Fierce combatants took to the streets, armed with weapons to use against their sworn enemies and dressed in various manner of warrior's garb. There were the vikings from Hudson Valley Rugby, the boys from Tom Sutton Electric, the rumored-to-be triathletes from HITS, the ever affable folks with the big bed from The Family Lodge, the team from Town and Country Liquors who were determined to win at all costs, the masked marvels from Team Lucha, the Wet Bandits, and last year's winner and the team to beat: Smith Hardware.
The preparations were intense and sometimes hard to believe, as relayed by Tom Sutton, owner of the Tom Sutton Electric bed entry:
"Our first bed fell apart 3 weeks ago," Sutton said. "So we called in a racebed-making specialist from Oakdale, California. Not only that, but we hired an Olympic bobsled team to be our team and do the pushing for the race." No word on what year's Olympics these competitors were from, but they did look committed.
Not to be outdone, the HITS team, which was crushed early on in last years contest, proved they had learned from their mistakes.
"We were eliminated in the first round last year", said Brian Morris, this years bed designer, "so this year we constructed an all-new bed made of super-lightweight material. The new bed is very light and should do a whole lot better." The end result was a sweet, sleek bed made entirely of PVC pipe. Assuming it didn't fall apart during the race, its low weight should make it quite a strong contender.
The team from Saugerties Town and Country Liquor had a much different approach, promising to hand out gift certificates, candy and other treats during their runs. They started chanting, "We're the best bed in the race! Tell all the judges!"
The team from Hudson Valley Rugby made their own preparations for this years event. Asked what their secret weapon was, they pointed to the handlebar mounted at the front of the bed. "No one else has that," one of them said. He also let it slip that the bed was outfitted with shock absorbers, which should help it along the course.
But all of this was merely conjecture leading up to the race itself, when finally the judges determined that the time had come. The first series of heats were underway, and it became clear which team's designs and strategy had merit. In the first round, Town and Country couldn't keep up with the rocket sled of a bed from HITS, who made good on the claims of low weight equaling a fast run. In the next race, Tom Sutton Electric had some problems with a pajama change task during the race, but still rallied to win against Hudson Valley Rugby. There were rumors that the Rugby team had some mechanical problems, but the Sutton crew still enjoyed their victory. The next race proved much closer as Town and Country Liquors fought bravely against Smith Hardware. Although they put up a great fight, and it was a close race, last years winners Smith Hardware still proved victorious. And finally, the final race of the heat was the masked wrestlers of Team Lucha who won against the Wet Bandits.
The race then took an hour break giving the contestants time to rest up and regroup, while allowing the public to mingle about the village on Main and Partition streets, grabbing lunch and generally giving patronage to area shops. There was a farming tribute in the Reis Group parking lot at the far end of Main Street. In that exhibit were many interesting things, all of it related to how Saugerties farmers lived and worked decades ago. There were tool exhibits consisting of old mechanical pieces, pulleys, old hand tools and even hundred-year old implements carved entirely from wood. All of it was very carefully arranged and displayed for spectators to look at and get a taste for the way life used to be. Area farmers were there too: Joe and Jeannette Sauer from the Sauer Farm on Kings Highway, John Wrolsen from Highwoods, Kenny Snyder donated some tools to the exhibit and there was even an old tractor brought in and manned by Joe Hasbrouck.
Along with the farming exhibit were some local groups raising money, who unfortunately didn't receive much business due to the rains which came in. One group had the job of selling snow cones and popcorn; the only problem was there were no customers. "Please everyone form an orderly line!" a volunteer yelled out. There was laughter but no one to form the line.
But then, it was time to race again.
The next few races separated the men from the... truly fast beds? Tom Sutton fell by the wayside as they were stampeded by the HITS bed. In hindsight it seems that the Tom Sutton team may be good in the bed pushing department, but need training to properly break balloons during a race. The next race had Team Lucha handily beating Smith Hardware, effectively leveling the playing field and ensuring there wouldn't be a repeat performance of last year's winner.
After another break which introduced some fine band playing by the Slide Mountain String Band and dancing in the streets, the final race was ready to go. Asked for strategy they'll be employing to help them win, Team Lucha responded, "Cheating! We'll cheat and do anything else we can do to win!", while the HITS team said, "With the Smith Hardware team out of it, that makes it easier on all of us. We should be OK if we can just manage to not screw it up!" The race itself was close in the beginning but then the triathlete-fueled HITS team with their feather-light sled started pulling away, eventually winning the final, decisive race.
In their acceptance speech, HITS team spokesperson Brian Morris revealed that he already had the trophy, swiping it from Smith Hardware weeks ago. "We've had to look at that trophy in Smith Hardware all year and they've rubbed our noses in their having won it -- so we decided to steal it before the big race!" He said it was even better now that the HITS team has won it fair and square, effectively turning the tables on the hardware racers. One wonders if an epic rematch could be in the making for next year? And what other designs and strategies will show up on Main and Partition Streets?
In the words on one bystander who perhaps said it best, "You know, this event is pretty cool. It really has potential!"
Fierce combatants took to the streets, armed with weapons to use against their sworn enemies and dressed in various manner of warrior's garb. There were the vikings from Hudson Valley Rugby, the boys from Tom Sutton Electric, the rumored-to-be triathletes from HITS, the ever affable folks with the big bed from The Family Lodge, the team from Town and Country Liquors who were determined to win at all costs, the masked marvels from Team Lucha, the Wet Bandits, and last year's winner and the team to beat: Smith Hardware.
The preparations were intense and sometimes hard to believe, as relayed by Tom Sutton, owner of the Tom Sutton Electric bed entry:
"Our first bed fell apart 3 weeks ago," Sutton said. "So we called in a racebed-making specialist from Oakdale, California. Not only that, but we hired an Olympic bobsled team to be our team and do the pushing for the race." No word on what year's Olympics these competitors were from, but they did look committed.
Not to be outdone, the HITS team, which was crushed early on in last years contest, proved they had learned from their mistakes.
"We were eliminated in the first round last year", said Brian Morris, this years bed designer, "so this year we constructed an all-new bed made of super-lightweight material. The new bed is very light and should do a whole lot better." The end result was a sweet, sleek bed made entirely of PVC pipe. Assuming it didn't fall apart during the race, its low weight should make it quite a strong contender.
The team from Saugerties Town and Country Liquor had a much different approach, promising to hand out gift certificates, candy and other treats during their runs. They started chanting, "We're the best bed in the race! Tell all the judges!"
The team from Hudson Valley Rugby made their own preparations for this years event. Asked what their secret weapon was, they pointed to the handlebar mounted at the front of the bed. "No one else has that," one of them said. He also let it slip that the bed was outfitted with shock absorbers, which should help it along the course.
But all of this was merely conjecture leading up to the race itself, when finally the judges determined that the time had come. The first series of heats were underway, and it became clear which team's designs and strategy had merit. In the first round, Town and Country couldn't keep up with the rocket sled of a bed from HITS, who made good on the claims of low weight equaling a fast run. In the next race, Tom Sutton Electric had some problems with a pajama change task during the race, but still rallied to win against Hudson Valley Rugby. There were rumors that the Rugby team had some mechanical problems, but the Sutton crew still enjoyed their victory. The next race proved much closer as Town and Country Liquors fought bravely against Smith Hardware. Although they put up a great fight, and it was a close race, last years winners Smith Hardware still proved victorious. And finally, the final race of the heat was the masked wrestlers of Team Lucha who won against the Wet Bandits.
The race then took an hour break giving the contestants time to rest up and regroup, while allowing the public to mingle about the village on Main and Partition streets, grabbing lunch and generally giving patronage to area shops. There was a farming tribute in the Reis Group parking lot at the far end of Main Street. In that exhibit were many interesting things, all of it related to how Saugerties farmers lived and worked decades ago. There were tool exhibits consisting of old mechanical pieces, pulleys, old hand tools and even hundred-year old implements carved entirely from wood. All of it was very carefully arranged and displayed for spectators to look at and get a taste for the way life used to be. Area farmers were there too: Joe and Jeannette Sauer from the Sauer Farm on Kings Highway, John Wrolsen from Highwoods, Kenny Snyder donated some tools to the exhibit and there was even an old tractor brought in and manned by Joe Hasbrouck.
Along with the farming exhibit were some local groups raising money, who unfortunately didn't receive much business due to the rains which came in. One group had the job of selling snow cones and popcorn; the only problem was there were no customers. "Please everyone form an orderly line!" a volunteer yelled out. There was laughter but no one to form the line.
But then, it was time to race again.
The next few races separated the men from the... truly fast beds? Tom Sutton fell by the wayside as they were stampeded by the HITS bed. In hindsight it seems that the Tom Sutton team may be good in the bed pushing department, but need training to properly break balloons during a race. The next race had Team Lucha handily beating Smith Hardware, effectively leveling the playing field and ensuring there wouldn't be a repeat performance of last year's winner.
After another break which introduced some fine band playing by the Slide Mountain String Band and dancing in the streets, the final race was ready to go. Asked for strategy they'll be employing to help them win, Team Lucha responded, "Cheating! We'll cheat and do anything else we can do to win!", while the HITS team said, "With the Smith Hardware team out of it, that makes it easier on all of us. We should be OK if we can just manage to not screw it up!" The race itself was close in the beginning but then the triathlete-fueled HITS team with their feather-light sled started pulling away, eventually winning the final, decisive race.
In their acceptance speech, HITS team spokesperson Brian Morris revealed that he already had the trophy, swiping it from Smith Hardware weeks ago. "We've had to look at that trophy in Smith Hardware all year and they've rubbed our noses in their having won it -- so we decided to steal it before the big race!" He said it was even better now that the HITS team has won it fair and square, effectively turning the tables on the hardware racers. One wonders if an epic rematch could be in the making for next year? And what other designs and strategies will show up on Main and Partition Streets?
In the words on one bystander who perhaps said it best, "You know, this event is pretty cool. It really has potential!"
