Between the time the torch is lit at the opening ceremonies and the time the final athlete walks out of the closing ceremonies, I am a die hard Olympics fan. For one week, every four years, I am a luge fanatic, a curling die-hard, and a biathalon junkie. I watch downhill skiing with the fervor of a Saints fan during the Superbowl, and refuse to let anything come between me and NBC’s coverage of the bobsled events. However, in the other 1,450 days in between the next winter Olympics, none of these sports will enter my mind. I will completely forget about their existence until promo reels start running on TV in another four years, and my sporadic passions for these absurd but incredible sports are rekindled.

This must be how the rest of the world feels every July when the Tour de France comes on TV. Much like my knowledge on the rules and techniques of curling, they know next to nothing about the sport of cycling, but are somehow captivated and pleasantly surprise when they accidentally flip over Versus and catch a shot of Lance Armstrong; interesting enough to stop flipping and settle into watching the race. Ask any stranger if they have ever been to a bike race, and you will usually get something like “No, but I like to watch the Tour de France on TV!”

I used to hate these people. They were the barrier that prevented cycling from exploding; fair-weather fans refusing to adopt it as one of their favorites. Do they care about Paris-Roubaix or the Giro d’ Italia? Nope, just the Tour de France. “Have they ever won the Tour de France?” they ask me when talking about someone like Cavendish or even a domestic racer like Bahati. Before I can finish saying “no, but…” they have all but written them off. The Tour de France is not just a bike race for the general public, it is THE bike race. Anything else that happens in the cycling world is in the minor leagues.

I don’t mind them anymore, because this year, I realized I am one. I am “that fan” of the luge world. I know nothing about the sport, except for what NBC teaches me in their hour of coverage, but if you ever ask me what I think about the sport, I will probably tell you about how it’s the most exciting, thrilling sport out there (behind cycling of course.) I couldn’t even come close to naming another speed skating event besides “the Olympics,” but the sport is captivating enough for me to consider myself a speed skating enthusiast.

This is partially because of the lack of television coverage for sports like cycling and luge, but something has to cause us to stop and watch. For me, it is not the fact that I rarely get to watch winter sports, but the fact that I rarely get to watch the best of the best competing in them. It’s not everyday that you have all the best athletes in their sport all together in one place, with just one run or one race to prove themselves.

Maybe it’s a good thing that cycling only gets any real attention once a year. It gives some allure, some mystique to the sport in the minds of the public as the only bike race they will watch all year. The cycling community is bigger than we think, with fans lurking in the shadows until Versus airs le Tour and their pent up enthusiasm can finally escape as they watch Lance try and win another one for the good ole’ U.S.A. Cycling fans don’t have to know anything about the sport. As long as they are enthusiastic and receptive when they cross paths with cycling, I’m happy. So here’s to the occasional fan, who I understand now like ever before.

Now if you will excuse me, Apolo Ohno is about to race, and I’ve got a bandwagon to catch.

We are faced with these questions almost inevitably when we are in the presence of an “outsider,” and it can be tiring repeatedly explaining why we rabidly raid the refrigerator in search of calories or spend hours on end in a dark, damp basement counting watts on the trainer.

Enter Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer, by veteran race announcer Jamie Smith. After spending years explaining the little idiosyncrasies of being a bike racer, Smith decided to write a book to bring understanding to the masses. Roadie acts as a complete guide to the life of a bike racer, written for those confused friends, family, and coworkers in your life who have never driven two hours to race a 45 minute criterium, and have no idea what a 5 hour solo training ride feels like. Everything they ever wanted to know but never understood is covered in the book; training, equipment, racing, lifestyle and everything in between. The best part? It’s engaging, entertaining, and down right fun, from front cover to back.

Although written with the non-cyclist in mind, those more familiar with the way of the bicycle will get a kick out of the book also, as Smith captures every little intricacy of being a bike racer; a fantastically interesting self examination of cyclists. Each chapter, lesson, and story is dead accurate, but simple enough for your next door neighbor to understand. I found myself nodding in agreement with each page, as Smith picked apart everything it means to be a bike racer in a way that only a true roadie could.

The book is published by VeloPress and available online here for $21.95 or at most book retailers. You can also follow Smith’s blog here, where he keeps some hilarious commentary on various topics around the cycling world.

Fixies may go by the way of the rollerblade, but before they die, I would like to take a moment to officially congratulate and thank the fixed gear bicycle for its significant contribution to cycling in the past few years. Few programs, efforts, or movements got as many people riding their bicycles as the fixie trend. There was an entire demographic out there of people who were open to riding a bike, but could never connect with anything enough to make them enjoy cycling. Then the fixie trend came, and bike lanes across the country were suddenly bursting at the seams with colorful, albeit impractical fixies. What an achievement! Frankly, I don’t care what kind of bikes are filling the bike lanes, as long as they are moving people where they need to go quicker than walking and cleaner than driving. 21 speeds or just one speed, two brakes or no brakes at all, I don’t care, as long as there is someone riding it.

Fixies will always get the standard “fellow cyclist nod” from me, not because I like their shiny wheels or their tiny handlebars, but because they, like me, are out on their bicycle, enjoying all the benefits and freedoms of cycling. I care not about their motivations, but only their actions. Because on the road, at the heart of it all, there aren’t fixies and roadies, just bikes and people, sharing their passion for the bicycle. So thank you fixed gear bicycle, for being perhaps the most effective cycling advocate of this generation. Here’s to less hipster hating and more bike love in the coming decade.

I was shocked to be reading Neil Browne’s blog and see what the cycling community was talking about today….(click the picture for a larger view.)

What is this sport coming to?

First, the importance of context. McGwire will never face the wrath that rained down on Landis or Hamilton, because when it comes to doping, baseball and cycling are on two entirely different planes. Baseball dopers and cycling dopers are not equals in the public’s eye. Cyclists are competing based on peak performance; the athlete who can tune their mind and body to the maximum fitness physically allowed, and performance enhancing drugs help them push it even further. Baseball players, however, are engaging in a game largely based on skill, and fitness plays only a minor part in the game, so doping doesn’t have as much advantage in baseball as it does in cycling. Have you seen the benches of MLB teams lately? Not exactly a fitness expo down in the dugout. There is more body fat on McGwire’s left leg than Team RadioShack collectively has on their entire bodies.

Next, we put the doping in perspective. Is Mark McGwire any less guilty or his record less tainted because doping didn’t help him that much. Sure he got a little better and maybe hit the ball a little further, but wasn’t most of his skill from being able to connect the bat and ball at just the right time? These questions basically try to quantify the ethical dilemma of doping, when in fact, it is a clear “yes or no” solution. In my eyes, dopers are dopers, period, regardless of context or perspective.

For years riders have struggled with how to connect with their fans. While it would be great to have a chat with every fan who comes out to watch them race, it is simply unfeasible to meet all the fans on a race day. Instead, many riders are adopting and launching social media campaigns, building their personal brands to make themselves recognizable, unique, and accessible. Many riders fail to see the potential in a fan base, but it makes them a much more valuable asset. Simply put, a rider with a fan following is much more valuable to a team and sponsors than a reclusive athlete. Social media is an easy and convenient way to maintain this fan base.

The obvious example is someone like Lance Armstrong, with 2.3 million Twitter followers and the power to spontaneously draw 500 people to a ride with only 12 hours notice. When someone like Lance has 2 million followers, they are not only following the athlete, but their attached sponsors. It is much easier to secure sponsors when you can prove that you have an active fan following that you can expose your sponsors to. A social media presence adds clear value to an athlete’s marketability to fans, teams, and sponsors alike.

But athletes need not be a seven time Tour de France winner to build a large following. Cyclists have a lot to offer, and those following the sport will eat up any information they can get. Tweets or blog posts about training can offer free advice to amateur athletes, and even if they visit to get the training info, the athlete name is still associated with the info. Gear-heads will eat up sneak preview pictures of new gear for the upcoming season (sponsors will love this exposure too.) Race fans can get a first-hand account of their favorite events that the “traditional” cycling news outlets just can’t offer.

This market is wide open. I am shocked at the number of athletes who fail to capitalize on the free resources available to them. At the very least, any rider with a contract should have some sort of online campaign going for them. It’s free, easy, and requires relatively little time. Being a bike racer is no longer just about riding your bike and winning races, it’s about being a marketable asset to teams and sponsors.

So here’s to hoping the new year brings a better connected cycling community. Every athlete and fan has to do their part to connect and build mutually beneficial relationships. The sport will undoubtedly grow as fans become more involved and invested in athletes and teams. So whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, or a blog, lets get connected, it’s about time!