On November 21, 2009, the Sacramento Building Healthy Communities collaborative hosted two events in Oak Park and South Sacramento, designed to educate communities on the 10-year Building Healthy Communities (BHC) process. Earlier this year, the California Endowment awarded funding to 14 communities over ten years as part of their Building Healthy Communities program. This effort was designed to infuse at least $10 million into each community to bring about systemic change. The efforts are to be driven by four goals: • Health systems are family-centered and prioritize prevention. • Schools anchor communities, promote healthy behaviors and are a gateway for resources and services. • Human

At 9:00 am, nearly a hundred cyclists showed up for  Sacramentos first Tweed Ride sunday for the all day neighborhood bike ride. Amazing as  the idea gave birth just a little over a month beforehand. Thanks to powerful internet networking the idea traveled fast and soon the restaurants that accepted  to participate got what they reserved, a lot of love from the enthusiasts dressed in fine vintage tweed.  The scramble to amass the finer vintage look was on and the final result a best dressed contest showed us the need for such an event.  The enthusiasm was contagious as was the creative impulse for both vintage bike and dress alike. Many cities have such a ride already in place. New York,

I am still reeling from a theft of 2 bikes stolen at Onespeed last night.  My heart is in my throat as I write this account of horrible loss.  Some will say its just a few bikes but in my sphere of influence it brings great sorrow. 2  well loved commuter bikes  were stolen last night by 2 lost caucasian  teenage boys wearing black T shirts and short haircuts. They were short and thick around the ankles with heavy and slow shifty eyes which  earmarked them as up to no good. One said they were waiting for a ride and the other noted he had 4 bikes in the shop, one a Torker another a Cannondale  when they commented on my delivery bike outside of Onespeed Pizza. They waited what seemed a half

John Cardiel is a Nevada City/Grass Valley/SF/Sacto staple. I could write 1400 words about what an amazing human-skateboarder-pioneer John is, but why do that when you can click a SacPressList of links? Stumbleupon here and get a great taste of this living legend (in no particular order). If you see him around Sac, say hi. Jah! insane Video Part Great Juice mag interview Vans Shoes promo 1994 Heckler Interview 2008 Skateboarder Mag Interview Juice Magazine Intvw with Jake Phelps, Joey Tershay Wikipedia entry VBS video Good google search

TEAM MARIA set out early Saturday, September 12 on the fundraising bike ride from Carmel through Big Sur to Hearst Castle Beach in support of Best Buddies International, a community for helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. TEAM MARIA exceeded their goal to raise $30,000 for Best Buddies by earning $80,000 in only six weeks. TEAM MARIA had riders on each of the four distance legs of the race – all riders completed the Challenge. TEAM MARIA includes Capitol insiders: Former Speaker Fabian Nunez; Staff from Dewey Square Group and Lucas Public Affairs and First Lady Maria Shriver's friends, family and staff.  For more insight on The Audi Best Buddies Challenge an

Dozens of bikers braved the pouring rain and biked from West Sacramento through downtown and midtown, ending their soggy ride at the Bicycle Kitchen on 20th and I. Ed Cox, City Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator led this group ride Friday, May 1 to kick off Bike Month, a month-long event which encourages Sacramento-area residents to try bicycling as a mode of transportation. The ride followed a press conference in which Davis Mayor Pro Tem Don Saylor and Roseville Councilmember Jim Gray, co-chairs of the event, spoke about the importance of cycling. This event, sponsored by Sacramento Area Council of Governments and various transportation management associations and organizations, also encou

The statistics are staggering. There are nearly 200,000 people currently living with HIV/AIDS in California. In the United States, 1.1 million people have HIV. Throughout the world, 33 million people live with the virus. These statistics, taken from a number of sources, including the Joint United Nations Program on AIDS and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention also say that the estimated cost of treatment for a person with HIV is $20,000 dollars per year. Funding -- for services and treatment for those who have HIV/AIDS, not to mention prevention for at-risk groups -- is much needed. A number of Sacramentans, including friends Danny Gutierrez and Douglas Vincent, will be doin

Downtown/Midtown Sacramento is awash with bicycle activity, and why not? Bicycles are the quickest and most efficient way to maneuver this metropolitan area. The Sacramento Police Department realized this as well, and in 1989 established a four-person bike unit in the Downtown area to patrol the streets during business hours. Today this unit consists of 10 officers and a sergeant who patrol from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m., seven days per week. They cover an area of the city from Old Sacramento to 19th Street between H and N Streets. Sergeant David Valdez spoke with Sacramento Press to shed some light on the role of the bicycle police in Sacramento. He has been a part of the bike unit for seven

Sacramento, CA. – A local outdoor enthusiast decides to send some foster children to summer camp. Despite the negative effects of the economic downturn on charitable causes, contributions currently exceed expectations by 500% for The Power of Motion, a local man’s campaign to give back to the community. Local outdoorsman Jef Spencer decides to give back to the community by creating a charitable campaign called The Power of Motion. This charity celebrates a commitment to giving through the support of keeping in a hiker in motion. Be it on foot or by bike, sponsors contribute for every mile hiked or biked by the creator of the charity throughout 2009. 100% of the proceeds go to sending fost

Minutes after leaving the office today, a giant swarm of bikers nearly hit my car as they quickly turned the corner from 9th onto H street. They made their way up H street at about 20-30 miles per hour, before turning left again onto 16th. I was far behind the small group, but when I caught up, I realized it was Team Rabobank, one of the teams in the Amgen Tour of California. Like a stalker, I stuck my head and camera out the window and snapped a few photographs from only a few feet away during the practice ride. Rabobank, a Netherlands based bank is also committed to sponsoring the Tour of California for the next three years. Team Rabobank includes three-time World Champion Oscar Freire

  Lance Armstrong, contenders in the Tour of California, and hundreds of global media representatives filled Sheraton Hotel's conference room downtown. The riders, tour organizers, and other public figures such as Mayor Kevin Johnson and commentator Phil Ligget made statements to the frenzied media representatives. A panel representing perhaps the strongest racing team ever assembled in the United States fielded questions, mainly expressing their excitement for the race, which begins in Sacramento this Saturday.  "It's an honor to have these professional cyclists here in Sacramento," said Mayor Johnson. "You'll see Saturday in Sacramento how thrilled we are. We are pleased to have been

Sacramento's newest bike rack is just in time for this weekend's Amgen Tour of California. There it sits, on the corner of 19th and O, right outside of Zuda Yoga Center. The smell of fresh concrete, a green metal masterpiece, new paint - it's the real deal.  The Sacramento-themed bike rack, which has a depiction of a bicycle inside the State Capitol Building, was installed earlier this morning. The work of art already had a blue bike locked to it this afternoon.  Zuda's owners, spouses Anne Marie Kramer and Bill Prysock, had been actively "trying to get a bike rack installed" outside their business for approximately six months, said Yoga Coordinator Amanda Johnson.  Johnson added, "We a

Sacramento needs to become more bicycle savvy in these days, today I was riding the Sac Press bike around and I had 3 cars make right hand turns right in front of me. One of these cars cut me so close to the point where I was forced to put my left hand on her car and push off the car as I take the turn with her. Had I not been able to do this or had I been a less experienced rider this could have caused a bad situation. The worst part is that I can see these people in there mirrors and they are clearly not looking or on their phone or something like that. We really need to work on this as a city cycling is on the rise in Sacramento and we need to be aware out there when we are behind the w

The Sacramento Bike Kitchen (SBK) has been open for a week and the buzz is all over town. A DIY bike workshop that spreads bike culture with its unique approach to getting 'er done. Volunteers help YOU know your bike by showing you how to fix and maintain it. The result is that you are much more at cause over your 2 wheeled friend NOT the effect. Your affinity skyrockets for all things bicycling and simply cannot go anywhere unless it's on a bike. Well alright thats a little over the top but I hope you get my point. At the kitchen we have a theory that most entry level bicyclists have had their hearts broken with the box store variety of bicycles that are not long for the dumpster. Poorly

  A common scenario for a Sacramento bicycle messenger: I enter an elevator in one of the taller office buildings downtown. A thirty-something man in a very expensive suit and glistening hair enters with me, holding a laptop case and perhaps a Starbucks grande et cetera (cliché, but very true). A few seconds into the ride to the 23rd floor he turns to me with a smirk and says, “You a runner? A court runner?” I glance back and say, “Sort of. I do a lot of court filings, but I work for an independent company rather than a law office. I’m just a general messenger.” Despite the obvious clues (bike gloves, heavy-duty shoulder bag, short-bill cycling cap, some grease on my right calf), he asks,

Its party time come this Second Saturday. You see the Sacramento Bike Kitchen has a new center and we are throwing a grandopening party. The Bike Kitchen otherwise known as SBK is a nonprofit org(501(c)3) with the intention of keeping you on your bike and more importantly creating more advocates who create a more bike friendly community, one bike at a time. Heres how it works. For a small fee you can have someone show YOU how to fix and maintain your bicycle. A sort of teach a man to fish philosophy. We survive on donations such as unused bikes and bike parts. Unused, tools, and bike stands are gladly accepted as well. 2 hats we are wearing is the recycler and educational center for all t

Working downtown out of Old Sacramento I am noticing a significant rise in bike traffic here. Be it  a meating place and/or hub for riding the American River bike trail. Many do not know that this gem known as the American River Bike Trail ends or begins here depending on your POV.  Rumours on the club scene are an organized ride from Old Town Folsom to Oldtown Sacramento are being planned.   It behooves the planners for old town to cater to cyclists as they bring cash and credit cards to old town. Cyclist by and large are quiet adding to Old town ambiance, dont polute and love Oldtown charm. Steamers coffee, a popular destination and resting spot for area cyclists have no outdoor seatin

It was a Tuesday like any other or at least that what I thought as I worked my day job board as can be watching the people pass by on J St. When I got word of a large fixed gear ride that night and I knew my day was looking up. As I sat longer at work I started to hear more and more word of mouth about this ride, and that this was no regular ride. But a race rather and not just any race a scavenger hunt race, once I heard this there was no way I was going to miss this. So some friends and I showed up around 10pm to see what was happening with this ride. When we rolled up there was about 45-50 people so all of us were pumped for this ride, and couldn’t wait to hear the rules. So turns out t

Food, drink and riding bikes sums up the Appetite Enhancement Ride in a sentence. This event has been taking place for over 20 years. This year was my first experience with the event and due to its traditional occurrence on Thanksgiving I only had a chance to be there an hour or so in the morning. All it took was a quick ride over from our office at 431 I street, to the Towe Museum on Front Street. By the time we rolled up there were already a couple of hundred people there, scattered throughout the parking lot. The spread was impressive; there were great looking, and tasting, pastries, coffee and even oysters. People were working the crowd selling raffle tickets for $1 each. The proce