This was a busy weekend for the Geekanerd photo team - our fair city was host to two great events, the ZombieCon and the first annual NYC Big Wheel Race, presented by ZombieUnicorn. I got to cover the race, and I spent the whole time whining about how I wished I was competing. It was that awesome.
As with all of these "weird sports" events, pageantry is a major part of the proceedings. There were plenty of geek-centric costumes, and we've got shots of Ninja Turtles, Batman, and um, Joe Dirt? after the jump...
Please note the triple decker luge-style skateboard....not too functional, but a sight to see.
The race was run in several heats down a paved hill in Central Park, between 103rd street and 107th street. This dude, in his highly appropriate Formula 1 speedsuit, won multiple times. I asked him if he'd souped up his Big Wheel somehow, but he said he'd just picked it up that day for $2 at a garage sale. So I guess it was pure driving skills that got him to the finish line......OR WAS IT SABOTAGE?
This was the coolest cart of the day - a very homemade Turtle Van and two Ninja Turtles! It wasn't the fasted rig in the line-up, but they scored major style points for shouting "Turtle Power!" as they made there way down the hill.
Bonus points for a seasonal reference and democracy power!
This was also a ambitiously rendered cart. And yes, that's Norse lettering on the back, spelling out the competitors names. Awesome.
How did we get a Joe Dirt reference in this event? Did that movie have more cultural significance than first assumed?
Dangit, sorry this is blurry. Two fine nerdy costumes! Batman and....uh. I thought this was Speed Racer at the time, but I think I'm wrong. Someone help me please.
Here's another shot of that crazy triple-skateboard.
The sweet logo. Go ZombieUnicorn! This event was massively successful, with an unscientifically estimated turnout of, oh, like 50 racers, maybe? Spectators gathered all along the route, and after a few heats, tons of photographers were clogging up the starting line. I'd expect next year to be even bigger, so next time you see a big wheel in a trashcan, nab it and save it for next fall.For lots more great photos of the event, check out our new friend Hbomb's coverage of the event over at Flickr! He got some of the costumes we missed, including the wheel-less Ziggy Stardust!
