| A Weekend at the Forest City Velodrome |
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Normally we'd be skiing almost every day, but due to the poor snow conditions this year I figured, "Why not." I had many weeks of holidays that weren't planned for yet, so I decided to book a week and fly down to Toronto at the beginning of the weekend, February 2nd. So I replied to Arnold's question with other questions regarding more particulars of the program. Arnold replied almost immediately, with all the information I would need... what to wear in the velodrome, the cost of the event and what else he had planned for that weekend, which turned out to be a visit to the velodrome designer/builders, Albert and Bob Schelstraete. I booked a cheap flight to Toronto and agreed to meet Arnold at Pearson Airport, as he was going to drive down from Sudbury early that afternoon. I also booked a hotel that was just a 3 minute drive away... very convenient to say the least. They also gave us a discount because we would be riding at the velodrome. The flight out on the 2nd was delayed, so I didn't arrive in Toronto until some time around 6:30p.m. Arnold called my cell while I was still in the Thunder Bay Airport giving me the opportunity to let him know I'd be arriving late. That worked out alright because it gave him more time to drive, as the roads that day had drifting snow across them making the drive down a little harrowing. Arnold actually arrived before me and was waiting just outside the baggage collection doors. We arrived in London, stopping in Bancroft for supper on the way, at about 9:30 p.m. and immediately booked into the hotel. This gave us ample time to relax and also get some computer time in before bed. (I was still putting together material received from Steve Penny in England regarding the Berlin 6-Day race) We cracked open a bottle of wine, that Arnold had brought with him, in his cooler and sat back to watch a DVD of 6-Day Racing that I had ordered online from the U.S. We awoke early the next morning and got all our stuff ready for the program at the velodrome at 11:00a.m. The hotel provided a great breakfast, which was included in the price of the room, giving us the opportunity to eat before we left. 
The weather outside was similar to what we had in Thunder Bay, but just not as cold. I'm glad I packed extra clothes because the wind chill there was pretty bad. Arriving at the velodrome, we kept our outside clothing on for quite a while, as the inside of the building was still cold. We quickly signed up and paid the appropriate fees, then picked out the bike(s) we would be riding. We found a corner to stow our gear and install the pedals we brought for the bikes. I was surprised with the one I picked because I didn't have to adjust anything. The seat height and reach were perfect... whoever had the bike before me must have been the same size as me.
The way they ride down there, is to divide the track into two lanes... the blue line being the middle of the track and the black line near the bottom. This way two lines of riders can be on the track at the same time and not disrupt one another. The riders at the bottom stay near the black line unless they want to pass slower riders, then they (shoulder check... a look over your shoulder before changing lines, to make sure they're not going to cut someone else off) move up the track staying below the blue line, where the faster riders are. The same goes for the faster riders on the blue line... moving higher to pass or let the pace-line go beneath you. After riding the lower part of the track until I felt comfortable, I then started to use the blue line, eventually getting in with the locals and getting a few long/fast pace-lines goings. This is where the fun begins. It's so different from riding a road bike, because you never stop pedaling. Plus, it will make an extremely smooth rider out of you in no time. I was really surprised how wonderful the track was... I initially thought I was going to have trouble because of the steepness of the corners (50 degrees). The track is made from 3/4 inch plywood and quite grippy, even in the corners. You need to be doing at least 30kph to stay on the boards, but because it's so smooth (transition) there's no problem maintaining that speed. The faster you go, the more you have to angle yourself going into the corners. Again because of the smoothness of the track, you can easily pick up speed in the corners. It's a real thrill blasting around this little track (138 meters), inches behind the wheel in front of you. By 4 o'clock, both Arnold and I were pretty beat. We quickly headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and to relax a bit before going out for supper. We ended up at Kelsey's, about 5 minutes away, just around the corner from the hotel. Convenience again. We both had a wonderful meal along with a pitcher of our favourite beverage, Rickards Red.
After the races finished, we talked with Bob (Schelstaete) about staying over at his place tomorrow night. This was great, as it would give us a chance to go over some of the memorabilia that Bob collected from his dad and it also saved us the last nights hotel room fee. Back at the hotel room, we cracked open a cold beer and reflected on the days events while watching the boob tube. It didn't take us long to crash, as it was quite a busy day. The next morning we slept in a bit longer, grabbed breakfast again about 9:30, then headed off to the velodrome to get there before 11:00. Luckily we got the same bikes as the day before, but on removing the bike Arnold had I noticed it was only about a 52cm frame. We quickly looked for another one ( a 54cm) and switched them out, putting the smaller one back on the rack. I noticed a big improvement in Arnold's riding from the day before. I guess even with the seat up on the smaller frame, he wasn't getting comfortable on the bike, and not riding like he should have. We spent the next 2 hours riding the track with different people and pace-lines again, as there was actually no formal instruction that day, which I initially thought there was. Bob was actually riding with us today too. His brother Ron was also supposed to have been riding, but I guess has work didn't allow him to make it. Hopefully we'll see him another time. By 2 o'clock, we were just about done in, the previous days riding had taken it's toll on us. I didn't really want to stop, but it was ladies only for the next 2 hours. One young lady mentioned to us that we could keep on riding, seeing as how we came all that way just for the weekend. I would have liked to, but opted on the side of caution, as accidents happen quicker when you're tired. Bob suggested, to just throw our outside clothes over top of our cycling gear, this way we could just shower and change at his place. We actually sat and had a beer with Bob first and watched some more of the DVD we brought with us, before having our shower. Again, this was nice to just sit back and relax after two days of hard riding. It wasn't long before Elaine, Bob's wife, called down and said supper was ready.
I awoke blurry-eyed to find Arnold bent over the pool table where all the cycling material was laid out, again going through the maze of material and jotting down more notes. He had been up for quite a while and wanted to take advantage of the time to get more done before breakfast. Elaine had a huge breakfast of French Toast waiting for us, which we made quick work of. Immediately after breakfast, we quickly packed the car and followed Bob to Tillsonburg, where Albert now lived.
We were greeted at the door by Albert and his cat (name), hung up our coats and proceeded to the living-room. The conversation didn't take long to change to cycling and the many stories Albert recalls like they were only yesterday. At the age of 88, he has a memory like an elephant, digging up the all the details of his colourful past. It's really wonderful to hear how history was made from one of the most knowledgeable people of 6-day racing. After eating, we descended to Albert's basement museum of cycling history and memorabilia. The first thing we noticed was Albert's newest homemade project, a billiard table, sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by a walls of trophies and medals, plaques and cycling pictures. In another room adjacent to this was the real sports memorabilia room. There was actually too much stuff to describe it all. After slowly moving around the room as Albert spoke about most of the stuff on the walls, we settled back to glean more information from Albert's archive of material. I set up the scanner and laptop to acquire more of the great images of this collection, for our 6-day website. It didn't take long for the afternoon to pass by quickly and before we knew it, it was 4 o'clock and time to leave, as I had to make sure I was at the airport for 6 p.m. We thanked both Albert and Bob for the great time we had with them and for everything they did for us, to help us build on the 6-Day Racing website Arnold and I started about a year and a half ago. With everything packed again, we headed back to Toronto, talking about the fantastic time we had the last few hours and for the last 3 days. Arnold got me to Pearson and little after six o'clock, but he said don't worry about being late because the plane itself probably is itself, so you'll have plenty of time. He was right, I had an extra hour or so to sit back and relax with a nice hot cup of tea, going over in my mind all the fun we just had. It also gave me time to sort through some the new 6 day material I now had on my computer. It didn't seem all that long before we were called to board the flight back to Thunder Bay.
Eugene Vandal |
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I received an email from Arnold Devlin back around the beginning of January, one of our usual contacts regarding the 6-Day Racing Website, but there was also a short question attached. Upon talking to members of the 
We gathered around Eddie Pol and (name needed) for the beginning of the session and couldn't wait to get riding, as we were getting chilled due to the lack of heat that early in the morning. Once on the bikes though, it didn't take long to get the blood circulating and to warm up. We spent 2 hours practicing different maneuvers on the track, then at 1 p.m. we were let loose to ride as we wanted until 4 p.m. This was the public ride time. Because we were all new to the track, they wanted us to stay on the black line, which is at the lower part of the track.
Shortly before 7 p.m., we made our way back to the velodrome to watch the races 
After the delicious meal Elaine prepared for us, we retired to the basement and started going over some of the material Bob had brought from Albert's home. It didn't take long before Arnold and I realized we had more material than we deal with on the time we had left. Arnold took notes and talked with Bob regarding some of the 6-day races... I busied myself scanning a wealth of programs and photographs from the boxes. After 1 beer, 1 coke and a cup of tea time flew by and at 1:30 we finally called it a night.
I was glued to the edge of the couch for almost 2 hours, before I realized I should be getting some photographs of the occasion. (moment?) Minutes later, Bob asked if we were getting hungry, as it was getting close to lunchtime. We all agreed we were, so Bob drove down to the local pizza joint and picked up a couple of "Hot 'n Ready" mediums and soft drinks for lunch.