - 1st place GC, 2 stage victories
* Vuelta a Majorca - 2nd place GC, stage victory
* Trois Jours de Vendee - 3rd place GC

Never underestimate a thin fit woman with an elementally-weathered face. http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=/photos/2007/mar07/gpbrissago07/longo1

video interview: last year. (in french) she looks great!!!!! She doesnt seem haughty to me! Here she is laughing and being amiable. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33b5y_jeannie-longo

Mont Ventoux hillclimb fast

OK. THIS is the way to CLIMB THAT MOUNTAIN!!!!!!!!!!

cycle fight

OMG.

hmmmmm

Well. I am interested. This sport is calling to me.

I saw some video's on Biathlon. ((keep in mind I can hardly skate ski yet but its good to have a goal)) Check out the rifle part. (22 caliber) Its designed to be carried and to be snow proofed.

I dont know if I'll ever compete in this but it is something I have always wanted to try.

This article helps describe the sport.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/biathlon4.htm

OK I guess its wierd to put a picture of a rifle on my biking blog. haha!! Oh well.

I love to target shoot. Bow and arrow is much more fun though. (and quieter!)

But the biathlon has always been one of my most favorite Olympic sports to watch. Now that I have tried to skate ski I am even more impressed with the athleticism of those who participate in that event.

We went to look at the McMiller park in Wisconsin just shy of the Kettles. It is a target range with a groomed skate ski track. THey let folks practice their biathlon sport there in the early mornings.

It is nice to see that it is offered to the folks wanting to train in this.

BUT....

We decided NOT to skate ski there since there were quite a few local hunter types just target shooting. (no skiiers present). There are just rows and rows and rows of targets to shoot at. A fully groomed nordic trail in the woods. Very nice. I love Wisconsin!!! :)

But , it did make me a little bit nervous to be the only one skiing out there.

It made us realize that ::: ''There Must Be A Reason'' .....

So. Off we went to the main trails of kettle for two days of teaching ourselve the ins and outs of skate skiing. Maybe we were just paranoid .. ..ha!

I am still bike training inside. In March we are going to step it up and get the training in ''full force''. I am really refreshed now after not riding for a while. It is nice for a change after two solid years of hard bike training. (JUST biking). This was healthy mentally and I highly recommend the nordic skiing as a change of pace if you ever feel burnt out with cycling.

NO I do not believe it will make me faster on the bike. Not at all.

Its just something else to do to get outside. (IMO)

SKI day

WOW.

Can you believe the snow? and SUN!!!

I tell you. I could NOT stay on my trainer yesterday (saturday) indoors when the sun finally come out. (bad hair and all)
I love classic skiing. Nordic skiing on a groomed track is such a good workout and heavenly out in the woods.

But..... why yes...Those are SKATE SKI's!! I am on some skate ski's.

When I was learning to classic ski, those silly wisconsin people kept skiing past me on those much faster skate ski-things. Sometimes just chatting with each other cruising along seemingly effortlessly. hmmmmm.

Hooooooo boy. It is an entirely different sport. It is TOUGH. Tough to learn. Its opposite what I thought. I thought it was going to be like skating. Its opposite. You lean your weight and the push comes from that. Hard to explain and Harder still to do it.
But I truly believe it is a sport I can hopefully do every winter as I get older. So. Tough it out and learn. One woman told me it took her about two years to get it down.

SO. I have time to learn it. Besides, it is nice to be outside on a pleasantly sunny wintery day. Last year I spent all winter on the trainer. This is so refreshing to have something else to do. The sunshine made me high and I am still in a good mood from it.

It was 24 degrees but I was sweating up a storm. Hank, of course, is passing people already.

He lapped me at least once. We were out skiing for 5 hours!!!

We were at the PET...(petrified woods or something like that) up where the Parkside races are at in Kenosha.

I was happy when we got home and there, waiting at the door was the box I ordered for Hank's valetines' present. ( a little late) A wonderful instructional lesson for classic and skate skiing by a company that has a series of outdoor instructional videos. The two I got were not that expensive and VERY well done. I am impressed!!

http://www.xczone.com/newmainpage.htm

The packaging made me think it was going to be something boring and 'mom and pop'- ish. But WOW....It's really well produced and even has an HD feel to it at times. And ..Helicopter shots!. The woman in the video is incredible! She does a biathelon scene with the men and is totally strong, Amazon strong. World class pro in fact. OMG. There is so much on this video. Great 90 minutes of exciting to watch footage at the end. We watched that while on the trainer this morning.

This is today. Its raining. Ice on roads in some areas. 35 mph winds in others. Snow is melting.

ugh.

We were inside on the trainer. I was kind of surprised that my legs were fine for the duration.

That instructional video with the action at the end really helped me today. So. Still on the bike. But much happier mentally for the different sport.