Is There a Little Lance in You?
Yet the Tour de France, sans Lance, likely won’t garner nearly the attention that it did last year, says writer Paula Lavigne.
“North Texas has plenty of outlets for two-wheel speed demons,” she writes. “Granted it’s unlikely that you have a shot at being the next Lance Armstrong but that doesn’t mean you can’t feel the thrill of racing elbow-to-elbow toward a finish line.”
Lavigne wrote that competitive cycling opportunities abound in North Texas and you don’t have to be a seven-time Tour winner to take part.
Bryan and Rebecca Perkins find time to race in their busy schedules, reports Lavigne.
Bryan started bike racing about 18 years ago and now manages up to 40 races a year, he says.
“It’s hard and I like the challenge,” he explained in a recent interview.
Competitive cycling is divided among categories that allow racers to go up against cyclists of similar experience, age, and gender, according to Lavigne.
Races take place all over the region and state and they include the popular Tuesday night timed races in southeast Plano, TX sponsored by Plano Cycling & Fitness, according to research.
Lowell Seaton, referee at those races, told Lavigne you don’t have to be a speed demon to start racing.
“There is a good deal of personal satisfaction just finishing the race even if you are way behind the winner,” he said in a recent interview.
And racing is a great way in which to increase your fitness benefit and speed, he states.
Cyclists interested in racing should be at least a year into the sport, says Max Miley, team coach for Matrix Cycle Club, a Dallas-Fort Worth performance and racing club.
Cyclists should be able to maintain about 18 mph, according to a recent article.
People who race, even amateurs, tend to shell out some dough for their bikes, say experts.
Some cyclists also hire personal coaches, says one racer.
During a race teammates also can help block the wind and “they will encourage you to keep going when you might want to give up, Seton explains.
About half of the North Texas teams are open to new racers and they include, among others, the Matrix Cycle Club and Mirage Cycling Teams sponsored by Richardson Bike Mart, and the Plano Athletic Cycling Club sponsored by Plano Cycling & Fitness, the article states.
