Don Leet
In numbers you are correct what I meant was Oregon has mantained its
national presence. How many states have a USGP and how many will western
states will have one next year (only Oregon). What race is the oldest
standing stage race in the US the CCC. My point was we are not being
punished or boycotted from the outside. This is because what OBRA has done
is so successful.
Don Leet
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Murray"
To: "'Don Leet'"
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 11:15 PM
Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] OBRA's History
You wrote:
"we even put on our share of USA cycling events."
Actually, not so much. There were only 4 USAC events in Oregon last year;
CCC, Mt Hood, Track Natz Qualifier and USGP. All but the track event had
non-USAC associated races. USAC racing is only a very small fraction of
racing in Oregon. Only about 1 in 10 bike racers in Oregon have USAC
licenses.
Mike Murray
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Don Leet
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 19:29 PM
To: cmurray@obra.org; obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] OBRA's History
I wonder how many of you in OBRA land see the similarities to what Oregon
did and what the organizers of the Paris Nice and Tour are doing. I wonder
what we see from this revolution. When this happened in Oregon there was a
lot of negative discusion but now it is mostly forgotten and we even put on
our share of USA cycling events.
I am not taking sides as I have no clue as to all the differences but there
are similarities non the less.
Don Leet
----- Original Message -----
From: "Candi Murray"
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 5:02 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] OBRA's History
>I wrote this in 2000
> Candi
>
> The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) was originally started in
> the late 70s. Called Oregon Cycling Association (OCA), it was then the
> district association of USCF clubs. The name was changed to the Oregon
> Bicycle Racing
> Association several years later to avoid confusion with the political
> group,
> the Oregon Citizen's Alliance which was getting much negative media
> attention at the time. There was not much activity for the first few
> years
> after OCA was formed. When Steve Scarich became the District
> Representative
> he pushed to increase the strength of the organization. Organization was
> improved and a system of collecting fees from races was established. A
> few
> years later Mike Murray was elected to the board. Mike wanted more racing
> in Oregon than was currently being done so he turned the focus of the
> group
> toward making it easier and easier to produce quality events. He bought
> traffic signs, photo finish equipment, PA systems, CB radios and much
> more.
> Whenever OCA had money Mike spent it. So instead of individual promoters
> having to rent and/or stockpile equipment, this equipment became available
> to all events big and small. Over the years we have added to the equipment
> and now have a large truck that can be used to transport whatever is
> needed
> to a race. We developed a automated phone line for race information and
> purchased an 800 number, established a web presence and with the advent of
> the electronic age we have been able to acquire 800 email address from our
> 1700 members and now distribute race flyers, results and notices at the
> click of the mouse. This year we also added a chat group that allows
> members to post for sale items and have discussions.
>
> Dissatisfaction with the United States Cycling Federation came on
> slowly
> and
> climaxed in December of 1998 when they fired all the Regional
> Representatives in favor of a plan to only utilize 10 people nationwide to
> service the membership. At this same time alternatives to the insurance
> provided by the national governing body became more readily available and
> the question was asked, 'What are we getting back for the dollars that are
> sent to Colorado Springs?' An annual membership ranged from $35 to $50
> and
> then the charge for insurance was about twice what was available
> commercially. OBRA figured that Oregon alone was sending about $200,000
> annually to USAC in USCF and NORBA membership fees and race permits and
> surcharges. In exchange we received little in the way of services and now
> we were not even getting a local representative. The straw that broke the
> back was when USAC doubled the permit fees for the weekend day series
> races.
> To send a message to Colorado Springs the series promoters choose to
> insure
> with an insurance plan purchased by OBRA and to forgo USCF sanctioning.
> We
> sent letters to every USAC board, director and staff member explaining why
> we were doing this and further explaining that it was likely that all
> Oregon
> events would do this unless USAC made changes to address our concerns over
> the diminishing level of service. We only received one response. It
> became
> apparent that local racing was not what the governing body was about. It
> is
> what OBRA is about, to promote and increase the number of events and
> racers
> within the state. In the fall of 1998 there was a vote of member clubs
> that
> was unanimous that we would offer the OBRA insurance plan to all events.
> This meant that virtually all Oregon events were no longer associated with
> USAC. We have met with the principle of USAC to see if we could work out
> our difference but to no avail.
>
> OBRA has been successful beyond our imagination. Our membership
> swelled
> to
> the highest levels ever when David Beede contacted us about branching out
> into mountain bike racing. The dissatisfaction among NORBA members was
> even
> greater than that from the road/track side. Last year we were able to
> organize a race series amongst the mountain bike races and added them to
> our
> already existing email network. This has given them a voice that they
> have
> not experienced before.
>
> Now other states have followed our lead. American Bicycle Racing
> (ABR) in the Midwest, Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado (BRAC -
> which has now changed its name to American Cycling Association)
> represent Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and parts of Texas and
> North California/Nevada Cycling Association (NCNCA) have all formed a
> coalition of association- Federation of Independent Cycling
> Associations (FIAC). We have started incorporation proceedings and
> are working toward a shared rulebook and rider reciprocity. No matter
> what happens, the OBRA membership has chosen to concentrate on cycling
> within the state. Our 2000 calendar has over 200 says of racing, we
> offer free membership to juniors and strongly suggest that the race
> organizers reduce entry fees for those under 18. Our Best All
> round Competition has expanded to recognize the outstanding performances
> in
> each discipline and new for 2000 we are hosting an Oregon Cup of specific
> races. One thing to remember is that while we try to give the impression
> of
> an organized workforce, volunteers do all of the functions of OBRA; there
> are no paid positions. What makes it work is that riders know that to get
> they must give back also.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org]
> On Behalf Of Quenton Conant
> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 4:18 PM
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: [OBRA Chat] OBRA's History
>
> Hey,
>
> I've looked for a history of OBRA and maybe I didn't look in the right
> place, or maybe it's not there, but I'm curious to hear/read the
> history of OBRA. The driving force behind it's formation, etc...
> Anyone out there know?
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