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Flower Rat 2024

The Charm City Flower Rat is a beginner-friendly, alley-cat-styled bike race that I first organized in the spring of 2023 in Baltimore MD.
After a rescheduling due to inclement weather over 120 riders in 36 teams took off on April 14th, 2024, egg baskets in hand, in search of 7 checkpoints at which they would perform a variety of silly tasks that would earn points for their teams. They could also earn bonus points for completing tasks during the race including writing a poem for a dead rat, stopping to smell the flowers, and wearing spring themed outfits.
Teams were awarded prizes at the end of the race based on the number of points accrued. All prizes were donated by local businesses.
To add to the magical energy of the day, a relocating swarm of bees touched down on one of our rider's bags. Thankfully another rider was a beekeeper & quickly rode home to grab their gear!
This ride is a labor of love and I couldn't do it without all the awesome volunteers at the checkpoints & the generous donations from local businesses who are dedicated to their community!

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The Charm City Flower Rat is a beginner-friendly, Alley-Cat-style bike race that I organized in the spring of 2024 in Baltimore, MD.
Colorful stylized text reading 'Flower Rat 2024 Baltimore MD' with flower illustrations integrated into the design.Illustration of three animals riding bicycles on green grass, with a mouse standing on a bike holding a flower.
Colorful illustration reading 'Flower Rat 2024 Baltimore MD Now April 14' with three animated animals riding bicycles surrounded by flowers.
As a part of organizing I created all of the graphics for the race including a logo, social media cards, flyer, t-shirt, headers, illustrations, a spoke card, and more!
Colorful illustrated banner with text 'Flower Rat 2024 Baltimore MD Now April 14th' surrounded by flowers and cartoon animals riding bicycles.
Leading up to the race I created a series of social media cards to reach out for volunteers at checkpoints and as a countdown to the race.
Colorful illustrated poster with three animals riding bikes surrounded by flowers, reading 'Flower Rat Volunteers Needed DM with email'.
I also created a physical flyer that was hung up around the city!
Four countdown illustrations for Flower Rat 2024 race with cartoon animals on bicycles surrounded by colorful flowers, showing 2 weeks, 1 week, 3 days, and 1 day left to race day.Colorful illustrated flyer for Flower Rat 2024 bike race in Baltimore, MD on March 23, featuring cartoon characters riding bikes surrounded by flowers and event details.
Leading up to the race I reached out to a number of local business in Baltimore who generously donated prizes for the riders. They were all featured on the Flower Rat Instagram account.
Nine prize sponsor logos for Flower Rat 2024 framed with floral borders, featuring Red Emma's Bookstore & Coffeehouse, Trek, Hold Fast, Sophomore Coffee, PTAP Designs, Baltimore Bicycle Works, Mount Royal soaps, Artist & Craftsman Supply, and 410 Fitness.
Decorative floral border surrounding text reading 'Flower Rat 24,' green Patagonia logo with mountain outline, and 'Prize Sponsor' in orange text on a dark background.Cartoon bunny wearing a backpack riding an orange bicycle against a black background.
I also used the spoke card design on a t-shirt that I hand printed. At the end of the race I also set up a bleach-dying station where racers could customize their shirts.
Smiling woman wearing glasses and a pink shirt holds up a black tie-dye t-shirt with yellow text and graphics reading 'Flower Rat Baltimore MD'.
Two black T-shirts with green floral designs reading 'Flower Rat 24 Baltimore MD,' with note indicating bleach dye effect on smaller shirt.
For the day of the race each rider was given a manifest that contained each checkpoint in the race, a hint to their location, a map of the race area, and a list of activities that would give each team bonus points.
Flower Rat Manifest showing a race checklist with seven stops, a map of the bike route, and a list of bonus points tasks beside three bonus point tokens.
During the race, each team had to complete as many checkpoints as possible before the race ended. Some noteable checkpoint activities included pieing your teammate in the face, doing an easter workout with my friends at 410 Fitness, Drawing a portrait of your teammate and their bike, and a tea party.

Photo Credit Brian O'Doherty

People smiling and socializing outdoors at a park event with colorful baskets on a green table.
Bearded man wearing glasses and a patterned cap speaking into a black megaphone outdoors in a park.
Group of people wearing helmets and colorful clothes running and walking outdoors near trees on a sunny day, with baskets of rolled papers in the foreground.
Three men wearing floral shirts, flower pot hats with fake mice, and flower-shaped glasses, holding a purple basket with a Flower Rave flyer in a sunny park.
Group of people in colorful costumes and helmets gathered outdoors, reading a paper near bicycles in a park on a sunny day.
Group of cyclists in colorful outfits, two wearing flower pots on helmets, holding a woman in pink cycling clothes horizontally in a park on a sunny day.
Two people wearing vibrant floral hats and shirts with decorated bicycles near a brick archway in a sunny park.
Three men wearing colorful floral shirts and glasses with flower frames, each with a flower pot hat holding artificial flowers, posing with a decorated purple bicycle, one holding a drawing of a person on a bike.
Four women outdoors in pink outfits and helmets holding colorful Easter eggs, with bicycles and a man in the background on a sunny day.
Man wearing a Baltimore Orioles cap and glasses points to a pole with a flower shop tea party sign, standing behind a picnic table covered with a green checkered cloth displaying assorted drinks, condiments, and colorful toy tea sets in a sunny park.
Three adults wearing bicycle helmets standing outdoors at a table with toy tea set and bottles on a sunny day.
Woman in denim overalls playfully smearing whipped cream on a man's face outdoors during a sunny day, with people and a table in the background.
Person with floral-patterned shirt wearing a helmet and oversized flower-shaped glasses playfully smearing whipped cream on another person’s face outdoors.
Two people posing for a selfie; one wearing a muscle costume and sunglasses making a thumbs-up, the other holding a dumbbell and smiling broadly with a star-patterned headband.
Close-up of a hand holding a Polaroid photo showing three people in a gym; one person is lifting a barbell with colorful weights, wearing a black rat mask and tie-dye shirt, another claps, and the third wears a bike helmet.
Swarm of bees clustered on a green bike saddlebag attached to a bicycle parked on grass.
Person in a white beekeeper suit tending to a beehive near bicycles while a crowd watches on grass under a clear blue sky.
An animation of leaves growing within an exclamation point