a resurgence in track riding," said Emerson, who started Boulder's famed University Cycles bike shop from his garage 28 years ago. "You can't find a major metro area that isn't looking to develop a velodrome. The time is ripe."

The labor of love is happening thanks to the efforts and dollars of Emerson and Banta, a longtime general contractor from Boulder.

"Selling clubs and founding members on the track before opening is like trying to get a girlfriend without a car," says Emerson, as he rolls a rubberized gray paint onto the track. "Well, now we have the car, and it's an awesome car."

About half of the 250-foot trusses are up, each cut to specific angles to form the hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped track. A hole in the infield will house a"We want a culture where everybody can feel comfortable coming out here. Nobody else has tried our approach."

While not specifically open to the public, club members can have regular access to the track. Banta and Emerson see clubs scheduling their regular rides to include interval training sessions on the track, using track bikes stored in the infield warehouse. They see programs for beginners, even kids on Striders. The track can host national contests, and the site plan includes room for 250 bleacher seats. So far they have enlisted about seven clubs and have room for three more for the launch in the spring.

Cari Higgins, a professional track cyclist from Boulder, regularly commutes to Colorado Springs to train. The indoor track in Boulder was too small and not suitable