Adventure cyclist Willie Weir to speak at Sacramento fundraisers
http://www.sacbee.com/384/v-print/story/2527523.html
Adventure cyclist Willie Weir to speak at Sacramento fundraisers
brobertson@sacbee.com
Published Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010
Willie Weir, the globetrotting adventure cyclist, will deliver three talks on consecutive nights next week in Sacramento, employing the entertaining storytelling style that many say will give local riders and non-riders alike a new way of looking at travel.
Proceeds from Weir's talks, which cost $10 each, will benefit local nonprofit programs: Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, the Bicycle Kitchen and Mustard Seed Spin, an annual ride to raise funds for the school for homeless children at Loaves & Fishes. The events are from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and next Thursday at REI, 1790 Expo Parkway.
To buy tickets in advance, go to www.rei.com/stores/21 and select the day or days you wish to attend. You may also call the store at (916) 924-8900. Seated is limited; the talks could sell out.
John Boyer, a local cycling advocate and a founder of the Bicycle Kitchen, hopes Weir's colorful presentations will inspire others to think of the bike as a ticket to adventure, local or global.
"This is going to further the goal of making Sacramento a truly golden bicycle community," Boyer said. "It's an esoteric subject – really roughing it on a bike – but people need adventure."
In 1977, Boyer left his job as a night security guard and embarked on a three-month bike trip across the continent, camping and sleeping in hostels along the way.
Boyer has heard Weir speak before and agrees with a big part of his message – that folks on bikes open themselves up to far more adventure and potential friendships than typical tourists.
The Tuesday presentation is called "A Frugal Cyclist's Guide to the Universe." On Wednesday, Weir will focus on his travels to Turkey, which he calls a magical place.
Weir's third talk (next Thursday) is about adventure cycling through Colombia and Venezuela.
Lorena Beightler, who writes a cycling blog geared to women and style ( and select the day or days you wish to attend. You may also call the store at (916) 924-8900. Seated is limited; the talks could sell out.
"I hear that he is really exciting and funny and clever. It will really pump you up to get on your bike and go explore," Beightler said. "Some of us don't really realize what you can accomplish on your bike because it's not part of the American way.
"But when Willie tells you what he has done, you will think, 'If this guy can do all that, I can go and see what's down the street on my bike.' I want people to realize that this is possible."
Weir, 48, who now lives in Seattle, grew up in Carmichael and remembers riding his bike to Thomas Kelly Elementary School.
"You literally had to get there early to find a place to park your bike. I went back there three years ago, and there were three bikes," he said. "Parents are so worried that their kids are going to get hurt from traffic, but so many of those kids are going to die early from diabetes."
Weir says you don't have to be a bike snob or even be into bikes to understand where he is coming from.
"My bicycle is my magic carpet. It has allowed me to go places I couldn't otherwise go, like India, South Africa, the Balkans, Turkey. The bicycle by its very nature, you are very vulnerable on it, but people embrace that," he said.
"In a car, I have never had someone come up to me and invite me into his house. But it happens all the time when I'm on my bike. As a bicycle traveler, you get that entry into other people's lives that you don't get with any other form of travel."
