According to Twilight Series race organizer, Frank Grillo, the Elk Street Terminal track is a go for the month of August. Despite lackluster weather in June, the Thursday evening races have been very successful with large racer turnouts. Last Thursday a few of us were lucky enough to be invited to one of the lofts in the Elk Terminal to watch the action. I’m happy to report that it was a breeze getting in and out of the complex during race time, and the view from the terminal deck was perfect. From Frank Grillo:
“The August dates are a go. I spoke to The City today and they approved them. Every Thursday in August we will race. I will start planning now. One of my goals is to put on a fixed gear race in-between the A and B race. I will try it out at the first race on August 6th and if it goes well will do it again on the 20th. I know there are a good number of fixies in the city and I would like to include them in the series. On the 13th and 27th we will do a kids race between the A and B race.”
Speaking of the fixed gear community, check out this photo of gearhead Matt Cole showing off in front of City Hall. The photo was taken by Clark Dever who has a show coming up at Grant Street Gallery. From Clark:
“The photo of Matt was a composite of 5 or so frames (count the Matts to find out how many frames) done in photoshop. Basically, he did the trick and I shot a burst of frames as he flew by. He’s an amazingly talented rider.”
It would be so nice to see a relationship develop between the Cobblestone Crit and the fixed gear community. It’s also interesting to see some of the young kids from the Perry Projects coming out to see the race (see below). Hopefully they will be some of our future racers down the road. Hey, if bike racing looks cool, and there’s plenty of exposure and volunteers to answer questions, then you’ll have kids asking and learning what it takes to be a pro. It looked like they were asking plenty of questions during the last race. All in all, this race series has accomplished a great deal for cycling in the city. For more on the races, click here.