Bike Polo, Still

It's been a long 11 months since someone at the Post covered the sport of bicycle polo, but luckily the drought has ended. [They also did stories in 2005 and 2007, and the Hillrag covered it in 2008] and this time, with a video.

Since I live a stone's throw from the court I see the bike polo players riding around all the time and I often walk by with my dog. They're out there playing all the time. It's good for the park and the neighborhood in my opinion.

Riding fixed-gear or low-gear bikes, one hand on the handlebars, the other holding a homemade mallet, players chase a street hockey ball around a rink about the size of a basketball court -- sprinting, stopping, starting and mixing it up in the corners, in a game that crosses polo and street hockey. The mallets are constructed from a short length of high-density gas pipe or industrial plumbing plastic bolted to an old ski pole. The low boards around the rink are also homemade. Each goal is defined by a pair of traffic cones. Most riders have installed spoke covers to deflect hard shots.

Almost everyone wears a helmet, and some wear knee and elbow pads, because collisions and falls are frequent, though the night ends with all collarbones intact. There are surprisingly few rules: no T-boning, give a competitor a fair line to the ball, no hard contact with new players. No quarter is given to women, who don't want it anyway.

While I teased above, I think it's a good article. And I love that Lenny Bernstein gets out there and plays a little. Even I haven't done that.

Comments

[Chris]

It's cool that they cover bike polo, but I'm always amazed how the Post is seemingly blind to the local amateur bike racing scene.

[Micah]

That was a neat video. Sometimes I stop and watch a few mintues when I'm dog walking. I think it's great for the park. There's big potential for shady stuff to go down over there (and it does still) but having people playing basketball and bike polo and hockey helps the neighborhood.

I love it!