Monster Track, The Race

Monster Track...the one and only fixed gear mayhem alley cat had it's main race through the streets of Manhattan and ended up in Willy B. Brookyln. There were about 200 riders who started the race at Marcus Garvey Park, Harlem (124th). The race details were not posted online accept for a few hints on bike forums, otherwise the participants had to have gone to Capone's bar the night before or connect with someone in the know, adding to the challenge of this seven year old race. People came from all over the world, Japan, Australia, Berlin, Philly, DC, just to name a few. This race sets the tone for the year and establishes the street cred of the fastest male and female in the urban street racing season. The start to the first checkpoint at 23rd and Broadway was a 100 block sprint with most riders sticking together and bombing 5th Ave all the way from 110th. Along the way there were a few spills including the man with the helmet cam, Lucus Brunelle crashing around the 60's, due to wind. Alfred Bobo Jr, co-captian of NYC's team puma, who won the event last year was first into the check point with close rivals directly behind. The main pack came in a few minutes latter mobbing the checkpoint people. After most of the riders came through the NYPD saw a bunch of bikes and assumed something bad was going on. Two officers got out of their squad car at the flatiron building, the most photographed site in the world and demanded to know what was going on. Finding no real illegalities they began to make shit up..."ah, your blocking traffic, ah, do you have a film permit? Ok, everyone has to leave." Trying not to laugh to hard at the pigs fumbling for excuses to stop something they knew nothing about we polietly disbursed as the riders raced on to the other Manhattan checkpoints. There were two stops in Brooklyn, one at the new King Kog, bike shop and the finish at the Rock star bar. One cat, slipped on a banana peel at king kog and was taken to the hospital. Everyone gathered at Rock star bar for gold sprints, beer, an art show and to hear the race results.

Race results...

1st Male Rider: Alfred Bobo Jr, Team Puma
2nd Male Rider Andy White, from Sydney Australia
3rd Male Rider Felipe Robayo from team Puma (who won monster track in 2004)

3rd Place Female: Dagger

1st Out of Town Female Meridith, DC
1st Out of Town Male: Fergus

Best Crash The Polish Hammer, (Got T-boned and hit a windshield, was wearing a helmet)

The race organizers said something about next year Monster track is going to be in Mexico city, we shall see.