Chongqing Alleycat Bike Race, July 25-26

[Peggy]

SKIP, our fixie friends in Chongqing, together with Chengdu-based Triple Cross are putting on a weekend of cycling activites July 25~26th.

First will be a “scratch race” at midnight on the 26th(night of the 25th), an alleycat the afternoon of the 26th, plus skid, track stand, a party and other activities that same evening.

Gloves and helmets are recommended for participants.

An alleycat traces its origins to cycle messenger communities in large bustling metropolises. In a test of ability, both on the bike and knowledge of how to get around the city, this style of race was made to emulate the everyday duties of bike messengers. The race starts at a single location at which point it’s your duty to go to all checkpoints in any order you choose.

There is no pre-set route so it is a test of riding and navigating through the city and its traffic.

Categories will distinguish Chongqing natives from participants from elsewhere, as well as male and female categories.

Alleycat races are mostly about having fun while mashing around a city. Think scavenger hunt, not Tour de France.

[Charlie]

Wow, midnight alleycat in Chongqing must be insane. The footage from this could be incredible. Are you guys heading down there to participate or compete?

I’ve been looking for a reason to go to Chongqing recently… what’s it like bringing a bike down there? Possible on the bullet train?

[Nicki]

i just went back from Chongqing, a place where i lived for four years.. the first second i saw this post i  shared it with one of my friends, and we both are shocked!
Well . i will definitely recommend a place , it is called the Gele Mountain.( Hell , i think i don;t need to recommend any place, cause it is all hills and hills and hills and hills in Chongqing. ) Say you will definitely have loads of  fun if you ride on the roads  in Chongqing…haha..

something about Chongqing :
1.Don;t be surprised by the crowds when you get off the express/ bullet train.
2.fresher air, possibly super hot weather… or rainy days…
3.you ve got to try the subway/ or maybe i should say metro, cause it is not sub- way….
4.if you have more time,  try Ciqikou … may god leads you to the right place i am talking about or else you will hate it…

in a word, it can be a hell, or a heaven…

i can;t wait to see the pics and feeling to be shared in the forum about this activity.. haha ….

[Mr. Klink]

Looking forward to this.  Taking a bike on the bullet train is rather straightforward.  You just take the front wheel off and make sure to stow it where the attendants ask.

If anyone wants to join us and is curious about heading over in a group, hit us up at Natooke.  The more the merrier!

[Rick in China]

I agree with Charlie, sounds *insane*.

The heat..oh, the heat. The traffic, damn, super aggressive drivers on super twisty narrow roads, navigation will be hell, and hella dangerous, for anyone not from the city I’m sure.. even driving there recently I found myself extra “WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK”ing trying to get around! The hills, ah.. lovely, hilly city, high bridges, narrow turns, construction, construction vehicles downtown, wa. All that aside, if it’s downtown, may be very beautiful — the lights over the river and big bridges, very hong-kongesque. Be safe everyone and please post some videos or something 😀

[Mr. Klink]

I believe myself and one other are going.  There’s a number of Chengdu kids that are in on it as well and any amount of folks flying in from all over.

I plan to take a GoPro for footage and see about getting as many photos as possible.  The map is out floating around Weibo.  I’ll post it up later.

[Mr. Klink]

As promised:

And a list of checkpoints for your own planning purposes:

[Mr. Klink]

Awesome time.  Real tough race.  Impossibly hot.  Out of about 60 starts, not even 10 finished the race in its entirety.  Would race it again.

Check out a few photos!

Also got of Go Pro footage and hope to put together a video soon enough!

 

[Charlie]

Mr. Klink wrote:

Awesome time. Real tough race. Impossibly hot. Out of about 60 starts, not even 10 finished the race in its entirety. Would race it again.

I can imagine. It’s impossibly hot just walking around there, let alone racing bicycles amidst the insane traffic there. Looking forward to the video!

[Peggy]

As promised, a quick video documenting the alleycat:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzU1NTYxMjU2.html

Here’s another quick video.  Chengdu brought home the bacon, winning the rollersprint contest by a margin, reaching a spinning speed of 72.5 km/h!

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzUzMTI0ODY4.html

The second video is a bit slow and lacks sound.  Fortunately you can find it on instagram under the hashtag #natooke.

Hoping these videos will inspire some of you to take to the streets and start to explore your city.

[Charlie]

The first video is amazing. Surreal surroundings, racing between buses in Chongqing on bicycles. Great soundtrack. Definitely inspiring. That must have been a grueling race with all the hills and running up stairs!

[Author]

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