Spinning Your Wheels Traditional Cache
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There are fewer than twenty velodromes in the United States and the hunt for this micro will take you to the only one in Illinois. The park closes at 9:00PM.
A velodrome is a track designed for cycling and this one is a real beauty. It was the dream of Ed Rudolph, a Northbrook resident who trained some of the greatest speed skaters in US history and who was a significant force in the development of the Northbrook Park District. Cycling is the summer training sport for speed skaters so a velodrome seemed a natural for this village. The original track opened in 1960 with an oiled, compacted-earth surface which served cyclists for decades. We lived in the city when we first came out here for the Thursday night races in the early ‘70s (that was before we became “fogies”). It was a cheap date and lots of fun. In the winter the infield was flooded and used as an ice rink for speed skating. Over the years many Olympic bike racers and speed skaters trained here and many other local kids and adults had a great time in the “citizen races.” By 2003 the velodrome was badly in need of repairs and resurfacing but the $400,000 needed to do the work was beyond the reach of the park district. The Northbrook Cycle Committee, a volunteer organization of riders, fans, and officials launched a campaign and raised $230,000. The park district put up the rest of the money and the track was closed for the 2004 season while the facility was rebuilt. The velodrome reopened for the 2005 season and a schedule of events can be found at www.northbrookvelodrome.org. Come out for an evening of racing if you can—it’s still a cheap date. There are Thursday night races and Friday night development races. At the Friday night races you can sign up as a Citizen Racer and try the track yourself. See the velodrome website for details. If you can’t make it for the events, be sure to take a look at the track and imagine the Olympic hopefuls on those banked turns.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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