I was talking to a few people earlier this week about the Nightcap Cross race in Des Moines last Friday. Universally, they all said it was awesome, a very cool event, etc. Lots of people, too, which is great.
But was something telling in the "who was there" commentary. Lots of Des Moines-area 'cross regulars that, for whatever reason, had never been seen at an Omaha or Lincoln race. I've heard similar discussions about Kansas City riders — there's plenty of racing in the area, so they don't travel.
Huh.
Why is it, then, that so many Omaha/Lincoln/Norfolk riders are so willing to travel? Is it the dearth of races available in these areas? Moreover, why do so many people go to Kansas City when Des Moines is closer (from Omaha, at least)?
My stance: It is indeed the lack of races that gets Nebraska people into the car. And it's the "we have it all here" mentality of Iowa/KC folks that keeps them from coming here for races (in big numbers, at least).
Your stance: In the comments.
17 comments:
Any predictions for out-of-state rider attendance at Sundays large payout cross race?
It does seem there are alot of races in Des Moines and KC but even then I'm not so sure it is related to the volume of races. Looking at a calendar, other than cx season where it does seem there's a race every weekend, A racer wanting to race more often still might have a multi-hour drive in those locations, to the real question is what's not drawing them here.
Having raced in cx and xc in both areas, maybe we our races have a bad rap, I'm not sure. As I noted in our discussion, I also noticed that Des Moines riders weren't even going north to Souix City as much or south to KC. Stamper (who raced extensively in the KC area) didn't recognize anyone at Cross Out Cancer the other night. Given Blvd Cross I'm not too surprised but still, what gives.
weekend prediction: very, very little participation from Iowa, just like always. We've had huge payouts in the Omaha road weekend for years and it really doesn't matter.
My take is that is may be due to the perception that there is nothing else to do in Nebraska.
I also don't see much publicity push for races in NE outside of the state. Most of the big races in these other areas dedicate websites just for these races, they don't spread the word by just word of mouth or fliers stuck on cars. What do we do? If we put more of an effort into promoting the races, we will see greater turnouts. Great sponsorships help too. We have some great challenging courses that I know other people would love to race.
The psycowpath races have been getting better over the years. I have seen a gradual influx of out of state riders coming to those races. Though it is more for the Omaha, Council Bluffs areas but it is a gradual increase of riders.
Sometimes it's frustrating too to see NE riders go out of town for races on the same weekends as NE races. That gives the perception that if the locals won't go, why should we. That's why our races are scheduled the way they are, to minimize people going out of town those weekends.
I will stop for now because I'm getting a little worked up and can go on ad infinitum.
The gas price spike of '07/'08 was the final nail in the coffin, in my opinion. It all seemed to hit at once - gas went skyrocketing, then so did bike parts, then so did just general cost of living. So there's that. When I was racing and traveling for races, we did have people coming over from Iowa and up from KS. That came to a screeching halt by '07.
Competition is also a huge factor. If you had the choice to race against 15 people or 40, which would you choose? With road racing, larger fields are much better. Cross or mtb, maybe not so much? I only raced cross a couple years but mostly got lapped, and I've never raced mtb outside of NE.
Mike - here's my devil's advocate response:
Gas prices have since gone down, bike parts aren't that much more expensive, really (just Shimano stuff), and I'm making way less money now than I was then, and with more expenses. I'm doing just fine.
Very true, Bryan. I'm wondering if KS and IA race promoters took advantage of people staying around by creating more races locally for their racers? That way they could pull in more money since people weren't traveling anymore?
Just speculation as I've been way out of the racing loop for quite some time. I should've commented, rather, I noticed that all the usual traveling people I saw coming to Nebraska stopped showing up when gas went nuts. And it hasn't really seemed to recover since then. My guess about budgeting was based on my own situation. Which I wrongly projected on everyone else.
My bad.
Mike, I only agree with the cost aspect a little. You still see guys in KC area driving for a couple hours (arguably about the same time to OMA area). That said field size is partly a factor but in Des Moines the cx fields are not really larger than what I've seen here.
My guess is it's primarily a marketing thing. We need to create races which are being promoted by the other series to draw racers here as well. Marketing prize purses is a start, but also marketing the venues through: videos, blogs post, etc but getting that content out to racers in the other ares. Much like the way the Nightcap Cross got promoted here.
Reasons I travel:
1. Accustomed to traveling for most everything so 2.5-4 hrs is not any big deal, especially if you like the people you're driving with.
2. Race against different people. The most thrilling moment of 2010 for me was pulling up to the start line in Austria and knowing 100% that I had no idea what I was in for.
3. Competition in my class. Finding a women's field is tough.
4. Sometimes out of loyalty because a friend's team is putting on a race. I might not be able to go to all of them, but I can do one.
5. Ride a new venue.
Personally, I would actually like to see FEWER, but bigger races and believe KS, IA and NE should coordinate their schedules such that they don't ever conflict. Instead of one team putting on a race, have multiple clubs do a big one.
That would results in more car-pooling opportunities, more competition, etc.
I"ll travel to avoid a weak race, if it means I get to do a cool race, i.e. Norfolk vs. Sugabottom, or any place in the four state area vs. Tranquility (sorry had to throw that jab). If you only get to do 20ish races per year and you are experienced enough to know which races are cool and which ones are not so cool a couple hours difference in drive is really pretty insignificant and since some of us will do either road or mtb and (maybe even cross) we have options.
Nice!
Thanks to all who put on both Maskentine and Tranquility, both first class events put on by great people.
I keep thinking back to Feagans power point presentation at the NCA Meeting this past winter. There are different things that attract racers to events, for some its the money, others its the experience and the surroundings, or perhaps the competition. I lived 2 hours west of KC so just about every race was a journey to somewhere else. You get to meet a lot of new people when you go race somewhere else. Thats the best part for me.
As far as why people from KC or des moines don't travel, well why should they?
My point is that none of the CX races I have been to here have a party atmosphere. In general, I go to races that I think will be fun, not because I might get my entry fee back. Blvd Cup is one of the most well attended CX events largely due to the fact that they pour beer all day, and have great food from the teams and sponsors. Boss Cross is always handing out Beer Primes with Jeremy Haynes on top of a RV spinning vinyl and calling the action and they have the biggest payouts. I would go to Boss cross races if for no other reason that I think Jeremy is one of the best CX course designers in the country, but thats beside the point.
Bottom line: Promoters are responsible for getting people to come to races. What NE has lacked is independent promoters who make it their job to get the word out, secure a beer sponsor, provide food to the spectators, blast some fat beats, and make sure that people have fun. Not to take anything away from the great job that the teams here in NE do promoting events, but the atmosphere is very different at races here. I mean I was getting funny looks when I carried a cooler full of Bud Ice down the hillside to watch and heckle at the 2nd day of the Omaha CX weekend.
Its like you guys don't like cheap beer?
Consumer Behavior has very little to do with how great of people the promoters are. Probably a little too deep a subject for some of the audience here.
Shim, are you calling me dumb?
No, but one of the most critical theories of economics (or politics) is the unintended consequences of an action, do you buy coke vs. pepsi based on how nice the sales person is or do you buy it based on quality/taste? Do you buy it based on the color of the can or perhaps because it's what the rest of the crowd is doing? How would it change your purchasing habits if they changed the color of the can or even stopped selling it in cans? If they sold Mexican Coke across town, would you make the drive for the real sugar? Something to ponder.
(I'm not disagreeing with what you said, but they DO sell Mexican Coke across town - at Costco.)
I drink Lucky Bucket because it is brewed in town by nice folks and it does comes in a cool bottle / package. I also do like the taste / looks but I like others beers as well but I buy it (over other microbrews) to support our local economy.
They also hosted a event for some local cyclist that I went to to help friends raise some money.
Good to know on Costco, will have to get Real Coke for post race drinks next year.
Post a Comment