The first Pot O’ Gold Alley Cat Scavenger Hunt was awesome! So many cyclists came out despite Sunday’s less-than-ideal weather. Racers enthusiastically solved the location-specific riddles on the back of the manifests (we *might* use an easier-to-read font next time…but we’ll definitely make the riddles harder!) before sprinting out into cold gusty winds. One person stayed at the bar for so long we worried he had quit straight away – but Ben G assured us that no, he had overestimated the temperature and was warming back up with the help of a few beers. “But, what’s up with this Garfield lady in white riddle? I live in Garfield….I have to find it!”
4 hours after the manifests were doled out, the teams returned back to OTB to claim their standings.
And the winners are!
1st: “The MT’s” – Megan Lovett and Ted King-Smith, with 27 checkpoints!
2nd: Joshua Burfield, Lukas Parker and McKean Evans, with 26 checkpoints
3rd: Team “All-City-Thick” – Adam Haller, Adam Mistick and Christian Ferro, with 24 checkpoints
4th: Chris Corbran, Jess Appleman and Nate Lorenzo
5th: Scott Kowalski, Lucia Aguirre, Ric Fera, Dominik Konkolewicz and John Markowitz
6th: Caleb and Sam
7th: The Six Down Suffer Club
8th: Ethan Gladding
9th: Mark Cato
10th: Ben Grocholsky
The MT’s crushed this race under their combined Pittsburgh smarts, riddle solving genius and crazy bike-riding powers. Joshua Burfield, a returning Babes on Bikes Ladies’ Night alley cat champ, ranked again, along with a few friends this time. Team All-City-Thick possibly out-enthusiasm-ed every other team but made the crucial mistake of skipping the Lawrenceville check-points (sorry dudes!). Nate and Chris teamed up with Jess Appleman on her first alley-cat – finishing as the second female rider, she may actually have been the most enthusiastic single racer at the event. So stoked you came out and had a great time, Jess! The 5th place spot was apparently held for Poland, as well as the third female finisher, Lucia Aguirre. Caleb and Sam took 6th despite starting out with a flat tire. Ben G made it back with a handful of checkpoints, and told us: “Well, I was out looking for the lady in white, and I was going to try checking out every staircase in Garfield but I took a break to stop in Verde to warm up again. Asked the bartender if he had any idea about the riddle….he said yeah, and pointed up the street.” Ha!
In case you were wondering, the riddle was:
Garfield’s lady in white has been ascending the stairs,
With hope in her eyes for so many years.
The Checkpoints
Thanks to everyone for racing! Special thanks to OTB for hosting and donating, Scott Kowalski for designing the flyers and spoke cards, and Fiks: Reflective for making them more visible.
We are so glad you enjoyed the first Pot O’ Gold Scavenger Hunt. See you next year!
