Matching the Wind: A View from the Men’s Category 1-2 Arizona State Road Race 2014

For those of you that may not have heard, the Landis/Trek Men’s Regional Team finished 1, 2 at the Arizona State Road Race and placed four riders in the Top Ten!!

WMRC Regional Team Member Mark Aasmundstad has written a very warm, exhilarating and insightful account.

Below are a couple of inticing snippets to whet your appetite!!!  There is a link to the entire Road Race Report at the bottom.

Enjoy the article, Thanks Mark, Thanks WMRC!!

Part I: Race Preparation

September 2013 was the last time I felt the pulses of bike racing.   I had been concentrating on work and family but I was missing racing so much I awakened to the idea that the right balance of racing could boost and sharpen my life focus, rather than detract from it. 

Part II: The Race

On race day winds were steady around 30 miles per hour and gusts felt like a tall farmer with the open palms of his big hands was leaning with all his mass against our bikes and bodies. 

Hello everyone,
As you may have noticed, the WMRC website was down for a while, but there IS a meeting tonight. It will be held at 7pm at the Scottsdale Landis Shop. I’m not sure what’s on the agenda, but I can tell you that we will begin with another great presentation from our own Tyrone Holmes. Tonight’s topic is “5 Reasons to Train (And Race) with Powerâ€. Come join us!

-Joe Statt

Hello everyone,
As you may have noticed, the WMRC website was down for a while, but there IS a meeting tonight. It will be held at 7pm at the Scottsdale Landis Shop. I’m not sure what’s on the agenda, but I can tell you that we will begin with another great presentation from our own Tyrone Holmes. Tonights topic is “5 Reasons to Train (And Race) with Powerâ€. Come join us!

-Joe Statt

The Arizona Department of Transportation, Multimodal Planning Division, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, has completed An Economic Impact Study of Bicycling in Arizona: Out‑of-State Bicycle Tourists & Exports.

The purpose of the study was to examine two key economic-related segments of bicycling:

·        The bicycle industry of Arizona, which includes manufacturers of bicycles and related products, bike shops (including repair, rentals, etc.), and other bicycle-related enterprises; AND

·        Bicycle tourism and visitor spending associated with organized tours, rides, and races in Arizona.

Annual direct and indirect/induced economic contribution of sales to out-of-state buyers is estimated at $57.6 million and 317 jobs. (The figures include effects of manufacturing/wholesaling export sales). Due to the small size of the survey sample, these numbers should be thought of as initial findings subject to supplemental verification in future years.

Annual retail sales of bicycle-related goods in Arizona, to local and out-of-state customers, in all store types and including service and rentals, are estimated to be $114 million (excluding internet sales).

The study findings related to bicycle tourism include the following:

·        At least 250 events annually attract about 14,000 participants from outside the state; these participants’ travel parties include 36,500 total visitors (including the participants) to the state, annually;

·        Compared to the typical cross-section of tourists coming to Arizona, these participants are more educated and have higher incomes; and

·        The estimated annual direct and indirect/induced economic contribution of these participants totals $30.6 million and 404 jobs.

In addition to the out-of-state visitors, another 39,000 Arizonans ride in the events inventoried for this study annually.

Final documents, including Executive Summary – Final Report, Final Report, and Final Report – Appendix, are posted on the project web site at http://mpd.azdot.gov/mpd/systems_planning/BicyclingAZ.asp.

Please contact me if you would like to discuss our conclusions and recommendations.

Thank you,

Michael N. Sanders

Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator

, Mail Drop 310B

Phoenix, AZ   85007

602.712.8141