Photo by Gene Perry. (Click for larger.)

by Gene Perry

Across the street from Native Roots Market, a crowd gathered between a pile of shoes on one side, bicycles on the other. Event organizers Ken Teague and Isaiah McCaslin welcomed the racers, thanked the sponsors, and then they were off, scrambling to find their shoes, grab their ride, and head out to checkpoints across Norman.

The reason for the scene was the latest summer alleycat race organized by Bike Against Hunger. As Teague explained it, alleycats were inspired by bike messengers who had to deliver packages all over town based on a shipping manifest. Just before the race, each rider was given their own “manifest” of checkpoints, which they could go to in any order before returning to where they started.

Depending on the route, reaching every checkpoint could take anywhere from six to nine miles of riding. The advantage goes not to the fastest riders, but those who know the city best — who can take the most efficient route and find the best short cuts. McCaslin said he was surprised that few of the forty-two riders took the same route.

“Very fast riders will always lose to people who know checkpoints,” Teague said.  In an earlier race, he said OKC bike store owner Steve Schlegel came in his full racing kit and bike but wasn’t able to win.

Though the race is fairly casual, some riders do get competitive, said Alexis Smith, who manned the checkpoint in front of Louie’s Grill and Bar on Boyd.

“One rider thought I was taking too long to unravel the piece of paper,” she said. “He was saying, ‘come on, come on, come on.’”

Bike Against Hunger was started in the Paseo District of Oklahoma City, and they have organized races and group rides around the state since 2007. Rides in previous years were held in Tulsa and OKC, and the first Norman ride was last November. They plan to return to Norman this November for “Cranksgiving,” in which riders visit grocery stores all over town to buy canned food. After the race, all of the food is donated to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

Teague said previous years brought in more than 1,300 pounds of food and $1,000 in donations for the food bank.

Instead of food, September’s alleycat ride collected registration fees that will go to Thanda, a non-profit helping AIDS orphans and impoverished children in South Africa. Teague said that Thanda began as an education project, but organizers found that they couldn’t improve education without first meeting children’s basic needs, so now they also provide food, transportation, and other basic assistance.

After the ride, prizes were given to all racers, with categories such as first place men and women, alternative transportation (winners included a skateboarder and a team of three riding a tandem bike towing a longboard), best (in this case only) costume, and DFL (dead f***ing last). Prizes were donated by local businesses: Louie’s, Blu Restaurant, the Library Bar, Coach’s, Buchanan Bikes, Native Roots Market, and The Earth Natural Foods. Vittitow Law Office also gave a monetary donation for Thanda, and national bike equipment manufacturers Chrome and Banjo Brothers sent gear for a raffle.

You can find the accompanying photo essay for this story here.