Maybe it was inspired by the Minneapolis Mafias tireless commitment to their own Wednesday night rides, or maybe it was Ferrentinos recent article on underground racing, or maybe it was the memory of Northern Californias Crusy Cup single speed races of days past. In reality, Id say it was a little bit of all of those things that got the fire lit to have our own Wednesday night events here in Santa Cruz. The long and the short of it was, yesterday after work, I loaded up the BOB trailer up with probably more beer then the poor thing was rated for, hitched her up to the Hunter cross bike, and made the long haul to Twin Gates to prepare for the crowd. The course for the event was simple enough..A ten minute redwood shrouded single track loop that the racers would have to complete. Upon crossing the start/finish line, the individual would then have to slam a can of beer, and then proceed to retrace the course in reverse. Racing skills were obviously a must, but as the event unfolded, derbying, and drinking prowess became equally important. Each cyclist had to complete the course, back and fourth, a total of four times, upping the crash factor on each lap. Not to exclude the non drinkers in the fold, I generously provided three dizzy bats that instead of drinking, the racers would have to spin around five times on, before clumsily remounting their bicycles, and swerving back into the woods. (One of which was chucked, Spear-style into a giant poison oak bush.. Thanks Brian.) Truth be told, the most blood was spilled on our descent down through Wilder on our way home. The most spectacular of which was all 7 vertical feet of Kirk going ass over tea kettle, legs sprawling over arms, sprawling over wheels, amidst a giant clowd of dust. Second to that, Dan emailed me today and said that due to a sensational post race dismount, he woke up this morning with a freshly chipped tooth. So long modeling career. It was a smashing start to what will hopefully be many more wednesday night rides for us here. If you find yourself in Santa Cruz, come on up to Twin Gates around 6:00 pm, and dont forget to bring your mouth guard.