Waking up at the butt-crack of dawn wasn’t nearly as much fun as hanging out til 1 am the night before. I needed to brew 42 cups of coffee and arrive at the Old State House before 6:30am to set up food, drink and EMS stuff with Karma and John for hopefully at least a hundred bike commuters.
Ben and David from the CCBA were there first thing helping us with our first Bike to Work event. Soon there was a table for registration, event info, biking info and free water bottles from the CCBA and EMS. Another table had coffee, OJ, bagels, cream cheeses, Cliff Bars, bananas, almonds and the cornerstone of any healthy breakfast, chocolate chip cookies. We actually went through 3 boxes of cookies!
Under the EMS bigtop, John, the Manchester bike tech, wrenched away to many people’s delight. One dude’s eyes bugged out as John started replacing a few of the cables on his bike. Others got quick tune-ups, safety checks, brake adjustments and a ton of other minor repairs.
There were a lot of people there. On a return trip from D+D getting more coffee, it looked like a HAZMAT site with all the bright neon and orange vests and jackets. Weather was great, as it had been all week and I wish I had the day off from work. REI donated a pack for a raffle as well.
My only regret was having to drive because of all the stuff we needed to bring; even a set of panniers and a large messenger bag wouldn’t have been enough. I see a trailer in my future.
Bike to Work is a monthly event at the Old State House from 7am to 9am. It is always the last Friday of the month, except for next month. The May event is on the 16th to coincide with Bike Week. There’s always a simple breakfast spread, a raffle and lots of great people.
EMS + Bike to Work = Awesome! I hate to brag but sweet job to us. Big ups to John, one hell of a wrench. I see the beginnings of a match made in heaven, corporate power and local pride. Lets keep biking to work and making things happen. Thanks to all!!
ReplyDelete...and later that night Hannah, Maureen and I took our first pedal with Hartford's very own Critical Mass. What a good time! Thanks for the invites, Will.
ReplyDeletethere's another write up and more pics at the CCBA Bike Everywhere Blog
ReplyDeleteWalked over for a bit I had gotten to the office after riding from Enfield at about 6:45 and completely forgot about the event. But I work at Const Plaza and I turn around at 7:30 nad see tents and bikes! I was like what the....? then it clicked in. I walked over since the bike was already locked up but didn't want to grab any grub as I felt a bit out of place without the bike. IS this going to be a regular event? Ive started to commute from Enfield twice a week now. Hopefully 4 days a week by summer.
ReplyDeleteits a monthly event. you shoulda grabbed a bagel dude! no worries!
ReplyDeletehere's a link:
http://www.wecyclect.org/btw.htm
Excellent! I'm hoping Bicycle culture really grabs CT by the tails. CCBA may just have a new volunteer on their hands.
ReplyDelete