Pedal Powering through Los Altos

Many thanks to Nicole Belle Isle for signing up to lead an SVBC group ride and following up with this blog post! If you'd like to lead one of our fun community rides, contact our Membership and Volunteer Coordinator Gavin Powell at gavin@bikesiliconvalley.org.

I wasn’t aware of the existence of the Los Altos History Museum until a few weeks ago when I heard about the Pedal Power exhibit currently on display there. It seemed like the perfect destination for a casual bike outing, so I seized the opportunity to lead my first SVBC social ride there last Saturday.Our small group met at the San Antonio Caltrain station on a beautiful, partly cloudy afternoon. After introductions were made, we set off on a mellow four-mile route to the museum through the residential neighborhoods of Los Altos. A leisurely pace and light traffic allowed us to chat with each other along the way.We were fortunate to have as part of our group Gary Hedden, the Pedal Power exhibition coordinator. As we wandered among the varied collection of bicycles, Gary added little bits of behind-the-scenes information about each bike, its owner, and how it came to be included in the exhibit. In addition to a lot of cool bikes, there are also some fun events planned as part of the exhibit, including a Design a Bike Workshop and Family Cycle Carnival this coming Saturday.From the museum we rode another 2.5 miles to downtown Mountain View for beer and burgers on the lovely patio of Bierhaus; many thanks to them for providing a special discount for our group!Connections were made, secret bike-only passageways were shared, and I visited a museum I had been previously unaware of. The ride was a reminder to me of how the relatively slow speed of traveling by bike enables discovery in a way that zipping along in a car can’t match. I am already looking forward to my next ride!