Asbury Park, NJ. It's a beach town in Monmouth County. Well, it used to be a beach town, the one-stop destination for vacationers from New York City. Developed in 1871 by a brush maker named James Bradley, the community gave rise to a boardwalk, an orchestra pavilion and a pier. More than 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury during the summer season in the early years, riding the railroad from New York City and Philadelphia to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury.
The town flourished til the late 1950s, when expansion via roadways and the automobile became more prevalent throughout New Jersey. Tourists were forgoing Asbury Park for other, more modernized vacation destinations along the Jersey shore, leaving Asbury Park in a state of economic, cultural and political upheaval. Plagued by riots, industrial decay and municipal mismanagement, Asbury Park quickly became a ghost town, interspersed with dilapidated shadows of its once majestic beach town glory.
A modern day view of Asbury Park.
This upcoming weekend, riders from all over the world will descend on Asbury Park for Red Bull's Down and Dirty BMX Comp. Upon the ruins of the Asbury Park Casino (which formerly housed a skatepark), Red Bull has created a realistic BMX street course, including a 54 foot articulated New York City bus with rails, an old taxi cab and quite fittingly, Jersey barriers.
The site of the comp.
Athletes will compete in teams of four and hit the course in a jam format. The riders will be scored individually, and the team whose combined score of the four members is the highest will win a big cash prize. There will also be a Zoo York best trick prize, where locals and the pros will go head to head on the obstacles to see who can land the biggest banger. In partnership with Zoo York and Animal Bikes, there will be over $10,000 in prize money handed out.
Invited teams include:
Team Animal: Nigel Sylvester, Mike Brennan, Tom White, Jared Washington
Team Zoo York: Edwin De La Rosa, Vinnie Sammon, Wormz, Tyrone Williams
Team Electronical: Aaron Ross, Jimmy Levan, Chase Hawk, Jim Cielincki
Team Knuckle Sandwich: Corey Martinez, Seth Kimbrough, Danny Hickerson, Karl Poynter
Team UK: Bas Keep, Robin Felon, Dan Lacey, Bruce Crisman
Team Pirates: Van Homan, Chase Dehart, Dakota Roche, Mike Aitken
Additional riders include: Brian Wizmerski, Sean Burns, Garrett Byrnes, Darryl Tocco, Ian Schwartz, Brad Simms, plus local riders.
