Neva Again?

Cool for cats

I'm getting excited for the proposed velodrome in Brooklyn Bridge Park. For those of you who, like me, thought a velodrome was a vacuum cleaner or a motion sickness pill, let me assure you that track cycling is indeed a real sport. It's huge in Europe, as demonstrated by the anthropomorphic cats in the vintage postcard above (thanks, Card Mine).

My question is, does it have to be an indoor velodrome? Check out this great photograph of the Fontanka Embankment on the Neva in Saint Petersburg, circa 1905. Isn't the Brooklyn Bridge Park our embankment? And aren't New York City cyclists supposed to be tough? At least as tough as these pre-Revolutionary enthusiasts making their revolutions. I'm inclined to wonder.

(Photo: Karl Karlovitch Bulla)