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Culture<\/a><\/p>\n Photographing Il Giro di San Francisco with a color infrared camera shows racing in literally a new light.<\/p>\n Erik Mathy<\/p>\n Erik Mathy is a photographer with a cycling problem. His work is the subject of the full-length documentary film \u201cRide Slow, Take Photos\u201d by Adobe and was featured in Mountain Flyer\u2019s first-ever Photo Annual, as well as in multiple other publications. Ever visually curious, Erik constantly experiments with new and different ways to create images. He has made lenses with optical elements and dollar bills, used every analog format from 110 roll film to 8×10 large format sheet film, and built his own cameras while also utilizing the latest digital equipment in the pursuit of better images.<\/p>\n Road bike racing in America is, shall we say, not necessarily in the healthiest of places. There is no national series, only two UCI-classified stage races (one of which, Joe Martin Stage Race, was cancelled this year) and two UCI-classified one-day events on the 2025 calendar. Even criteriums, that subset of road racing that America likes to try to claim as its own, have a sporadic elite calendar; USA Cycling’s Criterium National Series<\/a> has just six races over the span of three months during the summer. There’s also the separate nine-race USA Crits series.<\/p>\n Which isn\u2019t to say that road racing in America is dead. From a \u201cnational,” aka professional standpoint, one can probably make the case to say it is, at the very least, on life support in the Intensive Care Unit waiting for multiple organ transplants. Locally, however, some organizations remain steadfast.<\/p>\n A quick search in the Bikereg.com<\/a> event calendar for \u201cRoad Race\u201d events in America finds 1,053 of them in 2025, almost all of them smaller events made up mostly of amateur age-group fields. Here in northern California, where I live, two races have been going for over 45 years. One of them is among the oldest road races in America, the Berkeley Hills Road Race<\/a>. It’s been run by the Berkeley Bicycle Club since 1957. The other, more fancily titled Il Giro di San Francisco<\/a>, was founded in 1975. It was initially part of the Italian-American-driven Columbus Day Celebration, hence the name. In 1981, the date was changed to Labor Day, and the race was moved to its current digs at Levi Plaza.<\/p>\n This post is for paying subscribers only Already have an account? Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n \n \ud83d\udc4dYep![\"Erik](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/erik-unbound-2022-square-2.jpg\")
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The Men\u2019s Master 35+ 1\/2\/3 field rolls down the long back straight on Sansome St. with the Transamerica Pyramid in the background. Bicycle messengers often refer to it as \u201cThe Dunce Cap.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/giro-di-sf-1.jpg\")
Two young racers in the Men\u2019s Junior 17-18 Open class take a right hand turn as they try to make their breakaway stick.<\/p>\n
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