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NCNCA Racing- August 28 – Vacaville Gran Prix
- August 27 – Winters Road Race
- August 27 – Sonomas
- August 21, University Road Race
Regions II: Colorado
If we think of cycling in america as being a mob controlled by five families Colorado is one of the older, but waning, powers. They used to have a serious mafia there – USA Cycling in Colorado Springs, 7-11 in Boulder, and the Red Zinger/Coors Classic, and the entity that would become VeloNews. But that has all vanished – ProTeams have drifted to California, efforts to revive a stage race are only just coming to fruition, and VeloNews just doesn’t feel awesome anymore when you can read any one of 50 other sights about pro cycling in Europe and a handfull of beter ones about pro cycling in the states.
If anything Colorado is going to loose even more of its luster. USA Cycling would bail on Colorado Springs in a second if they weren’t getting free office space (or some crazy stupid deal), a drug scandal rocked the local Boulder cycling scene this summer, and VeloNews…well, they have good distribution for their print magazine. Good luck with that! They are one step away from becoming Bicycling Magazine. Their editorial policies must be something like… If Lance was there go with that; if somebody tested positive, put it at the bottom of the page; if it was an American try to find a good “innocence” angle, and see if you can get a quote from Lance. Keep up the good work!
They only thing they have going for them is the Quizno’s Tour and what seems more precarious than a major one week tour in the US? And what will happen to the race if Novitsky’s investigation into Armstrong gets more serious? The Quizno Tour built their race on his back!
People will still move to Boulder and Colorado for the outdoor lifestyle and strong cycling community but their power broker days are coming to a close. It’s a land of good training rides, and no races. Who wants that?
March 23rd, 2011 at
I dunno, I traveled to Boulder a couple times and the training rides looked like they had these two options: pancake flat with big wind, or mountainous. Or maybe one then the other, on the same ride. And mind the afternoon lightning storms. Now, I like me some “mountainous” and frankly wish the East Bay had easier access to it. And windy flat’s okay. But it was really hard to find anything in between at all – very little rolling hill or medium climb stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take it over riding in Texas any day (I started riding there, ugh) but between the two I’d say NorCal’s got CO’s training rides beat easy.
That said, if you’ve never climbed Mt.Evans, give it a whirl. Pedaling at 14000+ feet and you’re likely to get hailed on or blown off. May actually qualify for the word “epic”
March 23rd, 2011 at
That’s what i’m talking about… so their training rides are over rated too!
March 23rd, 2011 at
Yea, it’s sad really….being from Colorado it hurts to see the steady decline, but at least there are the memories. In the late 80′s – mid 90′s Colorado rocked! The Bus Stop ride on thursdays – OMG fast! Carter Lake on Saturdays killing it up the dam. Flagstaff repeats including Super-Flag, Jamestown and peak-to-peak highway excursions above 10,000 feet for much of the ride. Lookout Mountain. Big name pro’s on nearly every ride. Don’t count Colorado out quite yet though…just look over a results sheet for a “local” race on 303cycling and there are still plenty of big name hitters in town on any given weekend. Then peruse the National Champ listings from Bend (road and cx)…CO hit out pretty good. And they still have nearly 3000 USAC licenses despite over a decade of being in the ACA. Colorado is sort of like your cool Uncle…he was such a bad ass when you were a kid that even though he’s getting older and a bit slower you’re still not sure you can take the old man in a fight. Nor Cal is #1, but I loves me some Colorado, no doubt!
March 24th, 2011 at
Ya, seriously, you NorCal people should stay away. Really, just leave our lame Rockies alone. You would hate the 300+ days of sunshine. Oh, and, you would really miss driving everywhere in traffic jams.
Much love from your Boulder girl… who happens in NorCal to race a bike a lot.
C
March 24th, 2011 at
1. 300+ days of sunshine will make you soft
2. Lame Rockies – baseball sucks!
3. Traffic Jams – You confuse us with SoCal. They do suck worse IMHO.
4. Cari H. – You are wasting your talents with those hippies in boulder. It’s just a matter of time before you come to a place, NorCal, that will truly appreciate you.
March 24th, 2011 at
Hellyer has a point. Baseball really does suck.
March 24th, 2011 at
you forgot a very important thing that colorado doesn’t have… “coloradocyclingnews.com”… velonews doesn’t count – they are a bunch of corporate sell-outs, unlike norcalcyclingnews.com that keeps it real.
March 25th, 2011 at
You guys have some huge balls linking a drug story as one of the reasons why Colorado is losing its luster. Do you REALLY think nobody juices in NorCal? Really?!
I suppose somebody will have to test positive here before it is really true.
The one thing that SoCal doesn’t seem to do to people that NorCal does is make to people soft.
March 25th, 2011 at
Berni – a couple things.
1. I am sometimes called Old Balls. I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it implies anything about size but if it did i’m sure it would be negative. Probably not huge.
2. My thoughts on NorCal doping is part of an opus that I plan to release sometime in the summer when news is slow. It goes like this…
Part 1: Chomsky On Sports, Spanish Cycling, & Government
Part 2: Blame Canada: Why Dick Pound and Ben Johnson are to blame for All of the doping mess
Part 3: American Blindness: NFL Doping Policy in light of WADA rules
Part 4: I’m working on a title but I’m this is where i try to tie it to local level stuff.
3. Somebody will have to test positive before it’s true. I can’t see the USADA giving a shit unless they get real leads.
4. I feel like you had a zinger in that last line so maybe you could re-write it.
March 26th, 2011 at
Hellye -
1. o.k.
2. I would be very surprised if you ever release any part in this, or even mention it again. It seems most riders in NorCal would rather pretend doping here just doesn’t exist. It certainly doesn’t seem to be open for discussion.
Part 1: Great.
Part 2: Blame Canada? Tiger Woods and Dara Torres might go to Canada, but remember, NorCal had Balco.
Part 3: You forgot MLB, UFC, etc, etc.
Part 4: Title it something like, “The Amazing Change In Muscle Mass, Body Compostion, Bone Structure And Racing Results Of Pre-Geriatric Crit Racers.” $
3. a)David Fuentes.
b)USADA doesn’t give a shit because they’re not interested in little fish.
4. I stand by the last line. You’re welcome.
March 26th, 2011 at
Jesus bernie if you are going to “stand by” your zinger you should at least get it so it makes sense. I’m going to rewrite it with some punctuation, and i’m no master here, so it delivers the message i think you were going for.
The one thing that SoCal doesn’t seem to do, that NorCal does, is make riders soft.
The implication being that NorCal makes people soft. But… i’m not sure that makes a whole lot of sense without a good follow up like… “since all you hippies do is complain about a little rain.”
And i should say… YOU’RE WELCOME for the free lesson in how to talk some smack.
March 26th, 2011 at
I didn’t re-write it, or make it different, because if you’re not smart enough to figure out what I meant, then I don’t really care. You did though, that is interesting. Respect your audience. How many people are reading it anyway?
1.) Me 2.) You. I guess I didn’t need to explain it!
I didn’t post what I did to insult you.
Now, you re-writing ANYTHING on here to correct someone else’s punctuation, especially considering your own errors, IS HILARIOUS, you zinged me there for sure! I must say I’m sorry for not understanding that we were being graded on these little notes.
I don’t see where you talked smack though, so I don’t know what the lesson is. Maybe you need to clarify. If you’re actually talking smack, it seems kind of pansy-ish.
But I will now step down off your platform so as not to get too near “Your Royal Highnesses” superior smack talking ability.
I can’t wait until the sun comes out so I can go ride more and not have to waste my day amusing myself here.
March 26th, 2011 at
[AWKARD SILENCE] Way better riding when it’s sunny out isn’t it?
Glad you asked on how many people are reading it! I’ve been struggling with how to work that into a post. I’d say we are medium sized, but good for a niche, regional site. NorCalCyclingnews is good notch below the big guys (VeloNews/Cycling News) but towards the top of that next tier down (Podium Cafe/VeloNation/BikeSnob) according to Alexa US ranking. Our US/World wide ranking gap is closing since we reset the site in January. Overall your comments are being read by more than you expected but less than you deserve.
March 26th, 2011 at
Mmmmm, sunny riding…
How do YOU know what I expected? Who reads my posts? Again, don’t care. I’m on here to have fun with YOU!
And how did you know what I deserved? You’re impressing me more every time you post! And who made you the judge? Your vast readership demands answers!
Sunny day tomorrow out there fruity, hope you get out and enjoy it, I will.
March 30th, 2011 at
you both are making Mickey hard!