Draft Bicycle Plan Update
I attended the Draft Bicycle Plan Open House earlier today and was happy to see that it was well attended. The attendees offered many suggestions that will be presented to the City for incorporation into their Master Bicycle Plan. I was unclear on the time frame involved in order for these recommendations to take effect.
The recommendations include new ideas for San Diego including ideas like creating cycle tracks and bike boulevards, particularly along Island Avenue which would be a much needed relief for commuters riding east-west and heading downtown.
Many of the recommendations were ideas to retrofit existing infrastructure rather than creating brand new infrastructure. In light of California's budgetary woes, that is probably a good idea. However to really induce more San Diegans to ride, the city does need to reach out for more innovative ideas. Some of the ideas being considered included chicanes which would slow auto traffic on wide streets like Genesee Avenue or Balboa Avenue. There were also proposals on how to incorporate multi-modal methods of traveling throughout the city
I, for one, am eager to see the proposals incorporated as soon as possible.
What are your thoughts on the Draft Bicycle Plan? Do you have suggestions on improving it?
Interview with Sam Corbett - Senior Associate at San Diego's Alta Planning & Design
Alta Planning & Design, a sustainable transportation planning and design firm, recently opened an office in San Diego. They are working on bicycle and pedestrian plans for San Diego and other local cities to assist them in becoming more friendly toward non-motorized forms of transportation.
Next week, the city of San Diego is hosting an open house to gather public input on the Draft Bicycle Master Plan. The Consultant Project Manager responsible for the creation of this plan is Sam Corbett. I recently sat down with Sam to chat with him. I wanted to learn more about yet another car-free resident in San Diego. Below are my notes from our conversation.
Sam grew up in Western Massachusetts, an area he describes as being fairly rural and lacking in public transit infrastructure. As a result, he began riding his bike everywhere that eventually culminated in his first tour around Lake Erie at age thirteen. He found that bicycling was very liberating and it allowed him to engage with the people and landscape in a much more meaningful fashion than if he were driving a car.
He eventually moved to the West Coast and prior to enrolling in college in Northern California, took a year off. During this year he did a ten day bicycle tour from San Bernardino to San Francisco. Sam's love for long distance riding continued after college when he rode from Anchorage, AK to Prudhoe Bay where he followed the oil pipeline north from Anchorage. Most recently, Sam and his wife, Ginny, did a bicycle tour of New Zealand’s South Island in 2009.
Sam's love for riding and experiencing the world from a bicycle, inspired him to pursue a career in transportation planning. He explained that he wanted everyone to experience the same joy he gets from getting around on a bicycle. Because the transportation in Southern California is not as mature as it is in in Northern California and other parts of the country, Sam found that he wanted to work towards creating better transportation options for people beyond the private automobile. Since moving to Southern California in 2004, Sam has worked on that very goal at UCLA, UCSD and now with Alta Planning & Design.
Being car-free in San Diego has its own peculiar challenges resulting from the fact that the city has been designed primarily for the private automobile. Sam and his wife are car-free in San Diego. From that standpoint, he is able to understand how best to design and promote a non-motorized focus. The city in its attempt to meet the goal of increasing bicycling modal share to 10% in ten years is in the process of working with Alta to develop pedestrian and bicycle master plans to improve conditions for sustainable transportation throughout the city.
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I thank Sam Corbett for taking the time to meet with me and chat with me about biking and his work at Alta Planning & Design.
Santa Barbara's First Annual Bicycle Fashion Show
Last Thursday, I Amtraked my way up to Santa Barbara to attend the city's first Bicycle Fashion Show. The Show was a phenomenal success and I look forward to next year's show.
I was very inspired by Santa Barbara's commitment to creating an environment visitors and residents could experience without a car, and the cohesion between the various cycling communities that is committed to making Santa Barbara a bicycling haven.
Two women, Brittany Odermann and Christa Clark-Jones organized the bicycle fashion show. Christa was kind to answer a few questions I had about what it took to put the show together and her answers are noted below.
What inspired you to do the Santa Barbara Bicycle Fashion Show?
I’m most fascinated with sustainable urban design and bike-friendly cities. I have been researching the Cycle Chic movement for fun and want to amplify the bicycle fashion culture in Santa Barbara.
How did you meet Brittany Odermann? Who came up with the idea of a bicycle fashion show?
Brittany is a regional transportation planner, pedicab business owner, and a spunky bicycle enthusiast. We met through the Santa Barbara bicycle community while it was garnering support for CycleMAYnia events. CycleMAYnia is a month-long bicycle celebration in Santa Barbara sponsored by the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, Traffic Solutions, and Bici Centro. We both had the vision, but Brittany initiated the event and has been a great role model and support throughout the planning process. She worked on event logistics (securing the location, permits, food and drink) and I led the creative efforts (gathering models and retailers, website design, and press).
I noticed that the bike community in Santa Barbara included a wide variety of bicycling groups working together (pedicab riders, recreational and utility cyclists). What do you think is the reason that the cohesion is so strong?
There are dedicated organizations that actively try to mend various bicycle niches. For example, CycleMAYnia, a month-long bicycle celebration, encourages new cyclists to try the cycling lifestyle.
What were some of the challenging aspects of putting this show together?
The beginning of the planning process was most challenging. I had never planned a fashion show and I had to sell the event to retailers and models. It was intimidating. Once Anthropologie committed, however, it was a vote of confidence, encouraging us to create a sophisticated event. I spent a lot of time attending community events to share the bicycle fashion show and I always came home with some great, useful leads.
What are your goals for next year's show?
I would like to see Santa Barbara Cycle Chic become a leading event in the budding Slow Fashion movement. While the event notably focuses on bicycles, I’ve designed it to feature sustainable lifestyle products such as local designers, reused clothing from The Closet, and Patagonia. The goal is to celebrate the sustainable lifestyle where one feels a strong connection and responsibility to both the urban space and styles. I would like to continue to focus on inspiring women and family cycling, hosting educational workshops and events.
If someone wanted to do a bicycle fashion show in their own city, what would be the first steps you'd suggest they do?
The first and most important step is having the event in a downtown park or building that is accessible to cyclists and pedestrians. Ideally the space has historical significance, creating community identity.
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Thank you Christa for taking the time to answer the questions and for inviting me to attend and be a part of Santa Barbara's CycleMaynia festvities.
Photos taken by Jeff Clark.More photos of the Bicycle Fashion show is available at his website.
San Diego Streets for People
Although the posts here have slowed down considerably, a lot has been happening behind the scenes here in San Diego.
Since I last posted about the ciclovía movement happening around the world (most recently in Tucson, AZ), a small group of enthusiastic and forward thinking San Diegans have come together to figure out how to give the streets back to San Diegans.
The first event will be held tomorrow along 30th Street, from Adams Avenue to Beech Street.
Here is a list of what is happening:
30th on 30th: On the 30th of every month, restaurants along 30th Street offer specials starting between 5 and 6 PM such as a feature appetizer starting at $2.
This makes it easy for you to go on a restaurant crawl and check out all the amazing places on the 30th Street Corridor. Most places start their specials between 5 and 6pm.
If navigating through the Switzer Canyon on foot or bike is a challenge, San Diego's newest shuttle service will be of tremendous help:
The Park-2-Park shuttle is a fun, new, convenient way to see and do more when you're in North Park, South Park, Normal Heights or University Heights. The "Park-2-Park" connects these communities with 9 shuttle stops at local restaurants, bars, studios, and music venues. For one $5 pass, in the form of a wristband, you can ride the Park-2-Park shuttle all night from 6:00 p.m. - midnight on Thursday and 6:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. See the map below for locations to purchase or pick up a pass. You can also purchase a rider pass on PayPal and then pick the pass up at the time you board
Additionally, tomorrow is also the night of Critical Mass. The SD Streets group will be handing out fliers promoting the first event. So if you ride Critical Mass tomorrow, do plan on riding along 30th Street.
Encourage your friends, co-workers and family members to come out. Tomorrow's weather looks to be splendid as usual and it would be the perfect opportunity to enjoy the streets the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
EDIT: A few businesses along 30th Street will give an automatic discount to ANYBODY that rolls up on a bicycle! The list of businesses who have committed to the bike discount program are listed on this map.
EDIT 2: The SD Streets for People now have their own website. Please visit for more details and updates.
One More SDCBS 2010 Review
This post was written by Robert Leone of the Knickerbikers, San Diego's Bicycle Touring Club.
The San Diego Custom Bicycle Show 2010, ably organized by Ybarrola Bicycles is past – but it was a great April 9, 10 and 11 for bike stalking. The event, carefully organized by David Ybarrola (Ybarrola Bicycles and SelleLogica saddles), Chuck Schlesinger (Sadilah Bicycles), and Brian Baylis in the massive Town & Country convention complex in Fashion Valley featured fifty-seven exhibitors, industry booths, shop booths and dealers. Head to the official website for a full list – it's worth it just to see the breadth of the industry.
I'm not a single speed or fixed gear rider, but there was plenty of impressive eye candy. Some of it was old, including a 1927 Bismark on display at the Far West Milano CC area, which evoked the era of wooden rims and iron riders.
Some of it was quite new. Home Brewed Components out of Escondido showed off titanium rear cogs mounted onto aluminum carriers to slide onto freehubs, or simply milled out of stainless steel. Just cut off at the top of the shot you can see a chainring designed to slide directly onto a bottom bracket spindle.
More mainstream vendors, such as Speedplay, were not immune to the “show and tell” aspects of a custom bicycle show. Their “Museum of Pedal History” featured 96 pedals, 33 toeclips, 17 cleats and 32 toe straps.
If it's frames you're looking for, you can skip my no-flash VGA resolution shots and go directly to the Velo Cult shop blog, where instead of hand-holding a camera purchased at Big Lots, real velophotographers used tripods, digital SLRs, diffused flashes and a gray screen background to bring out the best detail in each picture. Here's a picture showing what it takes to get images that good.
I did use a flash once, to bring out some detail in Swrve's display of reflective keyrings.
Gallus Bicycles proved a bike could be practical and over-the-top at the same time with this attractive green porteur.
Marice Rebolledo showed off the bike on which he came in last in the Oregon Manifest challenge, an achievement that is less modest than it sounds, given the number of DNFs, the fact that he rode his own bike (many framebuilders put someone else on the bike) and the requirement to pick up drinks for the after-ride party on the way. Note the rear rack and light details.
Moth Attack, in building a track bike for a tall and strong rider, used several flat plates to bridge between the seatstays rather than one rounded “brake bridge.” The best pictures of this are on the Moth Attack blog, just scroll down a bit. It was pretty, and pretty impressive, in pink paint and a white rear disk wheel. I wouldn't necessarily call a track bike “practical,” but given the forces on a track frame, especially with a punishing rider, it's a great way to stiffen the rear triangle.
In one of the strongest examples of projection I've seen, Peacock Groove showed a 20” wheeled road bike sized for when a little girl reaches six to eight years of age – and yes, those are integrated brake and shift levers on the drop bars.
However, the master of over-the-top was Bruce Gordon, who rolled in a bike featuring carbon fiber tubes set in titanium “lugs.” It was finished with Bruce-produced Ti toeclips, cantilever brakes, and front rack. The carbon fiber weave in the fenders matched that of the frame tubes. Not only did I get a front shot of the pointy front rack, but I'll include one of the matching stem.
By the way, that's Mr. Gordon himself on the right side in the bike shot. On the more solid and steel side of things, Bruce Gordon also brought along a Rock and Road and one of his recent production run of Taiwanese-produced Basic Loaded Touring frames. His price of $1499 for a built-out Asian-produced Basic Loaded Touring might seem a little steep, until you realize it includes the justly-famed Bruce Gordon racks.
If you are thinking that's a bit pricey, Pacific Coast Cycles in Oceanside, which is about as close as we'll ever get to a Surly bicycles dealer with bikes in stock, was showing off this tour-ready Surly Long Haul Trucker; just add rider and stuff to lug in the luggage. And maps.
However, most of the avid collectors and restorers had eyes for the new old stock and used parts in Pacific Coast Cycles' parts cabinet. Even I felt the seductive call of a little metal tin Tip-Top patch and glue kit. But they kept it locked.
Sometimes it wasn't just about the bike, or the accessories. Adams Avenue Bicycles made many, many friends over the weekend once their espresso machine had built up pressure in the boiler.
There was one final bit that was not in the exhibit hall – that was bike parking.
My ostensible reason for attending all of this, my excuse for wandering around with camera in hand, was to tend the bicycle parking area outside the center with my friends from the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.
Frankly, the eye candy out in the sun and open air rivaled much of that in the official show itself. Folks walking, discussing, and taking photographs in the parking area was enough of a phenomenon that I took to calling it the “San Diego Custom Bicycle Show Fringe Festival.” It wasn't just that we had TWO of the legendary Bridgestone XO-1 bikes parked there on Sunday after the Rivendell Ride rolled in on Sunday, along with a lot of other lugged steel. It was also what people had done with otherwise “normal” bikes. For example, there was one Masi, a straightforward, conventional, current production street singlespeed – with a bottle opener (from Harbor Freight) in place of a water bottle cage.
Another rider came in on a bike to rival the Bruce Gordon – a restored Hetchins with House of Kolor copper metallic paint detailing, from the rivets on the Brooks saddle to the fenders and even the carbide lantern.
If you're difficult to size, need something very specific in a bike that you can't get off the shelf, want to accessorize, or figure three or four hours wandering a convention hall looking at and talking about great bikes for a better entertainment deal than a movie, consider the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show in 2011.