Obviously the track where Team GB won seven Gold medals in ten Olympic events, and 15 Paralympic medals, is going to be a major attraction.

Track riding is a whole new world of cycling – offering a completely different experience to the road that promises to improve your cadence (since you can’t stop) and your handling (there’s a lot of corners).

A common misconception is that it’s impossible to just ‘have a go’ at riding on the track, or that you have to be mega fit and experienced.

Where to Ride: UK Velodromes

We were offered a ‘Track Taster’ session – one hour on the track where you can learn the basic skills. You may have to try it to believe me, but you really can go from ‘never ridden the track before’ beginner to ‘right up on the blue’ in less than 60 minutes.

In fact, half of the participants assembled for our taster day had never ridden with cleats before – yet were encouraged to have a go on the track with cycling shoes and Look Keo pedals. Under the guidance of our coach for the hour, they all flourished and were riding on the blue.

I’d ridden on the track twice before, but letting go of the barrier and coasting off onto the blue ‘safety area’ always feels a bit bizarre as you get used to the lack of brakes and gears. However, it took just a couple of laps on the beautiful smooth wood for me to remember how fantastically awesome it feels to swoop the length of the track and hammer around the corners, chasing whoever happens to be in front and fleeing approaching riders behind.

TWC Tackle Women’s Only Taster Session in Lee Valley Velopark

Taster sessions are available to anyone, and cost £35. They’re a great way to give track a go, and I was pleased that the coach gave us a free reign to just play on the boards– pretty much letting us bomb around the track in intervals of 5-10 minutes before calling us in for guidance.

To move on at the velodrome, you do have to go through an accreditation process, which is where things become a bit more serious and skills based. The taster session counts as ‘Stage One’, and at Stage Two accreditation you’ll learn more group riding skills. These are booked up until November, but once you’ve done one you can go to Skills Sessions which are held on a regular basis.