Well I have to say that was one of the coolest things I've ever done.
A totally surreal experience.
It is a universe of bicycles and only bicycles. A patch of beautiful Earth. A track all about doing whatever you want as fast as you want. No limits, no driveways, no stop signs or intersections, no wondering if road conditions will fall apart, no gravel patches, cracks, tree roots or potholes, no crazy surprises, crowned road, and off camber nuttiness, no dogs, deer, or no bean-headed cages. Its just one single continuous band of perfectly smooth tarmac wider than you could want. I never had to touch my brakes ANYWHERE on the track.
The ride on a bicycle:
The start finish is a slight up hill grade, very easy and short. Maybe 200 yards. You come over turn one, which for a bicycle is just a kink in the road that launches you down a beautifully steady decent into the double apex of turn 2. Taken with the correct line, turn two will let you continue to pick up speed going around it. I was a little amazed at how poorly most bicyclist choose their lines. However no one ever got in the way, it wasn't crowded enough. The speed of the little hill carried me through turns 4 and 5 and with a little peddling I was through the flat sections of turns 6. The back side is a slight uphill grade that you pass without a lot of effort at all and you're around 7. Leading up to the corkscrew however there is a section that is quite steep but very short. 100 yards and you're up it to the very top of the track and the top of the world.
Riding up it the right side edge of the hill disappears into the blue sky and vast valley below. We were in the Sun but the the fog was rolling into the valley below covering the texture of the farms. The track holds a little heat wave even in the cool afternoon breeze which makes it look shiny. You can see ahead up the hill a horizon with tiny figures on their bikes riding on the reflection of the brilliant light blue sky. It looks as if you ride into the heavens. A picture filled with only bicycles conquering the landscape was rather mind boggling.
A little look around at the top revels the deep green oaks on the golden hills as far as you can see. The landscape is remarkably sensual and almost figurative looking.
The top has a little section that's pretty flat. There's some heavy black rubber marks that bounce from the rumble strips on the right to the rumble strips on the left that tell the tale of the race just weeks ago. Sitting there the track disappears out of sight to the left. Approaching it looks like a sheer cliff. If you take the turn on the near side it's a gentle slope that steepens more and more into the famous corkscrew. If you go to the far side, you can drop in a spot that's gets real close to vertical for a couple of impressive feet. Over the edge and under the trees you pick up speed in a heartbeat. You can see everything you need to do through 8, 8A, and 9(Rainey Curve). There's no fear at all about where the track goes. I never had the notion to touch my brakes even the first time I went down. 8 and 8A you don't even have to think about on a bike, you can go straight through the chicane as you just don't go that fast. 9 you want to line up well if you want to carry speed through 10 which is in sight before you get to 9. You can easily see you want to start peddling as hard as you can through 9 Rainey Curve bumping the rumble strips on the left then the right apex into the more gentle down hill into 10. 10 comes fast - it's a nice sweeping curve right where you can peddle as hard as you want all the way through it in top gear. 11 is far away down a slight downhill grade. It's a sharp left but by the time you get there you've got to be peddling to have any speed so you can hit it as fast as you want no problem. After 11 is flat and then goes into a very gentle up grade through the start/finish.
A lap is between 7 and 8 minutes depending on how fast you are up the hill to the corkscrew. Top speed down hill is greatly determined by your aerodynamics and what the wind is offering at the moment. You can top 40mph no problem, and have no anxiety about it as its so safe to do so.
