Leandra Jacobson 4/25

The Twilight bicycle race in Athens, Georgia is a congregation of the entire town, all ages and sizes of people. This gathering is an annual ritual, of every type of person in Athens. I have seen the city come together on many occasions, for football games and gymnastic meets. There was a very different makeup of people overall, a much more eclectic assortment of people. The density of people in a certain area affects delinquency and disease as explained in the Tender Carnivore. There are so many people in such a small town, and the high concentration has created a lot of delinquency. The streets were crawling with police more than usual, due to the increase possibility of crime with more people.
I found it so amusing how they set up the race. They blocked off the two main roads, which were a huge inconvenience. I sat on the street and watched the chaos develop throughout the day. People were completely thrown off, lost at how to cross the street with fences in the way. People would walk back and forth, back and forth for twenty minutes or so trying to figure how to overcome this oddity in their town. People would be so confused, asking complete strangers how to cross the street at that specific intersection. The people had to walk down two blocks where there was an opening in the fence, which became harder to figure out as it got more crowded and everyone was becoming increasingly intoxicated. Complete strangers would team up to find a crossing, herding in directions to escape their captivity on the one side on town. They were caged, fenced in, becoming more and more crowded as the hours passed. Some would become content with the side they were on, some would become panicked and frantic at the need to retrieve their sunglasses from their car on the other side of town. I am so glad I was able to observe this all from the outside booth of Wild Wings restaurant, where my friend manages and allowed me to hang out all day.