Just Loads and Loads of Type 2 Fun
This is Christ of MPLS. This was his Alley Cat race: The Seven Deadly Spins. Per his event page, 7 Deadly Spins was:
A sinfully themed alley cat where you can explore both your desires and this wonderful city by experiencing the thrill of racing/riding your bike:
7 Sins
7 Checkpoints
Open (cisgender), and trans/non-binary categories
Prizes for both
Cycling is an overwhelmingly white, male, and cisgender-dominated sport. So it’s super refreshing to contribute to rides that are built from the ground up to be a trans, queer, and BIPOC-inclusive events with proceeds being donated to local charities for reproductive rights and activism.
What is an alley cat you say? An alley cat is a bike race initially conceived by bike messengers. A loose simulation of a messenger shift. Racers are given a manifest with a list of addresses on them. They have to go to each address on the manifest (checkpoint) and have their manifest checked. The first person to complete their manifest by going to all the stops and then making it to the finish wins.
In short, an alley cat can be as loose as a spirited scavenger hunt on bikes. Or, for others, it can be a serious, cut-throat competition. For myself, I just wanted to have a good time and get some great pictures of these gorgeous cyclists having a similarly good time.
I finished almost exactly in the middle of a field of 80 riders, which was surprising since I stopped to take so many pictures, and dawdle. I even stopped for a beer and to take my shoes off to let my feet breathe for a minute. I still got it!*
*Technically, since one can’t lose what they never had in the first place, so…