Our Bicycle Valet Parking was in demand all day!
Photo courtesy Amy Smolens
Can you believe that the Solano Avenue Stroll turned 42 last weekend? Albany Strollers & Rollers again managed two Bicycle Valet Parking lots for the event, in the lot below Masonic in Albany, and at the top of Solano in the Wells Fargo lot in Berkeley. Because of the expected volume, in addition to our own 18 “Moved By Bikes” Valet Racks, we borrowed some racks from the City of Albany (thanks, Liam Kelly) and rented some from neighboring
Lots of families were happy to see us so they could leave their bikes while they Strolled the Avenue!
Photo courtesy Mark Altenberg
organization Rich City Rides. We needed every one of them to accommodate the more than 300 bicycles we parked over the course of the day, despite the chilly weather!
Thank you to all our Bicycle Valet Parking volunteers, led by Mac McCurdy, Sylvia Paull and Eli Cochran, who has agreed to take the reins as director of the WF lot next year!
Ami and other youngsters brought great energy.
Photo courtesy Tenisha Neal
Marcia Crump, Bill Newcomb, Ruth Block, Barb & Mark Altenberg, Joseph Friedman, Joan Gallagher, Will Hawk, Samantha & Saraya Hampton, Sahara Borja, Lyell Nesbitt, Tony Caine, Shauniece Van Eyck, Lukas Abeck Sanetra, his friend Ami, Griffin Neal, Brian Beall, Aki Zielinski, Eileen Walsh, Joan Williams and Susan Moffat all helped check in, park and retrieve bikes. Some had helped us at previous events and some were AS&R rookies. All were fantastic and got major kudos from everyone who came by!
Many people told me specifically that if we hadn’t been there they wouldn’t have come to the Stroll at all – too far to walk, but a hassle to drive.
Amy & Michael were two of the volunteers who kept the AS&R table rolling.
Photo courtesy Tenisha
Lynn Eve Komaromi, Mike Cabanatuan, Kim Van Eyck, Sherie Reineman, Michael Primmer, Tenisha Neal, Preston Jordan, Tony Caine and I (Amy) had a great time engaging people and doing outreach on behalf of AS&R and cycling in general. We spoke to so many Stroll-goers of all ages, answered questions about all aspects of bicycles, bicycling & walking, signed up more than 20 new members, sold a bunch of “Check for Bikes” clings and bumper stickers and lots of our new reflective leg bands.
Tenisha wandered over to the Ohlone Greenway to “recruit” bicyclists, and sure enough, she brought some folks who hadn’t known but were grateful for our service. People were SO thankful that we were there – can you imagine if even half those people had come by car?
Joseph, Will and Joan had fun parking bikes at the Wells Fargo lot.
Photo courtesy Patsy Reese
Ken McCroskey, Bill, Marcia, Sherie, Lynn Eve, Mike C., Mac, Eli, Joan G and Will were stellar with setup and Ken, Eli, Griffin, Eileen, Michael P, Susan, Sahara and Mac made the wrap go smoothly.
A big shout-out to Pat, owner of local businesses Bua Luang Thai Cuisine & Tay Tah Café, for again sponsoring our BVP service and providing delicious lunches & coupons for some volunteers. Pat’s support is so important and we really appreciate the effort she puts into helping us in all our events.
Special thanks to Grizzly Peak Cyclists who lent us their two canopies via Sherie.
A final thank you goes out to the Solano Avenue Association, which makes Bicycle Valet Parking a priority for this huge regional event and puts us in a position to succeed every year. It’s an honor to be associated with one of the region’s longest-running and best street fairs!
Thanks, all!
The Pumpkin Patch lot was busy all day!
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