Gosh, as sad as it is we just live in a world where people suck. Sorry to hear about your troubles but I'm glad to hear that it looks to be resolved.

Not to raise a stink. But, How is THAT not, by definition, an entire racist organization? I am not allowed to join because of the color of my skin? :mad:

Where I ride. All are welcome. It is the way an individual acts that matters to me.

Seriously. I doubt if you walked into that club and wanted to join they'd turn you away. They'd probably be happy to see someone supporting them that was of a different ethnicity.

When I was in college, I joined the Asian American Association. No one denied me entry, and I attended the meetings and participated in social functions, mingled with Asians of different countries and had a really good time. Sure, they were a little surprised, but no biggie. They were happy for the support and a different viewpoint.

All us ethnics aren't up at arms if white people want to join our associations and support us. We're all good.

Koffee

Ever heard of Jim Brown?

We'd better start a government program to help minorities get into cycling. Perhaps a quota? The vast right wing conspiracy must be behind this!

Seriously, I'm sure there is some racism. As long as it is not policy of any organization or governmental unit, it's kind of hard to fight.

Too much speculation, if you ask me.

If you want to be part of the Nation, man... you got issues!

Koffee

I have never heard of anything like that happening around here, but it doesn't mean that everything is perfect. However, I have heard (from people who live there) that St Louis is kind of segregated, that there are neighborhoods where no white people live and vice versa. You just don't see that in Montreal. REmember, this is where Jackie Robinson played! However, the cycling scene is still ovewhelmingly white, but I am beginning to see some kids of mixed parentage- the younger generations especially. ANd no one would ever do anything like the website- politics just doesn't come up, nor should it divide a team. I am appalled that anyone would do anything that insulting or tasteless, and it just wouldn't be tolerated by anyone I know. I don'tthink cyclists are more or less racist than anyone else, although it is still a largely white sport.I think it is more regional thing. Around here if cyclists don't get along it's because of personalities or whatever. There's one guy around here, people on his team don't like him. Apparently he's a real d*ck, but he's a great athlete so they need him!

It's segregated in Montreal... don't they have a reservation out there? Took me nearly an hour to ride to by bike.

Montreal is an ethnically diverse town, but a lot of metropolitan cities are. However, I do think that the ethnic diversity is less controversial out of our country than in the USA. When I'm here in the USA, it's a lot more obvious that the name of the game in metropolitan cities is assimilation of ethnic groups... ethnic groups are just not encouraged to maintain an identity as much in the USA.

Koffee

Then go with the Hare Krishnas. They are a lot less scary and they'll take ya anyday. ;)

And the best golfer ain't Tiger anymore (who claims he's Cabalasian or whatever the heck he says he is), it's Vijay Singh, and he's Indian.

Eminem is played out. Nowadays, the best rapper is Lil' Jon or Jay-Z. Sir Charles is off in his game.

;)

Koffee

In my city, there are the "official" roadies, with fancy bikes, the shoes, the shorts, the jerseys. In a town that is 30% African-American and 50% Hispanic, the groups of roadies I see going down to road look very much like the Swedish cycling team. These "pale riders" are probably chosing to ride with their friends, and with people they already know. But, an African-American guy, or Hispanic guy interested in road bikes might feel a bit reluctant to join a group that does not appear very "open" to diversity. Probably no REAL barrier exists, but...

Do African-American athletes have problems competing in "Anglo-only" competitions? My eight year old nephew has both African-Americans and European Jews in his family heritage. When he was six, he was playing basketball in a league at the Jewish Community Center. He was ,by far, the most talented player, but, unfortunately, he was NOT a team player. In a typical game, the score might end up being 30 to 6. And, he would scored 24 of the 30 points. When he was playing aggressive defense, the other team would end up not getting a shot, as he simply kept taking the ball away from the other team.

As I sat among the parents and family members watching the games, I would hear comments such as "Well, of course HE can play basketball...one thing HIS people are good at is basketball."

And, although such comments might SEEM to be a compliment, I found them insulting. He and I had been playing "one on one" since he was three years old. At age five and six, he was obsessed with basketball, playing eight to twelve hours a week, usually against players who were two to four years older than he was. His skills were the result of hours and hours of hard work and practice, not any "gift" from his klutzy, non-athletic African-American parent.

I suspect he came to sense the resentment of the other players and their parents. Instead of "scaling back" his game, learning to pass the ball once in a blue moon, and learning to NOT play aggressive defense, he just kinda lost interest in playing basketball with other kids. Now, he will only play against teenagers and adults, where he has some real competition. And he is putting his energy into riding bikes, where he does not have to worry about hurting peoples' feelings when he goes "all out".

My nephews are mixed, but strongly encouraged to ride bikes. I take them out with me every time I'm in town, and I got them both bikes. They know who Greg LeMond, Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong are, and they are 5 and 7 years old. They are not into any other sports... just cycling. I would pay endless money if they decided to take it up seriously, and I hope that other kids in their class, regardless of ethnicity, get into cycling.

I think the important thing to keep in mind is that we need to encourage people, irregardless of race, to get into cycling. The more the numbers grow, the more likely the media is to take cycling more seriously. And I still think cycling is one of those sports that has the potential to overcome different cultures and racial backgrounds.

Koffee

There was an excellent article about this very subject a number of years ago in Bike magazine entitled: "Is Mountain Biking Too White?" I don't remember everything it said but it did mention that young people are only going to do the sports that they're offered, and that's usually not "hardware" sports. Inner-city youth that live in the ghetto, black or white, will probably not wax thier skiis and hit the slopes.

And here in Indiana, his spirit lives on...
You can help some great kids, bike racers, get through college.

BTW...don't forget Nelson Vails

Well, it's true that we gravitate to sports that are available- hence basketball being popular in the inner city. It costs nothing to go to the court and play, whereas buying a road bike might be a bit prohibitive if you live, say, in a project. And in europe, cycling is still very white, even more so than in the US, but look at the tour of qatar and Langkawi, where you see teams from malaysia, japan, etc.

Hello, I'm from St. Louis and have no clue what this thread is about --and I have read every post so far.

My school is integrated, not as much as it should be --higher education is still pretty racially stratified, especially a private university like mine --but they are getting there, and things are getting better. Stuff, especially things like social progress, will never move as quickly as we'd like, or they should.

My workplace is 50/50 black and white, and practically every place I've worked in the last 11 years in St. Louis has been integrated with almost the same ratio.

This thread is idiotic. Seriously, you might as well start a thread "Are Dodge Caravan owners racist". I'm sure some are. Bad apples in every bunch.

And thanks for making my city look like a bunch of backwards rednecks.

You're overly sensitive, and worse yet --you're extremely paranoid.

I honestly think that the thread was started by someone that took a non-racial issue: A cyclist getting repremanded for crashing another rider. And turning it into this, just like the media does:

An African-American cyclist was unfairly repremanded by a white official because he allegedly caused a white rider to crash.

Three things:
1. The race of the riders had nothing to do with it. It was made into a racial issue by bringing race into a non-racial situation. Any rider that causes a crash, SHOULD be repremanded.

2. If you go around saying African-American istead of black, then you should say European-American instead of white. If you think the second one is rediculous, and not the first one, then that is racist. :rolleyes:

3. Why can't people, and the media, just drop it. I think it should be illegal for the media to point out peoples races when it has nothing to do with the REAL story. But, they do it because it is what MAKES it a story. Sad. :(

Us kayakers are a racist bunch. That's why we only like whitewater. :p

Some interesting and not so interesting comments. I'm president of a Black Cycling club in Atlanta GA. Personally I don't have any problems with racism when I'm on the bike. I do lot's of rides with all different types of riders. Some races and some recreational. Our club is made up of mostly recreational riders and most are over 40. I think due to the high startup cost, and nature of the sport we don't have many young black kids interested. Who want's to go to some small town, suffer like a dog to finish tp 10 in a cat 4 race when you could play ball in front of your friends. This is a sport you have to love.

Thanks for posting. I have an honest respectable question.....why is it acceptable to have a "black" cycling club in today's PC world? This same question haunts me when I hear of the Miss Black America Pageant or other similar event. It would not be acceptable to have a Miss White America, White History Month, etc. Again, I ask this question with an open mind and heart. I just want a race-free society but I see these things as harmful. Please help me understand.


tomcat

I understand your question. Kinda like the "Black Quarterback" non issue. But if you see a club and 9 out 10 cyclist are Black what do you call the club? We also have a 2 point mission statement. To try and get more blacks involved in cycling and enhance comradery amongst all cyclists. Since we have some riders who race a little, do a little untra distance events, and recreation rides we have people from different types of road riding come to our rides. That obviously has nothing to do with race, but it makes people aware of different challenges the sport has to offer.

quote...."To try and get more blacks involved in cycling and enhance comradery amongst all cyclists."

I like that. I just wish we all would move on in our society and drop all references to race in any form. I wish you and your cycling club the best.


tomcat

Thanks for brining up that question, tomcat. Sorry, maccpres, you're club is still in the wrong. Until I can have a "white cycling club" like you have a "black cycling club," then you're out of line. I'm so tired of this "black-only" BS and it being OK and even glorified in the media. Chris Rock making whitey jokes while hosting some big-name awards show on primetime TV. Blacks wearing t-shirts such as "Black by Popular Demand." And then you've got the Essence Awards, and on and on and on. Let's try and have Seinfeld host the Grammy's and blurt out black joke after black joke. Let me put on a "White Power" t-shirt and walk through Wal-Mart. And then, let's have the Cracker Awards while we're at it. I mean, hey, we'd just be doing what the blacks are doing. And of course, this would all be OK, right? Give me an effin' break, man. That crap would be halted in a nanosecond. Yet it's alright and accepted for the blacks to do it. And like some others said, it's not African-American, it's black. I'm white, not Spanish-American, even though my pops is from Spain.

Not to pick on St. Louis, but, in your city, African-Americans are now HALF of the city's population (178,000, out of 348,000), yet the partners at the largest law firms are still 95% Anglos, as are 95% of corporate executives making more than 100,000 dollars per year, as are 90% of the families living in the most exclusive neighborhoods, as are 90% of the graduates of the elite universities. And, St. Louis looks just about like Dallas, Memphis, Houston, Phoenix...America in the year 2005.

Some might think all of those outcomes are due only to "hard work and ability"...many African-Americans don't agree.

The "gateway" to the best paying jobs is education. If you limit educational opportunities for any group of Americans, you will also limit their career opportunities. About 20% of the taxpayers who fund the University of Texas are African-American. Yet, traditionally, less than 5% of UT graduates have been African-American. However, in 2004, African-American enrollment grew to almost 10% of the first year class at UT. And, some white folks had a hissy fit.

The governor of Texas now wants to pass a law that would REDUCE the number of African-Americans attending the University of Texas. His position seems to be that reducing the number of African-American students at UT will create more "slots" for white Anglo students, who are already waaay over-represented at the University of Texas. And, by reducing the number of African-Americans with college degrees, the governor will also be limiting job opportunities for them.

America is a better place to live than it was in 1955. But, there is still much work to do.

Oh, I'm sorry. Your ancestors from 65 generations ago actually lived on the continent of Africa. Go ahead and call yourself African-American, yet ask your high school "African-Americans" to point to Africa on a map, and it's a crapshoot. Ask them what tribe they orginate from, and they'll probably say the Wu Tang Clan. And it's not just blacks who can't find Africa...it's your everyday, any race, high school kid. Pathetic, but that's another topic.

So, comment on my "anger," then. Why is that Chris Rock can do his thing, blacks can wear the things they do, and it's mainstream to have black-only awards and such? It's not anger, by the way. It's annoyance. I'm tired of the double standard. And then when whites participates in these "liberties," it's race card time.