Team ChainGang

Big Bear Lake, Ca.--(l to r) Ruthie, Kylie, Lisa, me, Kim, Dana. These awesome women are just a few of the members of Team ChainGang. We completed a training ride from Running Springs to Big Bear Lake, riding the route that the professionals had done in the Tour of California a year ago. And it was absolutely, stunningly gorgeous! We paused on the north shore at the boat launch, and Sharon, our awesome, incomparable SAG driver, took this picture.  From there, we rode around the North Shore area, through Fawn Skin, crossed over to Big Bear Village, past Boulder Bay and then across the newly completed bridge at the dam for the climb out of Big Bear Lake and back to Running Springs. That route is absolutely one of my favorite rides, with panoramic vistas down Bear Valley, mountain peaks visible from the Arctic Circle, and a glimmering lake to top it all off! 

Bekka's Bike

Mar. 6, 2012. Claremont High School senior Rebecca Evans poses with her new bike.

(L-R) Me, Rebecca Evans, Principal Brett O'Connor, soccer assistant coach Rosalinda Castillo.

(L-R) Larry Sheetz, me, Rebecca Evans, Dennis Smith, Tom Shelley, Tim Tipping.

     Yesterday, a really cool thing happened. People here in Claremont got together and presented a kid with a bike. But, it seemed like more than that, and I've been smiling as I realize how this all came together, and am just so grateful to have been a catalyst.
     Last fall, I noticed a senior on campus who rode her mountain bike to school frequently. Sometimes, she stored it in our PE office, since she was a TA, and a soccer player who had played for Rosalinda, my colleague.
     The bike was a total beater; or should I say 'totaled beater!' The tires were rotten, the chain crusty and dirty, the wheel out of true and misshapen with broken spokes; the brakes were nearly nonexistent. I noticed that even when it was 100 degrees outside, she'd still ride, so we started talking and I got to know her a little. She talked about moving briefly to the Deep South so their family could get housing assistance. And I learned from her counselor that she had worked hard, utilizing an educational plan so that she could get additional academic help as an underclassmen and work through some learning disabilities. But she was on track to graduate, and I knew she was an awesome soccer player.
     Yet, she needed that bike as her main form of transportation and sometimes would ride it home from school events in the dark.
     I thought to myself, "Wow, this kid could use a break." So, we worked together to refurbish the bike, replacing the tires, cleaning the chain, working on the brakes. But, it wasn't long before I realized that it needed more than I could give. I know a few bike maintenance skills, but this bike needed more!
     Then, in December, while at a CycleClaremont event, I met Dennis Smith, the past president of the Claremont Friday Rotary, and mentioned this need to him. He explained that their group had given bikes to needy younger kids, but he'd check and see if there would be a possibility for Bekka. This was the beginning of our "Bekka's Bike project," a true coming together for good with our local Rotary, community members, senior cyclists and teachers on campus.
     The next month, Dennis called me, and said they had voted to give Bekka up to $275 for a bike, which was awesome! But we needed more, to be able to obtain an adult bike that would not only take Bekka to school, but on to a local junior college. I excitedly described this to Rosalinda, and began sharing this need, asking our teaching staff and administration to pitch in, as well as local cycling enthusiasts, including the Claremont Senior Bicycling Group. The response? Incredible.
     We quickly raised more than $600, with the Claremont Sunrise Rotary group coming on board, and teachers making donations without knowing who the bicycle was for. Just a needy student. And they gave generously. Like teachers do. In February, Dennis, Larry Sheetz, Tom Shelley and I were able to pick out a bike, a beautiful hybrid cross-bike, at Coates Bike Shop in Claremont. And to top it off? Coates generously discounted the bike, and we could add a new helmet, floor pump, rack, lights, water bottle cages, mini pump, under-the-seat bag, and $25 gift card.
     Yesterday, we put together a presentation ceremony, attended by Rotary Club representatives, the CSBG,  CHS faculty, soccer coaches and administration. And we put a smile on a kid's face--and our own--as Bekka received the bike. She said, with tears in her eyes, "I've never had such a nice gift in my life."
     And you know, for just one moment, all was good in the world.

• Footnote: On Saturday, March 3, Bekka helped the Claremont HS girls soccer team win the CIF Division III title with a win over Aliso Viejo HS. Way to go Wolfpack! They finished their season 31-1-2. Congrats to the players and coaches. 
• A special thanks to Dennis Smith, of the Claremont Friday Rotary Club, Larry Sheetz of CycleClaremont and the CSBG, Tom Shelley of CycleClaremont and the CSBG, Tim Tipping of the Claremont Sunrise Rotary Club, Corey from Coates Bicycles, and Brett O'Connor, CHS Principal.