If you grew up in the U.S. from 1968 on, you’re most likely familiar with the Big Wheel tricycle. There’s a good chance that you have your own visceral memories of riding one, whether you were lucky enough to have one or just mooched from a kid in the neighborhood.
The the sound of the wheels rolling over pavement. The invincibility you felt flying down the sidewalk peddling as hard as you could. The pain in your butt when you hit a rogue rock. The smell of plastic as you skidded to a stop. The impossibility of driving that thing over grass. The Big Wheel was a portal to grown-up driving—no shaky balancing required like a two-wheeler, just pure power and speed in a flash of bright red and yellow.
And every year, fully grown adults relive that 3-wheeler childhood thrill in San Francisco’s Bring Your Own Big Wheel race.
Bring Your Own Big Wheel (or BYOBW) has been delighting people in San Francisco for 24 years. The event takes place at 20th and Vermont Street on Easter Sunday afternoon. While some kids go hunting for eggs in their Sunday best, others are racing Big Wheels down San Francisco’s crookedest hill. Kids 12ish and under go first (this year, they had the 2:00 to 3:00 time slot) and then the adults get their turn. It’s quite an event to witness.
Watch:
The event is free, with participants being asked to make a small donation to cover the costs associated with putting on the event (permits, hay bales, port-a-potties etc.). And there is no advertising or corporate sponsorship allowed in the event—just pure, childlike fun—with helmets, gloves, knee pads and elbow pads recommended, of course.
Clearly, people take “Big Wheel” loosely, as people brought a whole range of tricycles, but the effect is still sheer delight. A former BYOBW participant called it “terrifyingly fun.” As one commenter wrote, “Ya know – society would be so much better if we just did a bunch of fun events like this. It’s certainly a lot more fun than the ‘red vs. blue’ routine we got going now.”
I mean, check out these dudes in suits up front:
And every video is more fun than the last.
Learn more about BYOBW at bringyourownbigwheel.com.