RESULTS 2008 Treasure Hunt Everyone met in the rain at Cathedral Gardens with a bag, a bike, a camera, a pencil and hangovers from the festival opening party the night before. Once everyone was gathered a sheet of paper with a list of almost a hundred tasks- each assigned a different amount of points- was given to each rider. Everyone had two hours to complete as many as possible and gain as many points as possible to win. It was a tricky decision whether to ride farther and get more points for the one task or try to do loads of tasks in the city centre getting a small amount of points for each one. The tasks
were a variety of distances, creativity and cheekiness. Including having
a cup of tea at the Hilton cafe (well done Alexis for blagging a free
cuppa there), taking a picture of Ordsall Halls ghost (well done to Julia
for being creative with that one!) and bringing Nes a flower whilst she
sat warm and dry and drinking a beer in the Cornerhouse Winner: Julia Bicycle Polo We started the MCR Dropouts bike polo team at the 2007 festival and since then we've been practising loads and even taken part in national tournaments. Not only is bike polo an exciting game to watch but it is also an exhilarating game to learn to play, it also teaches essential cycling skills such as confidence in riding one-handed, balance, the ability to ride close to other riders and objects and many other cycling skills that are transferable to road and mountain biking. We wanted
more people to come and take part in this exhilarating and fun sport and
so we organised practises as part of the festival where we taught people
how to play and then helped them forms teams so that we could start a
MCR league, starting with a tournament on the final Saturday The practise went really well, lots of people that had never even heard of bike polo before they saw our flyers and website came and had a go. They took to it really well and really enjoyed playing and immediately arranged times to practise next and formed teams for the tournament. On the day of the tournament I woke up to the pitter-patter of raindrops on my windowsill. Great! As I made my way in the rain to the court I was sure no one would turn up, but they did! Even some lads from Liverpool came to have a go at playing for the first time. We had about 3 teams from MCR, 1 team from Liverpool and a team made up of visitors from Oxford and Vancouver (our friend Joe was in this team too). The tournament was fast and frantic and full of spectacular crashes… cheeky tricks and smooth skilful moves. After a few hours of playing each other the winning team was The Internationals. We're all still playing every Thursday at 6pm at Whitworth Park and also playing weekly tournaments every 1st and 3rd Sunday and it's fantastic. The Hell of the North West III Checkpoints: The first checkpoint is given at the start of the race, and on arrival the next checkpoint is revealed to the racer. These work in much the same way a messenger would be assigned deliveries over the course of a day. The route to a checkpoint is left up to the rider and showcases a messenger's knowledge of the area. The anticipation of this locally famous race was almost unbearable. The taunting banter between competitors and the predictions of who would win started weeks before. On the night we all met in the carpark behind the Sandbar, our regular drinking hole. When we registered we got a spoke card and a manifest to tell us where our first checkpoint would be, but not the rest. At each checkpoint we'd pick up the address for the next one. Around 20 riders registered and we all got ready to ride. Some too scared to drink, some too scared not to. Once all
the marshals were in position, Craig Nasty hollered to start the race.
It was fast and furious. Most of the checkpoints on cobblestones and of
course the famous cobbled descent of Jutland Street where stomachs turn http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/027_bestof/lg/ManJutlandStRain97Bw.jpg Going down
is a bit of a rollercoaster experience as you reach the flat top and on
to the steep descent. Then the rumble of cobblestones beneath your wheels,
and the tiny speck of doubt that you're not going to be able to stop at
the bottom. And then later in the race we found out we had to The race was a close finish with the three couriers taking it very seriously. 1st: Luke Walker 2nd Clodge 3rd Jason Cattermole After the race we all went to the sandbar to numb our aching muscles and share our trials and tribulations in loud, exuberant and self-congratulatory voices.
An adventure by moonlight. We rode through mostly traffic free country lanes, settling into groups to ride with people going at a similar pace. Stopping off now and again for a swig of something to warm us up or to help our friends old and new to fix punctures. Flying through little villages, past dark fields, under a blanket of stars. Feeling like our bikes were our wings and we were in the sky with the bats that flew around us. At times we felt tired and wondered why the hell we weren't in our beds, we'll never get that night sleep back. But it was worth it. And as we rode into the sunrise and towards the shore of Formby where our cheerleaders, the red squirrels, met us, we were glad we did it.... Ladies Ride "I've never ridden with a group of other women before and found it really refreshing to be with a group of women who also really loved riding (none of my female friends have bikes. We were really lucky with the weather for most of the ride, only experiencing a bit of rain on the ride home, but for the rest of the ride the sun was shining and it was just amazing to be cycling along the river, with a lovely breeze behind us! I love the fact that the "quick pint" in the pub turned into lunch and a good chat! I think I managed to chat to all of the women at some point, either whilst riding or in the pub, and it was great to meet some new people and talk about all kinds of random stuff! I really loved it, and it's made me even more keen to take part in critical mass, the other regular rides (when I can) and next year's festival. It's also made me want to improve my riding more, and my knowledge of bike maintenance, so I can enjoy even more independence on the roads and trails of Manchester and beyond!" Yo Fixie III The Sandbar set up an outdoor bar round the back and we brought a DJ and soundsystem that throbbed out reggae and dub all afternoon, creating a summer atmosphere despite the greyish Manchester skies. Whilst we were waiting for the comps to start we stood around admiring each others fixies and track bikes and sometimes muttering disapproval of ones we didn't like too! People practised their tack skids and track stands and Chicken entertained us with wheelies and tricks and generally being an enthusiastic loud-mouthed clown. Track Stand n. The track stand is a technique that bicycle riders can use to stay balanced on their bicycles by holding their weight equally on both feet and while moving only minimal distances. The term originated from use of the technique by track cyclists prior to starting, or as a tactic in track sprinting whereby riders will initially ride very slowly and maneuver across the track in an effort to get their rival to take the lead so that they can then draft or slipstream behind, conserving energy for the final sprint. Other cyclists also use the technique: road cyclists use it to stop in traffic, mountain bikers use it in terrain to determine a path and BMX cyclists use it in preparation for tricks. Nonetheless, the track stand is most easily accomplished on a fixed gear bicycle. There were
around 15 riders competing in this comp. It started with a two minute
standard trackstand- standing, both hands on handlebars, both feet on
pedals. Chicken and Rich made each other laugh so much that they didn't
make it through this round and were eliminated so joined the audience
to cheer the others on. Then the riders had to balance for another two
minutes sat down, then with one hand. By the time Craig Nasty shouted
"both hands off" there were only a handful of competitors left
and by the Winner: Jason Cattermole Elimination Race n. A race of as many laps as there are competitors. The last person on each lap is eliminated. Everyone
lined there bikes up against a wall and then walked back to the carpark
for a Le Mans start, then, after Nasty screeched "GO" into the
megaphone everyone ran as fast as they could to their bikes to be the
first to leave. Riding up Grosvenor Street down the underpass a left at It was so exciting. With riders constantly changing places and overtaking each other and cars. Tim, our Canadian friend got a puncture when he was doing pretty well and sadly had to carry his bike back with a glum, disappointed face. Even after the first lap it was clear that this race was between two riders: Luke and Jason, who were at least 3 minutes before the 3rd place rider in just that first lap. Luke managed to take a close first place after Jason was pulled out as he raced through after Luke on the race's penultimate lap. Luke raced the last lap alone, and those standing watching were tempted not to tell him that he'd won and let him keep riding but our niceness won out and we cheered and yelled and he stopped to rejoice. Winner: Luke Walker Track Skids n. lock the rear wheel and skid to slow down or completely stop on a fixed-gear bicycle, a manoeuvre sometimes known as a skid stop. It is initiated by unweighting the rear wheel while in motion (and usually lifting it off the ground slightly) by shifting the rider's weight forward and pulling up on the pedals using clipless pedals or toe clips. The rider then stops turning the pedals, thus stopping the drivetrain and rear wheel, while applying his or her body weight in opposition to the normal rotation of the pedals. When the rear tire again contacts the ground the rear wheel will skid, which acts to slow the bike. The skid can be held until the bicycle stops or until the rider desires to continue pedalling again at a slower speed. This competition is all about how far a rider can skid before stopping, The skidders all go up to the top of the street to start at the same place, everyone has a few practise turns especially those riders who haven't skidded before! Then it all starts for real. One by one people skid down the street, mostly skidding in the right hand lane to avoid the few cars that share the road. Their result is marked with chalk on the road with their initials. Then the whole crowd gasp at once and we all turn to see Little Danny skidding down the road and a massive 4x4 driving towards him. They collide and Danny falls to the floor. As we ride and run to see if he's ok, the 4x4 stops, but the car behind revs and drives aggressively towards everyone. We all gather round the car and manage to stop it before it does any damage to anyone or any bikes that have now gathered in the road to help Danny. The driver of the car turns out to be less aggressive and more stupid claiming he "wasn't driving". Hmmm…He had his feet on the pedals and hands at the wheel and was sat in the drivers seat...but he wasn't driving!!!! Danny was ok, the nurses at A and E later removed bits of glass from his hands and told him he'd sprained his elbow but he's back on his bike now. After that melodrama another one followed which was the shock distance of Luke's trackskid which basically took him the whole length of the road. Winner: Luke
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