Being There: Valley Preferred Cycling Center’s Friday Nights Under the Lights 50th Anniversary
It could not have been a better atmosphere to celebrate the Valley Preferred Cycling Center’s fiftieth anniversary on May 29th. With three men’s and the same women’s races on the card, spectators turned out for a night to celebrate half a century of Bob Rodale’s dream of track racing in the Lehigh Valley. The schedule reflected past and current names, a kids fun lap, and the Mike Budjnoski Fireworks Spectacular to round out the night.
The track schedule shone through the perfect setting sun in Trexlertown, PA. First on the docket was the women’s pro/ am scratch race followed by the men’s pro/ am points race. With sufficient time to hit a food truck, racing resumed with the women’s pro/ am elimination, always a favorite, followed by the men’s pro/ am flying mile record attempt. A quick break in the action and the racing resumed with the women’s pro/ am Becky Quinn 60-lap points race followed by the men’s pro/ am Mike Walter 100-lap Madison. The final four events, both men’s and women’s, qualified for rider of the year points events.
The camaraderie of walking around the velodrome on any given Friday night is a great experience. We ran into Steve, our great friend in the cycling community who brought along someone just getting into cycling. After a bit of walking we encountered Greg, also from the cycling community whose son took part in the kids fun lap. Rory of the Instigators came up to us with his gimbal to record the kids’ reactions to the night of racing. Seeing a drone zip by behind the riders, one could only assume Ron Short was on hand for incredible footage. We cheered on Andrew Dudle as he raced his way through the Madison.
The attractions weren’t just on the track. Four food trucks were on hand including a pulled pork tent that had a continuous long line, a Latin-inspired food truck serving Central American dishes, a kettle popcorn and nuts truck visited more than once, and a soba noodle truck that piqued our interest. The Sticky Pig food truck is a mainstay at the Velodrome, offering a menu from the snack stand. Meanwhile the kids’ zone offered two inflatables with extremely patient volunteers as well as an inflatable batting cage with a hovering wiffle ball. And everyone knew of the fireworks scheduled for the end of the night to light up the first official weekend of racing at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center.
On track and the major team was Star Track, based out of New York City, who won both the Madison as well as the Becky Quinn Points Race. The team podiumed in the Flying Mile Record as well as taking fourth in two other races. Their easy-to-spot kit mixed it up in every race on the night.
What made the night memorable was sitting on the backstretch bleachers once the sun went down. Its location next to a grassy hill makes it a favorite for young kids getting their wiggles out. For a spell, the kids went quiet and their games of tag were replaced by something more wholesome. They wedged their little bodies between the bleachers and boards during the 100-lap Madison. Those kids who were running up and down the hills dozens of times were now shouting encouragement to the riders while holding hands out for high-fives from the Madison partner. The partners delivered, giving proper kudos to the kids who shouted, “You can do it!” and, “You’re doing great!” These were the same kids who rampaged through the inflatables an hour earlier at least ten times, causing the volunteers to recommend they use a restrained approach to the apparatus.
There were numerous speakers to honor the five decades the velodrome has been operating. VPCC chairman Andrew Rodale Norelli, grandson of Bob Rodale, opened the night with remarks. He would also take the ceremonial final lap to recreate Bob Rodale’s ride around his velodrome. Pennsylvania Representative Mike Schlossberg as well as Ryan Mackenzie, US Congresssman, were on hand to commemorate the anniversary. Andrew Rodale Norelli’s lap would be joined by Bobby Phillips, Jim Alvord, and Kim Geist, all VPCC hall of fame members.
Shortly after 9pm, the lights were dimmed in anticipation for the Mike Budjnoski Fireworks Spectacular. Kids populated the hillside where, hours before, they were playing tag. Across the way, locals set up chairs in the park to solely watch the show without worrying about bike racing. And the night was lit up by a pyrotechnic show including two face-warming blasts of fire and what felt like five different encores.
The Valley Preferred Cycling Center’s Friday Nights Under the Lights 50th Anniversary event packed a lot into one night. It’s a great place to go with the kids to watch racing, get food and drinks, learn about track cycling, and catch up with friends in a way that feels unrushed and unworried. With all of the noise of fans cheering and fireworks booming, the team car ride home that night was quiet - sleeping kids recovering from their never-ending attempt to try everything the Velodrome has to offer in one night. Shoot us a message any Friday night you’re thinking of visiting the Trexlertown velodrome. We may already be headed up that way.
