[NMCycling] NMRRS-ways to improve rider knowledge of category compliance of individual races?

Fri Aug 23 13:14:28 MDT 2019

Let me know anyway I can help and either remaining events of this season or up for next year I want to help out

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On Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 9:57 AM -0600, "Dennis Chavez" <dengchavez at gmail.com<mailto:dengchavez at gmail.com>> wrote:

Hadji did indeed do us a solid and have us a great deal on jerseys. We appreciate that and hope to keep that relationship with Racing Apparel.

The current series setup gives CAT3's the option to race with the big boys (P12) or against 3's only. So when a 3 feels he wants to test the P123 waters he can. And for those women watching this, for 2020 we're going to do the same for CAT3 women.

On Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 9:52 AM <biobiker at libero.it<mailto:biobiker at libero.it>> wrote:

That's because RA (Hadji) is amazing and gave you a great deal :), I remember that before RA stepped up we spent over 1000 dollars in jerseys...

Again, with a small pool of riders, like NM, there is no perfect solution I guess, but I am also "old school": the strongest riders were the ones winning and the others (including me) were trying to get better and improve enough to be with the top riders. I had and still have my good share of kicked butt every year BTW.

Il 23 agosto 2019 alle 17.32 Dennis Chavez <dengchavez at gmail.com<mailto:dengchavez at gmail.com>> ha scritto:

These are all good points, Fortunato.

First, the cost of jerseys is pretty inexpensive. Last year, I think I paid Racing Apparel and my graphic designer less than $400 for all of them. I completely understand that for someone who wins a jersey pretty much every year (you) winning a jersey might not be a big deal. But, it's the new racers that definitely get excited about it and that's the demographic we're after. We need more new racers to keep this show alive!!

As for categories, the main purpose for the change this year was to group racers (male and female) more appropriately with their skill/fitness/speed level and to increase the size of starting groups. We've received positive feedback from everyone, especially the women racers. They're finally showing up to the start line and have others to race with, even if those other racers aren't in direct competition with them. I've even seen quite a few names registered that I hadn't seen in many years. So although maybe your field (P12) isn't as big as it used to be, the other fields are larger and most importantly, more fun. And lets be honest, everyone wants their shot at the podium and previously most CAT3's had zero chance. AND, because of that we saw a bottle neck in the CAT4's. Many were refusing to cat-up because they were uninterested in paying money to "go get beat up by Fortunato".

Finally, I've been putting a lot of effort in contacting promoters, trying the get them on board, pointing out that their event is not in compliance, etc. It's been a tough year but our hope is to first stop the bleeding and maybe we might see registration numbers increase in the coming years. On the other hand, maybe this won't solve anything but what we had before wasn't working so we felt we had to try something different.

On Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 8:58 AM < biobiker at libero.it<mailto:biobiker at libero.it>> wrote:

I really think that in a small State as NM  (in terms of participants) there is not a perfect solution for the category issue. For instance, I think that splitting the 1-2-3 field into two is a mistake, if it weren't for the collegiate racers, at the Trifecta or at the 505 classic we would end up in a field of 4 guys in the 1-2-3 field...but at the same time cat 3 riders love it because the can play the big boys shattering the master riders in the cat3-master field...

I understand that for (especially novel) riders a jersey at the end of a year of racing might be a "cool" thing, but I really think, and I have expressed my opinion before, that the money necessary to buy and ship those jerseys could be better spent helping to promote races, which, maybe you have noticed, are dying...what about a loan system for first time race promoters? what about calling race promoters to make sure that the race is happening or if not if there is a way to help (Los Alamos for instance, where the race promoter for familiar problems could not the effort in promoting the race)?

My two cents.

Fortunato

I received notification after the race, I did not realize they were sent before hand before registering.
I know the responsibility lies on the race organizers themselves. My numerous previous attempts to communicate with them have been largely unsuccessful.
. I figured that at least expressing my frustration to the director of the series would have some clout in the future..
I do appreciate that participation the series isn’t just the point in fact I am one of the riders that goes to all of the races.
By raising my voice I sought to raise awareness so that in the future race organizers are aware that riders do care that, if they purport to be part of the series that they comply.
If I could I would be happy to help take on the role of organizing the tour of El Paso, however my previous offerings to take on an active role went unheededd
I figure another way I can help be part of the solution is by helping with the organization of the series and communicating and contacting race organizers.
Just shoot me an email if you feel that I can be of any help in 2020

Ana

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On Tue, Aug 20, 2019 at 8:43 AM -0600, "Dennis Chavez" < dengchavez at gmail.com<mailto:dengchavez at gmail.com>> wrote:

Ana,

We're sorry to hear your disappointment that two of your results can not be counted toward the series. We did our best to encourage Tour of El Paso and Crest Race directors to comply with the new series categories/race-groups. Because they chose not to comply, there was no fair way to award series points across ALL categories. We also felt that, even if we did find a way to award points, it might set a precedent that race directors could do whatever they wanted in regards to categories and race groupings.

It might look, at first glance, that the sole purpose of the race series is to attract more racers by offering top participants winners jerseys at the end. That is only part of it. It's biggest value, which is difficult to quantify, is to create consistency across all races. This consistency, or attempt at it, can create a sense of comfort and familiarity when registering for an event and even during the event itself. Registrants don't have to figure out "where do I fit in, what group should I sign up for" at each event.

As for notifications, we did send out emails stating El Paso and Crest races would not be part of the series. Search your email for messages sent, my me, on May 21st, 2019 and June 10, 2019, respectively. If you didn't get these messages, my apologies. Emailing the Racers List is pretty much my only tool for getting the word out.

Looking forward to 2020, we would encourage anyone who was also disappointed to see El Paso and Crest not scored in the series, to contact those race's respective directors and voice your concern. This might help them decide to become compliant for 2020.

On Tue, Aug 20, 2019 at 6:51 AM Schwartz, Ana I. via Bike-racers < bike-racers at mailman.swcp.com<mailto:bike-racers at mailman.swcp.com>> wrote:

Dear all,
I absolutely love our NMRRS. For the 3rd year in a row I have pretty much participated in all of the races.  There is no question in my mind that NM is a fantastic place to race a bike- our topography is gorgeous, and offers beautiful climbs (sorry, I'm very partial to climbing!) My closest friendships are with racers, and all of them have been fostered on the race course.

I do confess, that this year I am slightly disappointed that two of my 1st place wins from races originally listed as part of the series, ended up, afterwards, not counting towards the series because the race categories did not conform with the series' guidelines.  That's a -24 points to my tally.

Looking forward and proactively, Is there a way to let racers know ahead of time, say when registration opens for a particular race, that the categories do  not conform to the series?
I don't know if this notification could come from the race organizers or from those organizing the series?

This knowledge would help us better tailor our race schedules and decide whether to spend a particular weekend racing outside of the state for a more varied experience.

This might also be essential in not only sustaining participation, but growing it moving forward as riders will feel more confident in making choices regarding which races to compete in.

I can't even begin to fathom the effort that goes into making this series happen. I want to see it thrive and sincerely offer to help out next year in any way.
Looking forward to seeing many of you this weekend at the State Championships,

Ana Schwartz

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