Why Glasgow is great for cycling
21.07.2023 - 08:12
/ roughguides.com
In anticipation of this year's Commonwealth Games, Meera Dattani finds out how to explore Glasgow on a bike.
There are no brakes. The gears are fixed. Your shoes are clipped into the pedals and don’t clip out with ease. You’re essentially attached to your bike. Then there’s the bigger question of how do you slow it down. If it wasn’t for the reassuring words on the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome website, that it “isn’t just for elite athletes”, I might have done a runner.
This taster session at Glasgow’s new velodrome proves to be something of a revelation. There’s no denying the impressive surroundings, that glossy circuit and sloping sides. But the truth is that getting around it, at a human rather than superhuman pace, is not as hard as it looks.
© Jaroslaw Kurek/Shutterstock
It’s nothing but exhilarating. The 250m track was designed by Ralph Schuermann (a world-renowned track designer) and cyclists can reach top speeds of about 75 kilometres per hour. Needless to say, my session had slightly lower expectations. It’s easy enough to brake without brakes, and when you’re constantly told “it’s easier if you go faster”, it’s a case of getting your head down and facing the fear. It proved fruitful – confidence grew and soon we novice track cyclists were riding above the top line of those once-intimidating sloping sides.
The velodrome is probably Glasgow’s highest-profile sports venue with the upcoming Commonwealth Games in July 2014, but mention Glasgow and cycling in the same breath, and the typical reaction is one of surprise. In the same way its image as a grey industrial metropolis is undeserving, especially when there’s so much spectacular architecture, it’s also far more cycle-friendly than expected.
The newest treat for Glasgow’s cyclists is the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails, which opened in May 2013, and are the venue for the Commonwealth Games’ mountain biking events. Overlooking Glasgow, just south of the centre, the trails are free to use before and after the games. On my visit to this 5.5km circuit plenty of bikers were testing their skills, jumping, racing and skidding along the tracks – pros can tackle the route in about 14 minutes. The trail has been designed by Phil Saxena, the man behind the Beijing Olympic course, and local schoolchildren have named some of the route’s features. Evidently the distinct dry Glaswegian sense of humour starts young – consider Brig O’Doom, Broken Biscuits, and Rest And Be Thankful.
© Paul Chappells/Shutterstock
It’s a mixed terrain course, with woodland, moorland and natural bedrock, and best of all, all levels can cycle it with experienced riders gaining a time advantage by their skill in tackling the trickier climbs and descents. The trail also links to local