Pleased to see that CRCA is taking this stance. USAC certainty happy to take our money but not police the sport from which they derive their very existence. Steve Johnson and crew talk a good game but unless you are a Euro pro quality, they have no interest in amateurs beyond their annual license/race fees. Piss on USAC (pun intended).

Based on all the negative comments the announcement has received on this forum, perhaps there is a bit more doping going on in the NYC peloton than I had thought?

If one is not doping, what is the harm with a little pee in a cup following a race? Infringing on your rights/privacy?

I would think that if you placed but refused to be tested, the team can kick you out of the club. The team may even be asking USCF to ban you as well.

How can this community roast DA and then not support a drug testing program? All the posters who bashed DA should be applauding the effort to clean up this sport, especially in our community. For all of the posters who are leaving the CRCA because they don’t want to be tested can go do Gran Fondo’s. Oh wait, they test as well!

Until you actually said you were going to test. Does that mean I can’t huff an Albuterol before a race anymore for my “asthma”?
You mean this Andro Gel is not legal? Just tell the dopers not to dope anymore.

that’s if your record is clean so far. No? a dui? hey, you could be looking at jail time. But, hey, you can be sure no one who went around FBF faster than you was on anything. so you got that going for you…

Pro hairstyling. Brooklylicious!

I hope Champion System is not controlling this testing program. I would hate to find out their tests are in favor of their riders. The Play Clean Line 1-877-752-9253 number would literally blow up.

And yes its on speed dial so please give me a reason to use it.

I’d rather see the testing money go to the juniors and continue to believe/hope that doping is isolated to a few assholes.

From the looks of most park racers you’re mostly in danger of testing positive for Chipotle.

This is a classic over-spaz. You’re all amateurs; just because a few lifeless freaks with no sense of proportion want to dress up and play Paris-Nice doesn’t mean the CRCA has to call in the gendarmes. You may pop a doper now and again but if the CRCA throws random testing into a pack of Dads mostly you’re going to be mortifying guys for allergy pills, Rogaine and bong hits.

And the idea of anyone challenging testing as being a doping suspect: you’re reading too much Kafka.

Sack dopers for life from the club, suspend a team with a doping positive. The CRCA currently does neither, and that will do more than enough.

Nice post Ray.

I’m not ashamed of my opinions. I’m just A) too lazy to remember my registration and log in B) see no reason to go against the current of anonymous posting. Dan and Andy obviously like the environment it fosters.

Good point Ray. Yeah, Ray has been around long enough to see that to make it big in the cycling world, riders have to start small from the grass-root level. Our park races. I hope dopers aren’t hiding behind the “amateur excuses” to condone and to continue to dope.

If this is all true, I’m OUT of the CRCA. This is a total invasion of privacy for stupid loops in the park and a $10 payout.

another fraud “talent” post …

dude that’s a lot of shit being thrown around – if you’ve got stories (credible stories) that’s what we want to hear lay it out there

what’s up with timmy dugan??

Just wait until you see how many jerk offs get caught OR just quietly disappear to either selectively race in non-CRCA events or “retire”.

I am willing to bet that DA is not the only CRCAer who used PEDs in last three years…oh, wait, he’s not – there was Liban and Chodroff

You really believe that only those that dope get caught?

And, its more than just “cheating” it is showing a total lack of respect for the sport, fellow racers and our community.

No one wants to test, but a few idots have brought us to this point.

How can you tell which guy at the party just got dope tested? Don’t worry, he’ll tell YOU.

And some of you are just salivating at the prospect of getting your special day in front of that golden cup. You can warm your hands with it in March. Ahhhhh.

I remember a juiced-up Cat 4 rocketing away from us week after week at prospect. He wasn’t just faster, he was meteorically faster. But he eventually went on to bigger and better things. The faster, the better, eh? But so the hell what… He was a putz, Putzism has a way with catching up with them putzes. Perhaps it might have even been this guy we’re talking about.

What did he cost me? Upgrade points, perhaps? No matter what he took from me, he couldn’t take away my dig-ni-ty. Sorry, I was born not far from Newark. Had to do it.

So, did you bother to research the impact that dope testing costs would have on your members? How much?

Mike, you’re gonna need to order more jerseys over in Park Ridge to make room for ex CRCA members. Kissena won’t have them. Westwood’s into hairly legged guys.

I think it would be a real mistake to try to start a testing program. With the limited funds available you will never create a great enough of deterrent to prevent doping. The only way to truly make a long lasting and real difference is through creating a culture that makes people want to be a part of the sport for the right reasons. This can only happen through education and the expression of ideas about what is truly important and rewarding in the sport of cycling. People talking about what it means to be an athlete and where athletics fit into our lives and society would be a very good start. To start the conversation I would suggest: maybe instead of spending a bunch money on testing let’s do the opposite. Let’s make amateur racing amateur again and take money out of the sport. No more prizes- just medals and ribbons. Why do we compete? It allows us to raise ourselves to a higher level by pitting us against another person trying to do the same. This is the beauty of competition and it engenders respect for your fellow competitors and creates rewards greater than those of victory.
You can try all you want to prevent people from being able to dope- but you will not succeed. You must stop people from believing there is any reward in victories gained through it.

Adding testing is just a band aid to the problem and not a real fix. The club should be a club and more focused on positively promoting the sport and developing athletes. Newbies should have more opportunities than one “clinic” each season and more of the CP times should be opened up for juniors or the growing women’s group. More development – less testing and catering to those that degrade the sport.

if you’ve trained and prepared yourself properly only to get beat by a fat guy that’s doping, then DA did take something from you. whether it be a placing, the pittance of a pay out, but more importantly he’s taken a portion of sanity from those who couldn’t figure out why they were placing behind that fat ass old dude. now we know.

I think you made DA-Hole’s point. Targeted testing will be effective.

One could argue that the downfall of CRCA is rooted in the nyvelocity “development” team concept. The fact that the team was established to make money – for coaches, the site, etc. creates riders like David Anthony who think spending money on the sport is the only way to improve and become involved (i.e., lonely duides with low self esteem and nothing else going on in their lives can all of a sudden feel like they are “part of something” – provided they are willing to pay the “coaching” fees of course!

I agree with you- so why not eliminate it? Prize money only adds to the myth that winning is of greater value in sport than the joys of honest competition regardless of the outcome. If the difference between first and second is just the color of a ribbon, there is a recognition of accomplishment, but also an acknowledgement that both are truly only successes within the confines of the sport and when taken out of the sport are all valueless – except in how chasing them has made us challenge ourselves.
But please don’t focus too much on the idea of prizes. My real point is that there must be a cultural change to place values above victories in the minds those competing. I would love to hear others ideas on how, or even if, they think this could ever happen.

I’ll agree that the NYVC team has been an effective way to get new riders started in the sport quickly. It’s been the source of quite a few good riders & produced plenty more winners than just DA. I think it’s a great program run by good guys & while I was never a member, I’ve suggested the team to guys that have showed an interest in getting into racing.

The flipside of the team is that it’s also a source of some of the biggest self absorbed douchebags in NYC racing. Maybe the problem is that these guys get to start the sport feeling like a pro with coaching, gear, team training sessions, beautiful matching kits, etc. These are all great perks. I’m pretty sure I’d have jumped at the chance to do the same as a new rider. But they never gain the humility that comes from having to suffer being the goofy hairy legged new guy in a cat 5 race with a mtb helmet and toe clips. Maybe it’s the program, or maybe it’s just the kind of guy that’s willing to dump hundreds of $ a month to join a team for a sport they’ve just started. I’ve got a bunch of friends who have graduated from or are in the program. But it’s also been the place where DA is just one especially egregious dick among a handful of other snotty overgrown high school bullies screaming “TOO EASY” as they cross the line. Maybe Alex should require new members to complete their first 5 races in SPD sandals and re-used powerade bottles stuffed into their cages.

How’s that test for HGH coming along?

depreciating? better stop racing and save the money.

Do you remember the Happy Days episode when Fonzi literally jumped the shark (only dudes over 40 would)? It became a catch phrase for when shit goes too far Well, we have now, at CRCA, “jumped the proverbial shark”. Truth is, I smoke weed and drink a ton of vodka and I race (lame CAT 4). Basically I try to lower my performance so I don’t get a big(ger) head. Yeah right. Truth is, though, that if some douche wants to dope to win park races, LET HIM. Who cares! Their punishment isn’t suspension, or fear of USADA, it’s being a tool who cheats to gain social acceptance (see DA NYT interview) or to win CRCA races – again, WHO CARES!

I’ve come to realize that cyclists (of which I am one), have a far too large a sense of self-importance. Let’s get over ourselves. Do drugs, cheat, whatever – tune in, turn on and drop out man!

All I want to know is – will Shen crush the Silvermine TT in CAT 4????

most of these sub-teams only last a couple of years. once champ sys/snt ceases to exist in a couple of years, who’s going to make up that shortfall?

It also might help the juniors advance faster in the sport (and possibly get those pro opportunities we older folks have missed out on) if they weren’t getting their asses handed to them by cheaters…just sayin’

Why don’t you fags support your own kids? If you want to support a group of kids, coach or put together a team. That’s how it works in, let’s say, children’s soccer.

this will be the outcome of your testing:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/NATL-American-Judoka-Expelled-from-Olympics-for-Doping-165129016.html

If cycling paid more, NBA players would have gone into cycling and the average cyclist would be 6’5 and 220 lbs. Amazing how dumb some people are.

I have always found the concept of cat 2-5 team sponsored teams pretty laughable. Unless you are getting paid to fly to races (meal stipends etc) and get a free bike and kits, you are not sponsored – you are getting a discount on products while advertising for them. Getting a discount at a shop or gels is a joke. First, you can get better deals on equipment or nutrition online or buying in bulk (see cliff bars, lara bars etc at Costco). I know there is the argument that it keeps shops in business… no it does not. Mom and dad buying their kids the new BMX and getting the yearly tune up and new helmet and bike bag keeps shops in business – not the Cat 3 looking for $2000 wheels for $1250. Racers shop online for all the majority of their needs because the deals are better and they know what they want and need. Shops survive on families rec riders and bike service.

Further to the point, I often found myself shelling out lots of money to get “discounted kits” that were a billboard for companies I either did not like or did not buy into… I finally realized, I would prefer to use my cycling money towards gear I liked and went unattached.

Finally, on the point of Juniors, I do think programs like the Star Track program at Kissena are great. But supporting middle to upper class kids at bike races is kind of funny. If these kids love the sport once introduced, mom and dad will foot the bill just like every other sport in this country. If you have one off sitations where you have a dedicated under privaledged junior, then help out. But to give money to every kid that decides he wants a free bike for the year and too dissapear later on seems a waste. How many juniors in the program, or other elite programs (Hot Tubes) really go anywhere beyond local Cat1-3?

Are you nuts? We get one free kit, some Cliff Bars, get to tell out colleagues we race on a team, and have the pictures of us dressed up like Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers to prove it.

Star Track is a great outreach program. But traveling around for road cycling is no different than ice hockey, soccer, tennis or any other sport for kids and their parents.

Nobody from my town ever went to the MLB but it doesn’t mean we should shut down the Little League program.

In case anyone is interested in the facts, what the CRCA junior team does is give a jersey to any kid who finishes four races, bibs to any kid who is cat 4. No free bikes anymore, there are loaner TT bikes. Too many wealthy libertarian kids have proved my suspicions right.

We pay travel and entry for cat 3’s and promising cat 4s (about to turn three). I give 3s more kit. I give coaching advice for free, I occasionally loan out my own gear, glue up tires, and such like. I pass on any donated gear to the kids. We’ve sent kids to USCA camps, to L’Abibiti, Battenkill, Fitchburg, Nationals (this year with the help of Champ-Sys). My priority is to get kids to starts.

I loan cassettes and chainrings as needed so they ride the same gearing and make rollout. I have a few TT helmets.

The lack of support at the u23 level which really limits retention.

StarTrack does a great job at what they do, but I have yet to pick up one rider from them.

There is a structural problems of a lack of continuity between programs. There is an expense problem in the lack of proportionality between cost of a DS and depth of talent/possible meaningful starts. In terms of the latter, my budget has gone between $5-15k. A real DS going to races would add over 100% to the budget. Running a better team is marginally better for the riders at a much higher cost. Finally there is a cultural problem in that I get most of the kids in their last year of eligibility, and no one is going to learn bike racing in six months.

Eli Mernit, Bill Golembieski, and Ben Salibra are riders from the last two years who are racing often.

I also extend my deep thanks to everyone who is helping get kids to races. I don’t have the time to drive them to races this year, so this help has been essential. Thanks to the parents and Champ-Sys. Also to the coaching help from CRCA. Next year should be very good, we have a lot of riders returning for a change.