Ron and Dorothy Strasser
A quick rant from an old "Sport" mountain bike racer. Yes another one from
ron.
If I am way out of line you can tar&feather me or just lecture me at will...
I do not feel qualified to show anyone (man or woman) how to race a mountain
bike, but it just seems that if some riders that did have the skills (men or
women) and were willing to take the time to show women or men some of the
skills that it would help provide the confidence needed to try some races.
There are places right here in Portland (and I am sure in other locals) to
do some clinics. A city park with some hills (even grassy) would be a place
to show riders technique for descending or climbing. More technical terrain
could be taken on as the group advanced. I am amazed at how supportive
racers are of each other in the mountain bike world. Women support each
other so well in sports so I would think if newbie's showed up to clinics or
races they would find how positive the environment is for their growth. I
think time is a huge part of if people feel they can give of themselves (as
teachers) or give of themselves (as students). There is only so much time
in a day and it sure seems to go by quickly. Do the teams out there offer
this type of learning opportunity to newbie's on their teams? Or do they
now do some clinic like teaching for entry level riders that are not on
teams? Is the teaching of new riders or team members based on the new
person showing talent and desire? If they have both that is very good. But
what if they just have the desire part and just a lot of fear maybe hiding
the talent part... Do teams help them through this? I believe there is a
huge gap between people that like to ride bikes and what they believe bike
racing is like (road or mtb). Most of the publicity racing gets covers the
top tier level and thus regular people see it as something they have no
chance at enjoying much less being a part. Cyclocross gets about as close
to reaching out to the masses as cycling has ever gotten in the good ol'
USof A. Portland is a huge part of that open door policy. I see "Platinum"
as getting that door open even wider for Track, Road and MTB racing. I
would help out, but I believe well qualified people in the cycling world
need to make these training sessions happen. I know they do sessions at
Alpenrose and PIR for track, cyclocross and road, but one sure does not hear
much if anything about MTB racing. I think the public image of MTB racing
is lots of wrecks, thus a general fear of pain from falling off the bike.
There are probably more crashes on the road. I am not complaining. New
people need to come from the masses, not specific picked out individuals
known through a friend etc. For example, regular people need to see an
opportunity on a flyer in a coffee shop or grocery store as well as bike
shops or hearing from a friend. The flyer/poster needs to perk interest.
If the clinic is run well, the new women or men will pick it up and go with
it. People can learn and accept new ideas and challenges when they feel
supported. Even people that seem as if they would never be able to race a
bike, might become much more than perceived if nurtured. So if someone puts
something together (hey you teams or bike shops!) I will be a gopher and
help out. I will be a spoke in the wheel. I have nothing but time and will
let all my other responsibilities fall to the wayside (even to the point of
homeless and begging for food)... or at least work the volunteering into my
schedule.
rant over
ron
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lindsay Kandra"
To:
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 7:27 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] ladies MTB
> What keeps me from the MTB race scene is the lack of practice. I really
> don't like going out with more intermediate or advanced riders and holding
> the whole show up, so I get lazy and don't go at all. There are a lot of
> ladies doing CX because of the camaraderie in the women's fields and maybe
> more women would come to race MTB if there were more opportunities to do
> clinics and rides with a group of other race-curious slowpokes. Maybe
> those are already out there and I just haven't looked hard enough...
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