Post Alleycat Photo with Bruce and Heather at Slash Run
Good Times!
I am Rocking My NEW Walz Cap from the 2024 Confer Cat!
the story about that hat...
in the above photo I am wearing a cycling cap that was a prize at Legend Bruce's Kamala Kat
a Kamala Harris -Tim Walz themed Alleycat
the hat is made by Walz Caps
so... as part of the theme Bruce gave out a number of Walz Caps
Tim Walz and Walz Caps
that went along with other Alleycat Checkpoints like Harris Teeter locations
and other such Harris or Walz themed stops
that cap was from the 2024 Confer Cat
there were other caps that were donated by myself and others for the Delores Memorial Alleycat that were Walz Caps
Walz Caps
so... in August I teamed up with Cate Cohen on the 2024 Confer Cat
I teamed up with Cate to create a Alleycat Race manifest for the Confer Cat
we decided upon the Fountains of Youth Theme
Cate had a list of check points from Confer Cats past that she thought should be in the event
we built it from there
we ended up have a Two Manifest Event
Alleycat Race Manifest and Just for Fun Alleycat Lite Manifest
it was a great event... the volunteers took it to another level
having checkpoints with hot dogs, freezer pops, and Acme Pie to name a few fun checkpoints
the riders went to all sorts of places that referenced David Confer (Cate's partner) who died of cancer several years ago
while planning there was a day were Cate and I were going back and forth online about some of the manifest ideas when I noticed Cate had posted about having some custom Confer Cat Hats made by Walz Caps
Cate said she had 8 hats made and would put one aside of me
cool... I was stoked about the notion of a custom Confer Cat hat by Walz
Confer Cat
Facebook Event Page for the Confer Cat
the night of the Confer Cat as racers were finishing the race and I was handling manifest scoring and Cate was getting ready at The Pug ready for finishing Racers and finishing Just for Fun participants
Cate was setting out food and setting up prizes
in the chaos Cate passed off a cool custom Walz Cap to me!
I was focused on scoring the racers... I was stoked... put the hat aside and maintained my manifest scoring effort...
then maybe 45 minutes to an hour later Cate passed and said
"Hey Gwadz... can you give Bruce that hat?"
without hesitation... I grabbed that had and passed it off to Bruce
although I like cycling caps... I do not wear them as much as Bruce wears them
easy come... easy go...
there goes my Confer Cat Cap
figure Cate had her reasoning... that was good enough for me
then... fast forward to the Kamala Kat
at the finish I watched as the more efficient racers were rewarded for their effort
I sat back humbly and clapped for the more efficient racers
ONE TWO THREE
I did not even make the Top Five
then... when the prizes were picked through
Bruce came forward with some Walz Caps
one of which was a Confer Cat Cap
Bruce gave an explanation about the Tim Walz VP Canidate and the hat manufacturer sharing the same name
I grabbed a cap
I grabbed the 2024 Custom Confer Cat Cap by Walz
I got my Confer Cat Cap Back
I am told that it looks good on me
I felt that this cap would not only remind me of my buddy David Confer
but it would remind me of my teaming up with Cate to create the manifest for this event
cool cap
thanks Bruce and thanks Cate
yesterday I had some Messenger communication with Cate
asking about the hats... the cost and the turn around time...
wonderful hats
too pricey for me to create hats for an Alleycat Prize
knowing how much the caps costs makes the caps even more cool
Alleycat Racers tend to be unappreciative of the Prizes
mention the sponsors
I am mentioning a few sponsors here
Walz Caps and Slash Run!
I may cut and past some words from Facebook about my lack luster effort at the Kamala Kat
Kamala Kat Podium at Slash Run!
NICE RACING!
not sure how 1730 Park was scored... there was NO SIGN in the yard... I think racers who went there should have gotten points for a selfie at the locations...
and
I was there... did not see Cate Cohen... so... I do not think people should have gotten points for the pick up for a pick up that was not available to everyone...
and
Small Lettering and Bad Font Choice on the manifest...
My manifest was incomplete... I enjoyed the race... but did not have the best race...
as mentioned previously...
I went a few blocks off two or three times because I misread the manifest because I did not put my readers on to read things... thought I could see things with the naked eye... but alas no
ending at Slash Run was a good choice
Slash Run is owned by a former bicycle messenger who has returned to messenger work because the restaurant business is in a bit of a slump at the moment
Christine recently closed RUNAWAY her other DC Punk Burger Joint... now the future of Slash Run is in question... good to bring her business... fun to experience her spot while it is still here... I got the ROCKAWAY BURGER... a favorite of mine... SMASHBURGER AND BEER... great post race fuel....
good times
good gathering with friends to ride and race bikes
the bands at the finish were icing on the Alleycat Cake
Kristin Forbes a former bicycle messenger opened with a solo ska act
on acoustic guitar
she killed it
then The Chariots played
a band fronted by another ex messenger Zach Brown
The Chariots are a DC Classic
they have been around for a minute
I have seen them a few times and always enjoyed them
was stoked that the band brought the horn section
the horns are such a great touch
Ska without Horns?
sure... it would work
but the horns make it better
thanks Bruce for putting together a great race
a great race with an amazing post race party
last Saturday Legend Bruce hosted his Kamala Kat bicycle messenger race...
the race ended at Slash Run... as the manifests were scored people ordered beer and burgers while two bands played...
Kristin Forbes aka Lady Hatchet did a acoustic one person band thing that was really cool... playing a set with a mix of originals and then some reggae classics... she opened with The Harder They Come... not sure if she closed with a Bob Marley song... it was really cool to get to see her... Kristin Rocks!
then... The Chariots played... Zach Doo Doo Brown brought his ska band to play... it pleased me that they had the horn section... the band is good... but the devil is in the details... the horn section really makes this good band that much better... it is a great touch... Chariot Browne did a set that seemed to be influenced by the reggae styles of The Clash... they killed it...
they also mixed a bunch of originals along with some Ska Classics... when they closed the night Kristin put aside the acoustic guitar and plugged in an electric guitar and joined in with The Chariots... which make The Chariots Plus... HELL YES! some of the covers I can recall would be Police and Thieves and Pressure Drop... not sure what else...
but Zach and company play a really cool set... sounded great... had people dancing for bit... had people tapping their feet the whole night...
CLASSIC Bike Law JERSEY...
BRUCE won that jersey... too small for Bruce... Bruce passed off the Two Tone\Ska Themed jersey to Vik... Vik dressed for the night... wearing the jersey that matched up with the Ska bands at the finish while also racing in a cool cap that he got at the Delores Memorial Event... that was one of Delores' hats... looks great on Veek Raggamuffin
Kamala Kat Alleycat Photos...
a few stories to tell the tale of the night...
READERS would be my word of the night...
Tried to read the manifest without readers.. went to 3 wrong addresses because I misread the numbers...
a few blocks off three times before I realized it was a SMALL WORDS AND A BAD FONT... I almost went to I Street instead of 1st Street at one point... because I was not putting my readers on to read the manifest
Slash Run was the finish spot for Legend Bruce's Kamala Kat Alleycat... it was a Kamala Harris themed Alleycat... took us all over the city... I made a few missteps along the way... which kept me from having a complete manifest... had to finish with what I had...
I rode my old Trek 2.3 Road Bike that was just got a make over by my mechanic friend Beth Permenter... WOW! That bike rode like it was NEW AGAIN! Thanks Beth! Your did not just clean things up... you re-animated this machine! That bike has its second life... or maybe its third! Bike worked great... I did not have my strongest race... body pushed the pedals fast and smooth.... bike sliced through the city streets... I just had some slow check point transitions and with some of the street closures a street festivals... my block or two off there and here ended up being more time consuming on finding the checkpoints...
the burgers and beer at Slash Run at the finish really hit the spot... I got the ROCKAWAY BURGER... not original for me... I have had that same burger on my most recent visits... then after the delicious SMASH BURGER there was music... wonderful live music...
read my other post with images where I talk about Kristin Forbes and her solo ska performance and then Chariot Browne and his band The Chariots
here is a story that I had to do a little fact checking on...
The bass player from The Chariots once told me that he got Andy Zalan his first bicycle messenger gig... which is a little bit of a folklore claim... as AZ is messenger royalty... as it turns out... that claim is pretty much true... Andy did have a messenger job of sorts... but bass playing Amon got Andy to work for Quick Messenger Services... a more legit company than Andy was working for... and that is the job that started it all for Andy Zalan
