Chopstork

A 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.

Yes! Just found out about Bring Your Own Big Wheel (BYOBW) this Sunday. The sixth annual Big Wheel race down Lombard St. Haven’t decided if I’m participating or just spectating. Where to find a big wheel? Maybe I’ll make like the kids in our old ‘hood Potrero Hill and ride a Sunset Scavenger trash can—no rubber wheels, so it’s legal, right?

And from the organizer’s site: “Lombard Street is of course not the crookedest street, especially compared to Vermont Street in Potrero Hill….” Damn straight. Ah, the memories.

Happy birthday Old Man,
Happy birthday Hat tie,
Happy birthday Old Maaaaan,
Happy birthday Hat tie.

Sorry, Jay, I don’t know any moving songs. Except Meatloaf’s I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That); that song moves me. Old Man and Hattie are another year wiser and dirtier, and Jay is off to save the world the rest of us so merrily destroy. So we’re having a party. I’m glad we’re not our neighbors. “You guys sure party a lot,” they’ve said. It’s an afternoon party this time, so we can all pass out early. The neighbors will like that. And we can enjoy the nice weather while we’re at it.

Yes, we will have a moon bounce. You must be this tall to ride. Blind-side tackling is not permitted on the premises, inside or outside the moon bounce (eh hem, DP). Wear/bring socks; it’s ok if they don’t match. Please remove all jewelry before entering the moon bounce. Warning: Alcohol impairs your ability to bounce straight: You could lose your driver’s license or even your life. SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Drinking increases your risks of high blood pressure, liver disease, and cancer. The more you drink, the more likely it is that you will have such health problems. To find out how to prevent getting such health problems call (insert appropriate toll free number). SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If you are pregnant, don’t drink. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy may cause mental retardation and other birth defects. If you are pregnant and can’t stop drinking, call (insert appropriate toll free number).

We will also debut a new game called: “Guess who’s mom drank alcohol while she was pregnant.”

Let me go ahead and tell you, if you don’t already know: Moon bounces are fun. And no major injuries to any of our drunk friends—it’s a miracle. Just minor scrapes and bruises and sore legs for everyone. We played all kinds of games like basketball, four square, count-to-five-with-your-eyes-closed-and-try-to-hit-someone-with-the-ball, and just plain bounced. Plus a lot of rescuing each other from the almighty moon bounce crevasses. The mass bounce with at least 20 people was like trying to stand on water. Moon bounces rule! I’ll put some pictures up soon.

Update: Here are my pictures from the moon bounce party.
And Courtney’s pix.
Us singing the hockey pockey.

It’s been a couple months since anything has been added to the site. That’s because we had to update the site after getting mildly hacked, and it’s not all updated yet. Screw it, we switched to WordPress.

Anyway, a little update for now: Here are some new Urban Iditarod pictures. This year we went with a SF Fire Dept theme, with dalmatians of course, as Engine 51. I’ll have to put the movies up later.

• my pictures (on Flickr for now) If you log in to Flickr you can comment and add notes - pretty neat.
• some movies
• Eric’s pictures
• Julie’s pictures
• “Official” set by UI Staff photographer Joe Reifer
• Other teams’ pictures listed on the Laughing Squid

The Urban Iditarod is apparently an annual race in San Francisco. We just heard about it this year (thanks Herbert). Replace the dogs with people, the sled with a shopping cart, and Alaska with San Francisco, and there you go. Here’s a little chronicle of our adventures. Feel free to add your own stories.

Our team - the Incredibeagles and LABraDORKS.

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