Lack of interest: cycling races

[zoom-zoom]

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.

[shootingstar]

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.

[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.

[shootingstar]

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.

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.

[Owlie]

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.

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.

[rebeccaC]

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…..

[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 )

[Trek420]

And we even get podium boys now


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

[shootingstar]

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 )

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'.

[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.