In a world of cyclists
Today is a great day in the cycling world- Bastille day in the Tour de France is momentous to both France and the cycling world. Notoriously difficult courses are created especially for this day both as a celebration for the uprising in France that began the ousting of the nobility and to showcase the beauties of the French countryside during it’s most famous event.
Today, an Irishman (from my favorite team) took the yellow jersey for the first time in his life. He is young, full of panache, rides for an American team that stands for all the things I admire and is directed by an American I used to race against from my hometown of Denver.
It’s an exciting time in a sport that is a lifestyle and also a mode of transportation that can change our lives for the better.
According to the AI search I just did, 35% of Americans rode a bike last year, 112 million of you fabulous people. While that does present its fair share of challenges when going up to the Bells or trying to navigate around the lunacy that is Aspen in the summer, it tracks perfectly with what happened around COVID. So many people bought bikes during the years of 2020-2023 that the cycling industry has gone completely flat in the last 18 months — while n+1 is a thing for us bike geeks, one bike is usually enough for normal people once they’ve bought it…
What that’s done is create tons of motivation for people to ride, together.
What I am witnessing in our little corner of cycling paradise are more and more small groups of riders going out together — there are no less than 4 days of the week when you can find organized rides to participate in and that doesn’t count the number of groups getting together in 5’s and 9’s to go wander the back roads together, informally. Strava is my favorite social media and I am chagrinned to say I am a semi-professional stalker now, kudos-ing and commenting with abandon. I see you guys, what you do, how you do it, where and with whom. My motivation to continue putting together group rides is waning because I see it happening naturally all around (don’t worry, read below to see what we have going on).
I am so proud of you.
But, road race participation in America has dropped year after year for that last 20 years- there are fewer professional American racers in Europe (13 from a peak of 29 in 2011), there are fewer licensed racers in the U.S.A., and fewer races for them to compete in. It will probably not come as a surprise to many of you that these numbers are for male racers- the last decent survey of professional female racers is from 2022, but you can find numbers here stating there are 5 American women who race professionally in 2025 in Europe out of 254 total. For comparison, there are 522 professional men in Europe.
Then there is gravel. I think we have reached the peak of race participation as of last year but we still have lots of quality races to take part in. Almost every weekend, within an 8 hour drive of where we live, is a near world class event happening and that’s truly great. I encourage everyone who is riding on a regular basis to pin a number on at least once this year. Give yourself a target and a test, venture out of your comfort zone and see what your limits are. Then do it again next year, take what you learned and build upon it, find motivation in weird places and take confidence from failures knowing that you won’t do it again that way because you know better now.
Racing is not the end all be all of cycling, but it is the place that we find our true selves, plumbing the depths of what is possible rather than what we think we can do. I already have my plan in place for 2026, and we are only now reaching the midpoint of this summer- BWR Bozeman in June, every one of the ACC races and Gravel nats.
That will set the framework for all of the fun I am going to have between now and then. Set your bar high, both for your fun and your success. Let the joy abound and the serious growth entwine with the rest of your life to take you places you can otherwise only dream of.
Cheers
