David Ferguson 19 April 2005 03:56:28 [ permanent link ]
People who cycle now don't decide whether or not go out because Lance is cycling.
I do imagine that the number of people who enter the sport/recreation each year because of their exposure to Lance will decrease, but he was going to retire someday anyway.
Cycling isn't popular enough to notice the decline in participants. What we'll notice is the severe decrease in coverage by magazines and television.
Dave
On 18 Apr 2005 15:12:50 -0700, "crit PRO" <critpro@aol.com> wrote:
Lance stepping down.>Tyler getting sacked.>
Same day. Where were you when you heard the news? Tuesday April 18,>2005. It's the Kennedy moment for our generation.>
Carl Sundquist 19 April 2005 04:33:53 [ permanent link ]
"crit PRO" <critpro@aol.com> wrote in message news:1113862370.262186.17910@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...> Lance stepping down.> Tyler getting sacked.>
Same day. Where were you when you heard the news? Tuesday April 18,> 2005. It's the Kennedy moment for our generation.>
crit PRO
There seems to be a disconnect between you and whoever set up the chairs and the number of media who felt the news conference was something worth covering.
Casey Kerrigan 19 April 2005 05:17:20 [ permanent link ]
In article <14i8615k485nn51qno9qits7r8ms298q9r@4ax.com>, David Ferguson <Zeds_Dead70@yahooremove.com> wrote:
People who cycle now don't decide whether or not go out because Lance> is cycling.>
I do imagine that the number of people who enter the sport/recreation> each year because of their exposure to Lance will decrease, but he was> going to retire someday anyway.>
Cycling isn't popular enough to notice the decline in participants.> What we'll notice is the severe decrease in coverage by magazines and> television.
The popularity of bicycle racing ( in terms of the number of people actually racing) isn't really affected by Lance or any other popular Pro racer. The bigger factor is having good grass roots programs that make it easier for people interested in racing to give the sport a try. We could probably easily double the number of USCF licensed riders if each racing region had monthly training clinics for new racers, more separate races for Cat 5 men and Cat 4 women ( at both the elite and master levels) and other programs to make life easier for entry level riders.
If he is he must have traded in the blimp for a used concorde.
The CN dirigible is holding up very well, thank you. We managed to get it up in the air on Sunday when all the TV helicopter pilots were afraid of the fog, although I think at one point we were covering a 1.2 race in France. But a bit of reverse engineering in the online reportage fixed that up quite seamlessly.
I've just gotta get the foot pump out to make sure we have enough air to get to Charleroi tomorrow. Anyone know which way the wind is coming from?
The popularity of bicycle racing ( in terms of the number of people>actually racing) isn't really affected by Lance or any other popular>Pro racer. The bigger factor is having good grass roots programs that>make it easier for people interested in racing to give the sport a try.
It would also help to have some heavily promoted USCF A and B races in every region. Seeing a real bike race up close has more impact than the Tour on TV IMO. OTOH, its hard to find the D race in the local industrial park.
Coverage in the newspapers probably suffers from a near requirement that the results be available in time for the next day's paper on a regular basis. If each area assigned someone to do that, papers might start using the results as filler. There's a local angle in almost every race. But that doesn't happen that much from my experience. Its far more common for everyone to have a 'pay the prizes, pack up the finish line and go home' attitude.
It might even help to encourage interest among the non-racers, instead of the reverse. The disconnect and disdain seen between non-racers and racers chops off the primary spectator group at the knees. Bike clubs used to ride to the stages of the Tour du Pont/Trump - they could do the same for a well promoted A or B race. I was a newsletter editor for LAW/LAB bike clubs for probably a decade total and never saw one item from a USCF club.
Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...
