Yesterday I competed in my first "alley cat" race and I have to say, even though it was incredibly tiring (one speed, 40lbs of crap, varied terrain, cardboard box baskets taped and tied to my bike, 90 degree sun) it was also very fun and satisfying. I didnt have a little trip computer on me, but I mapped it out on google last night and from my best estimation I rode probably about 24.5mi all told (23.7 + riding around hunting for objects to fulfill each checkpoints challenges)
Here was the route:
It was a scavenger style race with checkpoints throughout Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods. At each checkpoint you would be given a task to perform "find 5 pounds of stuff, carry it to the finish," "find 10 pounds of stuff," "find something that cant fit into this envelope" etc etc. The idea was that by the end of the race we and our bikes would be covered in random objects and whoever had the most interesting stuff and the MOST stuff by the end of the race would win a prize.
In the end, I finished the race 7/52 racers in about 3 hours with 40lbs of crap on me--which turned out to be good but not nearly enough to beat the eventual winner, Joshua, with an amazing 100lbs of junk hauled in on his cargo bike.
The race was followed with a BBQ and bike games, all in all a very fun time that I hope to repeat again in a few weeks at the next race!
Here are a couple photos from the race:
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