So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good bye!

After 30 years in Temecula, we are moving on, and out of the area. So no more posts as Bicycle Temecula.

That sound you hear is applause at City Hall from the bike hating City Council members and their faithful minions on the Public Safety Commission and City Staff.  Hold it down guys while I make my apologies.

Sorry I pointed out that you did NOT spend $500,000 on bicycle infrastructure as you claimed so confidently in public. In fact, you spent about $499,000 less than that, most of it on pretty bike sharrows in Old Town. But you seemed to enjoy making fun of me in front of the cameras at the City Council meeting, even though the facts, as they say, were clearly on my side... so I don't feel that bad. You did have the "alternative facts" on your side, so keep clapping guys. Keep clapping. Kellyanne Conway would be so proud of you. Maybe get Sean Spicer to announce your next "updated master plan for bicycle trails." He can make it believable.


Sorry I made fun of the pretty bike sharrow you painted in Old Town so your out-of-town $100,000 a year consultants had something to post on your pretty (expensive) web page hiding behind the folksy title "Hike/Bike Temecula." Who would guess that Hike/Bike Temecula is just your PR guys earning their six figures one pretty picture at a time? I guess that PR fluff move is about over -- I rode through Old Town today and most of the sharrows have already been sandblasted off the pavement. Gonna miss those sharrows, although motorists paid absolutely no attention to them and police never had any intention of citing anyone for ignoring them, did they?

Sorry I wrote about Temecula Police not citing motorists for harassing and threatening cyclists -- with the exception of the motorist who bumped a cyclist who also happened to be a ranking member of local law enforcement. But that wasn't really Temecula police, was it? Wasn't it Highway Patrol? My comment was the only motorist to get in trouble with law enforcement around here was a guy who had the most rotten luck of hitting a guy who happened to be a bike but also happened to have a   badge. How many motorists have been cited for violating the state mandated three foot minimum passing space for cyclists by Temecula Police? One.

So as I leave, there is still no connected system of bike lanes or paths to help cyclists get around safely in Temecula (although the city is poised to build a dirt track at the Ronald Reagan Sports Park, and that will REALLY make it safer to ride in town), there is still no signalization (buttons that cyclists can reach) to help us get across intersections with a green light, no special sensors that recognize cyclists and change to a green light, no special lights that let cyclists make right turns first so we don't get "right hooked" and killed by inattentive motorists -- nothing. Cities across the county, the state and nation have installed all of the above, and much more.

But not Temecula.

And in the end, that is what I am most sad about as I leave Temecula. I tried to move our leaders to support cycling, but to no avail. As I took one last ride through Old Town tonight, I realized that Temecula has become a city of beer bars and bikers -- the kind that ride Harleys with straight pipes loud enough to rattle windows and set off car alarms.

There are other places to ride bicycles of course. and a lot of us are moving to them. That seems to be the only choice for some of us. Young people in particular -- they seek progressive, "green" cities with forward thinking leaders.

And that is definitely not Temecula.




 




 

Cycling infrastructure

We need more signatures on our petition to make cycling safer in Temecula. Why should the city invest in cycling infrastructure? It's a safety issue -- Temecula has not worked to install even basic infrastructure -- bike lanes, bike paths, signalization -- to make cycling safer. Other cities are way ahead of us. Look around. But it's also a health issue -- we have a crisis of obesity, and we need to make Temecula a more livable community where more of us can get outside and stay active. Finally, it's really an equity issue -- there are many, many residents who cannot afford to drive, or who are young and not ready to drive. They need to get to work and school. Don't they count? Why are we forcing them to use unsafe streets while spending all of our public money on motorists? Temecula spends literally hundreds of millions of our tax dollars building bigger and more elaborate freeway interchanges. Why not set aside a little bit of money to make sure cyclists can use a bike lane that is not strewn with rocks and other debris? Why not install sensors that give cyclists a green light once in a while at intersections? And why not direct our police officers to hunt down and punish motorists who try to harm cyclists either through inattention or actual malice? Sign the petition at change.org. Forward it to your friends and family. It's time for a healthier Temecula, a safer Temecula.

Sign our petition


SIGN OUR PETITION TO MAKE CYCLING SAFER

Whereas, the city of Temecula has 100,000 residents and statistically more than half of them who are old enough will ride a bicycle this year, and

Whereas, the Temecula City Council and city staff, while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on "bicycle trail master plans" have consistently refused to spend money on projects called for in those plans or those projects that make cyclists safer despite funding hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that only benefit motorists,

We, the resident cyclists of Temecula demand:

The city of Temecula immediately spend a minimum of 2 percent (the national average percentage of all travel trips by bicycle) of its annual public works budget on projects that directly have an impact on bicycle safety, including immediately connecting bike lanes citywide, building protected bike paths where needed, and installing and installing signalization that assists and protects cyclists at intersections, and

The city of Temecula immediately hire a contractor to remove debris from bicycle lanes, paths and portions of city streets used by cyclist, as opposed to the current method of simply pushing debris from motorist lanes into bike lanes which is putting cyclists' safety at risk, and

The city of Temecula immediately instruct its Police Department to enforce the state's 3-foot minimum passing distance between motorists and cyclists, aggressively pursue and prosecute motorists who harass, physically threaten or attempt to intimidate cyclists.

Sign our change.org petition to make cycling safer in Temecula!

Go to change.org and sign our petition to make cycling safer in Temecula.


Sign or safe cycling petition

Here is the text:

Whereas, the city of Temecula has 100,000 residents and statistically more than half of them who are old enough will ride a bicycle this year, and
Whereas, the Temecula City Council and city staff, while spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on "bicycle trail master plans" have consistently refused to spend money on projects called for in those plans or those projects that make cyclists safer despite funding hundreds of millions of dollars on projects that only benefit motorists,
We, the resident cyclists of Temecula demand:
The city of Temecula immediately spend a minimum of 2 percent (the national average percentage of all travel trips by bicycle) of its annual public works budget on projects that directly have an impact on bicycle safety, including immediately connecting bike lanes citywide, building protected bike paths where needed, and installing and installing signalization that assists and protects cyclists at intersections, and
The city of Temecula immediately hire a contractor to remove debris from bicycle lanes, paths and portions of city streets used by cyclist, as opposed to the current method of simply pushing debris from motorist lanes into bike lanes which is putting cyclists' safety at risk, and
The city of Temecula immediately instruct its Police Department to enforce the state's 3-foot minimum passing distance between motorists and cyclists, aggressively pursue and prosecute motorists who harass, physically threaten or attempt to intimidate cyclists.

Amsterdam Continues to Lead with the Appointment of a Bike Mayor -- One can only dream about this kind of support

April 26, 2016

Amsterdam Continues to Lead with the Appointment of a Bike Mayor

The semi-official post will be the first of its kind in the world.

Written by: Hilary Angus

   

Photo by Amsterdamized.

Charging ahead with its enviable plan to remain the world’s most bike-friendly city, Amsterdam has recently announced the appointment of the world’s first bicycle mayor. The person who will fill the semi-official person is set to be selected June 24,according to CityLab. The mayor’s roles and responsibilities are all focused around promoting and protecting cycling in the Dutch city – acting as a mediator between city hall, cyclists, community groups, residents, and anyone who has an interest in or may be affected by the city’s bicycling policy. While we’ve seen similar concepts, such as in the case of Atlanta’s recent appointment of a Chief Bicycle Officer, this is the first time a city has inaugurated the official position of “bicycle mayor,” and offered such a breadth of responsibility.

The idea was developed by local cycling advocacy CycleSpace, whose ultimate plan is to roll out the concept internationally. “This global program launched in Amsterdam is [intended] to elect the city’s representative of cycling progress,” said CycleSpace co-founder Roos Stallinga in a press release. “We plan to inaugurate our first 25 cycle mayors in cities as diverse as Beijing, Sao Paulo, Chicago, Cape Town and Warsaw. It will result in a yearly conference, starting in Amsterdam in 2017.”

RELATED

The Secrets to Cycling Like An Amsterdammer

The bike mayor will be a public representative, but not strictly a politician in the classic sense. Since they’ll technically be an employee of CycleSpace, an independent NGO, they won’t be elected by an entirely democratic process. The benefit of this system, however, is that they won’t be as constrained by the political system as elected officials are, and as such will be better able to represent a diversity of interests.

The bike mayor will be selected by a combination of public vote and an expert jury. Candidates who express their interest (via a short video) by May 1st will be put forward for the public vote. The public is able to weigh in until June 24, and while their opinion will hold influence, the final selection will ultimately be up to a jury of relevant parties including Amsterdam’s mayor and representatives from the city’s transit authorities and cycling groups.

While outsiders may think Amsterdam – already a beacon of hope for what a bike-friendly city could look like – is creating a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, the people at CycleSpace see it differently. “We are really far ahead in Amsterdam, but there is a tendency now to see bikes as a problem,” CycleSpace co-founder Maud de Vries told Citylab. “People don’t see the magic of it anymore, because they’re so used to it.”

In danger of stalling on the path towards a virtual bike mecca, advocates believe the bicycle mayor could be the push the city needs to renew residents’ enthusiasm for bikes. Whether or not it really is necessary in Amsterdam though, is only half of the equation. By using that city as a testing ground for the logistics, operations, and function of such a role, CycleSpace is developing a new form of institutionalized bike advocacy that then could then be exported around the world to the cities that need it the most.

Bicycle Injustice

Can't wait to read this new book by two researchers at UCR. Here is a link: Bicycle Justice.

Here is a paragraph about it:

"Policymakers and urban planners in much of Southern California – where a car culture dominates – are not highly receptive to rascuache cyclists, the researchers said, noting the lack of secured bicycle-parking areas at shopping centers, commuter rail stations and college campuses; bike paths that are designed with recreational users – not low-income commuters – in mind; and bike-safety legislation that negatively impacts cyclists who can least afford helmets and reflective clothing."

"Rascuache" is a term these researchers use to describe low income citizens who rely on their bicycles for transportation. That could have been me at one time -- trying to get to school, and a job, living on Top Ramen and no car. My bike? A freebie from a dumpster in Santa Ana that I rescued and coaxed back to life with a little WD40, a screwdriver and a crescent wrench.

So what does my hard luck story have to do with Temecula, one of the most affluent cities in the county?

If you live in Temecula, cruise Rancho California Road some time and watch the men and women who work at the car washes, grocery stores, and restaurants pedaling their 38 pound department store bicycles to work every morning, and home late in the evening. They have jobs, but no cars. 

Look for the students among them who are carrying heavy backpacks or worse, carrying books swinging in plastic bags tied to the handlebars. They need to get to school. They have bikes. But unfortunately, they live in a city that is openly hostile to cyclists. Their leaders spend nothing out of the millions they collect in taxes each year to make cyclists safer. 

Why is this so important?

Because they are cyclists. They are Temecula residents. 

And a lot of them are riding on the sidewalks, where they are dodging pedestrians, moms and dads pushing strollers. It's not a healthy mix. 

Yes, Temecula is affluent, but it is such a dangerous place to cycle these commuters are not about to venture out in the three skinny (probably not even up to code) car traffic lanes squeezed into Rancho California Road, because the city wiped out the bicycle lanes there! 

Now the city says it is "impossible" to have bicycle lanes on Rancho California Road. How is it impossible when they used to be there? They would still be there if you had left them alone. And a lot of us would be safer for it.

I've talked before at City Council about connecting Old Town to Wine Country for tourists via Rancho California. Their $150,000 consultants from San Diego want tourists to ride out of the south end of Old Town and up some gnarly hills, turning a 15 minute ride into hours. Tourists bring money to Temecula, but most of them don't try the bike to wineries trip more than once. Ask the bike shop owners what these cycle-tourists say when they return their rental bikes. Yikes!

But I have also reminded Council that a lot of their constituents who do a lot of the work in this town use Rancho California Road to get to work. Do your San Diego consultants have answers for them? Do they think they should ride out the south end of Old Town too? Where are they supposed to ride?

The sidewalk.



  

Valley News Prints Letter to Editor on Temecula Cycling

The Valley News has printed my letter to the editor about the Temecula City Council's lack of support for creating infrastructure that makes cycling safer for Temecula families.

In http://myvalleynews.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-28/

Temecula City Council Candidates -- Any cycling advocates in this bunch?

Just got the list of candidates or potential candidates for Temecula City Council. Three of the names on the list are former city managers or incumbent councilmembers  (marked in red). I will leave it up to you to determine how effective you think your current city leaders have been in addressing our concerns as cyclists. If you need help, peruse previous posts here and comments from actual cyclists -- not city hall insiders or paid consultants from San Diego.


There are others on the list. So if you are one of the names on the list, or you have information about these candidates and their views on cycling, please contact me.

I do not hide behind anonymous web pages, like our consultants from San Diego (HikeandBikeTemecula.org, please, really?) or fake names on Facebook or Twitter. My name is Rick Peoples, I have lived in Rancho California (now Temecula) since 1987, and my personal email is rickpeoples@hotmail.com. And thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to comment about previous information here and at BicycleTemecula on FB and Twitter. Your comments are important to me, whether you agree with my ideas or not. We are a community, one that is being ignored by the city of Temecula, and that has to change.

I will be visiting City Hall to obtain contact information (unlike the county and other government agencies, the city does not put contact information or biographies about our potential civil servants online for constituents to peruse until the election roster is set, which is probably not the best way for us to see who is interested in leading us or get more people involved in the process of sending new faces into leadership ranks) and I plan to contact each of them about cycling issues ASAP.

But we, as a cycling community, need to get involved as a group in vetting the people who control hundreds of millions of dollars in capital improvement project monies coming to Temecula. If we were to get even a tiny percentage of those millions, think about the projects we could fund.

And do we really need more massive City Hall buildings, parking structures, or decorative fountains?


What would it be like in Temecula if we took the money for that fountain and other Council paid projects and spent it on desperately need signalization to help cyclists get through red lights, on-street bike lanes that connect and get us through particularly dangerous roadways like Margarita Road or Rancho California Road, off-street bike lanes (we can dream), or (please) a police force that is pro-cyclists and is busy out there cracking down on Temecula motorists who make roadways unsafe for cyclists.

We should be asking people who want to serve as leaders if they agree that these things are minimum requirements for Temecula cyclists. Just remember, half of the city's population throw a leg over a bicycle saddle this year and go for a spin. What are we facing out there?


Here is the list, current or former leaders in red. Like I said, you decide, but please help me update.

Thanks in advance:

Nomination Papers Filed

Ronald Bradley -- former Temecula city manager

James Cooley

Michael McCracken -- incumbent council member

Michael Naggar -- incumbent council member and mayor

Adam Ruiz

James Stewart

Nomination Papers Issued

Jeffrey Frichner

Skylar Tempel

Angel Garcia

Found: The $500,000 Bike Sharrow!!!

What you see here is a bike sharrow painted by the city in Old Town Temecula. The Mayor, Council and city staff have purported that they have spent $500,000 on bicycle infrastructure improvements. Since this is the only thing I have seen new in town, and since the city paid its San Diego cycling consultants (Why do we need some guys from out of town who don't live here, don't ride bikes here and don't have any stake in how this all turns out for cyclists to tell us what we see with our own eyes every time we ride a bike here?) more than $150,000 to create a slick new web page featuring -- you guessed it -- this bike sharrow, I have concluded that the city leaders must have spent $500,000 on this sharrow!

And you thought finding Pokemons was fun?

Just kidding. The city hasn't spent $500,000 this sharrow. The city hasn't spent $500,000 on ANY cycling infrastructure, despite what the staff, our Mayor and Councilmembers say in front of the television cameras at public Council meetings. 

In private, responding to my requests, they admit they have spent a few thousand dollars on a little striping and, of course, this cool looking sharrow. I hope you like this sharrow, though, because the city staff, our Mayor, our Councimembers, have no plans to spend any money on cycling infrastructure next year either.

As a cyclist why should I care?

Because the city of Temecula is spending literally hundreds of millions of OUR dollars on new freeway interchanges, parking garages and of course, a very cool looking City Hall, and nothing on cycling infrastructure. And because riding a bicycle in Temecula doesn't have to be so dang dangerous, if we make a few changes.

Our bike lanes in Temecula start and then stop in the most dangerous places and ways, don't connect in any systematic way, and are filled with trash, broken glass and dead animals. 

Our signal lights don't recognize bicycles (lots of cities around this county, this state, this country, and the world have figured out how to do that Mr. Mayor), and what is our police force doing to stop the daily harassment of cyclists by motorists?

That's my point. OK, so why should you care? 

Because we are cyclists, and cyclists care about other cyclists. We stop when we see someone with a flat -- do you need anything? We ride in groups inches apart and by being polite, it all works.

Even if you are one of those John Wayne types -- I go where I want, do what I want -- that may be fine for me, or for you, but what about new riders, what about our young people, our children? What about families that want to ride together but are too frightened of Temecula traffic? They load their bikes into their Suburbans and drive to the park, or to the beach, or to cities THAT HAVE BIKE LANES!

In a city of 100,000 people, where half of them old enough to ride will jump on a bicycle at least once during the next 12 months, why is nothing being done to make cycling safer?

Temecula has had plans for bicycle lanes and paths since its first Parks and Recreation plan. The city has had some kind of bicycle trail master plan since at least 2002. A group of us representing cycling clubs and others under the umbrella of the Temecula Bicycle Coalition met with Mayor Naggar and staff  10 years ago to urge the city to make our streets safer. We will get right on that, they said. You are our eyes and ears, they said. And now a decade later, with another $150,000 of our hard earned taxpayer money flung to the wilds of San Diego, we have yet another master plan and no projects.

When I spoke at City Council, I said quit making new plans and start building what you promised a decade (or more) ago. The Mayor, Mrs. Edwards, and other Councilmembers took turns telling me how wrong I am. My own eyes, and the numbers prove me right. $2,000 or even $10,000 is not $500,000. We have one new bike sharrow and a web page.

So what's to be done? Cut and paste, copy, repost, retweet, talk about, yell about, print this out and hand it around, I don't care, but get this message out to anyone who rides a bike and has a stake in this game. We pay city taxes, we pay fuel and other transportation taxes, and yet the city of Temecula spends none of it to help make us safe as cyclists. That's wrong.

Forget your new "pump track" at Ronald Reagan Park, it doesn't make cycling safer. Forget your plans to spend $10 million to put a new bike path under the 15 Freeway at St. Gertrudis Creek, we don't need it. If I am going to ride somewhere, I go the same way you do in your car -- the shortest route. And tell your San Diego consultants that we don't want to ride miles in the wrong direction out of the south end of Old Town to reach Wine Country. 

You can really tell someone who doesn't live here came up with that one. The shortest route is straight out Rancho California Road, where, I keep reminding our $150,000 consultants and city staff, there used to be some very good bike lanes and two normal motorists lanes until the city paved over the bike lanes and squeezed in three narrow lanes for cars. Now they say bike lanes on Rancho Cal are "impossible." Really? They were there!

Connect our on-street bike lanes. Give us back the Rancho California Bike lanes. Spend some money on off street bike lanes -- you will really see cycling numbers skyrocket with that one. Fix our signals so we can get through red lights without getting off our bikes and using the pedestrian buttons. Tell your police officers to watch out for motorists trying to squeeze us into curbs, right hooking us at intersections, tossing bottles, cans or even coins at us, yelling out windows -- get on the sidewalk!

Our Mayor is running for re-election and his campaign material includes a vision of a hiking path from Temecula to the ocean. Great! But Mr. Mayor, we think you should turn your attention to how difficult it is to find a safe cycling path around your own town.

Again, repost this. Retweet it. Share this information. The Mayor and City Council are not listening. Their city staff is giving out misleading and completely erroneous information. 

And what are we doing? Do we just keep taking this mistreatment? Do we let the Mayor and city staff meet with us every 10 years, pat us on the heads and tell us to go away?

It's up to us. I went to the Council meeting alone -- they had their way with me. OK. I can take it. I know I'm right, and I know they are not giving out accurate information. I have eyes. I know it.

The question is, do YOU want Temecula to be a city known for its beer bars and bikers (not cyclists, the Harley Davidson kind) that crowd Front Street in Old Town, or do you want to be known as a progressive, green city, with an active population, amenities for cyclists, pedestrians, hikers, a place with a bicycle culture where motorists harassing cyclists face the wrath of the entire community?

Share this -- please.

 

 

 

 

Temecula has NOT spent a half million dollars on cycling infrastructure

Temecula has NOT spent

a half million dollars

 on cycling infrastructure

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting on the new update to the hiking and cycling trails master plan, city staff reported that Temecula has spent $500,000 on bicycle infrastructure. That is not accurate. I emailed Assistant City Manager Greg Butler after the meeting; here is part of his reply;

“I was under the impression that funding had been spent as budgeted.  While researching my response to your inquiry I was advised now that the updated master plan is approved, staff will be prioritizing this funding toward projects identified in the updated plan.”

So how much have they spent? Maybe $50,000. I have sent a follow-up email asking where this money was spent. More on that later.

How much is budgeted for cycling infrastructure projects next year?

“We have not segregated cycling infrastructure from other expenses included in the multiuse trail program.  Including carry over funding (programmed and unspent from prior fiscal years) funding available to implement the recommendations in the master plan update totals $463,495.  Thus far we have identified one cycling project, a pump track to be developed at Ronald Regan Sports park to be implemented this coming fiscal year.”

My opinion? I don’t think a dirt track in the middle of a park does anything to improve cycling infrastructure. In other words, it doesn’t help me and my family ride around town and be safe.

Finally, I asked how much the city paid its consultants from San Diego to redo the plan.

$150,000. Why is that important? It comes out of the $500,000 they have in the budget for next year. The other $350,000? Maybe the pump track.

Why is all this important?

If you ride a bicycle, and about half of the 100,000 people who live here will ride a bike sometime in the next year, getting around town with bike lanes that don't disappear and reappear without warning, signalization that helps cyclists cross intersections, and signage that reminds motorists to share the road with cyclists would be wonderful improvements.

Other cities have made a commitment to cycling infrastructure; it is time (way past time) for Temecula.

Rick Peoples

Tuesday night the city will unveil "yet another" Bike Master Plan

http://www.pe.com/articles/city-806641-plan-trails.html

Bike Sharrows Added in Old Town Temecula


The City of Temecula showed off its new Bike Sharrows (bike symbol and arrows painted on the street to let motorists and cyclists know they are sharing the lane) on May 10. Thanks to Councilmen Naggar and Washington for riding with us.

I am posting a link to my YouTube video of the ride.

http://youtu.be/NgK746YRGQM

The sharrows have been proven to resolve motorist/cyclist tensions in other places. We rode with Temecula city planners on a field trip to Long Beach where sharrows on busy Ocean Avenue reduced the number of complaints to nearly zero, without painting a bicycle lane! They are used where there isn't room for lane.

So c'mon Temecula motorists, share the road!

Ride of Silence will honor cyclists

   Honor cyclists who are killed or injured in road accidents and join a worldwide event at the Eighth Annual Temecula Ride of Silence scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, in front of Temecula City Hall, 41000 Main St.

   The Ride of Silence started in 2003 to honor cyclist Larry Schwartz, killed by a passing bus in Dallas, Texas. It is now an international event held in more 300 cities and involving thousands of riders on the second Wednesday of May.

   The Ride of Silence is an opportunity to honor the more than 800 cyclists killed in traffic accidents each year in the United States and many more injured or killed around the world.

   Participants are encouraged to bring lights and helmets. Organizers will be handing out black arm bands bearing the names of cyclists who have been killed or injured in road accidents. Cyclists may also bring their own armbands if they wish.

   The ride is about 10 miles long, fairly flat and speed is kept to 10 mph or less.

   Riders wear black armbands and use lights on their bicycles to form a solemn procession. This year the route will be from City Hall to Overland, across Interstate 15 to Margarita Road, up to Jax Bicycles in Murrieta and back on the same route. Please be aware this is a nighttime ride on public roadways suitable for adults and teenagers who typically ride in traffic. Small children should be in trailers or with adults on tandems.

   There are no entry fees or costs. More information on the Ride of Silence can be found at www.rideofsilence.org.

   For more information, or to submit names of cyclists to be honored, go to www.rideofsilence.org   or contact Rick Peoples, rickpeoples@hotmail.com   or 951-764-4075.

Temcula Bicycle Coalition Rolls at the Temecula Holiday Parade

First-Ever Temecula Cranksgiving Bicycle Ride Benefits Community Pantry

More than 40 cyclists participated in Temecula's first-ever Cranksgiving bicycle ride sponsored by the Bike Shop and Temecula Bike Train on Saturday, November 30, and collected food for the Temecula Community Pantry. Cranksgiving is part bike ride, part food drive, and part social event.

Cranksgiving riders started at the The Bike Shop and made stops at a half dozen markets, buying food to donate to the Pantry. More than 200 pounds of food was delivered to the Pantry.

More information about Cranksgiving can be found at Cranksgiving.org.

San Diego to get $200 million in cycling improvements -- We can dream, right?

This is good news. We don't live in San Diego County, of course, but a lot of us  ride there. San Diego County is going to spend $200 million for cycling infrastructure over the next 10 years. There is not that kind of commitment in Riverside County, but we can dream. Here is the link:
http://www.sdcbc.org/temp/news/newsletterChainGuard_Fall2013_WEB.pdf?utm_source=Fall+Chainguard&utm_campaign=Chainguard-+Fall&utm_medium=email

Bike Trail Master Plan Meeting

Kudos to the city of Temecula, Rick and the Bike Shop, hosting the Oct. 26 meeting on the bike/hike/equestrian trail meeting. The city is looking for input about which trails to link up first, so go to hikebiketemecula.org and vote for where to start work. There's money to start linking trails. Best news of the day: There will be bike lanes on the new interchange north of Winchester, and bike lanes on the new Main Street bridge in old town (outside the car lanes, sharing with pedestrians).

San Diego's CicloSDias, time for a Temeciclovia?

On Sunday we rode the San Diego version of Ciclovia, an event held around the world where cities close streets to car traffic and let cyclists, walkers, rollerbladers and skateboarders enjoy their communities without dodging traffic.

Hats off to the progressive leaders of San Diego for staging their first CicloSDias. It actually takes a little getting used to having complete right of way in the streets for one day. Plenty of entertainment and even shopping on the way. Lots of volunteers helping out -- San Diego has an active cycling community and they were everywhere.

While I was riding, I was thinking about what would happen if we closed Old Town Temecula to car traffic for part of day on Sunday. We could let cyclists and walkers own the streets for a few hours, set up entertainment, food booths, shopping booths, whatever we want.

The name Temeciclovia came to mind, but you know how ideas pop into your head on rides. Is there a better name? Is there support? Would it work? Time to put Temecula on the map.

Here is an incentive: Riverside is thinking about the same thing, according to news stories. Riverside already has buttons to let cyclists trip the traffic lights and cross busy streets, a dedicated bike path/on street lane system and circumnavigates the city, and a bike consultant who actually rides a bicycle and has great ideas for improvements.

Are we going to let the city to the north, and the city to the south have a great event like this and do nothing? Where is our competitive spirit? They can do it, we can do it, right?

 

CicloSDias is on Sunday. Would be very cool to ride San Diego streets without cars, go the link, http://www.ciclosdias.com/#promo_0. It's time to close down Old Town Temecula and ride some circles without cars!

Help a stranded cyclist, they might be a rock star

Help a stranded cyclist, they might be a rock star.
Emily Kraus and her boyfriend Joe Proffitt were driving down a back road near Hersey, Pennsylvania to a Dave Mathews Band concert, when they swerved past a rider with a flat tire. Joe quickly recognized the cyclist as “Dave.”
Emily was unconvinced. Thousands were waiting to hear Dave Mathews perform that night, why would he be on the side of the road? But after a few seconds the couple turned around to help the rider.
Sure enough, walking on the side of the road was the multi-platinum recording artist and Emily’s favorite singer Dave Mathews. Turns out, the musician decided to take a quick ride before his show, but punctured and was without his cellphone.
Mathews thanked the couple for the lift by inviting them to dinner, giving them front-row seats and signing their tickets. Mathews gave Kraus a shout out during his show, weaving his experience in the opening of the song “Granny.”


See all the Bicycling.com blogs.

http://bicycling.com/blogs/thehub/2013/07/16/dave-matthews-needs-a-flat-kit/

Temecula Bicycle Coalition turns out for the Fourth of July Parade