Peter Murphy

Whoa... put the coffee down...and no one will get hurt





 From: Eric Kytola <eric.k-@kingdesign.com>

Reply-To: eric.k-@kingdesign.com

To: "'Obra (E-mail)" <ob-@topica.com>

Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary

Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 15:29:40 -0700



how much more even

could steven even be

if a steven could even race



if a steven raced even

would a race even be?

wouldn't steven be keeping

the peloton all even



finish all even

every single last steven

no off the back stevens

no break aways even



just a clean and even

on flats and steepen-s

maintain an easy speed-n

finish all even, steven!



ahhhh...the powers of coffee







-----Original Message-----

From: Doug Evans [mailto:Dou-@sprbrk.com]

Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 3:17 PM

To: Dav-@Hevanet.Com; ob-@topica.com

Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race

post-mortem summary





Well put.



I believe that the posts prior to the race were that Even Steven can race.

Not that the race format was even, which it wasn't, which was the point.

The point must have been made well if people are upset about how uneven it

was even though Steven could race.



-----Original Message-----

From: David Auker [mailto:Dav-@Hevanet.Com]

Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 3:14 PM

To: ob-@topica.com

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race

post-mortem summary





The way I see it:



The Even Steven Road Race was a revolutionary concept, successfully

designed

to make a statement.



Usually races are considered successful by the absolute number of

participants, showing that a lot of OBRA-land got out for a good time. Not

this one -- in fact, might this have been deemed even "more rewarding,

statistics-wise," had there been even fewer men attending the race? In a

sense, yes, since that would show support for the concept that riders need

lots of categories to race in, or else will stay at home.



The term "Even Steven" usually means balanced, fairness to all concerned.

This race used that term, but in a cute, humorous way. It was NOT meant to

be fair to all. It was a reactionary schedule of events designed to

penalize men, reward women (the usual "haves" and the "have-nots" in terms

of scheduling).



In the name of Cycling, I hope we can continue encouraging participation in

all age/gender groups that we possibly can. Excluding the normal formats,

penalizing a large group simply for its success in numbers has limited

service to OBRA.



Again, let me say, this is "the way I see it!" I mean no malice towards

anyone, and if someone can (politely) point out how this wasn't a strange

race, I'd love to hear it!



David

Team Cliff/TRC/RCB/member, OBRA Board





----- Original Message -----

From: "Shirley BROWN" <Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US>

To: <ob-@topica.com>

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 2:40 PM

Subject: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary





 For those who are curious about whether or not we met our race goals for

the Even Steven, this is talked about a little in the NWRR article below:

 

http://nwracereport.com/news/051203_even_steven.htm



One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51

men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever

have

more women in attendance than men. So, for those two women who brought us

up to that milestone, those 2 women who were unsure if they wanted to race,

those 2 women who were unsure if they had the time to travel to the race,

those 2 women who were daunted by the thought of hills... you made a

difference. You made history. 53 women. Wow! Let's get even more next

year!

 

And to the men who helped me pay half the bills for the race by racing

on

Saturday... thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoyed the course

and

where else could you go to be surrounded by so many beautiful, athletic and

fit women in one spot?

 

All in all, I'm so pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time

enjoying the race, the food and the sunshine for the awards ceremony. With

every race there are disappointments and things to work on for next year!

One of the things that was personally very disappointing for me, was that

we

only managed to get one junior woman racer out there. With an extra set of

certified flaggers for juniors, extra volunteers, officials, etc., it's not

looking like we can offer this category again, which saddens me to no end.

And a special thanks to Meg Mautner who came as a "reserve" official in

case

we needed her (which we didn't) and brought her bike just in case so she

could race (which she did).

 

I learned a great deal with this race and now have a much deeper respect

for what our officials and our Oregon race promoters go thru to bring

quality racing to Oregon. As you probably know, this race took a small

tribe of volunteers (somewhere close to 40), so thank you for all of you

that lent your valuable time to make this event happen safely! Another

pleasing statistic was that as far as I know, there were NO CRASHES and no

one was hurt. Our medic went home bored, which exactly what I like to see.

 

And I'd like to take a moment to thank our race committee members (my

EWEB

teammates) who dedicated many hours of their life and riding time to make

this happen: Patty Brown, Norm Babcock, Richard Sweet and Kent Peterson.

They all touched so many aspects of this race that I can't begin to tell

you

everything they did. This course took 3 days of set up and prep work, and

many of them (along with my hubby Grant and a set of energetic parents)

were

out there with me for 8 hours at a time filling in potholes, sweeping,

blowing and finally, marking the course at the wee hours of the morn and

doing cleanup until late in the eve.

 

I'd appreciate any feedback or ideas that you have to improve the event

for next year. If you'd like to email me offline, I'd love to hear from

you.

 

Thank you all for coming and see you next year!



Shirley



To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

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_________________________________________________________________

Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online

http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

Doug Evans

Well put.



I believe that the posts prior to the race were that Even Steven can race. Not that the race format was even, which it wasn't, which was the point. The point must have been made well if people are upset about how uneven it was even though Steven could race.



-----Original Message-----

From: David Auker [mailto:Dav-@Hevanet.Com]

Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 3:14 PM

To: ob-@topica.com

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race

post-mortem summary





The way I see it:



The Even Steven Road Race was a revolutionary concept, successfully designed

to make a statement.



Usually races are considered successful by the absolute number of

participants, showing that a lot of OBRA-land got out for a good time. Not

this one -- in fact, might this have been deemed even "more rewarding,

statistics-wise," had there been even fewer men attending the race? In a

sense, yes, since that would show support for the concept that riders need

lots of categories to race in, or else will stay at home.



The term "Even Steven" usually means balanced, fairness to all concerned.

This race used that term, but in a cute, humorous way. It was NOT meant to

be fair to all. It was a reactionary schedule of events designed to

penalize men, reward women (the usual "haves" and the "have-nots" in terms

of scheduling).



In the name of Cycling, I hope we can continue encouraging participation in

all age/gender groups that we possibly can. Excluding the normal formats,

penalizing a large group simply for its success in numbers has limited

service to OBRA.



Again, let me say, this is "the way I see it!" I mean no malice towards

anyone, and if someone can (politely) point out how this wasn't a strange

race, I'd love to hear it!



David

Team Cliff/TRC/RCB/member, OBRA Board





----- Original Message -----

From: "Shirley BROWN" <Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US>

To: <ob-@topica.com>

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 2:40 PM

Subject: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary





 For those who are curious about whether or not we met our race goals for

the Even Steven, this is talked about a little in the NWRR article below:

 

http://nwracereport.com/news/051203_even_steven.htm



One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51 men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever have

more women in attendance than men. So, for those two women who brought us

up to that milestone, those 2 women who were unsure if they wanted to race,

those 2 women who were unsure if they had the time to travel to the race,

those 2 women who were daunted by the thought of hills... you made a

difference. You made history. 53 women. Wow! Let's get even more next

year!

 

And to the men who helped me pay half the bills for the race by racing on

Saturday... thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoyed the course and

where else could you go to be surrounded by so many beautiful, athletic and

fit women in one spot?

 

All in all, I'm so pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time

enjoying the race, the food and the sunshine for the awards ceremony. With

every race there are disappointments and things to work on for next year!

One of the things that was personally very disappointing for me, was that we

only managed to get one junior woman racer out there. With an extra set of

certified flaggers for juniors, extra volunteers, officials, etc., it's not

looking like we can offer this category again, which saddens me to no end.

And a special thanks to Meg Mautner who came as a "reserve" official in case

we needed her (which we didn't) and brought her bike just in case so she

could race (which she did).

 

I learned a great deal with this race and now have a much deeper respect

for what our officials and our Oregon race promoters go thru to bring

quality racing to Oregon. As you probably know, this race took a small

tribe of volunteers (somewhere close to 40), so thank you for all of you

that lent your valuable time to make this event happen safely! Another

pleasing statistic was that as far as I know, there were NO CRASHES and no

one was hurt. Our medic went home bored, which exactly what I like to see.

 

And I'd like to take a moment to thank our race committee members (my EWEB

teammates) who dedicated many hours of their life and riding time to make

this happen: Patty Brown, Norm Babcock, Richard Sweet and Kent Peterson.

They all touched so many aspects of this race that I can't begin to tell you

everything they did. This course took 3 days of set up and prep work, and

many of them (along with my hubby Grant and a set of energetic parents) were

out there with me for 8 hours at a time filling in potholes, sweeping,

blowing and finally, marking the course at the wee hours of the morn and

doing cleanup until late in the eve.

 

I'd appreciate any feedback or ideas that you have to improve the event

for next year. If you'd like to email me offline, I'd love to hear from

you.

 

Thank you all for coming and see you next year!



Shirley



To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

David Auker

The way I see it:



The Even Steven Road Race was a revolutionary concept, successfully designed

to make a statement.



Usually races are considered successful by the absolute number of

participants, showing that a lot of OBRA-land got out for a good time. Not

this one -- in fact, might this have been deemed even "more rewarding,

statistics-wise," had there been even fewer men attending the race? In a

sense, yes, since that would show support for the concept that riders need

lots of categories to race in, or else will stay at home.



The term "Even Steven" usually means balanced, fairness to all concerned.

This race used that term, but in a cute, humorous way. It was NOT meant to

be fair to all. It was a reactionary schedule of events designed to

penalize men, reward women (the usual "haves" and the "have-nots" in terms

of scheduling).



In the name of Cycling, I hope we can continue encouraging participation in

all age/gender groups that we possibly can. Excluding the normal formats,

penalizing a large group simply for its success in numbers has limited

service to OBRA.



Again, let me say, this is "the way I see it!" I mean no malice towards

anyone, and if someone can (politely) point out how this wasn't a strange

race, I'd love to hear it!



David

Team Cliff/TRC/RCB/member, OBRA Board





----- Original Message -----

From: "Shirley BROWN" <Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US>

To: <ob-@topica.com>

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 2:40 PM

Subject: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary





 For those who are curious about whether or not we met our race goals for

the Even Steven, this is talked about a little in the NWRR article below:

 

http://nwracereport.com/news/051203_even_steven.htm



One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51 men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever have

more women in attendance than men. So, for those two women who brought us

up to that milestone, those 2 women who were unsure if they wanted to race,

those 2 women who were unsure if they had the time to travel to the race,

those 2 women who were daunted by the thought of hills... you made a

difference. You made history. 53 women. Wow! Let's get even more next

year!

 

And to the men who helped me pay half the bills for the race by racing on

Saturday... thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoyed the course and

where else could you go to be surrounded by so many beautiful, athletic and

fit women in one spot?

 

All in all, I'm so pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time

enjoying the race, the food and the sunshine for the awards ceremony. With

every race there are disappointments and things to work on for next year!

One of the things that was personally very disappointing for me, was that we

only managed to get one junior woman racer out there. With an extra set of

certified flaggers for juniors, extra volunteers, officials, etc., it's not

looking like we can offer this category again, which saddens me to no end.

And a special thanks to Meg Mautner who came as a "reserve" official in case

we needed her (which we didn't) and brought her bike just in case so she

could race (which she did).

 

I learned a great deal with this race and now have a much deeper respect

for what our officials and our Oregon race promoters go thru to bring

quality racing to Oregon. As you probably know, this race took a small

tribe of volunteers (somewhere close to 40), so thank you for all of you

that lent your valuable time to make this event happen safely! Another

pleasing statistic was that as far as I know, there were NO CRASHES and no

one was hurt. Our medic went home bored, which exactly what I like to see.

 

And I'd like to take a moment to thank our race committee members (my EWEB

teammates) who dedicated many hours of their life and riding time to make

this happen: Patty Brown, Norm Babcock, Richard Sweet and Kent Peterson.

They all touched so many aspects of this race that I can't begin to tell you

everything they did. This course took 3 days of set up and prep work, and

many of them (along with my hubby Grant and a set of energetic parents) were

out there with me for 8 hours at a time filling in potholes, sweeping,

blowing and finally, marking the course at the wee hours of the morn and

doing cleanup until late in the eve.

 

I'd appreciate any feedback or ideas that you have to improve the event

for next year. If you'd like to email me offline, I'd love to hear from

you.

 

Thank you all for coming and see you next year!



Shirley



To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

dave&amy

AMEN!

----- Original Message -----

From: "Curt Dewees" <cur-@rivercitybicycles.com>

To: <ob-@topica.com>; <sn-@charter.net>

Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 12:26 PM

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary





 I disagree with this Richard character 100 percent. This is supposedly a

free country, and anyone can promote any kind of OBRA cycling race they

want, as long as they fit into the parameters established by OBRA. I think

the idea and execution of this year's Even Steven race was excellent and

excellent. Keep up the good work. Mr. Richard, if you don't like it,

you're

 always free to promote you're own race, in your own fashion.



Curt Dewees





----- Original Message -----

From: "snjr" <sn-@charter.net>

To: <Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US>; <ob-@topica.com>

Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 8:21 AM

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race

post-mortem

 summary





 Shirley Brown wrote:



 One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51

men,

  53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to

ever

  have

 more women in attendance than men.

Why is this a rewarding statistic? What it illustrates to me is 100+

male

  riders didn't race all to do what? To show that women participation can

be

 greater than men when you discourage men from participating?



All in OBRA land, I hope these types of races do not become mainstream

as

  our sport will suffer. I want to racing opportunites to grow for women,

however, I do not believe this is the way to do it.



I encourage those sponsors, participants and promoters who want to see

women's racing grow to get together and create an incentive program to

include more women's categories in races. I fielded a very competitive

women's team in Texas. I used to provide promoters with prizes and cash

for

 additional women's categories and it worked fantastic. If planned

events

  do not have enough women's categories get with the promoters and find

out

  how to help make those categories happen. Usually its a matter of

logistics, so volunteer to help out and you will be rewarded with more

women's categories throughout the year, not just once a year



Next year, why not have an Even Steven race with equal categories for

men

  and women? Isn't that a better model to illustrate? Isn't that

actually

  "Even Steven?"



I guess my point is, this sport is too small and to fragile to not

combine

  our efforts and resources for the betterment of the sport for all.



Richard Randleman



To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

Curt Dewees

I disagree with this Richard character 100 percent. This is supposedly a

free country, and anyone can promote any kind of OBRA cycling race they

want, as long as they fit into the parameters established by OBRA. I think

the idea and execution of this year's Even Steven race was excellent and

excellent. Keep up the good work. Mr. Richard, if you don't like it, you're

always free to promote you're own race, in your own fashion.



Curt Dewees





----- Original Message -----

From: "snjr" <sn-@charter.net>

To: <Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US>; <ob-@topica.com>

Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 8:21 AM

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary





 Shirley Brown wrote:



 One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51

men,

  53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever

have

 more women in attendance than men.

Why is this a rewarding statistic? What it illustrates to me is 100+ male

riders didn't race all to do what? To show that women participation can

be

 greater than men when you discourage men from participating?



All in OBRA land, I hope these types of races do not become mainstream as

our sport will suffer. I want to racing opportunites to grow for women,

however, I do not believe this is the way to do it.



I encourage those sponsors, participants and promoters who want to see

women's racing grow to get together and create an incentive program to

include more women's categories in races. I fielded a very competitive

women's team in Texas. I used to provide promoters with prizes and cash

for

 additional women's categories and it worked fantastic. If planned events

do not have enough women's categories get with the promoters and find out

how to help make those categories happen. Usually its a matter of

logistics, so volunteer to help out and you will be rewarded with more

women's categories throughout the year, not just once a year



Next year, why not have an Even Steven race with equal categories for men

and women? Isn't that a better model to illustrate? Isn't that actually

"Even Steven?"



I guess my point is, this sport is too small and to fragile to not combine

our efforts and resources for the betterment of the sport for all.



Richard Randleman



To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

Nick Glazener

Here is a fresh newbie perspective on building race participant levels:



By all rights, as a 40 year old, Cat 5, first year racer, I should have

been one that felt discouraged by the Even Steven race. I never

interpreted the promoters intention to be such. I was grateful there

was a race in the Lane County area and challenged by the opportunity.   

All the racers in this area should have showed up just to support more

local races. Thanks to Shirley Brown and the EWEB team for doing more

than anyone else to create local road race opportunities.



The promoter can organize an event with a specific purpose for

encouraging more people to get out and participate. That will not be

enough to break down the anxiety barrier for someone to do something

new. The greatest opportunity to foster a larger cycling event turn out

is at the grass roots level. The most effective form of influence

occurs with the personal one on one interaction between experienced

racers and potential recruits.   The members of organized teams are in

the best position to do that. This takes an enthusiasm for the sport

and for the success of others. Unfortunately, that attitude is

contradictory to the typical ?roadie? stereotype.



There are a few people in this area that have that kind of attitude. I

was fortunate to have hooked up with a few when I started cycling a

couple of years ago. They encouraged (suckered) me to keep taking it to

the next level. I would not have even considered road or mtb racing

without their encouragement. They keep doing it, still. The first year

of racing has got to be the toughest. I try to ease my pain by finding

someone that looks more intimidated than myself and encouraging them. I

figure if I encourage enough newbies, I can create a new ?off the back

pack? and by default I will move up.



The most embarrassing thing for me at the Even Steven was at the start

of the race where the official and many of the experienced riders made a

point of picking out the kid in toe clips and tennis shoes that didn?t

know about the aerobar rule. The kid showed up because someone had

encouraged him to give it a try.   I knew that because I took a second

to talk to him before the race. It is bad enough that he was going to

get dropped immediately and then suffer for 73 miles. Why not just

humiliate him before he even gets rolling so he never thinks about

coming back?

snjr wrote:

 

Shirley Brown wrote:



 One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51

men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever

have

 more women in attendance than men.

Why is this a rewarding statistic? What it illustrates to me is 100+

male

riders didn't race all to do what? To show that women participation can

be

greater than men when you discourage men from participating?



All in OBRA land, I hope these types of races do not become mainstream

as

our sport will suffer. I want to racing opportunites to grow for women,

however, I do not believe this is the way to do it.



I encourage those sponsors, participants and promoters who want to see

women's racing grow to get together and create an incentive program to

include more women's categories in races. I fielded a very competitive

women's team in Texas. I used to provide promoters with prizes and cash

for

additional women's categories and it worked fantastic. If planned

events

do not have enough women's categories get with the promoters and find

out

how to help make those categories happen. Usually its a matter of

logistics, so volunteer to help out and you will be rewarded with more

women's categories throughout the year, not just once a year



Next year, why not have an Even Steven race with equal categories for

men

and women? Isn't that a better model to illustrate? Isn't that

actually

"Even Steven?"



I guess my point is, this sport is too small and to fragile to not

combine

our efforts and resources for the betterment of the sport for all.



Richard Randleman

snjr

 I just don't think there is enough volunteer support and sponsorship to go

around as it is.



Precisely! That is why we need to work together to make existing events

better, and encourage new events to promote the sport for as many

participants as possible. Even good race dates can become a resource issue.

I believe races are a finite resource. There are only so many that can be

held successfully each year. I say pool our resources and make the races we

can promote the best in the Northwest.



 It would be very difficult to put on a local race that gives equal

attention to men and women (while we're at it,

 let's give Juniors and Masters their fare share of this event, too).

Why? I think the Swan Island Classic format has achieved that goal. If

memory serves, the event started to provide more racing opportunities. I

think they have tweeked the categories a bit, but overall they have a bunch

of categories.



 I like Shirley's idea. Instead of waiting for men's racing in Oregon to

somehow generate enough surplus support that some of it trickles down to

the

 women, she picked one day where women's racing went to the front.

Agreed, I am glad someone is trying something, I just think the concept is

flawed, and ultimately will not work. Historically, the "just for" races

fail, to wit ORE-IDA, Lance Armstrong Series, the Masters Weekend (or

whatever it was called).



 I think these types of events are the way to grow women's racing.

History dictates otherwise. Does NORBA have women's only races to attribute

to its women participants? The common thread in NORBA's success is well run

events with categories for just about everyone. That is what road racing

needs. You know, BRING THE FAMILY EVERYONE CAN RACE! Logistically it is

hard to do, but that is why we need to work together to make it happen.

Ron Frerichs

I disagree. I just don't think there is enough volunteer support and

sponsorship to go around as it is. It would be very difficult to put on a

local race that gives equal attention to men and women (while we're at it,

let's give Juniors and Masters their fare share of this event, too).



I like Shirley's idea. Instead of waiting for men's racing in Oregon to

somehow generate enough surplus support that some of it trickles down to the

women, she picked one day where women's racing went to the front.



I hope this event get's big enough that she doesn't need the men's entry

fees and the Pacific Northwest has a great women's only race. I think these

types of events are the way to grow women's racing. And, the way I see it,

that is not exclusive to growing the sport in general, but helps that cause

by having 50% of the population gain exposure they might not otherwise have.



Ron







From: snjr <sn-@charter.net>

Reply-To: sn-@charter.net

To: Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US, ob-@topica.com

Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary

Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 08:21:23 -0700



Shirley Brown wrote:



 One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51 men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever

have

 more women in attendance than men.

Why is this a rewarding statistic? What it illustrates to me is 100+ male

riders didn't race all to do what? To show that women participation can be

greater than men when you discourage men from participating?



All in OBRA land, I hope these types of races do not become mainstream as

our sport will suffer. I want to racing opportunites to grow for women,

however, I do not believe this is the way to do it.



I encourage those sponsors, participants and promoters who want to see

women's racing grow to get together and create an incentive program to

include more women's categories in races. I fielded a very competitive

women's team in Texas. I used to provide promoters with prizes and cash for

additional women's categories and it worked fantastic. If planned events

do not have enough women's categories get with the promoters and find out

how to help make those categories happen. Usually its a matter of

logistics, so volunteer to help out and you will be rewarded with more

women's categories throughout the year, not just once a year



Next year, why not have an Even Steven race with equal categories for men

and women? Isn't that a better model to illustrate? Isn't that actually

"Even Steven?"



I guess my point is, this sport is too small and to fragile to not combine

our efforts and resources for the betterment of the sport for all.



Richard Randleman



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Shirley Brown wrote:



 One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51 men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever

have

 more women in attendance than men.

Why is this a rewarding statistic? What it illustrates to me is 100+ male

riders didn't race all to do what? To show that women participation can be

greater than men when you discourage men from participating?



All in OBRA land, I hope these types of races do not become mainstream as

our sport will suffer. I want to racing opportunites to grow for women,

however, I do not believe this is the way to do it.



I encourage those sponsors, participants and promoters who want to see

women's racing grow to get together and create an incentive program to

include more women's categories in races. I fielded a very competitive

women's team in Texas. I used to provide promoters with prizes and cash for

additional women's categories and it worked fantastic. If planned events

do not have enough women's categories get with the promoters and find out

how to help make those categories happen. Usually its a matter of

logistics, so volunteer to help out and you will be rewarded with more

women's categories throughout the year, not just once a year



Next year, why not have an Even Steven race with equal categories for men

and women? Isn't that a better model to illustrate? Isn't that actually

"Even Steven?"



I guess my point is, this sport is too small and to fragile to not combine

our efforts and resources for the betterment of the sport for all.



Richard Randleman

dirtydown

I wasn't going to write anything until I read the NWRR. I had no idea that

there weren't many Cat 4/5s in the race. As a first year, old, fat, Cat 5

racer, I thought it was an awesome course. I love the Forrest Service roads

around this area. I will be looking forward to it next year. Thanks to all

of the volunteers that made it happen. I was really impressed with the hot

models that were flagging around the Buck Creek area. I think it was their

fault I got dropped from the pack on that climb.

----- Original Message -----

From: "Shirley BROWN" <Shirley-@EWEB.Eugene.OR.US>

To: <ob-@topica.com>

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2003 2:40 PM

Subject: [OBRA Chat] Even Steven race report on NWRR & race post-mortem

summary





 For those who are curious about whether or not we met our race goals for

the Even Steven, this is talked about a little in the NWRR article below:

 

http://nwracereport.com/news/051203_even_steven.htm



One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51 men,

53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever have

more women in attendance than men. So, for those two women who brought us

up to that milestone, those 2 women who were unsure if they wanted to race,

those 2 women who were unsure if they had the time to travel to the race,

those 2 women who were daunted by the thought of hills... you made a

difference. You made history. 53 women. Wow! Let's get even more next

year!

 

And to the men who helped me pay half the bills for the race by racing on

Saturday... thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoyed the course and

where else could you go to be surrounded by so many beautiful, athletic and

fit women in one spot?

 

All in all, I'm so pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time

enjoying the race, the food and the sunshine for the awards ceremony. With

every race there are disappointments and things to work on for next year!

One of the things that was personally very disappointing for me, was that we

only managed to get one junior woman racer out there. With an extra set of

certified flaggers for juniors, extra volunteers, officials, etc., it's not

looking like we can offer this category again, which saddens me to no end.

And a special thanks to Meg Mautner who came as a "reserve" official in case

we needed her (which we didn't) and brought her bike just in case so she

could race (which she did).

 

I learned a great deal with this race and now have a much deeper respect

for what our officials and our Oregon race promoters go thru to bring

quality racing to Oregon. As you probably know, this race took a small

tribe of volunteers (somewhere close to 40), so thank you for all of you

that lent your valuable time to make this event happen safely! Another

pleasing statistic was that as far as I know, there were NO CRASHES and no

one was hurt. Our medic went home bored, which exactly what I like to see.

 

And I'd like to take a moment to thank our race committee members (my EWEB

teammates) who dedicated many hours of their life and riding time to make

this happen: Patty Brown, Norm Babcock, Richard Sweet and Kent Peterson.

They all touched so many aspects of this race that I can't begin to tell you

everything they did. This course took 3 days of set up and prep work, and

many of them (along with my hubby Grant and a set of energetic parents) were

out there with me for 8 hours at a time filling in potholes, sweeping,

blowing and finally, marking the course at the wee hours of the morn and

doing cleanup until late in the eve.

 

I'd appreciate any feedback or ideas that you have to improve the event

for next year. If you'd like to email me offline, I'd love to hear from

you.

 

Thank you all for coming and see you next year!



Shirley



To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com.

To respond to the list manager send to ob-@teleport.com

To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com

Shirley BROWN

For those who are curious about whether or not we met our race goals for the Even Steven, this is talked about a little in the NWRR article below:



http://nwracereport.com/news/051203_even_steven.htm



One of the most rewarding statistics for me personally was this: 51 men, 53 women. This is quite possibly the first road race in Oregon to ever have more women in attendance than men. So, for those two women who brought us up to that milestone, those 2 women who were unsure if they wanted to race, those 2 women who were unsure if they had the time to travel to the race, those 2 women who were daunted by the thought of hills... you made a difference. You made history. 53 women. Wow! Let's get even more next year!



And to the men who helped me pay half the bills for the race by racing on Saturday... thank you so much for coming! I hope you enjoyed the course and where else could you go to be surrounded by so many beautiful, athletic and fit women in one spot?



All in all, I'm so pleased that everyone seemed to be having a good time enjoying the race, the food and the sunshine for the awards ceremony. With every race there are disappointments and things to work on for next year! One of the things that was personally very disappointing for me, was that we only managed to get one junior woman racer out there. With an extra set of certified flaggers for juniors, extra volunteers, officials, etc., it's not looking like we can offer this category again, which saddens me to no end. And a special thanks to Meg Mautner who came as a "reserve" official in case we needed her (which we didn't) and brought her bike just in case so she could race (which she did).



I learned a great deal with this race and now have a much deeper respect for what our officials and our Oregon race promoters go thru to bring quality racing to Oregon. As you probably know, this race took a small tribe of volunteers (somewhere close to 40), so thank you for all of you that lent your valuable time to make this event happen safely! Another pleasing statistic was that as far as I know, there were NO CRASHES and no one was hurt. Our medic went home bored, which exactly what I like to see.



And I'd like to take a moment to thank our race committee members (my EWEB teammates) who dedicated many hours of their life and riding time to make this happen: Patty Brown, Norm Babcock, Richard Sweet and Kent Peterson. They all touched so many aspects of this race that I can't begin to tell you everything they did. This course took 3 days of set up and prep work, and many of them (along with my hubby Grant and a set of energetic parents) were out there with me for 8 hours at a time filling in potholes, sweeping, blowing and finally, marking the course at the wee hours of the morn and doing cleanup until late in the eve.



I'd appreciate any feedback or ideas that you have to improve the event for next year. If you'd like to email me offline, I'd love to hear from you.



Thank you all for coming and see you next year!



Shirley