Business & Tech

Merchants and Organizers Both Hope for Successful Bike Race

The Taleo Benicia Criterium will kick off at 7:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

Sunday morning downtown Benicia will be full of pedalers, but they won't be selling potions or antiques.  They will be racing their high priced bicycles against each other and the clock at the Taleo Criterium. 

The first of 11 races starts at 7:45 a.m.  The kids race is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. and the last race of the day, the Elite Pro should hear the starters gun around 3:35 in the afternoon.

While no one is certain how many people will come to watch or race downtown merchants are hopeful the visitors are impressed enough to want to come back.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"I'm totally happy," said Leah Shelhorn, owner of .  "I'm a cyclist and this is the best thing Benicia could do for itself."

Stan Houston, owner of has some experience with bike races and racers.  "My Livermore store has been involved with the for three years," said Houston.  "I've seen the people who come to these events and they constitute a demographic we want visiting Benicia."

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Not everyone in the downtown is completely happy about the race.  Christine Meade, co-owner of the is nervous it will make getting food deliveries impossible and she is worried her staff will have trouble getting to work.

"I'm kind of nervous about it," she said. "But I do think it's great to have a bike race that brings people in from out of town."

"Past experience is that restaurants don't do well on bike race day," Meade said.  "That's what I've been told by other restaurant owners."

Pete Van Slyke, an avid cyclist and the main organizer of the event, thinks this year will be different.  In past years spectators weren't allowed to cross the streets between races.  This year there is an approved street crossing plan so people can move around more freely than in the past.

Shelhorn sees the race as an investment.  "This is what we can build on for the future.  Bigger rides and more people."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Benicia