Sunday, January 20, 2008

Several Riders Humiliated at Oakland Alleycat


This past weekend, local riders were treated to sunny skies and a novel approach to the now standard alleycat race format. Tired of the tried and true point-to-point messenger style race, the promoters opted to go with a new "street skills" approach.

After a quick warm-up down Telegraph, riders were told to enter the Hood Games ramp competition. This is a typically a skateboard only event, but the Games organizers were open to new faces in the event. Unfortunately riding a ramp on a bike proved disastrous for most, and the cyclists were booed out of the competition. One teary eyed rider noted that "Even the guys from Clean Skate Shop laughed at us, it was horrible. I mean, I go to Oz every month, I couldn't believe it."

Next up was an eating contest at China Town's Legendary Palace. Riders had to negotiate a 7th Street delivery truck obstacle course, before entering the restaurant. Once inside, riders were told they must eat a fried squab, bowl of duck tongues and a "dim sum surprise". Several riders immediately dropped out, one girl threw up, but the remaining competitors put their game faces on and tore into the meals.

After a nice cup of green tea riders were told to sprint to Lake Merritt for a skidding competition. No problem thought many, this is my signature move. Unfortunately for them, they would have to skid across the Geese nesting area by Fairy Land, an area covered in nearly an inch of goose poop. One rider stated, "This was the worst. After a day of suffering, we were now falling down into slimy, stinky bird shit." Several cyclists slid entirely into the Lake. One of these riders now has a nasty rash that just won't go away.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The visuals in my mind are breath taking.