Follow up on post from 10/8 regarding Shannon & Andrew

rond..@spiritone.com

2016-10-09

Dan / all,
Thanks for this second Post Dan. People. Please do not beat-up on him.
Everyone comes to racing from their own life experiences and point of view.

Racing at the core is about competition. All the side dishes that accompany
the racing are kind of like icing on the cake or at times a bitter pill.
There has to be a method of dividing riders and age / gender / bike type is
the most logical. Shannon and Andrew have had many races where they
finished in the pack as well as their wins. I tell my friends who could
care less about bike racing (other than they are happy I enjoy it) that some
of the best days on the course are the ones when you are finishing 18th, but
having fun racing the few people around you and maybe even more fun riding
the course. If you are racing bikes just to get the win or the podium, I
honestly believe a good amount of the stress related to that is quite
harmful to your health. Shannon and Andrew are really strong experienced
riders who have earned racing in the masters. I don't think people reaching
the age of 50 or 60 should not race in those cats. The ones coming into
those cats each year are usually faster as I continue to tack on the years.
It is an aspect of life we cannot escape.
Find a way to enjoy "your" race and accept that the faster people are just
that. I would not want it any other way. I personally had a good day with
regard to placing today, but more than that, I had two super fun days
(yesterday too!) of racing in the MUD. Dry courses can be fun, but for me
the fun begins with muddy courses. Some do better in dry, some
mud........some do very good in both. We just live with that and have fun
racing our bikes.
just my opinion on this.
ron strasser

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Werle via OBRA
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2016 12:21 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Follow up on post from 10/8 regarding Shannon & Andrew

Moderator -

Could you remove my prior post?

I've gotten several responses from OBRA members about a post I left last
night questioning why two of the fastest men's masters 1/2 riders continue
to race in our group, despite winning multiple events over several years .
One profanity-laced e-mail condemning my post showed up in my inbox at 6:34
AM this morning.

It's a divisive topic, and I'd like to move on from it quickly.

At the heart of the matter is trying to determine which takes priority: age
or ability. I believe ability supersedes age; others do not.

OBRA's category system allows riders facing that decision the option to
choose between the two, which, I believe most will agree, is a good thing.
It's my job - and the job of others who agree that ability outweighs age -
to accept those differences, move on, and continue to enjoy racing.

Shannon and Andrew - I'm sorry.

Dan
danwerle at gmail dot com
five-oh-three 719 three 22 six
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