Gonads and Strife Poker Run

Back on May 22nd, a bunch of us from Carson City went up to Reno to join the Spring 2011 Gonads and Strife Poker Run! For those of you not familiar with a Poker Run, it’s an event where people ride to predetermined locations, drawing a playing card at each destination. At the end of the ride, the person with the highest poker hand wins. But really, it’s just a good excuse for a lot of people to get together for some fun bike riding and/or beer drinking. Just about any kind of bike is ridden in these events, but most people tend to ride simple bikes. It’s all about stepping away from the technology, slowing down, getting silly, and having fun.

Gary Setzer

The Gonads and Strife bike club always raises money for good causes at these events. It was a strange turn of events this year, when the benefit was for Gary Setzer, one of the founding members of the bike club. Gary is currently battling cancer, and as you can imagine, is looking at some hefty medical bills. Thankfully, Gary was feeling good enough to ride in the event. He’s quite the character, and is adored by many.

Operation Desert Cruise

The ride started and ended at the Great Basin Brewery in Sparks. From here, we made a fun loop that took us along the Truckee River and around downtown Reno. We visited other breweries, bars, and restaurants along the way. In the end there was at least one crash that I heard about, and one traffic citation…a $120 penalty for riding on a sidewalk (ouch!). It was the first poker run for some of my friends, and they all agreed that it was a blast!

Here are a few more photos of the ride…

Over the Shoulder Grab Bag Photography

Lester at the Sierra Tap House

Circle of Death

A birds-eye view of things

The Biggest Little City in the World

Pizza Stop

Truckee River Bike Path

Self Portrait at the Silver Peak

Stretch Lowriders

Tasha, Dan, and Jason

Ashley and Rob

Lester – Post Ride Burgers and Brews at the Great Basin Brewery

Jules! The main organizer of this awesome event.

The complete photoset of this event can be found HERE.

If you missed this ride or want to do another Poker Run, the Slow Rollers have an event coming up on June 12th up at Lake Tahoe. Details are HERE.