Do not be alarmed if you see mountain bikers in strange costumes around Wakari and Ross Creek this afternoon.
Chances are they will be some of the 80-plus participants in the New Zealand single-speed championships being held in Dunedin.
Competitors from as far away as Auckland and Rotorua will start from the Wakari mountain biking car park at 1pm.
There are a few catches.
Cyclists can only have one gear working on their bike, in accordance with the rules, race director Kashi Leuchs said.
Costumes have become the norm rather than the exception.
''If you don't turn up in a costume, it's considered pretty much wrong,'' he said.
Competitors will be subjected to three and a-half laps of a 6km circuit, which includes a creek crossing.
''It's quite deep, so we expect some crashes there.''
A ''beer shortcut'' is available for the multiskilled athletes, while a condition of entry is that the winner must be willing to get a tattoo.
''They'll be chauffeured straight to the tattoo artist,'' Leuchs said.
