LA Marathon Crash Ride

When you mention to someone you are going to do the Marathon Crash Race you get 1 of 2 reactions.  The first is “what the heck is the crash race?” an the other is something along the lines of “REALLY?  I heard that race is crazy!”

For those that don’t know what it is, the Crash Race was started by a Wolfpack Hustle, a legendary cycling group based in Los Angeles known for their unsanctioned underground races and late night rides around Los Angeles.  They saw the street closures for the LA Marathon as a way to experience the city in a way few ever get to:  No cars and no traffic.  

The race quickly grew in popularity through word of mouth and by 2013 several thousand people showed up.  That was my first year and it still holds up as one of the most fun events I have been a part of.  

In 2014, the City of Los Angeles put a stop to the event citing safety concerns and threatened to arrest the promoter if the race took place.  

A few weeks ago Wolkpack Hustle sent out an email letting everyone know the race would not be happening in 2015, but the City had agreed to let a “ride” take place with a few conditions: 1) the ride would be led by LAPD and everyone had to stay behind the leaders, 2) the start time would be pushed to 5:30 AM (previous races started around 4am).  Sure, it wouldn’t be as fun as an all out race, but we would still get to ride at a good pace with a fully closed course from Los Angeles to Santa Monica.

RIP Tangs.  

Around 4 in the morning, my friend Huy and I parked Union Station and made the short ride to (wu) Tangs Donuts where the ride would start.  I wondered if the new rules or the short notice would keep people away, but those thoughts were gone as soon as we turned the final corner to approach Tangs and saw a flood of blinking lights.

The atmosphere around Tangs was electric and the crowd steadily grew by the minute as riders continued to stream in.  This ride alwasy attracts a bit of everyone and this year was no different.  There were hardcore cyclists, mountain bikers, BMX guys, fixies, a few trailers with sound systems, and even some guy on roller blades.  

We rolled out at 5:30 and settled in behind the LAPD who set the pace around 20mph, which seemed manageable at first.  The problem came when the “accordion” started from people going too fast, and then slowing to not run into the riders in front of them, then accelerating to catch back up after slowing down too much.  This is common in group rides of people with varying speeds and only gets worse the farther in the pack you were. 

In addition to the lower speeds keeping the pack together, the later start time had more people setting up areas to support the marathon (delivery tucks, inflatable signs, tables, etc) and the riders had to maneuver to get around them, which created even more turmoil in the group. 

We approached a giant inflatable mileage banner about 5 miles in to the ride and I had a feeling something was going to go wrong.  Well, before I knew it there was a big pile just in front of me that sent one guys bike flying into the air in front of us.  I don’t know exactly what happened or how I got through, but I did.  I looked back and all I saw was a pile of people and bikes (maybe 15 or so?).  I slowed for a bit and made sure there was people to help everyone, then stepped up the pace to try to catch up to Huy, who was on the other side of the crash and also narrowly avoided it. A link to my GoPro footage can be seen here:  Pile up!

There were a few other incidents as well, but nothing too major.  Most of them were the result of people not riding smart and/or going way to fast for the conditions.  Example:  One guy rides straight into a mileage sign in the gutter.  He was all alone and seemed to be sprinting up the side.  Never mind the fact these signs had been out since the beginning of the ride for some reason he didn’t think it would be there.

I heard the crash of someone running into a sign and looked over to see this.

Before we knew it we arrive in Santa Monica at the finish.  And just like that it was all over.  The pack quickly split up and disappeared to into coffee shops, cafes, or on to the various routes back to their cars/homes.

Sunrise in Santa Monica

I have to hand it to the LA Marathon organizers and everyone involved at the City of Los Angeles for all their efforts to allow the ride to take place, and the Los Angles Police Department for everything they did to keep the riders safe.  Hopefully there will be more of Crash rides, or even better...  RACES in the future.

Huy on the long ride back to the cars.

Overall the ride was a lot of fun and I’m already looking forward to next year.  If nothing else, its a great chance to see areas I’m usually oblivious to when I’m driving.  That being said, if it is still a ride and not a full race next year I will either roll out early before the escort or will wait until about 20 minutes after everyone leaves.