Claremont Bike to Work Pit Stop...

From 6:00 to a bit after 9:00 this morning, the city of Claremont, Metro, Foothill Transit, and the Claremont Senior Bike Group sponsored and hosted a pit stop down at the depot, for bicycle commuters. The event gave riders an opportunity to either fuel up before their commutes, refuel following their ride into town. Not only was there fruit and doughnut holes, water and Clif Bar products, provided by the above sponsors, but my favorite Village stop-in place, the Last Drop Cafe, generously supplied coffee and cookies as well. Metro and Foothill had a manned table with information about their services. Jax Bicycle Shop, located right across the street, had a tent set up with work stand and tools, and were doing a little tune-up wrenching on some of the bikes that rolled in. The city had a table covered with various bicycle related information. Some of the people, from the city, responsible for bringing the Amgen Tour of California to Claremont were in attendance - crunch time for them has arrived; at one point a truck, loaded high with barricades arrived, and off they went to some point along Saturday's route. 

the city proudly displayed their Bicycle Friendly Community banner

checking out one of the arriving bikes

some of the people in attendance

As to the commuters, there was a regular stream of them coming and going but, I must confess to being a bit disappointed in the turn-out, the gaps between the coming and goings was telling. I don't know if commuters were generally unaware of the event, or they did not have time, but I frequently saw riders pass by without stopping, or riding along on a more distant street, unaware of the pit stop. So it was not a case of bike commuters not being out and about, they were, but for whatever reason they simply did not stop by today. The coolest part of the morning, I suppose, was the hospitality of the hosts. They graciously welcomed any and all; people passing by on walkers and wheelchairs, riders departing from Foothill buses, and people simply walking past on their way to work, no one was ignored, and I think that spirit of goodwill will be remembered by cyclists and non-cyclists alike. For that, the Bicycle Pit Stop was a clear success.