August
2005

Team Bike Challenge is great success!



Captain Amy Orozco, right, with her Coastal View News team that beat everybody else. Photo by Kent Epperson.

• "We kicked their ass," exulted Amy Orozco, team captain of Coastal View News Cruisers after beating 110+ other teams in the Team Bike Challenge. She was justified because her team got 402 points, way above second place team EDC (Environmental Defense Center) with 322 points, and third place Team Ding Bell (Bicycle Coalition team) with 318. They won a wine tour and catered lunch in the Santa Ynez Valley.
• Traffic Solutions, the Challenge organizer, reported that 476 bicyclists rode 6990 trips, or an average of 15 per bicyclist. They're thrilled with the success, and are already planning a bigger and better Challenge in 2006. An email survey will be sent out shortly asking participants for their suggestions.
• Has it made people bicycle more? Yes! Orozco says, "We're still riding."
• Rider Nancy Tolivar said, "I did increase my bike trips and am continuing to do so." It didn't stop there because her 13-year old son, not an avid biker, became interested and joined a team. Tolivar reports, "He biked more that month than he had in a year. It's been easier to get him to ride than it used to be."
• Bicycle Coalition board member Jim Marshall persuaded his brother Jon Marshall, an infrequent rider, to join his team. It was a real success because Jon rode all days but two. Even more, his girl friend started riding as well, and they rode with her daughter to school.
• Overall, our congratulations go to Traffic Solutions and to all 476 participants. We're looking forward to a greater event in 2006.

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Coalition wants lockers at Goleta train station



Currently, there are bike racks at the Goleta Amtrak station, but no secure bike lockers. Yet. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Bicycle Coalition member and CycleSmart logo artist Jim Cody and his wife biked to the Goleta Amtrak station on July 9th, locked their bikes to the rack, and took the train to San Diego for the weekend. Upon returning, they found both bikes stolen. So now they drive instead of bike.
• If the Bicycle Coalition's suggestions are followed by Caltrans this fall, such disheartening losses will be much less likely. Right now, there are bike racks at the station, but no bike lockers. So when Caltrans' Division of Rail sought suggestions for improvements last February, we said "Install bike lockers at the station."
• A huge potential group of bike locker users already exists at nearby UCSB: the 15,000 students, staff and faculty who bicycle onto campus each day. A recent survey of University people showed that those who bike commute are most likely to choose bicycles for other trips. Being assured of convenient and secure bike parking at the Goleta station will result in greater bicycle and rail usage.
• Today's bike lockers have plastic or perforated metal panels so security personnel can view the contents, and locking systems that allow users with cell phones and credit cards to access available lockers on site—a passnumber is automatically given to them to open a specific bike locker door.
• This fall, Caltrans will be putting together a proposal for station improvements, hopefully one that will include bike lockers. They have $700,000 to spend and lockers would only be a small portion of that. The Bicycle Coalition will be following the progress.

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Learn about Measure D on August 2nd

• At our monthly Bicycle Coalition meeting on August 2nd, we will be joined by Gregg Hart who will describe possibilities for renewal of Measure D. You'll be hearing a lot about Measure D as the replacement tax is crafted over the upcoming months, and probably put on the November 2006 ballot.
• Measure D is an existing half-cent general sales tax within Santa Barbara County. Some of the money has gone to major highway projects, but most is given to the county and city governments to spend on transportation projects. That money—one quarter of what they spend on transportation—is often leveraged as a local contribution that's required to attract federal and state funding. How much is used for walking, bus, and bicycling projects varies greatly from one jurisdiction to another.
• A new challenge for this tax is that it now requires a two-thirds vote to pass, while originally, it needed a simple majority. Other counties in California that recently voted to extend existing transportation taxes have passed them, while new ones failed.
• Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig suggests that a new measure might include:
• Safe routes to school to improve safety for kids walking and biking to school.
• Dedicated funding within each jurisdiction for bicycling projects.
• A bike trail along the railroad between Ellwood and Carpinteria.
• Completion of existing bicycle plans within each jurisdiction.
• A "complete streets" clause for all work.
• The Santa Barbara News-Press has, in a recent editorial, said that "If commuter rail, improved bus service and other mass transit alternatives aren't the centerpiece of the new tax measure, South Coast residents shouldn't sign off on it."
• At this point, all options are open. Attend our noon meeting August 2nd to learn more.

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Bike business moves here from Netherlands
by Ralph Fertig



Baron and Cecile Corpuz are shown here with their daughter Lizzy, ready for another local bike trip. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• "There are two nut cases coming down on bicycles," the Yosemite ranger radioed ahead as young Baron Corpuz and a buddy headed into Yosemite Valley. They had biked in the rain for days from San Jose, and now this steep road was slick and narrow. Worse, Baron's brakes failed, but he and his friend thankfully managed to survive the ride.
• Today, Baron is married to Cecile Corpuz, a charming Dutch woman whom he met at San Jose State University. After years involved in various bicycle-related businesses in the Netherlands, they decided to move to a place that is warmer, drier, and has a vibrant bicycle culture. They chose Santa Barbara.
• For years they've run Renaissance Cycles, a web-based business that sells classic European bicycle parts to avid cyclists around the world. That business will continue, but now they are adding something new: Bici Sports, a Santa Barbara shop that will sell bicycles assembled here from select components, along with a cafe and probably other bicycle projects that come along and attract their interest.
• As Cecile explains, they hope to bring European bike culture to our area. She recently impressed an Hispanic woman when she was picking up lunch for the family at a local deli, her daughter seated behind her and a shopping basket attached to the handlebars. Just setting by example can go a long way to show others what it's possible to do.
• They love Santa Barbara as a place to raise their family of three children aged 4 to 13. "We like it because it's a close-knit community." That, plus the active bicycling may make it unique in America.
• Bici Sports is not open for customers yet, but will be in September. However, stop by to meet Baron and Cecile, see what they are creating at 615 East Gutierrez Street, and welcome them to our area.

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“Complete streets”

• The terms "complete streets" or "routine accommodation" are recent phrases that refer to streets that invite all users. This is something that was suggested by Caltrans Deputy Directive DD-64 back in 2001, but not specified explicitly. It's something that we are asking to be part of Measure D sales tax reauthorization.
• A new web site www.completestreets.org explains what it means: our streets ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. But too many of our streets are designed only for speeding cars. They're unsafe for people on foot or bike or wheelchair—and unpleasant for everybody. On the web site, notice the reprint of an article from Planning magazine that favorably features Santa Barbara's Downtown.

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Bike history conference in Davis

• If you're interested in bicycling history, consider attending the 16th International Cycle History Conference this September 7-10, at the University of California, Davis. This is the first time since 1996 that the annual conference will be held in the US, so take advantage of this opportunity.
• Attendees will get use of a free bicycle, courtesy the UCD Bike Barn. Following the closing session, there will be a bike tour of Davis. Planned sessions will include these:
• Men and Machines on the Canadian Prairie, 1880s-1890s.
• American Collapse and French Expansion, National Differences in Cycling.
• Annie Cohen Kopchovsky: International Global Cyclist 1894.
• The Providence, Rhode Island Bicycle Club.
• Comparison of a Bicycle Ride across America on Ordinary Bicycles, 2004 and 1884.
• Patents for Women's Cycling Skirts and Cycle Design.
• The Global Reach of Cycling in a Historical Perspective—Third World Issues.
• The California Associated Cycling Clubs and Secession from LAW in 1897.
• The Bicycle Delivers—History of Bicycle Use by the US Postal Service.
• Racing Cyclists and the Birth of Aviation.
• Women Bicycle Tourists.
• The conference fee is $125. Reservations and more info from David Takemoto-Weerts at 530-752-2453 or dltakemotoweerts@ucdavis.edu.

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CycleSmart bicyclist education news

• LCI Training course in San Luis Obispo
• A League Cycling Instructor's (LCI) certification course will be held August 12-14th in San Luis Obispo. Trainers for this course will be Jim Baross (San Diego) and Christopher Quint (Long Beach).
• A noteworthy participant this time is Bruce Mackey, the former Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Officer who has just moved to Hanford, California. He has worked not only with police officers on safety measures, but also teachers, training them to teach kids bicycling and pedestrian safety.
• The class registration deadline has passed, but we'll keep you informed of future opportunities.
• Street Skills class
• No classes are scheduled for August, but stay tuned for more coming this fall. Future Street Skills classes will be open to all those 16 years of age and older. Optional follow up on-bike, on-road sessions will be offered at no charge to those who have completed previous Street Skills classes.
• Please send any questions to us at CycleSmart@sbbike.org.

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Bicycle podcasting
by Don Lubach

• Podcasting is a method of publishing files via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically.
• The podcasting revolution has blown into the technical world like a pelaton of cyclists. You can now fill your hard drive with NPR programming, recklessly produced music shows, and every flavor of talk show. It is much like TiVo only much better for those of us who don't subscribe to cable television.
• Cycling and transportation enthusiasts are in luck. Like-minded comrades are out there creating audio content that is music to our ears. I don't ever expect to flip on the television to see a weekly show on the benefits of additional bike paths, but I can now flip open my laptop, or fire up my iPod to hear a weekly show produced by the Davis, California bike coalition that is as nearly as exciting as one of our own Coalition's meetings. I can listen to these like-minded folks whenever I want and, thanks to my MP3 player, wherever I want.
• Here's a quick overview of three bicycle-related podcasts I enjoy:
• Bike Talk Radio is a near identical recreation of a SB Bike Coalition meeting. It is broadcast from UC Davis on KDRT radio and then made available via podcast.
• Bikescape. This is a one-man podcast from a creative guy who "podcasts" from locations around the SF Bay area. He even records shows while he rides his bike! I enjoyed his reports on Bike Summer in Los Angeles.
• Bicycle Mark's Audio communiquZ. This Podcast has one connection to cycling—the guy who records it uses a bicycle for transportation. But I love the spirit of this 25-year-old Portuguese American activist who is living in and podcasting from a great bicycle city—Amsterdam.
• If you enjoyed following the Tour de France, the Discovery Team podcast three-minute commentaries before and after each stage. Exciting!
• If the idea of downloading audio files for later listening sounds technically daunting to you, I suggest that you download the free iTunes music software onto your Macintosh or PC and click the podcast button—as with all things, Apple has jumped in early and made this social movement much easier to access.
• Once you subscribe to a couple of podcasts,Þ you'll understand the power of this new medium. Pretty soon, I hope we hear our own members as they create and deliver podcasts about Santa Barbara cycling.

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Bikes for the World meeting report



Craig Annear and his sister Sandy Thompson describe the Bikes for the World program. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• On July 16th, we were fortunate to have a meeting with Craig Annear, an advisor for the Bikes for the World program. He was visiting his sister who is a professor at UCSB, and she contacted us thinking that we might all benefit from getting together.
• Annear described their program that gathers unused bikes and ships containers of them to organizations in countries where they are needed. In the US, they coordinate with scout or church and other community groups to bring bikes to central locations. A $10 donation is requested for each bike to help pay the shipping. They then bring them to central Washington DC area where they are loaded into containers. It costs about $4000 to ship a container that holds 400-450 bicycles.
• If there are high-end, multi-gear bikes, they are sometimes sold locally to help pay for shipping the others. No repairs are made to the bikes, they are sent "as is."
• Finding a program at the other end is a challenge. Because of high trucking costs to inland areas, seaport cities are strongly preferred. The local program staff deal with government duties and regulations. Programs that do not undermine existing bike businesses are chosen. Typically, the first container is paid for by Bikes for the World, and any subsequent ones are paid for by the overseas group.
• So, can we create a similar program here? Possibly. Former Bicycle Coalition president Robert Bernstein felt that it would be better to use donated bikes to revive our old "earn-a-bike" program for local kids, and maybe send extra bikes to the Boston-based Bikes Not Bombs group for them to ship abroad from the port of Oakland. If enough Bicycle Coalition and other people were interested, we could copy other programs here, but finding a place to store bikes would likely be difficult.
• Current president Ralph Fertig agreed, saying "I would favor a program that gave priority to local recycling of bicycles before sending them away. We're not Third World, but there are many local kids and adults who would use bikes if they had them. The $4000 per 400 bikes could help a local program instead."
• Still, an overseas program might work, Fertig thought. "For a program to succeed here, I think that it would need a simple arrangement where bikes are collected, packed and shipped within a short time. If it is drawn out, we would better devote our energy to local issues."
• We're open to ideas. To learn more about other programs, go to: www.p4p.org, www.bikesnotbombs.org, and www.bikesfortheworld.org.

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Bicycling is favorite outdoor activity

• The Outdoor Industry Foundation has published its seventh annual survey of human-powered outdoor activities of Americans aged 16 and older—and bicycling is the favorite. The survey tracked 22 activities during the year 2004 and determined that out of the 159 million Americans who participated in an outdoor activity, 86 million choose bicycling of one kind or another.
• The top four outdoor activity groups, with number of 2004 participants, are these:
• Bicycling, 86 million
• Fishing, 80 million
• Camping, 66 million
• Trail running, 40 million
• Paddlesports, 32 million.
• Overall, the survey determined that participants represented 85% of all Americans over 16; that 56% were male, their median age was 41, and median income was $56,900.
• They divided bicycling into three sub-categories, road bicycling, single-track biking (under 5 feet wide), and dirt road biking, with the following participation:
• Road Bicycling, 79 million
• Single-track Biking, 40 million
• Dirt Road Biking, 40 million.
• There obviously are many individuals who enjoy biking in multiple ways. You can fall asleep reading the entire 276-page study at their site www.outdoorindustry.org.

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New email listserve

• We have moved the Bicycle Coalition's email list from Topica.com to Riseup.net because of complaints over irritating ads that Topica has been inserting, and the loss of the list service for 4 days in mid-July.
• After consulting with our Board of Directors and our list manager Robert Bernstein, we decided to switch to Riseup.net that has no ads. Plus, we expect, better service.
• Our 170 current subscribers have been automatically moved; the only difference is that you now send email messages to sbbike@lists.riseup.net. New subscribers wishing to join have to send an email to:
• sbbike-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
• For at least a month, the Topica.com list will continue, then we will close the service. Please post only to Riseup.net, do not send to both. Thank you for your understanding.

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National Bicycle Greenway Ride in SB



Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum presents a City proclamation to bicyclists Stephen Box and Enci. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The National Bicycle Greenway's Fourth Annual National Mayors' Ride passed through Santa Barbara on July 20th. Two riders, Stephen Box and Enci, arrived from Los Angeles to receive a proclamation from Mayor Marty Blum. The ride is passing through 52 major US cities, visiting all four corners of the country, before it ends in San Francisco on July 31st.
• The National Bicycle Greenway's aim is to promote a network of coast-to-coast, multi-use transportation and recreational bicycle roads and trails. It will provide safe, clean, aesthetic, and enjoyable places for people of all ages to ride a bicycle all year round. You can read more about the National Bicycle Greenway project at http://nationalbicyclegreenway.com.

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Transportation act gets extensions

• The important, 6-year federal transportation act that will replace TEA-21 legislation received its ninth and tenth extensions as the House-Senate conference committee failed to reach agreement by their two July deadlines.
• Apparently issues still exist over funding disparities between the Senate and House bills. However, convergence is coming and it's expected that the bill will be passed by Congress before August recess.

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Hero Richard Lambert to the rescue

• Kudos to Bicycle Coalition member Richard Lambert who responded to a plea from Dominique Bergman on July 2nd. She had written about her son's bike that he won in a raffle at the Boys and Girls Club. The bike was fine, however it needed a tune-up and adjustments so it would fit him, but she didn't have the money. Her email to our president asking for help was sent to our list and Lambert volunteered to do the work for free.
• On July 5th, an email from an excited and grateful Bergman arrived: "RichardÞcame by my house this morning and worked on my son's bike. He tuned it up and adjusted the handle bars at no cost! My son was able to ride his new bike for the first time and is so excited! I can't thank you enough!"

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We thank our active members

• Please thank and support the following Bicycle Coalition business members:
• Bicycle Bob's, Santa Barbara & Goleta
• Commuter Bicycles, Santa Barbara
• Jeffrey Stoutenborough, Architect, Santa Barbara
• King Cycle Group, Portland OR
• Nett & Champion Insurance Services, Santa Barbara
• Open Air Bicycles, Santa Barbara
• Pedal Power Bicycles, Santa Maria
• Piekert Group Architects, Santa Barbara
• We welcome our newest Bicycle Coalition members Mike Edwards, Diane Soini, Melanie Yanke, Patrick O'Donnell, Diane Lauter, and Bruce Davis. We additionally thank those who renewed their memberships: Carol Kosai, David Madajian, Jean Anderson, Thomas Kren, Stuart Sato, Ellen Wall, Hildy Hoffman, and Glenn Reinhart.

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Steve Shepard: rides for life with Yardi help
by Erika Lindemann

• Steve Shepard knows how to enjoy his bicycle for commuting, for fitness and for mental health. He is currently Corporate Communications Director at Yardi Systems and has been commuting by bike ever since he moved to Santa Barbara. "I used to live in Seattle, where we were a one-car family and I got used to using alternative transportation because I took the bus to work there. When I got to Santa Barbara I only had a two mile commute, so I started taking my bike instead of the car."
• Steve now rides nine miles to work, and frequently bikes at lunch for fitness. He enjoys commuting by bike because it gets his blood moving in the morning, and helps him decompress on the way home.
• Steve is lucky to have an accommodating workplace with great facilities for bicyclists and supportive management. Yardi Systems, a real estate and accounting software company, recently moved into a new office building in Old Town Goleta. Yardi employees now have bike-friendly amenities such as showers, lockers and bike parking outside and inside their building, typically packed with bicycles.
• Yardi Systems is also a special place to work because employees are encouraged to ride bikes to work through promotions and classes. Employees have long enjoyed Bike to Work Day and Bike Week events. Gordon Morrell, Yardi's Executive VP and COO, hosted a public 2005 Bike to Work Day site, and two groups of Yardi employees formed Team Bike Challenge teams. Steve and Gordon also worked with Traffic Solutions to host a brown bag lunch presentation, open to Yardi employees, about safe urban bicycling techniques.
• It's been a pleasure working with Yardi Systems and advocates like Steve and Gordon. I spend a lot of time working to encourage employers to provide amenities and support to commuters in ways that Yardi Systems does on its own initiative.

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July Coalition meeting topics

• Our July 5th Bicycle Coalition attracted 13 people to a new dinner location, Rusty's Pizza across from the beach in Santa Barbara. We discussed these topics:
• Ralph Fertig announced that Renaissance Cycles business owners are back in Santa Barbara, this time to stay.
• Gastón Renjel described alternative possibilities for our upcoming Member Appreciation BBQ, and passed around a sign-up sheet for volunteers to help; we voted on catered and purchased food.
• The month-long Team Bike Challenge was deemed a great success by Erika Lindemann; winners will soon be announced.
• Ralph Fertig reported some further results of the annual bicyclist count, and thanked those who helped with it.
• Three upcoming Semana Nautica bicycling events were described.
• Ralph Fertig described an upcoming public meeting with Craig Annear from the Bikes for the World program.
• Our petition for including bicycling in the renewal of Measure D was discussed, along with possibilities of obtaining more information about the process of writing the new measure.