Nicholas Perera

Well, we've all heard alot of bickering and accusations, but I'd like to

thank Mr. Martin for apologizing for his family's comments. Whether taken

in or out of context my greatest worry was that the Murrays would take

these comments seriously and/or personally, and we would lose them from

the OBRA organization.

Dave Martin did make one great point, "The OBRA model, as good as it

is, still has some problems with respect to integration into the

National/International scene. License upgrades and qualifying for UCI

events still requires our local OBRA riders to travel outside of the

OBRA/California area in order to earn the necessary points."

This is true, the integration of the OBRA (and other independent) systems

has not been well done, but who is at fault here? It has been well

established that it is USAC who is unwilling to negotiate and come to

terms with the fact that they are not the only player on the block

anymore. If you want to see OBRA points and upgrades count towards your

USCF status then write the USCF a letter, they're the ones at fault for

what is probably the only drawback of racing in Oregon.

Finally, even if the USAC refuses to cooperate in this matter, we must

ask ourselves which group is more important: the 99% of racers who are

doing this for fun and have no aspirations (or, in my case, no hope) for

national or international competition, or the other 1%?

-Nick



------------------------------------------------

Nicholas Perera                        __o              =20

Lewis and Clark College-MSC 1591      -\<, =20

0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd.           (o)/(o)

Portland, OR 97219                   TeamO =20

(503) 293-1141



On Tue, 15 Feb 2000, Martin Clan wrote:

 =20

It is incorrect to imply that the hard-working and dedicated Murray famil=

y

 has profited from their efforts to improve the OBRA organization. The

compensation that they received was minor compared to the extra-ordinary

personal costs volunteered to advancing the sport of bicycling in Oregon.

=20

The comments of Bonnie were not well focused and they=92ve been taken out=

of

 context, so we apologize to the Murray Family and to the other dedicated

members of the OBRA organization.

=20

Our comments, in this case, should have been limited to the following:

    OBRA was forced to create an alternative to the Federation because the

Federation had lost its original purpose of support and customer service =

for

 local/regional racing.

    The OBRA alternative exists due to the extra-ordinary efforts of one

family.

    Any efforts to duplicate the OBRA structure in another part of the

country must recognize that this is NOT a simple process. Instead, it wi=

ll

 require a significant amount of organization and follow-through on a larg=

e

 number of details.

    The OBRA model, as good as it is, still has some problems with respect=

to

 integration into the National/International scene. License upgrades and

qualifying for UCI events still requires our local OBRA riders to travel

outside of the OBRA/California area in order to earn the necessary points=

=85

     We have a very long way to go towards resolving these and other issues

here in Oregon. Thankfully, we have the Murray Family. But if we ever l=

ose

 their support, where will we be left then?

=20

Many thanks, -Dave Martin

=20

=20

=20

=20

_____________________________________________________________

Who will win the Oscars? Spout off on our Entertainment list!

http://www.topica.com/lists/showbiztalk

=20

Joseph Cipole

On Tue, 15 Feb 2000, Martin Clan wrote:

 

It is incorrect to imply that the hard-working and dedicated Murray family

has profited from their efforts to improve the OBRA organization. The

compensation that they received was minor compared to the extra-ordinary

personal costs volunteered to advancing the sport of bicycling in Oregon.

Really? That is what I got from Bonnie's response. The fact of

the matter is this: We ( the members of OBRA) rely on the Murrays to do a

lot of things for us. Things that we take for granted. The Murrays also

rely on the members of OBRA to contribute much as well. Especialy in the

arena of scheduling, promoting, and putting on a race.



If you don't like the show, work to change it! When was the last time you

decided to schedule a race? Help your son's club put on a race? I know you

are dedicated to helping your son, and that is fantastic! But, there are

others out there as well who could use the help and dedication. We all

want to see racing grow and prosper here in the Northwest and throughout

the country. Infighting and poison pen letters ARE NOT the way to do it.



Instead of tossing accusations back and forth, lets work together to try

to find out what each other needs. You (The Martins) live just North of me

in Vancouver. Work to promote a race in the area. I have identified a

number of excellent courses in the Battle Ground/Amboy/Lucia Falls

area, as well as Ridgefield, Camas, Washougal. Work to put an event on

in the area. As a past promoter of the Mt. Tabor Crit, I would be mnore

than willing to help you.



Lets stop the snipping and scrathing and get back to what it is all

about... bicyling!



Joe Cipale

Martin Clan

It is incorrect to imply that the hard-working and dedicated Murray family

has profited from their efforts to improve the OBRA organization. The

compensation that they received was minor compared to the extra-ordinary

personal costs volunteered to advancing the sport of bicycling in Oregon.



The comments of Bonnie were not well focused and they?ve been taken out of

context, so we apologize to the Murray Family and to the other dedicated

members of the OBRA organization.



Our comments, in this case, should have been limited to the following:

   OBRA was forced to create an alternative to the Federation because the

Federation had lost its original purpose of support and customer service for

local/regional racing.

   The OBRA alternative exists due to the extra-ordinary efforts of one

family.

   Any efforts to duplicate the OBRA structure in another part of the

country must recognize that this is NOT a simple process. Instead, it will

require a significant amount of organization and follow-through on a large

number of details.

   The OBRA model, as good as it is, still has some problems with respect to

integration into the National/International scene. License upgrades and

qualifying for UCI events still requires our local OBRA riders to travel

outside of the OBRA/California area in order to earn the necessary points?

   We have a very long way to go towards resolving these and other issues

here in Oregon. Thankfully, we have the Murray Family. But if we ever lose

their support, where will we be left then?



Many thanks, -Dave Martin