Harlem Motocross 2006 Season Underway
After a prolonged rain delay, the 2006 Harlem Motocross season has begun. Get ready for the non-stop summer action of teens on ATV's and dirts bikes, as well as one old guy on a motorcycle, once again going up and down Adam Clayton Powell and Lenox Avenues ad nauseam.
Just as in previous years, the 2006 Motocross substitutes for a fixed track a fluid central Harlem course largely determined by where police cars are not currently pursuing participants and the availability of chicks on the street to watch them ride wheelies.
In all seriousness, this totally baffles me. Where do Manhattan teenagers get an ATV, let alone store one? If Greg were to say "hey man, we really need ATVs by the end of the week; let's pick some up," I'd have no idea where to begin looking. And if I did get an ATV, where would I put it?
It's not like these kids are hiding a pack of cigarettes and some dirty magazines under the bed. These are multi-cylinder gas powered vehicles. Cheryl has a car, and I have a bike. Both are legitimate, and both are a pain in the ass to store in the city. Getting garage space for an ATV seems totally out of the question, as going through a credit check, putting down a deposit, and providing a billable address do not seem like things a fifteen year-old storing an illegal machine would want to do.
Cheryl has the best theory so far on what people do with their personal motor vehicles. She speculates that they buy them, begin ridding them, and, all lucid on Provigil, don't ever stop riding them until they are finally caught by the cops. This would explain why we hear the mosquito-like buzzing of their engines at all hours in the beginning of the summer, with their use tapering off until summer's end.
UPDATE
Thanks for the shout-outs from MX Replay, MotoNews, and of course, Curbed! Cheryl and I are now telling our friends we have the next best thing to a NASCAR condo.






Comments
I like Cheryl! LOL
Posted by: Berry | June 14, 2006 01:13 AM
I'm so glad to read this post, because I thought I was going crazy. My bedroom in my new apt. faces 125th St. and lately I've been wondering why there seems to be a motorcycle race every weekend. So this is how it will be all summer? Good lord.
Posted by: emily
|
June 14, 2006 11:12 AM
I used to live on 104th and 2nd Ave and this drove me crazzzy. I hate those bikes. They are so loud and diruptive. The worst is when they ride along the East River Promenade at warp speeds and theres no where for pedestrians to avoid them...
Posted by: S | June 14, 2006 12:51 PM
This is awesome! About a month ago I was in Miami (as opposed to Miami Beach, where I live) with some friends and we saw 2 kids wheeling their quads through an intersection. And then a couple blocks later we saw another kid burning down the street on a dirt bike.
I grew up on a farm in rural Washington state and always had dirt bikes, quads and whatnot. It was just so bizarre to see these machines in an urban setting.
Posted by: Christian Calzadillas | June 14, 2006 08:43 PM
Keep up the great work on your blog. Best wishes WaltDe
Posted by: WaltDe | September 1, 2006 12:13 AM
Heres the official Track. East Harlem MAP of MX. Start at the end of E117th Almost at the FDR. On Pleasent and 117, thats where the starter stands, when he sees the light go green, he starts the race. The Left onto Pleasent then 2 blocks to 115th heading West. At 115th and right onto 1st Ave. fly up three blocks to 118th street and then a left back onto Pleasent. Here's the Deal. If you are really quick enough, you could hit all the lights green.
http://x5.freeshare.us/120fs670797.jpg
[url=http://freeshare.us][img=http://x5.freeshare.us/120fs670797.jpg][/url]
Posted by: Tony | September 10, 2006 12:13 PM
this is funny i have a street legal dirtbike mabye ill come race this summer.does anyony have the offical schedule?
Posted by: Anonymous | March 24, 2007 01:45 PM