from the saddle
uniting bicyclists, combating climate change The Impact and Inspiration of the Climate Ride By abe green
A
s I approached one of the steepest and most daunting inclines in a series of seemingly never-ending hills, a simple yet powerful question popped into my mind: “What the heck am I doing here?!” After all, it had been just two short months since I had fallen from my bike while commuting home from work in downtown Brooklyn, NY, during which time I underwent three surgical procedures, suffered through life with a wired jaw, and slowly recovered while on pro10 AMERICAN BICYCLIST
Boulder B-Cycle (photo by Mat Barlow)
longed disability from work. “What would possess me to get on my bike and ride 300 miles?” I wondered. Then I saw the answer. Halfway up the hill was flattened, spread-eagled marmot (might have been a woodchuck) with its guts exposed. There was a multi-colored chalk circle around it with the words “Do Not Cross. Crime Scene.” I burst out laughing! It was no doubt the work of our fearless ride volunteers who had scouted the route and were making marks on the
road to inspire and energize us. No, it wasn’t politically correct. In fact, it was a bit extreme. But on that road, it was genius — the genius and joy of the Climate Ride. The Climate Ride was created by Geraldine Carter and Caeli Quinn as a means to leverage their decades of professional experience leading high-end bike trips to raise awareness and funds for climate protection. Since 2008, the ride has engaged hundreds of riders from across the nation who, instead of