DC Alley Cat racing footage

[TwoWheelsDC]

I did an alley cat last summer. It was a lot of fun, but socially speaking it was definitely not my scene. There are quite a few of them throughout the year, with varying degrees of organization and participation. Some are done mostly by the more hardcore messenger types, while others draw lots of bikeDC people and wannabe hipsters who ride solely to do mad skidz.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’m not really a fan, if they are darting into traffic, going the wrong way on streets, riding at fast speeds on sidewalks, etc. I know we aren’t responsible for every cyclist out there, but when people encounter this type of behavior, it hardens attitudes. That increases political resistance to funding bike infrastructure and bikeshare. (I know bikeshare and alleycat racing are completely different worlds, but not in the minds of the hardcore bike haters.) It also makes me a little uneasy if a driver gets angered by this, then tries to take it out on someone else.

[GovernorSilver]

Now that you mention it, I’m surprised this race was done in the daytime, unlike the LA alley cat races, which are done late at night, when all the cycling haters are home in bed or on their couches watching TV.

[Crickey7]

This is really one of the few remnants of the once vibrant messenger scene here in DC. Those who cut their teeth commuting 15-25 years ago when our numbers were small and theirs were much larger remember that it was really them, and not us, who set the tone for cycling in the City. They were the public face, and frankly, it was a pretty raw face.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@Crickey7 123818 wrote:

This is really one of the few remnants of the once vibrant messenger scene here in DC. Those who cut their teeth commuting 15-25 years ago when our numbers were small and theirs were much larger remember that it was really them, and not us, who set the tone for cycling in the City. They were the public face, and frankly, it was a pretty raw face.

Count me in that 15-25 years ago club. I’ve never been a messenger. Then, and now, I kind of get a kick out of someone asking me in the elevator up to my office if I like being a messenger. I assume it’s because I look the part. Not that I smell the part.

[Author]

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