Racing in Central Park is generally pretty great. Sure the early race starts are a bit brutal at times, especially for the Open Races that roll off the line at 5:30AM (!!!). But those early mornings are not an unreasonable trade-off for being able to race bikes through one of the busiest parks in the entire country. And we’ve written about how great the CRCA community is, especially when it comes to being able to do 12 races in Central Park for just $120. Seriously, if you are a New York based cyclist, consider joining CRCA.

But with all that said, there is one big downside to racing in Central Park: the stretch of road at the southern end of the park universally known as ‘horse shit alley.’ For our non-NYC friends: this nomenclature is the result of the animal droppings left all over the roadway by the tourist horse carriages that plod through the park during the day. When it’s dry out, it’s not that big of a deal. On mornings like today, when the roads are still soaked by overnight rain, it is less comfortable, especially if you start think about what is in the grime that covers your bike, your kit, your bottles, and your skin at the end of the race.