Cranksgiving Lancaster
What is a Cranksgiving
Cranksgiving began life as an alleycat: a scrappy urban race held by bike messengers. Designed to emulate the busy and often grueling schedule of a messenger workday, riders were given checkpoints and tasks to complete for the bragging rights of being that city’s fastest rider. In 1999, New York City messenger Antonio “Tone” Rodrigues thought up a different kind of alleycat, one that would help the less fortunate during the Thanksgiving holiday – this alleycat would be primarily for charity. On November 20, 1999, the first Cranksgiving took place (cranksgiving.org).
The Origins of Cranksgiving Lancaster
Cranksgiving events such as ours are a means to collect goods for folks in need. While many cities and regions may be hosting their tenth or even twentieth annual event, the city of Lancaster has only hosted Cranksgiving since 2022. Participation has more than doubled since then, with 32 riders for our 3rd annual event in 2024. We’re hoping that our 4th annual Cranksgiving Lancaster will pull up to 50 participants!
In addition to providing donations to Lancaster Food Hub and Bright Side Opportunities Center, 18 different businesses came together last year to provide prizes for riders and awards for the participants who achieved 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as most turkeys provided! Last year, team members from Bicycle Technologies International, a bicycle parts distributor, provided over $2,000 in prizes for our Lancaster event.