From the parking lot next to Weyerhaeuser to the shed behind the Expeditionary, from sunny afternoons in Wright Park to muddy fields in the town of Everett, U of Puget Sound bicycling enthusiasts have been on the prowl this semester.  It’s no surprise that there would be bike-lovers among the student body, but of course most of them are still doing their own thing, not yet drawn under the cradling wing of the sinister BIKE COLLECTIVE.

I’ve seen a little of what goes on behind the closed doors and makes the group rides, race outings, and bike polo nights come to be.  You see, I’ve lived with enthusiasts of the two-wheeled trade since my sophomore year here, and been privy to many a conversation about “oh hey we really need to get a bike club/cycling team/riding together club up and going.”  There have been a few variations on these clubs, but wrangling cyclists into organized activity is harder than it looks.

Luckily, there is more to this story than just bicycles and clubs and pipe dreams.  It’s also my little chance to step up to this little podium and spout out some love for someone I admire on campus, my friend and housemate Graham Robinson.  This is a person who was living in a house with a bunch of flighty traveler types, who all individually decided to study abroad in the spring of our junior year.  Graham was going to go abroad as well, and when that fell through for him, I was disappointed and sad on his behalf because hey, what a missed opportunity.  I’m sure he was disappointed as well, but he shrugged and said he’d have the chance to work on some projects back here in Tacoma.

And he really did.  By the time his housemates returned from the far corners of the earth, without the words to do our experiences justice but flowing with stories anyway, he had started up group rides, gotten into collegiate racing, taken over as the coordinator (read: master and commander) of the bike shop on campus, and now even has a sweet little email interface at his disposal to spread the word about all things bicycle-related, from Casual Cruisers rides to mountain bike rack availability.  He even got me hitting a miniature soccer ball around a parking lot with a homemade mallet.

To top off this guy’s bike and organizational skills, he’s got an iphone with some filters he knows how to slap on, so here are a few shots he took of one of the first polo sessions, to remind us all of the joys of summertime and making dreams come true.