Table of Contents From the President OKHT Last Call! Why you need a Monitor? Bikes on Board TARC Advocacy Matters Racing Slowing Down - The Change Is Good Awards Banquet

The Future is Now
Racing Slowing Down - The Change Is Good

It's September already. Almost Fall. Thoughts turn to shorter and cooler days, leaves that turn to bright hues and the smell of wood smoke in the air. The summer road racing season is just about finished. Thoughts turn to cross training, mountain biking, or cyclo-cross. It's easy to conjure up the images of brightly lit gyms and the clatter of weights as the snow falls steadily outside.

The Fall Tours such as the OKHT and the Harvest Homecoming are upon us. All of us in the area regroup to ride together those weekends. Whether your emphasis has been the Yellow Jersey, racing (off the front of Club rides or as part of an "event"), or enjoying the passing scenery, it's a chance to catch up with people we haven't ridden with enough during the summer.

The Racing Team has had a good summer. The "old hands" such as Vic Maddox, Mark Zaccone, Rick Holstein, Denise Everett and Chris Mayhew have contested events packed with capable competitors and intense action. Some of the "younger riders" such as Scott Anderson, Michele Miller and I have made it through a season packed with more racing and better results than last year. Then, there's been that group of racers who have joined the team for the first time this year. People such as Greg Beachy, Chris Heintz, Jenn and Dan Canon, Amy Dixon and Mark Luking have either made the jump to serious bike racing or have resurrected their passion after a period of not racing.

We've had some notable successes in road racing. Michele Miller and Denise Everett both finished high in the GC of regional racing. Vic Maddox, despite a busy travel schedule, finished 9th in his group at the Masters Nationals. Anne Huntington and Dan Canon both finished first in their group at the Louisville Marathon. The rest of us have turned in personal best performances at any number of road races, criteriums, and time trials.

Eddie Doerr resurrected the Louisville Motor Speedway Training Series. It taught us a lot. Some of what we learned wasn't just about racing. Next Spring, "Tuesday Nights at LMS" will be back as a venue where new racers can see how they like racing and experienced racers can hone their fitness. Watch for a series of advanced bike handling sessions at the LMS next year for touring cyclists seeking a level of skill that is more easily taught and practiced on a stretch of pavement away from car traffic.

Over the winter, a number of us will form those off-season rides so essential to not just basic individual fitness but also to the camaraderie that forms among a group pursuing the same goals. These will be chances to ride with experienced racers and gain from their expertise. Established rides will provide that incentive to get out and ride when it's tempting to stay in where the fire's warm. They'll propel each of us into spring with a higher level of fitness with which to start the season. They send each of us into our first race of the New Year knowing other people who will be there for their first race of the season, too. It's tremendously satisfying to sit at a start line with a group of riders in the same uniform. It's also satisfying to share the stories afterwards when you stretch those tired muscles.

In the plans are meetings that allow a group of us to gather somewhere warm and talk about racing, about training programs, about training injuries, and anything else as it relates to racing. Just as with the base fitness rides, these meetings will allow people the chance to meet, to tell stories, and to understand the culture that surrounds bike racing.

I've had a number of people express an interest in racing who never ride to the starting line and try it. Here are easy ways to inch one step closer to that line. I hope everyone who ever felt the absolute thrill of watching a bike race, be it the Tour de France or a local criterium, will seize the opportunity.

Interested in racing? See any of us on the Team. Each of us will tell you what makes us passionate about the sport. Interested in any of the programs I listed above? See Eddie Doerr. See Rick Haines. Or see me. Want to be on a notification list? Send your email address to me at dhome510@msn.com. Give it a try. Don't wish you had. Don't talk about what you could have done. Next year, sit with us and share your racing experiences. Live with the satisfaction of meeting the challenge.

Join us. We're just like you.