Minibike Winter 2015 - Ben Hurt Bike Chariot War

For over a month now I have been working on a bike chariot. This was all in preparation for Portland's Minibike Winter 2015. It is almost a week of stuff culminating in the Zoo Bomb on Sunday. One of the butter events is the Ben Hurt bike chariot war on Saturday. All in all I was pretty excited.

I got into Portland on Friday afternoon and spent a lot of that night biking around. Went up to the Sanctuary and came back via the Zoo Bomb route. Then got lost on the way to the party. Eventually found it on the other side of the river. A ton of people hanging out around a big pallet fire under a freeway bridge. I love that this is a thing that happens.

Saturday I met up with the rest of the crew and put the finishing touches on the chariot. I also bought some shin guards which I would be very thankful for later. The meetup for the chariot war was not the battlefield itself. I think that was mostly because the event is not really sanctioned by any sort of government agency. So we hung out for a while waiting for the thing to really get going. When it did the whole mass of people, and there were a couple hundred people, rode off to a place to skirmish in peace.

The location turned out to be under a freeway again in an industrial part of town. It took some times to get things ordered and everyone set to go. Soon enough the goons running it were able to get the battle going. Remember I say battle, because this wasn't a race. The goal wasn't to complete some number of laps. The goal was to still be holding onto your chariot at the end of the race.

I had expected things to get violent pretty quickly, but as the race started everything was actually pretty calm. My partner and I did one lap with no real interference. After that things went down hill. Chariots would crash into each other and the various participants would try to yank opponents off their contraptions. Imagine a rugby match held on a tangle of bicycles. One girl sliced her finger open on the chainring on my bike. It was far more brutal a contest than I was expecting, but not in the way I thought.

Besides the other teams competing their was a bicycle chariot hot tub. Whichwas amazing and served no purpose whatsoever. Then again, the whole contest is a crazy idea in the first place, so what is wrong with a bit more chaos? Speaking of chaos, the crowd isn't just sitting their. They are actively participating in the event by throwing things into the arena. So most of the time random fireworks are going off. I got hit in the back of the helmet with an egg. The competitors were also being showered with all sorts of stuff. Water. Shaving cream. Baby powder. I even got splattered a few times with chilli. Yes, someone on the sideline had about 2 gallons of chilli and was using a ladle to toss it into the ring. Finally, there was glitter. Yep, glitter. With the help of some sweat, dirt, and chilli, it stuck to everything. I have not been that gross for a long time.

In spite of this, my team did pretty well at avoiding most of the major entanglements. I was happy to let others winnow down the contestants. We ended up being part of the last three teams still competing. I was knocked pretty much off my bike by one guy but managed to hold on with one hand. In the process my charioteer was able to force him off the bike bringing it down to two teams.

Or so you would think. The guy who had been pushed off started yelling at me that he had gotten me off the bike first. Which he hadn't. So then he just tackled me. Frankly I was a little confused by the whole interaction. I mean, at least one of us was no longer competing right? So what as the point? After a little while of being pushed into the ground the other guy gave up. Now there really are only two teams left. The other team in question was led by the girl who had sliced her finger open already. I was worried that someone, and it wasn't that unlikely the person would be me, would be seriously injured. Frankly by that point I was also mentally pretty well finished. I got off my bike and congratulated the other team on their victory.

It was one hell of an event. Like nothing I had ever done before. I am glad I could have been a part of it, but I am also glad I made it out with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises.

-Dravis

King and Queen of the Ravine

Another race! This time Rob put on his annual King and Queen of the Ravine race. It is a simple route. Three laps around Ravenna Park, but to complete the lap each contestant has to consume a beverage of their choice. This is what it looked like:

I guess you can see what most people chose as their drink of choice. Mine is the one with the milk...

The race started out really well. I did a lap before the race just to check it out. I am glad I did.  I was pretty close to the front at the begining and watched Ben slide out around the first sharp corner. After that I kept up pretty well, in maybe 5th place the first two laps.

The third lap was my undoing though. I knew I was losing tire pressure, but I thought it would hold for the last one. It didn't. At the bottom of the first hill I was riding on rubber. At first I thought I had a pinch flat, but after a quick inspection it was a thumb tack. Where the hell did I get a thumb tack? Remembering I had my CO2 canister, I got to changing the tube. I had the new tube all set up when I remembered that I had given the canister away a few weeks previous. Knowing that everyone was finishing up by now, I hoofed it back up the hill to get my pump. I was going to finish the race at least. When I got their I found out that my tube wouldn't hold air. Argh. I borrowed a patch kit and got the tube fixed. I rode my last lap and got back just as Rob was announcing the winners. Oh well, I would rather be DFL than  DNF.

Besides winning isn't really the point. The real point was to race and hang out with friends. I believe I accomplished both.

-Dravis

Don't Lose Your Marbles Alleycat

I thought the racing season was pretty much done now that the rains are here. But there was one more before Halloween.

What a fun race too. The format was what I have come to think of as the standard alleycat. Meaning, a race with stops in any order. It did come with a twist though. The manifests were not at the start though. Instead we had to pick up the manifests at South Lake Union.

Once I got the manifest I picked out my route. There were six stops, I started with Queen Anne. There I did mess up a bit. I didn't realize the stop was on the back side of the hill. It would have been easier going up Dexter, but oh well. Then crossed the Aurora bridge and down into the U-district. Up through the arboretum. Then down to Judkins park along 23rd. (Probably should have used MLK.) Then to the convention center. At the stop on Union I picked sand a Pokemon song and picked up two more checkpoints. I hit Pioneer Square first, then through the Seattle Center. That was a mess on Saturday. The last stop was on Capitol hill so I busted up Denny. That is the straightest/steepest way to get there. If you want to race in Seattle to have to be ready for hills. I then headed to the I-5 colonnade for the finish. In all it took a little over an hour and half. I came in 3 minutes behind the race leader, and for the fourth time this year I took second place. I guess that is just my number.

I did come away with a few prizes. I got a t-shirt and some tri-flow. Both of them from Seattle Bicycle Collective. Thanks to JT and the guys who put it on. I had a blast and I am looking forward to the pictures.

-Dravis

Sher Kung Memorial Ride

For all my excitement to head off to NACCC the trip did start off on a sad note. A woman was killed riding her bike to work on 2nd avenue in Seattle that morning. I didn't find out any more details until the following week. As it seems is usual in these cases the victim isn't a reckless scofflaw riding through stop lights giving the finger to the cops, it is someone just like Sher Kung. A regular person with a regular job. A mother of a small child. Someone who was working to make her community better. She died doing something as mundane as riding a bicycle. An activity so safe we let young kids do it.

The cyclists that I ride with had all talked about how dangerous the bike lane on 2nd was. The term "deathtrap" gets used a lot to describe it. I am sad to say that is now true. Something that makes this even more tragic is that the city knew about the dangers and had a plan to change the bike lane in place. Those changes came to late.

I am also not convinced that those changes will make a big difference. I never rode in the old bike lane. I have no intention of using the new one. I feel more comfortable moving with car traffic and having room to maneuver. Maybe other cyclists will feel more at home in the protected lane. I am not sure that the changes will eliminate the dangerous turns though. I guess time will tell.

Today there was a memorial ride for Sher Kung. I was very impressed. The Seattle Police cleared the way for the group of bicycles on 2nd down to the Garden of Remembrance where the accident happened. There were some speeches and a moment of silence. The mood was somber and respectful.

The ride then continued down to pioneer square for a more charged discussion about the state of bike facilities in the city. Again, the group was guided by Seattle Police motor cycles. There wasn't much talking either.

I was struck by one image though. That is of a couple of kids no older than ten biking along with us. I don't know if they really understood what was going on. They were having a great time. Enjoying having a street all to themselves. No fear of having to dodge cars or getting honked at. Without the police escort I doubt they would be able to ride down second. Some bus or car would ride them off the road in short order. I realized that it wasn't the road that made it dangerous for these kids, it was the drivers. We have come to expect a level of danger in the people who operate very dangerous machines. There is no legal reason why those child cyclists could not be operating on the road. Instead it is our continued toleration of aggressive and callus driving that would normally regulate those kids and most others to back streets and bike lanes.

I hope that what we as a society come away from this tragedy with is not that we need more green paint on the road, but instead that we need to drive better. For all of you who drive like I do, take care. Slow down. Be aware of your surroundings. The person you share the road with may be a 10 year old boy, or the mother of a 7 month old girl.

If you want to help out the family of Sher Kung there is a fund set up here.

-Dravis

NACCC 2014 - Minneapolis

It has been a year since I went to the NACCC here in Seattle. That is the North American Cycle-Courier Championships. It really changed my life. It set me on a new path. I became a bike courier last winter in hopes of being able to compete. While winter is not a really great time to become a courier, I was set. My goal was to ride in the NACCC in 2014 in Minneapolis.

I landed in Minneapolis at just after 10:00 PM on Friday. I reassembled my bike and rode out from the airport. (That was the third time I have done that.) The night started out well, it was a warm night sticky with humidity. In the distance I could see lightning. Before I had gone a mile I was riding through a thunderstorm. Other than the rain, it was a great ride though. I made it to the place where the NACCC contestants were hanging out. I got the time and place to meet the next day.

Waking up on Saturday I headed to the qualifier. I signed up and even had time to ride through the course a couple of times. Then I got ready to race. This isn't like any bike race you see on TV, though. It isn't rated in time or distance, but in "money". Each rider gets a list of jobs. These jobs all list a pickup location, a drop off location, and a value. Longer jobs earn more. But the race is as much about being smart and organized as it is about being fast. Racers get one hour to make as much money as possible.

My race started at high noon. I spent the first ten minutes without a clue what I was doing.  Then I got organized and started making some real (actually fake) money. I was going fast and racing through my stops. I was feeling great about how everything was going. At the end I had maybe enough time for one more job, but I didn't take it. I was worried about going over time.

The organizers of the NACCC then lead a huge group out to a secret lake. (I would have called it a pond, but anyway...) I met a bunch of really cool people from all over the country. Went swimming until the sun set. Then we raced back into town for the after party.

The party was held in the alley behind a bike shop. Super fun, but I think the best part of it was Taco Cat. Normally they will only deliver you tacos on a bike. However for this party they had set up to server fresh tacos to all the NACCC participants. It was amazing. The tacos are so good. If you get to Minneapolis, please try some.

The only bummer of the night was that I missed the qualifier by two places. They took the top 60 racers, and I was number 62. To put it another way, I was short of qualifying by 25 cents. Dang. I guess I should have done that last job. Oh well.

I did stop by to watch the finals the following day. Before the race began the racers were all looking for last minute gear. "Can I borrow a pen?" "Can I borrow your bag?" One girl even borrowed my arm watch. It makes sense. The final race is three hours long. Some of the jobs have a time limit. So being able to manage your time is very important. It took a while to get everything organized and begin the race. Once it started I did find a great spot on the far side of the course to watch the race from.

After an hour of watching the riders go round in circles I figured it was time to get going myself. I hadn't flow half way across the country to sit around . Having never been to Minneapolis before I decided to explore the city.

The city itself has a great mixture of old brick buildings around the edges. More steel and glass in the center. I was shocked at the number of sky bridges. It probably makes a good deal of sense in winter. It seemed like you could walk most of the way across the city without setting foot outside, though. Also, the city is very flat. Coming from Seattle it is a bit weird to ride across town without hitting one hill.

I spent some time at the sculpture garden. Meh. It seemed a lot like the one in Seattle. Neither of which I am very impressed with. Still, it was a gorgeous day and nice to be in a park outside.

I got back just in time to catch the end of the final race. Not that it was all that exciting. Again, it isn't about being the first person back, it is about earning the most "money". The real winners would be announced later. The organizers did put on a few extra challenges though. Foot down. Quick lock. I hung out and talked with more people. Meeting so many different people, it is crazy to see how different they all are. Race, ethnicity, education. Then only similar thread between all of them is that they love riding bikes.

After the challenges were over a group of people headed to a secret spot on the Mississippi river. We didn't even get out of the city though. The secret spot was a collection of decaying structures overgrown with trees along the river bank. On top of the cliff above were some old factories. It felt like being in the middle of nowhere even though it was only a couple of miles from down town.

Just before sunset the group headed over to a bar for some food and to announce the winners. We were enjoying the patio for a bit before more thunderstorms rolled in. The whole mass of soggy, sweaty cyclists jammed into the tiny place. After the winners were announced I said my goodbyes and headed out into the rain. I had an early flight to catch.I am looking forward to the next one. Denver here I come!

-Dravis

Dream Machines Alleycat

Went to another alley cat on Friday. Started at Back Alley Bike Repair. So a big thanks to those guys for helping to put it on. The race itself was pretty simple and short. It took about an hour. Four stops in a little zig-zag across the city.

I even came in second place! So that felt pretty good. I even got a cool new Knog light.

I was talking with Face, the guy who won the race, and Fred afterwards. They were heading out to the NACCC. Fred left for the airport just after I got there. That reminds me I should look into that again.

-Dravis

Joeball Mountain

Date: July 3rd & 4th, 2014
Distance: 42 miles
Song of the Day: See You Later - Heatmiser

Since this year Independence Day falls on a Friday, that give us in the states a three day weekend. The crew from Point 83 made a plan to ride out to Joeball Mountain. It was an short ride from the Bremerton ferry. Not necessarily an easy ride though.

The first thing to do was get to the ferry. I got off work at 5:00 PM and rode as fast as I could down to Colman Dock. When I arrived I was greeted by about 40 or 50 members of the club. I guess everyone wanted to get a good start to the weekend. That didn't take long. As soon as we boarded the ferry we hit the top deck. It was a nice day and we could sit in the sun and smell the ocean air.

The ride from the ferry didn't get off to a fast start though. There were a few mechanical problems getting out of downtown Bremerton. One involving a keg of beer falling off the back of a bike... Outside of town most of the ride was up hill. Remember, this is a camping trip to Joeball Mountain. Plus for a number of people this was their first bike camping trip. There wasn't anything really to complain about. I was riding my bike with good friends on a sunny evening.

The last three miles to camp were dirt, and steep. I was riding in the back making sure that everyone made it to camp. I got to watch the sun set over the mountains. Beautiful, but it was dark by the time the last crew rolled into camp.

We made a fire and had some food. Someone even brought up a bunch of stuff for s'mores. The evening wasn't cold, but we crowded 'round the fire to join in the merriment.

The next morning I got up and rode back to the ferry. It was a gorgeous day to be out on two wheels. Happy 4th everyone.

-Dravis