[CR]Vintage USA bike races...DOB according to the 'offical Websites'

TOUR OF SOMERVILLE HISTORY http://www.tourofsomerville.org/history.html Ask a native resident of the small central New Jersey town of Somerville to say the first thing that comes to mind when you say Memorial Day, and you're likely to hear "Bike Racing." Each Memorial Day for the past 56 years they came. They came to watch, to eat, to enjoy. They came to Somerville to witness what is known to be the oldest continuously run major bicycle race in the United States. A race rich in history and tradition. A race that is regarded as the most prestigious cycling event in America. They came for the Kugler-Anderson Tour of Somerville. When professional bike racer and bike shop owner, Fred Kugler, now universally known as "Pop", decided to promote a bike race in his hometown of Somerville, he encountered one problem. New Jersey state law prohibited racing on highways for prizes. Kugler then decided to name the race a "tour." Hence the classic, 50-mile Tour of Somerville was born in May of 1940. ************** MANHATTAN BEACH GRAN PRIX http://www.mbgp.com/mbgp.htm The MBGP was founded in 1962 by local legend Ted Ernst. As the race has grown over the past 41 years, it has developed a reputation for providing high-quality competition that benefits both the community and the athlete. The MBGP provides racing for all levels of USCF racers as well as a wide age range of community racers. Our race is the second longest running one day in America and draws contestants from six continents. The MBGP is co-sponsored by the Manhattan Beach Lion's Club and the SouthBay Wheelmen. Ted Ernst is still active in the racing community and oversees the community races. *************** LONGSJO http://www.longsjo.com/artlongsjo.html The race currently known as the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic was first held in 1960 as the Fitchburg-Longsjo Memorial Race. It was renamed by the USCF in 1980, and is one of the few races in the country to be designated as a "classic." The first race was organized by Guy Morin as a memorial to his teammate Art Longsjo. *************** NEVADA CITY http://www.nevadacityclassic.com/p_races.html It all started in 1961 when Bob Tetzlaff, a rider who forged a sterling cycling career spanning 3 decades, won the inaugural affair, which was witnessed by 1,500 locals and contested by 50 competitors. The prizes weren't too shabby-ranging from an outboard motor to transistor radios- and race director Charlie Allert awarded all the winners a gold nugget. Tetzlaff's winning time of 2:05 for 45 miles would, ironically, compare favorably to future times. Tetz was trailed by Dave Sharp and Wes Chowan in that order. In 1962, a nineteen year old Canadian, Bill Wild, appeared to be the sure winner as he led 64 other competitors for 20 laps. But, he crashed on The Turn and, according to The Union, was treated for "badly skinned elbows and a broken wrist." Following the exit of Wild, a Seesaw battle between Tetzlaff, Sharp, Bob Parsons, Bill Harrison, Ed Renger, and Ronnie Thorn-"a sensational cyclist from Austalia"-developed. Parsons crashed on the uphill part of all places an d Tetz blasted through The Turn and "...flashed over the line only a handlebar length ahead of Bill Harrison, a 17 year old Sunnyvale lad." Sharp placed 3rd.

So there you have it...if the websites are indeed correct. Somerville is far and away the King.... the next three are so close it depends on how continuous and vigorously presented each year these next three are/were as far as Oldest AND 'continuously running'.

Matthew Gorski
Belmont Shore, CA