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Red Hook No-Brake Bike Race Ends With No Fatalities!
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 30, 2009
Modified Mar 30, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 30, 2009
Modified Mar 30, 2009
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Well, whaddaya know: An unauthorized track bike race on slick Red Hook streets Saturday night ended with zero crashes, injuries or arrests. Proof that it's still possible to have a little reckless fun in this town was demonstrated by some two dozen cyclists who raced their brakeless bikes around a three-quarter-mile course at 11 p.m. Colin Moynihan covered the so-called Red Hook Criterium for the Times, and reports that after a half hour, 24-year-old management consultant Neil Bezdek finished in the number 1 slot. But the absence of spectacular pileups makes this video from the race sort of boring, and even the NYPD presence didn't add any drama to the evening. Organizer David August Trimble tells Bike Blog NYC, "By the end of the night [the police] were some of the most enthusiastic spectators. The cop stationed in turn 1 would honk his horn each lap and command us to 'DIG' over the loud speaker." Cyclists and NYPD peacefully co-existing? What's next, cats and dogs living together? Mass hysteria?
Tagged
bike race
criterium
red hook
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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