This past Saturday saw the 9th annual Cranksgiving alleycat, a charity race which collects food for a local food pantry in the week before Thanksgiving. More than 80 cyclists showed up to participate and more to support the ride. Each person received a manifest printed with a list of grocery stores throughout Manhattan and was tasked with choosing the quickest route between four locations. Of course the stores were grouped to challenge riders with longer runs between upper and lower Manhattan. At each store, riders locked up their bikes and dashed through the aisle searching for a specific Thanksgiving food item. After enduring slow moving checkout lines through out the city, riders finished up in Chelsea, where they turned in store receipts to prove their purchases.

Although playing a slapdash version of Supermarket Sweep on bikes was fun, the best part came riding together to donate the food at St. Mary’s Food Pantry on the Lower East Side. The line snaked out the door as riders turned in their bounty. Afterwards at Lakeside Lounge, prizes donated by Chrome, Seagull Bags, Trackstar and Crumpler were awarded to some of the fastest, slowest and most giving racers. Ken did a great job organizing and keeping Cranksgiving NYC alive. If I only did one race each year, this might be it. Even better: Cranksgiving races were held in cities all over the country.

Here are some great Cranksgiving photos from bicyclelove on flickr. Full results have been posted on NYBMA.