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7 comments:
I was there. A well attended (50?) and well run meeting.
The issues seemed clear to me: clubs need to be stronger, to sustain the sport, since they have the face-to-face contact with riders (new and old) and can leverage skills and volunteers. But how to make stronger clubs is the question. From my point of view: organize less races and put on more rides. Less overhead in resources required, less wear and tear on the few race officials we have (bless 'em - they work hard), and more socializing. And hopefully events get even bigger, since there are fewer of them. But that's just my own take away.
Personally, I'm not sure a stronger association can be regulated into existence, which seemed to be a thread that came up a few times.
The Impaler seemed to be writing a manifesto during the event. I'm pretty sure he is making a run for President. Just sayin'.
VW: fated
I was there too. I would say Ian wrote a very nice, accurate and concise description of the themes. It was a good meeting.
More rides? Like more than just Tuesday nights?
For the record, the Dark Side Head Office is all out of Dark Side wine. If a second bottle could be delivered, that would be awesome.
Writing helps me to quell my rage...
Too few doing too much with too little support and resources. From the MCA staff and board right down to the clubs, race organizers and commissaires. Too many people showing up with a consumer mentality and contributing nothing. Too broad a mandate for the MCA.
Math is hard, but even I can do the math on this: If all the stakeholders are feeling overwhelmed, we either do less or add more people. Or both.
Reduce the mission statement to competition, both recreatinal and the Provincial team and dump the rest. Simple? Yes. Painless? No. But plodding along like we have isn't going to be sustainable.
And people who want more races who have never done a thing to put on a race need to get a clue.
I ride a bike because I like racing. Social outings, rec and trans etc. is secondary to me. 20 million spent on so called active transportation is nice, and I know this was a huge thing amongst some groups, but at the same time road and MTB racing is in the gutter.
The consumer attitude is there alright and I've fully taken that path this year myself. Club rides do serve some customer segments, and that's OK, the challenge is to get the club riders involved in organized sport. Look at Muddy Waters for example. Hundreds of riders and a tiny fraction of those get involved in organized sport.
Less races and I will keep riding more on my own. I've seen this happen in Finland from approximately 2001 to 2007 when the social aspect was pursued by the national association. Racing (and organized sport) took a huge hit and has only started to recover over the past 2-3 years when few actives have started to really push for races. More new racers come from other sports than from club rides even when there are some really strong club riders who could race in national level elite races.
Maybe it's just me becoming a bitter and angry old man...and I've been sick for two weeks..
We all ride bike for different reasons, and that's great. I ride a bike because I love to ride a bike: Commuting year round, touring, club rides, throwdowns and races. My point is not to say one is better or worse than another, they are all great. And if people don't want to race, I respect that.
Racing isn't better than any other thing you can do on a bike. It is just what I think the MCA needs to emphasize due to limited resources.
So I am speaking to the racers. And the people who do race need to wake up to the fact that a handful of people put on the best races and events, the ones that combine competition and good times. We don't have to do this. It's a labour of love. But by this time of the year some of us are getting tired and a little grouchy. At least we are all getting rich hosting races. (Yeah right.)
If all you racers want great races, help out. Some people consistently work 12 or more hours in the days before a race and then race tired. The scene will only be sustainable if everyone with a race license contributes. If more people showed up to help we would all have a better experience, and you would be helping to build the sport and make racing sustainable.
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