Snow & Woes.

The view outside my window. 20 degrees out: wet, slushy, icy, sloppy, snowy, and a little breezy. I'm not too worried though. New team race bibs, arm, and leg warmers came in today. I'll be riding yet!... eventually.

I have come to terms with the likely possibility that the first time I may be able to have a good ride outside this "Spring" will be at a race. I'm not complaining or anything. What better way to kick off the season and the fresh air of this cycling world I live in that in a criterium race?

Whether it is IUP's Crimson Crit Training Series or the two New York ECCC races March 13th and 14th, I will be riding outside in less than a month with purpose. I have registered for the New York Criterium and Circuit races and we are all waiting for final words from Indiana borough's brilliant power-heads to be rid of their fears and allow us to host a race.

At this point, I can say that there is still a possibility for us at IUP to still be able to host this race series, but there seems to be a lot up against our efforts. Other than money, the amount of bureaucratic hurdles this proposal has had to pass and still pass is terribly annoying. These things could have been taken care of months ago had we known they would have been there. I guess these problems are more like ditches that we didn't expect to have to work our way through. They are unavoidable and once we find ourselves out of one we seem to catch our wheels in another rut waiting for people to "find time" to look over the issues, approve it with other parties, and get back to us with another fee and list of people we need to take this to for more approval. Let's not even talk about the amount of money we have to come up with for this.

• Best case scenario: IUP gets all approval and all the funding necessary and are able to put on a great, smooth criterium training series for Western PA.

• Consolation scenario: IUP is not able to put on a race series because of timing, lack of funds or a combination of both, but is however able to acquire the approval and sufficient funding to put on one criterium race the last weekend in March for Western PA.

• Worst case scenario: IUP is not able to put together this opportunity because of missing deadlines and funding due to the slow processing of the Indiana borough.

We are an admittedly small nonprofit organization. I don't imagine we would ever want to be considered a charity with larger than life expectations, but a drive to play with the big kids... (like a little brother) in this cycling area. I would be very pleased if IUP can come out of this with the ability to host one race and at least be able to break through the red tape the Indiana Borough has placed without any knowledge of this opportunity. I do not intend to say these men and women have a lack of knowledge, but it is hard for me to know what they know, and equally, for them to know what we know about this bike race.

Communication is, and usually is, the key. We now know what we will have to deal with next year and will be able to put on these races the way they were intended to be.

What's Current..?

Things are finally beginning to spin for Indiana University of Pennsylvania cycling. The boys at IUP are ticking away at their pedals and training hours and the club leadership is finally starting to see results to their long proposed efforts for the first annual (Is it an oxymoron, at this point, to say, "first annual"? To imply it will happen again in a year -fortune telling I certainly do not possess,- to imply that it is in fact an annual event -having never had one of this status before to make this posthumous claim,- and to imply I know anything about grammar may well be just too much for these two words and an inquisition therein.) criterium training series.

Regardless of the meaning of this first time race series hosting, it will be a monumental achievement. Emails, calls, frustrations, and bureaucratic endeavors have all taken place in order for this event to bloom into early season fruition. While waiting for near imminent approval from the powers that be of Indiana, Pa, the weight of the details are finally settling in. Acquiring volunteers, safety personnel, race officials, sponsorship opportunities, more that I can't think of now, and most importantly racers will be a challenge.

Here's the flyer! spread the word.