Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "bicyclists"

Ask Officer Michelle - Free 3-day Urban Cycling Skills Workshop

2010-06-29T22:12:23Z

Over the years of writing the “Ask Officer Michelle” column, I have received multiple questions from citizens regarding bicycle safety and some of the laws regarding bicycle riding in traffic. I ran across this free three-day urban cycling skills workshop and thought I would share it with the public. The course starts on one of the three Tuesday evenings from 6-9 p.m., July 20, 27, and August 3.

During one of these three initials meetings, students will learn about bicycle maintenance, and rules of the road. The subsequent meetings will then be offered on Saturdays July 20, or July 24, and July 31, from 9-noon and will cover hazard avoidance drills and on-street skills and drills. Interested riders should meet at the Bicycle Chef at 3184 N Street in Midtown.

The workshop is described as a fast-paced course which develops self-confident cyclists that ride predictably on the street. The riders will learn about lane positioning, learn skills to avoid crashes and how to blend smoothly into the flow of traffic. The course includes a student manual.

The only requirements are a helmet and a multi-speed bike. For a registration form, email mkbryant@surewest.net. You may also get further information by going to www.smart-cycling.org.

This course is presented by www.smart-cycling.org and the Sacramento Transportation Management Association. All of the instructors are certified by the League of American Bicyclists. This course is absolutely FREE.

Ask Officer Michelle - Pedestrians Rule the Sidewalks

2010-03-21T16:34:09Z

Posted by chriso

I ride my bicycle around downtown alot. I just heard from a friend of mine that while he was riding his bike downtown an officer stopped him and told him to get off of the sidewalk and ride in the street. Are bicylists not allowed to ride on the sidewalk? I am not very comfortable riding in the street without a bike lane.

Dear chriso,

The truth of the matter is that the sidewalk is meant for pedestrians. In other words, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalks. Bicyclists must follow the same rules of the road as other “vehicles” and must ride as close as “practicable” to the right. Sacramento strives to be a bicycle friendly city with many bicycle routes, so people are encouraged to ride their bikes, however bicyclists are always encouraged to exercise caution.

California Vehicle Code Sections 21200-21212 cover the rules of the road and what bicyclists can and can’t do. There is also a City Code section pertaining to riding bicycles on the sidewalk. City Code 10.76.010 states: Except as authorized under subsection B of this section, no person shall ride a bicycle on a sidewalk except within a residence district or where a sidewalk is designated as part of an established bicycle route. Pedestrians shall have the right-of-way on sidewalks.

Sacramento Transportation Management Association has an excellent segment on bicycle commuting including insight on other biking tips as well. Be safe.

Officer Michelle

Ask Officer Michelle - Bicyclists Must Follow the Rules of the Road

2009-11-30T04:04:21Z

Posted by chriso

Dear chriso,

Sacramento Transportation Management Association has an excellent segment on bicycle commuting including insight on other biking tips as well. Be safe.

Officer Michelle

The Day of the Dead-ly Davis Derby

2009-11-02T00:34:42Z

In a flurry of face paint, furry costumes and fixies, around 50 people raced through downtown Davis on bikes Saturday afternoon, a mad dash to the Death Star — a.k.a. the Social Sciences Building at UC Davis — to find a map that would lead them through the rest of the ride: the Day of the Dead-ly Davis Derby.

The Halloween ride was the fifth installment of the Davis Deadly Derby, a DIY bike race that changes form with each occurrence. Usually it involves a scavenger hunt, once it involved music performances at each checkpoint, and always it ends in celebration and beer. The makeshift race was organized by members of the Davis Bike Collective, with donations benefitting their new location at Bike Forth on Fourth and L streets.

Seasonally appropriate challenges on this costumed race included a persimmon toss and trick-or-treating. Teams had to climb to the roof of the Cruess Hall food science building with at least one bike in tow. The race concluded with each team recounting their adventures in rhyming couplets with ukulele accompaniment.

The next Davis Deadly Derby is rumored to be in April 2010. Forget the Amgen Tour, man. This is the most spirited of bike races.

"Complete Streets" workshop Friday

2009-07-09T02:41:36Z

Planners will gather in Sacramento Friday for a workshop that focuses on creating safer, more accessible streets in the central city and beyond.

The Local Government Commission and the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District are hosting a "Complete Streets" workshop to educate people about the need to transform more vehicle-dominated roadways into streets that are healthy, safe and easy to use for people on foot, bicycles and wheelchairs.

"'Complete street' is a term that's emerged in the last four to five years to really address the need to have policies that result in streets that accomodate all users, not just people in a car," said Paul Zykofsky, director of the Local Government Commission's land use and transportation programs. The commission, which began as the SolarCAL Commission in the 1970s, is made up of local government officials concerned primarily with creating livable communities.

More diverse use of streets also can bolster air quality and lessen impacts on land and water.

"It means taking a more holistic approach to the way we design, build and operate our streets," he said.

The California Department of Transportation, Sacramento Area Council of Governments and WalkSacramento also are sponsoring the workshop, which will be held Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, 1230 J St. Most of those attending are expected to be private and public planners, including local elected officials and government agency staff.

The event will introduce the concept and report the current status of the region's urban and suburban streets. Speakers also will address laws and possible financial support for complete streets projects.

The central city is well ahead of its outlying areas and suburbs in terms of accessible streets. That's mainly because walking has always been a common form of transportation in the grid. Also, the city has worked to make more streets safe and accessible to various users for at least six years, said one of the workshop's moderators, Anne Geraghty, who serves as executive director for WalkSacramento. The nonprofit, which promotes walkable communities, is leading an informal coalition of individuals and agencies interested in complete streets in the Sacramento area.

Pedestrians simply weren't considered by planners and designers when many suburbs were created, so problems with streets are "more profound" there, she said.

"For over 50 years, our communities have kind of taken walking for granted," she said. "The central city is one of the better places in our region, but it has problems as well."

Streets that are examples of complete or incomplete streets are easy to find in the central city. Two of the most recently "completed" streets are 19th and 21st. The city transformed both from one-way, three-lane streets to one-way, two-lane streets, then added bicycle lanes on both sides of the streets and a lot more well-marked crosswalks, she said.

Two of the more problematic streets are sections of I and 12th, where the lack of bike lanes results in bicyclists riding on sidewalks. Bicyclists may be safer there, but pedestrians may feel they're not, she added.

Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates has been lobbying to get the three-lane section of I Street, starting at 21st Street, changed from three lanes to two and possibly back to two-way traffic, in addition to getting bike lanes.

"We would like to see all the streets in the region be complete so you can walk easily, especially to nearby destinations," Geraghty said.

An article that isn't about bicycles

2009-02-14T09:29:16Z

This article will be about all kinds of things but, aside from the title, it won’t mention bicycles. Well, except for that first sentence where I had to write “bicycles” to establish the point. And again, just now, in sentence two – but the use of bicycles in that sentence was purely explanatory. Wait…damn.

Hmmm…maybe the reason half the articles here are about bikes is that apparently it’s impossible to avoid writing about them, as I learned above. Why, I bet that we can’t even get through today, a perfectly average Saturday in Sacramento, without some further mention of bicycles.

Anyway, on to non-bicycle related news. I was walking in midtown today, minding my own business, when a bicycle messeng…hold on now, this is ridiculous. Mostly ridiculous because I wasn’t even walking in midtown today. Unless crossing a street counts. And I’m betting you had more of a mental image of casual strolling. So, in all honesty, I was mostly driving in midtown today. Well, this evening really. Trying hard, of course, not to hit any poorly lit cycli…argh!

OK, I give up. I was going to recount a truly interesting story about a man with a handlebar moustache and a bit of a spare tire, who coped with saddle sores and chain letters until they wheeled him away. But it all seems a bit futile now, like a fish trying to ride a….

*^#@!

Hail Sacramento

2009-02-11T23:29:14Z

It's hailing outside! Or at least it was around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

According to the National Weather Service, the thunderstorms and hail could continue into this evening, however, I haven't heard any thunder, yet.

Does anyone remember the last time it hailed in Sacramento? Has it been very long?

It feels more like winter since this storm has come through. Is anyone particularly happy that we're getting this rain? How do you think this will affect the Amgen tour, if at all?