Cycling Scene

Introduction

This column will address the local cycling scene. The scene is diverse! Almost everyone has ridden a bike. Some give it up after getting their first car. Some become racers. Most do it for fun or general fitness. The USCF Elite National Road Racing Championship to be held here for the next three years will bring about a greater interest in cycle racing.

Cyclists that actually race are too busy training to write columns, of course, so I must. But I do have a cycling history: Not long after a new section of the Loveland Bike Trail was paved near my house and, incidentally, I reached the ripe age of 40 and the over-ripe weight of 210 pounds, I dragged my old 10-speed out of the basement, brushed off the spider webs, and set off for Loveland two miles away. I went all the way to Fosters! Wow - 10 miles.

I went again, then again. Got a better bike, went to Morrow and back a lot. Went out on the backroads and hills. Joined the Cincinnati Cycle Club. Rode all over the place, sometimes at night. Someone talked me into doing triathlons. Lost 20 pounds. Joined the Queen City Wheels, a racing-oriented cycling club with a lot of guys my age. Went mountain biking in Colorado. Met a lot of great people. I combined my new-found interest in cycling with older interests in computers and photography to create the web site for the Queen City Wheels, www.qcw.org.

There are several types of cycle racing. The nationals race to be held in August is the road racing event for the Elite category of cyclists, also referred to as Category 1 cyclists. There are other venues for Masters and other divisions. The August Nationals will include three road events - a one-racer-at-a-time time trial, a short-course criterium, and a long road race. The USA Cycling organization also holds national championships in track racing, cyclocross, mountain biking, and time trials.

Future columns will go into more depth in the racing aspect of the sport, as well as discuss the local racing scene, which is thriving if unnoticed. WeÕll talk to a local racer or two, and provide some coverage of the racers that you will see here in August. I'll tell you how to get started in cycling and racing. We'll have to talk about the unpleasant subject of why groups of cyclists are so obnoxious on the local roads, and make sure harmony on the Bike Trail can be maintained among diverse users.

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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.

© 1998, Curt Austin