I found the answer to interest normal people in bicycles.
 

I think I might have stumbled across something that could interest the average American in cycling. Most of my friends don't care when I talk of just riding my bike but when I say I race the ask. Well what do you win, never mind the fact that I can eat whatever I want, I have lost 15 lbs for the year, the better lung capacity, cheaper transport and all the other stuff that is good. I tell them that once you sit through 10 races you can start winning money back as well as going home with some extra cash their ears stand up and they start paying attention. Maybe we should just start telling them that it is easy to win money at the races. you just have to ride a few times a week. Their greed could lead to their salvation.

as this page was loading before i read your post i was thinking 'give them cash.' snap. yay greed.

I think we should start a professional cycling league, with teams representing cities like the NFL. Get some big name personalities from other sports, who love cycling, involved as owners or managers. Have short criterium style races that are accesable for fans like Nascar. Get it on TV, say ESPN. Can't miss!

that's what government cash incentives are for... aren't they?

How much money do you win?

But what is normal anyway ;)

Yeah, that's it. All the guys I know who race bikes are in it for the Big Money.

People get the notion they will be a Fred and thats the the breaking point right there.. no one wants to be a Fred... you just are

Good Topic. Snagged a Pcad and a UMD with in the first ten posts.

I just finished reading Drive and with that fresh in mind this is absolutely foolish. Extrinsic rewards are not the key to happiness.

Sounds sweet. I wanna see 'downhill road' as a race type... with onboard cameras on each head tube.

Seriously, though... how much can a relatively in-shape beginner win?

Not enough to offset entry fees, tolls, gas and gear that's for sure.

That's just crazy talk. I feel immensely happy every time I blow large sums of money on a new toy.

Only a few people finish near the front. Many people are in the field and a significant percentage have years of conditioning and experience. But a few people are born genetics that give them a significant advantage. People who've only been riding a couple months have a disadvantage. Pcad has a HR in the 40's and has raced quite a bit. I believe he won $15 last year. HEY PCAD: didn't you only need to invest a few grand last year to get that return?

You may find this information useful for predicting your winnings.

Too much work when you can just drive your SUV to the Express store and pick up a lottery ticket.

Yeah, that's what I would think- that very, very few people make enough money in race winnings to cover the cost of the bike and other expenses. So I'm just kind of puzzled by the OP's assertion that talk of racing will "interest normal people in bicycles." As soon as they find out there is no payback I would think they would lose any interest they had. Kind of pointless then to even bring up the racing, eh?

Maybe the OP is being sarcastic.

Sure, people would make money if cycling were more popular. Well some would. Others would lose.

Problem is, the winners would not be on a bike. They would be at a sports book bar, getting drunk.

Let's take the most popular sport in the USA, football. Now how many fans can spout off all the stats, tell you who won every game since 1920, and what the perfect play strategy is for any given moment - and how many can see their feet if they stand up and look down?

Applied to cycling, you would have milions of experts on gear ratios, and how to properly charge a hill - talking about why one rider sucks and why one team is using crappy equipment - while they sit on a couch and eat 100 chicken wings.

They tried this in the 90's. It was actually more aggressive than regular USCF races with all the drama of NASCAR (i.e. someone who gets crashed out throws his helmet at the offender as they come around the next lap), but it never caught on. Here are the best links I could find to explain how it worked.
http://www.ltolman.org/93arch/94612.htm
http://articles.latimes.com/1993-05-...ssional-league

The only thing I can see changing 'normal' peoples' attitudes about cycling would be a huge spike in gas prices. If gas went over $10 a gallon, commuting might start to become a serious option for them.

Right now, I can save $4 or so in gas with a 30 mile r/t commute every day (of course I'm not out there for the $4 payback on a couple hours of riding...). But, if it came out to more like $20 a day or more, I might start seeing some other people out there at 5 a.m.

I want a senior tour, right now.

Another good sport would be giving guys rifles at a half mile from the course, betting on hitting riders. You'd have to call your target, and pay big (including medical costs) if you hit the wrong rider. It's doable. Uncle Jed and Jethro used to compete shooting flies at 100 yds.

Yea I was mocking the NCL, guess I should have put a :rolleyes: after my post. It was a total "americanization" of the sport. And a huge bust it was.

Characterizing my expenditures on cycling as an 'investment' with respect to bicycle racing is idiotic. I would have expected nothing less from you.

On the other hand the fact that due to cycling I am 30 pounds lighter, exceptionally fit for a man my age, mentally and physically sharper, happy, relaxed, even more strikingly handsome than I would otherwise be and generally happier than most of the people I know - well, I'd say that all things considered the $20K I've dumped on bike crap over the past five years strikes me as a screaming friggin bargain.

We are not normal?