As temperatures rose Friday morning, Boulder residents dressed head to toe in Mad Max costumes and workplace attire hopped in their tubes on their way to work.
About 500 participants of the annual commute, otherwise known as Tube to Work Day, celebrated its 16th year while they collectively pushed, paddled, swam and floated their way from Eben G. Fine Park, 101 Arapahoe Ave., to Central Park, 900 Canyon Blvd.
Co-founder of the event Jeff Kagan started it back in 2008 with friend Andy Gruel. Since then, it has grown to become one of Boulder’s most well-known summer events.
“I don’t think there’s anything like this event anywhere else in the world,” Kagan said. “We’ve got 500 people, all in costume, heading to their various places of employment via inner tube. I feel like this for me, the reason my friend Andy and I started it. One, we just wanted to see if we could make it happen, but we just wanted to enjoy what we have here in Boulder; the natural beauty, the idea of traveling without fossil fuels and really making that a challenge and just getting weird and wacky and wet with a bunch of strangers who want to do the same thing at 8 a.m. on a Friday.”
This year, tubers were tasked with catching pastries and bacon hanging off bridges while dodging the rocks in their path in Boulder Creek and a line of bystanders with water guns.
Kagan awarded 39-year-old Jake Everett with the “best costume award,” for his reenactment of the Doof Warrior in Mad Max: Fury Road at Eben G. Fine Park, just before 8 a.m. Everett works at Rule4, a technology and cybersecurity company in Boulder, which was a sponsor of the event.
“It’s very Boulder-y,” Everett said. “Just the idea of tubing to work instead of, you know, riding a bike or whatever. It’s great.”
Kagan addressed the crowd, and said he made an effort to work in 14 “extremely average but original tubing and flotation puns” into his address.
“Oh buoy, the special day is finally here, and I’m positively pumped that a crowd of such magnitude is willing to take a crick at this whole aquatic commute thing,” Kagan said. “I know you are current-ly all rafted up and ready to flow for this one-of-a-kind pop culture event.”
Sasha Barajas, who wore a black mesh top, goggles and a skull on her helmet, has lived in Boulder for 12 years but has never participated in the event before. The 44-year old Boulder yoga instructor and student said she was excited to get into Boulder Creek on Friday, but was anticipating cold water she’d heard so much about.
After she got to Central Park, Barajas said that despite falling out multiple times and traveling backwards, she was planning on returning next year.
“It was great,” Barajas said. “It was actually quite terrifying at times. I think if there was an award for who fell out of their tube the most, it would definitely be me, so I definitely need to work on my skills before I come back next year.”
Fellow first-timer, Bonnie Brudie, a college intern, said she had a memorable time participating with her co-workers and most enjoyed getting dunked.
“I did it with a bunch of coworkers, and it sounded like a good time,” Brudie said.
Participants helped themselves to Voodoo Donuts, Ampersand Coffee, pictures with Santa and a game of cornhole in Central Park. Some danced to live music while others chatted about how backed-up the traffic was upstream.
Anna Slover, a third-year veteran of Tube to Work Day, said she loved the community energy the event had.
“You show up with a bunch of strangers, and by the end, you’re all giggling and making new friends,” Slover said.
Slover added, “This year was a blast. The water levels were a little high, which made things spicy.”
