Originally Posted by
chicagogal
I got started with cycling in Chicago and was always impressed with the infrastructure and support that there was for racing in the Chicago area. A lot of that was thanks to your work. If you do walk away from it, you will still have made a big impact on the sport at the local level and I just want to thank you, here, for all you have done. It hasn't gone unnoticed. I wouldn't blame you for wanting out at this point. You laid a lot of the groundwork and at some point it is up to others to keep it alive.
I admit to not really doing my part. I was active on the road race scene for a while, but the logistics and the time commitment just got to be too much. I used to make fun of people who trained to "win" group rides, but never toed the line at an actual race. Now I am one of those people. I just don't see myself loading up the car to travel to the far reaches of the Earth every weekend, staying in cheap motels, to pay to race a 30-45min crit - not when there are perfectly good group rides outside my front door.
It is tough out there, and there are no good answers at the amateur level. It would be different, I think, if I were pro caliber. But recreational bike racing has so many challenges.
In general (general) cyclist do it for themselves. Or parents do it for kids. Few in the USA care who else won, was a good racer. Few stay around for the podium or celebrate the winners. Most ignore, or hate them, or have a reason that they should have done better. That is the sport in the USA. As a junior dad in Belgium folks knew my kid, they looked him up. Totally different this side. As such it is very hard to leverage and make money on it because only the racers care. And, it is just math. Women's racing even less - zero care outside of the dads. I posted today we have one (16 year old) of the top female talents in the world. We also have done pretty well in Women's ITT in worlds and Olympics. Few know their names. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but makes it pretty clear cycling business in almost any capacity in the USA is a waste of time. Except some equipment mfgs have figured it out. Good for them.