BYOBW—And a big wheel was brought.
April 18th, 2006 by some dudeA little photo essay chronicling the chronicles of Old Man racing down a big hill on a big wheel… (My full set of pictures here) (SF Chronicle story) (A little video from Geek Entertainment)
Some big wheels.
The Old Man gathers his thoughts in preparation for the big race. His Big Wheel waits in servitude behind him.
A fellow racer—sporting protective slippers—proves too heavy for his ride, crushing it well before the race would begin.
One of the Safety Third team tests his defenses.
With a cable car blocking tourist traffic, the racers come to the starting line.
Old Man, at the starting line for the first heat.
A pile-up in turn one proved catastrophic for veteran and crowd favorite foam-headed-guy-with-the-golden-bigwheel.
This little trike would see only one race in its lifetime.
Surviving racers line up for the second heat.
Foam-head guy cries in agony as an axle breaks on his second trike…
… but she was even slower, taking home the prize for the day’s slowest rider.
A helmet-cammed racer makes his way back up Lombard’s steps for the final heat. He would take home a second place prize—giant logo tighty whiteys—amid accusations of wheel doping.
Ghostbuster steals the lead coming out of a corner in the final official race of the day.
In the middle of the pack, Old Man rounds another corner.
Two riders take a fall only inches from the finish line.
I decide to ride the exhibition race and get giant prize crotch on my head.
I’m in second! But I got passed later. And I broke the seat off my big wheel. photo by Old Man
Clutch-burning cars line up on the west side of Lombard waiting to drive down the curvy section as Old Man prepares to ride down to our parked car … waaaay down there.
May 5th, 2006 at 11:57 am
[…] I had the big wheel I got for BYOBW sitting in my trunk for two weeks, so in a bored moment at work I brought it in for some time trials. The usual crew of troublemakers took some rides on it and decided it needed modifications for pedalability (I wouldn’t be an engineer if I didn’t make up convenient words). So far, we’ve taken off the front (big) wheel and handle bar, and Bowers machined an extension for it—complete with an embossed “BIG WHEEL.” It didn’t tighten down well enough, so he’s taken it back home to weld some things together. Awesome. There’s some talk of replacing the fork with a mountain bike suspension, but I say keep it real—all plastic, all the time … except maybe some hidden reinforcement. […]