From daily bike rides to bike fashion shows, the festivities of ‘Cycling Week’ reminded students and community members of the Whitman Cycling Club’s presence on campus and in the community.

An annual celebration, ‘Cycling Week’ events included intensive games of bike polo, daily team rides that were open to community members and the HOTbike fashion on Thursday, February 26. Club members also showed appreciation for their sport on Sunday, February 22, by going on a trash pickup ride on their usual routes. They collected around 200 pounds of garbage.

According to sophomore Josh Meuth Alldredge, “the idea behind ‘Cycling Week’ was to get the campus really excited about cycling […] to expose the Cycling Club to Whitman students and community members in the most positive light.”

Coordinated in part by current Whitman cyclists and 2007 Whitman graduate Rebecca Jensen, the HOTbike fashion show provided an opportunity for the Whitman Cycling Club to express their interest in the community. A cycling activist, Jensen teamed up with the club on campus to host the fashion show as a benefit for the Community Center for Youth.

After a successful fund-raiser for community cycling, Jensen and the Whitman Cycling Club plan to make the HOTbike fashion show an annual event. They raised approximately $300.

“People had a hard time wrapping their head around a bike fashion show, but now that people know what it is, more will go in the future,” said Jensen.

By participating in the bike fashion show, Whitman cyclists were able to unwind and reconnect with their comical side.

“HOTbike was really fun,” said sophomore cyclist Ethan Mansfield. “We had a bunch of really neat costumes like Dorothy and the Witch, Little Red Riding Hood and a cow. I basically just rode a bike around in a cow suit. We even had a local band called ‘Pause for Effect’ play. It turned out great considering we sort of threw it together in the last minutes.”

While Whitman cyclists such as Aldredge and Mansfield agreed that the intention behind the “Cycling Week” festivities was to spread awareness of their presence in the community, events also gave club members the opportunity to bond as a team.

“Overall, cycling week brought the team together and also brought a greater awareness [of the cycling team’s presence] to campus,” said Mansfield.

Jensen agreed.

“From my perspective as a veteran of the team, whether this is their intention or not, [‘Cycling Week’] seemed like a good way to spread cycling love around campus,” said Jensen. “It’s also a really good time to pull the team together. During the fall and winter, other sports interfere with attendance; the team solidifies in the Spring.”

‘Cycling Week’ ultimately provided a conduit to heighten awareness of the cycling culture on campus and around the community. “[The goal was to] get our club’s name out there, to spread awareness, to introduce ourselves to the community, and make [cycling] an accessible sport,” said Aldredge. “People probably think we are really exclusive because we look so intimidating in our spandex kits, but we really aren’t. By getting more involved with the community this week, we are trying to get the community more involved in us.”