Where is the next generation???

[Ti Designs]

I went on a group ride today. 18 riders, the youngest was in their 30's. We saw a number of other groups out on the road, more of the same. I coach the Harvard cycling team, I know more young riders than most, but I don't see that many of them out there. Even on team training rides, there are more older riders than team members. Has anyone else noticed this???

[DRietz]

No.

Then again, I do go to high school with the majority of the people I ride with.

[old fat man]

They all ride with green line velo, not the old guy rides out of the bike shop that is not near any of the colleges in Boston. So yeah, they are out there, just not with you.

[tannhauser]

There aren't a lot of dedicated young guys doing fast shop rides here. The racers are either training with power and / or with their team when they can.

There are, however, a lot of strong kids riding a lot for transport -- fixies and what not. It's not anywhere the same but RR is a different culture and prohibitively expensive as I see it. Not a great culture hook in a down economy.

Side note: lots and lots of young guys have tried racing but gave it up.

[GuyGadois]

They're tweeting

[Louis]

All the racer-boys I see around here seem plenty young to me. Then again, maybe I'm the one who's getting old.

[Ti Designs]

They all ride with green line velo, not the old guy rides out of the bike shop that is not near any of the colleges in Boston. So yeah, they are out there, just not with you.

1) I know many of the guys with green line velo, two of them worked at my shop. That ain't all of them.

2) Who said anything about an old guy ride, or a shop ride for that matter. The fast shop rides are really team rides that happen to start at a shop (I noticed that there's a group leaving from Landry's on Wednesday night to do the green line velo ride).

3) I was a cat 2 when I went to Northeastern, I know a thing or two about training in the area. Good training rides get out of Boston, city rides may be good for speedwork, but little beyond that. I still think I should be seeing more young riders than I do.


The racers are either training with power and / or with their team when they can.

Training with power could explain it. I've found a lot of racers go out with the goal of doing X watts for Y minutes, you can do that almost anywhere or any time. It doesn't teach about tactics like a good group ride would...

[witcombusa]

Maybe racing has lost whatever appeal it once had?

They've moved on to other types of cycling that are more "useful"? :cool:

[gomango]

Both of our boys have tried junior racing.

They are "sports" kids and play for traveling soccer teams as well.

In addition, they also sail with a local sailing club.

I think what happens is kids have so many choices, something has to give, as there isn't time to do it all.

In our case, both of the boys decided to sail with their extra time during the summer.

Racing bicycles was the "extra" sport and lost out.

[merlincustom1]

We need empiricism, not what you see around you. More broadly, that's sometimes the limitation with inductive reasoning; sometimes even when the premises are true, the conclusion is false.

[David Kirk]

They are at the BMX track learning how to pedal and turn and bump and when they transition to the road they will be monsters.

Dave

[gomango]

They are at the BMX track learning how to pedal and turn and bump and when they transition to the road they will be monsters.

Dave

Yep, that's how we started.

In Minnesota, we also have the State Fair criterium series in June and Thursday nights at the Velodrome in Blaine at the National Sports Center.

Both of these are great opps. to get started.

Couple of vital links for racing minded folks here in the Twin Cities.

http://www.startbikeracing.com/

http://www.mcf.net/

[forrestw]

I gotta agree on your observation, the only young riders I know or see regularly are the MIT team. I saw a bunch of Harvard and MIT jerseys out on the CRW fitness loop yesterday but those accounted for nearly all of the <25s I saw and as you say far in the minority vs older riders.

I'm gonna postulate some ideas.

Cycling is the most fun if you put in lots of hours.

Getting to a bike that's got better quality components and a 'nice' frame is a >$2k proposition.

Both of these are good reasons why younger career people might choose distance running over cycling.

I do see lots of younger folks out running.

[Hard Fit]

You will actually find this phenomenom in all sort of group activities. I really am not sure what causes it. I think that the baby boom generation is so big, it dwarfs the generations behind it. Or, maybe young people are less likely to do things in groups and so get lost in the crowd.

[DRietz]

Can I re-do my first snarky answer based on the answers after mine?

They're all in NorCal or Steamboat Springs, CO. Or Slovakia.

[tannhauser]

Training with power could explain it. I've found a lot of racers go out with the goal of doing X watts for Y minutes, you can do that almost anywhere or any time. It doesn't teach about tactics like a good group ride would...

Yup, also more sketchy riding by the strong but not used to riding in close quarters in a race situation.

We don't have any BMX tracks here but the high school mtb league is exploding. They train on the road, of course. In this scenario riding as a team is totally unnecessary.

[FlashUNC]

You will actually find this phenomenom in all sort of group activities. I really am not sure what causes it. I think that the baby boom generation is so big, it dwarfs the generations behind it. Or, maybe young people are less likely to do things in groups and so get lost in the crowd.

Gen Y is larger than the Baby Boomer generation.

So I don't necessarily think -- assuming there are fewer young people as avid cyclists -- its a simple numbers game.

[pdmtong]

I've wondered this myself. been looking for something organized I can get my daughter into. maybe there are just too many other things for kids to do nowadays...or they are all volunteering to get their hours for their college apps.

[rugbysecondrow]

Riding is not racing. Many are just doing other things, and why not. I didn't come to biking until I was 30, so no harm in that.

Bike Racing as a sport is bull crap in the US. Sure, some people do it, but it is below WWE, paintball and even the WNBA.

Check out local triathlons though, you will see many young people out there. The cross functional nature of the sport is attractive to many, including myself. In addition, running is easier to do as it takes less time and easier to fit into the schedule. Cycling is fun, but there are other things just as much fun if not more.

I lament the state of Boxing in the US...damn UFC took over where Boxing crapped the bed for so long.

[54ny77]

Oh come on, the recognition of cycling by the general public has gotta be much greater than that of curling.

:p

Sidenote: for better or worse (in terms of cycling recognition by the public), as I got home from my ride today, neighbor sees me and says, "Hey Lance, come on by for a beer this afternoon, we'll be around all day."

Can't say that back in the day a neighbor would ever say, "Hey Alexi, come on over for some brews..." :rolleyes:




Bike Racing as a sport is bull crap in the US. Sure, some people do it, but it is below WWE, paintball and even the WNBA.

[witcombusa]

Oh come on, the recognition of cycling by the general public has gotta be much greater than that of curling.

:p

Sidenote: for better or worse (in terms of cycling recognition by the public), as I got home from my ride today, neighbor sees me and says, "Hey Lance, come on by for a beer this afternoon, we'll be around all day."

Can't say that back in the day a neighbor would ever say, "Hey Alexi, come on over for some brews..." :rolleyes:

I don't know, last winter olympics the woman's curling got more air time than semingly any other sport :confused:

[rwsaunders]

Riding a bike on the road scares the wits out of most people and most people are weather sensitive as well when it comes to outdoor physical activity. I notice way more mtb'ers in my hood.

[54ny77]

i see more kids on any given weekday evening at a local skate park than i see riding on the road over the course of several months.

anyone on here grow up in europe? if so what's the youth cycling scene like?

[benitosan1972]

Juniors cycling is alive & well here in Bay Area, in fact they're stealing all my KOM's :(

Maybe they're hanging out at Walmart, Starbucks, and McDonalds in the rest of the country? ;)

But they're killing us old guys around here... the streets are not safe from their spinny legs & high HR's :confused:

[2LeftCleats]

I suppose one factor is what opportunities exist in your area. Very active cycling community in central and southern Indiana. Many younger riders. Marian University in Indy gives cycling scholarships and gets a fair amount of local press. They run the local velodrome. Here in Bloomington, racing is just below basketball in popularity. A lot of that's driven by the Little 5. The competition for that generates lots of activity on local summer teams. High school athletes not wanting or able to participate in college find that cycling satisfies a competitive need. Kids are less weirded out by shaved legs.

As someone else said, it's an expensive sport.

A little off topic, but I've noticed that at least around here, cycling has replaced golf as the pasttime for us middle-agers.

[hiljentaa]

I think a lot of younger people are getting into cycling for different reasons than it sounds like OP did. Our culture is much different.

Cycling to me, is a hobby, a means of cheap (after the initial investment!) fun & transportation, and a way to explore my surrounding communities. It has never been a "sport" - racing never interested me. I think you'll see that with a lot of other younger cyclists as well.

[Earl Gray]

I rode with these guys today.*

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/junior-development-team

They are currently in town and being coached up by a local.

Don't know how many of them were riding but it was a swarm and they were fully capable of running with some of the local big dogs.

Other than these guys you almost never see anyone between 16 and 26 on road bikes. I have always suspected that in part it is because they don't want to wear the clown suit.

*by "rode with" I mean they passed me in a blur.

Mostly on Kick Ass Cervelos

[witcombusa]

I rode with these guys today.*

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/junior-development-team

They are currently in town and being coached up by a local.

Don't know how many of them were riding but it was a swarm and they were fully capable of running with some of the local big dogs.

Other than these guys you almost never see anyone between 16 and 26 on road bikes. I have always suspected that in part it is because they don't want to wear the clown suit.

*by "rode with" I mean they past me in a blur.

Mostly on Kick Ass Cervelos


Well they certainly don't have to "wear the clown suit" to go for a bike ride now do they? Why do people equate racing with cycling? It's probobly not 1% of it.

[RacerJRP]

I am 25.

I am usually the youngest at any given ride I attend except for maybe the thursday night (training) race usually brings out a decent number of 18-27y/o riders). I will admit that I fit the bill of training solo with my PM probably 90% of the time im on a bike.

[1happygirl]

Peeps that say, "too much to do" are spot on. Choices.

They (the kids) are on the internet on the couch. While I like more kids in science etc they need balance.
I admit I know nothing about the grassroots racing part, but it seems USCycling does not have a coordinated effort like US Tennis does. US Tennis seems like they do a great job getting peeps in the sport and developing youngsters.
Also maybe the gear aspect of the sport. Much easier to carry a racket and ball, stick/bat ball etc. To have to drive places after loading the bike, well that takes effort and more time.





Also the suit as some have said and? ...
AS Joy said to Earl on a bike in my name is earl:
"Hey, Lance Armstrong! Don't you know riding bicycles gives you nut cancer?"
- Joy in Robbed a Stoner Blind

[Earl Gray]

Well they certainly don't have to "wear the clown suit" to go for a bike ride now do they? Why do people equate racing with cycling? It's probobly not 1% of it.

And that is why I wonder why 99% of the people you see on a road bike are in clowns suits?

Including myself.

[jamesutiopia]

My impression is that there are a lot more riders in their 20s than there were in the 90s or 00s (when I was in the under-30 demographic). Still nothing to rival the boomers, but at least it's no longer a once or twice a season special event to have a young rider on a group ride. During my own undergrad there wasn't even a cycling team to join (so headed down the boathouse and learned to row instead). Now even the local community college has a cycling team (or at least they have kit), so things seem to be changing at last...

It's a start, but it will be difficult to replace the boomers

[charliedid]

They're tweeting

!!!

[rdparadise]

Ti:

I hear you buddy although, I don't totally agree.

My nephew is 21 and goes to the Univ of Delaware. A friend of his, Andy is also 21. He joined the UD cycling team. He rides fast for a young lad. His parents are pretty well off and with some of there help he was able to buy a $5k Cervelo to help his aspirations.

Yesterday, I rode by the Queen of the Mtn women's tri meet at a local lake. While spectating for 15 minutes and watching the women transition from the swim to the bike, I noticed a number of really young girls, some even on MTB's. It's a short race so it's understandable. There's a local women's tri club the next town over (mullica hill). They have over 400 members and do regular rides 2-4 times per week. I typically see them riding on Saturday mornings out in the country here in So. Jersey.

Another young lad I know is the nephew of one of the guys i used to ride with. He's competing both MTB and road. I believe he may have even won the NJ Jr road cycling title or placed in the top 3 for his age bracket.

They're out there, you just have to look harder.

Bob

[harryblack]

check out straight running races too-- esp. 5 and 10K-- plenty of teens there too-- granted there's track and x-c to bring 'em along but bike racing is ANNOYING... (& i've done a few many hundreds of USCF races).

it's getting expensive; it's deeply uncool; lots (not ALL, i know) group rides are unpleasant (hammerheads, paceline fascists etc), other bike disciplines suck away talent and energy; even in places with very active racing culture like NYC, who wants to get up at 4-5-6 in the morning to race? who can necessarily get off work or get off your boy/girlfriend to do the Tue or Thu training races (which are not expensive) but are a haul to get to if you don't live in Brooklyn?

"ironically" there should be 1000s of hot young racers coming up because "they've learned to pedal" on "fixies" (sarcasm) but obviously that's not the case.

Riding is not racing. Many are just doing other things, and why not. I didn't come to biking until I was 30, so no harm in that.

Bike Racing as a sport is bull crap in the US. Sure, some people do it, but it is below WWE, paintball and even the WNBA.

Check out local triathlons though, you will see many young people out there. The cross functional nature of the sport is attractive to many, including myself. In addition, running is easier to do as it takes less time and easier to fit into the schedule. Cycling is fun, but there are other things just as much fun if not more.

I lament the state of Boxing in the US...damn UFC took over where Boxing crapped the bed for so long.

[dustyrider]

Being born in 80 I sorta missed out on the road biking craze in the US. I know lots of younger people than myself who love to ride competitively, although it seems like more of an individual mentality that propels them to compete. I also kinda think this is why strava is so popular. I know there are plenty of "team" sports in the US, but really our focus is so much geared towards the individual here. It's even pretty rare to hear people talk about entire teams anymore, there are exceptions, but most of the time it is a single athlete's performance that gets the fans really excited.

The kind of cycling events that I see younger generations participating in the most, and therefore training for the most are, Downhill MTB, Dirt Jumping, Cyclocross, and Triathlons. Though, I know this has a lot to do with the region I'm in. Those are just the "standard" types of events where training is really required, and training rides can be actually witnessed, in order to compete consistently, though you'll rarely see a group.
If you want to find the younger generation on bicycles, look at commuters, especially in the cities, they meet up for Alley Cats, or Scavenger hunts, or Sprint type events, the good old Steeplechase I fear has been replaced with strava, usually they turn out in large numbers.
Some of those events can be team oriented, but mostly they're an individual effort, with very talented and fit cyclists in attendance. These aren't the kids who'll get out the full race kit and peloton ride for hours on end, they're the the bike messenger types, some may fit the "hipster" mold but a lot them could probably hold their own in a tour type cycling race, or crit, if that's what they decided to race in.

I know for myself the idea of riding in a peloton for miles and miles, with essentially a well timed sprint at the very end, has absolutely no draw for me what so ever. I understand the group creates a faster dynamic, and a strong, cohesive team can decimate a field, but that's not what I like about cycling. For me it's the individual accomplishments that I make each time I ride, when I do competitively ride it's usually in an event where a solo effort is rewarded. I do participate in some team cycling events, and I understand their allure, but they just don't give me the same level of accomplishment, or "selfish" pride that, I guess, I'm really looking for.

I don't know if the barrier that technology seems to be creating has helped to contribute to this hugely polarized society we seem to have right now, particularly in the USA, or if it's just that good ole' American rugged spirit, that the individual, despite the odds, can succeed above all others, has created this loss of youth you seem to be witnessing in cycling.
I do think these things play a considerable role in our lives, and how "we" approach "team" sports. "We" being the younger generation, who'll enviably become the future generation of cycling. I don't think they're lost, I just think they're choosing to ride differently.

[zennmotion]

How many many kids can pony up $2K+ for an "entry level" race bike? Plus clothes, shoes, helmet, basic tools and other assorted gear? Or a $30 entry fee for a 30 min crit? It's always been an expensive sport, and it's only getting worse with constant market "innovation", equipment obsolescence, and insurance costs for events. No way I could afford it until after college, and that was a quarter century ago :eek: