Rain doesn’t stop Northumberland Classic

Despite the rain on Saturday morning (May 25), the bicycle race was held as scheduled with 200 participants competing.   Races started and finished at the Baltimore recreation centre – there was a 3km link to a loop that included the Northumberland Heights road hill and depending on the race, as many as 8 laps of that loop were required.  (See links below for details and route map). Participants were both men and women ranged in age from 17 to 60 although they were grouped according to ability.  Police manned key intersections and several cars followed the riders including one with para-medics to help with the inevitable spills.  The event was organized by Greg Rawson and his company Performance Driven Events and he also organized the Criterium race event in downtown Cobourg last year.  This year’s Criterium event will be in Trenton on Sunday 26 May.

The bikes used by most competitors were “high technology” with a retail price as much as $6,000.

Below is a video to give some idea of just how fast these riders go and how fit they are.  The video shows the start of three races at around 11:30 (they were running late) and the finish of earlier races around 10:30 – 11:00.  The “comparing notes” clip at the end gives a glimpse of what the bikes are like.

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