Story in Pictures:
Festival
Mayors' Rides
The Santa Cruz NBG Bike Fest that took place Sunday August 17 was a fitting reward for all those cyclists who gave of their time, resources and other efforts and energies to more firmly establish our second annual National Mayors' Ride as a yearly two wheel institution. As it celebrated our long haul cyclists, it also served as a fitting backdrop to Congressman Sam Farr and Santa Cruz Mayor Emily Reilly both of whom did an inspiring job of validating our efforts. And despite the fact that our near flawless production was under attended (1500 people throughout the day), it drove home the message that our Mayors' Rides are there to communicate that cycling is is not just about recreation and fun in those areas where cars do not exist, but that two (and three) wheel travel is a needed and important way to connect population centers.
Our festival also served to underscore the fact that we have not even scratched surface in this regard. From the stage I talked about the fact that Skot Pascchal couldn't safely make the 300 mile connection on those remote roads that stood between Arcata and Chico because of unsafe conditions and then Bill Haluzak of Bicycles by Haluzak in Santa Rosa could not find a rider to bike a mere 46 miles to get to Napa from Santa Rosa because off the danger factor there as well. And all of the performers, volunteers, NBG relay cyclists that were there (our entire 2003 roster:), exhibitors and guests could be seen nodding their heads as I held up these examples to indeed prove that there was something very wrong with the way we move ourselves around.
First up on the stage was Ruby Rudman's very practiced rendition of the National Anthem. She was only up for five minutes, but from the back of the performance platform as I looked out on the morning crowd that had already assembled, I could see the authority that her words commanded from most everyone I saw. Heads bowed and hands were crossed over hearts as all of us were privy to a performance that easily could have opened a Super Bowl or really any televised sport anywhere.
Soon Ruby was followed by another professional of the highest order - Prince Lawsha . A world class jazz drummer, Prince sang a most memorable version of "Amazing Grace" before he and some of the top musicians this area has to offer, Roger Anderson on percussion, Jack Bowers on piano, Steve Larkin on bass and 16 year old sensation Tianisha Fitzspatrick on violin, did a jazz set that let all those in attendance bask in he classy act that the Prince brings to all those whom he touches. What an honor to have the gift of his music!
I used the break to to send out raffle prizes. With the help of Faye Saunders' kids, Chloe and Schuyler, as well as Brionna Machado who we'll talk about next and other kids that came and left through out the afternoon, during the course of the day we gave away 18 different prizes. It was fun to see the excitement of the kids as they jumped off the stage and run to give away a prize after it was won. It was also fun watching people crowd the raffle table, manned for most of the day by the super helpful Scott Campbell and elegant Faye Saunders, for a one dollar chance to win one of the many prizes that many of our exhibitors had so generously donated. It was also enjoyable to watch the striking Jeanelle Martin, she was helped by others, jump into action whenever I reminded the crowd that the payment spit we had arranged with Tony & Alba's pizza was one of the ways we paid for the day's festivities.
Claire Machado's beauty then graced the stage. Not only is she stunning to look at but her voice borders on the angelic. She was joined on stage by Randy Hudson, of the This Hear Band http://thishearband.com who played mandolin. And THX to David Handloff, of More Music, a local musician's supply store, Claire played confident and strong on a Renaissance guitar made by Rick Turner. Last May someone ran a spear thru Claire's heart when they stole the classical Spanish guitar on which she had composed a lot of the music we were hearing. Believing in people, when it still hadn't returned as our show grew nearer, the More Music people volunteered to help her with the instrument she needed for our show. And if Claire's performance was not enough of a show stopper, when her 8-year old daughter, Brionna, who had already sung "Between the Sun and the Moon" with her mom, closed out the Machado Girls set with a solo rendition of "Over the Rainbow" made famous by Judy Garland, it seemed as if everything else stood still. All eyes were focused on the stage as Brionna stood there in her little Alice in Wonderland dress merrily signing away.
Jessica Menendez , the emerging darling of the bicycle festival set, got on stage next. And as the stage behind us was readied for the Keen Cousins, Jessica had me hold the microphone as she wowed the audience with all the many ways once can use a buff. And what a story Jessica is. She came from a tough beginning to start her own company, Alaska Buff Wear . And with it, she travels around the US doing triathlons and selling buffs. No more than an oversized head with colorful designs that can be stretched to serve as a pirates cap, a tube top or a mini skirt and many other ideas which she demonstrated, a buff is Jessica's winning personality hard at work. Easy going, happy and charming, everyone just loves Jessica!
A short act that followed brought the audience even closer to the stage as she offered her wares. On display was a masterful female physique . Gabrielle Nicander's several minute posing routine showed why she is fast becoming a shining star on the regional bodybuilding circuit. Her powerful presence was the subject of innumerable cameras that pressed forward to get a view of her in action. After she was done, I made sure to ask her a few questions so that those in attendance could see that this massively muscled woman was also a sweetheart. And she told the audience that there is a lot of cross over between bicycling and bodybuilding and encouraged those in attendance to consider such weight training as a way to make them stronger more fit bike riders.
The Keen Cousins were next. With Phil Kleinheinz on stand up bass (that he even stood on on occasion as he played) and Eric Keene on guitar, the two of them held court for the next 45 minutes as people kept asking me who they were and where they came from. Handsome and young with slicked back hair, in tight jeans with the cuffs roiled up, their retro look fit perfectly with the 50's era rock and roll that they so comfortably and expertly played. Nor was percussion even necessary as Phil would pluck his strings in a way that made his instrument produce a light drum beat when that was necessary. Great kids and extremely personable, these guys are going places too.
I gave away a bunch more of the smaller prizes as kids bounced on and off the stage all around me when I then spotted Congressman Sam Farr D-CA and Santa Cruz Mayor, Emily Reilly, mixing with the crowd and talking to exhibitors. A couple prizes later, I blew their cover when I asked them to come to the stage. Sam took a few minutes to tell the crowd that we have got to act. He talked about the importance of contacting elected officials with letters; that ours must be a proactive position. I then asked Sam to tell the audience about his own use of the bicycle to produce results. In 1972 he was the main organizer for a ride down the California Coast that was largely responsible for much of the coastal protection legislation that is in force today. And as he spoke about how much pain the bike seat caused him and how much press there was for the hundred or so riders that kept growing in number, I could see that he was endearing himself even more into the hearts of those who have kept him in office for the last ten years.
Emily Reilly, dressed in a beautiful flowing dress showed why she is such a popular mayor here in Santa Cruz as she as well was able to put herself at the level of the majority opinion. With great ease and charm, she talked about how much the City of Santa Cruz supports cycling (which it does) and later went on tell us how we can access those legislators that Sam had been talking about. And her insight is something I'd like to see us deploy at NationalBicycleGreenway.com. In sum, she recommended that we go to the US Congress website (http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home) and locate the transportation committee. It lists all the various congressman that are working on that committee and the district they serve. From these names she had the great idea that we get the word out to people we know who live in the districts served by these politicians and have them write letters to these elected officials asking them to support those bike bills we are working on. Later, Emily walked the two wheel talk herself as she became a part of the Festival by listening to and meeting other performers and even visiting more of the exhibitors that were there. How lucky we are here in Santa Cruz to have political leaders like these two.
Andy Santana, who used to live and wow audiences here in Santa Cruz, came all the way down from Mendocino 230 miles away to play for the NBG cause. And like Prince and Claire above and Wes who we will describe next, Andy has played for us before. In fact Andy played our very first Swing for NBG back inn 1998 at Moes Alley and at our Year 2000 send off to DC And it was on his snappy tunes that I cut my swing dance teeth when swing had become all the rage in the mid 90's. Alive and powerful, his tunes drove my feet into motion. So much so that the free form dancing I used to do to the fire he brought to the stage easily evolved into swing when partner dancing then became popular. What an honor to be blessed by his love and the West Coast Playboys he had pulled together to play with him for us!!
As August West led the charge to ready the stage for the next act, Banned Together, as he did so a couple of outrageous kids in their early 20'a showed what kind of excitement can be created with instruments normally reserved for less spirited music. Flying all over the stage in high top tennis shoes, Anton Patzner's violin came alive with excited energy as his brother backed him up with an equally fiery stand up bass accompaniment. Calling themselves the Patzner Boys String Metal, they were only on stage for maybe 15 minutes, but they had everyone buzzing about what they had just seen.
Our music offering ended with Wes Anthony's Banned Together. To give you an idea of the size of Wes's contribution to the NBG, he drove me and my bike a couple weeks before all the way up to Berkeley for our reception with Mayor Tom Bates and councilman Kriss Worthington, supplied the sound system that all of our musicians and speakers used on this day and now here he was with his band driving out one perfectly crafted swing tune after another. And unlike most dance bands, instead of the drummer, Mike Shannon, who played powerfully and impeccably, setting the tempo, Wes controlled even that too with his very studied saxophone as Steve Czarnecki also powered away on organ. Knowing how to make his horn do things that far transcend the ordinary, this man lives music. Armed with a masters degree in music, Wes also teaches local youth how to play sax and he's always playing somewhere either in his own band or with someone else as he is much in demand. A visit to his house or a drive in his car finds him not just listening to the music he plays (swing and salsa) but studying it for each and every nuance and variation. And like the Prince who started our day, people love to play with Wes because they know he helps them bring their music to another level. What a fitting end to our day of music -- WoW!
The people we built this event for were next. Andrew Heckman, the man we dedicated last years's ride to before he then miraculously survived being run over by a car, in most eloquent fashion, talked about how bicycling removes all those barriers we use to keep ourselves separate; how it is the great equalizer. And in closing he left us with this reply he had received earlier in the day when he had seemed surprised that someone would thank him for surviving:
When someone gives you the daisies,
It is better to appreciate them NOW
Than when you are in the ground
Andrew was flanked by other NBG Giants we had come to celebrate As I gave certificates of honor to each of these powerful parts of the NBG effort I took few minutes to talk about each of them. There was Max Chen who rode to DC for us in 2000 with his brother Mark and then again this year to here from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. Jim 'Parky' Wetherell was also acknowledged for this ride here from SF as he courageously fights an unrelenting battle with Parkinson's Disease. Mighty Jim Muellner, the 67 years young man who had met and exchanged with 15 mayors and mayors offices on his ride here from Washington DC on his company's tricycle and inspired a whole nation of admirers and well wishers was formally thanked by the NBG. Our Pocket Mail Poet was also rewarded with a certificate for his effort both this year and last. Skot Paschal who braved the fires that raged out of control between Boise and Portland last year, this year rode from Eugene to Napa and took many many captivating pictures that now make his ride one of the most visited galleries at our site. Rocky Brown also appeared on stage with Dirt Bag (DB) , the rubber lizard that was such a big part of the Pocket Mail descriptions of his ride from Boise to Portland this year. He rode last year from Salt Lake City to Boise and was acknowledged for both of those rides.
We also certified some non riders this year. Jody Fitch, the man who designed the cutting edge web site NationalBicycleGreenway.com for us and who serves as our indefatigable high tech trouble shooter got an award. As did Claire Machado who played for us this year and last and went beyond that call of duty by pressing special CDs of her music for each of our honored guests . And lastly I honored one of the biggest NBG believers not with a proclamation but with a kiss. And I think I even surprised her. Faye Saunders , who helped us get riders, took care of a lot of the raffle details, got our riders lunch in San Jose, Palo Alto and Santa Cruz and who is always there to help in whatever way she can in between the demands placed on her in her fast paced highly demanding job at Apple Computer also deserves a thank you from cyclists everywhere.
Conspicuously missing from the awards ceremony were Jim Redd of Chicago and Andrew Morton of Portland both of whom rode for Andrew Heckman last year and who this year were and are a huge part of building NationalBicycleGreenway.com. Special THX also needs to go out to Ro Fischer in the Pittsburgh Mayor's office, Lorna Davros in the Des Moines Mayor's office, Berkeley Councilman Kriss Worthington Arcata Mayor Bob Ornelas and Kristine Shigley in the Portland Office of Transportation. We also feel indebted to Jeff 'Bubba' Stephens and Dan Trevas from Columbus, the powerful Western Pennsylvania Field Institute our major sponsors, John Brown of Family Cycling , Tom and Pattie of Connection Magazine and Bonnie Smith of Kool Stop , and to all of our other sponsors and riders who helped to make our 2003 Mayors' Ride and Festival a rousing success!
Next year, we will certainly be honoring Scott Campbell who worked our event from 7AM to late that nite and to Don Loomis who captured a lot of the days events on his video camera. Of which, if anyone has bandwidth we can access, we can put it all on line!! Can anyone help here?
We ended the day by raffling off the grand prizes. J Matt (he is pictured visiting the Buff Wear booth above) won the Kool Stop Papoose Caboose trailer , a world class magician named Ken Martin won the amazing S&B Malibu recumbent and Peter Campbell won the top prize of the day the long awaited Backsafer recumbent that I plan to review at some point soon!!
Next December we start again where we left off. If you are interested in riding next year please visit http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/Events/Mayors_Ride . And indeed it promises to be far bigger and far better than ever before!! THX for all of U!!
Thanks again for all your kind words and for inviting me to Friday's and Sunday's festivities. You are a real inspiration. - Santa Cruz Mayor Emily Reilly
Great event Sunday, that's a coup and a tribute to you to get Sam Farr and Emily Rielly out there to bring the political clout to the party. Also I loved the music, particularly Andy Santana, the lead guitar player is awesome.
- Pete Campbell
Thanks for organizing this whole event! - Marielle Stoellinga
Thanks to you and others for putting this year's Bikefest together. I really enjoyed meeting the people there and it was great! - Donald Loomis
I had a far better time that I thought I'd have. It was a fantastic day! - Andrew Heckman
You put on a great event - Rene Hular
