Candi Murray

To give a historical perspective ( since many of our riders have never had=

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a USAC license) I have copies an article that I wrote for the Bicycle Paper=

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in 1999. Since that time our membership has continued to climb from 1700=20

to almost 2100.



Candi



The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) was originally started in the=

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late 70s. Called Oregon Cycling Association (OCA), it was then the district=

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association of USCF clubs. The name was changed to the Oregon Bicycle=20

Racing Association several years later to avoid confusion with the=20

political group, the Oregon Citizen=92s Alliance which was getting much=20

negative media attention at the time. There was not much activity for the=

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first few years after OCA was formed. When Steve Scarich became the=20

District Representative he pushed to increase the strength of the=20

organization. Organization was improved and a system of collecting fees=20

from races was established. A few years later Mike Murray was elected to=20

the board. Mike wanted more racing in Oregon than was currently being done=

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so he turned the focus of the group toward making it easier and easier to=20

produce quality events. He bought traffic signs, photo finish equipment,=20

PA systems, CB radios and much more. Whenever OCA had money Mike spent=20

it. So instead of individual promoters having to rent and/or stockpile=20

equipment, this equipment became available to all events big and small.=20

Over the years we have added to the equipment and now have a large truck=20

that can be used to transport whatever is needed to a race. We developed a=

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automated phone line for race information and purchased an 800 number,=20

established a web presence and with the advent of the electronic age we=20

have been able to acquire 800 email address from our 1700 members and now=20

distribute race flyers, results and notices at the click of the=20

mouse. This year we also added a chat group that allows members to post=20

for sale items and have discussions.



Dissatisfaction with the United States Cycling Federation came on slowly=20

and climaxed in December of 1998 when they fired all the Regional=20

Representatives in favor of a plan to only utilize 10 people nationwide to=

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service the membership. At this same time alternatives to the insurance=20

provided by the national governing body became more readily available and=20

the question was asked, =91What are we getting back for the dollars that are=

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sent to Colorado Springs?=92 An annual membership ranged from $35 to $50=

and=20

then the charge for insurance was about twice what was available=20

commercially. OBRA figured that Oregon alone was sending about $200,000=20

annually to USAC in USCF and NORBA membership fees and race permits and=20

surcharges. In exchange we received little in the way of services and now=

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we were not even getting a local representative. The straw that broke the=

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back was when USAC doubled the permit fees for the weekend day series=20

races. To send a message to Colorado Springs the series promoters choose=20

to insure with an insurance plan purchased by OBRA and to forgo USCF=20

sanctioning. We sent letters to every USAC board, director and staff=20

member explaining why we were doing this and further explaining that it was=

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likely that all Oregon events would do this unless USAC made changes to=20

address our concerns over the diminishing level of service. We only=20

received one response. It became apparent that local racing was not what=20

the governing body was about. It is what OBRA is about, to promote and=20

increase the number of events and racers within the state. In the fall of=

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1998 there was a vote of member clubs that was unanimous that we would=20

offer the OBRA insurance plan to all events. This meant that virtually all=

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Oregon events were no longer associated with USAC. We have met with the=20

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=

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the highest levels ever when David Beede contacted us about branching out=20

into mountain bike racing. The dissatisfaction among NORBA members was=20

even greater than that from the road/track side. Last year we were able to=

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organize a race series amongst the mountain bike races and added them to=20

our already existing email network. This has given them a voice that they=

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have not experienced before.



Now other states have followed our lead. American Bicycle Racing (ABR) in=

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the Midwest, Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado (BRAC =96 which has now=

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changed its name to American Cycling Association) represent Colorado,=20

Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and parts of Texas and North California/Nevada=20

Cycling Association (NCNCA) have all formed a coalition of association-=20

Federation of Independent Cycling Associations (FIAC). We have started=20

incorporation proceedings and are working toward a shared rulebook and=20

rider reciprocity. No matter what happens, the OBRA membership has chosen=

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to concentrate on cycling within the state. Our 2000 calendar has over 200=

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says of racing, we offer free membership to juniors and strongly suggest=20

that the race organizers reduce entry fees for those under 18. Our Best=20

All round Competition has expanded to recognize the outstanding=20

performances in each discipline and new for 2000 we are hosting an Oregon=20

Cup of specific races. One thing to remember is that while we try to give=

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the impression of an organized workforce, volunteers do all of the=20

functions of OBRA; there are no paid positions. What makes it work is that=

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riders know that to get they must give back also.