Clark County Museum Strategy

Families discovered gold at the Archer Gallery

A bike repair shop that doles out top brand women's clothes, across the street from a cafe, a New Seasons Market, and the Clark County Historical Museum was made better only by grand bike lanes, easy slopes, limited traffic, 

and more museums.

Such was the discovery of our racers as they arrived on Main Street in Vancouver Washington Saturday morning. Parking anywhere, in what seemed almost ghost town conditions, but actually everything had just opened up, and was ready for business.

The Cycling Coach was easily found in his van across the street from the bike shop called Bike Clark County a subsidized non-profit. Everyone seemed happy to find the familiar van, as ham and cheese sandwiches and juice drinks disappeared quickly.

Caffeine lust and more complicated loose screws in cleats and seat binders found easy repair in the sleepy businesses found idle, yet operating nearby

The young racers were thankful for everything having been remembered in advance while they were just learning how to remember where their helmets were on race day. If one child made a lot of noise expressing great pain over not being able to find their helmet, Bicycles and Ideas for Kids' Empowerment offered them a brand new one.

Once their needs were met, the anxious child calmly went back to their mother's car and found their old helmet.

Developing essential skills of just beginning

racers depends on helping them be comfortable and soothing their fears while introducing them to the torment and danger of elite cycling.  Introduction of the fashion, the fiscal expense, and the agony of aerobic body systems gone anaerobic, causes anxiety.

Even to pursue the fullness of racing instead of the softer, more common plateau of recreational touring, is a questionable, 

and often questioned pursuit.

"Do we really need to this?" some new racers in training ask.

Climbing a long soft slope, inevitably makes one ask, "where are we going?" and "I need to pull over, can we?"

On the right kind of slopes, form follows function.

Folks learn how to shift down gears, and find a sustainable pace if they want to train to travel with the pack.

Clark County features Hudson HS and just as the cycling team warming up was climbing past it's friendly higher education neighbor just up hill, Clark College, the Squadra Cyclisme turned downhill into the High School parking lot to have a practice criterium. 

Going fast. Getting on a wheel.

Arriving about five minutes into the day's ride, the early
unexpected turn down hill gave all suffering laments of affliction and woe, sudden relief. It was a welcomed chance to coast and pull over.

Here racers got to race. Given this opportunity to throw down a real "on your mark, get set, go," while many elected to pull over, throw their bikes down and sit down on the grass, unsure whether to cry, or vomit.

WW l fighter plane engine.

Others began to sprint, while team mates got on their wheel, and held on.

It was not long before the fast were tired, the slow had recovered, and all attention was focused on traveling on the open road to the Pearson Air Museum.

Just a mile away down hill on beautiful streets recently paved with top dollar asphalt, the team's lack of experience keeping themselves alive on a bicycle went unpunished by the desolate roads, and