This is where kids and local folks will be introduced to the sport. Air Products Inc. has sponsored a program in Pennsylvania for 25 years that has produced numerous national, Olympic, and world champions. More importantly, thousands of young riders have delighted in learning the sport and its lessons in fitness, tactics, and teamwork. The program's enrollment is filled for the next three years. The author rounds the corner at Jewell and Trumbull streets, May 1998.
Track racing is an affordable way to enter the sport.
The bikes have a single gear and no brakes, and cost a fraction of what their multi-speed road and mountain counterparts cost. There are BMX tracks in Bethel, Torrington and Meriden, and more on the way in Danielson and Brooklyn. Hartford has its own youth BMX team. BMX is a logical inclusion with the velodrome, and young riders will benefit from this connection because it opens the door to international and Olympic competition. Two-time Olympian Raoul Lachapelle on the Hartford Velodrome, circa 1927.