History side quest

[Adam Myerson]

As an adjacent conversation to the idea of bringing back some kind of NE crit series, if you haven’t found it but have the time, Henry Jurenka’s YouTube channel is a good rabbit hole to go down. Here’s one example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF21WPdN2ZA

This video is from 1999. It was my 9th year running the race. I was 27. I had given up on turning pro, helped start the NCC, gotten married, got a job, and just started coaching. I had no idea that I’d eventually turn pro a few years later and go for 13 years. The UMass ‘cross had broken 500 racers, which was a first in New England, and possibly anywhere in the country. We would be a UCI race the following season, and that’s when I took the New England Cyclocross Series over from Tom Stevens, who had been my mentor as a racer and organizer for a decade.

“I’ve been around the sport for a long time, I got pretty close to the top of the sport but not all the way, and so now, if I’m going to do anything with all the years that I’ve been in the sport and everything I’ve learned along the way, it’s to make the sport better and pass it on and hopefully that kid that comes along and has got just a little bit of talent and I can pass along all the experience I have and we can get him one step further than I did, that’ll be success for me.”

This is part of what I mean when I mention Groundhog Day. This is over 25 years ago. This is the same conversation we’re having now. This is the same work I’m doing now, every day.

You’ll see John Frey in the background. He and JD Bilodeau were the rest of the triumvirate. John was the best man at my wedding the year before. His brother Andrew, who is a part owner of ToAD, was also my director sportif my last year as a pro in 2015. My housemate Steve Roszko, would start BikeReg the year after this video, based around our events. Here’s the oldest event on there:

https://www.bikereg.com/event/27

That’s my phone number and website, and the business the three of us started for race promotion.

In any case, if we’re going to talk about the history of New England bike racing so we can understand what used to be, give context to what exists now, and talk about what we can do in the future, spend some time clicking around on Henry’s YouTube page. There are some absolute gems on there. But it’s also what I mean when I say there is enough expertise right here at home. We just need to pass it on to the next group of motivated organizers as we continue to climb out of the pandemic crater.

Adam

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Adam F. Myerson
President and Head Coach
Cycle-Smart, Inc.
Northampton Cyclocross

37 Mallet Street
Boston, MA 02124
(413) 204-3202 Mobile
ad...@cycle-smart.com
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