PIXIE BIKE TIME TRIAL

Grab your kid’s old bike out of the garage and enter the pixie bike time trial! Here’s how it goes:

You’ll be racing the clock! The Fun Bike Unicorn Club made these races popular and we’re bringing them to the Expo this year! The course will open at noon for practice and racing begins at 1:00 BST (Bicycle Savings Time). Individuals race against the clock, but random mass starts will be introduced if the crowd becomes bored or just demands more action.

What is a pixie bike? It’s that cheap bike rusting in the back of your garage that your kids don’t ride any more and is likely to cause serious embarrassment or injury if you try to ride it. Since we’ve been told this event needs some rules, Pixie Bikes are defined as any bike with wheels 16″ or smaller. Bring your own or borrow one from our fleet of fine questionably-maintained Pixies.

CARGO BIKE COURSE

The Cargo Bike Challenge is a time elimination tournament that will decide who is the King or Queen (or changeling child) of Cargo Biking in Sonoma County. Here is how it works:

Bikes:

If you’re concerned about marring the finish on your bike, this is the wrong event for you.

Human power only. No electric motors, gas engines, pulse jets or other auxiliary power source. Outside of that one simple rule, any pedal powered device is legal. Riders supply their own bikes (or whatever) or can borrow a Yuba Mundo from the Bicycle Coalition. All straps, bags, bungee cords, etc. must be carried by riders for the duration of the event. If stuff breaks, too bad and no resupply or assistance from the sidelines. Of course, the judges are susceptible to bribes and sniveling.

The Contest:

Riders will compete against the clock and can run the course as many times as want in a futile effort to get a better time.
Before each run, the rider will declare a preference for cargo that is heavy, bulky or awkward. Most of the time we’ll give them what they want, but sometimes a changeup is needed to keep things interesting. No, we are not telling you what you’re going to carry but here are some examples:

Bulky – Bike box (with bike), laundry, plastic lawn chairs, empty water cooler jugs.
Awkward – Dimensional lumber, potted plants, toilet, car tires, cat litter.
Heavy – Sack of railroad spikes, half full beer keg, and pier blocks.

No one died last year and we’re going to maintain the same high safety standard in 2014.

The race begins with a 100-foot sprint to a table where cargo is waiting for the rider. Riders must load and secure the cargo unassisted, return to the start via an obstacle course, return to the cargo table, unload their cargo and sprint back to the start/finish line. We promise to make the obstacle course a real crowd pleaser.

Winners in each category will receive a nifty trophy from the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. We will also award any number of prizes to riders for great saves, epic spill, crashing and passing with reckless abandon.