February
2008

Cycling Tour returns to SB County



In Solvang last year, Health Net cyclists warm up before the individual time trial races. Photo by Ralph Fertig.



In Santa Barbara last year, the cyclists prepare for the stage start on Cabrillo Boulevard. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The Amgen Tour of California 2008 cycling stage race is bringing 17 professional teams from around the world to compete across 650 miles of California roadways. Santa Barbara County is again hosting two stages, one each in Solvang and Santa Barbara, bringing thousands of bicycling enthusiasts to our area.
• Our Bicycle Coalition is one of the sponsoring partners for the Santa Barbara Stage start. Local organizing committees in both cities are working hard to provide an array of cycling and fitness activities for us all. There are also a number of commercial cycling tours and training camps clustered around the Tour. The Versus Network is providing TV coverage of the entire Tour at 8:00 PM week days, and 2:00 PM weekends. Below are some of the local events. For updates, check here.
• Solvang Feb 22
• Solvang Stage 5 Time Trial. The Friday Tour Time Trial is the pivotal stage where individual cyclists can gain crucial seconds on their rivals.
• Preferred seating. You can watch the action best in the VIP area at the finish line. See link below.
• “Race of Truth” Adventure. Your chance to compete with other amateurs on the closed Time Trial course before the actual Stage 5 start.
• Lifestyle Festival. In Solvang all day. Booths representing bicycle firms and other fitness sponsors.
• Valet Bike Parking. Provided by the UCSB Cycling Club. Avoid gridlock by parking and pedaling to the bike parking area at Solvang Park.
• Solvang Gala. On Friday evening, a Gala of wine tasting, dinner, dancing, live music, a talk by Dave Shields, and an auction.
• Solvang Bike Raffle. You can win a limited edition $1500 Felt F75 road bike.
• Solvang Website. Learn lots more about the above at www.tourofcalifornia-solvang.com.
• Santa Barbara Feb 23
• Santa Barbara Party. This Friday evening party’s at the Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center. Music, food, hosted bar, giveaways, special guests.
• Family Fitness Fair. In the Chase Palm Park near the Stage starting line, it consists of a range of local fitness-oriented activities for everybody.
• Santa Barbara Free Kids Races. Free races for chidren aged 4-10. Registration 7:30 AM, races at 9:00. The first 100 kids receive a shirt and medal.
• Bicycle Coalition Booth. We have a booth near the sign-in stage area. Stop by to learn about what we’re doing and how to enjoy our area by bike.
• Santa Barbara Stage 6 Start. Cyclists will leave on their ride to Santa Clarita at 11:00 AM, they will be signing in beforehand, and the Family Fitness Fair will continue until 1:00 PM. Avoid congestion by parking some distance away, and biking to the East Beach area. Cabrillo Boulevard will be closed.
• Santa Barbara Website. Learn more about the above at www.TourSB.com.

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Unity Shoppe thanks us for helmets

• Last December, our Bicycle Coalition purchased 100 kids bike helmets that we donated to the Unity Shoppe program. In January, we received this letter in response:
• “Thank you so much for your kind donation of 100 bicycle helmets to be distributed along with new bicycles to the children of the less fortunate in Santa Barbara County through the Unity Shoppe. Your contribution is very thoughtful and has greatly assisted in caring for the safety of children of client families.”
• “The Unity Shoppe is currently serving 15,000 low-income clients annually that are referred by 260 social service agencies, nonprofits, schools, churches and hospitals. Our goal is to reinforce the family, assist them through the crisis times and help them become self-sustaining.”
• We’re very pleased that we could help youngsters gain the safe mobility and independence that bicycles bring to them and their families. Our thanks to Dru van Hengel for bringing the Unity Shoppe need to our attention. Learn more about their Shoppe at www.unityshoppe.org.

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CycleSmart bicyclist education news



Street Skills Class participants are instructed in emergency turns by Nancy Mulholland, right. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• We had another of our successful bi-monthly Street Skills for Cyclists classes on January 17-20th. If you missed the opportunity to hone your bicycling knowledge and skills for biking confidently in traffic, you can catch our next class:
• Street Skills for Cyclists Class
  Thursday, March 20, 5:30-8:30
  Saturday, March 22, 8:30-3:30
  Granada Garage, Santa Barbara
• Learn more about what the class has for you and others on our website here. Spread the word among your friends.
• LCI seminar in SLO
• Consider becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) certified to teach BikeEd to children as well as adults in our community. The LCI Training and Certification Seminar course takes place February 29-March 2, in San Luis Obispo. If you are an experienced cyclist you can be an instructor. Learn about the program at the League of American Bicyclists’ website www.bikeleague.org. Santa Barbara County participation is being coordinated by Sarah Grant at SGrant@SantaBarbaraCA.gov or by phone at 897-2669.

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Down to business with Bici Centro
by Ed France

• Welcome to what will be the first of a series of articles on our community bike repair shop. I’ll be trying to keep you all updated but also interested to volunteer, as this effort really needs all of our support. If you haven’t heard of us before, here’s some quick background:
• Bici Centro is short in Spanish for un centro de biciclisimo or “a center for bicycling.” We’re glad to have partnered with the Bicycle Coalition, since our work is an important complement to improving local transportation policy. We are about face-to-face engagement with our community, centered around the invention that we depend upon, the bike.
• We’re cyclists helping cyclists. We offer tools, assistance, used parts, and even used bikes. We carry lights and helmets, and we even offer classes to teach bike skills to youth and adults. We work primarily in La Casa de La Raza and have a stated goal of improving the quality of bicycle commuting for our constituents.
• We aren’t a charity, however, and don’t fix bikes for people, or give things away for free, instead we create a welcoming and affordable environment for commuters to build up and maintain their bicycles themselves.
• Okay, back to the update:
• So a whole lot is happening with the shop right now, primarily that we’re now set to rent an interior 1,200 square-foot shop space come March 1st. This is so huge for us! We’ll be able to offer a much higher quality service to far more people, but we’re gonna need help to do it.
• We need more volunteers. A lot of people aren’t volunteering because they don’t believe that they are skilled enough bike mechanics. Guess what? BICI CENTRO WILL TRAIN YOU IN BIKE MECHANICS! Starting fresh every quarter we plan to offer a set of eight once-a-week classes to get you trained in bike mechanics. Learn all those bike things that you’ve always wanted to know! This winter quarter will be a more flexible version and will begin Tuesday, February 29th at 7:30 PM, but late starts are acceptable. It is a 90-minute class and we only ask that you volunteer with us or make a donation for taking the course.
• Email edfrance@bicicentro.org with questions of if you’d like to volunteer or take our class.

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Wet Willy Sez

• Dear Wet Willy: The insides of my water bottles get really grungy and thoroughly rinsing them with water doesn’t seem to help much, and sometimes the water tastes like plastic too. Do you have any suggestions for cleaning these things? I hate to just toss them into the recycling bin and then go out to buy more. — Cottonmouth
• Dear Cottonmouth: You are not alone. Grungy water bottles and “plastic taste” have been a part of the cycling since the advent of plastic bottles, and probably will be forever more. But fear not, there are solutions!
• I’ve found that the best way to clean a water bottle is with baking soda. Just fill the bottle about 1/3 full with tap water and add a handful of baking soda. Put the cap back on the bottle and shake the bleep out of it for one minute. Empty out the contents through the nozzle in the cap and rinse thoroughly with more tap water, and you should be good to go. If, however, it still tastes a little grungy or like plastic, just repeat with water and baking soda. It will clean up eventually.
• Is baking soda not handy and/or are you cash-strapped for the $1.44 needed to buy a 16 oz. box of the stuff? Not to worry —Plan B is as follows: Go down to the beach and fill your water bottle until it’s about 1/3 full with sea water. Add a handful of beach sand and shake it like you mean it for one minute. Empty out the contents and rinse thoroughly with tap water – and make sure to rinse out the nozzle in the cap too. Repeat the process if the water bottle is still grungy or tastes like plastic (not likely), and the bottle will clean up eventually. Believe Wet Willy on this one; He’s put a lot of sand in water bottles over the years.

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Published bicycling articles increase again

• For the past 16 years, Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig has clipped local newspaper articles and photos that discuss, mention or depict bicycling in any way. Then, each January, he counts those from the prior year where bicycling is a significant—not trivial—part.
• What is totally striking is that, following the founding of our Bicycle Coalition in 1991, media coverage has soared dramatically. It’s not coincidental that recognition of bicycling as serious transportation and beneficial recreation is growing as we grow.
• What this year’s analysis shows is that, for 2007, we had an all-time high of 505 significant published items! There were more letters and op/ed pieces in 2002, but we helped achieve an all-time high of 452 articles/photos about bicycling.
• Out of this year’s 505 total, 53 were letters to the editor or op/ed pieces submitted by individuals. (They are grouped together in the graph, collectively called “Letters.”) We’re pleased that 25% of those bicycling letters were written by members of the Bicycle Coalition. The busiest contributor was Ralph Fertig with four published. He was followed by John Padfield with two, and the following members had one each: Alex Pujo, Barney Berglund, Eva Inbar, Diane Soini, Lane Anderson, Greg Janée, and Dick Kling.
• Your concern for better bicycling conditions makes our lives better—thank you all.

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Coalition supports trail management plan

• Whereas some of our members don’t set foot or tire tread on our community’s mountain trails, others are avid hikers, bikers and equestrians who regularly venture into our foothills and beyond.
• We have been following the Front Country Trails Task Force proceedings with interest and concern since it was created with representatives from the Forest Service, and Santa Barbara County and City Park Commissions. These three agencies have listened for months to individuals, organizations, and their staff describe our Front Country trails, their history, condition, and utilization.
• Our Bicycle Coalition took a position on January 24th with a letter to the Task Force, expressing hope that the process will result in an equitable and sustainable trails program. Essentially, we supported the Santa Barbara County Trails Council’s proposal submitted last November. The main short-and long-term actions are the following:
• Governmental agencies should partner with one or more nonprofits.
• Inventory, assess and survey trails, and compile resulting data.
• Fund, design and install trailhead signage.
• Offer trail management training.
• Implement volunteer trail patrols and education.
• Secure long-term agreement or partnership with a nonprofit.
• Develop best practice strategies for trail management based on data.
• Assemble risk assessment and trail funding teams.
• Establish trail planning, design, and construction guidelines.
• Establish a trail inspection and maintenance program.
• Investigate new trail opportunities.
• Develop an accident reporting and analysis system.
• In conclusion, we expressed hope that the Task Force will forge ahead to implement the management recommendations. With a growing population of trail users, the three Task Force agencies should seize the opportunity to craft a plan that will equitably serve our community’s present and future trail needs.
• The next Task Force meeting is on February 6th—see details here.

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Stop sign citations raise ire at UCSB
by Ralph Fertig



Looking west along the bikepath, clearly marked with a stop sign and the word “STOP” on the pavement before Stadium Road. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• On January 9th, a member of our Bicycle Coalition posted a message on our list about UCSB police action, setting off a flurry of reaction. The action happened where a campus bikepath crosses Stadium Road just north of El Colegio Road. The email said this:
• “Today at 5:00 PM two police officers were ticketing cyclists who were rolling the stop sign on the bike path through UCSB. The two cyclists ahead of me were both pulled over and there was a small line of people waiting for tickets by one officer as the first one was stopping people. I have no idea how many tickets were issued, but thousands pass that point and 99% roll the sign.”
• Here are some of the subsequent posts:
• “To be impartial, the cops should cite all motorists who fail to make total stops at campus stop signs as well—or consider “Yield” signs for bicyclists.”
• “In my opinion, putting up an unwarranted stop sign and then lying in wait and ticketing people who roll through it amounts to entrapment.”
• “...I think it is insidious to let people get used to...a law at a location not being enforced, and then catch everyone with a surprise dragnet.”
• “The problem at Stadium Road...is that the car traffic is light, but it is the bikes that are required to stop...the only bike stop along the whole bike path. So it feels unusual when riding.”
• On January 23, the University’s Larry Parsons met with the AS BIKES committee. He said that over his 30 years here, there have been no serious crashes there, but stop signs are there for safety. Given that for 30 years, bicyclists treating the signs as yield signs has been safe, why change now?

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Bourgeois is our new Treasurer

• Mark McClure has served as out Bicycle Coalition Treasurer for nearly two years, and we are very grateful for his competent work. It was agreed at our January 7th Board of Directors’ meeting, however, that he would step down and Board member Dave Bourgeois would take over.

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January Coalition meeting topics

• Our January 8th monthly Bicycle Coalition was an evening meeting at Cody’s Cafe, attracting 6 members to discuss these topics:
• Nancy Mulholland described the upcoming Street Skills for Cyclists class that takes place on January 17th and 19th. Advertising flyers will be distributed.
• Drew Hunter described the Santa Barbara local committee’s activities for the Amgen Tour of California, including a kids’ race, evening party, and Cottage Hospital’s Family Fitness Fair. Upcoming is Movie Night on January 17th.
• We talked about the Goleta Valley Cycling Club’s Holiday Bike Ride that was fun for all who participated. We wondered about expanding it to include the downtown Santa Barbara Holiday Parade.
• Ed France talked about the Bici Centro program. They will be having Open Shop hours on a weekly basis, plus a Youth Program for 8th grade students.
• Ralph Fertig outlined activities already established for Bike Week, May 17-25th. The emphasis this year will be Bicycling for Transportation.
• It was noted that the Santa Barbara International Film Festival has not yet posted films to be screened this year. Last year, there were several bike-related ones, so we hope for as many this January 24-February 3rd.

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Gaucho cruisers coming

• Beginning this spring, the Collegiate Bicycle Company will launch a line of men’s and women’s bicycles sporting the Gaucho logo and the University of California colors of blue and gold. The cruisers will sell for about $270, and be available at the UCSB Bookstore, IV bike shops, and Amazon.com. Look at www.collegiatebikes.com.

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Cycling teams choose SY Valley

• It may have taken Lance Armstrong to discover and extol the Santa Ynez Valley for early cycling season training, but others are following each year.
• In late January and early February, two professional teams will be training locally as a prelude to racing in the Amgen Tour of California February 17-24th. The Toyota-United Pro Cycling team will be here for a two week pre-season training camp based in Solvang. The Health Net Pro Cycling Team will be around for four days, Feb 2-5th for a “Training Mini-Camp.”
• You can learn more about the teams at www.teamhealthnet.com and www.toyota-united.com. And, if you’re in the Valley, watch for the teams on their daily training rides.

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ATOC anti-doping measures

• The sport of cycling, along with numerous other athletic activities, is facing serious allegations and admitted abuse of performance enhancing drugs. The organizers of the Amgen Tour of California have therefore partnered with governing bodies and anti-doping organizations to administer the most comprehensive program for any event in the sport. All cyclists will be tested before the Tour, and winners of each stage will undergo additional procedures. We hope that this will serve as a model for future events.

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We thank our active members

• Please thank and support the following Bicycle Coalition business members:
• Bicycle Bob’s, Santa Barbara
• Nett & Champion Insurance Services, Santa Barbara
• The Bike Barn, Santa Maria
• Café de Velo, Santa Barbara
• Open Air Bicycles, Santa Barbara
• Pedal Power Bicycles, Santa Maria
• Santa Barbara Electric Bicycle Company, Santa Barbara
• Chris King Precision Components, Portland OR
• Run Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
• In addition, we welcome new members Robert Bixler and Lisa Valdez. We further thank those who renewed their memberships: Lee Carter, Chris King, Drew Hunter, Mark Hansen, Bob Cooper, Judy Keim, Cliff & Kathy Runge, Ralph & Vicki Kornahrens, and Steve Morris.

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