www.sbbike.org Serving Santa Barbara County We’re a countywide advocacy and resource organization that promotes bicycling for safe transportation and recreation.
How to reach us Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition PO Box 92047 Santa Barbara CA 93190-2047 phone 962-1479 email info@sbbike.org web www.sbbike.org
March 6th meeting Join us on the first Tuesday of the month for our general meeting: Tuesday, March 6th Santa Barbara Bank & Trust Community Room 1021 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara
Online email list We sponsor an online email forum where you can post and read messages that pertain to regional bicycling issues. It’s easy and free. To subscribe to our general forum, just send an email message to: sbbike-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Leave the subject line and body of the message blank. That’s all!
Join our Coalition You can help improve bicycling safety and conditions in Santa Barbara County by joining others in our own regional Bicycle Coalition advocacy group. Together we will continue to make a real difference. See page 6 for your application options.
Our CycleSmart program The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s CycleSmart bicyclist education program offers bicycling skills classes for school children and adults. Look for details of upcoming classes inside Quick Release, or contact our Co-coordinators Dru van Hengel and Erika Lindemann by email CycleSmart@sbbike.org .
March 2007
Cycling surges in Santa Barbara county Maybe it’s the Amgen Tour of California. Maybe it’s the increasing number of professional cycling teams coming here to train. Maybe it’s affluent boomers seeking organized, social bike tours with comfy evenings. Maybe it’s the coming of age of bicycling in America. Or maybe its just the word creeping out that we have great bicycling conditions throughout Santa Barbara county. Whatever the cause, there has been an explosion in cycling training camps and organized cycling tours in our community in 2007. In addition, we have had a significant increase in competitive racing—both on and off-road—over the years, plus a sustained base of large group rides. While not a scientific survey, a compilation of cycling events in our county listed on our website since 2000 offers a general idea of the changes that we are seeing. The adjacent graph shows the results of tallying them. “Camps” means training camps and workshops for both road cycling and mountain biking. “Tours” includes organized multi-day tours with meals, accommodations, personal leaders, and motorized support. An example of this new phenomenon is the several Trek Tours that are being held here, or the locallybased Santa Barbara Wine Country Cycling Tours. The “Races” includes criteriums, road races, mountain biking cross-country and downhill events, all with timing and prizes. Finally, “Rides” refers to non-competitive, public rides like the Solvang Century that attracts thousands of riders (and dollars) to Solvang each March. The graph shows results so far for 2007, so the final numbers may end up being greater as we become aware of additional upcoming events.
What does this mean for us resident bicyclists? Studies show that as more people bicycle, the total number of crashes increases, but the number of crashes per bicyclist decreases. So we’re safer. More tours, races and rides means that local business people, especially those in the hospitality industry, benefit from the influx of participants. The restaurants and hotels that do a better job of accommodating the needs of bicyclists will prosper—and more importantly, they will become partners with government and tourist agencies to help improve bicycling conditions for us all. Our air pollution may be reduced because those coming for bicycling events, even if they drive here, have a ready non-polluting means of alternative transportation with them—their bicycles. Whether this year’s surge in bicycling events is an aberration, or a significant shift in Santa Barbara county cycling, will be determined in the future. However, it definitely appears to be following a trend of healthy growth.
Ortega Hill ribbon-cutting opens bikepath The Ortega Hill bikepath ribbon-cutting ceremony attracted 50 people, including over a dozen bicyclists ready to try out the nice new path that connects Summerland and Montecito. The $5.2 million project, consisting of the bikepath plus a Highway 101 auxiliary lane, has taken nine years to realize. Speakers at the dedication included (in the photo, from the left) Caltrans District 5 Deputy Director Eileen Loe, Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum, and First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal. Also present were SBCAG Director Jim Kemp, Bicycle Coalition President Ralph Fertig, and City Councilman Grant House. Try it out next time you’re in the neighborhood.