Ultramarathon Cycling's Demographic Problem

The author rides the Davis Double, circa 1985.

Ultramarathon cycling is aging, and unless the sport somehow convinces younger riders to take up the sport, demographics will catch up with our beloved double centuries and randonneuring events with disastrous consequences.

That's the unfortunate message that can be gleaned from the stats for riders in ultradistance cycling events.

Example: Statistics published by the California Triple Crown, which for 24 years has tracked the average age of the riders who finish the CTC series each year (completing at least three 200-mile "double century" rides). When the CTC started in 1990, the average age of a finisher in the series was 35. By 2013, the average age has risen to almost 51.

The figure mirrors the demographics for members of Randonneurs USA, the US organization for randonneuring. RUSA's members average 49.76 years of age; male RUSA members are slightly older (50.19), while female RUSA members are slightly younger (47.80).

Statistics for Paris-Brest-Paris, the most famous long-distance event in the worldwide randonneuring circuit, tell a similar story. In the most recent running of PBP in 2011, the average age of a finisher was 48.7 years of age. Male finishers in 2011 averaged 49.0; females 45.4.

The median age in the US in 2013, by comparison, is 37.1. The average age of U.S. men in 2013, by the way, is even lower--35.8 years.

Using that measure (because ultramarathon cyclists are overwhelmingly male), the average age of a long-distance cyclist is almost 16 years older than men as a whole in the U.S.

Why is this? It's probably true that other types of cycling--mountain biking, racing, etc.--appeal more to younger riders and attract younger participants. Long-distance cycling demands a measure of endurance and patience that many younger cyclists don't have. It's also expensive--the average double century now costs more than $100 to enter, and most require travel and overnight stays. All told, one ride can easily cost $500 or more. Many of the younger cyclists that we know can't afford that kind of scratch.

The author at the 2013 Davis Double

But that doesn't explain why the CTC managed to attract such a young crowd in 1990 (35 years of age, at a time when the US median age was 32.9). What was different then that a group of riders almost half the age as the current crop took part in the events? And what can CTC--and other ultramarathon groups--do to bring younger riders into the fold?

There are some bright spots. In 1990, the CTC had only 33 finishers. Last year (this year's season isn't over yet), there were 515. That's partly due to the larger number of double centuries to choose from (just six in 1990 and 24 this year), and partly due to the growing awareness of the series. Still, CTC participation peaked in 2007 with 555 finishers, and has exceeded 500 only two years since then.

We're interested in your take on this issue. Let us know what you would to do increase participation in ultramarathon cycling in the comments below.

Lee Mitchell Update

Lee Mitchell

Friends of Lee Mitchell will be glad to know that he was back again today at his traditional corner marshall spot on the Davis Double Century. I spotted Lee as I was making the right turn onto Road 89 and stopped to talk with him for a minute. Dressed in his usual Santa outfit, he looked good, but he was clearly tired. Rather than his usual "sign twirler" antics, he was sitting down on a red bucket, waving his flag to direct the riders.

Lee explained that he was about five weeks past a seven-week stint of chemotherapy that had wreaked havoc on his system. The treatments had left him too weak to stand at the corner, in fact too weak to drive out from his home in Woodland--his son had driven the Bike Van.

But ... Lee's spirits were good. He was happy to be there, happy to see the riders, happy to be part of yet another bike event.

I left Lee with wishes for a full recovery. I hope to see him again next year at the same corner ... maybe even dancing again.

Recapping Our Bike Choice for Davis Double Century #30

As readers of this blog may know, I selected my original production Quickbeam to ride my 30th Davis Double Century this past weekend. I've always enjoyed riding the QB, which aside from a very brief period with a Sturmey-Archer 8-speed hub, has always been a fixed gear.

My Quickbeam at about mile 175

For the DC this year, I changed up the QB a bit, spinning a one-speed White Industries freewheel onto the Sturney-Archer S3X three-speed-fixed-gear hub that was already on the bike. To deal with the larger cog size (standard single-speed freewheels don't come smaller than 16T), I also put a 44T chainring on the stock SR crankset.

First thought about this setup: It works great. Shifting was flawless, and the hub is absolutely silent while pedaling. By comparison, the 8-speed hub made clicking noise while pedaling, while coasting … all the time. It was a bit annoying. The S3X also locks up the internals in the top gear (1:1 drive), making it very efficient. I'm hoping that, since there are no pawls inside the hub, it should be even more reliable than a standard 3-speed hub.  (The middle and low gears, by the way, are 75% and 60% of the top gear. On Saturday's ride, the climbing never got steeper than about 10%, and even then just for short pitches. I dropped into the middle gear a few times, but I did more than 90% of the ride in a 44x16 gear.)

Second thought is how nice it was to have 700x28 tires. There are about 4 miles of hard-packed gravel road on the DC route this year, which gave me no trouble at all. I can imagine some of the go-fast guys out there next week for the official ride struggling with 700x20 tires.

I'm planning to change out the crankset to one with a 46T ring this week, which will address a minor issue of being spun out at fast cruising speeds with the 44x16. I'll report back on that.

In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying the QB in its latest incarnation. With fenders, a Schmidt hub, great lighting, and now gears and coasting, this is a great randonneuring machine.

More Davis Double Campy-Equipped Memories

The 1991 Davis Double Century was cold and wet, but that didn't deter your faithful CampyOnlyGuy (in the days before he was the CampyOnlyGuy) from completing a circuit of the 200-mile course. We've been delving into our photo archives, and here are a few shots from the '91 edition of the ride. (More photos after the break.)

Photo: Litto's Hubcap Ranch, 1991

29 Times Around the Davis Double Century Course

If you're reading the blog, you are invited to join me for my 29th time around the Davis Double Century course this coming weekend. I'll be riding my 1973 Motobecane Grand Record, equipped with a snazzy gold anodized Campy BMX crankset (photo below).

If you want to ride with me, plan to leave the start at 5:15 and arrive back about 14 hours later. A little slower than some, but if you stick with me I guarantee you'll finish–I have never DNFed on the DC.