Cascade Bicycle Club is ramping up to host the 2010 Seattle Bike Expo next weekend, March 13-14 at the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal 91 in Magnolia. For people who’ve fantasized about mowing down road-blocking riders at Critical Mass, this event illustrates that not all cyclists are self-satisfied turds. The event strives to celebrate all things cycling. Along with hundreds of local and national vendors to check out, the expo is bringing out world champion artistic cyclists from the International Cycling Union to perform.
What the hell is an artistic cyclist, you ask? From what I can tell, they are the figure skaters of the bicycle community, minus half a pound of glitter.
“You don’t ever hear of them in the states,” says Cascade Bicycle Club spokeswoman M.J. Kelly, “but in Europe it’s a highly popular and competitive sport.”
The Seattle Bike Expo will also have a classic bike show, personalized bike fittings (bring your own bike), an Oregon bicycle constructors area where you can watch bikes be hand built, and a kids zone where kids make art out of old bicycle parts and practice their riding skillz. Check out the schedule for more details.
And go here for a $2 dollars off admission for up to 4 in a group. Cascade Bicycle Club is celebrating its 40th year in Seattle.
Uh, a lot of those “self-satisfied turds” are also Cascade members and/or Bike Expo attendees.
That video is amazing, but it seems that if the sport were so “highly popular” they might be performing somewhere other than what appears to be a high-school gym?
You like bike dancing? You like Kevin Bacon? You’re welcome.
@1 A lot of car drivers (and casual bike riders) are completely turned off by Critical Mass. I know. I’ve talked to a lot of them. “Self-satisfied turd” is the kindest of the descriptions I’ve heard. I think that Seattle Bike Expo is a great time to see Seattle bike culture at it’s best, for people who never have.
Cienna@5: Most people “turned off by Critical Mass” have never encountered it personally and might be surprised that not all its riders are “self-satisfied turds” worthy of death fantasies.
Maybe you should venture down to Westlake Center some last-Friday this summer and check it out for yourself.
@ 6 I have encountered CM personally for years in Seattle and I detest it. I have many co-workers who witness it monthly and don’t care for it either, and several of them bike to work every day. It is pointless and disruptive. I have lived downtown on 2nd and Pine back in the early 90s and also have worked downtown on 3rd and Seneca since 1997. I enjoy bike riding, but I extremely dislike CM.
@6
Critical Mass is a mob of people acting like complete douche bags. Justify it any way you want, DOUG, douche bag is the bottom line.
Tip of the day – it’s just as easy to get out of the car and block some douche bag from moving his bike as it is for that douche bag block you from moving your car.
so what ur saying Cienna is that bike culture is cool as long as its based around consumerism & confined to an auditorium? ….sweet….i’ll take note of that.
Why do I get the feeling this kind of event will have a parking lot full of subarus and a sparsely populated bike rack?
also, this makes me want to fucking puke:
“Understanding Aerodynamics
Josh Poertner, Zipp Wheels USA
Many riders believe that bicycle frame and component weight are the biggest factors in finding that little extra something on race day (or on that big ride). Zipp Wheel Head engineer Josh Poertner dispels this myth and discuses ways to improve performance by better understanding aerodynamics.”
and if you want to see “Seattle bike culture at it’s best” Cienna, how about checking out the Bikery or Bike Works non-profits that help get more people on bicycles in a affordable, welcoming and friendly way.
@6- Nope, I’ve met/known/encountered Critical Mass and it’s stupid.
@8- Nope, bikes are way more mobile and narrow.
@9- What’s the matter, you don’t like racing? Wrong kind of elitism for you?
Also, if you want to see bike culture at it’s best, get on your bike and ride past some reflective surface.
Or maybe that only works for me.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, people. “Bike culture at ITS best.” No fucking apostrophe!
Weird. Every Slog post about bikes is actually about CM. However, out in the real world, I ride a bike in Seattle for 100% of my transportation needs and have not seen a CM ride since summer 2008, when I participated in one because I had a crush on a girl.
If I put a rear view mirror on my helmet do I get a complimentary lifetime membership to Cascade?
@12, I tip my hat to you!
@12 I have chosen to rewrite all the wrongs of the english language and I’m starting with “IT’S”
take note.
@2 Having competed for an equally obscure sport in Europe, I can tell you that that isn’t a high school gym but a sports complex. In fact, it looks almost exactly like the one I competed in.