[NMCycling] food for thought

[M. John Jordan via Bike-racers]

Fortunato,  A heartfelt and reasonable set of observations, conclusions, questions, and potential solutions.  I also appreciated the direct and knowledgeable replies of both Brandi and Tim.  I feel that a little more info on NMBRA might be useful.
  NMBRA has indeed been around in NM for many years.  It was originally formed to provide a means of helping race promoters (mostly racers themselves) keep from having to shoulder all the various costs (like buying race signage, lap counters, etc. every time for every race).  For years there was a race kit that various members of the racing community contributed to and NMBRA was like a sort of loose management of the road racing scene here in NM.  The fact that it was not really a formally recognized entity by the sanctioning bodies (USCF, then ACA, now USAC) is what has radically changed in the last several years.  All the road races (at least the ones on the NM race calendar) are sanctioned by USAC.  What changed is that USAC has instigated a layered approach to state/regional race management.  Several years ago they (USAC) decided that a single state/regional entity was needed for each state/region and that this entity (termed a local association or LA) would be given the tasks of managing race calendars, providing USAC officials, provide promoter support, etc.  Hey, a perfect fit for NMBRA!  So, NMBRA was put forth to USAC as the LA that could do this.  It also had to become a legal not-for-profit entity and have a distinct set of officers and a set of board members.  In essence, NMBRA became the sanctioned race management entity (LA) for USAC for the NM/El Paso region.  It is also a functioning non-profit entity, with numerous legal and functional requirements that take time, knowledge, experience, and willingness on the part of everyone on the board to make happen.  So, NMBRA is no longer what it once was in that it is not a loose organization.  It is, and must be, a true functioning serious entity.  This is not easy, nor is it all that much fun, but if done right, it can be a real benefit to the NM bicycle racing community.
  During my one year term as president of NMBRA, I really hoped that there could be a coming together of the various racing disciplines using NMBRA's linkage to USAC.  I was somewhat naive in respect to what it entailed, primarily in how and who managed the race calendars for road, CX, and MTB races.  Even the level of support that NMBRA provided to the disciplines was vastly different and needed to be considered.  The people who have stepped up and managed these calendars during this fairly challenging re-alignment (and they are our brothers and sisters in the community and too many to name) deserve our thanks and respect.  The people who have volunteered to be on the NMBRA board deserve the same respect.  It is *not* an easy thing to be on a board like this.  There isn't a manual, USAC has no training material, NMBRA has no internal budget for sending people to get trained on being on a non-profit board, so the folks that find themselves on the board do the best they can with what they have in terms of experience, knowledge, and willingness.  I have come to the belief that it will take quite a few more years for the cadre of folks who take turns being on the board to settle things down and convert NMBRA into the functioning entity that you desire.  Make no mistake about it though, it will be a fairly small number of our racing community who step up to do this.  This doesn't mean that it must or will become inbred or "ivory-towered", but it does mean that it will become a product of the actions, thoughts, beliefs, and commitment of the people who serve on the board. 

  NMBRA must play by the rules and requirements that USAC puts forth, otherwise, USAC will cease sanctioning NMBRA and either another NM race management entity must arise (and go through all the stuff that NMBRA had to go through to become the USAC sanctioned LA) or there will be no USAC sanctioned racing in NM.  This might not be the case if USAC takes on NM as a special case, but don't bet on it.  We are a very small regional racing community in USAC's eyes.  We have about the same number of USAC licensed racers in NM as show up for a Saturday crit in Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, etc.  We have to rely on ourselves if we are to have good quality road racing (in particular) in NM.  The reason for this is that road racing is indeed ebbing while CX and various specialties of MTB racing are growing in popularity, evidenced in all parts of the US.  Lance doped, racers get hit on the roads, purses dry up...it's no wonder that road racing is ebbing.  But for those of us who are passionate about it, it is a noble and exciting sport.  NMBRA has the responsibility of making sure that the USAC licensed racers in this state are served, whether they are roadies, muddies, or dirties.  

  The way I see it (and like most of my opinions, worth about $0.02) letting NMBRA fail is like quitting a race.  You started the race for a reason.  Sometimes the reason changes because of unforeseen issues and challenges, but that doesn't stop you from being a racer, it just makes you more flexible and experienced in what it takes to win.  We, as a community can win this, but not by quitting.  I urge those of you who believe you can positively contribute by being on the NMBRA board to step up and take a turn and see if you care to become one of the rotating cadre of folks it will take to make NMBRA succeed.  I took a turn, and in a couple of years I intend to take another turn if I can convince the community to elect me to the board again.  I hope that things are going well enough that I lose!  But I won't give up on NMBRA, because I want racing to continue in NM.  Take it or leave it, the results are in our hands. 

With greatest respect,
John Jordan (past NMBRA President, Olev Rapido Team Board Member, USAC Official, Licensed USAC racer, bike rider (road, CX, MTB, DH), wrench)
 M. John Jordan (mjohnjordan at yahoo.com) 

    On Thursday, January 28, 2016 2:51 PM, biobiker--- via Bike-racers <bike-racers at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:
 

 It's that time of the year when everybody is starting planning the "next season", either on the road or on a MTB, or on both, for the lucky talented ones...yes I am talking about you Damian Calvert.
When I came to NM and started riding and racing there was a useful web site, there were a couple more races, we had our "end of the season party" with the jersey ceremony. I don't know who was in charge, sorry about my fragile memory, but I think it was pretty good for a State with not a huge cycling community.
Two years ago, or so, we had NMBRA was born. Recently I saw that there are a lot of "vacant spots" on the NMBRA board, so I have started wondering what is the function of the association but also why we need so many people in such a small State.My very superficial impression is that NMBRA activity in the State is mainly about officials and taking care of the "series jersey". I personally don't care a lot about the series, the points and the jersey, especially if we received it in the middle of the following season. In my opinion, the all point of the jersey was the party where they were delivered at the end of the season: a good occasion to meet the people you had been riding with the all year not wearing a cycling bib and to listen to them telling you "you will see...next season I am gonna crash the Gila"...
I know that criticizing is very easy, but in my view a Bike Race Association should help developing a "racing scene" around the state, and given the constantly decreasing number of races I don't think the one in NM has done a good job. I came across this article that might be a good starting point for a new discussion about how we might try to make racing in NM interesting again. 
http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/?u=b10eca767f8d8b2917ad0ab26&id=a5a3614531&e=c72a5dda34
We are definitely not in New England, we definitely cannot afford a full time person to deal with the association but there are some interesting points.
I think we have some great terrain for road and MTB racing, we have some great talent around, but it is unfortunate that we don't have room to develop it. Besides the enormous effort of some very passionate race directors, that every year promote their races with a lot of effort, and who I deeply thank to allow me to race my silly bike in my Lycra bibs, when I talk with other riders or people into cycling, even with potential race promoters, they always tell me that "there is no support to our ideas" and, most depressing, there is the spread sensation that in a couple of years we will not have any races in NM.
If I sound bitter, or over-criticizing, or too arrogant, or any nice attribute you want to give me, you might be absolutely right, it is just that I like to ride and race my bike and it would be very unfortunate if I were not able to do it in a place that I have learned to like quite a lot.
Fortunato Ferrara
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