Circle The Square
Inspired by Portland, Oregon’s bike culture playbook, Buffalo’s GoBike, a mobility advocacy organization, hosted a fun event. Cyclists, rollerbladers, skateboarders, and wheelchair users could participate in an activity where they spin laps, a whopping 100 of them! around Downtown Buffalo’s Niagara Square.
Back in Portland, there’s a neighborhood called Ladds Addition. It’s a nearly ten-block by ten-block area with a central traffic circle. For almost a decade, riders turn left for a while and complete 500 laps of the quarter-mile loop, which amounts to a century, 100 miles of riding. The event takes place mid-April under the slogan “It’s spring, let’s do something stupid.” Inside the circle, there’s a giant party with food vendors, music, dancing, while outside, solo riders and relay teams try to avoid getting dizzy.
Unfortunately, something always came up, and I never participated in this event while living in Portland. However, I had heard about GoBike Buffalo’s inaugural attempt and decided to attend it. It happened to fit in between my ride to Buffalo and my ride along the Erie Canal.
I arrived at Niagara Square about an hour before the event started. It had already been closed off to traffic, and after checking in at the registration tent, I took a few test laps with all my gear on the bike. While it was manageable, I realized that it would be much more enjoyable without the gear. So, I found a secluded spot to store my belongings, secured them as best as I could, and did a few more test laps. The bike was once again lighter and more agile.
I had expected to see more vendors and activities inside the circle. There were only two people with a small Bluetooth device playing music, a guy with a hot dog stand, some coolers with pop, and another non-profit organization that repaired donated bikes and passed them on to other organizations to find homes. If this event becomes an annual occurrence, I suppose it will grow in size. For now, I’m hungry, so I guess I’m grabbing a hot dog.
After a brief introduction and a rundown of the rules, we were off. I opted for the far outside and, perhaps, was going fast. However, I was cautious. If the crowd gathered in front, I slowed down instead of weaving and searching for an opening. At some point, another rider and I began conversing, each of us navigating the field in front. We continued to ride mostly to the outside, sometimes shoulder to shoulder and sometimes ten feet apart. Consequently, our discussion about bike-packing was likely quite loud to everyone else. We compared gravel bikes (me) to mountain bikes (him), discussed packing options, and shared places we’ve explored. It was challenging to keep track of the laps, but my test laps clocked in at around two tenths of a mile. Having ridden all day yesterday, a bit more earlier today, and continuing to ride for the whole next week, I had decided that I was okay not completing all 100 laps. If I managed to complete half of them or ten miles, had some dinner, took a shower, and got an early start to sleep, that would be good by me.
As I approached the ten-mile mark, I informed my new friend and we parted ways. I worked my way into the pit and then the inner circle. I retrieved my stashed bags and reattached them to the bike. I grabbed two more hotdogs and then loaded up the route to my accommodations for the night. Tomorrow starts 360 miles of riding the Erie Canal.