Bicycle Commuting



The Santa Barbara Beachway provides a popular bike commute route. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The average commute to work in the United States is about five miles, a very reasonable distance for bicycling. According to the 2000 Census, there are over 4800 bike commuters to work in Santa Barbara County. That's enough to tie us for 14th place percent-wise out of all 3126 counties in the US. In addition to commuting to work, there are other uncounted bicycling trips to school, shop, visit friends, have fun, and keep fit.
• There are two parts to this section of our web site:
• Residents tell us why they love to bike commute
• A guide to bike commuting
• These are briefly introduced below and linked to the content. Please enjoy!

Why I love to bike commute



Tom Holland, left, receives congratulations and a membership certificate for the Goleta Valley Athletic Club from Casey Holland (no relationship to Tom), the Athletic Club's Membership Sales Director. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• In spring 2000, the Bicycle Coalition held a public contest. It asked South Coast residents to write about their bike commutes to work. Prizes from Hazards Cyclesport and the Goleta Valley Athletic Club were awarded the best entries as determined by the Bicycle Coalition Board of Directors.
• Our congratulations to winners Tom Holland and Tom Towle. And our thanks to all others who entered: Dan Wesolowski, Amy Frease, David Madajian, Brad Clark, Don Lubach, Joli B. Ewart, Jerry Clark, Nick Davis, Kristi Gipe, Eddie Carrasco, Nancy Eckert, Scott Hendren, Ralph Fertig, Susan Carty, Marianne Rossant, Jamey Wagner, Kathleen Boehm, and Sybil Jacobs (Ashley).
• Read the year 2000 stories here
• Inspired with the entries, we repeated the contest in 2002. It again asked residents to write about their bike commutes to work. Prizes from Hazards Cyclesport, Bicycle Bob's, Citronelle Restaurant and the Santa Barbara Biltmore were awarded the best entries as determined by the Bicycle Coalition Board of Directors.
• Congratulations to winners Duncan Thomas, Judy Keim, Talin Lindsay, and Alex Trieger. And our thanks to all others who entered: Richard Scholl, Randy Arnold, Terry Thomas, Andrea Nuernberger, Eli Knapp, Philip Dennison, Nancy Keller, Michael Casterline, Martin Lewis, Kenneth C. Welch Jr., Kristi Gipe, Damon Turney, Steve Fleming, and Tim Lewis. Don Lubach additionally submitted a fine entry, but was inadvertantly omitted from the judging.
• Read the year 2002 stories here

Guide to bicycle commuting

• Here's a fairly thorough guide to getting around by bike and saving money doing it. It covers bicycle basics including bike fit, equipment, maintenance, parking, and security. Then it considers helmets, clothing, getting around, biking in traffic, and off-street, nighttime and winter bicycling. Read all about it here