The Transition by Bicycle Edition of the de Vere’s Irish Pub Pub Quiz Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,

Many people get to ride their bikes only on weekends, if at all. I get to ride my bike on weekdays, but then must rely more on the car on weekends, mostly because of my responsibility to other travelers, to passengers. As a result, I look forward to Mondays with great anticipation and eagerness. After a weekend of being closed in (in homes, in cars), I am finally released to the open air. Also on Mondays, I get to see a bunch of old friends, and look forward to perplexing them.

Like many of you, I see my morning bicycle commute as the most pleasant part of my day. We have grown use to this phenomenon in Davis, where more of us ride our bikes to work or school than in any other American city, at least according to The Alliance for Biking and Walking and its 2016 Benchmarking Report. Reflecting on that report, blogger Melanie Curry writes, “Among smaller cities, Davis, at 20.3 percent bike mode share, was far and away the top U.S. city, far higher than number two Boulder, where 10.8 percent of commuters ride bikes.” With our weather and topography, we have certain advantages over Boulder, even though Boulder has the Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western Art.

In my early years of attending Davis City Council meetings, I noted that many of the citizens standing in line to offer public comment were still carrying their bike helmets, as if to communicate to the City Council and to each other that of course they biked to the evening meeting. The tacit question: Why didn’t you also bike this evening? I sometimes ask myself this question on Monday nights, for most of my swag could fit in my panniers. Peer pressure is not limited to high school.

Our highly esteemed Mayor of Davis, Robb Davis, doesn’t own a car. Perhaps this is why so many UC Davis students vote for him, for most of them are also carless. He understands their perspectives. Grocery shopping with one’s bike equipped with panniers is one thing, but Mayor Davis of Davis actually moved by bicycle. Now, he moved from one Davis home to another, and he had help from other bicyclists, for sometimes it takes a village to move a mayor, but still, one can imagine the engineering and problem-solving that went into that enterprise. Robb could have saved some time and energy by merely renting a U-Haul that day, as so many young people did this past weekend, but he is a man of principle. And today he has a great story to share. I have a working bicycle – I wish I had been there.

Tonight expect questions on the following topics: Presidential politics (again?), enough light in the lab, famous castles in Berkshire, languages, San Francisco and other familiar locations, baseball, men who pay close attention, scientific analysis, exclamations that you can share on TV, cheese, American heroes, superheroes, art and art history, popular fruits, UNESCO, cotton, that which is endangered, something else that India and Pakistan have in common, produce, the locations of welcome mats, alphabets, morning routines, landlocked countries, fashion choices, channels, nice mints that are worthy of sacrifice, aging month by month, classic TV, economies of fear, the difference between “muster” and “musket,” people with new jobs and minimal on-the-job training, John Lennon, Riverside, and Shakespeare.

This coming Thursday night, September 1^st, is Poetry Night in the city of Davis. The Poetry Night Reading Series is proud to feature Bay-area poets Nina Lindsay and Rosa Lane on Thursday, September 1st at 8 P.M. They will be performing at the John Natsoulas Gallery at 521 1st Street in Davis. Each has written books, taught classes, and moved hearts. You should join us.

Thanks for sticking with the Quiz during this time of “changeover” in the city of Davis, with all the to and fro. The first week in September reminds us of the transitions that move us all.

Your Quizmaster

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Here are three questions from a previous week’s quiz:

1. Mottos and Slogans.    What “A” company teaches us that “Impossible is Nothing”? I reminded myself of this fact when out on a rare run through South Davis yesterday.

1. Internet Culture. Speaking of transitions, the victim of a $140-million-dollar lawsuit, what news and celebrity gossip website will close later this week?  

1. Newspaper Headlines.   According to a recent headline, the tanning industry blames 10,000 salon closings on what four syllable word that begins with the letter O?