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Ellen Singer and Gary Rondeau

Avid cyclists and year-round bike commuters Ellen Singer and Gary Rondeau will pedal in style at Burning Man on their wood-frame DateTrike, a side-by-side two-seater, built for romance. "Ellen came up with the idea," says Rondeau. "I did the design and construction." Brooklyn native Singer studied and practiced law in the Bay Area before moving her practice to Eugene in 1992. Rondeau studied engineering until a research job at Cornell turned into a PhD in physics. He moved to Eugene and co-founded the firm Applied Scientific Instrumentation. Both Singer and Rondeau were married when they arrived and divorced soon after. They met by way of Singer's 1995 EW singles ad. "This Fish Needs a Bicycle," she wrote. "We've been together ever since." Singer is a longtime community volunteer who mentors young kids and law school students. The couple hosts international students for a week at the beginning of each UO term. A beekeeper since his childhood in northern Minnesota, Rondeau is among the founders of Oregon Sustainable Beekeepers. "We're trying to do something about pesticides," he says. Learn about the newest research on bees and pesticides, sign a petition to BiMart and Jerry's, and find detailed plans for building your own DateTrike on Rondeau's blog, squashpractice.wordpress.com.

happening people

photograph and story by Paul Neevel

Eugene Weekly / 29 August 2013

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