Sports
A man crouched beside one of several dozen bicycles that filled a parking lot on the corner of 24th Street and Valdez in Northgate Sunday. On the other side of the lot, beyond folding tables and blankets strewn with bike parts, a Lycra-clad man with grey hair and grey tube socks stood next to his drop handle bike. Between the two, a small boy dressed like Lance Armstrong competing in the Tour de France pedaled furiously in place on a…
The Crucible, where students do everything from fixing bikes to giving live performances with flaming batons, is having an open house this Saturday, September 12. “We’re best known for the fire,” says Ismael Plasencia, the Crucible’s Youth and Community Program Manager. “Everyone knows about that, but we’re a school too. We’re a school first.” Twenty-four Oakland community outreach organizations will set up information tables in and around the Crucible’s industrial workspace. The open house will be punctuated by live performances,…
It’s the gritty urban basketball Mecca where Gary Payton and Jason Kidd developed the toughness and skill that would make them NBA All-Stars.
After a recent move to the area and a less-than-relaxing experience biking from Berkeley to downtown Oakland along Telegraph, I did what it seemed like any wannabe commuter (and novice biker) would: try to find a better route. I contacted the city last week to learn about some good North Oakland/ Downtown alternatives. Jennifer Stanley, the bicycle and pedestrian facilities coordinator for Oakland, suggested the Webster-Shafter route, which runs from Rockridge to Downtown Oakland. It’s “one of the most popular routes,”…
Mexico defeated Nicaragua 2 to 0. The real game, however, started before the players even stepped on the field. The Oakland Coliseum parking lot was host to the tailgate party, where fans of Mexico and Nicaragua wave their flags and show their pride.
Salsa lovers in the Bay Area on Sunday gathered in at the Splash Pad Park for the 3rd annual Salsa by the Lake. More than 250 people, from toddlers to elderly enjoyed salsa and the hot rhythm played by Rumbache.
Cuts, plans, master plans—what does it all mean? Instead of attending another meeting on the Bicycle Master Plan, Oakland North decided to hop on a bike and see what the city’s routes had to offer. After checking out the city bicycling website, this bicycling novice found a map of bikeway networks and routes and chose Route 35 down Telegraph Ave. Granted, this was the street with the second highest collision rate for bicyclists between 2000 and 2004, with most collisions…
The Wheels of Justice cyclery, nestled in the foothills of Montclair, is a community-oriented bike shop whose aim is to create a welcoming atmosphere for families and give back to the children of the bay area. Daniel Watson and Justice Baxter (from whom the store draws its name) opened the store in 2003 because they wanted kids in the area to have opportunities that they lacked when they were young.
Ismael Plasencia is one of those lucky people who considers his job, “a dream come true.” Among his other responsibilities at West Oakland’s The Crucible, Plasencia manages the incredibly popular bike program. The bike program offers eight bike fix-a-thons a year, where anyone can bring their bike to get fixed, as well as youth classes in bike mechanics, Earn-a-Bike, and frame alteration, Hyphy Bikes. The Crucible, an industrial arts school and community outreach program in West Oakland, was looking for…