
Photo By Larry Dalton
According to an article written by Sena Christian in the Sacramento News & Review – a free weekly publication that covers the entertainment scene of Sacramento, Ca. – Kevin Wehr, an environmental sociology professor at C.S.U.S, continued his voyage solo after he and some friends arrived at Mexico’s cost from Mexico City by bicycle. 1,000 miles later on his $50 single-speed bike, Christian reported, Wehr ended up in Guatemala. Wehr traveled to Mexico in search of a better understanding for “the land and the people, said the author. It would also be an experience Wehr could share with his students. But Wehr’s journey down south wasn’t the only time he hopped on a bike for work.
While in graduate school, Wehr delivered packages by way of a fixed gear bike – according to the article. In his 5-years of experience as a bike-messenger, suggested Christian, the emerging subculture of folks who rode fixed for fun bewildered Wehr. His field of study and personal experience as a bike-messenger later served his desire to study this culture consisting of cyclists who in Christians words “rides a fixed-gear bike, dresses distinctively, doesn’t wear a helmet and is attracted to risk”. In 2009 his findings, Christina states, will be summed up and sold in bookstores. That’s right Wehr is writing an ethnography on the culture of the bicycle messenger. Hopefully his representation of the fixed gear culture serves true. To view the full article click here.
- Thanks Ken!