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Survival of the Tuesday Night Twilight Criterium

Can a local weekly race go on?

Tuesday Night Twilights is a weekly criterium race held in Santa Rosa run by dedicated club and volunteers. This event has been part of Santa Rosa cycling community for past 20+ years attracting local professionals like Levi Leipheimer and Scott Nydam. Recently, however, the event is in threat of closure due to conflicting interest with business park where the event is held. Passionate organizers are doing everything they can to keep the event going. Even some of biggest cycling celebrity like Levi has urged the races to continue. This is a story of one local race in Santa Rosa but could be a carbon copy of any small race in America. Can these events survive?

There is a delicate balance between fun and nuisance when it comes to bicycle races.
There is a delicate balance between fun and nuisance when it comes to bicycle races. Unlike football or baseball where there is a dedicated field or court, cycling is mostly a sport of open road. As a result, bicycle race must co-exist with community & business that use the road. This can cause conflicting interest between racers and community with legitimate reasons on both sides.

On the community side, the weekly or annual bicycle races are for the most part an exception. The race can be an annoying obstacle to get around street closures through detours. Many are not familiar with the sport and maybe tolerant at best. This is not an unreasonable reaction where cycling is not a mainstream sport. After all, ask a non-cycling American to name one cyclist besides Lance Armstrong and you will get the idea. To many, bicyclists are nothing more than a traffic nuisance. Imagine a sporting event that you couldn’t care less taking place in front of your house every week.

On the cycling side, the races are fun and exciting for the participants and spectators. For some, the event is a life changing experience where person sees the sports up close for the first time in its full speed and beauty. Many participate for exercise, thrill of the competition, and few as professionals. The racers get to enjoy their sport of passion for a small fee. The event organizers are for most part volunteers who share the passion for the sport. The volunteers are at the heart of these events where they spend hundreds of hours with little or no financial reward. They deal with all the details of the logistics, permits, whining racers, complaints from community, safety and the list of on and on. It is small miracle that there are bicycle races at all in America.

...racers are potential customers with the economic means.
The delicate balance between bicycle enthusiast and surrounding community can so easily tip between win/win and lose/lose situation. There must be a balance between the all parties for the events to exist in harmony. The win/win situations can bring sales revenue and advertisement opportunities to local businesses. Tourism, local restaurant, gas stations, coffee shops are just few examples with potential to benefit. Also, these cyclists are not exactly bottom scrapers in the economic pole. Their bikes cost thousands of dollars with some wheels alone costing $2000 or more. The Point is that racers are potential customers with the economic means. Ideally, the racers should race, organizers should organize, fans should cheer, local business should benefit and everyone should be happy. This is how events should be and they is for the most part. Every community should eagerly wait for next club to put on a race.

So what is the problem? Well, it’s the little things that spoil the party. Sometimes, events are poorly planned and causes unexpected road closures/detours and even safety issues. Hosting community may not be aware of the positive potentials and dismiss the event. Sometimes, racers are ignorant and throw wrappers on the ground and pee on public property. Other times, racers in the heat of a moment yell out foul language. All undesireable if one thinks about such event occurring in front of their house and children. Organizers and responsible racers know what’s at stake and most are very good citizens. Unfortunately, the few spoil the party and attract all the bad complaints.

So, should Tuesday Night Twilight criterium races go on? Yes for cycling and yes for people of Santa Rosa. These events come with racers, volunteers and fans with tons of positive vibes not to mention healthy wallets. In many ways, events like Tuesday Night Twilight is the lifeline of cycling in America with level of passion money just can’t buy. People on all sides should recognize the potential and work together to create a win/win situation. It is an American thing to do.


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