Rock The Bike

The Making of the Icebreaker Video

In Rock The Bike’s first fully produced commercial with a fictional plot line, we rented a house in the Berkeley Hills with an epic sunset view to capture the feeling of an event powered by ice, lime, and pure human potential! Equipped with Off The Wall Pro powering the DJ booth and the Electric Fender Blender Pro blending margaritas, we wanted to meet new potential fans who are ready to take their outdoor parties to the next level!

The menu featured pomegranate margaritas and the tunes were bumping with DJ Thiago on the 1’s and 0’s. We had a fabulous crew working behind the scenes to bring this shoot to life. Take a look and please share the video!

To find out more about the products used in this video, follow the links below! For blending the margaritas of the night, we had our newest model of the Electric Fender Blender Pro  (with the Off the Wall Generator wheel). Not to mention our brand new light, “Here We Glow”, which magnetically snaps to your Electric Fender Blender Pro or Off The Wall Pro. Check out our special promotion below and learn about how to get free shipping on your upcoming orders!

 

In our shoot Off The Wall Pro was powering only the right speaker. We ran the left speaker (out of view in the photo) on wall power. We did this so that music would stay on at our shoot even when pedaling stopped. The turntables and DJ gear on the table with all of its devices also ran on wall power. We ran the right speaker louder than the left so when it came on it was clearly pedal powered sound. This was the right solution for a video shoot, and it could also come in handy at a school event with smaller kids trying to pedal. They can do it, but they require more coaching and therefore you’d expect to hear more outages. If some music is always on, it can keep the dance grooving and take the pressure off little pedalers. 

 

Now for the Special Offer on our Newest Product: “Here We Glow” 

For a limited time, the “Here We Glow” light is a FREE GIFT to anyone who either purchases the Off The Wall Pro or upgrades their existing Fender Blender Pro to an ELECTRIC Fender Blender Pro! Purchase any Off The Wall Pro level product and get a free light to brighten up your party! If you are wondering how to upgrade your existing FBP, purchase Off The Wall Generator Wheel and the Here We Glow will be automatically added to your order for free.

We love hearing from you. Let us know what you like! Share this video or leave a comment on youtube to get free shipping on your next Rock the Bike purchase. Be sure to let us know when you make your purchase where you commented or shared so we can fulfill our free shipping offer!

 

 

See our best videos, all time, in one place.

1. Debuting LiveOnBike at the 2010 SF Bicycle Music Festival. Shows our preparations for the LiveOnBike element of the 2008 Bicycle Music Festival, co-founded and sponsored by Rock The Bike.

2. Old School Human Power Research in the Rock The Bike workshop with Nate Byerley, inventor of our Fender Blender bike blenders, Marquist, neighborhood kid, Paul Freedman, founder of Rock The Bike, and Gabe Dominguez, musician and co-founder of the San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival. See where we caught the bug for human power!

3. Mundo Surfing, circa 2009. Rock The Bike’s Pedal Power coach Pastana came up with an amazing new way to ride, and we’ve been surfing ever since.

4. Fossil Fool, LiveOnBike at the 2010 Barcelona Bicycle Music Festival. Great camera work and daytime light make for a clear demonstration of the LiveOnBike concept. Part of the 2010 Pleasant Revolution bike tour.

5. Fender Blender Bike Blenders available from Rock The Bike. We take bike blending very seriously. Check out the three types we make!

6. Side Visibility with the Down Low Glow. Notice how much brighter the Down Low Glow is from the side than regular blinkies. Please note that as of winter 2010 the Down Low Glow is off the market for a major redesign that will be ready soon.

7. The Mundo Cargo Bike. Rock The Bike helps test, design and engineer the Mundo and we love using it in our Pedal Powered Stage.

8. The Choprical Fish and the UMDJ — Documentation of a Fossil Fool original Soul Cycle and of collaborating on the UMDJ in Austin, Texas. Keep in mind, this is 2007 Technology.

9. BONUS VIDEO! Don’t watch!

Thanks Bicycle Music Festival Fans, Crew, and Bands for a fantastic Road to BMF opener

 

In the true spirit of the Bicycle Music Festival, we pedal powered five bands, went LiveOnBike with a scratch guitarist, fed and quenched sweaty pedalers with tea, kombucha, pies hauled in by bike and a local street chef, and featured a contortionist, a unicyclist, a bootleg beer garden, and a quartet of breakdancers, putting us squarely on the Road to this year’s SF Bicycle Music Festival.

 

 

Mark Wessels serving up a delightful unicycle performance.


The Shotgun Wedding Quintet rocking after midnight.

We rolled these platforms in Donkey Kong style for a captivating Tara Quinn performance on contortion and aerial hoop. Photo: Kai

 

Photo: Kai

Genie Live on Bike on the Road to BMF from Adam Aufdencamp on Vimeo.

The Genie’s LiveOnBike performance. Afterwards I heard lots of great feedback on The Genie’s music, but one repeated request was to create a raised stage for our LiveOnBike performances. People in the back couldn’t see him.

 

Above: School kids rushed to the fence as the Genie sound checked the day before The Road To BMF.

 

Photo: Leif

 

 

After the LiveOnBike ride, we hauled the speakers off the Biker Bar and converted it to Pedal Power mode, sound checked Justin Ancheta, and got the party started. Above: Shotgun Wedding Quintet

 

Our Pedal Powered Stage gear included two Electric Mundos and the Biker Bar. We also brought out the Fender Blender Pro, hooking up the pedalers with smoothies.

 

For my performance I wanted to show both my passions, bike rapping and bicycle customizing, so I debuted my new tall bike, El Arbol. It’s still in progress, but the frame, drivetrain, and roots are complete after a year of hard work in the Complete Fab workshop with welder Jay Broemmel. I rode it into the room, deployed the roots, made rock signs, climbed down, and then pedal powered the lighting, which outlines the shape of the tree.

 

 

The night after, a few of us went for a 10 mile ride to the Richmond and back, deploying the roots numerous times as we wiggled through the Haight, and enjoying ample 360 visibility from the pedal powered lighting.

 

I wasn’t the only bicycle customizer showing off two-wheelers at the Road To BMF. Above: Jay Broemmel tightening the Dragon Bike’s clutch.

 

Many thanks to those who came out to enjoy this night of music, food, circus, and bike culture. Although we weren’t able to secure a liquor license because BMF’s non-profit status is still in progress with the San Francisco Parks Trust, we were able to raise hundreds for BMF.

 

Many thanks to Honest Tea, Bike Basket Pies, Sol Cocina, 21st Amendment Brewery, Cell Space, Big Top Cooperative, and all the performers.

 

Got photos, and video from the Road To BMF? Send us a link!

Thanks Fair Oaks St. and the Yes Men! for too much fun in San Francisco Halloween weekend.


Late night Haunted Hay Ride on the Biker Bar, cruising down 18th from the Castro to the District, with five European tourists along for the ride.


Rockin’ Halloween colors on our way to Fair Oaks St. with a Masked Masha rolling a Mundo with the Down Low Glow. At sunset, yeow!

Whoah. Amazing weekend. So much gratitude to the crew, the people of Fair Oaks St., and the Yes Men!


Kai and Pastana showed up Saturday afternoon to help mod the Biker Bar into a Haunted Hay Ride.


Tara had texted me earlier to “try 6th and Bryant as a source for $15 hay bales.” Then on the way there I realized she was sending me to the wholesale flower market. Thanks for the tip, T! I pulled in and immediately saw a bale in a stall. One cam strap on the Mundo. Back to the house.


We reduced the hay to useful cushion sizes and cam strapped Kai’s birdcage to the Biker Bar.


Kai bringing Pooh into the mix.

Do you wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Yes I wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Do you wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Yes I wanna go on a Haunted Hay Ride?  When you wanna to go on a Haunted Hay Ride? Hmm, I dunno, how about now?


We kept the dancing going for the big kids for another couple hours.

Sunday Afternoon. Do it again.


Heading to the San Francisco debut of the Yes Men’s touching and hilarious “The Yes Men Fix The World”


Adam practicing one of the building block skills for no-hands surfing.


The lucky recipients of three $4 million Survivaballs.


Escorting the Survivaballs from the Roxie to the closest Chevron.


The Yes Men used the march as an opportunity to tout the
benefits of the Survivaball. Rock The Bike supplied the mobile P/A and
later the Pedal Powered Stage for the rally.


We turned up the dance music, including an exhuberant “I Will Survive.”


After the Chevron protest, we kept the afterparty going.
The Mundo 1000 has been holding it down as our most efficient pedal power bike.

If you’ve read this far and you’re local, you’ll probably want to join our SF Cruisers email list, and come out Monday night to Dia De Los Muertos with the Rock The Bike crew.

Highlights from 2009 San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival

This short highlight video begins with the Bicycle Music Festival faithful rolling away from Lindley Meadow in SF’s Golden Gate Park to Dolores Park. SHAKE YOUR PEACE! performs LiveOnBike, joined by Sonya Cotton and Cello Joe, leading a raucous singalong of Joey’s “Silly Song”. With Joey and SYP!’s Gabe Dominguez using the Biker Bar as a mobile stage, they salute the people of Dolores, and the cops, who want to pull the plug. But BMF co-directors Gabe and Fossil Fool persuade the powers that be to let the festival stay, and the BMF roadies quickly set up the Pedal Powered Stage for performances by Oona Garthwaite and Sean Hayes. The Biker Bar sheds its wheels and becomes a stationary 3-person generator.

Sean performs “TurnAroundTurnMeOn” with drummer Ezra Lipp, also a BMF volunteer. While waiting for the festival to arrive from Golden Gate Park, nearly 3 hours behind schedule, Sean had serenaded the park acoustically. Texting back and forth with Ezra, who was with the festival, Sean decided to stick it out. Similarly Oona’s band had already headed to our backup venue, Alemany Farms, and it wasn’t easy to convince her that it was really back on in Dolores. But both played inspired sets.

Enjoy!

Thanks Sunday Streets fans and crew!

Rock The Bike pumping up the Mission District for Sunday Streets. by you.
Morning ride: Crew pumping up the District for Sunday Streets.

Sunday Streets (near the beach), August 9, 2009 by Steve Rhodes.

Set up our Pedal Powered Stage on the Great Highway, with dancing on the beach. Photo: Steve Rhodes

Represent.  by you.

First we loaded the Biker Bar with hundreds of pounds of audio gear.

Custom V1 Mundo trailer hitch flexed a bit under this extreme load. by you.

The custom V1 Mundo trailer hitch flexed a bit under this extreme load, but basically it was a very controllable ride.

Adam entertains. by you.

Adam entertained in Golden Gate Park on the way to the beach.

Fossil Fool & Rock the Bike perform at Sunday Streets, August 9, 2009 by Steve Rhodes.

We set up a 5-bike Pedal Powered Stage on the Great Highway — two electric Mundos and the Biker Bar.

 

Cousin Ken pitching in on the Biker Bar. by you.

Cousin Ken pitching in on the Biker Bar, with Arie along for the ride.

Fossil Fool & Rock the Bike perform at Sunday Streets, August 9, 2009 by Steve Rhodes.

Fossil Fool, the Bike Rapper, with guests Mafiosa Felice, Terry, and Jared May.

Sunday Streets (near the beach), August 9, 2009 by Steve Rhodes.

The scene from a nearby dune. Photo: Steve Rhodes

Police car going by as Sunday Streets ended by Steve Rhodes.

Cops threatened to shut down Tornado Rider.

So we moved.

IMG_0725 by Steve Rhodes.

IMG_0724 by Steve Rhodes.

And they shredded the venue.

Tornado Rider - Rock the Bike at Sunday Streets, August 9, 2009 by Steve Rhodes.

IMG_0738 by Steve Rhodes.

Hoop Jam with Movement Maker Mei.

All photo montages: Steve Rhodes

This is the 36V 18Ah Sealed Lead Acid rechargeable battery that helps us get up and over the hill from the Mission to the beach.   by you.

This is the 36V 18Ah Sealed Lead Acid rechargeable battery that helps us get up and over the hill from the Mission to the beach.

Ready for gear return mission. by you.

Rolling the 'Long Things' bundle. by you.

Rolling the ‘Long Things’ bundle.

Fully loaded Biker Bar, probably 275 pounds of gear, including bass drum, two JBL PRX535's, and the Fossil Fool tent. by you.

Fully loaded Biker Bar, probably 275 pounds of gear, including bass drum, two JBL PRX535’s, and the Fossil Fool tent.

We made $52 in tips. This is what we did with the money. by you.

We made $52 in tips. Thanks to all the fans who pitched in for Tornado Rider and the Rock The Bike crew. This is what we did with the money.

Down Low Glow (front) and MonkeyLight ambient glow comparison. by you.

Late night gear return mission.

Janaysa LiveOnBike at the 2008 Bicycle Music Festival

Below we debut our entry in the 2009 Bicycle Film Festival: “Janaysa LiveOnBike”. New footage. New smoothcam effect. Enjoy… …And then come to the San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival, June 20, so you can directly experience this year’s innovations in LiveOnBike performing

Thanks Maker Faire! See you next year at the Pedal Powered Stage.

Thanks to the Maker Faire community, bands, pedalers, and crew! Maker Faire was a blast this past weekend. See you next year at the Pedal Powered Stage.


Oona Garthwaite performing on Saturday at the Pedal Powered Stage.


The Maker Faire community provided all the power used to amplify the bands.


Cello Joe performs under pedal power at Maker Faire.

Cello Joe performs under pedal power at Maker Faire. by you.
Justin Anchetta performing on the Pedal Powered Stage, framed by the Biker Bar and the Rock The Bike tent.


The Biker Bar was mostly in effect on its West Coast debut. When it worked, it worked very well, and the noise level coming from the gearbox was acceptable, especially mounted as it was on grass.

But there were several mechanical issues, all of which stemmed from spec’ing hardware that was too wimpy for the task of securing the gear box to the frame. The wood screws we chose pulled out of the 3/4″ plywood on Saturday afternoon.

Since we had added between the gear box and the plywood, a shockproofing layer to reduce noise, there was room for the screws to flex and work loose.

We switched to our 2-bike system shown above.

On Sunday, reinforcements arrived. Leif and Idran brought tools and better hardware from Berkeley.

5 Cent Coffee’s Smitty Delacroix taking a Ukelele solo whilst pedaling the Electric Mundo.


Kids pitching in some Human Power on the Biker Bar.

Ideally, you want a guy like Gabe working the knobs for you. by you.

It was the first event where we  used a proper pro-sound setup, with the mixer located out in the audience, where Gabe, our sound guy, could make eye contact with the bands and make adjustments as needed. Bands enjoyed better sound quality than any previous Rock The Bike event. We had two JBL PRX535 main speakers, and one JBL EON 10″ monitor, all digitally powered.

Dance party at the end of Maker Faire Day Two. We turned up the mix as loud as two people could pedal. by you.

At the end of the second day, we challenged two pedalers to produce as much power as possible for a 10 minute dance session. It felt like the entire Faire collected at the Pedal Powered Stage to jump and shake one last time before the event closed.

Pedal Powered Spin Art is nice because, unlike music or blending smoothies, little kids can easily pedal it with great results. by you.
We had our West Coast debut of Pedal Powered Spin Art. One of the really nice things about Spin Art is that little kids can easily pedal it. Blending requires more power and for kids, this requires a certain focus. In our Fender Blender video, you can see the look of determination on 8-year-old Arthur’s face as he blends a smoothie. Compare that to the relaxed expression of the girl above. That’s the difference with Spin Art. The level of physical exertion for Spin Art is much lower, so kids can get totally immersed in the Spin Art without needing to think about their next pedal stroke.

 

The Spin Art station doubled as a bike blender, cranking out ice cold smoothies for the crew.
Mafi making Spin Art sign. by you.
Mafi makes a sign for Spin Art.
Ride to Maker Faire by dustinj.
The weekend started with an awesome group ride from Dolores Park. Photo: Dustin Jensen
Cello Joe in effect on the ride. by you.The weekend started with an awesome group ride from Dolores Park. Cello Joe added his beat to the music from our Soul Cycles.
Helping Oliver onto El Camino. by you.
The Biker Bar was carrying the speakers and several instruments for the bands. The old SLA battery for the Electric Mundo only lasted the first quarter of the ride. After that we had to push up the hills and at intersections to get it started.
Oliver holding it down! by you.
Luckily we had strong pedalers with good attitudes. Oliver took it for the last 8 miles.

Justin Anchetta took the middle leg.
Day Two crewmembers heading home from Caltrain. by you.
Each night after the Faire, we took Caltrain back to the City and rode home with loaded up Mundos and Xtracycles.
Gabe leading a singalong. by you.
Gabe of SHAKE YOUR PEACE! leading a singalong.
Party on the Caltrain. by you.
We got a little dance party going on the Caltrain at the end of Day 1.

Thanks Central Park! Rock The Bike NYC is alive and kicking.

Rock The Bike NYC

 

Rock The Bike says a huge thank you to Central Park Conservancy for getting us involved in Earth Day 2009, and helping us get Rock The Bike NYC off the ground. Here are some of the highlights from our visit to New York over the past 11 days.

 

Kids Love Spin Art

 

We had a blast meeting the public at Earth Day. Above, Pedal Powered Spin art.

 

 

The Biker Bar

 

We debuted our new multi-person pedal power system, the Biker Bar. Three bikes share a common drive shaft, that turns a powerful generator on the fourth bike, an Electric Mundo (blue bike on the left)

 

The Biker Bar -- Multi-person Pedal Power farm.

 

Unfortunately, in its first outing, the Biker Bar was no match for the power-hungry PA equipment that event organizers supplied. The power consumption of the audio system was approximately 300-400 watts with one person speaking on a microphone, not even any music playing.

 

Ever since we started doing Pedal Powered Stage events, clients and organizers have been asking “Why can’t we use the speakers we already have?” Good question. We commonly answer “Because we use the new generation of digitally powered speakers, and their higher efficiency makes pedal power possible.” But in the process of working with Central Park and other clients, they kept asking… So with Central Park, we accepted the challenge. We put our efforts into making the Biker Bar powerful, simple, and efficient. We told them “Sure, you can.”

 

But on the day of the event their equipment’s power draw was just too much. Suddenly Pedal Power felt really hard. When a chain snapped, we talked with the Central Park team and decided to focus on our other offerings and let their music stage run on wall power. Luckily they had that backup option at the ready. In future events, we definitely plan to have a 30-45 minute battery backup, which will allow us to fix mechanicals or other issues without letting the performers down.

 

Spin Art

Luckily, the Spin Art station and the Bike Blenders were a huge hit.

Paul spinning up the Spin Art as kids look on enthralled.

Kids of all ages were able to make Spin Art and pedal for other kids.

Above, the Tropicalia team making bike blended smoothies.

Sarah on the Mundo

We had bright bikes and big smiles to share with the crowds.

 

Galen ollying.

 

And tricks to share… Above, Sara floating on a Mundo. Galen ollies.

 

 

Travis hauling the Biker Bar

We biked everything back to Brooklyn on a hot afternoon.

Travis piloted the Biker Bar, which becomes a cargo trailer to get gear home from an event. Just add the wheels!

The Electric Mundo helps haul the 250 pound load up and over the Williamsburg Bridge.

 

 

Cruiser ride in Manhattan

 

Rolling down 5th Avenue

 

Above: Rolling back from Central Park with our crew, friends, cousins, and the Choprical Fish.

 

Eden in the pack

 

Getting ready for Central Park was a huge task. We arrived a week ahead of time and only set our tools town to pack for the park at 2AM the night before. Check out the preparations below:

 

Sunset cruise in Brooklyn.

 

 

First things first! How about a social ride to get to know each other.

 

Carrying gear

Leif keeps the beat as Galen and Lopi haul gear across Brooklyn with Mundos and the trailer.

Riding gear through Brooklyn.

We set up a little workshop at Brooklyn’s 3rd Ward.

Below, hand stretching the frame of the Mundo to fit the electric rear wheel.

Leif and Emily stretching the Mundo frame to fit electric rear wheel.

We generated many sparks and generally looked bad ass with our protective eye wear.

Lopi cleaning up the spin art station.

Removing screw heads with grinder.

Olivia cutting frame to get seat tube.

We solved engineering riddles. Above trying to anticipate issues with the drive train of the Spin Art station.

Choprical Fish as getter.

We used the Choprical Fish as transportation bike and ‘getter’.

Above, 75 pounds of Sealed Lead Acid batteries.

Hip hop cipher in SoHo.

Of course having the Fish in New York meant there were a few impromptu street parties and even a cypher around town over the past week.

Above, freestyle session in front of a school in Soho. A teacher came out and said “How about a song about getting back to class?!”

Fossil Fool rapping at 3rd Ward party

Fossil Foolin’ at a 3rd Ward party.

Brooklyn Bike and Board

In our last couple days in town, we picked up a couple cool new Mundo dealers. Above, Brooklyn Bike and Board

 

are your Mundo people in Brooklyn. Map.

Leif delivering a Mundo

Leif delivering Mundos. The same bikes we used to get work done in New York are now for sale and ready to ride at two locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

George Bliss picks up the Mundo

And in Manhattan, cargo bike innovator George Bliss picked up the Mundo for The Hub Station in Soho

Many thanks to the Rock The Bike NYC crew for their hard work and excellent hosting.

Thanks Earth Hour Pedalers and Bands, for rocking it at the 2009 Debut of the Pedal Powered Stage!

Pedal Powered Stage 2009 Debut at Earth Hour SF
Pedal Powered Stage 2009 Debut at Earth Hour SF. Photo: Steve Rhodes

Thanks to everyone who came down to the Earth Hour celebration at Market Bar in downtown San Francisco, where Rock The Bike had the 2009 debut of our Pedal Powered Stage. We biked in all the gear and pedal powered all the lighting and sound equipment and smoothies, making Saturday’s event Carbon Negative. A Carbon Negative event is one that has such an inspiring effect on participants that it causes individuals to reduce their carbon impact in the coming months and years.

Big thanks to Guella and Justin Ancheta, and Fossil Fool for their performances, to Raul and the Market Bar crew for their hospitality, and to Mayor Newsom and the Neighborhood Empowerment Network for sponsoring the event. Check the  Video from CBS news.

We debuted two new Mundo-based Pedal Power bikes: the Electric Mundo and the Lunar Lander. More photos and info to come on both those projects.

The Rock The Bike community came out strong for the event. Here’s a shot of art bike creator Jay Broemmel cruising on his Schwinn Broom:

 

The Carpoon

This is a stunt video, not an education video. The idea was to recreate a tool I read about in the book “Snowcrash”. The device is called the carpoon and it costs $5. The Carpoon: Designed to attach to large slow moving vehicles and allow a bike to quietly skitch behind it. Enjoy.

The Original Suicide Shift

This bike is just one of the antique racing bikes hanging on the wall of my neighbor Gian Bongiorno’s shop. It’s one of Campagnolo’s earliest shifting mechanisms. Apparently Fausto Coppi won the Tour on it. To operate it, you pull one lever to undo the axel quick release. At this point, the axel is imobilized in the dropouts only by notches in the dropout! Then you pedal backwards, using the other lever to change gears. Once the chain has moved to the new gear, you redo the QR for the axle, then pedal forward. Apparently these were popular because they were light weight, but they caused many accidents.

Just in time for Bicycle Music Festival, the aTractor Seat for live-on bike music performances and superior passenger comfort

Just in time for Bicycle Music Festival, we’ve come up with the aTractor Seat for live on-bike music performances and superior passenger comfort.

It all started one night when we were sitting around the cafe on one of these rare warm San Francisco nights. I didn’t have a Soul Cycle with me. I had the Mundo. And Mafi had her cuatro, so we decided to have an ‘acoustic night,’ and had a beautiful ride with lots of sing-a-longs.

The experience got my wheels turning and I started looking for ways to turn the Mundo into a serious performance bike. The aTractor Seat is a mod to the Mundo’s frame that allows us to mount an IKEA tractor seat rigidly to the Mundo’s frame. The frame is so stiff, that I can carry a passenger on the very rear of the rack, and I still don’t feel any appreciable frame flex. The front end does get a little light, because there’s so much weight behind the rear axle, but not enough to make me nervous, unless we’re talking about a 200lb passenger. I took my landlord Nick in Berkeley to lunch today. He weighs about 170. The front wheel never picked up, but the steering was a little less immediate.

Anyway, I wanted you to see the types of mods that you can easily do with a Mundo. The tubing on the Mundo is thick-gauge steel, not boutique thin-walled cromoly. You can take this to any welder and they’ll be able to weld a bracket on there for you for your surfboard, skis, camera mount, whatever.

Here’s a cool new video we just uploaded about the Mundo, featuring a new song of mine, “Sendin’ Out”:




Human Power, the writing’s on the wall

And today coming back from the beach I passed Mona Caron’s new mural in progress in Noe Valley and saw this cool little detail:

In it, a gym currently at the corner of 24th and Church is replaced by a Pedal Power center, which people pedaling away on energy-harnessing bikes. On the roof of the Pedal Power center, a band jams away, using the power from below. Caron painted her favorite musicians into the mural. You can clearly make out stiltwalkers from La Malamana, and the distinct figure of the singer Rupa .

Every time I street perform with the Choprical Fish, someone asks me: “What if we could have a whole gym generating energy?” Well, at least in the post-apocalyptic eutopia of Mona Caron’s new mural, we can.