During the September 6th meeting of Conshohocken’s Borough Council, representatives of Simon’s Heart and QCW Cycling, made a presentation on a proposed bike race in Conshohocken. Simon’s Heart is a local charity that is dedicated to preventing sudden cardiac arrest and death in children, teens, and young adults. QCW Cycling is a USA Cycling affiliated club in the region focused on helping new riders learn to race and emphasizing fun throughout the entire experience.
During the presentation we learned that the organizers hope to attract professional and other classes of cyclists across a variety of divisions to participate. The proposed date is Sunday, August 18th (this is still tentative).
The course as currently devised would be almost entirely on Spring Mill Avenue and East Elm Street. It would touch one block of Fayette Street between East 1st Avenue and East Elm Street. Apple Street and East 1st Avenue would also be utilized. In our previous article we showed an earlier outline of a course that included the possibility of utilizing East 2nd Avenue and an additional block of Fayette Street. That is no longer being considered.
The selection of this course was attributed to safety as there is a need to control speed of a criterium race.
The entire set-up, race, and breakdown, would take place in one day. The race itself would take four to five hours, likely starting at noon.
The start/finish would be on Spring Mill Avenue, just above Ash Street.
Vehicles would need to be cleared from the entire course.
There would be pedestrian access and crossings throughout the course.
The organizers hope to create areas along the course for local businesses who are outside the race course and potentially utilize Aubrey Collins Park as an area for kids.
The organizers expect 1,000 to 10,000 spectators, depending on the weather. There could be 300 to 500 racers.
The event is rain or shine.
The race is still tentative and the presentation was basically to give the background and the overview of the plan, and gather support to continue working on finalizing the details.
There was no public comment on the race.