Lake Merritt Bike-a-thon! Recap!
Yesterday was our first ever Bike-a-thon around Lake Merritt! For one whole hour ten riders pedaled their hearts out. Each lap is 3.4 miles, just shy of 5 kilometres. Altogether they finished 55 laps around the lake, a total of 187 miles.
Why did they do it? To keep Cycles of Change pedaling forward! Each rider found supporters who made a pledge for each lap they completed. We are in the process of contacting pledge makers and donors and tallying up the donations. Stay tuned for more information.
We were blessed with a gorgeous, sunny day at the lake. We set up at the amphitheater with a box of Clif bars and racing supplies. We drew chalk numbers for the start, handed out rider numbers, discussed safety and the route, applied some sunscreen and hand sanitizer. The route followed the bike lane around Lake Merritt going clockwise to reduce intersections and left turns. Our speedy riders stuck to the main street, while our “mindful riders” took the bike and pedestrian paths. And thanks to the internet, Diego was able to join our broadcast from out on the road.
Diego, Carolina, and Tez made up our mindful crew. If you watch the video on our Facebook page you’ll see Tez showing off some of his moves as they complete each lap. Trust me, it is impressive.
Our speedy riders fell into a few packs. In the lead were Krishna, Jose, and Benton on road bikes. This group finished 8 laps each and kept up a flying pace the entire time, all riding about 30 seconds apart by the end of the bike-a-thon. Tasha, a bike messenger and racer for All-City Cycles took out a track bike. Dart set out on a vintage road bike. Each completed five laps and rode independently. Our fully track speedy pack consisted of Taj and Ian, both riding fixed gear track bikes. Ian, a former messenger and track racer, and Taj, a young Bay Area local and current Cycles of Change staff, held each other’s wheels to finish six laps.
We want to be sure to shout out all our riders and the donors who pledged to back them, Arizmendi for the carbs to refuel afterward, our past supporter Clif bar (since we have so many bars left!), All-City Cycles for backing riders and making a large donation. Thanks to all the supporters who watched even a portion of the bike-a-thon, and a big thank you to everybody who made a donation.
