Lance Poster for Sale

Instead of a t-shirt this year, the Austin American-Statesman is making this poster available for sale. It shows the newspaper's section fronts covering Lance's Tour de France victories with the one for the 7th win showing most prominent. It's the home paper's coverage of Lance's Tour victories. Cost for the poster is $24.95 plus shipping. Here's the link to order one.   

Creedmore Time Trial Series

The first of 4 time trials in Creedmore starts this Wednesday, July 6th. This is a great way to prepare for the upcoming state time trial or just improve your overall form. It's a great course. The first rider takes off at 6:30. Thanks to John Bartle for all the work he's done in preparing this series. We anticipate a strong turnout. Here are the details.

Luckenbach Ride on Saturday

A reminder that the 8th Annual Luckenbach Ride will depart Saturday, June 18th from Freewheeling @
7:30am (w/15 minute rule in effect) SPECIAL NOTE: please park your vehicle along the wooden fence away from the shop so that we do not occupy Freewheeling customer parking. The ride ends in Luckenbach and cyclists should begin arriving in Luckenbach sometime after 1:00 (depending on the pace and rest-stops of course). A BBQ follows that afternoon/evening at the Tasch farmstead.

The total distance is ~87 miles (one way) and the route followsscenic Hill Country back roads. The idea of the ride is to bicycle out to Luckenbach, have a family member or friend meet you there (obviously they drive out), drink a cool beer or soda under the oak trees and visit a while. And if you choose, go to a BBQ afterwards. The ride and BBQ are open to all regardless of club affiliation. Shorter ride variations and perhaps a "Junior Ride" could begin in Dripping Springs and ride out to Luckenbach (~60 miles) or begin in Blanco (at the Brewery) and out to Luckenbach (~30 miles). Regardless, unless your desire to ride your bike back to Austin you will need someone to pick you up.

Additional details with maps at > http://www.txinfo.com/Luckenbach

Violet Crown Track Day at Alkek

Have you ever thought about racing on the track? Alkek Velodrome is just 2 hours away in northwest Houston. The problem is, you need to take a class to be certified on the track before you can race.
So Violet Crown has made arrangements with the nice folks at Alkek to have a group class on this coming Saturday the 12th. If you take this class you will become a Cat 4 on the track and will be able to race at Alkek and most other velodromes.
The class will start at Noon, but you should arrive by 11 or so in order to get set up. You need not have a track bike: you can rent one for about $5. The cost of the class is $25. If you would like to carpool, there is a large group leaving from the Walmart in Bastrop on Saturday morning. Meet at 8:45 for rollout at 9 am.
If interested, email Jay Bond at jbond@tda.org.
You need not be a member of Violet Crown to attend. Anyone is welcome!

We apologize for the late notice, but it took us awhile to get a firm date and commitment.

Killer Diller - This Saturday

Saturday, October 23rd. It's a race in the Hills and according to the official race website, it's "Texas' Most Outrageous, Bad-Muthah, Mountain-Goat, Hill Climbing, Road Race, Vanderpool, Texas." 50 miles of the steepest climbs, sharpest blind turns, and scariest descents in the Hill country of Central Texas.

The 50 mile event starts at 9:30 and the 30 mile event starts at 9:35. Register here.

STATE TT CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Here are the full results for the ITT that were posted on Txbra.org.

And here are the TTT results .

_______________
weberator

STATE TTT START TIMES

The Carrot - THE STATE TT

Now the Manda TT series is underway, here's the flyer on the State Time Trial scheduled for June 19nth. You can register on bikereg.com . Thanks to Chris Thibodaux for all his work promoting this event.

How to Promote a Bike Race

As all racers know, there are never enough races or at least enough races close to home. We all enjoy our racing and appreciate the people who put the races on and work them, but we don't think much about what is involved in promoting a race unless a promoter makes a mess of things.
In an attempt to promote promoting and to take some of the mystery out of it we have gathered information from people who have already promoted races successfully. By using the strategies outlined here anyone, with the help of some friends, can put on a bike race. All it takes is a little time and effort on the part of a few willing folks for an event to be a big success for all involved. There is even a checklist to make sure you don't forget anything. Good luck and see you at the races.
Unfortunately, the bulk of these articles predate important new developments like TxBra, and widespread use of the internet. If you have promoted races and would like to contribute to this gathering of information - particularly if you can expand on issues like working within the TxBra framework, please e-mail us at Webmaster@violetcrown.org and we will add what you have learned to this list.

Promote! by Dave Henderson
10 Tips to Make Your Race a Success by Pam Udall
Thursday Niters: Promoting a Week-night Series by Jeff Austin
Promoter's Checklist by Renee Orr and Mike Beck
Trofeo de Walburg Overview by Pam Udall
Designing a Race Flyer by Dave Henderson

Promote!

This article was originally in the Violet Crown News

by David Henderson
Racing in Austin is at a turning point. I know it sounds melodramatic but it's true. For years the same people have been putting on the races and, one by one, those people have moved away from promoting.

Those of us who have been on the local scene for a while can remember years when we raced every single Thursday during the summer. On the weekends we had a Best-All-Round series consisting of a criterium and time trial on one weekend and a road race on the next. We could race three to five times a week and multiple times per day on some days. In July we would race about every other day and go home to watch the Tour de France on ESPN. It was easy to commiserate with the plight of a TdF racer when you were fatigued from racing yourself. But people's interests change and enthusiasm wanes with time.

Bill Glaze used to put on quite a few races by himself. We always complained about his cheap prize lists. He would give inner tubes as prizes and the joke was that the prize for first place was an inner tube and second place was two inner tubes. Then he got tired of the complaining and stopped promoting and we were stuck with fewer local races. A race with cheap prizes is better than no race at all.

Another promoter who fell by the wayside is Steve McLean who now works at Bicycle Sport Shop. He promoted the dreaded "Bike Doctor" races. One criterium course he used had a diabolically steep, leg breaking climb. Diabolical is a word that seemed to creep into the conversation when talking about Steve's races. He was famous for waiting until late in the race to give out all the primes. The pack would already be fatigued and Steve would ring the bell every lap for the last three or four laps. It wasn't so much the fact that he saved the primes for the end of the race, as much as the way he grinned when he saw the forlorn look on the racer's faces when they heard the bell. It does make it easier to pick at the end of the race if everybody is strewn around the course. Steve eventually drifted away from road promotion.

When these two stopped putting on races we still had Jack Pritchard. And promote he did, single handedly filling the gap left by the others who's promoting efforts had ceased. He worked an amazing number of hours to put on an amazing number of races. With a little help he was putting on a spring and a fall Thursday night series. During the summer of '97 his help drifted away and he was left to do it himself. He put on the spring and fall series and at the end of the season announced that he too was through. One person can only do so much for so long before enthusiasm wanes and the excitement and novelty wear thin.

During this period of intense racing Austin racers did well when pitted against others in the state. We would go out of town and find that the plethora of local races had a beneficial effect on our results. One year at the Zilker Park Criterium, which was put on by George Kissinger, I was talking after the race with a rider from Dallas who was lamenting his lack of fitness and saying how he hadn't raced in weeks. I laughed as I told him that this had been my fifth race that week and it hadn't seemed all that fast. Now Dallas has races all summer long and they seem to do well when they race around the state. It is not a coincidence that Violet Crown was beat out for club of the year by a Dallas club.

So here we are at the beginning of another season of racing. Who will promote our local races now that all the old promoters have gone out to pasture? We did see a glimmer of hope when Jeff Austin from the Texas Premiere Masters Team organized the fall Thursday night series at the end of last summer. It was good to see a racer who is relatively new to the area and a team that is only in it's second year take the reigns to ensure weeknight racing. But what of weekend racing? What about our own club? Who will take the baton and run with it? Will it be you?

This is the reason for this issue of the Violet Crown News. The promotion theme is a way to disburse the information available on promoting. Someone needs to step forward and put on races. You don't have to do it alone and they don't need to be big races. Little one day weekend races are a good way to start. Or maybe a Thursday night series because right now no one seems interested and it looks as if we won't be racing locally this season. You don't have to do it alone. Talk to your friends and you will find out that they want to race also and together you can divide the tasks and make it easier on everyone.

How To design a Good Race Flyer

By Richard Whittington

Download this flyer as a PDF document: (84K)

Trofeo de Walburg Overview

by Pam Udall
I got into the whole race promotion scene kinda by accident, Greg Hall needed someone to take over the Round Rock race and Bob Ostrom and I volunteered. I figured it was a yearly event, all the intricate details were neatly laid out, all I would have to do is make a couple phone calls, get the word out and show up to register riders for the race.

However, after my first call to the Round Rock Parks and Recreation department I found that we would have to share the race course again with Round Rock's baseball league and we all know from past experience that baseball players get a little impatient when they have to share roads, parking lots, or counties with cyclists.

Since I no longer had an established race, or race site, I had to start from scratch. It was at this point I started learning a lot more about promoting a race. John and I spent several weeks driving around the surrounding counties trying to find a safe course. Greg Hall tipped us off about the great roads around Walburg. Great roads around Walburg? All I remembered about Walburg was wind! My first ACA ride and group ride in Texas was the "Walburg Waltz" where I fought 80 mph head winds for 300 miles, following 50 feet behind a pack of testosterone machines who wouldn't slow down enough to let me catch their wheels. It was the worst ride of my life. I don't remember the roads, just how much I detested the wind howling through my helmet. (Those riders in front of me are now teammates and lend me a wheel whenever I need one, thanks guys!).

Anyway, we decided the Walburg course would work out fine. Although there was one patch of Paris-Roubaix style road (a great place to attack), the rest of the roads were as smooth as could be. Bob contacted Georgetown for permits and sheriffs and I went to work on the many other details. The first thing was soliciting advice from fellow teammates. Greg showed me the ins and outs of filling out USCF paperwork. Susan, our official, gave me a whole list of dos and don'ts about putting on a trouble-free race. The most important being, feed your officials. Meanwhile Richard was searching for a hook guaranteed to bring cyclists out of the woodwork. A gimmick! And what do all cyclists like -competition and recognition for their collective efforts. What better way to accomplish this then to award a team trophy, a really big team trophy.

Richard's staff also designed an award-winning flyer boasting all our generous sponsors which were rounded up by John. We wanted to make a small race look big, and we did this by having a really big flyer/poster! It served it's purpose and before we knew it, we were receiving registration money and phone calls. I also made a mental list of all the things we commonly bitched about at other races: Slow and disorganized registration; waiting forever to get your prize money, medal or trophy; poor facilities; races not starting on time; poor directions and no road signs. It seemed that more than once, we found ourselves saying, "If we did that race, we would have done it differently!" My goal was that when Trofeo De Walburg was over, that everyone would walk away saying, "Great Race".

With the help of teammates, we started solving racing logistics: Jonathan volunteered his theory on registration mechanics; Bob's technical skills paid off with quick computerized results; Susan ensured the races started on time; John's artist abilities made finding the race a cinch; and I get credit for location, location, location. Plus, we had a great bunch of volunteers who showed up on race day to lend a hand. All of which combined, contributed to a great day of racing.

We had over 162 riders, lots of great looking trophies, some cash prizes, a Bavarian-style award ceremony along with beer and sausage, ending with Chris Carlson spraying the crowd with champagne, and lots of sunshine! I'm definitely planning on doing the race again, maybe even twice. Only next year you may find the following enhancements: Starting the fields staggered five minutes apart so the 1,2,3's and Women can start sooner; Adding a tandem category; More cash prizes and hopefully less heat! Thanks again to all of you who helped!

Thursday Nighters... Promoting a Weeknight Series

by Jeff Austin
Jeff Austin of the Texas Premier Masters Team promoted the autumn Thursday night series this past year. As a first time promoter he was at first unsure of where to start but soon found the information he needed from others who had done it before. With this knowledge and help from friends and teammates he put on a successful race. VC News asked Jeff what goes into a weeknight series.

 For ten years, I have been going to races and enjoying the competition. I complain about some races and swear by others. But during all that time, I never really considered promoting a race. All of that changed in the summer of 1998. After years of promoting the twice-yearly Thursday criterium series, Jack Pritchard decided not to put on the fall series. The news was quite a blow to many riders who have always relied on the series to maintain fitness and keep their competitive juices flowing. I had always loved the series and used it to hone my time trialing skills, and it gave many of my friends a chance for some modified "motorpace" training!

I decided that it was time for Texas Premier to promote the series. I first had to devise a plan of attack, and I figured that the best place to start would be advice from the undisputed king of race promotion himself, Jack Pritchard. With about a billion races under his belt [.83 billion at press time; ed.], he is a veritable wellspring of race promotion knowledge. We deciphered all of the forms for the USCF and mailed them in with a check. The primary reason for having the series sanctioned is for the insurance that the USCF provides. Believe me, the peace of mind is well worth the cost.

The next step was to secure sponsorship. This is the toughest aspect of race promotion and one where many promoters miss the mark. You will not succeed if you expect entry fees to cover your expenses. A promoter may get lucky for a few years with a big turnout, but weather or another race on the same date can be devastating. With a little work and a little luck, I obtained enough support to cover all of the costs. All of the potential sponsors for the Texas Premier Fall Series were already involved with cycling to some extent before I contacted them. I started by calling all the bike shops in the area.

Next, I contacted cyclists who owned businesses, and I sold advertising to them. I asked for donations of cash or merchandise that I could use as prizes at the races. Most of the donations were in the form of merchandise. I estimated our expenses and shared that information with the potential sponsors. If I had needed more cash, I would have gone about it differently. Of course, this needs to be accomplished well in advance of the event, as much as a year early. In this situation, I suggest contacting the marketing departments of the corporations in the area. Tell them about your event, and see if they will meet with you. Only face-to-face meetings will generate the kind of money needed for a large event. A brochure will help, and videotape footage of a crowd watching a race is even better.

A good example is the Sprint 56K Criterium that was promoted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation during the Race for the Roses Weekend. Sponsors want to know exactly how you plan to put their name in front of a crowd at your event. I needed a race flyer, so I copied the Violet Crown flyer almost verbatim. (Should I admit that?). It was a snap, and it took only about an hour to set create a new flyer.

Finding volunteers to help with race-day tasks presented a challenge. Kristian's mom, Deborah King, and Christy made an important contribution by working registration. Also, the Texas Premier Men's team helped with the grunt work before each race. We arrived at the course several hours early each week to sweep the corners, kick the big rocks off the course, and string tape at the entrances. All of this took about an hour. When the Expo Center mowed along the course, it took longer, but that happened only twice during the series. I set up without any help three times, and it was not too bad.

I thank Susan Lesser and Dave Henderson for officiating. That freed me from the responsibility of processing race results. Susan e-mailed the results to me a few days after each race. I only had to add them to my spreadsheet and print them out. After all of the front work was finished, it was time to start racing. As luck would have it, a storm was brewing before the first race, and the wind was gusting to thirty miles an hour. Great! Naturally, I expected our first week to be a disaster. But the racers showed up, and the racing was great, although the wind was a challenge. I was a little surprised and very pleased. All five of the races had a good turnout with very competitive racing. We were very lucky that nobody crashed during the entire series, and for that, I am grateful to everyone.

Promoting the Texas Premier Fall Race Series improved my attitude toward bicycle racing. I now have a better appreciation for the people who love the racing enough to give their blood, sweat, tears, and time back to the sport. We need more of those people to keep the sport growing. All of you made my first experience with race promotion a great one. THANK YOU ALL

10 Tips to Make Your Race a Success

by Pam Udall

Start The Details Early
Unless you have an established race course, give yourself plenty of time to find a course, getting it approved by the officials, and contacting your local county and city officials for permits. We were lucky because the city of Walburg, nor Williamson county required any special permits. However, I spent a lot of time on the phone with Walburg's city officials getting their approval.

You will also need to fill out the required USCF paperwork and insurance forms. At first glance the paperwork appears intimidating but once you sit down and force yourself to read all of the small print it makes sense. I did it the easy way and called Greg Hall, he's a master on USCF race permits. (I haven't seen the new USCF paperwork, but I hear it's a bear, so you may want to give yourself even more time).

Just Ask
It's amazing how easy it is to get money and merchandise from local businesses if you just ask. We found that many of the local bike shops and business were more than willing to hand over a check, gift certificates or merchandise. Gift certificates and merchandise are the first things they will offer. However, if it's cash that you need, let them know. For instance, for the Trofeo De Walburg I needed money to offset the cost of trophies. When we solicited several bike shops we asked them if they would be willing to cover it. We not only got a check from them, but a couple of gift certificates too. I also asked one bike shop if I could use their awnings and they responded with, "No problem."

Solicit Potential Sponsors ASAP
You need your sponsors before you print your flyer. Actually you can go to print anytime, but it's much harder to solicit funds once your flyer is printed. John found that asking for money was a breeze when you could offer them a place to advertise their business. Anyone who donated $100 or more would get a space on the flyer for their logo, those who donated less would get their business mentioned in type.

As an enticement for teams to attend the Trofeo de Walburg, VC club president Richard Whittington sent this challenge letter to other culbs in the state:

Dear Gregory,
The rumor is that your over-rated club is made up of big weenies, shameless sandbaggers, and washed-up wheel suckers. In order to dispel or substantiate this rumor, Violet Crown is issuing a challenge: The Trofeo de Walburg on June 13, 1998 in Walburg, Texas. We dare your club to try and take the Trofeo de Walburg. Our challenge is based on the ROY points of your club results in each category at the Trofeo de Walburg. ROY points are calculated by dividing the field total by the finish placing (for top ten only). The Prize: a trophy cup made of handhammered brass and silver-plated in an antique matte finish standing 14" high and 11.5" wide. Come and take it--if you can. I hope that you receive this letter in time for your monthly club meeting so you can read it to your members. Enclosed is a registration form. Let's see what your club is made of.
Sincerely,
Richard Whittington
Violet Crown President

Keep Parking and Registration Near the Start Line
When scouting locations, think about your start and finish lines, parking site and registration. Your race will run much smoother if they are in close proximity. As you know from experience, no matter how early you arrive to a race, you always run out of time.

Registration
Have you ever wondered why registering for races took so darn long? It's because you have to stand there, and watch the person registering you to race, slowly fill out all the same information that you just did on your release form. We tried a new and improved registration system. It consisted of the following steps:

1 Have the racers fill out their release form

2 Take their race fee and write the amount you collected on their release form

3 Check their license

4 Give them their race number, then write the number on their release form. Then send the rider on their way.

The lines moved quickly, providing riders with the time they needed to get ready. We then quickly entered all the pertinent data on each release form (name, club, race number, amount paid and license) to the appropriate start list for the officials. While the races were in progress we transferred this data into our laptop so we could quickly calculate ROY points at the end of each race.

Location, Location, Location
Have you ever noticed that it's the small things in life that make a difference (running water, porcelain toilet seats, air conditioning). Instead of having the typical registration outside under an awning and porta-potty setup we opted for the great indoors. Look for schools and churches, they can always use the extra money and have all the above necessities.

Make Sure Riders Can Find your Race
I've been late for several races when the directions on the flyer led me to everywhere except a race course and I couldn't find a sign along the course to save my life. Bob made sure the directions were correct and John spent many an evening painting bright, colorful signs so everyone could find the race. These went up way before the sun came up so even early birds could find the site. We also made sure their was plenty of signs along the course to alert drivers about the race.

Award Prizes Immediately
Everyone's pet peeve is waiting hours for their prize, especially when it's hot. We posted results immediately after each race, waited fifteen minutes for any protests, then awarded prizes to those who wanted them right away. I already had the prize money, merchandise and trophies divided up for each category so they were ready to go. However, some out-of-town racers were not very excited with a local gift certificate. I suggest that you get merchandise or money from your sponsors, and if you have to give out gift certificates ensure it goes to a local rider who can easily redeem them.

Award Ceremonies
Some riders (type A) want to race, collect their prize immediately, then go home; while others (type B) like to make a day of it. We appeased both personalities by awarding prizes after each race, and for those who wanted a little extra we provided a German style celebration. We took advantage of the great beer garden and German restaurant located in Walburg to provide a unique setting for our festivities. Riders were able to follow Ullrich's carbo-loading techniques by consuming mass quantities of German potato salad, sausage, pretzels and variety of Bavarian beers. Champaign was also given to first place finishers so they could christen the rest of us.

Gimmicks Help
Most cyclists don't need an excuse to show up for a race. However, sometimes it doesn't hurt to give them additional incentive. Richard came up with a great idea for the Walburg race, award a team trophy. We challenged all the cycling clubs in the State to come to Austin and try to win our Tropheo De Walburg trophy. Each team accumulated points base on the ROY points system, where points are calculated by dividing the field total by the finish placing. We even went so far as to write each club a letter reiterating our challenge.

Promoter's Checklist

A few years ago, Renee Orr and Mike Beck promoted a stage race consisting of a hill climb time trial, a criterium, and a road race. This is the checklist they devised to ensure nothing was forgotten. Violet Crown News reprints it here with their permission. Hopefully this will help make your first promotion run more smoothly.

Tour de Yourracenamehere
This is a broad base list of items to consider when YOU are promoting a race. Based on doing a Stage Race: Time Trial, Criterium, and Road Race.
Organization:
USCF Paperwork
Reserve Race course and facilities
Determine budget (see below)
Determine price list
Coordinate Officials
Sun Shade for Officials and Registration Personnel
Road Closures (City and County)
Sheriff Deputies for time trial and road race
Organize refreshments (sodas, sport drink and water)
Easily accessible start/finish line
Course set-up
Arrange for barricades, cones, etc.
Notification of homes/businesses/traffic on time trial and road race course
Signs for the course
Arrange for ample Parking
PA System: announcements/music
Pre-registration site (Thursday & Friday prior)
Change for the cash box ($_______)
Confirm Juniors schedule
Hotel Information for those traveling from out of town<
Arrange for Restroom facilities (Port-a-lets)
Determine area for warm-up

Volunteers:
Corner marshals for time trial and road race
Lead and follow vehicles for road race
Registration workers

Sponsors/Prizes:
Create a Packet (Letter, Race flyer, Race Bible, Estimate participation, etc.)
Title Sponsor
Obtain sponsorship for local businesses
Gather race prizes
Thank you letter to all Sponsors

Publicity:
Race Flyer
Race Bible
Distribution of Race Flyer
Getting event placed on race calendars

Budget:
Prize list of $__________
Rider attendance _____
Sponsorship/Advertising income of $_____________
Entry fee of $________
Late fee from ___% of the riders

Income:

Entry fee	$
Sponsors	$
Late fees	$
Total Income	$

Expenses:

Race Permit	$
Insurance	$
Late fees	$
Sheriff Deputies	$
Prizes	$
Advertising	$
Printing	$
Exposition rental	$
Officials	$
Refreshments	$
Trophies	$
Total Expenses	$

Net Profit

$

Attendance Figures:

Category	Worst Case	Projected	Best Case
Pro/1/2/3	20	30	40
4/5	20	30	40
30+	10	20	30
5/Public	10	20	30
40+	10	20	30
Women	5	10	15
Juniors	5	10	15
TOTAL	80	130	200