Keeping It Wheel
Manifesto’s Bike Church isn’t your typical Sunday morning of sitting inside a stained-glass structure, listening to scripture and quietly reciting prayers. But there are some similarities. People with similar beliefs do congregate, listen to music and socialize — however, they’re surrounded by bicycles.
Behind a small grey non-descript house near San Pablo Avenue and 60th Street in the Golden Gate neighborhood is a different kind of bicycle shop. As you walk down a path alongside the house, you pass chicken coops, Birds of Paradise and a vegetable garden full of beets, bok choy and broccoli. Past the garden, a door leads to a clean little studio full of tools and bikes. This is where Dan Woloz just opened a service-oriented bike shop called Bike Man Dan.
Head down to Frank Ogawa Plaza on Sunday and join up with Cycles of Change, Wheel Unite and Oakland Parks and Recreation in a city-wide scavenger hunt. Checkpoints will be set up all over Oakland and prizes will be given out for most creative bike, best outfit, most categories completed, quickest team, safest team, and more. The day is more for fun rather than a race, so ride alone or with your friends. Get up-to-date information here. Where: Frank Ogawa…
“What you’ll need for a day of suffering” read the top of the invitation for this year’s Rad Massaker alleycat bicycle race, which instructed bikers to bring water, spare tubes, energy gel and helmets. Sunday afternoon, hordes of cyclists showed up at Mosswood Park prepared to brave the pain.
On Friday, I walked around Art Murmur and found this guy—Paul Nosa. He has a bicycle that powers a sewing machine and while someone pedals and provides him electricity, he quickly sews any patch you’d like—on the spot—for the cheap price of $8. And if you pedal, he gives a 50-cent discount for every minute you keep the sewing machine going. He told me that he is on a coast to coast sewing tour but you can find him at…
Cyclist, William Flint II, died while descending South Park Drive in Tilden Park on Saturday, June 19. According to a news story published on the Bay Citizen via the website Berkeleyside, Flint was trying to break his personal speed record down this steep road and veered into oncoming traffic. I was riding up in Tilden over the weekend and there were several police cars at the base of the South Park Drive pulling over cyclists for speeding. Condolences to Flint’s…
Big bikes, small bikes, kid’s bikes and tall bikes — they were all out in force on Sunday. It was Oakland’s first Oaklavía—an event that closed down the Broadway corridor, from Grand Avenue to Jack London Square, to all cars. Bikes, pedestrians, unicyclists and rollerbladers cruised up and down the street checking out the booths and activities on the sidewalks.
Imagine Broadway without cars–only people biking, walking, skipping… Well, this Sunday from 10am – 2pm, it’s going to happen. Walk Oakland Bike Oakland along with other bike-friendly Oakland organizations put together this event modeled after “Ciclovía,” which originated in Bogotá, Colombia. From Grand Avenue down to Jack London Square, the Broadway corridor will be closed off to cars. There will also be activities, booths and games all down the street. More information at Oaklavia.org — and stay tuned to Oakland…
Saturday, May 22 is the East Bay’s first annual Bike to Market Day. If you’re trying to save on groceries, this is the day to hop on your bike and go shopping. If you show up at select grocery stores and farmers markets with your bike, you’ll get discounts and other goodies. This event was organized by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. They’re trying to show that bicycles can be used for more things than just commuting and fun. Before…