Cycling: Racers Command Respect

Let's be honest and I'll go first.

A bicycle race for most people is not high on the list of exciting events to watch. For me, it usually falls somewhere between bowling and a WNBA game.

By the end of the Tour de France in July, I am so starved for NFL football that I treat the first exhibition game like the Super Bowl. That means throwing some brats on the grill, turning the air conditioning down low, and squeezing once again into an old Chicago Bears jersey that now rides halfway up my belly.

It's not a pretty sight, I know. Like the oversized couch potato or the gaggle of geeks who spend all their time indoors playing video games.

People who put their bodies in motion should be applauded and there are plenty of them on the move in Fayetteville this weekend with spring football, baseball, a race/walk for cancer research, and a bicycle race.

The Joe Martin Stage race is a four-day event that includes over 700 participants from 20 countries and all 50 states. In one event, bikers mostly race 2 1/2 miles uphill at Devil's Den State Park and, in another, make a 110-mile loop heading west along Highway 62, south along Highway 59 toward Mountainburg, and back to Fayetteville.

And, yes, they are athletes.

"It's a suffer fest," said Neal Picken, 73, a former racer who still makes a round trip on his bike from Bentonville to Prairie Grove at least once a week. "Your legs burn mercilessly. It's a very difficult thing to do and they're hurting, for sure."

Joe Martin served as race director until he was diagnosed with cancer in 1988. Following his death, the race was renamed in his honor and is today one of nine stops on the national tour.

"On the national calendar, we're one of the top races in the country," Race Director Bruce Dunn said. "For the pro men, they're putting anywhere from 16 to 24 hours per week on their bike. They're typically going to do 500 to 600 mile weeks. In a year, they're going to do 15,000 to 20,000 miles of training in some of the most extreme conditions all year long. They go rain, snow, sleet, or shine."

Riders also must be prepared for the unexpected, like the incident that happened to John Ryan while competing in an event in 2009.

"I was racing over a bridge when a Great Dane got loose from its owner and I crashed into him," said Ryan, 20, of North Richland Hills, Texas. "I flipped over the handlebars and suffered a concussion. I was knocked out and taken to the hospital in a helicopter. I heard the dog was OK."

Cyclists at the elite stage continue to distance themselves from Lance Armstrong, the former seven-time Tour de France champion who finally admitted to doping and is now banned from the sport. Supporters of cycling rightly point to cheaters in other sports, including the frauds during the steroids era in Major League Baseball.

"Lance Armstrong brought awareness to cycling, but the sport is bigger than any single person," Dunn said. "There's a new crop of kids competing and our numbers have gone up, probably, for the last 15 years."

Visitors still in Fayetteville today should stick around for the Criterium, the grand finale of the Joe Martin State Race. I've seen this race before and it's an array of power, speed, and endurance by sleek cyclists roaring in close quarters through the downtown streets.

"You can not appreciate bicycle racing sitting on the couch," Dunn said. "You've got to come see us."

So, what have I learned by getting off the couch and watching a bike race?

I know cycling at a competitive level is difficult, sometimes dangerous, and the riders are superbly-conditioned athletes who command respect. Thanks for the thrills and see you next year.

Now, when does the College World Series start?

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTSWRITER FOR NWA MEDIA

Sports on 04/27/2014

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