Rich Gibson 

No one disputes that some of those associated with auto racing are physically fit. But that assertion (not 'fact') doesn't make them athletes. I ride 6000 miles a year and workout with weights but that doesn't make me an athlete; fit maybe but not an athlete. Fat racing driver? Tony Stewart.

As for F1 I've been a fan for over twenty years and was watching when Senna was killed. F1 will continue in it's decline if they persist pushing hybrid 'green' engines which sound like misfiring lawn mowers. The technical advances taken from racing have been performance, reliability and safety. Racing is racing at maximum performance possible within safety limits, NOT using politically correct green engines. Viewership and attendance is in a nosedive. If they continue the way they are there will be about four teams of four cars and all the races in the middle east or Asia. Now Ecclestone wants a single engine and chassis so the race would be about the drivers. Environmentally clean racing? An oxymoron. Yawn.

Let's face it, cycling races are boring...about as boring as golf, pool, curling, archery, baseball and tennis. If you understand the sport and it's nuances you can enjoy watching. My wife is a lifelong baseball fan. I can stand it for only 10 minutes but she's yelling and cheering because she knows its ins and outs. I enjoy watching cycling because I follow the riders and understand the tactics and race conditions and I cheer and scream at a run up a steep hill; my wife looks at me in disbelief. 'How can that be exciting? They're all going so slowly."

As for wanting more cycling on TV, we're currently in a veritable smorgasbord of it. This week end you could watch the Giro stages, Tour of Norway and the World Ports race between Rotterdam and Antwerp on cable channels NBCSN, USN and BEIN. Today you can watch the U.S. Road and TT championships on cyclingnews.com. This Spring I've watched countless tours and most of the Monuments. You have to look, but you can find them

Rich

bauhaus92

That is why turned my son, now 29, into a cycling / hockey fan when he was young. We both tape every race televised and talk about it everyday he comes over.

auldgeunquers

That's a good question - should be lots of grads who speak their mother tongue and English. Why no?

StanSeven

The amount of energy spent driving a race car is huge. It takes strength and tremendous stamina. Most importantly it takes amazing reflexes and the ability to make multiple split second decisions every few minutes. The amount of judgements required over several hours is overwhelming.

Whether you agree or not non-human powered racing is widely considered sports - motorcycle, horse, boats, etc. How much different is auto racing from downhill skiing?

auldgeunquers

Since my preferred professional cycling competition is observed trials, none you has my sympathy.

auldgeunquers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhabgvIIXik

... almost makes me want to go buy a Colnago ... definitely makes me wish I knew how to ride a bike!

roadwarrior

Al Gore...is that you?

I've raced bikes professionally, and driven a race car (for fun...sprint car and a NAMAR race truck)as well as karts and shifter karts.

You are entitled to an opinion. I've been there.

You could not be more wrong. And my guess is if you went for a "real" bike ride with the racers I know and have ridden with, they'd break your back.

https://www.mensfitness.com/life/spor...indycar-champs

Be sure to see the photo of Tony Kanaan's pushups.

https://www.weightwatchers.com/util/a...&art_id=166481

Tony does triathlons and ironmans to get in shape for racing. The bike photo is from 2011 (if my memory is good) when Tony was driving the 82 car for KV-Lotus. Trek did a special bike for him. That's the bike. Same color as his car that season.

roadwarrior

No response...he may be out hugging a tree or something.

TMonk

Well dude, you're alienating yourself right off the bat! Do you have any interest at all in any conventional sports? Join them in their conversation; show interest. People tend to be reciprocal if you take some initiative and show concern/interest in what they're talking about. You may find that if you make an effort to genuinely converse with them, some of them may ask you some cycling related occasions occasionally, with genuine curiosity.

Ignore them when they judge you. Acknowledge their presence, but ignore them and continue talking is if they weren't there. Haters gonna hate - A wise man once said: If you have haters, you're doing something right.

Again, being able to talk about the big sports (at least during playoffs) is gonna pay off here. Try to develop some interest - if not, then no worries, you really are an oddball

Ain't nothin' wrong with being an oddball, btw.

Marcus_Ti

So does playing the piano. Is piano playing a sport now also?

Now there's even "e-sports", because calling playing video games "video gaming" makes it sound nerdy.

topslop1

I personally have no desire to conform to work/lunch conversation or other's expectations on a strictly social basis. It seemed without reward and with high restriction. I care about success of my work, the job itself, and my hobbies and things I enjoy largely go into the 'private life' category which is something I don't think many understand anymore.. there's not much respect for private/public divide. Either way I rather keep people guessing than knowing too much.

Or maybe I started with a taboo hobby to begin with that shaped my expectations as to how others responded.... target shooting, owning military clone rifles, 3 gun.

topslop1

Came to add that you made the mistake of crapping on their sports of choice first which is a level of closemindedness from you as well. Appreciate it for what it is even if it doesn't suit your fancy and then allow them to appreciate your own.

Also - find a place of work where more work happens and a higher level of work happens - you'll find people talking about work, career advancement etc, as opposed to...nascar.

68venable

NASCAR driver - Great shape, very strong, very focused
NASCAR fan - Overweight, drunk, drive trucks fast in mud

Pro Cyclist - Great shape, very strong, very focused
Cycling fan - Log on to BF.net and bash more popular sports


The sports aren't too different. They both look boring to people that don't understand them and the fans seem to not get along with the other fans. I appreciate both but I lean towards the mountain stages showing more athleticism than the circle driving.

It is way easier to drive half as fast as a NASCAR driver than to ride half as fast as a pro cyclist.

I think we can all agree that baseball is actually less physically demanding than both

rumrunn6

been called "crazy" and told "you look like a crossing guard" you're not alone, just hang in there

gear64

Athletics and sports will never be clearly defined in a way that satisfies everyone. That being said, my interests are most simplistically how fast can you run, how long can you run, how high can you jump, how much can you lift? Many events are hybrids and extensions of this. You can look at cycling as running with mechanical advantage. I won't deny driving a race takes mental and physical endurance, for me it just doesn't have the characteristics of athleticism that interest me. To me it's almost inverted like the car is the athlete and the drivers are the "human" advantage.

ricebowl

Exactly, you can drive 3300 miles across the USA only needing to know one language. How many different languages would you need to know for that 3300 mile drive across Europe?

Racism There's always that guy....

DropBarFan

You shoulda grown up in the olden days where one first had to make folks realize bicycle racing actually existed. Friends & relatives would politely ask if I was going to try out for TDF LOL. In HS French class a teacher mention Le Tour & stated that avg recreational rider could only keep up for one day at most. I had to 'splain that 5 minutes was most a semi-fit roadie could manage in Le Tour.

NASCAR is actually a quiet hotbed of cycling with several riders into long-distance cycling. Another poster mentioned Jimmy Johnson; also super-fit Carl Edwards does biking including an annual ride on Missouri's KATY trail. A NASCAR racer in the Nationwide 'B' series once tried to explain to the interviewer about the attraction for grueling long-distance cycling.

& vice versa there's a crossover between pro cyclists & racing/sports cars. Win the TDF & yeah, Ferrari dealer better offer a discount.

WarrenR

There are sports you need to be in shape to participate in and sports that will get you in shape if you participate. And everything in between.

I like to go as fast as I can, in my sports car or my rice rocket that can get me in a lot of trouble, on my bike it gets me in better shape.

radripperaj

+1 When I first started riding I could not stand to watch racing. Guys would talk about it when we rode and I just couldn't have cared less. I thought it was so boring to watch people ride, because it is so slow relative to other racing sports. Now that I have been riding for a while and done a few races myself. I get excited to watch because I understand the difficulty and the tactics a little better now.

TGT1

"There are but three true sports--bullfighting, mountain climbing, and motor-racing. The rest are merely games."

E. Hemingway

DropBarFan

Unfortunate that track cycling not so popular any move even in Europe. Very exciting for spectators with various events from sprint to endurance. But I've dragged some non-biker friends to some pro road or criterium races & they sorta liked it, perhaps just for the novelty. Went to Berlin 6-day race & it was like heaven LOL. Beautiful indoor track & enthusiastic fans though many of the spectators treat it more like a social event. They have a disco for dancing; infield restaurant tables for VIP's; cheerleaders. Schultheiss brewery had gorgeous model women roaming thru the crowd--you pay like 10€ to get a photo taken & money goes to charity.

In Hemingway's time motor racing was crazy dangerous. Now all the top series incl NASCAR have made huge safety strides. I used to make the mistake of thinking NASCAR was easy 'cause it's just "going in circles". Actually it's very tough with high G-forces & constantly changing tire/aero situations. Very few F1/Indy drivers are successful at NASCAR. Oval track physics also challenge the engineers--it's nowhere near as simple as it can look.

merlinextraligh

+1

Even doing track days gives you abit of an insight of the demands of racing. It's surprising how taxing an hour driving on the track is.
And 20 minute track sessions in a street car don't even begin to compare to the demands of professional racing.

Giacomo 1 

Being that The Tour is on now, it's a good time to make some converts and turn them onto the sport.

I mean, it's colorful, full of danger, fast, done in beautiful scenery, with zany, crazy, gigantic crowds, in other words, there is something for everyone in the Tour. Heck, the winner of todays TT averaged over 56kph on a flat course! And I'll never forget the first time I watched a bunch sprint, wow, that was, and still is, one of the most exciting things in sports! How about a mountain stage? I'm still in awe of watching the endurance of these riders.

This is definitely the right time to get your friends and family hooked...