Alleycat is back

After taking one year off, the Alleycat bike ride is back at Luther. This Friday from 8 to 11 p.m., Backyard Wilderness Pursuits will be hosting the second Alleycat bike ride through Decorah.

“An Alleycat race is based off of the bicycle-messenger lifestyle,” Collin Thompson (‘11) said. “You have all of these checkpoints you have to find and see who can navigate the city the quickest while getting to all of the checkpoints.”

Thompson got the idea for the Alleycat ride from a race he did in Colorado and decided to bring it to Luther. The ride is not an official race, but rather a friendly competition between riders to do simple tasks and arrive at different spots around Decorah. Volunteers will give the riders a stamp after they complete each task.

“It’s a loosely-organized competition,” Thompson said. “Each checkpoint is assigned a point value. However many spots you can get in that time period is however many points you’ll receive.”

Although the competition is friendly, there will be prizes for the riders with the most points at the conclusion of the ride.

“It’s a scavenger hunt like they did two years ago,” Jessie Conley (‘13) said. “This time, though, we’re giving out some sweet prizes.”

BWP decided to bring back the Alleycat ride this year because of the success it had in the past.

“It was a heck of a time last time,” Erik Johnson (‘11), a previous participant, said. “It’s getting people on bikes and outside and exercising, but by the end of it you hardly even realize you’ve been active for those last few hours.”

If all goes well on Friday night, BWP hopes to continue hosting the ride once or twice a year.

“Depending on how well it goes this year, I’d like to do it next year and for many years to come,” David Duba (‘13) said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

To sign-up for the ride, go to BWP’s website at http://.luther.edu/bwp/signup. Because the ride takes place at night, BWP is asking riders to bring their own lights to comply with city ordinances.