Tuesday, September 19, 2006

USA Cycling should follow...

I got this email from Angel Fire (the town hosting the NCCA mountain bike national championships) giving me all the information I need to stay free of charge in their town for the national championships... I don't even race mountain bikes and they're offering to put me up for the duration of the race just to come out and race... how come they didn't have this for road nationals? instead, they picked an expensive resort in the middle of nowhere that cost nearly $1,000 for almost a week of staying there and then another $200 for their over priced food... and being out in the middle of nowhere left everyone with not much of an option of going anywhere else for cheaper food... In all fairness, the course for the road race was hard and really stepped up the level of racing which is good... but with the cost of going out there to race, I really have to think about doing it again next year despite the fact I really want to race it... the way things are set up, those of us who don't have any sponsors to help buffer the costs don't get to do alot of the cool races you have to travel to... it's a bummer, and for racing to really grow here in the states we need to see more stuff along the lines of what Angel Fire is doing...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There were ways to stay cheap in Pennsylvania. I stayed with two other riders in a condo that was $500 for the week. No it wasn't the deal offered through USA Cycling but it was cheap and on the race course. A friend of mine went through the number offered by USA Cycling and got a two bedroom condo for the advertised $120 a night. If you stay in a condo you can also go to a grocery store and spend just what you would spend at home on food. Beyond that there are several teams in CA that will help riders with expenses for races, especially Nationals.

Jason said...

yea, that's the conclusion I came to... I had a buddy who got a condo and it worked out much better than getting a hotel room... I think I'm gonna try to split a condo with someone next year or just get on a team that sends some guys out there...

as far as teams in CA helping riders with getting to nationals, I'm still looking for a team that will do that for a young guy just breaking into Elite's (not racing masters)...

Anonymous said...

Veloworx? SC Velo? La Grange? Results help. A lot of times masters are the guys who have secured the sponsorship money so they should have a say in how the money is spent. You don't have to be a master or have a masters degree to secure sponsorship money so if that is what yu have to do...

Jason said...

tried veloworx, never got a reply back.... I haven't really tried SC Velo or LaGrange... I should probably get to know those guys...

sure, if masters secure the sponsorships then yea, they should help decide where the funds go... but if you look at it, there are so many young aspiring racers out there that are struggling to make ends meet just to continue racing and just to keep their bikes running... while most of the masters I know are just looking for ways to get their toys cheap or for free when they can afford it... and the guys I know joke about it all the time, it's just the way it is...