Since I retired, I try to help out with some local events, including Bike To Work Day (BTWD) and the Grizzly Peak Century (GPC). Friday before BTWD, I volunteered to stuff swag bags at the new headquarters for Bike East Bay (https://www.ebbc.org/) now at Jack London Square on the Oakland waterfront. It was a kick, loading up bags with flyers, snack bars, maps and other swag, chatting with volunteers about bad handlebar tape, steel lugged frames, the local restaurant scene, good rides, bad roads, etc. And there was a tangible reward for my efforts in the form of a green and gold T-shirt, perfect for attending Oakland A’s baseball games!
Cycling away from Jack London square, I couldn’t help but
notice a building adorned with huge letters spelling BICYCLE, so I figured it
best to go check it out.
It turns out that this is the home of Bicycle Coffee, and on
Fridays they offer free coffee to passersby. As I like good coffee and
definitely ride bikes, it was a natural fit – and they serve very good
coffee. The statement on their web site
says it all: ‘We love good coffee and we really like to ride bicycles, so
we decided to combine the two’. http://www.bicyclecoffeeco.com/
With coffee in hand I walked my bike around the neighborhood
for a bit, enjoying the renewal of that part of Oakland – restaurants and
coffee houses, a smartly dressed woman with rollers in her hair, while mulling
over which bakery to visit for lunch. There were several great choices nearby, including Tierra Mia and Sweet Bar (I recall previously blogging about Sweet
Bar). But, I ended up at my go to place: Arizmendi on Lakeshore Ave. The make a pastry that
is best described as the chocolate chip cookie of the Brioche world. It is a
fist sized lump of tasty brioche, loaded with cubes of dark chocolate and is called ‘Chocolate
Thing'. It does not disappoint.
GPC
Sunday was the Grizzly Peak Century, a great bike ride, but the route is over roads that I ride all year. Moreover, I have done this century several times, so a few years ago, I became one of the volunteers making it happen. My particular assignment is to drive the supply van for one of the
rest-stops (Briones). Note that this also involves picking
up 300 lbs of ice on the way (gotta keep the drinks and cyclists cool). I took my bike, and after helping get the rest-stop going, was able to rendezvous with
a group of friends who were riding the century. I rode a 35 mile loop, starting and ending at
the Briones. Note, flowers are blooming on the Bears right now!
I
stayed to shut-down the rest stop, which took longer than expected as there were a few riders still on the course after the scheduled shut-down time. Figuring they would be hungry, we kept the stop open. Then, of
course, when they arrived they wanted to chat!
Wednesday morning I went for a short ride and got back in time to get to the 12:30 A’s
game. The A’s lost, but going to a ball game is always fun. Returned from the game and tutored a
student in physics, and then on short notice, helped organize the Energizer
station in Montclair for BTWD on following morning. Somehow, this Energizer Station had
dropped off the radar. Sent some email and then headed up to Montclair and stuffed 50 swag bags. Finished with a Racer 5 IPA at the Metro
Cafe.
BTWD
Up and going early again! I worked the Bike East Bay table at the BTWD Frank Ogawa Plaza from 7-8:30. One fun job is working the bike-check as you get to see all kinds of bikes, but I was drafted to
help with outreach (getting folks to sign petitions supporting bike lanes). That was fun too, getting perspectives of the commuters that stop by. I love the decorated helmets, especially one with a tiara with and beads. There were some other unusual characters in the crowd as well.
Other links
Bike East Bay https://www.ebbc.org/
Grizzly Peak Century http://www.grizzlypeakcyclists.org/century/
