The event turned out much better than Mike Mcgarry, Kelly Hillard, Jeremy Prach, Chris Fons, Michael Gubitosa, or Paul Kjelland could have imagined when at the inception of the Riverwest 24. Roughly 150 people signed up to race, with many more showing up to all the events spread throughout the neighborhood. This wouldn't have happened without the active participation, open mind, or enthusiasm of the people of Riverwest.

Everyone who participated in either riding or supporting made the event a sucess. Too many people to mention made this event their own by organizing block parties, cheering on the riders, setting up camps, et al. The riders worked extremely hard, especially the solo class, but were still having a great time enjoying all our neighborhood has to offer. There were no injuries or major problems at all. It was an amazing sight and we all hope it will become a yearly event that continues to strengthen the community by forming unlikely partnerships throughout the neighborhood.

One of the exciting aspects was the large amount of people who had never entered any sort of bike race before. By pushing their own personal limits in urban cycling, many people realized they could bike much longer distances than they ever thought possible. We hope that by doing so they are more willing to do things like bike to work and drive their cars less.

Please email photos, videos, and stories to paulkjell@gmail.com or, drop off a CD at the River Horse, to be posted on our blog.

Lap manifests and t-shirts will be available to any interested racers, in person at the River Horse, between 5 and 10pm on Mondays, August the 4th and 11th, or contact riverwest24@gmail.com to schedule another time.