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Dale's first track, the Madison Track, shown here in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Photo Courtesy of Richard Paul Dinda |
Dales Hughes, known to most in the United States as one of the designers of the Olympic Velodrome erected for the Atlanta Games, is a diehard supporter of bike racing, in particular track racing. The designs of his most recent velodromes are among the most affordable and fastest tracks in the world.
I have been fortunate enough to race on Dale's track in Bloomer Park on a number of occasions in the past season and have gotten to know bit about the man behind the what I hope is the "rebirth" (or resurgence) of Madison racing in the United States.
- Kirk Albers
How did you get your start in cycling?
After graduating with degree in business, I traveled to Europe to visit my sister who was going to school in Germany. While in my rental Beetle in downtown Nice, France, traffic suddenly stopped and everyone got of their cars and walked a few blocks over to the road along the Mediterranean. I followed not knowing where or why, I then saw this big group of bike riders followed by a big caravan of cars. People went wild as the riders raced by. Then everyone returned to their cars and life went on as before. I was hooked. I returned home a month later, partnered with a friend (we both borrowed $9,000 from our parents) and opened a bike shop, 1973.
For 22 years you ran the Walden School of Cycling with Mike Walden. Safe to say he was a major influence?
I met Mike Walden when he came into my shop and asked if I would help with the US Road Nationals that were coming to Michigan. Our shop was among the first to have a decked out van and Mike needed wheel vans for the race.
A year later I visited Mike again, for some direction. Retail sales were “just OK” by me, I was looking for more race involvement. He said I will make you a racer. I said I have a medical problem. He said, then build us a velodrome. I said what’s a velodrome? I was 25 yrs old at the time.
I will also say that Mike Walden taught me everything I know and understand today about coaching riders. He was way ahead of his time and his riders reached the top: TDF, Olympics, and Nationals. For 22 yrs he mentored me while we held the Walden School of Cycling for developing riders. The US has some very good elite athlete coaches but we lack the hundreds of developing rider coaches. I don’t thing the basic fundamentals are taught. Everyone wants to train like Lance. It’s understandable though.
The first track you designed and built was the portable Madison Velodrome?
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Another couple of views of the Madison Track, shown here in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Photos Courtesy of Richard Paul Dinda |
Yes. Mike gave us some general information and I partnered with three other friends and we pooled our money and began building. We wanted a portable track.
What was the length?
It was 125 meters, 50 degrees in turns and 20 degrees in straights. We later stretched it to 145m.
How many times and in how many different locations was it erected?
About a dozen times in a dozen locations. We finished the track in 1976 and held the first USCF National Madison Championships in Michigan. We held the Mad Nats again in 77 & 78. We had a 6 Day at Michigan State University in a building that used to host track racing. We had a 2 day in Kalamazoo, Mi. That was our first time in a new arena. They had a hockey game on Wed night. W assembled the track on insulated panels on top of the ice on Thursday. Racing took place on Friday and Saturday nights. We had the track packed away by Sunday morning. They resurfaced the ice for a hockey game later that day. 24hrs up and 9 1/2hrs down.
We also did a 2 day race in the Denver Coliseum. 3,000 fans. ESPN coverage. It was the first time that Greg LeMond raced on a track. He would only race if we paid for a hotel room for him and his girlfriend (who later became his wife). We paired him with Mike Moale, one of our experienced riders who had migrated from California to Michigan. Greg and Mike came in second to the masters of Madison racing Roger Young and Danny Van Haute. Roger was the smartest and most fun Madison rider I have ever seen in the US. Danny was like the famous Torchy Peden of the 1930’s big, strong and good. Roger and Danny won the U.S. Madison Championships 76-78. In 1980, we had a 3 day race in Cleveland along with a bike show. It was our best event yet. Things were clicking.
The track was featured in the movie "Little Miss Marker" with Julie Andrews and Walter Matthau?
Yes, in 1979, I got a call from Universal Studios. They wanted the track and riders to be part of a movie with big stars. We were sure this was the beginning of big things.
Where was it filmed?
It was filmed in Santa Rosa, California. The complete track traveled in 3 trailers. We owned the trailers and had our own tractor with sleeper and everything. We put two of the trailers on trains piggyback style. We drove the third. It sure was fun driving it across country, especially intimidating car drivers.
Who were the riders for the movie?
We took 25 riders who were part of our racing crew led by Roger Young.
Any comment on the overall experience of working on the movie?
It was fun; we were extras in other scenes. We had two days of filming on the track. I got to talk to Walter Matthau and stayed down the hall from Julie Andrews and Tony Curtis. After the two days of shooting, the director came up to me and asked if we could be ready to ride again the next day. We were all excited. We were sure they were adding more race scenes. So the next day we were ready and riding but I noticed no cameras were operating. I asked the director what was going on. He said no new scenes were being added. He just wanted to see some more great track action. He had become a fan.
The next track you built was the Stone Mountain facility for the 1996 Olympic Games. Chris Nadovich and yourself outbid some velodrome-designing "heavyweights" for the commission using a fairly lightweight design made from steel trusses and special custom plywood panels?
I wouldn’t call our design lightweight. The total weight was quite equal to a traditional all wood track. I would agree that a steel undercarriage and wood/resin panel surface had never before been used at an Olympic Games.
Initially, you took some heat with your designs. And you always seem to be pushing the envelope, ahead of the leading edge. Why not build tracks the way they have always been built?
Standing still is not an option. Everything is being improved upon, made faster, stronger, meaner, and leaner. We must upgrade the technical aspects of our velodromes -- the surface, the undercarriage, the design itself to help the athletes reach the potential of better bikes, better bodies, better training. I am constantly researching new and better ways to make velodromes faster, safer, more affordable and durable.
The design is what you call a "zero bubble", a completely flat pole line. Do you know of any other tracks which incorporate the "zero bubble"?
No, I don’t think any other track designer had ever thought about the pole line in regards to its elevation. Chris and I were surprised to learn that most designers’ pole lines were based on how they built their apron. We were designing our track for our best chance at a US Olympic Gold medal. That rider was Marty Nothstein. He almost did it. The Atlanta Olympic track still holds the 200m TT Olympic Records for both men and women.
21 Olympic and 2 World records were broken on the track, why don't more tracks incorporate the "zero bubble"?
I still don’t think the major designers know about it. But let me say, that design favors the sprinter. Chris and I have a better design for pursuit and mass start events and a special design for the one hour record. I call it the EPO design, “Equal Power Output”... Lance probably wouldn’t like the name but if he ever wants to build a track for the hour record- give me a holler.
Have any of the other tracks you have designed and built used the same modular design as the Olympic Track?
The Frisco track used a similar design even though it is a permanent track. EDS wanted a track “Just Like the Olympic Track”, except steeper cause they felt it meant faster - not alone it doesn’t.
The track I am building now in Doha, Qatar is using a similar modular system because it is in a temporary building. After the 2006 Doha Asian Games it will be disassembled and then re-assembled when the Qatar Cycling Federation completes it plans for its final location.
You went on to design and build tracks in Frisco, TX, South Korea, Qatar, and of course in your hometown of Rochester Hills. What lessons did you learn in building each successive track?
Each is a challenge. Each owner has a purpose in building it. And the budget generally determines how I design and build it. I also try to push the limit in making the track easier for the riders to go their fastest.
The Velodrome at Bloomer Park is a unique facility, a 200 meter track built with donations (both time and money). Most of the races at the track are Madisons. Was the track designed with that event in mind?
Yes, the Velodrome at Bloomer Park was designed specifically for the Madison and for beginners riding the Madison. I have a total different view regarding the Madison then anyone I have ever talked to. Most everyone thinks of the Madison as just a confusing mass start event. I look at the Madison as the ultimate game played on bikes. The kilo, pursuit, scratch and points races are all part of the Madison.
Football is considered a great game. And kicking, passing, catching, blocking are all part of the game. If football was like track cycling they would line up the quarterbacks and award a medal to who could throw the best (like sprinters) and then line up the kickers and give an award to kicker who kicked the farthest (like pursuiters) and then line up the runners and blockers and give an award to the best (like a team pursuit).
But that’s not what they do, they play the total game. For some reason cycling likes specialists. I like games - the total game - the best game - the Madison. And the best track for a Madison is a 200m wooden surface that you can hear the rumble of the boards.
How many riders have gone through the Madison training at the track?
About 80% of our total riders -- men & women, ride and race in Madisons and 80% of our races are Madisons. At most other tracks that figure is probably closer to 5%, several don’t do any at all.
The velodrome recently won an award, the 2006 Daniel L. Flaherty Memorial Award. The award is given annually by the Great Lakes Park Training Institutes at its annual conference and recognized the velodrome facility for "its excellence and superb programs." You must be proud to receive such an award. Any comments?
I am especially proud of all the local supporters who funded the building of the track and I am proud of all our volunteer staff that make the track operate weekly. The award recognizes our direction. But we still have a long ways to go. We have proved that you can build and operate a track with just a little funding. Our next goal is to show the world what we can do when we have real programming funding.
You mentioned when we last spoke about an apprenticeship of sorts with the renowned velodrome designer Ron Webb. What have you learned from Ron and how have you applied it to your work?
Ron Webb’s designed tracks hold all the world and Olympic records except two (they are held by my Atlanta Olympic Velodrome). His experience as a rider and designer are unmatched. I learned a lot from Coach Mike Walden about riders and how to coach. I learned how to listen. My conversations with Ron Webb are similar. I value his words. Ron and I are planning on building some tracks real soon together. He is the master in traditional strip wood tracks. Learning from him is learning from the master. I feel he is another mentor in my life just like Mike Walden was. I am lucky to have these men as my teachers. I plan on learning my whole life - it’s fun and rewarding.
Any opinions on the which is the "best" designed track in the world?
I think Ron Webb’s traditional tracks have proven they are the best designed and built. The records speak for themselves. I think Chris and I have designed the best non-traditional material tracks. Certainly, my first track was the fastest portable track. I have two new track designs now one I think will be the fastest ONE HR RECORD track and the other is the most portable track in the world. But my main goal is to design the least costly world class track. Chris and I are just finishing that design also.
How would you rate the state of track cycling in America compared with what you have experienced around the world?
Around the world track racing is being recognized because of all the medals available in the Olympic Games. The Chinese Government asked me to speak in Beijing at a seminar for 55 city planners from across China. They plan on building at least 30 new velodromes. Beijing alone will have 3 new world class velodrome. I’m designing one and consulting on another. I’m finishing one in Doha, Qatar for the 2006 Asian Games and another one for Sri Lanka for their Olympic Committee. The advantage most of these countries have is that their Olympic Committees are government funded - ours is not
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There is a lot of interest here in the US. I get calls monthly but usually it’s big dreamers with little reality of how to get funding. I formatted our track here in Michigan as a way for the dreamers to get their dreams. I think track racing here has the potential to be an over night success. But America loves games not time trials so I think it will be a Madison Tournament format or league.
Last week you were elected President of the American Track Racing Association at the annual meeting. The organization was formed over a decade ago "to advance the sport of track cycling, the capital improvements of our facilities and for the promotion of track riding and racing" (from the ATRA website). Does see the organization becoming more effective in achieving its goals in the coming year and what ideas or initiatives would you personally like to see fulfilled?
I was honored to be chosen by the North American velodromes to help lead the charge for change and improvements.
When USA Cycling bought NORBA I was asked to be NORBA Chairman. When I started, NORBA had 3,000 members nationwide. When I retired 6 years later NORBA had 32,000 members. At NORBA I had a great board of directors who loved the sport. I just helped give them direction and benchmarks. In ATRA we also have a great group of dedicated velodromes operators. I hope to give focus, direction and excitement.
ATRA members asked Marty Nothstein and myself to meet with Steve Johnson and Colby Pearce of USA CYCLING to discuss how together we can move track racing into the forefront of American cycling. The governing side of track racing needs to be different. Tracks and their relationships with USA CYCLING and USOC needs change. Together we need to help tracks do what they do best depending on their facility.
Of course funding needs to be increased in three major areas: Elite, Masters and U23/Juniors for both men and women. We need to match China’s goal of building 30 new velodromes here in North America. Personally, I plan on offering velodrome kits to help make that possible.
What do you think the major difference between road and track racing?
Road racing is like reading a book with many chapters. Track racing is like playing a video game, “fast and in your face”, that is why I think the marriage of TV and the game of Madison team racing will explode but someone has to pull the trigger. It really was our great grandfathers Extreme Sport.
On a side note, my hats off to my friends Author Pete Nye and Mark Tyson for publishing their new book “Six Day Bicycle Race - the Jazz Sport”. Get it online at
www.sixdaybicyclerace.com
What would you say to someone who wants to have a velodrome in their city?
I would tell them to get a piece of paper, write their name on the top of the list and pledge $1,000, to be collected within 18 months. Then get 99 others to do the same. If a group can get 100 pledges I am confident I can help them get a velodrome. The land and the balance of the funding are quite doable. The Velodrome at Bloomer Park is an example for other communities that they can succeed. In fact, our Director of Parks in Rochester Hills will talk to any other community’s government officials and tell them of our structure and success, send me an email at
dale@NAS-TRACK.com
What do you think of Fixedgearfever?
Kudos to you, 20,000 viewers daily during the Elite Track Nationals. I was one of them daily.
PS. I am looking forward to your expanding 6 day coverage.
