
- PHOTOS BY GLEN STARKEY
- SWEET CUSTOM! : This bike frame crafted from wood is one of several one-of-a-kind bicycles on display.

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PEDAL POWER: May is Bike Month, and the Atascadero Bike Lane Gallery (5805 El Camino Real) is hosting a month-long bike art exhibition: “Bike Momentum: A Chain Reaction of Art and Advocacy.” Admission is free and open to public. The gallery is open Thursday and Fridays from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 1 to 10 p.m. (except 5/15 when it opens at 10 a.m.), and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. On May 6 see alt-indie music by The Clydes & EjiTZ at 8 p.m. On May 7 see indie acts The Skykillers and The Danger Girl Starship Experiment at 8 p.m. And on May 8, check out the BMX Bike Expo at 1 p.m. Twenty-five percent of art sale proceeds go to the SLO Bike Coalition. Get the full schedule of events on the gallery’s Facebook page under the “events” tab.
The first thing I encounter is a “Beach Bike,” and unrideable objet d’art that features driftwood-surrounded bike frame, right down to driftwood “tires.” Cool!
There’re paintings all over the walls and hanging from doors set up like French screens. Sculptures are tucked into corners and on shelves.

- PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY
- KIDS AT PLAY : There are several interactive contraptions for kids to play with, making this a very hands-on art gallery.
Another station sends an electric charge up electrodes when you pedal it; another bounces a big collection of student-made wind chimes made from cut-up bike frames.

- PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY
- THE FUSCHIA QUEEN : Keith Bond checks out one of dozens of paintings on display through the gallery.
“The kids seem to be digging all this interactive stuff, eh Tom?” I say.

- PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY
- BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY : This graphic drawing brings tattoo culture to bicycling nightmares.
“We’re going to set up a table here, and people can make stuff and hang it there,” he says, pointing. “In the back we’re going to have a free drawing wall, and every week we’ll fold it up and start a new one. People will be able to make their own flip cards for their bike wheels.”

- PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY
- DON’T TOUCH! : This bike with driftwood additions is one of the few things in the gallery too delicate to touch.
After digging the scene, Keith and I decide to bounce, so we head to In-N-Out (Thank you, Atascadero!), chow down our double-doubles, and hit the road. When the belt snaps in my Corvair just south of Atascadero, we pull over and get greasy. That chocolate shake I got is so thick, it ought to be just about drinkable by the time we get a new belt on.
Glen Starkey takes a beating and keeps on bleating. Contact him at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
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