the only thing he could legitimately  claim it's safer than is an alley cat

went to watch saturday night.  i was bored and cold....except for a few moments when the pack came screaming through a particularly poorly constructed chicane with an unprotected curb.......and that just made me wince and not want to watch.

i had more fun riding through prospect park sunday morning with my son on the way to soccer, and stopping to watch the P/1/2/3 field come past a few times....

@eloy, the media coverage and spectatorship is due to the prevalance of crashes. This is not a gateway to the greater sport. This is a degeneration of it.

The mainstream loves crashes. It's barbaric. It's our lizard brain. It's fucking thunderdome, stop kidding yourself.

I'm not pissed off because of the coverage or Trimble's success. I'm pissed off because people are there to see people get hurt. That's what the sport is to them. I'm pissed off because rider peril, not safety, is the priority.

Open your eyes.

I understand your point of view. Of course there are people that like the race because it is gnarly, it is part of the spectacle, and was appropriately part of the report -- hardcore, badass, said Kacey with the sweetest smile.

The media also loves the race because it is unique, a little crazy, and completely fun. It has a great story.

While I was there, I saw hundreds of twenty somethings ride bikes just to see the race. It is obvious there is a market, there are new young kids ready, craving for sport. It puts this event squarely in the solution column. 

I am ok if you don't agree. The amount of crashes that I saw Saturday will be about the same we'll see at Harlem or any such crit race.

The racing I saw was awesome and honestly moving.

a lot of the videos i see posted are just like this:  http://www.jc-ramirez.com/street-life/red-hook-crit-2015-brooklyn

it's actually a very nice piece that conveys the beauty of the race (though, only the men's race for some reason)

and....then the heart of it becomes clear:  the final frames are 3 perspectives of the same gnarly crash.  it ends with the crash, and we never find out who won.  after all, for the average RHC fan, the winner is really beside the point.

Looking at some of the images in Instagram after the race, I cringed. Based on what I saw there, most of the interest was in the blood and carnage, not the athleticism. This race is an Urban Outfitters brand of MMA. I want to love this race, but I just can't. If you gave these bikes brakes and made it safer, I don't think as many people would care. 

Ugh, that's terrible.

"All part of cycling" #TrackorDieNYC

style points for the cross remounts by the guys who were able to get going again

I was there. Everyone was cheering on the racers and talking about the race itself. The crowd did not come off the least bit bloodthirsty. This is honestly bizarre for me to hear because it has no discernible relationship to what I see there year after year. 

Al set up a course this year that was the safest one yet. Scroll up for the map through the Cruise Terminal section. The curb (identified by bright cones) in Turn 8 was the only tricky spot riders went through at speed. I honestly enjoy watching this race and I feel energized by all the folks from my community who also enjoy it.

Also, I agree with Trimble about its safety relative to park races. Dunno, I just see a lot of broken bones in those races too, week in, week out. Even when you ONLY look at Kissena, it's nearly one per month. 

I Don't know if anybody here has or wants to race red hook this year but I am definitely doing it, If anybody does plan on racing we should plan on training for this !! HIT ME UPP  
APRIL 30TH IS THE DAY! 

Good luck!

Thanks ! I look forward to racing again hopefully this time its top 10 *fingers crossed*

Top 10 at Red Hook is no joke. Go get it!

@EvelynDeLaRosa I don't plan on entering but have just joined the club and have only got a track bike for now happy to do some training for it though.

James, the license should be easy.  I'm going to send you an email now with more info!

While you could not pay me to race this, I will be there to gawk and cheer again this year.

@JillSink
 pardon my delayed response!! yes I will be racing i cant wait 

Dude! So excited! We'll get together a Kissena cheer squad! 

yay im gonna need all the support  

Hope all our Kissena's made it through unscathed.

Nothing says "amateur race promoter" like letting minors race without consent or putting a fucking moto in front of the hole shot.

Jules said:

Hope all our Kissena's made it through unscathed.

Nothing says "amateur race promoter" like letting minors race without consent or putting a fucking moto in front of the hole shot.

https://instagram.com/p/BE2Qy4Cs9QF/embed/

This was so knarly to see. It happened directly across from where I was standing. Everybody was saying the moto stalled or had some type of mechanical. Really, really shitty. One guy went away on a stretcher. Feel bad for the racers who had their race ruined within seconds of starting.

Then the race got pushed back by an hour because they didn't have enough emergency staff / vehicles on course, so the racers lost some of the crowd too. It took so long Karla and I went home, put on heavier jackets and came back.

There was a scary crash in the womens final with one to go. Apparently Chelsea, who's a Redbeard rider / ambassador was involved. Hope she's ok.

I hope everyone recovers and is in racing shape ASAP.  Sadly, I'm never surprised that there are ugly crashes when fixed-gears with no brakes take to a pretty small closed off crit course...call me a boring 'fraidy-cat, but I think the whole premise is ridiculous.  Races with big fields in small spaces are dangerous enough when people do have brakes.  I wonder how much of that damage could have been mitigated if people had the ability to brake more quickly as they saw a pileup in front of them. 

@Brendan I think half the problem is many are newbs and aren't used to riding fixed wheel without brakes. Time and time again you see people go the high side as they attempt to freewheel through a tight corner.  

I'm with Brendan on this one. Trimble is paying for his promotional dollars with other people's blood. It's both stupid an immoral.

There is plenty wrong with USAC but category cohorts for races is not on the list.

I've boycotted the race ever since Trimbal let a minor race with questionable parental consent (to be generous) and the consequences were catastrophic.