As someone who is challenged by a track stand at a stoplight or a bunny hop over a stick in the road, I was astounded by the wonderful performances of the artistic bicyclists from Germany at Saturday's Seattle Bicycle Expo.
If synchronized swimming can be an Olympic sport, so should this. In fact, artistic cycling is a popular UCI-licensed sport in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
The Cascade Bicycle Club brought the reigning World Champion in single artistic women, Corrina Hein, to Seattle for the expo, along with leading men's pair competitors Stefan Musu and Lukas Matla.
The UCI competitions involve single riders, or two-, four-, or six-person teams that perform choreographed exercises on track-style bikes during their music programs, much like Olympic ice-skating.
While it's has a big following in Europe, it's not much of a big deal here. The three cyclists have been making the rounds of local schools this week, however, and may drum up some interest for the sport among the younger set.
Who knows. Some one of the 4th or 5th graders from Laurelhurst Elementary who performed juggling and unicycle tricks prior to Hein and company may grow into a future artistic cyclist.
The three will be performing again on Sunday at the Seattle Bicycle Expo, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal in Magnolia. (see directions)
Other BikingBis video clips from the 2010 Seattle Bicycle Expo:
Saturday: Balance, grace and skill on a bicycle — artistic cycling
Sunday: More family bike travel adventures with the Metal Cowboy
Coming Monday: Willie Weir's favorite place for bicycle travel
Coming Tuesday: Bill Thorness shares 50 bike rides around the Puget Sound
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