That's when she encountered a tall, skinny, pale man in a Viking costume. He wore a helmet with horns and brown lace-up boots. He accessorized with a backpack to hold his beer, and there were beach tags on the bag - possibly, Sugden theorized, so he could return to his ship without getting hassled. And, in an appropriate and historically accurate nod to the time period, he was skipping rope with a telephone cord.
"It was crazy," Sugden, 25, said. "Later on, my friend wandered down the street and saw a huge naked dude in a kiddie pool."
Almost everyone who has been to the bike race in Manayunk has a similar story, one of debauchery and strange sights. You're as likely to encounter some guy dressed in diapers as you are to see an actual child. These days, the slogan for the event might as well be something on the order of: It's Race Day, Manayunk - Let's Get Weird.
Certain members of the community aren't so thrilled about that. Sunday will mark the 27th installment of the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, which starts at Logan Square and winds down Kelly Drive and into parts of Manayunk and Roxborough for a 14.4-mile loop that riders from 30 countries will attempt to complete a staggering 10 times. Some Manayunk residents believe Philadelphia's cycling showcase has deteriorated over the last 10 years from a family-friendly event into open-air anarchy where underage drinking, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct are commonplace.
