Riders (and fans) UNITE!

If you are a fan of bicycle racing, you simply have to read this; the best editorial I have seen yet on the situation in cycling.

The author, Charles Manantan, does an incredible job with this editorial and I give him a huge "bravo".

The current drama surrounding Astana, and other teams, because of Giro organizers RCS and Tour organizers ASO is nothing short of theater of the absurd. Our beloved sport of cycling is under attack... by the very folks who organize and run the sport! These idiots-in-charge are destroying the sport's credibility at a time when it needs to be propped up and resurrected... not beaten while it's down. It is due to these jackasses that I have personally been far less interested in things related to professional racing. Sure, on the domestic level I am totally pumped up because "my boys" are going to simply crush some people this year (you can quote on that one). But the whole European/ Pro Tour scene is sadly less important to me than ever. Why? Because the drama disheartens me far too much and I can't bare to watch the sport be humiliated any further. Other professional sports have much more to be concerned about, but they also have professional organizations propping them up and handling the "spin management", etc. Cycling, on the other hand, continues to look pathetic and weak- largely because of a lack of leadership... real leadership. Maybe I'm screwing myself out of ever getting to have a team participate in the "big" races because of my comments (though I doubt anybody related to this issue would ever read this- if they can read), but simply sitting here and nodding my head in agreement to what I read is tantamount to enabling things to continue they way they are now.

It should be no secret to anybody that I love the sport of cycling and have for the past 26 years of my life, but the 3-ring circus of fools running the sport and the major events is making fools of us all for our love and devotion. Frankly, that sh@# pisses me off! I hope it pisses you of too.

So, Charles, thank you for helping to fire me up further and thanks for writing down the comments and thoughts that have been in my own head. You beat me to writing a great piece and I don't know if I could have done it as well as you (I doubt I could). Thanks to Pez for publishing the editorial as well. Good job by both of you!

Now- what do we do? Sincerely, I'm not sure, but something needs to be done. Boycotting events is one way to be heard, but that hurts the teams and riders more than those who need to be hurt. Letter writing campaigns only ever go so far. Maybe a petition, showing support of the teams and riders is appropriate? I honestly don't know, but the comment section here is open to ideas. I'm fed up and I hope that you are too and are willing to be heard- somehow.

Join me, please.

Tim

Update-o-rama...

Big News: In an amazing blend of luck and the generosity of a friend, I am going to be a speaker next Friday, 2/22, at an AMA seminar- Beyond Marketing 2.0: Harnessing the Power of Social Media for Marketing Campaign Results. My very good friend, who is also one of the people I look up to and respect most in the marketing world, Toby Bloomberg, was instrumental in getting me involved with the seminar series. The other two stops are Miami and Chicago, but I am just speaking at the San Diego stop. I am not a member of the AMA, just because I have never studied marketing or been trained in marketing and have felt a little "out of place" because of that, but I have an immense amount of respect for the AMA and many of the people involved with the organization. So this opportunity to speak at an AMA seminar is more than a little bit of an honor to me... needless to say I am very excited and mildly terrified.

My topic of discussion? If you even need to ask, it's about blogging (and other social media) for business. So if you are considering attending the seminar, I look forward to speaking to you in just over a week... and I apologize in advance.

In other news...
The Princess remains under the weather still. Saw the pediatrician again today and got the same story; her lungs are clear, her breathing is great and there are no other signs of either the flu or pneumonia. It's just a strong virus causing her to feel crappy and have a fever.


In other, other news...
It's been a topic of discussion all over the place- ASO excluding Astana from all of their events. I had a couple conversations about it today, but I'm going to share my response to a good friend of mine over in Europe-

Astana doesn't surprise me at all. ASO and UCI are both so stupid, it drives me nuts. ASO is being their usual selves- stupid. They have a chip on their shoulders because of last year, so no matter how different the team and program is, they are going to crucify the team to make themselves feel better and try to wage a publicity/ PR war. It's so lame and shortsighted, but is classic ASO. UCI is lame for not stepping in and defending the new program, but they also have a pissing match going with ASO and the other Grand Tours, so it really doesn't surprise me at all. Cycling is a laughable sport sometimes. At least some good racing is already underway and the ToC starts in a couple days.

I mean... seriously... UCI and ASO are the two brattiest, most petulant children in the sandbox, threatening to take their toys and go home. It'll be a great day when both of them grow up and start acting like adults.

It's a very cold night here tonight, combined with rain, so I am trapped inside and not riding my trainer tonight. With all that's been going on lately and the Princess being sick, I haven't exactly been sleeping all that well- which explains why I am going cross-eyed at 9:00PM... so I'm packing it in and heading to bed.

Tim