Article written by Skate Slate photographer Jon Huey who rode in the mix of this years P-Town Throwdown!
Direct Link to Article – http://www.skateslate.com/blog/2016/06/02/2016-p-town-throwdown-photos/
The 12th Annual P-Town Throwdown was successfully completed this last weekend. Many had fun riding through the streets, almost of ton of canned food was donated, and nobody died! Check out my photos from the event.
Riders meeting.This Sunday around 80 people showed up for the Critical Mass/ Race starting at Mt. Tabor and ending at Sellwood park. 1,535 pounds of canned food were donated to the Oregon Food Bank. The organizer Robin McGuirk gave out directions and a map and then announced to everyone where the most dangerous parts of the route are and warned that you could die. After the unofficial safety meeting, we were all ready to ride.
Organizer Josh Burt leads the pre-race ritual group bomb down Tabor!Everyone got to bomb down Mt. Tabor as part of a tradition led by Portland OG Josh Burt. Josh organized the first ten Portland Pusher races that Robin famously dominated over the years. Now, Robin has taken the torch and has been running the P-Town Throwdown for years.
Organizer Robin McGuirk introducing the event and explaining the course with the course map provided this year.At the bottom Mt. Tabor, everyone gathered together to ride the eastside of Portland down to the water. Following a bike route for most of the way, it’s a relatively safe race.
Start line. Riders getting ready to all take off at once.
Always a hectic start! Most of the crashes from the event are from getting to the start line and starting the race.
Riders hitting the first hill section as they bomb down threw the Eastside of Portland.
Riders tucking together and enjoying the radness of cruising through town in a big pack!
Everyone getting their push on!Once you get to the waterfront, it’s mostly a flat push and everyone gets spread out. At a certain point, I put away the camera and pushed.
The first of 3 woman riders to finish! Marisa Nunez from Daddies Board Shop.I caught my friend Skip (the man behind Turnco) finishing the race at almost 50 years old, soda in hand. He most likely found a few shortcuts in order to finish the race. The hardcore pushers lined up for a podium shot and Everyone hung out by the train tracks as prizes were raffled out. So many prizes were raffled off. If you brought a good amount of canned food, you could have easily walked away with a a new longboard set-up.
Riders all done and being introduced to their Open Podium finishers!
Sol Bilderback 2nd (youngest podium finisher ever age 14 on left), Colby Cummings 1st (defending Champion in center), Miguel Aldrete 3rd (right)
Prize spread! So much gear thanks to all the sponsors!
Getting all the prizes laid out, 19 boards!
Womens Podium! Carly Stiverson 3rd (left), Marisa Nunez 1st (middle), Delany Morgan 2nd (right)
We had so many many prizes it took over an hour to get them all out!After all of that, we went to Hot Lips Pizza to relax and get our well-needed protein.
After Party at sponsor Hot Lips Pizza on Hawthorne Blvd.A big thanks goes out to the volunteers who collected food, distributed raffle tickets to those who donated, spotted corners and intersections on the route, and recorded final placings for the competitors. A big thanks goes to all the sponsors of the event as well: Daddies Board Shop, Eastside Longboards, Longboard Larry, Gorge Performance, Cal Skate Skateboards, Abec 11 Wheels, Seismic Skate, Loaded Boards, Orangatang Wheels, Bustin Boards Push Culture, Predator Helmets, Sellwood Market (Water/Gatorade), Hot Lips Pizza (After Party).
12 Annual Event Poster. Sponsors providing prizes for the raffle that anyone can win. The more food you bring, the better chances of winning!