22 Apr 2025 4 min read Blog

What if there was a criterium in Boylan Heights?

Credit: Chicago Grit

Alright, alright, we're dredging it up again: What if there was a criterium in Raleigh?

I am not going to go out and make any crazy claims or promises about making it happen or not. Right now, I'm trying to make a bike shop happen. I imagine that there might be a little more meat on the bones of the idea if there's a new cool bike shop in Boylan Heights that's advocating for a race. Let's do that first. The bike shop portion of the new shop at Platform is 90% complete, and we're making progress on the coffee shop portion of the space. Enjoy the progress pics:

Where did the idea come from?

The inspiration came primarily from Tulsa Tough and Chicago Grit (FKA Intelligentsia Cup.) Tulsa is a three-day weekend event like the Tour of Newport News from last week's article, and Chicago Grit is a ten-day event. I spectated the 2022 Tulsa Tough crits and competed in all ten days of Intelligentsia in 2023. The races are key community events and really push the cultural needle in a city. They are exactly what Raleigh needs to continue the existing momentum around promoting a bike-forward city.

The photos below show the vision. The bike racing is fun, but honestly secondary. The kids' rides, cycling visibility, and community-feel-good are what it's really about.

Can you imagine something like this in Boylan Heights??? Photos courtesy of the respective event websites.

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The bike racing is fun, but honestly secondary. The kids' rides, cycling visibility, and community-feel-good are what it's really about.

What would a Boylan Heights criterium look like?

In short: a bunch of people sitting in lawn chairs lining the streets of Boylan Heights, watching a day's dose of riders of all genders, ages, and body types, getting after it on the race course. There'd be kids races, community events, local business presence, and most importantly: LOTS OF PEOPLE ON BIKES.

Bike racing is no longer just for older white men in lycra. The women's fields are gaining traction and visibility, and the youth presence is growing as well. This is good... Very good...

The other day after a long day of construction, Aaron and I rode a few laps around a potential course. These laps confirmed that this course is indeed fast AF and very fun. Here it is (link)

The start/finish line would be directly in front of Platform. Of course, The Bike Library would be the local shop providing mechanical support and caffeine to any riders or spectators who might need it.

Additionally, this route goes right by Vault craft beer, Sam Jones BBQ, near Boulted Bread, Rebus Works, Hartwell, and several other local businesses on South St. The foot traffic from hundreds of spectators milling around the neighborhood would be huge for these local businesses.