Gandy Bike BBQ
“Oh, the sights you will see!” I felt like I was on a Dr Suess ride yesterday, but it was simply Charlie Gandy hosting a local ride and a little post-ride Texas BBQ. Still, I saw some neighborhoods I’d never seen before and I used to live in Belmont Shore and Naples, too. Chalk it up to those days I was driving a car and too busy to see.
The minute I received the invitation to this Bike BBQ, I RSVP’d affirmative. The host was a draw, without question, the date was open, I’d keep it that way, the promise of good food, a compelling feature for sure, but it was the thought of a 50+ mile ride that had a good deal of appeal. Long Beach is a good stretch from Corona del Mar; yesterday the beach boardwalks were crowded, but Coast Hwy was worse – too many cars with too many motorists going nowhere, just sitting in traffic. I felt I’d be the object of road rage, so I moved back to the boardwalk and took my time. It was a glorious, cool afternoon.
It’s hard to budget the time it takes for such a ride. Along the coast it’s easy to pick up a headwind, but not yesterday, so I arrived a little early, just as Melissa Balmer was finishing up her sharrow stencil and I was able to observe her agreeable subject.
It was a great time and I met lots of bike advocates and at the end of the day as I prepared to depart, I was reminded of Dr Suess again and his thoughts on bike advocacy:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Thursday, November 24th 2011 at 4:55 am |
[...] designs, and being a leader. I met Alexis Lantz, Planning and Policy Director of the LABC, at Charlie’s August BBQ party. Months later, she would make make the connections and provide the nudge to get me on a panel [...]
Monday, August 8th 2011 at 8:13 pm |
Hey Frank,
Is Melissa married?
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 6:40 am |
Frank! What a lovely post and isn’t that little house beautiful. I am happy to know now that if I don’t make it as a writer and publicist I can take up tattoo art.
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 6:38 am |
Hey Frank,
Thanks for coming up for the bikes, barbeque and beer summit last Sunday. It was great to have Orange County represented by such an able ambassador. Your pics and words so well portray our fellowship and experience as cyclists. Please keep it up.
And I agree with you, we have much work to do to change attitudes around here. Way too much bigotry and anger on the roads and streets we share. Maybe its time for us to propose some kind of public dialogue to surface tensions and explore options?