Last Friday night, while most people in the Bay Area were either at the World Series game or snuggled up in front of a television, twelve brave young men and woman ponied up 20 bucks, turned on their bike lights and charged into the Berkeley hills with dreams of KOMs and bragging rights.
It was the first event in the weekend’s 2014 Battle of the Bay bicycle fest.
The rules said you didn’t have to ride a fixie to participate, but the crowd definitely leaned toward whips that didn’t allow for shifting or coasting.
The whole thing was based out of a fantastic new bike shop in Albany called Pursuit Bikes. You gotta like a place that has a Bianchi Super Pista in the window and carries brands like Cinelli, Cadence and YNOT.
More than one of the participants was seen enjoying a Pabst Blue Ribbon and a cigarette before things got underway. And speaking of underway, even with all the threats made on the Facebook page about punctuality, this event definitely ran on bike time.
With the sky almost pitch black, the riders rolled up to the start line for the 2.1-mile course. The whole climb only took about 15 minutes. But this was no walk in the park. The course shot straight up into the Berkeley Hills, with a couple 18-percent grades thrown in for good measure. It was steep enough in some spots that even the most devout fixie fanatic probably wished they had at least one more gear.
The climb was best summed as the two leaders came through a particularly ugly pitch and one mumbled, “Holy Fuck.”
With the brief, but glorious night climb over, there was a quick announcement of winners, then a lovely descent back down the Berkeley Hills so people could catch up on the Giants game and enjoy another well-earned Pabst.
All Photos: Jim Merithew