L.A. to Chicago & Back to Bike Racing (almost)

        I’ve been pretty inactive with this blog over the past year- and the last post I had about bike racing went back to April 2009. I’ve thought about posting plenty of times, but usually when I had something to write about I was too busy to write about it, couldn’t really talk about it, wanted to only talk about gadgets (my not-so-secret fetish), or my thoughts would have disintegrated into politically charged grumblings- which is well outside the scope of my expertise. But for the last three or four months I’ve been almost exclusively focused on “It” and fortunately, I’m going to be able to officially spill the beans about “It” very soon. It’s not a huge secret, some folks on Twitter and Facebook might even have seen the occasional hint or excited message from the people I’m working with- but we’re still a very few important steps from having all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed- and until then nothing’s official.

        But “It” has a backstory, and It was a major catalyst in Rosa’s (my wife) and my decision to move from Los Angeles to Chicago (in Winter!), which has resulted in temporarily living in the suburbs in the house next door to my parents (which really is just like “Everybody Loves Raymond”, and extremely entertaining to be a character in). And actually, the story behind “It” doesn’t even go that far back...

        Last summer I was planning for a new chapter in my life- sort of- I was going to go back to school. I was preparing to take the GMAT and apply for a few different MBA programs. I was hoping to take my experiences from working with ABD, of organizing events and people and teams, and learn how to do it in “the business” world. I was still planning to stay involved with cycling during school- riding my bike and coaching a few athletes- but my studies would have been my top priority. A friend had planted the MBA seed in my brain last April or May and I found myself getting very cerebrally excited about an MBA program.

        Then in mid-August Rosa and I were back in the Midwest for the Downers Grove Criterium and to visit family and friends. We were driving through the middle of rural Wisconsin farmland, enjoying time away from Los Angeles, when I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize. I answered it and the ensuing conversation was very short and very exciting. A couple of guys had a vision for a new project, it was related to cycling, and they wanted to know if I wanted to run It? It was far from a sure thing, there was no money (yet), and It offered no long-term security. So of course I said, “I’d definitely be interested”.

        The simple fact is that the cerebral excitement of going back to school and getting my MBA was no match for a gut-reaction, butterflies in my stomach and a rush of adrenaline. I’ve been racing bikes since I was 14, and occasionally I would think that maybe it’s time for something new, but for me life in the cycling world is exciting and intensely satisfying- whether it’s winning a race, watching a teammate or athlete I coach win a race, helping run an event for a few hundred people, or just having a great workout.

        So, a few days after the initial phone call, I meet with these guys to talk about It before heading back to LA. We met at a Starbucks next to the airport so we could talk before my flight out, which kind of made me feel like a businessman- no MBA required! Despite the fact that It is just a twinkle in all of our eyes, Rosa and I start throwing around ideas on the flight back to L.A. We’ve always talked about living in Chicago, but this time the conversation was much more serious... and we were excited. However, once we got back to L.A. we shelved the talk for a while and went on with our lives in California. I stayed busy with prep work for ABD’s Fall Fling, a couple of new coaching clients and talks with riders about the 2010 ABD Elite team. I even finally went to Disneyland for the first time ever (thanks Katy and Billy!).

        Then, in mid-September, I got another call about It. They’d decided to head in a little bit different direction (my heart sank a bit, we talked a few more minutes)... but then, “So, do you still want to be involved?” Heart soars: of course.

        Rosa and I talked again- excitedly and nervously. Los Angeles had been our home for six years, the hub of Rosa’s craft (acting), and we’d never considered moving to Chicago so seriously. But deep down we know the nervousness is why we should do it. We’re young, we’re mobile, why not.

        I flew back to the Midwest for three weeks to help run the Fall Fling and I met again with the key players. As is often the case, the more I learned about It the more nervous I became. Things sounded great, but I knew better than to get too excited too early, and especially after the bottom dropped out of the economy in October of 2008 and riders, teams, clubs and events were left with no funding. Sometimes this nervousness of mine disintegrated into fear, but it actually felt ok—kind of like cliff diving. I knew the water was deep enough because if we moved to Chicago there were plenty of other opportunities, but that still didn’t take away from the fear and the rush of jumping in.

        Rosa and I talked more via video-chat, but we postponed a final decision until I was back home so we could talk to face to face. (Technology and gadgets are no match for the rich subtleties of actual experience.)
        
        I flew back to L.A. on October 13th, we waited a couple of days, and then one evening we opened up a nice bottle of wine and talked. And we decided to move... by Thanksgiving. Even if It didn’t work out then we’d at least have the opportunity to live in the city, and we decided that after a year we’d evaluate whether or not to stay.

        Now that a decision had been made, we started to clean house and by the first weekend of November almost every piece of furniture we owned had been sold on Craigslist. For the next few weeks we lived off a couple of TV trays, an exercise ball, an office chair and an air mattress. We realized, for better or worse, that as long as we have our beloved kitchen amenities (knives, cutting boards, pots & pans, coffee maker) and an internet connection we don’t care much about the rest of the apartment.

        Rosa packed constantly for three weeks. What was left of our possessions had to fit into 285 cubic feet of moving company space and a 1994 Nissan Sentra. We sold Rosa’s ’99 Nissan Sentra in four hours on Craigslist because we thought my car would have been a tough sell with it’s many quirks and bike grease stains.

        The move itself is a long, funny story that you can read about over on Rosa’s blog here and here. It involves a broken down car just 120 miles outside of L.A., a tow truck, a few airports, Thanksgiving in Phoenix, and ultimately a flight to Milwaukee.

        Upon our arrival to the Midwest in early December we moved into my parents’ extra bedroom. Our stuff arrived (mostly undamaged) a few days later and was stashed away in their basement. Now that I was local I worked away on “It” with a clear goal in sight but still nothing signed, sealed or delivered.

        Two weeks later we flew back to Phoenix for a wonderful Christmas with Rosa’s family. Then, on Christmas Day we flew back to Chicago to celebrate Christmas with my family. And six days later, on January 1st, we flew down to Costa Rica for 12 days to take our delayed honeymoon and celebrate our one-year anniversary. The trip was also to fulfill a deal I made with myself that if my wife agreed to move to the Midwest- in Winter- then I’d take her some place warm. Costa Rica was amazing and despite my getting sick for a day we had a great time. Unfortunately, the day we returned from Costa Rica I got sick again, and it was pretty bad. Rosa had never seen me that sick before. I lost obscene amounts of weight and for the first time in my cycling life I’ve been consciously trying to put on the pounds—and I won’t lie, it’s kind of nice.

        Once I started to feel better we began to look for apartments in the city and we immediately fell in love with Chicago: great people, great neighborhoods and everything is within a few minutes of everything else. We started to get excited about unpacking our things that had now been in boxes for two months. We saw a few places that were possibilities, but nothing really perfect.

        Then, during one of our apartment hunting days in the city I received a phone call that my parents’ neighbor has passed away. His name was Bill Enders and he was a great guy and also Winfield’s first paid fireman. He, his wife and their daughters would come over during family parties and the neighborhood always felt a little safer knowing Bill was keeping an eye on things. His daughters decided that they didn’t want to leave the house vacant in winter so they made us an offer that we really couldn’t refuse: would we mind housesitting? Umm... (we thought about it for a day, then thought about saving money that we’re not actually making anyway since “It” hasn’t made an official penny...), you bet we would!

        So for now we’re rocking the suburbs, enjoying life in the Midwest, the proximity of our friends and family, keeping an eye out for that perfect place in the city, and working on It. Hopefully I can talk about It soon!

Best Family Ever

Sister Ana just arrived in to LA to help pack and celebrate our last few days here.

Sister Jodi is in Fiji with boyfriend Christian and got a one day layover in LA to hang out on her way home (among the boxes).

Aunt Dawn and Uncle Kevin are driving up on Sunday to spend an afternoon with all of us at Lucky Baldwin’s Pub.

Sister Bridget is organizing Brother Sean’s 21st birthday party this weekend in the hometown.

Dad Greg is driving 3.5 hours to help Mom Mary Lee & Dad RayJ keep the peace during said birthday party.

We drive to Mom Cathy’s in Phoenix on Wednesday to eat food, ride bikes and be merry with the Riveras & LaMore clans.

In-law, step-, half-, biological and domestic partner are dumb words.

Family is an awesome word.

I love you guys- bring on the holidays.

Maybe it's ADD

Sorry for the lack of updates- the cliff notes are on Twitter (over
there in the sidebar)

Why Rupert Murdoch Will Never Be as Rich as Scrooge McDuck (although he's close)

The Financial Times reports this morning that the Wall Street Journal website will begin accepting micro-payments for individual articles this year. This immediately made me think that Rupert Murdoch (owner of the WSJ and owner or director of several other media outlets, has visions of diving headfirst into a vault of micro-payments and swimming around in them.

I’m actually a big fan of the Journal and it’s the only paper I’d have home delivered if I didn’t travel so much, but micro-payments for articles will never work. I’m willing to drop 99 cents on a song I want to listen to over and over or $4.99 for an app or game I use again and again, but I’m not going to purchase an article that I will most likely read once- and I don’t think others will either.

Maybe Murdoch’s goal isn’t even to get rich from the micro-payment business model, but just save his rather big slice of the news’ industry. Either way, it’s a bad idea and hopefully someone is still at the drawing board working on something else.

Strange Days in the U.S. Pro Cycling Scene

Three domestic pros with impressive resumes are handed pink slips.
Another sponsor bites the dust.
Philly’s in trouble just seven weeks out.
New names in the results.

The 2009 domestic cycling season has started out unlike any other I can remember. It seemed to start out big with Tour of California and Lance’s comeback, but those two high points didn’t resonate down through the ranks. Unfortunately, it seems like many of the U.S. domestic scene’s woes can be attributed to the economic downturn. Events, teams and riders all find themselves strapped for cash and unable to fulfill hopeful promises they made before the big dive last October. It’s also become apparent just how inter-dependent these three entities are upon one another as budgets grew bigger and bigger. Most of us are in this sport because we love it, and that includes several promoters and sponsors who barrel forward with a vision using primarily raw energy and passion. Oftentimes things work out, but as the economic bottom continues to drop out many teams and riders are being left in the cold. I know my hindsight is 20-20, but if everyone had just taken a slightly more objective, business-minded look at the 2009 season there might not be as many events, teams and riders floundering about as there are now.

Before the end of 2008 season, it seemed that teams were the first to cry uncle as several called it quits before the season was even over. Sky-high gas prices last summer forced a lot of team managers (including little-old ABD) to rethink their programs. It was like a financial tornado ripped through the budget as road trips and airline tickets became the most expensive items by a long shot. I have a lot of respect for directors like Tamayo and Carney that knew they had to reduce their programs and the amount of travel for ‘09 in order to survive. Those two have spent some time in the trenches as riders and are all too familiar with the “no-dough-by-June” scenario that many fledgling teams and riders get sucked into.

On the other hand there’s Michael Ball, who seems to have good intentions but also very little experience in the cycling world. Unfortunately he piped a good enough tune to attract several great riders to his program that probably knew better but just wanted a job this year. Now cycling fans around the country might unfortunately get to watch on the main stage what has happened time and time again to smaller programs. Let’s hope I’m wrong- the fact that Creed, Baldwin and Grajales were fired last week before the season even began is a shame. I thought that the UCI or USAC had some sort of B.S. litmus-test that they applied to each team to make sure things like that don’t happen, but my guess is that since Mr. Ball snuck those three in on his “amateur” team he didn’t have to provide proof of anything for them.

Just as some teams pulled the ripcord late last year so did events. I also have a lot of respect for those promoters that knew right off the bat that they had to postpone for a year or reduce their agenda. The ones that moved forward on a hope and/or a prayer only to cancel have now left gaping holes in riders and teams schedules- leaving them without opportunities to to show some return on investment for their sponsors. (Again, I really hope I’m wrong and events like Philly are a go). Cycling is just like a lot of businesses in that there needs to be an answer to the “what have you done for me lately?” question. Without a strong domestic calendar teams currently have meek answers to that question and now we see sponsors like Successful Living pulling out of their programs mid-season. Would Successful Living had pulled their sponsorship (or would Michael Ball have been able to attract more money) if there had been a packed NRC calendar for teams to strut their stuff the past couple months? But even if the calendar had been full, would teams have been able to afford to attend them? It’s difficult to say, but a weak domestic calendar for the past two months has lead to one more crumbling piece of the puzzle- thin press coverage of the domestic scene.

Without a strong domestic calendar teams are scattered throughout the country and VeloNews and CyclingNews coverage doesn’t seem to be as focused as when they know which event is THE event of the week. The last two domestic races to receive much coverage were Sea Otter and Battenkill (on the same weekend), and if you look through the results their is basically one or two pro teams followed by lots of amateurs. It’s awesome that young guys are getting shots at the P-R-O’s, but it makes you wonder where all the other pro riders and teams are. Events aren’t attracting fields that showcase the best riders in the U.S. and thus attracting the press coverage that those events and teams can show off to their sponsors.

So, here’s my “i-drank-three cups-of-coffee-this-morning-just-throwing-it-out-there" solution to bolster the U.S. cycling scene:

In order to guarantee that riders always have a place to show off their talents and sponsors, regardless of the economic conditions, there needs to be a solid, consistent U.S. calendar. USA Cycling needs to remove the financial barriers to entry for an event to be on the National Racing Calendar and grant NRC status to events that have proven to be well-run and rider friendly. If an event has an enormous prize list that’s great too, but it’s most important to build consistency into the calendar.)

A well-run event means there is an A to Z work plan in place well ahead of time and there are competent people to execute it. I would say that most often a first-year event does not qualify for NRC status, however if it is a team of race-promoting veterans running it and can insure a multiple year commitment then it qualifies (i.e. the TOAD series in Wisconsin this year has Ochowicz and Schuler involved). If you’re a first time promoter with a huge cash windfall then it only makes sense that you recruit some people that know what their doing.

By ”rider-friendly“ I mean a an event with a challenging, safe course that allows for the strongest guys to come out on top. It also means that the event’s date on the NRC calendar allows for a reasonable amount of time for teams to travel to it. For instance, having all the West Coast events back-to-back in March and April makes sense when most riders spend the early season training there, but to then throw an East Coast event like the U.S. Open in there right before riders would have to be back at Sea Otter or the Tour of Gila doesn’t make sense. Rider-friendly also means that promoters should allow Category 1 amateurs into their races if pro teams don’t fill the field (many NRC promoters already do this).

USA Cycling should set aside a ”base amount“ of funding for each event on the NRC calendar that helps insure its return year after year in case they were to hit a financial rough spot. The funds would be a minimal amount that insures a safe, smooth running event, not prizes or any amount that could line a promoter’s pockets. That amount of money would be stated in the A to Z plan from the get go so there were no surprises for USAC. As far as prizes in a down economy, if an event is hard up then riders can race for a donated furniture set (ask ABD’er Pat Murphy about that) or some old brick like they do in Europe. As long as you have a well-run event and aren’t charging an exorbitant entry fee for a 15 minute race then riders will be there. Illinois’ own Hillsboro-Roubaix started out as a modest event but the promoters’ do an exemplary job and it’s a unique course so the event has quickly grown to be THE early season race in the Midwest.

But truthfully, as much as I would like USA Cycling (or some governing body) to call me up so we can start working on my plan, I just hope that as the NRC calendar picks up on the East Coast in May we see a return to ”normalcy“: stacked fields, solid coverage, excited fans and satisfied sponsors.

Cannondale News - Take 2

Dorel Industries, Cannondale’s parent company, continues to prove they care nothing about people or bikes and exemplify everything that is wrong in the world.

In a follow-up interview with Velonews they explain their move to cut their Bedford, PA staff from 300 to 100 by saying “the cost of domestic production made the decision ‘crystal clear’ from an economic perspective.” Later in the article Jeff McGuane, president of Cannondale Sports Group’s North American division, says "It was painful to make the decision we took today; the people in Bedford are the soul of Cannondale.“

But at least the painful decision to cut out their soul was crystal clear “from an economic perspective”.

Cannondale News

Velonews reports that Cannondale's parent company announced a move to overseas production- “allowing the reduction of Bedford workforce from 300 workers to 100.”

Excuse me, "allow them" ?!?! What kind of sugarcoat job is that?

I’ve never been a huge Cannondale fan but this is sad news.

A Weekend for the Workers

Jeff Louder and Danny Pate earned some well-deserved results this last weekend with Louder taking the Redlands title and Pate scoring second at the Criterium International.

This is an awesome and interesting year for U.S. cycling- even without the two comeback kids. Leipheimer, Vandevelde, Farrar, Phinney, Hincapie, etc are in the mix in Europe and here at home there is no clear domestic powerhouse. Fly V takes San Dimas, BMC takes Redlands and Ouch, Rock, Bissell, and Jelly Belly are all right there in the hunt. Now there isn't another NRC or USACPT event until April 26th at Dana Point.

I know our guys are chomping at the bit to get in the mix and it's going to be exciting to see what happens.

Cancellara Learns a Training Lesson

From his recent interview in VeloNews Cancellara talks about being dead last at this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico

“That was a bit different, to see the Olympic champion, the double world champion, starting first in a time trial, that doesn’t happen often!” he said. “I was sick, then I crashed, and now I have sinus problems. That’s what happens when you use your body hard without any training.”

Even the champs get a little eager, or maybe just his team and the sponsors.

I love riding bikes