2nd Annual Bike Against Hunger Alleycat Set For November

The team behind last year's Bike Against Hunger alleycat are planning for this year's race, set for early November. Last year we had 56 racers, this year we're aiming to double that--100 racers. We're going to have more sponsors, more prizes, better stops and a better organized start and finish. Last year we were able to provide 3,280 meals to Oklahoma's hungry. This year we're aiming for 10,000.

Super Cao Nguyen Donates Matching Funds!

From Dawn Burroughs, of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma:

"Ba Luong, Executive VP with Super Cao Nguyen, donated $300 to the Food Bank yesterday as a “match” to the money and food raised at the Bike Race Against Hunger.

So, together, your efforts provided 3,280 meals for hungry Oklahomans!"

Kindness breeds kindness! Thank you again to all of our racers, sponsors, and volunteers, and we hope to see you all (and more, of course) next year!

2007 Photos!

Thanks again to all of our partners, sponsors, volunteers and racers!

I've got some photos of the race here, courtesy of Aaron B, Kari Postlewait, Brian Bell, Nick Southerland, and Leah Schroeder.

Organizer Brian Bell helping with registration

Female winner Traci Walker getting her game face on

Race Start!

Racers finding their shoes

Racers hit the streets...

Timmy and Adam buying some cans--I think we confused the clerks at first!

The Homeland on 17th was the first checkpoint for most people

First place fixed winner Steve Schegel (of Schlegel Cycles) during a rolling dismount

First place geared winner Adam clearing a checkpoint

At the finish line


Third place fixed winner Caleb Nimz showing off his broken wrist

There are an absolutely huge number of excellent photos of the race that can be found at the following sites:

http://ajiva.net/tdayalleycat
http://picasaweb.google.com/KariPostlewait/BikingAgainstHunger

If you have any other photos or are looking for photos of a particular racer/checkpoint, email us at 405boneshakers@gmail.com

2007 Results!

Before we get down to the whos whats and hows, we would like to thank Chrome Bags for donating one of their awesome messenger bags to the race--they make very stylish, top-quality products, and their bags would make absolutely perfect Christmas presents.

We'd also like to thank the owner of the Super Cao Nguyen, who generously offered to donate an additional can for every racer that visited his store!

The event, by all of our (admittedly humble) standards, was a HUGE success--we had 56 racers show up, we collected 336 pounds of food for the food bank, and we donated an additional $131 out of the race fees to help feed the hungry. According to the food bank, that's enough food and money for 1179 meals!

Much thanks to all of our sponsors for their overwhelming support--the race wouldn't have happened without you guys!

Here are the 2007 results (along with what they won) *drumroll*:

FIXED/SINGLE SPEED

1. Steve Schlegel (given that he donated the first place prizes, he went ahead and gave it back so we could give it to someone else)
2. Tim Sylvester--$20 and a SWOBO shirt
3. Caleb Nimz (with a broken wrist!) -- $10 gift certificate to Sauced and a cycling cap
4. TEAM NEAL -- $10 gift certificate to Sauced
   

GEARED

1. Adam Locke -- Timbuk2 "Bag In A Box"
2. KW Satterfield -- SWOBO shirt and $20
3. Micah Metheny -- $10 gift certificate to Sauced and a cycling cap
4. John Ming -- $10 gift certificate to Sauced

WOMEN
We had enough support from our sponsors to have a women's-only division, which is totally rad. There were somewhere around 10 girls that showed up to race, a number we hope to increase in the future.

1. Traci Walker -- Chrome Messenger Bag
2. Michelle Kanaly -- Timbuk2 "Bag In A Box"

WORST WRECK

1. Nick Southerland
   

Celestial Cycles decided to donate a fixed-gear conversion bicycle as a door prize to "whoever needed it." It was decided that Nick Southerland, of Tulsa, OK, who wrecked coming into the finish and demolished his rear wheel, fit the bill. Nick immediately donated the bike he wrecked to Celestial, who are fixing it up to give away in the next race.


Thanks to everyone who helped, donated their time/products, and of course everyone who participated. The event was absolutely fantastic because of all of you, and we hope to see you next year!

Pictures to follow!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is it?
An unlicensed checkpoint-to-checkpoint race, usually organized within the community.

How long is the race?
Given that you are responsible for choosing the order of your checkpoints and the route between them, the distance is entirely up to you :) However, we currently estimate that the shortest path is somewhere around 12 miles. We're anticipating that the fastest rider will finish somewhere between an hour and 90 minutes. We don't really know, though...that's the beauty of it.

This sounds awesome, when/where is it?
We'll be starting from the parking lot of Schlegel Bicycles North, which is at 900 N Broadway. Very easy to find (it's one block west of I-235), lots of parking, centrally located. Registration will open at 3pm, registration will close at 4pm, and the race will probably start at 4:05pm.

What should I bring?
Yourself, your bike, $3 to enter the race, a backpack/messenger bag, and an extra $7 to $10 for the checkpoint activities.

How much is it?
The race entry fee is $3.

What is my race fee used for?
To line the pockets of the organizers :)

Actually, the fees go to pay the winning racers. The amount the racers win is obviously related to the amount of racers that enter. The rest of the fees go towards funding the after-race party, and if there is any money left over, that will go towards covering a few costs--some small prizes we purchased, maybe some printing costs, etc.

I don't have a fixed gear bike. Can I participate?
OF COURSE! The race is open to all competitors--we're trying to get a lot of food for the food bank, and it would be stupid of us to exclude anyone from racing.

There will be two categories of racers--fixed gear/single speed, and geared bikes. There will be prizes for both categories.

Why don't fixed gear bikes and geared bikes participate at the same level?
Mostly to level the playing field...Geared bicycles have a huge advantage in terms of average speed and rider fatigue, but the races originated among fixed gear bicyclists and that's a tradition we'd like to keep (plus a bunch of us ride fixed gear bikes and there are no races that cater to us aside from the ones we organize ourselves). If you want to only race with geared bikes, the Red Bud Classic is coming up in 5 months. Zing!

I have a geared bike but want to race against the fixie messenger wannabes. Is that cool?
Yep. We'll have some tools on hand to lock out your gears/temporarily immobilize your shifters.

Is there anyone I can contact with answers to other questions?
Yeah. Email us at 405boneshakers@gmail.com, or call Stuart at 405.249.5145

What Is An Alleycat?

For those not in the know, an alleycat is an ad-hoc, unlicensed checkpoint-to-checkpoint race that originated with bicycle messengers in all of the cool places you wish you had lived when you were in your twenties (or right now, if you are in your twenties).

Essentially, it works like this: You show up to the start, you pay your entry fee, you receive a spoke card with your race number on it and a list of checkpoints. You can do the checkpoints in any order you wish, using any route you prefer. At the finish line everybody has a blast chillaxing with friends/fellow racers, and mankind is redeemed ever so slightly.

Usually open only to fixed gear/single speed bikes, our race has different divisions so that we can have as many bicyclists as possible participate. The more the merrier, and the more cans that end up on the tables of the needy this holiday season.

Make sense?

2007 Sponsors/Partners

We are pleased to announce the following sponsors of the 1st ever Bike Against Hunger alleycat:

Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

Schlegel Bicycles

Celestial Cycles

Sauced Pizzeria

Swobo Clothing

Bike Snob NYC

Please tell 'em how much you appreciate their support!