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I am pretty sure that was the last NORBA race at ETSU

ztlh13

Monkey
May 9, 2003
276
0
East Tennessee
I have to post this, but I want you all to know that I do understand why some of you did not show up.

ETSU Cycling has to work volunteer hours, spend more hours trying to find sponsors for things like dirt, tractor services, and other equipment to build and maintain the trail systems. It is a shame that the local racers cannot come to a race to support the construction of a new slalom course each year. ETSU (the school) gives the cycling club nothing! The reason the club has races is to generate revenue to compete in the SEC Cycling Conference and to send riders to nationals, where in the past three years they have had a national champion, an All-American and several podium finishers. More importantly is that these riders continue to race in the community after graduation, which is very unique for collegiate racers.

Well, there were not enough local riders to even cover the Pro payout so ETSU Cycling lost money having a NORBA race. Bottom line is that the club may never open the doors to NORBA races again and the only ones to blame are the people that do not come and support the races. Me personally, I don't give a sh!t either way. I will continue to have a relationship with the club that includes building trails for them and helping promote collegiate races. Bad news for anyone I don't know is that the school is going to put a fence around the track and only give access to the club members.

Next year when all of you are bitching about not having any races to go to THIS IS WHY!!
 

think1up

Chimp
Feb 16, 2005
36
0
Just a thought, how about more than just a 2 week notice next time. Especially if you are going to do it on a holiday weekend.
 

ztlh13

Monkey
May 9, 2003
276
0
East Tennessee
think1up said:
Just a thought, how about more than just a 2 week notice next time. Especially if you are going to do it on a holiday weekend.
Since you know how to post, why don't don't you try to dig up the first post about the race. I believe it was more like two months ago!! And flyers were sent out to many local bike shops.
 

Mikedsx

Monkey
Jun 6, 2002
246
0
NC
T, I hear ya. I just spent $100 to rent a bobcat and I have no idea who's coming to Hobby. By the time I pay anything to pro and pay for some prizes and to Norba and parks and rec. and the bobcat rental unless people show I'm screwed. And everyone wonders why there aren't many races anymore.
 

dhbuilder

jingoistic xenophobe
Aug 10, 2005
3,040
0
"T" we may live far apart, but you have my complete and un-dying respect. ever since i moved to this part of the country, ive been amazed at the lack of a serious racing "scene'' of any kind. and considering the terrain that surrounds us all, thats absolutly rediculous. the way i see it there are just a few people throughout the whole south who have made an effort to do anything. and yet every thing they do is met by criticism by the ones that were trying to build or organize for. somebody please tell me why that is? last year i watched as juan (another one i have a tremendous amount of repect for) literally worked around the clock at the mt. cross course in knoxville, only to have it abandoned by the local "movers and shakers". ben, doug and scotty cant do it alone. im sure youve seen the same thing happen in your neck of the woods. bust your butt trying to put on a race, only to see the same few people show up. i dont know how youve put up with it this long. windrock will probably never have another race. why should i put in the majority of the "real work" only to see the money go away with someone else. and then be portrayed as the ass%$#@. because i dont stand quietly by as others talk about how much they have supprted me out here. so again my hat is off to you. my satisfaction comes from the smiles on the faces of the people that ride here, whether they be local or from out of town. i hope you can do the same. because you know there has been a lot of folks who have had a good time at your events. its just too bad the work/reward ratio isnt more in your favor.
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
Thats too bad. I really like the ETSU dual course and I have a blast racing there, even if I get last place. I wish more folks would realize you don't have to be a super star to race Dual. Its fun.
 

dhbuilder

jingoistic xenophobe
Aug 10, 2005
3,040
0
just to follow up on my last post ; another way the lack of a "scene" hurts this area is when people like doug and others who make a seriuos effort to take their racing "to the next level"find its almost impossible because there is no market in this part of the country, like there is in other states out west or up north. that sucks because ill put our talents and speed up against other regions any day. we deserve better. we see others come to ride here, they show up with a "team" look. matching jerseys and bikes. in knoxville there is no chance of that happening.
 

ztlh13

Monkey
May 9, 2003
276
0
East Tennessee
I feel your guys love and Joey you should see the good times the collegiate riders have here. They are the only group you fling a pile of sh!t at and they would make a positive spin on it. And like Doug and others, I am still trying to step-up my game, but without competition on a regular basis our skills are not challenged and honed to perfection.

My plan for next year is to plan a few events for the core riders and create a format similar to BMX. Qualify, run heats so everyone gets to make at least a few race runs, and try to find sponsors to pay for it.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
dhbuilder said:
just to follow up on my last post ; another way the lack of a "scene" hurts this area is when people like doug and others who make a seriuos effort to take their racing "to the next level"find its almost impossible because there is no market in this part of the country, like there is in other states out west or up north. that sucks because ill put our talents and speed up against other regions any day. we deserve better. we see others come to ride here, they show up with a "team" look. matching jerseys and bikes. in knoxville there is no chance of that happening.
That is a good point, and I have noticed that the lack of a scene has effected my racing this year, or at least my attitude about it.
Last year, It seemed like I was racing every weekend. From big courses like Windrock to smaller courses like ETSU. I enjoyed them all and felt like I was carrying my speed over from race to race.
I ended up having my best season and also the most fun I have ever had. Also, having a series to compete in, really keeps you motivated as well.
Fast foward to this season = :help: :mumble:
No races, no series, less motivation, less smiles.
The lack of racing hurts you when you go to the big ones, and it is hard to stay motivated to train when you have such big gaps between events. So, now I am just doing rides that I consider fun, and showing up to race.
For someone like me who does not have a "Windrock" close by (even though I get up there as much as I can :D ),
races are where I get most of my riding in.
Oh well, maybe next year?
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
ztlh13 said:
My plan for next year is to plan a few events for the core riders and create a format similar to BMX. Qualify, run heats so everyone gets to make at least a few race runs, and try to find sponsors to pay for it.
Wow, I like that plan. I always learn the most in my race runs. Unfortunately I only get one becuase I get bucked due to my lack of skillz. It would be nice to run multiple race runs to learn more. Never-the-less, the gate is so important. I'm need to spend a lot of time at the bmx track honing that skill.
 

dhbuilder

jingoistic xenophobe
Aug 10, 2005
3,040
0
jeremy you are the second racer that came into my mind while i was writing that. i wish i could take this place on the road and meet you half way somewhere so we could ride together more often. "T" keep me informed on your plans for next year. ill be more than happy to loan you this place, fully groomed and ready to race. or if there is any other way i could help.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
I got all sorts of spin both positives and negatives, but my bottom line for not coming is legit. My tranny in my blazer is slipping, I got no money to replace it and I'm building a new house and saving my money to make the trip to Snowshoe this coming weekend at that. I was still eeking it out with the wife to maybe go do the dual but lo and behold, we had gas pumps with brown paper bags over the handles that really sealed it.

Terry, I'm sure turnout would have been low regardless due to our scene being depleted...but do not dismiss the gravity and severity of what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. Travel all across the country was brought to a screeching halt due to the severity of the events. The #2 sentiment among citizens in a Gallup polls, other than gas prices, for not traveling was a feeling and sense of guilt among travelers. The poll indicated consumers felt a tremendous amount of guilt taking extravagence and pleasure trips during a time of such brutal and devastating hardship.

We all have felt the effects of what happened to all those poor souls in the South this weekend. Save your frustration for next season and we'll see if we can't do better.
PEACE :heart: :heart: :heart:
 

spoke80

Turbo Monkey
Nov 12, 2001
1,494
0
bizutch said:
I got all sorts of spin both positives and negatives, but my bottom line for not coming is legit. My tranny in my blazer is slipping, I got no money to replace it and I'm building a new house and saving my money to make the trip to Snowshoe this coming weekend at that. I was still eeking it out with the wife to maybe go do the dual but lo and behold, we had gas pumps with brown paper bags over the handles that really sealed it.

Terry, I'm sure turnout would have been low regardless due to our scene being depleted...but do not dismiss the gravity and severity of what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. Travel all across the country was brought to a screeching halt due to the severity of the events. The #2 sentiment among citizens in a Gallup polls, other than gas prices, for not traveling was a feeling and sense of guilt among travelers. The poll indicated consumers felt a tremendous amount of guilt taking extravagence and pleasure trips during a time of such brutal and devastating hardship.

We all have felt the effects of what happened to all those poor souls in the South this weekend. Save your frustration for next season and we'll see if we can't do better.
PEACE :heart: :heart: :heart:
So when is your audition for CNN?
 

stubby

Turbo Monkey
Mar 5, 2005
1,473
0
Davidson, NC AKA DURTY THIRTY
lets dontate money to them! that race was fun! but i left my tools and pump there, if anyone has them please pm me.
but we should donate like 5 dollars. actually they did get some money because people didnt worry about getting thier shuttle money back(no shuttle).
 

ztlh13

Monkey
May 9, 2003
276
0
East Tennessee
stubby said:
lets dontate money to them! that race was fun! but i left my tools and pump there, if anyone has them please pm me.
but we should donate like 5 dollars. actually they did get some money because people didnt worry about getting thier shuttle money back(no shuttle).
No don't send money. That wasn't the point. The point was supposed to be that there is no race scene, no competition, and that is the problem.
 

Peete

Turbo Monkey
May 5, 2002
1,054
0
just south of the ATL
I was planning on racing ETSU right up to friday night. We just didn't have any money in the bank. It wouldn't have mattered if gas was $1 a gallon.
If I could start the season over I would have without a doubt blown off Fontana and most likely Snowshoe just to ensure I can get to etsu and Hobby. One 2 hour practice session in the mud, one qualifying run and then never making it out of the gate for the final was not worth what I spent. I won't even go into having to drive someone down the hill to a hospital in the middle of the night.

Yeah, I feel guilty for not supporting a S.E. race. Next year, if there is one, I won't miss them.
 

bigdrop05

Monkey
Mar 26, 2005
427
0
I work Sat 9-9 & Sunday 9-9 no vacation time for race.

Think back to 1998-99-2000 & races were booming somewhat, & that was without Windrock & any of the peeps.
Freeride scene split RACING probably ?. .
 

Msisle Dad

Monkey
Jul 1, 2003
569
0
Catonsville, MD
Peete said:
I was planning on racing ETSU right up to friday night. We just didn't have any money in the bank. It wouldn't have mattered if gas was $1 a gallon.
If I could start the season over I would have without a doubt blown off Fontana and most likely Snowshoe just to ensure I can get to etsu and Hobby. One 2 hour practice session in the mud, one qualifying run and then never making it out of the gate for the final was not worth what I spent. I won't even go into having to drive someone down the hill to a hospital in the middle of the night.

Yeah, I feel guilty for not supporting a S.E. race. Next year, if there is one, I won't miss them.
We would not blow off a national to race a class w/ 3 other riders. Even if it was muddy in practice ...etc There are only 2 EC nationals. What happened with the hospital trip?

We will do the ETSU race next year if it exists.....
 

Peete

Turbo Monkey
May 5, 2002
1,054
0
just south of the ATL
Msisle Dad said:
What happened with the hospital trip?

We will do the ETSU race next year if it exists.....
A kid who came up with us literally busted his nuts on his qualifying run. I took him to the on-call quack after the awards and then to the E-room down in Lewisburg. I got there @ midnight and just crashed for a few out in the parking lot before heading back up the hill to pack up and head home. He ended up staying in the hospital till monday.
I got home tired, broke, dirty and smelling bad.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
we got a kid here named "nutsack"...he was urban riding and caught his jewels on the seat pulling a stunt. They said he ran off the bike freaking out...jerked down his pants right in front of everyone to see what was wrong and one of them was actually dangling outside the sack. They said he reached down and barely touched it and it sorta "zipped" back inside....
 

Msisle Dad

Monkey
Jul 1, 2003
569
0
Catonsville, MD
Peete said:
A kid who came up with us literally busted his nuts on his qualifying run. I took him to the on-call quack after the awards and then to the E-room down in Lewisburg. I got there @ midnight and just crashed for a few out in the parking lot before heading back up the hill to pack up and head home. He ended up staying in the hospital till monday.
I got home tired, broke, dirty and smelling bad.
Yikes...
 

Crazy Dan

Chimp
Aug 26, 2002
44
0
Last Place!
I could talk about nuts, but back to the original post.
All the sudden traveling by automobile is really expensive. I made it to three races this year, but they were all at least a three to four hour drive away. It is getting really hard for me to justify shelling out money for registration, food, lodging, and on top of that the gas prices! for only a handful of practice runs and two race runs. It is really expensive to race in the Southeast because alot of us have very long distances to travel. I want to race, but my wallet says reconsider.
 

TM1

Monkey
Jul 19, 2002
145
0
Central NC
You do realize the worst possible thing you can do to kill whats left of the "scene" is to shut down the race because of a bad year. I mean everbody was effected by the circumstances over the Holiday weekend. It wasn't your fault or the death of biking in the South. It was a friggin national dissaster.

I know better than most how crushing it can be to put our whole being into building trails, only to let down by the people you worked so hard for. I think alot of builders understand that. People are always telling me not to take it so personnally. You got any idea how hard that is? My guess is you do. And, then there is the money. They got no clue! Hell, I lease the land for a bike park and can't charge due to liablity issues. It costs me thousands every year just to keep it going, and hundreds more to build stunts. I won't get into what I spend on food and beer.

My plan for Labor Day was to once again try to get a DH run open in Sequatchie County Tenn. With the hopes of advancing the whole "scene" around Chattanooga. But, that was thwarted as well. Katrina simply put it on hold again. It WILL happen! With or without local help. And, the payoff will be providing something that will foster the growth of the whole Southern "scene".

I count my blessing though, I didn't spend the money I didn't really have on the trip. Got in a great weekend of local riding. Met a couple new riders I'm glad I did. Even got in some trail maintainance and started a bridge to an "S" berm line. A good weekend and there is still a half tank of gas in my car after 3 days of commuting to work.
 
T- I really wanted to go to the race also. It's one of the few places that I am really competetive in both dh/ds. After everyone freaked out on Wednesday, I just couldn't get there. Just about every gas station was sold out.

Heck, we're losing more places to race each year. Clemson, Catawba, Windrock, that place here in N GA; Mansell (we just can't ride there anymore), Wolf. It really troubles me that; especially after this year, we may not have anyplace to race in the future.

I didn't do any of the races this year. I had another interest I was pursuing. Four races isn't exactly a season anyhow.

I agreee with Jeremy, Last year we were racing all the time. I came close to actually winning the championship. If I wouldn't have had to get stitches at Windrock...I lost by the same amount of points as I had stitches. That sucked! Or was it ironic...

Maybe we should all start racing xc-with dh attitude. That's a lot of fun.
 

bigdrop05

Monkey
Mar 26, 2005
427
0
Maybe we should all start racing xc-with dh attitude. That's a lot of fun.-----
------------jet
But we have to use our DH bikes ........That would be something..lol
My V10 does peddle like a hardtail !!
 

gschuette

Monkey
Sep 22, 2004
621
0
Truck
How much work was done to the MTX course? Last time I stopped by was Mid-August and it was in shambles. ETSU races went downhill once the course changed. After the switch to MountainCross all the jumps started to throw riders weird or have horrible trannys. Instead of trying to revolutinize the way jumps are made, the course should have stuck with doubles and tables. Cutting weeds helps a lot as well. I was on the other side of the country during this race but I doubt I would have ridden in the race if I had been in Johnson City. I realize the school gives no money or support which is horrible but the slalom course sucks. I think that if the course were plowed and re-built with some thought put into it that future races would be a success. People used to love to come to ETSU races just to watch the slalom. We were so lucky to have such a nice course in our back yard and all of us riders seemed to piss it away. I say buldoze it, build a nice smooth intermediate course with passing points and then watch the future races be a smash hit.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
The biggest hinderance for me attending races is actually getting time off of work...I chewed up a lot of vacation this year during my trip to BC, so I kinda had to pick and choose which events I could go to...I made it to the Dark Mtn. race (great turnout by the way), Massanutten (nice course and relatively inexpensive lodging), Sugar (can't wait til next year for the NORBA), and the Snowshoe Natty (loved the course, especially after it dried up a bit)...Next year however, I really want to get to more races...I'll go on record again stating the most fun I've ever had at a race was Windrock last year...I know Doug & Co. are kind of tired of the race deal, but I would go race there any day, any time...I also sincerely hope Butch can work something out with Wolf eventually, as that would be an easy trip for me as well coming from Raleigh...It's great when you can combine racing and Pisgah riding into one weekend (i.e. Wolf, Windrock, Sugar, Dark Mtn.)...I've always wanted to check out Fontana, but based on what I've read and heard directly from people who went, it's not a great experience...While by no means real close by, it seems like Snowshoe may launch their own race series in the same way Plattekill has their's set up...Plus, there *may* be something happening at Wintergreen...Can't say much beyond that, but I'm hopeful...Anyway, I look forward to next year...
 

profro

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
5,617
314
Walden Ridge
gschuette said:
How much work was done to the MTX course? Last time I stopped by was Mid-August and it was in shambles. ETSU races went downhill once the course changed. After the switch to MountainCross all the jumps started to throw riders weird or have horrible trannys. Instead of trying to revolutinize the way jumps are made, the course should have stuck with doubles and tables. Cutting weeds helps a lot as well. I was on the other side of the country during this race but I doubt I would have ridden in the race if I had been in Johnson City. I realize the school gives no money or support which is horrible but the slalom course sucks. I think that if the course were plowed and re-built with some thought put into it that future races would be a success. People used to love to come to ETSU races just to watch the slalom. We were so lucky to have such a nice course in our back yard and all of us riders seemed to piss it away. I say buldoze it, build a nice smooth intermediate course with passing points and then watch the future races be a smash hit.
You start out stating that you didn't know the conditions of the course as of the race date, then you start talking out your a$$. The course was rebuilt before the race and was great. The lips weren't perfect and things were still pretty crunchy. BUT, the racing was great and all those that weren't there really missed out on some good action. ETSU is usually redone before each year's race. In some ways that bad because things don't get ironed out like they would on a permenent track. But its always different and challenging each year. So you're always learning.
 

gschuette

Monkey
Sep 22, 2004
621
0
Truck
I realize that came out bad and I apologize. You are right I do not know what the course conditions were like but that is half my point. I was there a half a month before the race and it sucked. How many other people had no idea that the course was rebuilt? Besides I can remember many times the course was re-built right before a race and the rebuilt parts were nothing to write home about. The course needs to be ridden in before you race on it IMO. Sorry if I offended you or anyone else. I think I have ridden at ETSU as much as anyone in the past few years so my opinion is somewhat valid.