The Twilight Criterium is a Boise event that must be experienced firsthand. Even if you don't like bikes and you don't like racing, you'll probably like the Criterium. Trust your Uncle Boise on this one; we wouldn't lead you astray.

For one gloriously perfect summer evening every year, thousands of people from the wine-and-cheese crowd flood downtown Boise with their folding chairs, Radio Flyers, and expensive cameras so they can see bike racing at its best. It's like a yuppie version of the Nascar Go-Left Circuit, with enough street people and accidental spectators mixed in to keep the place from turning into Aspen.

The Boise Twilight Criterium is so popular, in fact, that people end up lining the entire course on both sides of the street, cheering the racers along and admiring their rippling well-toned thighs. By the time the fury of the men's pro race hits the pavement, the spectators are lined up four or more deep on the corners or other choice spots, so getting a good view and taking photos, which you will feel compelled to do, can get difficult. It becomes even more difficult as the sun drops low and the portable lighting along the race route takes over.

The fun starts in the afternoon, with a kids race and several amateur races. The women's pro race starts at 7PM. That's when the crowd grows, the sidewalks fill up, and the speed and intensity of the race begin to build. This is a good time to take a tour of the course and scope out the best spot. Corners are preferable. The course is an imperfect rectangle that uses 9th, Grove, 10th, and Bannock Streets. The 9th and Grove corner (Chandler's Steakhouse and its outdoor patio) puts a little wiggle in the route.

When the men's race starts around 8:30, the atmosphere is buzzing. The small clickers that the race sponsors usually pass out, combined with a rather insane quantity of cowbells, will make you think you're at an Olympic event. That and the racing, of course. The speed of the men's race is blurring. Averaging roughly 30mph for the entire 90-minute race, a lap takes roughly a minute and six seconds. I timed it myself, so if you doubt that figure you're calling me a liar. The racers go by so often, in fact, that it's almost impossible for kids to get bored. Imagine that.

Don't miss this event. If you do and you don't have a good excuse, your Uncle Boise is going to get his paddle, and we all know how that will turn out.