The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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Kids, schools and cycling
Editor:
I recently read Tom Sunday's letter (see Monday’s Mailbag: "Masters can help grow sport through schools") regarding his view that cycling could expand more in the U.S. if it was introduced into more schools. I quite agree and thought you might be interested in an article written about Santa Barbara Middle School. Check out this article written about the school whose principal I am.

Stephen P. Lane
Santa Barbara, California

Canadian kids enjoying MTB league
Editor:
I have been running a mountain-bike club out of our school (Valemount Secondary School) for the past nine years. We have had a district mountain-bike league as well as a provincial championship that has been run for the past nine years. We have more than 80 schools with clubs that ride and it has been the birthplace for junior and espoir national champions.

I am currently the commissioner for the provincial body but I still get out and ride with the kids. We are members of British Columbia School Sports and have had great support from organizations like Sprokids and corporations like Norco, Rocky Mountain and Kona. Last year we had more than 300 youths at our provincial championships; this year, at Whistler, we expect to have even more. We are also beginning to work with our BC Cycling Association to train teachers, equipping them to add cycling into their curriculum.

Les van der Roest
Valemount, British Columbia, Canada

Texas team takes youths under wing
Editor:
Check out what Team Bicycles Inc. is doing with its junior racing program.

Stephen B. Norris
Fort Worth, Texas

West Virginia has ups and downs, but still plugging along
Editor:
We have a cycling club for the kids at our school (Clay County Middle School), and for now we are concentrating on mountain biking. A couple years ago there was a push on in West Virginia to get cycling and racing into the schools. We had a couple legislators and racers who were working to encourage the formation of clubs. Susan Haywood has been a great help to us, as she has visited our club and occasionally leads rides for us. We had several kids starting to do races, especially when there was a high school series that was just getting off the ground.

Things went a little sour when some school administrators (not ours!) made clubs disband because they were concerned about liability. Right now the number of cycling clubs based in the schools in West Virginia has seriously declined, and the high school series is defunct. But my friend Steve Ware and I will continue working with the kids at the school where we teach. The kids need the health benefits of cycling and the sport needs young riders.

Check out our riders at www.mountainmudmashers.com. We haven't been able to update the site this year, due to computer issues, but we hope to have that resolved shortly. Thanks for asking about youth cycling!

Doug Wayne
West Virginia

Wisconsin slates bike-racing school
Editor:
A friend forwarded the article on Tom Sunday's program, which is brilliant and simple. I applaud his efforts. In Wisconsin, we are about to host our first "bike-racing school" and Tom is correct in that it just takes someone with interest to take it to heart. Our school is open to juniors, women and men who want to learn what racing is about or learn what they need to do to step up. Wisconsin has a long tradition of bike racing and more than our share of champions - many of whom were happy to be tapped to lead a section of the school. We also got funding from Felt and a local club, so the school, slated April 22 in southern Wisconsin, is being called the Felt/Endeavour Bike Racing School. We're preparing the advertising for the school now and will post the ad and an article about the school on our website, www.wicycling.org, in mid-February.

Rebecca Anderson
President, Wisconsin Cycling Association

Colavita team gives youngsters a hand
Editor:
Tom Sunday is spot on with everything he says, and all that he has been doing. The only thing we don't agree with him on, is that as team managers (and masters racers) we are training, racing and having more fun than ever!

Our team competed in 80 events in 2005, and the management competed at virtually every event. With new kids joining every month, we trained or raced for a full 12 months in 2005. Also, incorporating the junior team ride into a longer ride means we rarely miss out on any training.

The Colavita U19 Racing Team has been running a development program in New Jersey for three years, working with young people from 8 to 18. All of the team members are new to the sport when they join the team. They learn to train effectively, race like pros and have fun on a bike. Are there children out there that want to race? Is there a future for junior racing? We believe there is. Our growth in just three years to a team of more than 40 junior racers has been solid proof that the dedicated running of a development program by master racers and qualified USA Cycling coaches is the way to bring new passion into our sport. The New Jersey Bicycle Association has witnessed the phenomenal success of the Colavita U19 Racing Team and has used it to create a model for the whole state (we also have Colavita junior programs starting in other states). We have found that by creating a structured program, with regular U19 rides and reliable communication with the riders and their parents, cycling has become a viable alternative to more traditional team sports.

Barrie Drabble
New Jersey

Tour on TV?
Editor:
I subscribe to your magazine, follow some other bike mags and usually check out a few cycling websites daily, but I have not heard or seen anything about TV coverage of the Tour of California. Since it's coming up soon, I want to know of coverage so I can connect with cable. Can anyone help?

Sandy Cameron
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada

Sandy, ESPN is airing an hour of coverage daily, but it’s not exactly prime time. The schedule we found coverage at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. EST on ESPN2. Good excuse to invest in a VCR or TiVo? — Editor

Ullrich in English?
Editor:
Is there now, or will there be at any time in the future, an English translation of Jan Ullrich's autobiography Ganz oder gar nicht ("All or Nothing")?

Robert Bovard
Nashville, Tennessee

Robert, we consulted VeloNews editorial director John Wilcockson regarding your question, and he replied: "It's a possibility, but nothing definite at this point." — Editor

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The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.