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Message from the NYSBRA President
Light at the end of the tunnel!
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Spring is finally here and things seem to be looking up! I get my second vaccine shot this week and our club is starting training rides. As for races, most events plan to take place on their traditional dates but the virus will determine when they can actually safely happen, hopefully within a few months. You can offer your opinion on that in the short COVID survey for cyclists, below. Let us know what you think! The NYSBRA Race Schedule has the most up-to-date information on racing in New York. Meanwhile, enjoy the improving weather on your bike and get your shot! The sooner we all get vaccinated the faster we can get back to normal!
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Jeff Poulin
NYSBRA President
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2021 NYSBRA State Road Championship Races
Since posting the events in December, the Bear Mountain Classic had to postpone. However, the Bloomfield Classic Road Race stepped right up! Now the 2021 NYSBRA Championship races are, in order:
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- Gravel: Getting Happy in the Valley (GHITV), sponsored by Bryan Blake of Ride Oswego County, Oswego, 26Jun21
- Road: Bloomfield Classic Road Race, sponsored by Mike Madden of Team Towpath Road Racing p/b Green Mountain Energy, Bloomfield, 24Jul21
- Time Trial: NYSBRA Time Trial Championships, sponsored by Jim Walker of Team Placid Planet, Upper Jay, 1Aug21
- Criterium: T-Burg Crit, sponsored by John Compton of Main Street Bike Shop, Trumansburg, 14Aug 21
- Track: New York Velodrome Association, sponsored by Jim Lyman, Kissena Velodrome
- Enduro Championships, tbd
- Sprint Championships, tbd
- Junior Championships, tbd
- CX: Webster Park Cyclocross, sponsored by Shana Lydon of Full Mull Vista, Rochester, 7Nov21
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New York Junior Earns Collegiate Cycling Scholarship!
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Mariana Rinaldo, a NY junior from Baldwinsville, has earned a scholarship to join the Women’s Cycling Team at Lees Mcrae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Lees Mcrae is one of the most competitive Division I collegiate cycling programs in the country, with notable cycling grads including Kerry Werner, Emily Shields Werner, and Brent Bookwalter. Mariana has been racing road and CX since she was 12 years old and is a multi-time NYSBRA State Champion in both disciplines. After she graduates from CW Baker High School this summer, she will take her cleats to North Carolina, where she will pursue a major in psychology with a minor in criminal justice in the honors program. We wish Mariana tons of good luck! Well done!
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NYSBRA Reduces Grants due to Funding Cuts
USAC cuts Local Association funding by over 80%
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NYSBRA has always had the #1 grant program in the country in support of competitive cycling in New York. We have annually given hundreds of dollars to nearly every NY race to help improve the quality of those events for everyone. We have also annually given hundreds of dollars to dozens of our racing juniors! In fact, every year our grants have totaled about $20,000 to $25,000, making NYSBRA the largest financial cycling supporter in New York State! Most of the funding for our grant program has come from USA Cycling, who in 2003 created the Local Association (LA) program and has since funded us to better allow local organizations and volunteers grow cycling however the we felt best for our regions. Clearly, NYSBRA is very proud of our grants and what we have done with that funding!
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However, in 2020 USA Cycling began to take back responsibility for certain LA tasks, namely permitting events and performing rider upgrades, as well as the funding that went with it. Last year USAC cut NYSBRA’s funding by about 30% and we were forced to reduce our grant payments by 25% to adjust (we decided to “eat” the other 5%). It turned out that due to the virus hardly anyone even noticed that impact! Sadly, though, this year USA Cycling has again cut our funding by over 80% (from our original baseline). As a result, NYSBRA has been forced to reduce our grant payments by 50% and “eat” the remaining 30%. Clearly, our grant program is not sustainable under these conditions. We expect to run out of funding and cancel our grants in about four years. In the meantime, we will continue to look for additional sponsors and welcome your input.
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We thank USA Cycling for the years of support and all the good we have been able to accomplish with that funding!
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COVID Survey: Tell us what you think about COVID and Cycling!
Covid has impacted everything. To understand how New York riders have adapted to the changed cycling environment and to collect your opinions on the upcoming season, we’d love it if you’d Take a short Survey and Share your Thoughts!
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The survey is totally anonymous and your answers will help us better understand how cyclists have adapted to the pandemic. We will share the summarized responses and communicate the results to the larger cycling community soon after the survey ends on Friday, April 9th.
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Thank you for sharing your views!
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John Hartman & JP Partland
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ATTN: Bike Race Promoters! Did you know?
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Bikereg.com is the Official NYSBRA Event and Race registration partner. When you choose to use their service for your race, a portion of each registration is given back to help fund NYSBRA Grants. These are the grants that help grow the sport of cycling throughout NYS and are provided to Juniors, Local Races, Clinics, Officials and more!
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Newsletter Sponsor!
The Pack Chatter Podcast
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If you love to race, you’ve no doubt spent more time talking about racing than competing. And that’s half the fun.
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Your NYSBRA Officers and Board:
Officers:
President: Jeffrey Poulin
Vice President: Tom Weichmann
Secretary: Elizabeth Tobey
Treasurer: Michael Cormier
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Regional Representatives:
Adirondack region: Gary Toth
Central region: Lloyd Campbell
Hudson Valley region: Eric Ragot
Long Island region: Myles Romanow
New York City region: David Sommerville
Western region: Rich Scaduto
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Other Contacts:
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Cyclocross/Fat Bike: Ken Hammond
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Mountain Bike: Patrick Carey
Women’s Cycling: Rachel Andrews
Junior Cycling: Leona Chin
Junior Cycling: John Roden
Gravel: Bryan Blake
Track: Jim Lyman
Officials Coordinator: Jeff Poulin
Coaching: Noel Bonk
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Members-at-large: Rob Quan, Christine Quan
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nysbra is a 501c(3) US tax-exempt nonprofit organization
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