Velodrome to spur growing cycling interest
Participants in the first Windsor Military Hockey Day in Canada skate at Lanspeary Park on Saturday. Local regiments of the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Navy competed to raise funds to support the Adopt-A-Vet program.
DETROIT An indoor cycling track in Detroit is expected to draw bike riders from other cold-weather states and across the U.S. while giving inner-city youth the opportunity to participate for free in the fast-moving and growing sport.
The Lexus Velodrome, which will have its grand opening Monday, is in an inflatable, climatecontrolled dome a few kilometres north of a new professional hockey and Basketball Arena and close to a site proposed for a professional soccer stadium.
It joins a training facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., and a venue in Los Angeles as the only indoor velodromes in the United States.
“It is great to have an indoor training resource in the winter time,” said Joan Hanscom, 50, a competitive cyclist from Colorado Springs. “Otherwise, if you’re looking to be fit and ready for your spring racing season you’re really limited to riding a trainer in your house or in a gym and that’s not as much fun.”
The velodrome diversifies Detroit’s sports offerings and continues to push the story of the city’s turnaround, said Kris Smith, Detroit Sports Commission director.
Bicycling is gaining popularity in the Motor City. A $21-million project linking 32 km of walking, running and biking paths was completed in 2016. The city also is looking to add protected bike lanes along some of its busier streets.
An organization that rents out bikes surpassed 100,000 rides in about five months last year.
A weekly ride called Slow Roll Detroit often attracts 3,000 or more cyclists on Monday evenings during the summer. Another annual event draws even more riders on tours, while a cyclocross race and the inaugural Detroit Cycling Championship also were held last year.
An anonymous donor with a penchant for cycling put up $5 million for Detroit’s velodrome project, said Dale Hughes, who designed and built it. He also runs the nonprofit Detroit Fitness Foundation which operates the velodrome.