Originally Posted by
ericcox
I've read somewhere that Japanese Keirin riders tend not to compete internationally because they are making so much money racing in Japan -- why waste time with world cup events?
This topic is interesting to me, but more from what opportunitites are available to folks. I visited a training crit this evening with my two kids this evening and watched the juniors races. Probably 15 kids below 16 doing a Wed. night training race. It was nice to see. Most of the kdis, however, seemed to have parents who were also cyclists. It would be nice to grow the sport in other ways, including the model of what has been done with inner-city tennis, golf, etc., programs. I don't know that many poor kids, of any race, will be attracted to cycling, but outreach efforts don't have to begin by handing out lycra. Bike rodeos, safety events, repair clinics, etc., could also be effective outreach efforts and may bring a bit of positive publicity in the community at large.
Sorry for the rambling -- been a long day.
Have you been to -- geez, what is it called, the bike co-op place there in C'ville off of West Main -- Community Bikes maybe? People come and donate their old bikes, and kids can come and build whatever they want -- they only need to put a little sweat into it. I was only there a couple of times, but there were always kids (of all ethnicities) working on one thing or another. Exactly (?) the outreach you're talking about.