IN the wee small hours of Sunday morning, eight enthusiasts from the East Sutherland Wheelers (ESW) cycling club set off on a 220-mile journey to Glasgow and to Scotland’s only indoor Velodrome.

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, which opened earlier this year, has since hosted major events in the cycling world such as the Scottish Track Championships and the UCI Track World Cup Classics.

However, now ESW were taking to the track and they were not alone — along with some 60 other representatives from cycling clubs across the Highlands, club members were given an opportunity to not only ride the Velodrome but to benefit from professional coaching from Scottish Cycling.

The ESW group was led by Wim Chalmet and Ian Sargent, ESW club coaches and experienced track and road cyclists.

Thomas Luxton, ESW youth rider, said: "The first session began at 9am, with the three adult riders from ESW joining the other experienced northern riders for their session. The group of about 20 then rode impressively around the velodrome, tackling the 46 degree inclines on the bends, with less than a metre of space between them, while achieving speeds of 30mph.

"Next up was the youth session involving our five youth riders. This session was supervised by Scottish Youth Coaches, Ivor Reid (British, European and World Master Track medalist) and Mark Young (Scottish Youth Development Coach).

"We began cautiously, even a little shakily, but by the end of the session everyone was cruising with greater confidence around the curves of the track’s steep bends with ease and anticipation rather than trepidation.

"After a second session on the track each group received a summary and debriefing by the coaches. It was an amazing experience for everyone, especially the novice riders and definitely worth sacrificing our beauty sleep for!"

If you are interested in cycling, whether at competition level, to get fit or just for pure pleasure why not look at the ESW website: www.eastsutherlandwheelers.org.uk