My thoughs on race team

Yeah I bet it is a bit different riding 26 miles on a mtn bike vs. a street bike.
Just an FYI you can get skinny tires for the mtn bikes as well, that will make a huge difference.

If you are interested that is.  My friend bought a hybrid, it's not quite a street bike and not quite a mtn bike it came with the big old nobby tires,  He finally got some street tires on it and it has helped him a lot.

If he had listened to me he would have bought the street bike, because he never rides off road, but ya can't tell him anything once he has his mind made up.

I may go ahead and do that! Thanks for the idea. I will probably try and keep both tires available so that once nicer weather gets here I can see if I like doing some mountain biking just northwest of here.  I do want to get a dedicated race bike once I save up some. At least the bike I have now gets me out and riding which is the big thing. I'll check into the skinny tires next week.

I have class tonight, but I am going to make every effort to make the chat.  I'm going to be released from my doctor soon (have been restricted from distance racing due to nerve damage in my foot) and I'm ready to look forward at some dates and make commitments.  Doing so helps keep me focused. 

I know I'm new...and you said you didn't want the team watered down by bunches of opinions...but, I'm throwing one in any way.  Sorry.  I just want to suggest that perhaps 2 "team" event races should be selected.  1 that is a greater distance and more challenging for the vets and a second one that is out there but still doable for a newbie, like a half.  Granted most of my efforts are for me, lets be honest here, but I would still like to see more and more people turn their life around after wls and be out there leading an active lifestyle.

There is an events centered travel agent in Dallas who coordinates hotels, dinners and ground transports at major events.  She can also do flights if the distance isn't drivable. Her rates are reasonable and becuase she is a competitor she understands the needs and books accordingly. I'm sure she would love to help you (the team) with that end of it, if there is a need. Diana Gold of Golden travel. If you're local and want to meet her, she hosts happy hours on the first wed of each month at a local venue and invites all of her racing clients. i hve her site saved on my other computer but will try to bring this info to chat in case there is any interest.

I don't think we can make decisions in Chat. Some of us can never make the current chat time. Does that mean we get no say in how this group is run? That's not right. A group like this has to allow for the people who only come by once or twice a week to have their say as well. We have a message board and the ability to post polls. Why not use it?

As for this group, we started it to spread the word about how an active lifestyle combined with WLS can combat obesity. The races were a means to an end because they get attention.

I am against having any criteria for belonging to the group. We need to remember where we came from. A year ago, I had never run more than 2 miles at a time. My first 5k was coming up and I was scared to death. Now I'm signed up for an Ironman.

I don't think I was any less a legitimate a racer a year ago than I am now. I was just at the beginning of the journey to be an endurance athlete. I think it's a bad idea to cut out people who are interested in racing just because they are starting out.

OTOH, I completely agree that we don't need another Exercise group on OH. The focus of this group should be on spreading the word of our mission via races and events. If people join who aren't interested in doing events, well, that's their prerogative, but their needs shouldn't take precedence over the mission of the group.

To that end, we have business to accomplish that we need to get cracking on. We need to get the web site up. We need to get our bios collected and on it. We need to find some sponsors. We need to set up a group calendar. We need to decide on a logo. We need to design a racing kit. We were invited to do the Muddy Buddy and there has been no follow-up on that.

These things are essential tasks that need to be done or we are just another OH message board and not an active group spreading a message through the activities of our members.