Incorporated in 1886, Pasadena has been a cycle town from the start. In the 1890s, Hiram A. Reid could be seen cycling about town to pursue research for his History of Pasadena (1895). An elevated wood tollway for bicycles, Pasadena’s California Cycleway opened for business in 1900. A velodrome graced the Rose Bowl for the 1932 Summer Olympics track cycling events. Established in 1909, John’s Bicycle Shop (later simply “John’s”) was a mecca for Pasadena cyclists for most of the twentieth century.
What about contemporary civic cyclery? In “A Spin on ArroyoFest,” Ron Koertge takes Pasadena cyclery for a spin, poetically speaking.
A Spin on ArroyoFest
Every now and then the city closes a few miles
of freeway and bikes take over. Some sleek, some fat,
a tandem or two. Aero Tech Spandex, last year’s cut-offs.
As Helios drives his golden chariot across the sky, someone
boldly declares, What’s the hurry? Let’s make a few more
figure eights.
A torrent of music from radios and smartphones and, in a red
wagon pulled by a tricycle, an old boom box. Cacophony,
the tenth muse
in her yellow and green smock with orange socks, sprawls
with her sisters after their long days of astronomy, epic poetry,
and tragedy.
The gods peer down to see how mortals are coping.
Their prayers are full of piety, tears, and pleas for flattering
jeans under a hundred dollars.
Look at that crowd in the slow lane — juggling bottles
of water, flirting, popping wheelies, acting like they’re going
to live forever.
— Ron Koertge
Ron Koertge is the current Poet Laureate of South Pasadena. His most recent book is I Dreamed I Was Emily Dickinson’s Boyfriend (Red Hen Press).
Local News Pasadena (LNP) publishes poems grounded in current news events from the greater Pasadena, California area. Submit your own poetry here.
