There are LOTS of reasons to mentor

You can spend your time, waste your time, or invest your time. It's your choice.

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Attn Ladies: The next 2 Ladies Only Track Sessions are going on a road trip!! We will be packing up and heading to the Encino Velodrome for the Saturday July 19th & Sunday Aug 10th LOTS sessions.

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Where’d everyone go? According to the SCNCA, in 2008, there are 403 women in the SCNCA racing area with an active USAC racing license. Only 265 of us have done at least one race this year.

As the season has progressed we have seen a hit or miss in attendance at WCat 3-4 events. Early season at the Roger Milken crit we had more than 30 WCat 3-4’s starting while the Elite State Crit in San Pedro on Sunday had just 10 WCat 3-4’s.

We can all name at least one “race junkie” who enjoys racing every event possible. Then there are those women who are more selective as to when and where they race. Maybe they prefer to only race a couple of courses they are confident on while others abandon their comfort zone to race a couple of courses that are more challenging.

Bike racing is definitely expensive, generally scarey and always dangerous. Some women take to criterium style bike racing almost naturally and feel comfortable from the beginning. But many other women spend more than a season spectating while trying to get up the nerve to give it a go. Eventually they buy a license and toe the line. Once there, they experience either instant success and finish safely in the pack or they end up blown off the back of the peleton from fear and their own lack of skill.

One of the most valuable gifts the beginning Women racers have been given this year in the SCNCA area is plenty of WCat 3-4 races. Mixed in with a few WCat 4 only races, these combo 3-4 races are the perfect opportunity for the more experienced Cat 3’s (many of whom have NO intention of EVER becoming a Cat 2) to mentor their teammates and unattached riders. It is a great opportunity for the Cat 3’s to drop to the back of the peleton to offer a newer rider their safer and more experienced wheel to then help her move up into the front of the group. It is a perfect opportunity for the Cat 3 to be a leadout wheel for a Cat 4 on Primes and on the Finish. These combo 3-4 races are a great opportunity for mentoring, teaching and peer-to-peer coaching throughout the race. Having the faster and more skilled Cat 3’s race with the Cat 4’s increases the safety of the races. Unfortunately most of us are totally wasting this valuable opportunity.

More often than not, the combo races have become a slugfest for the strongest racers to duke it out at the front of the peleton with little intent and no mentoring. The most common leadouts are often accidental leadouts because someone sprinted too soon and ran out of steam before the finish line.

For the Cat 3’s who absolutely must become a Cat 2, your mentoring skills become even more valuable!! When you become a Cat 3 you will be able to race up with the Pro’s. And the Pro’s are really hoping that by the time you race up with them, you will have acquired enough quality skills (tools in your tool box) to not only race safely but to help your teammates and to be an asset to the races. No matter what your racing category is, mentoring and being mentored is a valuable gift that makes racing fun and safe for everyone.

One of the reasons the upgrade requirements have become more restrictive this year is to give the newer racers more opportunities to develop the skills needed to race. Paying $30 to ride around in circles till somebody wins is NOT racing and it is DUMB. But that is what the vast majority of us do in the vast majority of our races. Entry level racing should be where we learn just how much fun it is to think, plot, plan and maneuver our way to the finish line. It is where we learn how to make deliberate decisions that improve the race.

I challenge each of the local women’s race teams to teach their Cat 2 ladies how to mentor their newer Cat 3 teammates who would then learn how to mentor their newer Cat 4 teammates. Mentoring increases the skill of racers and brings cohesion to the peleton…and cohesion is really the only thing that keeps women coming back. No one enjoys feeling like they are all alone in a crowded room, especially women at bike races.

Keeping the start line of the women’s races full is about making sure new riders feel supported and welcomed. It is about making sure that everyone understands that they do add value to each race whether it’s a young junior girl or an older mom new to racing with the Elites. Cohesion starts way before race day and it starts with each & every one of the Women’s Race Teams.

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Sunday June 29th ~ The 47th Annual Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. Presented by Rock Racing. Ladies, if you have not previously raced this historic event, then why not come out and give it a try this year? WCat 3-4’s race at 8:45AM. WCat 1-3’s will race at 11:15AM. Be sure to check the race flyer to see if/when your category will be racing. Ladies ~ lots of planning went into setting the race schedule to make sure there was room enough for 2 women’s races!! Let’s thank the organizers by filling the women’s fields!!

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August 14-17th ~ Junior Track National Championships
Sponsorship ~ This year the LA Velodrome and Momentum Cycling will be hosting the 2008 USAC Junior Track National Championships. While plenty of work has been going on behind the scenes these past months, the race organizers are still in need of both private and corporate sponsorship. As with almost any sporting event, sponsorship money is essential!
Junior Track Nationals is a well attended event that brings together hundreds of kids (and their parents) from all across the United States. Any company that appreciates a junior aged target market will definitely want to be involved!
Please feel free to contact the race organizers for more sponsorship information.

Junior Track Natz Training Camps ~ ADT is pleased to announce that it will be hosting summer Junior Race Training Camps this July & August. These camps are designed to give juniors from around the country the opportunity to ride and train on the LA Velodrome before Jr Natz. For more info, please visit the LA Velodrome’s Jr Camp info page on the website.

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Friday Nights at ADT ~ Attn Ladies the State and National track Championship races are coming up too quickly! There are plenty of opportunities for you to race individual time trials, team pursuits, team sprints and many other events. If you are interested in training for these events and more, please plan to join me at ADT each Friday evening for open (ie co-ed) training from 6-9PM.

If you are planning to attend, please send me an RSVP email so I know who to expect this week. Normal track fees apply.

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Attn Ladies: The next 2 Ladies Only Track Sessions are going on a road trip!! We will be packing up and heading up to the Encino Velodrome for the Saturday July 19th & Sunday Aug 10th LOTS sessions.

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Have you seen USA Cycling's Web article featuring the LOTS program? If you, your employer or anyone you know, is interested in sponsoring the LOTS program, please contact me. The LOTS program is dedicated to introducing women to the exciting sport of track cycling and we intend to grow this program as far into the future as we can see!

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2008 Championship Track Events ~ As we move closer to the end of the road season we also move closer to the beginning of the Championship Track Racing Season.

1) June 21 ~ SCNCA Jr Track States at ADT (done)
2) July 26-27 ~ Masters Track States SD.
3) Aug 2-3 ~ Elite Qualifier SD.
4) Aug 14-17 Jr Track Nationals at ADT
5) Aug 16-17 Elite Qualifier Encino.
6) Aug 23-24 ~ Elite Qualifier ADT
7) Sept 2-7 ~ Masters Track Natz San Jose
8) Sept 11-13 ~ Collegiate Track Nationals Co Springs
9) Sept 13-14 ~ Elite Track States Encino.
10) Oct 1-5 ~ Elite Track Nationals at ADT

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Will you be hungry this July? ~ If Burritos are your “thing” then check out Chipotle Restaurants limited edition "Le Burrito"
Team “Slipstream Chipotle - H30” has added backing going into the Tour de France, July 5 to 27, as its sponsor has introduced a new burrito in honor of the USA team. Chipotle Mexican Grill in New York City unveiled "Le Burrito" in anticipation of the team's debut in the Tour de France, following on its first – and successful – Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia. The limited edition burrito is aimed at athletes and will be featured in all Chipotle restaurants across the US throughout the French race.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jun08/jun10news2

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The 2008 USAC Athlete Waiver is available on-line.

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The 2008 SCNCA Racing Calendar is available on line.

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The 2008 USAC Rule book is available on-line.

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One of our Cycling Moms, Donna Stern, is a licensed CPA. She will be conducting several classes on Bookkeeping throughout the Summer. These classes are geared toward High School Students, New business owners and especially Women who may be returning to the work force or running a family or home based business. Donna’s classes are located in The OC near John Wayne Airport. Please see the attached flyer for additional information.

Have a super week Ladies!!

Julia Cross