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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Don’t dilute the sport for fad fans
Editor:
Being an avid cyclist and motorsports fan/participant, I found the recent comparisons between the two interesting.

When comparing NASCAR to cycling when it comes to spectator attraction, it is important to understand that NASCAR is successful because it is willing to distort motorsports for the sole purpose of entertainment. That isn't wrong, but the more you distort a sport to the whim of the spectator the more you will lose true fans in exchange for "fad" fans. And you risk losing most of those viewers when the fad wears off. Americans demand to be spoon fed entertainment, and are quick to become bored.

I think cycling would be better served to avoid the quick-and-easy spectator (even if they do bring immediate returns) and focus on building entry numbers and grassroots racing. Long term, it will be better for the sport.

Another similarity I have noticed between motorsports and cycling is riders only racing one race all year and some motorsports teams focused only on the Indy 500 or LeMans. Both examples show that the marketing of the sport has exceeded the sport itself. I was elated to find out that several of the Tour de France contenders will also contest the Giro this year.

Larry Warrington
Red Wing, Minnesota

Build a sport that serves everyone
Editor:
Only when we can burn gas while we ride will cycling ever become as big as NASCAR (Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks). I also agree with Mike Sankey (see Wednesday’s Mailbag: Build the activity and sport will come") that junior races are very small. All other sports are offered a part of a school program. I ran cross-country this fall and there were races for everyone — not only the people who have a high LT but everyone from 3 to 70. When we find a way to do this, cycling will become popular. Only an idea from a 15-year-old; I really don't want cycling to be reminiscent of NASCAR.

Matt Mainer
Hinesburg, Vermont

NASCAR is a school-sanctioned sport these days? Shoot, when we were 15, we had to do our auto racing on the streets, fleeing from the cops. Come to think of it, that’s how we did our cross-country running, too. — Editor

Non-cyclists have a tough time appreciating sport
Editor:
I feel there is one glaringly obvious reason cycling isn't bigger in the United States. The majority of Americans don't consider the bicycle to be a valid mode of transportation. There is no glory in cycling. It is what drunks and migrant workers do to get to work. It is what kids do before dinner.

Most people know how to drive. They can pretend they are Jeff Gordon as they cut off the car in the other lane in the race to get home. They can appreciate that their car manufacturer just built the engine that won the Indianapolis 500 because they can feel the power when they press on the gas.

If you haven't ridden your bike since you and your friends would stand on your coaster brakes and leave skid marks on the driveway, are you going to appreciate the parallelogram rear derailleur? Who is this Robbie McEwen guy anyway? Isn't he that actor? Are going to want to spend valuable time watching some underfed, underdressed people ride down the road in a big group? Only if they happen to block your daily commute home.

Simply put, if you don't ride a bike it is much harder to appreciate or enjoy bicycle racing.

Steve Rider
Knoxville, Tennessee

Ignorance is a bigger problem
Editor:
I took an unscientific poll of 15 road and off-road cyclists I know. This was a group of folks who had been riding for only a couple of years, not folks who have been riding seriously for 10 ore more years. They had just completed either a 24-hour mountain-bike relay or a charity 100-miler. I asked them if they were interested in doing some "real" bike races. Guess what - none of them had ever heard of the "real" USCF and NORBA races.

If newbies never hear anything about the races and how the system works for "mere mortals," not just the pros, how are the ranks of racers going to grow? Every area of the United States probably has a free "endurance" rag that shows up in the charity ride package or at the local bike store. Once a year or more, USA Cycling via the local chapter should have a small article explaining the racing system and that it is open to everyone. Explain the classes and different local events and contact numbers; even put an article in the local sports page.

It is a cliché, but true: "What happens when you do not advertise? Nothing." Just a thought.

Michael J. Madigan
Tucson, Arizona

Lack of cheap bikes for kids makes recruitment tough
Editor:
I just wanted to comment on a point made in Wednesday's Mailbag by Mike Sankey. One of the reasons for the lack of participation by young riders in races may be due to the lack of affordable road bikes in small sizes. My 9-year-old would love to have a road bike like dad's, but we can't afford to spend $600 on a bike he will grow out of in a couple of years. So he is stuck riding a 38-pound mountain bike. I hope to find a used road bike for him at some point, but they are in short supply in these parts.

If the industry would like the market for road bikes to expand, they need to introduce some inexpensive, small road bikes. They used to have them back in the 1970s when I was young, but they have abandoned that market.

Timm Smith
Citrus Springs, Florida

Where’s Creed?
Editor:
I noticed that Michael Creed was not on the Discovery Channel roster for 2006. He seems to have completely disappeared. I know he was having health issues last year and was curious as to if he gave up cycling. I live in Colorado Springs and have followed his career for several years. Any information would be great.

Brian Tilson
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Brian, Michael is alive and well and, with his old buddy Danny Pate, racing for TIAA-CREF. The two took part in the recently concluded UCI World Cup track event in Southern California. — Editor

Tour of California on ESPN: Too early, or too late?
Editor:
Lately the talk and excitement has been growing for the inaugural Tour of California. How it is great to have another world class cycling event in the U.S. to draw the top teams from Europe to compete on American soil. How exciting it is that ESPN2 has committed to a one-hour recap show every night the event takes place. All great, super, a stage race that will draw the best teams to the United States and TV coverage to boot. Until you take a look at the ESPN TV listings. A recap show every night really means a recap show every morning —the show will air between 1 and 2 a.m.

Brian Karpen
Madison, Wisconsin

Jeanson out with a whimper, not a bang
Editor:
Geneviève Jeanson has been an incredible force in the North American peloton for the last six years. One need only to look at her palmarès from 2001 to understand how many medals and how much prize money she won when in top form.

I can't ever know if Jeanson is guilty of what she is accused of, but I do find it interesting that the end of her career has created such a limited reaction in the press and the racing community. If she has been cheating for years, then she has stolen tens of thousands of dollars and dozens of high-profile finishes from the women she raced against - shaping the careers of her competitors as well as her own. If she is innocent, then the current testing procedures have ended the career of arguably the most talented female cyclist, ever.

Does anyone care either way? I can't tell. I'll bet that Tyler's dog has had more press.

Carla Hukee
Los Angeles, California

Jeanson, like Tyler’s dog, remains innocent until proven guilty. As our January 19 story notes, she has a ways to go yet before the lid is nailed down on her career, should she reconsider her announced retirement. — 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.