jmanitakos's blog

We have all seen the bike skeletons at train stations, shopping centers, and schools. They serve as sad reminders of the perils of parking one's bike in a public place. The vultures come through and strip the carcass, leaving rusting frames sans saddles and posts, wheels, and lights. Or worst yet, they take the entire bike, leaving no traces, and bedevil the poor owner, now ride-less. Anyone who parks their cherished bike in a public place feels the angst, will my bike be present, unvandalized when I return?

There are many harrowing jobs in this world. Fire jumpers, SWAT team members, USCG rescue divers all put their life on the line day in and day out and reap the satisfaction of a job well done. But can any of them match the devotion and satisfaction of being a bike guard? Thousands of alternative transportation advocates, on the front line of the climate change battle, entrust their precious bicycles (the essence of their mobility) to the SVBC volunteer bike guard. And we deliver --- event after event.