Just sitting here in the dark, reading bike stuff (of course) and thinking about bike stuff. I swear I'm not really one dimensional, I just look and sound that way.
It looks pretty bad for the San Francisco Gran Prix. If the situation with the race organizer and city council doesn't get fixed soon, they will apparently prevent the race from happening next year. That would really stink, since it is a great race.
Don't get me wrong, I think Greenville South Carolina is a wonderful city, but I just can't believe that the USPro road championship is being moved from Philadelphia. The race isn't going away, but it won't be where we get our National Champion anymore. The championship event has been changed to an all American event for 2006 and a new race has been created around that change. I'm very happy that a new race is being created, since it is good for the sport and the industry, but I admit a pang of sadness. I remember when Eric Heiden won the first edition of the race. I remember many epic images of battles taking place up the infamous Manayunk Wall. It's just hard to accept the change, but I am sure the new race will be a beauty anyway- even without the presence of foreign riders.
Thanks again for all of the feedback about the track bike question posed last week. I can't use and incorporate all of the feedback and suggestions, at least not all at once, but the feedback has been critical in the planning process. Thanks.
What a week... really, it's been a crazy few months. Last year wasn't quite like this and I hope that is because things are picking up and progress is being made. I hope. Next week looks a little bit easier, so I will hopefully have the chance to really make some progress and get back to "normal". There's always hope anyway.
The coming year looks to be filled with more travel for me. I hope to be on the road visiting retailers and attending consumer events a bit more. I will obviously announce my travel plans here and try to get out for a ride or two in your neck of the woods.
Off to bed now...
Tim
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3 comments:
It's been my pleasure to work for Threshold Sports for the past three years. We did the first TdG, NYC Championships, SFGP and Philly week. Now it looks like SF is in jeapordy and NYC might not happen again in 2006.
I'm all for a US only pro road championship (and TT championship). It couldn't happen 21 years ago, but there are enough US pros to make it happen now. I'm disapointed that it won't take place in Philly or in Lancaster, which was also offered up as a possibility.
I hope that Philly happens - the race is currently without a title sponsor.
As a resident of Greenville. I couldn't be more excited about the new Cliff's race. I still can't believe the USPRO race will be right in my backyard next year. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, trust me; the mountains of northern Greenville county will make for a great event. Still, it is always sad when big, established races like the ones in Philly or San Francisco are adversly affected. I have been so excited about this news, that I didn't really even stop to think about it as a loss for Philadelphia.
The Philly USPRO race was a treasure - a true monument to the passion of bike racing spilling over to the non-bike crowd. You really have to experience the joy of the entire city of Philadelphia shutting down to party and celebrate the race along with us bike geeks. I've been to many great races throughout the US(I'm sure Greenville will be a fine race), but none with the uber-passion that Philly had. The racing at the Vuelta might be just as good, but the Tour just has that extra something that makes it rise above all others. That is Philly versus Greenville.
The Manayaunk Wall, the Ben Franklin Parkway, Lemon Hill. It's a crying shame that it's all being pushed aside just so that the American champ can be the first to cross the line instead of just the first American. Big deal... There's already enough US-only racing here. We need more International-attended races! And more races like Philly and San Fran (R.I.P.) that can transcend the commuinty of bikers to appeal to the population at large.
I don't know if it's USA Cycling's or Threshold's fault, but somebody better realize their mistake and apologize to the cycling community and start working on putting Philly's USPRO race back together.
Sorry Greenville. I'm sure you're nice and all, but you're no Philly.
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