Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Alley Cats

Hey guys, maybe you can clear something up for me.
I saw a lot of fixed riders tonight, and I assume there was an alleycat here in Ottawa. I was going to ask one some questions but figured I'd let them get to the bars and ask the internet instead.

I'm not a messenger. The whole idea of the alleycat race appeals to me, and I'd be interested in getting involved, but I'm not really sure what the story is- are these typically messengers only, or can civvies join in? Is a fixie a requirement or are geared bikes allowed?

Basically I'd like to race, but I've got no interest in taking on a pack of yuppies on $2000 bikes driving around all shrink wrapped in lycra.

Illuminate Me.

in my experience here in boston, the winners are often messengers, but most of the rest of the racers aren't.

fixed is usually not necessary. race, have a good time. that's all that matters.

that and riding safe of course.

Yea... racing in Alley Cats is great fun. I always have the best time traveling around the state participating in new cities, meeting new people, eating and drinking with them afterwards, then taking their couch so I can sleep :).

I'm sure any organizer will let you race. Do it!

In Ottawa, the better messengers are the friendliest to newcomers. And don't worry 'bout the bike fashion thing, most alley cats that I've been in were won on geared bikes.

Basically I'd like to race, but I've got no interest in taking on a pack of yuppies on $2000 bikes driving around all shrink wrapped in lycra.


Actually, that can be fun too.

unlike USCF or UCI events alleycats can be raced by anybody on whatever bike you wanna ride, very very few rules, and usually all are very welcome to give it a shot

last race here locally there was just over 100 riders and only about 30 or so were messengers, however, just like most of our alleycats about 2/3 of the field always DNF's

Ive raced in both now, and after doing that, I much prefer the alleycats, they are alot more honest and tougher races from what Ive experienced. No sandbagging, no handicapping, no sag wagons, no teams.

Here in Boulder we do alleycats for fg and ss only. It is a huge bike town and so we try to limit it a bit. We used to have a winner for both ctegories, but the fixers won everytime anyways, so started lumping everyone together. It is a really good way to meet other people in your area that are interested in tha same sorta stuff, we have also had people show up on ss mtn bikes, bmx and cruisers too.
Anything that is messengers only sounds like a group of snobs so you'd want to stay away anyways.

Here in Boulder we do alleycats for fg and ss only. It is a huge bike town and so we try to limit it a bit. We used to have a winner for both ctegories, but the fixers won everytime anyways, so started lumping everyone together. It is a really good way to meet other people in your area that are interested in tha same sorta stuff, we have also had people show up on ss mtn bikes, bmx and cruisers too.

Anything that is messengers only sounds like a group of snobs so you'd want to stay away anyways.


So being fg and ss only , is that snobish too?

If I was a strictly roadie person, should I keep away from your fg/ss alley kat and consider you guys snobs?

Sorry if it started in the Messenger scene and a few keep it to that effect but you can always have one that is what you want it to be.

S/F,
CEYA!

For a while now I've wanted to enter an alley cat as a team with some pals, and have everyone dress up as a commuter. Blinkies everywhere, reflective vests, tights, eye shields, racks & panniers instead of bags, etc etc. Not only would it be funny, we would also be the safest mf's there.

unlike USCF or UCI events alleycats can be raced by anybody on whatever bike you wanna ride, very very few rules, and usually all are very welcome to give it a shot

last race here locally there was just over 100 riders and only about 30 or so were messengers, however, just like most of our alleycats about 2/3 of the field always DNF's

Ive raced in both now, and after doing that, I much prefer the alleycats, they are alot more honest and tougher races from what Ive experienced. No sandbagging, no handicapping, no sag wagons, no teams.


Pretty psyched for my first Jumpinships; hope you guys are ready for 10+ Cincy kids to invade...

Basically I'd like to race, but I've got no interest in taking on a pack of yuppies on $2000 bikes driving around all shrink wrapped in lycra.
(I assume you're talking about road racing).
Not everyone is a yuppie who road races.

I understand the lure of alleycats and I've done many and have done really well in them despite not being a messenger. And yes, they're a ton of fun. But don't discount sanctioned racing. There's a lot of fun to be had out there ... track, road, crits, cyclocross, mountain, etc etc etc. And for the most part people are pretty nice.

it's like anything, all races seem snobby to those who aren't in those circles.

Pretty psyched for my first Jumpinships; hope you guys are ready for 10+ Cincy kids to invade...

when is this next jumpinships?

For a while now I've wanted to enter an alley cat as a team with some pals, and have everyone dress up as a commuter. Blinkies everywhere, reflective vests, tights, eye shields, racks & panniers instead of bags, etc etc. Not only would it be funny, we would also be the safest mf's there.

When I raced the Legend of Zelda in Boston, four Dartmouth grads came in their full kit on TT bikes. It was pretty great, and they were cool guys.

There was a race last night and I missed it AGAIN!!!
Rusty: FYI, Ottawa race info is often posted here (http://www.magma.ca/~daydreamsquare/). I seem to have an uncany ability to find out about races just after they finish.

Yeah, actually Steve who runs that site (I think?) gave me a peugeot frame he dug out of the trash, and that's what I'm building up for the summer.
I didn't mean to sound too disdainful of sanctioned racing- I'm considering joining the Ottawa bike club as well. It's just that it seems like I'd be a little out of place in one of those races as I haven't the equipment or the experience to do anything but get in the way. Although I'm finding cyclocross particularly appealing.
Darting through downtown and dodging traffic, however, that I have a bit of experience with.

Well thanks for all the feedback, guys. Maybe I'll see some of you out there. Grimlock or any other Ottawa riders, please feel free to let me know of any events coming up.

Basically I'd like to race, but I've got no interest in taking on a pack of yuppies on $2000 bikes driving around all shrink wrapped in lycra. Illuminate Me.

I reall't don't see much of a difference in $2000 dollar bikes with lycra or $2000 Keirin bikes,dickies,track jackets and trucker hats. Yuppies come in all colors......

to me, alleycat racing is better than any other cycle racing discipline. It combines stamina, skill, luck, local knowledge, strategy, and stupidity, and is far more compelling than other more "pure" forms of racing that only test athleticism and a limited realm of stamina-management strategy.

I guess if I had a 2000$ keirin I'd be more careful with my wording. As it stands I've got a budget of like 3-400 bucks Canadian. AKA heavy and used.

but I totally agree with your point.
I mean, I'll totally BE a yuppy, I've just got another 15 or so years to go.

but I totally agree with your point.
I mean, I'll totally BE a yuppy, I've just got another 15 or so years to go.
Priceless...:D

who wouldn't wanna have cash money like a yuppy? maaadddddddddd bikes...like 50 for the price of a TT bike.

when is this next jumpinships?

I was told April...no idea exactly when.

who wouldn't wanna have cash money like a yuppy?
word up!

So being fg and ss only , is that snobish too?

If I was a strictly roadie person, should I keep away from your fg/ss alley kat and consider you guys snobs?

Sorry if it started in the Messenger scene and a few keep it to that effect but you can always have one that is what you want it to be.

S/F,
CEYA!

Many of the "roadie" races have rules against riding ss and fg, so why do we need to include them? The first race that was set up here was jus to try and find other fixed gear riders in the area, we had seen the other bikes but this way we could actually meet the people too.

So sure some people probably think we are snobby, but we are always glad to see new people at the races. We do our best to spread the word to get more riders to come out as well.

I reall't don't see much of a difference in $2000 dollar bikes with lycra or $2000 Keirin bikes,dickies,track jackets and trucker hats. Yuppies come in all colors......

Very well said. Although I think trucker hats are kind of over.

And to be fair, Dickies don't make your nuts do that thing where they somehow flip over top of your penis. I'll never understand how that happens.

Pardon the post, a sober outlook on life is not my best asset right now.

(I assume you're talking about road racing).
Not everyone is a yuppie who road races.

I understand the lure of alleycats and I've done many and have done really well in them despite not being a messenger. And yes, they're a ton of fun. But don't discount sanctioned racing. There's a lot of fun to be had out there ... track, road, crits, cyclocross, mountain, etc etc etc. And for the most part people are pretty nice.


+1

I'll be sure to tell the fu(king animals I cross race with that their yuppies because they don't do alley cats. :rolleyes:

Many of the "roadie" races have rules against riding ss and fg, so why do we need to include them? The first race that was set up here was jus to try and find other fixed gear riders in the area, we had seen the other bikes but this way we could actually meet the people too.

So sure some people probably think we are snobby, but we are always glad to see new people at the races. We do our best to spread the word to get more riders to come out as well.

We are talking about alleycats and if it was a messenger only event we would be snobs and should be avoided.

That was your post on first page. Look how it spreaded to include non messengers and more people who race are non messengers.

I think it is cool but with caution due to not many have experience riding at high speeds through traffic.

S/F<
CEYA!

I'm thinking of starting up my own alleycat in my area, well, just between me and afew friends at first until I can figure out a decent set of landmarks/checkpoints and iron out a decent format.

No fixie for me [yet], so my geared bike will have to do for now... :)

Alleycats are one of the best parts about riding in a city. Get a few of your friends together or just find a a group an do one together, it's hella fun and you can even say hella without getting **** from people. Deciding on routes, runnin' a train on lights, and mashing all the time is the best feeling.

with a few exceptions this thread is ****ing disgusting.

Yuppies?
Honest and tough races?
They won't include us so we won't include them?

Unless your definition of yuppie is "not punk as **** into their 20's and a hipster after that" only a small percentage of racers i have met anywhere are yuppies no matter the discipline(except maybe tri). If you mean "I want to race against people that drink at the same bars, listen to the same music, and dress exactly as I do" that's one thing but don't denigrate other racers as yuppies just cause they aren't hipsters and they are alot more inclusive than you. If you show up in your dickies and chucks on an ss and hold your own(and your line) noone is going to be looking down on you conversely you will find the opposite to be the case.

Honest and tough? Organized races are going to be tougher just because they have better riders who can make you hurt a lot more then people who aren't training. There is a **** load more strategy in deciding from one second to the next when you should be sprinting in a snowball then there is in picking the order to visit checkpoints in an alleycat and a lot more skill in a xc or cross race then just bombing through lights with more disregard for your safety then the next guy. Plenty of races are specifically self-supported and you don't have to have a team car or even make use of neutral support if you don't want to. They are there because many disciplines are so tough that pulling to the side of the road and patching a flat would be the same a dropping out. Either way all the alley cats I've seen or heard about are for pansies compared to some of the more brutal organized races. If you want to do races that play to your specific skills and willingness to take risks that's probably a good idea but there are plenty of races that are tougher,"more honest", and more strategic then riding around town as fast as you can doing silly tasks at various places.

They won't let you race because you would be a danger to yourself and everyone else on your brakeless fixie in a mass start race. You won't let them race because:
a. The same rider on a braked geared bike will kick the **** out of himself on a brakeless fixie(provided he isn't too brainwashed) in anything but a constant slope tt.
b. You want a race to be exclusively for yourself and people like you.
Thats cool but YOU are the snobs and YOU are the ones want to be exclusive. They just need to enforce certain rules to keep everyone safe.

o_0

Wow...I've never raced in anything before, being a not super competitive (and pretty slow) rider, but I'm looking forward to my first alleycat.

I can probably be classified as a yuppie, given that I have this office finance job. On the other hand, I've got a conversion that I built myself (with guidance from the awesome cats at timesup), like cheap beer and Bad Religion, and did the Dyker Heights group ride last night and met some great people.

So, uh, can I still hang out with you guys? I pretty much just want to look at other people's nice bikes, drink beer, and shoot the ****. Peace and love?

Thats cool but YOU are the snobs and YOU are the ones want to be exclusive. They just need to enforce certain rules to keep everyone safe.
The alleycats I've done have had folks with gears, folks in lycra, old folks on cruisers, kids on bmx bikes... that's the kind of events that I like. Everybody's welcome, and everybody has fun. Like a critical mass without an agenda, and no obligatory pack riding. You want to ride fast? Go ahead. You'll have to wait longer for the party to start.

with the obvious exception of Monster Track, i've never heard of an alleycat that's fixed only. i dare say there's *not* a trend of exclusiveness or snobbishness. i figured there was (or there would be) before i started showing up at alleycats, cause i can be shy, but i showed up, hung out with people, and no problems.

at races, i've seen people with ridiculously beautiful track bikes and with hideous beaters. plus people in lots of lycra. and everything that aeroplane mentioned. sometimes everybody seems like best friends, but i've hung out, shared beers and laughs and i-know-more-sheldon-brown-than-yous with strangers and have generally enjoyed myself.

it's easy to feel like it's snobbish or exclusive, but i did not find that to be the case.

hell, at the alleycat i threw, i invited a bunch of 'roadies.' they didn't show up, though, because it was raining, and everybody knows that roadies melt in the rain.

oh, and localtalent: yes you can.

The alleycats I've done have had folks with gears, folks in lycra, old folks on cruisers, kids on bmx bikes... that's the kind of events that I like. Everybody's welcome, and everybody has fun. Like a critical mass without an agenda, and no obligatory pack riding. You want to ride fast? Go ahead. You'll have to wait longer for the party to start.

same here but that was not the feeling I got from the thread. I'm not against alleycats. They are just a different type of racing and the more different races the better. The self aggrandizing bull**** and exceptionalism expressed by a few people was disgusting and immature. Like teenage gravity riders calling everyone else pansies.

Our races in Tallahassee are centered on having as much fun as possible for everyone. I like to think that's the difference between Cat racing and alley cats.

with a few exceptions this thread is ****ing disgusting.

Yuppies?
Honest and tough races?
They won't include us so we won't include them?

Unless your definition of yuppie is "not punk as **** into their 20's and a hipster after that" only a small percentage of racers i have met anywhere are yuppies no matter the discipline(except maybe tri). If you mean "I want to race against people that drink at the same bars, listen to the same music, and dress exactly as I do" that's one thing but don't denigrate other racers as yuppies just cause they aren't hipsters and they are alot more inclusive than you. If you show up in your dickies and chucks on an ss and hold your own(and your line) noone is going to be looking down on you conversely you will find the opposite to be the case.

Honest and tough? Organized races are going to be tougher just because they have better riders who can make you hurt a lot more then people who aren't training. There is a **** load more strategy in deciding from one second to the next when you should be sprinting in a snowball then there is in picking the order to visit checkpoints in an alleycat and a lot more skill in a xc or cross race then just bombing through lights with more disregard for your safety then the next guy. Plenty of races are specifically self-supported and you don't have to have a team car or even make use of neutral support if you don't want to. They are there because many disciplines are so tough that pulling to the side of the road and patching a flat would be the same a dropping out. Either way all the alley cats I've seen or heard about are for pansies compared to some of the more brutal organized races. If you want to do races that play to your specific skills and willingness to take risks that's probably a good idea but there are plenty of races that are tougher,"more honest", and more strategic then riding around town as fast as you can doing silly tasks at various places.

They won't let you race because you would be a danger to yourself and everyone else on your brakeless fixie in a mass start race. You won't let them race because:
a. The same rider on a braked geared bike will kick the **** out of himself on a brakeless fixie(provided he isn't too brainwashed) in anything but a constant slope tt.
b. You want a race to be exclusively for yourself and people like you.
Thats cool but YOU are the snobs and YOU are the ones want to be exclusive. They just need to enforce certain rules to keep everyone safe.

This just about sums it up if you've been around bikes for more than five minutes.

Our races in Tallahassee are centered on having as much fun as possible for everyone. I like to think that's the difference between Cat racing and alley cats.


That's what most lower categories are for if we add the qualifier "centered on having as much fun as possible for everyone" ON THE BIKE. Sure you'll end up saving the beers 'till after the race is over as opposed to chugging them in the middle but it's not all doping and hating your opponents.

Our races in Tallahassee are centered on having as much fun as possible for everyone. I like to think that's the difference between Cat racing and alley cats.


tally races are fun unless you get lost in alumni village and famu for half an hour during homecoming weekend.

or if you can't find the freaking dirac library.

or if you can't find the freaking dirac library.

That's where I took the lead!

Here's a second question: Has there ever been a thread in FG/SS that hasn't turned into a soapbox shouting contest?

Shut Up Shutup Shutup

Edit: Nice! bf has caps suppression!

Actually, good advice.
Buttoning lip.

But anyway guys, I really appreciate the info.

:)

road racing and cross racing and all of those other kinds of racing may be better, but I don't believe that they could ever be objectively funner. alleycats are the funnest.:fight: :bday: :lol: :fight: :bday: :bday:

You don't need a team kit, you don't have to shave your legs, no experience is required (actual ability to ride a bike appreciated, no training wheels), there is no minimum bike/equipment cost threshold & [Warning] there will be people there who may try to be friendly to you. Why yes, Lycra is recommended but not required for a century, Why? Try it and see.

This has been a public service message provided by; any Cat 5 road race or beginner class XC, with support from every other discipline including track (except maybe tri). If you haven't actually gone out & done it you may have posted about it negatively here. Racing is fun, with road & MTB & everything in between you are almost gauranteed a discipline that you enjoy.

As for "messenger only" races, they're few & far between these days, but we have 'em, what about it? You'll need a racing license (temporary ones are often available cheap) for most organized races, for some alleycats a particular license is required too, not a damn thing wrong with that.

Honest and tough? Organized races are going to be tougher just because they have better riders who can make you hurt a lot more then people who aren't training. There is a **** load more strategy in deciding from one second to the next when you should be sprinting in a snowball then there is in picking the order to visit checkpoints in an alleycat and a lot more skill in a xc or cross race then just bombing through lights with more disregard for your safety then the next guy. Plenty of races are specifically self-supported and you don't have to have a team car or even make use of neutral support if you don't want to. They are there because many disciplines are so tough that pulling to the side of the road and patching a flat would be the same a dropping out. Either way all the alley cats I've seen or heard about are for pansies compared to some of the more brutal organized races. If you want to do races that play to your specific skills and willingness to take risks that's probably a good idea but there are plenty of races that are tougher,"more honest", and more strategic then riding around town as fast as you can doing silly tasks at various places.



have you ever been in an alleycat race? if so, how big was the field and how'd you do?

have you ever been in an alleycat race? if so, how big was the field and how'd you do?

I never said I was fast. I am ****ty endurance rider a fact I have stated more then once. I do, however, know who wins them hands down around here(except when the lack of organization borders on dishonesty) and I know how he fares against cat 3's and how the other riders fare against cat 4s(myself included)... It's not pretty. I've seen how the messengers/possengers do at alpenrose too and for the most part the situation was the same. That said neither atlanta nor portland probably have the strongest alley cat scene but I have trouble believing there are many alleycat only riders anywhere that could come close to holding their own against a a decent cat1/2 road/track/cx or semi-pro/pro mtb field. Training has come a long way and just riding alot won't cut it at that level. How do you think your cmwc would fare against any wearer of a uci wc stripes(except maybe a sprinter) even in an alleycat style race? Stronger riders mean tougher races end of story. Whether or not you're willing to get a stupid tattoo or can chug some nasty liquor faster then the next guy is great but it isn't an honest judge of cycling ability and planning routes and what checkpoints to go to is great strategy but nothing compared the second to second decisions required in some track races.

If you think that that any alleycat is as tough as most 24MTB races or even on the same order of magnitude of brutality as the ididabike you are crazy. Even the 24hour street race here was won with 150 miles or something. Hardly on the same level as any race across *.

So as not to scare anyone away keep in mind that the category system also means that someone like me can compete at a reasonable level of challenge in disciplines I am clearly not built for like cx or xc without devoting my whole life to training. Noone cares what kind of bike you ride as long you are safe. In fact you do well on an ss or fg expect everyone to want to be buddy buddy afterwards. Riders are freindly people and

Alleycats can be fun and challenging and they are a great form of racing. They simply don't draw the same level of talent as organized races do however and your exceptionalism makes you sound like a childish buffoon.