Cycling enthusiasts celebrate the reopening of Canada's oldest indoor cycling track

Track cyclists in London, Ont., are overjoyed that their beloved velodrome is staying open after they relentlessly rallied and raised funds to make sure the city's only indoor track didn't close down. 

The Forest City Velodrome reopened its doors on Wellington Road South on Oct. 30 after closing in the spring due to challenges in negotiating a new lease, which affected the non-profit facility's ability to get corporate sponsorships. 

"We needed this place to stay open so we've got a new board of directors and we've got the financial means to stay open for a while," said Albert Devries, a volunteer instructor at the velodrome.

"It's a great place to come to learn how to ride and it's such a unique thing. [When it reopened] there was a lot of excitement and just the feeling of, 'We can do this again.'"'

The velodrome first opened in 2005 in the former London Ice House building, which used to be home to the London Knights. At the time, it was Canada's first indoor speed-cycling track and is now one of four in the country, according to co-founder Rob Good.

"I was part of the group that came to the property owner and in a matter of two-and-half to three minutes, we sold the idea that having a velodrome in London would be a good idea and almost 20 years later, we're still racing," said Good.

"It was just a couple of guys with the idea of starting a track and now look at us, we have a whole bunch of members," said Devries. "Track bikes were a new thing in stores then and now there's track bikes everywhere. I'm really encouraged and looking forward to the future."

When the track shut down in the spring of 2023, more than 100 people showed up to a public meeting to find ways to keep the association going, which included