Lack of interest: cycling races

Yesterday evening, a friend (that I mentioned in another thread) phoned me to chat and mentioned there was a cycling race happening in my neighbourhood at that moment. She didn't know either until she saw roadblocks while driving her mother near my neighbourhood.

Somehow I had no interest in walking out to figure out where the race course was. She emailed me 2 hrs. later with a photo which signalled it was a race that honoured a cycling racer who was killed in car accident (when he was cycling) a few yrs. ago. There about 20-30 guys racing ...from what I could see in the photo. Then I went to bed.

I appreciate the athleticism of bike racing, climbing against the clock, etc. --but somehow I just haven't found enough enthusiasm to watch bike racing regularily nor follow the professional race cycling news. Even the Tour de France I would only catch snippets of it when the tv was on. Dearie watches it like me...when we happen to be around at home and not for the whole race stage.

There are times I wonder if there's something wrong with me since I've lived a cycling lifestyle, transportation-wise and touring oriented, for so long. But then my partner is something like me...only vague, pedestrian interest. And he has done waaaaaay more cycling mileage wise than I have. On top of that, our in-person cycling friends are something like us: dim knowledge of only 2-3 key professional racers, catching a race for half hr. And then we're off to do other stuff in life or end up cycling away for the day.

I don't see that this is a big deal. I do watch races on line or TV when I have nothing else to do. As with other sporting events, I don't sit home and watch them on TV all of the time, as I'd rather be out participating in a sport. But, that said, I do follow what's going on in the cycling/racing world. Actually, pretty closely, through stuff I read on line. Perhaps this is because I've had some personal connection to the amateur/pro racing world through my son and exchange student, and went to several local/New England races during that time. I've occasionally gone to see SheFly race, too. Certain types of races are fun to watch and fun events, too.

It probably makes a difference to know other people in person who race and they are friends, family like your situation, Crankin.

It doesn't bother me...I just wonder..as a fleeting thought. Like a fly that buzzes around and then flies away.

We have neither personal contacts, that race at all. Not a priority for us. And these are cyclists who have cycled across Canada-U.S. I have a partner who isn't particularily competitive in his nature on bike. He has been competitive in business, but cycling really means challenging himself. Not beating out the other guy. He tells me of cyclists who don't even fit the racing image who pass him. He's delighted to share such stories with anyone.

My interest went from zero to sometimes paying attention.

Quite a few pros train in Tucson in the winter, and we have met a couple, including Tommy Danielson and Phil Gaimon, from Garmin Sharp. Most of the time it's too hard to actually watch races unless we can get replays on the computer (like tour tracker for Tour of Utah this week or Tour de Frances when we buy the package.

And I'm getting coaching from a pro racer now, so I like to see how she's doing in her races, but just see occasional results online.

Watching races has grown on me. I clearly remember the first time I paid attention to a stage of the Tour de France (a friend wanted to come to my place and watch it ... his TV was broken) and I just did not get why it would be interesting. I understand it better now and it is fun. If I have to workout on the trainer, having a race on the TV or computer makes a big difference in the ease of the workout.

Last year another friend convinced me of participating in races myself. I did it as an experience (not my thing: I ended up viewing road races as opportunities to ride elsewhere... most of the participants could be my daughters!). Tried cyclocross and gravel races, as well. Those are more fun.

I don't really care either, although when I was working at a bike shop, I sort-of paid attention to the pros so I could actually participate in conversation with customers. I do have former co-workers/friends who participate in local races (well, back-in-Ohio local), so I always ask or check to see how they did. Nothing beyond that, though.

I've been watching the Tour de France since 1986, when ABC Sports had one hour of coverage on Saturday. I really enjoy it. YMMV.

I love going to watch local races when I know a lot of the field...but to watch TdF...could not care less, in large part because of the scandals and chronic EPOing. When it was running this year it is all my MIL would talk about. At one point she started yakking to me about the race and I told her point-blank that I never watch it, don't know who half the names of cyclists are, and why I don't watch -- and she kept on yammering. Seriously?! The woman loves to name-drop. I just roll my eyes. :rolleyes:

Which begs another question I ask myself, would I watch the female equivalent of Tour de France?

I didn't even watch the last few Summer Olympics Games. I haven't had a tv for past few years. Even before I was watching maybe 4 hrs. of tv in total weekly. Sometimes a lot less. I don't subscribe to pro cycling race news feeds. I have avoided subscribing to twitter feeds on anything I don't have facebook. I think I know there is a news blog for women' pro cycling races.

It would take some aggressive marketing for such an international race to penetrate into awareness for national-local audiences world-wide. Not to say, I wouldn't be interested but then I have to make the effort to find the info., create an online alert for myself when to watch, yaddyaddda..

There is a reason why I seem to wall myself slightly (I'm still in blogosphere..that's my social media): I like to declutter my brain from automatic bombardment of electronic alerts vying for my attention...less stress. Mind is at peace. I focus on the now, loved ones, and present future for stuff that happens live in before me.

I like participating in cycling itself. And still read non-racing stuff on cycling. But I pursue other personal interests outside of cycling also. Important for my own overall learning and enjoyment of other stuff for balance.

The whole race thing is always funny. If you tell someone you ski, they don't automatically assume you ski race, but I find when I tell someone I enjoy biking they seem to assume I enjoy racing - two different things in my mind. My current favorite ball cap is from Surly and it says "Racing Sucks". Owning a bike store, I am constantly explaining to people that our store is not race bike oriented. I have moved beyond the need to defend so often times I will just smile, nod my head and walk away.

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Originally Posted by Sky King

Owning a bike store, I am constantly explaining to people that our store is not race bike oriented. I have moved beyond the need to defend so often times I will just smile, nod my head and walk away.

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I guess the proof in the pudding, would be the type of bikes you sell and how your web site looks. It's a tough one..because some of the money is in the racing oriented bikes. In some big cities, methinks some of the bike retailers have had to make some clear choices on the volume and diversity of inventory on hand.

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Originally Posted by Sky King

The whole race thing is always funny. If you tell someone you ski, they don't automatically assume you ski race, but I find when I tell someone I enjoy biking they seem to assume I enjoy racing - two different things in my mind. My current favorite ball cap is from Surly and it says "Racing Sucks". Owning a bike store, I am constantly explaining to people that our store is not race bike oriented. I have moved beyond the need to defend so often times I will just smile, nod my head and walk away.

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I think that in the minds of many people, road bike or drop bars=race bike. When I worked at a bike shop, I often came across people who, after talking to them about what kind of riding they wanted to do, would probably benefit from a road or CX bike (when we started stocking them), but when I'd walk them over to the road/CX section, would go "Oh no! I don't want a racing bike!" I suppose that was sort of the fault of The Powers that Be who put all the bikes with drop bars in the same set of racks.

Not into the competiveness of personally or watching racing but I’ve watched the TDF over the years to see aerial views of some of my favorite French riding routes and areas and the Amgen tour of Ca. for aerial views of some of my routes here. Well, that and watching the dvr’d more gruelling sections of some of the climbing stages on a weekend morning to help inspire me for my climbing that day…..

Industry magazine covers are the worst for projecting what a bike rider looks like - glance at the covers - 99 % of the time they depict a person standing up on their uber fancy bike all decked out in the latest kit. Cracks me up. Yes we all can do our best to promote Riding Your Bike - I love the slogan Transport Not Sport but someone else owns that one :)
Go be happy with what ever bike style you enjoy. (If you are a racer - that's okay too :) )

And we even get podium boys now
;) :D

http://www.ladiestour.no/pressemeldi...dag-15-august/

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Originally Posted by Sky King

Industry magazine covers are the worst for projecting what a bike rider looks like - glance at the covers - 99 % of the time they depict a person standing up on their uber fancy bike all decked out in the latest kit. Cracks me up. Yes we all can do our best to promote Riding Your Bike - I love the slogan Transport Not Sport but someone else owns that one :)
Go be happy with what ever bike style you enjoy. (If you are a racer - that's okay too :) )

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No doubt some of these images, may make some who really want to return to cycling, but don't , because they may feel self-conscious on the bike. When some people who don't know me at all, make a comment about my cycling stuff in a tone that suggest it's racing/led to believe I'm some sort of wannabe athlete: I squash that by saying that I don't have a car and my bicycle is how I get around. Which in the city where I live....is a big deal...to go car-free. Quite unusual.

I like the podium boys' costumes. Maybe podium women should dress up like dragonslayers or somethin'.:rolleyes:

Okay a bit off topic, but then there is the other extreme - Yesterday the Tour De Fat took place in Boise. 10,000 people dressed up in stupid costumes riding bicycles. Sorry but to me that paints bike riding to another realm and IMO does very little to promote riding your bike as a means of transportation. Yes, I am a curmudgeon and we avoid the event like the plague. On a more positive note we had a lovely bike ride through the foothills yesterday morning, 24 miles of rolling hills.

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Originally Posted by Sky King

Okay a bit off topic, but then there is the other extreme - Yesterday the Tour De Fat took place in Boise. 10,000 people dressed up in stupid costumes riding bicycles. Sorry but to me that paints bike riding to another realm and IMO does very little to promote riding your bike as a means of transportation. Yes, I am a curmudgeon and we avoid the event like the plague. On a more positive note we had a lovely bike ride through the foothills yesterday morning, 24 miles of rolling hills.

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thinking you wouldn't like the tutu and fairy wings that i put on for riding across the finish line in the Cinderella Challenge......:eek:

from the Tour de Fat photos on flickr it looked like a great time yesterday for those who participated.....it also raises a lot of money for bike advocacy groups in the Boise area ($75,000 this year and $300,000+ since it started in Boise).....hopefully that can temper your curmudgeon attitude :)

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Originally Posted by Sky King

Okay a bit off topic, but then there is the other extreme - Yesterday the Tour De Fat took place in Boise. 10,000 people dressed up in stupid costumes riding bicycles. Sorry but to me that paints bike riding to another realm and IMO does very little to promote riding your bike as a means of transportation. Yes, I am a curmudgeon and we avoid the event like the plague. On a more positive note we had a lovely bike ride through the foothills yesterday morning, 24 miles of rolling hills.

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Eh, sounds like fun. It doesn't always have to be serious business.:D

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Originally Posted by Owlie

Eh, sounds like fun. It doesn't always have to be serious business.:D

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Absolutely right. Cyclists look serious a lot of time in their gear, focused on the road (either abiding by road rules or not), cycling with even in their street clothing, their groceries: focus, focus..because of the traffic around them.

That type of fun mass group ride with costumes on bikes..in the cities where I've lived ..is quite rare throughout the year. Meaning over 1.5 million people in each of the 3 Canadian cities. Of course, there are people who consider cycling in a dress and high heels a "costume" in itself. I am aware of 2 Vancouver bike store owners who would welcome that sort of fun group costumed bike ride. 1 of the bike store owners was a racer in his youth. Now, he rides slowly around with his Great Dane dog on leash.

The other bike store owner actually has expanded his bike store and inventory of bikes. Has been in business for over 15 years in Vancouver. His store tends to have more broad range of city/commuter bikes, as well as touring and folding bikes. He always has been known to be fun-crazy --Cat in the Hat costume at Bike Month events, unicycling, etc. while promoting his store, etc. It depends how broad a market, the bike store wants to reach.

Eh, I think riding in a costume is silly, too, Sky King. But then, I think Halloween is silly, especially for adults. Yes, I tend to be serious and I don't care if people think that's wrong!
But, if people want to do it to raise money, fine. Too each her own.

Raising money for cycling advocacy is great for sure. The carnival atmosphere is probably fine for those who enjoy it too. The aftermath of the event is what is often disappointing and does nothing to
expand the hearts of people driving cars in the area. 1,000's of drunk people, in costumes, on bikes, disobeying traffic laws and showing the "not so cute" side of mass cycling events. We will be hearing about it
for weeks. Ah well, I do lots of other things that promote cycling and as I said and others too - not my thing so I just don't go. Just dread the day someone gets hurt or killed after the event.

I think cycling, like most sports, is more fun to watch when you're familiar with the players/riders and their background, strengths, weaknesses, etc. In the 20+ years we've been together DH always watched the Tour de France even though he really only got into cycling in 2010. That's probably because he's European, and the TdF is usually a bigger deal to Europeans. Like most Americans I couldn't name another famous cyclist besides Lance Armstrong, at least not until last year.

Maybe it's because I started riding in 2012 and got strong enough to start doing centuries last year, but I finally got interested and watched every stage of the TdF last year. Part of my interest was just watching the riders' techniques, how the sprinters (Kittel, Greipel, Sagan, etc.) would draft behind other riders until the very last seconds when they'd race for the line, how riders like Chris Froome would attack with a really high cadence, how riders like Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana would climb like they're dancing on the pedals. I finally realized how grueling it must be to race over a hundred miles a day for 21 days over gorgeous landscapes and demoralizing climbs with only a few rest days, and how amazing the best riders really have to be to do well in the mountain stages, in the time trials, day after day, etc. After the TdF 2013 I watched most of the major televised tours and races with DH, and I'd start cheering for my favorite riders, Quintana (since he's small like me) and Sagan (because he's usually so entertaining).

And I don't think cycling fans who do watch these races/tours are trying to be name-droppers or know-it-alls; they're probably just really excited about their favorite riders and/or something exciting that happened in a race. Just because you couldn't care less about pro or college football, baseball, etc., you can't hate fans who are so into their favorite teams that they know all the players and their stats.

I'm also never going to race or straddle my top tube on a scary descent, but there are still techniques you can pick up just watching these riders. I advocate for anything that makes riding more fun, and if watching these races and tours makes you a better rider, then all the better. If you don't care about these races and tours, then tell your friends you're just not into it.

Finally, I know Lance Armstrong and all the doping scandals ruined cycling for many fans, but probably mainly only for those who could really only name Lance and maybe his teammates the years he dominated the sport.

Yesterday I had the pleasure to watch the National Championships Criterium races in person--amateurs (several categories) and the women's and men's pro races. It was so exciting and do much fun. If you have never been to a professional level race, please go seek one out and watch, cheer and admire the athleticism and heart of these athletes.

The World Championships will be in the US next September, so if you live pretty much anywhere east of the Rockies, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the highest level racing in person with just a little effort. It'll be in Richmond, Virginia over 2 weeks in September 2015. In the meantime, I hope you get to watch racing whenever it comes near where you live. It's exciting and inspiring and so accessible (unlike most other pro sports that cost so much to attend).

Tulip: You will have to put together your list of restaurant recommendations and such.... if you know of a good hotel location for this, let me know. I will most certainly spend the days of the elite road races in Richmond.

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Originally Posted by pll

Tulip: You will have to put together your list of restaurant recommendations and such.... if you know of a good hotel location for this, let me know. I will most certainly spend the days of the elite road races in Richmond.

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Pll, Richmond is quite a foodie city so there are many excellent restaurants and craft breweries. Hotels will likely begin to fill up fast since there are not enough hotel rooms for all the visitors expected. It's a compact city so if you get a place near the races, everything will be close in. The courses should be listed on the Richmond 2015 website but I haven't checked in a while. There are also rentals of private houses on the usual websites. Bring your bike to get around, as driving will be difficult and there is no bikeshare. It's a really pretty city with lots going on and worth a visit.