Making the Race 1 – Intro: The Promoter’s Guide
Alex Bremer
In May of 2006, the Columbia University Cycling Club elected a rookie racer to promote the 2007 edition of the team’s Grant’s Tomb Criterium. He had lined up for his first bike race only two months earlier, and so I – I mean “he†– hardly felt like a qualified organizer for the event. Fortunately for me, most of the promoters that came before me were in similar situations, with similarly pathetic qualifications. So, how has CU Cycling put on such a successful race for so many years with bumbling rookies behind the scenes? Well, the secret lies in the existence of a time-tested, sacred document that is passed down from one generation of promoter to the next. This text contains evidence of many errors of days passed, and the best ways to avoid them, presented with the kind of 20-20 clarity only hindsight can offer.
However, despite the unmatched wisdom contained in our promoter’s guide, I have no doubts that some of our events in the past have been less than perfect – most notably perhaps, was last years edition. As many of you will remember, the city was treated to a Noreaster in the hours before the event, which of course, in Manhattan means one thing in March – slush! – and lots of it. How unlucky! Well, maybe, or in my case maybe not, perhaps it was for the best. At the very least, it did a fantastic job of covering up any organizational “oversights†I may have committed.
So I got a freebie, and learned some lessons along the way. But, I do not have much to add to our promoter’s guide (I thought hindsight was 20-20, but I need glasses) so I have chosen to “give back†by writing a Promoting-a-Bike-Race-for-Dummies Blog for faithful readers of VCN everywhere. Our event is now two months away, and hopefully I can learn something valuable between now and then from anonymous persons who choose to share their wisdom in any discussion that follows.
We are very excited about the 2008 GTC (Saturday, March 15th), we have a few new fields, much bigger prizes, and a full day of Collegiate and Open USCF racing on tap. If you need any proof of how great the event will be, see the teaser photo of all the Chamois Butt’r shwag we have! Behold our mighty stash!
Photo – Rob Rowan
With sponsors like these, how could our event not be awesome? Find out some (unofficial, tentative, but much more pertinent) info here.
Registration opens February 18th at 12 noon. We encourage you to share thoughts about how we could make it better – who knows, maybe we’ll listen?
Each week I will be putting up a new post about a specific topic on promoting. Some will be focused on Logistics, Politics, and Paperwork, and others will be about the Ideas and Ideals behind dreaming up the best race possible.
Watch for next week’s juicy installment on choosing fields, and promoting women’s racing, Making the Race 2 – Defy-ning Categories.
Photo – Rob Rowan
Thanks for reading!
Alex Bremer
CU Cycling
GTC Promoter, VP, Captain
Also, a special thanks to our sponsors:
Cadence Cycling
Paceline Products
The Joe DiMaggio Sports Foot & Ankle Center
Hincapie Sports
Power Supplements
Don’t wear helmets people. They mess up your hair.
purple helmeted warrior.
wish I had hair to mess up
I NEVER wear a helmet. Who wants to fight?
Really? Has anyone told other people to not wear a helmet?
This may be NYC, but i don’t think the complainers are real NYers at heart. Real NYers know how to mind their own business. It’s a lesson learned early in life that when you poke your nose into someone else’s life, you get your face smashed in– no warning, no conversation.
The complainers probably come from the isolation of suburbia, where everything is done at a safe distance, and there’s little personal interaction that doesn’t include adult supervision.
I think it’s the Interwebs. I am 100 percent poz no one would say this stuff to anyone’s face. Anonymity makes everyone into Mighty Mouse.
If only a Nor-Easter would come and bury this whole “argument” in slush. Every time I check into this site to see what’s up I’m treated to the same old b.s. Wear a helmet, don’t wear a helmet; wear headphones, don’t wear headphones. . . . WTFC? It’s your life, do what you want. Do you think amateur racers out in California or Colorado are arguing about such asinine issues as they rack up base miles? Put on an extra layer and go out for a long ride — and shut the f up already. Little League wasn’t this ridiculous.
I don’t always wear a helmet. Personal choice. Why do you dicks care? It’s none of your business.
Ipods and helmet arguments….definitely the cabin fever acting up…..you guys should leave JFT alone; if he takes off his iPod starts wearing a helmet, it means 3 more months of winter…….
I’m pro-choice, all the way. Why does either side have to vanquish the other — both sides have their merits, both sides can have a slice of the high road. For goodness’ sake, this is New York City — most of us live here because we like sharing the streets with people who don’t have the same ideas, backgrounds, rules of behavior as we do. Every night you share the sidewalk, restaurants, subways, taxis with people who have a very different idea of how life should be. That’s what makes NYC rock, even in the era of $12.5 million apartments and $8,000 Cervelos. You want to live in a place where everyone has to behave the same way and look the same? Move to Westchester.
for being a dick. Yeah, I get bent out of shape for answering questions in good faith while anonymous dickheads like you rag on my behaviour.
yeah, sorry but I’m like that.
Are you happy now.
1201 – that IS funny, but the sad thing is that this fall I was riding around minding my own business and some guy rode up next to me and started pointing at his head/helmet with a look like “WTF?” at me.
WTF are people’s problem with someone else just riding along doing something different forcing them to comment on it? I just don’t get it.
Ride a straight line. Shoulder check before switching lines.
don’t think it’s a problem in the park. In traffic, not so smart.
You guys are unbelievable. Maybe they should just remove the comment option to these articles…..nothing of value ever comes out of it.
apparently the common sense is not useful around here…..
It’s not selfish. Its a personal choice, which has very little impact on you or anyone else around that person. perhaps when you ride 30 hours a week you get a little bored and need some entertainment.
what IWWGTB said
if you’re planning on making the extra effort with turning around while disregarding hearing, go ahead. But I think it’s silly and selfish. I like to tune in and hear things behind and around me when riding, other riders might be talking to you as they’re about to pass you. It’s similar to like: why ride with one eyepatch? All senses are useful.
With an iPod on, how can he hear anyone yell, ‘Wear Your Helmet!”
1201 pricless
8:10 has regressed back to childhood. At this rate, he’ll be a primate by 2012.
Heinrich Haussler raced Paris-Roubaix a few years ago with his ipod on, and I believe he top-20’d the race…..if you can manage to do that well in a pro tour race with headphones on, its probably ok to wear them tooling around in the park. You’ll get hit by a car regardless.
don’t need detail (you’re the one that’s gonna get all bent out of shape about it)…it’s dumb, foolish, irresponsible or whatever adjective you wanna put on it
Cipo to Rock Racing
while training in the park and have no problem with others who hold their line, ride predictably, and look before changing their line. Give me an ipod wearing competent cyclist over a hearing weaving idiot in the park any day.
If you want detail, sign your name.
Better to be stupid than a fool, 8:01.
Chris M made the mistake of messing with JFT on the internet. It’s his problem now.
Im not ‘messing’ with anybody – just being logically consistent 🙂
Cant wait for Grants! Thanks for the good efforts Alex B.
I too can’t wait for Grant’s Tomb for my first real chance to have my ass handed to me for being fat and lazy this winter
actually the problem is that jt can’t shut up about helmets so we all suffer
Are there enough lights to race after dark? If you run a little late the P/1/2 will be post twilight.
all the Chamois Butt
it’s a good idea to package that stuff in such a way that you can carry some with you (reapplying never hurts…), but that looks and probably feels a lot like a powergel…
they should make edible buttcream for those gels packs
Hey JFT – whadda think about riding with headphones?
Oh Jeez. Are you the same guy who pokes sticks into the bear cage at the zoo?
I dunno — I do it quite a bit myself in the park. Why do you ask?
Yeah, and maybe get a 3-fer if it worked as a liniment too.
hey, is that my girl heidi licking the pavement? she gets hungry at the strangest times.
wearing headphones while cycling outside is stupid
write your name and we’ll talk
rather just hear you rant about why you’re not stupid for wearing headphones while cycling in the park. this has to be much better than your helmet rant.
Major changes. Why did you decide to feature the USCF races over the Collegiate races? The Collegiate stuff is great and more important than a local FBF race moved northwest. I hope you draw more than local city riders for the USCF races.
so much anger jt, you should really let it out. don’t hold it in
It was a Ball thread, not a Ball/Helmet thread. Go there yourself if your going to continue to be yourself. The rest of us left it so we wouldn’t have to listen to you anymore.
Alex thanks for the effort and for the write-up. Very helpful and looking forward to more.
Also Cat 4s (and 5s) are going to love the addition of the 4/5 and 3/4 race. This is a fantastic crit and Im glad more of the newer riders will get a chance to race this crit.
Best of luck this season
The only way to keep cars from parking is to hire the “Cone Heads” like film and TV productions. They live in a van, set out cone, and make sure no one parks. Flyers alone won’t do it. I realize it might not be $$ feasible but that is the only way to make sure that there are no cars.
Take it back to the Ball/Helmet thread if you want to be a dick
When you go to put flyers on those cars, dont forget to wear your pedestrian open-faced helmet! Traffic moves fast and furious around the Tomb…
Pretty much every year there are issues with parked cars. I think you can alleviate the situation a bit by being familiar with the way parking works in NYC. Unless you have lived with a car in the area you may not be familiar with the parking routine of local residents. It’s very much like musical chairs. The music is the alternate side of the street parking regulations. When the music stops, people scramble for those precious parking spots. Once they have their spot, they don’t want to give them up. I know that the club goes around and puts flyers on cars, but I think the timing is very important to not having the cars come back to park on the course. You need to check the parking signs and put flyers on cars just before the end of the street cleaning rules time. I don’t know the rules on the streets the race course covers but if there is a sign that says no parking on Thursday 8:30-10:00 AM, you want to be out there from 9:30-10:00 am handing out flyers. The ‘No Parking Saturday’ signs should also go up on the course starting early Thursday morning. This is to prevent cars from parking there. You want to stay on the local residents good side. It’s not fun parking your car thinking you are set for the weekend and then coming back to find your car was towed. Even if you do all of this, I am sure that there will still be a few cars on the course, but hopefully not so many that the available tow trucks will not be able to clear them before the race starts.
the discussion of Grant’s Tomb…Thanks for putting the race on for us.
when i am done with racing i have always thought if would be a great way to give back by promoting a first class race thanks alex
nice one alex. good idea
I just got an email from the promoter and the cat-4 wait list is 80+ strong and he said that he’s likely to add a 2nd cat-4 field. So if you were thinking that there was no point in putting yourself on the wait list, I would suggest you do it now to be sure you’re in the 2nd field.
The crashy pic is an apt choice.
the link is broken to find out more. so for anyone who is interested:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5761
I was “lucky” too in that the first race I ever promoted (a collegiate race in Marlborough Mass) was cancelled due to road conditions…..
We didn’t have the sort of document you guys use, though we had some continuity in a school staffer member being co-promoter.
Looking forward to more on this