Cranksgiving Portland "race" report
First of all, we couldn't have asked for better weather! Sunny, mid 50s at the start and warming up into the 60s later. I was surprised at how small the group was, given that the website indicated there were 45 participants last year. There were probably around 20 today, ranging from teenage/early 20s guys to parents with kids in trailers/tagalongs (and one young boy on his own bike, riding with his dad). We were given a list of 8 stores around Portland, with a specific item to get at each (bag of stuffing at Hannaford, can of pumpkin at Trader Joe's, roll of TP at Walgreens, etc.) but had to figure out our own route/strategy. All the places were on major roads and it was a pretty straightforward loop that probably wasn't more than 4 miles, so it's weird that it took some of us over an hour (then again, there were all the stops at stores plus getting stuck at traffic lights, this being an urban ride). I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack, which is better than I thought I would do, and ended up winning a certificate for a free bike tune-up at a local shop as a door prize. Not bad at all. It was fun seeing everyone's bikes and how they were set up; one father/daughter team had an Xtracycle conversion of an old Trek 950, and I even saw another person with trekking bars (on an old Nishiki mixte). Next year instead of trying to compete for speed (since with me that's a joke), I may try the other option which is to bring back as much weight as possible in frozen turkeys. One guy had three or four turkeys in a backpack!! For those who have a Cranksgiving ride in their city or one nearby, I highly recommend it.
