Yeah... what this dude said...

Alright... Curly has this great idea for his WSBA number. I've been talking about it for years, but now I'm gonna do it. Have it printed on fabric so I can keep it sewed to one of my jerseys. Why you ask? So I can wash the whole damned thing and the numbers are there and I don't have to go through the damned process of putting them back on. Right about now OAD and the Tandem Knitter are saying to themselves "But Curly... OBRA's been doing that for years..." I know... I didn't say it was "MY" idea... I just said I had it. What I'd like to see is a "knitted" WSBA number... now that would be funner than ridin' a bull with three legs.

Correction to yesterday's workout: The copyboy may a mistake again. It said "say 2 Hail Marys" it was supposed to say "drink 2 Bloody Marys"... please make the change in your journals.

This feller below did a better job saying what I tried to say last week... and before. I call it "middle man syndrome" not to be confused with the "double-dipping phenomenon" that the USAC does with it's race promoters and the insurance charges. Now, before ya git all bent outta shape with what I just said, think about your license fee ($60) and the per rider charge for day of event insurance ($2 per rider)... it seems quite expensive. OBRA and a couple others have found some way around it. The point of this post is to git yer mind around the fact that there are better ways to do things. We can't just sit on our asses and let racing happen to us without input. Right now the current system is run by the USAC's requirement that clubs/teams host a race per year. I'm sure this was to make sure that at least someone put on some racing. Is there another way to do this? Maybe... that's all I'm asking you to think about.

The ProTour can't succeed:
The ProTour may look great on paper, but ultimately it can't succeed. The reason is the organization itself, UCI, is too far removed from the money that drives the sport.
Neither the UCI nor the national associations who belong have any money. They perform administrative functions that have value, but they don't provide the money to make the sport run. The teams, their sponsors and the race organizers make this sport happen, not the UCI or any national licensing body. If there is going to be a UCI, the folks who pony up the money should decide who the president is, not a bunch of country delegates.
Take a lesson from the NFL, NBA or MLB, where the owners select their commissioners. The form (UCI) has to follow the function (teams and money). Right now they are misaligned and deadlocked. The little gods at UCI are dictating to the people who pay for this sport, but eventually the people who pay will have their way.
If the UCI takes a hard look around, they will find that the UCI is the part of this whole mess that is expendable. If the whole bureaucracy disappeared tomorrow, who would care? Organizers still organize, teams still get sponsors and riders still ride and get paid. Give the ProTour an A for effort and an F for results.

Ted Leech
Woodinville, Washington (credit to Ted for sending this to VeloNews who then put it on the internet)

Thank you Ted... I like the cut of yer jerky on that topic. Now I hope you like today's banner... Of course I always keep "just one thing" in my banners... you know what it is... CYCA?? The damned thing ain't fixed yet.

Today's training: Ride outside... that's it. Ride outside... but make sure you ride your circa 1978 BMX bike with the number plate on it.