The inaugural Central Termin8er brought artists and cyclists of all kinds together at the Buffalo Central Terminal this weekend.
It began Friday night with an art party titled "Propulsion" at the Central Terminal, featuring music, poetry, fashion and dance. Saturday's main event was the Central Termin8er bike race that attracted cyclists from Boston, Brooklyn and Washington.
Organizer Rebecca Reilly said what's known as "alternative urban racing" has a 30 year tradition of bringing people together.
"It opens up the conversation. Suddenly, anything is possible. You have people who might not talk with each other. You have people from the East Side at a bike race. They're talking to people from Clarence. Everyone is sitting around having a great time in the sun," Reilly said.
Reilly said the message of the event is that anybody on any bike has the potential to do something inspiring. She said that while traditional races segregate riders by the type of equipment they have, the Termin8er welcomed all.
"We had people that came with two different bikes. We had guys that came with cargo bikes. The lady that won the cargo bike competition, she's a local here," said Reilly. "We also had a guy on a unicycle. He's got a mountain bike unicycle, and he was whipping by some guys."
The event drew approximately 60 racers and another 100 spectators, according to Reilly. The race course wound around and through the grounds of the terminal. Reilly said the turnout wasn't quite as high as organizers hoped, but those who did attend were so pleased with the event that they want to see it take place again.
"Everyone was talking that they wanted it every year," said Reilly. "It was pretty much unanimous. Some people even suggested doing it quarterly, which would be super fun, because we are not opposed to riding in the snow. We think we could draw a crowd for that."
Termin8er organizers will review the final finances and turnout from the event before deciding to go ahead with year two. Sunday's free community ride along the course and other planned activities were called off because of the threat of rain.
