Hello Racers and friends,
CJ here, race director of Staten CX. Many of you have been eagerly waiting for news of the race and whether it will be going on after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the area. I would like to apologize for taking so long to respond as we were working hard to try and find contingencies to make a CX race possible on November 10th.
Unfortunately, it’s not the case. Our beloved Wolfe’s pond park had a front row seat for hurricane sandy and suffered extensive damage. The parks department did a valiant job trying to clean up the park in time for the race, but it is still closed to the public and also being used as a staging area for recovery efforts.
It leaves us in a sad position, but we want to make the most of it and help people so here’s what is going to go down:
We have worked out an arrangement with the race director of the SuperCross Cup which takes place the following week on 11/17. All Staten CX race registrations will be rolled into the corresponding category for Saturday’s SuperCross Cup race. Profits from Supercross will be donated to a charity that directly benefits Staten Island Residents who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Now, for those of you who are (a) already signed up for the Supercross cup or (b) can’t make it to the race, you have one of two options:
1) Do nothing and your registration (less fees/overhead) will be donated a charity that directly benefits Staten Island Residents who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, or
2) Request a refund by emailing info@statencx.com by Friday.
While I prefer that you choose #1 we will honor refund requests because it’s the right thing to do.
In addition, we will be spearheading a day of volunteering on November 10th in place of the race. We encourage you to join us in helping the residents of Staten Island and the Rockaways- many of them lost almost everything and they are in need of manpower and donations in order to help everyone get back on their feet. It only makes sense that we do what we can to help the residents of our city in which we’ve enjoyed 4 years of awesome races (and many more to come)
Details on the volunteer day:
We will be meeting at NYC Velo on Saturday, November 10th at 8:30AM. if you have a car please bring it and we will arrange car pooling at the shop. If you have a bike and want to carry supplies over to affected areas, we will be coordinating that as well Please feel free to bring any cleanup supplies/nonperishable food, etc… that would would like to bring and we will have these dropped off as well. Please email us at info@statencx.com if you are interested in volunteering that day, and if you will be coming by car or bike. If you’re driving, let us know how many free seats you have to spare. We will send an additional update via email and our social media channels.
If you can’t make it on Saturday but still want to help, we’ve got you covered. NYC Velo and King Cog will both be accepting donations this week. Just stop on by either shop during business hours and drop off your supplies. Needed supplies include : contractor bags, batteries, buckets, blankets, water, shovels, flashlights, cleaning supplies etc…
Above all, I would like to give a heartfelt thanks to people that worked so hard to come together for this year’s race.Thanks to our sponsors: NYC Velo, Lucarelli & Castaldi LLP, The Century Road Club Association, Kona Bikes, Rosko Cycles, and Grimpeur Brothers Coffee. I would also like to thank my race crew: Chris Clark,Claudette Lajam, Myles Romanow, Jed Kornbluh and Alan Atwood. Year in and year out they are the people who make this race a reality, and I’m lucky to have them as friends. I would also like to thank our food trucks:Wafels & Dinges, Rickshaw Dumplings, and Valducci’s Pizza. Many of them have been spending the week feeding people in need all over the city. I would also like to give a big thank you to the NYC Parks Department for working so hard to accommodate us for the past four years.
Most of all, I want to thank you, the racers. This race is all about you- it’s the grassroots culmination of everything I love about cyclocross without any of the BS that has been plaguing the sport of cycling as of late. While we won’t be riding around in circles in Wolfe’s Pond Park this year, It’s up to us to turn a cancelled race into something that helps others, and look to next year, where SICX will return with a vengeance.
Thanks,
CJ
