I went to Tyler since it has lots of reasonable hills and one
very ugly, mean hill in contrast to
Muenster which has LOTS'o'hills. Tyer is also the first organized
ride/race our team ever did ...
gosh, I think it was 1987 but it could have been 1988 ... it
was the first for our team and the
first Beauty and the Beast.
Tyler bike club this year did, as they traditionally do, a great
job on the logistics, arrangements
and added a money payout ... but only to registered riders ...
I didn't spot one pirate/bandit
rider ... but I did get to ride and race with a lot of guys and
a couple of women who are fast,
strong riders. These are people I'd never get to race with in
a sanctioned event. Police car out
in front, motorcycles up and down the sides ... two sag cars
behind us ... a photo car trying to
leap frog our pack to take pictures ... There was neutral support
ladies handing water bottles
full of cold, clear water at the top of the Beast #2 ... the
only thing missing was somebody to
herd in the dogs in "Dog Valley" ...
Sure we had to deal with the strong Tri-geeks and some people
who couldn't hold a line, and
there was no official to yell at the people who crossed the yellow
line ... but sometimes that
happens in official races as well. Most importantly, I think
all I saw among the racers was that
good natured determination and attitude that is what bicycle
racing is all about.
While Muenster has beer for all entrants, Tyler had showers and
BBQ. I didn't stay to eat
because we had to get back for Randy Travis and the FWSO, but
the showers ... man - the
showers were the second best thing about the ride. The best,
of course, was having the finish
line behind you. It was a tough, tough 70 miles.
I think there are a couple of more things Rallies provide. First,
they provide a chance for "us"
racers to showcase our talents, strength and sponsors to the
bicycle public in general. For the
70 or so of us who started in the front and were going 70 miles,
there were maybe 5 times that
number of people out there just riding their bikes.
The family that was parked next to me just looked as Lauren and
I got the Colnago out and
made it ready to race ... they asked some questions and talked
about stuff they'll need very
soon ... and they didn't get the msg to look it up on Performance
web-site ... they got to hear
about my sponsor ... THAT's important. I think our team sponsors
got more out of Tyler and
Muenster than they got out of Fayetteville and Lago Vista in
terms of money back on their
advertising investment. Secondly, when we were talking I was
able to tell them a couple of
things about what to do or try and whatever... you know, bikie
talk ... and that is also helpful
for our sport. Instead of Foootballll that kid might want to
ride bikes someday ... At the line
and at the end of the ride, I saw a lot of interaction of the
elite ... and face it ... I am a slow old
man on this board ... but an elite when measured against most
of the riders in the entire event
at Tyler ... we become a real force within the pastime and the
sport ... those are the majority
of people on two wheels and it is they who we need most of all
in our corner for events, the
rights for the road and frankly both our political and sporting
future ...
Maybe it's just Tyler, but it almost was like the "old days" ...
there were several places where
groups of SPECTATORS ... I know that we're not used to those
at real races ... but people who
are not connceted to a rider actually WATCHING the action and
enjoying themselves. At
several road junctions there were people clustered in the bed
of a Pick-up truck (Hell - it is
east Texas) or on someone's porch watching us race by ... cheering
... waving ... The pace did
pick up and we all seemed to go to the drops when we'd pass them
... but that's cool. Maybe
its not the Giro or the Tour .... but most of them have never
heard of those events because it's
niether Football nor Nascar ... but maybe they'll think about
about someday because they saw
these guys wearing all sorts of colorful jerseys fly by their
house or driveway or whatever ... in
a Peloton ... For the moment, maybe we were in the same league
as real sports to them ...
and that's really cool.
So for all you people who didn't race this weekend ... shame ...
there was lots of racing ... at
all different levels. Sometimes it's hard to really believe how
lucky we are.
tReply RE : North Texas Rallies
David 4/29/2002 10:27:00 AM
Andy, Thank you and the other racers that came to Tyler. In the
end we had 17 men sprinting for
the win. Also, Jenny King smoked the women's field. It was a
good day for the Beauty and the
Beast. I am responsible for adding the prize money and now we
are thinking about a TBRA race
next year. It is about time to have a race in East Texas again.
I am going to talk to sponsors
now, as we say here in East Texas - I am going to strike while
the iron is HOT! Once again thanks
to the racers that came to Tyler, hope we showed you good old
fashion East Texas - Tyler Bicycle
Club hospitality.
David Starrett