April
1992

Santa Barbara County awarded $462,000 for bicycling facilities

• The County of Santa Barbara was selected by the California Transportation Commission to receive one of 16 grants for the creation and improvement of bicycling facilities.
• Martin Wilder, Planner for the County Public Works Department and writer of the application, was delighted that the funding was approved. In these tight economic times, said Wilder, there would otherwise be no money for any bicycle facilities.
• The County was one of 112 California municipalities that applied to the State for a portion of the fiscal year's $4.05 million earmarked for bicycle improvements. Everybody was surprised at the total number and value—almost $23 million—of requests that poured in. The funding is for the first out of five years, as part of the $2 billion Proposition 116 passed by California voters.
• The City of Santa Barbara also applied for funding, but was turned down. Apparently, Caltrans created a recommended ranking of the 112 applications, and the City came in at 72nd place, way below the County's 15th place. Everybody seems baffled by the difference, especially since the City asked for $218 thousand to complete a needed "missing link" bicycle lane segment along Shoreline Drive.
• Wilder said that he has yet to receive official papers from the State, so is unsure how stringently they will hold the County to the proposed improvements. In any event, the County's proposal includes:
• Lighting and AC overlay for the Atascadero Bikeway, Santa Barbara to UCSB
• Bicycle-sensitive loops or button crossings at various Goleta and Santa Barbara intersections
• Bicycle lockers at County and other facilities
• New storm drain grates at various County locations.
• For each of the remaining four years, the County and any other municipality can apply for further funding. But we're certainly pleased to have won this amount in round one. The Public Works Department should be congratulated.

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Bicycle Coalition Finalizes Plans for Earth Day Exhibit

• On Sunday, April 26th, the Earth Day Outdoor Festival will occupy two blocks of Alameda Park in Santa Barbara. Our Bicycle Coalition booth is located near the alternate-fuel vehicle exhibit on Sola Street along the Park. We have the enthusiastic support from Earth Day officials.
• Our exhibit will emphasize three areas: Bicycle Display, Bicycle Repair, and Information:
• The Bicycle Display area will have a superb collection of bicycles. Les Drake is coordinating it (phone 684-2080 evenings). As of March 24, it looks like 6 local shops and 5 individuals will be loaning a rich variety of bicycles!
• The Bicycle Repair area will feature Scott Jaffke (the "Bike Doctor") and a mechanic from Open Air Bicycles in Isla Vista who will offer free bicycle check-ups and repair demonstrations.
• The Information Stand will have bicycling experts to answer questions and provide literature. Dale Pearson is scheduling hours for booth duty; to volunteer or get info, call him at 964-4059 evenings (after April 5). We are still trying to decide just what literature to hand out. It will certainly include safety tips for children, lists of local bicycling maps, bicycling groups, bike shops, how to start bicycle commuting, the mountain bike trail maintenance program, and basic material on the Bicycle Coalition itself. Troy Harris is collecting samples of bicycling publications.
• Ideas are still in flux. If you have any suggestions or thoughts, contact the people already mentioned, or call Trisha Davis (963-7283 days, 963-9095 evenings) or Ralph Fertig (966-6424 days, 962-1479 evenings). And certainly come to our meeting on April 1st.

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New bicycling TV show starts in April

• Bicycling magazine has teamed up with ESPN cable network to present six monthly bicycling television programs.
• Starting in April and lasting at least 30 minutes each, the shows will feature top cyclists and races. They will cover Greg LeMond's early season, the Mountain Bike World Cup circuit, the NORBA National Championship Series, Olympic trials, and a Tour de France preview. In addition, they will include chats with Bicycling magazine editors, the newest products, and tips on riding.
• Check your TV listings for the final dates and times.

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Local bicycle clubs serve varied Santa Barbara County interests

• The purpose of this section is to acquaint SBBC members with local bicycling clubs. If there are any special upcoming club-sponsored events that you believe others would be interested in, please submit them to Ralph Fertig for publication here.
• Bicycle Touring Club of Solvang. Phone: 688-3330. Address: c/o Don Henry, 1669 Maple Avenue, Apt 21, Solvang, CA 93463.
• Equipe Goleta. Phone: 967-9669. Address: Coastline Cycles, 286 South Fairview, Goleta, CA 93117.
• Goleta Valley Cycling Club. Phone: 684-6060. Address: P.O. Box 1547, Goleta, CA 93116.
• Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers. Phone: 683-0371. Address: 225 Valdez Avenue, Goleta, CA 93117.
• Santa Barbara Bicycle Club. Phone: 967-2813. Address: P.O. Box 91717, Santa Barbara, CA 93190.
• Tailwinds Bicycle Club of Santa Maria. Phone: 925-7269. Address: P.O. Box 48, Santa Maria, CA 93456.
• UCSB Cycling Team. Phone: 968-2424. Address: c/o Trevor Thorpe, Activities Planning Center, Room 3145, Box 21, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

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Igor Nalimov describes bicycle touring in the Russian Federation

• The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition sponsored its first public lecture when Russian bicyclist Igor Nalimov gave a slide presentation about bicycle touring in the new Federation. About 25 people turned out for the February 28th lecture that was jointly sponsored by the Goleta Valley Cycling Club.
• Nalimov described holiday outings by the 1000-member Moscow Bicycle Club. Bicycling in the city is dangerous, so they hop on trains with their laden bicycles and head out to the country. Since train travel is very cheap, they can go 10 or 2000 miles before starting.
• Highly organized, they carry big tents to sleep several people, buy food from farmers along the way, and cook together in large pots. Camping is in any convenient open field.
• The further into the country they venture, the poorer the road conditions become. Photos showed them fording streams with bicycles held high, mountainous roads with vertiginous switchbacks, and even bicycling on Lake Baykal ice in winter.
• According to Nalimov, there are more bicyclists here than anywhere else in California. That observation must have been reinforced a week later when he returned to join 5800 others for the 100-mile Solvang Century ride. At the end of the lecture, Bob Zimels, president of the GVCC, awarded Nalimov with a red, white and blue ribboned bicycling medal.
• Within the past three years, Russia has removed most restrictions on tourism, and Igor welcomes anybody interested in bicycling there to contact him. People now open their homes to overnight guests. Igor left some literature with Ralph Fertig, so call him at 962-1479 if you're ready for adventure.