Last night, Practical Cycle was thrilled to host Elly Blue, Joe Biel, and Joshua Ploeg on their Dinner and Bikes tour. Joshua provided the amazingly tasty vegan gourmet dinner. Joe showed the very first public screening of his documentary, Aftermass. Elly contributed with reports of her recent trip to the National Bike Summet. They brought their traveling bookstore, too. I got one of Joe's cargo bike shirts--"One Less Truck" and Elly was so lovely to give me a copy of her book, Childhood, that has some of my favorite folks contributing their personal stories (Kath and Sarah!). I loved that the group stays true to their principles and tour around the country using multi-modal transportation--Amtrak and bikes, of course. Most people arrived to the event by bike, as well. I even got a chance to play chauffeur and take Joshua home on the back of the Mundo while Elly and Joe rode their Bromptons.
Bringing the party bike.
YUM!!! The curry bananas were the best!
Elly and the bookstore.
Practical Cycle in full party mode.
Hi, Joe!
Elly sharing the stats of change (even through her cold--feel better, Elly!).
Mundo taxi service. Hi, Joshua!
It is aways fantastic to meet members of the greater biking community, especially ones who are really getting out to make a change. One of the things that stuck me from Joe's movie was the parallels between how the Dutch got their bike lanes and the struggles that the Critical Mass riders went through before Portland became the true biking city that it is today. Everyone always assumes that the Neatherlands' bikeways were just always a part of their lives. In reality, after WWII, the Neatherlands took a turn towards an auto-centric transportation mode, making it more and more difficult to walk and bike. The number of deaths skyrocketed, especially among children, so people took to the streets in protest. The bike tracks didn't just magically appear for the Dutch, the public realized that the way the cars were taking over was disastrous and deadly so they put a stop to it. You can learn more from this video below.
Obviously, even Portland has a long way to go before their bike system can be on par with the Neatherlands but at least they are on their way. It is interesting to me that as the narrator begins to describe the bikeways of yesteryear, he is actually describing Sacramento's current state of bike paths--"narrow, of poor surface, dangerous or even absent at junctions, and not connected."
What really resonated with me was the realization that things don't change unless people take to the streets to demand action. As Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." I do see our tiny little biking family as part of the greater shift towards a more sustainable system. While we may not be as visible as Critical Mass, we are still making our peaceful waves in the community. (Speaking of Critical Mass, join our family-friendly Kidical Mass ride this Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/341588125941208/ We're going to be a part of the Saint Paddy's Day Parade in Old Town!).
What really resonated with me was the realization that things don't change unless people take to the streets to demand action. As Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." I do see our tiny little biking family as part of the greater shift towards a more sustainable system. While we may not be as visible as Critical Mass, we are still making our peaceful waves in the community. (Speaking of Critical Mass, join our family-friendly Kidical Mass ride this Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/341588125941208/ We're going to be a part of the Saint Paddy's Day Parade in Old Town!).
A huge thank you to everyone who came out and stayed up past their bedtimes, to Practical Cycle for donating the space, and to the Dinner And Bikes crew for putting on such a great event! If you find them coming to a location near you, go!
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