Bicycling for everyday transportation

For more information on all of our May is Bike Month events, visit our Bike Month page.

Quincy Dean visits Seibert Elementary

In preparation for May Is Bike Month, and more importantly for our school population, Walk Or Roll To School Week, our Safe Routes to School staff, along with a very special guest, have been visiting a few of our Safe Routes schools to encourage students to walk and bike. Quincy Dean has been riding bikes for 15 years and tells students that bikes have kept him out of trouble. He has ridden for teams like Fit and Premium, and advocates that being on the bike is one of the most satisfying feelings to have. At Seibert Elementary he gave students a show they won't soon forget, and encouraged kids to be all that they can be on a bike. Thank You Seibert Elementary, and thank you Quincy for encouraging active transportation in our community. Through Safe Routes to School we can make a difference.

See all the photos on Facebook.

Around Bakersfield

Defying The Odds—Tom Morgan, story of survival and love for bicycling

There is no doubt in Tom Morgan's mind that he is lucky to be alive. Since Mogan became a deputy for the Kern County Sheriff's Department in the early 1980s, he has cheated death twice.

Read more at Bakersfield Wellness Magazine..

Men's team sprint and scratch race featured on Day 1 of Track Worlds (featuring Bakersfield's Jimmy Watkins)

The 2012 UCI Track World Championships began Wednesday at a boisterous Hisense Arena in Melbourne. With a chance to earn a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games on the line in the men's team sprint, the Americans were focused on what was in front of them.

Bakersfield's Amgen course deemed "notorious" in team press release

The tour will begin in Santa Rosa on May 13th before traveling over 750 miles over eight days, over some of California's most difficult terrain. This year's race features new host towns Sonora and Ontario and a return to the notorious Bakersfield time trial course before completing on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The race is considered one of the toughest in America, if not the world, and the team is well prepared for the challenge.

Continue reading the Press Release.

Around California

Women Underrepresented on Bike/Ped Advisory Committees

Cathy DeLuca's research sprung from personal curiosity. A long-time transportation cyclist and bicycle advocate, she was surprised to learn that her local bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee lacked a single female representative. Is my county unique, she wondered, or are women equally underrepresented in other communities in California? Then a graduate student at San Jose State University, she decided to find out.

3-foot passing bill gets unanimous yes vote

Senate Bill 1464, this year's version of the 3-foot passing bill cosponsored by CBC and the City of Los Angeles, passed in its first Senate hearing on Apr. 17. The Senate Transportation and Housing Committee voted 8-0 to approve the bill. The bill generated little discussion among committee member and no opposition at the hearing, a promising sign that we've solved the main concerns that caused Gov. Jerry Brown to veto SB 910, last year's 3-foot passing bill.

Read more at the California Bicycle Coalition.

A Central Coast Foodie Bike Overnight

"You can't camp here," they said, looking at our bike-camping bivouac in the middle of the military base. The two police officers from Fort Hunter Liggett—50 miles north of Paso Robles in the rural foothills of the Santa Lucia Range—were ruining my thoughts of a restful sleep tucked in the tent with my sweetie.

CicLAvia draws some 100,000 cyclists, skaters, pedestrians

As cars whizzed by and trucks honked, two dozen members of the East Side Riders from Watts slowly pedaled their cruisers up Central Avenue early Sunday. Their destination was seven miles away: CicLAvia, a rare opportunity to enjoy 10 miles of car-free streets in downtown Los Angeles and beyond and to soak up the spirit of what turned out to be a citywide block party.

Record Numbers for San Francisco Bike to School Day

It may be the first year for National Bike to School Day, but San Francisco has been celebrating and growing its local event since 2009. April 12th, more than 2,000 students pedaled to class (in the rain!) for the fourth annual Bike to School Day, with the participation of 40 schools and six District Supervisors.

Around the Country

Helping Cyclists With Disabilities Reach Their Goals

The League's Smart Cycling curriculum is a great tool for creating safe, confident cyclists. One of the greatest aspects of the program is the way it can be adapted to meet an educator's needs. A great example is Programs to Educate All Cyclists (PEAC), a Michigan group helping individuals of all ages with cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities reach their cycling goals.

Sierra Club and League Urge Congress to Stop Shortchanging Bicyclists

This May, millions of Americans will participate in National Bike Month, showcasing the widespread desire to use bicycles as a healthy, affordable and efficient form of transportation. Sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists and supported by the Sierra Club, the month will feature more than 450 events nationwide, highlighting the popularity of bicycling and the need for bike-friendly transportation policies. But, while Americans want to ride their bikes, Congress is threatening to hit the brakes.

Inspired To Ride By Her Son

I ride my bicycle with my child, because I wouldn't ride it without him. I know myself. I'm lazy. I might take up cycling for a short-lived exercise regime, but I would never have become a non-driving member of society if it wasn't for my son Jack.

Study: Used bike owners ride more, buy more

Owners of bikes they bought used ride more, buy more, and visit bike shops more often than owners of bikes they bought new, according to a new study. Used-bike owners also ride their bikes to work more often than owners of new bikes, and, in what the researchers called a big surprise, they are wealthier.

We Like Bikes (by the President of the Northern California, Nevada and Utah AAA)

While I do work for an auto club, I still ride a bike. I'm happy to report that I'm not alone. Cycling is on the rise in most parts of the country. People ride for fun, for exercise, and, increasingly, just to get from here to there. According to a Rutgers University study, the number of bike commuters in the United States grew 64 percent over the past two decades.

Around the World

Motorist Convenience Trumps Safety

Toronto's chief medical officer made headlines in the Toronto media for recommending that the city reduce its speed limits to 30km/h on residential streets, and 40km/h on other city streets to "support the increased use and safety of walking and cycling." The Doctor's recommendations were mocked by the media, and seemingly dismissed by the general public.

Women Riders Across the Globe Unite for Cyclofemme on May 13

When Sarai Snyder started mountain biking in 1995 she felt like the only woman on the local scene. A few years later, when she managed a local bike shop in Newport, Ky., she noticed the same lack of ladies: The vast majority of store customers and weekly ride participants were male.

Car-saturated Mexico City lets bicycle riders rule the roads on Sunday mornings

Hey, honey, let's go bicycling with the kids through downtown Mexico City! Just a few years ago, these would have been the words of a lone madman. In one of the world's biggest cities, bicycle riding is today a popular way to get around, especially on Sunday mornings, when city hall shuts major throughways to auto traffic and gives the right of way to tens of thousands of cyclists (and a bunch of Rollerbladers and joggers and dogs, too) who wend their way down grand commercial avenues and hard-bitten byways in a leisurely 14-mile loop.

10 Observations About Bicycling in Amsterdam (photo essay)

While visiting Amsterdam on my recent trip to Europe, I made some observations about cycling around the Dutch capital. Here are my top ten observations:

Can A Free Bike Help A Girl's Education In India?

This video documents a IGC Bihar research program to investigate the effect of providing 14 year old schoolgirls with bicycles. It is pretty academic, but worth viewing no matter your opinion on bicycles as world changers.

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