29th April 2009

EXETER College students put their pedal power to the test recently when they visited the nation’s only velodrome.

Pete Kempton, who organises the college’s Bike Club, organised the trip to Newport Velodrome to raise awareness of cycling.

Research from Cycle Exeter, which sponsored the trip, shows that 25% of St. Luke’s students ride to school and 35% of Isca students.

Exeter College is currently applying for ‘Cycle Friendly’ status and has new Cycle Parking.

Pete said: “Track cycling at a Velodrome is very much in the public eye at the moment with all the Olympic medals and Chris Hoy being the current BBC ‘Sports Personality of the Year’.

“A trip to a Velodrome was high on the agenda of our priorities for the year. This is the sort of experience that students would otherwise find very difficult to arrange for themselves.

“We booked two hours at the track together with an experienced coach and never believed we could be riding the banking by the end of the session.

“However, it was an afternoon of exciting, achievable challenges at every stage, and everyone was riding on the boards by the end of the session, with most at ‘Chris Hoy’ speeds (well maybe not quite) high on the banking.

“I will be organising another trip later in the year for both students and staff.”