[NMCycling] Cross Cats

[Hawke Morgan]

Hi Y'all,  (note letter below) 

Yesterday at the Oak Leaf CX we had 6 guys and one woman.  Our sport, for one reason or another, is tiny in NM.  I think we would have had a few more riders if it hadn't been the day after Road Apple, but still CX in NM is a tiny sport.

As far as the NMCX series, as of now we are making a $2 payment to NMBRA to cover jerseys.  Since turnouts are smaller, we have doubled this amount from the $1 a head that it has been for recent memory.  If you do the math, to pay for a jersey at about $80 we need about 4 riders on average, per category, per race, throughout the series.  Another rider mentioned that a mens 60+ category would be good to.   Financial considerations aside, I think that this is a pretty reasonable number or riders to have kind of a legitimate "race" as well.  

What I can do is this:  I will put a 60+ men category and an extra women's category in the first NMCX Cup race.  But in order to have it be a NMCX Cup jersey at the end of the year, we will need to have the 4 riders per race average through the series.  I am happy to do single speed too on the same terms.  I am almost certain that the other promoters will also add categories if we figure out what they should be and have riders committed to come.  I suggest we score the extra categories, and the ones that get an average of 4 riders get a jersey.  If not, they still get scored, and have their own race.   

What would you suggest for the women?  Maybe a women's A and B, with B for beginners?  This might be better than an age based system, as we might have some experienced faster older women and some beginning younger women.  If we get enough women's B riders signed up I will make an easier loop at Las Huertas that is more beginner friendly, possibly with a separate start.  If you think you can get enough riders for 3 categories let me know, and I will add that. 

Does that sound reasonable?  Ladies let me know what you think would be good for categories and I will add it to the online form.   

Best Regards,

Hawke Morgan
Morgan Roundabouts LLC
(505) 259-6885
yourstruly at fastmail.com

----- Original message -----
From: Beth Ross <beth.ross.ks at gmail.com>
To: Hawke Morgan <yourstruly at fastmail.com>
Cc: Emily Dreyer <emrose.d at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NMCycling] CX info
Date: Monday, October 07, 2024 07:49

Hi Hawke,
We noticed that there is a discrepancy in the NMCX series with respect to the number of men's and women's categories (3 for the men, 1 for the women). As women that value equality and inclusivity in cycling, especially doing our best to encourage first-time racers, we're curious to understand the reasoning behind this decision. Is there anything that can be done to bring parity to the number of women's categories in the series?

Thank you,
Beth and Emily
Lady Gnar West



Hawke Morgan
Morgan Roundabouts LLC
(505) 259-6885
yourstruly at fastmail.com