On Saturday the annual Portland Urban Iditarod was....run? Staggered through? Ok, I can't come up with an appropriate verb. Nevertheless, here's some snapshots from this year's beer-fueled hipster melee:

One of the most inspired entrants this year was the Last Supper cart. A member of their team was wandering through the crowd at the race's final stop with a "magic" water-into-wine jug, offering to perform miracles for anyone with an empty cup.

Remember Spaceballs? I remember Spaceballs.

My personal favorite: the JFK assassination team. While they were definitely contenders for this year's most offensive cart, the award probably belongs in the hands of "Team Greg Oden." For photos of their efforts, click here (NSFW). The JFK team had a President Kennedy, a blood-covered Jackie O, a Fidel Castro, several secret servicemen, a Lee Harvey Oswald and, yeah, a Marylin Monroe. They also brought two carts with them: a limo and a book depository. Although, the question must be posed: too soon?

And who could forget the roaring Godzilla cart and the big lizard's, uh, "little lizard"? The Hello Kitty ornaments were definitely an inspired touch.

This was my second urban iditarod and I'm still not too clear on how the rules work. Or if there are rules. I guess this guy was the MC and determined when the teams would stop, say, breaking windows on the second floor of the Barracuda Bar and Lounge and race off to their next destination. He did have a whistle with him.

Anyway, click here for an obligatory Flickr gallery and/or over here for photos from last year's iditarod.

Labels: alcohol, bars, sports