question for old (50+) racers re Columbia Plateau race

mike.m-@obra.org

2004-03-05



Eric Selker [mailto:sel-@molbio.uoregon.edu] wrote:

"there are actually a lot of 50+ racers in Oregon and that many hesitate to

do this race because they would need to compete against much younger

racers."



Out of the current 1049 OBRA members 129 are 50+.

13 are women

7 are Cat 2 (probably only 3 accurately categorized)

36 are Cat 3

36 are Cat 4

38 are Cat 5



The turn out for a race in general will be about 10-20% of the market as

identified by the OBRA membership list. This would predict that a 50+ field

in general will attract 15-25 competitors. Obviously this varies fairly

wildly depending on location, timing, etc. The bottom line is that although

it seems that there are a lot of 50+ riders the actual predicted turn out is

not all that large.



Personally I think that age is a poor predictor of racing ability. The same

is true of gender. Ability category is still a poor predictor but it is

better than age. Races separated by ability category will generally be more

competitive and therefore more fun.



Mike Murray



Oregon-@cs.com

2004-03-04





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Mike



I am a Cat 4 with a racing age of 60. While I like to ride with the younger

legs from time to time, I am OTB in all Cat 4/5 races. And, ditto for the

Masters 45+ (never mind 35+) with guys who are Cat 2/3 racers.



So, yes, I am interested. I think the classification you suggested - as well

as the moves OBRA seems to be taking - will help bring more "mature" folks

into races.



Peter LaPorte



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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=2 PTSIZE=10 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">Mike<BR>

<BR>

I am a Cat 4 with a racing age of 60.  While I like to ride with the younger legs from time to time, I am OTB in all Cat 4/5 races.  And, ditto for the Masters 45+ (never mind 35+) with guys who are Cat 2/3 racers. <BR>

<BR>

So, yes, I am interested.  I think the classification you suggested - as well as the moves OBRA seems to be taking - will help bring more "mature" folks into races.<BR>

<BR>

Peter LaPorte</FONT></HTML>



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Eric Selker

2004-03-04



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Dear other Over-the-Hill Racers:



Last year, as a 50 year old, I raced the Columbia Plateau Stage Race

in the Masters category, which was for 40+ year old folks. While the

race was a blast, I found it hard to keep up with the young guys

(well, some of the old guys too). I recently discussed with the race

organizer (Mark) the possibility of adding a 50+ category,

considering that there are actually a lot of 50+ racers in Oregon and

that many hesitate to do this race because they would need to compete

against much younger racers. Mark is happy to consider adding this

category, reserving the possibility of combining categories if less

than 25 register in the new category. The purpose of this message is

to gauge how many 50+ riders would be interested in racing if Mark

makes the change. The race has a reputation for being tough but I

found it to be safe and great fun. It's in a really nice area with

moderate hills (some long but not super steep), the race is extremely

well organized, they serve excellent food, etc. So my question is:

Might you be interested in this race if there is a 50+ category?

Please email me (sel-@molbio.uoregon.edu) and I'll collect the data

and let Mark know.



Thanks,

Eric



--

Eric U. Selker

Institute of Molecular Biology

University of Oregon

1370 Franklin Blvd.

Eugene, OR 97403-1229



phone: (541) 346-5193

FAX:   (541) 346-5891

email: sel-@molbio.uoregon.edu

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--></style><title>question for old (50+) racers re Columbia Plateau

race</title></head><body>

<div><font face="Times" size="-1" color="#000000">Dear other

Over-the-Hill Racers: <br>

<br>

Last year, as a 50 year old, I raced the Columbia Plateau Stage Race

in the Masters category, which was for 40+ year old folks.  While

the race was a blast, I found it hard to keep up with the young guys

(well, some of the old guys too).  I recently discussed with the

race organizer (Mark) the possibility of adding a 50+ category, 

considering that there are actually a lot of 50+ racers in Oregon and

that many hesitate to do this race because they would need to compete

against much younger racers.  Mark is happy to consider adding

this category, reserving the possibility of combining categories if

less than 25 register in the new category.  The purpose of this

message is to gauge how many 50+ riders would be interested in racing

if Mark makes the change. The race has a reputation for being tough

but I found it to be safe and great fun.  It's in a really nice

area with moderate hills (some long but not super steep), the race is

extremely well organized, they serve excellent food, etc.  So my

question is:  Might you be interested in this race if there is a

50+ category?  Please email me (sel-@molbio.uoregon.edu) and

I'll collect the data and let Mark know.<br>

<br>

Thanks,<br>

Eric</font><br>

<font face="Times" size="-1" color="#000000"></font></div>

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<div>Eric U. Selker<br>

Institute of Molecular Biology<br>

University of Oregon<br>

1370 Franklin Blvd.<br>

Eugene, OR 97403-1229<br>

<br>

phone: (541) 346-5193<br>

FAX:   (541) 346-5891<br>

email: sel-@molbio.uoregon.edu</div>

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