Poker 'Spoke'-n Here Gear up for a round of bicycle poker. BY VANESSA SALVIA In a few years, bicycle poker may be the main attraction of the World Series of Poker and cause as much of a stir as when snowboarding joined the Olympic roster in 1998. Never mind that most people haven't heard of bicycle poker. After this weekend, the new extreme sport will be the talk on everyone's lips. Why limit yourself to playing the world's most popular card game at a little square table? Sure, poker is already a celebrated game, but couldn't it become even bigger? Doping scandals make everything more exciting, but there's simply no need for synthetic testosterone while cushioning your big butt in an overstuffed easy chair. Combine poker with cross-country cycling, and you've got … Le Tour de Eugene! No, uh, The Bike de Poker! No, er, The Bicycle Poker Cruise! That's it! What we're talking about has nothing to do with the Bicycle Playing Cards company and everything to do with the pedal-driven, human-powered mode of transportation. For your charitable giving pleasure, the folks at Diablo's have created the Bicycle Poker Cruise, and here's how it works. First, bring your cruiser, your Schwinn 10-speed, or your $1,500 racer to Diablo's at 3 pm and pay a (suggested) $5 entry fee. Promptly at 4 pm the pack will start cruising down the Willamette River bike path. Five checkpoints will be set up along the path, with 45 minutes allowed between each stop. At each checkpoint, riders will receive a playing card. After five cards, you've got yer full hand, and you head back to Diablo's to compare hands and crush the competition, winning donated prizes and certificates from various local businesses. "The poker hands will go best to worst and people will win prizes based off that," said Allison Crispen, Diablo's associate manager. Crispen said a successful charity motorcycle run held last year sparked the idea for this year's charitable bike cruise. "We decided to do more of an exercise-oriented thing, and my boss and my manager both have very cool cruiser bikes. So they said, 'Let's do a bicycle run!'" A special Fat Tire Cruiser bike will be raffled off as part of the event, with raffle ticket proceeds as well as the suggested entry fee going to the LiveStrong Foundation. Hooray to Diablo's for putting the "fun" back in fundraiser! Area merchants interested in donating merchandise or certificates can contact Diablo's at 343-2346 to find out how to get involved. Bicycle Poker Cruise. 3 pm sign up, 4 pm cruise. Sunday, 8/27, Diablo's Downtown Lounge. $5 sug. don.
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