Peace between Bedlam...

Finished up my first 200+ mile week yesterday in I don't know how long; I am sure it would be years, if I had the energy to check. Now I seem to be paying the piper for the privilege - woke up completely drained, upset stomach, maybe a slight fever. At least it was drizzling (at the time) and I didn't have to suffer the gloom of missing a good day to ride. Well, forward a few hours and the sun is out, the sky is blue, the temperature is warm and, the gloom descends. Go figure. 


It does give me an opportunity to look back at a few photos taken around town the past couple weeks and which I never posted up:

As for that peace and bedlam thing, the Colleges have held their commencement ceremonies this weekend [bedlam], so many of the students will be headed home for the summer and there is likely to be a little less hustle and bustle around town for a few days [peace]. It will be short lived, however, what with the TOC circus setting up their bigtop, midway, and everything else [bedlam] late in the week.

Dress up, dress down...

either way is all ride.

Stand out...

Go ahead, be different. Stand out from the crowd.

When the temperature increases...

some bikes seek out the cooler corridors. And, yes the trees are in full bloom around here, everywhere you look.

Others would, I think, cease to exist without the brightness. I wonder if this rider parked her orange bike here next to the orange Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise) rather than at the rack not ten feet away on purpose.

All in a day's ride...

A few pics taken while riding around the colleges yesterday:

chance encounters at the bike racks

does it meow when you squeeze?

November rose

the weekend storm blew east and left cold air in its wake, but

not everyone got the message

Rainy days...

It has been kind of an odd week for this time of year - showers off and on, nothing heavy, just enough to keep things from drying out completely, just enough to keep things interesting. Anyway I decided to get out and see what was happening around town. I got my coffee from the Last Drop Cafe and took up my spot to take some pics. The end result, there just were not that many people riding through the Village. The bike rack at the Depot was full, so I guess the Metro commuters were out even earlier. The library was having its annual booksale (starts today, continues tomorrow) and I picked up a couple older books (some 1950s classics for the boy) and a newer one for myself. Got a second cup of joe and staked out a second spot for pics, but still not much bikey action. Moved a third time, to the Colleges where I knew for sure I would find some bikes and riders.
Even though there was a deficit of two-wheelers in the Village, there was a lot going on. It is Village Venture this weekend, so workers were all over getting the streets spruced up and otherwise ready for the crowds. This will be the first time since moving here that we will not be able to attend. Village Venture, for those of you who don't know is a big craft fair - music, a lot of food, a lot of shopping to kick off the pre-shopping season. It draws people in from all over the region and turns the Village area into one big pedestrian mall with all the streets closed off. Hopefully the weather reports will prove correct and tomorrow will be a bit more sunny. Enjoy the weekend.

a nice collection of raindrops

ok, this is the kind of day it was. the first time this woman rode by i did not have my camera ready. the second time this was the result. i guess you can telll someone is riding by

estudiantes

bicicleta del estudiante

single speeder

third time she rode by, i caught her in focus, but she is kind of lost in all that green

i like the rainy day saddle protector,

and how it is color coordinated with the grips

yes, it is a rose

finally, on the fourth attempt, and fourth different location, i got it just right.

In a story only related by proximity, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) sophmore Ariel Katz weighs in on the helmet issue in an opinion to the CMC Forum.

5 C's and the freshman / sophomore car ban...

First off, I never knew the Claremont Colleges were popularly known as the 5 C's, and what exactly does that mean for the Claremont Graduate Institute which is the 6th part of the Consortium after all. But that is another problem to be solved by someone else.

The Claremont City Council this past week voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance which creates incentives for the Colleges to maintain and initiate additional campus parking restrictions for freshmen and sophomore students. The previous regulations required the Colleges to provide one parking space for every two students. These restrictions would be reduced even further for those colleges which enact freshmen and sophomore bans. Not only will this help reduce the number of cars travelling campus and city streets, but it also places less pressure on the Colleges to build more parking for a growing student population. With land at a premium in Claremont this is an important consideration. For example, the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station along Foothill Blvd is comprised of 75 acres owned by the Claremont University Consortium, and another 11 acres owned by Harvey Mudd College. The Station has been cited for years as a potential location for a parking lot for Harvey Mudd. Relieve the pressure on the Colleges to provide parking and you relieve the threat to this valuable open space research area.

Administrators from both Claremont McKenna College (CMC) and Harvey Mudd College expressed support for the ordinance; CMC Vice President for Business and Administration, Robin Aspinall commented that even at the rate 1 spot for every 2 students as per the previous parking regulations, meant there were still 16% more spaces than actually needed by the College. In proposing the ordinance (which will become a part of the city's municipal code with final approval), the city sought to augment its sustainability goals and encourage students to use alternatives to motor vehicles. Bob Smith, Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Campus Services said that the ordinance "recognizes Pomona College's efforts... to reduce the number of cars and their impact on the surrounding community."

For the record, to date four of the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges - Pomona, Pitzer, Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd have freshman parking bans; only Scripps does not. The Claremont Graduate Institute is unaffected by the ordinance. As of this time none of the five plan to institute sophomore bans.

Many of the comments of students I have read express valid concerns, though none that are impossible to work around. Things like work outside the local area, or other reasons for travel within and beyond the greater Los Angeles area; but then there are those which are more concerned with the lack of nearby fast food establishments for a student's greasy food fix, or how anyone could ever undertake the oh-so looooong journey between the Colleges and the Claremont Village.

The Claremont Colleges are not the only Institutes of higher learning with freshman car bans - some of the larger one include MIT, Stanford, Syracuse, the Universities of Michigan, North Carolina Ashville and Miami. In addition, other campuses have enacted "extended car bans" - some of these include sophomore bans, and proximity bans, and include four UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz). A complete list of these campuses can be found here.

Would more sweeping restrictions be a boon or a bust for the Colleges? They regularly receive highly favorable rankings for education and student life, and the existing freshman restrictions do not seem to have had a negative impact on admissions, so considering the broad picture, this seems unlikely. Fewer cars, and less land taken up by wasteful parking. Seems like a beneficial plan all around.

Green Bike Program...

The Green Bike Program at Pitzer College (pictured) and a similar GBP at Pomona College offer repair services to students at the Claremont Colleges. In addition bikes left abandoned in the campus bike racks after each semester (a week away) are collected by the campus safety department, refurbished by the GBP, if needed, and made available to students by raffle the following semester. Graduation ceremonies for all the Colleges are this weekend - unless you don't want your bike anymore (that's a sad thought), make plans for it over the summer.

International Festival / Bike Polo...

I really felt the need to get more than a few miles in so I spun along Baseline to San Dimas and back. Not especially long, but it was somewhat satisfying. With the routine done, the rest of the day was freed up for more interesting things. The three of us rode down to the colleges for the International Festival. A lot of different types of food, music and dance. Put together by students at the colleges, the Fest pulls in a lot of people from the community as well.

Many flowers - in the hair...or on the hats.

Arrive like this group; no parking aggravation.

Jammin'

From there is was time to check into some more bike polo at the Inland Empire beginners tourney. This was the real deal, unlike the practice I watched a week ago. It can get pretty intense at times, but mostly everyone was having fun. Riding, crashing, whacking the ball. For those who do not know the rules, you can not put a foot down; if you do you are out of play for as long as it takes to ride over and touch a post or designated area, depending on how the court is set up. So yes, there is a lot of balancing involved. Dale, at The Velo is ready to form a local team; I might just have to give it a try. Though I will need a proper polo bike. More photos here (slideshow).

Some weekend...

yes, some weekend we had around here; 70º weather (I think it even topped 80º on Sunday). The skies were blue, the trees were in bloom, and the bike racks were bursting; everything as it should be.
The bikes around here come in all shapes and sizes; well represented are the "townie-style" such as this bright red and white Schwinn Legacy with improvised basket for toting all those textbooks around. Parked outside the 1963 Garrison Theater on the Scripps College campus, Claremont Colleges, the Schwinn's simple design contrasts with the intricate mosaic mural by Millard Sheets depicting scenes from Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, and Antony and Cleopatra.