San Francisco’s legendary Mission Crit popped off over the weekend with 6 days packed full of track bike racing & mayhem. The event tee’d off on Wednesday at Hellyer Velodrome, then moved back up to The City on Thursday with an alleycat + registration. Things then heated up on Friday night with a short circuit race held at an indoor go-kart track. This event brought to life the term “rubbing is racing” as riders were sent over the knee high barricades more than a handful of times (Video evidence HERE).
All of which brought us to Saturday’s main event, the Mission Criterium. Riders from around the globe came to partake in what has become the largest fixed gear race on the planet. With that being said, I’d like to take a moment and give huge shoutout to James Grady, the countless volunteers and everyone who helped to bring the fixed gear community together for this incredibly memorable moment. Things wouldn’t be the same without all of your continuous efforts. (More info on Mission Crit + the Fixed Gear Triple Crown can be found HERE)
After all was said and done there wasn’t a single person without a smile on their face. The course was cleared and the streets that were shutdown for the race were graciously given back to the city until we could do it all over again next year. If racers weren’t tired yet they could look forward to the Tracklocross race on Sunday followed by the “Giro di San Francisco” on Monday. If you raced all 6 days or even showed up to all 6 events, then go ahead and give yourself a massive pat on the back. It’s probably a good time to take it easy as we hopefully exit out of this mind numbing heat wave here in California. 🥵 🏁
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San Francisco is best known for one thing, hills. Steep ones. The kind of hills that make you go “please tell me we’re not walking up that”. The kind of hills that give you a nose bleed by the time you get to the top. Those hills.
For the 3rd year in a row we celebrated the Red Bull Bay Climb hosted by Mission Crit & and yours truly, James Grady. Set with an amazing backdrop, this 3 block course runs grades of up to 21% degrees. Enough to make even the spectators tired. @SLAMDUNKERNIE & I were on the scene with our camera in hand ready to capture all the action.
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Mission Crit popped off this year in San Francisco and I’m still outta breath from it. Hundreds of people flocked to the streets to endure some seriously heavy winds and a day full of racing. James Grady deserves an award for the hard work he puts into this event year after year. We wouldn’t have these good times if it wasn’t for his dedication to the community and love for the scene. Respect and thank you everyone else who helped out, volunteered, or lifted a finger to make this happen. We appreciate everything you do.
We through more high fives than we could count and screamed “FAAASTER” at just about everyone who raced. That being said, we’re going to let words take a back seat from here and let the photos do the talking. Ride fast, take chances, and have fun. We’ll catch you later.
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420 is a special time of year in San Francisco. It’s celebrated as a national Holiday in The City. We celebrated in our own way by meeting up at the Island (as usual) and riding around until the 420 Alley Cat that they held the day before Mission Crit. Check out that video HERE. Chris “Thrasher” is outta control with those triangle stands downhill. Enough to make your palms sweat just watching the man. Andy sparks stays in the mix and Keo Kid is way too good with those back pedals. It was great having a bunch of people from outta town here for the big crit in The City. Mission Crit is going to be on 420 this year (2019) so mark your calendar and we’ll see you there.
It’s four-twenty in San Francisco, and you know what that means. Bikes & buds. We got the gang together and rode around earlier in the day before heading to Union Square for the start of the 3rd Annual 420 Alley Cat. With Mission Crit right around the corner, the turn out for unsanctioned good time was insane. I only rode to half the race before throwing in the towel and taking a load off at the final checkpoint. Joints were being thrown, beers were being slammed and friendly rivalries met their match as people began to trickle into the after party. Shout out to everyone who helped throw this eventful weekend, and to Crihs Thormann for making it even more memorable.
I had a ton of fun piecing this one together, and am stoked to spend more time shooting with this GoPro we just added to our camera arsenal. Keep your eyes peeled for more fun follow footage in the near future.
On Saturday a bunch of us headed to the Mission District for burritos, brews and the first sanctioned Mission Criterium held in San Francisco. They had a prototype for this event last year and were able to get permits this year to shut down streets for the race. I teamed up w/ MTS to shoot the event, kick it w/ the homies and watch the action unfold. There were a couple pile ups in the beginning but as the crowd thinned out, it became clear who was leading the pack and chomping at the bit.
1st – Manuel Barra
2nd – Marc Marino
3rd – Chas Christiansen