Yeah!! I've been saying for years that Tosa needs to be part of these bike races! We'll be there ... passing a Prime Bucket! Any chance we can add some fun contests like the last bike balancing or other great primes chances for the riders?

This is such a huge deal for everyone here in East Tosa and Wauwatosa in general. After so many wrote us off a few years ago it is truly amazing to watch this neighborhood renaissance unfold and be a part of it. More great things to come!

Criteriums are very fun events to watch. It is a great excuse to throw a party if your house happens to be on the route.

After seeing the sparse turnout in Madison this year, this seems to be a smart move by the TOAD organizers.

Hooray for Ald. Tilleson! He is doing excellent work. Cheers, too, for East Tosa!

East Tosa also opened another major business last week -- I hope Mr. Price has details soon. Things are looking up!

What will the route be?

Very exciting! What a renaissance for East Tosa!

"Racin' on the Ave"
...a modification of our "Chili'n on the Ave" event.

This is going to draw a bunch of leotard wearing, effeminate men and their bone skinny girlfriends who look like they only eat one carrot stick a day. Unless protein drinks and energy bars are on the menu, I doubt those endorphin junkies will be drinking beer and eating pizza and burgers at Cranky's or Walter's. I think this event will have a negative effect on commerce because it will end up keeping away the regular customers who frequent the businesses in that neighborhood. The bike boys will leave a big mess to clean up, the merchants will lose sales and the city will spend a bunch of extra money on overtime. This is a bad idea.

Here's some more comedy for you:

"Thousands of visitors = economic benefit."
- Milton Freidman

Below are the sampled demographics of a bicyclist, and can be interpreted to represent a racing cyclist, their immediate family, and immediate friends and interested followers:

<i>Among adults who have bicycled in the past 12 months, 57 percent are male and 43 percent are female, according to Scarborough Research.

Fourteen percent are ages 18-24, 21 percent are 25-34, 24 percent are 35- 44, 21 percent are 45-54, 13 percent are 55-64, and 7 percent are 65-plus.
Sixty-seven percent have an annual household income of $50,000 or more, with 49 percent at $75,000 or more and 30 percent at $100,000 or more.</i>

These appear to be a pretty desirable demographic (middle to upper middle class) to have around for any single day- especially a Sunday.
joey, it's a big deal, and any reasonable small business owner will be able to capitalize on food, beer and tchotchke sales. I easily spent $100 on food and drinks alone last year at Downer over the entire day.

It looks like the only people who will profit from this event are the race organizers, and a handful of restauranteurs and tchotchke vendors. It certainly won't be the homeowners along the route who will have to put up with people camped out on their lawn all day.

Here's a few questions the elected reps should be asking before they grant a permit to hold this event. How much of the cost to provide public safety will be borne by the race organizers (or is tosa planning on providing it to them for free)? How will the homeowners be compensated for any damage caused to their property? Will the race organizers be responsible for picking up the trash? Are the racers required to carry health insurance? If not, is the city liable when one of these endorphin junkies gets hurt? Maybe the alderman has some answers, then again, maybe not.

As a follow up to some of the questions posed-
The Local Sponsor of the race typically secures the course, pays for public works to deliver the barricades, and works with the police and fire to determine necessary overtime costs and safety concerns. Insurance is a modern day necessity and is held by those at risk. The Event Promoter follows up with a course cleanup crew.
Pretty typical event type stuff.

@edh
So, the local sponsor pays to have the barricades delivered and also cleans up the mess, and the taxpayers pay for everything else, is that right? Do the merchants who will be reaping those “best day ever” profits have to pay anything extra, or do they get a free ride (pun intended)?

I am looking forward to having this race in Tosa. The race organizers are extremely professional, the leotard wearing endorphin junkies and their carrot eating girlfriends love this series, and bike racing is a great sport because, hey, any decent person can relate to the thrill of riding a bike. Way to go Wauwatosa!!

I ride wearing lycra. I also love watching bike races while drinking beer and eating pizza and burgers, preferably stacked on top of each other. I cannot wait for this event. This is a great series, and unlike Downer Classic, I can now stumble home when the racing concludes.

As a resident in the area where the ride will take place, I am extremely excited about the event! It brings not only strong during-event economic benefit to local business that I frequent and diligently support, like Cranky Al's, Il Mito, Walters, Juniper, North Star Grill, and more, but also residual, long-tail economic benefit from the attention before and after the event. The race series has demonstrated proven positive economic impact in numerous communities. How wonderful that a responsible event sponsor and promoter are bringing attention and much needed traffic to our side of town. It will draw a very large and loyal cycling community (that already patronizes the aforementioned establishments) as well good folks from in and out of town. Outside dollars, coming in - that's positive economics, and the event is great publicity for our community. Look for me (an avid cyclist) wearing my lycra and checking out the route well in advance, along with my other numerous cycling buddies! Heck, get to Johnson's, buy a bike off his rack on the sidewalk, and join in - support your local business!

Way to go Tosa!! This will be great exposure for North Ave, and a great event for the community to show their Tosa pride. And I doubt Cranky Al's is worried that cyclists don't eat pizza, since I've seen quite a few Cranky Al's bike jerseys riding around.

As a non-tosa resident but an avid biker that frequents your community,
I have observed your are a high active community. There are people at all times of the day, walking, running, biking. It reminds me of Austin, TX at times. The community is friendly, bike friendly, lots of interesting restaurants, shops, etc. What better place to have a fun, active event. If it weren't for events such as Tosa Fest or Tosa farmers market or riding with a ladies group out of Tosa, I wouldn't have grown to love all that Tosa has to offer, restaurants, shops, great neighborhoods, that we have grown to frequent. If you can introduce others to your community with this event, this is a powerful thing.

I'm not sure what bad can come. Yeah...there might be a few additional costs for the city, but I've been to a number of these races in different parts of Wisconsin and they bring in a big crowd of people who I'm sure will leave a bit of their hard earned money in Tosa. With all the new development in the area this will help put East Tosa on the map.

I am extremely excited for TOAD to be ending in TOSA! Bike racing is not just for the streets Whitefish Bay or Downer Avenue anymore! It speaks volumes that TOAD wanted its series to end in Tosa. I will be wearing a jersey, drinking a beer, topping that off with pizza and ringing my cowbell baby!!!
More importantly, I am very pleased to be a part of a community that will be introducing the sport of professional bike racing to folks of Tosa without having to pay for a ticket!!! Tell me in what other sport can we see some of the worlds best athletes on our own streets???
I am originally from Grafton, where I can attest, bike racing was hardly on the active minds of the majority of the folks that live there… in its 3rd year of hosting the “Giro de Grafton” the entire course was lined with residents who cheered on the racers, hosted parties and inspired a spirit of community!
BRING IT!!!