Cirque du Cycling Criterium

Portland is really big on biking, being green and being weird. There are bumber stickers all over that say, "Keep Portland Weird". This last weekend we went to a biking event that is said to be "part circus and part bike street race". At the beginning of the day there is a bike parade through the streets. We missed the parade but we showed up in time to see the costumes (or maybe real outfits since it is Portland) and some of the unique bikes.

I wish I had a video tape of this guy trying to ride this bike. It was hilarious.
I was waiting for him to topple over.


And remember, it is not Halloween.

Remember how I told you that people in Oregon love tie dye. Here is further proof.

We really came to see the Crit bike race. Crits are great because the riders do multiple laps (30-50) around a short city course. The distance of the race is determined by the average lap time for the first 2/3's or so of the race. The bikers get up to about 25-30 mph as they wind around this 0.80 mile course. There are prizes throughout the race for the winners of certain laps. We had gone to a Crit when we were in Redlands, CA and we loved it. You can get right down on the sidewalk by the road so you actually feel the bikers as they ride past. It's pretty amazing. That is unless you see a crash since they can be pretty brutal. When we were at the race in CA one of the bikers actually lost his seat and had to stand for the rest of the race. Can you imagine standing on your bike going 30 mph around a curving course? I guess it was good motivation to stand since he would impale himself with a metal seat post if he sat.

I love when the overall winner of a men's professional biking race is wearing pink and the team name is Gentle Lovers.