Tykes on Bikes
They closed off a few streets of downtown Oakland for some criteriums today, the 5th Oakland Grand Prix. I only had time to swing by for a few minutes, but one of the races I caught was the “local kids” category (they did a single lap). They may not have been as fast as the adults, but they were much cuter:
(The kid on the yellow Specialized took off on an early breakaway and never looked back. You can tell he meant business because of the spandex and racing gloves.)
Here’s a proposed new event. Biathlon—riding and shooting, with a camera.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:09 amWish I had been there! That little fellow jumping the start line but checking out his competition is adorable.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:11 amThat little fellow was quite a good rider (no training wheels necessary for him!), and he got off to a great start, but unfortunately he couldn’t compete with the larger diameter rims and longer/stronger legs of the bigger kids. I think number 19 passed him at the first corner. (The woman in the blue shirt is acting as a domestique for the little girl on the big wheel, who is mostly hidden in this photo.)
![]( "And they're off!")
July 6th, 2009 at 2:42 pmI have never seen Oakland so alive! Those pictures are great.
July 6th, 2009 at 7:01 pmRuth: If that observation is based on the other photos I’ve posted here, then I have done Oakland a disservice—some parts of the city are very alive. I just tend not to take very many pictures that have people in them!
July 6th, 2009 at 9:21 pmJust survived the Michael Jackson triathlon, death, autopsy, Staples Center funerathon. We need something less dramatic now, like this, maybe.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:52 amOakland is not the only California city that holds events. Just check this out:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/echo-park-holds-a-no-lotus-festival-.html
July 11th, 2009 at 9:42 pmThey like to give their festivals funny names down there, don’t they? I went to a “Lummis Day” festival a few weeks ago, named for a guy who walked from Cincinnati to LA after getting offered a job by the LA Times in 1884, then became a crusader on behalf of Native Americans and founded the Southwest Museum to honor them.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:25 amThere is the Lummis House, a monument of sorts, located near the Southwest Museum, a museum dedicated to Indian art and artifacts (thousands of baskets) and located in Highland Park, just north of downtown L.A. Have passed the house many times, but never walked in–looks like a small adobe garage to me. It’s located just off the 110 (Pasadena) Freeway. Hey, why not celebrate the man? The museum has quite a collection; used to be free, but I think thee is an eight buck fee now.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:03 am
July 19th, 2009 at 11:53 amhttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj114/onegreenberg/8141Dykes-on-Bikes-Posters.jpg
We too have our own bicycle events here in LA.
avoice: You have an unusual definition of “bicycle.”
For a bicycle event that really embodies LA, check out the freeway rides on YouTube:
July 19th, 2009 at 1:10 pmMotorcycles have two wheels, right? BIcycle implies two wheels, right? QED Every year I try to come out and support Dykes on Bikes.
July 19th, 2009 at 3:58 pm