tarnished silver

in march of 2009, granny gear productions sent a letter, excerpts of which follows:

The timing of Kevin’s offer to sell could not have been better. There’s a real opportunity here for everyone. Kevin will have more time with his family (and on his bike), Granny Gear has a new shining-star event to incorporate into The 24 Hour National Point Series, and 24-9 racers and fans will get to see the race taken to whole new level....Now, as part of Granny Gear’s 24 Hour National Point Series, 24-9 will continue to be a go-to event for top solos and teams from all over the country...We are grateful for the patronage and good energy that 24-hour racers bring to our events and we are so looking forward to hosting 24-9 in its eleventh year and beyond. Best wishes for an awesome 2009 race season. See you at 9 Mile!

this was sent yesterday:

Dear Granny Gear Racers, Fans, Industry Titans, and Media,

As you may have heard, I will be idling both the 24 Hours of Big Bear and the 24 Hours of 9-Mile and running The 24 Hours of Moab as our only 2010 event. I apologize that you may not have heard this from Granny Gear first. Its premature release will no doubt generate many rumors and unanswered questions and I hope to set the record straight here.

This has been a tough decision. I know how disappointed folks are going to be. For myself, I was really excited to have the USA Cyling 24-hour Nationals come home to West Virginia and I know there was a lot of excitement about this. Likewise, we had wonderful experience at 9-Mile last year and we were so looking forward to seeing the event continue and grow this year. But last year we were robbing Peter to pay Paul all year long and at the end of the year I had to borrow money to pay remaining Moab expenses. I simply can't afford to do that again. I made efforts to bridge the gap with extra sponsorships and I had some commitments in place but I didn't muster enough to move forward with confidence.

As we move ahead, I'm looking forward to having the time and energy to make this year's 24 Hours of Moab one of the best events we've ever produced. And, I will be hitting the re-set button on both 24 Hours of Big Bear and 24 Hours of 9-Mile for 2011. With the lead-time to put marketing and sponsorship programs in-place and the commitment of participants to put a renewed effort into building attendance, both of these events will be able to return and be successful.

how can a national championship caliber event, an event that people so look forward to in the region, get shut down in a year?

i guess that is rhetorical.