Dead Baby Bikes Downhill, also known as Dead Baby Bike Race or Dead Baby Downhill or RaceDay, is an annual Seattle-based bicycle race and street party that occurs on the first Saturday of August. [1] The bicycle race often has no defined route, just an origin and an ending point, and has historically not been permitted, even though the accompanying street party has been permitted.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Neil_finishes%21_%281023692066%29.jpg/220px-Neil_finishes%21_%281023692066%29.jpg)
Over the years, the event has grown from attracting hundreds to now thousands of people to the Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown.[1][2][3]
The street party at times features carnival rides made of bicycle parts, as well as bicycle jousting.[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Lucia_on_Cyclecide_%281023697964%29.jpg/220px-Lucia_on_Cyclecide_%281023697964%29.jpg)
The event was featured in a 2005 episode of the television show Grey's Anatomy.[1]
History
editThe event was launched in 1997 by the members of Dead Baby Bikes, a Seattle bicycle club (named for a doll which had been nailed to the wall of the roll-up door of the bike repair shop in which the club was meeting); founder Dave Ranstrom has admitted that if he had known the event would draw media attention, he would have chosen a different name.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Lacitis, Erik (August 3, 2019). "Dead Baby Bikes Downhill brings 'gleeful mayhem' to Seattle streets". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ^ Trujillo, Joshua (August 3, 2013). "'Dead Baby Downhill' bike party in Georgetown". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Graham, Nathalie (August 10, 2023). "Bombing Downhill with the Dead Baby Bike Club". The Stranger. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Galvin, Sarah (June 6, 2016). "Thank You for Being a Friend: 12 Years With the Dead Baby Bike Club". Queerspace Magazine. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ^ It's a wild ride at Dead Baby Bikes' Downhill and Messenger Challenge, by Mike Lewis, at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer; published August 8, 2004; retrieved April 26, 2020