Every day, I witness fellow cyclists blatantly breaking rules of the road, putting themselves and others at risk, and making the rest of us law-abiding bikers look bad. Blasting through red lights, wearing dark clothes at night with no lights or reflectors, and aggressively cutting in front of cars are just a few examples of belligerent cycling that is rampant. When I ride with friends, we definitely try to stay in single file if we are on a busy road. Just the other day as I was driving, some woman riding with her buddies was in the lane while her friends stayed to the right. Believe me, I know that we are entitled to the lane, but if there is room to let a car pass, that should always be the priority in order to avoid incident.

So what can we do? Our cities are not designed with bicycles as the priority, although some reformation is taking place nowadays. Entire city street plans would need to be shifted in order to have bikes and cars truly cooperating. Some cities are ahead of the pack. Like I mentioned last week, Portland rules for biking in the US. They initiated a plan to become more biker-friendly back in 1971. Europe, however, seems to be leading the way for bicycle oriented thoroughfares. The Dutch and the Danish have some fantastic cycling innovations. Just check out these videos.

So we have some examples to learn from. Perhaps someday soon, a great cycling advocate will rise up into a position of political power and the necessary changes shall be made! But until then, please stay aware of your surroundings and ride safe.

The ferry arrived on Coronado and we set off to find the Silver Strand, a long isthmus connecting Coronado to Imperial Beach in the south. The path goes directly underneath the Coronado Bridge, perhaps best known for the infamous confrontation between Ron Burgundy and Jack Black which sent Baxter flying over the side. It then travels along the super nice golf course on the island, followed by an amphibious training base used by NAVY SEALs. We then found ourselves on a thin length of land, with the Pacific Ocean to our right and San Diego Bay to our left. Riders on road bikes were zooming past us along the trail, but we were just cruising on our mountain bikes taking in the sunshine, it was glorious!

When we reached the south end of the Strand, we stopped for a breather and grabbed some aguas frescas from a little Mexican food shop. I had a cup of refreshing watermelon juice, Charlie went for the jamaica. I remember seeing a cool sign for Imperial Beach with a picture of an old school woodie on it. I guess it was one of those classic California beaches, back when surfing was getting popularized nationwide by the Beach Boys music and movies like Gidget.

For the ride home we would take a different route. We rode along the east side of the bay, through Chula Vista and National City. It wasn’t quite as scenic as the strand, but I find it’s one of the best ways to get to know a city. As we got closer to home, we rode through Barrio Logan, a notorious neighborhood known for its gang violence. It was even featured on a couple of those History and Discovery Channel shows: “Gangland” and “American Gangster.” It was cool riding through the graffitied alleys with shoes hanging on the electrical wires above. We don’t really have alleys like that up here in the bay, it’s more of a SoCal thing. The walls were all tagged with the funky Chicano style graffiti.

Finally, under the 94 freeway we began our ascent to my neighborhood in South Park. A few blocks from my house was Hamilton’s, a local beer bar with an expansive, ever-changing menu. We had a couple of tall frosty pints and called it a day.

Here’s a map of my route. I couldn’t get it to embed, but you get the idea, and can click here to see my full Google Map of this epic ride.

So, will you be biking to work?

What do you see as challenges that are in the way of your biking to work everyday?  I think these are fairly common:

• A lack of safe routes
• Distance of the commute
• Time crunch–you’re always running late
• The need to wear fancy clothes to work (and they have to stay sweat-free)
• Lack of places to store/lock your bike when you get to work
• Lack of places at work to change/freshen up

These are some of the things I’ve always found to be challenges. I’ve solved the “distance” issue by moving closer to my office. I think it’s about 10 miles each way. However, I’ve got problems in the time/clothing/locking areas. I need to be to work on time, then after work, I go to the gym to lift weights with a trainer–meaning I have to be there by 6, when my appointment is. And I need to wear office-appropriate clothing to work.

But many of these things are excuses. I can of course change clothes when I get to work (we have a bathroom and we have a small gym at my office with shower/changing facilities). I can lock my bike in our parking garage, and it will likely be pretty safe. And Thursday is  a day when I don’t go to the gym, so riding my bike is actually a great thing to do. So here’s to bike to work day!

Plus, various cycling organizations have energizer stations all over the place:

Silicon Valley:

View BTWD 2011 Energizer Stations in Silicon Valley in a larger map

San Francisco:

View Bike to Work Day Map in a larger map

Alameda County:

View Alameda County Energizer Stations for Bike to Work Day 2011 in a larger map

Contra Costa County:

View Contra Costa Energizer Stations for Bike to Work Day 2011 in a larger map

But boy did I misjudge! Looks like my people are really, truly, hardcore about making their bikes their number one form of transit. These people seriously deserve recognition. What better place to recognize them than here, on the fabulous interwebs, right? So here we go, folks–the first annual (semi-annual? bi-annual? who knows!) Gnarliest Commute Awards! I’ve left all user names/names off the commutes, since I don’t know how much these folks want floating around on the interwebs, but if you’re one of these commuters, and you want your name attached, just let me know.

There are no actual trophies, despite the picture, but since they’re 2 Mile Challenge members, I’m going to recognize them with the help of the ClifBar, by sending them some swag.

And Drum Roll Please…

Award for the worst all-seasons commute:
“Hi! I’ll send you my craziest bike nemesis in two messages. Most of the Chicago lake shore path is separated from the lake by sand or parkland areas, except for a ‘bend’ near downtown. Riding over this expanse of concrete seawall in the winter I slipped on some ice and slid 100 feet nearly tipping into the lake. Second part, now its the springtime. I’m on the same part of the lake path. During the springtime after a storm the waves crash over onto the path – half an inch of water on the path looks innocent spread out over a wide area until it all reaches a concrete barrier and rises two feet in unison, soaking my pants up to the knee. I learned that lesson quickly.”

Award for sending a commuting story that’s not a commute story:
“My craziest ride yet was my first century ride. 22mph winds, intense lightning and thunder, flooding from heavy rain, I went down twice. Clipped by a car mirror on the 1st time when i went down. Second was a pot hole filled with water which i thought was just a tiny puddle. I had 2 busted spokes and went through 4 tubes. I wouldn’t give up. No way no how. I wanted to finish it.”

Award for dealing with the most a**hole drivers:
“Last Thursday, I commuted into Manhattan from New Jersey as I do almost daily. On the way in I was run off the road by a motorist who made a sharp right turn into the bike lane. He told me I need to be more careful. I’ve been commuting on the same route for 8 years, and this is the first incident. I’ll be on the lookout for him. About a half mile away there was an SUV double parked in the bike lane. As I bike by he swings open the door, I swerve to avoid him, but veer into a speeding motorist’s pathand miss getting run over by about 3 inches. The weird thing is SUV could have parked curbside in the same spot. It was just more convenient to park in the bike lane.
The same day, on the commute home, I got caught in the storm that brought the tornadoes to New York City. I spent a half hour under a GWB overpass. At least my rode rash from the morning got washed out.”

Award for sticking with a new commute routine, despite “unseen critters”:
“I’ve just started commuting to work this week, and we have had picture perfect weather all week. I have 8 miles to ride one way, not too bad, but I work 2nd shift. My little light barley lights the way and I have had to learn how to ignore all the little unknown noises coming from the side of the road. But its worth it. My car hasn’t moved in a week and I have skipped purchasing a tank of gas. The unseen critters be damned; I will continue. I rode from my home in the NE GA Mountains to the GA coast, 265 miles, labor day weekend. After that I knew I could endure almost anything so now, most trips under 10 miles are done on the bike.”

Award for the commute I most identify with (what with being from Wisconsin and all):
“I have had many wet, cold, snowy commutes. I think the worst was a near zero morning at 5:30 am. It snowed all night and was still snowing lightly when I left for work. The plows hadn’t been out yet. About half way to work I saw a plow coming up from behind. I wasn’t sure if he saw me or not. He held his course and the closer he got the more scared I got. There was no where for me to bail if he didn’t see me. He got about 15 feet from me and I thought that at the least I was going to get hit with a wall of snow and sand. Then at the last second he turned the blade, passed me and continued on. I was a wreck the rest fo the way to work.”

Award for the best shout-out to a Clif product:
“My worst commute, I think it was riding through Downtown Los Angeles, after riding to an L.A. Bike Coalition event. It was 100 degree summer weather through downtown L.A., up signal hill with traffic. That sucked. We headed to the Renegade Craft Festival, which had run out of food at their 3 vending booths, and I think at that point I could have eaten my tires. Suffice to say, the Shot Bloks and water were all I had to keep me going.”

Award for use of multimedia (and actual proof of supposed gnarly commute):
“hows this!? once i had to ride home in about a foot of hard packed icy snow and the sun dropped and i was wearing bike shoes not snow shoes. proof, thats me and my rocky mountain > http://twitpic.com/2rc20y”

Award for inspiring the next generation:
“12 miles in a noreaster with a 4year old (him in rain gear, me with none!) on the trail-a-bike”

Clif’s 2 Mile Challenge is really important to me and my cycling style. I appreciate a good recreational ride as much as the next cyclist, but for me, it’s not about excessive mileage or speed. I don’t race (often), I don’t torture myself with hill repeats or sprints. And I firmly believe that the best way to use a bike is as a form of transportation. Using bikes as transportation has serious implications for the state of our environment and our health. My feelings on this are why I really support Clif’s 2 Mile Challenge, and why I’m the leader of Team Gold, which represents the non-profit The Alliance for Biking and Walking.

Clif Bar gave three nonprofit organizations each a grant of $25,000. But Clif has committed to giving away $100,000. You can see how that math doesn’t quite add up…So Clif is using the 2 Mile Challenge to decide which nonprofit gets the extra $25,000. Want to help the Alliance for Biking and Walking win that extra grant? All you have to do is ride your bike…

Here’s how you can help the Alliance For Biking and Walking win $25,000 from Clif Bar:

Go to www.2MileChallenge.com.

Sign up (be sure it’s for Team Gold).

Ride your bike as a form of transit.

Log your miles.

That’s it! You can log up to four trips per day, and each trip is worth 2 points (we’re counting trips, not miles, here people!).  You can also challenge other members (or your friends, invite them to join!) to earn extra points. And if that isn’t reason enough, I also do trivia contests, give-aways, and challenges.

Speaking of Challenges:

I have one for new and current members alike. If you’re on Team Gold, you have the chance to win an awesome 2 Mile Challenge package. I (via Clif Bar) will send you team colored socks (by Sock Guy), arm warmers (also by Sock Guy), a bandanna, stickers, a keychain, some 2MC buttons, and some 2MC postcards to put out at your local bike shop or mail to friends.  Sounds good, right? Here’s the challenge:

Ride your bike as a form of transportation three times in one week.

On each trip, be sure you ride to (or past) a sign that displays the date (ideas: banks, schools, some fast food restaurants, you get the idea).

Take a photo of yourself with the sign in the background showing the date (this might take some coordinating if the date flashes for a only a brief amount of time–I realize this, but it’s part of the challenge!).

Send the photos (all in one email, please) to kaitlin (then the at sign) bicycleboulevards.com. (the weird email format is to avoid spam emails). At the end of the challenge, I’ll pick at random 3 of the folks who completed the challenge and send them the prize package. I may also pick several runner-ups for smaller prizes.

The challenge starts NOW, and runs through the end of August (that’s midnight PST, August 31, 2010).

Get out there and RIDE!

As part of my commitment to my Earth Day resolutions, I decided to try biking part of my epic commute. I drive 50 miles each way on any given workday, and I feel pretty bad about my carbon footprint, and my general lack of exercise that are the result of so much drive time. We’ve had a fair number of storms recently in the Bay Area, so I haven’t had a chance to try my new plan yet. I figure Bike to Work Day gives me the perfect opportunity!

So on May 13th, I will be taking BART from MacArthur station to Fremont, the end of the line. From there, I’ll be following the route mapped out below, using Google Maps’ relatively new bicycle directions. For some reason, Google doesn’t let you embed maps that show only the green bike routes that you normally see when using the “by bicycle” option. But this should give you a general idea of where I’m headed–it’s about 20 miles each way:

View Larger Map

Anyway, I encourage you to join in the Bike to Work festivities. Click here for the list of East Bay Bicycle Coalition “energizer stations” and here for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition list of “energizer stations”. If you check out the energizer stations, you can grab some coffee, snacks, and other goodies–definitely good motivation! I know I’ll be stopping at the energizer station at the Fremont BART station before I get on my bike to make the trek to San Jose. If you have a great story about biking to work, please leave a comment…the more we talk about loving being on bikes, the more people will give it a try, and find out they love it too!

The paths will link parts of town that cyclists could previously only get to by riding on bumpy roads in need of repair that are also heavily used by motor vehicle traffic.

I’m hoping Emeryville will catch on, and make more of an effort to link itself to the Berkeley paths so I can use these new routes!

You can read more about the details of the expansion in the article from today’s Contra Costa Times.

photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nafmo/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

San Francisco got a new bike lane! It’s the first new bike lane in the city in three years, and it’s green! SF Streetsblog has a great video of the press conference about it. In it, Mayor Newsom informs us that we currently have 45 miles of bike lanes in the city, and over the next six months want to stripe six more miles. The city will also be installing five bike racks per day.  And they’re painting the pavement different colors so everyone can see it’s a bike only zone. Some of those painted areas will be in front of the cars at stop lights, so that cyclists can be easily seen by cars at lights, and will get to go first when the light changes green. On top of that, they’re changing the timing of traffic lights so that bikes have enough time to get through.

Maybe it’s more like twelve steps forward, two steps back? Wow. Good job, San Francisco!

By why the sudden increase? As it turns out there was an injunction in place that prevented the city from making cycling improvements. Since that injunction, there has been a 53% increase in cycling. Mayor Newsom asks us to imagine what the increase could look like if we had bike lanes everywhere. He states that our goal is to increase the percentage of bike commutes in the city from the current 6% to 10% of commutes.

The lifting of the injunction is for sure yet, and the Mayor warns us that we may have to undo our improvements if the injunction isn’t permanently lifted. But there’s an air of optimism around the event–I think we’ll be seeing a total lifting of the injunction, and a lot more bicycle advocacy in San Francisco.

You can also read more about the new bike improvements at the San Francisco Citizen blog.

The Bicycle Boulevard system is great because it’s really just a series of road that are specially designated as bike paths.  They’re typically roads that see a low volume of traffic but are wide enough to leave plenty of room for cylcists to coexist with any cars that do happen to drive there.  The Bicycle Boulevards in the East Bay have few stop signs, and often have bridges or cut-through paths where appropriate. These modifications allow a cyclist to keep cruising at a decent speed, without having to take back roads that have a stop sign every block, or a bike path that can be slow and congested with joggers, walkers, roller bladers, and the like.

The City of Berkeley’s website has great details about where the Bicycle Boulevards are located, and how to understand the signage along the routes.  If you’re commuting in the East Bay, I encourage you to try and find your way via the Bicycle Boulevard system. It’s well marked, and can get you pretty much anywhere you need to go around Emeryville and Berkeley.