Winter 2012 Quick Release

Winter 2012 • Volume 22 / No. 3

SANTA BARBARA BICYCLE COALITION

QuickRelease

Our New Home!

Want to help create this new community space?

Check out page 4

Our Vision

BOARD

The Bike Coalition vision is that Santa Barbara will be a leader in creating a bicycle-friendly

Erik Wright David Bourgeois Byron Beck Michael Chiacos Robert Caiza Carmen Lozano Hector Gonzalez Tim Burgess Courtney Dietz John Hygelund Mike Vergeer David Hodges

community and transportation system. Extensive on-road and separated bikeways, a coordinated transit system, parking, and amenities allow us to enjoy a culture where the majority of daily trips include a bicycle. As a result, our community is healthier and encourages balanced living within our resources. universal cycling education for all ages supports the development of safe and respectful road behaviors from both motorists and cyclists. Widespread community and political support for bicycling is in place. By 2040, because it is a cycling-centered county, Santa Barbara is both a great place to live and work and a nationally acclaimed cycling destination, boasting a year-round calendar of successful, fun, and inclusive events.

Letter from the Editor For many, winter symbolizes an end of a cycle. As the air turns crisp and holiday décor fills our streets and homes, something inside us knows it’s time to purge—to clean out that which no longer serves us and make way for the bounty that comes with starting anew. We create space for springtime and rebirth.

This year, many of us have reflected on the end of an even greater cycle. In 3114 BC, the Maya created a numerically predictable calendar called the Long Count. Its celestial cycle would end 5,126 years later, in 2012 AD. I, for one, am boarding the metaphorical ark on which rides a shift in our collective consciousness. In this new cycle, we individuals and communities—the spokes that support our global wheel—will renew our relationships with each other and with our planet and her cycles. Why am I boarding? Because mindfully setting out toward a goal is the first step to accomplishing anything.

Case in point: SB Bike’s board envisioned a new location to support our cycling community’s growing needs. The board set out to find a place that would host extended shop hours, more education opportunities, and enhanced outreach and advocacy programs.

Thanks to perseverance and the help of the many spokes that support this community, that spot is well under way. Each time I visit the budding new headquarters of SB Bike and Bici Centro, I am filled with the joy of new birth. Fresh paint and the dedication of volunteers—one even made a brave offer to his FB friends to match all volunteered hours— brighten the walls. And enthusiasm fills the space with visions of this new community center—this fresh cycle for Santa Barbara’s biking community.

Happy cycles and cycling,

Holly Starley, QR editor

STAFF Ed France, Executive Director Ed@sbbike.org Christine Bourgeois, Education Coordinator edu@sbbike.org Shawn Von Biela, Karen Blakeman, and Brooke Treanor, shop staff shop@bccentro.org

GOVT. LIAISONS & ADVISORS Matt Dobberteen, Advisor County of Santa Barbara 805-568-3576 Kent Epperson, Advisor Traffic Solutions 805-961-8917 Ralph Fertig, President Emeritus 805-962-1470

GRAPHIC DESIGN Cynthia Stahl info@cynstahl.com

EDITOR Holly Starley editor@sbbike.org

CONTACT US 506 E. Haley St. Santa Barbara, CA 93103 PO Box 92047 Santa Barbara, CA 93190 www.sbbike.org 805-617-3255

CONTRIBUTE Your time: www.bicicentro.org/volunteer In-kind www.bicicentro.org/wishlist Financially: www.bicicentro.org/donate

cover photo by shawn Von. Our new home! The SB Bike Coalition is thrilled to show off this storefront. Located on 506 East Haley next door to Muddy Waters, the new headquarters will host Bici Centro, DIY shop extraordinaire, as well as the coalition’s many educational and outreach programs, allowing SB Bike to beef up its offerings to Santa Barbara’s diverse cycling community.

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Quick Release Winter 2012

CONTENTS Bici Finds Home SB Cyclists on the Rise Spokes and Bones Open Streets in SB? Everest Challenge Lighting the Night Events Calendar Ask Dr. Dan Column

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and Bici Centro would like to thank all our supporters and business members!

On December 6, a group of cyclists took to the streets of Santa Barbara dressed in white, red, and green for SB Bike Moves’ “Frosty the Snow Moves.” Some riders sported carrot noses; one decked-out chariot provided a regal ride for two lovely ladies. This biking enthusiast, Jason Summers, along with his son Kai, 7, decorated the back of Summers’s extra-long ride, a Kona ute, to the nines. Santa sat atop a winter scene in the snow globe fashioned from a recycled aquarium bowl and a 12-volt battery powering an inline fan that recirculated the “snow.” Kai decorated the snowman flagpole on the back. HOLLY STARLEY

VOLUNTEER BIKE LIGHT

Mike Rodgers goes the extra mile for bicycling

and his Santa Barbara community. After a full week managing the uCSB AS Bike Shop, Mike chooses to give an extra shift each week to help Bici Centro improve its service here in downtown Santa Barbara. Mike has taught our mechanics series multiple times and is one of the most skilled and positive Bici crewmembers around. He has been volunteering at Bici Centro for almost two years. Thanks, Mike, for what you do!

Orfalea

Favorite bike: My favorite bike is one I built this summer at the united Bicycle Institute in Portland. I love it because I was Mike Hodges refurbishing a bike for SB Bike’s Bite Size Bikes giveaway last year. CHRISTINE BOuRGEOIS

intimately involved with every part of it, and it was built to fit my body dimensions. The frame geometry is similar to the Surley Long Haul

Trucker I used to own—long wheelbase, low BB, slack head and seat tube angles— but with slightly more fork rake and a 55 cm seat tube, which is not available in a commercially built frame.

Favorite thing about the shop: I love volunteering on Saturday afternoons because I can share my mechanic skills with other like-minded people

Dons Net Cafe Eye Specialists Service Objects Roddick Foundation

in a friendly and supportive environment. www.BiciCentro.org

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BICI UPDATE

No Place Like Home Hector Gonzalez, Bici Centro Chair Hello, bicycle friends and family. As many

encouraging gifts at all levels, as we need your support today. In addition,

of you may already know, the Santa Barbara

we would love your help building our new cycling community center. Please

Bicycle Coalition (SB Bike) has recently

continue to partner with us and know that, the next time you are in need, it

acquired a new home for Bici Centro and all

will not be the back of our head you see as you wait on the side of the road

our SB Bike activities.

with your bike. We will be there extending a pump, a spare tube, a helpful tip,

Our previous location at 601 E. Montecito

or a patch kit. This is what happens when Bici Centro empowers cyclists like

Street has adequately served us for many

us. This is community. This is Bici Centro.

years. From our humble beginnings, this space afforded us the opportunity to turn scarce capital into essential services for the bicycle community as we grew as an organization. And now, we are ready to expand both our vision and our reach.

Thanks to a targeted search, we have found a new location, situated very close to the same community we have been serving all these years. But to move forward with the new location, we’ve had to produce significant cash up front for moving expenses, increased rents, upgrades to the property, and rent, while our revenue-generating programs are reduced for the move. A generous donor has offered a $10,000 matching donation, making our $40,000 target even more attainable and your donation go even further. We have achieved 77 percent of this goal.

For your donation, the returns are enormous!

Imagine, a Bici Centro that is open five or more days a week so that you can grab the essential bike part that you absolutely need for your commute to work. Need help fixing up your bike? Not a problem. The new location for Bici Centro will help us accommodate more open shop days and longer hours to help you learn how to keep your bike in prime condition.

More kids taught about bike safety, more lowincome residents met in their neighborhoods for bike repair, and more free lights distributed to needy cyclists—these and more are the future with an improved and expanded space.

Any donation is helpful, and we are

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Quick Release Winter 2012

Help Build Our Home Volunteer Wish List • **Top priority item** Help design signage – Bici needs signage both for the new shop and for directions from the old spot to the new one.

• Offer your construction and commercial layout skills – During the first year at the new locale, everyone at the shop will undoubtedly be improving the shop layout to best accommodate parts and workspace.

The goal is to get as much as possible right on the first try. From now until the end of January, Bici will need help building, modifying, and moving shelving, workstations, and all types of shop material.

• Share your artistic abilities and contribute to the shop’s aesthetics – Bici’s new home creates a wealth of new opportunities for art projects, such as murals and much more. Lend your creativity to improve the look and feel of the community cycling center.

• Help build youth bikes –A constant demand combined with and an increasing supply of kids’ bikes make refurbishing these rides a shop priority. Working on youth bikes is a great way to gain wrenching experience, as these bikes are fairly straightforward and not as complicated as many adult bikes.

• Clean, sort, test, and service donated components – Help make ready the supply of wheels, shifters, brakes, cranks, etc. that the shop will provide for inexpensive repairs during DIY Open Shop hours.

Tools and Equipment Wish List • Bench vise – the bigger the better (alternatively, a machinist to repair the current vise) • Tap and dies of bike sizes (the shop already has 9/16 pedal taps and M5X1 and English BB taps) • 15 mm open wrenches; cone wrenches (especially 15 mm and 13 mm) • Smaller road bikes (48 – 54 cm) • Steel road and touring bikes (20”, 24”, and 26” aluminum wheels only, please) • Good old parts off bikes (stuff you upgraded but is still good) • Freewheel tool – two-prong; Regina/old school, non Suntour • Spoke tools • Truing stands • Chain tools – good ones (they wear out and break quickly) • Derailleur hanger straightener • Trainer (bike holding stand with flywheels) To offer your help or donate in kind, please contact Ed France, executive director, at 805/203-6940 or ed@sbbike.org. Find an up-to-date wish list at www.bicicentro.org/wishlist.

SB Bike invites all Santa Barbara cyclists to come and check out the new Bici Centro shop location at 506 East Haley St. Help create our new and improved community cycling center!

IN OUR COMMUNITY

Spokes and Bones: Honoring Lost Cyclists Ed France El Día de Los Muertos is an important holiday in Mexico and much of Latin America; on this day, celebrants pray for and remember the deceased. The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition participated in this beautiful tradition, honoring and remembering the cyclists killed—

SB Bike invita a todos los ciclistas de Santa Barbara para visitar y conocer nuestra nueva locación de la tienda Bici Centro en 506 East Haley St. ¡Ayúdanos a crear un nu evo centro para nuestra comunidad de ciclistas!

tragically—in preventable collisions and accidents. We were proud to have the opportunity to collaborate in the creation of two bicyclerelated altars—one through our long-term partnership with Casa de la Raza for their “Viva La Educación” Día de los Muertos event. Our second altar was part of Santa Maria’s annual Día de los Muertos community celebration. Our participation in the Santa Maria event was our first time ever collaboration between SBBC, Pueblo, THRIVE Santa Maria, The Cutters Cycling Club, and Santa Maria Parks & Rec, and it was very important to us because we wanted to show that we remember the three tragic deaths of cyclists in North County this year.

This is why the work of our bicycling advocacy is so critical. It is a matter of life and death.

These altars symbolized the lives of those gone, while at the same time serving as a vehicle to increase awareness, provide education, promote safety, and spark the advocacy flame in our community. We know education is our most powerful tool. This year, nearly 5,000 people will die while biking or walking, which is disproportionately high compared to other nations and other modes of transportation.

Additionally, our Santa Barbara community is among the most dangerous in the state.* These deaths are preventable. In fact, we know from other communities, both internationally and right here on the West Coast, that it doesn’t have to be that way. We can vastly reduce these deaths to nearly none, simply by improving our roadways and increasing the mode share of bicyclists and pedestrians. This is why the work of our bicycling advocacy is so critical. It is a matter of life and death. *Please note: Despite the inordinate risk of collision in the United States, the health benefits of bicycling—giving over an hour of increased life expectancy per hour of cycling—far outweigh the risks.

Ride proud and ride confident, and remember those who have fallen while making bicycling a normal part of our culture.

Feliciano Aguilar

www.BiciCentro.org

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IN OUR COMMUNITY

More People are Bike Commuting Ralph Fertig

Bike to Work 2006-2010 because of the smaller sample size, the ACS data

US

are less reliable for small sample sets, like smaller cities.

Santa Maria California

For the ACS counts, the bureau releases data each year for cities of over 65,000 residents. For

Lompoc

smaller cities, they instead aggregate the data

SB County

over five-year periods. So while we get annual data for Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, we have

Santa Barbara

to wait for the aggregated versions for others.

Carpinteria

The “Bike to Work 2006–2010 graph shows

Goleta

the most recently released five-year numbers.

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

As expected, bicycling to work is considerably

7%

more common in the South Coast than in the North County. The surprise may be that both

According to data from the uS Census Bureau, biking to work is steadily

Goleta and Carpinteria have a much higher bike

increasing in the uS, in California, and in Santa Barbara County.

commute share than Santa Barbara.

The “Bike to Work” graph shows how our county vastly outperforms both

The Census Bureau continuously releases its

the uS and the California numbers for years between 2000 and 2011.

ACS data, so the measure of what’s happening is

Our bicycling increase for the county reflects growth from 4,822 to 7,859

always being updated. With bicycling increasing

bicyclists over those twelve years—that’s an increase of 63 percent, six

all over the uS, we look positively toward an

times the 10 percent increase in the total number of county workers!

increasingly bright future.

Bicycling mode share increased from 2000 to 2011, so what mode

Bike to Work 2000-2011

did people switch from when they chose to bicycle? It turns out that county commuters are driving 3.5 percent less. They are not only biking 1.3 percent more, they are also working at home 1.3 percent more,

5%

and taking the bus 0.9 percent more. (Walking, however, remained unchanged.) This welcome trend means less congestion, cleaner air, quieter communities, and better health. Good for us bicyclists and good for everybody!

4%

SB County

3%

Data from the Census Bureau consists of two types—the Census “Long Form” that was sent to one in six households each decade and its annual American Community Survey (ACS) that queries one in thirty-five households. Both surveys ask the same question, “How did you usually get to work last week?” to workers at least sixteen years old.

2% California

1%

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Quick Release Winter 2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

later with the ACS to give people frequently-updated data. However,

0%

2005

The Long Form stopped with the year 2000 and was replaced a few years

2000

US

ADVOCACY

CicLAvia Field Trip: Should SB Open its Streets?

Kent Epperson, SBCAG Traffic Solutions CicLAvia is a biannual event that

director of CicLAvia, and Saskia Lucas,

temporarily closes down streets to cars

organizer of the first annual Open Streets

on about 10 miles of major arterial roads

Santa Cruz. Much was learned from the

in downtown LA and opens the streets

presentations, and the audience was left

up as a public park for the community

feeling both inspired and humbled by the

to enjoy, with the goal of encouraging

level of effort it takes to put on such an

physical activity such as bicycling,

event.

walking, or just enjoying the city car-free.

The concept and term Ciclovia (Spanish

More than 100,000 people of all walks

for “bike path”) was first put into practice

of life attend these events. October 2011

in Bogotá, Columbia, at a weekly Sunday

participant, Lori La Riva said that she

event that started in the late ’70s. Now, every

“loved the freedom to enjoy the wide and

Sunday, over two million people enjoy 70

far stretching spaces, riding side by side

miles of open streets by bike, foot, and roller

with a good friend, laughing together,

blades, while other participate in dance or

and enjoying the view of small shops,

exercise classes.

houses, and tall office buildings—all with no worries as everyone around us was on

This concept has spread around the world in

foot or two wheels too!”

cities large and small, with more than eighty similar events in the United States alone.

Many of us have wondered if something

The new term for these kinds of initiatives

similar could be organized in Santa

is Open Streets. Open Streets initiatives

Barbara. So on October 7, forty-seven

look very different from place to place, but

community leaders piled into a bus

the common goal is to encourage physical

(donated by Santa Barbara Airbus) and

activity and the exploration of a city without

headed to LA with bikes in tow, on a fact

a car. Other activities can include games,

finding mission to experience CicLAvia

sports, dance classes, bicycle rodeos,

firsthand. The field trip was co-organized

public talks, live music, food, art, and more.

by Traffic Solutions, the Santa Barbara

There is a DIY aspect to these initiatives,

Bicycle Coalition, and COAST. Ant it

encouraging the community to use the

was perfectly timed, since the CicLAvia

streets in creative and fun, active ways.

organizers and the LA mayor’s office put

Open Street events with longer routes tend

on a public briefing that day for leaders

to encourage bicycling and rollerblading,

from surrounding cities to learn what it

whereas the shorter route events attract

takes to put on an Open Streets event like

more stationary sports, games, and

CicLAvia.

activities.

The field trip was such a hit that the SB

Should we bring an Open Streets initiative to

organizers decided to spread the word

Santa Barbara? If so, when and where should

and share what they’d learned at an Open

it be held?

Streets Forum held at the Faulkner Gallery on November 7. Over forty community

A follow-up Open Streets meeting was held

leaders, including bicyclists, business

on December 4 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss this topic further. For more information about an

owners, public health officials, city of Santa Barbara Staff, law enforcement, architects, and sustainability leaders attended the event. The forum featured presentations from Aaron Paley, executive

From top: Chicken style? – The group from Dons Net Cafe is ready to roll. Family style – Mom and Dad hold hands on the handlebar, and the little one naps. Tall style – This tall biker wows a crowd with his tricks. Zebra style – Kent Epperson leaves the Soto Station Hub, boom box in tow, and ready to enjoy the open streets of LA. Christine Bourgeois.

Open Streets even in Santa Barbara, e-mail Eva Inbar at eva_inbar@cox.net.

www.BiciCentro.org

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FEATURE

Mt. Everest on a Bike? Pedal Power Instructor Climbs to the Challenge Amy Benner, up-and-coming racer extraordinaire and enthusiastic SB Bike Pedal Power instructor, placed third in her division (Category 4) in a grueling, aptly named race—the Everest Challenge—this September. A two-day, 206-mile stage race based in Bishop, California, the Everest Challenge takes its name from the fact that it includes 29,035 feet of climbing (the height of Mt. Everest). After the weekend race, Benner was back at La Colina Jr. High on Wednesday, a little sore and all the more in love with bikes and racing.

The Quick Release caught up with Benner to get the skinny on the race, her training and nutrition choices, and why she chooses to share her love of all things cycling with local youngsters.

QR: How was the Everest Challenge?

BENNER: I haven’t been racing long, but this race was definitely the hardest race I have ever done and the most beautiful. The Eastern Sierra Nevada and the Inyo White Mountains are spectacular to explore by bike.

QR: When did you first start biking? What was your first bike?

BENNER: I started cycling pretty much when everybody does—around 5 or 6 years old. I commuted by bike to and from college, but the road cycling obsession didn’t start until about two years ago.

My first bike was from a garage sale, I think. I can’t remember what kind it was. I think it may have once been green and pink, but it was so faded it was hard to tell.

QR: How long have you known you wanted to race?

What or who was your inspiration?

BENNER: My first road race was in January of this year—the Poor College Kids Road Race, in Santa Ynez.

I don’t think I really knew how much I loved racing until the official blew the start whistle and we all took off. The more I raced, the more I loved it. I have to say, though, that I really lucked out. I went into my first race

with a lot of support. I had my B4T9 teammates to help me, and my coach, Jill Gass, to tell me exactly what to do. Cycling is first and foremost a team sport, and team B4T9 is the most inspiring group of people I have ever met.

QR: Tell us a little about your training. What does it involve? How much of your time is dedicated to it?

BENNER: My training varies, depending on the time of year and the type of races that I’m preparing for. Right now, it’s off-season, so I’m doing more base training (longer/slower rides, climbing, etc.) and a lot of strength training (on and off the bike). During the racing season, the focus shifts to higher intensity, speed-driven workouts—lots of interval work and fast-paced group riding. The local group rides are excellent race practice. On average, though, I spend about fifteen to twenty-five hours per week on the bike and maybe three to five hours a week doing off-the-bike training.

QR: Nutrition – what does it mean to you and how has racing changed that?

BENNER: Nutrition is huge. If I’m not training or working, chances are you’ll find me in the kitchen. For me, nutrition means real food, and lots of it. It’s appalling how much I need to eat. Having the right food at the right time is absolutely crucial to performance. The Everest Challenge was what really got me cooking; gels and energy bars don’t cut it on a ride like that, and once you get used to eating real food, you never want to look at a Clif bar ever again. Jill let me borrow her copy of The Feed Zone Cookbook by Dr. Allen Lim and Biju Thomas when I was training for the EC. If it wasn’t for Jill’s advice on training and nutrition, I never would have survived. Now, I have my own copy of the cookbook, and I use it pretty much every day. My favorite training food is fig and honey rice cakes and Nutella sandwiches.

QR: What was your favorite race and why?

BENNER: Don’t know. Haven’t raced them all yet. So far, though, probably the Everest Challenge. It was for sure the most beautiful. Plus, endurance events like that are really empowering because they really blow the cap off what is (and what is not) possible.

QR: What kind of bike do you ride?

BENNER: My road bike is a Trek Madone 3.1, and I borrow my teammate’s Specialized Transition for time trials.

QR: How does your racing relate to/inform you as you pass your love of biking on to the youth in your Pedal Power classes?

BENNER: I started learning about bike safety as an adult. I really wish I’d learned it as a kid. Taking bike safety classes made me feel safer on the road and made me confident enough on the bike to try racing. If I’d started as a kid, I could’ve started racing sooner! Racing is just one of the many things you can do with a bike, and I try to present Pedal Power to young people as a gateway to all that is great about bikes.

QR: What, if anything, would you change about the world of bicycle racing?

BENNER: I’d like to see more attention given to women cyclists. We’re making progress though. I could talk about this forever, but I’ll just say that this is a really exciting time to be a girl on a bike.

QR: What are your goals for yourself as a racer? Is there any race/place that would be the penultimate achievement?

Amy with team at Century. Christine Bourgeois

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Quick Release Winter 2012

BENNER: For now, I’d like to do well as a Cat 3 racer next season and earn enough points to become a Cat 2. Once I’m a Cat 2, we’ll see if I’m good enough to spend all season getting dropped by the professionals.

OUTREACH

Lights for the family – This family is ready to ride after dark! Carmen Lozano

Lighting Old Town – During the giveaways, volunteers conducted a survey to ascertain (1) how SB Bike can best advocate for cyclists’ needs (What keeps you from biking? Unlighted roads, difficult intersections, etc.) and (2) recipients’ knowledge of cycling laws and safety (Is it legal to ride on the sidewalk? Nope).

Here, SB Bike’s Mike Vergeer and this Goleta survey recipient are all smiles.

Carmen Lozano

“Light the Night” Makes Local Cyclists Safer!

Lights on the bridge – Volunteers, including SB Bike’s Robert Caiza (left), launched the five-night giveaway on the Micheltorena Bridge. Carmen Lozano

When Daylight Savings hits, many cyclists are left in the dark during their commute. During the first week of November, SB Bike’s Spanish Language Outreach committee partnered with the city and county of Santa Barbara to organize the second annual Iluminando La Noche (Light the Night). Over thirty volunteers distributed more than 800 bike lights at five different locations—Westside, Eastside, and downtown Santa Barbara, as well as in Goleta and Carpinteria. Three cheers for more visible cyclists!

Get Involved and Practice Your Spanish!

The Spanish Language Outreach Committee combines the resources of SB Bike, Bici Centro, and Traffic Solutions.

The committee meets on the third Thursday of each month to discuss outreach programs for Santa Barbara’s vibrant Spanish-speaking cycling community. Meetings are conducted bilingually and open to everyone, so this is a great opportunity for Spanish speakers and those of you who are learning the language alike. Upcoming meetings will be held on February 21 and March 21, 2013, at 7 p.m. at Bici’s new location on 506 E. Haley St.

Lights with flames – This Iluminando volunteer shares a moment with a young biker after attaching front and rear lights to brighten up his flaming ride (check out the saddle). Carmen Lozano

Lighting Milpas with smiles – A happy volunteer and cyclist show off his new lights. Carmen Lozano

www.BiciCentro.org

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WINTER CYCLING EVENTS EDUCATION

Street Skills: The 4-part series for the prepared and aware bicycle commuter Clinic 1: Get Your Bike Ready to Ride Jan 15, 7–9 pm; free Clinic 2: Become a Confident Rider Jan 17, 7–9 pm; Free Clinics 3 & 4: Bike Handling Skills & Group Ride Jan 19, 10 am–3 pm; Free Learn Your Bike Series Join us for our much-acclaimed 8-week bicycle mechanics primer.

Jan 29 – Mar 19, 7–9 pm (8 Tuesdays) $95 non-members/$85 members/volunteer training (free work trade) To register for or learn more about these classes, visit bicicentro.org/events.

Private Group Instruction Scout troops, work groups, and others, schedule your own group training in bike handling and mechanic skills taught by American League of Bicyclists Certified Instructors.

Your convenience; prices vary Contact Christine Bourgeois at edu@sbbike.org to schedule.

Third Annual Youth Bike Summit in NYC SB Bike is hoping to send a group of high school students to the conference to represent Santa Barbara’s young biking community and is looking for interested cyclists, including mountain bikers.

Feb 15, 16, and 17 $20 youth/$35 adults Contact Christine Bourgeois at edu@sbbike.org or visit recycleabicycle.org/about-us/youth-bike-summit to learn more.

BIKING OPPORTUNITIES

Promote yourself here!

Show Santa Barbara cyclists what you have going on.

To flaunt your stuff in the spring issue of the Quick Release, contact Ed France at 805/6173255, ed@sbbike.org.

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Quick Release Winter 2012

Solvang Century Choose from 50, 63, & 100 mile courses.

Register at bikescor.com/solvang_century.html.

Mar 9 Bike Moves Join a fun group ride on the first Thursday of every month. Dress up yourself or your bike, if you like.

Check sbbikemoves.com for upcoming themes (not an SB Bike event).

Jan 3, Feb 7, Mar 7, 7:30 pm, Free

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Join us to plan our programs!

Advocacy Monthly, 2nd Thurs, noon www.bicicentro.org/Advocacy Events Monthly, 3rd Tues, 6 pm www.bicicentro.org/EventsCom Spanish Language Monthly, 3rd Thurs, 7 pm www.bicicentro.org/Spanishcom Education Monthly, 2nd Wed, 7 pm* www.bicicentro.org/Educom Bici Centro Shop Monthly, 2nd Tues, 7 pm www.bicicentro.org/Bicicom Membership & Communication Monthly, 3rd Thurs, noon www.bicicentro.org/org/mc *Meeting with Tailwinds Bicycle Club of Santa Maria (Bike Education in North County) The Jan Education meeting will be held at a special location in conjunction with the Bike Education in North County group, and all are invited.

Jan 9, 7 pm; Edwards Community Center, 809 Fremont Dr.

Coulumn

Ask Dr. Dan

Go easy on those pain medications Column by Dan Fishbein, MD Over-the-counter pain relievers can be divided into those

Dan Fishbein is a physician and public health

with anti-inflammatory properties—non-steroidal anti-

practitioner who has loved bicycles since

inflammatory medications (NSAIDS)—and those without

his childhood in Los Angeles. Since moving

anti-inflammatory properties. NSAIDS include ibuprofen

to Santa Barbara, he is proud that he usually

(sold under the brand names Motrin, Nurofen, Advil, and

does all his commuting on a bike, logging

Nuprin); naproxyn (Aleve); and aspirin. Acetaminophen

many car-free weeks. “Ask Dr. Dan,” one

(Tylenol) is the most commonly used pain reliever that

of the QR’s two favorite columns, features

does not have anti-inflammatory properties. Nonsteroidal

cycling-related medical information. And like the column title

anti-inflammatory are commonly used by cyclists to

suggestions, you can send Fishbein your health questions. To ask

prevent or treat exercise-induced pain, thereby making

Dr. Dan, e-mail editor@sbbike.org with the subject “Ask Dr. Dan.”

cycling more enjoyable and possibly improving physical performance. However, these drugs have a number of potentially hazardous effects on health that all of us should be aware of.

NSAIDS have a number of side effects. They can lead to bleeding of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, high blood pressure, and kidney disease. Moreover, a recent study showed that cyclists (and presumably other athletes) who take NSAIDS while exercising are more likely to have

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gastrointestinal damage than those who take them at other times. It is believed that the cause was shunting of blood from the GI to the muscles.

While acetaminophen is much safer, you need to be very careful how much you take, especially if you enjoy your alcoholic drinks. In higher-than-recommended doses, this medicine can damage your liver, potentially quite seriously.

People who don’t drink (or have only a few per day) can take up to three regular strength (325 mg) or two extra strength (500 mg) tablets three times per day, while those who have “a few too many” should take no more than two regular strength or one extra strength tablets thrice daily.

Here’s a dose of the science behind this recommendation.

Chronic alcohol use activates enzymes that transform acetaminophen into chemicals that can cause liver damage, even when the medicine is used in standard amount. But if you’ve had a few too many and taken acetaminophen, don’t worry. The trouble starts when regular heavy drinkers take a lot of acetaminophen over a period of time—several days, at least, and maybe longer.

A very healthy and effective alternative to these drugs is yoga, which relieves pain by stimulating a secretion of a

Why should you register or renew as a member of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition?

1. It helps us assert our collective rights as road users.

2. Power in numbers helps us influence local government for better bikeways.

3. We help you stay in the loop of local bicyclingrelated events.

4. We offer discounts with our local bike shops, as well as for our classes and events.

5. Membership enables you to volunteer at premium opportunities like bike valet at the SB Bowl.

Membership Rates: Individual, 1-year $30 Individual, 2-year $55 Household*, 1-year $45 Household*, 2-year $85 Business*, 1-year $100 Business Gold*, 1-year $250 A Business Gold membership includes advertising! *Household and Business memberships may include up to four members.

Register online today at www.bicicentro.org/join.

natural pain reliever called g-Aminobutyric acid (GABA). I’ll write more about yoga in a future edition of “Ask Dr. Dan.” www.BiciCentro.org

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SB Bicycle Coalition!

Happy holidays from everyone at the