As we round the last bend on May is Bike Month, and approach our annual event in June, we give a rollicking high-five to the two-million mile challenge of MiBM. So feel free to ride on and read on, River City…
If you’ve ever imagined a world filled with sunny days, whistling, and free-wheeling cyclists everywhere you turn, you may have been humming “It’s a Beautiful Day” by the Beach Boys. The dreamy tune includes lyrics about “freeways… jammed with all kind of folks on their bikes… doin' their lefts and their rights.”
It’s exactly this visionary sentiment (and proper use of hand signals) that we here at TEDxSacramento embrace and which compel us to grab MiBM by the handlebars. Here are the top five reasons why we love the ride:
1. Did Someone Say Bike Crawl?
We did! We did! Last Second Saturday, a gaggle of TEDx enthusiasts gathered in front of the Bicycle Kitchen and made our way around town en force, stopping at Hot Italian, Red Rabbit and Low Brau for refueling and spirited conversation.
Hoots, hollers and ringing bells helped get us to our final destination: an empty space right next to Low Brau in the MARRS building, where we set up a large screen, a projector and pushed “play” on TEDTalks that ranged in topic from ninja yo-yo’ing to tiny flying robots. People stared and that was exactly our plan.
2. Cycling-Centered TEDTalks
As TEDx Speaker Mikael Colville-Andersen says: “The good life is one on a bike.” In this TEDxCopenhagen Talk, the Speaker likens people on two wheels to “a symphony of human powered movement across the cityscape.” One TEDTalk is worth a thousand pictures, no?
3. The Lovely Aroma of Team Spirit
Over here, we give a standing ovation to the two-million mile challenge presented by MiBM and all those who have engaged their quads in participation. To help our region celebrate success, we formed our own TEDxSacramento MiBM team and encourage you, yes you, to jump on your fixie, tandem or Penny-farthing.
4. Get the Heart Pumping
Biking can incinerate as many as 900 calories an hour. Of course, for most of us, it’s more like 300 and that’s..OK. While being totally engrossed at a TEDx event may burn slightly fewer calories, we are pretty sure it can cause your ventricle to skip a beat or two and perhaps even lead to a heart-pounding love affair. It already has for about 10,000 River City dwellers. See below…
5. Community to the Power of “x”
Like MiBM, TEDxSacramento is a rapidly growing idea that’s attracting some of the brightest minds around. No, we’re not just saying that. Local author and Sacramento Bee reporter Chris Macias says:
[My] idyllic vision of Sacramento is where 20th & K St. shuts down daily for public yoga marathons and TEDx speeches, and where a newly established farmers’ market police gives citations for not buying produce within 100 miles. Also, there will be hella basketball.
So now the ball’s in your court. Find your community on our Facebook and get in your application now to our June 28th annual event. Hemming and hawing about this will lead one directly to kicking oneself in the backside. (And that hurts worse than a banana seat.)