Cycling Economics 101: Hard times call for hard racing

by Patrick O'Grady

• February 09, 2009
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By Patrick O’Grady

Josh Wade travels six hours from Kansas to Texas to race on his “home track.”

Photo: Cindy Rasche

We didn’t exactly trigger a torrent of responses with last week’s story about membership numbers at a trio of U.S. cycling organizations, in which we asked whether the stuttering economy might affect your racing and bike-shopping plans.

This could be a function of our Web site’s design; stories slip off the homepage faster than Mark Cavendish ditching a lead group in the final 200 meters. Or it could reflect the utter insanity of the premise. “Cut back on racing? You bet — just as soon as they pry my Madone 6.9 Pro from my cold, dead fingers!”

The culprit may be the latter, based on the e-mail we did receive. Here’s a sampling:

Ben Towery? of Clinton, Utah, started a small cycling team last year — just 15 people with sponsorship from some friends on the squad. Team Excelerator presented by Pinnacle Auto? Company provided free jerseys to team members, helped out with entry fees and scored discounts at the? local shop.

“By all accounts, our first year was a success,” said Towery.

Going into 2009, he thought he would be facing an uphill battle trying to? build the team. “I work in? banking and finance, so the current economic climate is front and center? every day I go into work,” he says?. But this year’s squad has five more members and additional sponsorship, has adopted a bike trail in Davis County and plans to put on a new hillclimb this season.

“Tough economic times require us to tighten our belts, but for me bike? racing is a nice break from all the bad news,” says Towery. “If nothing else, we’re a great support group every Saturday? morning for a few hours.”

Ron Wade and his son Josh both race out of Wichita, Kansas. The economic news is not good — “The company I work for just laid off 3400 with up to another 700 coming in weeks,” Wade notes — but since Josh is an up-and-coming track racer who won the silver medal in last year’s 15-16 points race at nationals, dad is working out the details of this season’s schedule regardless.

“My son will race, of that we are sure. Just matters how much,” he says. “I am working out four different schedules based on what my income level is. Me racing, that is secondary.” Until the economic picture comes into sharper focus, the Wades are looking at smaller events and carpooling “as much as possible.”

“It’s hard to do that because not too many local racers actually traveled during good times,” Wade adds.

Both father and son ride bikes from 2007, though Josh’s have “far many more miles.” But the real mileage is logged on four wheels, not two. Most road races are three hours away in Oklahoma City, Tulsa or the Kansas City metroplex; track races are a six-hour drive to the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas, which Wade told KansasCyclist.com is Josh’s “home track.”

“For us to race, we have to travel, period,” Wade says. “Last year we were on the road for some sort of bike race on over 40 weekends.”

From Franklin, Tennessee, Mac McCabe writes that he got a head start on base miles and training when he “left” the workforce in? August.

“One week’s steady diet of Monster.com, CareerBuilder and TheLadders, ?served with $4 gas, and I knew this was going to take immediate therapy,” he says. “The kit was there, the bikes in the garage and miles of empty afternoon ?roads were waiting, but I needed a reason. And then the light bulb flashed —? Cat. V racing. I’m sure I’ll get dropped like a bad habit, but …?”

In preparation, McCabe is patching tubes, using Krazy Glue to fix tire cuts and replacing gels and energy bars with ham-and-cheese sandwiches. Panini a la McCabe features “leftover hot-dog bun, butter, packaged ham,? Kraft singles, cut in half, wrapped in foil.”

“I’m pretty sure I haven’t made it to suffering yet on the ?pyramid,” he adds.

And speaking of suffering, the final note of defiance comes from Cliff Heaberlin, who isn’t even close to hanging up his cleats despite his own economic challenges.

“I lost my job in October (with little hope to find another like it) ?and plan to race as much as ever,” he says from Portland, Oregon. “I’ll move in with friends before ?cutting back on the second biggest activity that brings me a sense of ?self-confidence and respect.”