February
2003

Bike Week 2003 is taking shape

• Mark your calendars: May 17-25. Now add these Bike Week events:
• May 17—Children's Festival
• May 20—Bike to School Day
• May 21—Bike to Work Day.
• That's not all. Our Bike Week committee is busy identifying and creating all kinds of other events to celebrate the benefits, pleasure, and diversity of bicycling throughout Santa Barbara County.
• Bike Week is an effort by the Bicycle Coalition and Traffic Solutions, a program of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) to encourage travel by means other than driving alone. Bike Week is our biggest effort of the year, and it garners the most publicity for bicycling.
• We already have support in time and money from our traditional sponsors: SBCAG, Santa Barbara County; the cities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Solvang; UCSB; and the Air Pollution Control District. Plus we've received private funding from Venoco and the Wendy P. McCaw Foundation.

Last year, several hundred kids enjoyed bicycling on Bike to School Day. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• We need your help. Teachers and parents are needed to help with Bike to School Day. Site helpers are needed for the eight locations for Bike to Work Day. Volunteers are needed for staffing our booth at the Children's Festival in Santa Barbara.
• What we need most right now is corporate sponsorship. If your company can help with money or bike-related items or other in-kind donations, we need you. A brochure is coming this month to describe the benefits that come from different contributions.
• There are monthly Bike Week 2003 meetings that you're welcome to join (see meeting list). Or just contact our dedicated Bike Week coordinator Erika Lindemann at 961-8919 or at elindemann@sbcag.org. And check out Bike Week on our web site as events are added and defined in coming months: www.sbbike.org

Bike tour inspired by Santa Barbara web sites



Nancy and Fred Meredith with their bicycles at UCSB on a very quiet New Year's Day. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Fred and Nancy Meredith from Austin, Texas, were offered a Christmas trip anywhere in the US by their daughter. Fred is a board member for the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), and both of them are avid touring cyclists and active in the Austin Cycling Association. They decided to take Amtrak to California, pack their folding bikes, and tour the coast by bicycle.
• Research on the Internet and LAB's Bicyclists Almanac turned up two great sources of information: the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and Santa Barbara Car Free. The latter encourages people to get around our County without their cars, and the Bicycle Coalition is an active participant in the program.
• Arriving at the Santa Barbara Depot, the Merediths assembled their folding Bike Friday and Montague bicycles, attached panniers, and biked to a beachfront motel. Bicycle Coalition VP Ralph Fertig helped them with maps and suggestions, joined them for two dinners, and led them on two tours of the Santa Barbara area. In addition, the Merediths biked south to Port Hueneme and north to Lompoc and Jalama Beach.
• Although the weather was cooler than they had anticipated, the Merediths had a terrific bicycle vacation in Santa Barbara County. Fred says that it was a wonderful adventure in meeting people and seeing things.

Motorized Vehicles on Bikepaths

Word from the President, by Wilson Hubbell

• Bikepaths are getting busier all the time with more cyclists, dog walkers, joggers, runners, rollerbladers, skateboarders, and others vying for space. A relatively new addition to this mix is the motorized scooter, which, according to a recent amendment to the California Vehicle Code, is now legally allowed on bikepaths and in bikelanes.
• In case you have not seen these, a motorized scooter is your basic two-wheeled foot powered scooter with a gasoline or electric motor attached to the back wheel (see www.arb.ca.gov for a peek). The electric models are generally quiet and travel at 12 MPH or so, but the gasoline powered models sound like a chainsaw (102 to 110 decibels at full speed—see www.fullertonscooters.com) and travel at 20 to 22 MPH or more. Worse yet, just one of the small gasoline scooter motors can spew more hydrocarbons per gallon than fifty 2000 model year cars combined (see www.arb.ca.gov)!
• The Vehicle Code allows cities and counties to adopt ordinances that specifically forbid motorized scooters on bikepaths (but not bikelanes), and some would argue that a motorized vehicle of any type has no business on facilities designed for human powered transport. I personally don't have a problem with occasionally encountering an electric scooter moving along at 12 MPH, but no way do I want to share a bikepath with any vehicle that pollutes more than 50 cars and can cause hearing loss in less than 15 minutes of exposure (OSHA noise exposure standard, 100 to 110 decibels).
• It seems to me that an ordinance specifically banning gasoline powered scooters is in order here, and you can anticipate that the Coalition may be asking our elected officials to help us out.

Ortega Hill bikepath update

• Montecito's Ortega Hill auxiliary lane and bikepath will begin public review in March 2003; they are scheduled to start construction in late 2003 and be completed in one year. This is a $4.9 million project that is fully funded.

Movement for regional velodrome

• In the early 1990s, a movement for a Central Coast velodrome cycling track looked promising for construction at Santa Barbara Shores County Park. However, a subsequent outcry against any active sports at the park extinguished that vision. The dream persisted, and last year it returned with the enthusiastic support of Mike Hecker and other cyclists.
• Over the US, there is an increasing enthusiasm for track racing. Eighteen velodromes currently exist in the country, and eight new ones are being planning. The latest velodrome in the US opened to fanfare last spring in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The Mike Walden Velodrome was constructed in a city park for $500,000 using donations from a group of 250 dreamers and believers. It will be maintained by volunteers, and supported by contributions and by user fees.
• Our Central Coast Velodrome Movement is picking up speed. It has eight board members, and support of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and the Santa Barbara Bicycle Club. Check out the velodrome web site by clicking to it from www.ridesb.com.
• There's a petition that you might wish to sign, an email list to join, and other details. As this goes to press, 300 individuals have already signed the petition. Finding a location is probably our greatest challenge facing the new velodrome, but having an organization and plan ready to go will speed the transition from dream to reality.

Andy Singer

Envision a future

• A community has to have the capacity to envision a future they want, and not just the one they are likely to get.
• Dom's Urban Design web site
  user.gru.net/domz/

Lake Cachuma trail planning

• URS Corporation is busily working on a draft version of a new plan for recreation at Lake Cachuma, according to URS environmental scientist Autumn McKee. This is being done for the US Department of Reclamation, the agency responsible for management of the water supply and the surrounding land.
• The Bicycle Coalition submitted a petition last year with the names of 216 supporters. It encouraged the Department to include new trails in their upcoming plan. The draft document will be out in March or April and public comment will be solicited at that time. We don't know what trails will be included, but in any event, we'll be prepared to speak up.

Bikepath entry is more inviting



New landscaping and a fence now announce the entrance to the Atascadero Bikepath. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Thanks to volunteer efforts by Simon Burnworth, the entry to the Atascadero Bikepath off Modoc Road near Goleta looks much better.
• The San Marcos High School junior earned an Eagle Scout award for his community project. He built a post and rail fence and landscaped with low-maintenance plants, making the path entry more pleasant and noticeable. Thank you Simon!

Madajian offers commute bike info

• Bicycle Coalition member David Madajian was seeking a "commuter bike" for his son. All that he found were mountain bikes or BMX bikes, not the best bikes for riding to school and around the neighborhood. Although there was nothing available for kids in the United States, he did find several bikes for sale in Europe and Japan.
• In doing research, Madajian found many manufacturers of commuter bikes for adults, and that's what he decided to post online on his personal web site. What differentiates a commuter bike from a hybrid, touring, cross, or mountain bike? Typically, commuter bikes position the rider in an upright position and come equipped with racks, fenders, bells, chain guards, reflectors, mid-width tires, and a lighting system. Some have kick stands, moderate suspension, or internal gearing.
• To look at what's available and where you can see it, check out Madajian's page:
  members.101freeway.com/davidm/MyWebsite/commuter_bicycles.htm
• And for general information and inspiration on bike commuting, look at the Bicycle Coalition's section on commuting: www.sbbike.org/commute/commute.html
• As for the possibility of kids commute bikes, Madajian's emails to manufacturers have resulted in an expressed interest in importing or manufacturing them in the US in the future. Our thanks to him for all his work.

Bike articles growing 23% a year

• Since 1992, the Bicycle Coalition's Ralph Fertig has kept track of mentions or photos of bicycling published in South Coast newspapers. After increasing for seven years straight, the totals declined slightly in 2000 and 2001, but new counts show a dramatic increase for 2002.
• Not all mentions or graphics involving bicycles are counted, only those deemed to have a significant bicycling content, not an incidental one. So many of those initially captured were excluded from the final tally.
• Although there was an increase across the bicycling spectrum in 2002, three topics generated a flurry of attention:
• Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France.
• Tom Becker's assertion that "automobiles such as the Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle produce less pollution per mile traveled than a bicyclist."
• The "Safe Trails" people who want to prohibit bicyclists from South Coast trails.
• Overall, the significant rise in bicycle news coverage over the last eleven years reflects positively on the Bicycle Coalition's efforts to increase public awareness. On the average, bicycling news has increased by 23% a year since 1992. Where can we go from here? There's no reason we can't push it higher.

Lance was here

• Guess who came to cycle around the Santa Ynez Valley for a week? Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service racing team!
• Last year, Armstrong was named the Sports Illustrated 2002 Sportsman of the Year and the Associated Press 2002 Male Athlete of the Year. Four-time Tour de France champion Armstrong spent a week biking with his teammates 70 to 115 miles a day all over our area.
• Staying in a Solvang hotel, they were treated with a week of fine weather and bright green hills to climb. We know how splendid cycling in the valley can be, especially in the spring, but the team's stay here gets the word out to others.
• The team's coach explains that early in the season, the riders are developing their aerobic engines with high cadences; later as races approach, they will work on power and speed. From here, the team moved to a training camp in Spain to prepare for upcoming races in Portugal and elsewhere in Europe.

Airport gets more bicycle racks



New racks for six additional bicycles were recently installed at Santa Barbara Airport. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Airport director Karen Ramsdell has done it again—she's installed racks for six extra bicycles at the Santa Barbara Airport.
• Last October, six new ones replaced old rusted ones. Now, a second bike parking area has been constructed and another six Bike Track racks with pull-up arms are in place. They're in well-lighted, high-traffic areas, so next trip, save the parking fee and bike to the airport.

Thank you, members

• The Bicycle Coalition is grateful to the many members who responded to Wilson Hubbell's call for support last December. We'll be certain to put it to good use to improve bicycling conditions within Santa Barbara County.

IMBA grades California with a “C”

• IMBA, the International Mountain Biking Association, graded bike access issues in all states for 2002. California ended up near the bottom, in 42nd place.
• The grades ranged from Colorado's A- to Mississippi's D+. While we got good marks for Bay Area activists, the potential loss of popular trails to wilderness designation was a negative. User trail conflict and unauthorized trail use in Southern California also dragged the average down. What trend does IMBA see for California? More future challenges.

Thank you, Sandra

• Since April 1994, Sandra Wintermoss has served as secretary for the Bicycle Coalition, creating amazingly detailed minutes from our meetings. She voluteered her time to help register participants for the Pro Bike/Pro Walk 98 conference in Santa Barbara. She helped with Bike Week events for several years. Last August, she cooked great food for our Member Appreciation Barbecue. And there are lots of other things she helped with along the way.
• Sandra recently resigned her position, although we hope that she will be around to help us help bicycling. We thank you, Sandra, for nearly a decade of dedicated effort.

Grant House: Bicycling is just a way of life
by Erika Lindemann



Grant House arrives for work at his sewing machine shop in Magnolia Plaza near Goleta. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Santa Barbara resident and business owner Grant House is probably best known in this community as Planning Commissioner for the City of Santa Barbara and owner of Grant House Sewing Machines, but he is also a bicycle advocate and enthusiast.
• Bikes have always been a part of Grant's life. "My bike is my preferred transportation mode. I ride it whenever I can. I love feeling the wind in my hair, the variations in temperatures and weather, and the colors and smells I encounter during my commute."
• Grant doesn't think people who use cars should be demonized, even drivers of SUVs. Instead people should be encouraged to look at the advantages of using their cars for trips when they are truly needed and try leaving them parked in the garage when a trip can be better serviced by bike, bus or foot.
• Grant's first commuting experience was on a little red tricycle, his first bike. He was restricted to the yard, due to his young age, which little Grant found entirely unacceptable since he wanted to visit his mom at work. Grant dug a hole under a fence, pushed his trike through, and was found along a busy street shortly thereafter, happily riding to find his mom! He's been commuting by bicycle ever since.
• Grant made the connection between bicycling and land use when he joined forces with Grassroots 101 in opposition of the widening project Caltrans was proposing for Highway 101 in the early 1990s. Since his initial involvement, Grant has worked tirelessly to improve circulation throughout the City of Santa Barbara, especially on the Eastside. Grant's priorities for the future are to that increase mobility for those needing to cross Highway 101.
• We are certainly lucky to have Grant House as one of the Bicycle Coalition's members and avid supporters. Our bicycling community has been strengthened by the work he has done to improve mobility in the City of Santa Barbara and beyond.

Active members

• Please thank and support the following businesses that are Bicycle Coalition members:
• King Cycle Group, Shasta Lake
• MarBorg Industries, Santa Barbara
• Oasis Design, Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Infrared, Santa Barbara
• Rincon Cycles, Carpinteria
• Lightning Cycle Dynamics, Lompoc
• We're pleased to welcome new Bicycle Coalition members Dominic Clark, Harley Augustino, Cameron Reaume, and Dottie McLaren. Plus we're very grateful to the following who renewed their memberships: Erik Muller, Steve Mack, Dave Beamer, Judy Keim, David and Mario Borgatello, Mark and Shira Musicant, Bob Cooper, Jean Thomson and David Ramsthaler, and Dru van Hengel.

Abandoned railway brings opportunity

• Last October 24, the Santa Maria Valley Railroad announced the abandonment of 4.9 miles of track. Unless a government body intervened in 30 days, the land would revert to landowners.
• This particular section runs along the northern edge of Allan Hancock College, underneath Highway 101, and east almost to the Santa Maria River, where it turns south. The City of Santa Maria obtained a 180 day extension in order to act. They then held a public meeting on January 15, where suggestions for possible use of the corridor were solicited. A report on the meeting is being prepared for the City Council for review and possible action.
• All over the country, government agencies have been seizing the opportunity to turn similar railways into multipurpose paths for bicyclists, walkers, equestrians, and others. The national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy reports that over 1100 individual sections of abandoned railroad have been saved and have been turned into popular community amenities. Stay tuned for Santa Maria action.

Dominic's inspiration



From the left, dedicated commuters Mike Mitchum, local dolphins, and Dominic Clark. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• When the Santa Barbara News-Press ran an article last December 16th on commuting alternatives between Ventura and Santa Barbara, they included the story of Dominic Clark's 90-mile daily bicycle commute from Ventura to UCSB and back. Reactions from people ran from "if he can do that, I can do my ride" to "he's superhuman and crazy, that's not me."

• Clark said that he had agreed to the coverage of his commute because he hoped others would be inspired by it. For at least one person, we heard it happened. Local nurse Jere Ziffer Lifshitz reported the following:
• "I met someone last weekend who started cycling to work (4 miles each way) in Carpinteria. He started this after reading the article in the New-Press about [Clark] who bikes from Ventura. He thought, if this guy can do it, so can I. Now, this man is probably in his mid 60s and was not a cyclist. In fact when he took his old bike to be tuned up to bike to work, he ended up getting a new one because the old one was so bad. I wanted you to know that the article did motivate at least one person who had never considered biking to work before."
• Another positive result of the news article is that Clark now has a co-rider, UCSB staff member Mike Mitchum who brings his bike by car from Ventura to Carpinteria, then joins Clark for the Carpinteria-to-UCSB section of the ride. By this summer, Mitchum hopes to have built enough endurance to leave his car at home and do the entire trip by bike.
• Mitchum is familiar to us—it turns out that he did free bike check-ups for the Bicycle Coalition in 1999 during our "Bike Saturday" event in Downtown Santa Barbara.
• We're pleased that Clark has been impressed enough with what the Bicycle Coalition has been doing that he's going to join us as a member. "I'm not a hero," he says, "you guys are the heroes."

January meeting topics

• Our January 7th meeting ushered in 2003 with an evening gathering at Woody's BBQ near Goleta. We had 19 people attend the dinner and meeting. We had two people report on bicycling projects.
• Wilson Hubbell reported the on the following County projects:
• A new bike bridge was built over Maria Ygnacio Creek.
• $485,000 was spent for safer routes to North County schools.
• New solar-powered lights were installed on the Atascadero bikepath.
• Several paths were resurfaced.
• New paths will be studied near Rincon County Park.
• A new bikepath will be constructed over Ortega Hill in Montecito.
• North Jameson Lane will get bikelanes.
• Consideration was given for bikelanes on Foothill Road, Purisima Road; and for trails around Lake Cachuma, on the Santa Maria levee, and above the Tajiguas landfill.
• Dru van Hengel reported on the following Santa Barbara City projects:
• City bikelanes doubled between 1990-2000 to 42 miles.
• A new Shoreline Drive bikepath will be constructed this year.
• A Pershing Park path will be built this year.
• Bike to School events will be emphasized.
• A City pool of Breezer city bikes will be available for employees.
• Fitness issues will be pursued through a partnership with Cottage Hospital.
• A Granada Garage bikestation will be built.

Biking school gets building option



The landmark 1899 St. Anthony's Seminary building is home to Santa Barbara Middle School. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• On January 7, Santa Barbara Middle School—the "bikingest school in the country"—was offered an option to buy their building from the Franciscan owners. There was a fear that if the other contender for purchase were chosen, the school would have to move. So now the Middle School and the Waldorf School that uses another part of St. Anthony's have a month to arrange financing for the purchase.
• This is an important step toward keeping and possibly expanding the school and its exemplary bicycling program. We want them around a long time.

MTD bike use rises

• The Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) bus service reports that during their fiscal year 2001-2002, nearly 53,000 bicyclist trips were taken on their buses. This is with bike racks on all of their 40-foot buses that run 14 bus routes. For five years previously, bike racks existed only on buses that ran on MTD's three long-distance routes, and during that period there was an average of 20,100 bicyclist trips a year. While it doesn't make as much sense to use the bus for shorter trips, bicyclists have certainly found it useful. Thank you, MTD.