Hellyer Park, South San Jose, California.

Time to location by car from Fremont (Niles):

Approximately 45 minutes on a weekday evening to make the racing, assuming traffic isn't too bad.

Parking and other info:

Hellyer Park is off Hellyer Avenue - take the Hellyer Avenue exit from 101 southbound, turn right at the first stop-sign and go straight into one part of the park at the second. Go past the ranger kiosk, turn left and you shouldn't miss the velodrome.

It costs $4 to get a car into the park, or you can fork out $50 for a year-long pass which is also good at all other Santa Clara County parks. After hours you will be required to pay at a machine - not sure if you can get the Venture Pass at the machine.

There are rudimentary restrooms just outside the track and a water fountain in the infield. On the weekend, ice creams are generally available from passing vans.

The track is run by volunteers (the Velodrome Association) and they welcome any help that peope can give. There are regular work-parties to keep things spic and span.

There is lots of info about racing and how to go about trying things out at the Hellyer website: RideTheTrack.com. In the absence of NCNCA track racing rules, the officials at Hellyer generally use the USCF rulebook.

The track, bend by bend:

Hellyer is a non-standard 333-ish metre track. I say -ish as 3 laps do not equal 1km, which makes Hellyer a venue which will never be used as a venue for UCI sanctioned events such as the Track World Cup or the World Track Championships. The starts for the 3km and 4km pursuits are at different locations, which also buggers up timings...

As tracks go, given that Hellyer is a 333-ish track, the bankings are on the shallow side which makes it fun for first-time riders. From experience, it is quite daunting to confront 44 degree bankings as well as a fixed gear the first time on a track.

The banking in the bends is around 22 degrees, relaxing to about 11 degrees at the lowest points in the straights. The surface is concrete which makes for a slow, grippy surface - ideal for road rash if you fall (ouch!). The surface is not what could be called smooth, though it is certainly smoother than the average road surface.

Other stuff you might need to know:

Beginners sessions are generally on Saturday mornings, and in 2002, the training races are on Wednesday evenings, with the "serious", for-prizes races on Friday evenings. For details, see the website.

Rental bikes are available for the training and beginners sessions, not racing, so a little bit of investment is required before you can race. There is a decent market in 2nd-hand track bike bits, ask a regular to keep an ear open for you.

There is also an email list for Hellyer (don't ask me why this info is on the Western Wheelers website, and not the Hellyer one!).

A map of the area: