Easiest way to explain bike racing to sports fans?



J

Jeff Potter

Guest
Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
it, that's fer sure."

What's your best way to explain bike racing?

Here's my try:

"Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
marathon running, the
100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."


--Jeff Potter
outyourbackdoor.com
 
Jeff Potter wrote:
> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>
>
> --Jeff Potter
> outyourbackdoor.com



add some chess in there for good measure with a coach...
 
"Jeff Potter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>
>
> --Jeff Potter
> outyourbackdoor.com


I usually explain that it's WAY easier than golf. I've never thrown my bike
and I've only seen a bike thrown once (Bjarne Riis).

Bob C.
 
I like to think of it as cross country running with the best aspects of
Roller Derby.


"Jeff Potter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>
>
> --Jeff Potter
> outyourbackdoor.com
 
On 2004-07-27 13:02:38 -0700, "psycholist" <[email protected]> said:

> ...
>
> I usually explain that it's WAY easier than golf.


Not sure. I've won a few P12 races in my day, but I can't get the golf
score below 70.
 
in article [email protected], Jeff Potter at
[email protected] wrote on 7/27/04 11:07 AM:

> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."


....And that's just one day. The prologue is like a 1-mile sprint on a luge
course, and the individual time trial is like a 10-mile sprint on a luge
course.. and the mountain stages hurt like nothing else on the planet Earth.

-Sonarrat.
 
"Bill Lloyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2004-07-27 13:02:38 -0700, "psycholist" <[email protected]> said:
>
> > ...
> >
> > I usually explain that it's WAY easier than golf.

>
> Not sure. I've won a few P12 races in my day, but I can't get the golf
> score below 70.
>

I just meant easier on the nerves.
 
On 27 Jul 2004 11:07:24 -0700, [email protected] (Jeff Potter)
wrote:

>Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
>This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
>about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
>we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
>wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
>curling or darts.


Hey, don't mock, Potter - those are two sports my country has
managed to win world championships in...

(Jocky Wilson - a legend!)
http://members2.boo.net/~tdi/events/paula.htm


Regards!
Stephen
 
"Sonarrat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BD2C2648.6671%[email protected]...
> in article [email protected], Jeff

Potter at
> [email protected] wrote on 7/27/04 11:07 AM:
>
> > Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> > This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know

everything
> > about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> > we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> > wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in

with
> > curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff:

"He's
> > the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't

do
> > it, that's fer sure."
> >
> > What's your best way to explain bike racing?
> >
> > Here's my try:
> >
> > "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> > marathon running, the
> > 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."

>
> ...And that's just one day. The prologue is like a 1-mile sprint on a

luge
> course, and the individual time trial is like a 10-mile sprint on a

luge
> course.. and the mountain stages hurt like nothing else on the planet

Earth.
>
> -Sonarrat.
>

Even an Iraqi prison?
 
"Jeff Potter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>
>
> --Jeff Potter
> outyourbackdoor.com


It's not like it tis that hard to understand bike racing. It's not
rocket science
 
[email protected] (Jeff Potter) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>
> --Jeff Potter
> outyourbackdoor.com


Bicycle racing is done under your own power, not that of a gasoline
engine, using good tactics to conserve physical energy for the key
moments of attacking or defending position and to be moderately good,
you must train on a daily basis on rides so long you thought they were
impossible. If you've ever been on a bike and tried to catch someone
ahead of you on the road, or tried to keep with or pass another rider,
you know what a race is.
 
[email protected] (Jeff Potter) wrote:

> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."


That's going to confuse more people than it helps.

Sheldon Brown talked to a Boston Globe columnist for this interview

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/07/15/comprenez_vous_le_tour_de_france/

and did what I think is a pretty good job (one can nitpick, but this
is for total newbies to read). And hell, Sheldon doesn't even race,
or like bike racing that much. This is a particularly useful analogy:
"The Tour de France is not a sporting event, it is a series of
sporting
events," he said. "It is not like a baseball game, it is like a
pennant
race."
 
[email protected] (Jeff Potter) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
<snip>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>


As has been mentioned here serveral times, many folks in the US of A
don't ride bikes much (if at all!) after they pass a certain age.
You'd have better luck explaing biking to folks who run. Also, most
pro team sports involve a lot of sitting or standing around (real
football, i.e. soccer, being one of the exceptions). What I mean is,
most other team sports either have down time built into the game
(baseball as a prime example) or have the ability for the player
to say 'Hey coach - I'm tired' and the player can rest for a bit (such
as basketball). The only way (IMHO) most folks would gain any insight
as to how difficult something like the TdF is is to have them get off
their butts and ride hills or ride fast and then mentally multiply it
by 100 or so. That being said, explaining the cycling team tactics
would require some genuine interest on the part of the explainee :)

One way might be: A three week team marathon run with lots of hills
thrown in.
 
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?

Why bother? Put them on an exercycle and tell them to get up to 25 mph.
When they do that, tell them not to stop until the odometer says 2107
miles. Oh, and then tell them that they have right around 3 1/2 days time
to get it accomplished.

Anyone dumb enough to say that bike racing is not a sport because anyone
can do it is stupid enough to say that Carl Lewis isn't an athlete because
anyone can run.

------
Dave Casey - Realtor
www.LasVegasHomesDirect.com
[email protected]
 
[email protected] (Jeff Potter) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
> This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
> about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
> we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
> wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport. They lump it in with
> curling or darts. Even the media people are saying goofy stuff: "He's
> the best because he was sick and that darn Tour is HARD. I couldn't do
> it, that's fer sure."
>
> What's your best way to explain bike racing?
>
> Here's my try:
>
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the
> 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."
>
>
> --Jeff Potter
> outyourbackdoor.com



Correction: "AMERICAN sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete."

Kenny
 
[email protected] (Jeff Potter) wrote:

>Mainstream sports media are calling Lance the #1 all-time athlete.
>This is leaving millions of sports fans blinking. They know everything
>about all the other sports, but nothing about bike racing. I'd say
>we're still in the situation where possibly half the sports fans
>wouldn't even agree that bike racing is a sport.


Before writing your senseless rants, please specify *American* sport fans.
On this side of the Atlantic noone objects about cycling being a sport and
most people know its facts and names.
 
[ ]
> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
> marathon running, the 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."



"Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
marathon running, the 100 yard dash, a Special Forces military team
and Around the World in 80 Days."

--I'm trying to add in the huge range of event locations.

But how to add in the great perks for SPECTATORS? What other sport
offers the cool venues that bike racing does? And they're usually
free, too. Huge, free parties erupt wherever there's a big bike race.

I think it's worth trying to describe bike racing to other sports fans
in a way that overlaps with sports they already know.

--JP
outyourbackdoor.com
 
On 28 Jul 2004 06:25:16 -0700, [email protected] (Jeff Potter) wrote:

>[ ]
>> "Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
>> marathon running, the 100 yard dash and a Special Forces military team."

>
>
>"Bike racing is like a combination of race car driving, boxing,
>marathon running, the 100 yard dash, a Special Forces military team
>and Around the World in 80 Days."
>
>--I'm trying to add in the huge range of event locations.
>
>But how to add in the great perks for SPECTATORS? What other sport
>offers the cool venues that bike racing does? And they're usually
>free, too. Huge, free parties erupt wherever there's a big bike race.


Ahh, like having the tailgate party on the sidelines during the game. Now THAT
could be important in making decisions about ones life as a spectator.

Ron
 
> Anyone dumb enough to say that bike racing is not a sport because anyone
> can do it is stupid enough to say that Carl Lewis isn't an athlete because
> anyone can run.


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