The July 4th race is one of New York City's "Grand Slam" alleycats, including Halloween, Monster Track, and Rumble Through the Bronx. Victor coordinated an array of prizes for the top finishers & had the race start in Williamsburg at the second annual Bike Fetish Day.
46 racers came from the crowds of fetishists to mount their singlespeeds & roadbikes for a lengthy trek through Brooklyn & Manhattan, performing odd tasks at checkpoints, like breakdancing & waiting three minutes for an individual egg timer to run out. Apparently, at the waiting time checkpoint, some people couldn't take the pause, and bailed, ending their race. At the breakdancing checkpoint, the world is a worse place because no one was videotaping it. When else will you ever get to see Squid & Carlos doing the worm, while Ellen rocks a handstand behind them and Cali's busting out a windmill? Never. That's when.
Back at the finish line, we waited for the first person to come through. And waited. And waited. Normally, alleycats end between 45 minutes and an hour. 45 minutes passed. An hour passed. An hour & 15 mintues passed. This was a long race. Several Brooklyn Checkpoints, then through Manhattan up to the King's Throne on 102nd St. 15 checkpoints in all. The entire time, we kept hearing scattered reports. Pablo was in the lead. Carlos was in the lead. Cali & Squid were just leaving. All of 'em were racing together. No one knew what to expect.
Then, an hour & a half after the race began, Carlos comes bombing down Grand St, rocking a stylish black bib & hammering his road bike. He wanted this so bad, he couldn't even stop at the end...even *with* brakes. He came careening around the corner of Bike Fetish Day, and had to crash into a parked car before handing his manifest over. His secret for winning, he tells me, was "Beer, Sleep, and Breakfast."
The rest of the competitors then started filing in, one at a time. First Cali, then Yatika, Squid, and Paul Chunk rounding out the top 5. Monster Track winner Ellen again defends her "fastest girl on the streets" title, coming in 7th overall. "I'd rather place with the men than win for the women," she says. 7th place is pretty damn good then. Marco from Philadelphia took first out of town, 11th overall. He calls himself "Mr. 4th place," having always been that guy that consistently *almost* gets top three.
Check out some of Amy Bolger's Photos
| first name | last name | city | racer # | gender | bike type | duration | |
| 1 | CHARLOS | DIABLO | NYC | 7 | M | RD | 1:31:27 |
| 2 | DIRTY | CALI | NYC | 66 | M | RD | 1:33:46 |
| 3 | YATIKA | FIELDS | NYC | 52 | M | TR | 1:34:49 |
| 4 | KEVIN | BOLGER | NYC | 20 | M | TR | 1:35:23 |
| 5 | PAUL | CHUNK | NYC | 11 | M | TR | 1:43:11 |
| 6 | DAN | CHABANOI | NYC | 10 | M | TR | 1:43:27 |
| 7 | ELLEN | FEDORS | NYC | 65 | F | RD | 1:44:11 |
| 8 | PABLO | AIRALDI | NYC | 42 | M | TR | 1:52:17 |
| 9 | JONATHAN | BECK | NYC | 57 | M | RD | 1:57:32 |
| 10 | MARCO | CUEACY | PHILLY | 6 | M | TR | 1:57:52 |
| 11 | ANDREW | C-O | NYC | 78 | M | TR | 2:00:02 |
| 12 | MARK | SIMPSON | NYC | 74 | M | TR | 2:06:31 |
| 13 | HEIDI | GOODSON | NYC | 15 | F | TR | 2:10:40 |
| 14 | NIKI | YOSHIUCHI | NYC | 39 | M | TR | 2:11:01 |
| 15 | ELLIS | KIM | NYC | 62 | M | TR | 2:16:39 |
| 16 | NICK | DALTON | NYC | 64 | M | TR | 2:18:28 |
| 17 | JASON | HOWARD | PHILLY | 8 | M | TR | 2:18:51 |
| 18 | KYM | P. | NYC | 40 | F | TR | 2:19:04 |
| 19 | YURI | CANTOR | NYC | 24 | M | TR | 2:24:17 |
| 20 | CYRUS | ANUNDSON | NYC | 60 | M | TR | 2:24:42 |
| 21 | RICH | HOUSE | NYC | 34 | M | TR | 2:30:03 |
| 22 | JOSEF | MORALES | NYC | 16 | M | TR | 2:34:33 |
| 23 | DAGGA | NYC | 36 | F | TR | 2:43:32 | |
| 24 | KELLY | VAZYON | NYC | 18 | F | TR | 2:43:54 |
| 25 | JOHN | ROGERS | MARS | 12 | M | TR | 2:44:44 |
| 26 | HEATHER | MULLER | NYC | 48 | F | TR | 2:49:16 |
| 27 | BEN | ROTHENBERG | NYC | 5 | M | TR | 2:53:59 |
| 28 | JAMES | KELLY | NYC | 67 | M | TR | 2:54:25 |
| 29 | WESLEY | HOFFMAN | NYC | 68 | M | TR | 3:02:32 |
| 30 | NATE | HALSTEAD | NYC | 38 | M | TR | 3:02:41 |
| 31 | IZUWI | KUNEWOTO | NYC | 3 | M | TR | 3:02:46 |
| 32 | SHUSAKU | SHIROYAMA | NYC | 22 | M | TR | DNF |
| 33 | BJ? | NA | NYC | 17 | M | TR | DNF |
| 34 | DAN | CARMONA | NYC | 19 | M | TR | DNF |
| 35 | MIKE | BRENNER | NYC | 32 | M | TR | DNF |
| 36 | BRIAN | EDGAR | WESTFIELD | 37 | M | TR | DNF |
| 37 | OTTO | LOPEZ | NYC | 9 | M | RD | DNF |
| 38 | OREJAS | OREJAS | AUSTIN | 4 | M | RD | DNF |
| 39 | MONICA | GREENWALD | NYC | 46 | F | TR | DNF |
| 40 | JT | HARGROVE | NYC | 47 | M | TR | DNF |
| 41 | SAM | FEATHERGARNER | NYC | 73 | M | RD | DNF |
| 42 | JAMES | MONROE | NYC | 2 | M | TR | DNF |
| 43 | PRENTISS | CAMPBELL | NYC | 79 | M | TR | DNF |
| 44 | RODRIGO | SUAREZ | NYC | 80 | M | RD | DNF |
| 45 | MICHAEL | BRAUNSTEN | NYC | 77 | M | RD | DNF |
| 46 | CHUCK | QUINLAN | MONTREAL | 59 | M | TR | DNF |