[NEWS]

June 30, 2008

I recently finished reading Alan Weisman’s much-talked-about book, The World Without US. In it, he examines how the various impacts of human culture would change if the entirety of humanity were to vanish suddenly; i.e., the rapture, the alien mothership scooped us up, or some super-virulent disease quickly wiped us out. With a couple notable exceptions, most of what we think of as solid human endeavors would become reincorporated into nature, often rather quickly. Untended radioactive waste would be an extremely long-lasting mess, but these glass and concrete cities, our sprawling suburbs and even the mind boggling quantity of plastic we create would all erode into a not particularly impressive layer in the geological record.

Weisman suggests that it wouldn’t take too many seasons of freeze and thaw cycles to make all our billions of miles of paved roads all but impassible. Maybe for cars, but I’d hold out more hope for bikes. I love a nice section of freshly paved asphalt as much as the next roadie, but I also know that even bicycles with skinny road tires can get through where cars would have to turn back. I found myself on just such a road a couple of weekends ago when and a friend and I took a bike-camping trip down the coast. Just out of Pacifica is an abandoned blacktop that hasn’t seen an automobile in maybe 50 years. It’s a fun way to bypass the none-too-bike-friendly Devil’s Slide. Some friends of mine dubbed it the “Planet of the Apes Road” for it’s resemblance to the crumbling infrastructure of a long-vanished human civilization. The pavement is cracked and crumbly throughout and missing at some points. In many other parts the foliage has overgrown, leaving a tight path through the scrubby bushes and poison oak. Most any òbike with a modestly determined rider can make it up and over to Montara. It’s the perfect place to practice your post-apocalyptic bike-handling skills.

In the meantime, there are some more immediate items on our bike agenda. This Saturday, July 5th, as part of a weekend-long messenger event called the Quake City Rumble, Cupid and a group of other “indy” messenger companies will be hosting an Independents’ Day BBQ. Feel free to join us at Marx Meadows in Golden Gate Park (near 25th and Lincoln). This also happens to mark the 9th birthday of Cupid Courier Collective!

Also if you get a chance, check out this deck of cards at: http://www.chromebags.com/products/accessories/show/59/. They were made earlier this year to support various messenger associations, and there happens to be a couple of Cupoids featured. If you’re curious ask one of us where you can pick up a deck directly.-tim