Babes in Bikeland III

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Originally uploaded by deplaqer

This is me in my Fat Cyclist jersey at the after party for Babes in Bikeland III, an all female alleycat race held annually in Minneapolis, MN. Alleycat races are basically scavenger hunts on bikes. You are given a manifest with a list of 10 or so stops to make, and the route you pick is entirely up to you. Speed is important, but not the only factor. Some stops require you to simply gather a stamp to document that you went there, but sometimes you have to write something down, answer trivia questions, complete a pick up/drop off, etc. There can be time penalties for incorrect info or missing a stop, so accuracy is critical as well.

This isn't necessarily the most flattering photo of me, but I used it because up until very recently I was too fat to wear my Fat Cyclist jersey. How sad is that? Too fat for a jersey that has the WORD fat on it. For those who don't know, Fatty is Elden Nelson, the author of the Fat Cyclist blog. Fatty writes really well, and I enjoy both his humorous posts and the ones he's written to document his late wife Susan's battle with breast cancer. I highly encourage you to click over and read more from him.