Local Saturday - Chris Thater

The last weekend of August is one of racing from event to event here in the Binghamton, New York area.

For years we have celebrated the life of the late Chris Thater.  In 2010, I blogged:

"In 1983 a student by the name of Chris Thater, while cycling, was killed by a drunk driver near Harpursville, NY.

His friends would not let that senseless death rest.  Rather, they have turned it into one heck of a memorial.  The Chris Thater Memorial.  A two day bicycle race held in a residential neighborhood in Binghamton bordering Binghamton's Recreation Park, made somewhat famous by several episodes of the Twilight Zone.  (Rod Serling grew up nearby and spent a lot of time in that park), it celebrates "Stop DWI" and brings bicyclists from all over the world to our small city."

Alas, it is no longer held near Recreation Park, but rather, in downtown Binghamton.

It can still be an inspirational sight.  This video, created by a local video firm, uses a song I love as background music.   If you've ever wondered what the downtown where I work five days a week looks like, you need look no further than this video.

But I so miss where it used to be, in a residential neighborhood where the late, great Rod Serling grew up.  Life changes.  Events change.  But a small part of me holds out hope that, one day, the event will return to the West Side of Binghamton.

In 2012, my spouse (in a way) won the last race of the event.  Today, in honor of the event, I repeat part of my post of April, 2016:

Normally, on my blog, Saturday is devoted to "Local Saturday".  Today, I want to take you to a bicycle race that takes place in the small upstate New York city of Binghamton, New York every August.

My spouse won it one year - sort of.  But, before I tell that story, a little about the race.

It is called the Chris Thater Memorial Race.  This year it will be held August 27 and 28, once again in honor of Chris Thater, a 23 year old cyclist who was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 1983.  It's a series of races - bicycle races, a 5K run, a fun race for kids.

The event has been held for over 30 years now. It's a wonderful way to honor the memory of a young man taken from us too soon.

For the first 25 years, it was held in a beautiful West Side neighborhood near Binghamton's Recreation Park, near where Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame grew up.

The racing course was so beautiful and green (and hot).

The races were held during the day, and there was plenty of room to park, walk around and enjoy the races. For several years, there were live rock performances by local bands.  You could even get close up to the racers, as they prepared to race.  Some were amateur (I know one of them at her day job), some from this area, some were professionals from all over the world.

Here, one of the racers describes her experience in 2012, when these pictures were also taken.

We would walk along the race course, and finally take our places near the finish line for the last race, the money race with the professional racers.

And then someone would cross the finish line.

And with that, it's time for the story of how my spouse (sort of) won the 2012 Chris Thater.

Several minutes before the final race ended, one of the announcers would poll the crowd, asking who they thought would win the race.  In 2012, my husband named someone.

And he won!

What did he win?  A chance to meet the winner, here (spouse is on the right) as I stood by, thrilled.  One of his 15 minutes (well, more like five minutes) of fame.

In our house hangs his other prize - a poster, signed by the winner.

Alas, in 2014, the race was changed - moved to downtown Binghamton, the races reconfigured, a Cross Fit challenge added, the music and greenery deleted.    A new generation of race goers will treasure their own memories.

But I will always remember the year my husband, by a lucky guess, won a bicycle race.

Binghamton Bicycle (Race) - Local Saturday

Welcome to day two of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Starting yesterday, over a thousand bloggers are blogging daily in the #AtoZChallenge throughout the month of April (except on Sundays), starting with A and devoting each consecutive day to another day of the alphabet.

My theme is "Days of our Lives".   It encompasses anything that touches my life, or the lives of those I love. Ideally, it must have at least one of my iPhone photographs in it.

Normally, on my blog, Saturday is devoted to "Local Saturday".  Today, I want to take you to a bicycle race that takes place in the small upstate New York city of Binghamton, New York every August.

My spouse won it one year - sort of.  But, before I tell that story, a little about the race.

It is called the Chris Thater Memorial Race.  This year it will be held August 27 and 28, once again in honor of Chris Thater, a 23 year old cyclist who was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 1983.  It's a series of races - bicycle races, a 5K run, a fun race for kids.

The event has been held for over 30 years now. It's a wonderful way to honor the memory of a young man taken from us too soon.

For the first 25 years, it was held in a beautiful West Side neighborhood near Binghamton's Recreation Park, near where Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame grew up.

The racing course was so beautiful and green (and hot).

The races were held during the day, and there was plenty of room to park, walk around and enjoy the races. For several years, there were live rock performances by local bands.  You could even get close up to the racers, as they prepared to race.  Some were amateur (I know one of them at her day job), some from this area, some were professionals from all over the world.


Here, one of the racers describes her experience in 2012, when these pictures were also taken.

We would walk along the race course, and finally take our places near the finish line for the last race, the money race with the professional racers.

And then someone would cross the finish line.

And with that, it's time for the story of how my spouse (sort of) won the 2012 Chris Thater.

Several minutes before the final race ended, one of the announcers would poll the crowd, asking who they thought would win the race.  In 2012, my husband named someone.

And he won!

What did he win?  A chance to meet the winner, here (spouse is on the right) as I stood by, thrilled.  One of his 15 minutes (well, more like five minutes) of fame.

In our house hangs his other prize - a poster, signed by the winner.

Alas, in 2014, the race was changed - moved to downtown Binghamton, the races reconfigured, a Cross Fit challenge added, the music and greenery deleted.    A new generation of race goers will treasure their own memories.

But I will always remember the year my husband, by a lucky guess, won a bicycle race.

A Necessary Rebooting?

For many years, the last weekend before the Labor Day weekend has meant a weekend of bicycle racing and other events near Recreation Park in Binghamton, New York. The race, for many years, was held where the late Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame grew up.  The streets are residential, somewhat hilly, and parking to visit was easy.

This year, the festival is moving to downtown Binghamton, where...well, it just isn't the same.  I've worked in downtown Binghamton for many years, and while there are positives, there are also negatives.  Lack of parking and lack of shade, for two.  It's just a different vibe. 

Don't get me wrong.  I go downtown for JulyFest and I sometimes go to First Friday. But there was just something special about the Chris Thater NOT being downtown.

Although I like to see events come to downtown, I have mixed feelings about this.  I loved having a world class bicycle racing event in a residential neighborhood in a small city of about 47,000 people. There is nothing like seeing bicycles racing through green, flowery neighborhoods filled with single family houses.  The neighborhood that inspired some Twilight Zone episodes. 

So, this is what the racing looked like in 2013.

Going up a hill.

Professional bicycle racers from all over the world compete.

Here, the cyclists are going uphill and have slowed down enough to have their picture taken of.

Bicylists in sun glare.

This is the venue where the races will take place tomorrow.


My question:  was the move to downtown rebooting a good one?

We'll see what happens this weekend.

I will think positive.  It will all work out.

Here's a post from 2010, with some edits which gives a brief history of this race.

Bicycles and Bluegrass

Such a wonderful thing that has arisen out of tragedy.

In 1983 a student by the name of Chris Thater, while cycling, was killed by a drunk driver near Harpursville, NY.

His friends would not let that senseless death rest.  Rather, they turned it into one heck of a memorial.  The Chris Thater Memorial.  A two day bicycle race held in a residential neighborhood in Binghamton bordering Binghamton's Recreation Park, made somewhat famous by several episodes of the Twilight Zone.  (Rod Serling grew up nearby and spent a lot of time in that park), it celebrates "Stop DWI" and brings bicyclists from all over the world to our small city.

For the 27th year, bicyclists assembled from all over the world: Australia, Guyana and more (even Asheville, NC).  The scene:  surreal.   Neighbors set up lemonade stands or sit on their lawns and watched the riders. Riders sped around blocked off streets (some posts protected with hay bales) at 30-35 mph with local residents cheering them on and ringing cowbells. In the park there was a mix of people listening to music, dancing, gyrating with a hula hoop, visiting the refreshment stands.  Residents and racers rode bicycles through the park. ( I talked to a woman who came in with a tandem recumbent bicycle).

Mission in Motion was there, and I briefly was able to talk to a team member I know before her race started.

This year, an expanded music lineup entertained the crowd.  What a blast, hearing good music while watching the riders going around and around.  Every 2 1/2 minutes or so the pace car came by, followed by the pack, speeding in back of the stage.

They say upwards of 10,000. people come each year.

Here are some of the bands we enjoyed:
One Click Culture
The Terry Walker Project (sadly, the sound system never quite worked for them - but if you love Blood, Sweat and Tears you'd love them.  And, they did an unbelieveable cover of James Brown's Living in America;
Dirt Farm

Both spouse and I were somewhat overcome by the sun and never got to see another highly regarded band from Rochester, the Boogiemen.

This year, not a cloud in the sky, and I have a sunburned neck to testify to that.  That's not usual weather for Binghamton.  One could almost think Chris Thater was smiling down on us, knowing his untimely death was not in vain.

Q-Tips in September

Yesterday, we turned back the hands of time for a few minutes.

When I go to outdoor venues to see local bands play, I am always surprised to see how many people are of "a certain age". Someone I knows calls them "Q-Tips".

Actually, I am a Q-Tip too.  And this is the trick that time plays on us Q-Tips:

To me, rock n'roll is a music of young people.  I'm always surprised when I see senior citizens enjoying music of the Beatles, the Who, Earth Wind and Fire, and a host of other groups of the 60's and 70's.  When I was coming of age, after all, there was a huge musical divide between our parents and us.

They listened to Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and big band. 

Our music was boring and repetitive.  It had no substance.  It was a bunch of screaming.

Our music became the music of rebellion.  We would show our parents.  And, to our surprise, we would raise children who loved the same music we did.  Our grown children have their own music (i.e. rap), true, but they also know our music.  I know 20-somethings who love Elvis and the Beatles.

And now we are older than our parents were when they said those hurtful things about our 60's music.  Our hair is grey, we've put on a few pounds, but we can still boogie.

On a Sunday afternoon in Binghamton, New York, at a bicycle race of all places, a group called Rooster and the Road House Horns played the music of groups such as Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire, mostly to a group of Q-Tips.  The bicycle race (more on that in another post) was over and the young people had left.

Rooster invited everyone to come up and dance and several people of a "certain age" answered the call.

Swaying to the beat of "September", they were teenagers and young people in their 20's again.  And so were those of us who stayed in our seats.

When I was a teenager, the sight would have made me sick.  How sad.  It took me 40 years to understand.

Time has had its way with us Q-Tips physically.  But inside, we are still young.  Our thoughts are young.  The voices we think in are the same young voices.

Every generation understands this, eventually.