MCMFBF5!

Figure THAT photo out! Anyway... Yeah, okay, another bike post... Sorry. But today's big event was the 5th annual Multnomah County Bike Fair, which, as it happened, took place about 50 yards from my house in Colonel Summers Park. The Bike Fair is the culmination of Shift's Pedalpalooza (which, as some of you will remember, began two weeks ago with the World Naked Bike Ride). How could I not post about that?

Y'all start deconstructing the title of this post... NOW! Got it? Good! No, I didn't make that up myself. It was printed on the water bottle that came with the $5 beer.

The midway featured a number of local vendors, a bike repair booth and a "Marry Your Bike" booth (it was tempting, but I didn't; next year for sure...). But the real action happened on the main stage, as it were, behind the Colonel's tennis courts. The high point of the day's events was the "Slingshot" competition, a sort of tug of war contest in which two riders, both attached by cords to a bundle of innertubes, attempt to pull each other off their bikes. Fun enough, sure, but the high point of this particular Slingshot competition was the showdown between a newly married couple, both of whom are involved with the Alberta Clown House. I can't remember their names, so we'll call them Alfred and Chloe...

Here's Chloe, getting ready to show her husband what it means to be a clown:


and here's Alfred, readying himself for the challenge:


Unfortunately, we didn't get to see these two newlyweds pull each other off their bikes, because once they met up in the middle of the court, they stopped...


...and had themselves a moment which probably should have been more private than it was:


Ah, true love! Can't really beat it, can ya? Of course not...

We had a pretty good showing from the Vancouver, BC contingent, including the Brakes and the B:C:Clettes. Nobody from Seattle, though, curiously enough... Here are some more photos from the rest of the day's events:








THIS is why I love living in this town!