Invasion of the Nerds

Last weekend, Cleveland was stormed by nerds on bikes. The strange sight was not random. It was the first ever nerd ride hosted by Crank-Set Rides, a nonprofit that organizes themed bike rides.

The 180 geeks, dweebs and dorks rode about four miles on Saturday from the Root Cafe in Lakewood to a nerdy dance party in Cleveland.

"People have been loving this," says Lindsey Bower, organizer and co-founder of Crank-Set Rides. Decked out in oversized black glasses, knee high tube socks and pink polka dotted suspenders, she said the group attracted the attention of onlookers wherever they rode. Some just stopped and stared, wondering what was going on, while others pulled out cameras and started filming.


Nerds faced off in a trivia match that tested their knowledge of geeky subjects from Boba Fett to pi at the Happy Dog in the Gordon Square Arts District. Joe Milan, above, out-smarted the other nerds, winning the first round. Milan, dressed in a bowtie, glasses and suspenders, exclaimed that his outfit was authentic. "I didn't have to go shopping for any of this stuff," he said.


After two rounds of nerd trivia, the two winners faced off in a Math-a-thon. They had 30 seconds to do 60 multiplication tables. As the winner was named, the crowd celebrated by chanting "Nerd! Nerd! Nerd!"



Riders stepped outside the stuffy hotdog joint to cool off, even though the temperatures on Saturday rose to the upper 80s. As cars drove by and witnessed the gaggle of nerds, drivers honked and hollered. The nerds all took off at once for their next location, Joy Machines Bike Shop on West 25th Street.

Crank-Set is using proceeds from the $5 participation fee to purchase new bike racks for Cleveland. Its next events are the hot pants ride on Aug. 20 and the second annual zombie ride on Oct. 22.

Geek Out

Lindsey Bower is a nerd and she’s proud of it. She knows she’s not the only one. So she and her boyfriend and fellow nerd, Dan Krivenki, are hosting the first ever Nerd Ride, a bike trip in which nerds, geeks, dweebs and dorks are invited to pedal across Cleveland to raise money to install bike racks around town.

The pair are co-founders of the nonprofit Crank-Set Rides, which organizes themed bike rides, such as last year’s zombie ride, to promote biking awareness. For their next idea, the two looked no farther than their own personalities.

“We're both nerdy people,” Bower says. “We always dress up as nerds for Halloween and sometimes if we’re bored, we’ll dress up as nerds and go ride our bikes around, just to get people to laugh.”

The themed rides attract a slew of bewildered onlookers. At the zombie ride in October, Bower says one lady just stared at the 200-some zombies riding by, scared out of her wits, as if she thought the apocalypse had come.


This time, Bower expects just as much buzz. “Little kids come out on the street, and they’re so excited, they’re happy and running around and giving us fives when we go past,” she says. “That is such a good feeling. They’ll laugh when they see us dressed as nerds.”

Expect these cyclists to completely geek out with their costumes. Bower promises tube socks, bow ties, glasses, pocket protectors, suspenders and even wedgies. “Suspenders give you the worst wedgies in the world,” she says through vibrant laughter.

She hopes people will not only notice their outfits, but become more aware of the need to share the road with bikers. She also hopes to get the city to consider bike improvements. One bike rack has already been installed in Lakewood.

The nerd ride, which lasts from 4:30 p.m. on Saturday until 2 a.m. on Sunday, will lead geeks on a tour of hot spots such as the Happy Dog, which is hosting a geek-style Math-a-thon. It'll end at Reddstone with a nerdy dance-off.


Poster courtesy of Lindsey Bower. Photo from Crank-Set Rides' Facebook photo set.