Manon Carpenter (L) mixes it at the Parkour ride |
One event that I would have liked to have attended was the inaugural Parkour Ride, which took place at Tobacco Docks, East London. I always thought parkour had something to do with leaping off buildings and street furniture like Spiderman. Apparently, this version, done on bicycles is not as hair-raising but it is just as adrenaline-filled.
According to organisers, the Face Partnership (who also organise the Nocturne series and the Revolution Series), Parkour is "a multi-discipline head-to-head elimination race with two riders racing a special circuit up and down the multi-storey car park". The circuit runs up and down all seven levels, with various obstacles such as box jumps, whoops and berms, switchbacks, plus of course all the ramps between the different levels of the multi-storey car park.
A number of high profile competitors turned out, including professional road racer, David Millar, world mountain bike downhill champion Manon Carpenter, and all-round cycling personality Anna Glowinski. She gave her account of her experience to Total Women's Cycling website. From what I heard, racing was quite exciting, and the competition was won by BMX supremo Liam Phillips.
For those who like their cycling from a more sedentary standpoint there are various bars and spectator points, all accompanied by a DJ sound system and other entertainment.
I can't see myself having a go at this sort of thing. I'm too much of a big girl's blouse for all those obstacles, but I would love to get down and watch the action next year while enjoying a few Red Bulls.
Photo credit: jakelewis.cc
Did you go to this event or have you been to something similar? How was it? Whether as a spectator or a competitor post your experiences in the comment box.
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