Spokefest 2008

All four of us attended Spokefest this morning. Steph and I rode the tandem, Josh rode my road bike, and Kathy rode hers. I don't know the exact numbers but they had a lot more people show up and register this morning, probably since the weather was so good. But I did hear about 700+ preregistered and that is absolutely amazing for Spokane. The route was challenging enough for both seasoned and new riders. And I heard about 125 kids did the one mile ride. Excellent!


The food stops were awesome.



A bluegrass band was playing at the Bowl and Pitcher stop. Going up Doomsday Hill I asked Steph to take some pictures.


I got a laugh out of one person. As I slowly crept by them I said, "On your left...huff...huff...kinda..sorta...huff...huff...eventually.

Got our goody bags and browsed the kiosks at the finish line.



I didn't realize until later he was in the photo. Three and seven-tenths points to the person who can identify the guy in the highly stickered helmet and red backpack. Said guy is ineligible.




Cool Spokefest 2008 T-shirt.


Way cooler Spokefest shirt. I happened to be in line at the David's Pizza truck with one of the event organizers who was wearing this shirt. He said is was used to promote Spokefest.

So is Spokefest the cycling Bloomsday? It certainly has potential. The price is right--ten bucks a person and you got a shirt, water bottle, Bumblebar, and a reusable shopping bag. (Hey, some stores credit you five cents for each reusable bag you use.) The weather is always a gamble so it was fortunate we had a perfect day. The event organizers did an excellent job. I'm sure they learned a few lessons, but I have no complaints nor suggestions. Using the wrist bands was a good idea and it look like it worked well. Kudos to all the volunteers. They make the ride happen so we can enjoy it which means they don't get to do the ride. I saw a lot from the Spokane Bicycle Club. There were quite a few young volunteers, too, but I don't know if they were with a group. I didn't ask Josh and Steph but on the way home they volunteered they had fun. The only thing they didn't like was the smell as we passed by the sewage treatment plant. Personally I think it's good to be reminded how we impact our environment, but that's just me.

Will we sign up for Spokefest next year? Absolutely!