Chinkes At Home

Author: john

  • How Doping Stopped Other Racers

    http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-3-will-frischkorn/
    http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-2-inga-thompson-5/

    Another great set of interviews or commentary from/about people who did not do well in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Will Frischkorn is an interesting story; we ran across each other when I was promoting races around Cincinnati. Of course the name is unique but also he was very young and racing with the big dogs in whatever races I held. I think something like 14-16 and racing SM 1-2, crazy stuff! I was not surprised when I saw he went pro.

    The interesting thing about his stance in the article is the disconnect from economics. He was free to make choices because this was not his “ticket out”, I gather he had a pleasant childhood and very supportive parents. He took it as far as he could with his natural talents and then stopped. It seemed odd at the time that just as he got really big time he stopped but I suppose, with eyes wide open, he knew that was as far as it was going to go.

    Then the story of Inga Thompson is related too; she did what she could and then stopped too. I don’t think the economics were quite as disconnected for her but you still don’t get a lot of money for being the best woman racer in the world. It was never about the money anyway. Her story is more about the corruption beyond the drugs. If you allow that, what else will you allow? Well, quite a bit apparently. My exposure to the USCF while helping run registration at senior nationals makes the stories from Inga very plausible. Then if you dig a little more you can find articles outlining a lot of corruption going back decades with the national team. Even an interview with George Mount indicated what was going on.

    So with this history and the interview with Verbruggen, you can see what a mess the management of cycling was in and is still in!

  • Small Ships #3

    Small Ships #3

    So here is another ship I made, just something small, whipped it together while playing with the Boy.

    The Boy made a little ship from those large angled plates we found from my Star Destroyer.  He made a little fighter with two cockpits and I found this ‘bumper’ piece. So a low altitude transport seemed like the right thing. Rather pleased with the control unit for the pilot, although the windscreen/HUD is a little clunky.

  • Interview About Pro Racing in the 90’s


    © pro shots.

    http://www.theouterline.com/changing-pro-cycling-the-perspective-of-hein-verbruggen/
    http://inrng.com/2014/04/cpa-pro-cyclists-union-ride-to-2016/ – I found the link here

    Very cool interview with Verbruggen, the former president of the international cycling federation. He outlines what he was doing and why. Of course it mentions the doping going on at the time but this talks about the larger context of sport as business. This is what he found when he got on board and what he wanted to do to make cycling sport into a business, like basketball and the NBA, football and the NFL or FIFA (depending on what kinda football you are talking about).

    In thinking about it, for me the question is ‘what is cycling sport?’ Is it what I did for so many years, going in circles in an office park on the edge of town? Is it the Tour de France or Tour of Flanders or Tour of Qinghai Lake? Is the sport the pro’s and how/what/where they ride or my races? Or not races at all (or exclusively), but rides I took from my house in Atlanta to Peachtree park, all of 3-4 miles but as a 10-year-old, forever away? Is it the cyclosportives and charity rides?

    Certainly, what I learned about the business of pro racing in the 80’s and 90’s; Verbruggen brought some needed controls. Teams and riders have to operate in a professional manner, at least as far as employment rules require. There is still a lot of room to grow in a sporting and ethical stance.