Look for us in the fall of 2019
Dear Medicine of Cycling Conference goers and supporters,
After 8 glorious years of evolving and growing, we wanted to take a breath this year. This is the right time to take stock of what we've accomplished and make decisions about what we hope to do in the next 8 years.
Our initial work centered on providing coordinated care for professional cyclists. It was a lofty idea which quickly became obviously impossible, so instead we decided to improve overall knowledge about cycling related conditions through a CME style conference. We threw together our first conference in 2010 in just about 4 months, and held it at a newly acquired bar at USA Cycling. The conference was magic, and we were hooked to improve the little slice of world through the newly minted Medicine of Cycling.
The bar was dismantled and we held the next 3 conferences at US Olympic Center. We welcomed many interesting guests including great cyclists, the former UCI president Pat McQuaid, international team doctors, and always a crew of wonderful students and trainees who would go on to become our colleagues. We formed a strong working relationship with USA Cycling, supported by their staff and leadership throughout the various stages of conference and project planning.
During those early conferences, a team of amazing clinicians came together to write the concussion guidelines and short form brain injury cards now translated and used by so many in the cycling world.
Another group of clinicians formed the training epicenter of hands on emergency management for those who wanted to better serve in race communities. Such training is typically reserved for trauma surgeons and is often prohibitively expensive. The MECC team transformed the training to include EMTs with life-like mannequins, pigs feet for realistic suturing, and specialized equipment to work with.
One of the most amazing and gratifying MOC accomplishments came in the collaborative work of bike fit professionals. Bike fit underwent transformation from closed door silos to boisterous teams of experts teaching and learning to improve upon each area of person and bike. The bike fit group crossed all disciplines, company lines, and national borders to form it's own network of professional analysts.
In 2013 we put together a mini-medical school for the public through UCSF, available for anyone to see on UCTV detailing the cycling related medical issues. These talks received well over a million views. We're repeating this mini-medical school February through April this year to give more information for the cycling community to stay well and well informed.
MOCC returned to USA Cycling's new conference hall in 2014 and at the same time welcomed the researchers in cycling related sciences. Research in cycling is challenging and poorly funded. Those doing this research need a platform and support system to challenge the assumptions we have about cycling.
The conference, research work, and all aspects of MOC have continued to evolve and grow. The organizers, volunteers, USA Cycling staff, and many of our attendees became friends we look forward to seeing at the conferences and chancing upon throughout the year. The community that formed around a shared passion is something we look forward to at least as much as the conference content.
This year, we are challenging ourselves to do something bold. We want to transform MOC into a medical society to meet the needs of those who are part of this community. This community is diverse and has vastly different needs and interests. We look to you for input and possible involvement in MOC as we start to plan for the 2019 conference.