Cleaning bikes and protecting oaks: Carlmont High School junior installs devices for Eagle Scout project

“Being a longtime mountain biker here and hearing about sudden oak death disease, I felt it was my responsibility to care for the environment and make a change here in a way I could,” he said, adding that the disease has killed millions of trees in California and can be spread unknowingly by hikers or bicyclists who don’t properly clean their shoes and tires.

With the help of friends and fellow scouts, including troop leader John Ammenti, Carrot welded the metal platforms, the interiors of which are lined with multiple broom heads, and the contraptions are anchored by a concrete foundation. Carrot also galvanized the metal to prevent rust. Bicyclists simply have to walk their bikes through the cleaning device.

Carrot’s project was inspired by a similar device he discovered while biking at Skeggs Point. The rangers there shared blueprints for the device, and Carrot convinced Belmont Parks and Recreation to fund the project. Each device cost about $600 to $700 and Carrot and his colleagues volunteered around 280 hours of labor.

“Mayeul’s bike brush cleaners are a wonderful asset to our cyclist community and this city’s open space acres,” Parks and Recreation Director Brigitte Shearer said in a press release. “Clean bike tires help keep car trunks and garages clean and prevent the spread of sudden oak death. Everyone wins.”

Water Dog Lake Park is the only mountain bike-friendly park in Belmont, and mountain bikers come from all over the Bay Area to ride there, Carrot said, in part because of the technical terrain.

One of them is Paul Serra, a professional mountain bike racer and Belmont native.

“I think what Mayeul and the Boy Scouts have put up at Water Dog is a big step towards welcoming mountain bikers into the community here in the Bay,” Serra said in the release. “It helps us clean our bikes before leaving the park and therefore helping the whole neighborhood stay clean and healthy.”

Carrot said he initially didn’t expect people to notice the devices, but they quickly received attention on social media.

“Because there’s a plaque with my name [on the devices] one person posted ‘what is a Mayeul Carrot’ like it was the name of the device,” he said with a chuckle. “I got a bit of traction online so that was pretty interesting.” 

He plans to add informational signs and maybe a small ramp to help bikers lift their bikes onto the cleaning apparatus. 

Carrot expects to make the rank of Eagle Scout within the next few months, but he wants to have his ceremony in the summer so that family members from France can attend.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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