When Zwift co-founder Jon Mayfield reached out asking if I’d like to consult on the development of a new virtual Prospect Park, I jumped at the opportunity. My history with Zwift and Prospect Park spans decades, so it was a perfect match.
I was Zwift’s former VP of Events — Eric Min (who I raced with as a junior!) invited me to join the company when it was still a scrappy startup. My Zwift ID is 7 — that’s how early I came aboard.
And in the real world? I’ve been racing in Prospect Park since I was 8 years old, and I organized IRL races there for 17 straight years — more than 150 races total.
So yes… this project felt meant to be.
Where It All Began: Kissena Cycling Club & Grassroots NYC Racing
Organized racing in Prospect Park has always been a community-driven effort. The sport owes much of its existence to the Kissena Cycling Club — and three individuals who kept NYC racing alive for the last 40+ years.
To honor them, Zwift named three virtual Prospect Park routes after those IRL legends:
• Al Toefield → “Toefield Tornado”
• Greg Avon → “Avon Flyer”
• Charlie Issendorf → “Issendorf Express”
Each played a unique role in keeping the heart of Brooklyn bike racing beating.
The People Behind the Pedals
Al Toefield — The Founder of the Movement
In 1963, Al Toefield founded the Kissena Cycling Club in Queens, New York. A former Sergeant in the NYPD, he began organizing races in Prospect Park in the early 1970s.
At the time, the park was surrounded by rough neighborhoods and had a reputation for being unsafe. City officials approached Al with a challenge: Bring life back into Prospect Park. Show the public it can be used for healthy, positive activity.
Al delivered. He built a racing culture from the ground up, keeping events running until he passed away in 1989. His impact still shapes NYC cycling today.
Greg Avon — The Relentless Builder
When Al passed, the baton was handed to Greg Avon, currently a Level 100 Zwifter and still as passionate as ever.
Greg served as Kissena President and Race Organizer through 2005 — a remarkable run that spanned more than 15 years of early-morning races, unpredictable logistics, and unwavering commitment.
He modernized the process, expanded participation, and ensured the scene continued to grow.
Charlie Issendorf — Keeping the Tradition Alive
After Greg stepped away, I took over as Race Director, and for 17 straight years, I kept the tradition going — adding Sprint and KOM competitions with leader jerseys to give the races a true pro feel.
Those events weren’t easy — yet seeing hundreds of cyclists lap the park at sunrise made every sleepless night worth it. Knowing Zwift has now immortalized those efforts with the Issendorf Express route is truly special.
Fun Facts About IRL Prospect Park Racing
- Races start at 6:00 AM — sometimes in complete darkness.
- Everything must be wrapped up by 8:00 AM before the park becomes crowded.
- Race organizers wake up at 2:00 AM — yes, you read that right — to set up the course.
- Riders start picking up numbers at 5:00 AM (headlights and coffee mandatory).
- At least 25 course marshals are needed for every race, spaced every 100-200 meters for safety.
- The IRL course includes a KOM sprint, just like Zwift.
- The Kissena Cycling Club still runs these events today — one of the oldest active cycling clubs in the U.S. — and they even have a Kissena in-game kit on Zwift.
- Francesco Moser raced in Prospect Park — Yes, that Moser! The 3-time Paris-Roubaix winner, Giro d’Italia champion, and World Hour Record holder was in Brooklyn promoting his wine when a Kissena rider jokingly invited him to race in Prospect Park the next morning. Moser said yes — as long as they could find him a bike and a kit. They did… and the rest is history! Read the full story here.
Prospect Park racing demands teamwork long before the peloton even clips in.
From Brooklyn to the Metaverse
Indoor cyclists around the world can now experience the spirit of Prospect Park — from the sprint and KOM points to the serenity of sunrise through the trees — thanks to Zwift’s virtual version.
The landscape may be digital, but the heritage is as real as it gets. Zwift has created a living tribute to grassroots organizers, volunteers, and racers who kept the tradition thriving — year after year, lap after lap.
Why it Matters
Cycling culture isn’t built only on WorldTour finishes — it grows in local parks, driven by people who show up before dawn to make the sport available to others.
Prospect Park is proof that big racing hearts beat in everyday places.
From Al single-handedly running races in the 1970s to thousands of riders on Zwift today — the legacy continues to roll.
And if you ever jump on virtual Prospect Park and ride one of those named routes — know that each one celebrates someone who made cycling in Brooklyn possible.
See you on the Issendorf Express. 🚴♂️✨
Anthony Van Dunk should also get some love in this piece.
Agreed on the AVD acknowledgement. Dude was there supporting races that wouldn’t have happened otherwise for a long time
Agreed Agreed. AVD must be mentioned, and thanked. His was perhaps not as long a reign as the three heroes credited in this history, but it was crucial nonetheless. Without him the “Spring Series” may have been lost to all of us forever.
Charlie, thanks for all the effort you and others have done for cycling and for Zwift.
Thanks so much for sharing this story, very interesting and very inspiring!
Charlie! A Fantastic well written tribute to the passion and cycling history of Prospect Park. Many early mornings in my life leaving Long Island to suite up and race against you there my friend. Some of my fondest memories racing IRL are at Prospect Park. Cheers to having the Issendorf Express route as its very well deserved in your honor. See you on Zwift!
Prospect Park is my favorite place to race a bike. I’m always happy when I get on my bike there. This should be fun to try without the pre-sunrise drive to get to the races. 😀🌞😀🌞
Prospect Park is my backyard. I loved marshalling races there as well as watching them. Thanks for bringing it virtually to so many people! And thank you for this article. Great piece of local history.
As a cyclist from the South Shore of Long Island, Prospect Park is part of the heritage. Cycling laps in PP is a rite of passage. The early morning rides which catch the end of the races and the cool down laps are always fast a furious. Grabbing a spot at the back of a roaring peloton to drag me up Prospect Park Hill was always a bonus. I still remember the day that I finally broke the 10 minute full lap of the park and how exciting it was when I discovered it in my Strava upload.
Thank you for the years of service to the NYC Cycling community. You’ve given us all a slice of heaven in the urban chaos.
I raced in a Cat 3/4 handicap race that was won by George Hincapie wearing Junior Championship jersey. I was racing for Jerry Casale’s Hill Cycling team out of Philadelphia.
How quickly history fades. I began riding in Prospect Park in the 1960s and took to the track at Kissena in ’67 and ’68. In 1973, we founded the Prospect Wheelers — the park’s first true cycling club — which evolved into Team Brooklyn by the late ’70s. At first, we raced friendly club events with Century Road, but soon we were battling it out on the streets of Brooklyn. By ’77 and ’78, our club was hosting full-fledged road races up at Hunter Mountain.
It was my club that helped develop riders like Tom “The Bomb” Donahue, and we proudly competed in the very first Empire State Games. Standout racers such as Patrick Gellanau, Tony Griffin, and Aleric Gayfer all rode under our colors. What people now call “racing in the park” only became possible because the club cut through the red tape, secured the permits, and made it happen. Back then, we were proud to be of the largest and most diverse cycling club in New York City.
I could go on, but my racing days were more than fifty years ago — and these days, I prefer to sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays. After leaving the club in 1983, I went on to become a three-time Paralympian with the U.S. Ski Team and later served as an alternate for the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic road cycling team. My last competitive ride was the 4000 meters at the 1996 Olympic Trials.
Coach, I see you. I hear you. I appreciate you. It was your love of Brooklyn, the Park and bicycle racing that pulled a scrawny kid out of bed at 4:30 am before high school at Brooklyn Tech in 1980 to motor pace behind the bumper of your, what was it… a Chevy Nova? in Prospect Park, in the dark, before rush hour made it impossible (hello people, the Park was not always car free). With my mates Phil and Chris Castaldi and Joel Simon, the Team Brooklyn Junior Team, sponsored by Alan’s Bay Ridge Bicycle World. We turned ourselves inside out, jostling for position and bumping shoulders to stay in the draft of the car.
What is it that incents a black man with one functional arm, from one side of the park, to get up in the middle of the night on a working weekday to motor pace and coach four scrawny white boys from the ‘other’ side of the park, strangers really, who dreamt of becoming the next Greg Lemond, without compensation? Talk about selflessness.
Hats off to you my brother. It was gratifying to see your name pop up in this thread.
-Jackson
Jackson, so well said it is amazing that almost 50 years later we all still talk to each other and that ridding behing that bumper was so defining in all our lives. Also so that Phil Castaldi and Tom Lucarelli for all these years have been able to support racing in Prospect Park and NYC.It goes to show the mentors like Bill Henry’s gift keeps giving today.
It was an honor to do it!
Love hearing part of your story, Bill. Thanks for sharing! If you’re ever interested in writing a post sharing what you know of early riding/racing at Prospect Park… I’d love to publish it here on Zwift Insider. Hit me up at eric@zwiftinsider.com if you’re interested.
Thanks for sharing this great story Charlie. As a cyclist and former Elite-level racer for nearly 40 yrs I definitely appreciate the importance of local efforts like this, and applaud community leaders like yourself. Looking forward to getting a taste of Prospect Park virtual laps very soon! Thanks to all who’ve made it possible. Ride On!!
thanks for sharing this interesting history and background.
As a mere mortal, I’ve still done my share of laps in Prospect Park. I grew up there, across the street on Ocean Avenue. It was my back yard. I was there when they first closed the road and we rode back and forth. Nobody did laps then. Then they started closing the road every weekend, Then during the week but still open to cars half the day. I was commuting through there to work when it was still open to cars in I think 2010 or later but by then only in the morning and evening rush in the direction of traffic, and only one lane. They finally closed it completely at some point.
To us mere mortals the little hill could be a killer, until I trained on Zwift all winter, lost 35 pounds, and suddenly the hill was just a bump on the road. At 70 now I’ve slowed down but still ride the park. Even when I’m not doing laps most rides include a pass through there.
As an italian who loves NY and cycling (outdoors and indoors) this is a great story. And so good to know that the cycling Idol of my youth (Moser) raced there! I’ll train on Zwift course hoping to come and race IRL there one day..
Wow, I had no idea. Now we got historical reality-based virtual cycling on Zwift.
Somebody should mention” Booker”