PLANNING THE RIDE:

We arrived at City Hall at approximately 2:00PM to strategize for our eastward ride. We had expected Frank Ogawa Plaza to be empty after the lunch-hour; we were surprised by the steady flow of foot traffic. Our kiosk grabbed the attention of a few people. One woman was visibly excited about our project and enthusiastically shared her views about East Oakland. She described East Oakland as 'The Heartlands'. She elaborated that East Oakland “…has the best weather in the City. It is also a very livable area, with beautiful homes and accessible commercial districts. It is so easy to walk or ride your bike from home and take care of all of your shopping needs. East Oakland is full of little neighborhoods. Even though there is high crime in some parts of the region, it is really changing. There is lots of redevelopment in the area.” It was interesting that another person we spoke with, a young man who grew up in East Oakland, described the area as having “the best f*@#!ing weather”. There is no fog in East Oakland!

The Plaza has its own micro-community during the workday: we saw someone ride by on cowboy bike that was rigged with leather and spotted cowhide wheel covers. A real beaut! And as we were deliberating about our route into East Oakland, we witnessed a true City Hall character: an elderly fellow pulling a red wagon full of slices of fresh cake. As he slowly walked, he sang out: “Cakeman, cakeman! Cakeman, cakeman!” It felt like we were transported to a different place and time.

The region that people designated as East Oakland is easily four times larger than the West Oakland region. It was hard to decide where to begin our search. Many people told us that Lake Merritt was a boundary line for East Oakland.