Do you find any irony that the spectators need a PED (entertainment enhancing intoxicant, actually) to enjoy the events?
Mark Weber
2013-08-07 09:56:11
Wagering and fantasy teams help as well..
The Cyclist
2013-08-07 10:17:59
Why does this make me think of clowns with big red noses riding funny bicycles in circles in a circus?
Niki
2013-08-07 10:20:15
Don’t forget Edwardsville Rotary Criterium - http://edwardsvillecriterium.com/
I know you have raced this one before - who could forget the infamous riding with a jagged seat post.
jza
2013-08-07 10:38:50
Beer…and gambling. People love gambling, bike racing is a great sport to bet on.
Franz
2013-08-07 11:38:02
The Moline Criterium had beer. It was successful in the late 80s with lots of spectators. They moved to a new location and I don’t think they have beer anymore. Do they have many spectators now?
Franz - No, Rock Island isn’t close to Moline. I was going to use Moline as a great example, but it has been gone too long for everyone to relate.
Jed- Monday is the normal continuation of the weekend races, so Monday Nite Worlds instead of Tuesday Nite Worlds.
SB
2013-08-07 14:25:31
Dude. Hold your phone level / landscape when taking video.
This reminded me of two beer and cycling scenes, which both fell into the “didn’t see that coming” category.
One, on the first night of the first year of SFTT, spectators dressed to the nines in evening attire drinking beer and watching the twilight crits in the Blue Dome District. Turns out they had all just left the downtown Performing Arts Center a block away where the Lion King was playing, stumbled onto the races and decided to stay.
Second, Belgians drinking Bud Light at CX worlds in Louisville. Go figure.
Malcolm McCollam, Executive Director, Saint Francis Tulsa Tough
Touriste-Routier
2013-08-07 16:36:51In reply to 1speed
Actually, in most states it is! It is often a criminal violation to have an open container or to drink alcohol in unlicensed public spaces. It may not have a “victim”, but that doesn’t make it legal. Not that I like the law…
Ben Morris
2013-08-07 19:48:59
The Downer Ave. race during ToAD has also been quite successful with the block party/bike race vibe
Geriatric Racer
2013-08-08 09:07:02
Gene Dixon is the devil, I think I may still be waiting on a $12 check from 1992. I hear you on the crap shoot, here’s to plowing headlong into the GA Theater in the rain. Now that was a reason to drink
redzing
2013-08-09 00:33:07
Moline seems to be the classic example of a primarily blue-collar and non-cycling fan base watching what was back then a very underground substrate of American culture line up 100 deep on expensive Italian bikes, and crash into narrow corners at 30 miles an hour. I did it twice, as a junior and senior, and still is the benchmark for all hell and brimfire crit racing out there. And, if I remember correctly, it was either 40 degrees and raining or 120. We all took it dead seriously as sport–the fans fetishiized the whole affair with their drunkenness . . . In essence–this is the kind of thing the sport needs!
Charles Dostale
2013-08-11 21:10:57
The Moline race was in the Belgian part of town. The Belgian Center was behind the announcer’s stand. There is a large number of people in the area of Belgian decent. I think there were at least three bars on the main finishing straight, plus the VFW hall. The Belgian Village on one of the corners has one of the best Reuben sandwiches ever.
Extra points for those that remember when the Moline race had a brick section on the back side, with a manhole cover set in a concrete square raised about an inch above the level of the bricks.
seis_pendejos
2013-08-07 09:47:11
Do you find any irony that the spectators need a PED (entertainment enhancing intoxicant, actually) to enjoy the events?
Mark Weber
2013-08-07 09:56:11
Wagering and fantasy teams help as well..
The Cyclist
2013-08-07 10:17:59
Why does this make me think of clowns with big red noses riding funny bicycles in circles in a circus?
Niki
2013-08-07 10:20:15
Don’t forget Edwardsville Rotary Criterium - http://edwardsvillecriterium.com/ I know you have raced this one before - who could forget the infamous riding with a jagged seat post.
jza
2013-08-07 10:38:50
Beer…and gambling. People love gambling, bike racing is a great sport to bet on.
Franz
2013-08-07 11:38:02
The Moline Criterium had beer. It was successful in the late 80s with lots of spectators. They moved to a new location and I don’t think they have beer anymore. Do they have many spectators now?
1speed
2013-08-07 12:51:50
Not just for spectators! Participants too … hand-ups are not a crime!
jed schneider
2013-08-07 13:27:46
@steve, what do people do on mondays now that tuesday is the new monday?
Steve Tilford
2013-08-07 14:12:30
Franz - No, Rock Island isn’t close to Moline. I was going to use Moline as a great example, but it has been gone too long for everyone to relate. Jed- Monday is the normal continuation of the weekend races, so Monday Nite Worlds instead of Tuesday Nite Worlds.
SB
2013-08-07 14:25:31
Dude. Hold your phone level / landscape when taking video.
Malcolm McCollam
2013-08-07 15:11:30
This reminded me of two beer and cycling scenes, which both fell into the “didn’t see that coming” category. One, on the first night of the first year of SFTT, spectators dressed to the nines in evening attire drinking beer and watching the twilight crits in the Blue Dome District. Turns out they had all just left the downtown Performing Arts Center a block away where the Lion King was playing, stumbled onto the races and decided to stay. Second, Belgians drinking Bud Light at CX worlds in Louisville. Go figure. Malcolm McCollam, Executive Director, Saint Francis Tulsa Tough
Touriste-Routier
2013-08-07 16:36:51 In reply to 1speed
Actually, in most states it is! It is often a criminal violation to have an open container or to drink alcohol in unlicensed public spaces. It may not have a “victim”, but that doesn’t make it legal. Not that I like the law…
Ben Morris
2013-08-07 19:48:59
The Downer Ave. race during ToAD has also been quite successful with the block party/bike race vibe
Geriatric Racer
2013-08-08 09:07:02
Gene Dixon is the devil, I think I may still be waiting on a $12 check from 1992. I hear you on the crap shoot, here’s to plowing headlong into the GA Theater in the rain. Now that was a reason to drink
redzing
2013-08-09 00:33:07
Moline seems to be the classic example of a primarily blue-collar and non-cycling fan base watching what was back then a very underground substrate of American culture line up 100 deep on expensive Italian bikes, and crash into narrow corners at 30 miles an hour. I did it twice, as a junior and senior, and still is the benchmark for all hell and brimfire crit racing out there. And, if I remember correctly, it was either 40 degrees and raining or 120. We all took it dead seriously as sport–the fans fetishiized the whole affair with their drunkenness . . . In essence–this is the kind of thing the sport needs!
Charles Dostale
2013-08-11 21:10:57
The Moline race was in the Belgian part of town. The Belgian Center was behind the announcer’s stand. There is a large number of people in the area of Belgian decent. I think there were at least three bars on the main finishing straight, plus the VFW hall. The Belgian Village on one of the corners has one of the best Reuben sandwiches ever. Extra points for those that remember when the Moline race had a brick section on the back side, with a manhole cover set in a concrete square raised about an inch above the level of the bricks.