RACE REPORT: Dead City Alleycat 2021 - Ghosts of the DC Streets
not racing... hosting
this year I got the DCBMA:DC Bicycle Messenger Association's stamp of approval to host The Dead City Alleycat
The Dead City Alleycat is an annual bicycle messenger race that happens around Halloween each year, this event is quite easily best attended of DC bicycle messenger races each year
a few months before the day of I talked with DannyK and Bruce voicing that I was interested in hosting an Alleycat
it was summer and I was thinking late August
but Brian Clark aka Biggs has been hosting an annual event around his birthday in August so that did not work
so then I was offered The Dead City Alleycat
Hell Yes!
what an honor!
to get the DCBMA Approval to host the Dead City Alleycat
not only an honor... but a little pressure as well
I accepted the offer and weighed in the responsibility
in the months leading into the event the ideas of the race played through my head
what would make good check points?
what would be a good theme?
well... the theme is pretty much established... it is The Dead City Alleycat and it happens around Halloween... so Halloween themed... thus I refined it with Ghosts of the DC Streets...
but what would be my check points... how would I design this? where would I take them? what would I ask them to do?
the options are endless... any address or location can be a check point
and the theme... well.. there are as many theme possibilities as there are words in the dictionary
so... I reflected on Alleycats past and points of interest around town...
one location that comes to surface when thinking of a DC Halloween themed Alleycat is The Exorcist Stairs in Georgetown
NO. Hard NO!
I think this was a check point in the Biggs Birthday\Going Away Alleycat in August
and
I used this location in an Alleycat I hosted a few years ago
Andy Zalan once said to me he would never do an Alleycat again in DC that uses the Exorcist Stairs to give you an idea of how popular of a spot this stairs can be for DC Alleycats
FLASHBACK... in a race I hosted a few years back there was a person at the base of the stairs and at the top
these volunteers timed each racer from bottom to top marching the stairs with their bike... winner of that timed check point won a prize... if I remember correctly DannyK took that stage and several other timed stages on that day...
so... no Exorcist Stairs
hmmm... then what?
as said... the check point locations are endless
trying to stay in the Dead City\Halloween theme I thought about cemeteries around town
Congressional Cemetery immediately came to mind
then I thought about Holy Rood in Glover\Park Georgetown
it did not take much deliberation
I had an inkling of my start point and my finish
Congressional Cemetery would not fit into these plans
Holy Rood would... so Holy Rood became one of the first definite in my stops on my route within this day's race
Holy Rood would work perfectly...
unlike so many of the cemeteries in the area with locked gates and visitors' hours
Holy Rood seemed as if it would be accessible in the afternoon into the early evening
not only would Holy Rood be a stop
Holy Rood would become a spot for a timed race within a race
part of the reason Holy Rood was such a quick decision was not only because of the potential start and finish locations
but also because I wanted to do a Timed Embassy to Embassy Challenge in this race
there is this wonderful downhill that parallels Mass. Ave
off 34th Street is Fulton Street
which becomes Normanstone and if you follow it correctly
it is an amazing downhill with a long run off
that works as a shortcut of sorts to Adams Morgan
so... another Check Point Challenge was created...
Embassy of Azerbaijan to Embassy of Lebanon by way of Fulton
just like the Holy Rood Cemetery Challenge
this would need to be MANNED CHALLENGE
I would need volunteers to record departure time and arrival time
the difference between the two would be the time it took to traverse that distance
it is silly... but I wanted this in my race
it is such a great little secret in this city
I wanted to share this with the racers of the Dead City Alleycat
things were starting to come together
in my mind I felt that the Dupont Circle start location would happen
Dupont is a standard start up location
I feared deviating from the expected norm
in a previous Alleycat I had the start occur at The National Arboretum
The National Arboretum? Yes...
it is a beautiful place... the old Capital Columns seemed like a wonderful gathering place
well... I think that location offered pause
as did the 20 dollar race entry fee
so... lessons learned
messengers are creatures of habit
messengers are cheap
so... Dupont Circle Start and Five Dollar Race Entry
things were really starting to come together
but really... nothing was set in stone
there were Check Point locations that appeared in early incarnations of this manifest that were canceled and replaced before race day
heck... I was trimming the manifest the day I finally took my USB flash drive to Kinkos for printing
as I started to plan the manifest I understood that I would need volunteers
since my manifest would include a number of checkpoints that required data to be taken
it meant I would need to gather volunteers
well... easier said then done
I started reaching out and gathering a list of people that could help me
let me just say it was not easy to find people who could commit to volunteering for this Alleycat
or worse than that
others would commit and then retract their offer due to life conflict
so many volunteers were confident they could help a month out canceled days before the event
it was anxious... it was stressful...
there were people who had volunteered as pairs
that I had to break up
there was hope that more volunteers would appear on the day of
sure... a few bodies showed up
but no one was able to work the full duration other than those that volunteered in advance
Thank You to the Volunteers!
THIS COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!!!
I thank you... the racers thank you...
Each and Everyone of you Delivered ABOVE AND BEYOND!
HELL YES!!!
Thank you to the Volunteers!
I hope each of you enjoyed volunteering as much as the racers enjoyed racing
me... I enjoyed others' enjoyment
my experience was pretty much work
very little pleasure and lots of stress for the race organizer
so yes... I was able to gather a long list of friends who were able to come out and volunteer... it was the efforts of these individuals that made this day so special
it would have been a very different day had it not been for the long list of volunteers
in addition to the volunteers on the day of...
there was one major contributor to making this event happen
David O La was my Right Hand Man!
David and I had discussed building some Tall Bikes
I felt that The Dead City Alleycat was a perfect deadline for this project
over the summer David and I worked together
I scavenged bikes from here and there
used old parts from my basement
called on friends for donations
with David's knowledge of welding and Tall Bikes we ended up with two wonderful machines that I felt would be safe and fun for the Alleycat setting...
Where could we make this Tall Bike Challenge work?
well... with my notion of ending the race at Fort Slocum as a strong maybe
either Grant Circle or Sherman Circle seemed like wonderful candidates for check point location for the Tall Bike Challenge
yes... these circles would fit in well for Check Point Challenges
having raced Alleycats that have tried to fit in Check Point Challenges I knew to try to avoid a bottleneck
I thought I would try and get the racers spread out before they start any of these challenges as to avoid too much waiting
it was decided...
not either or but both
I would use both Grant Circle and Sherman Circle for Check Point Challenge Spots
Grant Circle has this amazing tree at the center
this seemed like a perfect spot for a frisbee toss through a bicycle rim
a number of the messengers enjoy frisbee golf... so I felt this would be a good fit
the bicycle rim sealing the deal
then it was determined that we would have a timed Tall Bike Lap around the park on the sidewalk
David O La. would be he master of ceremonies for this Tall Bike Event
TOO COOL!!!
Tall Bike Challenge in an Alleycat!!!
this could be people's first change to ride a tall bike
the race was starting to come together
with my Achilles starting to heal I would ride the course
zig zag around town
testing and fine tuning the manifest
as I was planning the event I was not just working on the manifest... I was also reaching out to sponsors...
it is a riddle... who would like to sponsor an Alleycat
I asked hosts of Alleycats past for advice or emails
everyone gave the same advice
just email a bunch of companies and a few companies will lend some support
so... I started that process
my efforts including reaching out to companies that have supported previous Alleycats then also reaching out to companies that I believe in with products that I like
it was a fun process...
many companies were kind but unable to help
Covid has had an effect on the bicycle industry
many things are in demand which means that many things are in short supply
that said... the response was unbelievable
Chrome Bags were one of the first companies to respond!
my conversations with Chrome help me to try and be aware of being Inclusive
it was through some of these email exchanges that I decided to change the categories form Men\Women to Open\WTF-Women Transgender Femme
it was really a great feeling when the responses from potential sponsors were positive
and even more exciting when prizes started to trickle in
Knog lights were one of the other companies to rapidly respond...
now... their shipment from across the globe has yet to arrive
yet still.. Knog gave me 250 dollars to shop on their website for light systems
picked out a few cool head and tail light combos
they sent them out express
but... like so many things being shipped
the shipping has been delayed
guess I have Knog Lights for a future event!
with my love for dc and dc history I reached out for a few local sponsors
recently there was a documentary about DC Punk Music... I reached out the creators of this documentary and they sent me six copies of Punk the Capital
then I reached out to Dischord Records
there was hesitancy... then understanding and then generosity
Ian MacKaye send over a care package from Dischord Records
a few posters, a stack of records, and then lastly a signed 20 Years of Dischord CD Box Set
this was the first prize to leave the table
another racer said that Dischord was the coolest sponsor of a DC Alleycat EVER!
it is not about the prizes... but the prizes kept flooding in...
it was such a joy to get such a positive response
the last sponsor to fall into place
a tattoo sponsor
Shawn Brown a one time messenger has a Tattoo Studio in Hyattsville
Shawn agreed to giving a prize to the top finishers in the Open and WTF Categories
the tattoo would be the Spoke Card Design
in my networking I got to talking with a wide variety of people
one of those people was my old friend Asad Walker
Asad was excited about the project and wanted to help how he could
there were some wheat paste ideas I had and Asad connected me with a few people who could grant me guidance
and then without request
Asad designed the Day of the Dead Style image for the Spoke Card and handled t-shirt sales
SWEET DESIGN!
wow... things were really starting to fall into place
the Spoke Card\T-shirt Image was Epic
the back of the Spoke Card ended up being a play upon the DC flag
with Three Skulls and Two Bones instead of Three Stars and Two Bars
we tucked the sponsors into the Day or the Dead style bones that were actually more wrenches than bones
TOO COOL!!!
so... the manifest was coming together
there was a spoke card design
and
I had a long list of volunteers
now who was going to race?
the Alleycat is a bit of an underground thing
the Alleycat promotion online is one thing
but really...
it is the word on the street that gets people out to race
so... I would head downtown on my bike and work out the specifics of the course and pass out some flyers
yet there was still anxiety...
who would race?
without pre-registration
there is no concept if anyone is going to show up to race
it is just a big cross of the fingers
nothing but an URBAN FIELD OF DREAMS
"if you build it... they will come"
will they? will they come?
and the weather?
what about the weather...
summer has long since passed... the transition from fall to winter has begun
lots of rain in the forecast in the days prior
what will happen the day of?
there is no rain date option... the check points will be no fun if it rains... what is the rain contingency?
oh... there is no rain contingency
the show must go on
oh my... not sure if there are any racers?
volunteers canceling left and right
and now the weather
this is really starting to get stressful
there were nights were I just played through my head the manifest and its details
I rode it in the day... I played it through my head in the night
it was exciting to me
while also being very anxious
then finally...
it was the week of the event
GO TIME!
I had to put the final pieces of the puzzle together
the manifest needed to be completed
in the end I decide to create two manifests
a three page manifest and two pages of bonuses
there would be a good number of stops
but...
I recommended that people focus on the first manifest
and to the displeasure of the mob
I made a rule
COMPLETE MANIFEST
you must have a complete manifest
no complete manifest and you do not get scored
would not even glance at the bonuses
oh... man... that was unpopular...
I get it...
that is a harsh requirement... yet it is a fair requirement
sure... not every race should be scored "all or none"
but on this day... this is how I scored it
it was not popular
yet that is how it ended
more on this later...
these photos by me...
I will try to gather photos from racer and photographers to try and visit some of the check points
so much more to tell... I want to mention each and every sponsor
I did not even start to mention the wheat pasted photos that worked at questions on the manifest... more on all of this at another time
that is enough for now
