The Radavist

Brooklyn Red Hook Crit No. 9
Photos and words by Chris Lee

The clouds hung very grey and ominous that morning. No surprise since it rained for most of the day prior. Nevertheless, as soon as the announcement was made that qualifying rounds would begin, the sun broke through the clouds and the ninth iteration of the Red Hook Crit was on.

With every year, there seems to be an inevitable metamorphosis. Admittedly, RHC is not the birthday celebration race that it once was. Nowadays, banners of corporate sponsors don the barricades, along with newly acquired bicycle sponsor, Specialized. But the allure and the romance of RHC still remains and the level of competition becoming elevated with every stop. This year brought pro, elite and working class athletes from 48 countries, hungry to represent their team and country on the podium. This was especially true in the women’s field who, in many ways, were the most eager to bring the spotlight to their efforts, which indeed shined brightly.

While this year’s Crit was not without it’s fair share of controversy and bloodshed, a fiercely competitive male and female peloton chose their champions. In the end, Ainara Elbusto, an Italian representing Conor WRC, fought through crashes and sprinted for the win in the women’s race while Colin Strickland, an American representing Allez Allez-Specialized, broke away for a solo win after a devastating crash in the men’s field involving a stalled moto.

Although it’s not certain what the next metamorphosis will look like for the Red Hook Crit. What is certain is that anyone can still earn the top spot on the podium, pro or amateur, which makes this race’s allure even stronger every year.

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The Over Under Red Bull Mini Drome
Photos and interview by Chris Lee

On June 19th, Red Bull hosted its annual Mini Drome race in an industrial neighborhood of Maspeth, New York. In keeping with tradition, the event had no shortage of rave lights, bass pounding DJ sets and Red Bull flowing out of every corner of the room. But unlike years past, this Mini Drome had a twist: a figure 8. Named the “Over/Under”, this miniature velodrome, sporting a cool figure 8 design, is a faster and tighter version of the already infamous “Human Powered Rollercoaster” or “La Ocho”. Teams of two and single participants, called “All Stars”, duked it out for the number one spot on the podium. In the end, team Deluxe Cycles of Brooklyn took home the team title and Red Bull’s own Addison Zawada from Jacksonville, Florida, the individual title.

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the 2015 Red Hook Crit Brooklyn
Photos and words by Chris Lee and Chris Dilts.

This past weekend, racers and spectators gathered for the eighth annual Red Hook Crit. Unlike previous years, this last Saturday provided far more sun and warmth, although racers had to fight against considerable gusts of wind all day.

2015 brought the most diverse field of racers in the history of the Red Hook Crit. With 29 countries represented, it was a melting pot of nationalities staging in the Cruise Terminal, where riders warmed up before the races. Additionally the number of competitors in the women’s field more than doubled from last year, boasting a healthy 79 racers registered.

Like last year, multiple qualifying heats during the day were used to advance and place racers in the two feature races later that night. The men’s field had a new addition of the “Last Chance” race. The “Last Chance” race was a 14 lap crit with the top 10 finishers were added to the feature race.

At the end of the night, Ivan Ravaioli and Ainara Arteaga took home the win, the medals, the custom RHC Cinelli track bike, and the glory.

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Racin’ Bikes in a Junkyard: the Bilenky Junkyard Cross Race
Photos and interview by Chris Lee

For many of the cyclocross racers in the Northeast, December means its finally time to hang up the ‘cross bike and start putting down base miles for road season. Another group however gets geared up for what they consider the most fun on a bike they’ll have all year. Yes, its time for the infamous Bilenky Junkyard Cross race.

Wednesday Night ‘Cross Practice on Randall’s Island, New York City
Photos and interview by Chris Lee

Ride over to soccer field 70 on Randall’s Island in New York City around 7 pm on a Wednesday and you’ll be met with bikes rolling around in grass and dirt, someone yelling “come on you can do it!” and a group of 15 or so racers running drills around cones and trees. This is the home of the weekly ‘cross practices in New York City.

Evan Murphy, a cat 2 cyclocross racer, runs these weekly practices with his teammate, Kyle Murphy, a cat 1 racer, every Wednesday on Randall’s Island. The Murphy “Brothers” bring cones and homemade barriers to run drills and mock races. These practices not only build the skills needed to become a better racer but also helps build a community of racers in a city and in a sport where stepping out of your comfort zone is the name of the game.

2014 East Coast Messenger Stage Race
Words and photos by Chris Lee

It was a warm, sunny day in Washington, DC. Observe the scene at the most southern tip of Hains Point park and you’ll start to see a group of rag tag racers gather near an enormous matte black camper truck. As the racers arrive, they each greet each other with warm hand shakes or even the occasional hug. This is where this year’s East Coast Messenger Stage Race would begin…

The 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Words and photos by Chris Lee

I’m not gonna lie, I’m not very well versed or informed about the mountain bike racing circuit. But I do know about the MTB World Cup and when the announcement that it was going to be making a stop in Windham again, I knew I had to make the trip up…

The NYC Women’s 100 Rapha Ride
Words and photos by Chris Lee

This past Sunday morning, women all over the world took part in Rapha’s Women’s 100 ride. Every year this globally-coordinated event challenges female athletes of all skill types to ride 100km together as a group.

The 2014 All City Championship Weekend: Bandit Cross
Words and photos by Chris Lee

The third and last segment of the All City Championships got off to a wet start. With isolated thunderstorms all morning, racers began to trickle in to the start at One On One.

After a quick briefing of the rules and some last minute instructions, racers ran to their bikes for the le mans start and started knocking out checkpoints from their manifest.
In the end it was David Smith and Chelsea Strate that took the win for men’s and women’s category, respectively.

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The 2014 All City Championship Weekend: Bandit Cross
Words and photos by Chris Lee

The second installment of the All City Championships got started late in the day. 10pm meet up at One On One and a group ride to the start of the fixed gear crit. We (as a group) rolled up to a vacant events lot next to an overpass. It was incredibly dark with only a couple street lights and a big Budweiser billboard illuminating the race course…

Ride Along: Henry Mesias of Send It Courier
Words and photos by Chris Lee

Let’s face it. We bike messengers are trying to keep a dying industry afloat. Please don’t ask us how long its gonna last, because we don’t want to think about it. Some cities have tried (successfully or not) to unionize to help make conditions for messengers on the road better. But this is a long and grueling process that often leads to a lot of fired bikers.

Ride Along: Leah Hollinsworth
Words and photos by Chris Lee

I first met Leah Hollinsworth a few years ago in Chicago, a couple days before the Stupor Bowl. I decided to meet her and a handful of other couriers in Chicago to ride the AmTrak to Minneapolis. What was supposed to be a 6-8 hour train ride turned into something like 14 hours because of winter blizzards and other mayhem that comes with obnoxious snow accumulation in the Midwest. Needless to say, I got to know Leah well during that train ride.

Fast forward to the first weekend of May, 2014: I just crossed over the border into Canada on my way to the 5th annual Mayday alleycat. Mayday is the biggest race that the Toronto courier community throws. It brings racers (courier or not) from all over Canada and even the United States. In addition and even more importantly, this race is a fundraiser for the Bike Messenger Emergency Fund, or BMEF for short. After the race and the parties were all said and done, I met up with Leah to talk a little about her involvement with the BMEF and the Mayday alleycat.

The Messenger’s Guide To New York City: The West Village and Midtown
Standby with Hiromi/Ghost stories and local comfort with Stoned Tone
Words and photos by Chris Lee

In the second installment of The Messenger’s Guide To New York City, I got a chance to have the man behind Boda Boda, Hiromi Bruni show me around. Hiromi was born and raised in the West Village and knows the neighborhood like the back of his hand. We payed respects to the remains of Gray’s Papaya, a hot dog joint that was a fixture in the neighborhood and got some desert at Rocco’s. We went by Dave’s Work Wear, the local’s only one stop shop for work wear. And finally chilled at his favorite midtown standby spots.

Monster Track. The world’s most infamous, dangerous and in my opinion, most significant alleycat. In the 15 years it’s been thrown in New York City, it never ceases to surprise its contenders. There are only a few rules, the most important being two words: NO BRAKES.

Typically, there’s a weeding down process, at the hands of multiple manifests. Everyone starts with one, but only a select few make it to true completion by filling up to three. This year, mother nature smiled on the event, delivering somewhat favorable conditions (when compared to previous years being riddled with rain and snow). At the end of the event, the winners of Monster Track XV were Cooper Ray and Hannah Todd.

On the scene at the event and working the Williamsburg Bridge checkpoint was Chris Lee, who provided a few photos from the event. Check them out in the Gallery!