Tom Orth

Cycling is not immune from the personality type that, once advanced beyond
the most rudimentary of skills and achieved some success (and this is not
actually required of this personality type), cannot resist the compulsion
to distance themselves from the the beginners through ridicule. In fact,
evidence suggests that cycling may actually attract this personality type.

On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 11:48 AM, Adam Tate wrote:

> Cat 4/5s deserve respect.
>
> As a rider who has been up one side of the categories and back down the
> other over a 40 year period little has changed in regard to new racers.
> Remember all elite racers once raced in the cat. 4/5s. Is there another
> sport this dangerous that allows a person to race with no experience or
> training by showing up and throwing down a few dollars? All clubs would be
> well advised to coach new road racers in the same manner that’s required to
> race on the velodrome, bumping drills, pace line, straight line sprinting
> to name a few.
>
> New racers are full of ambition, desire, drive and least of all
> fearlessness. Usually a hard crash is required for a new racer to start
> thinking more about their moves. They train hard, spend their hard earned
> money on expensive bicycles, gear, and most of all want to win (who
> doesn’t). All racers deserve respect. Those without as much natural talent
> may be working their rumps off to place in the top ten. Dismissing and
> belittling these riders does little to help improve the sport. Few
> photographers show up at 8am to take photos and you’re not likely to see a
> winning sprint photo on a leading local website. We all want to be
> recognized for the hard work we do. So an attaboy or attagirl can go a long
> way. On occasion a veteran rider needs to pull aside a dangerous new racer
> and educate them. Remember these new racers look up to you for inspiration,
> motivation and guidance. So let’s keep it classy.
>
> Good luck to all in your next race.
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