Cycling Scene

Race organizers on a roll

You should be reading elsewhere this week about the progress being made in the planning of the Elite National Road Races to be held at the end of this month. It is daunting task organizing such an event. There are three venues, several individual events at each one, and nearly 40 miles of race courses to prepare and monitor.

Negotiating for race courses is particularly challenging. Police must approve. Emergency services must approve. Township officials must approve. County officials must approve. ODNR must approve any use of the bike trail. Genuine issues must be resolved, such as closing roads between EMS units and their hospitals. Some people will object to any inconvenience, and others believe that cyclists should be permanently banned from the universe.

Nevertheless, these negotiations have gone well. The City of Loveland criterium course was settled first. It is great that the downtown residents accept the inconvenience in support the City's development strategy. Of course, I'm jealous: they will be able to watch the races from their porches. Cincinnati and Newport have settled upon an eight-mile loop for the road race. Obviously, this was a great challenge. The Cincinnati Police sent a scouting party to Atlanta to see for themselves the issues involved, and came back encouraged and excited. I'm sure it helped that the race organizers included some serious Police mountain bike races as part of the overall event.

The time trial course is still getting kicked around, however. Seems there are some Hamilton Township residents that have taken a serious dislike to cyclists. A local race held there earlier this year caused some problems, the more serious of which, from a public relations standpoint at least, involved biological imperatives that were in conflict with a locked restroom. It is true that cycle racers have developed a cavilier attitude towards such matters, often finding themselves far out in the boonies. Some European cultural influence may also be involved.

There are a number of alternative routes being explored, so not to worry. The Olympic Time Trial Course in Atlanta was not settled until two weeks before the event.

When he introduced the race at the first organization meeting, Don Schumacher, director of the Greater Cincinnati Sports and Events Commission, said "We must do this event well. There is no point in doing it otherwise." If you are a cyclist you owe it to yourself to be a part of doing this event well. To volunteer, call the hotline at 513-345-3052 or volunteer online at www.qcw.org/nats.

The first race of the Ault Park Series, now in their 14th year, is tonight and runs each Wednesday through June and July. There is something magical about these races - the cyclists whirring around amid the rose gardens in the evening air. Pack a picnic basket and see for yourself - first race is at 7:00.

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Curt Austin maintains the web pages for the Queen City Wheels at www.qcw.org and can be reached at curt@AustinImage.com.