My 2010 license.I lost my old license number in the reshuffle when I took advantage of the USCF's 13 month license. See, when you renewed your license, it was effective right now, and they counted the next 12 months as your license period. You could renew at, say, Bethel, in March, and your license would expire at the end of April the following year.
Then, in April, or May if you wanted to play it close, you could renew your license. Now it would be good through June.
I realized that I'd go about six years, renewing in March, April, May, June, July, August, and then I could skip renewing for seven months, waiting until March to renew again. After six years I'd get one year free, so to speak.
Since I plan long term, I decided that'd be my goal.
Six years later, when my license expired at the end of that one September, I didn't bother to renew. I'd get another license in March and start all over again.
Of course that's the year they switched to the B-series of license numbers (previously they were L-series). My L25664 became B31337.
I felt extremely disappointed that I lost out on getting a lower number. One of my teammates had an L number in the 1300 range, another in the 1900 range (they were racing when the USCF came into being).
For us long time racers our license number was a badge of honor. We could look at new racers with a 120,xxx number and know that they started racing only recently. My 25,xxx number wasn't that low, but it was low for a guy that wasn't doing Masters races.
(It was also something to look at when you're bored on a long drive to a race. I had two teammates that had consecutive license numbers but they got their licenses in different states. So, who out there is 31336 and 31338?)
My 31337 seemed awfully high. But as a friendly soul pointed out (in the original post), the number has a meaning.
Then, in April, or May if you wanted to play it close, you could renew your license. Now it would be good through June.
I realized that I'd go about six years, renewing in March, April, May, June, July, August, and then I could skip renewing for seven months, waiting until March to renew again. After six years I'd get one year free, so to speak.
Since I plan long term, I decided that'd be my goal.
Six years later, when my license expired at the end of that one September, I didn't bother to renew. I'd get another license in March and start all over again.
Of course that's the year they switched to the B-series of license numbers (previously they were L-series). My L25664 became B31337.
I felt extremely disappointed that I lost out on getting a lower number. One of my teammates had an L number in the 1300 range, another in the 1900 range (they were racing when the USCF came into being).
For us long time racers our license number was a badge of honor. We could look at new racers with a 120,xxx number and know that they started racing only recently. My 25,xxx number wasn't that low, but it was low for a guy that wasn't doing Masters races.
(It was also something to look at when you're bored on a long drive to a race. I had two teammates that had consecutive license numbers but they got their licenses in different states. So, who out there is 31336 and 31338?)
My 31337 seemed awfully high. But as a friendly soul pointed out (in the original post), the number has a meaning.
Yeah baby.Those case badges look kind of interesting though. I have a couple, plain ones, but the interesting ones... They could be used as seat tube badges.
Hm.
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3 comments:
31337 = ELEET
Oh right. I'm not the haxor, I'm the elite. Heh.
I still have my old L-series number: 22126!
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