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 facebook facebook.com/sb-bicycle
August 3rd meeting Join us for our general meeting: Tuesday, August 3rd 12:00 noon Granada Garage 1221 Anacapa Street Conference Room, 2nd Floor Santa Barbara
Online email list We sponsor a free online email forum where you can post and read messages about regional bicycling issues. To subscribe, send an email to: sbbike-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Leave the subject and body blank.
Join our Coalition You can help improve bicycling safety and conditions in Santa Barbara County by joining others in our bicycling advocacy group. See page 6.
Street Skills program The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition offers Street Skills for Cyclists classes. Details at www.sbbike.org/skills/apply. html, or email coordinators at streetskills@sbbike.org.
Bici Centro program Bici Centro of Santa Barbara is our community bicycle program, helping people who bicycle. Look at www.sbbike. org/bici/BiciCentro.html, or phone 617-3255. Quick Release is published monthly by the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, PO Box 92047, Santa Barbara, CA 93190. Subscribe for $25 per year. Issue # 226.
August 2010
South Coast high schools will roll Secondary Student Focus Group. Since developing car free campaigns at the high school level is new to us, we will hold a focus group of secondary students and parents to help us create a meaningful campaign. If you know of students or parents willing to help, please have them contact me. We’re seeking a good mix of students, some sustainable transportation users and some that are not. We want a mix of boys racks, pumped up for classes. and girls from diverse backWalk and Roll to School grounds and social groups representative of the Video. We’re putting together a short movie of school. The focus group will meet in September. local high school students and their parents who If you wish to receive our Walk and Roll e-Newshave positive routines using sustainable transporletter, just sign up at http://tinyurl.com/344zkhx. tation to and from school. They can be bicycling, Finally, if you’re a creative person with connecwalking, carpooling, taking the bus, or use a comtions to South Coast high schools and wish to help bination of modes. We will capture their experiwith the Walk and Roll campaign, please help us ences, challenges and solutions. We plan to show refine this exciting venture. the movie at the high schools as well as GATV and City TV. If you know anyone that might help please Kent Epperson is Director of Traffic Solutions. Reach him at 961-8917 or KEpperson@sbcag.org. have them contact me. by Kent Epperson
Traffic Solutions, the Community Environmental Council, the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and the City of Santa Barbara will be rolling out a Walk and Roll campaign at South Coast high schools this fall. It’s designed to stimulate students to bicycle, walk, carpool and use buses. We need help from students and parents to participate in two upcoming Students roll up to the San Marcos high school bike Walk and Roll projects:
Adventure Cycling director coming here August 4th Mark your calendars for a special event on August 4th. We’re going to have an exciting evening featuring bicycle travel stories and hosting Jim Sayer, executive director of the 42,000-member Adventure Cycling Association.
Adventure Cycling Evening August 4th, 7:00 PM Santa Barbara Public Library Faulkner Gallery 40 East Anapamu St, Santa Barbara
Jim is cycling down the Pacific Cast from Canada to Mexico with his wife Wendy and daughters Samantha, Keilan and Lucy. In a way, they are coming home because Jim and Wendy met while students at UCSB. They will be talking about the Adventure Cycling organization, plus their own bike touring experiences. The evening will also include short presentations by Dave Bourgeois on bike touring France
Jim Sayer and family, dressed in rain gear, moving down the Oregon coast, heading our way.
with his wife Christine; Ralph Fertig about bicycling in northern Cambodia; and a film “Mzungus in the Mist” by Jacob Seigel-Boettner about Santa Barbara Middle School students biking in Rwanda. So don’t miss an inspirational evening. A voluntary donation at the door will help our bicycling education programs.
“Wag’s Wild Rides” energize Goleta staff
County sustainability plans on tap Aug 3rd
by Ralph Fertig
Come to our monthly Bicycle Coalition meeting. Among other timely topics, we will hear from the County’s senior planner Susan Curtis. She will talk about the Climate Action Strategy that is being completed by the Office of Long Range Planning. Since nearly half of our county’s greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicles, nonpolluting travel by bicycle is a ready-made, healthy solution. Here’s the meeting:
Goleta city staff pause on UCSB’s bluffs overlooking surfers before a steep and sandy descent.
A funny thing happened when CycleMAYnia arrived at Goleta City Hall—Community Development Director Steve Wagner hopped on his bicycle and invited other staff members to join him for a ride. They did. Now Wagner leads bike rides to different parts of the Goleta area each Wednesday. I had the pleasure of joining them on July 14 for a trip to the UCSB oceanfront where my skinny tires squirreled in the sand, but it was a fun ride. Thank you Steve, may there be many more wild rides.
Tuesday, August 3rd, 12:00 noon Granada Garage Conference Room, 2nd floor 1221 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara
If you wish to talk to Curtis, phone her at 568-3573.
Bike polo, anybody? Two decades ago, there was an active bike polo group in Santa Barbara, competing on the East Beach soccer field. Interest faded when the organizer passed away. It’s time to bring it back, says Jim Cadenhead, who wants to organize a hard court version. If you’re interested, phone Jim at Cranky’s Bikes 963-7433.
Mouse geniuses We’ve heard that aerobic exercise like bicycling helps make us smarter, but just how that happens has stumped scientists until recently. Researchers at the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in San Diego proved in the late 1990s that humans and animals produce new brain cells if they exercise. Mice and rats pulsed with new neurons and breezed through mazes after running on wheels. Recently, scientists at Northwestern University have identified a body protein BMP that dampens the generation of new brain cells and neurons. Exercise produces another protein suitably named Noggin that suppresses BMP activity. Mice at Northwestern that were given large doses of Noggin became, in the words of Neurology Department chairman Jack Kessler, “little mouse geniuses, if there is such a thing.” They aced the mazes and other tests. Kessler concludes, “If ever exercise enthusiasts wanted a rationale for what they’re doing, this should be it.” Exercise, he says, through a complex interplay with Noggin and BMP, helps to ensure that neuronal stem cells stay lively and new brain cells are born. So very simply—you’re smart to bike, and even smarter because you bike.
Quick Release ~ August 2010 ~ Page 2
UCSB’s bait bikes are reducing theft
Thousands of bikes racked at dormitories and other campus buildings provide ready temptations for thieves.
The UCSB police department has launched a “bait bike” program to reduce bicycle thefts on campus. The program is partnering with the Associated Students BIKES committee that helped fund purchase a GPS tracking device for installation on a “bait” bicycle. When the bike is stolen, the thief is tracked down and arrested. The campus police chief Dustin Olson commented that while bike theft is not their most serious crime, depriving somebody of their everyday transportation is a quality of life issue. By prosecuting cases, he believes the word will spread that bike theft is not tolerated. The University of Wisconsin has been leaving bait bikes around campus for two years, and the number of reported thefts has dropped 30%, from 500 down to 350. We hope that other local jurisdictions will learn from UCSB, and consider implementing their own GPS bike program.
Cranky’s helps us all Jim Cadenhead, owner of Cranky’s Bikes in Santa Barbara, feels strongly about supporting local bicycling activities and advocacy. He says, “The community that has embraced us so warmly is one that we want to advance and promote. For every bike sold over $500, we automatically register its owner with the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition. We believe that a strong, voter-backed, local coalition can work as an incredible asset, and possible advocate, for homegrown cyclists’ rights and facilities improvements.” We couldn’t agree more, and thank Jim for his fervent support of all things “bicycle.”
Federal bike goals approached and surpassed In 1991, Congress appropriated $1 million for a National Bicycling and Walking Study. It had two overall goals: g
Double the 8% of US biking and walking trips to 16%
Reduce the number of bicyclist/pedestrian fatalities by 10%. Since the Study was finished, the US Department of Transportation has published 5-year, 10-year, and last May, a 15-year follow up Status Report. Unlike the earlier versions, this year’s report includes a range of bike/ped efforts at the national, state and local levels. Plus it makes recommendations for policy, research, and other measures that will help meet the Study’s goals. In 1990, only 0.7% of all reported trips were taken by bicycle; since than, it has not doubled, but last year it reached 1.0%. Even when combined with walking trips, the total of 12% is still short of the 16% goal. The number of bike trips in those 19 years has actually increased from 1.7 billion to 4.0 billion a year, but because more people are taking more trips of all kinds, the percent increase fails to meet the goal. For bicyclist fatalities, the 10% reduction goal has been achieved. In 1993 there were 814 bicyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes. There were 716 killed in 2008, representing a welcome decrease of 12 percent. What has also improved significantly since the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transg
portation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) has been federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs. In 1990, it was $6 million; by 1997, it had increased to $238 million. The reasoning behind this new support for bicycling and walking is based on the numerous benefits that biking and walking convey on us all—better health, less congestion, saved energy, environmental protection, lower costs, and an overall enhanced quality of life. The Status Report cites numerous programs at all community levels that demonstrate the expanding support for walking and bicycling. Included are: Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program. $25 million to each of four communities to improve their bike/ped mode share. g Safe Routes to School Program. The federal program augments those from California and Santa Barbara county’s Measure A tax. g Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. US DOT joins EPA and HUD to help integrate biking into communities. g
Complete Streets. Cities in California and elsewhere have to provide safe and accessible streets for bicyclists and other users. g Climate Action Plans. Jurisdictions, organizations, and mayors of 1000 cities, including Santa Barbara, have pledged to reverse harmful greenhouse gas effects. You can download and read the 24-page Status Report at http://tinyurl.com/2a7k72c. g
CycleMAYnia recap features unique bike ride On July 7th, the SBCAG South Coast Subregional Committee had a fun ride and presentation, organized by Traffic Solutions director Kent Epperson. Supervisors Janet Wolf and Salud Carbajal were joined by councilmembers Roger Aceves and Joe Armendariz, plus team winners of the Bike Challenge, for a street ride on the 7-person Conference Bike. The whimsical ride was preceded by a press conference introducing the Fielding Forward team members and presenting them with a trophy. Then the ride was followed by a movie that showed a quick summary of the 2010 CycleMAYnia events. Our thanks to all involved.
South Coast high school team competes
Formed just two years ago, the Southern California High School Cycling League already has 19 teams, the newest of which is from the Santa Barbara area. Our team consists of five students, one female and four male bikers. They come not from a single school, but from four South Coast schools—Santa Barbara, Dos Pueblos, San Marcos High Schools, and El Puente Community School. Under the direction of Coach Jeff Harbison, the new Santa Barbara team competed in a series of four races in San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties and then a State Final in Grass Valley between the SoCal and NorCal riders where champions were crowned in four age categories. The League is a great opportunity for high schoolers who enjoy cross-country mountain biking to be able to compete at their own level just as they currently do in traditional school sports. It’s also a chance for beginning riders to pick up the sport. “Those who think the sport is only about competition would be missing the boat,” says Harbison, “as the whole affair is a metaphor for life for these young people. They learn to plan and organize their training and keep track of their personal development in the sport. Along the way they learn about motivation, physical, mental and even mechanical preparation, as well as self-sufficiency while out on the course. Their camaraderie is also a big part of the reward as well.” High school cross-country mountain biking is rapidly developing not only throughout California, but also in Colorado and Texas, all as part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). Santa Barbara will again have a team this fall. Harbison hopes to eventually move from our composite school team to several individual teams from each of our local high schools. To learn more about volunteering as an adult helper, or as a student mountain biker, go to the SoCalDirt.org website or contact Jeff Harbison at harbisons@gmail.com. Quick Release ~ August 2010 ~ Page 3
A Santa Barbara bike shop opens, one reopens
August bicycling events and meetings Here is a list of bicycling events in Santa Barbara county. Our website has ongoing updates, details, and live links at www.sbbike. org/meet/meet.html.
The Bici, 1229 State Street, Santa Barbara. European cycle shop with vintage and new bikes, it complements the Corpuz three other nearby
Open Air Bicycles, 1303 State Street, Santa Barbara. New owner Ed Brown, left, shows a bike to a potential customer on opening day.
Santa Barbara Downtown is buzzing with more bike shops than ever before. Within two blocks of State Street, there are now 11 shops serving the diverse needs of residents and visitors alike. Here are the two latest: The Bici. A month ago, Baron and Cecile Corpuz quietly opened The Bici, a European cycle shop with vintage and new bikes plus components, for your touring and road racing pleasure. This is essentially the public face for their online business of classic bike parts that they purchase in Europe by the container and ship here. Their website www. the-bici.com describes their extensive offerings, many of which can be seen and bought at their new shop. The Bici complements their three other shops in the same block,
The Bikestand, The Bikestand 2.0, and The Bikestand 3.0. Open Air Bicycles. This shop has been a Santa Barbara fixture for decades. What happened a few weeks ago was that Mike Fasth sold the shop to Ed Brown. Ed, as many of us know, has been the manager for Velo Pro for years. This was an opportunity for Ed to fulfill his long-time dream of having a shop of his own. The shop’s emphasis is now on bikes for all family members, from kids to adults, for commuting and recreational rides. They are featuring bicycles from Giant, the world’s largest bike manufacturer. Check out their website http://openairbicycles.com and stop by any time.
Plan SB transportation considered by Council The city of Santa Barbara’s revision of their General Plan, called “Plan Santa Barbara,” has been crafted by the public workshops and city committees, and is now being discussed by the City Council. The Council meeting on July 20th included presentations by Rob Dayton about transportation alternatives. The future projections for Plan alternatives show that the least congestion will come from denser housing in downtown and outer State Street areas, coupled with pricing of street parking and promotion of alternatives to the car. Bicycle Coalition members Alex Pujo, Michael Chiacos, and Ralph Fertig asked Council members to essentially adopt that scenario. Chiacos also suggested that councilmember Michael Self, who has twice collided with pedestrians while biking, take our Street Skills class. One aspect of the plan is “adaptive manQuick Release ~ August 2010 ~ Page 4
agement” where the results of policies are monitored, and ineffective ones revised. Grant House observed that the city is already doing that, the new Plan will just formalize it. Helene Schneider envisioned more options for individuals and neighborhoods. As for decoupling new housing from parking—meaning that renters would pay separately for parking—Das Williams said that it’s essential for the Plan. Michael Self said she could not accept any plan that included it. Mayor Scheider suggested trying it in some parts of the city, and monitoring the results. Dale Francisco and Frank Hotchkiss said that we’re maxed out on walking and biking, so there’s no sense trying to increase them. But they didn’t talk about decreasing cars, the source of our rush-hour congestion and half the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
August 2-6, BMX Summer Camp. August 3, Bicycle Coalition General Meeting. August 4, Adventure Cycling Celebration. August 5, Education Committee Meeting. August 5, Bike Moves. August 8, Cycle Chic Sunday Ride. August 8-13, Vines to Coast Cycling Package. August 22-27, Morro Bay to Santa Barbara Tour. August 24, COAST General Meeting. August 28-29, Santa Barbara Triathlon.
Bici Centro activities Our Bici Centro community bike program is offering bicycle services each week. Below are hours for various groups. Info at www. bicicentro.org or phone 617-3255. g Monday, volunteers only, 4:00-8:00 PM g Tuesday, youth only, 3:00-6:00 PM g Tuesday, “Learn Your Bike” classes, 7:009:00 PM g Wednesday, Spanish-speaking only, 4:007:00 PM g Thursday, open shop 4:00-7:00 PM g Saturday, open shop 2:00-5:00 PM
Goleta Old Town conditions discussed On July 21st, a major study of Old Town Goleta was kicked off with a public forum about car parking. There was a presentation by Walker Parking Consultants (www. walkerparking.com). “Parking efficiency” was the goal, meaning that motorists could find spaces when they sought them, parking areas are neither empty nor full, and shared business parking should be considered. When it came to public comments, however, few were about car parking. Nearly all speakers asked for a more walkable, bikeable, sustainable, and more livable community. While there are many businesses along Hollister Avenue, they are hard to see while driving or bicycling, perhaps because of all the distractions of turning, lane changing, and parking vehicles. The architecture is mostly unimproved since the 1960s, and it’s a disconcerting hodgepodge of styles. The evening was an encouraging start for Goleta’s effort. Watch for winter workshops.
ROMP guys pedal through county
July Coalition meeting topics
Three “Range of Motion” (ROMP) guys biking from Oregon to Guatemala to earn funding for prosthetic limbs for a clinic there passed through our county July 3-5. They enjoyed a festive Fourth in Los Alamos, then spent the next evening in Santa Barbara. Bicycle Coalition board members Judy Keim and Ralph Fertig took them to a brew pub, then Thai dinner ROMP cyclists Jim, Greg and Pat stand before and a walking tour the Ablitt’s house during a walking tour of Santa of Downtown. Judy’s Barbara. Photo by Judy Keim. business is “Pedal & Paddle of Santa Barbara” offering biking, kayaking and walking tours of the area. They had been many places, but not here, so were quite taken by the town. Follow them at www.rompglobal.org.
Our July 6th monthly Bicycle Coalition meeting was held at Cody’s Cafe, Goleta, with 9 people talking about these topics: Judy Keim described an evening with ROMP cyclists, talking about their bike trip to Guatemala. g Chris Orr described his experiences at the National Bike Summit in DC. He encourages others to attend if only for one time, to understand the legislative process and how to influence it. g Nathan Pfaff talked about ongoing work by AS BIKES at UCSB, describing several summer projects. g Ralph Fertig described the process for Cachuma Lake recreation improvements, hopefully including bike access to the North Shore. g Hans van Tol, a physicist visiting UCSB for a week, explained his interest in starting a bike advocacy group in Tallahassee, FL. g Ralph Fertig described the visit of Adventure Cycling’s Jim Sayer. g
Volunteers clear local trails Thanks to the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers, the first of a series of focused trail events took place on July 18th. It was a short duration, ride/hike/run/hoof in-and-out work session on Jesusita Trail. Nine volunteers brushed a locations where the vegetation was pushing users off of the trail, repaired trenching across the tread, and built rock armored tread where tread had fallen away. Trail tools where transported in and out on the SBMTV Bob tool trailers. Watch our event listing for upcoming opportunities to help improve our local trails. To learn more, go to www.sbmtv.org or email Chris Orr at chris.orr@sbmtv.org
We thank our active members
Please thank and support these Bicycle Coalition business members: g Bicycle Bob’s, Santa Barbara g Nett & Champion Insurance Services, Santa Barbara g Pedal Power Bicycles, Santa Maria g Dr J’s Bicycle Shop, Solvang g Hazard’s Cyclesport, Santa Barbara g Chris King Precision Components, Portland, Oregon g Santa Barbara Pedicabs, Santa Barbara g WheelHouse, Santa Barbara g Santa Barbara Bikes To-Go, Santa Barbara g Tailwinds Bicycle Club, Santa Maria We welcome these new members: Scott Duncan, Michael Guevarra, Masashi Hokari, Ralph Lowi, Daniel Ortega, Bert Garcia, Alex Collins, Russell Baldridge, Erasmo Rebolledo, Paul Trent, Lars Mininni and Kent Epperson. We appreciate those who renewed their memberships: Amy Frease, Ed France, Jim O’Dea, Stuart Sato and Ellen Wall.
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Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition President, Ralph Fertig, 962-1479 sb-ralph@cox.net Vice President, Wilson Hubbell, 683-1240 wilsonhubbell@aol.com Secretary, Erika Lindemann, 569-1544 eglindemann@gmail.com Treasurer, David Bourgeois, 899-3728 stdaveb@gmail.com Director, Michael Chiacos, 284-4179 mchiacos@cecmail.org Director, Judy Keim, 687-2912 jkpedpad@aol.com Director, Byron Beck, 969-1712 Byron@solidrockconstruction.com Advisor, Dru van Hengel, 564-5544 dvanhengel@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Advisor, Matt Dobberteen, 568-3000 l_bean@ci.lompoc.ca.us matt@cosbpw.net Santa Barbara City Advisor, Kent Epperson, 961-8917 Dru van Hengel, 564-5544 kepperson@sbcag.org dvanhengel@SantaBarbaraCA.gov Executive Director, Ed France, 617-3255 Santa Barbara County edfrance@bicicentro.org Matt Dobberteen, 568-3576 matt@cosbpw.net Road repair contacts Santa Maria Caltrans David Whitehead, 925-0951 x227 www.dot.ca.gov/maintform.html dwhitehead@ci.santa-maria.ca.us Carpinteria Solvang Charlie Ebeling, 684-5405 x402 Brad Vigro, 688-5575 cebeling@ci.carpinteria.ca.us bradv@cityofsolvang.com Goleta UCSB Bob Morgenstern, 968-6869 Dennis Whelan, 893-7009 morgenstern@cityofgoleta.org dennis.whelan@planning.ucsb.edu Lompoc Larry Bean, 736-1261
Member discounts Bicycle Coalition members benefit from discounts. To get your discount at a shop, take your copy of Quick Release to the shop and show them your address label or cut out the label and take it. Discount details are at www.sbbike.org/SBBC/who.html. Bicycle Bob’s 250 Storke Road #A, Goleta 15 Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara Bicycle Connection 223 W. Ocean Avenue, Lompoc Hazard’s Cyclesport 110 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara Lighthouse Bicycles, Santa Ynez phone 688-6385 Main Street Cycles 311 East Main Street, Santa Maria Pedal Power Bicycles 1740 Broadway, Santa Maria VeloPro Cyclery 633 State Street, Santa Barbara 5887 Hollister Avenue, Goleta Momentum Magazine, save $5 www.momentumplanet.com/ node/4258. WheelHouse 528 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara