Volunteering

Soapbox time:
Cycling is a community, one that continues to exist by the active effort of its members. I learned to ride in a vibrant mountain biking community, one where group rides went hand in hand with trail work, and the e-mail list where I heard about the next race was also the same list telling me about the next trail planning session.

Now I am really ashamed by how few of the racers here in Colorado contribute back to their community. Here we are, reaping the rewards of someone's hard work, riding on hand-hewn trails, handing our race registration to harried volunteers, training on roads made safer by activists in the legislature. We racers, more than anyone else, benefit from the cycling community. And while I don't mean to belittle the efforts of the individuals racers here, I am astounded that there is no cohesive drive amongst the racing community, no unspoken expectation that we should be giving back. We are racers, we are the ones out there in our matched spandex covered in sponsors' names, on the roads and trails every day. We should be the ones out there leading the charge for volunteering! I'll admit, I'm not the best at this, but one of my major goals as a racer is to become more involved in volunteer activities.

Some really great ways to help out:

• After your next race, stick around for an extra half hour to help clean up (This one is a personal favorite of mine...and it's a great way to get the announcers to remember your name for the next time you're racing and want to hear your name when you come around on lap)
• Contact the organizer of one of your local races to volunteer for a full day--they can always use help
• Join a bike advocacy group like IMBA, Bikes Belong, Bicycle Colorado, or League of American Bicyclists.
• Check out your local riding club. Try googling "trail work" with the name of your town to find contact info.

Think I'm way off base? Got a great volunteer opportunity? I really want to hear back on this one. Leave lots of comments, please!