The starting co-ordinates will bring you to the Brunswick velodrome. This has been the home of the Brunswick Cycling Club since 1956. The club has been a part of Victorian cycling since 1916.
What is a Velodrome?
A Velodrome is a purpose built arena for Track Racing. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked tracks, consisting of two 180-degree bends connected by two straights. The corner bankings are designed so that, at typical racing speeds, the inertia of the bicycles, the propulsive acceleration provided by the riders, and the gravitation force pulling them towards the bottom of the track are balanced. The bicycles then naturally follow the track around the corner at a constant radial position. This allows the riders to concentrate on matters such as race tactics rather than steering their bicycles significantly.
The track length is measured on a special line 20 cm up from the inside of the track. Olympic standard velodromes are minimum 250 metres in circumference. Other velodromes can range from 150 m to 500 m, although 333.33 m is popular. This Velodrome is 312 meters in length.
The smaller the track the steeper the banking. A 250 m track would bank in a range around 45°, while a 333 m track would bank in a range around 32°. Velodrome tracks are surfaced in wood or smooth concrete; shorter and Olympic are wood, longer are concrete.
All tracks must have a standard set of markings:
-Between the track centre and the actual track there is the blue band (also called "Cote d'Azur"), minimum 10% of the track width wide. The blue band is not an official part of the track. Riders moving into this space in a race - attempting to make a "shortcut"- are disqualified.
-20 cm above the inside of the track is the black measurement line, defining the length of the track.
-90 cm above the inside of the track is the redsprinter's line. The zone between the black and red lines is the optimum route around the track, a rider leading in this zone cannot be passed on the inside, other riders are regulated to pass on the longer outside route.
-Minimum 250 cm (or half the track width) above inside of the track is the blue stayers' line. This line serves in stayer races (races behind pacemaker-motorbikes) as a separation line. Stayer-riders riding below the blue stayer line may not be overtaken at the inside. In Madison races the released team riders usually "rest" above the blue line cycling slow until the team-partner in the race comes around the track and pushes the idle-partner back into the race.
-The finish line is black on white and situated towards the end of the home straight.
-Red pursuit lines are marked in exactly the middle of each straight as start and finish line for pursuit races.
-A white 200 m line markes the distance of 200 m until the finish line.
While outdoor veldromes used to be the norm, new velodromes tend to be indoor venues, particuarly if they are to be used for high-level competition. A velodrome will usually be among the facilities constructed for major events such as the Olympics or Commonwealth Games. This Velodrome was built for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
The Cache
You should be standing overlooking the Veldrome. Next to you is a big rock with a plaque. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to answer some questions that will take you to the cache.
1. How many lightpoles are there around the track? AB
2. Instead of giving some interesting information, how many Councillors got their names on the plaque? CD
3. How many letters in the day of the date the track opening was commemorated? E
4. The date was? 0F/0G/20HI
5. The number of letters in the name of the traditional owners of the land? JK
Proceed to the final at:
S 37 45.(I)(JK-H)(E-C) E 144 58.(AxG)(H+I)(F+G)