Yesterday, 4 unicyclists on 36" wheels competed in the annual Commute Race in Santa Cruz, California. Scot Cooper was the official unicyclist in the race, and Bronson Silva, Chris Hosmer and I rode along for fun. The course is different every year and the race features various different commute vehicles competing for the fastest time. The start and end of the race are set and it is up to the individual racers to pick the best route. We rode from City Hall in Scotts Valley to the end of the wharf in Santa Cruz, a distance of a little over 8 miles.
For the first time this year, the car won. It was a BMW driven by the mayor of Scotts Valley and he was lucky with the traffic lights and parking on the wharf, right at the finish line. A cross bike and a tandem were next, followed by the other bikes. Since the course was mostly downhill, the first unicyclist finished 11 minutes after the last bike - not impressive, but inevitable given the course. They promised us an uphill course next year so we can get even. This year there were no runners or people on public transportation as in previous years. Our route included a VERY dicey crossing of 3 lanes of fast traffic to get across the freeway, and a fun run pushing/carrying the cycles for 100m.
All in all it was good fun even if we did come in last. The Santa Cruz Sentinel had an article on the race and I’ve attached a scan of it so you can see the photo better.
this guy was the mayor?!?..he probobly had one of those infa-red signaling things that turn traffic lights green. ambulance’s and fire trucks use them.
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Read the newspaper article. Note the mayor’s quotes. The purpose of this event is to promote alternate methods of transportation. This will be especially attractive to people as our gas prices are at a high point.
Basically, I think the car is not supposed to win this race. But the mayor of Scotts Valley (or anyone else) benefits from the car winning, unless it’s an ego thing.
If the unicycle ever wins, then I’m going to suspect some foul play…
"But the mayor of Scotts Valley (or anyone else) DOES NOT benefit from the car winning, unless it’s an ego thing.
Sorry, it was too late to do an edit on that.
Though cheating was possible, this would be a silly place to do it (politically and otherwise). It’s easy to smell a rat all the time. But this leaves you going through life with rat-smell in your nose all the time. Better to consider that cheating is possible, and consider whether it would make sense. Then consider if you’re helping the discussion by bringing it up, or just casting a shadow over an otherwise fun event.
In other words, being suspicious is fine. Being suspicious all the time is being paranoid; a mental health condition.
gimmie a break.the only thing i cast was an opinion,my opinion.your the one who is drawing conclusions as to what that may mean and diagnosing my mental heath.
Great job guys!!! I took the 2 wheel route this year since I only have a 24 and pressed for time this week. I agree with Scot on the issue of renaming the event. At our UCSB event, we had tandems, trikes, recumbent trikes, and would have had a uni.
BTW. Some friends of mine mentioned they saw you guys during this adventure on their way home from San Francisco on HWY 1.
Interesting comment and a bit harsh don’t you think? Marion Barry has already proved that mayors make some strange decisions sometimes. I personally thought Jagur’s post was a humorous addition to an already ironic ending to an event promoting cycling to work/school.
I personally thought Jagur’s post was a humorous addition to an already ironic ending to an event promoting cycling to work/school.