ma newsletter, 18, sonoma county bicycle coalition

8/9/2019 ma Newsletter, 18, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition

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promoting bicycling for transportation and recreationNEWS FROM THE SONOMA COUNTY BICYCLE COALITION

ISSUE 18 SPRING 2007

Thursday,May 17 marks the San

Francisco Bay Areas 13th annualBike and Walk to Work Day.

Come out and make it the day the commutepopulation notices the huge number of cyclistssharing the road with those steel-caged souls ontheir way to work.

Do you ride on the weekends? For one day pledgeto throw out all the excuses you use to take the

car to work. Take one of those weekend rides totime how long you need to ride to work. Maybeyoull need to bring a change of clothes to workthe day before. Air up those tires, put somefresh batteries in your lights, wake up a littleearly and enjoy the cheating freedom of gettingin two bike rideson a work day!

For some it will just be a day, a novelty.Hopefully for others, riding to work may becomesomething fun the beginning of a great routine.Sometimes life will get in the way, schedules willtighten or it will rain and the car will rumbleto life. Anything at all is better thannever trying. Local businessesare getting together withcity governments and

SONOMA COUNTY SHINES DURING

THE TOUR OF CALIFORNIALoretta Esparza

continued on page 10

Sonoma County is a great place to host environmentally

riendly events. But, really, how green can it be i you are

encouraging car driving and discouraging bicycle riding?

I there is no sae and secure place

or your event participants to

leave their bicycles, they will most

likely drive.

The SCBC Valet Bicycle

P a r k i n g s e r v i c e i savailable for hire.

Valet Bicycle Parking is like a

coat check or bicycles. Patrons

are issued claim checks in

exchange or their bikes. Our

staf guards the bikes in a

secure corral. Over 6000 bike

riders have enjoyed sae, secure parking

or their bicycles.

This service helps und the goals and mission o the SCBC

Now you can encourage olks toleave their cars at home.

Hey! How Greenis your event?

Get Ready For Bike and Walk to Work DayDave Ruggles

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ANDWALKANDWALK

The Amgen Tour of California was not only a bikerace swooping through Sonoma County, but anevent sparking communication, cooperationand celebration. Planning and preparationwere paramount to ensure success and safety.In true community spirit, city of Santa Rosaemployees, local businesses, organizations andhordes of volunteers created a professionalvenue to be proud of.

Team Discoverys Ivan Basso brings smiles and

cheers to fans of all ages! Photo by Carl Burchel



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Oh. We dont want to encourage people to ridethere. This was a Caltrans engineers response

to my asking why they werentincluding bike lanes on a roadbetween Petaluma and Sonoma.

This is often how bike riders andpedestrians are kept safe onour roads. If the roads are madeuninviting and unusable, folkswill avoid them, mostly; selfpreservation and all. However,there are people in our societywho have no other options andtheir work forces them to be onroads the rest of us avoid like theplague. They, too, have a right tothese roads, and should be able touse them safely. And we all have aright to these roads, whether weare using them for transportation,touring or recreation. We even paymore than our fair share; read BillOetingers article in this newsletter

for more information on this topic.This is what Caltrans told us abouta decision to remove the sidewalkfrom the south side of 3rd Street inSanta Rosa; Oh, it is not safe forpedestrians to cross the freewayon or off ramps. This is the sectionwhere Caltrans is widening the 101freeway. A comedy of errors alloweda transformer for a developmentto be placed in the wrong spot andthe solution created a narrowerright-of-way. Caltrans decided thatthere wasnt enough right-of-way tokeep all the car lanes, add planned

bike lanes andimprove thes idewa lks .Sowhat do they do?They remove thefacility that isused by the most vulnerable of our society, thepedestrians. Heaven forbid that they reduce

the width of the car travel lanes or, dare I sayremove an actual car travel lane?

It is high time we stop removing access to ourpublic roadways to keep bikes and pedestrianssafe and crack down on the true danger; carsrunning red lights and inattentive and aggressivedrivers. If we want to do something about traffic,traffic, traffic then we must make alternativemodes of transportation safe, convenient andpractical. Telling a disabled person to go ablock out of their way to get where they needto go because it is safer is a barrier thatdiscriminates.

Bicyclists and pedestrians, especially, are greatlyill-affected when forced to take a longer route. Itmay seem like hardly any distance to a driver, butadding a block to a pedestrians route may verywell be the barrier that keeps them at home, orforces someone who doesnt want to drive, orshouldnt drive, into a car.

It is time for our public officials to stand upto the Caltrans and the developer bullies andrequire that bicycle and pedestrian access besafe, convenient and practical now.

EDITORChristine Culver

COPY EDITOR

Bunni Zimberoff

CONTRIBUTORS

Timothy BaconMartin ClintonChristine Culver

Vicki DugganLoretta EsparzaBill OetingerDave Ruggles

PHOTOS

Richard BattlesScot BilbroCarl BurchfielDan BurdenChristine Culver

SCBC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Vicki Duggan (President)Mike Eunice (Secretary)

Tim GonzalezEd KirschDeanna McKenzieMisty Mesel (Treasurer)

Tom MaunderLou SalzKathy StorinKen Wells (Vice-President)Gary Wysocky

STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Christine Culver

MEMBERSHIP

COORDINATOR/

OFFICE MANAGER

Timothy Bacon

STREET SKILLS

INSTRUCTOR

Martin Clinton

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL

COORDINATOR

Chris Davis

BIKE TO WORK ASSISTANT

COORDINATOR

Dave Ruggles

LETTERS TO THE EDITORWe welcome your comments.

Stay Home!!!

SUPPORT SCBC BUSINESS MEMBERS!

Bear Valley Inn 415-663-1777 www.bearvinn.com

Bici Sport Bike Shop 707-775-4676www.bicisportusa.com

The Bike Peddler 707-571-2428www.norcalcycling.com

Bike Monkey www.bikemonkey.net

Cambria Bicycle Outfitter707-579-5400 www.cambriabike.com

Community Market 707-546-1806

www.srcommunitymarket.comDow House 707-494-3900

Empire Eye Doctors Medical Group 707-544-3147

Gary Wysocky CPA 707-575-3820

Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce707-433-6935 www.healdsburg.org

Hightekbikes, Inc. 707-780-3335

The Law Office of Debra A. Newby 707-526-7200

Melo Mail 707-578-0880

Nor Cal Bike Sport 707-573-0112www.norcalcycling.com

NorCal Velo Cycling Team707-874-3120 www.norcalvelo.com

North Bay Commercial Real Estate707-521-3500

North Santa Rosa Physical Therapy707-523-2848

Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy707-571-7615

Port of Sonoma 707-799-7726

REI 707-540-9025 www.rei.com/stores/santarosa

Roger Gilbert Photography 707-546-7642

Santa Rosa Cycling Clubwww.SRCC.com

So Co Agricultural Preservation & Open Space

707-565 7360 www.sonomaopenspace.orgSojourn Bicycling and Active Adventures800-730-4771 www.gosojourn.com

Sonic.netwww.sonic.net

Sonoma Valley Cyclistswww.sonomavalleycyclists.org

Soulcraft Bikes707-775-2453 www.soulcraftbikes.com

SyCip Designs, Inc 707-542-6359 www.sycip.com

The Results Group 707-577-0818

Wine Country Bikes 707-473-0610www.winecountrybikes.com

Wooden Spoon Technologies, Inc707-523-2222 www.wooden-spoon.com

W-Trans 707-542-9500 www.w-trans.com

Christine Culver, Executive Director


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Tom MaunderMy bicycle advocacy began in 2003 with a three-year termon the Petaluma Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee.I joined SCBC in 2004 because I was impressed by theenthusiasm and experience of its volunteers. I want to beon the board not just to give Petaluma a voice but also forthe opportunity to work with our active directors on someweighty issues.

My favorite ride is a toss upeither a ridge trail in Annadelor the gritty asphalt of Chileno Valley Road. My favoriteframe material is steel. I have a 1998 Voodoo Bizangohardtail made of Reynolds 853 steel and I have a 2002Merlin XL Compact titanium road bike. My current dreambike is the Co-Motion NorWester Co-Pilot, but when Imawake I continue to search for a versatile steel commutebike on Craigslist and eBay.

My passion is sharing cycling with kids, especially my two grandsons. It gives me pleasure to assistwith Bike Rodeos and my goal is to see SCBC become the lead Sonoma County contractor for theSafe Routes to School program. Id like our members to know that fundraising is the lifeblood of anonprot and volunteerism is its DNA.

Dont tell ME what to do!Martin Clinton

More board answers on on page 6

If you think about it, most of the time drivers oftrucks, autos, or bicycles are trying to GUESS whatall those other road users are going to do. Usuallythe best guess is that someonewill keep doing what theyrealready doing, until they signalthat something will change.

They might show brake lights,turn signals, or hand signals tocommunicate their intention toslow, turn, or change lanes. Ona bike when youre riding with

other cyclists you can also TELLthem your intention: Slowing, Stopping, Turning right.This communication will avoid anasty surprise.

But what about overtaking?In Europe drivers often ashtheir main beam headlightsto show they want to pass,

but the decision to do so safely is always theresponsibility of the overtaking car. The slowervehicle should be in an appropriate lane for theirspeed, but thats all they need do.

Bicycle riders sometimes are tempted to helpan overtaking car or truck by waving themthrough. That can be a big mistake, particularlyon a winding road with poor visibility. You mightsee theres a gap in oncoming trafc but youDONT KNOW how ready the driver behind is tomake use of the opportunity. Maybe he or she isin the wrong gear, is pulling a heavy trailer, orjust doesnt have much accelerating power. The

last thing you want is for drivers to be faced withoncoming vehicles just when theyre alongsideyou; every instinct will make them pull to the

right just where you are!

How should you helpovertaking? Glance back(the shoulder check) so the

driver knows youve seenthe vehicle behind. When

you want to be overtakenthen move right a fewinches, still leaving yourselfplenty of room from theedge of the road. If theresoncoming trafc then moveLEFT a little to dissuadeunsafe passing.

Suppose youre in a longline of bicyclists, shouldntyou wave drivers past then?

NOPE! If visibility is poor,what you should do is to break that lovely pace

line into groups of two or three riders, leavingspace for an overtaking vehicle to pull over ifthey cant complete the pass. It might spoil yourmental picture of the Tour de France, but theroads are closed there.

If you signal someone to pass and theres acrash, YOU might be found liable, so DONT tryto tell them (or me) what to do!

[Martin Clinton is a Certied Cycling Instructor. Heteaches the Street Skills classes for SCBC.]

www.pedbikeimages.org/PhotobyDanBurden

A little bit about the new 2007 SCBC board membersWe asked each of the new 2007 SCBCBoard Members a series of questions.

Photo:byTomMaun

der


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Bike To Work Raffle -

Win this Bike!!

ANDWALKANDWALK

Thank youSonoma County Bike &Walk to Work Sponsors!

In honor of Bike To Work Day CommunityMarket is raffling a brand new Trek 7100hybrid bicycle, courtesy of the Bike Peddler!

Proceeds from the raffle will be donatedto The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition,sponsors of Bike and Walk To Work Day.

Tickets are $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.The drawing will be on Wednesday, May

16, the day before Bike to Work Day. So

come on in to Community Market at 1899Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa and enterfor your chance to win this beautiful bike.

Any questions- call Hope Bohanec at

Community Market (707) 546-1806.


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Kathy Storin

Q. Why did you wantto be on the SCBCboard? A sugguestion

was made to havea member north ofSanta Rosa, so Ithought I could be of help as I have lived inWindsor for eleven years. I enjoy the ablity tohave bike lanes and awarness of bicycling sobeing a member of the board would give methe oppurtunity to work on behalf of cyclingcommunity.

Q. Do you have a favorite ride? Eastside atsunset, Westside on a clear day (no cars) WestDry Creek. Im sure I would love any ride inItaly although I havent been there!

Q. How long have you been involved in bicyclingadvocacy? Two years.

Q. Do you have a favorite bicycle and what typeis it? Still looking.

Q. Do you have a particular interest/project thatyou would like to see SCBC conquer? To getmore people in the Street Skills class.

Q. Anything else youd like to tell our members?Its never too late.

Meet the Boardcontinued from page 4

continued on page 9

In 2005 I had the good fortune to attend a coupleof Bike Rodeos run by Herb Greenberg. Afterhe passed away, I became more involved withthe Sonoma County Safe Kids Coalition as theirBike Rodeo guy. With the help of Janice Eunice,I assembled a bike rodeo kit and participated in12 Bike Rodeos at schools and parks throughoutSonoma County in 2006. Anyone interestedmay borrow a Bike Rodeo Kit and apply forfree kids helmets by contacting Beth Dadko atSafe Kids Sonoma County, 565-6678 or www.safekidssonomacounty.org .

Although each Bike Rodeo is different dependingupon the venue and the number of volunteers,the kids always have a good time. A good BikeRodeo would include the following:

Registration Safety Pep Talk and Demonstration Helmet Fitting Bike Inspection and Repair Riding Skills Course

Written or Verbal Quiz Bicycle Drivers License Photo ID issuedupon completion

Although the kids maydisagree, the Safety Talkis an important feature.Martin Clinton and LaurelGreen each are excellentpresenters. Tim Gonzalezhas developed an EggDrop demonstration thatentertains while teachingthe benets of wearing ahelmet.

The skills course is theheart of the Bike Rodeo.The goal is to create a funlayout with chalk, cones,and trafc signs where

young riders can practice riding in a straight line,stopping, starting, signaling, scanning for trafc,avoiding obstacles, and turning with control.

Several SCBC members provided outstandingservice at Bike Rodeos in 2006 includingMartin Clinton, Chris Culver, Janice Eunice,Mike Eunice, Tim Gonzalez, Laurel Green,Claire House, and Jim Keene (with his NorCalstaff). New volunteers are encouraged to callTom Maunder (707-338-4333).

BIKE RODEOby Tom Maunder

SCBC Board member Mike Eunice discusses the ner points of stop signs.

Photo by Christine Culver

SCBC Board member Tim Gonzalez Egg Drop

demonstrates how helmets protect our heads.

Photo by Christine Culver

Awesome Fundraisingefforts!

Thanks to all the

racers at Boggs II 8Hour Race. They raised morethan $1,500 for the SCBC! And

thanks to Carlos Perez of Bike Monkeyfor putting on a great event!

Gail Burchfelwas theevents biggestfundraiser andwon a very coolBianchi SASS

single speedmountain bikedonated byBreakaway Bikesin Rohnert Park!

Thanks to REISanta Rosa for

donating funds fromthe Banff Film Festival to the SCBC!

Carlos Perez also donated a brand newDell All in One Printer to the SCBC!

Photo by Scot Bilbro


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A few years ago, I had one of those stupidrun-ins with an irate motorist that are all too

common on our otherwise peaceful rides. I wasworking my way slowly up a hill, well over ontothe shoulder of the road, when a guy in an SUVpulls up behind me and lays all over his horn,then pulls alongside me and starts jawing at methrough the open passenger window.

I should have let it go, but I yelled back, Imalready in the gutter here... where do you wantme to ride, off in the tall weeds? Which is ofcourse exactly what he did want: for me to getthe hell off HIS road. He appeared so enragedthat I nally just stopped, before he decidedto use his vehicle to reinforce his argument.He eventually drove off, and I was left there,

standing over the bike, fuming.Then I noticed a man standing a few yards away.Hed been puttering in his front yard and hadwatched our little contretemps. And he says tome, You know, Id be a lot more sympathetictoward you cyclists if you paid registration feesto use the road, like the rest of us. I was sosurprised at this barb that the only thing I couldthink to say was, Listen, if paying a registration feeon my bike would stop jerks like that from hasslingme, Id be the rst guy in line at the DMV!

I wish Id been able to respond with somethingreally witty, or better yet, with some facts that

would have refuted his assertion. But at the

time, I wasnt all that clear myself on the detailsof that point. I wasnt entirely sure he wasntright. Had I known then what I know now, I wouldhave been delighted to disabuse him of his smuglittle notion...to debunk that particular myth.

Cyclists dont pay their own way on the road

because they dont pay registration fees or otheruse fees such as gas taxes.

This opinion is frequently thrown in the faceof cyclists, not only in roadside confrontationssuch as my little tiff, but in meetings of countysupervisors and city staffs and others formulatingtransportation policy. Whats more, it is anopinion accepted by many cyclists as true. Infact, not only is it not true, it isnt even closeto being true. The real facts support a muchdifferent reality.

Many studies have been done in recent years onthe subject of how much it costs to build and

The Sonoma County Transit Authority is updatingthe SCTA Countywide Bicycle and PedestrianMaster Plan. Individual plans of the participatingjurisdictions, Sonoma County, Cloverdale, Cotati,Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonomaand Windsor, will be developed concurrentlyand will be formatted for compilation into thecountywide plan. Both Petaluma and Santa Rosa

are updating their plans in a separate planningeffort. Both cities are working with the SonomaCounty Transit Authority (SCTA) on mapping andcoordination of plans.

One objective of the project is to guidedevelopment of a primary non-motorizedtransportation system in Sonoma County. Thereare several major efforts involved in the updateprocess including bike planning, pedestrianplanning, public outreach, and the development ofa unied Geographic Information Systems(GIS)mapping database.

The contract for the work of updating the plans

was awarded to W-Trans of Santa Rosa inDecember 2006. The source of funds was theTransit Development Act which allocates somemoney for bicycle related projects.

W-Trans and SCTA staff have recently held a seriesof meetings with public works departments andother affected agencies in all the jurisdictionsinvolved in the updates. At the meetings data onexisting conditions was gathered and discussionswere held on bike/ped issues and opportunities.

Four public workshops concerning developmentof the plans are tentatively scheduled to be heldin Rohnert Park/Cotati, Windsor, Sebastopol andSonoma, likely in early June. Public input will besought on the county wide elements of the planas well as the individual city plans.

After the public meetings, the plans will beprepared and submitted for review by the SonomaCounty Board of Supervisors and the individualcity councils. There will be an opportunity forpublic comment at these hearings as well. Thesehearings will likely be in December 2007.

For more information on the project contact JoshAbrams of W-Trans at 707-542-9500.

SCBC members should contact the SCBC if youhave questions about the process or concernsabout the plans, and be sure to watch the E-Updates for information about the date, timeand locations of the public meetings.

SONOMA COUNTY AND MANY CITIES TO REVISE BIKE PLANS

WHO PAYS FOR OUR ROADS?Bill Oe tinger



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2007 is shaping up to be a very exciting year forbettering bike access through the legsliative process!

AB 1358 - Complete Streets Act of 2007(Assembly member Mark Leno): Sponsoredby the California Bicycle Coalition, this bill wouldrequire, commencing January 1, 2009, that thelegislative body of a city or county modify the

circulation element upon revision of the generalplan to specify how this element will providefor the routine accommodation of all usersof the highway, dened to include motorists,pedestrians, bicyclists, individuals with disabilities,seniors, and users of public transportation. Routineaccommodation is dened to mean that, in theplanning, design, construction, reconstruction,or operation of highways and other transportationinfrastructure, local agencies fully consider andaccommodate all users of the highway as needed toprovide for reasonably safe and convenient travel.

AB 57 - Safe Routes to School (Assemblymember Nell Soto): Sponsored by the SafeRoutes to School National Partnership, this billwould extend Californias Safe Routes to Schoolprogram indenitely and continue to direct 1/3of Californias safety funds to the construction ofbicycle and pedestrian safety and trafc calmingprojects that improve routes to schools. Assemblymember Soto sponsored similar legislation in1999, 2002, and 2004; the legislation needstobe renewed now as the program will sunset atthe end of this year. Its critical that Californiaremain a leader on Safe Routes to School, as theGolden State was the rst to designate fundingfor the program.

AB 534 - Bicycle Transportation Account(Assembly member Smyth): This bill would

increase the amount of funding apportionedeach year to the Bicycle Transportation Accountfrom $5 million annually to $12 million annually.This would continue until the later of January31, 2012, or the date on which all moneys in theHighway Safety, Trafc Reduction, Air Quality,and Port Security Fund of 2006 (Proposition 1B)have been expended. The Bicycle TransportationAccount is the only dedicated source for bicyclefunding through the State of California, and Prop1B did not include funding for bicycling.

AB 478 Bicycle Illumination Bill (Assemblymember Wolk): The California Vehicle Codecurrently regulates the safe operation of bicycles

on highways and roadways requiring the useof an illuminated lamp and certain reectingdevices (to not travel with such illumination is acrime). This bill would expand the places wherethe operator of a bicycle is required to use anilluminated lamp and certain specied reectingdevices to shared use pathways. The bill wouldexpand the requirement that the operator of thebicycle have reectors on each pedal to includethe option of having reectors on his or hershoes or ankles. The California Bicycle Coalitionis a co-sponsor of this bill with the SacramentoCounty Sheriffs Association.

AB 437 Public Health, Planning andTransportation (Assembly member Jones):Existing law permits the establishment ofthe position of county health ofcer for theperformance of various duties and powers relatingto public health, but currently health ofcershave no ofcial standing in terms of commentingon transportation and planning projects, and

it has been shown that the built environmentaffects public health and opportunities forphysical activity. This bill would authorize thecounty health ofcer to provide assistance tocities and counties with regard to public healthissues as they relate to local land use planningand transportation planning processes.

AB 60 - Three Foot Passing Law (Assemblymember Pedro Nava): Under existing law, adriver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicleor a bicycle proceeding in the same direction isrequired to pass to the left at a safe distancewithout interfering with the safe operation of theovertaken vehicle or bicycle, subject to certainlimitations and exceptions. A violation of thisprovision is an infraction punishable by a ne notexceeding $100 for a rst conviction, and up to a$250 ne for a third and subsequent convictionoccurring within one year of two or more priorinfractions. This bill would recast this provisionas to overtaking a bicycle by requiring the driverof a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle that isproceeding in the same direction to pass to theleft at a safe distance, at a minimum clearanceof three feet, without interfering with the safeoperation of the overtaken bicycle. The bill wouldmake a violation of this provision an infractionpunishable by a $250 ne. The bill would make ita misdemeanor or felony if a person operates amotor vehicle in violation of the above requirement

and that conduct results in substantial physicalinjury, or death to the bicycle operator. Similarlaws exist in ve other states including Arizona.

SB 33 - Wireless Telephones and MobileService Devices (Senator Simitian): Startingon July 1, 2008 this bill would prohibit a personpossessing a valid instruction permit, studentlicense, or provisional license, from driving amotor vehicle while using a wireless telephoneor a mobile service device, including a handsetequipped with a hands-free device. This isimportant, as studies have shown that youngand inexperienced drivers have the highestproportion of collisions. The bill would prohibit a

law enforcement ofcer from stopping a vehiclefor the sole purpose of determiningwhether the driver is violatingthis prohibition, and wouldprohibit a violation point frombeing given for a conviction ofviolating the prohibition.

For more information seewww.calbike.org.

SCBC Leglislative Action Corner


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Ed Kirsch

I wanted to join the SCBC Board so that I might channel energiesinto positive outcomes for other cyclists, especially children forhealth reasons. My background is as a health & wellness pharmacistwith exercise as a key component which is so important for childrentoday. SCBC has achieved success in many areas & Id like to be

part of the future.

My cycling passion is touring across the country without a schedulefor weeks and months. I probably have two favorite rides dependingon overall conditioning. One is the Healdsburg loop (SR-Chalk Hill-Alexander Valley-Healdsburg-Windsor) & the other is the Cavedaleloop (SR-Bennett Valley-Sonoma Mountain-Glen Ellen-Cavedale-Trinity & return).

Bicycling advocacy has been one to one for many years includingmy two sons who have done some bike commuting. In recentyears, with more community involvement and political activism Ivewanted to join my passion for cycling with advocacy.

My primary bike is my favorite bike- Trek 520 Touring bike.

The project of safer roads/routes for children is important because

that is how my own interest in cycling and health began. Never havebeen disappointed with the adventures that cycling has provided,and wanted to support the bike riding skills education sponsoredby SCBC.

Message to members would include: Participate in communitydiscussions about transportation issues, including mass transit andalternatives such as cycling. Cycling and hiking are consistent withthe national campaign of No Child Left Inside.

Meet the Boardcontinued from page 6

Q. Why did you want to be

on the SCBC board? BecauseI appreciate the good workthe SCBC does and I wantedto become more involved intheir activities. The SCBCsupports many of the issuesI believe in so I wanted tosupport it in return.

Q. What is your cyclingpassion? Personally, itsgetting out and enjoyingthe outdoors and gettingsome exercise while Im atit. In a more communityminded way, I believeactivities like cycling andwalking encourage peopleto get to know their fellowcitizens better. Being outand about and being ableto make eye contact withothers helps one think oftheir fellow road users aspeople and not as othercars on the road.

Q. Do you have a favoriteride? I love all the backroadsin Sonoma Country, butI get a great amount of

satisfaction when I zip past all the cars

backed up on Fulton Road during mycommute.

Q. How long have you been involvedin bicycling advocacy? This is my rstadventure in formal advocacy, but Ivealways encouraged my friends andfamilies to ride their bikes.

Q. Do you have a favorite bicycleand what type is it? I try not to playfavorites. My bikes have differentfunctions so my favorite is whicheverone is best suited for the ride Imdoing.

Q. Do you have a particular interest/project that you would like to see SCBCconquer? I think the Safe Routesto School projects is particularlyimportant because it will start childrenon the path to thinking of transportationthat doesnt include getting into a car.Lessons learned early will really takeroot. This is our best hope for a futurewith less dependence on automobiles.Its too late for many adults to beretrained but for those consideringriding bicycles, a complete networkof safe bicycle routes, including thetrail included in the SMART plan isessential.

Deanna McKenzie


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the SCBC to provide incentives to ride on thisspecial day. There will be 20 Energizer stationson bike routes throughout the county to greetmorning riders with a smile, refreshmentsand awesome goodies. Check the link onwww.BikeSonoma.org for an interactive mapof station locations and leave a bit early to stop

by one. Each station will be hosted by smilingvolunteers with drinks, snacks and goodie-bags.We want to honor every kind of bicyclist out there.

May is National Bike Month and in addition to

the days eventsthe Bay Area Bikeand Walk to Workday organizersare hosting twoadditional activitiesto honor cyclists.

The Team BikeChallenge whereteams compete tosee who can travelthe most days bybicycle during themonth of May. Theteam with the mostpoints wins a grandprize. The Bike

Commuter of the Year Award honors a residentfrom each county who is committed to makingevery day a Bike to and Walk to Work Day.This person epitomizes and actualizes the health,

environmental, social, and economic benets ofbicycling. See our website at BikeSonoma.org formore information.

Enter to win on Bike to Work Day! Visit 511.orgfor rafe prizes and other bike related information.Shift gears! Hop on your bike and go!

Bike and Walk to Work!continued from page 1

Sonoma County Mental Health Employees TimTuscany, Cherin Willet, Doug Uyehara and Lyle

Keller stop at the County Center station.

NorCal Bike Sports Jim Keene hands outBike to Work swag.

Downtown Santa Rosa beamed as a destination,a desirable place to be for its citizens. Thenormally trafc-choked streets were freed

from auto noise and fumes, and people walkedthe sidewalks in anticipation of the appearanceof sleek bike racers and their shiny bikes.Merchants emerged from the connes of theirstores, joining the happy spectators on thesidewalks to sell their products.

The expo and stage provided amusement andentertainment for hours before the Mondayrace stage nish. The Slow Ride got SantaRosa politicians on their bikes with Mike Martiniwinningby nishing last--and Susan Gorinnishing last with the fastest time.

Even away from downtown, families and friendsgathered along the race route, ate picnics, bicycled

to a vantage point, settled in lawn chairs andbrought signs and cow bells to cheer the riders on.

The Tuesday race start in Railroad Square gave fansa chance to see professional riders and assortedcelebrities in a more relaxed atmosphere as they

walked about or appeared on stage. Some folkshad not seen a professional bike race in such anintimate manner before.

The celebration extended beyond the actual racedays to include the BMC Launch Party at SevenUltralounge beforehand. The Bohemian and localTeam BMC sponsored the party as a fund-raiserto help offset costs to the city. Other happeningsincluded school assemblies and the preparationof bike decorations for Railroad Square.

Tour of Californacontinued from front page

Tour of California Winner Levi Leipheimer

Photo by Carl Burchel

Tour of Californa volunteers parked over 550 bicycles, helped with the kids events and helddown the fort at the SCBC booth: Albert Bruin, Avi Ballo, Barbara Drucker, Barbara

Moulton, Carol Kolnes, Dave Ruggles, David Ballo, Diana McKenzie, Eric Fiedler, GaryWyscocky, Jack France, Jim Kaumeyer, Jim Williams, John Kolnes, Jon Dick, KathyStorin, Loree Angel, Loretta Esparza, Michael Teller, Mike Eunice, Nancy Rappolt,Richard Battles, Susan McCabe, Tim Bacon, Tim Gonzalez, Tom Helm, Tom Maunder,Vicki Duggan, Wade Belew, Jan Coulter, Janice Eunice, W-Trans employees and Boy

Scout Troop Order of the Arrow; Ben and Stefan Leroy, Joe Zini and Bryce Strickland.


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maintain our roads, and who pays the bills. Thenumbers I will cite below come from the VictoriaTransport Policy Institute, which has pulledtogether statistics from many of these studies.If you want a more in-depth analysis of thisquestion than youll get from my short column,you can crunch numbers til your eyes cross at

their website: www.vtpi.org/whoserd.htm

Briey, here is the gist of the facts: studiesestimate that motor vehicle users pay an averageof 2.3 cents per mile in user charges such as gastaxes, registration fees, and tolls. However, theyimpose 6.5 cents per mile in road service costs.In contrast, cyclist impose road service costsaveraging a miniscule 2/10ths of 1 cent per mile.

If Im reading and understanding the studiescorrectly, this 6.5 cents per mile represents costsfor infrastructure--roadway acquisition, designand construction of roads, bridges, tunnels,etc., and maintenance of same. I dont believe

it covers other, associated costs such as lawenforcement, emergency services, etc. Further--again, if Im reading these studies correctly--the disparity between user fees and actual costsis even greater on local roads...the ones mostcommonly used by cyclists.

So, we have a shortfall of over 4 cents per milein user fee revenues to cover the expenses ofbuilding and maintaining our roads. Where doesthe money come from to make up the difference?It comes from the general tax rolls:property, income, and sales taxes. Allof us--cyclists and motorists alike--paythese taxes, so were all contributing to

the construction and upkeep of our roads,regardless of how much or how little weuse them, or how much our particularvehicle imposes in costs on the system.

In fact, when you consider the extremelylow costs associated with non-motorizedtravel, the case can be made that cyclistsare actually paying way more than theirfair share of road costs. Or to put it anotherway, if were all sharing the burden ofroad expenses equally (on average), thenthose imposing lower costs on the system(cyclists) are in effect subsidizing thosewho impose greater costs (motorists).Consider further that the average cyclistlogs many fewer bike miles per year thanthe average motorist logs in his car, sothat the per-mile disparity is multipliedmany times over by the difference in totalmiles on the road(s).

Bear in mind too, that although we mightwish it to be otherwise, most of us whocycle a great deal still own a car, or livein a household with at least one car inthe garage. I own a car, but because Iwork at home and ride a bike as muchas possible, I only put about 3000 miles

a year on it (less than half what I put

on my bike), and yet I have to pay the sameregistration fee on that car as the fellow whologs 10,000 or 15,000 or more miles in his car.If you divide the registration fee by the numberof miles, its easy to see the full-time motorist isgetting a much better deal than I am. Wouldnt itbe nice if our registration fees could be pro-rated

on the number of miles driven?

Finally, remember that these studies on roadexpenses are only dealing with dollars in federal,state, and county budgets. If you also considerthe larger costs associated with motorizedtravel in terms of pollution, congestion, andaccidents, and the dramatic relief in all thoseareas provided by switching to cycling, then thequestion of who is paying their fair share to usethe roads is even more compelling.

Im not climbing up on a soapbox here to declarethat all cars should be banned. I appreciatehaving and using my car when I need it. All I am

trying to say is that cyclists should never have tobe apologists for taking up their little bit of spaceon the side of the road. Aside from the fact thatthe Vehicle Code guarantees us the right to bethere, we are more than paying our fair share ofthe price of admission, and dont ever let anyonetry to tell you otherwise.

Bill is a regular writer for BikeCal.com and longtime member of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club.

Who Pays?continued from page

BIKE ROUTE SURVEY

The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition asks for

your input to identify bike route priorities (county

wide) for SCBC advocacy efforts. Mail to

SCBC, P.O. Box 3088, Santa Rosa, CA 95402 or

send an e mail response to [email protected]

NAME

EMAIL

What do you consider your most important bike

routes i.e. NE Santa Rosa to Rohnert Park via

Mendocino Ave. and Petaluma Hill Road. What

improvements are needed on these routes?

Start:

End:

Via:

Improvements Needed:


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