There seems to be a greater lack of new riders in mtn bike racing then in
the other disciplines.
I have the members for the last 6 years. Each year we twice mail to all 6000
people on the list. Last year we put the calendars in every highschool and
health club in the state.
Candi
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Ryan Storfa
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 1:03 PM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Is Cross Country racing dying?
Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if this is a problem of a lack of
new riders or has the existing participant base just gone somewhere else?
If the existing participants have left, which ones (i.e. young, old, men,
women, beginner, sport, expert, Portlanders, non-Portlanders, etc) left
first, which ones are currently leaving and where are they going? As soon
as you know who isn't showing up and who triggered the exodus, you could
probably design some way to get those people back.
I think previous e-mails have said mtn biking isn't dying everywhere but it
seems to be around here. Given the rise of cross, road racing and free
riding, I imagine there is a bit of cannibalization happening. That would
argue that you should look outside Obra for new members or else any
incremental increase in mountain biking will negatively impact road and
cross races.
On that front, Obra has to have the names and addresses of past members.
Maybe some sort of a mailing to past members that didn't renew? For that
matter, you can buy local mailing lists. REI members might be a good place
to start and I know they sell their lists. From a mass market point of view
I saw quite a few ads for River City and Bike and Hike during the tour this
year. I have no idea what it cost them (although I suspect some of the cost
was offset by the Cross Crusade and Giant respectively) but could Obra or
the race organizers partner with someone to create a generic TV spot to
promote mountain bike racing and/or list of upcoming events?
That being said, I think the format of mtn biking may need to be changed in
the future to keep any new participants around. I like the idea of having
urban/short loop type events because they're good for spectators (more
spectators = more future participants). The less intense "festival" type
atmosphere for the longer/remote courses might be good too. It might be
easier to convince people to drive 4 hours if they can make a weekend out of
it and have something to do when they aren't racing. Again, this format
would be good for spectators.
In the end, I would suspect that the rise and fall is a bit viral. As soon
as you convince some new people to get into the sport, they bring their
friends, their friends bring their friends and next thing you know we're
back in the mid 90s, race promoters are on the cover of Fortune and all is
well again (disclaimer: the last point was a joke).
Ryan
PS - Another option is to get Floyd to switch back to mountain biking.
>From: jakebigham
>To: RCJohnson1@attglobal.net, obra@list.obra.org
>Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Is Cross Country racing dying?
>Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:28:41 -0700
>
>Rick-
>Your email is both insightful and dire but let me interject an
>observation. I am guessing that most bike racers of every strip (track,
>cyclecross, road, downhill, cross country) are over 18 years old, I'll bet
>the average is closer to 30. For most of these people, mommy isn't driving
>them anywhere. There is tremendous opportunity to bring in new adult
>participants into cycling with the right outreach. It is not a totally
>closed group of participants. I am under the impression that OBRA is
>(steadily?) growing over the years. I think there may be some unexpected
>issues resulting from that growth: larger fields, difficult logistics,
>frequent crashes, less of a "newbie friendly" atmosphere. It is just
>speculation on my part but supported by at least a little personal
>observation.
> Mike and Candi occasionally reference participation and membership
>statistics so I will defer to them, but my guess is that most new riders
>(for better or worse) are not coming from the diabetic obese child segment
>of our population. Your description of the woes of American society and
>culture may be correct but at the level of looking for participants in
>area racing (of all sorts) my guess is that there is lots of untapped
>potential (as you say, "..coma if we give up")
>-Jake
>On Jul 25, 2006, at 8:46 AM, Rick C Johnson wrote:
>
>>Randy,
>>Why couldn't you ask a question with a simple answer? Like "what is the
>>air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Geez, is XC racing dying? I
>>say not as such, but it could slip into a coma if we give up on it.
>>Consider the following.
>>
>>Modern America is the land of fads - todays out there, extreme,
>>be-part-of-the-happening-scene activity is tomorrows old news. Americans
>>loose interest fast - especially when there's no national heroics
>>involved. Americans crave attention and always want to win. But fewer
>>and fewer kids these days grow up with any appreciation for hard work,
>>and get less and less active every year. Mom and Dad work on a computer
>>all day and the kids get chauffeured to school. The TV has become the
>>nations babysitter. School athletic programs are cut to save money and
>>obesity sky rockets. No coincidence that our most recent sports hero
>>(who started his career as a MTB racer) grew up with no TV busting his
>>ass on a farm. Where will the next one come from?
>>
>>What the big picture comes down to is the majority in our country have
>>no appreciation nor desire for true sports competition. They'll pay
>>attention only when someone (an American) is winning, then switch the
>>channel back to NASCAR and have a few beers. As for mountain bike
>>racing, to do it well you have to train as hard (or harder) as any other
>>sport, develop exceptional riding skills, be willing to get dirty and
>>accept a higher risk of injury. And after all that you'll still get beat
>>most of the time. Factors like drive time, is it a loop course, or how
>>long the race is are just small details. They matter only to the people
>>who have already made the commitment to participate.
>>
>>As a promoter you have my sympathy. You're in a situation where there
>>are huge factors of which you have no direct control. Maybe the best
>>you can do is ride it out until enough people figure out that little
>>Johnny has diabetes because he's growing up playing video games instead
>>of riding a bike. The decline in XC race participation is but a symptom
>>of a larger disease plaguing our country. Right now every cycling event
>>competes for the same small group of participants. Cross popularity is
>>up so those people came from some where. You can be sure the vast
>>majority aren't new entries to the sport. It's cannibalism and XC racing
>>is on the menu.
>>
>>Rather than end this on a down note I'll try to offer some hope. The
>>current crop of kids may be withering on the vine but we can still look
>>to the future. Everybody should make an effort to get kids active and
>>get them interested in working hard to achieve a goal. Race promoters
>>can only offer so much incentive, but all the rest of us are ambassadors
>>and cheerleaders for our sport. Take some kids out for fun rides. Mentor
>>them. Encourage them. Plant the seeds of a future champion, help them
>>grow. It's either that or we continue down the path of being a nation of
>>has-beens and daydreamers.
>>
>>Rick
>>
>>Randy Dreiling wrote:
>>
>>>Hi All
>>>
>>>Hope you don't mind me putting this on OBRA race as
>>>this is 100% about racing.
>>>
>>>Minus the Bend area, cross country racing numbers are
>>>way down.
>>>
>>>WHY?
>>>
>>>I would have guessed gas prices, but Mt Hood is the
>>>closest race for many racers, yet there were only 60
>>>racers at the state games.
>>>
>>>I have heard people say race fee's are up, BUT that is
>>>just not true, I have race flyers from 1993 and the
>>>race fee is the same or went up by $5 at most
>>>depending on your classes, this includes the late fee.
>>>In fact Hood's fee is now $15, which is less then the
>>>1993 rate.
>>>
>>>Is cyclecross getting so big people are skipping the
>>>summer XC races to race cross?
>>>
>>>Why do you think it is slowing down??
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>>
>>>
>>>Randy Dreiling
>>>Owner Oregon Adventures www.oregon-adventures.com
>>>Executive Director Oakridge/Westfir Area Chamber of Commerce
>>>www.oakridgechamber.com
>>>Mt Bike Oregon www.mtbikeoregon.com
>>>Other Oregon Adventures Events
>>>Oakridge FTF, 12/24 of Willamette Pass
>>>Willamette Pass Downhill/Super D's Series
>>>www.oakridgefattire.com A simple site to download flyers
>>>
>>>__________________________________________________
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>>>
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