There have been a lot of questions lately about the materials we are planning to use. The backbone of the Boulder Valley Velodrome will be contstructed with Laminated Veneer Lumber. These beams are made of an engineered wood product, and are 1.5” thick x 16” wide X 24’ long. They are virtually identical, resist warping and twisting and allow us to build the track quicker and with more uniformity & consistency. Each beam is cut to a different angle to form the hyperbolic parabola that is the shape of the track. The LVL beams make building the track much easier and more precise.

On Friday, April 13th, we poured cement using the largest cement pumper available. It is able to span a distance of 180 ft., so the truck never had to move from one spot. The arm’s movement is actuated by a wireless remote control, so the operator can work it from anywhere on the site. The efficiency of this machine is remarkable. We poured 25 yards of cement in less than two hours. It certainly beat using fifteen guys with wheelbarrows!

Today we are excited to update the cycling community on the progress of the Boulder Valley Velodrome.

Excavation for the clubhouse, infield bunker (a bike storage depot) and access tunnels is complete and we are ready to begin construction of their footers and foundations. The storage depot is a new feature to our velodrome design. At 4,800 sqft, the depot is a sunken building that houses changing rooms and bike storage. The flat roof will protrude 22” above the infield, creating a 4,800 sqft. platform that will not obscure the spectators’ sight lines. The basement-like structure will have 8′ ceilings, and the garden level entrance is wheelchair accessible. Four restrooms will flank the structure for convenience access.

Following the completion of our infield, we will begin building the track. The 250 meter track will be similar to the Olympic venues in Beijing, Sydney, and London with 42 degree banked turns and 12 degree straights. Construction will be guided by track designer and builder, Peter Junek. The track surface is a proprietary plywood product that is one inch thick and comes in 4×12 ft. sheets, thereby minimizing the number of seams. The surface will be painted with a special coating which protects the surface and gives the track just the right amount of grip.

These photos are from a velodrome in Puerto Rico, built in 2010 by Peter Junek. He will be using the same design and materials to build our track in Erie. The plywood is a proprietary product that comes in sheets that measure 4′x12′, and are one inch thick. By using such large sheets, there are fewer seams on the track. The Boulder Valley Velodrome will look almost exactly like this one.

Velodream from Collective Hunch. Filmed at Boulder Indoor Cycling.

We’re not. And we’ve got all the plans, specs and drawings to prove it.

Download our site plan (38.7MB) to view all the latest details including:

• Project Team (owners, builders, engineers, etc.)
• Site Data (square footage, footprint, parking, seating, staffing, usage, etc.)
• Vicinity Map
• Landscape Plan
• Utility Plan
• Grading/Drainage Plan
• Private Storm Sewer Plan
• Erosion Control Plan
• Photometric Plan
• Site and Building Elevations
• Building Floor Plans

A few years later, on a Saturday bike ride, the subject came up again. One of our friends said he had given a park site to Boulder, but reserved the right to designate a use for it—like a velodrome. So, we rode by the site in Gunbarrel and were intrigued with the idea. After a little research it became apparent this site wasn’t viable but a new interest was piqued. Jokingly Frank told Doug, “if you buy some land I will build us a velodrome and we will have a place to ride”. And then things got interesting. A partnership was formed (Boneshaker, LLC) and Doug and Frank began to seriously look for a velodrome site.

The American Legion Post had a five-acre parcel and in the fall of 2004 a proposal was pitched to them to lease the parcel. After a few months of planning and conceptual drawings the project went nowhere. But the mayor of Lyons heard about our interest in building a velodrome and suggested we look at Bohn Park in Lyons. A new seed was planted.

We met with the Lyons Chamber of Commerce in the fall of 2005 and an interesting journey began. They were unanimously supportive and encouraged us to approach the Town Council with our plan. We presented our plan to the council and were encouraged to continue developing it. We met with the Parks Department and were encouraged to continue our planning. We drew up plans and contacted Peter Junek (www.junekvelodromes.com) about velodrome site requirements. We engaged SketchUp to draw us a model. In general we moved forward with a viable plan. But a new Town Council was elected and it wanted nothing to do with us. End of that story.

It was obvious from those efforts and the failure of every other velodrome attempt in the country that the only way a velodrome was going to be built was by private enterprise. We became committed to finding and buying a property in Boulder County where we could build our dream. And the hunt began.

We looked at several parcels, made offers on a few and in every instance ran into irreconcilable problems from the Boulder County Planning Department and the land-use regulations regarding development in the county. Frustration began to mount. But providence rewards the diligent.

Through a chance meeting with the mayor of Erie in the summer of 2006 we found the perfect parcel and Boneshaker began the first phase in the step to success. We made an offer and it was accepted. There were some impediments to deal, but the owners were successful in satisfying them (changing the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning of the parcel). We finally closed on the property in the spring of 2007 and Boneshaker became the developer of a velodrome. We began the process of hiring an architect and assembling the team needed to complete all of the steps in this development process (environmental engineers, civil engineers, transportation engineers, surveyors, soil and water experts, erosion control and drainage experts, mined land reclamation specialists, landscape architects and a contractor). Plans were started and the consultants got to work. The challenges to bring a development of this complexity to the point where it could be submitted to the Erie Planning Department are too numerous to detail here but we did it and made our first submittal on September 5, 2008. The changes, revisions, corrections and additional inclusions the Planning Department required took until January of 2010 to be completed (not an unusual time frame) and the final plans were submitted to the Planning Department on Jan. 18, 2010. After being reviewed and determined to meet all of the submittal requirements, hearings before the Planning Commission and the Erie Board of Trustees were scheduled. The Planning Commission unanimously (and enthusiastically) approved the plans. A few weeks later the Board of Trustees supported the Planning Commission vote and unanimously approved our project as submitted and all of the entitlements to start construction of the velodrome were issued.

This was a six-year journey to get to the point where construction of a velodrome can begin. All of the entitlements are in hand, the excavation permit has been issued and the building permit can be obtained within a few weeks. Construction will begin as soon as the financial goals are met. An Olympic-caliber, 250-meter velodrome can be operational by this fall.