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A thousand Santas ditch the sleigh in favor of bikes in downtown Milwaukee

For nearly two decades, thousands of Santas take over the streets of Milwaukee in what's known as the Santa Cycle Rampage — the "world's largest holiday-themed costume group bicycle ride for charity."
Mark Rowe (right) and Jeff Kruse (left) decked out their bikes for Milwaukee's annual Santa Cycle Rampage. Rowe declined to share how long his sleigh took to construct.

On a chilly Saturday morning, more than a thousand people donned Santa suits and cruised through the streets of Milwaukee for the Santa Cycle Rampage, an annual ride for holiday merry-making and cycling advocacy.

First-time rampager Mark Hense was part of a sea of festive red, and kicked things off with a shotski — a line of shot glasses glued to a ski, allowing for several people to down a shot in unison.

"I think once you get soaked up into an ocean of Santas,

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