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An Unfamilar Place for a Weeklong Race
April 8, 2010The life of aspiring professional bike riders seems glamorous on the surface: nice bikes, cool wheels, and all the energy bars and gels you can eat. Getting from race to race is one thing, but sleeping in a bed for much-needed rest is another. Hotel costs add up, and for smaller teams, it’s simply not in the budget. For teams like Treads.com/DFT, host housing has been a blessing in disguise. Megan Hottman, director of the Treads.com/DFT women’s cycling team (and 2005 Nature Valley Grand Prix top amateur), explains how crucial host housing is to a team of cyclists:
Staying with a host family is one of the things I love most about bike racing. We racers will arrive at an event, get our packets and then make our way to a total stranger’s house, where invariably they open their homes and hearts to us during the duration of the event. The incredible part is the immediate level of comfort racers feel with their host families, despite the fact that everyone involved are total strangers! In my experience, my host families have made me feel comfortable and welcomed. Most often, when the event has concluded, relationships with those host families are formed and those bonds last for years and years, often resulting in our stays on an annual basis with the same family!
Some outside the sport might say “staying with a total stranger in a strange house at a major event? That’s crazy! What if the house is dirty? What if the hosts are unfriendly?” I can honestly say these concerns have never been a reality with the hosts we have stayed with. Instead, we’ve been greeted in clean homes, with race-appropriate meals and wonderful accommodations. Often an entire team will stay in one home and to say that we “Take the place over” is an understatement. Yet the host families make us feel as though they can’t wait to see us again next year.
The monetary value of having host housing available to racers cannot be overstated. The money that a racer or team can save by staying in a host home versus paying for a hotel room is significant. Host housing can make or break a team’s budgetary analysis of a particular event. To house a team of 5-8 racers plus staff at a hotel during a stage race would likely cost a team several thousand dollars. They don’t allow the entire team to interact in one area. The benefit of host housing, beyond the cost savings and relationships that are formed, is that the racers can enjoy some of the comforts of their own home (Hotel rooms don’t have kitchens or washers and dryers!) and those comforts are really important to racers in the midst of a grueling event!
There’s really nothing like host housing. It takes strangers who have nothing in common except for love of the sport, and combines them in a very intimate environment over a period of days. At the conclusion of the event, the racers and the host family have bonded. The racers feel a deeper connection to the community where the event is hosted. The hosts feel a deeper connection to the sport and can say they invested in the growth of their home town cycling event. I highly recommend host housing over a hotel to any racer and I am so grateful to all of the homes that have housed me in years past!
The 2010 Nature Valley Grand Prix is still actively looking for host housing. If you want more information about host housing, check out the information form and FAQ section at http://www.naturevalleybicyclefestival.com/Volunteer/HostHousing/tabid/139/Default.aspx
