Sprockettes wowed the crowd with some awesome new material

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The gladiators and the crowd brought lots of intensity to Chariot Wars last night.
- More photos below / Gallery -
(Photos © J. Maus)

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Chariot Wars, a proud Zoobomb tradition.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Zoobomb's annual Mini Bike Winter fest has begun! The event, which lasts through Sunday, started last night when the Irondelles (Portland's all-female tall bike gang) led a ride to spruce up area ghost bikes and do some craft-making for upcoming events.

Tonight, Zoobomb takes it to a whole other level with the much-anticipated return of the Ben Hurt Chariot Wars. (more...)

A scene from the Ben Hurt Chariot Wars held during Mini Bike Winter 2010.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Our friends over at Zoobomb have announced the dates and events that will make up the eighth annual Mini Bike Winter. If you've never made it to this, you should definitely mark February 17th - 21st on your calendar.

I know it looks scary, but they actually rules and referees and stuff.

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The Ben Hurt Chariot Wars were held Saturday in North Portland.
- Chariot Wars Gallery/Slideshow below -

The seventh annual Mini Bike Winter ruled the streets of Portland this past weekend. Hosted by Zoobomb, the event showcased one of Portland's distinct brands of bike fun.

A gladiator after the epic battle.

Friday through Sunday was packed with events -- from a panel discussion to a human-powered chariot battle royale. Saturday was the big "Circus Freaks" party downtown and Sunday ended with the Mini Bike Winter Olympics and of course, a special edition of the weekly Zoobomb.

As the reputation of this event has grown, so too has the number of out-of-towners who come to participate and take it all in. This year, groups came from Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Vancouver (B.C.) and even Boston -- and from what I saw, they did not go home disappointed!

Saturday's Ben Hurt Chariot Wars were epic. The surprise entry was a rusted out Volkswagon Bug, powered by three four guys inside (who worked part Flinstone-style and part pedal-powered) and two gladiators perched outside to ward off invaders. One of the cars builders (the same guys who dreamed up the amazing Hamster Ball last year) said they found the car in a creekbed in Forest Park.

Despite chants from the crowd of, "Flip the car! Flip the car!" no one was able to turn it over. Other competitors, who had the more conventional bike and trailer-as-chariot set up, tried to pull the gladiators out of the car. In the end, the car realized it had an unfair advantage and rolled off. Victory was earned by the defending champions, Lee and J-Ryde of "Team SEXXON."

Saturday night, a large group of people met at Alberta Park, the first stop in a ride that would end up at the party venue downtown. On the basketball courts at Alberta Park, The Sprockettes kicked things off with an excellent performance. We then rolled to Irving Park where the Vancouver, BC-based B:C:Clettes performed under the illumination of bike lights.

From Irving Park, the ride's next stop was the Eastbank Esplanade where the Bay Area Derailleurs displayed their masterful bike dancing skills to a very appreciative crowd with the city skyline as a backdrop. The final stop was the Circus Freaks party, where face painting, a fashion show, live music, and lots of dancing capped off an epic day.

I didn't make it to Mt. Tabor Park for Sunday's Winter Olympics, so if anyone's got links to photos or recaps of that action, feel free to share in the comments.

Nice work Zoobomb! You all put on an amazing three days of events.

More photos in my Mini Bike Winter VII photo gallery or sit back and watch the slideshow below:

For more coverage, check the awesome video by Johnathan Allen:

Carnage awaits at the Chariot Wars event.
(Photo © J. Maus)

This year's Mini Bike Winter is shaping up to be one of the best ever.

The event -- which tries to capture the fun and creative culture of Portland's beloved Zoobomb community -- features parties, competitions, and this year, even a panel discussion.

Mini Bike Winter kicks off on Thursday night (2/11) with a panel discussion titled, "Should Bikes Save the Planet?" Panelists include: Author of Efficiency Shifting, Conrad Schmidt; Bicycle Pornographer Reverend Phil Sano; President of Umbrella and Director of the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition, Stephanie Routh; owner of Portland Pedicabs Ryan Hashagen; and PSU Professor of Sociology, Erin Rose Michaels.
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"Bump" showing his skills.
(Photos by Elly Blue)
-Slideshows below-

Mini Bike Winter is Zoobomb's answer to all of Portland's summer bicycle fun -- but less of it, and on small bikes.

The festivities go on for several days, and after missing the glorious Hamster Ball on Saturday night I determined to head out on Sunday to catch some of the action. I arrived at the Esplanade just in time to catch the Bicycle Belles, Seattle's answer to our own Sprockettes. I took some photos:
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The Ben Hurt Chariot Wars left their mark on Zoobomb's Mini Bike Winter 2009 yesterday. I wasn't there (I'm still in Guadalajara), but I just came across an amazing short video from my friend Felix. I knew I was missing something special by not being at MBW this year, but I did not expect this...

Behold, the Hamster Ball:

Awesome.

See more photos from the chariot war action at Felix's photoset. Learn more about Mini Bike Winter at Zoobomb.net