Friday evening, you may have run into a crowd of cyclists pedaling their way downtown, uptown, and back again. The racing term for this group is a peloton. These rather enthusiastic riders were in the midst of the Sacramento Alley Cat bike race. 

The Alley Cat is an unsanctioned bike race, checkpoint-to-checkpoint, where the emphasis is placed not on speed, but on knowing the layout of the city. Races are always open course, taking place in street traffic. 

40 riders took off for the five checkpoints of the race which stretched from Lucky Lefty's on 16th Street all the way to West Sacramento and back. 

Many others who came chose not to race, but remained at Lucky Lefty's, watching a bike-trick exhibition in the parking lot next door. Most people attending planned to go to the Sacramento premier of Macaframa, a feature-length film of track bike riding and tricks, being held at the Crest Theatre. 

Alley Cat racing originated in the bike messenger community of Toronto in 1986, but it has since spread all over the world, with races being held from Atlanta to Australia, and of course, Sacramento.  

 While bike messengers are the driving force behind the production and organization of these races, non-messengers are free to enter and participate.  Most participants ride fixed gear track bikes, and while most are welcoming to newcomers, some look down on people riding geared or single speed bikes. 

The Alley Cat was largely organized by Lucky Lefty's, a streetwear boutique that recently opened up in the space formerly occupied by the Kehlet Typewriter company.

 Are any of our readers bicycle racing enthusiasts?  What do they think of this sort of bike race?  Did anyone see the race or stumble into the midst of it?  

Photos courtesy of Timothy Mar.