Tonight's Denver Cruisers ride will have special significance for Brad Evans, the zany leader of the cycling pack, and not just because riders will dress themselves and their cruisers in bubble wrap and duct tape.
The event, which takes place rain or shine and will likely see a couple hundred happy-go-lucky enthusiasts, also commemorates the launching of Kickstand Magazine, which Evans says is the world's first cruiser-bike mag.
The Roll Out party starts, as always, at 6:30 p.m. at the Ginn Mill, 2041 Larimer Street, with some giveaways and cheap drinks, Evans says. Then it heads to Great Divide Brewing Company, 2201 Arapahoe Street, for more giveaways and cheap beers, and on to the amphitheater in Civic Center Park, or what the cruisers call the "Circle of Death."
"This will be twice as fun. Scratch that, ten times as fun as the usual ride," Evans says in his invite. "Come check out the magazine, win some really cool stuff and show us how far you can skid. If you don't have a cruiser, no need to worry, ride whatever you have."
Kickstand's first feature is, of course, on Denver -- the cruiser culture, Mayor John Hickenlooper and "the characters who make the scene." But the magazine, which will be distributed in 500 bike shops across the country, will also cover cruiser gear, clothes, art, trends, rides and all that other stuff that make cruisers so cool.
