Alleycat, musical obsessions

Last night, I did the Independence Day Alleycat in downtown Raleigh. An alleycat, it turns out, is a jolly bicycle scavenger hunt across town. Alleycat races were originally organized by bike messengers in New York and other big time towns to test the mettle of messengers in the face of heavy urban stuff - traffic, construction, crowds, etc. I reckon the edgy urban daredevil punk chic of it has brought it out of the big cities and into, well, somewhat less intense environs. But Raleigh's got bike punks - somewhere at the intersection of urban hipsters (sporting the latest local designers and copious tattoos), CrimethInc anarchist types (outside the system, below the radar, dumpster diving romantics), and bikers (think dressed entirely in spandex with clips on their shoes), there is the bike punk. A fabulous breed, really.

They kicked our asses, the bike punks did. The race took us a full two hours to complete. Word on the street was that someone had already won by the time we were about halfway. Tee hee. Kate and I were, at intervals, nauseous, giddy, grunting in pain, and shouting at the tops of our lungs that our asses hurt. But we finished the race (arrrr), in 30th and 31st places, out of 41 riders. Take that!! I wish I could scan my map of the race to show you all - it shows the whole convoluted route, and is tattered from 2 hours spent in my sweaty butt pocket, but alas, you'll have to take my word for it. It was long and sweaty. :)

It made me think about how Raleigh ain't that big. If I could bike, like, the entire town in one evening for a race, why couldn't I bike more places on an everyday basis? I really ought to. It'd be fun, and doubtless very good for my out-of-shape self.

It also made me think about how much more in touch you can be with your city if you spend most of your time biking and walking around it, as opposed to driving. In the car, you are really in your own little world. You can't stop and chat, you can't (usually) say hey to people you pass. Even beyond the potential for social interaction, you're just not so in touch with what you're passing - with what the air smells like, how the weather is, the scenery, etc. Biking, it's a little easier to feel in touch with all that. Part of Raleigh is just beautiful at night, and busy. Other places we biked through were downright sketchy and ugly. Construction sites, bad neighborhoods, etc. I think it's important to really feel all of that stuff when you're passing it, not just plow on through. I think it puts you in better touch with what, and who, is really in your town. No one and no place should be invisible, no one shouldn't matter to you, as a voter, and as a human! At the same time, being on a bike means you're safer (and faster!) traveling through rough neighborhoods than if you were on foot, and that's important, too.

So yes, I would like to bike more! The alleycats are highly recommended to my Raleigh friends with bikes.... and don't worry, they're not ALL bike punks, there are plenty of bike dorks, and just plain dorks, who participate as well. :)

In other news, I've got three awesome musical discoveries to share -

Beirut. Ah, be still my Polish heart. This album makes me feel lost in Eastern Europe. And stoned. But not in a bad way - I actually hate to be stoned, and hence haven't been in 7 or 8 years, at least. I mean in a good way. Kind of dreamy, like traveling, like when you're first riding into a new destination, or sitting quietly and watching a foreign town go by, and letting the newness and differentness and beauty of the place just seep into you. Your mind is quiet, you are in awe, you are taking it all in. It's an awesome feeling.

My Brightest Diamond. Moody and beautiful and rocking. A taste of Tori Amos, but in a rock way. I first saw them live, opening for The Decemberists, and they knocked my socks off. Also highly recommended!

And of course, The Number Twelve Looks Like You. I am SO PROUD of my brother for the new album, Mongrel (arrrr!). Wait 'til you sample some of it! You know, I don't generally dig the scream-o stuff, but even I can tell this album rocks. And look at the band glam shots. Holee crap, my brother (at far left in this pic) is always the freakiest looking one in all the pics.
I love that kid. :)