Originally Posted by Davidavin
From what I know, Brighton is sort of a college town? I ventured down to Eugene, OR, another college town, on Saturday to witness their ride. My report goes like this:
Eugene, OR is a bustling college town of 150,000 and is home to the University of Oregon. Always at the cutting edge of west coast culture, this town would seem ripe to host a large, enthusiatic WNBR. However, despite the fact that Portland and its mammoth ride is only a scant 90 miles away, this town has never really put their WNBR on the map. I've attended 4-5, always in daylight, and always they have been lightly attended. Where are all those college kids? Eugene is also a very bike friendly town. But as many know, the kids don't generally come out unless its dark out. One year, this town did attempt to host a night ride, but it fizzled out and I recall spending a fruitless evening driving around town only to come up empty handed.
OK, so they do ride, but attendance seldom tops 50 participants, and its hit or miss if you are a photographer. So, last Saturday, I arrived with low expectations. At 4PM, the scheduled arrival time, few had showed, and even at 4:20, ten minutes before ride time, only 10-15 were on hand, mostly male and mostly clothed. Oh well, I though - I guess I'll head out. So I started to walk towards my car, but a little voice inside me said "hang around another 5-10 minutes - or at least until the ride departs". And so I did, and thank the lord for that! Five minutes later, three nice young girls arrived and two stripped to nothing. Within 5 more minutes, I had gotten my shots, and the ride was off. Unfortunately though, they rode away from me, not towards me. But thats OK - it wasn't a total loss and I'm glad I made the trip down. Eugene's bike ride may not be in a class with Portland's, but any one can have the potential to be productive.
Below are two pics and I have up to a dozen or so which I will try to post as soon as the London WNBR onslaught has cooled.
Davidavin (Klondike)
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