Sunday, April 01, 2007

Lozano's Loons

With another Frigid Bits race season retired
to the annals of history (or maybe infamy),
it's time for a salute to our race czar Carlos,
and some of the other folks
who helped make the race series possible,
helped make the season memorable, and helped build
a stronger community of fun-hog winter cyclists.
First of all, we should all raise a glass to Carlos,
tireless race organizer and keeper of the passion flame.
From scouting trails, to clearing race course,
to counting laps, to rallying the troops on sub-zero nights,
he's the man who puts together the events
that keep bike junkies sane through long Alaska winters.
Thank you, Carlos.

Maura. Her first winter in Alaska,
and she already owns a Snowcat bike and a Pugsley,
and loves the whole damn scene
enough to show up week after week
to help Carlos count everyone's laps
and to tip a couple back
after the riding's done.
I think she's meant to be here.

Greg, aka Thirstywork. The big engine of El Gato,
the Pugsley with a custom orange paint job.
With Greg aboard, that bike always seems
to reach the finish line way ahead of the pack.
Greg's real masterpiece, though, is the the altar
of Anchorage's winter-cycling cult:
the Frigid Bits Burn Barrel.

Tim K., aka The Grillmeister. Nice guy,
fast rider, lover of all things bike,
and cooker of tasty critters on the big-ass grill
he hauls to tailgate parties.
On Saturday night, he showed up with homemade salsa
and then proceeded to make grilled nachos.
Who else would grill nachos
to feed to his friends outdoors at 25F?

The FBBB. Sure, it's an inanimate object,
but it's also our holy grail. Our altar.
Our source of light and heat in the darkness.
Besides, as Carlos would say, that sucker is haaawt!

And last, but far from least, all the riders
who showed up for a race and stayed for a beer—and those
who only showed up for the beer (the latter
are my kind of people). Everyone who shows up
riding a bike on a cold Alaska night
helps cultivate winter-cycling community
and helps us all keep it together
in the dark depths of winter.

2 comments:

Dave said...

By following the Frigid Bits highlights on MTBR I could tell it was great series of events. It is cool to hear an inside account of the events and it inspires me to start something like that here in the winter.

Anonymous said...

Tim,
Thanks for the kudos on my being the Grill Meister for the Frigid Bits this past season. The only reason I started bringing the grill was that Thirstywork was bringing beer and it was hard to hang around and imbibe a couple tasty beverages without having some food to go with it, as I am usually starving at the end of an event.

It's interesting to note that the Frigid Bits series this past winter seemed to escalate after the word got out that we we're having post ride fun too. Carlos gets 99% credit for the success, it's just nice to see that with the help of others like Greg (the FBBB), Maura and you (photos), and me with my son Seans's Grill. I posted a reply to Carlos' first Crusty Bits event that reflected my thorough enjoyment of this past winter and it was directly related to the Frigid Bits. So, we should be thanking you too for being there, and chronicaling the winter.