The first bicycle race at the ground was the Maybole FC annual sports on 31st August 1884, there were 26 events including Ayr Cycling Club's two miles championship, one and two miles open handicaps and a one mile tricycle handicap race. The popular local rider James McQuater carried off both events with the greatest of ease. The new track was a little soft, but the main criticism was that there was no banking on the corners.
The Maybole FC sports developed over the years to be an important fixture in the West of Scotland calendar and bicycle races played an important role in this. There seemed to have been some discontent between the football and cycling clubs because the Ayrshire Post reported in 1887 requesting "a kindlier spirit between the Maybole FC and the Maybole CC and less stringent ripples as to practising on the track."
Maybole Cycling Club held their first race meeting on 25th August 1888, there were seven bicycle events and press reports had nothing but praise for the organisation. The one criticism that was made was that the corners of the track were not banked, which resulted in five riders shedding tyres due to side slip on the corners.
Maybole CC held their annual athletics festival on 31st August 1889 and the glorious weather attracted a good crowd to watch the extensive program of bicycle and flat racing. There were ordinary and safety bicycle races and the roadster races seemed to be very popular. The crack Glasgow rider Bobbie Vogt appeared, but was out of the prizes.
Maybole FC held their last sports meeting on 19th July 1890 which featured bicycle racing exclusively, the six races were split between safety and ordinary machines. Maybole football club went out of existence in 1891, but the sports meetings at Gardenrose continued under Maybole Athletic Club.
The athletic club held their first meeting on 23rd August 1890 there were four bicycle races and 4,000 spectators attended. The athletic club continued their sports meetings until the end of the 1890s and attracted good crowds. Maybole provided attractive bicycle racing but also hosted national quality foot racing, their local champion James Roger was Scottish quarter and one mile champion in the late 1800s.
By 1893, Maybole Cycling Club had taken over the track and the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald reported that the track had been re-laid, the corners rounded off and banked to six feet and a new grandstand had been built. The cycling club held their first meeting on the new track on 1st July 1893 with a crowd of 3,000.
Bicycle racing at Gardenrose maintained it's popularity throughout the 1890s with meetings organised by both the athletic club and the cycling club. In 1895, Maybole FC was re-formed and the team played at the ground until 1898 when they moved to Ladywell Park.
The last advertised bicycle race meeting at Gardenrose was at the Maybole CC event on 6th June 1901. Later in the year, the Scottish Referee reported that Maybole CC were in financial difficulties because their last few bicycle race meetings had all lost money, and a prize draw had been organised to pay off their debts.
The ground seemed to close sometime after 1901 and maps after 1908 do not show any sign of the track or stadium and the site seemed to have reverted to farmland. The local council purchased Gardenrose Farm and the building of houses was started at the site in 1969, the local website described the housing as "a monument of poor foresight on the part of the Council as the houses are without doubt the greatest of all blots on the Maybole landscape."
** AH Lang was a bicycle and tricycle dealer from Carrick Street Ayr, where he had a practice room 140 x 40 feet. He was an agent for the Coventry Machinist's Cheylesmore machines and he hired out tricycles. He was the Chairman of Ayr Cycling Club.