cirque du sogay

On September 10, Melissa Lo and I participated in our very first alley cat race, Babes in Bikeland. Alongside 252 other female and transgendered cyclists, we took on a roughly 20 mile route through NE, Downtown, Uptown, South and Phillips.

We arrived at Sisters Camelot 1 hour and 53 minutes after we started at the Soap Factory. We took 51st and 52nd place. Our ever supportive boyfriends greeted us at the finish line with a "Great Jorb" sign and Powerade. We were only 20 minutes behind the first place racer, Lee Pen (who also started chemotherapy earlier that month). A girl from Seattle finished the race on a Nice Ride after being hit by a car six blocks into the race. Overall, no one left Babes in Bikeland defeated. Collectively we finished using our strength, wits and teamwork. We were proud.

But we could do better.

With Cirque Du SoGay fast approaching, Melissa and I realized our new challenges. This wasn't a race against women who were of a similar physical set, men would be participating as well. The feminist me who rode in babes in bike land should not have been afraid bit I'm realistic about the difference between my short legs and a six-foot tall man's legs. We had only an hour to prepare our route versus the two hours Babes provided us. Our start and finish point were located in the same vicinity which meant the destinations could lead us to neighborhoods (maybe even in St. Paul) that we were not familiar with.

Our Cirque du SoGay group at the launching point (Minnesota AIDS Project), photo take by a stranger with Stephanie Hengst's camera.

Melissa and I had our eyes on placing in the top 15. Not so much that we would knock down other cyclists or grab onto the sideview mirror of a car for a free ride. We're not that intense/cool. But we took on Babes as a learning experience and kept our eyes on the fifty girls ahead of us. What were they doing that we could be doing? What lessons had we learned?

Route. While one could be the fastest cyclist on the track, not knowing the quickest route from point A to B could be your demise.

In Babes, Melissa and I played it ultra-safe. We avoided busy streets and took trails where we could. In Cirque, we took riskier roads and spent less time on trails.

We also made two large mistakes in Uptown and another big one in South Minneapolis during Babes. We had the benefit in Cirque of having six people helping us plot our manifest. I was comfortable with all of the route except for the U of M portion. Luckily, Melissa and Stephanie are both former graduate students of the campus.

Our Cirque du SoGay route (including our mistakes). The 15-mile course ended up being closer to 19.83 for us. Feel free to comment suggestions on this map here or in the comment section of this blog. Help us learn more! 

Groups. Working as a duo worked very well during Babes in Bikeland.

Other than being a lone wolf, riding as a pair works the very best. If you're unsure of a route, that other person is a second pair of eyes looking for your destination. And there's a car out there, with your name invisibly written on its hood, doesn't even know it, and the trick is to make it to the finish line before that car finds you (yes, I stole this from Firefly). Your partner is your savior again (I owe my life to Melissa Lo).

Only having to look out for one other person keeps the multi-tasking limited to pedaling, the route and traffic. If you have more than that, you might find half you group caught at a red light behind you. You have to keep turning around to see if you've lost somebody.

Communication. Being vocal can save your life and your spirit.

Keep your mouth moving. Let people know your position. Let people around you know the position of cars around them. Remind your team members of your route. When you come across another group of cyclists participating in your alley cat, cheer them on. Cheer your team members on. Sing silly songs to remind everyone that this is suppose to be fun. We caught onto this while on the road during Babes and kept it going strong during Cirque.

Creativity. You're probably not going to be first, so try to win a prize for flare.

Babes in Bikeland handed out prizes for the best costume and the best answers at a stop. Cirque du SoGay was no different. We were a little worn out from making hip bags all week to construct costumes on top of it, but Melissa did receive recognition for one of her answers during a quiz in Cirque. The question was so utterly disgusting, but Melissa's answer of "air biscuit" was as appropriate as one could get without being vulgar.

Luggage. The Chrome messenger bag did not prove efficient during Babes.

We spent far too much time digging in a bag for our manifests (the list of places racers are required to stop at and have signed/stamped to prove they were there). So Melissa and I ditched our heavy packs filled with extra clothing and sunscreen and simplified. We constructed these hip bags and culled what we carried down to our manifests, maps, after party flyers, U-Locks, cell phones, keys, wallets and small tools. I also installed a water bottle holder on my bike.

We made mistakes again in Cirque, but we improved. Greatly. Jared A. May, Melissa and I finished together 13th, 11th and 12th respectively at 1 hour and 57 minutes. We made the Top 15 of the "Virgin" (or 15-mile) route. Two "Harder, Faster" (30-mile) cyclists finished before us and a third rolled in minutes after us. We were awestruck.

do-it-yourself hip bags (alright, they're glorified fanny packs)

After Babes in Bikeland, Melissa Lo and I made a few observations about how we could improve our performance for the next race. I will be writing a blog post about all our learnings, but first, I wanted to share some details about our hip bags that earned us a much improved ranking at Cirque Du SoGay.

The do-it-yourself nature of the alley cat makes you feel sort of like a poseur if your bike is a brand new Masi with a bright red wheelset and you're wearing a crisp Chrome messenger bag (unless it's fairly broken in and covered in patches stating whatever subdivision of Minnesota Statute 169.222 you feel the strongest about). A Chrome bag proves to be the most efficient when you're couriering files for a law office or simply commuting to work with gym clothes, but its design can be hindering in an alley cat.

We took on Babes as a first pancake experience. We observed what made the faster riders faster, other than physical superiority. Several of the top 15 wore a hip bag, which is a larger fanny pack. They grabbed their manifests quicker without having to swing a large bag around their torsos. They weren't as weighed down or sweaty. They didn't have to remove both hands from the handlebars to check the map while riding. So, like in Babes, we followed their lead.

Hip bags are available on Etsy. Chrome and Trash Bags make a higher quality hip bag. But Melissa and I were looking for something a little more cost effective and customizable. We did our research too, finding many sites like these that offered up step-by-step instructions. Melissa spent a lot of time creating a pattern and sample bags to test her brainchild. Because Melissa essentially designed these and I brought my home-ec skills to the table, I don't feel it's right to share her pattern, but I'm going to offer some considerations you should take into account when making your own.

When choosing materials, stick with heavier fabrics, but ones that your sewing machine can handle (we were using a machine from the 80's so I was super nervous when I had to go through six layers to attach the flap to the body.) I chose a canvas with a mystery synthetic (maybe a nylon-poly-cotton blend based on the texture) at about the same weight and stretch. Melissa went for two nylons of similar weights and stretches. You do not want a lot of stretch. We found our fabrics at SR Harris Fabric Outlet in Brooklyn Park, MN, but JoAnn's Fabrics carry these as well (but twice the price). We were also searching for fabrics with a moderate amount of waterproofing to them, but while SR Harris' warehouse style gives you discount prices, um, they give you crap for information about the fabrics.

Make your flap wider than your bag's body (which I did not do here). Since I sewed my lining, outer shell and flap together at the same time, it would have worked out perfectly. Also, take more time and have fewer glasses of wine when you're sewing the flap's curve.

This is quite possibly the most important part of the bag's construction. We wanted to have a loop (the largest part of the nylon webbing) that you could slide in a U-Lock. A lot of designs you'll find out on the internet have the U-Lock loop on the outside of the bag. Some simple deductive reasoning figures that this would make the bag heavy on the outside and slouchy. We placed ours on the inside and didn't find it uncomfortable at all.

We found all of our nylon webbing at SR Harris again, but the dual-adjust buckle came from Midwest Mountaineering. Melissa also attached a Midwest Mountaineering D-ring to the interior of the bag to hold her keys. Seal all of your nylon webbing with a lighter to prevent fraying in a well-ventilated area. Otherwise, it not only looks like you're heating up some heroine, but it starts to feel like it as well.

We modeled our Velcro after the Chrome bag. This way if you have to put something larger in your bag (like a t-shirt you won on a stop), you can still close the bag. I placed the hooked portion of the Velcro on the flap though as I've had enough of finer tights, dresses, and coats being ruined after I accidentally brush against the bag when it's open. Like the U-Lock loop above, sew the Velcro on before you attach the lining to the outer shell to avoid having the stitching show on the outside. We supported all our notions with a piece of scrap fabric hidden between the layers.

We also sewed in a pocket to separate our manifest, maps, after party information, cell phone, highlighter and pen from the other contents of the bag (keys, sunglasses, patch kits, tools and wallet).

We're not pattern makers. We're not seamstresses. We did not have all the correct tools (a serger would have been amazing). I'm obviously not a model. But, Melissa and I made a pretty satisfactory and attractive product considering our limitations and for $13 a piece.