Dodging Responsibility.
After the Arctic Bike Club Road Division's end-of-season banquet and swag giveaway, we have a new board of excited volunteers.
I'm not on the board, and I say that with a heartfelt sense of relief.
Instead, we have a nice, balanced group of well-adjusted people running the show for next season, each with somewhat well-defined roles within the organization. I'm completely thrilled that more than one of them is female, a tragically under-represented demographic in previous editions. When they raised their hands to volunteer, I jammed mine as deep in my pockets as I could. I walked in with a sense of resignation, and left with a sense of elation. There's hope for us skinny-tired wankers after all.
The new president, the always-inclusive Justin Neff, offered me a spot afterwards. I politely declined. No, that's not completely accurate. Profanity made up a large portion of my response, because that's my normal mode of communication. I want this board to have every chance to succeed, and grumpy/fat/old/slow guys just gum up the works.
I did offer to work on the timing equipment, so our race director and anyone within a two mile radius won't be electrocuted. The capability to accurately time races would a neat bonus as well. That and the occasional behind-the-scenes task will be the limit of my involvement, lest the rest of these fine people be painted with the same negativity brush as I am.
I'm still going to throw out my unsolicited suggestions, just like I always do. Maybe I'll throw some up here as well. I suggest everyone make their voices heard now, because the schedule is going to be built very, very soon. That is, unless you want an uninspiring docket of mid-week hill climbs/crits/time trials and another weak-sauce Tour of Anchorage (this edition had almost 15 miles of racing packed into it). More road races (Pt Mac, Bodenburg, Hope...), weekend races, race class upgrade policies, clinics... Put your thinking cap on, write down your ideas, and tell them what you want to see next year. If you're like me, they'll just discard your suggests offhand as the rantings of a untalented miscreant that can't stay upright, but it will at least give you a place to start from when you whine next season. This is our democratic process, such as it is.
If you don't let them know your opinion, don't complain when you don't get what you want.
I'll be over here with my hands in my pockets.
I'm not on the board, and I say that with a heartfelt sense of relief.
Instead, we have a nice, balanced group of well-adjusted people running the show for next season, each with somewhat well-defined roles within the organization. I'm completely thrilled that more than one of them is female, a tragically under-represented demographic in previous editions. When they raised their hands to volunteer, I jammed mine as deep in my pockets as I could. I walked in with a sense of resignation, and left with a sense of elation. There's hope for us skinny-tired wankers after all.
The new president, the always-inclusive Justin Neff, offered me a spot afterwards. I politely declined. No, that's not completely accurate. Profanity made up a large portion of my response, because that's my normal mode of communication. I want this board to have every chance to succeed, and grumpy/fat/old/slow guys just gum up the works.
I did offer to work on the timing equipment, so our race director and anyone within a two mile radius won't be electrocuted. The capability to accurately time races would a neat bonus as well. That and the occasional behind-the-scenes task will be the limit of my involvement, lest the rest of these fine people be painted with the same negativity brush as I am.
I'm still going to throw out my unsolicited suggestions, just like I always do. Maybe I'll throw some up here as well. I suggest everyone make their voices heard now, because the schedule is going to be built very, very soon. That is, unless you want an uninspiring docket of mid-week hill climbs/crits/time trials and another weak-sauce Tour of Anchorage (this edition had almost 15 miles of racing packed into it). More road races (Pt Mac, Bodenburg, Hope...), weekend races, race class upgrade policies, clinics... Put your thinking cap on, write down your ideas, and tell them what you want to see next year. If you're like me, they'll just discard your suggests offhand as the rantings of a untalented miscreant that can't stay upright, but it will at least give you a place to start from when you whine next season. This is our democratic process, such as it is.
If you don't let them know your opinion, don't complain when you don't get what you want.
I'll be over here with my hands in my pockets.
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