Patch Blog: Photos From Thursday's Bike Clinic

As I edit these photos from the , everything now made sense. It wasn’t just cyclists who were happy. What I saw were bike mechanics, police officers, and volunteers having fun. They were smiling every time they finished tuning a bike.  

I also saw kids smiling with their bikes that ranged from a tricycle (triple), to fixies, to very expensive road bikes (compact or tris. It didn’t matter if theirs were the best or worst bike—they were there for the same reason—get their bike tuned. Everyone seemed to have found commonality and a non-judgemental group. Everyone talked about bike mechanics to bike trips they’ve done. Plus they didn’t mind a free tune up and freebies like bike helmet, water bottles and gosh a lot more.

Yes, everyone who came out was happy—cyclists and volunteers alike. The latter, as mentioned, were especially elated. They were troopers. They were professionals, and they were dang good at what they did. After every tune or talk about bike safety talk, I saw the just smiles from mechanics, police officers and volunteers alike. I would like to think that even if this was work, it was a way of giving back… and it felt good.  

Thank you to:

• South Pasadena Police Officers’ Association (Sponsor)
• South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce
• Performance Bikes, Pasadena
• South Pasadena’s Department of Transportation
• Avid cyclists/advocate volunteers