Brett Shoffner of Nomad Trails Development and promoter of area events recently posted some thoughts on the health of local mountain bike racing:
“Let’s have an honest discussion about local mountain bike racing….
Do you even want to race locally?
It sure doesn’t seem like it. Not just this race….the state championships in Springfield next weekend don’t exactly have a lot of folks signed up either.
I’ll throw some numbers and thoughts out there from the promotion side of things….
McKay Insurance is about the only and by far cheapest place to get bike race event insurance (https://www.silentsportsinsurance.com/) that is not through USA Cycling. This event insurance will cover actually more than USAC will if you choose some additional coverage options and does not require participants to have a racing license ($99/year USAC racing membership, $139/year with Insurance).
The absolute cheapest policy you can get for a race through McKay is $500. Beyond 100 participants it is $5 per expected rider. That does not include any additional coverages beyond the legal liability as required for land manager permitting processes. Every city, county, state, and private landowner that allows races requires that the event indemnify the land owner from event happenings.
Race courses take preparation, usually from volunteers that have to slog weedeaters and loppers throughout the entire course. If you have trimmed trail in the summer here, you know it sucks. The cost of this for most races is never thought about or calculated, but believe me it is not cheap. 2 miles of work took 3 of my guys 4 days to do trying to hack the honeysuckle back with trimmers and saws, spray so it won’t regrow as fast, and open racing sight lines vs. just trimming the sides. Our guys are not cheap because everyone is very good at their job. Fuel is not cheap. Workman’s comp and payroll taxes are not cheap. I’m sure you feel it as well from the past few years – life and running a business are not cheap ventures.
I guess it just boils down to this: if you want local racing, you need to sign up, and sign up immediately. Not just for this – for other races that happen too. Every single race I know of regionally benefits a nonprofit trails organization or directly benefits that trails maintenance. Every single race offers costs way below other sports. Every race has categories for every person, age, and ability. Sign up even if you don’t end up racing. I need to do better about this.
Maybe I’m yearning for a time long gone but racing bikes sure used to be fun. Maybe the rise of technology and Strava have made everyone competitive without the need for an actual event? Maybe people need event t-shirts, swag bags, and podium prizes? Maybe people just see themselves less as racers and people who just want to enjoy the ride – I definitely get that. Maybe gravel just took all the racers to it? Maybe an entire generation of potential racers were neglected between the heyday of the 00s and NICA now? Maybe there just aren’t enough events locally to maintain people’s interest? I’m sure there are plenty of contributing and noncontributing factors locally.
NICA races are huge. XC and Enduro races in other states are huge. Gravel races around here are huge. Mountain biking is at an all time high in popularity and seemingly not slowing down yet. I will say I’m pretty dejected at our sign ups thus far and the businessman in me wants to pull the plug before we lose anymore money. It is pretty frustrating and disappointing to host race events for over a decade now and this is the worst it has ever been from participation and costs standpoint.
I guess the moral of the story is, if you want accessible, low priced, local races you gotta support them early and promote them often. Otherwise the only races left will be $300 lottery only events you have to travel to.”
Looking for local races? Links to Nomad Trails Development and other recsources at our Looking For Rides page.