After attending the recent cycling film festival in Canberra and seeing a documentary about clandestine urban bike courier races held in big cities around the world, a local cyclist was inspired to create The Inaugural John Howard’s Birthday BureauCat Race. Below are the details I recieved via email – should be a blast!
The Inaugural John Howard’s Birthday BureauCat Race
Open to anyone…
What is it?
It’s an idea for an urban-style ‘alley cat’ race stolen from bike messengers, but since Canberra has neither bike couriers nor alleys we’re calling it a BureauCat Race. Let’s face it; both bike couriers and bureaucrats move pieces of paper around – it’s just that bike messengers have more fun doing it. They’re on bikes.
Reminiscent of orienteering and/or a scavenger hunt, everyone will start at a common place where you’ll be handed a map and sheet of paper, known as a ‘manifest’. The manifest will contain instructions and a list of checkpoints which have to be visited in a certain order – you decide how you get to them.
The checkpoints will require some kind of verification that you’ve actually been there. First person to reach the finish having met all the requirements on their manifest wins (the race?).
The Inaugural John Howard’s Birthday BureauCat Race will visit some iconic Canberra sites, and some not so iconic.
What: An urban-style ‘alley cat’ race
When: Wednesday 26 July 2006 – John Howard’s Birthday
Start: Meet out the front of Old Parliament House (King George Tce)
Start time: 6.15pm for a 6.30pm Le Mans start (it’s OK, the run will only be about 50 m)
Finish: Debacle, Lonsdale St
Cost: Nothing
What you will need:
* A bike and that other stuff you need when you’re riding it
* It’ll be dark so you might also want lights
* A bike lock, tools etc.
* A pen and a blank sheet of A4 paper (hint: it might pay to look up the word ‘frottage’ in the dictionary)
* Some way of transporting items on your bike other than your hands or teeth (the manifest needs to be readable at the end)
* Some $$ for beer & food at Debacle
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