Dan Action

Tuesday Tuesday February 5, 2008

2008 has seen the passing of two great names in cycling already. Namely, Mr. Thomson and Mr. Sheldon Brown.

Being from New England, I always knew of Sheldon Brown as being a regional celebrity in cycling circles. Only in the past 5 or 6 years did I start to realize how prolific the man really was, and what a deep mark he made in cycling. How many people ignited their spark of passion by immersing themselves in Sheldon’s online maze of gearing charts, 3speeds, all that is fixed gear, and general lore? How many more simply indulged themselves in the tomes of information put forth by a man who tirelessly worked and researched, but also continued to learn and adapt to new technologies and faces of the industries, therefore maintaining a trait few folks do that have been around as long, that of relevancy. He had a fantastic run here; it was one that touched many, many people.

I had never met Mr. Thomson, though I hope it dosen’t sound too cheesy or shallow when I say I have, like millions more, I have thoroughly enjoyed riding the products he designed and manufactured. I have a deep appreciation for both the model of business he operated, and the quality worksmanship his posts and stems were manufactured to. He seemed like a real decent man.
In other news, the Gainesville Downtown crit is this weekend. There is also a time trial on Saturday, but I am opting out of that one since I work all day. I am as excited to race as I am to just enjoy being at the races. I will get to watch my friend Mike Arena race his first big crit, and also check out Nick M. from Boston race his race. The course pretty much orbits a great park downtown, so watching in easy and enjoyable.

There is one thing I’m a bit amiss about. Here they are requiring racers to rent or buy a timing chip for your race. You can buy one for roughly $100 or you can rent them for $10 per race, with a $90 deposit or your credit card number.

They used the chip system at the two ‘cross races here too, though no deposit or rental fee was needed, just your U.S.A. Cycling license # and your I.D. At a cross race though, if you need to change bikes, it means you’d have to wear your chip on your person, and if it came down to a sprint, it is not your front wheel that is being recorded, it somewhere toward the center of the bike. I also noticed the lack of cameras at the line as well. And to tiop it off, no posted results in two weeks! If the computer timing system is so great and efficient, where are the results?

So buy a chip for a hundred or rent them by the race for ten bucks. How come in New England- road, cross, whatever- with a couple cameras on the line and fields of nearly a hundred riders, they can get it right? Is it because outfits like J.D.’s Pioneer Productions are so superior? That may well be the case, but in any event, making racers pay more money to race with the incentive of more detailed data (lap times, etc.) just seems bunk to me. It’s as lame as unattached rider fees. It seems to me that if this is going to be a mandatory piece of equipment, the promoters are setting the bar, therefore the burden of running the new system should be on them. Especially when the tried and true way of watching the line, having a couple of cameras, and cataloging finishing riders seems to work pretty well. The way they did it at the ‘cross races in Largo seemed well done, if just not that congruent to cyclocross, seemed to work well. No one waked off with their chip, and if someone might have, the promoters have the person’s name and information. Who knows?

Well the fancy and triumphant sounds of Ratatat are getting me pumped to get on with my day here. I’m psyched to eat then get out for me and Mike’s Tuesday tempo + ride. Oh for the record, I’ve put on a bit more weight, putting me up to right about 150lbs. Yeah, eat right!!!!