The fine folks at Google Maps have recently added a most expedient method of planning a bicycle route upon the Aetherwebs in some 150 cities, including Santa Rosa.
Note that dark green lines represent bike-only paths, pale green for marked bike lanes on roads, and dotted green lines show good biking alternatives.
ITEM!
Not everyone is gleeful about the new service however. The New York Post wonders if there are bona fide “fatal flaws” in the suggested routes. Of course, there are two problems herein:
The world is full of “fatal flaws”. I remember when America wasn’t a regrettable bastion of hand-wringing safety-mongers bent on plaguing every corner with rubber-baby-buggy-bumbers!
This is New York we’re talking about. Objecting to danger in New Amsterdam is like wishing the pain and tooth-break from steam dentistry!
We invite any intrepid biking adventurists to explore said Santa Rosa routes and report back. Best of luck!
We continue the ongoing series of profiles on local luminaries and creative doers to watch in this interview with photographer Misha Miller. Many who have attended The Regatta may have seen Misha at work with a large format camera on a big tripod like days of old, freely shooting anyone who might pose for her lens.
Now on to our conversation…
Erasmus P. Kitty: How did you get started in photography and why does it appeal to you?
Misha Miller: I started shooting as a sophomore in high school. I had always painted, drawn, or had my hands in some sort of visual media, but I especially connected with the process of photography. Exploring in the field, shooting, developing, and all of the late hours hunched in a dark room printing, to come out to the light and see what I had created; it was a magical process.
Sonoma State University (SSU) shall be host to a vivacious exhibition featuring HAND-BUILT CONTRAPTIONS of competitive glory, large and not-so-large-scale ART works, plus actual festival PROPS and, of course, a jaunty array of well-attired lads and lasses we’ve come to adore at our fair festival known as The Great Handcar Regatta.
Special thanks to Spring Maxfield for curation and exhibition idea. Michael Schwager for additional curation and exhibition management. Also, our own invaluable maven of Regatta volunteers, Carla Stone, in addition to the staff of the SSU art department at large.
Gallery Views
** NOTE: A parking permit fee is required on other weekdays and nights on the campus. The closest lot LOT A is “reserved” and costs $5 per motor carriage. Nearby non-reserved lots cost $2.50. See the following MAP (PDF) for parking locations. Weekend parking is free in most areas.
Guest author: Joe Greenlee has worked in copywriting for various websites, and currently works for a local, independently owned video store here in Santa Rosa. He has a BA in English literature, and enjoys reading, bookbinding, running, politics and philosophy, and is currently working on his first novel. He hopes to one day own a real rocket pack.
As an avid bicyclist and someone who prides himself on getting around by bicycle quite a bit, it occurs to me that there are a number of tales regarding its beginnings that many are unaware of. When the U.S. first entered the manufacture and widespread use of bicycles in the 19th century, the Gilded Age was in high gear. That meant that although opportunities to advance ones position in life were available, the gap between rich and poor was fairly obvious. It also meant a lot of horse drawn carriages, ingrained racism, and a society hostile to blacks either making a name for themselves or advancing into white dominated fields. When the bicycle industry began, it was associated with white men with a passion for new technologies.
Enter Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor. Born the son of a black horse coachman for a white family, Marshall took his nickname from a military uniform he wore as a child, when he began his career. His beginnings came with a passion for public performance, doing stunts for crowds that gave him automatic (or rather gear-matic) attention for his acrobatic skill. And back then let’s just say bicycle safety was less of an issue for mainstream culture. Bicycles themselves were far less sturdy, often tall and awkwardly proportioned, and no one wore pads or helmets. From there Marshall worked his way into the world of cycling, but alas, he was always bound to a struggle uphill, and the easier downhill cruising was far and further between.
This inspiring and lyrical short film, titled The Incredible San Francisco Artists’ Soapbox Derby by Amanda Pope, documents the wonderful community event organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1975.
The Great Handcar Regatta is a direct descendant of the notion that art is alive out in the sun among everyone in the community. Pat Tevenner, one of the artists interviewed in the film, says it succinctly:
“The kind of fun and joy that’s in the soap box derby is a very, very important element of art.
“I would call it a misnomer in our culture that for art to be important it has to be ’serious’… for it to be collectible, to be bought, to be in a museum… there’s a heaviness to it.
“I think this is absolutely absurd. I mean, it’s the absolute antithesis to creativity.”
A hearty thanks goes to members of our own Regatta crew and Baby Seal Club for the hard work and love in yesterday’s To Haiti With Love fundraiser with the generous help of Hopmonk Tavern, Sebastopol, CA.
And special thanks, of course, to the many more who arrived to show support by donating and buying the fabulous items to be had, including local Revolution Moto owner Roy who donated the highly coveted A2B Metro Electric Bicycle.
$11,000+ ITEM!
In just 6 hours of entertainment, tasty drinks, and the joy in community endeavor for those in need, early estimates suggest that at least $11,000 was raised to support bona fide humanitarian organizations: Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières.
But that was not all! The fundraising party continued into the wee hours with beats and grooves helmed by local DJs and all-around charitable chaps, Bryce Williams and Patrick Malone (plus their huge crew of sympathetic helpers and friends). With luck (and love), thousands of dollars more were no doubt raised by evening’s end!
Lest we forget, the REALLY hard work shall continue for years to come by those courageous folks on the ground in Haiti itself.
We, at the Regatta, are humbled and happy to salute those steadfast helpers over seas and our own gracious community of go-getter accomplices in aid and love for Haiti.
Friday, January 22
8pm-2am — The Edwardian World’s Faire
Saturday, January 23rd
Noon-7pm — Vending open to the public!
8pm-2am — 10th Annual Edwardian Ball
Indeed, 10 years on, the gala continues in all its Edward Gorey themed debauchery and madness we do so love and that the S.F. Examiner dubbed “a staple of San Francisco culture”. A few of our very own Regattees shall be present in finery, of course, and hope you shall celebrate the year’s begin in style and ebullience.
Buyer’s Delight
Were you aware that this is the second year of vendors at the Ball? Moreover, vending is open to the public all day Saturday from noon until 7pm. Indeed!
Ladies and gentlemen! We are pleased to make a bold announcement: The Great Handcar Regatta shall commence for a third “bully” season on:
September 26th, 2010
HUZZAH!
And I, Erasmus P. Kitty, mettlesome caretaker of all things Regatta within our fair city of Santa Rosa, propose a delicious challenge to YOU, our dear fashionable friends and fruitful builders alike:
Let us show the bedraggled naysayers and irascible fuddy-duddies from the tepid surrounds what it means to throw an UNIMAGINABLE jamboree, the likes of which even bonny Barbary Coast has yet to witness, upon our own ironclad shores of rail-bound madness!
Three cheers and HUZZAH for all who dare to RIDE with us!
Ladies and gentlemen! We are pleased to make a bold announcement: The Great Handcar Regatta shall commence for a third “bully” season on:
WHEN
