"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Tim Tyler and USA Cycling update

Well Tym just informed me that as of now his races will be run under the ABRA flag. For this season ABRA will be honoring your USA Cycling license to make for an easier transition. This will start this weekend at the Oxford Ohio (http://www.racelistings.com/bike/2008/flyers/torellispringseries.pdf) race.

You mean ABR? That's what I heard. Anyway, an ABR license is $25. I have to get one due to the FAIC national TT championship rules.

I'll be there Saturday, right after a time trial. Ouch.

Christ.

You mean ABR?

His email said ABRA......I assume it is one in the same.

His email said ABRA......I assume it is one in the same.

CADABRA?

Gary, can you post, or pm me that email? This will play havic with Tour of Ohio for a lot of people. :mad:

Gary, can you post, or pm me that email? This will play havic with Tour of Ohio for a lot of people. :mad:


Didn't Tym have the USCF state championship race this year as well?

oops

CADABRA?

hes going to reach out and grab ya

Gary, can you post, or pm me that email? This will play havic with Tour of Ohio for a lot of people. :mad:

I do not see Tour of Ohio on USA Cycling's website....

It's because they were bickering back and forth about Tym getting sanctioned, so they hadn't approved it yet. It's a P/1/2/3 Stage race in June.

Didn't Tym have the USCF state championship race this year as well?

oops


Yep, Danville in July.

Does this mean that his races will not count towards upgrades in USAC? I'm assuming it does but I would like to make sure.

That would be correct.

Better read up on the rules now.

http://www.ambikerace.com/ftp/ABR_RB-08v1.pdf

Ok I'm going to defend Tym a little bit since its always a Tym bashing. But first, I just want to say I'm not trying to be a troll, I'm not in his "in" crowd, not on his payroll, I don't owe him favors. Also I don't know anything about this except for what I read here.

All of you complain that there is low turn out, low prize list, this sucks, that sucks. Well how is he suppose to put up a big prize list when A: No one shows up, and B: he can't get a sponsor for a race out in the Boons. And he can't go home every weekend loosing hundreds of dollars either. If he truly the inconsiderate ******* you all put him out to be, he wouldn't put on races. He puts on races because he likes to put on races. And we all aren't pros. We don't go race to make a living. We go race because its what turns our gears (sorry for the pun)

He could have very well continued his race series with no league sanctioning, basically turning his races into your local Wed Worlds every weekend, or just flat out quit and canceled all his races. Now if Tym canceled all his races, well, there wouldn't be much racing to do here in Ohio.

Also Tym Tyler the race promoter and Tym Tyler the person are two different people IMO. When I got to know him at Interbike, my perception of him changed completely. But I'm not saying he can't be a sleeze ball either.

I have been on contact with Tym a lot in the past few weeks. He has always been helpful and considerate to me......thats all I can say. I am glad we have somewhere to race.

Well:

-Advertising a $30 entry fee, then charging $40(yes, $40)
-Telling a racer to **** himself in front of about 6 10-12 year old juniors
-Threatening to cancel the race because people argue that his fee increased $10 without notice. His reply was "I'll charge what I want, I can't do this stuff for free."
-Handing out expired Cliff bars and Powerade SAMPLES.
-Telling people "Then don't race." when someone asked if he could widen the finishing straight barriers more than 4 racers wide.
-State Crit Champs he calls the 3's to the line first, then the 4's, then says "Go!". "Hey 4's, you're with the 3's now too."
-Unmarked courses

Just this season, this is what I saw. His problem, although he could be a very nice guy, is that he acts like everyone owes him something. It's a two way street. If he puts on well priced, safe, races week after week, then people will continue to show. On the flip side, he needs some credit for the amount of races he promotes. He just decides this year to buck the system and not follow USAC categories, then wonders why the OCA won't sanction any races. I don't know what went on behind the scenes, and it may very well be both parties faults, but if you want to promote in Ohio under the USAC, then the OCA has the final say. But instead of conforming back to the categories he did last year, he refuses and switches organizations. He just comes across as childish to me, and this puts the stamp on it.

It sucks, because there are a few races of his I really wanted to do this year, Mid Ohio, Athens. But if there's a USA race the same weekend, you bet I'm doing the one that counts for me. Which is what I think a lot of people will do once this catches on. And if he's seriously losing money every weekend, why would you not cut from 30 races a seaon with minimal turnout and shoddy payout, to 15-18 with secure sponsorship? That would be bound to bring more racers out.

And why isn't there anything on the site about his switch? I would be a little tweaked if I showed up to race and it didn't count for anything.

All of you



Wrong there chief.

Well:

-Advertising a $30 entry fee, then charging $40(yes, $40)
-Telling a racer to **** himself in front of about 6 10-12 year old juniors
-Threatening to cancel the race because people argue that his fee increased $10 without notice. His reply was "I'll charge what I want, I can't do this stuff for free."
-Handing out expired Cliff bars and Powerade SAMPLES.
-Telling people "Then don't race." when someone asked if he could widen the finishing straight barriers more than 4 racers wide.
-State Crit Champs he calls the 3's to the line first, then the 4's, then says "Go!". "Hey 4's, you're with the 3's now too."
-Unmarked courses

Just this season, this is what I saw. His problem, although he could be a very nice guy, is that he acts like everyone owes him something. It's a two way street. If he puts on well priced, safe, races week after week, then people will continue to show. On the flip side, he needs some credit for the amount of races he promotes. He just decides this year to buck the system and not follow USAC categories, then wonders why the OCA won't sanction any races. I don't know what went on behind the scenes, and it may very well be both parties faults, but if you want to promote in Ohio under the USAC, then the OCA has the final say. But instead of conforming back to the categories he did last year, he refuses and switches organizations. He just comes across as childish to me, and this puts the stamp on it.

It sucks, because there are a few races of his I really wanted to do this year, Mid Ohio, Athens. But if there's a USA race the same weekend, you bet I'm doing the one that counts for me. Which is what I think a lot of people will do once this catches on. And if he's seriously losing money every weekend, why would you not cut from 30 races a seaon with minimal turnout and shoddy payout, to 15-18 with secure sponsorship? That would be bound to bring more racers out.

And why isn't there anything on the site about his switch? I would be a little tweaked if I showed up to race and it didn't count for anything.

for state RR, and NO money - just trophies

for state RR, and NO money - just trophies

He paid out cash to me and Lowcel....Not much but it was green and the bills were not expired:)

Hmm... we have two cat 5's that don't ride on Sundays. They were going to rely on Tim's races to get their 10 starts. I wonder if any mass start race will count going from cat 5 to cat 4. If not, they may need a new plan, maybe a pass from Jesus to race a few Sundays.

I wonder if any mass start race will count going from cat 5 to cat 4.

From what I hear USAC will honor the starts but not the points.

From what I hear USAC will honor the starts but not the points.

When I did mine they told me that they would accept the one ABR race I did as a start but I don't know that they would accept many more than that. It would be a good idea to contact someone at USAC to find out for sure.

Thanks guys. One of them is new to BF, so I pointed him to this thread.

Not sure if anyone is interested, but here is the site for ABR (American Bicycle Racing). (http://www.ambikerace.com/)

The categories are a little different.

1 - Professional and Expert
2 - Specialist level
3 - Intermediate level
4 - Apprentice level

Upgrades:
Cat 4 - 3: 40 points and 15 events
Cat 3 - 2: 40 points and 20 events
Cat 2 - 1: 40 points and 20 events

Points for qualifying race: 10-7-5-4-3-2-1-1. There must be at least 25 racers for it to be a qualifying race.
Points for non-qualifying race: 5-3-2-1. There must be at least 10 racers in the category for it to be a non-qualifying race.

Racers earning 60 points in a given category may be required to upgrade.

Going by this it is going to take me two or three seasons to just get the 35 races in to get to a cat 2 in their system.

You can petition ABR when you buy your license if you attach documentation to substantiate your category. I photocopied my cat 3 USCF license to buy a cat 3 ABR license.

You can petition ABR when you buy your license if you attach documentation to substantiate your category. I photocopied my cat 3 USCF license to buy a cat 3 ABR license.

But if you're a poor little 4 like me then what category would you petition for? Have to go back to the complete beginner class instead of the intermediate beginner class I am in now? Or would I petition for the cat 3 ABR license?

But if you're a poor little 4 like me then what category would you petition for? Have to go back to the complete beginner class instead of the intermediate beginner class I am in now? Or would I petition for the cat 3 ABR license?

Yeah, this is kind of like the ACA. They don't have a category 5 either.

But if you're a poor little 4 like me then what category would you petition for? Have to go back to the complete beginner class instead of the intermediate beginner class I am in now? Or would I petition for the cat 3 ABR license?



My bad. Anyway, I did an ABR stage race as a category 4 a couple of years ago (Midwest championship stage race in Bloomington). It was not like a USCF cat 5 race. The competition was pretty tough (it may have been the course - hilly).

I would start at cat 4 if I were you. If it's easy, petition for an upgrade.

EDIT - wait, if it's easy, I hate you.

For those of you looking to race but who don't want to do a Tym Tyler event, Scott Denny (of Godzulla fame) is putting on a race Sunday:

http://www.racelistings.com/register/events/flyer.asp?ID=735
http://godzulla.com/

I was so sure that this was a joke ("Tour de Beer" in "Blowville" Ohio, riiight) but I hear it's legit. Ang google maps tells me there really is a Blowville, Ohio ... that's just awesome. Payouts no better than Hueston Woods, but it looks to be ten (hundred ... thousand) times the fun.

Hmm... we have two cat 5's that don't ride on Sundays. They were going to rely on Tim's races to get their 10 starts. I wonder if any mass start race will count going from cat 5 to cat 4. If not, they may need a new plan, maybe a pass from Jesus to race a few Sundays.

No clearance for an altered race schedule from the "higher ups" thus far...:)

Now if Tym canceled all his races, well, there wouldn't be much racing to do here in Ohio.

That would be the clubs' fault, not Tym's. In the Cincy area, Glen decided this year to step down from running the OVR series. The local teams are stepping up to keep most of the races going. Sounds like the Columbus area teams need to do the same thing. But for that to happen, Tym has to either hand them over or be forced out.