about - sitemap - stolen - store - RSS


Email Newsletters

Weekly News Wrap-Up
All your Toronto cycling news in one shot!

Weekly Events Newsletter:
Need to know what's going on?

Photo of the Day Email:
Cycling photos in your mail every day!






Connect with BikingToronto



Contact BikingToronto

Questions? Tips? Let us know!
(all fields required)





Men Women Juniors
Kids & Baby Eco-Friendly Jackets
Sweatshirts Accessories


Toronto Cycling Links



T.O. Cyclists who Blog:






posted by Joe on 2/07/2008 | 0 Comments | Share/Save/Bookmark

If I knew more about polo, I'd make some polo-lingo joke about horses, or Prince Charles, and sound intelligent about it. But, since I don't, you get me going right to this article from New York:

Passing by the corner of Chrystie and Broome Sts., one could easily miss the hottest new sporting event in town. That’s because the arena is tucked below ground level in a funky, 7,000-square-foot asphalt pit. Here a bunch of daredevils in jeans and scruffy shirts play a lively game of polo on bicycles, as they circle and glide back and forth at a mesmerizing pace.

Each gripping a mallet with one hand and maneuvering the bike with the other, these athletes skillfully pass and control a street hockey ball in a balancing act that would send most cyclists crashing to the ground.

With this no-frills brand of polo, there is no need for the niceties of equestrian etiquette. These city renegades have custom-built bikes that are perfectly suited to the rider, rather than the horseman having to adapt to a horse with a mind of its own.

Although bike polo was a demonstration sport at the 1908 Olympics, it is only in the last decade that tournaments and teams have sprung up in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Ottawa, London and Berlin.

More from NYC's Downtown Express.

Yes, in case you are wondering, Bike Polo is alive and well in Toronto.

Labels:

blog comments powered by Disqus