Rides n things

 

Hello, dear readers, and happy New Year.  I've been busy selling pillows and chain lube and riding bikes and have fallen a bit behind in my Bicycle Kitty blogging.  So, in the spirit of catching up, I've mashed up the last several rides all in one convenient post!

To start, I am happy to report that the phenomenon of alley cat racing is alive and well in Portland, Oregon. I had the chance to compete in two races last autumn, and turned in my best alley cat results of all time!

I curated a frisky single speed team for Cranksgiving, an annual race which raises food and other necessities for charity. Each team is given a list of items and a list of stores. Part of the trick is smart routing, part is efficient shopping, and part is speed. There’s also a costume contest. My team couldn’t agree on a theme, so we wore a mixed bag of costumes and called ourselves Hot Mess. This name hearkens back to Team Messerschmidt days. Also Mess is short for (bike) messenger, where alley cats got their start. We had a lot of fun, gathered a nice amount of goods to give, and most importantly, we won!  First place, at long last!

 

The next alley cat was actually a mash up of cyclocross, alley cat racing and charity fundraising.  Kimmy Cross raises funds to fight melonoma, which is the cancerous skin disease that took Kimmy away from her friends and family.  I wish I had known her, she sounded super cool.

Racers were told to head over to Kennilworth Park to collect our manifests.  Once at the park, we were directed to complete three laps on the course marked with orange flags.  It was raining and muddy and cold and miserable.  The manifest showed a variety of optional checkpoints, each worth varying points values.  It was lunchtime, so we decided to include Nathan's Hot Dogs in our rounds, where we earned a bunch of points for eating two hot dogs each.

Probably the funnest and weirdest stop was behind Hopworks on Powell, where you had to roll the dice and spin around that number of times with your forehead on a bat.  I rolled eleven.  Right afterwards, you had to ride a tricycle around an obstacle course both forwards and backwards.

At the finish line, we had to compete with another team, which was comprised of two racers from the previous race's Hot Mess.  The competition involved flipping cups over, and because our hands were cold and wet, it was nearly impossible and a total laugh riot.  We took second place overall, largely due to the hot dogs!

A few Sundays ago, I sauntered over to Golden Pliers to hand out sparkly valve caps and mingle with 100 spandex-clad coffee-drinking cyclists and friends.  I suppose this could be called an industrial mountain bike ride. Or a container yard railroad tracks secret lake tour. OMTM called it a Treasure Hunt, and it truly was. I rode a few things that scared me, ran a few and balked like a chicken plenty. I felt nostalgic every time the route traced over the old French Toast route. The Concord spirally overpass is a favorite, and I like the tiny woods by the gas plant too.

Bailed after 20 miles to head over to the Corvidae Sunday Funday ride. I was the only rider at this hip urban ride wearing spandex kit. This was more of a denim vest and cigarette crowd, but, hey, when you’re a jet, you’re a jet. So I tagged along and even had an opportunity to visit Leah at Gladys Bikes to say hi, while the dude on 20" wheels with no brakes fixed his flat.

Last week felt like TNR time, so I put jeans on over my chammy, filled my pannier with rhubarb flavored cider and rolled over.  Even though I hadn't been on a TNR since last November, it felt like no time at all had passed.  We did a fun and funky tour of parking garages, alighting at the top of one for a nice break. 

Next up: I had an opportunity to join some friends on a bike move.  I was coming from a facial and don't have a cargo bike, so I did what I could with my rack and panniers, which ended up being quite a lot because I carried about 20 books and 9 duraflame logs.  My load was so heavy I fell trying to get on my bike and needed a spotter for both mounting and dismounting.  The fifteen or so riders carrying a ton of stuff made quite a spectacle, and also made a nice crowd for the move in after party.

Finally, a fun ride by Puddlecycle called Planes, Trains and Automobiles took us from south to north to the beautiful Cully Park, which features a meditation circle and an amazing playground.  I probably got more exercise on the playground than during the actual ride.  The double wide slide was double the fun.

I'm feeling fairly caught up now, dear readers, so I will bid you adieu and adventure off in search of more stories to share.