Nov. 04--A protester from Occupy Santa Rosa climbed a 65-foot bicycle-part sculpture in Santa Rosa in the dark and cold early Friday, aiming to leave an "occupy" flag at the top.
Trouble was, once he got up there he froze.
"He realized he didn't have the energy. It's a lot easier to go up than it is to come down," said Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Jack Piccinini.
The young man yelled for help. At about 4:30 a.m. someone heard him and called police, who found him atop the 10,000-pound obelisk of recycled bike parts standing off of Santa Rosa Avenue at A Street.
Santa Rosa firemen then were called. They arrived in their ladder truck and plucked him and the flag from the top, kind of like rescuing a cat stuck in a tall tree, said Piccinini.
The man, who wasn't identified, told firefighters he had been up there for about 30 minutes. Temperatures in Santa Rosa early Friday dipped into the low 30s.
The man was grateful for the rescue.
