From Palo Alto to Sunnyvale on both sides of El Camino Real we all planned to show up for democracy, free speech, and a better government. My plan was to start at the Palo Alto end at 11 AM and do as much of the route as possible, taking pictures all along the way. My goal was to make the moment into a page on my website.

Got off the train in Palo Alto at 11:54ish. Probably I was riding south for ten minutes before I came across this huge crowd at Embarcadero & El Camino. This is where Palo Alto traditionally goes to engage in sign waving and public speech. Today they were here in force.

This the best resolution I have of the crowd in the above picture. Looked like a local neighborhood group to me.

Thinking I should get some COSTCO stock. We shall see.

Usually I like a separated bike lane. Having a row of pedestrians hovering by my right shoulder was a bit unnerving though.

  

Many times over the years I've gone back to that corner to vigil for peace or whatever. It's one of the spots in Palo Alto where you feel the public eye standing on the corner. Glad to see it's a popular place this time also.

There was a parade of exuberant youth crossing in big numbers spreading the joy of protest to all of the crowds assembled.

     

Wow! I saw the Lorax cross the street in Palo Alto.

Usually a protest is pretty big if there are a dozen people on one of these corners. Having huge crowds all the way around the intersection is an off the hook huge turnout!

     

  

This is the northernmost corner that was part of the Mountain View effort. I think a lot of the oxygen here gravitated up to Embarcadero & El Camino.

  

     

About here I was given an American Flag by someone who was blinging up everyone they could.

"When we all team up we're not so small." is the message on the red sign. Sounds like the 49er fans. We're helping!

        

     

     

  

     

     

     

  

     

     

     

        

     

     

  

     

     

     

     

  

  

     

     

When I got to Golfland it was clear that I'd ridden the whole length of the event. U turned and got just a few more pictures before it all melted into the landscape.

  

     

  

Speaking as a conspiracy theorist, I've found that riding over I - U - N in BIKE BUS LANE gives me that "I'm a global citizen!" feeling.

That field of white gravel left of the business used to be a mangy field of bushes. Usually that kind of clearing out means the homeless that had homes there pissed someone off so the habitat was taken away.

  

I got to the after party at Gateway Park about when Senator Josh Becker was speaking. Unfortunately the battery in my camera died after that picture so I just enjoyed the moment while Ida Rose Sylvester and Sally Lieber thanked all the people that helped them make this event possible.

Later I logged on to the internet. This made it very clear we weren't the only ones out there. I felt more connected to "American Democracy" by that.

Hopefully you saw that a lot of us showed up on El Camino Real. It wasn't a big city crowd, but I didn't use much fuel to participate. Pretty sure the same is true for a lot of other people.

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